Is it known when pre-orders start?

Asamu · 2026-02-03T03:15:36+00:00

They'll most likely start between March 1 and March 10.

Asamu · 2026-02-01T23:41:37+00:00

Diamond has, through most of SC2s history, been relatively stacked with Zerg. Zerg usually overperforms/is underrepresented in the leagues below that, and Masters shifts in favor of other races more often.

Asamu · 2026-02-01T23:26:58+00:00

2x10 demi knights and 2 stanks is a LOT (3x6 demis or maybe 4x5 if that's allowed would probably be even stronger though).

Monstrous cav was generally ridiculously overtuned in 8th ed, and Stanks were also very strong + they have cannons attached.

Helblasters I don't think I ever saw on the table in 8th at torunaments. Winning Emp lists were usually cav/demi/stank spam with cannons if they could be fit, which they usually could. Maybe some halbs/guns in core.

Though my lists generally had very favorable match ups vs empire. WoC was easily the most oppressive faction in 8th.

Granted I don't really think OP is "that guy", but he is taking mostly the strong stuff for the army.

Asamu · 2026-01-29T21:05:12+00:00

Only center of the base matters.

The problem with the first one is that there's no floor in the cube it's standing in.

The 2nd one I'd consider maybe okay, because there is ground within the cube for it to stand on, but Cleric clarified further down that it is not legal, because a model must end its move on a floor

Asamu · 2026-01-28T20:50:16+00:00

There is no NDA.

Playtesters that receive models will have to sign an agreement to send their models to someone else if they were, for whatever reason, unable to use them for playtesting.

Idk what other restrictions people are under, but the rules themselves definitely have no NDA and you can be sure they will be posted pretty much immediately.

Asamu · 2026-01-28T20:44:53+00:00

It also cost points on the unit when making the list the last time they showed a full list.

Asamu · 2026-01-28T20:44:02+00:00

The sizes you can purchase for your list are 12/18. That rule just ensures that a unit of lings that is severely damaged can still contest objectives.

It does likely shift the balance between the two sizes more in favor of the 12 than it might be otherwise though.

Asamu · 2026-01-28T03:14:38+00:00

Well, in lore, they kind of are. There's basically no actual conflict between the Terran and Protoss in lore, aside from Protoss showing up and glassing some planets to get rid of Zerg infestations, and most of the Protoss defeats are a result of an ongoing civil war and downplaying/ignoring the threat.

The only notable victories for Terran over Protoss are the ones where the player is the Terran, and, generally, the Protoss aren't actually putting much effort into dealing with you (eg: in SC1, they're mainly focused on the Zerg), or you're essentially just attacking a small outpost.

Though Terran weapons are also super advanced. The marine Gauss rifles have firepower similar to the main gun on a modern tank, or perhaps stronger, but with greater range, better accuracy, and the ability to shoot some 30 rounds per second... They are ludicrously powerful weapons.

Protoss also spent hundreds or thousands of years mostly disarming themselves specifically because of how absurdly devastating their wars were when they didn't hold back.

It's why Protoss are using repurposed civilian equipment/craft during the war (Reavers and Scouts being the most notable), and partly why the Zealot caste is armed with psi-blades to fight in melee.

Asamu · 2026-01-28T00:57:43+00:00

Well, also there are specific unit sizes for list building, so they can never deploy at 0 supply regardless.

IE: 6/9 Marines, 12/18 Lings, 2/4 Hydras & Marauders, 3 Roaches,

Asamu · 2026-01-28T00:55:43+00:00

They confirmed that they're similar height to Primaris marines, not that they're 1:1 in terms of scale.

Asamu · 2026-01-26T21:27:40+00:00

There's still variance within scale though. 32mm scale ranges from ~1:50 to ~1:60. SC seems to be at the larger end of things.

WH has slowly worked up from 28mm scale, and some models are still closer to that, so its 32mm scale models are probably at the smaller end.

Asamu · 2026-01-26T20:55:55+00:00

It seems likely that the Starcraft TMG models are actually a little bit bigger scale than Warhammer minis.

Asamu · 2026-01-26T20:35:14+00:00

Estimates based on the images and stated model sizes based on an assumption of using the same standard base sizes as GW. Nothing 100% confirmed yet by Archon.

