The Dark Prince Returns To Age Of Sigmar As Slaanesh Is Unleashed
March 28, 2019 by brennon
Wow, so it was a big night for Games Workshop at AdeptiCon. A lot of Age Of Sigmar news dropped so we're going to be taking a look at that today starting with the return of Slaanesh. The Hedonites Of Slaanesh herald the return of The Dark Prince and that means an entirely new and revamped Keeper Of Secrets.
This masterful new model takes a lot of inspiration from the previous iteration of the model but updates things a significant amount. There is a lot more alien grace given to the Keeper Of Secrets this time around and I think it stands out more. You could imagine it sauntering across the battlefield without a care in the world, scything down enemies with that elegant sword.
The Keeper Of Secrets is then flanked by allies, some returning and some new. For example, The Masque returns, ready to do her masters bidding.
She is then joined by some fascinating new creations which really draw on that idea of Slaanesh as this hedonistic cult, driven by ideas of subservience and domination.
Yes, as you can see, the previews so far have been pretty crazy! It's really awesome to see this other aspect of Chaos being brought back to the tabletop in such force. I think they've been able to really deliver in the idea of Slaanesh as this pleasure-loving daemon without having to result to titillation and, to be quite frank, boobs everywhere.
The choice of clothing, armour, weapons and of course their posing all goes towards helping to create that image rather than being cheap about it. Credit has to go to the Games Workshop sculptors for this one as it can't have been easy at all!
As will all of the new releases alongside the new Hedonites Of Slaanesh Battletome...
...we will also be seeing them work in some new Endless Spells for this daemonic force to use on the tabletop. No doubt all of these will be about confusing and misdirecting your enemies before slicing them apart.
As someone who has been a big lover of both Khorne and Slaanesh when it comes to my choice of Chaos Gods, I welcome the new additions to Age Of Sigmar. Hopefully, we'll get a better look at all of this in the coming weeks as we learn about the new units and of course the background surrounding the release of Slaanesh.
It seems like all of the crazy things going on in the Mortal Realms, especially Nagash's Necroquake, were able to shake the shackles free of this wild and dangerous daemon.
Forbidden Power Unleashed
Talking of the Necroquake it seems like this has unlocked something new for all of the factions to embrace in Forbidden Power.
Power, never meant to be used by mortals, was hidden away long ago by Sigmar and Teclis. Now, with the advent of the Necroquake and forces running wild across the realms these vaults have opened and in this next chapter of Soul Wars, they are becoming able to harness these powers.
EVERY faction is going to get access to spells that draw on the Realm Of Death. This (obviously) has pretty big ramifications for all involved, especially Sigmar and the forces of Order. It will be fascinating to see how the story now unfolds following on from Soul Wars and what's next for the Mortal Realms.
The Fires Of The Forge
Another new Battletome is on the way soon for the forces of Order too. The Fyreslayers are getting an updated book packed with tweaked rules and of course the introduction of new Magmic Invocations (Endless Spells).
The new Battletome will continue the story of the Fyreslayers, bringing their storyline with the events of Soul Wars and how their quest for ur-gold brought them into the conflict.
As mentioned above, this means the introduction of spells which bring creatures like this freckin' magic salamander to the tabletop!
You'll also find new terrain thrown into the ring including this mighty forge which is no doubt there to help imbue your warriors with power as they battle across the Mortal Realms.
I don't think I'm really still sold on the idea of the Fyreslayers as an army. I like the option to field an entire army of slayers but I think they might work well alongside some more of their Duardin allies, be they the Kharadron Overlords or even the regular Duardin who joined Sigmar in Azyrheim. Either way, this will offer up fun new projects for many!
Fortune Hunters
Talking of other Duardian, a new warband has been added into the mix for Warhammer Underworlds. Thundrik's Profiteers are hunting for treasures and more!
It's neat to see more of these privateers and adventurers getting a run out on the tabletop.
I can imagine this is going to be a heavily ranged theme warband (durr...look at all the guns) which should make for a very different warband to play in Warhammer Underworlds.
Flora Vs Fungus?
We also got teased with some news that Looncurse is on the way.
