If you’re not aware, one of the biggest Age of Sigmar events starts this week in Amsterdam. AoS Worlds.
The singles event kicks off today, and you can keep up with the action on TSportsNetwork Twitch stream. Throughout the rest of the week and into Sunday, they’ll be streaming the rounds live for both the Singles Event (Weds & Thurs) and the teams event (Fri, Sat & Sun).
I’m currently in the early stages of developing a series of articles that do deep dives on individual warscrolls, in a very similar vein to some I did last year, but with more detail.
While doing some of the mathhammer behind these warscrolls I began to develop a couple of terms that I wanted to explain in detail.
No, not that APR….
In this case we’re talking about the amount of points you would need to spend in the list creation stage to give yourself the ability to pull off certain synergies during the game.
For example, you may be wanting to create a Kruleboyz army which focusses on buffing the Venom-Encrusted Weapon ability of your Man-Skewers and Gutrippaz units. You’ve made the decision that you want two reinforced units of Skewers being buffed by a couple of Shamans so that instead of causing mortals on 6+ they cause them on 5+. For this the army points required would be:
That’s a total of 680 points you’re including in your list to pull of those synergies. This 680 points would be referred to as Army Points Required (APC)
No, not that APC…
There’s a limit of five turns in Age of Sigmar, where each turn your units may be doing different tasks. You may want your Shaman to buff some Man-Skewers with its poison ability to fire on some Endrinriggers in turn one . But turn two you may want that poison on your Gurippaz instead when they charge some Arkonauts?
Here’s where the difference comes in, each turn you’re committing a fifth of that units points value (Five turns in AoS) to completing its individual goal, in this case buffing either the Gutrippaz or the Skewers. In turn those units are committing their points value in carrying out their own goal.
Example
Turn 1, you decide you’ll use the Shaman’s Poison ability to give the Man-Skewers the chance to cause mortal wounds on 5+ instead of 6+. By doing so, you’re committing 20 points of your Shaman to do so (100/5 =20). The Man-Skewers fire at the Endrinriggers, in turn committing their points to do so (120/5=24). A total of 44 points have then been committed to destroying those 3 Endrinriggers worth 120 APR. You’re lucky and pluck 2 out of the air. That’s 80 points of Endrinriggers destroyed for a commitment of 44 points, not bad!
Turn 2, and you decide instead of buffing the Man-Skewers again. You’ll buff the Gutrippaz who’re going to charge some reinforced Arkonauts. So again, you’re committing a fifth of your shaman to the task (20 points) and a fifth of the Gutippaz points cost (150/5=30 points). Your APC is therefore going to be 50 points to try and whittle down the 200-point Arkonaut unit. You manage to kill a perfectly average 8 Arkonauts. You’ve removed 80 points by committing 50. It was not as good a trade as the Skewers earlier, but it was still positive.
Think Moneyball….
This is the top three AoS lists for the Aotearoa Masters Grand Tournament that took place in New Zealand on the 20th and 21st of May. It involved 18 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.
As this event had less than 20 players attending there won’t be any list comments here as the guys will be concentrating on the larger events of the week.
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.
