Ironjawz – Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor

All the data used in the charts on this article are drawn from events that have been hosted on Best Coast Pairings, Stats & Ladders and Ecksen using the points and FAQs from Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor published in September 2023.

This chart shows the faction popularity, using the number of players using them at events.

The Combined win rate chart shows the overall win rate for these subfactions. This is the most comparable data to GW’s own metawatch articles. The figure in brackets shows the number of games featuring that subfaction the data is drawn from.

The above shows the win rates for each subfaction at GT events. These are events of single player tournaments of 2,000 points per player spread over a minimum of 5 rounds. This would be considered the most competitive view, with many of the players being experienced and looking to optimise their lists.

RTT/Casual shows the win rates for events that are not classified as a GT event. This could be doubles, teams, narrative, but mostly revolves around single day events known as RTTs.

The nitty gritty of a faction! This chart shows the win rate for lists where the specified warscroll has been included in the players list. The figure in brackets shows the number of games that featured the warscroll.

This shows the source of the Grand Strategy used in the players’ games, whether they are from the Battletome or the General’s Handbook.

Here you can see both the win rate of each Grand Strategy when it was used, as well as the popularity of the strategies.

Like our Grand Strategy source chart, this shows the same information but for Command Traits.

Once again, we can see the win rate of each Command Trait when used in players’ lists. The figure in brackets shows the number of games where that Command Trait was used.

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Top Three AoS Lists for the Gods of War IV

This is the top three AoS lists for the Gods of War IV that took place in Italy on the 10th and 11th of February. It saw 78 players vying to be crowned champion over 5 rounds.

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

Army Faction: Maggotkin of Nurgle
– Army Subfaction: Befouling Host
– Grand Strategy: Corrupt Arcane Nexus
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty


LEADER
1 x Bloab Rotspawned (310)

– Spells: Rancid Visitations
1 x Morbidex Twiceborn (290)
1 x Orghotts Daemonspew (320)
1 x The Glottkin (580)*

– Spells: Magnificent Buboes
1 x Sloppity Bilepiper (120)*
– General
– Command Traits: Pestilent Breath
– Artefacts: The Witherstave


BATTLELINE

10 x Plaguebearers (120)*

– Plagueridden
– Icon Bearer
– Piper
10 x Plaguebearers (120)*
– Plagueridden
– Icon Bearer
– Piper
10 x Plaguebearers (120)*
– Plagueridden
– Icon Bearer
– Piper


TERRAIN
1 x Feculent Gnarlmaw (0)
1 x Feculent Gnarlmaw (0)


CORE BATTALIONS:
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: (1980/2000)

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Army Faction: Orruk Warclans
– Army Type: Big Waaagh!
– Grand Strategy: Waaagh!
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty


LEADERS
Orruk Weirdnob Shaman (90)*
– General
– Command Traits: Shaman of the Chilled Lands
– Spells: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork, Foot of Gork
Wurrgog Prophet (170)*
– Artefacts of Power: Glowin’ Tattooz
– Spells: Hoarfrost, Levitate
Gobsprakk (240)**
– Spells: Sneaky Miasma
Orruk Warchanter (120)**
– Warbeats: Get ’Em Beat
Orruk Warchanter (120)**
– Warbeats: Fixin’ Beat


BATTLELINE
Orruk Brutes (140)
– Brute Boss
– Gore-choppa
– Jagged Gore-hacka
– Boss Choppa
Orruk Brutes (140)
– Brute Boss
– Gore-choppa
– Boss Choppa
– Jagged Gore-hacka
Orruk Brutes (140)
– Brute Boss
– Gore-choppa
– Jagged Gore-hacka
– Boss Choppa
Moonclan Stabbas (120)**
– Moonclan Boss
– Bad Moon Icon Bearer
– Gong Basher
– 3 Barbed Nets
– Stabba


OTHER
Orruk Gore-gruntas (340)
– Gore-grunta Boss
– Jagged Gore-hacka
Brute Ragerz (200)
– 6 x Chain-smasha
Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)
– Gore-grunta Boss
– Jagged Gore-hacka


CORE BATTALIONS
*Andtorian Acolytes
**Warlord


TOTAL POINTS: 1990/2000

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Army Faction: Blades of Khorne
– Subfaction: Goretide
– Grand Strategy: Slaughter of Sorcery
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty


LEADERS
Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury (330)*

– General
– Command Traits: Firebrand
– Artefacts of Power: Ar’gath, the King of Blades
– Prayers: Bloodbind, Bronzed Flesh, Killer Instinct
Korghos Khul (160)*
Realmgore Ritualist (110)*

– Prayers: Blood Sacrifice, Bloodbind, Killer Instinct
Skarbrand (380)**
Slaughterpriest (110)**

– Hackblade and Wrath-hammer
– Prayers: Blood Sacrifice, Bloodbind, Killer Instinct
– Nullstone Adornments: Pouch of Nulldust
Valkia the Bloody (140)**


BATTLELINE
Bloodreavers (80)
– Reaver Blades
Bloodreavers (80)
– Reaver Blades
Bloodreavers (80)
– Reaver Blades
Bloodreavers (80)
– Reaver Blades
Claws of Karanak (100)
Bloodreavers (80)

– Reaver Blades
Claws of Karanak (100)*
Claws of Karanak (100)**


ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Hexgorger Skulls (50)

TERRAIN
1 x Skull Altar (0)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Warlord
**Warlord


TOTAL POINTS: 1980/2000

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Allegiance: Idoneth Deepkin
– Enclave: Fuethan
– Mortal Realm: Ulgu
– Grand Strategy: Dominion of the Deep Ones
– Triumphs:


LEADERS
Isharann Tidecaster (130)*

– General
– Command Trait: Teachings of the Turscoll
– Artefact: Rune of the Surging Gloomtide
– Lore of the Deeps: Steed of Tides
Sevireth, Lord of the Seventh Wind (270)**
– Allies

UNITS
1 x Bloodthirsty Shiver Akhelian Allopex (150)*
1 x Bloodthirsty Shiver Akhelian Allopex (150)*
1 x Bloodthirsty Shiver Akhelian Allopex (150)*
1 x Bloodthirsty Shiver Akhelian Allopex (150)**
1 x Bloodthirsty Shiver Akhelian Allopex (150)**
1 x Bloodthirsty Shiver Akhelian Allopex (150)**

1 x Akhelian Allopexes (150)**
– Razorshell Harpoon
1 x Akhelian Allopexes (150)**
– Razorshell Harpoon

BEHEMOTHS
Akhelian Leviadon (400)**
– Mount Trait: Reverberating Carapace
– Idoneth Deepkin Battleline (Enclave: Nautilar)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment


TOTAL: 2000/2000

Final Tournament Placings

https://www.bestcoastpairings.com/event/F56KKFDC9G

Beasts of Chaos – Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor

All the data used in the charts on this article are drawn from events that have been hosted on Best Coast Pairings, Stats & Ladders and Ecksen using the points and FAQs from Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor published in September 2023.

This chart shows the faction popularity, using the number of players using them at events.

The Combined win rate chart shows the overall win rate for these subfactions. This is the most comparable data to GW’s own metawatch articles. The figure in brackets shows the number of games featuring that subfaction the data is drawn from.

The above shows the win rates for each subfaction at GT events. These are events of single player tournaments of 2,000 points per player spread over a minimum of 5 rounds. This would be considered the most competitive view, with many of the players being experienced and looking to optimise their lists.

RTT/Casual shows the win rates for events that are not classified as a GT event. This could be doubles, teams, narrative, but mostly revolves around single day events known as RTTs.

The nitty gritty of a faction! This chart shows the win rate for lists where the specified warscroll has been included in the players list. The figure in brackets shows the number of games that featured the warscroll.

This shows the source of the Grand Strategy used in the players’ games, whether they are from the Battletome or the General’s Handbook.

Here you can see both the win rate of each Grand Strategy when it was used, as well as the popularity of the strategies.

Like our Grand Strategy source chart, this shows the same information but for Command Traits.

Once again, we can see the win rate of each Command Trait when used in players’ lists. The figure in brackets shows the number of games where that Command Trait was used.

Finally, we have the win rates for Endless Spells when included in lists.

Why not come and join our friendly Discord server? Or help us improve the site by joining our Patreon?

Top Three AoS Lists for the  Midwest Bash 2024 GT

This is the top three AoS lists for the Midwest Bash 2024 GT that took place in the USA on the 17th and 18th of February. It saw 28 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: Soulblight Gravelords
Subfaction: Legion of Night
– Grand Strategy: Empire of Corpses
– Triumph: Inspired

Leaders
Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night (400)*
Lore of the Deathmages: Waste Away
Lauka Vai, Mother of Nightmares (300)**
– Lore of the Vampires: Vile Transference
Vampire Lord (150)***
General
– Command Trait: Unbending Will
– Artefact: Morbheg’s Claw
– Lore of Primal Frost: Hoarfrost
Necromancer (100)***
– Lore of Primal Frost: Merciless Blizzard

Battleline
3 x Fell Bats (100)*
3 x Vargheists (130)*
10 x Dire Wolves (150)**
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (110)**
20 x Deadwalker Zombies (150)**

Units
20 x Grave Guard (320)**
– Great Wight Blades
– Reinforced x 1

Endless Spells & Invocations
Aethervoid Pendulum (50)
Suffocating Gravetide (30)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment
***Andtorian Acolytes

Total: 1990 / 2000
Wounds: 126
Drops: 4

Roland Rivera: While we have seen Legion of Night lists starring Mannfred before, the tactical depth of being able to counter-charge enemy units (via Ageless Cunning), teleport your Heroes on demand (via Swift Form), or have Mannfred preemptively charge an opponent that merely gets near him (via Mortarch of Night) cannot be overstated. These tools (along with the gravesite deepstrikes that are available to every Soulblight player) let you dictate many engagements, which means you will have a strong chance to win almost any game.

Alongside Mannfred are the usual suspects – a Vampire Lord with Unbending Will magnifies the effectiveness of your Summonable objective sitters, Necromancers make good Blizzard caddies thanks to their bodyguard save, and Grave Guard make for a very reliable hammer that absorbs buffs extremely well.

There are some interesting additions in this list, however – Lauka Vai is a great independent operator that is also capable of some shenanigans if she resolves her 6″ pile-in spell, and a unit of Vargheists gives you a deepstriking unit with enough punch to force your opponent to respect the threat of it. All in all, this list has a seemingly endless bag of tricks to keep its opponents off balance, and has the results to prove its power.

