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Gonna be a good deal more than that.

Look at the Heavy and Special Weapon sets.

Special we get 10 each Flamer, Plasma, Melta, Rotor, Ickle Volkite, Chunky Volkite.

The others we get either 10 or 20 multipart Heavy Weapons with broad themes per set.

And the Heavy Weapons come with an additional arm sprue, so the designers weren’t entirely tied to the form of the existing plastic troops.

I don’t think we’ll see Chainswords, as those are available in the Assault boxed set.

I’d expect separate arm sprue (more open poses), and the weapons to be in 10s. And that may extend to Boarding Shields. Though Breachers could be done as a 10 man squad, with two sprues of Dudes and one sprue of arms and shields.

I'm expecting an awesome melee kit. However, I feel it will be in a new box set with v3 in 2025, fitting it in the blank slot of the 3 year edition release cycles with 40k and AoS.
I hope I'm wrong.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
If we have to bet, 5 power swords and 1 of each other power weapon.

Winner, Winner, Heretic Dinner!

Ten swords with Imperial Fist bling and ten axes with Sons of Horus bling, and a power fist with optional backhand icon (eagle or eye).

 Fayric wrote:
Ten swords with Imperial Fist bling and ten axes with Sons of Horus bling, and a power fist with optional backhand icon (eagle or eye).

considering how much rubish IF got whilest other legions don't even have a praetor? Not as unlikely as it may seem.

I mean it's a generic weapons sprue so jokes aside, it's not going to have Imperial Fists iconography on it.

I would love for it to be a maximalist kit with bolt pistol and chainsword arms but given how mneh the command sprue was it probably won't be. But it's also not going to be legion specific (outside of MAYBE having bits that read to some of us like this or that legion, though I think the complains in that regard stemming from the command sprue were overblown).

If it has left and right handed bolt pistols that'll permit basic destroyer squads and you can user parts of other sprues for some options, but I don't expect more than that, with GW reserving the option to release a full destroyer squad or upgrade sprue way down the line.

Given that the Command Squad upgrade gives you what you would need to make the unit, I don't see what you mean.

All the upgrade kits so far have given enough to kit out a full unit with the weapons in each kit.
Special Weapons gives you literally all the weapons a Tactical Support Squad can take all x10.
Each of the Heavy Weapon boxes gives you x10 of multiple Heavy Weapon types in each box.
The Command Squad upgrade gives you fancy gubbins, extra swords, a banner with options, and fancier stickers to upgrade five models. The only thing I saw people complain about was that there weren't 10 fancy shoulder pads, which is ironic seeing as a lot of the same people complained that the new Praetor models were too fancy to be in HH.

The melee upgrades will be fine, people are just too doom and gloom to think otherwise.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Gonna be a good deal more than that.

Look at the Heavy and Special Weapon sets.

Special we get 10 each Flamer, Plasma, Melta, Rotor, Ickle Volkite, Chunky Volkite.

The others we get either 10 or 20 multipart Heavy Weapons with broad themes per set.

And the Heavy Weapons come with an additional arm sprue, so the designers weren’t entirely tied to the form of the existing plastic troops.

I don’t think we’ll see Chainswords, as those are available in the Assault boxed set.

I’d expect separate arm sprue (more open poses), and the weapons to be in 10s. And that may extend to Boarding Shields. Though Breachers could be done as a 10 man squad, with two sprues of Dudes and one sprue of arms and shields.

Ermm....I agree, if its going to be more than one kit. Remember, they have to cover both power and charnabel weapons, and various stragglers (Heavy chainswords say "Hi"). And, of course, things that can be taken in multiples, like lighting claws. If it's multiple kits, I have some hope. If it's only a single kit? Not a lot, honestly and depressingly.

Honest question as I’ve so far stuck to relatively bread and butter squads?

How many Charnabals and other non-standard/less common can you realistically field in an army?

For instance, my 20 count Assault Squad have the maximum of Sarge’s Toys (Twin Lightning Claws), 4 Powerswords and 4 Volkite Serpenta (last two sourced from Command sprue and Jetbikes kit).

As Dark Angels I could make those Power Weapons Terranic Swords, and I think Heavy Chainswords are likewise an option for all Assault Squads.

