Hi All,
So today we got to see another interview with the designers of the Old World focused on a surprise subject: The Tomb Kings. In this interview, they discussed the Tomb Kings role in the story and unveiled an interesting tid-bit. It will appear that the Tomb Kings will be waging an invasion, of some type, against the Empire. The bulk of the interview revolves around Settra the Imperishable and his forceful return to un-life.
What makes this so curious is that, as far as I am aware, we don’t have any mention to this event in the past lore and thus might be a new twist in the story. The rationale for the invasion is that Settra had previously conquered the lands on which the Empire and Brettonia now reside and he is keen on regaining them. While there will still be some space for the other Tomb Kings and their squabbles in Nehekhara, it looks like the bulk of the combat will occur further north.
So why does this matter?
This is interesting for several reasons. First, it may hint that the main antagonists of the early story will be the Tomb Kings and not the forces of Chaos. I think many people would have assumed an Empire vs. Chaos box set when the game launches. These reveals may imply that the Tomb Kings could be the adversary. This would both be an odd and a brilliant choice. The Tomb Kings were one of the historically weaker armies in Warhammer Fantasy for many years. They had a smaller player base and were often outshone by other factions
At the same time, it is an army that is visually distinct and one that does not have a clear analog in Age of Sigmar. They have a lot of amazing sculpts and units that are due for a refresh (new Ushabati please!) and enough stand out characters (Settra and Khalida) all of which make them an attractive choice. Given the lack of competing models Games Workshop may have an easier time avoid cannibalization with these army as the antagonist compared to a chaos faction.
Beyond this discussion there is also some talk about the need to carefully balance the undead rules. It would appear they will try to maintain some form of Fear mechanic alongside a way to raise additional skeletons. I am curious to see if they will maintain the distinction between the types of undead found in the Vampire Counts and the Tomb Kings. The undead in the Vampire armies are typically puppets of a necromancer while the Tomb Kings soldiers are warriors whose souls are loosely tied to their decayed bodies.
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