Because DWARF STEAMPUNK REALMFARING PIRATE FLEETS!!!
I'm gonna open this by saying that I have not been this excited about a release since the Age of Sigmar Starter Box was dropped on us! Here we all were, minding our own business, when BAM! An album of photos appeared on the interwebs, and the online Sigmar community lost their minds!
Now, I'm going to touch on the community reaction a little before I talk about the actual release, because it surprised me. Typically, there were two very different responses.
#1: Complete, unmitigated joy accompanied by excessive drooling, maybe a few happy tears, and applying for pre-approved personal loans and selling of kidneys in anticipation of what will inevitably be an incredible release.
#2: Contempt and disgust that Age of Sigmar would pollute itself with 40k-style artwork, weaponry and design.
I was actually very surprised with the second reaction. People who had been crying out for Duardin to get some love, support for the rumoured "Steamheads", and general thirst for new models, seemed overnight to change their whole perspective to one of negativity and disappointment.
While I understand that this is not an army that I am emotionally invested in (as Dwarf players love nothing more than Dwarf stuff!), I see this as an incredible release. This isn't the Old World anymore; it's not a Tolkien-like medieval fantasy setting with castles and sieges and crossbows.
This is a high-fantasy setting that spans celestial planes and includes some of the more extreme fantasy elements such as realmgates and teleporting lightning warriors (to name a few).
Not only that, but the elements introduced, while extreme in some cases, are not new. Black-powder, steam-powered war machines, telescopes, airships and rockets have been around in the lore for quite some time, be it Dwarfs, Empire, etc. Gyrobombers and Gyrocopters got a new model in very much the same style, and they are beloved models by the Dwarf community. Grimm Burlokkson has a robotic arm and a pump-action shotgun, as well as a range finder built into his helmet.
I know some Duardin players don't like the new range, and that's ok. Not every release will appeal to everyone. If this is you, however, I would beseech you to be patient, read the Battletome, and keep your mind open to it. Who knows, it could change your mind and inspire you to dive in and start your own fleet to pillage and plunder across the realms! I get that Kharadon Overlords may not have been what you wanted, but that doesn't mean it's not something you can enjoy!
But I digress.
I think this release looks amazing! From what we have seen so far, there are plenty of characters, each with their own unique look, wargear, and (I assume) battlefield role. There are several units being released, ranging from pirate foot soldiers to heavy weapons experts and paratroopers drifting above the battlefield from great balloons. And then, the highlight models for me; the range of airships!!
On the table, I'm hoping that they are a relatively elite army, with their strength lying in durability and short-range firepower. I don't think this army will facilitate the "gun line" style of play. While Freeguild and Dispossessed have that playstyle down to a science, I think that the Overlords will actually have a lot of moving parts. Hopefully the learning curve is not too steep, and that they will be forgiving to new players, as this release has actually caught the attention of a lot of 40k players in my local area.
I'm interested to see what role the airships play in the army. Obviously, there are variants of the airship that will be dedicated to blowing stuff up with their batteries of cannons, but I would love to see airships with buffing and auras as their main focus, as well as a transport capacity or mechanic. I think this is something we have not seen yet, but with summoning, tunnelling, teleporting and all manner of other movement tricks available to other forces, it seems only fair to give Overlords some way to traverse to table with a shred of haste and in relative safety...
Maybe. I can't imagine being on board an airship as it plummets to earth is going to be the most comfortable way to get from point A to point B.
All in all, I consider this to be a very, very solid release. The sheer variety in units and kits is exceptional, and they are so incredibly detailed! There are plenty of characters to choose from! The physical size of the models varies from foot soldiers all the way up to soaring centre piece models. It gives Order another presumably amazing faction to draw strength from.
It's also a significantly more comprehensive release than Fyreslayers. Duardin, rejoice!
So, the real question is "can I resist starting a new army of Duardin Pirates?".
The answer: Why would I want to resist!?
I'll be honest, I'm loving these guys, and I will be collecting a small army. These guys are enough to draw me to Order (no easy feat), but I'll probably start out with purchasing the Battletome and doing some research before I get too carried away. I planned out Pestilens in this way, and it gives me so much more direction painting up a specific list rather than buying and painting anything from the collection and cobbling together a list afterward.
Speaking of Pestilens, before I do get too carried away with Duardin, I have about 90 monks to paint before Overlords...
Are you jumping on board the hype-airship?
Thanks for reading,
Gabe
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