The Chaos Varanguard Ride Into Games Workshop’s Age Of Sigmar
December 5, 2015 by brennon
Games Workshop are going to be riding onto the battlefield with the Varanguard - Knights of Ruin. These warriors are the heralds of Archaon in Age of Sigmar and are a new breed of Chaos Knight that will be smashing aside the ranks of the enemy in their terrible charge...
Knights Of Ruin
These Knights actually seem to have gone down quite well with the community and I think that the only thing that has had people concerned about picking them up is just how busy they are. I actually think that's more to do with the paint scheme that Games Workshop have used actually as it lends itself to making them look very complicated.
You can see each of the Knights individually below each with their own brutal looking weapon. I like that they've tied them into the more overly daemonic look and feel of Age of Sigmar but something has to be said for the dour and plain looking Chaos Knights of old which had their own style to them.
I think the leader model, with the big cleaver-style axe, rearing up on his horse, is the best of the three. The unit can also be armed with spears which give them additional benefits in battle although so do their daemonforged blades! You can read their full rules HERE.
I particularly the rule on the daemonforged blades mentioned above as when they roll a six to hit they roll again as the daemon is unleashed. on a 2+ they do more damage to the foe but on a one they strike back on the Knights. Their shields are also great at stopping Wizards casting spells on them.
Archaon's Tome
There are also a couple of book releases for Archaon to enjoy. You can get two variants of the Archaon The Everchosen Battletome with the Standard Edition...
...and the Limited Edition version too which comes with additional art prints, tokens and more for you to embellish your battlefield. I have to say it does look stylish, especially with that flaming sword on the cover.
Which ever of these you choose you'll be getting the rules for Archaon and his warriors as well as some scenarios to play out following his story and part to play in the ongoing narrative in Age Of Sigmar.
A Reminder Of Days Past
Finally we also have a released from The End Times. Games Workshop have collected together all of the background books from the events that bought an end to the Old World and have put them into one bundle.
This is the soft back collection and, as noted, also only contains the background with no rules for the characters used in the conflict (wouldn't do well to remind folks of 8th!).
I might actually pick this up as I never did get the books when they were originally out; I just read friends copies!
What do you think of this Chaotic haul?
"Games Workshop have collected together all of the background books from the events that bought an end to the Old World and have put them into one bundle..."
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£60 what on earth is going on? GW have well and truly ejected me from their world. I thought that I might warm to AoS but unless I win lotto then I am done. Sculpts are ok but nothing to write home about. Yawn…
These sculpts are alright, if not a little busy looking. What killed the possibility of playing AOS for me was the rules. Of course the pricing of the models leaves a lot to be desired, but I can easily buy a few models here and others at later times. But those rules, their just a hurdle I couldn’t leap.
Great sculpts as always, don’t like the mounts heads. But the prize is waaaaaay too much, even considering the sculpt quality. At that prize you can buy a lot of things, complete games even!
I like them and would be happy to tweak them to get a slightly more subtle result, but at that price…..no.
Pass — for obvious reasons already stated. More stuff cluttering the shelves at GW and going nowhere.
Seconded
IMO, the aesthetic is overwrought and overstated. The engineering and design is impressive in its intricacy, but just because ‘they can’ doesn’t mean ‘they should’. They just need to dial everything down. Just like AoS existing in an odd universe that no one can relate to, GW seems to exist in their own little world now.
Those are among better AoS sculpts so far.
GW are slowly going insane, £20 for a horse and rider
Someone in GW went full retard when they set the price for this.
And everyone knows you never go full retard! You’re not supposed to cross that line.
These are some glorious models. I will gladly pay the price they want for them, as I dont think they are that badly priced. Considering their size and level of detail they are comparable to character mounted models from other ranges.
I will be looking forward to spending a few weeks painting these, and giving them the care they deserve.
GW continue releasing amazing plastic models, and I am giddy with anticipation on what they can do in the future, as their sculptors gain more and more experience with 3d sculpting.
I smell sarcasm…
No funnily enough I think he means it…
Oh dear.
From the current White Dwarf, it seems like the Varanguard are not a replacement for the existing Chaos Knights as a rank of knights that exist above the ‘ordinary’ Chaos Knights and essentially serve of Archaon’s personal cadre of enforcers.
Given the background, I think these sculpts fit the bill very well indeed. They certainly feel like creatures of Chaos and look like they would make one heck of a mess of any unit they hit.
Those Chaos Knights look pretty cool, I especially like their mounts, a lot of detail. But they’re quite expensive, 111 components in total but still… quite expensive indeed.
