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As someone feeling severe 40k attrition, I'm interested to see what direction Fantasy takes. The ruleset, at present, seems a lot more balanced, and I'm curious to see if they'll make it as insane, broken and decidedly un-fun as 40k is becoming.

After all, I just bought 120 Old Guard Grenadiers to make up an Empire army for $90, because I'll be sooner dead than caught paying $35 for those awful State Troops.

Hang on here. A rumor monger with a good track record says new WH edition and a Brets/Undead starter is happening at the same time? And prior to 2015?

For those wondering where the Father Gabe bit comes from, this is the original rumour posted on BoLS Wednesday -
http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2014/09/warhammer-fantasy-9th-out-of-nowhere.html

Latest 9th Edition Rumors by Father Gabe 9-3-2014

Just got some news from several sources concerning the strong possibility of 9th edition Warhammer Fantasy.

1) Coming tomorrow to a GW near you will be a series of new posters for in store advertisement for something BIG as the corporate email stated.
2) Some GW stores are finding Island of Blood sets are being zeroed out of their system for restock. Similar when Dark Vengeance happened to Assault on Black Reach.
3) This part is speculation: Bretonnians are going to be playing a big part in the Nagash saga in the beginning, it is believed the following is going to happen:

a) Pre-Order for 9th Edition will be Sept 13th (with special editions - standard new edition merchandising)
b) October will receive the new box edition (if standard releases from past is an indicator) which may contain Bretonnians and Undead.
c) Bretonnians will have a new Army book, model release following that, possibly into November before the Christmas packs roll in.
d) intermingled among these releases will be probably some filler models (repackaged Crom/Valten/etc.), army bundles, etc.

4) Not of speculation, though it must be considered rumor, I (and a few chosen) have personally seen new artwork by John Blanche for Bretonnians. Does this mean it will be in the new book? No idea, but sometimes his stuff is used for the sculptors to pull concept to model.

Or we could be really blindsided by everything and it be 25 new paints (not very likely), Dark Eldar (possible) or something ridiculous like a mass Hobbit release. GW likes to have a strong second quarter launch that will help carry through 3rd quarter (end of February).

Let Pretre know in the rumour tracker thread and never even thought to post here.....

Thats the same as the first post...

It will be interesting to see how Fantasy changes. Cue Lords of War? Well apart from Nagash.

Hmm, for my purposes a bit hit & miss. On the one hand, if the new starter is Brets vs Undead, there's a chance albeit a slim one we might finally see some new Zombie plastics, and even a limited number of monopose models is better than the current ancient and decrepit kit. I would say that failing new Zombies we would at least see plenty of cheapo skellies floating about on eBay which would be great for building Mordheim terrain, but I suspect the whole "Necromancy A-OK" thing with End Times/possibly 9th will push up the price for any rank&file undead the new starter were to include.

Looks like I'll also have to find some cash lying about to pick up the Island of Blood Skaven before that box vanishes, no chance I'm paying full price for models enough to make three distinct Skaven warbands.

My brother has been reading the Nagash stuff- the Old World is going completely nuts. The 'fluff' is now awesome! I'll not go into it for spoilers sake but there is some seriously cool stuff going on.

I can not say how happy I would be with a Bret/Undead starter, my two favorite armies of which one is themed off of Bretonnian knights, thus giving lots of conversion possibilities.

Damn I hope this is true. BRING IT OOOOOOOOONNNNNN.

 Yodhrin wrote:
Hmm, for my purposes a bit hit & miss. On the one hand, if the new starter is Brets vs Undead, there's a chance albeit a slim one we might finally see some new Zombie plastics, and even a limited number of monopose models is better than the current ancient and decrepit kit. I would say that failing new Zombies we would at least see plenty of cheapo skellies floating about on eBay which would be great for building Mordheim terrain, but I suspect the whole "Necromancy A-OK" thing with End Times/possibly 9th will push up the price for any rank&file undead the new starter were to include.

Looks like I'll also have to find some cash lying about to pick up the Island of Blood Skaven before that box vanishes, no chance I'm paying full price for models enough to make three distinct Skaven warbands.

