It must be getting close to Xmas, or maybe Games Workshop have decided to pay as much attention to their pre-orders as they have their Community page the last week or so. In other words, it's underwheleming! Now we do have a theory, and the theory is that there's going to be a big game release soon - maybe even a surprise out of left field sort of thing - and that's why it's all gone quiet. That brings a little bubble of exceitment, doesn't it? Yes, feel that expectation build...
But this week we only have one pre-order, and that's the Leontus: Lord Solar (Special Edition) novel. If you're saying "who dis?", then it's this guy - Old Pudding Head. Great mini, terrible head. Suffice to say, this novel looks pretty and if you're a Guard player you may be fizzing in your pants as we speak.

Alrighty, strap yourself in for one of those weird staggered release weekends, but at least this time it's all one universe - Warhammer: The Old World!
We start off with the Arcane Journal: Orcs and Goblin Tribes spilling all the beans on the Green Horde! Do you like brand new miniatures - well the new Goblin Shaman - coming with absolutely no options, is a really lovely, evocative miniature, and integral to your Goblin army! Now onto the classic stuff, with the returning metal Orc & Goblin Tribes Orc Shamans set, the delayed release in Aust/NZ Orc & Goblin Tribes Battalion which reissues classic (and some not long discontinued) Orc models, including the Orc Boyz Mobs and Boar Chariots which are also available separately this week. Also in the "mobs" category are the generic Orc Mobs, the very cool Orc Boar Boyz Mob and the Goblin Mobs (who are also in the Orc & Goblin Tribes Battalion), a personal favourite the Night Goblin Mob and recently discontinued Goblin Wolf Rider Mob. Orcs and Goblins are nothing without their Dice and Reference Cards - so don't forget those!
The Bretonnians get some new and classic love this weekend with the new Forge World Lady Élisse Duchaard (an exquisitely painted mini), the new Kingdom of Bretonnia Lord on Royal Pegasus which can also be made as a Duke or Baron with a pegasus mount. A really stunning model, and available for the first time outside of the Bretonnian army box. The classics keep on rolling with the plastic Kingdom of Bretonnia Men at Arms and Kingdom of Bretonnia Peasant Bowmen, plus the new Kingdom of Bretonnia Transfer Sheet (more on transfer sheets later).
Sadly the Japanese audience miss out on the classic Orcs and the classic Bretonnians this pre-order wave.
Everyone's favourite analogue Necrons, the Tomb Kings of Khemri get a reworking of their classic metal Casket of Souls, but this time in resin. There's new detail on this kit, with internal detail tot he casket and the scattered skulls have also been redone. It's a shame in a way that they didn't redo the heads on the guards too - it's really the only thing holding this mini back from looking new! Formerly a very rare miniature, the very old classic Tomb Kings of Khemri Necrolith Colossus is back, this time in resin and includes the never before released helmeted head and apparently added overall mobility.

Now we did mention the new transfers in the Orc and Bretonnian kits, and here's a closer look. The Orc and Goblin ones are interesting as Games Workshop have replaced the classic embossed shields with flat shields and then coloured transfers to replace them. In terms of continuity it's a real shame, mind you, new transfers are always nice. Speaking of nice transfers, the transfers included in the classic Bretonnian kits are the same as the sheet available separately - mind you at the price, you may as well buy the minis.  

While Australia and New Zealand catch up on some Orcs and Goblins, we unfortunately miss out on the new Darkoath Army Set, which launches the new versions of what were previously the Chaos Marauders, the mortal followers of the Dark Gods. The new miniatures have a lot more dynamism but lose the multi-pose options of previous releases. They look brilliant, but for some reason haven't really hit the spot. The Darkoath Army Set includes 20 x Darkoath Marauders, 5 x Darkoath Fellriders, a really evocative Chieftain on Warsteed (compare the pose to the recent Nurgle Harbinger of Decay and the Freeguild Cavalier-Marshal and you'll see a theme), and daemonic Wilderfiend. Like all army boxes, it includes the warscroll cards and tokens, plus Battletome Supplement: Darkoath, which is an expansion for Battletome: Slaves to Darkness.

