Age of Sigmar: Points and Handbooks

[RagingBluMunky]

So, I haven't played anything Warhammer Fantasy related for a long time.

I have a reasonable amount of I guess Sepharon is what they are called now... But I am really curious about the dwarf air ship faction.

Sould I just focus on them, or should I get into flying dwarves? Also, what are some thoughts on them?

No reason not to do both, if you have the money.

Seraphon (which are, with the exception of slaan, basically Order Daemons now) and Kharadron Overlords both belong to the Order grand alliance, so they can be used together without a problem.

As they are, both armies are quite good, though with the new edition coming out in June, seraphon are getting a large change to how they are summoned, so their battletome will probably be coming out relatively soon after.

[Requizen]

Yeah I would very much wait ~2 weeks to see what AoS2 brings. It also depends on how you play. Both have a nice variety of builds, though Karadron are a bit more limited by their playstyle and range of models - they pretty much only have semi-elite shooting with one good melee unit, so the variety of builds is narrow.

If you play tournament style, Seraphon are very good right now imo (taking 3rd at Adepticon) and only looking to get better. Kharadron only really have 1 or 2 competitive builds, but those are quite good and can counter a lot of armies.

What are you looking to play? They're fairly different in playstyle. But if it's on aesthetic alone, they're both dope

[Ornithologist]

The good news is that I all ready have what was previously around 2.2k in points for Sepharon. I have no idea now as the last time I played a game was in the tail end of 7th ed. But I have some Saurus knights, 2 Stegadons, a Slann, an Old one on a Carnasaur, some kroxger, some Salamanders, and 2 to 3 units of Saurus and regular skinks each. I'm sure I could pull out a working list to just get stuck in if I wanted.

But, I am maybe going to have some extra money, and I am thinking of going to buy the largest airship model just to have it, and them maybe build an army around it to justify the cost.

[Requizen]

Well, you're in luck! The big ship with a bunch of dudes in it is a very viable build (and very cool models).

As for your Seraphon, again it depends on how the new edition changes things, but if you continue down that route, you might want to pick up some of the Skink Heroes and Bastiladons. Maybe convert one of the Stegadons into an Engine of the Gods, but wait to see the changes. The rest is pretty solid!

[Ornithologist]

One of the Stegadons could be an engine of the gods, I still have to finish it.

Still, I guess its something to think about.

Stupid sexy Airships....

[RagingBluMunky]

There is no reason not to play your seraphon, just hold off on buying anything for them.

In other news: Sylvaneth Faction Focus.

Some new summoning, and confirmation that where your army hails from governs what realm specific artifacts you get.

[Requizen]

So here's a bigger list of what things will summon for free in AoS2. Seraphon are getting a nice boost with that :)

Interested to see what Skaven get personally. I never thought of them as a "summoning army", but it could be cool.

[RagingBluMunky]

Huh, could have sworn that the summoning article said astrolith bearers.

As for skaven, The Dreaded 13th Curse which can turn enemies into clanrats has been around for a while. At least since the Storm of Magic expansion in fantasy 8ed? (Ok, so maybe only a while to me)

The only other thing I could think of them doing for skaven summoning would be rat swarms and giant rats, possibly spawned from a hellpit abomination.

[Adrastos42]

[SNIP]confirmation that where your army hails from governs what realm specific artifacts you get.

And everyone sighed in relief. I didn't want to believe they'd make you argue it out at the table where the battle was taking place, but the danger was there. Whereas this adds another layer of interesting decisions to army building, as well as theming options.

[RagingBluMunky]

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! ::Drumroll: Endless Spells!

There's a lot to read, but some highlights, all spells can be cast in any realm, but get a bonus if you are in their realm.

They are controlled by both players each hero phase, starting with who goes second that round.

Most do mortal wounds, but there are some odd ones. The realm of shadows spell sets up two portals, a caster within 1" of one can measure distance and LoS from its twin

[Beelzebub1111]

Great now my bray shaman will do something other than stand around and let my gors move faster.

Still not great...but I'll take it.

[9mm]

shooting into combat changes

not what I was hoping for, but a step in the right direction.

[Requizen]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/...mepage-post-3/

Lizard faction focus. Summoning rules:



I like this version. Counterable by killing or getting close to Slann/Banners, but fairly reliable for the Seraphon player. Slann can skip 3 casting, getting you 9 + 1 + d3 summoning points, but of course you miss out on your spells. Enemy will be very pressured to focus on the Slann/Banners so they don't get out of control.

Here's some teasers about what summoning will cost.

[9mm]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/...mepage-post-3/

Lizard faction focus. Summoning rules:

summonable salamanders? gross. I will hold out hope Bastillidons aren't on the list, but I know they are and it makes me sad.

edit: and the local lizard player already has a list that gets 30 summon points a turn. He says its bad but here we go down the toolbox rabbit hole.

