Reading the Datacards
Each Datacard has three distinct sections; Charge Chance, Resilience and Average Damage Output.
Charge Chance
This graph shows the move and charge distances each unit can achieve and shows the chance of them achieving this distance as a percentage.
Resilience
This table shows how much damage would be required on average to destroy the unit. This is split into the various rend types most commonly found in Age of Sigmar. For example, the unit shown in the image above would need 18 damage from -2 rend weapons for the enemy to have a chance at destroying it.
This can be cross-referenced with another units average damage output to see what kind of damage they’ll do to it.
Average Damage Output
This simply shows how much damage on average the unit is expected to inflict after saves against the various save types. If there are multiple load-out choices, then these are shown separately, as is any missile damage.
Change Log
Menu
- LEADERS
- Alchemite Warforger
- Assassin
- Battlemage
- Battlemage on Celetial Hurricanum
- Battlemage on Griffon
- Battlemage on Luminark of Hysh
- Black Ark Fleetmaster
- Cogsmith
- Dreadlord on Black Dragon
- Freeguild Cavalier-marshal
- Freeguild Marshal and Relic Envoy
- Freeguild Marshal on Griffon
- Fusil-major on Ogor Warhulk
- Galen Ven Denst
- Haskel Hexbane
- Pontifex Zenestra
- Runelord
- Sorceress
- Sorceress on Black Dragon
- Steam Tank Commander
- Tahlia Vedra
- Warden King
- BATTLELINE
- Bleakswords
- Dreadspears
- Freeguild Steelhelms
- Ironbreakers
- Longbeards with Ancestral Greataxes
- Longbeards with Ancestral Weapons and Gromril Shields
- ARTILLERY
- Ironweld Great Cannon
- OTHER UNITS
- Black Ark Corsairs
- Black Guard
- Dark Riders
- Darkshards
- Doralia Ven Denst
- Drakespawn Chariot
- Drakespawn Knights
- Executioners
- Flagellants
- Freeguild Cavaliers
- Freeguild Command Corps
- Freeguild Fusiliers
- Gyrobomber
- Gyrocopter
- Hammerers
- Hexbane’s Hunters
- Irondrakes
- Scourgerunner Chariots
- Wildercorps Hunters
Leaders
Battleline
Artillery
Behemoth
Other
Blades of Khorne – Warscroll Datacards
Reading the Datacards
Each Datacard has three distinct sections; Charge Chance, Resilience and Average Damage Output.
Charge Chance
This graph shows the move and charge distances each unit can achieve and shows the chance of them achieving this distance as a percentage.
Resilience
This table shows how much damage would be required on average to destroy the unit. This is split into the various rend types most commonly found in Age of Sigmar. For example, the unit shown in the image above would need 18 damage from -2 rend weapons for the enemy to have a chance at destroying it.
This can be cross-referenced with another units average damage output to see what kind of damage they’ll do to it.
Average Damage Output
This simply shows how much damage on average the unit is expected to inflict after saves against the various save types. If there are multiple load-out choices, then these are shown separately, as is any missile damage.
Change Log
Menu
- LEADERS
- Aspiring Deathbringer
- Bloodmaster
- Bloodsecrator
- Bloodstoker
- Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage
- Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury
- Dromm
- Exalted Deathbringer
- Herald of Khorne on Blood Throne
- Korghus Khul
- Lord of Khorne on Juggernaut
- Mighty Lord of Khorne
- Realmgore Ritualist
- Scyla Anfingrimm
- Skar Bloodwrath
- Skarbrand
- Skullgrinder
- Skullmaster
- Skulltaker
- Slaughterpriest
- Valkia the Bloody
- Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster
- ARTILLERY
- Skull Cannon
- OTHER UNITS
- Bloodcrushers
- Garrek’s Reavers
- Gorechosen of Dromm
- Karanak
- Khogoraths
- Magore’s Fiends
- Mighty Skullcrushers
- Skullreapers
- Wrathmongers
Leaders
Battleline
Artillery
Other
Bolt Action – Escalation Campaign Rules
You may have seen a few Bolt Action articles floating around on the site recently. Well Dave and I are now diving in with an escalation campaign for ourselves.
These rules are still in draft format and may well change over the next few days/weeks. This article will be kept live with a log of any changes at the top.
They are based almost entirely on Games Workshop’s Crusade system for Warhammer 40k. I’ve also heavily leaned on the Chicago Dice campaign rules. In fact, if you’re in to Bolt Action, I highly recommend you take a look at their site!
