Storm of Magic: Brief Overview

Storm of Magic book with the cover open

Well, I'm back from my restful vacation in the mountains and just in time for Storm of Magic to hit shelves.  Now I know GW supposedly has a new process for revealing advanced orders and ensuring no one receives their preorders before the release date.  That seems to have failed.  I ordered a small collection of models (Cockatrice, Eternity Stairs, Dark Elf Sorceress, vortex templates, and the card deck) and all have arrived before the release date of tomorrow.  In addition I managed to get my hands on a Chimera and the Storm of Magic book early as well.  So check out the previews below for terrible pictures and my first thoughts on the Warhammer Fantasy Storm of Magic expansion!

Nice cards, poor container. : (

First up we have the deck of cards.  These retail for $13.25 and you receive cards for all the spells appearing in Storm of Magic and a plastic carrying case in the frame of a magic tome.  Overall, the cards are the same quality as previously seen with the Battle Magic cards and the race lores that GW has released to date.  Nothing fancy but decent quality stock and all the useful information needed for quick reference.  Sadly, the plastic carrying case is made of relatively cheap and stiff plastic.  I can see the snap holding the book together breaking off pretty easily and the snap is nothing more than a "insert tab A into slot B" situation that I can see failing after constant use.  Finally, their is no room whatsoever for any other lore cards.  If you wanted to store your Skaven cards with your Storm of Magic cards, you'd have to remove cards unnecessary for your army.  

Plenty of Cards

At only 13.25 you receive a large volume of cards and the book storage device is just a little freebie.  If you look at the purchase like that then the cards are well worth the price.  If you just want the book storage device, I'd recommend passing.  5/10

These templates ain't small.

Next, the vortex templates.  Coming in at a pricey $29.00 and not even available from the webstore anymore, these are made exactly like the vortex template that GW made for the 40k Apocalypse release.  The only difference is that they are a large template instead of the smaller template.  Also, with 6 of them in the box they come in a variety of colors and prints that make keeping track of multiple magical vortex templates very simple and easy.
Would I recommend them for everyone?  Probably not.  Twenty-nine dollars is a pretty steep price-tag for a template you will rarely use and six of them seems like an overly abundant number.  Still, If you play fantasy regularly and you plan of playing Storm of Magic at least every now and then, I'd suggest banding together with a group of friends and buying the box.  Then split up the tin templates inside as evenly as possible. 6/10

One of the best plastic kits I've seen from anyone.

Next, the Dark Elf Sorceress.  Wow, GW really outdid themselves with the new casters and the Dark Elf Sorceress in particular.  As a plastic model she comes in new packaging and on a sprue of roughly 6 or 7 pieces (she's downstairs right now).  She looks incredibly simple to assemble and my model has very few noticeable mold lines.  Her base is also already textured for people who really don't care about basing.  She is a beautiful model that any Dark Elf general should consider buying and I can see others picking her up just to paint and display (like myself).  Her price point of $13.25 is also fairly reasonable for what you get. 9/10

Sprue 1 of 3 for the Eternity Stairs/Dreadfire Portal

The entire game of Storm of Magic centers around capturing Magical Fulcrums.  I decided to pick up the box with the eternity stairs and the dreadfire portal since I really dislike the look of the balewind vortex.  These models look like they will assemble pretty easily and could also offer some interesting bits for conversions such as altars and candles.  The detail on the plastic scenery remains exquisite and they really possess a distinct look.  At $37.25 these models possess a steep price point yet they are intrinsic to Storm of Magic.  I'm sure GW did that on purpose as I really don't see how this kit can cost $37.25 while Witchfate Tor, a rather large wizard tower kit, costs only double of this kit (actually less than double).  7/10

Looks easy enough.  Only seven parts.

You can see the bubble near where my ring finger is located.

Next, the Cokatrice.  I admit to being a little wary to buying one of these finecast kits with all the negative press that finecast has received since its inception.  Upon inspection the model for the usual flashing, bubbles, mold lines, etc I actually found very little wrong with the model.  It possesses a couple mold lines on the central torso, some flashing between the claws and the bone protrusions on the main body.  The largest issue was a bubble on one of the vertebrae on the back which essentially obliterated the bony protrusion on the back.  However, this is relatively minor since I can put some green stuff in the bubble and build it up and the area sits between the wings and thus is rarely seen.  I really am impressed with this model overall.  The amount of detail is fantastic and it looks to be a breeze to assemble.  As the cheapest ($-wise) of the monster kits out there this really is a steal and I highly recommend this kit to anyone. 8/10

One Sprue!  That's crazy talk!

Okay, now onto the Chimera.  This model I really felt rather indifferent about until I started seeing alternate paint schemes presented in White Dwarf and on the GW Blog.  So I decided, "What the Hell, I'll pick one up and see if it impresses me."  Well, color me impressed.  Now, I am largely impressed because the chimera comes on a single sprue and also because it looks pretty clean as far as mold lines and the like.  The only model I can think of in recent memory with fewer issues would be the Hellpit Abomination and that thing can be confusing to put together at times.  For now, I'm still largely impressed but I'm holding final judgement until I start the assembly of the kit, hopefully tomorrow.  At $41.25 this kit is not cheap and considering the limited usefulness (Transformation of Kadon and Storm of Magic only) this kit likely will not be a big seller. 8/10 (tentative)

Magic section of the Storm of Magic Book

Finally, we come to the Storm of Magic book itself.  This tome clocks in at 152 pages stuffed full of fluff, rules, artifact items, spells, and beasts.  In addition, built into the cover of the book you find the spinner that determines which lore is ascendant.  Now, I don't mind the game mechanic of the wheel, but whoever decided that putting this in the cover of the book needs to be shot.  This feature makes the book a pain to read on anything but a flat surface.

Fimur and Zoats in the monster section!

The book itself starts off with some fairly interesting fluff discussing the various points through history when Storms of Magic have appeared and armies have clashed over the magical fulcrums.  Then it moves onto the meat of the expansion, the rules.  These really don't take up much space and I am eager to see how these play on the tabletop.  Next it moves onto the spells and artifacts that players can purchase with their extra 25% worth of points.

How's that for artwork?  GW, you need to make this a poster.

Throughout the book art of all kinds, sizes, and ability is interspersed.  Very much like the Tomb King book, one finds small interesting tidbits of art all over.  Other art spreads across multiple pages and offers the usual vistas of massed battles.  The artwork, like usual, is of top notch quality.  Also interspersed throughout the book are pictures of models.  So far I've only spotted a single model that I've never seen before, an Ogre Butcher.  Signs of armies to come?  Only time will tell.

A sign of things to come?

At almost $50 this expansion is not cheap.  Still, the quality of the book and the work put into the contents justify the cost in my opinion, as long as you are a fan of Fantasy of course.  At the same time, even if you like Fantasy but dislike magic, the magic phase, or prefer to run low magic level lists then this expansion is not for you.

Well, that's all I have time for right now.  Come back over the weekend and I will post a more in-depth review of Storm of Magic, going over the rules, the monsters, and the magic.  Also, I plan to build all of the models I bought today (or preordered and had delivered today) buy the end of the weekend.  So expect more from good old Chronowraith over the weekend and as we move through the next week.