Sunday Musings: One Day Early

I haven't done much physical hobby work recently--a few magnetized movement trays is all--but I have done quite a bit of reading. That's one of the great things about this hobby: there are many different facets of Warhammer, so when you lose interest in one or it becomes tedious, you can just focus on another.

I have just recently motored through the entire Malus Darkblade series--assuming it hasn't continued beyond the 5th book. I borrowed these books from a friend after deciding to start a Dark Elf army (eventually). My reasoning behind starting the Delf army is due to my fascination with assassins. That's it. I didn't know much about Dark Elves, aside from the whole being evil thing. Therefore, I figured that reading the Darkblade series would lead to a decent understanding of the Dark Elf race.

What a great series! I won't give a detailed review or anything, but I do recommend these novels to anyone who enjoys reading about the Warhammer world.

The best part of these books was the inspiration it gave me regarding possible army themes. The first idea refers to Malekith's personal guard, known as the Endless. These ladies and gentlemen all wear masks--to take away their personal identity and show that they're only importance is to obey Malekith--and are pretty wicked. In the books, the ones that interact with Malus are a version of Dark Riders, so I see these being mainly core units--Spearmen and Dark Riders--with a unit of Black Guard thrown in and some Cold One Knights and Chariots. I'd use Dark Riders with shield and spears as well as Riders with repeater crossbows. This army would be lead by Malekith's Champion (represented by a Dreadlord).

The second idea is one that I had thought a little about before, but after reading the books, the basic premise was expanded upon: Khainite. There is an entire book dedicated to Har Ganeth--the City of Executioners. There are True Believers who are insanely talented individuals who fight without armor because they don't need it. They never get touched in combat. The executioners are fantastically portrayed, and the Witch Elves are mystical death-dealers that even frighten other Dark Elves. I can envision an army of Khaine dressed completely in white and covered in blood splatter. This would allow for me to load up on Assassins and Executioners--two of my favorite models/units in the Dark Elf list. Magic could come in the form of Khainite priests (in the books, there were male priests who used magic). Cauldron of Blood? Yes please. Witch Elves? You betcha! I think this would be a beautiful and fun army.

So there's what I have been doing with most of my time recently. Throw in a little Skaven rumor-reading (can't wait until November!!!) and some more lusting after a Beasts of Chaos army, and you have my explanation for why I have nothing new painted.