Belthanos leads the eternal hunt that keeps his master Kurnoth’s spirit in bloom. Cloaked in leaves and riding atop a Carnelian Greatspite made of pure life magic, he chases down those who would harm Ghyran so that his howling followers might rip them apart.
Belthanos, the First Thorn of Kurnoth, leads the eternal hunt that keeps his master’s spirit in bloom. Cloaked in evergreen and riding atop a Carnelian Greatspite made of pure life magic, he chases down those who would harm Ghyran so that his howling Revenant Seeker and Kurnoth Hunter followers might rip them apart.
The air sings with glorious life magic as the children of Alarielle surge into battle. Embittered noble spirits command the fury of the forest, hissing Branchwyches leading from the front as verdant wyldwoods burst forth from the heaving ground. Mighty wargroves advance in defence of life itself, Tree-Revenants striking without warning as relentless Kurnoth Hunters and ancient Treelords crush enemies with inexorable, arboreal strength.
A breed of forest spirit only recently-emerged into the ranks of the Sylvaneth, the Gossamid Archers are afforded the power of flight by the zephyrwing spites that clasp their torsos. With impressive speed and mobility, the Archers fly to wherever they're needed on the battlefield, swooping low to shoot at the enemy and evading counter-assaults with a swarm of insectile distractions. A gruesome fate awaits any struck by the shafts fired by these symbiotic skirmishers – the arrowheads contain voracious grubs that devour the target from within.
The Spiterider Lancers are Alarielle's elite cavalry, mounted upon agile Dragonspites whose bodies thrum with the energies of Life. Taming one of these ancient insectoid predators is a quest in itself – their forest spirit riders deftly swoop and whirl above the battlefield before suddenly diving into a charge, striking the enemy lines with shocking force. The enemies of the Everqueen are left with nowhere to hide when the Spiterider Lancers are unleashed from the vales.
Strange and fey are the Sylvaneth, children of the life goddess Alarielle. These forest spirits have long dwelt in the woods of the Mortal Realms, protecting places of power from malign trespassers and the warping touch of Chaos. As the effects of the Everqueen’s Rite of Life are felt across the cosmos, the Sylvaneth find themselves once more on the offensive. With vital sorcery, enchanted blade, and oaken talon, they will ensure that the power of their goddess’s great ritual takes hold across all lands.
The armies of the Soviet Union had many weapons at their disposal to counteract the threat of German armoured formations – from orthodox anti-tank rifles, oddball 'Molotov Cocktail’ throwers and the unconventional use of dogs as living anti-tank mines.
Like the soldiers they commanded, many Soviet officers were inexperienced and lacked training at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Stalin’s ruthless purge of officers of the Red Army in 1937 had denuded the organisation of leadership and left deep scars in the survivors’ minds.
Like the soldiers they commanded, many Soviet officers were inexperienced and lacked training at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Stalin’s ruthless purge of the officers of the Red Army in 1937 had denuded the organization of leadership and left deep scars in the survivors’ minds. Throughout the war, showing initiative was seen as a dangerous trait, and most Soviet officers would follow their orders to the letter even if they meant marching their men to certain death.
The T-34/76 first saw action in late 1941, and was a significant leap forward in tank design – a rugged, no-nonsense anatomy and wide tracks enabled it to cope with the mud and snow of the Eastern Front. It married the perfect combination of thick, sloped armour and an efficient gun, along with extreme sturdiness, reliability, ease of manufacturing and maintenance.
The T-34 series, with its sloping armour, changed the principles of tank design during the war. The sloping, angular layout of the T-34 increased the effective armour thickness and also saw a larger proportion of shells deflected away than penetrated its armour. The introduction of the T-34 into action saw German tank design follow suit with similarly angled armour on the likes of the Panther and King Tiger. As German tank design came to the fore, the Soviet war machine once again raised the bar with the T-34/85.
What do you do when you are told to upgrade an already giant metal monster that took a whole new generation of tank to actually deal with? You make it bigger and make it louder. The IS-2 is that very same beast, made as a competent replacement for the KV series and it was a far better designed machine than its predecessor.