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Army Faction: Idoneth Deepkin
Army Subfaction: Ionrach
– Grand Strategy: Overshadow
– Triumphs: Inspired

LEADER
1 x Akhelian King (220)*
General
– Command Traits: Unstoppable Fury
– Bladed Polearm and Falchion
– Mount Traits: Voidchill Darkness
1 x Eidolon of Mathlann Aspect of the Storm (300)*
– Artefacts: Bio-shock Shell
1 x Neave Blacktalon (The Blacktalons) (340)**

BATTLELINE
6 x Akhelian Morrsarr Guard (160)*
Lochian Prince
– 2 x Standard Bearer
– 2 x Musician
6 x Akhelian Morrsarr Guard (160)*
Lochian Prince
– 2 x Musician
– 2 x Standard Bearer
10 x Namarti Reavers (160)*
10 x Namarti Reavers (160)*
10 x Namarti Reavers (160)*

OTHER
1 x Lorai (The Blacktalons) (340)**
3 x Neave’s Companions (The Blacktalons) (340)**

CORE BATTALIONS:
*Battle Regiment
**Regiment of Renown

TOTAL POINTS: (1980/2000)

Jake Bentrup: This list revolves around a core of 2×6 eels and an akhelian king with the typical unstoppable fury, voidchill darkness load out. The game plan is to make the opponent go first in round 1 and stay in position to give away priority in 2–that way bottom of 2 the eel+king combo can pop Lord of Tides for d3 units fight first, and I get to remove key pieces without my opponent getting a turn to slap back before my high tide in turn 3. The supporting cast is a not-so-typical eidolon of the storm and The Blacktalons. The Eidolon is there for its +1 to wound(excluding mounts) aura and as an unexpectedly durable hammer. It also gets my Artefact choice of bioshock shell for a once per game chance to make an enemy hero fight last in case any big punchy heroes want to get in my face turn 1. The Blacktalons work rather well in Idoneth as Lorai has all the right keywords to get a ritual option, and the companions do a great job as a mid board anchor for Neave Neave herself is an absolute bully and works great either for harassing units that I’d rather not stay in combat with or taking out small heroes and then popping back to safety to repeat the process. Finally, we have 3 MSU reaver squads to act as a screen turn 1 and chip through screens or soften up priority targets.

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Allegiance: Beasts of Chaos
Greatfray: Darkwalkers
– Grand Strategy: Spellcasting Savant
– Triumphs:

Leaders
Great Bray-Shaman (100)*
General
– Command Trait: Slakefray Reveller
– Artefact: Brayblast Trumpet
– Universal Spell Lore: Ghost-mist
Beasts of Chaos Tzaangor Shaman (120)*
Artefact: Bleating Gnarlstaff
– Lore of Primal Frost: Merciless Blizzard
Grashrak Fellhoof (180)*
Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Tendrils of Atrophy
Magister – The Coven of Thryx (320)**
Allies

Battleline
10 x Ungors (80)
Mauls & Half-Shields
10 x Ungors (80)
Mauls & Half-Shields
10 x Ungors (80)
Mauls & Half-Shields
10 x Ungor Raiders (130)
10 x Ungor Raiders (130)

Units
5 x Grashrak’s Despoilers (0)*
6 x Beasts of Chaos Tzaangor Enlightened (180)
Reinforced x 1
6 x Beasts of Chaos Tzaangor Enlightened (180)
Reinforced x 1
6 x Beasts of Chaos Tzaangor Enlightened on Discs of Tzeentch (420)
Reinforced x 1
10 x Horrors of Tzeentch – The Coven of Thryx (0)**
Allies

Endless Spells & Invocations
Burning Sigil of Tzeentch – The Coven of Thryx (0)
Daemonic Simulacrum – The Coven of Thryx (0)
Tome of Eyes – The Coven of Thryx (0)

Core Battalions
*Warlord
**Regiment of Renown

Additional Enhancements
Artefact

Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 3 / 4
Allies: 320 / 400
Wounds: 151
Drops: 14

Eli Sweatt: I started originally with a plan to make a BoC list that worked without Be’lakor or Bullgors. It evolved into a list that punishes opponents that make me go first and counter deploying. Then harassing my opponent with chip dmg from while flooding the board and then following up with an Enlightended counter punch once turn 2 rend kicks in.

The punch of this list is the Enlightened Tzaangor. The ones on disc can be anywhere they need to be with their movement for the counterpunch. And the ones on foot are cheap and can trade up at an amazing price price. The only downside for the foot variant is their movement but Slakefray Reveller (+3 normal move for all units on field if unit is within 6″ of terrain) fixes that making their movement a respectable 9″ with some planning. Plus, denying cmds in the combat phase really messes with opponents’ expectations.

The ungor and ungor raiders are the workhorses. They screen, they poke, they darkwalkers away, they steal objectives and are my main battle tactic scorers.

As for heroes, my Brayshaman General’s whole life is one of solitude living behind a herdstone in the corner. Doing so helps keep the odds of the grand strategy spellcasting savant high and keeps my Slakefray Reveller active.

Fellhoof is just the best point cost for ritual of ruins off the table. He does ritual of ruins at 18″ like bray shamans but has 6 wounds so he can typically survive the 2d3 mortals to himself it costs for turn 1 and 2. Then he comes in with an amazing warscroll spell of +1 to hit and d3 mortals to a target. The extra lads that he comes with are just a bonus and a usually a throw-away screen or to contest an unappealing objective at the start of a game. Overall, he saves me 20 points vs. two shamans, and I get an extra screen.

The Tzaangor shaman is my Blizzard wizard due to his once per game cast at +3. But he does more his ability to zip around the table and use Bleating Gnarlstaff on terrain and objectives (End of my movement if he is within 6 of one on a 2+ he does d3 mortals to all Non BoC units within 6″ of that terrain or objective). That alone is amazing and made it my favorite artefact in the book, but even better, it combos with the Coven.

Now, the Coven of Thryx is the secret spice. Originally, I added it in to prevent all ins from opponents on turn 1. While it does that decently, It does something more to armies that want to give me the first turn and bunker. I realized that with Bleating Gnarlstaff hitting non BoC units, I can force the endless spells of the coven to swap during the end of movement so I can get a double tap off of the sigil switch. I call it the Coven trick.

The typical plan for this list goes like this. Once my opponent finishes dropping, I deploy the Coven with the magister outside of 30 of any opponent heroes. If giving second turn, I summon a sigil defensively before the game starts, but if given first, the Coven trick is on. I summon the Simulacrum before the start of the game from the magister. Do magical Dominance turn 1 and cast the Tome of Eyes. Run the magister, run forward 11, and move the pink horrors near a terrain. Use Tzaangor Shaman’s Bleating Gnarlstaff at end of movement on the terrain and hit the horrors. Turn the Tome of eyes into the sigil via Coven of Thryx end of phase ability creating a sigil in the opponents face that activates twice. Once for the swap (via Coven of Thryx warscroll) and again for the normal Sigil end of movement activation.

In the recent battlescroll the Coven did get a rewrite to clean up some of the wording and change some slight behavior of the trick (like make it easier to repeat) but the core basis of the Coven trick remained and still functions.

I suspect a hidden control build exists in Slaves to Darkness featuring this trick via a Fomoroid Crusher and include Belakor for more control but someone else can figure that out.

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Army Faction: Gloomspite Gitz
– Subfaction: King’s Gitz
– Grand Strategy: Chasing the Moon
– Triumph: Inspired

LEADERS
Rabble-Rowza (100)*
General
– Command Traits: The Clammy Hand
– Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome
Grinkrak the Great (220)**
Skragrott, the Loonking (230)***

BATTLELINE
Moonclan Shootas (120)*
Moonclan Boss
– Bad Moon Icon Bearer
– Gong Basher
Moonclan Shootas (120)*
Moonclan Boss
– Bad Moon Icon Bearer
– Gong Basher
Moonclan Shootas (120)*
Moonclan Boss
– Bad Moon Icon Bearer
– Gong Basher

OTHER
Fellwater Troggoths (170)*
Fellwater Troggoths (170)*
Gobbapalooza (180)**
Spells: The Hand of Gork
Grinkrak’s Looncourt (220)**
Marshcrawla Sloggoth (170)**
Loonsmasha Fanatics (110)***
Loonsmasha Fanatics (110)***
Loonsmasha Fanatics (110)***

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws (70)

TERRAIN
1 x Bad Moon Loonshrine (0)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment
***Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000

David Erger: There is not much to say about the list, other than it’s all about deception. Only the gitz player knows where the fanatics are hiding at and with the clammy hand command trait, plus the King’s Gitz battle trait. You bring back almost guaranteed two units at the end of the turn.

A fun thing to do is to put your shoota units in a horseshoe formation. Depending on what is going to charge the shoota unit, you can put your fanatics in the open part, and they can swing over the shoota unit due to them having 3 inch melee range. And Grinkrak can “I Dub Thee” on them.

Final Tournament Placings

Best Coast Pairings

Disciples of Tzeentch – Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor

All the data used in the charts on this article are drawn from events that have been hosted on Best Coast Pairings, Stats & Ladders and Ecksen using the points and FAQs from Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor published in September 2023.

This chart shows the faction popularity, using the number of players using them at events.

The Combined win rate chart shows the overall win rate for these subfactions. This is the most comparable data to GW’s own metawatch articles. The figure in brackets shows the number of games featuring that subfaction the data is drawn from.

The above shows the win rates for each subfaction at GT events. These are events of single player tournaments of 2,000 points per player spread over a minimum of 5 rounds. This would be considered the most competitive view, with many of the players being experienced and looking to optimise their lists.

RTT/Casual shows the win rates for events that are not classified as a GT event. This could be doubles, teams, narrative, but mostly revolves around single day events known as RTTs.

The nitty gritty of a faction! This chart shows the win rate for lists where the specified warscroll has been included in the players list. The figure in brackets shows the number of games that featured the warscroll.

This shows the source of the Grand Strategy used in the players’ games, whether they are from the Battletome or the General’s Handbook.

Here you can see both the win rate of each Grand Strategy when it was used, as well as the popularity of the strategies.

Like our Grand Strategy source chart, this shows the same information but for Command Traits.

Once again, we can see the win rate of each Command Trait when used in players’ lists. The figure in brackets shows the number of games where that Command Trait was used.

Finally, we have the win rates for Endless Spells when included in lists.

Why not come and join our friendly Discord server? Or help us improve the site by joining our Patreon?

Disciples of Tzeentch Battletome Review

Menu

Lore

The Disciples of Tzeentch are a faction within the Chaos pantheon in Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Dedicated to the Changer of Ways, Tzeentch, they embody the essence of change, magic, and manipulation. Led by powerful sorcerers and daemonic entities, they seek to unravel the fabric of reality and reshape it according to their whims. With a focus on sorcery, cunning, and intricate schemes, the Disciples of Tzeentch manipulate events from the shadows, often orchestrating complex plots that span years. In battle, they employ a diverse array of arcane powers and otherworldly creatures, leveraging their mastery over magic to outmanoeuvre and outwit their foes. However, their allegiance comes with a price, as Tzeentch is known for his ever-shifting plans and unpredictable nature, making loyalty to the Changer of Ways a precarious endeavour.

