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Most boardgamers willing to build stuff like Kingdom Death can assemble a GW miniature asleep and with one arm tied behind their back.

And most boardgamers aren't willing to buy, let alone build, stuff like Kingdom Death. It's a niche product for a small audience willing to part ways with a lot of cash.

KD is in the same catergory of "A portion of people who buy this never touch the game" like GW product. At least the game itself got effort put into it and have customization.

Brimstone and Zombicide are also a niche within a niche (and probably never get played by 80% of people that did kickstart it) of the general Risk and Ticket to Ride boardgame-scene. 99% of boardgamers wouldn't touch stuff like Zombicide, whether the minis are one-piece or 50.

But those niche-niche-niche things, including the Kingdom Death niche and the GW-boxed game and the Zombicide niche are still worth a lot of money.

There's value in targeting your niche, over competing with the games that have the broadest possible appeal, especially if you can charge a premium for it / from the people in that niche.

The target market here is people who enjoy building and playing with their miniatures.

It's not boardgamers in general. Just the part that enjoys that.

GW just tries to touch as many people as they can, and find the "rare jewels" fitting to be their customers. It was always about that, from the very beginning.

So moaning about boardgamers in general not being interested in GW's Hobby and "being lost" by this release is irrelevant. It was never the purpose of such a product to touch them.

Chopstick wrote:
Yeah boardgamers don't mind their 1 piece miniatures look like gingerbread man with detail all messed up and bent weapons.

I disagree entirely.

First, that’s an awfully broad brush your wielding there. Whilst I’m sure it’ll be true of some, I’d like to take you back in time, to around 1989. And the release of Hero Quest.

That was the game that got me hooked, and saw untold thousands of my money pumped into GW. And what first grabbed me about it?

1. The Advert. The telly advert was pretty awesome.
2. The models shown off. They were unlike anything tiny Grotsnik had really seen before.

Now, at that age my main sources of entertainment was TV, toys, and boardgames of a traditional stripe. Hero Quest combined toys and a board game. They made a solid game a visual feast for the eyes, even though I never really painted the models.

Sure, all but the Gargoyle and furniture were one piece models. But having built Airfix kits by that age (9, forgot to mention that before) had the models been multi-part, I very much doubt I’d have been put off.

There’s a difference between “I can play this game with meeples” and “if it has anything more complex than meeples, I’m not interested”. And it’s a pretty vast one. I’d even venture that it’s barely a consideration for most, provided the models are push fit jobs, which is GW’s preference. All the kits for BSF were push fit. No overly tricky parts, no glue required. Yes some are fairly delicate, but nothing a careful hand can’t overcome.

So overall, they’re pretty accessible, and that’s likely by design rather than accident. For a modicum of effort, you get an objectively more visually pleasing gaming experience.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/02/11/claim-bloody-vengeance-as-a-rebel-kurnothi-in-warhammer-quest-cursed-city/


Qulathis The Exile

So she's Kurnothi.

Interestingly enough, no hooves!

Best tactical rock leap EVA!

She looks good, almost harks back to the old WE characters (the waywatcher).

Yes sir, I like it!

What is this normal wood elf doing in AoS, made a wrong turn at Albuquerque?

Rock and leapy pose, well, I guess those were compulsory being an Elven character and all... *sigh* At least her hair is of a non-dragging-across-the-floor length!

And pose aside, loving the model. Glad to see it's not a beastmen-esque Elf like the other Kurnothi, but just an Elven adventurer with some Asrai-y elements.

Yet another nice model for the game; looking better every day.

Of course, any fan of Nottingham based thrash metal will be referring to her as Qualcast Mutilator.

Pretty inoffensive, isn't she? No hybrid animal features, no mountain of hair that crushes her under its weight. just a normal wood elf with bow. It could be a really nice model if the tactical rock wasn't there.

Also, horny elven maiden. Because Warhammer elves need a silly headdress. But... strangely subdued, too.

If only the sculptor had been able to exercise that little bit of extra restraint and put her flat on the base. Oh well, easy enough fix for that, I guess.