Also, check out the Command Post, which provides a fantastic Mission Generator for your games, this was the source of the Missions in this campaign.
The Woehammer Bolt Action Escalation Rules
Pick a nation
When you start an army, all of the units in your Order of Battle must be drawn from a single nation (i.e. Germany, Soviet Union, Hungary etc).
Order of Battle
A player’s Order of Battle is a list of all the units that they have as part of their army. A player’s Order of Battle can consist of any number of units, but each unit must have their weapons, abilities and experience level listed. A starting force cannot exceed 500 points and this is your force’s Supply Limit. The Supply Limit can be increased by playing battles. Make a note of each unit’s weapons, abilities and experience on your Order of Battle.
You can add new units to your Order of Battle at any time, provided that doing so does not exceed your army’s Supply Limit. Once you have added models to your army, you cannot change their equipment without spending Requisition Points to do so. Further models may be added to units at a later date if that unit is not at full strength. All weapons must be decided at the point of purchasing those models.
You can remove units from your Order of Battle at any time, but once you have removed a unit you cannot add it back into your Order of Battle (so any experience, awards etc they have gained, are lost). Removing a unit from your Order of Battle does not affect your Supply Limit (so removing a unit can potentially leave you with the ability to add a new unit to your Order of Battle).
Battle Tally, Requisition Points and Other Information
Each player taking part in the campaign must also have a tally of the number of battles they have played, as well as their current number of Requisition Points (RPs). When you first embark on a campaign and you create an Order of Battle, you will start with 5 RPs. You can also include any other information you want on your Order of Battle, including notable victories or defeats, any vendettas or grudges you feel your army would have, or any additional background that you wish to add to your force or units within it.
Fighting a Battle
Battles are fought between two members of the campaign, at a points level agreed by both parties. The army used in the game must be constructed from units present in your Order of Battle.
Missions
Once you have a Battleplan, you must also roll 2D6 for a mission from the below list. This will act as your secondary objective for the game.
At the end of the game, if you completed your Mission successfully you treat a Defeat result in the scenario being played as a Draw, and a Draw as a Victory. In the cases where both players have succeeded in their Mission, the missions are disregarded when working out which side has won, drawn or lost.
| Die Roll (2D6) | Mission | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Control the Flanks | At a turn end phase, have one or more friendly units fully within 12″ of each table side edge on the opponent’s half of the table. |
| 3 | Decapitation | Kill an enemy officer during the game. |
| 4 | Envelopment | At the end of the game you must have a friendly unit fully within 12″ of the opponent’s table edge. |
| 5 | Fuel Shortage | A vehicle model must not be given an Advance or Run order for 3 consecutive turns. |
| 6 | Hold This | During setup, before deployment, you place an objective marker (roughly 2″ in diameter) within 12″ of your table edge. At the end of every turn, a friendly model must be within 3″ of the objective marker. |
| 7 | Keep Up The Pressure | At the end of any turn at least 4 enemy units have at least one pin marker. |
| 8 | Probe Defences | The first friendly unit to be pinned must fall back to your own lines to report enemy positions, using consecutive Run orders until it reaches your own table edge. |
| 9 | Reckless Bravery | Do not use a Down order during a turn (at turn end phase, none of your units have a Down order next to them). |
| 10 | Shock and Awe | At the end of turn 3 you must have 3 or more friendly units fully within the opponent’s table half. |
| 11 | Take Prisoners | Defeat an enemy Infantry or Artillery unit in close combat to capture a prisoner. Add the enemy model to your assaulting unit. The prisoner is unarmed. Keep the prisoner alive and under control – at least one model of your unit and the prisoner must survive – to the end of the game. |
| 12 | The Mole | Just before beginning the first turn of the game, after all deployment is finished (including snipers, spotters and observers), you place an objective marker representing the hiding resistance operative on the table, following the same setup instructions for the objective in the Hold Until Relieved scenario on page 114 of the Bolt Action Rulebook. You must be within 6″ of the resistance operative with an Infantry unit, at which point the resistance operative will reveal themselves (place another model on the objective, at which point they join the friendly unit as a regular, pistol armed soldier), if there is no enemy unit within 6″. The operative needs to leave the table by moving into contact with your own table edge. |
Experience
When you add a unit to your Order of Battle, it will start with the lowest experience available to it (i.e. if a unit can be bought as Regular or Veterans, then players must choose the Regular unit), the unit will then start the campaign with the minimum number of experience points available to its rank as shown in the table below.