Battle Traits

Starting with the Battle Traits, Disciples of Tzeentch have a range of powerful and flavourful rules that really help define your army and shape list building. The first one, Arcane Armies allows an auto-cast of Tzeentch Endless Spell and it cannot be unbound until Turn 2 at the earliest. While somewhat out of sequence, it’s a good opportunity to go through those Warscrolls now to decide how good this rule actually is.

Tome of Eyes

The cheapest is also the one that I think is the best, due to the change to Chronomantic Cogs during 3rd edition. For 40 points, you can reroll casting roles (only) and thrown in is a spell that can do D3 mortals wounds and reduce bravery by 1 for the rest of the battle. For most efficiency, put it on Kairos and get to re-roll all three of his spells, potentially useful for a particular Book Battle Tactic. The Endless Spell follows around the model it is ‘bound’ to, so can also be used to sneakily screen off a portion of base, preventing all melee attacks being able to get in.

Burning Sigil

Next up, is the Endless Spell that I think is the coolest: Burning Sigil. It has a range of 18” and then at the end of the movement phase, you roll a dice for every unit within 9”, even friendly units. On a 4+, the unit takes D3 mortal wounds and if a model dies, you can add a spawn within 3” of the unit (only once per activation though). This is fantastic for shutting down shooting units as they find themselves in combat and have took overkill the spawn instead. It can be amazing to shut down charges too: I once popped a spawn down within 3” of a unit of Brutes, a Mawkrusha and some Pigs that were about to ruin my screen. Instead, they just ate a lot of magic next hero phase. It is pricey, at 70pts though, and with some armies, it’s practically useless. Face Beastclaw Raiders and it’s doing nothing as they have too many wounds; Khorne might die but a) they might ignore, earning Bloodtithe and b) they’ll kill the spawn quickly anyway…stop me if you’ve heard this one, earning Bloodtithe! 

Daemonic Simulacrum

Again for 70pts, you have an Endless Spell that probably does 3 mortal wounds (9 dice and 5+s) or 5 mortal wounds to wizards (9 dice and 4+s). Waste of a slot – take Aethervoid Pendulum or Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws instead.

Summoning

Disciples of Tzeentch are a summoning army, with summoning or Fate Points being earned whenever a spell is cast, friendly and enemy. This can have an interesting effect on armies that depend on casting as if they do go through with the cast, they make summoning easier but at the same time, it might also make the Tzeentch player allow some spells to be cast for the same reason. There are several Daemon units that can be summoned, but the three you are most likely to see are 10 Blue Horrors for 10 Fate Points; 10 Pink Horrors for 20 Fate Points; a Lord of Change (the generic one, not Kairos!) for 30 Fate Points. There is a sub-faction that allows for Lords of Change to be summoned on a 9 the first time and then on an 18 each time after that BUT you can only summon Lords of Change. Lore-wise, the Guild of Summoners (the sub-faction in question), aims to summon NINE Lords of Change at once to bring about something appropriately apocalyptic. At 2k points and 5 turns, the most you can get on the table is 8, so look for a Guild of Summoners mirror match to check the veracity of the prophesy! The summoning is fine, but is severely overshadowed by Seraphon Starborne summoning as they get summoning points for existing and for casting their own spells and unbinding the opponent’s. 

Change Covens

I’ve mentioned one of the Change Covens or sub-factions already, so let’s dive into those now, starting with the Big Bird fans, Guild of Summoners.

Guild of Summoners

GoS is definitely one of the competitive options, allowing you to summon and almost 400pt model, relatively easily for only 9 Fate Points. Many GoS lists feature Kairic Acolytes as battleline, and they can cast a spell each; with a certain Command Ability, you get an extra 3 Fate Points and then the spell in Arcane Armies counts too – that’s 8 Fate Points already. In addition, there’s a Book Battle Tactic for doing this. However, there are a couple of buts. The biggest one is that only Arcanite (i.e. mortal) wizards can summon. Lose those and no more summoning. Having the space to fit those big bases in can be tricky too. The other catch is that the Lords of Change are casting from the same pool of spells and they are not good in combat, even with a sword and flaming weapon. Therefore, take the Rod of Sorcery for some shooting chip damage and an Endless Spell like Aethervoid Pendulum or Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws.

Host Arcanum

The other competitive option, and the one you take if you want to take the very cool Screamers as battleline and be able to summon in Horrors (among other units, but mainly Horrors) is Host Arcanum. Another bonus from Host Arcanum is that you can unbind a spell without rolling dice rounds 1, 3 and 5. And why those three? What does 1+3+5 make?

And the rest…

Host Duplicitous has a cool gimmick where units can’t fall back and can bring 5 Pinks back on a 4+ once per game. Theoretically, 30 Pinks could tarpit a whole army as it would 150 wounds BUT that costs almost 800points and 10 Chosen fully buffed could take that out in a couple of combat phases. Eternal Conflagration gives extra rend to magical ranged attacks and have Flamers as battleline. 9 Flamers will put you back about 600 points and will die to a stiff breeze. The last two are Kairic and Tzaangor based and unless you have a particular army in mind for verrrrry casual games, skip these.

Coalition Options

Disciples of Tzeentch can play nicely with Slaves to Darkness, able to take two units out of every four from the other battletome and get along with Beasts of Chaos okay, able to take one out of every four from this book. As to the units you would want to take, they’ll probably all be melee units as melee is somewhere that Tzeentch can struggle with, though various hues of Tzaangor do have a good punch still. 

For Slaves to Darkness, six Varanguard are an excellent choice, with some Chaos Chosen also being an option. Six Ogroids can also do tremendous work with their great axes and look really cool alongside an Ogroid Thaumaturge. 20 Chaos Warriors can be a decent anvil if you don’t want to use Pinks, especially as all of these units will be able to receive the Shield of Fate spell buff, giving them a 5+ ward and a potential spell ignore too. With Mystic Shield, All out Defense AND a 5+ ward, those Warriors will be tricky to remove. Having a melee threat is really important as there are lots of matchups that can neutralise the magic threat, for example, Khorne. A couple of more techy pieces from the S2D range include the Cockatrice to potentially mean that enemy melee only hits on 6s and the Mindstealer Sphiranx for fight last (though to make that worthwhile you’re going to want two melee threats!). Of the Warcry Warbands, Corvus Cabal are good for deepstriking as Tzeentch has (almost) no way of teleporting short of Soulscreen Bridge. Untamed Beasts could be useful to look at for a pregame move. Last but not least, for those people who have more friends than they know what to do with, there is Belakor. His spells will add to Fate Point generation, and there’s always The Dark Master ability aka ‘Belakor says no’ to potentially shut down unit activations.

For Beasts of Chaos, melee hammers such as Dragon Ogres or Bullgor certainly have a place and Ungor can do a good job as a screen at a very reasonable price.

Locus of Change

Pretty handy rule here for keeping your Daemon units alive in the form of Locus of Change. Really straightforward in as much as if a Daemon unit is wholly within 12” of a Daemon hero (e.g. Lord of Change or Gaunt Summoner) then they are -1 to hit in melee.

Master of Destiny

And the final Battle Trait is Mastery of Destiny which gives you Destiny Dice. You roll nine at the beginning of the game and then you can use the result of one of these dice INSTEAD OF rolling. They can’t be used for every dice roll but can be used for:

Casting

Unbinding

Dispelling

Run

Charge

Hit

Wound

Save

Damage characteristic of missile or magic weapon (not for magic damage, sadly)

Battleshock

For the above rolls that need two dice, you need to use two Destiny Dice and your Coalition units cannot benefit from them at all.

In terms of gaining more dice, Kairos allows you to add one at the start of each hero phase; there is a spell that adds one; there is a relic that gives and extra dice for unmodified hit rolls of a 6; there is a command ability that allows a dice’s value to be changed; there is a relic that allows you to roll a dice each time a Destiny Dice is used and on a 5+, you can roll a new one. This last relic (The Eternal Shroud) can be useful for doing something with the 1s and 2s you have rolled as you can use them for run rolls or any other roll that doesn’t really matter to try and generate a better outcome. However you are generating them, the number you have cannot exceed nine. Therefore, a good trick if you’re going second is to find a pre-text to use a low roll up, such as for a save roll you couldn’t make anyway or by taking a battleshock test that won’t result in models running, even on a 6. Then, when Kairos activates his ability to generate a dice in the Hero phase, you get another try at rolling for a better dice.

Managing your Destiny Dice is key to victory as Tzeentch, particularly as the Grand Strategy, Master of Destiny, needs you to have a total of nine or more on Destiny Dice at the end of the game (e.g. a 2, a 3 and a 4). They can be tremendously powerful when used at the right time. I’ll share two examples to illustrate this. In a game against Beastclaw Raiders, I think I’ve screened well enough, but a Stonehorn manages to get into Kairos and would have turned him into a puff of feathers if not for Destiny Dice. I slow rolled the first couple of saves (i.e. one at a time) and then used almost half of the rest of my Destiny Dice to save the rest. Kairos lived (well, for a couple more turns at least!). An aggressive example is with Tzaangor Enlightened on Disc, who move 16” with fly. My opponent had screened quite well, but because I had a couple of high Destiny Dice, I could guarantee an 11” charge to rip apart several key support characters that shifted the whole game in my favour.

Battle Tactics

Tzeentch are blessed with some pretty good Book Battle Tactics that can all be achieved, albeit with some list construction choices needed to allow them to happen.

Call for Change

To achieve this tactic you need to summon a Lord of Change, which is very difficult for most Covens as it costs 30 Fate Points but simple for Guild of Summoners as they only need nine Fate Points. Being able to achieve this tactic so easily is one of GoS’s strengths competitively and you will complete this tactic if you take this sub-faction.

Mass Conjuration

Casting three spells that are not unbound with the same character is what is required here. It doesn’t specify Kairos Fateweaver as the character as, when the book came out, Wizards could take the Arcane Tome as a relic to get an extra cast, meaning that there were a few options to achieve this tactic. As things currently stand, however, it is Kairos only who can achieve this. There is a bit of risk with this one, but if Tome of Eyes is attached to Kairos and he is out of unbind range, it’s a relatively safe bet.

Ninefold Dismantlement

Kill a unit with nine or more models or a hero/monster with a wounds characteristic of nine or more. Very straightforward one as even if you only do the final wound to a 10 wound model, the battle tactic is achieved.

Tides of Anarchy

Take an objective from an opponent with nine or more models. Again, really easy to do unless you are pinned in your deployment zone for the whole game. 

