All of us at Woehammer have been playing wargames in various forms for around 30 years now. So we thought it may be a good idea to go through what we think are some of the best things to do as a beginner who is just starting out with miniature wargaming as a hobby.
William – I would definitely recommend anyone new to the hobby to get whatever hobby bits they need and to start small with a basic box of troops/battle line, and just practice techniques and colour themes so that the money invested is small and you get a basic grip on things. Like undercoating, base coats, washes, highlights, dry brushing, learning to thin paints and building a good foundation. Then when you do buy that starter box, whole army or whatever, you are more confident and not so overwhelmed by everything.
Peter – So much to say and so little time! Firstly, you may have been attracted to the hobby by all the beautifully painted miniatures you’ve seen online, in a shop window or magazine. My first tip is never to compare your own work to these, especially when you’re just starting out. Much of the time the beautifully painted minis you see will have been painted by professionals or someone who has been painting minis for decades. Always compare to your past self, if you see improvement and you like your work then that is all that matters. Looking at those minis is great for inspiration, but that’s all I would use them for.
The Citadel Colour Website has a number of fantastic painting tutorials for the beginner explaining many of the basic techniques as well as how to paint some of their miniatures. These are a great start for those just starting out in miniature painting.
Don’t necessarily buy your miniatures straight from the manufacturers like Games Workshop. If you shop around you can often find retailers who offer a 20% or like our friends at SCN Hobby World a 25% discount on the models and paints you want.If you’re just starting out and just want to test some colour schemes then eBay may be your best option to find second hand models to practice on.
Start small, plan ahead. Make sure you like both the aesthetic of an army and their play style before you dive right in.Once you find an army you like, start with a small force of perhaps 500 points and paint that up.
Every wargamer ends up with a large backlog of miniatures, IF this is something you want to avoid then try and restrict yourself to buying new units only once you have cleared your current backlog.
When it comes to painting, many of us have moved away from Games Workshop spray paints (£12.99) and use Halfords (£8.99) paints instead. Just as good and a fraction of the price.
Though the above are metallic, you’ll find tonnes of black primer and white primer there too.
Declan – Most important advice I’ve had… “your Hobby, your way”. There’s so many options with collecting, assembling, painting, playing and loads of companies that produce toys including some great smaller ones. Don’t be put off by others or what you see on social media – 99.9% of gamers are welcoming to new players and happy to share wisdom. I’m more into playing, so with that in mind:
Find a local club if you can – social media is great for this – and if you can’t don’t be afraid to start a small club and see what happens. Shop locally where possible as your Freindly Local Games Store (FLGS) – you don’t need to buy directly from Games Workshop or the other manufacturers, and your local shops will often have places to play or small events that you can dip your toe into. These smaller local events often are okay if you bring unpainted models so you can get into the gaming straight away.
Hull’s Angels Wargaming Club
If you do want to go to avents check out the Tournament calendars available in your area, and let the organiser know you are new.
Don’t worry about Hobby slumps – they happen to us all – just find something you enjoy and paint / play / read around that.
And finally – there is no requirement to play Games Workshop games or use their miniatures – there are so many great manufacturers and game systems out there; you will likely find a niche and you’ll be surprised how many people will play it… sometimes all a community needs is for someone to go first.
A Game of Black Seas by Waerlord Games
Dave – Buy items like snippers and tape measures from your local hardware store rather than places like Games Workshop.As a comparison, a Games Workshop tape measure costs £5.50 whereas an equivalent from Screwfix will cost £3.99.
Likewise with Brushes – you can get cheap brushes by the dozen from Amazon and sometimes good deals in wilko etc.
Paints, the obvious place to start is GW as these are likely your first exposure and most of the tutorials you find and free lessons in store will be with their paints. It’s worth trying out contrast and shades as a beginner. You can great bang for your buck with Vallejo though and these will last you longer for less.
Vallejo Model Colour Set
Glues, lots of cheap options are available, you need a polystyrene cement for plastics, superglue for resins or the rarer metal miniatures.
Very First minis – GW stores if I remember correctly will give you a free mini for an introductory painting session. Maybe ask a buddy if they have a spare mini if you want to find out how you feel about painting.
But ask yourself, are you Painting minis or starting an army?