Units can spend their experience points to go up in quality or by improving the unit.
Infantry and Artillery Experience
- Battle Experience. At the end of a battle, each unit that survives gains 1 experience point.
- Death Dealers. A unit gains 1 experience point for every enemy unit it has destroyed from shooting.
- Courageous. A unit gains 3 experience for destroying an enemy unit in assault.
Infantry and Artillery Experience Purchases
| Experience Points | Benefit |
|---|---|
| 5 | Move up in troop quality (inexp. to reg, reg to vet) |
| 5 | Purchase an infantry bonus skill |
| 10 | Purchase a second infantry bonus skill |
| 15 | Purchase a third infantry bonus skill |
Infantry Bonus Skills
| Infantry Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stubborn | If forced to make a morale check, they ignore negative morale modifiers from pin markers. Remember that order tests are no morale checks. |
| Fieldcraft | Units with Fieldcraft using Hidden Set-up may start the game in Ambush. In addition, in the first turn of the game, all Fieldcraft units treat all Rough Ground and Obstacles as Open Ground for the purpose of movement. |
| Tough Fighter | When a Tough Fighter scores a casualty in assault against Infantry or Artillery, it can immediately make a second damage roll. |
| Behind Enemy Lines | When Outflanking, ignore the -1 modifier to the Order test for coming onto the table (American players re-roll this as this skill is already incorporated into your National Rules – Modern Communications) |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
| First Aid | Every time the unit receives casualties from small arms, rolls a single die. On a roll of 6, one casualty may be ignored. This skill can be used in addition to a medic. |
Artillery Bonus Skills
| Artillery Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stubborn | If forced to make a morale check, they ignore negative morale modifiers from pin markers. Remember that order tests are no morale checks. |
| Mountain Gun | Treats Rough Ground as Open Ground. (Players should discuss before game if they think some terrain does not apply, such as water features, etc) |
| Prepared Positions | The crew has dug out cover effectively, and counts as having a Gun Shield. If the gun already has a Gun Shield, it counts as providing protection from the front and sides of the gun. |
| Enhanced Sights | This unit takes no penalty for firing at long range. |
| Steady | This unit does not suffer a penalty for only having one crew member remaining. |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
Officers and HQ Experience
- Battle Experience. Officer gains 1 experience for surviving the battle.
- Snap to Action. An officer gains up to 1 experience for initiating “You men, snap to action!” which results in an enemy unit taking casualties. (Can be earned once per game).
- Lead from the Front. An officer uses a morale bonus to assist friendly unit in a successful order test, morale test or rally. (Can be earned once per game).
- Medic! Medic succesfully saves a casualty (Must be a medic and not from First Aid bonus skill). Can be earned up to three times per game.
Officer and HQ Experience Purchases
| Experience Points | Benefit |
|---|---|
| 5 | Move up in Rank quality (2nd Lieutenant to 1st Leitenant, Captain to Major) |
| 5 | Purchase an Officer bonus skill |
| 10 | Purchase a second Officer bonus skill |
| 15 | Purchase a third Officer bonus skill |
Officer and HQ Bonus Skills
| Artillery Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Strong Leader | Add 3″ to the morale bonus range of this officer. |
| In Control | The Officer can remove one pin marker from a unit within its morale bonus range per turn at the cost of an Order. |
| Cut Throat | The officer is known for their tenacity in combat, as such any units in close quarters can add +1 to their combat rolls. |
| Skilled Observer | If this Officer is an Artillery Observer or Forward Air Observer, add +1 to their Artillery Barrage Chart, Smoke Barrage Chart or Air Strike Chart roll. Note that a 1, will still count as a Miscalulation or Rookie Pilot. |
| Skilled Shot | This Officer has a reputation as a crack shot, and such confers a +1 to hit for a single unit within its morale bonus range as that unit tries to emulate the officers skill. |
Vehicle Experience
- Battle Experience Vehicle gains 1 eperience for surviving the battle.
- Death Dealers. Vehicle gains 1 experience for destroying an enemy infantry, artillery or soft-skinned vehicle.
- Tank Hunter. The vehicle gains 3 experience for knocking out an enemy armoured vehicle.