You want new and/or cheap Zombies....how about Minions upcoming KS, 192 multi part hard plastic zombies for an excellent price.

 angelofvengeance wrote:
My brother has been reading the Nagash stuff- the Old World is going completely nuts. The 'fluff' is now awesome! I'll not go into it for spoilers sake but there is some seriously cool stuff going on.

Any changes for G&O?

That or you could buy Mantic's KoW zombies. I hear good things about that kit. Or check out some of Heresy Miniatures zombies- £6 for 4 zombies. They're excellent.

BoLS does have a new one up-
http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2014/09/fantasy-9th-latest-scoop.html

via Tozudos a Dieces 9-4-2014

Regarding rumors of 9th Edition:

Original Spanish:
Junto a esto, Maelström en MB nos ha añadido algunas cosas:

a 16 días, puedo aseguraros que hay algo de Fantasy gordo para el 20th de Septiembre.

Algunos dirán, nueva edición.... yo digo no. Va a ser relacionado con el "Aniversario- Fin de los Tiempos"
Algunos dirán, minuaturas grandes o cajas chulas de personajes y ediciones limitadas.... yo digo es posible.
Algunos dirán, "caja de inicio del fin de warhammer (menuda contradicción jajaja)... con dos o más ejercitos enfrentados... Yo digo muy posible.
Algunos dirán que viene Bretonia... yo creo que viene algo pero lo gordo en 2015.

Un saludo y preparad las billeteras (los que aún tengais algo).

Translated English:
Alongside this, in MB Maelström we added a few things:

in 16 days , I can assure you that there is something big fantasy for September 20th .

Some will say , new edition .... I say no. It will be linked to the " End Times Anniversary- "
Some will say , big or cool boxes minuaturas characters and limited editions .... I say you can.
Some will say , "box to start warhammer (what a contradiction lol ) ... with two or more opposing armies ... I say very possible.
Some say it comes Bretonnia ... I think something is fat but in 2015 .

Greetings and prepare the wallets (if you still have anything left).

So not a new edition.

That's too bad if true. Steadfast and Horde have changed the game to require huge blocks of infantry. WHFB needs a new edition to mitigate that so the cost to participate isn't so prohibitive. I just don't see how people can invest in a 2000 point army without that army being featured in the starter set.

If Steadfast and Horde were gone, and GW removed the stupid percentage system and went back to the unit limit from 7th, I'd be painting my Vampire Counts right now and figuring out a way to get Nagash.

Instead they're in a box.

 -Loki- wrote:
If Steadfast and Horde were gone, and GW removed the stupid percentage system and went back to the unit limit from 7th, I'd be painting my Vampire Counts right now and figuring out a way to get Nagash.

Instead they're in a box.

I will agree that steadfast needs adjusted....they could fix it simply saying that if ranks are negated (i.e. flank charge), this also negates steadfast. The rest you said sounds like you want them to destroy the game the way they did 40K.

 quickfuze wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:
If Steadfast and Horde were gone, and GW removed the stupid percentage system and went back to the unit limit from 7th, I'd be painting my Vampire Counts right now and figuring out a way to get Nagash.

Instead they're in a box.

I will agree that steadfast needs adjusted....they could fix it simply by removing it. The rest you said sounds like you want them to fix the game.

Fixed your post.

In all seriousness, though, WHFB was much more popular in my area during 7th than during 8th. It's possible price increases had an impact, but adding in Steadfast and Horde only compounded that problem. Suddenly, Warhammer turned into a game of attrition, and those that were unable or unwilling to buy lots of Core models were suddenly at a disadvantage. 7th edition was more of a tactical risk/reward system. MSU armies could work if done right, but could very easily blow up in your face. Now, it doesn't matter how many units pile into that massive horde of NIght Goblins or how many gobbos they kill, the NIght Goblins will still be taking its break test on a re-rollable 9.

They have no interest in "fixing" it .. if they even knew how. All they're going to do is create a ruleset that maximizes the amount of models you must buy, not because you like the game but because you have to play.

I imagine we'll see unrestricted allies similar to storm of magic, a big lord choice as a separate part of the army list creation system, less choices, more cost and totally janky rules. Oh! Almost forgot, we'll see LOTS AND LOTS of books to spend your money on.

8th could have been great if they kept 7th ed and just reworked magic.