If you enjoy painting and want to pursue that, you might start with something relatively simple like Stormcast or space marines. It’s worth thinking about what you want to do though, something like ogres has lots of different textures and can help you learn new techniques to deal with furs, flatter panels, skin and faces on a relatively forgiving model. Choose a model with a relatively open pose if you see one you like, brush control is not easy and accidentally catching something you already painted can be frustrating. Most of all, though, choose a mini which excites you.
GW paint Starter Set with Space Marine Miniatures
Starting an army.
Find a faction you like and read up on their lore, ask anybody you know who plays them about how they play. See if you can get a few games with a borrowed army and see if you enjoy them. Be a bit self-aware, if you aren’t the sort of person who can face painting hundreds of termagants, or whatever, then that’s probably not the army compositionfor you.
Here’s what you probably should do and nobodyactually does – choose the minimum ’legal’ army and build and paint that while playing to learn the game and your army. Don’t be tempted to buy a big army box or a dozen units as it can be disheartening and you could end up with models you don’t really want. Path to Glory/Crusade can be an option here if you’re playing one of those games. For smaller skirmish games this is less of an issue but do finish your base gang before moving on.
If you aren’t playing Path to Glory, or similar, consider building your army up in blocks of a playable amount. E.g. get some 500 point games and after you have finished your first block of models then collect another 500 and play 1k etc.
500 points of Orks for Warhammer 40,000
Stickwithitness….. there will be times when you’ll get frustrated or disheartened. I think it’s worth trying to have a mix of units insofar as you can to avoid that. E.g. if your first army is for AoS and you’re looking at a couple of battleline and a leader, try and get two different battleline which build a bit differently and paint a bit differently to give yourself variety.
Give yourself ‘rewards’ if that works for you e.g. painted your battleline unit then treat yourself with a monster, a character or a tank.
Perfect is the enemy of the good. Get your minis painted and on the table, don’t be intimidated just get paint on them.
There you go, all our sagely advice written down for prosperity. Hopefully it helps!
Welcome to Woehammer – have you noticed the lovely feeling of no adverts (ads), no pop-ups and no auto-playing videos? Well, that’s the norm here at Woehammer.
But this is only possible because of our wonderful Patreons. So, some articles over 1 year old will now display our Patreon request at the top of the article… like this one! Don’t worry, we are not adding ads – but if you can afford to donate to the site, we would definitely appreciate it.Membership is available from just £1/month (plus taxes!!)
I read Gaunts Ghost’s on their first release, but lost track of the books after a while. When Black Library offered the first trilogy on ebook at a discount I picked them up and have started to re-read them. You can read my review of the first book First and Only here; and the second Ghostmaker here.
The last book of the opening trilogy is Necropolis:
On the world of Verghast, a grinding war between two hive cities – one loyal to the Imperium, the other fallen to the worship of the Dark Gods – is bolstered by the forces of the Astra Militarum, spearheaded by the Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only. But bitter rivalries and treachery threaten to derail the defence of Vervunhive, and it falls to Gaunt to take command of the Imperial forces and forge victory from an almost certain defeat.
Necropolis is the third book in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series and it is getting closer and closer to being Sharpe in Space…! Or at least Sharpe does Warhammer. Whilst the first two books were essentially collections of short-stories about the Ghosts this is the first story about one battlefield from beginning to end.
Vervunhive is under attack from a neighbouring hive and the Warmaster has sent a few Imperial Guard regiments to shore up the defenses – but Gaunt and his fellow commanders are about to find that there is something more troubling is behind the attack – and that the defenders are not all fully invested in ensuring Vervunhive stands.
Abnett keeps all the action clear despite dotting around about the various combat zones. He also brings short vignettes of soldiers and hivers fighting and dying for minimal gains – or none at all. The Gaunt’s Ghosts novels are beginning to show the randomness of combat in the 41st millenium and the cruelty of it, the Imperium and the luck (or lack of it) that dogs the Ghosts.
Another great novel and a good read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
We always encourage people to shop at local bricks and mortar stores, but if your friendly local book store doesn’t have this available, we have a UK Amazon affiliate link & a USA Amazon affiliate link for which Woehammer receives a small commission.
The Emerald City Open was a five game event over two days that took place in Pull-em-ups, WA on 19th and 20th Feb. It saw 46 players fight it out to be claimed champion.
Most Selected Faction/Subfaction
No suprise that Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar lead the way again in the number of armies.
