Order of Azyr models and army speculation for Warhammer Age of Sigmar.

The Order of Azyr is an organisation of witch hunters, vampire hunters and daemon hunters; mortal humans that battle the horrors of the Mortal Realms in Sigmar’s name. Essentially, they’re Age of Sigmar’s version of the Inquisition, and though they’ve been regularly alluded to almost since the game’s inception, we really don’t know very much about them.

That may all be about to change with three awesome new miniatures on the horizon. These would be Jelsen Darrock appearing in Warhammer Quest: Cursed City, plus the newly announced Galen and Doralia ven Denst. These characters are described as having a key part to play in the ongoing Broken Realms saga, alongside such god-like figures as Morathi, Teclis and Be’lakor. That’s a lofty stage for a smattering of mortal humans with seemingly little power or influence, so what exactly is going on? Are these miniatures really just a one-shot release to add a pinch of flavour to the Cities of Sigmar, or could they herald something more?

Games Workshop rarely foregrounds new characters on a whim, even if their reasons for doing so can often seem cryptic, so what does the Order of Azyr’s sudden rise to prominence mean for Age of Sigmar and the Mortal Realms? Join me as I attempt to decipher the indecipherable and speculate wildly on three possible scenarios that may yet unfold.

1. Nothing. It Means Nothing.

Let’s get the boring bit out of the way. It’s entirely possible that Jelsen Darrock and the ven Densts are simply cool, one-off miniatures that aren’t indicative of any grand plan or epic surprise on the horizon. Games Workshop is on record as saying that their games and worlds are led by their miniature designers, implying that if a designer comes up with a character or concept that’s too tantalising to resist, that miniature will be woven into the background lore and product range somehow. Were these miniatures simply too good not to see the light of day? I wonder…

We can’t know which past releases came about as a happy accident of designer inspiration and which were part of a grander plan. All we can do is look at which of these a release appears to be in retrospect. How many of Games Workshop’s character models appear to be standalone splash releases, versus how many have been part of a wider range revamp or new faction rollout? If my (admittedly soggy) memory serves me correctly, character splash releases seem to fall almost exclusively into four categories - established characters that need a model update, popular Black Library characters, limited editions based on vintage sculpts, and store exclusives.

Jelsen Darrock is part of a standalone board game, so let’s put him to one side. The ven Densts are the point of interest here - a main line Age of Sigmar release that doesn’t fall into any of the above categories. Outside of these categories character miniatures are almost universally part of a larger set of releases for their faction, even if those releases don’t all come at once. Could it be that, like the Sisters of Battle character Amalia Novena, the ven Densts are the early vanguard of much more to come?

2. A Cities of Sigmar Revamp

If Galen and Doralia ven Denst are simply one-off character releases then this would already put them amongst extremely rare company; but they’re more than that. They’re one-off character releases with no prior existence in the lore, who are about to become key players in Age of Sigmar’s biggest ever narrative arc. Please correct me in the comments if I’m wrong, but I don’t think there’s any precedent for this scenario. Sure, there were new characters and models introduced during the End Times - Gutrot Spume, Skarr Bloodwrath and so on - but these weren’t one-and-done releases. Both were accompanied by brand new units that, with the benefit of hindsight, were the template for major faction revamps already planned for release just a year or two later.

Could the ven Densts be something similar? It seems plausible. So if we’re looking at the early signs of a faction revamp, which faction exactly might we be talking about? It can only be the Cities of Sigmar. We’ve seen Jelsen Darrock’s warscroll and we know that he has the Cities of Sigmar key word. As fellow members of the Order of Azyr, it follows that the ven Densts will likely have the Cities of Sigmar key word too.

I’ve tried to follow the facts and cite precedent so far (I dropped out of law school, so I definitely have the authority to wield this type of language), but at this point I can’t resist indulging in a little speculation. What does it mean for the Cities of Sigmar faction if the Order of Azyr is coming to town? I’m going to guess that, like Maggotkin of Nurgle and Blades of Khorne before it, Games Workshop might be looking to overhaul a faction that currently consists entirely of older ‘legacy’ kits. I can’t see them discontinuing any units that survived the cut in the most recent battletome, but I can absolutely see them wanting to sideline those units to refocus the faction around a range of fantastic new sculpts that are Age of Sigmar through-and-through. I can also see them wanting these new characters and units to have a clear and compelling theme, and what could be better than a stylish bunch of daemon-slaying mavericks and religious zealots? All I’m saying is, don’t be surprised if the next edition of the Cities of Sigmar battletome has a witch hunter on the cover.

3. A Whole New Army

Stretching the speculation still further, it’s also possible that the Order of Azyr is being set up as an entirely new faction, separate from Cities of Sigmar. “But Jamie,” I hear you cry, “if that were true, wouldn’t Jelsen Darrock have the Order of Azyr key word? Because he doesn’t!”. Yes, dear reader, that’s true. He doesn’t. Interestingly though, the vampire characters that accompany Jelsen in the Cursed City set don’t have the Soulblight Gravelords key word, and we know for a fact that the Soulblight faction is mere weeks away from release. It’s believed that Cursed City was originally slated for release some time in 2020, long before the new Soulblight faction was revealed, which explains why the warscrolls were written with this key word omitted. Could it be that Games Workshop wanted to hide not just their plans for a new Soulblight faction, but for an Order of Azyr faction too?

Knowing that the Order of Azyr has a big part to play in the Broken Realms saga, you have to admit that it’s a strong way to introduce a new faction, if that is indeed the plan - Gloomspite Gitz and Nighthaunt were both foreshadowed in precisely this way with the early release of the Fungoid Cave Shaman and Knight of Shrouds during the Malign Portents event. And it could be that, despite its aging model range, Cities of Sigmar simply has too many units already to justify adding in even more. Then there’s the fact that fans have been crying out for more of a mortal human presence in the Age of Sigmar miniatures range for years now - could their time have come at last? I’m not saying that any of this will happen - this article is absolutely not intended to be a set of predictions. But I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if it does. Something about it feels right somehow.

Here’s one final piece of speculation to end on. With the Broken Realms series strongly rumoured to be leading into a new edition of Age of Sigmar, there’ll inevitably be a new starter set. While Stormcast Eternals are very popular, they’re by no means the cultural and sales juggernaut that space marines are, and I can imagine a scenario in which they aren’t automatically included as the ‘good guys’ in the box. There are also no hints of a new chamber opening any time soon, and a new starter box has to include all-new models, right? So what does that leave us with? What major new Order release are we building up to for the third edition starter set…?