No-one is entirely sure what this is just yet but it seems to be pitting the Grots of this world against the wilderness itself. Perhaps we could see a new boxed game featuring Slyvaneth versus the Gloomspite Gitz?
Warcry - Iron Golem Tribe Revealed & NINE Non-Chaos Factions
Phew, and as if that wasn't enough the team also revealed more on one of the warbands for Warcry. See what you make of Iron Golem...
Warcry is Games Workshop's way of exploring life for the Chaos factions when they are not just the big bad guy. Instead, we get a look at the different tribes and the Iron Golem are one that dwell in the Realm Of Metal running the forges and smithing weapons for the Slaves Of Darkness.
They are a warband made up of not just humans but also Ogors and Duardin too, drawing from those that have succumbed to the will of Chaos and now forge weapons to win favour with shadowy benefactors.
I immediately thought that they were going to be Khorne focused but I like that we're stepping away from these warbands HAVING to be aligned to one of the pantheon. It brings new life to Chaos as a whole and means we're going to see a much more diverse collection of sculpts.
In addition to these warriors wielding dangerous weapons, we're also introduced to more of the fauna from the Mortal Realms. I wouldn't want to go wildlife spotting in any part of the Realm where Chaos has its hooks though as Furies don't look like they want to have their picture taken.
I really hope that these creatures we're seeing here are going to be the A.I in your games of Warcry. It's always nice to have wandering monsters finding their way towards battlefields and getting themselves embroiled in the chaos.
I mean, check out this Raptory which could be swooping in to steal way one of your warriors.
Also, as we hinted about in the title for this little segment there are going to be NINE Non-Chaos factions included in the mix alongside the Chaos warbands. From the image we've seen over on the blog we're thinking Stormcast Eternals, Orruks, Ogors, Gloomspit Gitz/Grots, Aleves of some kind and something Vampiric...maybe Flesh-eater Court to begin with.
There is a LOT to like about all of the new releases coming our way for Warhammer Age Of Sigmar and we would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below...
Get stuck in!
"There is a LOT to like about all of the new releases coming our way for Warhammer Age Of Sigmar..."
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I’m no heretic but that is the first greater daemon that I have actually thought about parting cash for. It’s a really good sculpt it has enough subtle sensual/sexuality to be Slaanesh without it being in your face which can be I assume was a down side of the old boob sculpts of the previous stuff if your aiming for something a bit more pg/snowflake friendly .
I think the redesign is just more ‘mature’ rather than simply just to make it more palatable to modern wargamers – they are all pretty ace though.
I wouldn’t say it’s more mature, quite the opposite. Portrayals of sex and sexuality are not immature, nor is the concept of “sex horror”.
Would you say that Kingdom Death is immature? I don’t think so. I wouldn’t describe this version of Slaanesh is “immature” but it’s definitely watered down. What I would say is it’s more “family friendly” or “has a wider appeal”, these are a positive way to convey that it is suitable for a less mature audience.
It’s definitely not “more mature” though. One of the things about being a mature adult is to be able deal with boobs without losing your shit about it. The breasts on the old Slaanesh miniatures, due to their number and arrangement on the miniatures never actually felt sexualised, they felt alien and weird. Don’t get me wrong, someone out there was probably into that, but then there’s people out there into all kinds of weird (and unspeakable) things. It’s totally OK to roll with this approach and make sure that younger players aren’t exposed to adult themes, but come on, it’s not “more mature”.
On the other side of the coin, isn’t being more mature not needing to have obvious sexual elements represent sexuality? I think they’ve still managed to get that almost uncanny alien weirdness across here too.
Either way, it’s good to see GW confronting this and bringing back Slaanesh in a proper way!
No, not really. In order to represent sexuality, you need sexual things in much the same way as if you want to represent disease you need diseased things, if you want to represent savagery you need savage things. It’s ok to not want to represent sexuality (I’m not actually a huge fan of sex horror, or actually any kind of fan at all), but it’s not possible to represent it without emphasising certain things. The new Slaanesh range isn’t really sexualised, and whilst I completely understand the reasoning behind that, it’s incorrect to describe it as “more mature” when it’s been done specifically to cater to a less mature audience. The best way to describe it would be to say “it’s more reserved” or “more restrained”.
