Just a quick update this week, as I’ve not had a huge amount of time to get things done.
But I’ve fixed up the wall with green stuff ready for painting. I’m still in two minds about the bear rug though…..
So with all the pieces complete it’s just going to be a matter of making some posters and banners to go on the wall and then sticking the whole thing together. It’s only taken two months….
Age of Sigmar points were last released in June 2021 as part of the General’s handbook and – bar new books and a small Dragon issue – have remained the same since then.
Along comes the Winter FAQ to shake it all up…! I have reviewed some of the rules changes already, but I wanted to look at some of the points increases as well to see what impact it has.
Thanks to the hero that is Hellsotrm Mikey on twitter we have the points adjustments above listed alongside the new points from GW.
Before I comment on the above, it would be good to find out from Games Workshop what they want this update to do – for example is there a different aim than the Warhammer 40k team had? Fortunately they have told us on Warhammer Community
Now I know the aim, I can try to judge the success of the work against that. As already stated in my previous article I think the overall changes to the core rules and Kragnos are great. I can’t really comment on Archaon & Nagash but they look like they are trying to make them easier to balance. I’ll let you be the judge of their level of success. But, onto the points review. Here’s that picture again:
Whilst I do go to a lot of tournaments in the UK I’m not at the ‘bleeding edge’ of tournament play and I don’t know enough about most of the armies so I’ll give impressions and then deep delve on the armies I know and care about.
First thing that is noticable is that every army has at least one adjustment. I realise that with the existence of some vocal people on twitter this was probably necessary some of the adjustments feel a little top level – particularly those for characters … which I’ll explain later.
The Good
Irondrakes, Blood Stalkers, Sentinels, Bastilidons, Salamanders, Gore-Gruntas, Horrors, Chaos Warshrine and Chaos Sorcerer have all gone up in points to varying degrees. The thing you’ll notice about the first 5 of these is that they are all shooting units – so hopefully the change to Unleash Hell will also impact them.
Gore Gruntas were always going to go up since the FAQ gave them rend 2, but it’s a bit galling when other units get months of play, and Ironjawz get 2 months only! But that’s the way of timing and I’d prefer they were changed if due – and they were due an increase.
Horrors are still great value at 250 points for 50 wounds – now the equivalent of Gnoblars – and we all know which one we would prefer. I think another warscroll re-write is needed here, and my unpopular opinion is that the problem are the Brimstones. They were brought in with Silver Tower a small dungeon crawler and are now hamstringing the rules writers… just stop blues splitting – problem solved!
The changes to the Slaves to Darkness units seem reasonable given the number of times these units appear and I am told that the Sorcerer was far too cheap – but have never faced him.
The Bad
Foxes (LRL Windspirits) and Gargants are untouched… either on points or in the FAQ. The Foxes are bad because only other shooting armies have a reasonable chance of catching them – thanks to moving in the shooting phase – and Gargants are bad because their ability to hold objectives doesn’t deteriorate. This is especially confusing because GW have given Kragnos’ ability a deteriorating profile for Mightier Makes Rightier!
The Ugly
Now here I may be accused of being unfair to GW, but they are a large company that charges a lot of money for the rules of their game… and they have stated that they will improve factions that could use a boost… so what has happened?
I know Gloomspite very well, and have played them at four tournaments in 2021. 2 one dayers, one with Kragnos (oh dear!) and 2 5 game tournaments – Facehammer where we got an additional 150 points and BoBo where there was a best in race that Trogg & I fought for.
In neither of these did I do very well, and the stats from The Honest Wargamer show that I was not alone. They have a winrate of 31%. And this just isn’t a few incompetent fools playing with them (looking at myself)… they represent 2.4% of the meta in those same stats.
In order to improve an army that is doing badly it needs one of two things (and preferably both). It needs a better book & warscrolls and it needs lower points. Books take time to produce and GW have shown that they don’t often adjust warscrolls so that leaves points. Once this is decided – and it clearly has been in this update – then you need to meaningfully adjust the points… downwards… on units which are taken – a lot!