Vehicle Experience Purchases
| Experience Points | Benefit |
|---|---|
| 5 | Move up quality (Inexperienced to Regular, Regular to Veteran) |
| 5 | Purchase a Vehicle bonus skill |
| 10 | Purchase a second Vehicle bonus skill |
| 15 | Purchase a third Vehicle bonus skill |
Soft-Skinned Vehicle Bonus Skills
| Soft-Skinned Vehicle Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wheelman | May make an extra pivot as part of an Advance or Run order. |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
| Forward Scout | This vehicle may make an Advance move (without shooting) after deployment but before the start of Turn 1. |
| Behind Enemy Lines | When Outflanking, ignore the -1 modifier to the Order test for coming onto the table (American players re-roll this as this skill is already incorporated into your National Rules – Modern Communications) |
| Shoot n’ Scoot | Can fire then move as part of an Advance order. |
| Recce | When reversing, either voluntarily or because of a failed order test, a Recce vehicle can reverse at it’s full Advance rate rather than at half rate, and can manoeuvre as if driving forward, i.e. a wheeled vehicle or half-track can make two 90 degree pivots and a tracked vehicle can make a single 90 degree pivot. Some Recce vehicles can even reverse at their Run rate if they are especially small and manoeuvrable or if they have dual direction steering. These exceptions are indicated in the Army Lists. If they fail an order test, these vehicles will always reverse at a Run rate. Recce vehicles will also spot hidden enemy at longer ranges than other vehicles – as noted in the rules ofr hidden units. |
Armoured Combat Vehicle Bonus Skills
| Armoured Combat Vehicle Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Armoured Cupola | This unit does not count as Open-topped when firing its pintle mounted weaponry. If this unit does not have the option to take a pintle mount, re-roll this skill. |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
| Maximum Impact | Once per game the vehicle may increase the main gun damage modifier by D3. This is selected before the roll To Hit. (Re-roll this skill if vehicle does not have weaponry with a penetration modifier) |
| Bulldozer | This vehicle always counts as passing the Order Check to Tank Assault another vehicle regardless of the number of Pins. No check is needed, and 1 Pin is removed. (Re-roll this skill if your vehicle is armor 7, as it cannot Tank Assault vehicles). |
| Lucky | The first time this vehicle takes a penetrating hit, reduce the number rolled by 1 on the Damage Chart. (First time each game) |
| Recovery Vehicle | Add +1 to the roll to see if this vehicle survives during the Casualties Phase. |
Transport Vehicle Bonus Skills
| Transport Vehicle Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wheelman | May make an extra pivot as part of an Advance or Run order. |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
| Forward Scout | This vehicle may make an Advance move (without shooting) after deployment but before the start of Turn 1. |
| Getaway Driver | This vehicle can make an Advance move during its activation even if troops have embarked on it this turn. |
| Dedicated Gunner | This vehicle may fire two weapons instead of one, even when empty. If this vehicle cannot take more than one weapon, re-roll this skill. |
| First Aid | Every time a friendly Infantry Squad receives casualties from small arms within 6”, roll a single dice. On the role of a 6, one casualty may be ignored. This skill can be used in addition to a medic. |
Requisition Points
Requisition Points can be used to purchase Requisitions. These can upgrade your army, or the units within it. Each time you spend a Requisition Point, reduce your total by 1. Any Requisition Points you do not spend are saved and can be used later. As you play more battles, you can accrue additional Requisition Points, but an army can never have more than 5 RP, and any additional Requisition Points after this are lost.
Each time you play a battle you will gain 1 RP after that battle has been completed, regardless of the result.
Requisitions
Increase Supply Limit (1 RP)
Purchase this Requisition at any time. Increase your army’s Supply Limit by 50 points.
Fresh Recruits (1 RP)
Purchase this Requisition at any time. Select one unit from your Order of Battle. Roll a die for each casualty a unit has received in the campaign so far, on a 2+ a fresh recruit is drafted into the unit to replace it’s unfortunate predecessor. Due to limited manpower, sometimes the replacements you receive will not b the same quality as the troops that were lost. To represent this, if more troops are being replaced than are left in the squad roll a die. On a 4+, the replacements are the same level as the current squad; on a 1-3 the unit loses a single level of experience.
When men are lost from an Infantry Team or Artillery Crew, these troops are replaced immediately (with the replacement being drafted in from another unit in your roster).
Rearm and Resupply (1RP)
Purchase this Requisition at any time. Select one unit from your Order of Battle. You can change any weapon options that models in that unit are equipped with, within the weapon limitations as described for that unit in that Nation’s army list.