Come to think of it, have we hit on something? Are these three miniatures a triumvirate? Is it the story of a Freeguild Cavalier-Marshal turning to Chaos and then eventually to Nurgle?

With information dribbling out of Games Workshop for the upcoming release of Warhammer 40K 10th Edition (next weekend), it seems the huge amount of information they have released is causing more confusion than the previous editions who held the information back until the Community could hold it in their hands.
This isn’t a huge surprise, however! We have seen recent issues with Codex releases with huge errors or errata after errata and the commentary around that. We see this specifically with the Leagues of Votann Codex released in the Limited Edition Army Box, showing so many key errors in points and balancing that the book was completely redone and those who were early adopters to that faction soon abandoned it in frustration.

Many believe the issues with the multiple versions of rules, errata and updates is due to Games Workshop contracting games and rules writers for specific assignments rather than having them on staff. There have been comments from these writers in the past about how they were given very short deadlines, the beta testers were not always as knowledgeable as they could be, and when it came time to revisions their contracts were over and the product was already rolling out. Obviously having rules writers on staff is expensive, and this move by GW makes economic sense, but Games Workshop are missing the very real fact that gamers are just using older rule sets and not adopting the new ones that are purportedly full of holes. A great example of this is Horus Heresy.

When 8th Edition came out, many Horus Heresy gamers were reticent to change – Games Workshop had all but abandoned supporting the system after the death of Alan Bligh and 8th Edition was a big leap away for a community who had been self-sufficient for years. The Community at large stuck with 7th Edition, with the very strong podcast scene (Eye of Horus being the prime example, with Age of Darkness also being a rallying point for a while) supporting a burgeoning tournament and social scene, also developing rules that Games Workshop themselves would later adopt. The existing rules system could, and did, exist completely without Games Workshop – and if they believe it or not – this should cause a major concern for them. It’s not unprecedented though, with various camps in the Dungeons and Dragons Community also only playing certain editions. The big difference here is that Dungeons and Dragons does not rely economically on Edition updates every 2 years or so to keep sales going. They rely on supplements and mission packs, something Games Workshop is trying with Necromunda and Adeptus Titanicus, but their short attention span and divided priorities in terms of supporting not one but multiple games systems means they loose momentum, and therefore the interest of their Community.

The danger with this for Games Workshop goes deeper than 10th Edition Warhammer 40,000. At the recent Adepticon 2023 the largest crowd reaction was for Horus Heresy and the upcoming Warhammer - The Old World, a relaunch of the pre-Age of $igmar Fantasy world. Interestingly, and worryingly, when the live crowd were asked who was excited for new Age of $igmar content, there was very little enthusiasm – in fact both Horus Heresy and Warhammer - The Old World gained even louder reactions than Warhammer 40,000. I digress, the issue is that with Warhammer - The Old World being a existing games system that has been played for well over 20 years (in the current state anyway, 30 if you want to go back to a darker age), the rules are already out there and if Games Workshop don’t get the rules correct for this new version, then people will use the miniatures and ignore the system. In fact with some units being simply remanufactured, the second hand miniatures market may even threaten Games Workshop’s miniature sales for this new incarnation.

So with that as background, what is happening with Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition? Great question!
 
Games Workshop have done something they haven’t’ done before – they have effectively given away a lot of the content that would previously been a paid item.
Not only did they release the core rules, but also points costs, well-produced Faction Focus information and Index Cards for all existing units in the game. This is a lot of information, and unfortunately for Games Workshop there seem to be inconsistencies and errors, which of course have raised questions on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Here are a few just in cursory reading:

• There’s a Data Sheet for the Venerable Dreadnought (which is discontinued from sale) but not one for the Dreadnought that they do sell.
• There is now no way to take the cheapest weapon options in a squad as the squad has one cost, despite the loadout. You are effectively paying for the most expensive loadout even if you take a less weighty combination of arms.
• The rule about attaching characters to units – something that’s very common in Horus Heresy – has caused confusion as some can, some can’t, some buff, some don’t.