Sure the reduction of 20 points to my Mangler Squig is great… but all it does is get me a Triumph… maybe! Same issue with the Dankhold Troggoth – sure it’s a few points but not enough to make a difference. We need Battleline and Battleline IF to be reduced for armies to get better. Remember I played with 2,150 points at Facehammer and was lucky to go 1-1-3… and I’ve been playing this army a lot.
And reducing a unit that no-one takes (Skitterstrand) doesn’t help the faction get better. It gives another rubbish unit to throw at the enemy and give more points. Am I looking at the 3 Spiders and 4 Gigantic Spider riders on my desk? sure… but I also look at the Sentinels in LRL – still cheaper than a Skitterstrand!
So, as I feared, it’s turned into a tirade, but there are suggestions above, and what’s worse is that Games Workshop know what to do because they have done it with other armies:
So, why when they know the problem and know the solution do they not enact it across the board? Does it matter if a few armies suddenly go from 31% to 35% (or even 40%) winrate? No.
I did initially think that Gloomspite got no meaningful reductions because of Kragnos being improved but: 1) Kragnos is better in Beastclaw; and 2) I shouldn’t have to go outside Gloomspite for a playable army… playability should be included in all books – or if not adjusted!
Games Workshop could have given the struggling armies: Gloomspite, Blades of Khorne, Beast of Chaos, Nighthaunt, and Skaven a points drop of every unit of 10% and these armies still wouldn’t be ruling the tabletops but maybe, just maybe, the players who play them would have more fun and be more likely to occasionally grab a 3-2 out of the hands of Seraphon, Gargants, Daughters of Khaine and Ironjawz. At the very least they should follow their own aims as stated on Warhammer Community and try to succeed in those aims.
Conclusion
The points adjustments are a start… but it seems that Games Workshop are worried about getting something wrong – small points adjustments on non-battleline or unique characters doesn’t achieve very much. I hope they continue with the Battlescrolls, release them quarterly and get brave – make changes – accidentally make Beasts of Chaos a 5-0 army for 3 months! Go Wild! ..please…
‘Shoot for the Moon, even if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars!‘ (Peale)
— Declan
I’ve done a number of top 3’s now for Age of Sigmar, so today I thought I would branch out and cover a top three for 40k. This time we’re back in Europe and looking at the West Coast GT held in Bohus, Sweden.
Tom won the event with 5 wins from 5 and 491 battle points.
HQ
———-
Chaplain Grimaldus (140 pts)+
– Litanies: Litany of Divine Protection, Fires of Devotion & Litanies of Hate
High Marshal Helbrecht (160 pts)+
Primaris Chaplain (85 pts)++
– Litanies: Litany of Hate
– Canticle of Hate
– The Crusader’s Helm
Troops
———-
14x Primaris Crusader Squad (247 pts)+
– 5x Primaris Initiate w/chainsword & Heavy Bolt Pistol
– 8x Primaris Neophytes w/chainsword & Bolt Pistol
– 1x Primaris Sword Brother w/Power Axe & Heavy Bolt Pistol
14x Primaris Crusader Squad (247 pts)++
– 5x Primaris Initiate w/chainsword & Heavy Bolt Pistol
– 8x Primaris Neophytes w/chainsword & Bolt Pistol
– 1x Primaris Sword Brother w/Power Axe & Heavy Bolt Pistol
Elites
———-
Primaris Apothecary (Warlord)(115 pts)+
– Chapter Command: Chief Apothecary
– Selfless Healer
– The Aurillian Shroud
Redemptor Dreadnought (180 pts)+
– 2x Fragstorm Grenade Launchers
– Macro Plasma Incinerator
– Onslaught Gatling Cannon
Fast Attack
———-
5x Inceptor Squad (375 pts)+
– x2 Plasma Exterminator
– The Crux Obsidian
– Inceptor Sergeant: Champion of the Feast
3x Attack Bike Squad (180 pts)++
– 3x Multi-Melta
Heavy Support
———-
6x Eradictor Squad (270 pts)++
– 5x Eradicator: 5x Bolt Pistol
– Eradicator Srgt
Detachments
———-
+Patrol: Black Templars
++Patrol: Black Templars
Total Points: 1999 pts
John managed 4 wins from 5 and 473 battle points.