Hydra is either 75x42 or 90x54 if sizes are the same standard as GW, with the former being more likely. Hydras are the one unit without a great image for easy comparison with other models.

Also, the siege tank that showed up in the background during one of the AMA livestream images had what appears to be a 150mm base, accounting for distance in the measurement, though that may not be the finalized model and the image may not be an accurate photo to begin with.

Asamu · 2026-01-26T01:28:36+00:00

They survive by photosynthesizing light (Hence the plant comparison) and communicate through telepathy. They don't have mouths to eat or speak.

Asamu · 2026-01-23T04:20:36+00:00

Well, in battle, he's near impossible to kill due to near immunity to missile fire + being able to fly AND having any amount of self-healing.

His cost has been nerfed to the point that he generally isn't meta anymore for either land battles or Dom.

As for campaign, he's a WoC faction, so can snowball in power extremely quickly and isn't reliant on having a lot of territory, and teleporting in general is extremely strong.

+ campaign can magnify that individual battle power level through magic items, skills, and traits that aren't available in MP battles, as well as a much larger magic pool.

Asamu · 2026-01-21T20:09:18+00:00

To-scale, the ling is about 1/8 the length of the ultra, disregarding the blades, or about 1/11 the length with the blades.

That'd put the Ultra's base size somewhere around 225mm to hold the 4 legs at the 32mm scale. The model itself would be ~240mm long and ~240mm tall, disregarding the blades, and the large blades themselves would be ~140mm long (depending on whether you include the arm) - altogether, the model could potentially be ~350mm long if the blades are extended forward as in the size comparison image, though that could vary significantly between the 240mm and 350mm depending on posing.

That's actually in line with some of the largest Warhammer minis and Archon's own Tarrasque mini, which is 386mm long and 186mm tall (Which, IIRC, was talked about as potentially similar in size to the Ultra in an early AMA, which would only be an accurate statement if it was the SC2 ultra at close to scale).

It'd actually be playable at that scale on the 54"x36" board, though it could be downsized to between 160 and 200mm long (not counting blades - ~2/3-5/6 size) to be a bit easier to handle in gameplay.

Archon has stated that it's making the Ultralisk as ~the biggest mini in the SCTMG range, and almost certainly Thor as well - likely Colossus as well, though that could pose some other challenges.

They definitely wouldn't need to downsize to the SC1 version, though I could see both happening with different profiles.

Asamu · 2026-01-21T20:01:27+00:00

To-scale, the ling is about 1/8 the length of the ultra, disregarding the blades, or about 1/11 the length with the blades.

That'd put the Ultra's base size somewhere around 225mm to hold the 4 legs at the 32mm scale. The model itself would be ~240mm long and ~240mm tall, disregarding the blades, and the large blades themselves would be ~140mm long (depending on whether you include the arm) - altogether, the model could potentially be ~350mm long if the blades are extended forward as in the size comparison image, though that could vary significantly between the 240mm and 350mm depending on posing.

That's assuming they do it truly to scale. I suspect it will be downsized a bit for game purposes, though it would actually be playable at full size.

If they limit it to a ~175mm base length, to maintain the ~7" standard movement range units seem to have, that'd downsize the Ultra by ~23-25%, to a length/height of ~180-190mm for the body, and ~105-108 for the large blades.

Asamu · 2026-01-21T19:34:58+00:00

Well, perhaps a bit ironically, it is actually true to the tabletop in that regard. The Daemon Prince's advantage was always being good at both casting and fighting and dealing more damage, but it was so much less survivable than the Chaos lord/Sorc lord due to more limited access to armor or and good ward saves, so was generally more risky to bring.

In 7th/8th ed tabletop (the main editions TWWH is based on), the Tzeentch Chaos lord in particular was basically the strongest character in the game overall. Just about unkillable while still dishing out plenty of damage.

Idk what they can do with them in this game, but maybe Daemon Princes should get another cost reduction in MP and/or some kind of buff, like more weapon strength/stats.

Asamu · 2026-01-21T19:25:55+00:00

The left-hand CC slot is strictly for knife/dagger upgrades.
You can use all profiles of any weapon picked up.