 
Now sure, you can say that this is just quibbling and the usual social media grumbles, but the reality is that releasing this information early is meant to make people feel better, more secure and ready to play, not annoyed and confused.

Games Workshop have also released an interesting Games Commentary (v1) document that goes over some decisions, adds context and clarifies – but in reality if you need an 18 page document to explain this simplified rules system, a document that doesn’t come anywhere but from a website download, then already there has to be a fundamental flaw. Maybe the Games Commentary will make it’s way into the soon-to-be-published 10th Edition Rulebook, but for now it is an orphan – ready by some, but not part of the main rule set.
 
As we all know, nothing is perfect, and things will be ironed out in errata, in v1.1 and v1.2 etc, but there seems to be something fundamentally flawed in the execution if there’s this much confusion. Even if it is confusion and not errors – let’s be generous – the most important part of this game has been left out, the Community.

Do Games Workshop have a flaw in their game design? Is it too many cooks in the kitchen? Is too much information too soon a mistake? Are the rules too complicated?
 
When Games Workshop first released the guides to the changes in 10th Edition our little group were excited to learn more. But even the explanations of the changes seemed to need explaining, obviously written by someone with a lot of assumed knowledge and understanding. Good for them, but to assume makes an “as” of “u” and “me”.
 
With the new rulebook only available in the boxed Leviathan set, or in various downloads off the Games Workshop website, this current mess will continue. In editions past, the rulebook would be released outside the boxed set on Day 1, giving the Community time to sit and digest the book all at once. Now, with this strategy of having bits and pieces and no clear idea when we can get the book in store, the Community could potentially lose interest, spirit, drive, or they will buy into the commentary online and decide it’s all too hard.
 
As much as knowledge is power and having the information early is generous and helpful, that’s only if the information is a. correct and b. digestible and interesting. It seems for 10th Edition, the Community have ruled that it’s neither – at least so far! 

In case you had missed it, this morning Games Workshop released a statement that they will be raising prices on many of their products at an average of approximately 6%. This shouldn't come as a surprise as it was announced last year at around this time that there would also be a price hike for the 2022 calendar year. As much as it's any business' right to increase, or lower, prices when they see fit, we've done some digging and we'd like to put the case forward that Games Workshop A) don't need to and B) shouldn't raise their prices this calendar year, of all years.

The price increase will take place on March the 6th, with Plastic miniatures, Forge World and Citadel resin miniatures, Standard and Artificer Citadel brushes, and Spray paints going up and Starter sets, Paint sets, Paint pots, Citadel Tools, Codexes, rulebooks/ battletomes and Synthetic STC brushes staying the same.

Our contention is this; with the increase in the price of electricity, fuel, food and gas around the world, Games Workshop can afford to take a hit for their consumers. Currently, in the homeland of Games Workshop - the United Kingdom - people are having huge increases in the basics of life, putting a pressure on families and budgets. 
Now of course you may say that Games Workshop are a business and they need to make money - and you would be right, because if they didn't make money we wouldn't have our little minis. Correct! But as our hobby is a luxury compared to the essentials of living, Games Workshop not increasing the prices this year, and potentially taking a financial hit for 12 months not only serves their customer base, will mean that the new releases this year will be more likely to be successful, will keep loyalty to their brand from a happy Community, but they can afford it!

Here's an amazing statistic - in 2020, the company made sales of £361m and an operating profit margin of 43%, higher than Google owner Alphabet Group’s margin of about 25%. Now we all know the story of how 2020 was COVID lockdown and people got back into hobbies, and you could say this was a once off - but it's not, in fact both 2021 and 2022 were bigger years for their gross profit margin.

Now there's a difference between Gross margin and the Net profit margin - the first is everything together, the latter is the profit once all expenses, incomes, losses etc are taken into consideration. SO how does this look holistically then?

