News and Rumors for the Week- Kroot, Great Unclean One, and More

There was quite a bit of news and rumors this week mixed into the talk of the new Bloodthirster release from Games Workshop. Lets take a look at what happened this week.

Talk of 40k Khorne Updates Next

There of course is a lot of projects on the horizon that we are looking at. With the latest release of the new Bloodthirster and its listing on both Fantasy and 40k, a lot of chatter and questions coming in are regarding whether or not Chaos Marines or Daemons will be getting an update with new rules or dataslate. 

New Previews for Tabletop Halo

With the news from Spartan Games some time ago that they will be doing Halo on the tabletop, there are some new previews of the game to see. Their space based game is set to come out later this year. While making the move from video game to tabletop is not a huge jump, (after all most of us do both), getting video (only) gamers to cross over seems like  a difficult task. It will be interesting to see how this project goes, and if it increases the player base for tabletop wargames.

Balancing Rules Incoming- The Scimitar

There is a rumored (well definitely more than rumored) bit, that there will be an update coming very soon that will balance out some of the current models. Some of these have been talked about a lot, and some not so much. Lets take a look at a few of the misc. updates that may be coming.

Kroot Mercenaries?

Kroot Mercenaries are in the rumor mill again. A full army release the size of Harlequins are being declared, which would include many of the old Kroot mercenary units and a large centerpiece kit.

The New Bloodthirster Is Here... Fantasy and 40k

The new Bloodthirster model is up for pre-orders now, and what is nice about it, is that it is listed on both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k. Its listed on both. This morning I was just talking to a reader about the old bloodthirster model on the 40k page being sold out, and now its come to pass.

New- The Word Bearers Mhara Gal Tainted Dreadnought

Forgeworld has a new model out for its Horus Heresy Character Series, the Mhara Tainted Dreadnought. Its rules and a video showing it off (along with a couple other already released characters) really shows it off. Its an excellent looking model. 

War is Coming: 5 Complete Fantasy Armies Kickstarter

War is Coming as Shieldwolf Miniatures continues to push their first kickstarter, which is now down to 13 days left. The miniatures are already funded, and stretch goals are being bypassed. This means its the perfect time to jump in and check them out.The models themselves are done in 28mm heroic/bulky scale and are in plastic and resin. I have been digging through this kickstarter for the last hour or so, and I think is one that you should check out.

Here are some images from the kickstarter, and a video introduction.

Dropzone Commander New Units

Yesterday we laid out the Dropzone Commander release schedule. In it was revealed many new things that have not really been discussed, and a few that had been seen in early concept art at the latest shows. I had some time with Hawk Wargames, and have some great details on what is coming in the near future of the game. Fans of the game will be thrilled by the creative new units that are coming over the next few months.

Games Workshop's Place Holder for the Horus Heresy Game

It looks like Games Workshop has set up a place holder on the GW Webstore for the Horus Heresy. The address matches up with the heading for a game, and while the page was blank, its been since removed. While it could be something for the Black Library, it's quite possibly what we have been waiting for in regards to the recent rumors of a new stand alone game.

Dropzone Commander 6 Month Release Schedule

There are a lot of releases on the schedule for Hawk Wargames, and I have a solid set of information regarding what those will be. (straight from Hawk Wargames). So lets take a look at what the future of Dropzone Commander will be through the month of July.

These are not rumors, but from a direct phone interview.

February- 6 Famous Commanders already announced. These being released in two days!
Here is a link to them.
http://www.hawkwargames.com/collections/special-commanders

March-  Standard Command Vehicles for each faction. This includes the recently revealed, PHR Nemesis, UCM Phoenix, Scourge Oppressor, and the Shaltari Gharial. You can see more images of these here.
http://natfka.blogspot.com/2015/02/new-infantry-commanders-and-future-of.html

April- This will be exciting, as we are looking at the first wave of new infantry/small vehicles. I will have details on these units later (Im sorting through 3 pages of notes). Some of these were seen in early concept artwork at recent shows.

May- Wave 2 of infantry/small vehicles for each faction

June- This will be the second wave of Famous Commanders including all of them that were not released the first time around.

July- Wave 3 of infantry/small vehicles for each faction


and now for the biggiee..............
Reconquest Phase 2 will be released later this year!!!!!
This will include all the new units, as well as rules for the new scenery sets. 

This guy is in there. I can guarantee a spot for him in my armies.

