Fracture Of Biel-Tan Strikes For Warhammer 40,000 In Gathering Storm II
January 23, 2017 by brennon
The Warhammer Community website dropped another big spoiler for what lies ahead in Warhammer 40,000 over the weekend as they showed off new Eldar models for the Fracture Of Biel-Tan.
Leading the way was this particular lady with her rather posh looking cat. Known as the Emissary of Ynnead it looks like the last hope for the Eldar might indeed be making an appearance in some way. Since Eldrad Ulthran was foiled in his attempt to defeat Slannesh and awaken Ynnead it may take a more concerted effort from the Eldar this time around.
Following along after her we have the Visarch, the martial Sword of Ynnead. I really like the style of the armour and the way the helmet has been sculpted - it almost reminds me of the old Avatar Of Khaine face that used to adorn the front of Craftworld Eldar.
The overall look of the Eldar right now is very cool and I like that they are going for a more stylised look. This mix of themes between the Dark Eldar and their noble cousins is hitting the right spot for me.
Finally, we have the Yncarne, the Avatar of Ynnead, which certainly points to this particular God coming back to the fore.
While the model is noticeably Eldar there's something about it that makes me think that things are going wrong here. The horn sprouting from her forehead points to there being something awkwardly daemonic about her appearance on the battlefield. I do like the Soul Stone being absorbed into her, though, it's very evocative.
What do you think of the new Eldar models and the path the story may take?
Drop your thoughts below...
"Since Elrad Ulthran was foiled in his attempt to defeat Slannesh and awaken Ynnead it may take a more concerted effort from the Eldar this time around..."
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This is exciting, and I don’t even play 40k any more! All three of those models are pretty stunning in their own ways.
I have to say that GW are knocking it out of the park at the moment, imo. If the rumoured streamlining of the rules later in the year is good, then I may need to remortgage my house
I’m with you @fiore. If they release a more streamlined ruleset I’m doomed.
Amen, not a 40k player really atm (more a dabbler in the occasional model which takes my eye) but like the two of you a streamlined rule set would push me over the edge.
@brennon not so sure something is going wrong, more or a nod towards the progenesis of slannesh. As the eldar debauched it into existence only fitting that a returning god shares traits…
Also makes me wonder if nurgle might be getting some attention soon as (probably wrong) doesnt he have Ynnead locked up in his garden?
Im liking the unified look though, quite a few of my predictions are coming true so far, unified eldar for 40k 8th anyone?
Could be interesting aye – just struck me that maybe Slannesh is having a bit of fun and playing with the Eldar.
It is always possible that Slaanesh gets her appearance from Ynnead and not the other way round.
^This. As nakchak said Slaneesh is the unintentional child of the Eldar, therefore it is Slaneesh that bears hints of it’s parent race.
Interestingly though none of the Eldar that took part in his/her birth are alive in 40k, all that’s left is the survivors that had no truck with what the homeworlds were up to. So this release maybe harkens back to what the planet-bound (non-Exodite) Eldar once looked like pre-fall.
Loving the models btw. The incarnate is one the best models I’ve seen in recent years IMO. Can’t wait to attempt to paint it ;).
You mean the “Aeldari” 🙂
I think nakchak is on to something here – Slaanesh arose during the moral corruption of the Eldar race during the Fall, and Ynnead has formed in the millennia since from the souls of dead Eldar, and so is also an Eldar god that arose after the Fall. As such, it is not a huge surprise that the two may share certain elements in common, both being Eldar gods that came into being during/after the corruption of that race, as opposed to the earlier Eldar pantheon that existed in a more innocent epoch of Eldar civilization. It is also worth… Read more »
No, Isha is the Eldar god who is locked in a cage in the garden of Nurgle. Isha is/was the god of life, healing, fertility, harvest.
I very much applaude the Oldhammer touch here. The non standardized equipment and overall feel is very nice. That atmosphere is where the WH cosmos – be it 40K or FB – truely comes to life, to be a living breathing thing of gritty, cranky, dark wonder.
Also, the slaaneshi bits might hint at a darker deeper truth about the connection of Eldar and Gods (chaos) than the self announced facts from the trailer clip. Very nice.
The Slaaneshi look on the Avatar is really interesting.
The thought just occurred to me that maybe the only way to defeat Slaanesh is for the Eldar to be made whole again. Hence the touches of both dark and craftworld within these new sculpts.
I’ve always wanted some Eldar in my collection and despite not having done any WH40K for a while these are very tempting.. my Wolves would not approve methinks.
@Brennon it should be Eldrad you’ve dropped a D but i’m not going to be too picky about it.
