Why useless? For us it's just a little less useful, but it can still save some wounds... (for some armies it's even more useful now!)
Summoning doesnt replace allegiance abilities. Its a secondary feature to factions that allow it. Slaanesh still has theirs, Nurgle still has theirs, Tzeentch as well, etc.
A side effect of the summoning changes could be that we get all our Warscrolls redone in the next General's Handbook. We already know from Facebook that the Engine of the Gods warscroll will be changing. But almost all our Warscrolls have a rule saying that Slaan Wizards know the spell to summon them. This could be a long shot, but with the summoning changes all of those would have to be removed. GW could accomplish that with a simple FAQ ruling, but on the other hand they might want to be more direct. If they do reprint our Warscrolls, it gives us the possibility of having some stats tweaked here and there. This is wishful thinking certainly, but it's a possibility at least.
It is a balanced mechanic more likely Let's hope other factions' mechanics make sense as well, so the balance will be kept !
I also think it odd that our summoning point generation depends upon NOT casting spells with our Slann, which seems neither thematic nor fun. If every army operated along a similar cost/benefit line it might make more sense, but from what I've read some/most of the other armies generate summoning points for simply doing their thing, e.g. a Tzeentch army accumulates points whenever spells are successfully cast on the battlefield (by either army, no less). The important counterpoint, however, is that while there are ways to prevent a Tzeentch army from generating points (not casting spells yourself, and/or dispelling your opponent's casting attempts) I don't see how you'll prevent a Slann from generating points except by killing it. So with the still quite limited information we've got, I'll just have to hope they've at least roughly balanced the system.
I does kinda make sense bc they have to align the stars so they have to concentrate on that instead of concentrating on casting a spell. Like someone said up thread, it's less useful for us is all. Still a nice trick to use here and there though.
Well only currently, we'll really see once they release all the info, and a full list on what we can summon. Because I'll be generating points for days if it means I can summon Bastiladons. Already thinking up some lists as well. Mainly focus on starting the fight with a full list of Behemoths and then just summoning units of skinks every turn. I just want that full list.
You are not kidding! Has anyone seen or heard about a release date? Its already the 2nd! They are running out of time!!
I've been trying to find out myself, need to put money by gah. Hopefully people will get their hands on the White Dwarf early so they leak the prices, maybe... it talks about the new edition. I heard it being early June but we don't even know what the set looks like, in terms of models in the starter set and books.
I have a feeling (read as hoping) that the starter set will be most of the Sigmar and Nighthaunt stuff they showed in the videos and had on display. I think this will be a bit priceyer starter set. Like around Dark Imperium price.
Honestly, Lords of space and time is vastly preferable to the new summoning mechanic. I would be aghast if they dropped it in favour of a few free skinks!
One of the side benefits that the new summoning system brings; Tzeentch summoning is based on successfully casting spells, both theirs and their enemies'. By moving our summoning to be instead of spells instead of done by actually casting spells, we just became a serious middle finger to Tzeentch players who were probably expecting to get a lot of their own summoning out of facing us. We now have the ability to shut down all their spells while foregoing our own to summon endless hordes of units, using the same Slann/Astrolith/Skink heroes package that we've always had. I'll admit, anti-Tzeentch is a pretty niche thing to add to our army, but I doubt many others will do it better. As for the idea that we "won't be using the new realm or endless spells due to needing the slots for summoning," piffle! Every wizard in the army learns those spells, not just the Slann. Astroliths buff every wizard in the army, not just the Slann. Not even just wizards within a set range! Any Starseers/Starpriests you have out in the field to extend your Slann's reach could be casting those spells themselves, and I can't see Starpriests becoming really expensive. Admittedly, all of that's subject to change (especially the Astrolith, I can see it getting nerfed somewhere and it'll probably be the wizard buff being global) but assuming we don't have the whole casting element of our army rewritten, it ought to mostly hold up.
Where do you get that info? I've searched and in the faction focus Disciples of Tzeentch there is no info on their summoning mechanic, and the only possible reference i could find was in the Rules Preview: Summoning where it says: "Instead, you earn your summoned units with in-game actions: bloodshed, spreading plague, mastering magic, and other thematic goals." Anyway, that is not 100% sure to be what you assumed. Any other source to confirm your theory?
To sum up, Tzeentchian Daemons gain a summoning point every time a spell is successfully cast. They then spend those points in a way similar to how we spend our ritual ones, to summon things at the end of the movement phase (or whenever it is) from a set list. Haven;t seen said list, so not sure how many spells they need cast before they can start making good use of it, but the point is that it includes their spells and their enemies'. Previously, we've had a one-up on them by being about the only army that can beat them magically, especially without fielding any named heroes. That's also where our summoning previously was, so I get the idea a lot of Tzeentch players were rubbing their hands with the idea of using our own spell supremacy against us by pulling more troops when we try to hit them with our anit-daemon spells. And now our casting works by us *not* casting spells. And gets very strong very quickly if we primarily do that. Also, what reworks of existing units is everyone hoping for? Personally I'm hoping Salamanders get some love. If they're going to be stuck with an 8" range, they could at least work a bit like Clan Skryre's warpfire throwers; they're even the same sort of weapon! Or if they worked as a version of the Sunfire Throwers that isn't on a Stegadon, that'd be good too. Don't get me wrong, I like the damage they're capable of doing, I just wish they had more chance to do it than a single 3+/3+ attack. It's a decent chance to do some hefty damage with everything that happens if they hit, but then there's a notable chance of not hitting at all that irks me. Flamethrowers don't strike me as the sort of thing that should be an all-or-nothing effect.