Hawk Wargames has so much going on this year, with the new models and units, Reconquest, and of course Dropfleet Commander. Hold on tight as I have lots of info coming.

Las Vegas Open Pics

The Las Vegas Open is the one event early this year that I really wanted to hit. Of course my 10 year wedding anniversary ate that time slot up this year. Next year its on my list of events to get to. With that said, the event went off, and from all reports was a great success. I know that Reece and the guys from Frontline Gaming put an excellent showing and reports from the event are all over the internet now.

Leaked Images: Bloodthirster Variants

There are some additional photo leaks going around right now from Talk Wargaming that show off the three variants in a full page spreads. While these were in the photo dump yesterday, I figured that these were worth showing again this morning. I really like the way these models turned out. I am really hoping the rest of the greater daemons turn out this good.

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Nexus Arena TEASER

Dark Nexus Arena looks like a fun arena game, and this is the first trailer I have seen on it so far. Its a multiplayer online battle arena set in the 40k universe. Check out the trailer below.

Rumor of a New Great Unclean One Coming Soon

There are rumors that many of the new Greater Daemons are done and waiting to be released for Warhammer 40k. The recent models for the Endtimes have shown just how nice these new sculpts are, and if anything is released for 40k, I am sure a lot of people will be excited to hear it. This rumor states that the Great Unclean One may be coming in a month or so.

Insights and Rumors for the Age of Darkness (30k)

There are some additional rumors coming in about the plastic starter set for Warhammer 30k that we have heard so much about recently. This includes a supplement for the Age of Darkness, new allied matrix's including Xenos and more. If this comes to pass, this box set is looking very nice.

More Leaked Images (in Color)

It seems that now we have very much everything we need to know from image leaks originating from this weekend's White Dwarf. There is lots of information here, releases,  Karanak, Skulltaker, stats, and more. The more I see of the new Bloodthirster kit, the more I like it.

Leaked Images From This Weekend's White Dwarf

There are now additional images being leaked from the pages of White Dwarf this weekend, that confirm everything we have been talking about regarding the three Bloodthirster versions for the End Times. There is also a couple other pages in this set.

Bloodthirster White Dwarf Cover Leak

The cover of this weekend's White Dwarf is out now, where you can see one of the three Bloodthirster models, as well as the titles of the articles. It also shows just how big this model actually is. Its huge, and everything we would want a new Bloodthirster to be.

New Bloodthirster Model, and This Week's Releases

I rather expected us to see new leaked images from this weekend's White Dwarf already. Perhaps they are coming later today or tomorrow. However, I wanted to show some verification of the early release information we had last friday and over the weekend. Several sources have confirmed this week's release, and now we are just waiting to see any leaked images.

Balance Updates Coming to Dropzone Commander- Dropfleet Hints

There has been a lot of talk about updates coming to Dropzone Commander, as well as the new Famous Commander models and standard command vehicle updates. The guys at Hawk Wargames love to talk about what is coming and discuss it with people they meet at conventions, and it shows their passion for the game, its integrity and balance.

Faeit 212 Nova Attendence

Last year I was trying to get out to Nova, but family events shot down my attendance. This year, I am already wrapping up the final particulars of getting there. With the way my schedule works, I will not be there early enough on Friday to participate in the 40k GT, but I will get in on the DzC tournament there (it doesnt start til Saturday). I will also be covering the event, and goofing off......... talking shop etc.  

DzC Races of the Future

There has always been a select number of races that David Lewis has planned for the Dropzone Commander, and from previous discussions with him over the years, that number is capped out at 8 distinct factions/races. These of course are a ways out in the future, as he does not want to add new races to with every book release and progression of the Dropzone timeline.

The Fate of Warhammer Fantasy

There are many ideas around Warhammer Fantasy that have a lot of people worked up, which I believe in the end will be minor issues, like bases (most likely you will be able to use both), skirmish level games (a good idea in my books), and being able to use existing armies. I think in the end, GW will come back to any army that is popular, after all money talks, and well...... lack of it makes a game go away.

Archaon Video Reveal: February 27th

Games Workshop released a video teaser today preparing us for the next End Times book, and gave us the date for pre-orders..... February 27th. These pre-orders are only for new Blood Thirster model this week, and I would imagine that the End Times book -Archaon will be the week after. There is some awesome artwork in the video, which are really inspiring. Get ready, the next book is coming soon, The End Times: Archaon.