No Force Org Slot
———-
Nob on Smasha Squig (65 pts)+
– Proper Killy
– Stratagem: Big Boss
Nob on Smasha Squig (65 pts)+
– Headwoppa’s Killchoppa
– Stratagem: Extra Gubbinz
HQ
———-
Beastboss on Squigosaur (Warlord) (145 pts)+
– Big Killa Boss
– Beasthide Mantle
Warboss (105 pts)++
– Brutal but Kunnin
– Attack Squig
– Da Killa Klaw
– Kombi-Scorcha, Power Klaw
– Stratagem: Big Boss
– Stratagem: Extra Gibbinz
Troops
———-
10x Beast Snagga Boyz (110 pts)+
– Weapons: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
– Beast Snagga Nob
10x Beast Snagga Boyz (110 pts)+
– Weapons: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
– Beast Snagga Nob
10x Gretchin (50 pts)+
– Weapons: 10x Grot Blaster
10x Boyz (100 pts)++
– Weapons: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
– Boss Nob: Choppa, Power Klaw
10x Boyz (95 pts)++
– Weapons: 9x Choppa, 9x Slugga
– Boss Nob: Big Choppa, Choppa
Elites
———-
10x Burna Boyz (140 pts)+
– Weapons: 8x Burna, 8x Stikkbombs
– 2x Spanner: Kustom Mega-Blasta
5x Meganobz (175 pts)+
– Boss Meganob: Kustom Shoota, Power Klaw
– 4x Meganob: Kustom Shoota, Power Klaw
5x Kommmandos (55 pts)++
– Boss Nob: Power Klaw
– 4x Kommando: Slugga & Choppa
Fast Attack
———-
4x Squighog Boyz (105 pts)+
– 4x Squighog Boy: 4x Saddlegit Weapons, 4x Stikka
– Bomb Squig
4x Squighog Boyz (105 pts)+
– 4x Squighog Boy: 4x Saddlegit Weapons, 4x Stikka
– Bomb Squig
5x Stormboyz (55 pts)++
– 4x Stormboy: Choppa & Slugga
– Boss Nob: Choppa
Heavy Support
———-
Kill Rig (190 pts)+
– Frazzle
– Spirit of Gork
Kill Rig (190 pts)+
– Squiggly Curse
– Spirit of Gork
Dedicated Transport
———-
Trukk (70 pts)+
Trukk (70 pts)+
Detachments
———-
+Patrol: Orks – Goffs
++Patrol: Orks – Goffs
Total Points: 2000 pts
Brenton managed four wins from five and 440 battle points.
HQ
———-
Skitarii Marshal (Warlord) (55 pts)+
– Relic: Cantic Thrallnet
– Warlord Trait: Battle-Sphere Uplink
Tech-Priest Dominus (105 pts)+
– Macrostubber
– Magi
– Relic: The Omniscient Mask
– Volkite Blaster
Tech-Priest Manipulus (120 pts)+
– Logi
– Magnarail Lance
– Relic: Raiment of the Technomartyr
Troops
———-
20x Skitarii Rangers (230 pts)+
– Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
– 19x Galvanic Rifle
10x Skitarii Rangers (110 pts)+
– Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
– 9x Galvanic Rifle
10x Skitarii Rangers (110 pts)+
– Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
– 9x Galvanic Rifle
Elites
———-
5x Sicarian Infiltrators (95 pts)+
– Infiltrator Princeps: Flechette/Taser
– 4x Infiltrators: Flechette Blaster, Taser Goad
5x Sicarian Infiltrators (95 pts)+
– Infiltrator Princeps: Flechette/Taser
– 4x Infiltrators: Flechette Blaster, Taser Goad
5x Sicarian Infiltrators (95 pts)+
– Infiltrator Princeps: Flechette/Taser
– 4x Infiltrators: Flechette Blaster, Taser Goad
Fast Attack
———-
3x Ironstrider Ballistarii (255 pts)+
– 3x Twin Cognis Lascannon
Ironstrider Ballistarii (255 pts)+
– 3x Twin Cognis Lascannon
9x Pteraxii Sterylizors (171 pts)+
– Steylizor Alpha
– 8x Phosphor Torch, Talons
Flyer
———-
Archeopter Fusilave (150 pts)+
– Command Uplink
Archeopter Fusilave (150 pts)+
– Command Uplink
Detachments
———-
+Patrol: Adeptus Mechanicus – Mars
Total Points: 1996 pts
These were the top three lists from General’s War #46 held on 19th December 2021.