Reckless Abandon

You need to successfully complete a charge with a mortal Tzeentch unit that started the turn 18” away from all enemy units. I have completed this one before, but the only unit that can really do it is a Magister on Disc and then the Magister gets squished shortly afterwards. Don’t bother with this one.

So in summary, two all sub-factions will be able to do; three that one of them will; one that Kairos can do but is situation dependent and one that’s just too much of a faff. Many armies would kill for an array that good! 

Grand Strategies

Dominate Arcane Nexus

Don’t choose this.

Preponderance of Fate

Don’t choose this.

Realm of Magic

Don’t choose this.

Master of Destiny

Choose this! Having nine on your Destiny Dice at the end of the game is ENTIRELY uninteractive as your opponent can do nothing to stop you. If you fail this strategy, Tzeentch is throwing you into the Well of Eternity next.

So to bring Battle Tactics and Grand Strategies together, a Tzeentch player is positioned to score well on these, with an expectation, short of an early tabling of scoring 10+ points on these. The challenge, therefore, is in the primary scoring of holding objectives, so make sure you build your lists with that in mind.

Command Abilities

There are two flavours on offer here, Daemon heroes and Mortal ones, with there being a few good ones but maybe Mortal Command Abilities just edging it.

Daemon Heroes

Arch Sorcerer

Know two extra spells from the Daemon spell lore, Lore of Change. Lords of Change/Kairos know all of the spells anyway and the Lore of Change is the weaker of the two, so give this one a pass.

Daemonspark

Once per game 3 Fate Points, which sounds underwhelming, but can help guarantee turn 1 summoning. If you have a Daemon general, this is probably your choice.

Incorporeal Form

5+ spell ignore…meh. You’re Tzeentch: unbind the spell!

Nexus of Fate

Can re-roll the result of a Destiny Dice at the start of each hero phase. Lots of fun, but there are better options.

Arcanite Heroes

Arcane Sacrifice

Add 9” to spell range by inflicting a wound to a nearby friendly unit. 27” cast is great, especially with some of the amazing spells from the Lore of Fate…but it’s only one spell and how long will you be 27” away from your target? One turn? 

Arch Sorcerer

Same as above but for Lore of Fate. Now, Lore of Fate is the better spell Lore but Gaunt Summoners exist and knowing two is not the same as casting two. Best on a Cursling if you’re going to take it as he does have two casts.

Cult Demagogue

If the FIRST casting roll is a double, even a double 2, the spell is successful, regardless of the casting value and cannot be unbound. In addition, you get 2 Fate Points for this spell. Spells that cannot be unbound are absolute money, so this is probably the pick of the bunch. Rolled a bunch of 2s for your Destiny Dice? Despair not if you have Cult Demagogue!

Illusionist

Subtract 1 from hit rolls that target your general. The most robust character that can take this has 8 wounds on a 4+. This Command Ability won’t save him.

Nexus of Fate

Copy and paste from above with same comments.

Soul Burn

Unmodified rolls of a 6 in meleedo one mortal wound on addition. Could not be more underwhelming. No model has enough attacks to make this proc often enough and you don’t want your characters in melee.

Artefacts of Power

As above, one basket for Daemons another for their Mortal summoners.

Daemon Heroes

Beacon of Mutability

Add 1 to wound rolls for Daemon units wholly within 9” of the bearer. Screamers are the only Daemon unit we want in combat and they go 16” and potentially charge another 12” into the distance. Simply won’t come off enough for the investment of an artefact.

Blade of Fate

Pick one of the bearer’s melee weapons…skip! Even Lords of Change with swords are decidedly mediocre and you’d need to hit with an unmodified roll of a 6 to be able to generate a Destiny Dice.

Nine-Eyed Tome

Re-roll casting, unbinding and dispelling. Fantastic value on a Gaunt Summoner to get to re-roll two casts; pop Tome of Eyes on Kairos and that’s 5 spells you’re re-rolling. It’s almost like Cogs never changed!

Pyrofyre Staff

Pick one of the bearer’s melee weapons…skip! Even worse that Blade of Fate so don’t waste your time with it.

Eternal Shroud

Each time a Destiny Dice is used, on a 5+, you can roll another dice and put it back in. Very good and the go-to when Chronomantic Cogs still offered full re-rolls. With Kairos, the Destiny Dice Spell and this, you can legitimately expect to have access to 15+ Destiny Dice per game. Definitely worth a look.

Warpfire Blade

Pick one of the bearer’s melee weapons…skip! In the Lore for Lords of Change it explains how they basically kite opponents, hurling spells at them as they fly backwards, desperately trying to stay out of melee range…so I am clueless as to why half the Daemon relics are versions of combat weapons. In comparison, one (ONE!) of the eight Blades of Khorne relics, Daemon and Mortal alike, features “pick one of the bearer’s melee weapons.”

Mortal

Ambition’s End

Once per battle, a Wizard within 1” of the bearer takes the battle round number of wounds. Rubbish.

Changeblade

Pick one of the bearer’s melee weapons…seriously?!

Daemonheart

Ambition’s End but for all units and not just Wizards. Slightly less rubbish, but still rubbish.

Secret Eater

Pick one of the bearer’s weapons…I’m going to actually consider this one for a moment before rejecting it as it can be a missile weapon and the Cursling has a D6 attacks missile weapon. Roll an unmodified hit roll of 6 and roll yourself up a Destiny Dice if you have fewer than nine. But is it better than re-rolling spells or getting Destiny Dice back just for spending them (on a 5+ anyway)? No.

Spiteful Shield

Two mortal wounds back on an unmodified save roll of a 6. Great on a melee hero, of which Tzeentch have none…

Timeslip Pendant

Fight for a second time but at the end of the phase. Unlikely to need to kill something enough while that unit will not kill you when they activate. Not terrible, but same problem as Secret Eater – nowhere near best-in-slot.

TL;DR your command trait is likely Daemonspark or Cult Demagogue and your artifact is probably Nine-Eyed Tome.

Spells

This is where a lot of the flavour comes from with Tzeentch, with a huge variety of spells to consider. The Tzeentch Endless Spells have already been looked at, but with look at the Tzeentch Spell Lores, Notable Warscroll Spells and Notable Endless Spells too.

Lore of Change (Daemon Spells)

Lords of Change and Kairos know all of these, which gives a lot of flexibility. Also worth mentioning at this point that if you are wholly with 18” of a big bird, you get +1 to casting, unbinding and dispelling and it stacks.

Bolt of Change

18”, CV7, D6 MWs. Bread and butter mortal wound spell and will be one of your most commonly cast spells. Really useful for popping heroes that are otherwise hidden by the Look Out Sir character targeting rules. Only slight downsides are the inherent variability of a D6 damage roll and the Lore of Fate has the same spell and you can only cast Bolt of Change from one of the disciplines and not both.

Fold Reality

18”, CV7, Recursion spell. Do you have Screamers in your lists in units of 6 or 9? If so, you want this spell. If successfully cast, choose one Daemon unit wholly within 18” and visible and roll a dice. On a 1, everything went wrong and the unit is sent back to whence it came. But on a 2+, you get this many models back. On a unit of nine Screamers that your opponent has whittled down to one or two, bringing back six with this spell is pretty crushing (and low risk for you as the 1 in 6 chance of being destroyed isn’t that impactful if there is only a single model left anyway). It does work on Horrors, but only Brimstones so only useful on them in very fringe circumstances. No restrictions on whether you are in engagement range either, which is another strong positive.

Treason of Tzeentch

18”, CV7, Damage/debuff spell. Pick a unit with two or more models (as they have to turn on each other, see) and roll the number of dice that there are in the unit and every 6 is a mortal wound. In addition, subtract 1 from hit rolls for this unit. It’s fine, but probably either a very situational spell or one that you use in Guild of Summoners when all of the other spells have been cast!

Tzeentch’s Firestorm

12”, CV8, Nine dice; 6s D3MWs. Really exciting spell on paper…that almost always does 2 mortal wounds. Cast Arcane Bolt and then charge instead!

Unchecked Mutation

18”, CV6, D3MWs and then maybe +D3MWs. An alright spell here and one that far outshines Tzeentch’s Firestorm at least on the one or two wound models that will proc the second D3MWs. 

Lore of Fate (Mortal Spells)

The Gaunt Summoner (both varieties) know all of these, despite being a Daemon and having their chosen spell have to come from the Lore of Change, or any spells specific to a season of AoS. The spells are generally very good, which is why I almost always start with a Gaunt Summoner in my lists.

Arcane Suggestion

18”, CV8, Debuff Variety Pack

Arcane Suggestion gives you a range of debuffs to inflict. Either not being able to issue it receive commands; -1 to hit and wound; -1 from save rolls (note that this does not change armour characteristic or AP of a unit so can stack with rules that do affect those). Great spell and one that you’re likely to want to cast every turn. Turning off Inspire Bravery for key units is massive; -1 to hit and wound, potentially coupled with Locus of Change so that even All out Attack doesn’t cancel the -1; reducing saves is always awesome. 

Bolt of Tzeentch

18”, CV7, D6 MWs. As above, but the Mortal variant that cannot be cast with the Daemon version.

Glimpse the Future

CV7, Gain a Destiny Dice. Great fill-in spell for when there’s not a particular spell effect you want, but you DO want the Fate Points. Why not grab an extra Destiny Dice!

Infusion Arcanum

CV5, Buffing spell. +1 to hit +1 to wound for attacks made by the caster. Actually very cool and works great on the Cursling as it takes him to 2s/2s on missile and main melee profiles…but it’s not worth missing out on the others for, unfortunately.

Shield of Fate

18”, CV6, Varying strength buff. If you have 1-3 Destiny Dice, a selected unit gets a 6+ ward. If you have 4-6 Destiny Dice, a selected unit gets a 5+ ward. If you have 7-9 Destiny Dice, a selected unit gets a 5+ ward AND a 4+ spell ignore. Just like Arcane Sacrifice, you will be wanting to cast this one pretty much every turn. Get your sequencing right if you have three or six Destiny Dice and cast Glimpse the Future first, if you can.

Treacherous Bond

9”, CV5, bodyguard spell. Pick a unit wholly within 9” of the caster and can pass off wounds, instead of taking a ward save, on a 3+ when the unit is within 9”. Note the difference: wholly when cast, to one model when effect takes place – just don’t take that one model first!

Notable Warscroll Spells

There are a lot of Warscroll Spells, but I’m just going to look at the ones you’ll find yourself using a bit more often.

Infernal Gateway

18”, CV8, Nine dice, starts on 3+ are MWs. Fantastic fantastic spell that legitimately has a good chance of one-shotting any foot hero unlucky enough to find themselves in range of this. The one downside is that Kairos and Lords of Change now share this as their Warscroll spell, which is why you hardly ever see a starting army with two big birds.