Games Workshop FY 21/22
Gross margin 66.68% / Net profit margin 28.78% / Operating margin 35.41% 
So is this good?
According to Marcotrends: "Ideally companies want an operating margin of 15% or higher. 10% is considered average". This sees Games Workshop having over twice an ideal result and over three times as much as an average performer would. 

Games Workshop will say that that not everything went their way in FY 21/22 so they need to recoup, well according to The Financial Times: "In 2022, cash reserves at Games Workshop Group PLC fell by 13.80m. However, the company earned 121.50m from its operations for a Cash Flow Margin of 29.29%. In addition the company used 32.10m on investing activities and also paid 103.60m in financing cash flows." So in one way yes, the cash reserves were down, but they made it back in other ways. Overall this is a profit being written off as a quasi-loss.

To be fair to Games Workshop, their statement that: "We’re sure it hasn’t escaped your notice that a lot of things are more expensive than they used to be: food, materials, transport – essentials and luxuries alike. Stuff costs more to make and more to move, and Warhammer is not immune to these changes..." is true. However, our contention is that with the very very healthy figures we have shown you above, that even if they didn't raise the prices this year to support the Community who really are going through a rough trot, they wouldn't lose. In fact the public attention for them not raising prices to help their Community may go some way to repairing the frankly awful record Games Workshop has for pricing since Age of $igmar was released. We all know about the international pricing, with New Zealand and Australia paying hefty prices compared to the US and Canada (counting the UK is unfair as their is comparatively little transport cost compared to internationally), and despite that the Community remains loyal.
 
Games Workshop could choose now to say "Hey Community, we know you're going through rough trot, and yes we do factor in a 6% increase to prices each year, but this year with so much uncertainty and huge rises in the essentials of life, we have decided to not implement the price increase. Will this make us tighten our belts? Yes it will, but for over 40 years, through strikes, recessions and COVID you have stood by us so we are going to stand by you. Our hobby is a luxury, so if we can help you get through the big bills and still be able to afford some hobby, then that's a small price for us to pay."

How hard is that? It's not hard at all!

​Planning on a 6% increase each year if probably fair for a company, but there's the people factor they really have to be cognoscente about. Not all plans can stay on the path we want, and for a company that can afford to not put the prices up, it would be a really responsible act from them to the very loyal fanbase.   

So what do you think?
​Looking at the facts and figures, should Games Workshop look outside their plan and think about the Community at large or should they raise their prices no matter what is happening to their fanbase?

The Leagues of Votann saw the return of the much-loved "Squats" to the Warhammer 40,000 universe - and as a far-flung human species out in the great dark of space, did they ally themselves with Xenos powers to survive? Certainly their technology has thrived, showing the lineage from humanity's past but upgraded and advanced from those thousands of years of isolation. However, when looking at the iconography associated with the various League of Votann alliances, there's some very conspicuous symbolism that looks eerily similar.
Knowing that Jes Goodwin puts a lot of thought and work into symbolism, his work with the Eldar and Adeptus Mechanicus are two prime examples, it would seem unusual to have symbols that seem so familiar in the universe mean absolutely nothing, or point us in a direction as a portent of the past and the future.

So that's our theory. Will it see conflict with the Imperium? Will we see Votann troops amongst Tau Fire Warriors or guarding Necron throne worlds while they slumber.
​The Warhammer 40K universe is massive, and potentially up to you - but not all things are as they seem and these potential touch points for drama could be great triggers for campaigns!
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Thanks for reading - and let us know what you think of this idea. 
Not saying it is the intention of the designers at Games Workshop, but it does seem awfully coincidental to have this iconography echo so visibly with these other factions.

Overnight the new Age of $igmar set, Dominion was previewed - ushering in a "new era" with updated rules and background for all factions (in the 350 page book included in the set), plus a new expanded narrative campaign system and different ways to play. For most, Dominion will mostly be about the miniatures, which GW say we will be able to buy at a 'significant saving' from when they are released individually later on - no time frame announced on this though unfortunately.
So with miniatures in mind, lets take a look and then discuss... 