Allegiance: Disciples of Tzeentch
– Change Coven: Guild of Summoners
– Grand Strategy: Master of Destiny
– Triumphs: bloodthirsty
Leaders
Changecaster, Herald of Tzeentch (150)**
– Artefact: The Eternal Shroud
– Lore of Change: Bolt of Tzeentch
– Lore of Change: Treason of Tzeentch
Curseling, Eye of Tzeentch (200)**
– General
– Command Trait: Cult Demagogue
– Lore of Fate: Shield of Fate
– Lore of Fate: Arcane Suggestion
– Aspect of the Champion: Tunnel Master
Magister (140)**
– Lore of Fate: Glimpse of Future
– Lore of Fate: Shield of Fate
Contorted Epitome (190)*
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
– Universal Spell Lore: Ghost-mist
– Allies
Battleline
20 x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (500)*
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Kairic Acolytes (120)*
– 7x Pair of Cursed Blades
– 3x Cursed Glaives
10 x Kairic Acolytes (120)*
– 7x Pair of Cursed Blades
– 3x Cursed Glaives
10 x Tzaangors (180)*
– 10x Pair of Savage Blade
Units
3 x Tzaangor Skyfires (190)*
Endless Spells & Invocations
Burning Sigil of Tzeentch (60)
Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws (70)
Daemonic Simulacrum (70)
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Command Entourage – Magnificent
Additional Enhancements
Spell
Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 190 / 400
Wounds: 94
Drops: 4
Allegiance: Beasts of Chaos
– Greatfray: Darkwalkers
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty
Leaders
Doombull (180)*
– General
– Command Trait: Bestial Cunning
– Artefact: Brayblast Trumpet
– Aspect of the Champion: Leadership of the Alpha
Great Bray-Shaman (95)*
– Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Wild Rampage
Battleline
10 x Ungors (80)*
– Mauls & Half-Shields
20 x Ungor Raiders (230)*
– Reinforced x 1
9 x Bullgors (630)*
– Pairs of Axes
– Reinforced x 2
Units
6 x Beasts of Chaos Tzaangor Enlightened on Discs of Tzeentch (430)*
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Chaos Warhounds (110)*
Behemoths
Ghorgon (240)*
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
Total: 1995 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 4 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 129
Drops: 1
Allegiance: Gloomspite Gitz
– Gittish Horde: King’s Gitz
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Chasing the Moon
– Triumphs: Indomitable
Leaders
Dankhold Troggboss (200)*
– General
– Command Trait: Loonskin
– Artefact: Glowy Howzit
Fungoid Cave-Shaman (90)***
– Artefact: Staff of Sneaky Stealin’
– Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork
Skragrott, The Loonking (210)***
– Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork
Webspinner Shaman (65)***
– Lore of the Spiderfang: Curse of da Spider God
Squigboss with Gnasha-squig (100)**
– Aspect of the Champion: Tunnel Master
Battleline
3 x Fellwater Troggoths (160)*
6 x Rockgut Troggoths (320)*
– Reinforced x 1
3 x Rockgut Troggoths (160)*
40 x Moonclan Shootas (250)***
– Reinforced x 1
24 x Squig Herd (260)**
– Reinforced x 1
Units
5 x Gobbapalooza (160)*
– Spell1: Lore of the Moonclans: Itchy Nuisance
Endless Spells & Invocations
Loonskin Scuttletide (0)
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Galletian Command
***Warlord
Total: 1975 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 3 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 172
Drops: 7
Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
– Stormhost: Hallowed Knights (Scions of the Storm)
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders
Gardus Steel Soul (170)*
Lord-Castellant (160)*
– Aspect of the Champion: Tunnel Master
Knight-Draconis (300)*
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Mount Trait: Scintillating Trail
Battleline
5 x Judicators with Boltstorm Crossbows (190)*
4 x Stormdrake Guard (680)*
– Drakerider’s Warblade
– Reinforced x 1
5 x Vanquishers (110)*
Units
2 x Dracothian Guard Tempestors (220)*
1 x Stormstrike Chariot (170)*
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
Additional Enhancements
Holy Command: Call for Aid
Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 105
Drops: 1
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.
All of our data is pulled from two day single events. 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).
We have also included a confidence interval based on the sample size and their results. This interval has a 95% confidence rate. What does this mean? Essentially, we’re 95% sure that the win rate of the faction will fall inside this band at the release of the next battlescroll.
We have decided to include this as each factions win rates can (and will) fluctuate as more and more players post their results. While the faction win rate may be that specified right now, it is more than likely to change in the future. So when looking at a win rate, take into account the number of players who have posted results, as well as the upper and lower limit of that 95% confidence interval. This will give a good indication of the future win rate of that faction.
If you have organised an event that doesn’t appear in our database and has the following minimum requirements to be included:
Then why not complete the form attached and send the results to thewoehammer@gmail.com? We’ll include them the next time we produce the stats.
Tournaments Included:
As we have now included a confidence interval within our data based on the sample size and results, we have now included all factions within the below tables regardless of their player base.
You’ll see in the chart above that each faction shows its current win rate as a % inside a text box. The paler green and yellow segments show the margin of error of that win rate. We predict with 95% confidence that the win rate will be within the paler bars upon the release of the next battlescroll.
Remember that a lot of the data sets for these factions is still very small and are likely to sway a considerable amount over the next few weeks. So take the info included in this article with a massive helping of salt.