 Kirasu wrote:
They have no interest in "fixing" it .. if they even knew how. All they're going to do is create a ruleset that maximizes the amount of models you must buy, not because you like the game but because you have to play.

I imagine we'll see unrestricted allies similar to storm of magic, a big lord choice as a separate part of the army list creation system, less choices, more cost and totally janky rules. Oh! Almost forgot, we'll see LOTS AND LOTS of books to spend your money on.

8th could have been great if they kept 7th ed and just reworked magic.

I really think people have rose tinted glasses on when they speak of 7th edition fantasy.

8th needs a few tweaks, for sure. But saying its inferior to 7th just boggles my mind.

BoLS posted this credited to Harry

You may remember last year I was being very vague about some 'radical changes' in a thread about 9th edition.

Back at the start of the year, in one of my first posts of the new year I said this:

I don't think they are trying to destroy it.
I suspect they will be trying their hardest to breath new life into it.
We are not seeing the "End times" for Warhammer just yet.

Did you see what I did there?
The clues are always there fellas.

So I first heard about all this last autumn?
I was told 2014 would be "Year zero" for Warhammer.

Had no idea what that meant at first but if you Google your way to the wikipedia you get this:

The term Year Zero, applied to the takeover of Cambodia in April 1975 by the Khmer Rouge, is an analogy to the Year One of the French Revolutionary Calendar. During the French Revolution, after the abolition of the French monarchy (September 20, 1792), the National Convention instituted a new calendar and declared the beginning of the Year I. The Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh was rapidly followed by a series of drastic revolutionary de-industrialization policies resulting in a death toll that vastly exceeded that of the French Reign of Terror.

The idea behind Year Zero is that all culture and traditions within a society must be completely destroyed or discarded and a new revolutionary culture must replace it, starting from scratch. All history of a nation or people before Year Zero is deemed largely irrelevant, as it will (as an ideal) be purged and replaced from the ground up.

It was made clear to me that this was what we were talking about for warhammer.
Everything that existed being completely destroyed (or discarded) and something new replacing it from scratch ... purged and replaced from the ground up.

I hinted in various posts that they would be getting rid of the existing timeline, the existing map, etc. (In an effort to soften the blow. )

I am going to get this a bit wrong because I honestly can't remember where I heard it but to confirm the three book rumour .... I did hear the "End times" were going to be spread over three books.

Nagash was the first, followed by Malekith followed by Glotkin

Good luck with that!







...You have to ask yourself .... What will remain of the world as we know it when it has been ravaged in turn by the Undead, the Dark Elves, Skaven, and Chaos?





...Whatever 9th is it will be set in the grimmest, darkest post apocalyptic Warhammer fantasy world yet.

You think I haven't had all the same thoughts being voiced on here?

I can't see them throwing out everything they have done either ... but the only way to own the IP is to loose all the generic Fantasy that other companies can copy ... normal Dwarves, Elves and sure as heck you have to get rid of the historical based human armies ... or you can go build an Empire or Bretonnian army from anyone's miniatures.
I can't see them getting rid of any armies either ... but they can not continue to support all of them so some of them have to go or some get mashed together.
I can't see them wanting to reduce the number of minis you need .... but if it costs too much to complete an army people don't even start an army ...so is it better to sell some minis for a scaled down game or no minis? Is it better to ramp up the Lords and monsters allowance and keep on selling the big kits so an army is 'more tanks and less infantry' and thus less minis and easier to paint .... or sell no minis.
Simple fact is so many people have so many armies now unless they do something drastic with the look of the armies no-one is buying enough minis. The only way to force folks to buy new stuff is if we cannot use our current stuff. Some folks may refuse to buy the new stuff on principal ..... what do they care? They were not buying the stuff anyway as they already had their army. Imagine how badly Fantasy must be selling compared to 40K if anyone even thought about knocking it on the head for even a moment .... they must be thinking .... it can't make things any worse!!! What have we got to loose??? But if they are doing this why even bother completing 8th edition? Why do all the books?

I have been around and around with this in my head ..... the only thing that makes any sense to me at the end of the day is that 8th edition is complete enough and robust enough to endure a bit longer and 9th edition will not be a complete new edition of the rules .... but an alternative background and rules with which to play post End times battles but you still need the core rules to play A bit like all the stuff in Strom of Magic was an add on to the existing rules. The core rules and books will still exist for those that want to remain stuck in the timeline but if you want to be down with the cool kids you really need to buy the new post End Times stuff.

