We start off the news from today with the drops from NOVA in the US as Games Workshop made lots of people happy with all manner of new previews. Leading the way we have the Ossiarch Bonereapers for Age Of Sigmar who are going to be claiming The Tithe in the name of Nagash. Leading the way we have the new Mortarch, Katakros...

Blessed to continue his life in a body of ensorcelled bone, Orpheon Katakros is a stunning new miniature leading the way for this Death force. All those people who talked about them building up a cool Persian feel to the army were pretty on the money as he feels a lot like Xerxes in 300, towering over his minions.

This is a pretty insane-looking model, standing above the battlefield with his retainers at hand. I am very interested in some elements of his sculpt, namely the crest on his head, that massive shield and the accompanying glaive. I would be interested to see if there are some magical item shenanigans going on here that deliver some crazy abilities in battle.

The pose for him, whilst not one of my favourite choices, reflects his commanding status as a master of strategy, tactics and diplomacy. He would probably kick ass in combat but I could imagine him taking in the battlefield from afar, directing the brutality with an all-seeing eye.

Katakros' Servants

As well as the new Mortarch we have a mass of new models coming your way. The Mortek Guard seen here are the vanguard of this force, providing the front line of your new undead army which will be marching into your realm and stealing your souls.

In an almost hideous take on the Stormcast Eternals, it looks like these warriors have also been gifted new 'bodies' in which to fight, made of the same warped bone that their Mortarch is crafted from. These could be a good match against the heavily armoured Liberators serving the God-King.

Keeping the thundering charges going there's also the Kavalos Deathriders who are smashing into the enemy lines to deliver that hammer blow.

These mounted warriors and brash, arrogant and eager to serve. They make a good compliment to the dutiful and solid Mortek Guard who are going to be doing a lot of the work.

Stepping up to the more elite element of the army we have the Necropolis Stalkers who have foul souls within their crafted bodies. This allows them to change their fighting style in the midst of combat, mirroring their enemy and unleashing a flurry of blows on the unsuspecting.

I really like these miniatures and they remind me of a monster from a film that I just can't remember where the massive construct twisted its many heads around to see all of its enemies at one time. I could see some people crafting these miniatures into some awesome poses, sweeping blows of their blades carving their way through the enemy.

We also saw war machines in the early trailers and that's where the Mortek Crawler comes in. This is a semi-sentient siege engine which drops all sorts of magical ammunition on the enemy from afar.

As mentioned in previous previews, I am really liking the Asian and Middle-eastern influences across the collection. There are small nods here and there to different cultures and they've done a fantastic job of blending this together. It certainly isn't the undead that I remember from the Vampire Count and/or Tomb King days but it's certainly fitting for the world of Age Of Sigmar with all of its hair-metal Fantasy action.

Lastly, model-wise for the Ossiarch Bonereapers we have this fellow, one of the Sorcerers working under Katakros himself in order to bring this new army to life.

With a great scythe in hand and all sorts of icons and sigils, you could imagine this particular sorcerer is there to offer up both healing (or should that be mending?) and more for your Ossiarch Bonereaper force. Once again, I really like the sculpting style here which has the models wrapped in carefully twisted and crafted bone. It reminds me a lot of what the Aeldari do in Warhammer 40,000 when using Wraithbone.

All of this goodness is then contained within the new Battletome which will be coming very soon. Games Workshop also says this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this army.

One of the things that struck me about this army from looking over the models is just how easy it's going to be to paint them. Using the new contrast paints, or even just traditional methods, you're going to have an army up and running in no time. There is a lot of bone on display and with some nice spot colours for the armour plating, weapons and such you'll have a stunning army very quickly.

Monsters & Mercenaries

Lastly, for the realms of Age Of Sigmar, we have an update for Warcry. The new book, Monsters & Mercenaries, is going to add in new heroes and creatures for you to use as part of your warband.

Whilst monsters have already been made part of warbands already, this book also allows you to tackle one massive beast in battle akin to the classic Troll Hunts of the olden days. I'm not a massive fan of the cover here as it all feels a little static but the prospect of what awaits for Warcry will no doubt have got a lot of people excited.

So, with all of that big news, are you going to be making yourself an Ossiarch Bonereaper army?