Blue Fire of Tzeentch

18”, CV8, Nine dice, 5+ are MWs. Kind of like Infernal Gateway-lite and cast by the Fluxmaster. The bonus to this spell and why the Fluxmaster was very hard to get hold of for a bit when the book dropped is that for each mortal wound caused you get an extra Fate Point, i.e. 3MWs = three Fate Points from the spell and one Fate Point from the cast. If you have a plan built upon summoning, this spell is hugely helpful to that plan.

Glean Magic

30”, CV4, Copy Homework spell. When the Cursling unbinds a spell, they can immediately cast Glean Magic, even in the opponent’s hero phase and attempt to take a copy of a spell on the opponent’s Warscroll that the Cursling would then be able to cast. For example, you can copy Kroak’s Celestial Deliverance spell (though only cast it once, Tzeentch is not an Order faction) because it just does damage to a unit, but you can’t copy the Alchemite Warforger’s Blazing Weapon spell as this names Cities of Sigmar units as the recipients of the spell. The opposing Wizard still knows the spell, but might see it coming back at them. A fun spell and a good way of earning some more Fate Points. 

Infernal Flames

12”, CV7, Damage spell. Not cast very often, but the Gaunt Summoner does have a horde clearance spell that rolls the number of dice in the unit and causes a mortal on a 5+. Not why you’re taking the Gaunt Summoner, but handy to have if you run into 60 zombies.

Choking Tendrils

18”, CV7, Damage and healing spell. The Ogroid Thaumaturge has a nifty variant of Bolt of Tzeentch that also does D6 damage but also allows the Ogroid to heal a wound for each model slain by the spell.

Bolt of Change

18”, CV7, Damage/transformation spell. Both varieties of Magister can hurl out this spell that causes D3 MWs, with the option of turning a model into a spawn if one is killed, in much the same way as the Burning Sigil. They operate independently, however, and you can theoretically generate two spawn a turn with both at your disposal. Think hard about whether it benefits you to have a spawn though. Will it give an enemy unit free movement via a charge? Might it add a Bloodtithe point? Could it be an easy battle tactic for my opponent? Going against Khorne, the answer is almost always yes to all three of these, so such take the wounds and leave it there!

Sudden Warp-portal

18”, CV8, Teleportation spell with hoops to jump through. Even if you know Tzeentch quite well, you’re probably not that familiar with Sudden Warp-portal as it can only be cast by Ephilim the Unknowable, a Warhammer Underworlds release. Hoop number one is casting it as 8 is not straightforward, but then it gets very Tzeentchian. You must pick a unit that is wholly within 18” of Ephilim, within 6” of an objective AND 3” from enemy models. Okay, tricky, but doable, you may be thinking. We’re not finished yet. The unit must then be set up again within 6” of an objective and 9” from enemy models and then cannot move in the following movement phase. If being able to drop a unit in your opponent’s backfield is so key to your plan, take 2 units of Corvus Cabal for the same price and probably greater utility.

Notable Endless Spells

Aethervoid Pendulum

8” + 8”, CV6, D6 MWs. On a 2+, D6 MWs caused on every unit that it flew over or ended with 1” off but it must move in a straight line and it can cause them to friendly units too. Great damage dealer.

Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws

8” + 3D6”, CV6, Variable MWs. You roll the 3D6 distance (re-rolling if desired – below 10 is a good indicator) and it moves that far and one unit it crosses or ends up within an inch of takes the difference in movement characteristic and the 3D6 roll in damage. Most units move 6”, so on average, that’s 5MWs, which isn’t bad. It’s also a pretty big base for move blocking.

Umbral Spellportal

18”, CV5, Extra range spell. When it is cast, you place one end next to the wizard you want to send a spell through and another in a strategic location that allows you to get range and visibility on a target as long as both ends are wholly with 18” of the caster. Then, when the portal is used the ‘other’ end is where all the measurements happen from. Combos really well with Infernal Gateway but is not cheap, so is not as commonly seen as it once was.

Warscrolls

Kairos Fateweaver/Lord of Change

I’ll look at these two together as you will rarely have both in a starting list and they do have very similar Warscrolls. They both have fly, move 12”, are Daemon monsters and share the same Warscroll spell as mentioned above: Infernal Gateway. They offer a great buff, Beacon of Sorcery, adding +1 to casting, unbinding and dispelling rolls when wholly within 18”, which does stack. They are also excellent at casting and unbinding as, when rolling the casting dice, you can turn the lowest dice into the highest dice, i.e. a 6 and a 1 is actually a 12, +1 for Beacon of Sorcery, making a CV of 13. They can also steal an Endless Spell instead of dispelling it.

Now to the differences. Kairos is a three cast whereas the Lord of Change is only two, so if you plan on attempting the Mass Conjuration battle tactic, Kairos is your guy. Kairos also gives an additional buff in as much as you get to roll an extra Destiny Dice at the start of your hero phase of you have less than nine. Neither are particularly great in combat, maybe able to beat up on a screening or skirmishing unit, but not much else. The Lord of Change, however, does have the option to take a 2D6 ranged attack that hits and wounds on 3s, for -1 and 1 damage, which isn’t terrible and the option you’ll most likely see.

Of the two, I tend to go for Kairos for the extra utility, but if you need to save on points and Mass Conjuration isn’t part of your plans, it’s a good place to make points savings.

Gaunt Summoner (on Disc)

More than Kairos or a Lord of Change, the Gaunt Summoner is my most auto-take and, while the Disc version gives an extra wound, better save and is faster, I usually go for the foot version to save points and be screenable. The reason he is so good is that he is a two cast wizard, with +1 to cast innately, which also stacks with Beacon of Sorcery. You can also be flexible with your casts as he knows all of the Lore of Fate. This combination makes Arcane Sacrifice succeed more often than not, despite being CV8. You also get to choose a bonus spell from the Lore of Change for added flexibility. If you are screening with Horrors, he also adds -1 to hit them from Locus of Change. His Warscroll spell is also notable in that it can be great for Horde clearance. There are two rules that he has that I rarely use: Silvered Portal and Lords of the Silvered Towers. Silvered Portal allows up to two Tzeentch units (so could be coalition unit) to be ‘in’ the Gaunt Summoner to be deployed as reserves at the end of a movement phase, wholly within 9” of the Gaunt Summoner and more than 9” from other enemy models. A Gaunt Summoner on Disc obviously gives you more reach on this, but would be somewhat exposed afterwards. Could be great for getting units forward quickly and, if they are Disciples of Tzeentch, you can guarantee the charge with Destiny Dice. But. You won’t get to buff the unit as they weren’t on the battlefield during the hero phase and, depending on what is inside the Gaunt Summoner, there could be half your points invested in an, at best, 6 wound character on a 4+ save. Finally, while you never want your Gaunt Summoner in combat or having to shoot, he’s not useless. The missile attack is 3 attacks, 3s, 3s, -1, 1 damage at 18” and the melee profile is 2 attacks, 3s, 3s, -2, D3.

Magister (on Disc)

As with the Gaunt Summoner, the Magister of Disc gets extra movement, an extra wound, a better save and one of the coolest models in the Disciples of Tzeentch range. It also allows the battle tactic of Reckless Abandon. It does suffer from the same targeting issues from being on disc, so you’ll probably more often see on foot. The Warscroll spell, Bolt of Change, can turn models into spawn, which is very fun and often strategically useful and he can potentially go from a one cast to a two cast wizard. The first spell has to be successfully cast and not unbound and then you can gamble on casting a second spell. If the second spell is a double, either the Magister blows himself up or turns into a spawn. Probably only use if you have a need for the spell rather than just randomly casting – unless you’re one Fate Point short of a summon you need, particularly if you need a Lord of Change for your battle tactic. At that point, it’s probably best to use Destiny Dice to guarantee the cast and the tactic. Above, I said the Gaunt Summoner is not useless at shooting/fighting… the Magister is! Almost better to save you and your opponent the one minute of your lives you are never getting back by not even rolling the attacks!

Curseling

A very interesting Warscroll, the Curseling. He’s a two cast wizard, with a very unique spell, Glean Magic, that is explained in more detail above. He can also re-roll unbinding and dispelling rolls to make it more likely to get the counter-spell version of Glean Magic off. He’s got good armour, at 3+, but only had 5 wounds and no ward (without buffing spells that probably want to go elsewhere). He’s low-key okay at range, with D6 attacks at 18” 3s, 3s, -1, 1 damage; and has 4 attacks, 3s, 3s, -1 2 damage AND D6 attacks, 4s, 4s, -, 1 damage. If you can justify it, the spell Infusion Arcanum adds +1 to all these hit rolls. Generally speaking, if you have a Gaunt Summoner to take care of your key buff spells and/or you have Endless Spells that need casting or the extra spell bonus from the Command Entourage or Warlord batallions, Infusion Arcanum isn’t as much of a luxury.

Ogroid Thaumaturge

The big, blue angry magic bull! Has a great default Warscroll spell as a D6 damage spell is almost always useful, meaning that his chosen spell can be a bit more buff orientated. Infusion Arcanum is a good potential spell here if you want him to get stuck in, though no range attack to buff as well. Of all the heroes, the Thaumaturge is the one you’d be happiest throwing into combat as he has 8 wounds on a 4+ save and the Warscroll spell can heal him. He’s also a bit of a bully to your more standard battleline, screening units with 3 attacks, 3s, 3s, -1, D3 damage; 2 attacks, 3s, 3s, -2, 3 damage; 4 attacks, 3s, 3s, -, 1 damage. In addition, if any wounds were allocated earlier in the phase, you get +1 to hit and wound. This final ability means that the Ogroid is a good candidate for the Timeslip Pendant as, when he gets to fight again, some wounds were probably taken, meaning that the second set of attacks are more efficient than the first.

Fluxmaster

A Herald of Tzeentch on Disc who is pretty mediocre apart from the speed of the disc, potentially allowing a summons to pop up in an awkward spot or to spread the Locus of Change to some swarming Screamers harassing your enemy’s deployment (and being able to issue them orders as they are not elite) and their Warscroll spell. The spell does cause mortal wounds, but is more of a Fate Point generator than anything else as each wound is an extra Fate Point. If successfully cast, a return of 3-5 Fate Points is not unreasonable, which is close to a Lord of Change across a whole game, even if you aren’t Guild of Summoners. It is a difficult spell to cast, but the Fluxmaster also has a once per game re-roll of a cast with an additional +3 to whatever the outcome is.

The characters so far will be the backbone of most hero slots in most lists, with the Ogroid, Magister and Curseling being particularly key to Guild of Summoners lists as they are where the summoning comes from. Next, are a variety of characters that might have a niche role they can play in your list. I’ll focus on what makes each a bit different.