Thank you for spotting that 🙂
I have heard it said from one person that the Fracture of Beil-Tan might not necessarily be about the Craftworld, and instead might be based on Beil-Tan meaning “rebirth of ancient days”. I.e. so when you combine it with fracture, you actually get a breaking of the ancient cycle of rebirth, which sort of works with the appearance of the Eldar God of the Dead (I suspect that GW is most likely going to take the more straightforward route here). With regards to the appearance of this avatar being rather Slaneeshy, I was also told that there was supposed to… Read more »
I like that Fleety – Cegorach managing to either steal a portion of Slaanesh’s power to help create Ynnead, or even better actually fracturing Slaanesh itself, and turning part of Slaanesh’s essence against the rest by some form of manipulation of fate. Perhaps, given that Slaanesh is all about sensation, the lure is to experience simultaneously the sensation of being both destroyer and saviour? Monster and messiah? I can just imagine Tzeentch laughing his feathery arse off about that somewhere in the Warp, doubly so since Cegorach may himself be another aspect of Tzeentch, much as Khaine may be another… Read more »
Some very sexy minis. Cat lady is awesome.
From these photos I’m not sold on these except for the red guy, they don’t say Eldar to me, not sure why.
I wonder how much we should look into these and if the Eldar ranges will be getting a full revamp, I do get a bit of an Aelf vibe going on here. Maybe Ynnead will be useable in AoS too?
Is that a Lying Cat?
That was my first thought! Saga ft with.
*ftw
Well I must say while these models look great. I was hoping for Plastic Aspects with Phoenix Lords and Ladies. Maybe even the PL of the Warp Spiders and Shining Spears. What about the Exodite worlds Eldar? They are part of this and should be in it as well. The lack of Plastic units for the Eldar and Sisters of Battle from the last book has be a little concerned.
Eldar aspects have been around since 1st edition; they’re not going anywhere. Having concern about them lacking a plastic kit (excluding Dire Avengers) same Sisters of Battle is a bit silly.
There are rumours that there might be one Pheonix Lord getting a new model.
I’d not tell you to hold your breath about Exodites, but considering we had Genestealer Cults make a comeback, in addition to the releases of other crazy kits I thought I’d never see, then…… /shrugs!
Being around since 1st ed doesn’t mean they can’t be left behind, we still don’t know whats happening with the Aelfs in AoS.
The big problem with the Aspects is that they can not easily be broken down into the favourable dual kits.
Just had a look on GW site, the Genestealer codex has sold out.
I suspect that stuff getting plastic kits now is going to stay current after the revamp. Stuff that doesnt is probably in for bigger changes.
I dont think they would squat the Eldar but they probably will see reinvention.
The more I see these models the more I like them. I love the cat.
All three of those are incredible models. Until the recent sweeping advances in 40K brought about by things like the return of the Genestealer Cults, I never would have thought that we would actually see an advance in the 40K universe meta-plot on this scale. It is great to finally see Ynnead’s avatar arrive on the scene. I am left wondering if we will see other Triumverates for other factions, and what form they might take. The obvious candidate is the Necrons, with Szarekh the Silent King crying out for a model of his own, and with the possibility of… Read more »
I think you’re missing the obvious in that if they carry on doing triumvirates then we’ll see a Space marine one. The large mini could be a Primarch even. Hasn’t Guillman been rumoured?
A complete guess if we’re looking at advancing the storyline you could have Cyper appear.
All true, though since the Imperium has just had a Triumverate of its own, they may wait a bit before adding another one for what are still Imperial factions.
Though I certainly agree that we are going to see Cypher and Loyalist Primarchs pop up in the near future the way things are going.
Pass. Cat Lady is very stiff. Middle figure is better, but still too busy. Bottom model is lost in detail. GW really needs to be held to a higher standard.
Pass?? As if you would buy GW any way
My entire AD&D Battlesystem elf army of 400+ figures is GW; I love the aesthetic. Lately I’ve been buying Mom Miniatures elves for more heavily armoured command groups, but the older elven boxed sets represent how I see high elves in high fantasy. Newer stuff… not so much. The glider thingie comes to mind. My entire wood elf brigade of 70 figures is GW, with the exception of treants, which I made myself, rather than buy the recently released high-heeled compost heap. GW made the best dwarven artillery around, and I still look for it on EBay. For bulk troops… Read more »
Well I wasn’t really asking one. In the wee small hours of the morning when I read your post before going to work it stuck me as vaguely amusing that you said “pass” as I had noted from your other posts your antipathy for current GW models (as is your prerogative)..