Repair and Recuperate (1RP)
Purchase this Requisition either before, or after a battle. Select one unit from your Order of Battle that has one or more Battle Scars. Select one of that unit’s Battle Scars and remove it from it’s listing on your Order of Battle. By removing a Battle Scar, your Order of Battle Strength will increase by 1.
Casualties
After battle, roll a d6 for every model that was removed during the game. Make your rolls one unit at a time. Do the same for vehicles that were Knocked Out.
- For Inexperience models, they survived on a die roll of a 6+
- For Regular models, they survived on a die roll of a 5+
- For Veteran models, they survived on a die roll of a 4+
- Vehicles that were Knocked Out during the game will survive on a 4+ regardless of quality.
If all models from an infantry team or unit die, that unit is wiped out, and it should be removed from your Order of Battle.
Vehicle models that do not survive, are not available for selection in the next game, as a replacement crew is found. Roll a die, on a 4+ the vehicle retains its experience level, on 1-3 it reduces a level in experience.
Territory
After each game, the winning player rolls a D6 and gains that many territories. The losing player gains half that figure (rounding up).
Territories are used to rank the players throughout the campaign.
Lumineth Realm-Lords Datacards
Reading the Datacards
Each Datacard has three distinct sections; Charge Chance, Resilience and Average Damage Output.
Charge Chance
This graph shows the move and charge distances each unit can achieve and shows the chance of them achieving this distance as a percentage.
Resilience
This table shows how much damage would be required on average to destroy the unit. This is split into the various rend types most commonly found in Age of Sigmar. For example, the unit shown in the image above would need 18 damage from -2 rend weapons for the enemy to have a chance at destroying it.
This can be cross-referenced with another units average damage output to see what kind of damage they’ll do to it.
Average Damage Output
This simply shows how much damage on average the unit is expected to inflict after saves against the various save types. If there are multiple load-out choices, then these are shown separately, as is any missile damage.
Change Log
Menu
- LEADERS
- Alarith Stonemage
- Archmage Teclis
- Avalenor
- Ellania and Ellathor
- Hurakan Spirit of the Wind
- Hurakan Windmage
- Lyrior Uthralle
- Myari Lightcaller
- Scinari Calligrave
- Scinari Cathallar
- Scinari Enlightener
- Scinari Loreseeker
- Severith
- The Light of Eltharion
- Vanari Bannerblade
- Vanari Lord Regent
- BATTLELINE
- Vanari Auralan Wardens
- ARTILLERY
- Vanari Starshard Ballistas
- BEHEMOTH
- Alarith Spirit of the Mountain
- OTHER UNITS
- Alarith Stoneguard
- Hurukan Windchargers
- Myari’s Purifiers
- Vanari Auralan Sentinels
- Vanari Bladelords
- Vanari Dawnriders
Leaders
Battleline
Artillery
Behemoth
Other
Gloomspite Gitz Datacards
Reading the Datacards
Each Datacard has three distinct sections; Charge Chance, Resilience and Average Damage Output.
Charge Chance
This graph shows the move and charge distances each unit can achieve and shows the chance of them achieving this distance as a percentage.
Resilience
This table shows how much damage would be required on average to destroy the unit. This is split into the various rend types most commonly found in Age of Sigmar. For example, the unit shown in the image above would need 18 damage from -2 rend weapons for the enemy to have a chance at destroying it.
This can be cross-referenced with another units average damage output to see what kind of damage they’ll do to it.
Average Damage Output
This simply shows how much damage on average the unit is expected to inflict after saves against the various save types. If there are multiple load-out choices, then these are shown separately, as is any missile damage.