Forgeworld Showing Off Some Very Cool Admech

These are some fantastic Mechanicum models from Forgeworld that were available ahead of time at the Horus Heresy Weekender. These are the Scyllax Guardian-Automata. Even though there rules are not yet available, the models are just that cool (my opinion of course), that they sold really well at the event.

Summer Campaign and New Imperial Supplement.

Rumors of what is coming over the next 6 months have been dominated by the latest whispering from Hastings revealing several mini-dex's and stand alone box set games. One thing that many people have forgotten, simply because its been a while, is that a campaign has been rumored as well for the upcoming summer months.

Warhammer Fantasy 9th Starter: Forces of Light vs Chaos

It is still a little ways out, but Warhammer 9th edition is what a lot of people are talking about. From the round base rumors, to skirmish sized games, and armies no longer supported, 9th edition has been on a series of up and down rumors and dramatic reactions to what may or may not happen.

Here are some rumors from over on Bols that are pointing towards a starter set box release of the "Forces of Light" vs Chaos release.

Interesting Possibility? You Decide.

The image below was sent in to me this morning, and while I can't verify it, I thought it was at least interesting enough share. The images shows the GW Webstore where there are some different font's used where it says the Horus Heresy, but there is also two Scenery tabs.

Horus Heresy and Assassin Stand Alone Games; Next Week's Releases

This week through in a lot of rumors, and while there were rumor bits that were rather out there somewhere, there was also a huge host of reliable rumored bits. It is time to dig through these, and list out what happened this last week, so that as new rumor bits come in, we can build on top of these.

Horus Heresy Gaming Set Release

There have been a lot of rumors going on lately about the rumored Horus Heresy Stand alone game that is coming out. Today's rumors have it coming out at the end of May, pushing the Hobbit and LotR to direct only.

Early Mechanicus Unit Rumors

Once again we are getting Legion Cybernetica units in the rumors. While I dont know if there will be a second adeptus mechanicus codex release beyond the Skitarii, this bit seems to be focused on just that. These rumors seem to be based on old rogue trader rules.

DzC: The Use of Gunships

There are a lot of units that people debate on whether to use or not, or even how to use. Fast Moving flyers normally get the most chatter, but the one that seems to be forgotten the most are the gunships.


Gunships often come with an amazing array of guns with great firepower. Why then are they not seen on the tabletop that often? Number one, their points, and position as support can limit them for units that often seem to be mandatory or very much needed. They are also extremely vulnerable to reaction fire, fast moving flyers, and AA guns that chase them down. Even infantry inside buildings can quickly become a deadly hazard for these aircraft. Gunships very quickly become a high priority target on the table.

So high point cost (in regards to total pts of the list), vulnerability, and being support units are the likely candidates for why they are not used that often, or in very limited capacities. Lets take a look at how to use them.

Gunships if used properly can really pick up for lack of hard hitting ground units. The biggest thing I have seen people do with their gunships, (and accidentally done myself), is use their great mobility and get them into early game positions that are greatly overextended without support. Trying to get your gunships quickly over to one area of the board to sneak around and take skill shots sounds great on paper, but rarely does much more than getting a single round of firing off.

I have found that Gunships in particular, require a lot of patience and foresight to use properly. Instead of getting them quickly into the fray, have a little patience with them. They are quite mobile, and getting around the board is both a weakness (if you over extend them) and a benefit.

So what I do with mine.
The first few rounds of the game, I try and keep them with the majority of my forces. This is to support them. Huge buildings if you do not have reaction fire coverage around them to prevent fast moving flyers from taking out your guns. During these rounds, their primary purpose is targeted buildings.

Dropzone Commander is a game where the first few rounds of movement can really dictate the game. This often means that the game really heats up in rounds 3-6. This is where I am now trying to pick off targets with my gunships. Any opposing unit that over extends itself into the ranges of the gunships are prime targets.

Dropzone is also a game where the last few rounds win or lose you the game. This is where your patience with your gunships will pay off. By now you have hopefully damaged the opposing forces AA, or if been able to limit their effectiveness where you want and need those gunships to be fighting. Gunships can really shine in the last few rounds of the game, and it takes a little patience to get them there and get the most out of them.

I have found that well used gunships can lighten the tank/anti-tank forces I need on the table just enough to add some extra flexibility into my lists. They are not the blunt instrument of destruction that heavy tanks are, but with their mobility and heavy firepower, they can really make a difference on the tabletop.