Changecaster

A relatively easy character to summon who can reduce save rolls by 1 with his Warscroll spell and has the same once per battle re-roll mechanic as the Fluxmaster, who is basically the same character but on a disc. 

Fateskimmer

The most VIP of the Heralds of Tzeentch, being pulled on a Screamer Sleigh. Tougher than the Fluxmaster with some combat punch. The spell just isn’t as good as the Fluxmaster as it is an AoE spell from measured from himself and needs to be danger close for it to really work.

Fatemaster

A dude of a disc who can’t cast spells, can’t really fight, but does buff the wound roll Disciples of Tzeentch wholly within 9”. Possibly useful for this mythical Flamer build…but you’re investing so many points in buffing units that won’t hang around long enough to justify the investment.

Blue Scribes

Can choose any spell from Lore of Change or Fate and cast it on a 2+ and it cannot be unbound. Good ability and flexibility, but on a disc, so character screening is an issue.

The Changeling

Can be set up in your opponent’s deployment 3” away from enemy models, but has no Warscroll spell, despite being a two cast wizard, and can choose to debuff hit rolls and halve the movement of a unit. 5 wounds on a 5+ means that he’ll be The Deadling next turn though.

Tzaangor Shaman

Cheap and mobile with a spell to potentially increase numbers of standard Tzaangor units. If you have lots of these, maybe worth it. Can be used for Guild of Summoners summoning too.

Ephilim the Unknowable

If you’re taking him, it’s for the Sudden Warp-portal teleport spell described above.

Vortemis the All-seeing

Magister with a worse Warscroll spell. Don’t bother.

Pink Horrors

Probably one of the most iconic and maybe most hated units in AoS! You start with 10 Pinks as standard and those can split into 20 Blue Horrors, who then split into 20 Brimstone Horror bases. So in total, that’s 50 wounds. Very awkward unit to shift by trying to chip away at it as there end up being more of the unit than there was to begin with. Also, nothing counts as being slain until Brimstones start being lifted off the table. This is actually good news for opponents of Tzeentch as it means that you can only Rally Brimstones and not Pink Horrors! 

The problem they’ve had more recently is that there are plenty of units who can just go in and clear 50 wounds on, at best, a 5+ save ignoring rend -2 and a 5+ ward, even if the attacking unit has -1 to hit and wound from Arcane Sacrifice. Might be better off with a unit of, for example, Kairic Acolytes, who will die MUCH quicker, but you can have two separate units for about the same price, meaning that the whole unit isn’t wiped out in one phase.

But what else can they do? Well, on a 3+ for each banner you get a Fate Point for free; they have a lot of shots, with the Eternal Conflagration sub-faction adding rend -1 to those attacks. With some additional spell support that could be even better. The highest volume of shots you can get is when you have all Blue Horrors, with all Brimstones being the ‘best’ (in heavily inverted commas!) combat option. 

They can do great work and if your opponent has a couple of hammers that you can cripple early on, then it does become difficult to shift them. In addition, if you can get to 20 Fate Points and return 10 Pink Horrors to the board, the colour will drain from your opponent as they have to chew through those wounds again.

Theoretically, they can be taken in units of 30, but it becomes difficult for a Daemon character to stay wholly within 12” for Locus of Change and it’s a big investment in one unit that isn’t realistically going to cause much damage. It is 150 wounds, but please don’t underestimate how tiring it is, swapping Pinks to Blues and Blues to Brims. Depending on table height and battleplan, you might need a chiropractor over the weekend. And speaking of deliberately inflicting pain for fun, watch out for Pink Horrors vs. Slaanesh. They will be on maximum Depravity in no time at all as the chew through 50 wounds of Horrors in double quick time!

Kairic Acolytes 

The other and probably more common battleline option for Disciples of Tzeentch are cheap, a little bit shooty and a little bit fighty. When at 9 or more models they can cast a spell that adds -1 rend to their shooting attacks. This can be cast multiple times by different units and be passed onto another Kairic Acolytes unit. For example, with three Kairics as your battleline, two outer units could buff a central unit that buffs itself for -3 rend shooting attacks. It is only one attacks, 4s, 3s, -, 1 damage though. You do get Fate Points from these spells though and your opponent will be unlikely to attempt to unbind them, so useful to cast at the start of the Hero phase to track Fate Point generation. A smart opponent will simply try to kill a couple from each unit and that’s the casting done with though. Most times they are build with shields for a 6+ ward, but don’t rely on these guys hanging around too long on a 5+ save. They can fight a little bit, but the ceiling on damage is 13, with everything hitting, wounding and going through. 

Tzaangors

Currently the most effective way of running these is with a Pair of Savage Blades along with a couple of mutants. With their run and charge ability, this generates 33 Savage Blade attacks on 3s, 3s, -, 1 damage (though only 1” range, even on the Greatblades, so you’ll struggle to get this efficiency). On top of this, there’s 20 beak attacks on 4s, 3s, -, 1 damage. They’re also 2 wounds on a 5+, so while not tanky by any stretch of the imagination, adding Mystic Shield, All out Defense and Shield of Fate has them at 4+ ignoring rend +1 with a 5+ ward. Also debuff the unit most likely tasked with killing them with Arcane Sacrifice, and they’ll hang around for longer than your opponent would like. Their final ability is a nice bonus on top. Ornate Totems allows you to pick a unit within 18” and then roll as many dice as there are Wizards (friendly and enemy) within (not wholly within) 9”. On 4+, you do a mortal wound. If you have three such banners in range of your more than likely 3-5 Wizards…that’s probably about 8 mortal wounds to something that probably isn’t screening very well any more. There’s also no targeting restrictions, so a foot character within range is probably not long for this world! It is done at the start of your hero phase so can be done before battle tactics are chosen.

Jade Obelisk

The last of the standard battleline options is a Warcry Warband whose gimmick is that have a 4+ save that cannot be modified up or down. They still only have 10 wounds though and their other ability, smashing an enemy terrain feature to rubble is a bit too niche to justify these. I have not experimented thoroughly though, so maybe a unit of 20 could do some damage with their Mason’s Tools and their double Obelisk Bearer to bring back a model each at the end of the combat phase.

Screamers (Host Arcanum)

Super-fast skysharks that also cause mortal wounds when they fly over another unit (move, charge or fallback), Screamers are the best one of the better melee options that Tzeentch have. They can do great work as 16” move objective grabbers and harassers in minimum sized units, with 3 attacks each that hit and wound on 3s at -1 rend and 1 damage. As conditional Battleline in a double reinforced pack of nine is where they can start to do some damage. Passing over a target unit with all nine should do 4-5 mortal wounds, and then when you charge (which can be turbocharged by Destiny Dice) you get to do another 4-5 before the attacks even start. With 27 attacks coming in, while -1 rend may bounce off tankier units, they will shred anything on a 5+ or even 4+ save. They’re also not easy to wipe out in one go as there at 27 wounds in a unit of nine. Just be careful if you need to issue them orders as they’re not elite and don’t have a champion, so it will need to come from a hero. If your opponent does manage to kill most of them, the Fold Reality spell can bring up to six of them back allowing them to go again with close to maximum efficiency even if the unit is left with only one alive (very worthwhile having a sneaky Rally here first).

Flamers (Eternal Conflagration)

Every Tzeentch player at some point looks through their Battletome and looks at the Flamer Warscroll and starts to wonder whether it can do work. At maximum efficiency, with a Fatemaster for +1 to wound, an Exalted Flamer for an extra attack and the rend -1 stacked with another buff, Arcane Sacrifice, for example, to make the attacks effective rend -2 you get: 36 attacks at 18”, hitting on 3s, wounding on 2s, -2 rend and D3 damage. But what I’ve just described takes half of your army to pull off, so it should be pretty good! You can also use Fold Reality on this unit and bring Flamers back…if they aren’t all wiped out in one attack as they’re only two wounds each on a 4+ save. So enjoy that shooting phase…it’s probably the only one you’re going to get! 

Burning Chariots/Exalted Flamer

Both of these buff Flamers with an extra attack when in range and are similar to each other in as much as the Burning Chariot is an Exalted Flamer on a Disc that is pulled by two Screamers. The ranged attack is similar to that of Flamers, but is 4s and 3s rather than the other way around, which is slightly better and the Screamers do most of the melee work for the Burning Chariot variety. It would be cool to see these on the table but they are about the same price if not more than a Stormstrike Chariot at half the wounds, worse save, weaker combat and shooting and no mortals on impact.

Chaos Spawn

You’ll get more use out of an Endless Spell. If you want some spawn, bring them in via spells – don’t make them part of the original army. If you want something cheap that can get on points and can’t fit in Screamers, add coalition Furies.

Ephilim’s Pandaemonium/Eyes of the Nine

These come with their respective characters, Ephilim and Vortemis – you’re not taking them for their own Warscrolls.

Tzaangor Enlightened/on Disc 

The Disc bird/goat-kin get most of the headlines and rightly so, but the on foot variant are worth considering too. Both types of Enlightened have 3 attacks with their 2” spears, hitting on 4s, wounding on 3s, rend -1 and damage 2. However, if you are going second in a battle round, they wound on 2s. They are also elite, so can issue All out Attack for themselves. Time for their next ability – they prevent command abilities being received within 3”. This is huge as it means that the rend -1 is effectively rend -2 and maybe even rend -3 if Arcane Sacrifice was successfully cast on the target unit. It also helps make the unit more survivable too. They also both get a beak attack each that isn’t anywhere near as good, but could chip a wound away here or there. The Disc version gets fly, 16” move, an extra wound and an extra D3 Disc attacks that hit on 4s, 3s, -1, D3 damage. With Destiny Dice helping with charges, that’s a potential 28” threat range for the Discs and 18” for the on foot. Clearly the Disc versions are better but are they 100% better? At the time of writing, the on Foot versions are exactly half the points of the Disc versions, which really start to ask some questions about which ones should be in the list or not. Or just take both! The Discs for an early raid behind enemy lines and the on Foot version for lurking behind screens, ready to compete with their faster kin ones the screens part ways.

Tzaangor Skyfires

In a unit of three, you get four shots at 24” from a Disc that moves 16” that hit on 4s and ignore negative modifiers, wound on 3s at rend -1 but ignore positive modifiers to saves (i.e. the save is, at best, at rend -1) for D3 damage. Any hits of 6 automatically go to D3 mortal wounds. The way that Destiny Dice interact with these is worth going through. Let’s imagine that we have a six wound character that we can shoot at (we’re ignoring the -1 from Look Out Sir, but are close enough to ignore other rules) and we have a 6 and two 5s in Destiny Dice at our disposal for this attack. We slow roll the hit rolls and if we have no 6s by the fourth roll, we use our 6 to cause D3 mortal wounds. We cannot use a 5 to make this 3 mortal wounds. The Destiny Dice rules say that we can use them for the damage of missile or melee attacks. No wound roll or save roll was made to allocate damage with, so Destiny Dice can’t be used. However, we roll a 4 for two mortal wounds, two saves were failed and after rolling for one damage with the first dice, we use one of the 5s to make second damage, damage 3. In total, 6 wounds and the character is dead. Before the changes to targeting, Skyfires used to be a lot stronger, but on balance, I think Tzeentch players are happier not having their characters levelled by Thunderers from 18” away!