Change Log
Menu
- LEADERS
- Dankhold Troggboss
- Fungoid Cave-Shaman
- Grinkrak the Great
- Kragnos
- Loonboss
- Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig
- Loonboss on Mangler Squigs
- Loonboss with Giant Cave Squig
- Madcap Shaman
- Mollog
- Scuttleboss on Gigantic Spider
- Skragrott, the Loonking
- Squigboss
- Webspinner Shaman
- Webspinner Shaman on Arachnarok Spider
- Zarbag
- BATTLELINE
- Moonclan Shootas
- Moonclan Stabbas
- Squig Hoppers
- BEHEMOTH
- Aleguzzler Gargant
- Arachnarok Spider with Flinger
- Arachnarok Spider with Spiderfang Party
- Mangler Squigs
- Skitterstrand Arachnarok
- OTHER UNITS
- Boingrot Bounderz
- Dankhold Troggoths
- Fellwater Troggoths
- Gobbapalooza
- Grinkrak’s Looncourt
- Loonsmasha Fanatics
- Rippa’s Snarlfangs
- Rockgut Troggoths
- Snarlfang Riders
- Sneaky Snufflers
- Sporesplatta Fanatics
- Squig Herd
- Zarbag’s Gitz
Leaders
Battleline
Behemoth
Other
Ogor Mawtribes Datacards
Reading the Datacards
Each Datacard has three distinct sections; Charge Chance, Resilience and Average Damage Output.
Charge Chance
This graph shows the move and charge distances each unit can achieve and shows the chance of them achieving this distance as a percentage.
Resilience
This table shows how much damage would be required on average to destroy the unit. This is split into the various rend types most commonly found in Age of Sigmar. For example, the unit shown in the image above would need 18 damage from -2 rend weapons for the enemy to have a chance at destroying it.
This can be cross-referenced with another units average damage output to see what kind of damage they’ll do to it.
Average Damage Output
This simply shows how much damage on average the unit is expected to inflict after saves against the various save types. If there are multiple load-out choices, then these are shown separately, as is any missile damage.
Change Log
Menu
- LEADERS
- BATTLELINE
- Ogor Gluttons
- ARTILLERY
- Gnoblar Scraplauncher
- Ironblaster
- OTHER UNITS
- Frost Sabres
- Gnoblars
- Gorgers
- Hrothgorn’s Mantrappers
- Icefall Yhetees
- Ironguts
- Leadbelchers
- Maneaters
- Mournfang Pack
Leaders
Battleline
Artillery
Behemoth
Other
Slaves to Darkness Datacards
This one has taken a while! But I’m pleased to say that all of the warscrolls for Slaves to Darkness have now been translated into Datacards.
Reading the Datacards
Each Datacard has three distinct sections; Charge Chance, Resilience and Average Damage Output.
Charge Chance
This graph shows the move and charge distances each unit can achieve and shows the chance of them achieving this distance as a percentage.
Resilience
This table shows how much damage would be required on average to destroy the unit. This is split into the various rend types most commonly found in Age of Sigmar. For example, the unit shown in the image above would need 18 damage from -2 rend weapons for the enemy to have a chance at destroying it.
This can be cross-referenced with another units average damage output to see what kind of damage they’ll do to it.
Average Damage Output
This simply shows how much damage on average the unit is expected to inflict after saves against the various save types. If there are multiple load-out choices, then these are shown separately, as is any missile damage.
Change Log
16th February 2023 – Chaos Spawn resilience corrected. Thanks to Max in the comments for pointing it out.
Menu
- LEADERS
- Archaon, the Everchosen
- Be’Lakor, the Dark Master
- Centaurian Marshal
- Chaos Lord
- Chaos Lord on Daemonic Mount
- Chaos Lord on Karkadrak
- Chaos Lord on Manticore without Chaos Runeshield
- Chaos Lord on Manticore with Runeshield
- Chaos Sorcerer Lord
- Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore
- Daemon Prince
- Darkoath Chieftain
- Darkoath Warqueen
- Eternus, Blade of the First Prince
- Exalted Hero of Chaos with Axes of the Dark Champion
- Exalted Hero of Chaos with Rune-eched Blade and Chaos Runeshield
- Ogroid Myrmidon
- Sarrakar Blackwing
- Gaunt Summoner
- Gaunt Summoner on Disc of Tzeentch
- Theddra Skull Scryer
- Zarshia Bittersoul
- BATTLELINE
- Chaos Chariot
- Chaos Knights
- Chaos Legionnaires
- Chaos Marauder Horsemen with Flails
- Chaos Marauder Horsemen with Shields
- Chaos Marauders with Darkwood Shields
- Chaos Marauders with Barbarian Flails
- Chaos Warriors
- Corvus Cabal
- Cyper Lords
- Darkoath Savagers
- Horns of Hashut
- Iron Golem
- Scions of the Flame
- Spire Tyrants
- Splintered Fang
- Tarantulos Brood
- The Unmade
- Untamed Beasts
- OTHER UNITS
- Chaos Chosen
- Fomoroid Crusher
- Furies
- Godsworn Hunt
- Gorebeast Chariot
- Khagra’s Ravagers
- Mindstealer Sphiranx
- Ogroid Theridons with Flachions
- Ogroid Theridons with Greataxes
- Raptoryx
- Chaos Spawn
- The Gnarlspirit Pack
- Varanguard
Leaders
Battleline
Behemoth
Other
5 Tips for the new Season (Number 6 will surprise you!)
It’s always an interesting time when there’s a new season of matched play on the horizon. All the subtle reflexes, lists and tricks you’ve built up over the last 6 months are about to be obliterated by a new set of realm rules and battleplans – including points adjustments and therefore significant list changes.
