Week 2 of the Idoneth Deepkin Fun Train brings us two nice sets from opposite ends of the Deepkin family.
On the one hand we have the Volturnos, High King of the Deep/ Akhelian King combi-kit. This is a mounted character model with multiple weapons options and flexibility of parts to create your own character. Being mounted, it is also a bit of a centrepiece. At $70 AUD for a mounted character with modular options, this seems like pretty good value - and that Volturnos head.... AWESOME SAUCE!
On the other hand we have the Namarti Reavers, line infantry models with two weapon options - bow or bow and melee combination. Like the Namarti Thralls, these are basically multi-part but mono-pose with no head options AND like the Thralls they are at a multi-pose price. Now we coped some flak last week - do not misunderstand - these are great minis, but Games Workshop have a multi-pose price tag on them. The Namarti should be similar to the Dark Elves because that's what you get, not the flexibility of the Space Marine kits. 
Away from the pricing, they are lovely models, and if you use the double weapon loadout you will have some rare bare hands left over to add to your bitz box! Also, if you order either (or both) of these kits online you will get this weeks' free Deepkin Art Card - From the Seas They Come (right).
In other releases, the Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah hardback is out with a great cover showing Chaos Marines attacking Skitarii guarding a Titan - could you ask for more?
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Now interestingly, have a look at the sprues for the Volturnos, High King of the Deep/ Akhelian King combi-kit - they're small! Instead of going for the big sheet, Games Workshop have broken them down to possibly half the size. The miniature itself comes in a standard sized box, but could GW be going towards smaller boxes to fit more on the shelves? If the boxes were smaller but thicker then, so stacking the sprues, then more stock could fit on those shelves! It'd be smart...

Well this seems like a very strange coincidence - just days after the Regimental Standard announced that the lasgun very similar to the ones used by the Elysian Drop Troops (and manufactured by House Van Saar) is being withdrawn from active service, Forge World has added the entire range of Elysians to the Last Chance To Buy section of their website.
The announcement in Regimental Standard that the Nihilis Pattern Lasgun is being withdrawn from service is a sneak peak at the next gang in Necromunda, House Van Saar, and how they arm elements of the Imperial Guard - BUT it does seem interesting that we see the Imperial Guard unit with this weapon now being discontinued.
It's not the only thing being discontinued, with two Ryza and one Krieg Leman Russ variant also being discontinued. Curiously Forge World have shown other products being discontinued (below).
The Leman Russ could be explained in the rumoured new Leman Russ plastic boxed set coming soon, but the Elysians could just be shuffling off this mortal coil, which is a shame for a unit that is unique in looks and role - harking back to the days of jump pack assault units for Imperial Guard.
Other items turning up in Last Chance To Buy include the Elysian Venator and some Solar Auxilia items. ​

When we first saw the images of the Namarti Thralls they were pretty exciting - not just for the miniatures they are, but for the possibilities they hold.
​Then over the weekend, pictures started to emerge on Twitter and Facebook of people who already have the miniatures, and the thing that really stuck out for us is the seeming lack of details on the miniatures.
When we first saw the sprues online it was disappointing to see that they're not multi-pose - they have an alternate weapon option, but no head options or posing options.
​Then the Facebook & Twitter images showed that the level of detail we saw from GW just don't seem to be there - the muscle definition seems to be shallow, the moulded armour isn't defined, such as the fluting on the armour or the intricate designs on the cloth and the Namarti head.
As I say, this is gained from a few images online, but it would be disappointing if we were to get push-fit quality miniatures considering how versatile these could become and the price point - which is not cheap! 

So now you have seen some out of the box images, what do you think?
Having second thoughts like we are?
​Are the Namarti going from a 'must have' to a "will buy down the track... maybe'?