Win Rate
The Top Three Lists
These were the top three lists from the Emerald City Open tournament.
Mat Beasley – Legion of the First Prince
Matt won all five games beating Slaves to Darkness/Ravagers in Round 1, Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 2, Daughters of Khaine/Khailebron in Round 3, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 4 and Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in the last round.
Allegiance: Legion of the First Prince – Mortal Realm: Ghur – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders ———-
Be’Lakor, the Dark Master (360)** – Lore of Ruinous Sorcery: The Master’s Command Kairos Fateweaver (435)* – Lore of Ruinous Sorcery: The Master’s Command Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage (280) – General – Command Trait: Ruinous Aura – Artefact: Armour of the Pact Slaves to Darkness Daemon Prince (210)** – Sword – Mark of Chaos: Khorne The Contorted Epitome (255)** – Artefact: Fourfold Blade – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Battleline ———-
10 x Bloodletters (115)** 5 x Flesh Hounds (105)* 5 x Flesh Hounds (105)*
Declan – Matt is running an army that has been popular in the UK since AOS3 dropped back in September – in Magic the Gathering it would be called a ‘control’ deck.
Be’Lakor can cause a unit to miss entire phases once a game (which can mean two turns), Kairos can change a dice roll once a game, and the Khorne Daemon Prince halves charges.
This allows Matt to complete almost impossible Battle Tactics or – more usefully – stop an opponent succeeding in one. In games where winning by 1 point is a win this is a great ability.
However this army is not ‘pick up and play’ and needs practice, practice, practice to get right – as such a great result for Matt.
Mason Knox – Seraphon
Mason managed an impressive four wins over the weekend, losing only to Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 4. He beat Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 1, Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 2, Lumineth Realm-Lords/Alumnia in Round 3and Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 5.
Army Faction: Seraphon – Army Type: Coalesced – Subfaction: Thunder Lizard – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumph: Bloodthirsty
LEADERS ———-
Engine of the Gods (265)* – Artefacts of Power: Fusil of Conflagration – Prayers: Heal – Mount Trait: BeastMaster Skink Priest (80)* – Prayers: Guidance Slann Starmaster (265)* – General – Command Traits: Arcane Might – Spells: Stellar Tempest
BATTLELINE ———-
5 x Saurus Guard (115)* 1 x Stegadon (265)* 1 x Stegadon (265)*
BEHEMOTH ———-
1 x Bastiladon with Solar Engine (250)*
OTHER ———- 10 x Chameleon Skinks (230)* 10 x Chameleon Skinks (230)*
TERRAIN ———-
1 x Realmshaper Engine (0)
CORE BATTALIONS – *Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 1965/2000
Declan – The Seraphon army has been tearing up the tournament scene recently and that is because it has a toolbox of options and so can pivot into any meta and any changes to the meta. Mason has taken a few of the usual suspects – Bastiladon with Solar Engine, Stegadons and Engine of the Gods – and has added his own unique twist with 2 x 10 Chameleon Skinks.
I don’t remember seeing so many before and they add their shooting to that of the longer range monsters… and the shooting meta is strong at the moment.
Alexander Gonzalez – Soulblight Gravelords
Alexander also won four of his five games, losing only in Round 4 against Cities of Sigmar/Living City. Along the way he beat the Ossiarch Bonereapers/Mortis Praetorians in Round 1, Beast of Chaos/Allherd in Round 2, Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty in Round 3 and Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 5.
Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (435) – General – Deathlance – Command Trait: Pack Alpha – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Foetid Miasma – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon Radukar the Beast (315)** Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night (380) – Lore of the Deathmages: Fading Vigour
Battleline ———-
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (85)** 10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (85)** 10 x Dire Wolves (135)**
Units ———-
20 x Grave Guard (280)* – Great Wight Blades – Reinforced x 1 20 x Grave Guard (280)* – Great Wight Blades – Reinforced x 1
Core Battalions *Hunters of the Heartlands **Battle Regiment
Declan – 40 Grave Guard! Wow! I’ve fought 20 of them before and they can kill a Mega Gargant over a couple of rounds of combat. Backed up by Mannfred and a Zombie Dragon, this army can get where it needs to get to.
The really secret tech (may not be secret) is Mannfred’s command ability:
From: Wahapedia
Considering most armies pay 1 command point for a one phase +1 to hit this is amazing value for a command ability. Sure it’s a relatively small range but with the smaller boards and Mannfred’s ability to run away from combat this is almost impossible to stop. Then it’s Grave Guard for the win!