Rest assured, we’re here to help you get a head start on the practical stuff you need to know ahead of Season 2 – Galletian Champions – kicking off next week. Your author has glimpsed the new rules slightly ahead of their official publication date and has played a fair few games with the new rules already (with the new Slaves to Darkness book, in fact) with his club-mates, Sigmar’s Pilgrims, who recently finished 8th at the Brotherhood Teams Event.
So read on for a few tips, insights, and general things you should start thinking about for the forthcoming season. And what a season it’s going to be – as we guessed in our Hot Takes article – it’s a fantastic new set of rules that offer a welcome reduction in book-keeping from the previous season, helping make it smoother and more accessible, while adding in some awesome new levels of depth.
- Identify your Galletian Champions (aka Galley Champs, aka GCs)
Put simply, this season is all about non-unique foot heroes under 10 wounds. A number of the new battle tactics require them, and multiple battleplans will either award bonus points for objectives being controlled by a GC, or give GCs priority when contesting them (i.e. if a GC is contesting the objective, only other GCs can).
This, as you have probably surmised, means you need to have a good look at what GCs your army has available, and start re-thinking their role in your army. Traditionally, most of these kinds of heroes have been underwhelming – why take a piddly foot-slogging dude when you can take a pure chad riding a giant monster? The answer, as it turns out, is because this season tells you it’s the cooler thing to do. If you want to win.
If your army has GCs who are either strong in their own right (Ironjaws are happy here) or simply cheap and durable, or highly mobile (hence the Knight Zephyros suddenly being S tier) – you’re laughing. If, like Soulblight, all your non-unique foot heroes just kind of suck, well, have a think about how best to protect them and then get them to where they need to be! Which brings us to…
2. Pay the Ferryman
Lauchon stonks.
Though it’s tempting to leave it there, I will elucidate. If you army doesn’t just happen to have a teleporting GC (or like Fyreslayers, one that can also teleport their own bodyguard…!), then you’re quite possible going to want a way to zoom a GC onto a flank objective – and this season has lots that are less reachable.
The endless spell, Lauchon – aka the Bringy Dinghy – is perfect for this. You just need your GC to be a wizard (not hard with Arcane Tome doing the rounds) and for their base to fit within 6″ of the boat, and they’re eligible for a 21”+ whatever your hero has move. Then they can score points, and on the off-chance the boat doesn’t get Dispelled, at the end of the following hero phase they can zoom right back to safety! So it’s obviously best done with a GC on the cheaper side of things as it may be a one-way trip…
He’s not the only way to get around in style however, which brings us to…
3. Tunnel Mastery
There’s also another way of getting where you want to go – and it takes the form of what I imagine will quickly become the pick of choice from the new selection of free GC enhancements you now get to choose from. There are some excellent effects and combos but Tunnel Master – which allows your GC a standard teleport (so no closer than 9” to enemy units) – is obviously tasty. In general it’s risky to chuck even a 100 pt GC onto an objective on their own, so timing will be everything here – it’s well worth thinking if your army has a good way to support this play (or bringing a Soulscream Bridge!) so that the hero can have some backup, or some way to do it early then escape if the enemy starts hunting them down.
Alternatively, if you can work out a way – like the Fyreslayer example above – that you don’t have to pick Tunnel Master, then that will open up the slot for another enhancement instead.
4. The New Drop Off
There are three new battalions in the new Season, but the two that will shake things up the most are the ones GW previewed themselves. It’s not hard to see the respective merits of each, but what we’ve realised after a few games is that you really need to plan around the potential of your opponent taking Sharpshooters. GC scoring is so important that if you don’t have a genuine bodyguard unit to protect your GC from being sniped, you are going to want something in your list to try and deal with the shooting units.