They’re definitely weird and alien, but they’ve also lost some of their more “Hedonistic” themes. I’m not picking up any kind of “forbidden pleasure” vibes from the Keeper of Secrets for example.
I would argue that sexual desire isn’t the point of this design at all. Judging by the regal decadence, and subtle arrogance in its body language, the direction they’ve gone for here is vanity and perhaps narcissism. I would also argue that this IS a step in a more mature direction, but not for the reasons you might imagine. There is nothing wrong with sexuality, it is fundamental to our humanity after all, but the almost single minded focus on this aspect of slaanesh, in my opinion, results in a missed opportunity to delve into the more nuanced aspects of pleasure and hedonism. For instance, I would love to see variations of daemons which portray other hedonistic vices like gluttony, sloth, greed – all things which can be had in excess and represent fatal character flaws in classical philosophy.
But of course, lest we forget, green stuff basically exists for the sole purpose of letting you sculpt honkers on a land raider. So feel free to take the minis in whatever direction you fancy.
I’m not disputing what the point of the revamped Slaanesh is. I well understand why GW have opted NOT to include sex as a theme any more. It was entirely predictable too. But we should be honest about WHY it’s been done and descriptions like “more mature” are incorrect and inaccurate, the inference being that themes of sex and/or nudity are somehow immature when in fact the opposite is true.
I understand where you’re coming from, but my implication is not that sexual themes are inherently immature, but rather the obsessive singular focus on sexual themes. Perhaps from a semantic perspective immature may be the wrong descriptor, but the general broadening of the scope of Slaaneshi themes feels a little more developed. After all, Slaanesh is supposed to be insidious and gradual in their corruption, with initial temptations just subtle enough to entice even the most guarded individual – eventually leading to them spiraling into unfathomable depths of depravity. My point is that that initial temptation may in some cases even be what some consider to be (traditionally) more refined. I.e. “Wow, this daemonic orchestral arrangement is simple sublime!” Fast forward to noise marine blaring death metal on his modified bolter while snorting warp dust off a guardsman’s corpse.
Just my $0.02
It’s harking back to Victorian era sensibility where they lopped off todgers from statues or if your Justin from beserkers encase someone got flustered over this naked arty thing
Thing is what is often considered “mature” actually isn’t that. Nudity and sexuality by themselves is only mature from 14 year old boy’s perspective but those need to be handled mature in order for those to be actually mature instead of just juvenile. More often than not that’s not how those are handled and end result tends to be clumsy because lot of times those 14 year old boys tend to be target audience.
But I still don’t get why they did this. I really had my hopes up once they rolled out these fantastic topless Daughters of Khaine. Not that I really need the KoS to have boob(s) on display, the model looks fantastic. I just wished they’d go more into the sexual depravity theme with at least a few sculpts. With those Daughters out they really have no excuse now.
I agree with you Ben… a more nuanced approach.
Interesting conversation and I have to say I’m inclined to agree with onlyonepinman here. While overt use of genitalia can be immature, nudity and sexuality certainly are not. Personally I’ve always felt Slaanesh is best personified by Clive Barker’s ‘Hellraiser’ (or at least the origins of that story). Visions of torture, deprivation, dependence and the allure of something forever out of reach.
However as much as I’d like to see something truly ‘dark’ on the table top, I appreciate that GW is not prepared to slap an 18+ advisory on any of their IP’s.
I really like this new Keeper of Secrets but the rest of the range doesn’t seem to follow the same graceful design imo.
It is odd to see a Nurgle army with all kinds of different types of rot & disease in all of its disgusting glory.
Slaanesh gets reduced to a sanitized version of the entire basis of the entity.
Which is kind of sad because the models definitely are cool.
I just wished they would do the disgustingly grotesque freak show side as well.
Not because it is ‘mature’ but because the complete lack of restraint fits this demonic power too.
IT kind of sucks that because of the size of the market that GW needs to reach it can’t do justice to the entire range of depravity that Slaanesh needs to have within its army choices.
No boobs? Not one? oO
Well, they do still have them. They’re just covered up now.