Given the existing Sprues cover 10 man squads, I feel the above question, and that observation, is a decent judgement point, as I’d expect one set to cover one squad at a time?

I think some legions like having whole veteran/command-level squads of the same fancy thing, but for most legions it's just the odd ornament?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Honest question as I’ve so far stuck to relatively bread and butter squads?

How many Charnabals and other non-standard/less common can you realistically field in an army?

For instance, my 20 count Assault Squad have the maximum of Sarge’s Toys (Twin Lightning Claws), 4 Powerswords and 4 Volkite Serpenta (last two sourced from Command sprue and Jetbikes kit).

As Dark Angels I could make those Power Weapons Terranic Swords, and I think Heavy Chainswords are likewise an option for all Assault Squads.

Given the existing Sprues cover 10 man squads, I feel the above question, and that observation, is a decent judgement point, as I’d expect one set to cover one squad at a time?

Depends on the army / unit.

Inductii and legion units are where it really gets messy. EC can outfit their entire Inductii squad with Charnabals, Space Wolves can give their full unit of Grey Hunters (I think that's the name?) power weapons if they'd like. Several legion elite units can take a power weapon on every single member, and some can even take fists on ever single member.

 Gert wrote:
Given that the Command Squad upgrade gives you what you would need to make the unit, I don't see what you mean.

...
The Command Squad upgrade gives you fancy gubbins, extra swords, a banner with options, and fancier stickers to upgrade five models. The only thing I saw people complain about was that there weren't 10 fancy shoulder pads, which is ironic seeing as a lot of the same people complained that the new Praetor models were too fancy to be in HH.

Command squads have six bolt pistol or combat weapon replacements each model in it can upgrade to, and the sprue has only two of those options, and that's before counting twin lightning claws or even looking at the bolter upgrades.

Almost like it was designed alongside the Melee Weapons kit that is going to give people all the stuff rather than parsing it out piecemeal in the Command Upgrade.

Whatever the reason for the delay both kits were clearly designed at the same time with close enough release windows.

The Melee Upgrades will be the same as the Special Weapon kit where you buy one or two and that's you sorted for your entire army.

 Gert wrote:
Almost like it was designed alongside the Melee Weapons kit that is going to give people all the stuff rather than parsing it out piecemeal in the Command Upgrade.

Whatever the reason for the delay both kits were clearly designed at the same time with close enough release windows.

The Melee Upgrades will be the same as the Special Weapon kit where you buy one or two and that's you sorted for your entire army.

That's moving goalposts. The Command Sprue does not have all the options for the command squad (even if we just limit it to close combat options which every model can take). It's all well and good that you're happy with the Command Sprue, but it's incorrect to pretend it covers all - or even most - options that a Command Squad can take, nor that it's even "what you need" to make one, since power swords are simply one option for them. Given the paucity of options on the Command Sprue - in contrast to the comprehensive options in the heavy and special weapons sets - the Melee Weapons could go either way.

Seeing as the only actual part needed to make 3 Mk3/6 Marines a "Command Squad" is the banner, anything else is extras if you really want to get specific about it. Why didn't the Command Upgrade come with X, Y, or Z? Because those things are already being released, and releasing double is a waste of time.
It's not moving the goalposts, the kit makes a Command Squad it just doesn't give you every possible option but none of the kits do, hence the other upgrades.

I agree with Gert.

The Command squad includes the banner, and various dressy bits to make that squad, and its members, stand out on the field as what it is. Not a small squad of Marines armed with fancy weapons, but a Command Squad.

To expect every single possible option seems, optimistic.

The Melee Weapons? We of course wait to see. We don’t know if it’ll contain one sprue of hitty sticks, or two. But it seems likely if it is two? It’ll be the same sprue twice, as that’s what we’ve seen from the Special Weapons and three Heavy Weapon sets.

Specific things I kind of expect to see?

1. Left handed Powerfist, with Lightning Claw bolt on. We have the right handed on the Squad Command sprue

2. Variant Power Sword/Charnabal Blade

3. Power Axe

4. Power Maul

5. Various pistols

How many of each? I honestly don’t know. I’m assuming the sprue size to match the Special/Heavy weapons, which given most melee weapons will be single piece, is quite a lot of room.

