The Kharadron Overlords Soar Into Age Of Sigmar This Week
April 15, 2017 by brennon
Arriving in the world of Age of Sigmar this week we have the Kharadon Overlords from Games Workshop. If you're a fan of Dwarfs (Duardin sorry...) and steampunk then this could well be the faction for you to take a closer look at.
Kicking things off of course we have the new Order Battletome which will come with all of the rules inside for you to play out this army with their Warscrolls and a whole bunch of Battalions too allowing you to make themed forces.#
Additionally, you'll, of course, get your dose of background so you can find out exactly how this faction fit into the wider world of the Mortal Realms.
Lead The Way
At the head of your army, you have the Arkanaut Admiral who strides into battle with his skalfhammer (which just sounds awesome on its own right?).
"An Arkanaut Admiral is the leader of an airfleet. An Admiral does not have a ship of his own, as each ship has a Captain at the wheel, but will nominate one craft as his flagship.
It takes success and tremendous profit for a duardin to catapult themselves into the upper echelons of the airfleets, and individuals that have done so are battle-scarred veterans that have seen countless wars, boarding actions and aerial bombardments."
This was one of the models that immediately drew me to this force. I wasn't too sure on the whole aesthetic of the Kharadon Overlords but this fellow in his massive suit of armour and rather ornate looking beard hit the spot. I think they'd be awesome to work on with plenty of drybrushing and grease!
There are a few more characters to look forward to as well like this fellow...
...and who could really resist a fellow flying around on magically powered ballons with a top hat on?
Crew To Me!
Manning the different ships that the Kharadons bring to the tabletop we also have the mainstay of their force with the Arkanaut Company.
This group of Duardin come with a selection of melee options for the tabletop as well as some powerful ranged weapons too. Who could pass up a steampunk/magical mini-gun?
"When it comes to feet on the ground, the Arkanaut Companies form the Kharadron Overlords’ main fighting forces.
Descending swiftly via a Frigate’s grav-ladders or suspension ropes, an Arkanaut Company can deploy rapidly into the fray."
All of the equipment sounds rather Sci-Fi to me which is really odd but I suppose it fits into the zanier and off the wall nature of the Age of Sigmar. When you see artwork like this as well you get a real sense of this more over-the-top Fantasy nature on show in the Mortal Realms.
They certainly mesh more with the design of the Stormcast Eternal and the other factions in the game more than they did.
Stop Putting Holes In My Ship!
A good set of sky-duadrin need themselves a ship to pilot and that's where the kit for the Arkanaut Frigate comes into play.
"The Arkanaut Frigate represents centuries of refinement by the shipwrights of the Endrineers Guild. In its design, a balance was struck between speed, transport capacity and firepower to create a versatile craft that could serve as the mainstay for the airfleets.
With its sleek hull and powerful buoyancy endrin, the Arkanaut Frigate is fast and powerful enough to escape the gravitational drag of a density hole, while retaining enough firepower to level a city should the need arise."
This was what also won over a lot of people when it came to the new faction of Duardin in Age of Sigmar. The ship designs are looking really fun and they could be fantastic when arrayed on the tabletop, a full flotilla drifting towards the enemy with guns blazing away.
The real question is, are you going to getting in on the Kharadron Overlord army right now?
Let us know below!
"At the head of your army, you have the Arkanaut Admiral who strides into battle with his skalfhammer..."
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I have gad the money put aside for this for almost a month. I am all over this like a dose of syphilis. Ohh and I got free cards .. yay me … *sings happilly to self “dwarfs .. dwarfs .. dwarfs .. dwarfs .. dwarfs .. dwarfs” ..heeeee heeeeee
Of course it’s far too much to hope for but, but it’s not a million miles away to hope that these fine dwarfs transition themselves into Squats in the new 40k ruleset. I miss squats.
They may do that if demand is high.
Not something I can see happening. There’s a lot of nostalgia for Squats but how much of that would turn into actual army purchases? Especially when you factor out the inevitable “these are crap/overpriced compared to the old ones” section. It’s also hard to see where they’d fit in the current game. What can they offer that none of the factions we have don’t already
I think the only opportunity to re-introduce them was the recent Imperial Agents book. A small specialist force designed to work in tandem with other detachments.
I also don’t see GW bringing back Squats since those were only thing back in Rogue Trader. Besides if some one wants something similar they can play Forge Fathers in Warpath since these days there is that option as well.
@tresillian you and me both mate, you and me both.
er @tresilliian ….. the double L double I screwed me over a bit … sorry 🙁
Squats are highly unlikely to feature in 40k ever again and they were written out because GW didn’t really know what to do with them. In some respects, they’re a bit like Sisters of Battle in that they don’t offer anything that isn’t already covered by an existing army. Heavy armoured and elite? Space Marines Lots of tanks machines of war? Imperial Guard Weird Tech weapons and gear? Adeptus Mechanicus Ultra hi-tech weapons and gear? Tau 40k already has so many armies that there’s nowhere for them to really fit in and unlike Sisters of Battle, they don’t have an… Read more »
………. “Squats are Short fat guys” ………………………. >:-( ……………….. Only the fact that like you is saving from an entry in Dammez Kron young man………… *mutters “short fat guys” …….. 😉
Not sure that the comically sexualized power armour appeals to all progressives… But whatever. I think the argument for squats is the same, and at least as strong. Some people really like dwarves. There used to be dwarves in 40K but there aren’t any more. If there are people who like space dwarves, then there’s a market for bringing squats back, even if they rename them. Finally, if they look good enough, they don’t even need to play very differently to another army. People don’t seem to get bored of the different varieties of marine. I think 40K could fit… Read more »
Some people do like Dwarves and yet they’re not massively popular in other Sci Fi settings. Don’t forget 40k grew out of GW making conversion parts for fantasy models which is why they existed in the first place. They got written out because GW didn’t really know where to go with them (I’m sure that someone from GW, someone official, has even said as much). I suspect the market of hardcore Squats fans is much smaller than the internet would have you believe (i.e. people who will buy them purely for being Squats), they won’t sell to anyone else if… Read more »
You seem to have forgotten the prayer / faith mechanic that Sisters used to have with regards to what made them unique.