So you’re saying they are straying from the path of pure slaanesh? XD
Maybe Slaanesh is now all about the tease…
Those Slaanesh minis look great! Its really good to see that they are able to present this faction without having to resort to sticking massive pair(s) of boobs on everything, good job GW.
Games workshop are doing some brilliant work at the moment. The slaneesh stuff is spot on although it’s the looncurse that has me the most intrigued.
As predicted, no more boobehs for Slaanesh. Entirely predictable and understandable given their desire to cater to a wide audience, but I still think something is lost. No question that these are better sculpts but the ambience that surrounds them isn’t as good.
Keeper is still a nice model but it’s lost some of the disturbing androgynous elements of the original. Love all the followers though, really nice.
Hmm, I would say that’ve managed to retain that androgynous look. It’s still very much a combination of male and female there in terms of the anatomy. It’s not so much in the ‘body horror’ area though comparably.
It has feminine hips and face, masculine shoulders and maybe (although it’s hard to tell) a boob on the right hand side of its chest. But they don’t seem to blend seamlessly, it’s quite easy to delineate the masculine bits from the feminine; It feels more of some kind if weird Frankenstein’s monster than a truly androgynous creature. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a better model than the original, which didn’t really capture any of these elements, but it doesn’t capture androgyny quite like the Forge World version.
Greater Daemon looks cool – I’m really hoping for some mortal 40k Slaanesh forces though – noise marines especially. I’d love a full squad in the style of the special edition figure but this seems doubtful – mebbe as a sub-type? (I’m assuming there will be some re-imagined Slaanesh marines at some point).
As a Tzeentchian and Hashutite, even I think that KoS is very well done; think they’ve finally managed to bring out a Slaaneshi thing that can top the Juan Diaz daemonettes.
Something I find amusing about the Iron Golems is that their fluff is that they’re the blacksmiths for Chaos, yet they have massive gaps in their armour. ?. I think the Ogre would make a great basis for converting an Ogre Pit Fighter or an Ogryn servitor.
,,,( being an argumentive @r$ehole ….ie don’t take this to heart) …. To be fair the fluff did say they ere the “Weaponsmiths” not the the blacksmith’s …..armour is for the weak. 🙂 and Archeon (which speaks volumes to me about his physical courage …. the big nancy)
That Iron Ogor would make a great conversion for a Necromunda Servitor-Ogryn with augmentic fists and furnace plate armour – see GANG WAR III 🙂
Looks like the Fortune Hunters shall be converted soon to be on Space Hoppers!
Something I missed from the announcements…NINE Non-Chaos Factions for Warcry. So, there is something for everyone in there.
From the symbols I am predicting, working clockwise from top right:
some kind of Stormcast
Possibly Nighthaunt
Orruks
Not sure, Idoneth maybe (looks trident-ish)
Gloomspite Gits
Flesh Eater Courts
Daughters of Khaine
Ogors
I have no idea about the one in the middle
The portcullis symbol in the middle is for the Iron Golems; no idea why it’s highlighted along with the non-Chaos factions.
I think it was because they were the highlight of this particular article.
Unless I am miscounting, there’s only 8 non-chaos factions. The dark grey ones in the middle plus the Iron Golems are all Chaos. The other 8 are none chaos. I know, the warhammer community does say 9 but that means one of the ones in the middle is also not chaos.
I really, really like that new Keeper of secrets model for Slannesh, and 2 of the endless spells sculpts – I’ve pretty much given up on 40k rules now which means I can just cherry pick the models I want to paint without worrying about making legal balanced armies and having to buy models I don’t like.
Some of the other slaaneshi models just don’t grab me – maybe they look a little static whereas I’ve always imagined daemonettes as lithe and dancing around at great speed. It’s a bit like the new space ork vehicles – great sculpts but just not right for the spirit of the army. Since when do Ork vehicles look well designed and symetrical….. Grumble, grumble 🙂
Ok, question. Why does any discussion of Slaanesh devolve into “Slaanesh = sex, and sex = boobs?
Slaanesh is a god of sensation and excess of all kinds. In many ways it’s about pleasure from extremes of sensation that have nothing to do with sexy. 40k noise marines obtain it through extremes of audible sensation. Gluttony would also fit within Slaanesh perbview as an extreme of satisfying taste.