It's pretty safe to say that the Idoneth Deepkin really have been the surprise release for 2018. When they first struck it was a similar feeling to the Kharadron Overlords - out of the blue with a real sense of anticipation and mystery.  Daughters of Khaine was similar but maybe lacked the total shock of those other two.
This week sees the first of what could be five weeks of Idoneth Deepkin releases. In a smart move, Games Workshop have released the front line infantry unit, the Namarti Thralls as well as the big boss, the Eidolon of Mathlann – Aspect of the Storm/ Aspect of the Sea combi kit, PLUS the big buzz model of this release, the Lotann Warden of the Soul Ledgers with his octopus pal. These are the hyped models on the Community FB Groups; Namarti conversions for Slannaeshi cultists or Dark Eldar Mercenaries/ slave soldiers etc. There is of course the Deepkin Battletome, Warscroll Cards and Deepkin DIce (not a great design with waves instead of numbers - there is a reason dice have been pretty much the same since time in memorium!) plus a piece of scenery, the Etheric Vortex: Gloomtide Shipwreck which on inspection has a surprising amount of detail! It should be said at this point that all of the Deepkin sets (aside from Lotan) come with extra fish accessories. 
The Idoneth Deepkin release also comes with a number of different paint sets/ bundles - there are two new colours, ​Ionrach Skin and Deepkin Flesh. Interestingly both of these colours have "12ml" written in their URL which may put credence to the idea that GW may be changing to dropper bottles for their paints this year. There is also Idoneth Deepkin Paint Collection set and a Deepkin Flesh bundle (which oddly does not have Lahmian Medium in it - a guaranteed essential for skin like that!). 
If you pre-order any of the Idoneth Deepkin releases online you also receive a free A5 art card. Now GW are saying "receive 1 of 5 free A5 art cards each week with every order of Idoneth Deepkin products! This week, each order will include Idoneth Deepkin Art Card 1 - Akhelian King" which would lead one to think that this is a 5 week release window - which is curiously long!
++ Now - Let's Look At The Sprues ++

Having a look over the sprues, you can see the extra fishy base decorations for the Eidolon of Mathlann set, and a bit of a disappointing realisation for the Namarti Thralls in that although the poses are excellent and dynamic they are not as multi-pose as we may like, with the torsos being fixed to the legs. There are extra weapons options for them though, but not head options apart from the standard bearer. Excellent models, but some poseability would be nice. When the archers are released, it will be interesting to see if they have more movement options - they are really amazingly dynamic and tempting on the hip pocket!! Looking at Lotann's sprue unfortunately reveals he is a one-stop shop too with no extra options.

The look of the Idoneth Deepkin is quite similar feudal China in many ways (most noteably with the Eidolon of Mathlann costume and the armour and weapons of the Namarti Thralls, so it will be interesting to learn more about the influences.
The unit structure though, if you break it down, is (from what we can see) very Dark Eldar.
In role, the Akhelian Allopexes/ Akhelian Leviadon aren't dissimilar to the Ravager and Raider of the Dark Eldar, the Isharann are a bit like the Court of the Archon, the Fangmora Eel-riding Ishlaen Guard/ Morsarr Guard are like the Dark Eldar Helions and Reavers. In essence the Namarti Thralls seem to be like the Dark Eldar Wyches and the Namarti Reavers are like the Kabalite Warriors.
Sure they aren't exactly the same - but looking at their role and they're pretty similar in terms of unit composition.

Jes Goodwin is, as we have stated before on this site, is the preeminent visionary of the characters and civilisations in Games Workshop universes. There are others of course - John Blanche, Kev Walker, Paul Bonner and the late Wayne England, but as a Designer Goodwin's work not only gives us an amazingly detailed view of the worlds but makes it from art to the miniature form.
Goodwin's sketchbook is always hallowed ground, and he has released collections before - The Gothic and the Eldritch and the previously limited Eldar Sketchbook.
With the release of the Drukhari Codex we have been very fortunate to now be able to see Jes Goowin's Dark Eldar sketches in all their glory in the Drukhari Sketchbook accompanied by an expanded Asuryani Sketchbook in the Eldar Collection currently available from the Games Workshop webstore.
Before we take a look inside, I'll let you know that this isn't a full reveal, this is just a look at some of the stuff and some observations. To have this book arrive and go through it page by page should be a joy reserved for those who have waited for it for so long.