Being power armoured guardsmen with a thing for flamers also added to them being distinct and unlike any other faction I’ve played in previous editions as well.
And yeah having more models that are female isn’t a bad thing either with regards to making the hobby more appealing.
There’s plenty if design space for squats or Deimurg (whatever they are called) and plenty of ways to test their popularity before committing to a full faction release
Heavily armoured and slightly more well trained than guardsmen. You mean like Tempestus Scions (who can also have flamers)? The Flamers obsession only makes them more of a sub-faction of something else rather than something truly unique (much like the Salamanders and their obsession with heat based weapons makes them a sub-faction of Space Marines). I think GW need to do a lot of thinking with the SoBs. Squats are gone for good.
Again the unique standout thing SoB used to have was the prayer / faith mechanic. Combined with the other things that made up the faction and how it preferred to fight, it used to be very unique.
There isn’t a reason to think that if SoBs were revisited that it wouldn’t be hard to make them different enough to other armies.
GW have managed to come up with new factions in aos that play very differently; no reason to believe it can’t be replicated in the framework the new edition of 40k
Already preordered the battletome and the frigate. Was going to buy the lot but have to get through more painting first.
Looks like they’ve bumped up the amount of cards they have available with the battletome as they are still included on the Australian website. Normally they sold out in 10 mins.
Yes Mate I got the cards at the 15 minute mark …as you say normally free-bees are gone if you are 5 minutes too late
Went the full pre-order, dwarfs and steampunk, pushed all the right buttons for me.
Good Man …..Respect ….. 😉
Would the return of the movement stat allow Squats back into WH40k?
Back to these minis, Dwarfs, AoS, bit weird-looking. I ought to hate these, yet I rather like them. I guess I’m a sucker for an airship.
As much as I think the models are technically very good, and the airship hulls are excellent (not a fan of metal balloons) they just don’t feel ‘dwarfy’ to me. If you could see actual beard and flesh I think it would add a lot of character.
I want these, badly! They will be my reward, once I’ve painted the AoS base game armies.
May you get your reward Sir.
These are better than previous dwarf release for AoS (those Slayers) but these don’t really have that dwarf look from Oldhammer and Blood Bowl that I like. Even WMH dwarves would tell these ones to tone down steam punk design.
they look good and more steampunk than medieval to me.
As to the Admiral… its a dorf in power ermer with a blunder hammer and bolt pistel
I’m kind of liking the new “High Fantasy” look that Age of Sigmar is going for. These Dwarfs look like they could have fallen straight out of the D&D Eberron setting. Can’t wait to see some of the other forces of order factions because I think that’s where the most significant changes in style will be
See that is far nicer … 😉
To be fair to me those are more steampunk than high fantasy. When I think high fantasy I think something like LotR or Forgotten Realms or even Oldhammer.
Lotr and Oldhammer are both very low fantasy. They’re essentially historical setting with some magic and a handful semi-mythical monsters thrown in. AoS is more high-fantasy as in spells that can make mountains walk, serpents that cover the sky, and chucking down demi-gots with lightning bolts. Less Iron Maiden and more Manowar.
@poks Lord of the Rings *is* high fantasy. I don’t mean it’s an example of high fantasy, I mean it *is* high fantasy. Tolkein defined the genre, and later commentators applied the term high fantasy to it. One of the things which defines high fantasy is that the protagonist is an ordinary person thrust into a situation in which they perform heroic deeds (in LotR it was Frodo). Their world and their experiences must feel grounded to the reader, even if they contain fantastical elements, and they must be relatable. Their companions can be extraordinary people with extraordinary abilities, but… Read more »
*missed out that the secondary world of AoS contains supernatural elements, which is another feature of high fantasy.
You will note my inclusion of quotes around the words “high fantasy” to denote what I am saying is not necessarily what the dictionary might describe as high fantasy. I could have easily used the words “magic punk” except I think I hate that description as much as I hate the words “steam punk” when there is very little about them that is in fact punk. What I am trying to refer to by the words “high fantasy” is the level of magic that is present in the world. Middle Earth has magic but it is not especially prevalent (although… Read more »
My reply was to @poks only 🙂
My reply was a sort of general response taking in things that everyone had said and trying to offer a better term for what I was trying to describe. I’m probably going to stick with “high magic” from now on.
Does anyone else think they’re over-egging the Arkonaut Frigate’s pudding a bit with “enough firepower to level a city should the need arise”? Surely that should resolve most battles fairly quickly? it also doesn’t look like it’s carrying enough fire power to level a city, unless those cannons are firing nukes…
Yes it sounds exaggerated but then GW’s unit description always were along the lines of them beiing the best of the best a d beating everyone else even before having breakfeast. And may e the weapons are really that strong because their enemeis are just really tough.
Didn’t someone in Star Trek TOS mention the Enterprise could easily level a city, which is also quite much but because everyone is more or less at the same level fights aren’t over in seconds.
I’m all for quick games but levelling a city in turn one might be just a little too quick.
“Sir, Enemy sighted”
“Fire”
“Sir, Enemy totally destroyed. Pub?”
“Pub”