Character Restrictions in tournaments look to be here to stay. Let's break down Skorne's characters and where they fit.
Steamroller 2012 introduced Character Restrictions across the board. There was of course some whining and moaning when the rules were first released, but I think on the whole these changes have been very well received. I would be very surprised if these restrictions didn't carry on into steamroller 2013. I for one have really enjoyed the new character restrictions. It means I see a whole lot less of certain solos (though I still seem to fight armies with Gorman, Eiryss, Janessa, etc), and it also challenges me to use some new models.
Hordes generally got hit less with character restrictions than Warmachine. we really don't have as many characters to start with, and without access to merc solos we don't have those tempting options like Rhupert and Gorman (yes, I am going to drop Gorman's name a lot. I really hate that guy). When I was starting out with Skorne, I often built lists with zero character models (aside from the warlock of course). We just don't need them in every list.