The Eldar Collection is housed in a very sturdy well packed cardboard sleeve, which when opened reveals black paper covering the collection itself. There is a small sticker on the front of the paper sealing it with "Citadel Vault" on it - I hadn't seen this before and is a super cool symbol. When you open the paper (I ripped mine in anticipation) you are presented with the weighty tomes that is the Eldar Collection. Housed in thick light grey matte finish sleeve, the two books are held firmly in it's embrace. The picture on the front of the sleeve i find interesting - it seems to be a fusion of Eldar in a way with the character hovering over ethereal smoke. As you can see, the sleeve and books are all embossed with high gloss chrome lettering.

We're concentrating on the Drukhari Sketchbook here as it is new and most of the Asuryani Sketchbook has been seen and we've reviewed it before.
​The first thing you notice when you open the Drukhari Sketchbook is the first drawing from 1991 - this is the prototype Dark Eldar. There's so many elements going on here, but what we've missing is spikes, blades and chains and tight fitting chitin outfit - it's very much more akin to an old school Harlequin even down to the Eldar Shuriken Catapult and grill for a mouth. We then get a later incarnation of a Warrior Priest and the shapes that would become so familiar with Dark Eldar. SO without giving the whole book away we then get pages and pages of beautiful concept art of uniforms, weapons, vehicles, characters - it is both inspirational and impressive all at once - notice the Sslyth drawing which is just so amazing. There are also banners and iconography, and this full page of Drukhari icons which also includes a note down the bottom about how they would be worn on uniforms like Japanese samurai - a white icon on a black background.We also see other Eldar in here; Exodites, Harlequins plus the Ynarri. It's great to look over the small annotations and even some longer explanations to get background.
I've promised not to give it all away, but there's a very cool little image right at the back of a Wraith Gate... now lets hope we see these in the future because this a a very cool drawing.

If you field Drukhari this is the most amazing resource for designing a Kabal/ Coven or just finding your way through the world, the look and the feel. There' so much detail in Jes Goodwin's drawings that it adds flavour and texture and makes the Drukhari so much more visceral.
I will tell you that buying this was not cheap. At $210 Australian Dollars it was not something I could afford really, but I took a punt as a huge fan of Jes Goodwin's work that it would pay off - and it does in spades!
Get these books - enjoy them - especially as there is some more expansion in the Asuryani book and apart from a special celebration at your local store, this is the only way you will get either.
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A big thanks to Games Workshop and especially Jes Goodwin for releasing these for the fans to see.
I am enthused and inspired!
~ Thank you ~

After the last few weeks of the Xenos Codex releases​, Games Workshop are sharing the love through their properties next week with Shadespire - an off-shoot of the Age of $igmar universe - getting two new warbands. Unlike th other warbands for Shadespire which were very dynamic new poses, The Farstriders and Magore’s Fiends are so similar to existing miniatures that they're disappointing!
In book news, the Warhammer Chronicles: Champions of Chaos Omnibus is coming which includes the previously published Sigvald, Valkia the Bloody,.Bloodraven, Blood Blessing, Reaper, Harbinger and ​Van Horstmann. Another anthology of Horus Heresy tales comes to paperback as well, with Corax - all of Gav Thorpe’s tales of the Raven Guard; the novellas Soulforge and Ravenlord, and short stories The Shadowmasters, The Value of Fear and Raptor, PLUS the brand new novella Weregeld which purportedly wraps up Corax’s legend.

Well it's been a while since we've done a White Dwarf review, but we actually got the issue a few days early here instead of a few days late, so we can take you through the April 2018 White Dwarf.
The current White Dwarf format is a bit of an odd one - where previously in the weekly version we were always guaranteed to only see new releases, now White Dwarf has this odd crossover where we get new releases and some previews. April's issue is a prime example.of this where we have most of April's releases, but only up until the 21st which means we only get to see part of the Idoneth Deepkin and no minis. So by the time the next White Dwarf comes out in May, we will have already seen the minis on the shelf before we see them in the magazine. It's all to do with pre-production etc etc, but really they should take a leap and if there's a major release that spans a month (say it goes into early May) then include those miniatures - they only need to do it once and then everything will line up from then on. Just a thought...

