If you’re a regular listener of our podcast (and if you’re not why not? :D) you’ll know that I have been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to build, paint and collect an army of Aelves for some time now. Last week Games Workshop revealed the ‘Lumineth Realm-Lords’ (you can see all the details here) and now my wait is almost over.

So what do we know about this new faction? Well, we’ve seen a handful of images of some of the new units, the Vanari Auralan Wardens, Vanari Dawnriders, Light of Eltharion and of course Teclis himself. The models look fantastic and are well worth the wait. I’m a big fan of the Ulthuan Elves of old, they were in fact my first Warhammer Fantasy army, and I’m very happy to see that this new range appears to have been inspired by the old Ulthuan aesthetic (even down to the colour scheme that has been used). The new Wardens and Dawnriders bring to mind the High Elven Spearmen and Silver Helms of old and yet still have that distinctly ‘Age of Sigmar’ feel to them. There are so many little details such as the swords worn on the backs of the Wardens and the elaborate helms of the Dawnriders, I think this army will look great on the battlefield.

Then of course there are the heroes, finally Teclis has been revealed in full and what a centrepiece model he makes. Teclis himself looks fantastic and I really enjoy the nods to his previous incarnations. His mount, ‘Celennar, Spirit of Hysh‘, is equally as impressive and in my mind is a painter’s dream come true. I cannot wait to sit down with my paint brush and begin working on this model, I mean even the base itself looks incredible.

Teclis was believed to be one of the greatest mages in the Old World. It was Teclis that taught the first human wizards how to wield the eight winds of magic and there are accounts of him decimating entire armies using his sorcerous powers. Teclis also played an important role during the ‘End Times’, it was by his hand that the great vortex of magic was undone and the individual winds of magic bound to the incarnates. You could say he was ultimately responsible for the existence of the current Aelven pantheon as it exists in the Age of Sigmar today.

To say I have high hopes for Teclis on the table top itself would be an understatement. Armed with what appears to be the Moon Staff of Lileath I’m expecting Teclis to be on par with Nagash himself in terms of magical prowess, with multiple casting bonuses and access to the entire Lumineth spell lore…I wonder if we’ll see the return of iconic spells such as “Vaul’s Unmaking” and “Walk between Worlds” as well?

Teclis also appears to be armed with a reimagined “Sword of Teclis”. I remember in previous editions this used to be one of the strongest weapons in the High Elves army book, wounding everything regardless of toughness on a 2+ and allowing no armour saves. It was a shame he only had a single attack back then, I have a feeling things may be different this time around 🙂

As impressed as I am with Teclis, I think it was the ‘The Light of Eltharion’ that surprised me most – such an unusual and unique looking model. It is sculpts like these that just go to show how far Games Workshop have come in terms of producing some of the best miniatures out there. Eltharion is an important character from the Old World, and over the years has had several different miniatures to represent him. This next iteration does not disappoint. I wonder what kind of rules this model will have? I expect he will make an impressive duelist, wielding two aelven blades and empowered by aetherquartz (more on that in a moment).

In older editions, Eltharion was able to adopt multiple fighting stances which applied different effects and bonuses whilst fighting, perhaps we will see a similar rule for this new version? And then of course there is that fact that Eltharion now appears to be an intangible being of light, how will this be reflected in the rules? Will Eltharion be able to move swifter than other combatants or perhaps have some kind of ‘teleporting’ mechanic? Maybe he will disable enemy combatants with blinding pulses of light or perhaps his spirit will be able to dissipate and reanimate other nearby suits of armour should this suit be destroyed? I guess we will find out soon 🙂

And these are just the units we have seen so far, more have been promised. I think the inclusion of some ranged units is probably a safe bet and in fact the eagle eyed amongst you have already spotted what could potentially be bow of some kind in the reveal trailer. It bears a striking resemblance to a recent Rumour Engine, could this some ranged infantry or perhaps a larger warmachine reminiscent of the Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower? But what else?

The articles mentions phalanxes of highly disciplined infantry supported by powerful mages, I wonder if we will see a unit similar to the Gobbapalooza? This was a really interesting unit when it first arrived with the Gloomspite Gitz, almost a unit of individual mini-heroes. I really liked this idea (and the models are some of my favourite in the range) but we have not seen anything else of it’s kind since.

I’d also like to see some reimagined Swordmasters of Hoeth, my favourite of the old High Elves! Originally hailing from Saphery in Ulthuan, these warrior loremasters defended the Tower of Hoeth, home to the greatest mages in Ulthuan. I can imagine an updated version of this unit forming the elite infantry counterpart to the Vanari Auralan Wardens battle line. I remember this unit used to have an ‘always strike first’ ability, will this return? Speaking of elite units, will the Lumineth also receive an elite cavalry unit to accompany the Vanari Dawnriders? An updated version of the Dragon Princes of Caledor returned with new models and rules would be most welcome.