This week sees Soulblight Gravelords maintain up to
first place in our win rate table with 63%.
If you wish to view our traditional win rate chart without the margin of confidence:
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.
Here, we’ve included all the factions that have been played to date, as there is no benefit in removing those with a small sample size.
Stormcast Eternals (44%) continue to have been left on the shelves in favour of Slaves to Darkness (44%). Gloomspite Gitz (55%) also has jumped up a few places and now has taken the number one spot from Slaves as well. This is likely due to the last Battlescroll having little to no effect on their play as they continue with a 55% win rate.
With the recent release of the Gloomspite Gitz tome, we’re also seeing a large number of players jump to the revamped destruction faction.
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 worldwide 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 (45%), thanks to them appearing in nearly all beginner army sets, as magazine collections and the feature of many stories in Age of Sigmar.
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.
Gloomspite Gitz (55%), although seem to have a large amount of players reaching 3 wins from 3, but seem to be unable to convert this into 4 from 4, likely thanks to the other strong Battletomes floating around at the moment.
This chart tells you which factions are more capable of achieving positive results at tournaments. Eight factions in this list have over 50% of their players achieving a minimum of 3 wins at GT’s. With four of those achieving over 60% of their player base managing 3 or more wins. I find it interesting that nearly 70% of Hedonites of Slaanesh (57%) players are able to achieve 3 or more wins, but only 2% are able to achieve the full 5. Thats a huge drop off, and suggests that they really suffer in the final round or two of GT’s when they are coming up against the top tier armies such as Kharadron Overlords (59%) and Blades of Khorne (59%).
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;
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.
This is our most copy of our database.
This is the top three AoS lists for the Woehammer AoS GT took place in the UK on the 13th and 14th of May. It involved 30 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.
Army Faction: Soulblight Gravelords
– Army Type: Legion of Blood
– Grand Strategy: Lust for Domination
LEADERS
Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (440)
– General
– Command Traits: Doomed Minions
– Deathlance
– Artefacts of Power: Cloak of Mists and Shadows
– Spells: Flaming Weapon
Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (440)
– Deathlance
– Spells: Spirit Gale
Neferata (390)*
– Spells: Prison of Grief
BATTLELINE
Deathrattle Skeletons (85)*
Deathrattle Skeletons (85)*
Deathrattle Skeletons (85)*
OTHER
Blood Knights (460)*
– Kastellan
– Templar Lance
– 2 x Standard Bearer
CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 1985/2000
Christian had a great series of games and managed to pull off some huge charges with his Zombie Dragons against Owen Jacksons Kharadron army (2 12″ charges!). Christian has kindly given us a brief synopsis of his list below.
Christian Moore: There’s very little subtlety to the list, you have one ethereal dragon and then Neferta either makes the other dragon or the bloodknights ethereal depending on the situation, largely it moves as one castle staying within her -1 to hit aura. Make use of her redeploy at the start with her and your 3 key units so you get to see your opponents deployment regardless of drops.
Skeletons tag objectives and then it’s just a high pressure list that pins people back deals a lot of damage at the same time as being super tanky.