Piotr won the event with threw wins from three and 79 points. Beating an off-meta Nagash Soulblight Gravelords army in the first round, a Nagash Petrifex Ossiarch Bonereapers list in the second round and a Sons of Behemat list in the final round with four mega-gargants.
Allegiance: Lumineth Realmlords
– Great Nation: Syar
– Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
– Triumphs:
Leaders
———-
Sevireth, Lord of the Seventh Wind (345)*
Vanari Lord Regent (155)*
– General
– Command Trait: Goading Arrogance
– Artefact: The Perfect Blade
– Lore of Hysh: Lambent Light
Scinari Cathallar (145)*
– Lore of Hysh: Total Eclipse
Battleline
———-
10 x Vanari Auralan Wardens (145)*
– Lore of Hysh: Speed of Hysh
10 x Vanari Auralan Wardens (145)*
– Lore of Hysh: Lambent Light
30 x Vanari Auralan Sentinels (450)*
– Lore of Hysh: Protection of Hysh
– Reinforced x 2
Units
———-
1 x Hurakan Spirit of the Wind (265)*
1 x Hurakan Spirit of the Wind (265)*
Core Battalions
———-
Battle Regiment*
Total Points: 1985 pts
NB: – With the recent points update from Battlescroll: Gods & Heroes this list would now cost 2,085 points due to the +20 points for the Sentinels and is no longer a valid list for Age of Sigmar
Tomasz also managed three wins from three beating a Stormcast list with Vindictors and two units of reinforced longstrike crossbows in the first round, an off-meta Slaves to Darkness list in round two and a Soulblight Gravelords Grave Guard army in round three.
Allegiance: Ironjaws
– Warclan: Bloodtoofs
– Grand Strategy: Dominating Presence
– Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders
———-
Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)**
– General
– Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist
– Command Trait: Mega Bossy
– Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact)
Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)*
– Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist
– Artefact: Destroyer
– Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un
Orruk Warchanter (115)*
– Warbeat: Get ‘Em Beat
Orruk Warchanter (115)*
– Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat
Orruk Weirdnob Shaman (90)**
– Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork
Battleline
———-
3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (150)*
– Jagged Gore-hackas
3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (150)***
– Jagged Gore-hackas
3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (150)***
– Jagged Gore-hackas
3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (150)***
– Jagged Gore-hackas
Core Battalions
———-
*Warlord
**Command Entourage – Magnificent
***Hunters of the Heartlands
Total Points: 1995 pts
NB: – With the recent points update from Battlescroll: Gods & Heroes this list would now cost 2,075 points due to the +20 points for the Gore-Gruntas and is no longer a valid list for Age of Sigmar
Robert also managed three wins from three, facing off against a Tree-Revenant Sylvaneth list in the first round with Alarielle, a Kruleboyz Gutrippas spam list in round two and another Tree-Revenant Sylvaneth List with Alarielle in the last round.
Allegiance: Soulblight Gravelords
– Lineage: Avengorii Dynasty
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Indomitable
Leaders
———-
Big Drogg Fort-Kicka (525)*
– Allies
Necromancer (125)*
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Lore of the Deathmages: Decrepify
Vampire Lord (140)*
– Universal Spell Lore: Levitate
Battleline
———-
60 x Deadwalker Zombies (345)*
– Reinforced x 2
40 x Deadwalker Zombies (230)*
– Reinforced x 1
Units
———-
Zombie Dragon (295)*
– Cursed Mutation: Urges of Atrocity
Zombie Dragon (295)*
Core Battalions
———-
*Battle Regiment
Total Points: 1955 pts
I love scenery, especially for games I don’t play enough of – Kill Team and Necromunda, so I was very happy to pick up a box of Thermic Plasma Regulators from Games Workshop recently.