...Whatever 9th is it will be set in the grimmest, darkest post apocalyptic Warhammer fantasy world yet.

A reboot with flawed boot-sequence maybe...
Wouldn't bet on "post-apocalyptic worlds" as a selling point. There are so many of them.
Seems I have to follow the c ( o ) urse of WHFB a bit closer this year.

or they just have a reset button with a Slann Mage Lord rewinding time /events and then having lunch

 1hadhq wrote:

...Whatever 9th is it will be set in the grimmest, darkest post apocalyptic Warhammer fantasy world yet.

I was just about to quote that part too.

It all sounds so...

...awful.

And not like something I'll be interested in playing - or paying for.

So it looks like, rather than "9th" being the 'Rebirth of WFB' (for me), instead, it truly is the "End Times" - again, for me and WFB!

It isn't the fluff that needs reworking in WHFB. The current rule set requires high model count armies. It's simply too expensive a game to get into anymore.

I'm a bit surprised to see the (potential) advance in the timeline not being what people seem to want

(although I can see the loss of a favourite faction may hurt)

especially since that seems to be a major complaint in 40K, the clock never ticks

This here:

 Breotan wrote:
It isn't the fluff that needs reworking in WHFB. The current rule set requires high model count armies. It's simply too expensive a game to get into anymore.

Is my biggest problem with WFB.

Combined with some daft rules changes from 7th to 8th...

And yes, I know GW exists to sell miniatures - it is just that they're trying to sell too many, at too high prices.

I'm all for the clock moving forward though!

I'll just read the spoilers here, rather then spending any more money on it.

Maybe! These are still just rumors after all!

Year Zero sounds to radical and I doubt GW will be interested in something like that. Some supplements or more books yeah, rejecting totally prev edition, no way.

As for the state of WFB, we have been saying here for years that we need smaller games model wise as a starting point, again I do not see it happening.

Truth be told the models plastic wise have been a hit and miss as always, but the quality level has been increasing, I know I know, some look like action figures toys but many don't and those are brilliant.

I'm strongly collecting my O&G more than ever but Im no player so I kind of don't feel the hit as much as most.

Fluff wise the apocalyptic thing would be a bad move we need less skulls and death and more humour.

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
I'm a bit surprised to see the (potential) advance in the timeline not being what people seem to want

(although I can see the loss of a favourite faction may hurt)

especially since that seems to be a major complaint in 40K, the clock never ticks

And for a lot of us that's a feature, not a bug.

If I wanted to have a story dictated to me I would read a book or watch a film, what I want out of an RPG or a tabletop game is a setting within which I can tell my own stories. That can be done in a setting with an advancing timeline, but not if the "present day" amounts to "everyone and everything is balanced on a knife-edge and the tiniest slip will bring the whole thing tumbling down", because self-evidently the only possible outcome of advancing the timeline is that everything will come tumbling down. Now if you only play the game for the game that doesn't matter, or if you actively disliked the state of the "present day" in the setting it doesn't matter, but if you quite enjoyed playing fantasy-Landsknecht with a touch of steampunk, or if you enjoyed playing WHFRP campaigns in Kislev, or if you spent ages modelling a themed army around a specific character that gets killed-off, an advancing timeline is a pretty big and unattractive deal.

Although the "historical" armies and factions / characters remain playable currently?

I still miss my dedciated Lahnmiran list

It depends how they're going to reboot it. Look at the rebooted Star Trek - everything essentially the same, but with everything to play for. Look at the New 52 for DC - same basic elements, but everything a lot fresher and newer, and to a certain extent, with more possibilities.
I don't think rebooting the Warhammer world would be such a bad move, but to do it with End of Times, I'm not so sure about. The problem with Chaos and/or Undead winning is that it's going to be very hard to come back from there. Yes, I know there's a lot to be said for grimdark and all that, but it's a fairly narrow perspective.
I'd be totally into a fresher take on the world, with a heightened political atmosphere that held the potential for balance-changing battles and wars. Why shouldn't GW have a narrative plan for the world, and have yearly campaigns? Would that be a bad thing?