Sample Lists

List 1 – Classic Tzeentch

Army Faction: Disciples of Tzeentch
– Subfaction: Hosts Duplicitous
– Grand Strategy: Master of Destiny
– Triumph: Indomitable

LEADERS
Gaunt Summoner of Tzeentch (230)*
– General
– Command Traits: Daemonspark
– Artefacts of Power: Nine-Eyed Tome
– Spells: Unchecked Mutation
Ogroid Thaumaturge (170)*
– Spells: Infusion Arcanum
Fluxmaster (180)**
– Artefacts of Power: The Eternal Shroud
– Spells: Fold Reality
Kairos Fateweaver (440)**
Magister (140)**
– Spells: Glimpse the Future

BATTLELINE
Horrors of Tzeentch (Pink) (260)*
– Iridescent Horror
– Pink Horror Icon Bearer
– Pink Horror Hornblower
– Split and Split Again
Horrors of Tzeentch (Pink) (260)*
– Iridescent Horror
– Pink Horror Icon Bearer
– Pink Horror Hornblower
– Split and Split Again
Kairic Acolytes (120)*
– Kairic Adept
– Cursed Blade and Arcanite Shield
– Scroll of the Dark Arts
– Vulcharc
– 3 x Cursed Glaive and Arcanite Shield

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Umbral Spellportal (80)
1 x Tome of Eyes (40)
1 x Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws (70)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
**Command Entourage – Magnificent

TOTAL POINTS: 1990/2000

 – Army Faction: Disciples of Tzeentch

– Subfaction: Hosts Duplicitous

– Grand Strategy: Master of Destiny

– Triumph: Indomitable

LEADERS

Gaunt Summoner of Tzeentch (230)*

– General

– Command Traits: Daemonspark

– Artefacts of Power: Nine-Eyed Tome

– Spells: Unchecked Mutation

Ogroid Thaumaturge (170)*

– Spells: Infusion Arcanum

Fluxmaster (180)**

– Artefacts of Power: The Eternal Shroud

– Spells: Fold Reality

Kairos Fateweaver (440)**

Magister (140)**

– Spells: Glimpse the Future

BATTLELINE

Horrors of Tzeentch (Pink) (260)*

– Iridescent Horror

– Pink Horror Icon Bearer

– Pink Horror Hornblower

– Split and Split Again

Horrors of Tzeentch (Pink) (260)*

– Iridescent Horror

– Pink Horror Icon Bearer

– Pink Horror Hornblower

– Split and Split Again

Kairic Acolytes (120)*

– Kairic Adept

– Cursed Blade and Arcanite Shield

– Scroll of the Dark Arts

– Vulcharc

– 3 x Cursed Glaive and Arcanite Shield

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS

1 x Umbral Spellportal (80)

1 x Tome of Eyes (40)

1 x Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws (70)

CORE BATTALIONS

*Battle Regiment

**Command Entourage

– Magnificent

TOTAL POINTS: 1990/2000

When I first started playing Tzeentch, this is very similar to what I was playing. Lots of casters generating a tonne of points, with Umbral Spellportal getting into awkward places and the Jaws chomping anyone they could get near. 20 Pinks for strong early screening and Host Duplicitous to be just within engagement range of enemies so they couldn’t run away, while being within 18” of the magical maelstrom that was about to be unleashed!

List 2 – Guild of Summoners Melee Twist

 – Army Faction: Disciples of Tzeentch

– Subfaction: Guild of Summoners

– Grand Strategy: Master of Destiny

LEADERS

Gaunt Summoner of Tzeentch (230)*

– Artefacts of Power: Nine-Eyed Tome

– Spells: Unchecked Mutation

Magister (140)*

– Spells: Glimpse the Future

Ogroid Thaumaturge (170)*

– General

– Command Traits: Cult Demagogue

– Spells: Shield of Fate

BATTLELINE

Horrors of Tzeentch (Pink) (260)*

– Iridescent Horror

– Pink Horror Icon Bearer

– Pink Horror Hornblower

– Split and Split Again

Kairic Acolytes (120)*

– Kairic Adept

– Cursed Blade and Arcanite Shield

– Scroll of the Dark Arts

– Vulcharc

– 3 x Cursed Glaive and Arcanite Shield

Kairic Acolytes (120)*

– Kairic Adept

– Cursed Blade and Arcanite Shield

– Scroll of the Dark Arts

– Vulcharc

– 3 x Cursed Glaive and Arcanite Shield

OTHER

Tzaangor Enlightened on Discs of Tzeentch (360)*

– Aviarch

Varanguard (560)*

– 6 x Fellspear

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS

1 x Tome of Eyes (40)

CORE BATTALIONS

*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000

As more and more of the meta became anti-magic, I started to look at options where I could leverage damage in good matchups, but the heavy lifting could be done by my own melee units that I could target with buffs. Here, we have a one-drop list that is looking to take second turn and use the Enlightened’s bottom of the turn buff to delete something important. No Lord of Change to begin with, but looking to summon one in either turn one or two. Varanguard a speedy threat ready to be fully buffed up and sent in do some heavy work and screening while magic missiles come from the rear. Should also be able to score three book tactics without much effort.

List 3 – Screamers

 – Army Faction: Disciples of Tzeentch

– Subfaction: Hosts Arcanum

– Grand Strategy: Master of Destiny

– Triumph: Inspired

LEADERS

Gaunt Summoner of Tzeentch (230)

– Artefacts of Power: Nine-Eyed Tome

– Spells: Fold Reality

Curseling (200)

– General

– Command Traits: Cult Demagogue

– Spells: Shield of Fate

Ogroid Thaumaturge (170)

– Spells: Infusion Arcanum

BATTLELINE

Screamers of Tzeentch (330)

Screamers of Tzeentch (220)

Screamers of Tzeentch (110)

Horrors of Tzeentch (Pink) (260)

– Iridescent Horror

– Pink Horror Icon Bearer

– Pink Horror Hornblower

– Split and Split Again

OTHER

Tzaangor Enlightened on Discs of Tzeentch (360)

– Aviarch

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS

1 x Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws (70)

1 x Tome of Eyes (40)

TOTAL POINTS: 1990/2000

No big bird in this lists either to be able to get the full 18 Screamers into the list. One unit of nine that is the focus for Fold Reality and defensive buffs, with smaller units able to bully threats on the flank. Enlightened with their 28” threat range always ready to pounce on any opportunities. Not Guild of Summoners, so summoning of extra Screamers or Horrors is an option.

Conclusion

So there we have it – Disciples of Tzeentch. A challenging army to play well, but one with plenty of options available to a player willing to dig through the Battletome (and that of Slaves to Darkness and Beasts of Chaos) for some good combinations to work. An extremely strong Grand Strategy and good Book Tactics mean that if you can score the primary, you’ll be in most games, with a magical double turn potentially able to cripple your opponent. And, if you do lose a battle, smile enigmatically and simply repeat the Tzeentch motto, “just as planned”!

Top Three AoS Lists for RealmBreaker II

This is the top three AoS lists for RealmBreaker II that took place in the UK on the 10th and 11th of February. It saw 14 players vying to be crowned champion over 5 rounds.

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.

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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

Army Faction: Blades of Khorne
– Subfaction: The Flayed
– Grand Strategy: Slaughter of Sorcery


LEADERS
Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster (300)
– General
– Command Traits: Unrelenting Hunter
– Artefacts of Power: Halo of Blood
Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage (310)*
Realmgore Ritualist (110)*

– Prayers: Blood Sacrifice
Bloodsecrator (120)*
– Nullstone Adornments: Pouch of Nulldust


BATTLELINE
Bloodreavers (80)*
– Icon Bearer
– Hornblower
– Blood Chieftain
– Meatripper Axe
Blood Warriors (380)*
– Blood Champion
– Paired Goreaxes
– 2 x Icon Bearer
– 2 x Goreglaive
Bloodreavers (80)*
– Blood Chieftain
– Hornblower
– Meatripper Axe


OTHER
Mighty Skullcrushers (420)*
– Standard Bearer
– Hornblower
– Skullhunter
– Bloodglaive
Wrathmongers (140)*


ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Hexgorger Skulls (50)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 1990/2000

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Army Faction: Daughters of Khaine
– Army Subfaction: Khailebron
– Grand Strategy: Bloodthirsty Zealots
– Triumphs: Inspired


LEADER
1 x Melusai Ironscale (120)*
– General
– Command Traits: Zealous Orator
– Artefacts: Crown of Woe
1 x Morathi-Khaine (700)*
– Spells: Mindrazor
1 x The Shadow Queen (700)*


BATTLELINE
10 x Blood Sisters (300)*
10 x Blood Sisters (300)*
10 x Blood Stalkers (360)*


OTHER
5 x Khinerai Heartrenders (100)
5 x Khinerai Heartrenders (100)


CORE BATTALIONS:
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: (1980/2000)

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Army Faction: Ogor Mawtribes
– Subfaction: Boulderhead
– Grand Strategy: Slaughter of Sorcery
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty


LEADERS
Huskard on Thundertusk (330)
– General
– Command Traits: Voice of the Avalanche
– Blood Vulture
– Mount Traits: Rimefrost Hide
– Prayers: Pulverising Hailstorm
– Nullstone Adornments: Hand-carved Nullstone Icon
Huskard on Stonehorn (400)*
– Blood Vulture
– Artefacts of Power: The Seat of Alvagr
– Mount Traits: Rockmane Elder
– Prayers: Keening Gale


BATTLELINE
Stonehorn Beastriders (330)*
– Blood Vulture
Stonehorn Beastriders (330)*
– Blood Vulture
Stonehorn Beastriders (330)*
– Blood Vulture
Thundertusk Beastriders (260)*
– Blood Vulture


CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 1980/2000

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Army Faction: Stormcast Eternals
– Army Type: Scions of the Storm
– Subfaction: Hammers of Sigmar
– Grand Strategy: Spellcasting Savant
– Holy Commands: Call For Aid & Thunderbolt Volley


LEADERS

Knight-Incantor (120)*

– Spells: Merciless Blizzard
Knight-Vexillor (120)*
– Meteoric Standard
– Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome
Knight-Vexillor (120)**
– Meteoric Standard
Knight-Vexillor (120)**
– Meteoric Standard
Lord-Arcanum on Gryph-Charger (170)**
– General
– Command Traits: Master of Magic
– Spells: Lightning Blast
Lord-Celestant on Dracoth (170)***
– Stormstrike Glaive
– Mount Traits: Celestial Instincts


BATTLELINE
Dracothian Guard Tempestors (420)***
Liberators (100)***
Dracothian Guard Fulminators (240)***


OTHER
Vanguard-Hunters (100)**
Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows (230)**


ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Everblaze Comet (90)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Andtorian Acolytes
**Warlord
***Vanguard


TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000

Final Tournament Placings

https://www.bestcoastpairings.com/event/HBY1B01MDX

Stormcast Eternals – Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor

All the data used in the charts on this article are drawn from events that have been hosted on Best Coast Pairings, Stats & Ladders and Ecksen using the points and FAQs from Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor published in September 2023.

