Games Workshop is introducing a new nonbinary Stormcast Eternal for Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Ahead of the weekend, Games Workshop offered a number of Warhammer Nova Open reveals with new miniatures and plans for all of its games, including a refreshed line of Stormcast Eternals miniatures. The highlight of the new Stormcast line was a new named hero called Iridan the Witness, an imposing character riding atop a Morrgryph and wielding the fearsome Axe of the Final Threshold.
Iridan’s backstory establishes them as the first Stormcast to kill a fellow immortal warrior, granting them a "true death" and sparing them from the Curse of Reforging, which slowly erodes a Stormcast’s soul turning them from a reborn mortal to an emotionless, memory-less killing machine. After conferring with the god Sigmar and Ionus Cryptborn (a Stormcast seeking the cure to the Curse of Reforging), Iridan is now deployed at any battle "where Stormcast Eternals are in danger of losing themselves completely." Of course, the irony to Iridan’s character is that they have an eidetic memory and never forget the face of a Stormcast they mercy kill, even though the Stormcast they kill have all but forgotten who and what they are.
Notably, Games Workshop used they/them pronouns for Iridan when discussing the new character in both the Nova Open preview (which you can watch below) and accompanying article over on the Warhammer Community announcement page. This marks one of the first nonbinary characters to permanently appear in the fantasy-themed game and certainly one of the first featured nonbinary characters.
A similar character to Iridan, an unnamed Lord-Terminos responsible for mercy killings of Stormcast, also appeared in the Skaventide novel by Gary Kloster, and was also described with they/them pronouns. However, in the context of the novel (and the overall lore), the Lord-Terminos is an imposing and foreboding mystery and use of nonbinary pronouns may be a reflection of their solemnity and grim duty rather than a desire to provide greater representation or inclusivity.
Back in 2021, Games Workshop announced Sylas Beastbane as one of two anniversary models for that year. Beastbane’s initial description used they/them pronouns as well, but Games Workshop quickly revised the character’s description to use he/him pronouns in all but one part on their website. No explanation was given for the change, although some noted frustration at the seeming walkback at the time. Games Workshop has used nonbinary pronouns to describe other characters in their various Warhammer games in the past, although they were generally aliens, robots, or followers of the hedonistic Chaos god Slaanesh.
Iridan’s sculpt can alternatively be used as a generic Lord-Vigilant, a ruler of the Bleak Citadels where the Ruination Chamber (a collection of Stormcast Eternals on the verge of losing themselves to the Curse of Reforging) reside. As a generic character, an Age of Sigmar player can choose to make them whatever gender presentation they’d like.
Games Workshop provided no release date for Iridan or the rest of the new Stormcast Eternals line, but based on the Roadmap provided for Age of Sigmar, they will be released later this year alongside the Stormcast Eternals Battletome.
Curious about how this new version of the game compares to the last? Check in with our guide to all Warhammer Age of Sigmar 4th edition rules changes. You can also see what we thought about it in our Skaventide impressions piece.
