Warhammer 40K: Aeldari Phoenix Lords Up Close
We’ve got the Aeldari Phoenix Lords for Warhammer 40,000 built and in the studio! Let’s take a closer look at them together.
The Aeldari Codex is releasing right around the corner and they are going up for pre-order this weekend. Games Workshop sent us some of the miniature and we’re going to be taking a look at them in their bare plastic form right now. This one is quite pic-heavy so let’s dive in.
Asurmen – Dire Avengers
Fittingly, up first we have Asurmen. While his Dire Avengers have been in plastic for what seems like an eternity, his new plastic kit is finally arriving. Personally, I really like this update quite a bit. While it’s not super flashy it is a nice up-scale of the previous miniature. Plus it’s got a lot of call backs to the old metal version and I appreciate a good nod to a classic.
Baharroth – Swooping Hawks
Okay, full disclosure: I’ve never been a fan of the Swooping Hawks. I know, I know. It’s just they never really impressed me with the rules. But now? Well I think that the models look great. Baharroth got quite the glow-up and he’s dropping in at the same time as his unit’s plastic kit. This seems like a great 1-2 combo if you’re in the market for adding the Swooping Hawks to your Aeldari collection…like I’m considering myself!
Plastic Swooping Hawks
I do like the new Swooping Hawks as well. I just kind of wish they weren’t all on those “tactical ruins.” But hey, I’ll take those over flight stands any day of the week. Their redesign is nice and I think the community at large is going to have a lot of fun with this unit when they get their hands on them.
Fuegan – Fire Dragons
Fuegan and the Fire Dragons sounds like my high school band name. Regardless, I still think this is another excellent glow-up. I’ve been a big fan of Fuegan and the Fire Dragons for a long time and their metal models have served me well. But I’m looking forward to swapping over to plastic. Once again, I also love all the call-outs to his old model. I also really like his banner and think that’s going to bring a lot of character to the model once it’s painted.
Plastic Fire Dragons
I think the plastic update for the Fire Dragons is a home run. They are basically in the same poses as the metal versions only slightly larger and in plastic now. Which I don’t mind one bit! What I wrote about Fuegan applies to these miniatures, too. Well done GW. I can’t wait to drop them out of a Wave Serpent and unleash dragon’s fire on everything and everyone in the countryside.
Lyhkhis – Warp Spiders
This is really the first “new” miniature from this batch. Lyhkhis is a completely new design in terms of character. I think GW captured the essence of the Warp Spider and turned that into an appropriate Phoenix Lord. She’s been a long time coming and now she’s here. I think this is going to be a very popular kit with the revamped Warp Spiders, too.
Plastic Warp Spider
The new Warp Spiders in plastic are finally due to arrive! They look a lot like the metal kit — but just in plastic now. Plus they have more tubing and details. I like the extra doodads GW added and the warp lightning addons are neat. Again, GW nailed it with this update.
With all these kits I’m excited for the Aeldari wave. I will say that if you have the old metal versions you should 100% keep using them if you want. However, if you’re like me, you probably painted them YEARS ago and have probably improved quite a bit in your own painting skill (I know I have). So I’m looking forward to these simply because it affords me the opportunity to update my army with some fresh paint jobs and new sculpts. But you do you!
What do you think of the new Phoenix Lords and their respective units?