Slaanesh followers quickly become to overwhelmed by extreme stimulae that a “normal” stimulae (like a bare breast) wouldn’t even register.
Similarly Khorne isn’t the god of normal violence and bloodshed, otherwise everyone in the 40k universe would be a follower of Khorne. Khorne is a god of extreme senseless bloodshed and slaughter.
Which is why I’m saying that the toning down of ‘sex’ and ‘boobs’ is good here. It focuses in on the grace and elegance of them as hunters and killers rather than just ‘perversion’.
I think this strikes a good balance between that old ‘view’ of Slaanesh and the wider interpretation that you’ve mentioned here.
Although Slaanesh is the god of all forms of excess, two of the other three gods kind of cover violence (Khorne) and gluttony (Nurgle to a degree). Other taboos that you could include are vice (sex and substances), however drugs is a difficult one to portray and possibly even less acceptable which sort of leaves you with sex and one of the few ways that you can really portray that in a miniature and still stay with the bounds of what is acceptable (or indeed believable on a battlefield) is breasts. Thats why, in terms of miniatures, breasts = sex.
As for whether Slaanesh followers would become desensitised to nudity, while I personally don’t think they would, I think they would revel in it, that’s not really the point. You have to ask yourself, for whom do demons assume their visage? Is it for their followers or for their enemies. I suspect it’s as much for the latter as the former. The Chaos God all present a visage of some kind of horror. Khorne is a very blunt, straight up savagery. Nurgle presents the horrors of decay and disease. Tzentch a vision of the pure insanity of chaos. Slaanesh presents a twisted vision of the base desires of mortal beings, a mixture of fear and temptation (Which is incredibly biblical). I don’t think grace and elegenace are what Slaanesh has ever been a champion of, rather, I think they’re a necessary component of the sexual side of Slaanesh – let’s face it most of us would rather be in bed with someone graceful and elegent than, well, Nurgle or Khorne right?
For me, Slaanesh has never been a particularly great fit for the battlefield. He’s perfect for RPGs as I think he’s probably the most insidious of all the gods. In an RPG you can really put across all of the darker aspects of forbidden pleasure in a way that really would look a bit silly on the battlefield. I always thought Slaanesh conquered through “kindness” far more than any of the other Gods might. Where the others offer power, Slaanesh offers solace, a distraction or simply just wanton pleasure. He will pretty much give you what you want, the price being your eternal soul.
I thought the size and shape of the Nurgle figures had more to do with blotting (diseases building up ready to burst) rather than gluttony.
I agree with @reviresco that narcissism would be a good avenue for GW to explore with regard to Slaanesh.
You asked the question “You have to ask yourself, for whom do demons assume their visage?” and offer the options ” Is it for their followers or for their enemies.”
There is another option… Themselves (leads back to vanity, which, taken to an extreme is narcissism – and Slaanesh can be about extremes).
I built a whole 40K Slaanesh dominated world, on paper, based around the principles of narcissism and martial prowess – the elegance of a death of a thousand tiny cuts was a part of that.
Narcissism and vanity, like many other themes, while fun to explore are difficult to express in miniature. Slaanesh works much better in an RPG where you can really go into narrative detail, than it does on a tabletop Wargame where all you want is warriors. It would be quite difficult to make a model appear to be vain, especially a demon.
I don’t think that the Lord of Excess actually works particularly well in any game that you want to aim at audiences as young as 12. By definition, the Lord of Excess is the guy who does the things you don’t want your kids doing. Or knowing about. Until they’re at least 40.
The net result of watering Slaanesh down fails to really capture what Slaanesh is supposed to be. These guys, apart from being painted a quite luxurious purple, don’t really look any more Hedonistic than Daughters of Khaine. I am not overly bothered either way – I don’t collect Slaanesh and likely never will – and my previous response was actually an explanation of why Boobs = sex more than any particular criticism of the decision to exclude nudity from the Slaanesh redesign
Vanity in miniatures:
Mirrors or mirror like surfaces – could include shields and armour.
Big hats and big feathers – like musketeers.
Flowing robes.