Hell I would’ve have fallen off the chair with shock, if you said you were buying them …. blame the hour of the day)
@beardragon lol . Yeah, so would I. 🙂 I keep tuning in, hoping things will turn around, but for me they haven’t. I saw a chaos guy I liked a while back for AoS, but the $25 price tag put him beyond what I thought was reasonable for a man-sized single. I just can’t get on board with the new cluttered caricature motif. As someone else commented, sometimes less is more. Actually, my last GW purchase was in the summer, where I picked up a few boxes of necrons. While I was standing in line the young lad in front… Read more »
Yeah that’s really not great. I dunno, maybe that’s GW in the Americas because they’re not like that in the UK at all, well, at least not in my experience.
“GW really needs to be held to a higher standard.” Not really. The only standard that matters is sales. If they’re good people buy them, if they’re crap people won’t buy them. At the moment pretty much every new release goes out of stock on the first run. That’s the only standard GW needs to worry about. Besides I buy (too) many models from many different model producers and for me GW are pretty much still number one. Whilst some might come close or even surpass in style and detail on occasion, no one else comes close in kit choice… Read more »
@vonevilstein Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you like GW’s current range, then by all means buy them.
BTW, the above post is much nicer than the one that landed in my inbox this morning. 😉 Thank you.
If you’re talking about effectively hate mail then there’s no need for that crap and you have my sympathies. We may rarely agree but that’s beauty of free speech and sometimes it seems it needs to come with a warning for some people.
Post on fella.
I’m sorry, but I didn’t post hate mail. I posted an opinion on GW’s products. If you have perceived my comment as some kind of insult, then maybe you should take a step back and consider why it’s personal. It is unhealthy to equate an opinion about anything to a personal attack. Transference maybe?
Dude what are you talking about? I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick, or maybe I did, but when you said:- “BTW, the above post is much nicer than the one that landed in my inbox this morning” I thought you meant you had received hate mail or the equivalent. I was effectively offering my support for you against that.
FFS Guys give it a break lol
You both are being nice to each other and dont realise it.
Jesus @cpauls1 he doesn’t live in your house how the hell would @vonevilstein know what you are referring to regarding what you got through the post!
Take a moment to think guys, you are posting and neither is understanding what the other is talking about, and it’s silly and polluting this thread with unrelated shite 🙂
*Looks down at feet sheepishly*
Errr yeah sorry…. :).
What is this? Is this Warhammer or smg? Without the logo I can’t even tell. Honestly W40k is getting sigmarized…. It is not my cup of tea…
Two above are really nice but bottom one not so much.
I think they all look very nice, although Im still not sold on the sculpted magical effects that GW keep doing, but otherwise Im liking these releases.
I can’t make my mind up about the cat lady; some bits I really like and some I don’t. I really like the Avatar but when it comes to the 2nd guy in red I love him.
I’d happily collect an army with the red guy’s aesthetic no question.
nice but some are getting to fragile looking and will be a nightmare to transport.
Yet more GW sculpts with far too much going on. There’s no doubting the technical quality of modern GW minis, but the insane level of detail makes virtually every modern model they release an exercise in frustration for a mediocre painter, and aesthetically confusing. Sometimes, less is more.
HOLY! [Bleee(several minutes of manic fanboying)eeep] they look awesome!!! Sorry about that :/ I have a longstanding soft spot for the Eldar, they were my first army way back when Guardians still carried Lasguns and D-Cannons had hilarious side-effects, I will never get tired of the image of Abaddon bing teleported across the battlefield and ending up upside down 😀 But enough of the past, let’s see what we’ve got here? Firstly the use of Biel-Tan in the title almost certainly doesn’t refer to the Craftworld of the same name, the phrase “Biel-Tan” translates roughly as “Rebirth Of Ancient Days”… Read more »
I like cat lady and the soul stone absorption is imaginative and well executed.
This is cool, can’t wait to see how this folds out or what happens or it all is.
May be interesting to see how this plays out for Biel-tan craft world given the title. Gods in 40k are literally the conglomeration of souls/emotions. Slaanesh was created through the combination of the massive build-up of eldar vice-related emotions, as well as the death of thousands of eldar during the fall. I am guessing, based on history and the figure, that If the eldar are creating an avatar of a god, a similar sacrifice will be required. We are probably going to see the consumption of a craftworld infinity circuit to birth this god. The “fracturing” of Biel tan might… Read more »
They are glorious, though I feel GW are leaning on the “Magical Effect” design a touch much these days. This has me very interested in where the Eldar are headed.
This is the Age of CAD for GW, ooh look at all the details we can sculpt! It makes the models ultra busy and covered in 2D fog, fire and smoke and now spells.
Yup… glad you said it 😉