Last week I wrote a short article introducing Warhammer 40k Tacticus, a turn based strategy game that I have been recently playing on mobile.
This week I wanted to explain how characters work.
Librarian Varro Tigurius
I’ll be using Chief Librarian Varro Tigurius to explain the character card. As I’ve been playing for a bit he is a ‘few’ levels above where he is when he first appears with the players but the principle remains.
Anatomy of the Character
Name and role / unit type
Rarity & Ability
Power & Permanent Ability
Experience Level, Shards & Orbs
Health, Armour, Damage, Movement
Attack(s)
Equipment and upgrading Equipment
1 – Name and Role / Unit Type
It’s the name, and unit type… obviously! Get to know your character and get invested in them! They will be your key to beating the more difficult levels.
2 – Rarity and Ability
Characters are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic & Legendary.
Ascension is a change in rarity which will increase the level cap and give boosts to the character’s abilities. Within rarities there are at least 2 level increases which increase the generic statistics of the character. (see below)
This area also shows the character’s special attack (in a circle). They are used once per game, but are often essential to victory. You’ll want to ensure you know what they do. These can be upgraded with medals – don’t expect to get enough of these as with all the resources in the game – you can’t do everything you want. Upgrading doesn’t change the ability but it gives it more damage, or summons more health, or healing more healing!
3 – Power & Permanent Ability
The power is an indication of how good a character is, although this is not necessarily a fair representation you can be pretty sure that a 1,000 power character is better than a 500 point one. Your playstyle will determine if a 600 is better than a 500 though!
Characters will also have another ability although this seems to be unavailable at the lower levels of experience & rarity in characters. In the case of the chief librarian it gives friendly characters the ability to block damage, and reduces Psychic damage. There’s also an upgrade cost in common with most other aspects of a character.
4 – Experience Level, Shards, & Orbs
Experience is gained from participating in missions and from reading tomes. As mentioned above there is a cap depending on the rarity of the character and common characters will hit their cap very quickly.
Above the experience bar there are the number of shards needed for promotion (the small picture of the character). If the next promotion is a change in rarity there will also be a cost in Orbs… which are difficult to get so don’t expect to be swimming in them!
5 – Health, Armour, Damage & Movement
Health is the amount of damage the character can take; armour reduces the damage of incoming attacks; damage is the standard damage and movement is the number of hexes the character can move. The first three increase with most level increases and can be increased by equipment (see below).
6 – Attacks
This shows the type of attacks. The fist is close assault which is standing next to an enemy. The other attack (if present) will be a ranged attack. It details the type of damage (useful to know for some battle tactics (more on this in a later article). and the number of attacks per attack. (this isn’t the number of enemies attacked, but the number of times your damage is applied to the chosen target). Multiple attacks are good against swarms (Scarabs & Rippers) but armour is applied to each attack so they can lack damage against large enemies.
7 – Equipment & Upgrading Equipment
There are 3 pieces of equipment available – weapon, armour & other which can be upgraded with scrap. They provide bonuses and most equipment can be used by multiple characters, so you can unequip and switch them to a different character.
The other section here is 6 pieces of more basic equipment which are added to a character for a permanent bonus but then unavailable to other characters (ie they are spent). When you have added all six pieces of equipment they disappear, and you get to assign another 6. There is a limit to the number of times you can do this based on the rarity.
Woehammer articles
I’ll be bringing you regular articles on the game as I progress and learn more; with the first articles being about some of the concepts of the game including the large number of resources available. I hope you’ll join me; and let us know if there’s anything in particular you would like me to cover.
I may even be joined by Woehammer Peter as he also plays so expect the occasional second opinion.
Linking up
If you think this game may interest you, follow along this series of articles. I have been playing for a while already so some of it will based on what I know from further down the process. Woehammer isn’t receiving any sponsorship for this article (it’s just Declan and Eeyore – and Peter – having fun), but if you want to support me on my Tacticus exploration then please use my referral code: LIT-20-RAP
As a currently casual 40k player I have always been interested in playing Age of Sigmar, especially the narrative based Path to Glory campaign. On joining the Woehammer team I saw an opportunity and prodded some of the others until they ‘volunteered’.
Now having the excuse to build a Sigmar army I had the difficult task of choosing a faction. I narrowed my shortlist down until I remembered my original entry point to Warhammer Fantasy way back when – Dwarves.
Now Dwarves, in their original Warhammer Fantasy format, don’t quite exist in the new Age of Sigmar setting. There are elements of them in the Cities of Sigmar faction but, seeing as this faction appears to be getting a major refresh, I didn’t want to risk buying an army to find the units become defunct. This left me with the choice between Fyreslayers and Kharadron Overlords. Out of these the Kharadron Overlords sold themselves with their very dwarvish tendencies (aethergold obsession, codes of honour, grudges) and big ships. Who doesn’t love a giant airship?