These are suitably silly terrain features but they do block line of sight to at least one model and have different levels on them. Perfect for a game of Kill Team. Plus you get to do cool source lighting (or if you are me, a bit naff source lighting). Terrain / Scenery is always fun for me because it is easy to paint, you can do as much or as little work on it as you like and – importantly – it can make the boards we play across look great.
So what did I do with my set:
Mine is a simple paint scheme with Leadbelcher and Ironbreaker for the silver, Mephiston Red for the red and Talassar Blue over a Corax White undercoat for the coil. There is also a little bit of highlighting following a tutorial from Duncan Roades when he was still working for GW.
They are great, and I hope to get them on the table top soon for my Genestealers to invade or my Guardsmen to hide behind!
— Declan
And it’s here… ready to smash face and take names. But has it worked?
Games Workshop has released an article and the Battlescroll Update for Age of Sigmar at the end of this year.
Despite COVID there has been a lot of tournaments in the UK (probably due to the pent up demand) with many 64+ player events occuring and some even bigger ones available. The USA has also seen some big tournaments and hopefull Oz & NZ will be able to have a few in the new year.
First up, the document:
Games Workshop are good at art and presenting things with pretty pictures and the Battlescroll shows that this is not just for battletomes and core rulesbooks. Well done GW.
Generic Changes
Heroic Actions – Heroic Recovery
Well I didn’t see this one coming, but it is a welcome change to reduce the healing of some heroes… especially those on monsters. I’m not sure it helps a huge amount to stop shooting and magic casting heroes, but it does mean if you can pin Nagash in combat he loses at least one of his healing abilities! A good change
Unleash Hell
Hurrah… Unleash Hell is reduced. Not what I’d hoped, but reducing it to units within 6″ and models within 6″ does at least mean the positioning of chargers can impact this, and no more defend in ridiculous depth. Shooting is still good… but this takes the edge off a little bit.
Amulet of Destiny
It appears that the Amulet of Destinies sold throughout the mortal realms have had a software update and they now only stop wounds on a 6+. This is much better, and at least makes you think during army building. It does hurt the armies at the bottom of the Meta that relied on it, but hurting the Maw Krusha & Gargants is no bad thing – and I say that as a Destruction player. Another change I’m happy to see.
Alliance Changes
Each Alliance has a change to their God characters, with buffs for Alarielle and Morathi-Khaine (more spells), a change to Archaon & Nagash, a significant nerf to collation troops following the Maggotkin of Nurgle release… and one for me – improving Kragnos!
As a Destruction player I’ll review Kragnos changes below, but for the others they seem like small changes which mean that collation has been hit hard – including Cities of Sigmar – and Nagash can now be part of Nighthaunt – probably a good thing.
Kragnos New Warscroll
Those who follow me on Twitter know I tried to get Kragnos working with my Squigs at a one dayer… and then gave up as he ‘won’ the wooden spoon for me – including losing to the Hobby Room’s Ceri’s lovely Squigs on the way… oh dear! So does this help?
He’s lost the anti-dragon synergy – with little time to trigger it – but he does gain two abilities and a 6+ ward save. This gives just a little more – especially if you get lucky and spike the rolls – and is a welcome addition.
End of Empires is great for helping his Destruction Bros (and himself)! A 3D6″ charge within 18″ is a great bonus and I’ll be writing some lists with him in a Ironsunz or Gloomspite (Squig) army to see if I can make him work… and maybe bring him along to Element Games in January (then again, maybe not!!). Just remember he can’t use allegiance abilities.
Avatar of Destruction means he won’t be autokilled by Nagash, Archaon or other instant kill abilities – well overdue and good to see.
The other benefit is a Mightiest Makes Rightiest getting onto the warscroll… starts as counts as 30 – brilliant – and degrades… like the MegaGargants should… but don’t seem to yet.
Is he good enough for 720? Probably not with Archaon being 860, but he’s not as bad as he was and there are benefits to him now rather than thinking your pushing his rock up-hill.
Oh, and in Ogors with Frostlords… a 3D6″ doing mortals based on charge roll seems great – fortunately I have one on a shelf… hmmm…!