But that’s the thing, the “daemon miniatures” we see on the tabletop are, for lack of a better term, their “battlefield avatars”. Its how they would manifest for combat. I am sure if a Slaanesh daemon manifested in some sort of religious ritual they would take a different form.
In combat, Slaanesh daemons would manifest those features that are beneficial on the battlefield. They are lithe creatures, with an appearance that is both “attractive” and “wrong” at the same time. They move with a speed and grace that is both “beguiling” and “super human”. Their style of fighting is lethal, while also being obnoxiously “grandstanding”. While a Khorne daemon is a beserker with a battleaxe who butchers his way through foes, a Slaanesh daemon would be a fencer who chooses to toy with his opponent for longer than necessary, while flouting their own speed and skill. Their movements, battlecries, and even pheromone scents would dull an opponent’s senses and overwhelm their desire for self-preservation. While a Khorne daemon would be a pure better warrior, Slaanesh would win through a combination of their skill, and their distracting of their opponent. Similarly a Nurgle daemon wins through a combination of fighting skill, and the negative impacts of diseases/poisons/clouds of flies it spreads.
I guess my question is, who is more immature? The small child GW tries not to alienate from the hobby (granted, as a result of their parents) by not showing exposed breasts, or the grown adult who says “not Slaanesh ’cause no boobies”?
Oh no, you don’t get to play that card. At no point have I actually complained about the lack of nudity. I have commented on having predicted that it would be the case. I have suggested that it is not “more mature” to exclude nudity. I haven’t actually complained about it not being there.
It’s not a sign of maturity to avoid nudity, quite the opposite. And if your goal is to appeal to a younger audience then it is necessary to make your product less mature by removing certain themes – such as sex.
So while the reasoning behind the redesign is entirely sound, that doesn’t make it “mature”, it only makes it valid. And I haven’t said anything about this decision is invalid.
I would also say that, if you were someone who enjoyed the whole sex horror them of Slaanesh then you would be well within your rights to be upset by this retcon if the new revamp no longer meets your expectations of what Slaanesh should be. It would not be an immature response to voice such an opinion. So to answer your question about who is more immature, the child whom we are shielding from Slaanesh or the person complaining about the change the answer is simple. It’s the child.
Yes, Slaanesh is back! Dark Prince has needed some love (pun intended) for some time now so I am happy to see these.
I like these subtler Slaanesh types (Subtle for chaos anyway) They do have that androgynous look to them a certain strange, otherworldly look that looks slightly off in a way.
Also keeper of secrets sculpt is immense.
That new Keeper is sublime. What an absolutely gorgeous mini!
I know why they did it but I kinda wish Warcry was chaos warbands only.
No reason it can’t be far you. Just buy Chaos Warbands
Looking at the Keeper of Secrets I agree that it is a good remake of the figure. It seems static though when compared to other sculpts in the range. As Nurgle was reimagined to run along the concept of flies my first thought from the Keeper was the Egyptian god Khnum from the ram sculptures I remember from Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark. I’d get one and reposed the pincer arms and see if I could sculpt a throng of ecstatic cultists at its feet like Greebo has for Lucretia Borgia (not having them as undead)
https://www.greebo-games.com/21117-lucrezia-borgia.html
The figure on the same page for Bianca would be good as an alternate to modify from regarding the pose (just not using a twisted dryad.
https://www.greebo-games.com/21119-bianca.html
It looks like the Slaaneshi forces need facials that even RuPaul’s Drag Race might have a tough time in delivering. I’m not a fan of the demon faces for the Masque and the two goofy looking daemonettes on the tentacles mirror. If I don’t already have some Statuesque minis heads leftover from the Deenah project I might have another order to put in with them. Beyond that I’m just glad to have the force available again now being expanded.
That Slaanesh stuff. Blimey! A couple I’m not keen on but opinions vary.
I’m definitely after that very flying lad. He’s a superb generic demon for my Frostgrave box o fun!
Is it just me, but that Dwarven terrain makes me think of Pizza Oven. I didn’t realise the Dawi were big into outdoor eating.
It’s all just so goddamn beautiful!