Yes, it helps that the Kharadron Overlords have just had a new codex Battletome released. It also has not passed my attention that they are performing especially well. These were not the main motivators behind my choice and, honestly, if they are overpowered currently all it will do is balance out with my lack of talent. So at best I may just scrape a couple of wins.
Khreld Thundergust
My warlord, an Aether-Khemist by trade, Khreld has worked for many aspiring captains over the years and now feels his talents warrant a higher cut of profit than anyone is willing to give. This left him with only one option, talk his way onto a skyvessel to call his own.
As I intend to have a fairly airship-heavy fleet it made Barak-Zilfin the obvious choice of subfaction – giving me more access to Great Endrinworks later down the line and allowing me to run Frigates as Battleline in my army. This also led me to give Khreld the Cunning Fleetmaster command trait so I can reposition my precious skyvessels to catch the enemy offguard. I have also given Khreld the Celestium Burst-grenade to maximise the damage of my mortal wounds.
Khreld Thundergust
The Crafty Dispute (Arkanaut Frigate)
Yes, I have taken the stupid brave choice to put a 300 point frigate in a 600 point army. Obviously I couldn’t have a Kharadron army without a skyvessel (they are gorgeous models) and Khreld needed a ship to start out on, so here we are!
Armed with a Heavy Skycannon, giving me more utility, the purpose of my frigate will be to disrupt the enemy battleline using bombs and firepower whilst, with 15 wounds and a 3+ save, drawing as much enemy fire as possible away from my other units.
Keelborne’s Endrinriggers
Led by a Mizzenmaster, Gryn Keelborne, the Endrinriggers will be providing repairs to The Crafty Dispute mid-battle whilst acting as fire support. I have forced Gryn to keep a Rapid-fire Rivet Gun to maximise the additonal attack he will get with the Aethermatic Saw. I have also decided against the volleygun on my second Endrinrigger as I feel the addional 3″ range and an average addition of three quarters of a wound per shooting phase is outdone by the -2 rend of the Rivet Gun. I may regret it but we shall see!
I have however chosen to give the third Endrinrigger the Grapnel Launcher. I love the idea of them just yoinking themselves away from an enemy charge. I can see the Skyhook being useful later in the campaign when more monsters appear but I think the battlefield movement will be key early on, especially as I only have four units total!
Stoutstock’s Company
Last, but definitely not least (apart from maybe in their cut of the profits) is the Arkanaut Company led by their Captain, Malkunn Stoutstock, wielding an Aetherflare Pistol. This time I will be maximising my weapon choices by taking an Aethermatic Volley Gun and Light Skyhook. The addional shots of the Volley Gun and the -2 rend and extra possible damage of the Skyhook seem like no-brainers to me. I will also be positioning them near my Aether-Khemist to the additional -1 Rend should have a nice impact. They will also have one Arkanaut armed with a Skypike just to give a little more danger in the inevitable melees.
The Stubborn Prospectors
And so, after some deliberation, The Stubborn Prospectors of Barak-Zilfin were born. At 600 points exactly it will be an interesting start to the campaign as I find out how much of a handicap forcing that frigate in will be. They will be organised in a Battle Regiment, as that is the only battalion I could see that would allow my array of units.
First Quest
The starting endeavour for my Stubborn Prospectors will be to earn The Crafty Dispute it’s own Great Endrinwork. I have opted tow rok towards Prudency Chutes as I inted to use the frigate as a transport later in the campaign. Assuming it survives that long…(of course it will, I’m not worried…)
As for collecting and painting my starting force – in true Kharadron Overlords fashion Khreld is having to hire his starting force. I will work on procuring forces of my own but, as I am sure my fellow hobbyists can sympathise with, time and money are both against me. On the plus side, Khreld himself is built, painted and ready for action!
This is the top three 40k lists for the All Stars Heat 2 that took place in the UK on the 15th and 16th of April. It involved 49 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.
As we head into 10th edition and beyond we wanted to start providing a source for lists that are being used successfully in tournaments around the world. The size of the 40k community and the sheer number of events means we won’t be commenting, at least for now, but simply providing a resource of formatted lists you can search.
Before I jump into the Top Three Lists, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
If you like what we’re doing, why not join our Patreon and help keep it going?