As is often the way, there was also a sneak peak of the new minis coming for this Dominion line, and they're all pretty impressive; the Knight-Judicator with Gryph-hounds is a new elite archer unit, and the Stormstrike Chariot drawn by Gryph-chargers is a really impressive light chariot with some new design features, including a very Classical Greece looking helmet on the archer.
The Beast-skewer Killbow is a heavy weapon for the Kruleboyz designed to take out line infantry and monsters - which the Kruleboyz also employ in the form of the ​Breaka-boss on Mirebrute Troggoth, a truly impressive model and probably one of the real standouts in this range.

Right, so what can we glean from this new preview? Well if we take this week's pre-orders, then look at the recent Behemoth release plus Bel'akor, plus this preview's Annihilators, the multiple Gryph-hounds, the Beast-skewer Killbow and Breaka-boss on Mirebrute Troggoth, it's pretty obvious we are going to have a new meta of "bigger is better" with giants and beasties of all descriptions coming out of the woodwork. In fact maybe that's what the little cute insectoid is on the new Warsong Revenant - it's the Sylvaneth's new beastie still to be released.
As for the box, it's pretty cool. For us the Orcs don't really work as any kind of real selling point - the look is a bit too different, but also seems cobbled together from LoTR. The old shield is cool though! The Stormcast are again a further evolution which improve the look of these pretty bland miniatures greatly. Both heroes in the sets are interesting, and the comparison between Yndrsata and Sanguinus from WH30K is pretty fun. It should be pointed out the number of female models in the Stormcast range. This is huge and a great addition for inclusion for all hobbyists in the game. It will be interesting to see if this carries across to any Empire faction infantry forces that may come along in the future. Shieldmaidens in Vikings have opened up the idea in many people's minds of how women in ancient times did fight and die in battle, and this happened across multiple civilisations across the world at various points.
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So, is this box on the shopping list? We'll probably give it a miss, unless some splits turn up on FB.
Let us know what you think.

Chaos Undivided is many things, but at it's core it is a massive force, the vast bulk of it fleshy and spikey - so in this update where is that? The Community wanted new Chaos Cultists, like Nurgle got the Pox Walkers but less pungent! Massed legions of men and women on the move backed by columns of armour to liberate planets from the grip of the Imperium - whether the populace want it or not. Blackstone Fortress gave us a tantalising look, but we never got them! This would have been an amazing addition to this release. Also on the wish list and also in Blackstone Fortress are the Chaos Beastmen. So in the very old fluff, the Imperial Guard were able to field Beastmen in units to fight for the Imperium alongside humans. Over time this has changed, but adding Chaos Beastmen into the universe shows that there was a time that they were  fielded, but then forced out by the Imperium. Remember that the Tzaangor are Chaos Beastmen who turned to Tzeentch and they were released in the Thousand Sons wave (40K weapon frame now sold seperately), so why not these? Pretty sure Slaanesh will be getting some in their upcoming 40K release window. Another missing addition also featured in Blackstone Fortress were the Psykers - those tainted Warp-drenched fiends. Having these in a Chaos force is not only cool, but super super fluff.
There are other things we could have seen - a non-Raptor hand-to-hand Chaos Marine option, corrupted Ogryn, Chaos Commissars, even vehicles like a tank or a new flyer, and what about the models from Shadowspear - Obliterators, the Master of Possession, the Venomcrawler and updated Greater Possessed? 
It just seems this release could have been bigger - especially for the importance of Chaos to the whole Warhammer 40K universe. There's so many things untouched and to stop here seems like a real shame.
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What do you think?
Did you want to see more? What did you want to see?
And while we're spit-balling, lets have a look at those awesome miniatures we did get in this release and just hope that very soon we can see the shopping list above come true.