Wildcard – Brian Cox – Beast of Chaos
Brian won 4 games with Beasts of Chaos and finished the event in 7th. He lost second game against eventually 3rd place finisher Alex and his Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty list. He won against Beasts of Chaos in Round 1, Legion of the First Prince in Round 3, Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 4 (which included 40 crossbows, 4x Stormdrake Guard and 4x Fulminators) and Daughters of Khaine/Khailebron in the last round. Truly a great achievement.
Allegiance: Beasts of Chaos – Greatfray: Allherd – Mortal Realm: Ghur – Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders ———-
Doombull (115)* – General – Command Trait: Dominator – Artefact: Blade of the Desecrator Dragon Ogor Shaggoth (155)* – Artefact: Tanglehorn Familiars – Lore of Dark Storms: Hailstorm Grashrak Fellhoof (150)* – Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Savage Dominion Tzaangor Shaman of Beasts of Chaos (135)*** – Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Tendrils of Atrophy
Battleline ———-
3 x Bullgors (130)** – Great Axes 3 x Bullgors (130)** – Great Axes 3 x Bullgors (130)** – Great Axes 3 x Bullgors (130)*** – Great Axes 3 x Bullgors (130)*** – Great Axes
Units ———-
3 x Tzaangor Enlightened of Beasts of Chaos (95)*** 3 x Tzaangor Enlightened of Beasts of Chaos (95) 3 x Tzaangor Enlightened of Beasts of Chaos (95) 3 x Tzaangor Enlightened of Beasts of Chaos (95) 10 x Ungor Raiders (90) 10 x Ungor Raiders (90) 10 x Ungor Raiders (90) 1 x Mindstealer Sphiranx (95) – Allies
Endless Spells & Invocations ———-
Doomblast Dirgehorn (45)
Core Battalions *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands ***Vanguard
Declan – Another great choice from Peter. 17 drops is immense and really brings a clear example of MSU (multiple small units).
The ally – Mindstealer Sphinx – at 95 points is a bargain of a Monster in the Realm of Ghur allowing Brian to pick up the Monsterous Takeover battle tactic, and his large number of units probably gave him good control over the board.
I’ve not played BoC in the AOS3 because they aren’t doing well or present in the Meta much. Hopefully this will encourage a resurgance – and the game will be better for it! Congratulations to Brian for doing really well with a lower tier army!
Lone Star GT was a five game event over two days that took place in Texas, US on 19th and 20th Feb. It saw a 100 players duke it out to be claimed champion.
Most Selected Faction/Subfaction
No suprise that Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar lead the way in the number of armies, but perhaps Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty having six is fairly surprising.
Win Rate
The Top Three Lists
These were the top three lists from the Lone Star GT tournament.
Zachary Kennedy – Seraphon
Zachary won all five games beating Lumineth Realm-Lords/Syar in Round 1, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 2, Jiwan Noah Singh and his Ironjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 3, Ronjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 4 and Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of sigmar in the last round.
Declan – the Seraphon have a lot of options… so many in fact that they seem able to adapt to any meta, with almost any list. This is different to Mike Stewart’s List from Bloodshed in the Shires, but is just as good. Zachary has chosen to give up the possibility of chosing start player for the artefacts and extra command point from Warlord battalion.
From Wahapedia
For example the Fusil of Conflagration is another mortal wound at distance to take off the last few wounds. It’s not going to win games, but its a great little addition for all important mortal damage. The Bastiladon with Solar Engine is a great piece giving large ranged damage, whilst there are off-the-wall selections including the Ark of Sotek.
It’s a really interesting list, and I’m not sure how I would beat it – especially with the large units of Skinks with all the buffs applied!
Gavin Grigar – Gloomspite Gitz (Yes! Really!)
Gavin the winner of the LVO in 2022 returns with a Gloomspite Gitz list and manages to take them to five wins over five rounds (Declan take notes!) Why not check his recent interview out with the AoS Coach on winning a grand tournament like the LVO here. During Lone Star he beat Disciples of Tzeentch/Hosts Duplicitous in Round 1, Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan in Round 2, Karl Rohr and Legion of the First Prince in Round 3, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 4 and Thomas Zhennan Guan with his Maggotkin of Nurgle/Droning Guard in Round 5.