This chart shows the faction popularity, using the number of players using them at events.

The Combined win rate chart shows the overall win rate for these subfactions. This is the most comparable data to GW’s own metawatch articles. The figure in brackets shows the number of games featuring that subfaction the data is drawn from.

The above shows the win rates for each subfaction at GT events. These are events of single player tournaments of 2,000 points per player spread over a minimum of 5 rounds. This would be considered the most competitive view, with many of the players being experienced and looking to optimise their lists.

RTT/Casual shows the win rates for events that are not classified as a GT event. This could be doubles, teams, narrative, but mostly revolves around single day events known as RTTs.

The nitty gritty of a faction! This chart shows the win rate for lists where the specified warscroll has been included in the players list. The figure in brackets shows the number of games that featured the warscroll.

This shows the source of the Grand Strategy used in the players’ games, whether they are from the Battletome or the General’s Handbook.

Here you can see both the win rate of each Grand Strategy when it was used, as well as the popularity of the strategies.

Like our Grand Strategy source chart, this shows the same information but for Command Traits.

Once again, we can see the win rate of each Command Trait when used in players’ lists. The figure in brackets shows the number of games where that Command Trait was used.

Finally, we have the win rates for Endless Spells when included in lists.

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AoS Meta Stats W/Ending 18th February 2024 – Battlescroll: Tactics of Andtor

Disclaimer

The data contained inside this article is only Woehammer’s interpretation. There are differing methods and analyses of the data available from Games Workshop and Honest Wargamer, whose methodology differs slightly from our own.

All of these sources should be viewed as a collective whole to allow you to gather a larger picture of the Age of Sigmar meta. The win rates, while accurate for events we have on record so far, are likely to change in the coming weeks and shouldn’t be the single point of reference for a factions strength.

How Win Rates are Calculated

All of our data for GTs are pulled from Best Coast Pairings, Stats & Ladders, and Ecksen for two day, 2000 point single events. Everything else we draw data is shown in the RTT/Casual data. GT and RTT data are shown together in the combined data. We split all draws between the wins and losses of a faction evenly, as we believe this provides a fair reflection of a factions win rate. For example, as a player, you may achieve 2 wins, 2 losses, and a draw at an event. Some sites will only count the wins towards the faction rate, so in this case, 40% (2/5=0.4). Woehammer includes half of the draws, so our result would be 50% (2.5/5=0.5).

While the faction win rate may state one figure, it is more than likely to have evolved during the course of the Battlescroll as players find hidden gems within their battletomes. These are then copied by other players or answers found to these by others.

Quick Look at Battlescroll: Nullsttone Cache

We can’t draw any conclusions from the above yet, as not enough data has been drawn. However, the 2″ reach to some weapons may have had a positive impact on their win rates.

Faction Win Rates

The above chart shows the combined data (all events) currently hosted on Best Coast Pairings, Stats & Ladders, and Ecksen. This chart would be the most similar in data to Games Workshops’ own metawatch articles.

The value in brackets shows the number of matches featuring that faction (excluding mirror matches) the data is based on.

While there are factions outside of the 45-55% green zone, the majority (excluding Bonesplitterz) would only require a light touch to adjust.

The above chart shows the same information for single player, 2000 point, 5 or more round events. This would be considered the more competitive view, with players often doing their utmost to optimise lists for these events.

The above shows the results for events that aren’t classified as a GT. So this would include RTTs, doubles, teams, and everything else in between.

Win Rates

I thought it may be interesting to also view the win rates by month during the battlescroll. This allows us to see the effect of new Ironjawz or the like on their particular faction. Or it may show whether armies with high win rates are being adapted to by their opposition.

Subfaction and Army of Renown Win Rates

We’ve started having subfactions hit the 20-player min representation, so we have taken those factions for the chart above.

This data is currently showing information up until the 12th of February, as I’m yet to update this for the current week.

Player Results by Wins

This graph has at least two purposes. Firstly, it shows the faction popularity by the number of players, and secondly, it breaks down those players’ results in terms of the number of wins they achieve.

Faction Popularity

The full list month-by-month is below:

When looking at the above table, bear in mind that this is the worldwide meta, and region to region or even city to city may differ. So while this gives us a general idea of the meta it may not be representative of your local meta.

We’re seeing (as always) a massive spike in the player base of the new tomes that have been released and fall off on the older Tomes. This is to be expected really as competitive players jump around following the “Oooo shiny” method of collecting. They’ll likely always be a strong base for Stormcast Eternals, thanks to them appearing in nearly all beginner army sets, as magazine collections and the feature of many stories in Age of Sigmar.

Players Achieving 5-0 Wins, Tournaments in Winning Positions and 3 Wins from

Out of all the players using that faction (shown in brackets next to the faction name), this graph shows the number achieving a whitewash at a GT with 5 wins from 5. Those achieving 4 wins from 4 after the fourth round and those achieving 3 wins from 3 after the 3rd round. Take into account that those who achieve 5-0 are included in the numbers of 4 wins from 4 and 3 wins from 3. Likewise, those achieving 4 from 4 are included with the 3 from 3 data.

We’ve also shown the percentage of players managing to achieve more wins than losses at a GT event.

Players with 4+ Wins

The above has been sorted to show the number of players achieving 4 or more wins with their faction.

Faction Pairings

The above shows the win rate for factions against the others currently in the game. Reading this chart, you’ll need to view it as the vertical column (green) against the horizontal row and then cross reference these.

Battleplans

We’ve gathered data on Battleplans where players have informed us of which were used at events.

The above shows how many events each battleplan was used in. This, therefore, shows how popular battleplans are with TOs.

The above chart shows each factions win rate on the relevant battleplan. This can be useful for some TOs if the wish to give a leading faction or a popular faction at their event a challenge.

Conclusions

If you’re planning your list for a GT, look at the data as a whole. Don’t just look at our data either, look at TSN and also GW. Get a big picture, use these sites as sources to make your own informed opinion on the meta. Think about which armies are popular, as you’ll likely face at least one or two of these armies at some point during an event, especially in the earlier rounds.

Look at those factions that are regularly in a tournament winning position and winning GTs, as these are likely to be your opponents in the later rounds. I believe you should look at building a list that is able to cope with playing the following factions at some point in a GT if you’re looking to compete;

  • Blades of Khorne
  • Stormcast Eternals
  • Cities of Sigmar
  • Soulblight Gravelords
  • Gloomspite Gitz

But also, if you’re playing a local GT with your club, then bear in mind that meta may be completely different to those given in the stats above. All of what is presented here, should be taken with a pinch of salt, but hopefully it gives you some guidance when it comes to list construction, or even army choice if you’re looking to play Age of Sigmar.

Running 8 Week Average Win Rate Since May 2022

For a bit of fun

Top Three AoS Lists for Broken Realms: Scourge of Seraphon 2

This is the top three AoS lists for Broken Realms: Scourge of Seraphon 2 that took place in the UK on the 17th and 18th of February. It saw 32 players vying to be crowned champion over 5 rounds.

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: Sylvaneth
– Glade: Winterleaf
– Mortal Realm: Shyish
– Grand Strategy: Overshadow
– Triumphs: Inspired
– Season of war: The Reaping


Leaders
Alarielle the Everqueen (820)
Belthanos, First Thorn of Kurnoth (360)
Spirit of Durthu (350)*

– General
– Command Trait: Warsinger
– Artefact: Greenwood Gladius


Battleline
5 x Tree-Revenants (110)*
5 x Tree-Revenants (110)*
10 x Dryads (100)*
10 x Dryads (100)*


Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1950 / 2000

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Allegiance: Ossiarch Bonereapers
– Legion: Mortis Praetorians
– Grand Strategy: Spellcasting Savant
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty


LEADERS
Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament (380)*
Mortisan Ossifector (120)*

– General
– Command Trait: Dark Acolyte
– Artefact: Gothizzard Cartouche
– Lore of Ossian Sorcery: Empower Nadirite Weapons
Liege-Kavalos (180)*


UNITS
3 x Immortis Guard (220)*
5 x Kavalos Deathriders (190)*

– Nadirite Blade and Shield
4 x Morghast Archai (440)*
– Spirit Halberds
4 x Morghast Archai (440)*
– Spirit Halberds


CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL: 1970/2000

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Allegiance: Big Waaagh!
– Grand Strategy: Waaagh!
– Triumphs: Indomitable


Leaders
Gobsprakk, The Mouth of Mork (240)**

– Lore of the Swamp: Da Black Pit
– Lore of the Swamp: Choking Mist
Wurrgog Prophet (170)*
– Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz
– Universal Spell Lore: Levitate
– Lore of Primal Frost: Hoarfrost
Orruk Weirdnob Shaman (90)*
– General
– Command Trait: Shaman of the Chilled Lands
– Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork
– Lore of the Weird: Foot of Gork
Orruk Warchanter (120)**
– Warbeat: Get ‘Em Beat
Orruk Warchanter (120)**
– Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat


Battleline
10 x Orruk Brutes (280)***

– Jagged Gore-hackas
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Hobgrot Slittaz (80)**
10 x Gutrippaz (150)**


Units

6 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (340)****

– Pig-iron Choppas
– Reinforced x 1
3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)****
– Pig-iron Choppas
6 x Brute Ragerz (200)***
– Reinforced x 1


Core Battalions
*Andtorian Acolytes
**Warlord
***Ironjawz Fist
****Ironjawz Fist


Additional Enhancements
Spell

Total: 1960 / 2000

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Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
– Stormhost: Draconith Skywing
– Grand Strategy: On Wings of Death
– Triumphs: Inspired


Leaders
Ionus Cryptborn, Warden of Lost Souls (400)*

– General
– Prayer: Sovereignty


Battleline
Krondys, Son of Dracothion (520)*

– Spell: Regal Authority
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Warblade
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Warblade
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Warblade


Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1940 / 2000

Final Tournament Placings

https://www.bestcoastpairings.com/event/GL80BF16U6