Games Workshop: What is the Mystery Product?
Here’s our best guesses at the upcoming Warhammer Mystery Product.
This Saturday GW is doing a big unveil. Take a look at the chart for the mystery:
The Known Knowns
First off we have the 5 verified game systems.
- Age of Sigmar
- Warhammer 40,000
- Kill Team
- Adeptus Titanicus
- Warhammer Underworlds
We have already seen the recent GW pics of the Lumineth and the Vampire, which are probably part of the Age of Sigmar section. Go Vampires! 40K still has Dark Angels, and Drukhari to get through, and a boatload of unreleased minis. These seminars are about new items though, so I expect more battletomes and codexes and a handful of minis. Kill Team, Underworlds, and Titanicus will get more minis and warbands to further expand the ranges.
The Known Unknowns
But the real question is the Mystery slot. Right off the bat – we know what it isn’t. It’s not any of the other five. In theory, it’s not any line that GW already makes. For example if it was a Blood Bowl release, they would just say so. So we are dealing with something totally new.
But with Games Workshop “totally new” is a slippery slope. Sure it could be something out of left field like Warhammer Underworlds was when Shadespire arrived. But those tend to be rarities. Most often over that last decade, GW reaches back into their vast back-catalog and revives something from the days of yore. Here are some gems that Nottingham may be keen to revive:
Man O War
Back in the day GW used to have a full battle-on-the-high-seas game. Man-O-War was set in the Old World and covered all the various faction’s fleets. Also, note that 2020 was the year of naval games with multiple tabletop game companies putting out new ship-based games. From Mantic, to Warlord, and even more – players have lots of ship-based options out there. GW may want to get in on the action on the high seas while the market segment is hot. Of course, this would be set in the Age of Sigmar. On the other hand, the last time GW tried a naval game, Dreadfleet, it went to the bottom.
Mordheim
Ah, lost Mordheim. Effectively the Warhammer Fantasy counterpart to Necromunda. If Necromunda can be revived and brought to new heights, then a reimagined Mordheim can as well. With “The Old World” still years away, it would probably be set in The Mortal Realms. The real question is would GW consider Warhammer Underworlds and Warcry its descendants and not want to overly crowd the Age of Sigmar skirmish genre?
Battlefleet Gothic
Its time may be ripe. Battlefleet Gothic has been gone for a long time and the Grimdark can always use a new game. The old fleets were great, and the game was considered one of the most balanced and skill focused that GW ever made. There have been a successful pair of video games and GW may consider BFG to be the safer, less risky way to get into the naval game, leveraging their stronger 40K IP.
Warhammer Quest
Blackstone Fortress is now complete, which means GW can start another Warhammer Quest boxed game. We previously had Silver tower and Hammerhal, so GW is perhaps planning the 4th title in this line.
EPIC
Adeptus Titanicus and Aeronautica have already laid the groundwork for a relaunch of EPIC. You need a handful of starter factions (Marines, Chaos, Eldar, Orks) to add to the existing titans and planes. It would be grand – a grand scale battle game that is everything Apocalypse wants to be. The real question is would GW fear EPIC cannibalizing 40K interest, or can they make it different enough to stand on its own two feet?
I know which one I would want back the most. How about you?
