Age of Sigmar: How Cities of Sigmar Brings The ‘Mortal’ To The Mortal Realms
Games Workshop is talking shop about the design of the new Cities of Sigmar range and why these miniatures are so good.
For three editions now we’ve seen the Age of Sigmar expand and become its own take on the fantastical Mortal Realms. We’ve seen the arrival of the Stormcast Eternals, the revamp of several old armies, and quite a few brand new ones take shape. But somewhere along the way with all these news, larger-than-life heroes and villains GW set aside the “regular humans” who inhabit theses Mortal Realms. Until now…
‘Mortals’ Return To The Mortal Realms
Games Workshop has brought in a few member of the Miniatures Design team to talk shop about the new Cities of Sigmar miniatures. It’s an insightful look at the design philosophy of the the range. They talk the early days of the project and how the game itself had sort of drifted away from some of the more “human” aspects into the more fantastical elements. And how the Cities of Sigmar were back to correct that.
There’s two quotes in particular that I think really illustrate what GW was going for with the Cities of Sigmar range:
“Sam – Miniatures Design Manager: Fundamentally, the Age of Sigmar is very fantastical. Kharadron Overlords, Sylvaneth, and Daughters of Khaine and other factions all really lean into this but we realised over time that there were some fundamental archetypes that we had to address, and one of those was humans. They felt like the real lynchpin – this is needed, this will tie everything together.”
This first quote alludes to how fantastical the game has gotten. Age of Sigmar has certainly taken those non-human archetypes and really expanded and stretched them out to create a wonderful range of miniatures. But something was missing and I think this next quote really nails it on the head:
“Max – ’Eavy Metal Lead: Which is all very relatable. It’s something you touched on with the high fantasy element, but part of the appeal is that they are the counterpoint to that. Before, when you had a Stormcast Eternal next to an Ironjawz Brute you sort of lost the baseline. When you have a Freeguild Steelhelm next to a Brute you suddenly realise – oh, that orruk is huge. If you go too far into fantasy with your humans you lose that comparison point.”
And that’s what was missing. The “baseline” for all these miniatures was absent. Before these new Cities of Sigmar models, the baseline of what a “human” is compared to something like an Orruk was fuzzy at best. Having these “regular humans” and not just Stormcast Eternals next to a Orruk really showcases the size difference and what these normal people are up against.
There was also a conscious effort to make sure that these Cities of Sigmar models looked like they had been through the ringer. They wanted them to be downtrodden and dirty without actually having dirt on the model.
At the same time there was an not to make them “lowly peasants” because that would have been too far in the other direction. To avoid that aspect, they leaned harder into the “professionalism” of the army. I think they nailed the look they were going for.
If you’re interested in more info about the models and the range of the Cities of Sigmar I highly recommend you read the full WarCom article. There’s lots of great insights like the ones above to pull out from that.
Personally, I think the models are great but the rules aren’t my favorite. It’s not that the rules are bad — the army just doesn’t play in a way that I personally find enjoyable. I think there’s room for that in the Mortal Realms. Not every army has to appeal to every player based on the rules. I can appreciate (and even like) the models for what they are and not be interested in playing that army.
The Cities of Sigmar Army box is going up for pre-order very soon and will be your first crack at these models and their rules!