Something noteworthy from the main page:

Meet the Kurnothi hunter so eager for vampire-murder that she’s been exiled by her people.

I'm starting to see a pattern here. GW's really going for the antisocial murderhobo mob with the heroes, aren't they?

I'm not sure its a head dress on her, it looks like that may be actual antlers. If not, then it is the most understated tiara in GW history.

Decent model. No weird hybrid thing. Believable hair. Actual functional weapon. Clothing that makes sense.

Does this model bore AOS fans? I would guess yes, but that is fine. Different tastes for different people and all that.

Don't really understand why people get so mad about a rock sculpted on a base, as if clippers aren't a thing.

Nice model.... Last weeks Ulfenwatch article mentions taking a look at more “models” from cursed city. A second update later today maybe?

warl0rdb0b wrote:
I'm not sure its a head dress on her, it looks like that may be actual antlers. If not, then it is the most understated tiara in GW history.

They definitely do appear to be actual antlers.

The Kurnothi have had some callbacks to some of the lore established about Kurnoth from older Wood Elf books and the Orion trilogy. Between the centaur, the satyrs, and now this huntress we might be seeing a breakdown of what a faction could actually look like.

 Nazrak wrote:
Don't really understand why people get so mad about a rock sculpted on a base, as if clippers aren't a thing.

It affects the pose of the model as well. Given the steep angle of the rock, this would be quite silly if you just clipped her off and glued her flat to the base. On others (like the surfing vampire), the feet create an uneven stance that requires a hand made rock to even out, even if you clip them off the plastic rock.

Geifer wrote:I'm starting to see a pattern here. GW's really going for the antisocial murderhobo mob with the heroes, aren't they?

Modern heroes can't be heroes if they aren't edgelords.
But at least she didn't come from the Disney School of Dead Parents. (As far as we know)

----
I do rather like this model overall, but the scabbard and quiver bouncing and scraping against each other constantly would get old fast.

Happy people, when asked if they fancy you taking on a city of Vampires, are apt to tell you to sod off;

 Nazrak wrote:
Don't really understand why people get so mad about a rock sculpted on a base, as if clippers aren't a thing.

For a variety of reasons, I'm sure. The one that comes to mind here is that it's simply unnecessary. It doesn't add anything to the model compared to just doing that move with a foot on firm ground. The thing with clippers here is, for the sculptor it's no big deal getting the exact same pose on the ground with only a slight bit of a 3D rework of the foot. If you want her on the ground and in the same pose, you have to at least keep a bit of the rock since she leaps off the side of it. Or build up a mound with your basing material. Or resculpt the foot. Because otherwise you can't put that foot, as it is, flat on a base and retain the pose. It's not as easy a fix as you make it out. It's by no means hard, but considering GW has already done models where you can simply leave off the tactical rock and still get a nice looking model in a fitting pose (Imperial Assassins come to mind) and that the rock is not required for the model's pose to make sense, any work you put into it will feel excessive.

 Kanluwen wrote:

warl0rdb0b wrote:
I'm not sure its a head dress on her, it looks like that may be actual antlers. If not, then it is the most understated tiara in GW history.

They definitely do appear to be actual antlers.

Personally I'm hoping for the most understated tiara in GW history as warl0rdb0b so nicely put it, but yeah, I guess it could just be antlers sticking out of her skull. I guess there's a fix for that, too.

She looks really cool. Glad the pose in the teaser trailer wasn't used (crouching rangers are cool, but a dynamic one suits her better. Lack of hooves is interesting, but she does have the same belly jewel and bow as the people in the Underworld team (Sylvaneth got belly jewels too).

I don't mind this kind of tactical rock. It's a part of the city, not just some stupid rock like the new vampire lord is posed on

 Kanluwen wrote:

warl0rdb0b wrote:
I'm not sure its a head dress on her, it looks like that may be actual antlers. If not, then it is the most understated tiara in GW history.

They definitely do appear to be actual antlers.