It's still the most aggressively bare-bones box they could have done, and I would argue that even disregarding weapons options, a Command Squad box without clearly distinguishable Artificer Armour is not WYSIWYG and is not fit for purpose to build a Command Squad, even if the two flags are very nice.

People don't get to complain that the newer HH models were too fancy then be annoyed the other new HH models aren't fancy enough.

Also Artificer Armour is common enough in the Heresy that every single Sergeant can take it, it does not have to be gilded to the high heavens.

I guess they do this so anyone who wants (for example) a command squad is paying about... £40 instead of the base £31, because really they need a weapons sprue. It makes the cost seem lower than it actually is, and presumably makes them more money than having a more comprehensive kit and then charging more for it would.

...it's taken me until Friday to realise they missed Heresy Thursday again yesterday.

3 out of 4 missed in the "next month" following the NOVA Open previews - will they actually do one next week?

 Gert wrote:
People don't get to complain that the newer HH models were too fancy then be annoyed the other new HH models aren't fancy enough.

I agree you can't please everyone and someone will complain either way, but I don't think you can quote me personally saying there is too much bling?

Also Artificer Armour is common enough in the Heresy that every single Sergeant can take it, it does not have to be gilded to the high heavens.

Invisible 2+ saves in Tactical Squads break visual lore-accuracy and gameplay WYSIWYG too, you can't excuse a wrong with another instance of the same wrong. But the wrong in the Tactical Squad is a player choosing to not represent an optional upgrade (and I'm totally fine with not all upgrades being in the box!), the wrong in the Command Squad is GW themselves choosing to not represent mandatory equipment on the whole unit and to not provide lore accurate sculpts (we know from Praetors, legion unique elite units etc that important people wear custom suits in 30k all the time, you're not gonna convince me an honour guard will wear superpowered epic tier power armour and choose to make it visually identical to an Inductii's, even if it is somehow possible to engineer it that way and hide all the extra plating and stuff)

 Dysartes wrote:
...it's taken me until Friday to realise they missed Heresy Thursday again yesterday.

3 out of 4 missed in the "next month" following the NOVA Open previews - will they actually do one next week?

Yeah, I realized this yesterday evening already and was surprised noone commented on it here, seeing the talks I thought they had given a glimpse of the CC weapons

Well now, with the Mechanicum Big Box for Legions Imperialis leaked? We can put some coal in the Predict-O-Matic, and set the dial to “reasonable, informed prediction” as to what the Red Robed Plug Botherers might be about to welcome in 28mm Plastic.

Specifically…..Ursarax (best hugs in the galaxy, pre-Carnifex), Arlatax (their first sculpt in in Epic scale), Vorax, Myrmidion Destructors and the other ones, Vultarax.

Hopefully the Predict-O-Matic will prove reliable, and this should tick a lot of Machine Worshipper’s boxes.

Probably yeah.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Well now, with the Mechanicum Big Box for Legions Imperialis leaked? We can put some coal in the Predict-O-Matic, and set the dial to “reasonable, informed prediction” as to what the Red Robed Plug Botherers might be about to welcome in 28mm Plastic.

Specifically…..Ursarax (best hugs in the galaxy, pre-Carnifex), Arlatax (their first sculpt in in Epic scale), Vorax, Myrmidion Destructors and the other ones, Vultarax.

Hopefully the Predict-O-Matic will prove reliable, and this should tick a lot of Machine Worshipper’s boxes.

Gosh, I hope we get all of them in HH scale. That would be amazing to see.

Kits wise, it’s really not that many either. And I suspect I’m not the only gamer out there for whom “that’s still a lot of resin, and I hate working with resin” currently put off considering a Mechanicum army.

The odd bit of resin here and there, special characters and upgrades? Those I’m largely OK with. But units really should be plastic if I’m to drop some cash.

Plastic magos on abeyant would be ace. 🤞🏻

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Kits wise, it’s really not that many either. And I suspect I’m not the only gamer out there for whom “that’s still a lot of resin, and I hate working with resin” currently put off considering a Mechanicum army.

The odd bit of resin here and there, special characters and upgrades? Those I’m largely OK with. But units really should be plastic if I’m to drop some cash.

I'm not opposed to resin but to GWs prices of resin kits.

Vultarax please! The flying potato sings to my soul