Love that KoS! I have the Creature Caster Pincer Demon one but this knocks it into a cocked hat. Compared to the Foreworld version it feel like a more coherent and well executed sculpt to me, which seems to be going for a more sensual rather than sexual vibe.
so pendulum is a Slaanesh band? all the figures are great especially the lava beast an the dwarf forge.
Yesss, Sssslaaanesh is back!
I’ve been waiting a long time for this.
I prefer the Creature Caster keepers and my Forgeworld one too, but I will be getting this one too because those are all kind of female-androgynous but this one is more like male-androgynous (if there’s such an expression)
I love those spells that make sense with all the Slaanesh stuff I already have. (chariots and riders, etc)
All the new Slaanesh stuff and the Battletome shall be mine!
I like the look of the Fyreslayers forge too, although I’m not much into the super-powered Fyreslayers themselves. I wish they’d just bring back plain ol’ mortal Dwarves instead.
Hats off to the sculptor of the Keeper of Secrets for creating something truly sublime. It somehow exhibits strong masculine and feminine characteristics along with a brooding presence. I’m not that sold on the big claw arms, never really have been. I think keeping them back and out of the way was a smart move.
The refocus on hedonism and narcissism with Slaanesh is genius from GW. These are the vices of our time (with Instagram and social media in general). The Keeper of Secrets especially looks like a staged glamour shot! It is a good refresh of this faction.
The Keeper of Secrets looks like the love child of the Faun from Pan’s Labyrinth and Emperor Xerxes from 300.
Ah, poor, maligned Slaanesh. The most interesting and realistic of the Chaos Gods, and easily the most powerful of them were they ‘real’, reduced to this…
I always feel like Slaanesh has been misunderstood and given a bad rap from the start. One who cuts themselves to feel that shock of adrenaline cutting through the daily grind; an artist who sells his soul to make the perfect painting, to show his abusive father that he was not a failure for pursuing the arts; a nobleman who drinks himself into a blissful stupor every night to forget the pain of his lost child… All of these are perfect candidates for worshippers of Slaanesh.
Sadly, the internet has helped promulgate the 12-year-old conception that “Slaanesh is all about sex and boobs”, and it’s stuck around as a black mark ever since. I actually feel a little concerned for anyone who thought any of the previous Slaanesh models were “Sexualized”. I’m not sure a giant ant-eater monster with mammalian breasts is any more sexual than a cow with realistic udders.
OnePinMan got it 100% right, in my estimation, that Slaaneshi daemons blended elements of sexual titillation with alien horror to create an aesthetic that was 95% terrifying, 5% attractive. To paper over any suggestion of sexuality is not only to try and deny a central part of the human experience, but it also sets a slightly funny precedent for what we consider problematic as a community.
We pat ourselves on the back as mature because we flattened the chest of every Slaanesh monster, but yet we point and laugh at all the ‘goofy’ Nurgle daemons dancing around giving people cancer and other horrific diseases. Children will be protected from the horror of breasts, though any child who’s ever owned or been around a female mammal has already seen them..
Yet children will be exposed to a light-hearted representation of the kind of diseases that have possibly taken a parent, grand-parent, or other relative from them?
We really are strange animals, us humans.
The new models are interesting, and I admire the creativity that went into the poses and designs. As typical for most GW content, though, their ‘feminine’ faces are quite awful. The Masque… that face…
Considering we give GW so much garbage for underrepresenting women in the universe, I find it a little sad that their solution to making Slaanesh “kid-friendly” was to basically make them all men…
Yikes, all those Slaanesh types look like they need their own washroom.
In the end you can still get titty mini’s from Raging Heroes, or the big demon models from Creature Caster. Epic fail from GW.
The boobs are reduced, not removed. The fiend is still sporting a healthy 4 pairs of exposed knockers.
Really amazing update. The KoS looks fantastic, and brings to mind stuff like Michael Manning’s art, if a little toned down. I would’ve wanted updated demonettes to go with it, but overall it looks good. Nice to see Slaanesh being the prince of dark pleasures, not prince of Girls Gone Wild tittypalooza.
Thank god GW finally coughed up what Forbidden Powers are, some people were actually confused and thought it’s Tomb Kings coming back of all things.