Army Faction: Sylvaneth
– Subfaction: Oakenbrow
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumph: Inspired
– Seasons of War: The Dwindling
LEADERS
Treelord Ancient (330)
– Spells: Regrowth, Verdant Blessing
Drycha Hamadreth (320)*
– Spells: The Dwellers Below, Verdant Blessing
Warsong Revenant (300)*
– General
– Command Traits: Spellsinger
– Artefacts of Power: The Vesperal Gem
– Spells: Treesong, Verdant Blessing
– Aspects of the Champion: Fuelled by Ghurish Rage
Battlemage (100)*
– Magic of the Realms: Wildform (Ghur)
Spirit of Durthu (350)**
– Artefacts of Power: Greenwood Gladius
BATTLELINE
Dryads (100)**
Treelord (230)**
Treelord (230)**
ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Spiteswarm Hive (40)
CORE BATTALIONS
*Command Entourage – Magnificent
**Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000
Daniel had a great result at the weekend, which included the scalps of Marc Brookes Skaven and Tom Bell’s Big Waaagh. I’ll let him describe his list to you…
Daniel Scott: Big trees teleporting around! what’s not to love. Oakenbrow makes it so that until they are on their last wound remaining any of the treelords or spirit of durthu wont bracket which is big for the spirit of durthu keeping his sword on 6 damage effectively all the time!. The Treelord ancients ability to pop a wood up anywhere on the board combos with all of the tree monsters have a teleport on warscroll and our Warsong revenant having spellsinger which lets him cast through an awakened wyldwood in the same manner as spell portal essentially but he can’t throw endless spells through them now. The warsong revenant also has vesperal gem allowing him to cast treesong through a wood which cannot be unbinded and will increase the rend of your units melee attacks when they are near that wood good to make durthu rend 3 or turn Drychas attacks into rend 2/3. Drycha is a 10 wound monster who can pump out a lot of shots at rend 1 dmg 1 that do mortals on 6s to hit, my favourite thing to do is combo her with a treelord or two so she can unleash hell and then the treelord can make one of the units that charged fight last. The dryads are there to either screen if needed or teleport around into a better position for you. The Spiteswarm hive is great when you don’t roll a 1, of course! giving you a +3 to move and charge or worsening the rend of incoming attacks to a unit, great for being offensive or defensive.
Overall the list is pretty durable and does have access to some healing in terms of a spell or being near an wood/overgrown terrain feature, all the big guys are on a 3+ save there are no ward saves, with this army you are able to position yourself better to counter this and hopefully only have fights that you want to hide away from shooting if needed. Thanks to the maneuverability of the army battle tactics are normally easy to score a great first turn one if you go first (which normally happens due to the high drops) is to complete a charge after using walk the spirit paths, a buffed up durthu can get a +5 to his charge meaning you only need a 4 hit something and then teleport out so he can receive the buffs again next turn. Overall, the list is a tonne of fun to play and really gives your opponents headaches in terms of deployment and playing out there turns!
Allegiance: Sylvaneth
– Glade: Oakenbrow
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: The Day is Ours!
– Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders
Spirit of Durthu (350)
– Artefact: Greenwood Gladius
Warsong Revenant (300)*
– General
– Command Trait: Spellsinger
– Lore of the Deepwood: Treesong
– Aspect of the Champion: Fuelled by Ghurish Rage
Treelord Ancient (330)*
– Lore of the Deepwood: Regrowth
Battlemage (100)*
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Allies
Battleline
Treelord (230)*
Treelord (230)*
Treelord (230)*
Units
5 x Skaeth’s Wild Hunt (110)*
– Spell1: Lore of the Deepwood: Regrowth
Endless Spells & Invocations
Chronomantic Cogs (70)
Spiteswarm Hive (40)
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 100 / 400
Wounds: 87
Drops: 2
Yep, another Oakenbrow list! But both are a little different to one another. Ash was on the verge of being champion, only to lose to Christian’s Soulblight.
Ash Coleman: I was playing Oakenbrow, which made my treelords battleline. The other main benefit of Oakenbrow is that it allows the treelord, treelord anicent, and Durthu fight at top bracket unless they have 1 wound left, but even then, you drop 1 bracket.
I also went with the burgeoning as my season of war. This allowed my units to have a 6+ ward unless they made a charge. It was hard to decide between this and the dwindling for the reroll cast, but having cogs in the list allows me to essentially have both.
The idea of the list is to make Durthu as reliable as possible as he will be doing all the heavy lifting. The main combo is giving Durthu +5 to charge from the spiteswarm hive and the battle mage. Skaeth’s Wild Hunt is in the list for +1 to wound spell. So with an AOA or titanic duel, Durthu can be 2s and 2s. The treelord ancient has a once per game ability to summon a Wyldwood anywhere on the board. This allows Durthu to get where he needs to be but also allows Warsong to cast Treesong, which is a +1 to rend spell. The Warsong can measure spells from Wyldoods with the command trait Spellsinger. All this combined with the Greenwood Gladius artefact for the extra D3 attacks makes Durthu a real threat.
