Break out the marshmallows – the Horns of Hashut are coming. This warband was first available in Warcry: Heart of Ghur and comprises 10 miniatures, including Ruinators, Demolishers – one of whom is armed with the deadly Flamehurler – and Shatterers. They’re also usable in Slaves to Darkness armies for Warhammer Age of Sigmar.** Rotmire Creed

Games Workshop recently dropped all sorts of teasers about the upcoming 2022 Christmas releases, including something spicy about battleforces!As I was going, I got to know the models. I began to learn their shapes and the patterns in their construction. Piecing together the Liberators was a brilliant confidence-building exercise for a brand-new hobbyist like I was – the models in the Start Collecting! kits are not as idiot-proof as the push-fit miniatures and are assembled with glue, which allows for just enough variable options to give the newly-initiated the freedom they need to make their first units their own. More 2022 Christmas AoS Battleforces than ever before are here, as GW revealed seven new boxes instead of the normal four! White Dwarf issues 320 and 321 get added to the Warhammer Vault this week – perfect reading with a hot beverage.

The design of the minis found in the Stormcast Eternals Thunderstrike box is, as discussed above, underrated. Whilst more experienced painters looking to add to their collections, as well as die-hard Old World fans, may see as the models’ weaknesses, are the faction’s strengths for the newbie: the fact each model is so straightforward in its design and similar to the next means that they are the perfect range for the newcomer, whilst simultaneously the skilled hobbyist can create some truly incredible conversions, and in a truly talented pair of hands, even the unassuming Sequitor can become a thing of true beauty – take a look at Longleaf Miniatures’ incredible Dark Souls-inspired Lion-Knights of Sigmar.Obviously, some repeat SM (some flavor of Marine), Chaos (of sorts), and Xenos. However, this year there somehow isn’t a single Xenos faction included… The fact these models have been chosen for inclusion is clever: the familiar Liberator shape transfers from model to model, but the handful of small differences from unit to unit keeps challenging the novice builder and requires slightly more thought each time – but is never so much as to be intimidatingly difficult. For a beginner, confidence grows with each successful model built, and before long, and without too much trouble, you’ll have eighteen warriors ready for a splash of colour. Stormcast Eternals: Thunderstrike Brotherhood – Painting Now we end the list with the low point of the christmas battleforces. The Stromdrakes and Annihilators are both tempting, but there are much better options in the Stormcast range than the other models on this list. Despite the savings I’d give this one a miss, buy the decent units separately and spend the remaining money on more competitive models. The reason for this is the aforementioned familiarity in the design of the models – that source of such ire for some – and those models included in this box (a Lord-Celestant on Dracoth, a Lord-Relictor, three Prosecutors, three Retributors, and 10 Liberators, including two Liberator-Primes) take full advantage of this, as we shall see. Stormcast Eternals: Thunderstrike Brotherhood – Points

Thanks to Warhammer Community we know there are seven new Battleforces for Age of Sigmar! This is huge because starting in 2016, there were only eight battleforces altogether for both AoS and Warhammer 40k total!

When it comes to painting, there is nothing better to start with than a Liberator: easy shapes, few colours, familiar textures, and just enough details on the shields and shoulderpads to begin honing those finer painting skills. The models are just detailed enough to be a challenge, yet not so detailed as to be intimidating – and this is where the beauty of the box and the genius of the Stormcast Eternal faction really begins to shine. The Holiday Battleforce Boxes are always a good time of year for Warhammer fans. This year, GW is releasing 7 boxes for Age of Sigmar and, quite frankly, we’d be pleased if we got any of these under our Christmas Tree. However, there are some boxes we’d be more excited to see than other. We do have favorites — and they aren’t based on the current win/loss ratio from the Metawatch. Based purely on which ones get us most excited this is our list from least excited to most hyped. Age of Sigmar Battleforce Boxes Ranked

Obviously, there were some rumors disproven about what armies will actually be included for Battleforces in 2022, but there’s plenty to see now for what is coming this year for Christmas! Through laughter and carbonated tears, he informed me that Stormcast Eternals were, without doubt, the most boring faction to build and paint ever created by Games Workshop. “They’re all just so dull!” he said, before telling me to stop wasting my time and to get something interesting and fun like Kharadon Overlords or, better yet, scrap Age of Sigmar altogether and buy some 40K stuff instead. When I told a Seraphon-collecting friend of mine I was planning on getting some of the God-King’s finest, he simply looked at me like I was an idiot.Remember previously, there are generally only four boxes for AoS, so getting seven is really awesome even though it’s still one less than 40k!