Following the reveal at LVO, Games Workshop have since release the first in a series of articles that will be focusing on this new faction ‘The Lumineth Lowdown – Part 1: Origins’. It looks as though this series will drip feed us more information on the lore, rules and units/models as we get nearer to release. The article is up on the Warhammer Community page so I won’t repeat what has already been said here, however there were a few passages that intrigued me…

“As is ever the way with the corrupting influence of the Dark Prince of Chaos, it was their own emotions that saw the Lumineth fall from the light. Yet before unchecked hubris and jealousy tore them apart, the Lumineth found salvation by returning to Teclis’ path of wisdom, knowledge and self-betterment, which ultimately brought their civilisation back from the brink of self-destruction. This period of enlightenment became known as the Reinvention, and it inspired every aspect of the lives they now lead.”

There has always been a bit of cross over between the Elves of the Old World and the Eldar who inhabit the 41st millennium (they shared the same gods, similar cultures….pointy ears) but this bit of background seems to suggest a much closer similarity between the Lumineth Realm-lords and Craftworld Eldar. Just like the Craftworld Eldar, it appears that the Lumineth follow strict paths in order to limit their emotions with an aim to stave off the predations of She Who Thirsts. And then there is ‘Aetherquartz‘…

“Greater enlightenment for the Lumineth came through harnessing the unique properties of aetherquartz, the Hyshian realmstone, in specially designed jewellery. They discovered that they could endlessly reflect the power of Hysh within this realmstone to empower the mind, body and soul. This did not come without a cost, for even as it offered illumination, the aetherquartz crystal eventually grew dim, and so drained the emotions of its bearer to restore its inner light. To the Lumineth, who sought perfection in all things, such a sacrifice was well worth paying, for emotion was a path to corruption… to Slaanesh.”

Whilst it does not fulfill the same purpose as a Craftworlder’s soul stone, the idea of each aelf wearing an aetherquartz stone on their person does put me in mind of the Craftworld Eldar. This is a really interesting piece of background and I am looking forward to seeing how it translates to the table top. Will Aelven mages be able to harness aetherquartz to improve their magical abilities? Perhaps aetherquartz can be drained by units to apply a temporary bonus? Is there any negative impact from using aetherquartz…perhaps aetherquartz is a doubled edged sword, and those stones that now contain raw emotions may act as a magnet for more sinister forces?

“As one might expect from warriors and mages whose aetherquartz-enhanced skills have far transcended their natural capabilities, the armies of the Lumineth Realm-lords are among the deadliest in the Mortal Realms. They wage war with peerless coordination, their phalanxes of spearmen and formations of swift cavalry seamlessly working together to overcome even many times their own number in foes. Meanwhile, mages of incredible power rain down destructive, elemental magic to the utter ruin of their enemies. With the peerless martial prowess of Tyrion and the enlightened teachings of Teclis driving their every action on the battlefield, the Lumineth Realm-lords are the art of war made manifest.”

So, a couple of things excite me about this bit. Firstly, I get the impression that the Lumineth Realm-lords may play a bit like the Ossiarch Bone Reapers, a highly disciplined and effective military force. Just like Mortek Guard, I’m expecting a solid battle line in the ‘Vanari Auralan Wardens’ able to hold it’s own against stronger more elite units. Maybe we will also see some kind of ‘Discipline Points’ type system that is currently unique to the Bone Reapers? The article also describes how the Lumineth are divided into four sub-cultures, each specialising in a particular spirit of Hysh. I expect these sub-cultures will represented as distinct ‘hosts’ in the Battletome, with their own traits, artifacts, spell lore and rules.

The last thing that really really….really excites me about this section though is the mention of Tyrion! I’m almost certain Tyrion will receive a new model and rules in the Lumineth Realm-lords Battletome. Tyrion used to ride into battle upon Malhandir, an elven steed who I believe used to count as a monstrous mount back in the ‘old’ days. Maybe this new version of Tyrion will be mounted upon an ‘actual’ monstrous mount…of the draconic variety?

Well, hopefully you are all just as excited as me to see what the next few weeks brings for the Lumineth Realm-lords. Please let us know in the comments below or via social media what you would like to see in terms of models, units and rules.

Want to check out the podcast where we chat about all the reveals from LVO? You can listen to the episode ‘Pointy Aelves’ below, or you can listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Anchor.

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