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
The Top Three 40k Lists
== Space Marines – Space Wolves Successors – Arks of Omen Detachment = 1CP, [110 PL, 1,999pts] ==
— Successor Traits: Born Heroes, Whirlwind of Rage — Arks of Omen Compulsory Type: Elites
HQ: Captain on Bike [8 PL, 135pts, -4CP] Chapter Master, Combi-Melta, Power Fist — Relic & A Trophy Bestowed: The Armour of Russ (-2CP) — Warlord Trait: Rites of War (-1CP) — Warrior of Legend: Hunter (-1CP)
++ Arks of Omen Detachment (Imperium – Adeptus Custodes) [98 PL, 2,000pts, 2CP] ++
+ Configuration +
Arks of Omen Compulsory Type: Elites
Battle Size [6CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)
Detachment Command Cost
Detachment Type / Shield Host: Adeptus Custodes, Emperor’s Chosen
Game Type: 5. Chapter Approved: Arks of Omen
+ Stratagems +
Stratagem: Open the Vaults [-1CP]: Additional Relics
+ HQ +
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [10 PL, 180pts, -2CP]: (Emperor’s Chosen): Auric Exemplar, 3. Superior Creation, Castellan’s Mark, Misericordia, Salvo Launcher, Stratagem: The Emperor’s Heroes, Stratagem: Victor of the Blood Games, Tip of the Spear
Trajann Valoris [8 PL, 200pts]: 1. Master of Martial Strategy, 2. Champion of the Imperium, Stratagem: Warlord Trait
2022-2023 Events: 8 Game Wins: 32 Game Losses: 8 Win Rate: 80.0%
Joshua Bennett(JB): First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to chat with us and our readers. Has the feeling of winning the largest AOS event (Las Vegas Open) in the world worn off yet?
Jiwan Noah Singh (JNS): No problem, I’m a chatty guy. LVO really was quite something, not going to downplay how fun that was. But I had an itch to play some warhammer like 5-6 days after I got back. Sometimes, I look at the photos of everyone storming the stage during the ITC awards when I need a little serotonin boost
JB: I bet that was an insane experience. especially with your club behind you for support. Tough crowd is really amazing. The love and support you have for each other, not to mention the energy you guys bring to events. Do you think that is one of the things that keeps bringing you back?
JNS: I love Tough Crowd, and it was super special this year getting the team award. We also have other clubs we are super close with, Harumbes, Wicked Dicey, Georgia Warband, and a bunch of others. Having my wife come for the first time was great too, she got to see this part of my life that is so important to me. Having an amazing club and friends for sure is part of it, but I loved going to events even without knowing anyone. I met a lot of my close friends in the hobby now by just showing up to my first LVO, knowing nobody with three screaming bells, a gong and edible warpspark tokens.
I think even if you know nobody, you should rock up and make them know you
JB: That’s amazing, and let me take a moment to point out you are an amazing human being and make everyone feel welcome and an absolute joy to be around. How long have you been into the competitive world.
JNS: Lots of amazing people in this hobby. It’s so good. I started playing Aos in a shed in my yard in Key West during first edition, but most games didn’t end, and we got distracted or did stuff like try fireball objectives. I went to a couple of tournaments pre Covid but not really with any specific expectations, and they were really fun. Over Covid I started playing on tts, and the community and access to talking to people really helped me (I’m a classic extrovert and was kinda losing my mind up on a mountain in Vermont) The group I stumbled into happened to be competitive and it eventually led to being coach of the 2021 worlds team. I think I just got in a routine of playing aos constantly and became a competitive player out of that.
I would say I try to be competitively social, but I really enjoy figuring out puzzles in games and how to put myself in a position to win.
JB: which you do very well. being a coach to the worlds team had to be so much fun.
JNS: Yeah it was great, that year was Milan, which was a super fun place to roll around with a crew of warhammer players. Worlds and teams are such a fun part of warhammer, I highly suggest people participate in team events.
JB: I have seen team event pick up popularity in the states do you think that’s the future of AOS competition
JNS: I think gt play is great, I have loved that more premier events are swapping to top 8. There is something really fun about getting space to watch the top tables duke it out while you hang with the people you met. I think teams is a great second thing to expand though. There is room for both in my imagined future and I think it sounds fantastic.
JB: Speaking of the top 8 what advice would you give readers that want to get to that level?
JNS: I think the only real advice I have to get better is to play more and play clean and to lose more to great players.
JB: you have gone from AOS worlds coach to LVO winner what can we expect from you next
JNS: Lol I don’t know, I love playing AoS and am going to try to get to some new areas I haven’t played in yet. I like finding new lists and metas and seeing what they have going on in those places, that’s really what motivated me to keep doing this.
Although I am on the team this year again and will be playing in Amsterdam which will be a blast.
So I guess that’s next?
JB: Noah thank you so much for your time and good luck at worlds. I look forward to seeing you on the tables.
I recently had a hankering to play Mordheim once more, but due to limited space, I didn’t think I’d be able to start a massive terrain project to actually be able to play the game.