The trailer for Warhammer Quest Blackstone Fortress is interesting - instead of the usual skirmish scale minis or illustrations we get something larger; a huge object in space, with wrecked ships round it. Even the announcement points to something different;
"For years, you’ve clashed across the most war-torn battlefields of the 41st Millennium in hard-fought skirmishes and titanic conflicts – but the galaxy is a huge place, with many dark corners still to explore.
Just as Warhammer Quest allowed you to visit the sinister labyrinth of the Silver Tower and the bustling underworld of Hammerhal, now it will put you at the heart of one of Warhammer 40,000’s most enduring mysteries – a Blackstone Fortress.
Part role-playing adventure, part battle game, Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress promises a cooperative narrative experience in the 41st Millennium like no other – and will feature a host of stunning new miniatures that bring all manner of champions and villains from the lore to life as never before."

So could this in fact not be a game of 40K scale minis and in fact a game of ships captained by famed captains. Battlefleet Gothic not only had an RPG element to it but also a miniature representing the famed Blackstone Fortress, maybe this is how we will see it return?
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What do you think? Could this be another flash from the past like Adeptus Titanicus?

With Solo: A Star Wars Story only a week or so away, I was having a look at the costumes for the upcoming film and spotted a new favourite - the Mud Trooper! Stupid name, but the costume harks back to some past costumes and it got a few of us thinking...

​We know that Han Solo joins the Empire, so are we seeing the first shots of an Imperial Army trooper? 
The Imperial Navy have troops - we see them on the Death Star dressed in black (below) - so are the Mud Troopers in fact what the Imperial Army looked like before the widespread introduction of Stormtroopers?

Further to that, are the Mimban Stormtroopers (above right) the first incarnation of Stormtroopers that took to the field for the Empire? You may notice that their helmets are slightly different to regular Stormtroopers, with extra armour on the forehead similar to the extra armour we saw on the Tank Trooper in Rogue One.
Rogue One takes place at least a decade after Solo, so evolution of the armour would make sense, as would the phasing out of specialist Stormtrooper roles as the Empire amalgamates into a more harmonious military machine.
The big question we take out of this is does General Veers wear an Imperial Army uniform when he takes to ground combat AND is there any link to Dengar the bounty hunter's costume (below left)? \
Dengar does have an important difference, he wears the leg and lower arm armour of a Stromtrooper, but his breastplate is certainly very similar to the Mudtrooper or even the Snow Trooper (below right).

Whatever the actual story is, the way the costume designers have carried the lineage of uniforms through the Empire has been amazing, and to having fans speculating just shows what an amazing living universe Star Wars is!

In the recent video released with Jervis (ALL PRAISE THE MASTER) and Robin, they start mentioning "Keywords" that will be found on teh new Datasheets. These are words like "Imperium" or "Ork" - they basically tie your unit and it's allies together. Interestingly there are also other Keywords that will identify your Chapter (if you use Space Marines), which will allow you to make sure the right characters are leading the right troops. Now this got us thinking...
This doesn't seem like it would be that important if you were using pen and paper and designing your forces to play your friends - but what if you were using an App. Now when you added a character to your force, or even a Wish List, you could make sure the right character was leading the right army. or maybe you were trying to add Librarians to a Chapter that doesn't have Librarians (World Eaters for example). Having these Keywords work like metadata or Tags would allow you, as the App User to easily make sure the unit you were building was (a) legal and (b) fluff-worthy.
This seems like a logical idea and frankly how soemthing like an App using metatdata would be ableo to easily identify units and groupings - they certainly couldn't purely by the name! What do you think?
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Now lets take a flight of fancy and expand this a bit more and imagine this was then somehow integrated with the online store. The App User could build their force in the App, then click on the miniature they wanted to add and they would be directed to the store to buy it. Games Workshop could then see what people are buying, wanting to field and the cater to that.
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If we were GW, this is something we might be looking at!