Leaders Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)* Fungoid Cave-Shaman (95)* – Lore of the Moonclans: Squig Lure Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig (110)* – General – Moonclan Stabba – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork
Battleline 36 x Squig Herd (480)* – Reinforced x 2 12 x Squig Herd (160)* 12 x Squig Herd (160)*
Units 6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75)* 6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75)*
Declan – WooHoo… Gloomspite Gitz…! I’m amazed; Gavin has done brilliantly here given the current win-rate of GG – 31% according to The Honest Wargamer Stats Team. I know personally how much of a tarpit the 36 squigs are (72 wounds) and when killed they can come back through the Loonshrine.
Clearly Kragnos does all the heavy lifting here, and I am amazed he didn’t get shot off the table, but Gavin appears to have dodged all the shooting. This shouldn’t distract from the achievement though – 5-0 with Gitz… living the dream!
Jonathon Schlieszus – Ossiarch Bonereapers
Jonathon also won all of his games. Along the way he beat the Maggotkin of Nurgle/Munificent Wanderers in Round 1, Sons of Behemat/Taker Tribe in Round 2, Ironjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 3, Legion of the First Prince in Round 4 and beat Seraphon/Thunder Lizard in Round 5.
Allegiance: Ossiarch Bonereapers – Legion: Mortis Praetorians – Mortal Realm: Ghur – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Bloodthirsty
Leaders Katakros, Mortarch of the Necropolis (450) Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament (360) Liege-Kavalos (185) – General – Command Trait: Katakros’ Chosen – Artefact: Artificer’s Blade
Battleline 20 x Mortek Guard (280)* – Nadirite Blade and Shield – Reinforced x 1 10 x Mortek Guard (140)* – Nadirite Blade and Shield 10 x Mortek Guard (140)* – Nadirite Blade and Shield
Declan – With the changes to the Nagash warscroll in the December update there was some concern on twitter that the Ossiarch’s would struggle to keep up with their previous successes (or Owen Jackson’s previous successes!!!).
The Mortek Crawler gives ranged attacks whilst the Harvester sits behind the Mortek Guard and brings them back. They are difficult enough to kill without this added survivability. You really need to go all in to kill the Guard… and even then you may not be successful.
Finally Arkhan is a great Wizard with bonuses to cast, but his utility and benefit comes from his command ability:
Wahapedia
The extra range gives Curse of Years a scary 24″ range so it’s almost impossible to avoid the mortal wound output. Either dispel it, or hope your opponent fails to roll 6s in the first roll!
Another great success with an army that is seen as weak in the meta. Well done to Jonathan.
Wildcard – Chris Carlile – Skaventide
Chris won three games with Skaventide which is no easy thing in the current meta. He lost his first two games against Nighthaunt/Reikenor’s Condemned in Round 1 and Ironjaws/Ironsunz in Round 2. After that though he came back swinging beating Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 3, Cities of Sigmar/Greywater Fastness in Round 4 and Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in the last round.
Declan – This is an interesting pick from Peter and I can understand why he’s gone with it. 60 Clanrats is a brave collection of cowards, but a cheap way to hold back objectives, whilst the Warp Lightning Cannons scour the board of your opponent’s models.
Thanquol has loads of Warp guns… but the suprise here is Lord Skreech. In fact I’ve never faced in Age of Sigmar and had to look up his scroll!
Wahapedia (again)
He has more keywords than I’ve seen in most warscrolls, re-roll 1s to wound in combat, and can bring in summoned Clanrats with Dreaded Thirteenth Spell (and cause mortal wounds at range) and can use his Knowledge to select the right tools at the right time. A list I would love to play – although perhaps not with my Kragnos!
Three more models completes for the tournament army. Like the rest these are mainly base coats and washed with very little highlighting apart from any exposed skin or any yellow.
I’ve still got another 15 of these lads to paint!
Meanwhile I’m also nearly done with the Beast-Skewer
The sounds of battle are over, and the Shires can go back to their normal levels of peace and quiet… but what an event it was!
I couldn’t make this one, as tickets were sold almost 2 years ago, but it’s almost local so its great to see it go ahead. Hopefully I’ll get there next year. For coverage of the event you can look back on Twitter and follow the Bucks Wargames Collective.
With 78 players it was a full event, and ended up with 2 players on 5-0.