Champion of nurgle with lions head, blowing this over pretentious bunch out of the water. Thats the style id like, but remade and rescaled. Even though its soul belongs to the dark gods, atleast it has one.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ahPFqbA6_nw/VXY0xSIRBuI/AAAAAAAACDA/FFQIExtb7Cc/s1600/Immagine%2B2.png
Shop around guys, you will find them cheaper. Don’t be a slave to just buying direct from GW.
I can grab these for £48. 🙂
But with Christmas round the corner I can’t really justify buying them for my mum… or can i. 😀
I would have deemed £30 already expensive for these…
@hatamoto I think these are chaos undivided and zeentch may be next up. These are great models that fit the AOS chaos aesthetic very well. They will make great characters, elite leaders. I much prefer them to the display model that is archon. Still truth be told I can’t afford them.
Look nice, but HOLY CRAP! THESE GUYS ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE! I really am tired of the prices on GW stuff. The Betrayal at Cailth stuff is more reasonable then those three models. WTF GW?
I dont them at all. Totally overloaded and kinda generic chaos stuff.
But GW still can do chaos right :
http://i.imgur.com/8b33vKl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cPPwwcU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/g4guVn8.jpg
by Drakkar du Chaos on Warseer
When ever it comes out I will probably get it. Tzeentch fan what can I say.
I won’t bother saying anything. These are interesting, but… two words :
Gamezone miniatures.
They’ve been here for years, making awesomely posed metal chaos people on horseback for… much, much less. I won’t quote prices, you’ll just have to see for yourself. They have footmen as well. A whole range full of what you need.
I know, I know, I shouldn’t advertize… But I’ll have you know that no miniature brand is paying me to do this. GW prices just aren’t funny anymore.
Actually got my brother some of the Dark Elf Knights from them.
googled gamezone miniatures,
bloody hell
Gamezone do great minis, but when was the last time they released a new sculpt other than this Heroquest 25 thing?
I’ve been a Gamezone advocate for years @elromanozo . I haven’t bought any of their Chaos models, but most of my feudal mounted “singles” come from them. Sometimes they need a bit of love, but I’m not fussed. I’ve never received anything irredeemable from them, so for those who would complain about them, it may come down to skills. They’re only 10.50 euros a throw, metal, and far superior to anything GW puts out. Their mounted vampire counts absolutely blew me away. I don’t buy things simply to paint, but I made an exception for those. I’ll get them into… Read more »
Oh, that ship has sailed… AoS and all that.
I know posting anything positive about GW on forums, is a wasted effort these days. But when i look back on 2015, all the best miniature moments I have had, come friom either GW or Bandai. Yes you can buy cheaper models, buy they are allmost all also inferior in quality in my eyes. I love the PP games, but have mostly stopped purchasing their minis, as they allmost allways feel cheaply hade somehow. Poor parts fit, cheap and inferiror materials and poorly casted details. Their hard plastic model kits where a massive letdown. Yes Gamezone looks good on paper.… Read more »
Ok then
I agree, GW does great miniatures… Sometimes. But these aren’t THAT great. I gladly pay the high price they ask for some choice models that are original or striking, but this isn’t that. And this is the same these days about PP. About miscasts from Gamezone, you can always ask for a replacement… just like when you get soft-edge plastics or bubbly failcast from GW, mind you. On a personal note, I’ve hardly ever seen a more mind-numbing experience than prepping plastics from GW, especially compared to, say, Inifnity miniatures, or resin display models… It’s not exactly stellar as experiences… Read more »
I find prepping plastic minis a weirdly therapeutic way to spend time. It completely clears my mind and I find it quite stress-relieving, particularly if I’ve got a DVD on or something at the same time.
I am aware that I am a complete weirdo though 🙂
While I haven’t had experience with as many plastic ranges as you have, from the few I’ve sampled I’ve always found the GW stuff to be the best quality. The options you have within a kit (never mind the ease with which they can be kitbashed) are always plentiful and go together without any hassle. Recently I’ve been putting together some Wyrd stuff and while I love the actual sculpts and detail, the parts can be really awkward to work with and unless you plan on doing some cutting and re-modelling the mini generally only goes together one way. And… Read more »
They’re great models, although far too expensive for a casual purchase (although as another poster said above, there are plenty of places where you can get them cheaper). I think the classic GW painting style does them a disservice though and makes them seem more cluttered than they actually are. An edge highlight here or there for emphasis is one thing, but too many and the whole model just starts to look a bit Cubist…
Even I’m going to jump in and say WTF? £60 for 3 cavalry models? Really? I’m firmly of the opinion that generally Games Workshops higher price gets me a higher quality product which, as someone who derives a huge amount of pleasure from assembling and painting models, is a big selling point. But I think they’ve gone too far this time. I’ll reserve the right to change my mind on the off chance that they turn out to be big models (like dreadnoughts or juggernauts) but at the moment they just look like cavalry, maybe monstrous cavalry and I’m afraid… Read more »