GW finally confirmed Ghazghkull is coming (shocker) and continues to tease more on Ragnar Blackmane. Here is the latest on Psychic Awakening Saga of the Beast.
Warhammer Community revealed a short story earlier with Space Wolves gathering around and talking about future events. Previews mention an Ork leading an unprecedented Waaagh! as well as the Space Wolves’ new objective of finding Ragnar Blackmane. Saga of the Beast might be the biggest Psychic Awakening release to date. But to stir the pot even more, Ghazghkull has just been confirmed, and GW teased even more on Ragnar!
Is Ragnar Blackmane Getting a New Model? Saga of the Beast
We recommend that you read the story for yourself. However, pulling out the highlights in the short story, the leaders of the Space Wolves were discussing their future when they had a Rune Priest give a chilling message on some “green trolls”. He mentioned specifically a “green king” fighting under a banner of black horns and how his horde is only growing. And while this story is mainly leaders talking about what their fate might be, Logan mentioned how they had to find Ragnar Blackmane.
His roars spell the death of billions as his anger spills forth into world after world. Everything is swept away before the wrath of the green king, who is feared even by his own kin. A ragged banner with the black horns of the bull rises, and fire and doom rain upon Mankind.
Fits the description for Makari’s banner, doesn’t it?
Of course, at the end of this message from the Rune Priest, Logan Grimnar took control of the situation and gave a clear view at what the Space Wolve’s next task would be in order to prepare for the Orkish horde.
The Space Wolves around the table looked at each other. Gillir Thunderstone opened his mouth, then closed it again and sat down. Logan Grimnar nodded slowly.
‘Well,’ he eventually said, ‘someone better find out where in the damned galaxy we can find Ragnar Blackmane.’
Ragnar Blackmane is definitely past due for a model rework. And with their codex already out and not bringing any new models to the table, Psychic Awakening is GW’s next shot. Now, on top of Ragnar’s model showing its age, we’ve noticed a pattern from all these Psychic Awakening short stories. Usually, they’ll hone in on a certain character and keep mentioning him as time goes on and more stories come out. With the objective set for the Space Wolves to find Ragnar, we could easily see how, when the Space Wolves do find him, he’ll hit the spotlight with a new sculpt.
Lazarus, Shadowsun, & More Followed the Pattern
While there are a few exceptions to the rule like Mephiston (He was just straight-up previewed in two separate videos from the start), most of the new character reworks are hinted at in short stories.
In the case of Lazarus, the new Dark Angels named character, he appeared all over a particular Psychic Awakening short: Enmity’s Edge
Mere metres away, Ithurial was fatally succumbing to a greater psyker. Lazarus felt his brother reach into his mind and infuse his last vestiges of strength into him. The defiance that powered Lazarus was stoked, an ember of fury that would not be extinguished, and a blaze of righteous repugnance was set. As Ithurial’s duty came to an end, Lazarus was rejuvenated.
In the same way, Shadowsun was a reoccurring character that was mentioned in the Psychic Awakening short: Beyond the Startide Nexus
Shadowsun was warning the forces on the Tau side of the Startide Nexus that a fleet of Death Guard would be emerging from the portal. And that her forces would not be able to defeat the plague fleet.
Another Note Worth Mentioning
It’s also worth mentioning that the OG Mephiston and Ragnar Blackmane are almost an exact copy of each other. The other model just had its wargear flipped. And with that said, if GW saw Mephiston fit for a model rework, then they could say the same thing about Ragnar.
GW also just listed the Space Wolves as one of Ghaz’s “enemies”:
On the planet of Fenris, the Rune Priests of the Space Wolves have been ravaged by visions of pain and death. They saw a great green pyre spreading between the stars, and by casting the runes, they could only come to one conclusion – the Orks were becoming more united. It didn’t take them long to realise that there could only be one Ork behind this – Ghazghkull – and take an oath to stop the murderous Warboss’ rampage. It will be a battle worthy of song.
One thing worth noting in this preview is perhaps the fact that they use artwork featuring Ragnar Blackmane fighting Orks. Keep in mind however that this is older existing artwork, and doesn’t depict any models in Primaris armor.
Ghazghkull Confirmed for Saga of the Beast
With the same style of zoomed-in shots leading up to how Abaddon’s new model was previewed, we’ve had an extremely big sneaking suspicion that this was Ghazghkull Thrakka. Especially now that we know Makari is coming back (and we’ve seen some of his rules). However, up until this point, we couldn’t 100% say that this was Ghazghkul. Looking at the latest Psychic Awakening short story from Warhammer Community, we know he’s coming in with a vengeance and ready to hit hard.
What makes us think Ghazghkull is coming inside Saga of the Beast?
Well for starters, WHC titled the short story “He’s back and he’s spoiling for a fight”. While the story is filled with a bunch of background lore of previous clashes with different factions, they also had this to plainly say:
The next Psychic Awakening book, Saga of the Beast, will centre around the Space Wolves’ attempts to finally end Waaagh! Ghazghkull, and you’ll be able to pick it up next month. In the meantime, get ready for the Ork incursions by grabbing the original model for Commissar Yarrick, available for one week only on a Made to Order basis.
So Ghaz has his own Waaagh! named after him, and we have Makari as well as some close-up shots of some massive Ork in mega armor. Pretty clear pointers Ghazghkull is just about to make a splash on the tabletop and hopefully be promoted to true BEAST status evident by his statline.
What’s a buff that Ghazghkull needs to get from his current statline? How many points do you think he’ll cost?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