Gav Thorpe, former Games Workshop staffer and now David Gemmell Award-winning Black Library author (Gods help us we remember when he was new! at GW) has had a chat with Jes Goodwin, miniature designing supremo at Games Workshop about his work on the Eldar, who were relaunched all the way back in Issue 127 of White Dwarf which included a bevy of Goodwin's amazing concept sketches - a quantum leap in Eldar advancement, including dropping the name "Space Elves".
The article was first published in May 2017, but with the release next week of the new Drukhari/ Dark Eldar Codex and the Eldar Collection Sketchbooks by Jes Goodwin, the article and the comments are even more pertinent.
Have a read of Gav Thorpe's interview on his site HERE

With the Xenos Codex starting to roll out now - think we only have Orks left now and rumour has it they have at least one new miniature - it's time for the often maligned Dark Eldar/ Drukhari, purportedly one of the hardest forces to field. Games Workshop has promised a big change to the Drukhari and the Community seems to agree that they will now have a whole new way to play, but what are GW offering in terms of Drukhari pre-orders this week? In a word 'not much' and then in another word 'WTF IS THAT?'
In terms of miniatures, the Drukhari get a new Start Collecting Drukhari set (which we pulled apart here) and that's it - no new characters - but to be fair these miniatures are some of the nicest in the entire GW range, interesting for minis that were first released in 2010. There are two versions of the Codex - the Spiky Psycore Collectors Edition and the Marilyn Manson Memorial standard edition, plus Data Cards With that you'd say "meh, pretty standard stuff"... and then they offer this mutha fruit loop; The Eldar Collection - not just Jes Goodwin's rare event-only Eldar Sketchbook, but also the Dark Eldar Sketchbook!! Is this new? We've never heard of the Dark Eldar Sketchbook before?? WTF??
** deep breath **
So anyway, cough cough, there's that thing...
Now onto something completely different, there's some books on offer; Ferrus Manus: Gorgon of Medusa (HC) tells the story of a man and his hammer, bonded in mutual love of pounding armoured dudes into the ground, Warlord: Fury of the God-Machine (PB) the 40K equivalent of Jeep drivers take centre stage to hog the roads and act like idiots, and there's a new new audio drama called Agent of the Throne: Truth and Dreams which looks like it has Snoke from the new Star Wars movies in it - now there's a crossover we were all hoping for!! Darth Vader as a lost Primarch - HELLO!!
White Dwarf is also out next week with a guide to the upcoming Idoneth Deepkin, Maxime Pastourel shows off the results of a painting challenge, rules for Chaos Cult Gangs in Necromunda, plus Dark Eldar tactics!

With the announcement of the much-anticipated Codex: Drukhari this morning, there is a new Start Collecting set to go along with it - so as we did with the Necrons - which of these sets is better value 

Purely in terms of money, the minis in the 2016 set if bought separately would cost you $186 AUD and the new 2018 set if the minis were bought separately would set you back $181 AUD.
The pricing is close, but unlike the Necron forces, these two sets serve a different purpose on the battlefield..
The 2016 set is more tactical - the Raider transport and Kabalite Warriors serve the swift interdiction and ranged warfare with the Reavers (amazing models!) providing speedy assault and an Archon to be all buff and kick some arse .
The 2018 set on the other handy is all about assault - Wyches for vicious hand to hand, the Venom for fast light transport and support and the venerable Reavers for zooming across the board and killing things! Then there's the Succubus, an amazing model with some serious speed and killing power. Not to everyone's taste, but not to be sniffed at either.
In reality, the Drukhari could have both these boxes existing at the same time - they serve different purposes and certainly don't cannibalize each other apart from the Reavers, and from what GW are saying, the Reavers are getting some love this time around. GW are also saying that the units in the 2018 set "feature a range of units that have been greatly improved" - so maybe this is a showcase set, a set someone can start with an actually win with.
Really in essence, unlike our Necron overview, this one is going to have to be inconclusive - with similar savings and the different roles each set specialises in, each set is really dependent on how you play.
The 2016 set feels like a core unit builder, while the 2018 feels like a more special forces builder.
The 2016 is more ranged while the 2018 is more assault and both have Reavers in support so you won't lose out there.
If the 2016 had the option to build a Ravager instead of just the standard Raider, then that would probably tip the scales for the 2016 as it gives the option to turn your transport/ support unit into a dedicated tank!.
If you like the 2016 though, you've only got a week to pick it up before it's gone!