All of the treelords can teleport in the movement phase. These are the units going out and getting the objectives while Durthu caused chaos. With a 3+ save and 6+ ward, they can tank a lot. They also have the strike last monster reaction, so even if you get charged, you’ll have a chance to strike them first. They also have a great ability that when you hit an enemy with any of their attacks in combat, they can’t pile in. This is great for tagging the ends of units. The main problem with the treelords is that they are not elite, so they can’t issue commands to themselves. So usually I’d send the treelord anicent with one of them to give an AOA, AOD, or reroll charge if required.
The Warsong has a great warscroll spell that can do AOE mortal wounds to enemy units with 9″ on a Wyldwood. It’s great for finishing units, clearing screens, and killing enemy GCs, and with the Spellsinger command trait I mentioned earlier, he can do it from the other side of the board.
Army Faction: Orruk Warclans
– Army Type: Ironjawz
– Subfaction: Ironsunz
– Grand Strategy: Waaagh!
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty
LEADERS
Megaboss on Maw-krusha (480)*
– General
– Command Traits: Hulking Brute
– Boss Choppa and Rip-toof Fist
– Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome
– Mount Traits: Mean ’Un
Orruk Warchanter (120)*
– Aspects of the Champion: Tunnel Master
– Warbeats: Get ’Em Beat
Orruk Warchanter (120)*
– Warbeats: Fixin’ Beat
BATTLELINE
Orruk Ardboys (80)*
– Gorkamorka Glyph Bearer
– Waaagh! Drummer
– Ardboy Boss
– 2 x Orruk-forged Shield
Orruk Brutes (150)*
– Brute Boss
– Gore-choppa
– Brute Choppas
– Boss Choppa
Orruk Brutes (150)*
– Brute Boss
– Gore-choppa
– Jagged Gore-hacka
– Boss Klaw & Brute Smasha
BEHEMOTH
Rogue Idol (430)
Rogue Idol (430)*
ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Prismatic Palisade (30)
CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 1990/2000
Both Declan and I being Orruk players kept an eye on Joshua’s results all weekend. With the FAQ being released a few days before that effectively killed the Rogue Idols, we knew this would be their last hurrah…
This being the last hurrah for the Idols (unbeknownst), I had a great time smashing and bashing and getting smashed and bashed. The army list with a Maw-Krusha, 2 Rogue Idols, 2 Warchanters, 2 Brute Units and some Ard’boyz is surprisingly fast being a 2 drop I’m hoping for the chance to go first, With mighty destroyers and some good roll’s it hits hard especially with the Idols being violent furied by the Warchanters and a cheeky 3D6” charge from get em beat, a turn 1 charge can seal the deal either way.
My first opponent was a TreeMan list, who hid in his trees at the back edge, I managed to do some damage but not enough, then got out manuvered and picked apart.
My second opponent was Slaanesh, I got priority first turn, and my opponent cheekily placed The Masque 3” from my army preventing mighty destroyers, but allowing a turn 1 “This one’s mine”. It was then a game of trying not to get shot off of the board which my Idols failed but the Krusha survived to go after the big birdie but failed due to the one attack ability on big bird, it was a close game but a loss nonetheless.
My third game was a Be’ Lakor list with Nurgle Knights, Slaanesh Chosen, Khorne Varanguard, and a bridge. He won first priority and did what I was going to do if I had won. He met me at my lines, and a slog fest ensued with one Idol sitting out a turn or two (thanks Be’Lakor) I won the slog fest but not the mission.
My fourth game was against another Slaves, this time with a couple of chariots but still Nurgle Knights and 2 units of Khorne Varanguard. The Idols and Krusha this time picked apart The Slaves whilst the brutes and ard’boyz scored me points.
The last game was against some ghosts who enjoyed a few turns not dying to the Idols and eating the Krusha.
Five great games against five wonderful opponents with beautiful armies.
The Idols are now on 160MM bases and being repurposed for a three Krusha list. It is sad to see the Idols are no more as they are a wonderfully characterful unit. I was happy to win best in faction (yeah for Default Medal) and amazed to be nominated for best painted, I would just like to thank everyone who helped organise and run the event, myself and my mate, who I travelled up with both had a wonderful time, great laughs and enjoyable games.
Farewell Rogue Idols.
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.
All of our data is pulled from two day single events. 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).
We have also included a confidence interval based on the sample size and their results. This interval has a 95% confidence rate. What does this mean? Essentially, we’re 95% sure that the win rate of the faction will fall inside this band at the release of the next battlescroll.