Points changes
There are also points changes for each army, but I’ll review them later partly because they are underwhelming and this article is a positive to GW – let’s have more of this type of thing please!
Does this change how you build your armies?
— Declan
This battle report saw Nigel Stillman (Goblins) face off against Alan Perry (High Elves).
From Bad Squiddo Games
I like Bad Squiddo Games, and occasionally purchase items from Annie Norman. Bad Squiddo Games specialises in believable female miniatures and has a large catalogue of options and models.
I of course buy animals and mushrooms because I am different… and strange!
So I was very happy when I got some Gigantic Water Bears (or Tardigrades) for my birthday and have already painted them up.
For those who don’t know Tardigrades are tiny creatures that can survive in extremes of temperature. See Wikipedia!
They also appear as a card in Terraforming Mars, one of my favourite board games at the moment – despite being 2.5 – 3.5 hours long for a game.
Having received them earlier this month I checked for colours, but the Gigantic Water Bears don’t actually have colour because of their very small size. So I can paint them as I like… this gave me opportunity to paint them blue (from Terraforming Mars) and brown (because, you know, they are bears!)
Here’s what I did:
Painted over a Grey Seer undercoat in Talassar Blue and Snakebite Leather… gotta love contrast paint!
Cheers Annie, another fun set of toys – don’t know what to do with them, but they’ll live in the cabinet for now.
— Declan
So following on from our previous articles;
Our latest votes are in and you’ve all voted that games should take up to two hours and that measurements should be carried out in inches.
Now we can start getting into some more detail of the game, such as the gaming area and the smallest element of the game.
There are a few things we need to take into account here. The first is that we wold like the game to take up to two hours. Therefore, we have to consider this when we think about our gaming area, a smaller gaming area may result in either more detailed rules or a ruleset where it becomes difficult to kill units, this is because with a smaller gaming area there will be less units on the board and therefore you want those units to be in play for a longer period of time in order to have the opportunity to survive till the games end.
Likewise, if the table is too large then there will be many more units on the table and the rules will have to be adjusted to make them either easy to kill or make it so that there movement or range becomes a lot further than you would expect in order to make it across the gaming area.
I’ve therefore narrowed these options slightly to ensure that the rulesets don’t become too influenced by these affects.
Our next question is about the smallest element in the game, what should this represent. I’m using this to classify air and ground units only, as with the space combat element, we’re going to assume the elements are the individual ships themselves.
There are a number of options to go with here and these will have an affect on the way in which the overall ruleset is contructed. For example, should we go with a single base representing a squad of men, or should it represent an entire Regiment? Should it be an individual tank or should it be a squadron of tanks? If we choose a base representing a squad or a single tank then we have to write the rules to represent this, likewise if the elements represent a platoon, battalion or even a brigade. So the question here is what level do you want individual battles to take place at?
All the options below are based roughly off the modern military formations of the British Army;
INFANTRY
ARMOUR
Next week we’ll look at basing our elements and whether they should be on round or rectangular bases and what base size they should be on.
Following on from Declan’s article last week where he covered a competitive list that could be made using the Start Collecting! Ogor Mawtribes boxed set, we continue this week with a look at the Start Collecting! Anvilgard set.
1 Black Ark Fleetmaster
1 Kharibdyss, this can also be built as a War Hydra
10 Black Ark Corsairs
1 Scourgerunner Chariot, this can also be built as a Drakespawn Chariot
13 miniatures, including a hero a chariot and a monster.
One of the best things about the Start Collecting! boxes are the savings. In this case, (as of 18/12/21 in GBP) the box is £60 and the collected contents, if purchased individually, retail for £100 giving a sweet £40 saving (or a free Kharibdyss/War Hydra, if you prefer).
Anvilgard is a subfaction of the Cities of Sigmar faction in the Order Grand Alliance for Age of Sigmar, to play the army you will need a copy of the Cities of Sigmar Battletome.
Anvilgard, also known as the City of Scales was a port city in the realm of Aqshy on the Charrwind coast. The city is surrounded by jungle and the Ironweld Arsenal constantly pump out defoliants which shroud the city in a stinking fug. The city was dominated by Blackscale Coil crime syndicate and has some interesting rules which align with this lore. This City of Sigmar fell to the forces of Morathi during the events of Broken Realms: Morathi but is still a playable subfaction in the game.