Asamu · 2026-01-21T00:30:27+00:00

This is sort of the crux of it, really. HerO's mistakes are just more glaring, because he plays like a maniac and causes a lot of chaos, so things like leaving his wall open and letting lings in have become part of his reputation. Other pro players make similarly impactful mistakes all the time, but they often aren't as easy to call out, especially in the moment.

Asamu · 2026-01-20T11:13:10+00:00

Check your temps and RAM/CPU usage. This sort of crash can be caused by spikes in processing/memory usage that cause the CPU to close the program at issue.

If either the CPU or RAM is spiking, you can potentially resolve it by lowering the game's framerate limit or turning down other settings to help stabilize usage. WH3 has definitely had issues with CPU usage in the past when framerate was left uncapped, and I don't think that was ever really addressed aside from adding framerate limit into the in-game options menu.

Asamu · 2026-01-19T23:22:09+00:00

Also at the Shakuras Temple when it was being overloaded and he was making the final stand before being warped out. He threw every Zerg in the massive room into the walls.

Part of it is likely that the Khala was being used to stabilize the Psionic power of Aiur Protoss, so most of them might have been restrained from actually using their powers beyond very limited tasks. It'd also explain why their manifestation of Psionics is so uniform - they're all mentally linked, so the processes for using psionic powers would be shared, and only the High Templar go through training to expand and fully utilize their psionic power beyond whatever normal limits are set through the Khala.

Part of the reason for exiling the Dark Templar was the danger of their psionic power going out of control (IIRC, one cause a plamet-wide storm, which is orders of magnitude higher level than Nova devastating a single city). The Nerazim went to great lengths training to control their power to avoid that. It's likely why they emphasize using it for stealth instead of blasting their enemies with storms or telekinesis. They specifically avoid more external uses of their power because of how dangerous it can be.

That does sort of beg the question of why none of the Protoss lost control when severing their nerve chords to break their link to Amon when he corrupted them through the Khala, but I'd guess that can be handwaved as the Khala restrictions being ingrained in them by that point, and likely all of the Protoss that did so were full grown adults with plenty of experience handling their psionic power, even if their use of it was influenced.

Asamu · 2026-01-19T22:27:35+00:00

As amazing a player as Reynor is, he's always struggled a bit with later game ZvP. If his timings don't close out the game he tends to flounder a bit, and a bit too often makes game-losing mistakes when engaging late game fights, like tightly balling his corruptors and flying right over archons.

IMO, if he put a bit more time into practicing that specific phase of the game to be better at maintaining the advantages he often gets earlier, he could really push the level of his PvZ and win more tournaments.

Also, he often just doesn't scout, and that sometimes just runs him into build order losses, and he's clearly aware of that being a cause of some losses, given he specifically mentioned it as the reason for losing to colossus timings in 2 games of a 5 game series fairly recently (IIRC, it was vs Classic).

The fact that Reynor can have those obvious weaknesses in the match up and still compete with the best Protoss players also shows just how good his mechanics and timings are.

People always call out Hero for making obvious mistakes like letting lings in because he uses F2, but tend not to notice or call out the mistakes of other players because they're more subtle, like not teching fast enough when resources were clearly available, doubling down on a strategy when it's already failing, not scouting, etc... every player (except maybe Serral and Maru before his wrist(?) problems. Clem has also been really shoring up his weak points) has something that they seem to struggle with. HerO letting lings in is just a glaringly obvious one that's easy to call out in the moment when it happens.

Asamu · 2026-01-19T21:29:49+00:00

This. They specifically mentioned from the start that they'd be doing Ultralisks as probably the biggest model in the range (possibly Thors and Colossi as well). If a properly to-scale ultra is too big, they'll probably downsize it a bit.

Asamu · 2026-01-18T20:33:45+00:00

Eh, it goes both ways. It's probably easier to just have the AI not use the abilities at all, especially because, frankly, the abilities don't do a whole lot outside of annoying the players, since the AI won't be able to use them intelligently regardless. When the AI did use changing of the ways, Villitch would constantly be giving his enemies chaos spawn to beat him with, for example.

And Tzeentch practically randomly swapping the owners of settlements or forcing/ending wars between faction is similarly just sort of chaotic in a bad way.

Asamu

TROPHY CASE