1st Place – Mike Stewart – Seraphon (5-0)
Mike has been tearing up the tournament scene with Seraphon for… well almost forever – and he knows the army like the back of his hand. Always up on the top tables you’re doing well if you can get a win off Mike.
He benefits from consistent play with the same army, and pivoting with the meta using the breath of options available within the book.
Despite the recent points increases Mike has still taken Salamangers and Bastiladon’s and Engine of the Gods. With 2 drops he’s likely to have the option of who goes first as well (about 75% of the time), and the shooting and range mean that the Seraphon don’t need to win in combat – that’s not to say they can’t as anyone who has been charged by Salamanders will attest to!
2nd Max Barton – Stormcast Eternals – 5-0
Stormcast Eternals have been doing well since before the short Christmas break and – like the Seraphon – have lots of options available which allows for different play styles and players to have success with the army.
Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals – Stormhost: Hammers of Sigmar – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Knight-Draconis (300)* – General – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Celestial Instincts – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Battleline 2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)* – Drakerider’s Warblade 2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)* – Drakerider’s Warblade 2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)* – Drakerider’s Warblade
Units 1 x Stormdrake Guard – Single (170)* 6 x Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows (480)* – Reinforced x 1
Max has gone 1 drop and taken two of the best warscrolls in the book. Longstrikes (Vanguard-Raptors) have 30″ range and the Thunderbolt Volley allows them to fire in the Hero phase once as well. With mortal wounds at that range they can push out some heavy damage… all safely out of distance. And it you do charge, expect to get Unleash Hell – from all 6!
He’s also taken the Stormdrake Guard (Dragons) who add speed, more mortal wound damage, and a reasonable save. I think this army is better than the full Dragon army having faced the Vanguard-Raptors before, as it’s got loads of versatility and can kill some Dragons early in the mirror match – of course if you’re playing against another 1 drop the best advice it to win the roll-off for first deployment!!
3rdDan Bradshaw – Cities of Sigmar (4-1)
Dan grabbed the 3rd place trophy as top 4-1 player by virtue of strength of schedule (essentially how the players you played against did). It’s great to see a third different army in the top 3, but… they are all Order which is getting to the top of a lot of tournaments at the moment… Also – check out the list!
Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar – City: Living City – Mortal Realm: Ghyran – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Anointed on Frostheart Phoenix (315)*
– General
– Command Trait: Ironoak Artisan
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Lore of Leaves: Lifesurge Doralia ven Denst (115)* Freeguild General (100)*
Battleline 10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)* 10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)* 10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)*
Units 4 x Dracothian Guard Fulminators (460)* – Reinforced x 1 4 x Stormdrake Guard (680)* – Drakerider’s Warblade – Reinforced x 1
Yes, it’s a one drop with two of the best warscrolls from Stormcast included… in fact it’s mostly a stormcast army by points value! The Freeguild Crossbowmen add models to take rear objectives and allow for some shooting to back up Sigmar’s finest. Once again shooting it the name of this list, with the Fulminators charging in and finishing you off. It’s a great army, and all three players should be proud of their placings!
Wild Card…
20th Tom Lees Ogor Mawtribes
Okay… it’s another Destruction list, but this is one of the first tournaments in the UK with the new Kragnos and he’s starting to get some play within the UK Destruction players! Hopefully he’ll be Smashing and Bashing (no keywords though) his way through enemies. He’s just got to avoid mortal wound shooting; so there’s a good thing there isn’t much of that about – … oh wait!
Leaders Kragnos, The End of Empires (720) Huskard on Stonehorn (340)* – General – Blood Vulture – Command Trait: Lord of Beasts – Artefact: Brand of the Svard – Mount Trait: Metalcruncher
This list uses Kragnos’ ability to give 3D6″ charges on the monsters to give them mortal wounds on the charge (1 dice per 1″ of charge rolled, mortal on 4+); and so you don’t want to get charged by these brutes.
With only 66 wounds, this must be one of the lowest wound count armies in Age of Sigmar at the moment, but I imagine it’s great fun to play – just remember to deploy your screens correctly!
Finally for this boy finished and it brings me to 755/2000 painted for Burning Skies.
I’m currently also just basing my first three Man-skewers so they should be done over the weekend as well. Then I’ve got my my Beast-Skewer and nother 10 Hobgrots on the painting table.