We have decided to include this as each factions win rates can (and will) fluctuate as more and more players post their results. While the faction win rate may be that specified right now, it is more than likely to change in the future. So when looking at a win rate, take into account the number of players who have posted results, as well as the upper and lower limit of that 95% confidence interval. This will give a good indication of the future win rate of that faction.
If you have organised an event that doesn’t appear in our database and has the following minimum requirements to be included:
Then why not complete the form attached and send the results to thewoehammer@gmail.com? We’ll include them the next time we produce the stats.
Tournaments Included:
As we have now included a confidence interval within our data based on the sample size and results, we have now included all factions within the below tables regardless of their player base.
You’ll see in the chart above that each faction shows its current win rate as a % inside a text box. The paler green and yellow segments show the margin of error of that win rate. We predict with 95% confidence that the win rate will be within the paler bars upon the release of the next battlescroll.
Remember that a lot of the data sets for these factions is still very small and are likely to sway a considerable amount over the next few weeks. So take the info included in this article with a massive helping of salt.
This week sees Soulblight Gravelords move up to first place in our win rate table with 63%. While previous leaders Kharadron Overlords fall from 60% to 58%.
If you wish to view our traditional win rate chart without the margin of confidence:
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.
Here, we’ve included all the factions that have been played to date, as there is no benefit in removing those with a small sample size.
Stormcast Eternals (45%) continue to have been left on the shelves in favour of Slaves to Darkness (45%). Gloomspite Gitz (55%) also have jumped up a few places and now have taken the number one spot from Slaves as well. This is likely due to the last Battlescroll having little to no effect on their playas they continue with a 55% win rate.
With the recent release of the Gloomspite Gitz tome, we’re also seeing a large number of players jump to the revamped destruction faction.
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 worldwide 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 (45%), thanks to them appearing in nearly all beginner army sets, as magazine collections and the feature of many stories in Age of Sigmar.
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.
Gloomspite Gitz (55%), although seem to have a large amount of players reaching 3 wins from 3, but seem to be unable to convert this into 4 from 4, likely thanks to the other strong Battletomes floating around at the moment.
This chart tells you which factions are more capable of achieving positive results at tournaments. Eight factions in this list have over 50% of their players achieving a minimum of 3 wins at GT’s. With four of those achieving over 60% of their player base managing 3 or more wins. I find it interesting that nearly 70% of Hedonites of Slaanesh (57%) players are able to achieve 3 or more wins, but only 2% are able to achieve the full 5. Thats a huge drop off, and suggests that they really suffer in the final round or two of GT’s when they are coming up against the top tier armies such as Kharadron Overlords (58%) and Blades of Khorne (59%).
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;
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.
This is our most copy of our database.
This is the top three AoS lists for the Regicide in the Realms that took place in the UK on the 6th and 7th of May. It involved 16 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.
As this event had less than 20 players attending there won’t be any list comments here as the guys will be concentrating on the larger events of the week.
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.
Army Faction: Blades of Khorne
– Army Subfaction: Skullfiend Tribe
– Grand Strategy: The Day is Ours!