The background and the rules for Anvilgard encourage the use of our monster and the Privateers, so the box actually fits really well with the lore for the city.
Fans of Warhammer Fantasy will note that if they have an old Dark Elf army (and didn’t burn it), then Anvilgard may be a good entry into Age of Sigmar…. though not the only possibility.
Here’s a quick rundown of our units, please note this article was written on 18/12/21 and points etc. may change:
The Black Ark Fleetmaster is not a world destroying hero but at 70 points they are cheap and importantly have the Scourge Privateers Keyword. This means that, if used as your General, they make both Scourgerunner Chariots and Black Ark Corsairs Battleline. Furthermore, if your Fleetmaster hangs around with their Corsair buddies, they have a buff which will improve their fighting abilities.
Kharibdyss/War Hydra: The Kharibdyss comes in at 165 points and the War Hydra at 170. So, which one should we build? Well, sadly neither of these are brilliant in terms of their rules at the moment but they are great models and incredibly lore friendly for the city. Both are monsters, so can use the monstrous rampage actions and can give you bonuses in five of the eight core Battle Tactics. On the flipside, monsters give away points when slain and these are not particularly survivable so be cautious. Both of these monsters have some limited healing, though the Kharibdyss only triggers if it slays a model and the War Hydra does have a ranged attack. Playing Anvilgard, we get access to Drakeblood Curses, this gives us an extra buff which we can put on our beasties to make them a little more impactful such as improving their charge or debuffing enemy bravery. Personally, I would build the Kharibdyss purely because I prefer the model and it plays so nicely into the nautical theme of Anvilgard.
Scourgerunner Chariot/Drakespawn Chariot: The Scourgerunner Chariot and Drakespawn Chariot both come in at 80 points. Sadly, there isn’t much, in my opinion, to recommend the Drakespawn Chariot. If you would like to theme your army around a Dreadlord on Black Dragon then these do become battleline but unfortunately, they aren’t terribly impactful (no pun intended). The Scourgerunner chariot, however, becomes battleline with our Fleetmaster General and has a few things in its favour. Big Base Action, with a 120 x 92mm base the unit can be handy for blocking up the table and is quick with a 12″ move. Furthermore, its shooting attack is quite nice, two shots with a reasonable chance of hitting and wounding and d3 damage plus a chance of causing D3 mortal wounds.
Black Ark Corsairs: Our ten corsairs come in at 85 points for ten models on 25mm bases and can be armed with either vicious blade and handbow or vicious blade and wicked cutlass. An argument can be made for the ranged version but our first unit, I would recommend building with the blade and cutlass. The reason for this is the Black Ark Fleetmaster, our Fleetmaster can buff the Corsairs with +1 to the attack characteristic of their melee weapons, so it is definitely worth bearing that in mind.
So, our army list looks like this:
Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar
– City: Anvilgard (Illicit Dealings: Black Market Bounty)
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Inspired
Black Ark Fleetmaster (70)*
– General
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– City Role: General’s Adjutant
– Lore of Dark Sorcerery: Vitriolic Spray
10 x Black Ark Corsairs (85)*
– Vicious Blade & Wicked Cutlass
– City Role: Honoured Retinue (Must be 5-20 models)
1 x Scourgerunner Chariots (80)*
Kharibdyss (165)*
– Drakeblood Curse: Fell Gaze
*Battle Regiment
Total: 400 / 750
Reinforced Units: 0 / 1
Allies: 0 / 100
Wounds: 33
Drops: 1
I gave our General the Arcane Tome to make them a wizard and made the Corsairs their honoured retinue, to make the Fleetmaster more survivable. The Kharibdyss has received the Drakeblood Curse of Fell Gaze, this will stack with the native ability of the beast and will make battleshock a scary proposition for low bravery armies. This would be a fun start to an Anvilgard army but could also be used as a nice start for any Cities faction, though particularly Har Kuron (excellent if you want to port over a Dark Elf army as you can include your Witch Elves) or Misthavn.