After all, traditionally, Mordheim was played on a 4×4 foot area! That’s not easy to populate with terrain and then store.
It was while browsing Etsy for some Warmaster bits that I stumbled across some lovely looking ruined buildings for 10mm.
Then it hit me! What if I played Mordheim at 10mm? It would be easy enough. Just change all measurements to centimetres instead of inches, and hey presto!
But what about the playing area? Instead of a massive 4 foot square area, the conversion downwards meant that it could be played on an area only 20 inches by 20 inches! To set about making and planning my playing area, I purchased a number of 5-inch square mdf boards. These would be built up with foam board and the terrain I had found on Etsy to create Mordheim in miniature.
The total playing area required is shown by the mdf boards. As a comparison, conveniently, this table is 4 feet long.
As you can see, this is a massive reduction in the space required. I also ordered some of the ruined buildings, and these are shown below on some of the tiles.
The buildings are fantastic, and each floor can be magnetised to the one below so that they are able to have models move around inside them.
For the models, I purchased some Forest Dragon Undead miniatures in 10mm. Forest Dragon are great as you can buy them either ranked up on a single base for Warmaster or on individual bases for Minihammer.
These are the first 10 models I painted up, and they took me about an hour and a half to paint all ten. I’ve purchased some magnetic sheeting, which I plan to cut and stick to the bases, and then these can be magnetised to movement trays like the one shown for Minihammer if required.
You’re probably wondering how these compare in scale to the terrain and boards, right?
Pretty darn good, I’d say!
All in all, this project will be much, much cheaper than playing at 28mm. Each building costs roughly £6 depending on its size. I think possibly 2 or 3 buildings would fit on each MDF square. This should allow me to create a truly immersive modular board.
As for the minis, I purchased all I needed for the first Undead warband from Wargamerminis. I bought;
10 Ghouls
5 Dire Wolves
1 Vampire Lord
1 Necromancer
10 Zombies
10 Peasants
All for €18. Not bad! For those in the UK, shipping can be a little pricey, so it’s probably best to put in a larger order if you want to do something similar.
But all in all, I’m really pleased and excited to get started planning out the terrain boards. Yes MiniHammer is also the logical next step…
This is the top three 40k lists for Nerd Bar Spring GT that took place in the USA on the 14th and 15th of April. It involved 23 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.
As we head into 10th edition and beyond we wanted to start providing a source for lists that are being used successfully in tournaments around the world. The size of the 40k community and the sheer number of events means we won’t be commenting, at least for now, but simply providing a resource of formatted lists you can search.
Before I jump into the Top Three Lists, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
If you like what we’re doing, why not join our Patreon and help keep it going?
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
The Top Three 40k Lists
++ Arks of Omen Detachment (Imperium – Adeptus Astartes – Dark Angels) [109 PL, 2,000pts, 1CP] ++
+ Configuration +
**Chapter Selector**: Dark Angels
Arks of Omen Compulsory Type: Elites
Battle Size [6CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)
Detachment Command Cost
Game Type: 5. Chapter Approved: Arks of Omen
+ HQ +
Ezekiel [7 PL, 105pts]: 1) Mind Worm, 3) Righteous Repugnance, 6) Mind Wipe
Primaris Captain [5 PL, 80pts, -1CP]: 5. Decisive Tactician (Aura), Master-crafted power sword, Stratagem: Warlord Trait, Warlord . Heavy bolt pistol, Master-crafted power sword and Relic shield
Ravenwing Talonmaster [9 PL, 160pts, -1CP]: Rites of War, Stratagem: Hero of the Chapter
Ravenwing Talonmaster [9 PL, 160pts, -1CP]: Arbiter’s Gaze, Stratagem: Relic of the Chapter
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [10 PL, -3CP, 175pts]: 3. Superior Creation, 4. Impregnable Mind, Auric Aquilas, Hurricane Bolter, Misericordia, Stratagem: Relic, Stratagem: The Emperor’s Heroes, Stratagem: Victor of the Blood Games, Tip of the Spear
Trajann Valoris [8 PL, 200pts]: 1. Master of Martial Strategy, 2. Champion of the Imperium, Stratagem: Warlord Trait
This is the top three AoS lists for the Hampshire Grand Tournament that took place in the UK on the 14th and 15th of April. It involved 82 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.
Before I jump into the Top Three AoS Lists, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
If you like what we’re doing, why not join our Patreon and help keep it going?
