11/04/2013

Farseer Report: Spring 2014 - Edited


The end is nigh, for Armageddon approaches! But first, let's play some catch-up and see how my last predictions landed.

For those unfamiliar, I've made it a small theme of my writings to occasionally predict the near future of the hobby based on its current ebb and flow. Now mind you, I'm not being fed any specific rumors. These are simply my opinions of what will happen based on general rumor flow, current releases, and common sense.


Now, I first called the appearance of additional psychic charts in codexes when 6th first dropped, and proceeded to write a pretty long and involved piece on how I believed that the Imperial Fists would receive their own codex. Well, now that the new Space Marine codex has dropped, we can look at how close I was, or may have been.

Well, as we all know by now, IF didn't get their own book. However, neither did the Black Templars; and this after almost a year of supposed confirmation at expos/events/conventions from the design team that they wouldn't be rolled into another codex. Even so, this still isn't entirely true due to the advent of Codex Supplements; the first of which being Sentinels of Terra (Imperial Fists). I'm not entirely sure if I can say I was totally incorrect, because if the Iyanden Supplement had failed, I'm betting it would have drastically altered general strategy at Games Workshop. This could also because I'm too arrogant to admit I could have been wrong, but I'll let you be the judge of that. I would also like to point out the crenelated boots on the IF special edition codex cover, and on page 40, that I had previously made note of in my past article.

Another thing of note, in regards to Space Marine supplements, is that they've already told us the first two. In the Space Marine codex, you'll notice that the tactical squads in the Army Showcase for the Imperial Fists and the Iron Hands are both labeled as their respective companies that have gotten supplements. I'd say that this is a strong indicator of the beginning of a pattern. I'll let you skim through to see what companies are presented for the other chapters. With the Game's Workshop: Digital Editions now having confirmed that the background for the supplements is written in committee in much the same way as the new rules, I think we're in for a new golden era of 40k. Mat Ward's team really hit Sentinels of Terra out of the park.

With that out of the way, let's delve into the next 6 months of 40k. The first thing I'd like to cover is the 50 mm base. This is a HUGE change and I've not seen anyone covering it. Remember ages ago when the Tyranids got a kit for the Trygon/Mawloc and it came with this weird new base? And now nearly every faction makes use of this base for either monstrous creatures or flyers. What could that mean for the 50 mm base? With the release of Space Marines, we now see that not every race gets a giant robot, but now there's a new size unit opening up. I'd wager we'll see several new Tyranids based on this size of base as well as new Ork units. For Imperial Guard, we could see some sensible redesigns on Ogryn and Heavy weapons teams to adjust them to this base, as well.

Now, from the rumor mill, we've heard what releases Spring will hold. In January, we're going to see a new Tyranid codex, and presumably an Ultramarines 3rd Company supplement to counter them. With Tyranids and Tyranic War Veterans, we'll probably also see Warzone Maccrage. These all go together too nicely for it not to happen. We have also heard that the following releases will be Orks and Imperial Guard, and not necessarily in that order. Orks and Imperial Guard drop (with redone Steel Legion) right before when we can presume Blood Angels and Space Wolves will be redone. Aaron Dembski-Bowden has also admitted to returning to Helsreach with an up and coming sequel. All of this and more gives us a recipe; a recipe for Warzone Armageddon!

With Games Workshop supposedly merging websites with Black Library and Forge World this Spring, I think Armageddon gives them the perfect opportunity to reintroduce world wide campaigns. The Armageddon included in the new release of Apocalypse doesn't include the third war. I think we'll be given the opportunity to rewrite the outcome of the Third War for Armageddon. Again, however, this is just my take on events. But current patters seem to point us to this or something like it. What do you think?

Edit: What do you think? Well, you've told me. As it's been pointed out, I was mistaken about the Third War being in Warzone Armageddon. My admittedly brief skimming of it is likely to blame. So where does this leave us? Back at my original premise: It's time for a Fourth War! We've seen the fluff advanced to a large degree in Sentinels of Terra and I believe this to be the next step in how these advancements are treated. This would also leave a new campaign entirely fresh for development and player influence. This is a longer shot than what I proposed previously, but I remain hopeful. :)

Edit 2: Well well well... it seems I'm not far off the mark. Have a look at this recent tidbit. http://bloodofkittens.com/blog/2013/12/27/rumor-it-games-workshop-global-campaign-coming-soon/

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