I would say yes to picking up a few if I wanted to build into Anvilgard. I should note, though, that if you are going into this Start Collecting! you are probably already accepting you are not playing at the competitive ‘Bleeding Edge’and you are leaning further into that. A second box will allow you to bulk out your Corsair unit to the maximum twenty for an Honoured Retinue and give you an extra Scourgerunner (which I would probably use as a separate unit, rather than increase to a unit of two). The only potentially questionable second unit is the Fleetmaster as the Command Ability to buff the Corsairs cannot be stacked so they may find their way on to be traded or sold. You could, of course, convert your Fleetmaster to something else as you will have plenty of spare bits from the Corsair set and they might look nice as an alternative crew model in one of your Scourgerunner Chariots. A third box could be useful, especially for the Chariot and you could convert the Corsairs into some nicely themed Shadow Warriors with a head swap with left over bits from other kits.
Looking to expand further, I would consider adding a Sorceress to our fledgling army, her warscroll spell debuffs an enemy unit’s to hit roll and also does D3 mortal wounds, she could be the Fleetmaster’s Adjutant and provide some extra Command Point generation as well. If taking a Sorceress, it’s worth remembering she can get buffs to cast by shanking her comrades with the Darkling Covens keyword, so give her some pawns to sacrifice! Cities of Sigmar also get +1 to cast Endless Spells, so it is worth perusing those to see which you might like and which might support your playstyle. I would suggest vitriolic spray as her chosen spell, removing enemy armour saves is not to be sniffed at, despite the short range. I like the idea of pairing her with Darkshards who can provide good sacrifice fodder while giving some shooting.
One of the most beautiful models still around from Warhammer Fantasy, in my opinion, is the Dreadlord on Black Dragon and they nicely line up with our theme. The Dreadlord is also quite strong and their buff works nicely on other Order Draconis and themselves, so consider some Drakespawn Knights for flavour. Picking up the Black Dragon, in combination with our two Kharibdyss, also opens up more Battle Tactics to us.
I would also consider branching out a little into Daughters of Khaine for a bit of fun and variety, the Khainite Shadowstalkers are beautiful models and their teleport ability is a great addition to any army.
This is what our 2K army might look like, add in Regiments to taste:
Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar
– City: Anvilgard (Illicit Dealings: Dabbling in Sorcery)
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Inspired
Sorceress (95)
– City Role: General’s Adjutant
– Lore of Dark Sorcerery: Vitriolic Spray
Dreadlord on Black Dragon (290)
– Lance of Spite & Tyrant Shield
– Artefact: Drakescale Cloak
– Drakeblood Curse: Jutting Bones
– Mount Trait: Foetid Breath
Black Ark Fleetmaster (70)
– General
– Command Trait: Blackfang Crimelord
20 x Black Ark Corsairs (170)
– Vicious Blade & Wicked Cutlass
– City Role: Honoured Retinue (Must be 5-20 models)
– Reinforced x 1
1 x Scourgerunner Chariots (80)
1 x Scourgerunner Chariots (80)
20 x Darkshards (230)
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Dreadspears (90)
Kharibdyss (165)
– Drakeblood Curse: Fell Gaze
Kharibdyss (165)
5 x Drakespawn Knights (125)
10 x Shadow Warriors (120)
5 x Drakespawn Knights (125)
9 x Khainite Shadowstalkers (120)
– Allies
Chronomantic Cogs (45)
Total: 1970 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 120 / 400
Wounds: 149
Drops: 8
I think this can be made more competitive with the addition of a Hurricanum, perhaps a Runepriest and an Anointed on Frost Phoenix instead of some of the Aelf units but this does somewhat compromise the theme for me and I truly enjoy this theme, if you are looking for a very competitive list then Anvilgard is probably not the place to start in any case.
To sum up, this is an excellent Start Collecting! with some great models and a good discount but it doesn’t have the most competitive choices and it doesn’t line up with the most competitive of factions. If you enjoy the aesthetics, lore and theme of Anvilgard though, it does fit them perfectly and is 100% a great buy.
All the Best and for the Witch King *cough* Sigmar!