Chain Axes - is there anything more brutal that the idea of a super human warrior armed with one effectively a chainsaw embedded in an axe? 
It's an amazingly evocative image and one that has been part of the 40k universe for a very long time, so much so that the fluff surrounding it has seemed to change somewhat! Things do change over time, but when they change in the same book, then I think it's a bit of a worry.
Today we're going to look at the Chain Axe, it's background and also the conflicting background stories, especially in the Horus Heresy - Betrayal book.
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The first time we really saw Chain Axes was on the Khorne Bezerker models back in the early 90s - very evocative considering their love of close combat gore. Once this was introduced though, the Imperial force wanted to use them too, so a little retroactive fluff was invented. We then learnt that the Chain Axe was a favourite weapon of the techno-barbarian tribes of Terra pre-Imperium and during the Great Crusade it was favoured by the very same techno-barbarians (or their descendants) who made their way into the ranks of the Space Marines.
Okay, fair call - that all seems pretty straight forward and kind of cool.
It does however get a little messed up when the 30K rules start to kick in and Forge World decide to start running the fluff - fluff that's really only been touched on before in passing.

​So here's the rub; on page 89 of Horus Heresy Book 1 - Betrayal it clearly states that the XIIth L:egion had taken the broad-bladed chain-axe as a primary close combat weapon. This was before the XIIth were the War Hounds, and way before they were the World Eaters who would later become the Khorne Bezerkers. There's a pretty clear link there showing the way this weapon ended up where it is in the 40K universe.

​Now this is where it gets a bit murky... on page 234 of Horus Heresy Book 1 - Betrayal, we get two changes to the original story on the same page - all contradicting this initial piece of fluff. 
" A savage weapon that had it's origins within the World Eaters Space Marine Legion, and the black-humoured whims of it's master, the Primarch Angron".
Right, so we learn from this that the World Eaters and their Primarch developed the Chain Axe, to bring more gore and a bit of a chuckle to the battlefield. This would mean that the War Hounds would not have been armed with the Chain Axe as it was introduced into the Legion much later.
It would also mean that the background of the Chain Axe going back to the techno-barbarian tribes of the Unification Wars was also wrong, a piece of fluff that transcends the Forge World era.

​en on page 251 of Horus Heresy Book 1 - Betrayal it lists Caedre Weapons - weapons based on the "cyber-augmentic gladiators of the savage world on which their  bloody-handed Primarch was once cast. It was Angron himself who revived the use of the Caedre among his Legions ranks...". 
Among the Caedre weapons... the Chain Axe used by close combat World Eater units like the Rampagers. Further evidence that the Forge World fluff says the Chain Axe did not come from Terra, but actually came from the gladiators of  Nuceria, the brutal home world of Angron.
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​It's at this point that it's important to make a differentiation between fluff and the rules of the game.
Fluff makes the universe go around. Fluff brings the rules to life - but the fluff shouldn't contradict the rules and vice versa.
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As  War Hounds hobbyist I have decided to not have Chain Axes prominently in my Legion - the fluff isn't stable enough in Forge World's hands to equip a squad or two with Chain Axes just to find out it isn't something they could have been armed with in terms of fluff.
In fact this opens it up a bit wider - Forge World could now be saying that including Chain Axes as an option in early Great Crusade forces (as War Hounds were) is wrong - and that kind of blows the doors off a fair few people's minis... unless you do exclusively Horus Heresy or World Eaters... you can just have at it!
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So what do you think? Do you agree? Do you see a hole in this thought process?
​L:et us know!

Games Workshop have confirmed it this morning (along with a giant Primarch and a Grey Knights Lord) that Cypher (right) and the Fallen will be back Gathering Storm III - Rise Of The Primarch.
This is awesome, (a) because The Fallen need a break - they got a raw deal from Lion-El Douchbag and (b) because we predicted it!
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++ "Secondly for this line: "...The Emperor's angels have returned, recast from shame and shadow, reborn in black and gold..."! There's a few ways to take this - black and gold you would think refers to the Black Legion, so does that mean that the Black Legion are coming back, OR when he refers to "Emperor's angels" does he mean The Fallen (previously Terran-born Dark Angels, the Emperor's first legion) have joined the Black Legion and now return to avenge their exile?
We're running on a theory here that the Dark Angels will be playing a part in the upcoming Wrath of Magnus story arc, having recently been infultrated by Tzeentch, so The Fallen turning up in some capacity works into that pretty well. Our hope is that The Fallen will infact find their way back into the ranks of the Dark Angels in some way (if they aren't already as the Consecrators Space Marine Chapter) especially since one of the themes of Magnus' return is reuniting his detractors." ++
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This one group shot from Games Workshop may end up just being a squad of Cypher's bodyguard or something, but here's hoping it The Fallen portrayed are in a light that doesn't see them grouped with Chaos... because they're not Heretics!