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
The Top Three AoS Lists
Allegiance: Fyreslayers – Lodge: Vostarg – Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs – Triumph: Indomitable
Leaders Auric Runefather (120)* – General – Command Trait: Spirit of Grimnir – Aspect of the Champion: Tunnel Master Auric Runemaster (130)* – Artefact: Volatile Brazier – Universal Prayer Scripture: Curse Battlesmith (150)* – Artefact: Nulsidian Icon – Aspect of the Champion: Fuelled by Ghurish Rage Auric Flamekeeper (90)** Auric Flamekeeper (90)** Auric Runesmiter (120)** – Runic Iron – Prayer: Ember Storm
Battleline 10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (160)* 10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (160)** 30 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (480)*** 15 x Hearthguard Berzerkers (450)*** – Poleaxes
Endless Spells and Invocations Molten Infernoth (40)
Kevin Lathers: This list, or ones like it, have been making the rounds recently. The recent changes on rally limits (to 10 wounds maximum per rally) will certainly put a ding in the list, but not one big enough to knock it out.
While occasionally Greyfyrd, Ricky has taken the list as Vostarg in order to buff the Vulkite Berserkers when they charge (giving them +1 to hit and wound).
The list relies on blocks of infantry holding objectives and looking for openings to run + charge (off ember storm prayer) into important units. The 10-man Vulkite units are both screens and hammers while the Hearthguard are immovable block that can strike first into anyone thinking charging it is a good idea. Ricky played 3 different Sylvaneth players and all 3 would have found the combination of fight on death and fight first quite troublesome. Making matters worse for Sylvaneth, a flamekeeper can allow a Vulkite unit to charge them in their own combat phase and then fight first on them, killing things before they can bounce out.
The smaller Vulkites and HGB feed into the 30-man Vulkite unit which can pick anything in the game up off the board with dual-flamekeeper buffs. Between 90 and 120 attacks (if Runefather buff is active) on that 30-man black at 3-damage each means even if an opponent is saving on a 2+ they are going to get toasted.
Once the engine of the flamekeepers gets going it’s hard to stop unless opponents can somehow take them out. But they can be well protected behind the infantry and focus on them means Vulkites are staying alive. And with how many Vulkite and Hearthguard Berserkers there are, this is a lot of wounds to chew through.
Further, this GHB has a lot of low objective count, or tight objective location, battleplans. This means the lack Magmadroths is less of a hamstring than normal. Adding to that, the current GHB disallows shooting into foot heroes. There’s a lot of reasons the current meta favors such a list.
There’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of auras to keep track of, but an experienced Fyreslayers player can navigate these to pull out some fantastic plays.
Oh, and the Molten Infernoth, a staple which can end any GC’s whole career quickly.
I expect this list to continue to see play, even if it has some slight changes, for as long as this GHB lasts.
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Allegiance: Ogor Mawtribes – Mawtribe: Underguts – Grand Strategy: Ready for Plunder – Triumphs: Inspired
Leads Firebelly (130)* – Lore of the Sun-Eater: Billowing Ash – Aspect of the Champion: Tunnel Master Butcher (140)* – Cleaver – Artefact: Gruesome Trophy Rack – Lore of Gutmagic: Molten Entrails Frostlord on Stonehorn (450)* – General – Command Trait: Touched by the Everwinter – Mount Trait: Rockmane Elder – Prayer: Keening Gale Huskard on Thundertusk (330) – Harpoon Launcher – Mount Trait: Rimefrost Hide – Prayer: Pulverising Hailstorm
Battleline 2 x Mournfang Pack (170)* – Culling Clubs and Hackers with Ironfists 2 x Mournfang Pack (170) – Culling Clubs and Hackers with Ironfists 2 x Mournfang Pack (170) – Culling Clubs and Hackers with Ironfists
Artillery Ironblaster (200) Ironblaster (200)
Core Battalions *Warlord
Additional Enhancements Mount Trait
Total: 1960 / 2000
Now that Ironblasters are 200 points, Ogors really seem to have settled into their groove as an army that can do well in the right hands but isn’t the meta boogeyman, and I’m here for it. While it looked for a while like monster trucks (as in, nearly/all Stonehorns) was going to be the competitive go to, various lists – like this one from Russ – are proving that there’s plenty of play in a nice balanced mix.
So we have the two big Stonehorns here, with Keening Gale on the Frostlord to ensure maximum speed on him or the 3×2 battleline Mournfang – who themselves present a nice middle-ground of speed and killing power, while also being -1 to wound vs shooting weapons and a great way to bypass unleash hell threats with their ‘UH only hits on 6s’ ability.
The 2nd Stonehorn is a Huskard for buff and further prayer support, and then you have the magic number (I reckon!) of two Ironblasters – and this list is in Underguts to ensure they have the extra rend to really be worth their points.
A cheeky FIrebelly also makes an appearance as a cheap caster and GC who has a nice -1 to hit aura spell, which I’m also surprised we don’t see more of. He is Finecast, mind you…
All in all, a lovely balanced list from Russ that proves spam may be tasty (especially for a hungry Ogor) but isn’t always strictly necessary to compete!