What this means for the average drops is that, in our humble prediction, the new most common drops will be 3 (battle regiment + Sworn Guard) and 4 (Battle reg + Sharpshooters). If you really think dictating turn order is really important to your list, it might mean giving up Sworn Guard.
It’s also possible we’ll see a lot more ‘who gives a crap’ drops due to the following point…
5. 2nd Time Lucky
One of the coolest mechanics of the new season is that the player who takes the second turn gets to perform a second heroic action in their hero phase. This suddenly makes taking second in the first turn even more valuable, but that’s balanced by there now being an incentive not to take the double. And of course if you do get doubled – you can think about how that second action can keep you in the game rather than just sweating bricks.
Now, there are two new heroic actions revolving around fighting in the hero phase with your GC, potentially then followed by their Sworn Guard – which we’ll go into more detail on shortly – but we’ve found in reality they rarely actually get used. And as such, aren’t worth planning your turn priority around. However, you’ll obviously want to have them in your back pocket for when it’s important to be able to move in your turn rather than wait until the fight phase to get stuck in. The most important thing as ever will be reading the board-state, but do start thinking about whether your army can handle giving away first, as you can now potentially really punish over-reaches from your opponent.
6. Remembering Realm Rules
The author is a big fan of the new realm rules, but it pays to be aware of their subtleties, and not lean too much into them for list building.
For example, the obvious, most game-changing benefit to GCs is the Key to Victory rule, meaning they can’t be targeted by ranged attacks while they stand within 1” of a friendly battleline unit, unless the attacking unit is in the aforementioned Sharpshooter battalion. Now it’s easy to mix up Battleline and Sworn Guard – so bear in mind it’s any battleline unit that can protedt your precious and flimsy GC from shooting.
Now, the new heroic actions have an obvious combination with the new rule for getting two heroic actions – bear in mind they both have to be issued from the same hero in your hero phase. The first allows GC within 3” of an enemy unit to fight, but then gains ‘fight last’ for the rest of the TURN. The second allows the Sworn Guard wholly within 6” of the GC that just fought, and is also within 3” of any enemy unit – i.e. doesn’t have to be the same one the GC fought – to also fight – with the same fight last modifier being added.
In practical terms, this hero phase fight with a unit is frankly unlikely to come off. It will be useful here and there – especially against pin lists like whoops all Nurgle flies or Beastclaw Raiders – but it’s probably a mistake to plan on it. Likewise, if you are hunting frantically through your Tome for the fightiest hero so they can get some hero phase action, just bear in mind that unless they kill that unit, they’re either going to have to stick around and try again or retreat.
Of course, if your hero has a fight first ability – this will cancel out the fight last and they will attack as normal in the fight phase – or likewise, if you have the ability (such as the new Slaves spell) to make an enemy unit fight last, you can much more safely activate this ability and still charge your GC into combat in your turn.
So there you have it – we’re super excited for the new Season and we hope you are too. Let us know in the Discord what your thoughts are once you start getting games in – and we hope these little offerings help you to get a head start on taking names at the table!
Woehammer Hobby Bingo 2023
I’m addition to our Hobby Golf for 2023, we’re also running a Hobby Bingo card this year. Slightly different to the Games Workshop one, as it does not specify any games systems, releasing you from the GW only theme.
And, for those interested. If you join our friendly Discord server and post your finished pictures inside the #hobbybingo channel I will update your Hobby card personally with your pictures.
Hopefully with our WoePoints and also other sites like Pile of Potential we’ll all be battling against the pile of grey in 2023.
Nighthaunt Data Cards
Change Log
- 29th December 2022 – Update to correct name on Chainrasps
- 29th December 2022 – Correction to the damage output of Bladegheist Revenants
It’s taken a while, but thanks to the help of Patrick our first faction data cards are now ready!
We’ve started with Nighthaunt but have a lot of others in the pipeline and close to completion.
Each card shows the following information:
Resilience – Specifies how much damage is requited at the various rend values to destroy the unit or to destroy the unit via battleshick (if this is possible).
Threat Range – This will tell you how far the unit can move and then charge. If the unit had any missile weapons, then the card will also show how far the unit can move and then shoot.
Average Damage Output – The main focus of each card, this shows how much damage a unit should cause (as an average) to each of the save values. I.e. how much damage is unsaved.
Leaders
Battleline
Behemoth
Other
Who’s Next?
Next up will be the Slaves to Darkness. Keep an eye out!
