The Future of the Mortal Realms, Revealed!
This article was originally published on the Warhammer-community site.
4:00pm
The Tithe
At the end of Forbidden Power, a great and terrible force was awakened, and it has big plans for the Mortal Realms…
Just what is this “tithe of bones”? Watch this space for more news in the coming weeks…
Phew! What a day it’s been! Thanks for joining us, whether you’ve been following online or you’re one of the fans here in person. It’s been a cracking time here at Warhammer World, with visitors getting stuck in chatting to our game designers, painting models and generally having an awesome time. If you get the chance, we’d love to see you at the next Open Day.
If you’re still hungry for more (and after these reveals, who would blame you?), subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest news and updates delivered straight to your inbox.
2:30pm
If you thought the Nightvault was scary…
We’ve just had a glimpse at the future of Warhammer Underworlds – take a look for yourself.
Season 3 can now be officially named – welcome to Warhammer Underworlds: Beastgrave! Bringing the ultimate competitive miniatures game to the heart of a living mountain in Ghur, the Realm of Beasts, we’re incredibly excited to see just what warbands and mechanics we can look forward to.
Just who might inhabit such a place? We can’t wait to get a closer look at who these might be…
12:30pm
A New Ogor Tyrant!
Hey, Destruction fans – did you think Orruk Warclans would be the only good news you’d be getting today? The Ironjawz and Bonesplitterz aren’t the only followers of Gorkamorka on the march…
How cool is that new Ogor Tyrant? Let’s take a closer look…
This is the first Ogor designed with the Mortal Realms in mind, combining classic aesthetic touches like a tusked gutplate and grisly trophies with some neat touches from the Age of Sigmar. Look closely, and you’ll see vials of potions, some kind of magical sword and even the faceplate of an unfortunate Stormcast Eternal adorning this model, giving it the feel of a wandering, barbaric warrior-king.
11:30am
A Short Update…
We’ve finally had a look at Gotrek Gurnnisson in the wild! This legendary duardin Slayer has been spotted at the Open Day – presumably hunting for Thanquol.
Gotrek, and the Mortal Realms’ most cowardly residents…
10:30am
Two New Battletomes Announced!
Earlier this year, we told you that EVERY Grand Alliance would be getting at least one new battletome – and we’re incredibly excited to announce the next two. Both of these books reinvent much-loved factions, bringing them into the second edition of the game in style.
First up, we’ve got Orruk Warclans!
Ironjawz and Bonesplitterz, together at last! Orruk Warclans isn’t so much one battletome as three, containing allegiance abilities and sub-factions for the Ironjawz and Bonesplitterz, as well as a third set of allegiance abilities for the Great Waaagh! – a combination of both forces. This offers these popular factions much more strategic diversity, with the ultra-durable Ironjawz complemented perfectly by the fast-moving and frenzied Bonesplitterz.
With more magical lores, more artefacts and more ways to unleash mayhem, this battletome gives Destruction a devastating edge. Here’s legendary loremaster (and well known orruk fan) Phil Kelly with his thoughts on the book…
Phil: This brutal but kunnin’ book is the stuff that orruky dreams are made of. There’s just so much you can do with it. As well as bolstering my Ironjawz army with a treasure trove of new abilities and spells, it allows me to field them as part of a Great Waaagh! army, and gather ever more bellicose greenskin energy over the course of a battle – how to harness it, and when to unleash it, becomes a fun mini-game in itself. It’s also given me the perfect excuse to add a contingent of Bonesplittas to my army, developing the story of my War Pigs army (more boars please) and revelling in one of the things I’ve always loved about the hobby – painting green skin!
Thanks, Phil! If you’re inspired to start an orruk army, why not kick off your collection with an Ironjaw or Bonesplitterz Warcry warband?
And that’s not all…
Since the beginning of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, we’ve heard stories of the free cities and the brave alliances of humans, duardin and aelves who guard them. We’ve followed epic stories as Sigmar’s kingdoms have expanded from Azyr, growing into places and cultures with their very own identities – places that you helped forge in the Season of War campaign and explored in Firestorm. Locations like Hammerhal, The Living City, Tempest’s Eye, the Greywater Fastness, Hallowheart, Anvilgard and The Phoenicium are now beloved parts of the setting, and at long last, they have a battletome of their own!
Cities of Sigmar takes sub-factions as diverse as the Scourge Privateers and the Ironweld Arsenal and forges them into a single force. No fewer than seven sets of allegiance abilities allow you to field mixed forces of duardin, humans and aelves, with a massive roster of units available. The possibilities for themed armies with this book are limitless – from fast-moving scout forces of Pistolliers backed up by Grundstok Gunhaulers from Tempest’s Eye to charging lances of Hammerhalian Demigryph Knights.
The arrival of Cities of Sigmar does mean a handful of Order units will be leaving the range and becoming Warhammer Legends later this year. We’ll be providing a full list of which ones closer to the time. The number of units available in the book is still vast, with loads of warscrolls. What’s more, each City of Sigmar can enlist units from Battletome: Stormcast Eternals into their main force, while Tempest’s Eye and The Living City can draw on aid from the Kharadron Overlords and Sylvaneth, respectively, as full members of your army that share your allegiance abilities. Here’s rules writer Sam Pearson with his thoughts on the book…
Sam: No matter if you’re a fan of humans, aelves or duardin, this book is crammed full of new and exciting rules for you to use. Contained within you will find allegiance abilities for whichever of the great cities your army hails from,from the mighty Hammerhal all the way to the Living City of Ghyran, as well as over-arching abilities such as picking a retinue and personal advisor to accompany your general. For me, I cannot wait to build upon my Greywater Fastness army – starting by adding a Greywater Artillery Company to it! I have to mention all the fantastic background and lore featured in the book, too, which really cements these peoples into the Mortal Realms. The background was written by Nick Horth (author of City of Secrets and Callis & Toll: The Silver Shard) with additional short stories by Josh Reynolds (author of Spear of Shadows). What more could you ask for?
We’ll have more news on these books soon, so let us know what you’re excited for on the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Facebook page! We’ll have the next update from the Open Day with you soon…
9:30am
The Doors Are Open
The gates of Warhammer World have been breached, and fans are pouring through the gap in their legions, ready to answer the call of Chaos. Or possibly they’re just here to look at new models…
On display today, we’ve got the first 6 Chaos warbands from Warcry in all their dark glory.
We’ve also had our first look at the game’s next Ravaged Lands set. The Shattered Stormvault will allow you to bring your battles to the subterranean depths of one of Sigmar’s arcane prisons, offering all sorts of interesting tactical terrain to skirmish over.
Meanwhile, some fans have had the chance to paint and take home their very own Iron Golem model! If you fancy getting some for yourself, you can pre-order yours in the Warcry Starter Set.
We’ll be back at 10:30 with another preview – one that’s very exciting news for new Warhammer Age of Sigmar fans and Longbeards alike…
9:00am
Welcome!
It’s been an incredible year for fans of the Mortal Realms so far, with new armies, new battletomes and even whole game systems launching as you read this – and it’s only going to keep getting better. Throughout the day, fans at the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Open Day will be getting the chance to see some very special previews of what’s to come in the next few months – and we’ll be sharing all of them right here. Check back throughout the day for more updates, starting at 9:30am (BST) when all the fans are allowed inside.
…are allowed inside! We’ll also be posting all the juiciest updates to the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Facebook page – if you don’t follow it already, we’d highly recommend doing so.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