The Fall Of Cadia is upon us, or soon will be and Games Workshop have released one of their excellent teaser videos to make all of us ponder upon every word.
The video is interesting for a few reasons; first namely that like the Wrath of Magnus video it is told in the first person (one can only assume it's Abaddon at this stage).
Secondly for this line: "...The Emperor's angels have returned, recast from shame and shadow, reborn in black and gold..."! There's a few ways to take this - black and gold you would think refers to the Black Legion, so does that mean that the Black Legion are coming back, OR when he refers to "Emperor's angels" does he mean The Fallen (previously Terran-born Dark Angels, the Emperor's first legion) have joined the Black Legion and now return to avenge their exile?
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We're running on a theory here that the Dark Angels will be playing a part in the upcoming Wrath of Magnus story arc, having recently been infultrated by Tzeentch, so The Fallen turning up in some capacity works into that pretty well. Our hope is that The Fallen will infact find their way back into the ranks of the Dark Angels in some way (if they aren't already as the Consecrators Space Marine Chapter) especially since one of the themes of Magnus' return is reuniting his detractors.
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So what are your thoughts? Cadia is the next battlefield, so who are the players??

... and lasty - who's the cool dude in red (below)??

Okay, so we've been working on a theory here which could be very very cool, so we're going to put it out there and see what you think - it's a doozy!
As you know, Magnus the Red and his Tzeentch followers are currently attacking Fenris, homeworld of the Space Wolves Space Marine Chapter.
Part of his attack is to send some of his demons through the magma that runs under the surface of Fenris and then breech the Space Wolves fortress, The Fang, which is built in a dormant volcano. Supposedly Magnus' most powerful sorcerers will be among the demons, taking the fight to the very heart of The Fang.
On the surface this is all very straight forward, but we were reading through some old material last week and found this from William King's Space Wolf novel...

So - the Beardy Hammer theory is this:
Is Magnus' plan not vengeance (as Phil Kelly did say in the Developers' video) but actually to raise Slaanesh from the largest volcanic island (now dormant) The Fang by sending his Sorcerers in underneath?
If Slaanesh is then raised, he/she would call their forces from the Warp and all Hell would descend on Fenris. Considering the Developers themselves said this wasn't about revenge per se, maybe there is a grander plan - and was this all pointed to earlier in the year when the Harlequins and Eldrad were released? It was back in August, but it rings with all kinds of event happening right now!

I'm not an expert on Eldar prophecies or even all the Chaos Lore, but just a read over this says a few things:

"The Stolen Seers, Amassed, Gather unto them the Dead.
Legion, they drift within the sands, Their voices raised as one."
++ Could this be the Thousand Sons - Seers/ drifting sands++

"Their Voices Raised As One"
++ their voices raised as one could be Magnus' call to even those who betrayed him to come to his call ++
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"One shall walk the forked path, a threefold truth to weave the skein
Nemesis of She Who Thirsts, Opener of the Seventh Way."
++ Tzeethc AND Slaanesh!!++

"Long Dead souls gather behind"
++ Thousand Sons??++

"The rebirth of Ancient Days, Drinking, but not consuming
Taking in, but giving new life."
++ Slaanesh drinking souls but not consuming - the Legions of Slaanesh? ++

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"Like Ghouls in the Dark, the wicked ones gather, drawn to a Tragedy Unfolding."
++ Could this be other Chaos powers joining in or maybe Dark Eldar? ++

Is this the beginning of the 14th Black Crusade? Is it The End Times?
​It certainly seems like more than a few things could be pointing to it. Slaanesh held in the bowels of The Fang this whole time and now Magnus knows and sees an opening to bring fire to the whole Imperium!

So what do you think? Are we onto something??