I was pretty excited to hear (in early April) about the new Warhammer Fantasy Battles expansion set: Storm of Magic that will be launched in July. Veteran players would probably remember that the early editions of Warhammer was all about expansions. I still have the old Battle Magic expansion lying around somewhere in my home. But I digress, I’m excited about Storm of Magic because it means our beloved High Elves may finally return to magical dominance, and rightly so!

Here is the official write up:

Incoming: Storm of Magic

Storm of Magic – when the eight winds howl…

The Winds of Magic are tumultuous. Drawn by Morrslieb, they are prone to rise from a strong gale into a howling tempest. And when they do no kingdom or realm is safe.

Monsters awaken from their slumber and are summoned from their lairs at the bidding of sorcerous masters. Armies assemble, ready to defend their borders or seize the opportunity to gain limitless power. It is in these desperate times tenuous pacts between wizards and creatures of darkness are sealed to create alliances never thought possible.

A time of doom and great deeds is at hand. Will you rise to meet the storm?

Announcing the impending arrival of Storm of Magic, the latest and largest Expansion for Warhammer, the Game of Fantasy Battles. Launched in July 2011, Storm of Magic describes what happens when great eldritch maelstroms roil across the lands. Magic becomes far more powerful and there is a whole range of Cataclysm spells to cast, unleashing untold devastation on the enemy. Arcane Fulcrums burst from the ground, not only acting as loci for the swirling energies that pervade a battle fought amidst the Storm of Magic, but changing the way a Warhammer tabletop looks and interacts with your armies. With such things so crucial to your Storm of Magic games a new range of Warhammer scenery and Wizards will soon be released in time for you to wage cataclysmic battles.

Then there are the monsters. When the Winds of Magic blow with such strength, the fell creatures of the world gravitate towards the tempest, slithering from deep tunnels or emerging from mountain lairs.

With the new Expansion allowing you to use so many different creatures there are a whole host of new monstrous plastic kits on their way. Citadel’s queen of creatures, Trish Morrison, has spent the last few years in her own lair preparing for the new monsters to be unleashed upon the world and you can see two brief glimpses of what is to come below:

July is still a few months away; we are in the calm before the storm so now is the time to prepare. Bolster your forces, prepare your regiments and summon your wizards in time for the ultimate war. Keep checking White Dwarf and the website for updates, for when the storm hits nowhere will be safe!

Here are some rumors I’ve found thanks to the usual Warseer and various forum communities. This is latest update April 16th.

Confirmed
– we get a new expansion for WFB that focuses on magic and monsters
– this is not limited to WD
– this is not a specific campaign or new rules system, but a build-on to the core WFB rules
– we get new wizard models
– we get new monster models
– we get new scenery

Unconfirmed
– this is in scale Apocalypse for WFB
– the pics may be of a Black Dragon and Manticore
– others have suggested that the first monster may be an Abyssal Terror
– they may in fact both be spell related creatures (as e.g. Transformation of Kadon)
– we get generic monsters
– we get many new wizards
– we may get resin models
– the new scenery is magical (i.e. magical structures/magical effects/something utterly new)
– there is a new rumour of a new Nagash model

Information from a friend with an advance copy of the ruleset:
– Magic Re-adjusted “alot”
– 9th type of magic
-No level 5 wizards – Tomb King only thing
– releases spread out over a few months.

So there you go…again I’m pretty excited, but rather annoyed to learn that Tomb King only enjoys Level 5 wizards. I may go take a look at the TK rules now.