Yes, according to GW the Olde World is being brought back.
From the horse's mouth instead of hearsay:
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/07/21/square-bases-and-kislev-ascendant-see-your-questions-about-warhammer-the-old-world-answered/Quotes of interest...
Bases: square or round? Definitely square! Warhammer: The Old World is a reinvention of the classic rank-and-file game of Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Regiments move in ranked-up units, and strategic manoeuvring into position to launch or receive a critical charge will be as much a key part of the game as it ever was.
Keen-eyed observers will have gleaned by now that Warhammer: The Old World is going to be set several hundred years before the End Times, so there’s plenty of space to explore the history of the setting. Especially knowledgeable students may also note this puts us just before another calamitous Chaos invasion, and one which, while central to the story of the Empire and the entire Old World, was barely touched on in previous iterations…
Considering this summer's roll-out of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy as a flagship product range alongside AOS, 40K and MESBG, it wouldn't surprise me if TOW becomes THH of AOS...
Now, to the topic at hand!
I'm quite ashamed to say that, like a child, I was simply drawn to the new models. They are stunning
Big same! I spent the first year of AOS enraged that GW punished those who, despite their neglect in favor of more space marines, stuck it out those last few years of awful 8th Edition by rebooting the entire IP. But, pretty models- and a fun, active community, both in person and online- pulled me back in.
As luck would have it, I've been faffing about with a Soulblight army since the new Skeletons + Blood Knights are simply fantastic. Looking at the Kastelai Dynasty allegiance abilities, they have a fun party trick in their back pocket: for each unit you set up normally, you can hold one unit of Blood Knights in reserve; this unit can then move on any table edge. If you take a generic Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (wearing blood knight armor, I might add) and give him the Swift and Deadly command trait, all units within 12" of him can re-roll their charge rolls. This means you can set up a hammer-and-anvil between your cavalry and your infantry- or just generally get your cavalry charge where you need them, when you want them.
I'm assuming your vampire lord is on foot; as you grow your collection, I would advise adding that VLOZD to your Blood Knights, adding more Blood Knights, adding more Grave Guard / Skeletons to grow your ranks, and maybe pick up some Zombies for your vampire lords to summon in and replenish losses.
Maybe I'm a bit nostalgic but I found manual+codex a bit easier to follow and learn.
IMO, AOS isn't especially different. The only things you need to play is the Core book
or the current General's Handbook* and your army's Battletome. FAQ's do exist, but aren't terribly important outside of tournament play.
*Both the Core book and the General's Handbook contain a copy of the current 3rd Edition rules. Where the Core book gives you backstory about the setting and factions like the old Base Rule Books did, the General's Handbook is meant strictly for current competitive tabletop play. GW uses the GHB's to adjust points and shake up the "meta" every 6-12 months.
If you're like me, you keep a copy of the Core book, your Battletome, and the GHB on you, but again, you only *need* the Core or the GHB to put models on the table and play.
I am writing mainly to exchange some opinions and to ask for help to build this force up without going into big plastic monsters/heroes. I've decided to try AoS but I still dislike the idea of armies built around big centrepieces...
Again, AOS isn't much different than WHFB in that regard. Case in point, the VLOZD is an old WHFB kit; its predecessor was Zacharias the Everliving from 6th Ed WHFB.
I have read that they are finally giving some love to the mortal empires (normal humans) after 5+ plus years of neglect...
Yup! There's an article for that, too:
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2022/05/05/revealed-the-massive-project-to-put-mortals-back-into-mortal-realms/To be completely fair, although they've been sidelined and backburnered, "normal humans" have not been completely neglected. Freeguild and Ironweld, aka the old Empire units, have existed in the lore since Grand Alliance: Order. The Free Cities of Ghyran and Aqshy were introduced in the Season of War: Firestorm boxed campaign supplement, and Battletome: Cities of Sigmar bult on those foundations in 2019 and included fun options like the all-Steam Tank army of Greywater Fastness. That said, CoS was very much a dumping ground for old WHFB units they weren't ready to discontinue, and I'm excited to see "normal humans" get the re-imagining treatment of other former legacy armies like Daughters of Khaine and Sylvaneth.