Extended License for LotR/Hobbit

With the changes that seem to be right on the horizon with Warhammer 30k coming, the Hobbit/LotR had a missing piece of the puzzle on why the license was extended. According to this the license was extended or GW would have to destroy unsold models. If that license was getting close to expire, it is logical to extend it for the time being, while phasing it out to make room for Warhammer 30k/ historical battles.

30k (The Horus Heresy) Going Mainstream and What it Could Mean

We have had recent rumors revealing a Horus Heresy (30k) game coming in a few months. While we dont know much about it, the latest is that the models for it will become part of the 30k range, and take the place of LotR/Hobbit in stores.

At the Painting Table Again

I tend to go through massive painting waves, and I am at it again. This time up painting a Dropzone Commander Resistance Army. I had started it a while back, and was not happy with the way it was going, so took some time to figure it out. Definitely getting there.

Hordes: Gargantuans Evolved!

So those of you who read my post about the next wave of Warmachine colossals a few weeks ago might remember the teaser at the end of the preview video hinting at new Hordes previews to be revealed at Smog Con 2015.

Guess what day it is.

Blood for the Blood God: Bloodthirster Details

Even though we saw leaks revealing the stats, point costs, etc for each of the Bloodthirsters, a lot of what was there was hard to read or hazy from the images. Now we have a little bit better information regarding the three new Bloodthirsters for Warhammer Fantasy. According to the source, there are no rules included for 40k.

Harlequin Pre-Orders are Up!

The last round of Harlequins are now up for pre-orders with the Death Jester and Shadowseer making the rounds. Its also the big day for Harlequin fans, as the codex is now available. Of course its not really available to many people in the US still, with delays in shipping along the west coast.

New Forgeworld Pre-Orders

Forgeworld today has a new super-heavy tank up for pre-orders, the Solar Auxilia Stormhammer. A massive baneblade variant its loaded to the hilt with weapons. This thing is a beast (figuratively of course).

Harlequin Codex Image Leaks

Its only a few hours before the codex hits, but if you wanted to get an early sneak peak there are leaked images around the community. So here is a link to check out some of the recent leaks.

Leaked Information: Next Week's Pre-Orders, and Hints for the Following Week

Next week's pre-orders are revealed, and the new Bloodthirster model that we saw in the Chinese image leaks are bring released. Its a single model with the option to build three different Bloodthirsters, The Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster, Bloodthirster of the Unfetted Fury, and Bloodthirster of the Insenate Rage.

Community News: Battle Reports and What's On Your Table

I have not been featuring as often the Feait 212 Community News site, mostly because it is standing on its own now, and the projects that are there are a good mix of Battle Reports, and other projects that people in our community are working on. If you have not been there for a bit, its well worth the time to head over and check it out.

Harlequin Codex Leaks: Tactical Objectives and Allies

The new Harlequin Codex is already in peoples hands now, and information regarding Tactical Objectives, and who the allies are and are not.

Leaked Images: This Week's Pre-Orders and Next Week's Hints

This took awhile this week, but finally we are looking at images for this week's releases, including the hints for next week. This week was mostly known, but next week...... Blood for the Blood God! Its going to get exciting around here as we look ahead at what is coming and wrap up an excellent Harlequin release.

Dark Age Outcasts and Bounty Hunters Updated

Dark Age has new card updates up on their site that are not official until next month, but hey, what gaming company gives you this kind of news ahead of time. This is cool to check out, even if you dont play Outcasts, and well.... Bounty Hunters can be used by quite a few people.

Some Rumor Confirmations

From a reader yesterday there are some confirmations on a few rumor that have been out there now for some time. The first is regarding Codex: Skitarii, and the second is regarding round bases for Warhammer Fantasy.

Admech Release Rumors

We have heard from Lords of War Gaming that the Admech release will be coming April/May, and from Harry that it will be a full release, meaning with lots of new models and units. There is a new bit out detailing the releases that may be coming out.

Leviathan Pics

The Resistance Leviathan is one of the models that I have not had access to, nor picked up on my own yet. So when a reader offered up some images of his new Resistance Leviathan I couldn't pass it up. This thing is just huge.

New Forgeworld Bundles

There are a bunch of new bundles online today from Forgeworld. Many of these include new models, but there is 17 new bundles to look at. The couple I checked do have significant savings for picking up the bundles, so they are definitely worth checking out.