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty
LEADER
1 x Realmgore Ritualist (100)*
– Prayers: Killer Instinct, Blood Sacrifice
1 x Realmgore Ritualist (100)*
– Prayers: Bronzed Flesh, Blood Sacrifice
1 x Slaughterpriest (110)*
– General
– Command Traits: High-priest of Khorne
– Bloodbathed Axe
– Prayers: Unholy Flames, Killer Instinct
– Galletian Enhancement: Fuelled by Ghurish Rage
1 x Bloodsecrator (110)**
– Artefacts: Banner of Blood
1 x Bloodstoker (90)****
BATTLELINE
10 x Skullreapers (380)**
– Skullseeker
– 2 x Icon Bearer
10 x Bloodreavers (80)***
– Blood Chieftain
– Icon Bearer
– Hornblower
– Meatripper Axe
10 x Bloodreavers (80)***
– Blood Chieftain
– Icon Bearer
– Hornblower
– Meatripper Axe
10 x Bloodreavers (80)***
– Blood Chieftain
– Icon Bearer
– Hornblower
– Meatripper Axe
TERRAIN
1 x Skull Altar (0)
OTHER
5 x Garrek’s Reavers (70)*
6 x Mighty Skullcrushers (400)****
– Skullhunter
– 2 x Standard Bearer
– 2 x Hornblower
– Bloodglaive
6 x Mighty Skullcrushers (400)****
– Skullhunter
– 2 x Standard Bearer
– 2 x Hornblower
– Bloodglaive
CORE BATTALIONS:
*Warlord
**Galletian Command
***Galletian Veterans
****Vanguard
TOTAL POINTS: (2000/2000)
Allegiance: Soulblight Gravelords
– Subfaction: Legion of Blood
– Mortal Realm: Shyish
– Grand Strategy: Lust for Domination
– Triumphs: N/A
Leaders – Parade Ground
Neferata, Mortarch of Blood (390)*
– Lore of the Deathmages: Waste Away
Skeleton High King (440)*
Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon
– General
– Deathlance
– Command Trait: Doomed Minions
– Artefact: Cloak of Mists and Shadows
– Lore of the Vampires: Soul Pike
The Ever-Living Prince (440)*
Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon
– Vampiric Sword
– Lore of the Vampires: Vile Transference
The Scorned Captain (135)**
Wight King
– Artefact: Amulet of Screams
– Aspect of the Champion: Stubborn as a Rhinox
The Discarded Princess (135)**
Ivya Volga, the Outcast
Battleline – Procession Host
The Endless Duty (85)**
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons
The Worked-To-The-Bone Brigade (85)**
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons
The Impending Doom (220)**
10 x Black Knights
– Reinforced x 2
Endless Spells – Delirious Visions
The Reins Of Tyranny (40)
Soulsnare Shackles
The Great Unwashed (30)
Suffocating Gravetide
Core Battalions
*Command Entourage – Magnificent
**Battle Regiment
Additional Enhancements
Artefact
Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 97
Drops: 4
Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
– Mortal Realm: Ghyran
– Grand Strategy: The Day is Ours! – Triumphs: Inspired
LEADERS
Karazai, The Scarred (550)*
– General
Celestant-Prime, Hammer of Sigmar (330)*
Knight-Vexillor (120)**
– Meteoric Standard
– Artefact: Arcane Tome – Spell: Celestial Blades
Knight-Vexillor (120)*
– Meteoric Standard
– Aspect of the Champion: Tunnel Master
Knight-Vexillor (120)**
– Meteoric Standard
Knight-Vexillor (120)**
– Meteoric Standard
UNITS
5 x Vanguard-Hunters (110)**
– Boltstorm Pistols and Shock Handaxes
5 x Vanguard-Hunters (110)**
– Boltstorm Pistols and Shock Handaxes
5 x Vindictors (130)**
6 x Praetors (280)*
CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment
ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENTS Holy Command: Call for Aid
Army Faction: Ossiarch Bonereapers
– Subfaction: Petrifex Elite
– Grand Strategy: The Day is Ours!
– Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS
Katakros (440)*
Mortisan Boneshaper (120)*
– General
– Command Traits: Show of Superiority
– Artefacts of Power: Artisan’s Key
– Spells: Drain Vitality
– Aspects of the Champion: Tunnel Master
Mortisan Boneshaper (120)*
– Spells: Mortal Contract
BATTLELINE
Mortek Guard (300)*
– Mortek Hekatos
– Nadirite Blade
– 2 x Necrophoros
– 2 x Soulcleaver Greatblade
Immortis Guard (400)*
Immortis Guard (400)*
BEHEMOTH
Gothizzar Harvester (210)*
TERRAIN
1 x Bone-tithe Nexus (0)
CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 1990/2000
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.
All of our data is pulled from two day single events. 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).
We have also included a confidence interval based on the sample size and their results. This interval has a 95% confidence rate. What does this mean? Essentially, we’re 95% sure that the win rate of the faction will fall inside this band at the release of the next battlescroll.
We have decided to include this as each factions win rates can (and will) fluctuate as more and more players post their results. While the faction win rate may be that specified right now, it is more than likely to change in the future. So when looking at a win rate, take into account the number of players who have posted results, as well as the upper and lower limit of that 95% confidence interval. This will give a good indication of the future win rate of that faction.