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Allegiance: Fyreslayers – Lodge: Greyfyrd – Grand Strategy: The Day is Ours! – Triumphs: Inspired
Auric Runemaster (130)** – General – Command Trait: Master Priest – Artefact: Volatile Brazier – Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal Auric Runemaster (130)** – Universal Prayer Scripture: Curse Auric Runesmiter (120)** – Runic Iron – Prayer: Prayer of Grimnir’s Fury Auric Runefather (120)*** – Artefact: Axe of Grimnir – Aspect of the Champion: Stubborn as a Rhinox Battlesmith (150)*** – Artefact: Nulsidian Icon Celestant-Prime, Hammer of Sigmar (330)*** – Allies
Battleline 5 x Auric Hearthguard (120)* 5 x Auric Hearthguard (120)* 5 x Auric Hearthguard (120)* Grimwrath Berzerker (110) Grimwrath Berzerker (110)** Grimwrath Berzerker (110)** Grimwrath Berzerker (110)*** – Aspect of the Champion: Tunnel Master Grimwrath Berzerker (110)*** – Artefact: Draught of Magmalt Ale
Endless Spells and Invocations Molten Infernoth (40) Zharrgron Flame-spitter (40)
Kevin Lathers: Now, here’s a list with some chest hair! And wow, it played into two different KO opponents, notorious counters to almost all Fyreslayers lists.
This is a rarely played list archetype that has seen some tournament success in the past: Grimwrath Berserker spam with MSU AHG for cheap battleline.
Five Grimwrath Berserkers (GWB) and a Celestant Prime add hammers that can be dificult to deal with for opponent. Target priority for opponents becomes difficult as splitting damage can leave a GWB on low wounds but putting all your attacks/damage into one means you’re overkilling a unit with only 7 wounds. Meanwhile, the Celestant Prime is deepstriking anywhere and immediately becoming a problem for anything lacking the right depth of screens.
Speaking of screens, they will be having a difficult time. AHG, while not the hardest hitting units, when combined with a Flamespitter and Infernoth can quickly clear screens or put opponent’s heroes on a countdown. The projected damage combination can’t be underestimated as it will create openings for the GWB and CP. The infernoth particularly can be a nightmare for KO players if it tags a ship and rolls doubles instantly dunking on everything inside.
Further, the AHG are slowing opponent’s units and handicapping their movement plans if they are not taken care of in promptly. The AHG slow combined with a well-placed infernoth can often stop large-based units (like a gargant) from going where they need to.
This is an aggressive list that will force opponents to make hard decisions about what they need to fight and if they choose wrong it can allow one Grimwrath to end their entire gameplan.
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Allegiance: Sons of Behemat – Tribe: Breaker Tribe (Fierce Loathing: Idiots with Flags) – Grand Strategy: Tame the Land – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant (520)* – General – Command Trait: Monstrously Tough – Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact) Kraken-eater Mega-Gargant (490)* Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant (520)* – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
Battleline 1 x Mancrusher Gargants (150)
Regiment of Renown Big Grikks Kruleshots (310)
Core Battalions *Bosses of the Stomp – Magnificent
Declan It’s fair to say that Sons have been struggling of late with the battle tactics. As an army of 4 big lads, or fewer and some smaller lads, the completion of the Champion required Batttle Tactics is impossible. Not good to wipe out many choices.
But with the release of the Regiments of Reknown into Age of Sigmar Connor has grabbed the Kruleboyz to make the army more interesting. Its difficult to say that warscrolls from the worst army in the ge should improve things but these bring shooting to the Sons… and that all important reach. I like the change up (although I dislike the Regiments of Reknown concept in general because it’s impossible to balance well.)
I’ll go out on a limb here though and say I don’t think this is the start of a resurgence in Sons. They’ll still struggle until GW changes the seasons or takes another look at the Battletome Battle Tactics – well done to Connor for trying something new and taking it to a 4-1.
Ian, who is a recent addition to our team, is looking to get into Age of Sigmar. Coming from a 40k background he wanted a way to build up an army slowly and still get a few games in. We all suggested Path to Glory as there are a few of us in the area who can make it down to our local gaming club fairly regularly.
I’ve been itching to play Path to Glory for a little while, so I jumped at the chance! Hopfully, all being good, you should also see some articles from the others taking part; Ian, Dave and Ed.
What am I playing?
Kruleboyz…..
Yeah I know, I’m a sucker for punishment, but I can’t resist my green lads. I’m not expecting too much, but I’m going to use it as an opportunity to test some units you may not usually see in the competitive scene – after all this is just a friendly campaign.
