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I am a sucker for these Warhammer Preview hype shows and I look forward to them eagerly. This time around I didn’t know what to expect except I had seen the leaks about the Deathwing Knights and I figured that we were going to need to see some Tomb Kings if The Old World is actually going to launch on time. And, I was right about both of those things. But there was some other cool stuff too–but there were some real misfires as well.

Of course, when it comes to Warhammer previews, what is considerd a misfire will probably depend a lot on what armies you collect–but that’s not entirely true. For example, I have NO intention of ever playing Flesh-Eater Courts and can absolutely admire their whole new range.

Anyway, moving into what we saw:

Warhammer 40k Reveals

Orikan the Diviner

Games Workshop really didn’t do themselves any favors by starting the show off with Orikan the Diviner. We were all waiting to see the neat things that they had in store for us, and they said “Let’s get started with Warhammer 40k!” and then they showed us… this dumb Necron.

Don’t get me wrong–it’s a decent model. But it’s not an amazing model, and considering the kinds of things that they just drop randomly on a Monday morning on Warhammer Community, this model could have easily slotted in there and no one would have batted an eye.

He’s not good is what I’m saying. He’s a boring, dumb model. And when I come looking for Warhammer 40k content, this is not what I’m looking for.

Asmodai, Master of Repentence

I promise I’m not trying to be contrary, but this one really isn’t hitting it for me, either. At this point in the Warhammer preview show I was getting very nervous that they were just going to be showing a lot of junk.

Let me explain why I don’t like Asmodai, because I think he’s probably an unpopular opinion.

First of all, I really don’t like his smoke effects. Games Workshop is really hit-or-miss when it comes to sculpted smoke effects, and this time it looks very tangible. It doesn’t look like smoke at all. It looks solid, not hazy. I think it looks dumb.

Second, his weapons. The sword is big. And while all swords in Warhammer 40k are too big, this sword is just way too big. I don’t like him. And then his crozius has a handle that is just far too stubby.

Now, the smoke is a multi-part option, and you don’t have to use the smoke, so that’s something I can like better, but that Crozius is just too dumb.

There is nothing in Asmodai that makes me want to collect Dark Angels.

Deathwing Knights

All of that said, I could very easily see myself starting a Deathwing-heavy Dark Angels army with these beautiful Deathwing Terminators. I love everything about these guys, from their helmets (hooded and non) to their beautiful shields to their maces–I really like the maces.

I don’t really have a lot to say about them other than that they’re solid. They’re not anything really new, they’re just a glow up of the old Deathwing, and they look good.

Age of Sigmar Reveals

Flesh-Eater Courts

Crypt Guards

With this Warhammer preview we get something that I absolutely love but that I have no interest in getting into: Flesh-Eater Courts. I don’t know why I don’t want to get into this army; I love everything about their lore, and everything about their backstory. And these models look great. They just aren’t for me? I guess?

These Crypt Guard look really good. Still the grunt-level of the army and they don’t look AMAZING, but they look really good. The two handed weapons look better with them than the one handed weapons.

Morbheg Knights

I think one of the things that is stopping me from collecting Flesh-Eater Courts is this weird pose that their dragons take: it’s the same thing that the Zombie Dragons have, with the boney wings feathering out to the side, heads down, hands on the ground. It’s just weird to me. I mean, I really can admire the sculpts, but this pose is to strange for me.

Varghulf Courtiers

The Varghulf Courtiers are definitely an improvement, and they really just show how good the Flesh-Eater Courts can look if you really are trying to make them look amazing. These are really great models. Not for me, but I like them.

Abhorrant Cardinal

Now, this is a different subject entirely. I could see myself buying this model and loving it. This is clever, building on their backstory of believing themselves to be noble and good but actually rotten and depraved. It looks really incredible, and I don’t have a single bad thing to say about it.

Royal Decapitator

This is yet another really good model, more in line with the Courtiers than the Cardinal: really good, but not for me. (Taking a royal executioner and turning him into a depraved and corrupted version of a royal executioner doesn’t really seem like that big of a jump?) Cool model, not the best.

Ushoran

But then there is this guy: Ushoran the Lord of Masques, the First Exemplar, Sumeros Summerking, the Sombre Paladin – he is Ushoran the Bold, finest blade of the Mortarchs.

I know nothing about the lore of Ushoran and I don’t care. This is a model I will definitely buy to paint and put on my shelf. This is a gorgeous model, one that they said is the size of a demon primarch. All of the incredible parts of the Flesh-Eater Courts are on display here. This model gives off the vibes of The Beast (from Beauty and the) and corrupts and decays him.

I love him, love him, love him. He is my second favorite release from this Warhammer preview show.

Warhammer Underworlds Reveals

Daggok’s Stab Ladz

And then we get some really boring models in the Daggok’s Stab Ladz. I have no love for the Orruks generally, and the Kruleboyz are the worst of the bunch (except for the few models where they ride big monsters like the Marshcrawla Sloggoth, the Swampboss Skumdrek, and the Mirebrute Troggoth). There are always Underworlds shown off at the Warhammer preview shows, but unless there’s a big crab or squid, does anyone really care?

But, these are for Underworlds and I don’t play Underworlds so I really don’t care one way or the other. Meh.

Horus Heresy Reveals

Assault Marines

These look really good. I don’t think the pointy jumppacks on these Horus Heresy marines are as good as the squared jumppacks on the Warhammer 40k marines, but still, it’s nice to have more infantry options for Horus Heresy. These seem to have been a long time coming, but I’m glad they’re here.

Necromunda

Enforcer Tauros Venator

Now this is a beautiful model, but I wouldn’t use it for Necromunda. I would 100% use this in place of a Ridgerunner in my Genestealer Cults army. The thing I like about Genestealer Cults (and things like the Necromunda Cargo Hauler) is that the vehicles look like actual vehicles. This is really a gorgeous vehicle that bridges the gap between the real world and the Warhammer 40k world, and I love that about it.

Kill Team Reveals

Night Lords

More really solid models. Night Lords have traditionally looked silly because they haven’t been able to make the winged helmets into something reasonable, but here I think they hit it out of the park. I personally won’t be buying them for two reasons: 1, I don’t like the lore of the Night Lords (skinning and eating your enemies is not my cup of tea), and 2, try as I might I simply cannot get good at painting all of that Chaos Marine trim.

But, I recognize that there are a lot of people who have been waiting decades for these guys and I’m happy they’re here.

I’m curious as to what the second part of this Kill Team box is going to be, and if it’s going to have terrain with it.

Warhammer: The Old World Reveals

Necrolith Bone Dragon

Now, it should come as no surprise to anyone who watched the Warhammer preview show that my favorite model from the whole thing was the Bone Dragon. I am an unabashed fan of the Tomb Kings. I have my doubts overall about the viability of relaunching The Old World, but if we get the Tomb Kings back so I can rebuild the army that is lost to the sands of time, and if we can get some awesome new models for the Tomb Kings, then I don’t really much care about the rules of the game system. Let me collect my mummies and skeletons, and who cares if the game goes anywhere.

I am intrigued as to when they plan to release the entire Tomb Kings range, as they did with the Bretonnia Knights. The game is supposed to launch in Q1 of 2024, so you’d expect them to be revealing more of the army now. I guess we’ll have to keep waiting.

I will say, however, that I like the High Priest variant of the Bone Dragon more than the Tomb King.