The Kurnothi have had some callbacks to some of the lore established about Kurnoth from older Wood Elf books and the Orion trilogy. Between the centaur, the satyrs, and now this huntress we might be seeing a breakdown of what a faction could actually look like.

Well, for AoS it might be acceptable to walk around with antlers poking from your head and nobody bats an eyelid. In the Old World? Not so much.

But damn, still I'll have to buy this Cursed City thing and use the models in some oldschool warhammerquesty games. This elfy beastwoman could even be an adversary or conflicted NPC.

Voss wrote:

Geifer wrote:I'm starting to see a pattern here. GW's really going for the antisocial murderhobo mob with the heroes, aren't they?

Modern heroes can't be heroes if they aren't edgelords.

I like that answer.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Happy people, when asked if they fancy you taking on a city of Vampires, are apt to tell you to sod off;

Happy people probably respect the sovereign right of Shyish nobility to rule as they see fit in their own domain.

Not so much followers of other gods who seek to depose them for the greater glory of said gods. No problem there. But they got to be super special outcasts because they're, like, super fanatics what are super badass unlike all those lame standard fanatics with their standard baddassery.

Yeah, I'm convinced Voss has the only right answer to this. I'm getting old.

I wonder what the chances are for the KO character to be unique, ie, helmetless (low, I imagine, since it looks like he has a helmet on in the art). Given that they're all just normal duardin under the helmet, I'm expecting GW to go the stormcast route and eventually release kits with a bunch of unhelmeted heads. I'm not familiar enough with the fluff, but do they wear helmets around non-duardon/KO? Because if all the heroes are rebels, the duardin NOT wearing a helmet would fit pretty well

 Gallahad wrote:
Does this model bore AOS fans? I would guess yes, but that is fine. Different tastes for different people and all that.

Nah. I'm quite into AoS furry elves but she's cool!
Even the tactical rock isn't as annoying as in, for example, the current Harlies kit. Looks like a decent action pose and not weird workaround to suggest the mini is somehow suspended in mid-air :|

Well, 3rd preview in and still nothing that might turn me off from buying this ...

I'm glad Cursed City is sticking with classic archetypes while updating them to modern sculpt quality. A wood elf ranger is hardly breaking any new ground, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 GaroRobe wrote:
I'm not familiar enough with the fluff, but do they wear helmets around non-duardon/KO? Because if all the heroes are rebels, the duardin NOT wearing a helmet would fit pretty well

Pretty sure Kharadron Overlords wear helmets because the cloud they harvest is poisonous to breathe, it's not a cultural thing so much as a practical one. No reason to need one in the Cursed City other than the common sense of it

Another fantastic model. I'm not surprised she just looks like a wood elf, those half-centaur Kurnothi models simply do not work. And GW tend to not double down on a bad design.

This isn't a personal shot at anyone, but I just love how it's a given part of our sub-culture that a rock or other feature to stand on is just a gak move by the designer. That's definitely one thing that if nobody ever told me to notice, I'd never have thought twice about.

 Tim the Biovore wrote:
I'm glad Cursed City is sticking with classic archetypes while updating them to modern sculpt quality. A wood elf ranger is hardly breaking any new ground, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 GaroRobe wrote:
I'm not familiar enough with the fluff, but do they wear helmets around non-duardon/KO? Because if all the heroes are rebels, the duardin NOT wearing a helmet would fit pretty well

Pretty sure Kharadron Overlords wear helmets because the cloud they harvest is poisonous to breathe, it's not a cultural thing so much as a practical one. No reason to need one in the Cursed City other than the common sense of it

I dunno. That makes sense, but in the KO black library novel (Overlords of the Iron Dragon), only one person is ever described with a helmet, and even then, half of it is open to display his beard. Every other character is described as helmetless (based on the numerous descriptions of their beards and other characters seeing their eyes), even while in the air or in a factory full of poisonous chemicals But it wouldn't be the first Black Library story to deviate from the fluff haha

Edit: Also, more on topic, it looks like Thursdays are our Cursed City preview day. I know they mentioned weekly teases, but never a specific day