Gollok Spleenchewa
My warlord for the campaign is one Gollok Spleenchewa, who is a Killaboss on Great Gnashtoof. I’ve given him Slippery Skumbag as his command trait, this’ll allow him to retreat and charge in the same turn meaning I’m always benefitting from the Savage Hound ability (add 1 to hit rolls for attacks made by this unit if this unit made a charge move in the same turn). I’ve also given them the mount trait Fast ‘Un, just to give them a little extra speed to get them into combat.
Gollok’s Rippaz
The main dudes, a unit of 10 Gutrippaz all with wicked stikka’s. Still a little pricey in my opinion at 150 points, but they have more staying power than the Hobgrots. Plus the recent boost to their Scare Taktikz (subtract 1 from hit rolls for attacks made with melee weapons by enemy units that are not Heroes or Monsters that target this unit) means they have a bit more sturdiness in combat than previously when it came down to a dice roll.
Gollok’s Grots
A unit of 10 Hobgrots, these dudes will be asked to capture the occasional objective, but will mainly act as a screen for the Skewers in the force.
Gollok’s Boltboyz
Noticed a theme in the names yet? Gollok isn’t the most imaginative of Orruks.
3 Man-Skewer Boltboyz to give some threat at range. Yes they’re made of paper, and yes it’s likely that all the other armies I’m facing will have decent shooting (Lumineth, Ogors and Kharadron). But, the ability to cause mortal wounds at range cannot be sniffed at, the only problem comes if they are sniffed at.. they’ll likely die.
Gollok’s Killbow
My first unit I’ve chosen that’s a little ‘out there’, I love the model and just want to see how it fairs against mainly the Kharadron and Ogors. It’s likely going to whiff a lot, but let’s see.
Gollok’s Swampcrawlerz
That brings me to 580 points and the vague possibility of a triumph in game, I chose Inspired for this. All of these units are wrapped up in the usual Grinnin’ Blades package which I considered a must considering the amount of shooting I could be facing off against. I also chose a Battle Regiment so that they could all be one dropped and give me the possibility of choosing whether I go first or second.
The First Quest
For the first Quest I chose to go with one in the Orruk Warclans book, Tornado of Destruction. Once I get 3 Quest Points, I’ll be able to play the Battleplan, Tornado of Destruction, and if I win I get to choose a unit from a rival warclan (Bonesplitterz or Ironjawz) to join my force.
Path to Glory for Orruks is incredibly fun since you can add rival Warclan units to your army as you progress. In a Vanguard force which we’re playing at 1 in 4 units can be a rival Warclan. As you progress this can increases to 1 in 2 and eventually as many as you want once you’ve built a mighty stronghold. The only question playing on my mind right now, is which unit would I choose to include?
I’m lucky in that almost all of the units I have in my force are painted. All I need to do is complete the Gnashtoof and I’m good to go. Best get cracking, I’ve got my first game against Ian next Wednesday!
This is the top three 40k lists for the London Open that took place in the UK on the 14th and 15th of April. It involved 143 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.
As we head into 10th edition and beyond we wanted to start providing a source for lists that are being used successfully in tournaments around the world. The size of the 40k community and the sheer number of events means we won’t be commenting, at least for now, but simply providing a resource of formatted lists you can search.
Before I jump into the Top Three Lists, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
If you like what we’re doing, why not join our Patreon and help keep it going?
