If you’ve been keeping up with Warhammer Community you may remember Warhammer Age of Sigmar loremaster Phil Kelly’s progress on his Lumineth Realm-lords last year. We’re checking in to see how he’s getting on and… oh, that’s rather a lot of progress…
Phil: Hail, friends! When last we spoke, I’d mustered around 1,000 points of Lumineth Realm-lords. I was pretty happy with the way they’d turned out, and I hoped to double the number of points I’d amassed thus far or perhaps even triple it. Well… I may have quadrupled it by mistake. You know how it is.
The foundation of the army is based on warscroll battalions – an Auralan Legion backed up by two Dawnrider Lances. I love the classical look of the Vanari and resolved to get at least three of each type of unit in my collection as a solid foundation for all of the wilder stuff.
The bulk of my army is three units each of Wardens and Sentinels, with a pair of Starshard Ballistas behind them to force the enemy to close the distance or be shot down where they stand. Together, these units have a powerful synergy, and I can’t wait to see a horde of charging nasties impaled on the white-hot pike tips of the front liners someday.
I technically have four units of Vanari Dawnriders ready for the countercharge, but I bunged them together in a couple of cavalry lances just for the looks, and I added some scryhawks too.
I recently got my hands on a Vanari Lord Regent to lead the cavalry charge. Halfway through painting her, I thought her lightcourser steed could have rosette markings, much like a leopard or cheetah, to give the impression of speed. After all, this is no horse we’re talking about.
I had a lot of fun dappling some of the horses in the Dawnriders units as well. If you’re painting animals it’s a lot of fun researching patterns and markings, then trying to echo them on your model. One day, I hope to do the same for Celennar.
Speaking of centrepieces, my Spirit of the Mountain is holding up the high fantasy side of things quite nicely, especially with his Alarith Stonemage pal hovering close at hand on his private zen garden. I have a small squad of Stoneguard to go with them – the bare minimum for an Alarith Temple. Expanding this unit is one of the next things on my list.
Being a keen Warhammer Underworlds player, it was inevitable that Myari Lightcaller and his Purifiers would make a cameo. I like to think, trapped in Beastgrave as they are, that these are astral projections or sorcerous mirages. After all, if anyone’s going to make a spiritual light show deadly, it’s going to be the Lumineth.
With the majority of the army sorted, I had a lot of fun with the impressive spread of characters that were released alongside Broken Realms: Teclis. First up was a Scinari Loreseeker, a relatively simple model to warm up with before I tackled Ellania and Ellathor, the Eclipsian Warsages.
I thoroughly enjoyed painting these miniatures, though I’d recommend a sub-assembly approach. You’ll be pleased to know the bond between sister and brother is very strong when it comes to plastic glue and connection points as well as spiritual kinship.
The same advice applies to the Vanari Bannerblade – that banner is big enough to be considered a miniature in its own right. One thing I love about this range of models is that it has some impressive height, with banners and pennants fluttering in the breeze. Focal points like this model really make all the difference (and act as linchpins in the game, too).
I had some real fun with the Scinari Calligrave. This chap alters reality by painting runes of banishment on his hovering canvases, which are then writ large upon the battlefield, emboldening the Lumineth even as they heal the land. He can also wipe his enemies from existence by painting pictures of his foes before erasing them from both his art and reality.
To represent this ability, I carefully shaved off the little rune on his canvas and painted a Mega-Gargant on there, replicating some watercolour brush strokes. Only in Warhammer Age of Sigmar could the brush be mightier than the sword, and dirty paint water is an offensive weapon that can wipe an enemy hero from existence.
Of course, all these mage types need some good solid blades around to protect them while they’re talking to stones, stealing priceless artefacts, and painting new realities onto the battlefield. Step forward the Vanari Bladelords. I love the way these guys look, especially with their Vanashimor banners marking them out as elites (and deflecting hostile spells to boot). These expert swordmasters will escort any Scinari who need to get close to the enemy and decapitate anyone that has a problem with it.
In conclusion, putting together so many units in the same colour scheme has scratched my itch for collecting a new army. Now there’s the gaming side to explore. I might have a few more Vanari units done by the time this army hits the table, or maybe even the mage-god himself and a Shrine Luminor. The fact that my Alumnian Battlehost hasn’t rolled a single dice in anger is a sign of the times, but their hour will come – and when it does, it will be a sight to behold.
Thanks again, Phil. If this has inspired you to begin your own army of Lumineth Realm-lords, be sure to check out some more painting tips for your Vanari leaders, and make sure to post your progress on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter so we can see what you’re up to.