Editorial: What’s Next For Age of Sigmar
Age of Sigmar is poised to make some big moves – So what’s next for Age of Sigmar?
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar had a rocky start. But after all those initial stumbles, it’s found it’s footing and the General’s Handbook has really solidified it’s standing. Love it or Hate it, the game isn’t going anywhere and as I’ve written about before it’s in a really good spot. Now I have another question – “What’s Next?”
The Grand Alliance collection is out and it’s complete. Every unit in the game is listed and easily accessible – either though these books, their battletomes or via the free app. The Age of Sigmar community has just come off a World Wide summer event that saw Order Win by a wide margin and for the first time in a long time the Warhammer Fantasy brand is looking rather hopeful from a lore perspective.
That’s the Face of Victory
But with all that – there are still quite a few loose ends that need wrapping up. So let’s talk about what’s possible for the next phase in the Age of Sigmar.
Faction Updates
Each faction has some room to grow – even the largest faction Chaos has room to expand. I’m going to touch on each one briefly just to give you an idea of what could be next.
AoS: Chaos
Chaos has really become two factions – Mortals and Demons. On top of that, it seems like the only Chaos faction getting any real attention lately has been Khorne. Anyone else getting a little burned out from all the Blood and Skulls? Well, we know Tzeentch is getting some love coming soon and they already have new Tzeentch plastics on ice so that is an easy next step. I want to see this army fully fleshed out:
And lets not forget about Papa Nurgle who’s been patiently waiting in the wings as his brother’s get all the attention. Just because he’s putrid and gross doesn’t mean he should be ignored. Nurgle LOVES hugs, kids.
He’s a big teddy bear, I promise. Ignore the smell.
The last thing I’d like to see them clear up for Chaos is the Slaanesh question. We’ve all seen the rumors and the theories – I’m not going to rehash that. I’m just wanting to get some answers regarding the role of Slaanesh and the Horned Rat:
Everyone remember this image, right? It’s in the Age of Sigmar book. So what gives? This is one mystery I hope they resolve soon.
AoS: Order
Order clearly dominated the Summer Campaign. I had theories as to why – but a win is a win. They deserve to get some cool need attention because of it and there is plenty of room for them to grow, too.
Where the heck are all the Aelfs!? We’ve heard jack and squat from the Aelfs since the launch of the game. No real info on aka High Elves or aka Dark Elves. Wood Elves got “upgraded” to their own faction of Sylvaneth so I won’t get into those.
I have a feeling that the rest of the “Aelfs” are wrapped up in a messy story line with Slaanesh. I don’t know what all is planned and this is all conjecture but that is the only thing that makes sense. But I do have some evidence to back it up:
Order should also explain what the heck is going on with the rest of the people that are known as “Free Peoples” – aka the Empire. These random mortals just sort of showed up and banded together to fight chaos and carve out a living within the new realms, I guess? I don’t know because the narrative I’ve read has been mainly from a Sigmarites vs Khorne view. It’s still very muddy to me.
AoS: Destruction
Orcs are now Orruks and they have some SWEET new models. They also got Ogors as part of their faction. Games Workshop, lets keep this ball rolling!
What about Squigs and the Goblins? You have that entire Nightgoblin range to work with – maybe you could exploit some more of that Goblin/Spider theme you have going. The Arachnarok Spider kit is one of the most impressive “Big Kits” you have, it just needs some new models around it to fill those Goblin ranks out.
AoS: Death
Talk about losing your steam – The Death Faction has been silent as the grave. Sure, sure, they got TONS of attention for the Endtimes event – I get that. They also have some amazing new models with Nagash, the Mortarch models, and the Morghasts…but have you flipped through the Grand Alliance: Death book? It’s pretty thin…It really needs some meat on them bones.
I’d love to see a new story arch about Nagash doing SOMETHING to the Order/Chaos forces. Death just doesn’t feel like a threat right now and the lack of attention to this faction isn’t helping sell any of those awesome kits. I mean, there are only so many ways you can “do” the undead in AoS…maybe they are just tapped out.
Looking Ahead
The foundations of Age of Simgar are set and honestly, for all the complaining, the game is in a good spot. All the factions are up-to-date and have a solid range of models. It’s kind of impressive if you think about it – every faction has cool leaders, solid infantry and at least one amazing “Big Kit” in their range. There are some faults and some gaps to be sure, but nothing that can’t be touched-up. I’m very curious to see where Games Workshop takes Age of Sigmar next.
If I had to guess, I’d guess that Slaanesh and Aelfs are going to be the next major arc after the Tzeentch wave hits. But who really knows? I just hope they don’t sit on the AoS Franchise silently for too long or it will fall off the radar in this fast paced world. There are too many competitors chipping away for Games Workshop to take a break. They made some good ground back but will they keep it? Time will tell.
What do you think the next steps are for Age of Sigmar?