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
The Top Three 40k Lists
++ Arks of Omen Detachment (Imperium – Adeptus Astartes – Dark Angels) [129 PL, 2,000pts, 1CP] ++
Arks of Omen Compulsory Type: Elites
+ Agents of the Imperium +
Acolytes [1 PL, 10pts]: Ordo Malleus . Acolyte: Chainsword, Laspistol
+ HQ +
Primaris Captain [5 PL, 80pts, -1CP]: 5. Decisive Tactician (Aura), Stratagem: Hero of the Chapter . Heavy bolt pistol, Master-crafted power sword and Relic shield
Ravenwing Talonmaster [9 PL, 160pts, -1CP]: Rites of War, Stratagem: Warlord Trait, Warlord
Bladeguard Ancient [6 PL, 90pts, -2CP]: Chapter Command: Chapter Ancient, Pennant of Remembrance, Steadfast Example, Stratagem: Hero of the Chapter, Stratagem: Relic of the Chapter
War Dog Executioner Squadron [16 PL, 310pts]: House Korvax . War Dog Executioner: Diabolus heavy stubber . War Dog Executioner: Diabolus heavy stubber
++ Total: [105 PL, 2,000pts, 3CP] ++
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++ Arks of Omen Detachment (Chaos – Chaos Knights) [99 PL, 2CP, 1,860pts] ++
Arks of Omen Compulsory Type: Lord of War
+ Lord of War +
War Dog Brigand Squadron [9 PL, 170pts]: Bound Vassals (Vextrix), Infernal Household . War Dog Brigand: Diabolus heavy stubber, Tzeentch – Cursed Rune of Fate
War Dog Brigand Squadron [16 PL, 310pts]: Bound Vassals (Vextrix), Infernal Household . War Dog Brigand: Diabolus heavy stubber . War Dog Brigand: Diabolus heavy stubber
War Dog Brigand Squadron [8 PL, 155pts]: Bound Vassals (Vextrix), Infernal Household . War Dog Brigand: Diabolus heavy stubber
War Dog Executioner Squadron [25 PL, -1CP, 480pts]: Bound Vassals (Vextrix), Infernal Household . War Dog Executioner: Diabolus heavy stubber, Helm of Warpsight, Stratagem: Corrupted Heirlooms . War Dog Executioner: Diabolus heavy stubber, Tzeentch – Mirror of Fates . War Dog Executioner: Diabolus heavy stubber
War Dog Stalker Squadron [16 PL, -2CP, 290pts]: Bound Vassals (Vextrix), Infernal Household . War Dog Stalker: Character (Traitoris Lance), Daemonbreath spear, Diabolus heavy stubber, Helm of Dogs, Reaper chaintalon, Stratagem: Relic, Warlord . War Dog Stalker: 3. Warp-haunted Hull, Character (Tyrannical Court), Daemonbreath spear, Diabolus heavy stubber, Reaper chaintalon
War Dog Stalker Squadron [25 PL, -1CP, 455pts]: Bound Vassals (Vextrix), Infernal Household . War Dog Stalker: Character (Tyrannical Court), Daemonbreath spear, Diabolus heavy stubber, Favour of the Dark Mechanicum (Vextrix), Reaper chaintalon, Undivided – Blessing of the Dark Master . War Dog Stalker: Daemonbreath spear, Diabolus heavy stubber, Slaughterclaw . War Dog Stalker: Daemonbreath spear, Diabolus heavy stubber, Reaper chaintalon
War Dog Karnivore Squadron [8 PL, -1CP, 140pts]: Frenzied Invaders, Iconoclast Dreadblade . War Dog Karnivore: Diabolus heavy stubber, Stratagem: Corrupted Heirlooms, Veil of Medrengard
Once again I find myself in the situation of taking my own advice on Hobby Slumps. It’s not really a slump, so much as no tournaments to aim for and not enough time to do models that need a lot of detail. So, after finishing off the Warmaster Dire Wolves I’ve decided to step it up, and get cracking into my terrain collection.
Like many people I did part of the Age of Sigmar Hatchette partwork to get some nice toys, and my particular favourite magazines to pick up were the ones with terrain. Fighting over painted terrain that has an affect on the game is great fun, and – whilst I can’t guarantee these will have an effect – they can certainly hide foot characters from shooting and magic!
Hatchette Partworks
Normally these are pretty bad value and aimed at collectors who can’t miss items but for the Warhammer world they are proving to be a great way to pick up some good value toys at a regular drop rate that it is possible to keep on top of… as demonstrated from the below; I’m a little behind on mine though!!
Age of Sigmar Terrain
I’ve painted three models this week. A Giant Head of Sigmar (capitalisation obligatory), and two of his favourite doggos. The head can come with a platform but I got the Warcry box set so already have one like that… and it’s big enough it can just about be used to hide a foot soldier, or keep a small unit alive.
The Doggos are great models as well, and really fun to paint – I’m particularly happy with how the writing came out (Mephiston Red & Caldor Blue) just to add a little bit of colour.
Pictures
How do they play?
Okay, so my standard format doesn’t work brilliantly with terrain & scenery, but it definitely helps make the table! Certainly a step up from books under a green sheet!
Woe Points and Hobby Bingo
This also contributes to two of the methods I’m trying to use to reduce the pile of shame or potential! Woe Points is -9 for these group and three squares of Hobby Bingo which I’ll ask Peter to update for me! If you want to be involved in either of these aides to clearing the pile of potential then join us on our Discord Channel.
Paints Used
Peter has been diligently working away in the background on some Woehammer specific graphics and one of my favourite is the painting schemes for the Space Marines… so I’ve stolen it for my Hobby Articles going foward.
Buying a Box
I got mine through Hatchette so it’s likely you’ll be able to pick these up on Ebay… or ask your local gaming group – there’s likely to be someone like me who always intended to paint them up. Maybe they’ll be willing to sell them on to help with their own Woepoints! Getting the pieces from GW is not as easy though as they discontinue scenery sets very quickly for some reason!
