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Last week, the good folks at Warhammer hosted a huge preview of upcoming miniatures for all of their major offerings: 40,000, Age of Sigmar, The Horus Heresy, Blood Bowl, Underworlds, Warcry, and The Old World. Here are my Top 10 picks from the exciting event:
No. 10
After losing the Battle for Oghram to a mighty horde of Tyranids, the Space Marines have called in reinforcements! Loads of new models and updated multi-part kits were announced, including Jump Pack Intercessors, Scouts, Terminators, and Sternguard Veterans. But my personal favourites were the Company Heroes - an elite squad of five marines featuring a banner-wielding Ancient, a Champion, two Veterans, and a Captain. This kit has master-crafted weapons aplenty and cosmetics for customising the whole company.
No. 9
All right, it’s time to bring out the big guns! The Horus Heresy’s Deredeo Dreadnought has got a hell of a lot of firepower, with long-range options including an Anvilus autocannon battery, a Hellfire plasma cannonade, and an Aiolos missile battery. It is impressively customisable, so if your finger slips and you accidentally order two or more, you could build kits that look very different.
No. 8
Who’s up for some krumpin’ fun? Fans of the big yellow Ironjawz bruisers were gifted with a slew of reveals including Ardboys and Brute Ragerz. The standout of the bunch for me was the Weirdbrute Wrekkaz - Orruk Brutes that have gone “proper wonky” due to too much Waaagh! The questionable (and very painful) solution to this is apparently to hammer bone and iron masks into their skulls, which turns them into maniacal killers who see a fiery hellscape instead of the world around them… and it’s their enemies who appear to burn the brightest.
No. 7
New Warhammer Underworlds warbands always generate a bit of a buzz - these small squads boast super sculpts that set a miniature painter’s heart racing. The next season of Underworlds will take place in the frozen depths of Deathgorge and two new warbands are included in the box. First up is the Thricefold Discord - feuding daemons of Slaanesh who have been set a task to acquire 666 souls from the icy chasms of Deathgorge as punishment for their constant bickering. Then there is an Idoneth Deepkin warband called Cyreni’s Razors, led by a Tidecaster from the dark seas of Ulgu. Two Namarti are by her side, along with the star of the show - her loyal spirit guardian Cephanyr, who has lotsa legs and knows how to clobber foes with them.
No. 6
Now we’re moving on to a new Warcry box. ‘Hunter and Hunted’ features the Wildercorps Hunters (with their faithful doggos) who were revealed at the end of July. Facing off against them will be a bunch of feral ogor brutes we haven’t seen before - the Mawpack of Gorgers. These fiends are cursed with a hunger that can never be satiated. They have been drawn to the Gnarlwood due to the eruption of Mawpits, which they believe to be a manifestation of the Gulping God.
No. 5
Before the event, the WarCom team showed off the awesome rockbrow squig Klonk, who is cursed with a permanent headache that can only be relieved by somebody hitting them on the head(!) At the NOVA Open, that ‘somebody’ turned out to be Zoggrok Anvilsmasha, a legendary Ironjawz smith with some smoking hot weapon options; a flaming choppa, handy hammer, and a pair of trusty tongs.
No. 4
Trugg, the Troggoth King, slept through the collapse of a kingdom and then accidentally had an altar of arcane power embedded in his back (look, we’ve all been there, ok?). The altar’s magical powers are subtly influencing him and for some unknown reason he is being drawn along the magical ley lines of the Mortal Realms. This big beasty is a stunning model packed with detail (and ok, yes, you can kind of see his butt).
No. 3
Fulgrim is getting an absolutely breathtaking new model depicting the lord of the Emperor’s Children following his ascension as a Daemon Primarch. This centrepiece miniature is equal parts beautiful and monstrous, with majestic wings and plenty of gaudy trinkets. I can’t wait to see what the talented painting community do when they get their hands on Fulgrim Transfigured.
No. 2
My Lady! A beautiful new model has been revealed for the Bretonnians! Lady Élisse Duchaard is a powerful wizard who rides a magnificent unicorn into battle. She is dressed in flowing silk robes and carries a golden grail and a glowing sceptre. I can’t stop staring at this miniature, the sculpt is just so exquisite!
No. 1
My favourite reveal? Vampires. It just had to be the vampires. Warhammer have outdone themselves with their recent vampire sculpts (The Crimson Court, Cado Ezechiar, the Askurgan Trueblades, to name but a few) and now we have this bloody lovely new Blood Bowl team to add to the list. The Drakfang Thirsters have fancy cloaks and frilly shirts, and one of them even has an adorable bat friend! Also, I’m a sucker (ha!) for a red, black & white colour scheme. I’ll be snapping up this fangtastic team as soon as is (in)humanly possible.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it, all my highlights from the NOVA Open 2023 Warhammer reveals. What an amazing selection of upcoming miniatures we were treated to! Message us on social media @ZatuGames to let us know your favourites.