If you have organised an event that doesn’t appear in our database and has the following minimum requirements to be included:
Then why not complete the form attached and send the results to thewoehammer@gmail.com? We’ll include them the next time we produce the stats.
Tournaments Included:
As we have now included a confidence interval within our data based on the sample size and results, we have now included all factions within the below tables regardless of their player base.
You’ll see in the chart above that each faction shows its current win rate as a % inside a text box. The paler green and yellow segments show the margin of error of that win rate. We predict with 95% confidence that the win rate will be within the paler bars upon the release of the next battlescroll.
Remember that a lot of the data sets for these factions is still very small and are likely to sway a considerable amount over the next few weeks. So take the info included in this article with a massive helping of salt.
Here we go again then! Another Battlescroll starting to kick off. With no suprise to anyone, Kharadron Overlords (60%) are leading the way with Blades of Khorne (60%), the new Soulblight Gravelords (58%) and Hedonites of Slaanesh (57%) hot on their heels. All of these books have been released within the last couple of months, which unfortunately would suggest some power creep in the books, or possibly a relaxation of the review process that we’ve seen in the previous tomes. I can only assume at this point that this could be due to the writing staff now upping their workload with 4th Edition as we close on a year until it’s release. Are the writers having as much time to work on these Battletomes as before? Have we seen a regurgitation of rules from other books to save time?
Also, with being a fresh battlescroll which didn’t actually seem to affect these top armies that much, we’re likely to have this as the status quo now for a good long while until the next General Handbook release. Unless of course, they decide to do some kind of emergency adjustment? But I doubt they’ll do that, and just use the time to gather data to sharpen the effect of the next battlescroll and handbook release.
Like I said, this is my assumption, and I’m by no way saying this IS what is happening.
If you wish to view our traditional win rate chart without the margin of confidence:
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.
Here, we’ve included all the factions that have been played to date, as there is no benefit in removing those with a small sample size.
Stormcast Eternals (44%) continue to have been left on the shelves in favour of Slaves to Darkness (48%). Gloomspite Gitz (55%) also have jumped up a few places and now have taken the number one spot from Slaves as well. This is likely due to the last Battlescroll having little to no effect on their playas they continue with a 55% win rate.
With the recent release of the Gloomspite Gitz tome, we’re also seeing a large number of players jump to the revamped destruction faction.
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 worldwide 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 (44%), thanks to them appearing in nearly all beginner army sets, as magazine collections and the feature of many stories in Age of Sigmar.
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.
Gloomspite Gitz (55%), although seem to have a large amount of players reaching 3 wins from 3, but seem to be unable to convert this into 4 from 4, likely thanks to the other strong Battletomes floating around at the moment.
This chart tells you which factions are more capable of achieving positive results at tournaments. Eight factions in this list have over 50% of their players achieving a minimum of 3 wins at GT’s. With four of those achieving over 60% of their player base managing 3 or more wins. I find it interesting that nearly 70% of Hedonites of Slaanesh (57%) players are able to achieve 3 or more wins, but only 2% are able to achieve the full 5. Thats a huge drop off, and suggests that they really suffer in the final round or two of GT’s when they are coming up against the top tier armies such as Kharadron Overlords (60%), Blades of Khorne (60%) and Disciples of Tzeentch (54%). Disciples appear to perform particularly well in later rounds as 8% of their players achieve 5-0 (that would be a third after Kharadron and Blades if you were to place them in a league table. Be wary though, if you’re thinking of collecting Tzeentch because of that stat, remember their player base is relatively small and so it’s likely they are being handled by stalwart fans who know their army well.
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;
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.
This is our most copy of our database.
We’ve many fantastic painters in the Woehammer Discord. What better way to celebrate them all than to show off their work on the site each month?
Would you like your work featured here? Why not jump into our Discord and post your models in the Display Cabinet channel to get started?
Just occasionally, an article comes along about competitive play that absolutely hits the nail on the head. This is a must-read for every AoS player in my opinion, first rate!
You know what people love talking about right now? Red flags. People love banging on about those things. It’s a bit like the whole pineapple on pizza thing – a silly enmity that we can wallow in, to release the steam from the genuine hostility that stalks social media. Well frankly that sounds like fun, […]
Mastering the Priority Roll