[Requizen]

summonable salamanders? gross. I will hold out hope Bastillidons aren't on the list, but I know they are and it makes me sad.

edit: and the local lizard player already has a list that gets 30 summon points a turn. He says its bad but here we go down the toolbox rabbit hole.

You can't get 30 per turn. You get 1 for Slann general, 3 for that Slann general (not any Slann) forgoing casting a spell, and d3 for any number of Astrolith bearers (not d3 each, just d3 for > 0). So a regular Slann general + Astrolith Bearer can get 9 + 1 + d3 per turn if it casts nothing, and Kroak can get 12 + 1 + d3 per turn.

Now, Kroak getting 14-16 points per turn is pretty huge still, since you can summon 30 points worth of something on T2 (I would imagine the bigger monsters would be 24-30 depending), but that's assuming none of your Bearers nor Kroak die, and you're ok skipping 8 spells to crank up that number of points, which is asking a lot. I think the tradeoff is reasonable.

[Requizen]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/...mepage-post-2/

Artifacts of the Realms preview.

Looks interesting, a great way to add diversity to the game, but of course in 2 months time we'll have boiled it down to a handful of "good" items and the rest are ignored

Since I play Anvils of the Heldenhammer Stormhost, I feel like I should pick Azyr or Shyish for my Realm thematically, but I'll see what the artifacts look like #totallynotpowergaming

[Adrastos42]

Also liking the look of the artifacts, as much as I'm sure only a few will be competitive, it's nice to have more WYSIWYG options if you want to, say, model your Chaos Lord with a crossbow or something:)

[Beelzebub1111]

I don't know if they answered this already, but If summoning is no longer based on reinforcement points, then what does that mean for the Savage Dominion spell? Or will there still be reinforcement points for those scenarios?

[Requizen]

I don't know if they answered this already, but If summoning is no longer based on reinforcement points, then what does that mean for the Savage Dominion spell? Or will there still be reinforcement points for those scenarios?

Well you're in luck! Or not, depending on how much you liked the spell.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/...mepage-post-3/

It's been replaced on the Shaman scroll by possibly one of the most powerful spells in the game depending on situation - opponent must move target unit towards your closest unit. Forcing your opponent to move has so many applications: set up easier charges, turn off auras, move units away from Look Out, Sir!, move units off of objectives or out of cover. It's just plain good!

[Beelzebub1111]

That is a very nice upgrade. I'll take anything at this point, even if I'm gauranteed to have my gors turn into mulch in my store's current meta. Nurgle, Ogors and Stormcast...all the time.

Ever since the latest general's handbook I've been basically dying at my opponent every game. The change to mystic shield won't help that

EDIT: Oh crap. I just realized that the lack of reinforcement points means I have even less points for allies. So I won't be able to take my bullgors and doombull as allies while keeping the Ghorgon in reserve to cheat around that ally limit. Brayherd aliegence is kind if a bust for me then...

[Requizen]

Realms:

https://www.warhammer-community.com/...mepage-post-2/

Beastclaw Raiders:

https://www.warhammer-community.com/...mepage-post-3/


Realms seem really interesting, I'm curious as to how choosing them happens. New deck of cards, roll dice (but there's 7 Realms? Dunno how that'll work), or maybe a rolloff and winner picks? Either way, rules seem interesting. I'm not a huge fan of random for the sake of random rules, but we'll see how it plays.

As for BCR, reduction on Stonehorns and Mournfangs seems legit, but if Thundertusks are still doing those MWs on 2+, they better stay the same or go up in points. That ability is my biggest trigger in AoS (other than maybe Tzeentch shenanigans)

Also from yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBhpjEAS6IU

New Stormcast episode says that Tzeentch summoning pool will come from casting. Each successful cast (from either side) adds one point to their pool, big monsters cost up to 36. 36 is... easy to get to, so a free LoC every 2-3 turns is... ugh. Let's see what's up with the specific rule and warscrolls but I hate Tzeentch so I'll probably complain anyway.

[Requizen]

https://www.warhammer-community.com/...dors-and-more/

Preview panel! Only thing for AoS is the first of 3 Nighthaunt Heroes, assume we'll see the other 2 before too long since Nighthaunt release should start this month or early July.

Shadespire getting a card-only expansion is pretty cool. I've really been enjoying playing, so more content is good... but I'm gonna need more binders

[RagingBluMunky]

They actually teased another character in that reveal. The character they showed is an underlying for the Mortarch of Grief they said.

[RagingBluMunky]

Another 'rules update' today, measuring from the bases is now official. No standard base sizes, though they'll be releasing recommendations for tourney use.

Only thing of note is, models in base contact can now use the pile in move, providing they do not move away from the closest enemy model.

Basically, this allows hordes to slide around and bring more models to bear

[LeSwordfish]

How common is it for models in AOS to ignore/re-roll battleshock? I can see some combos that would reduce enemy bravery by three or four - but I know that in 40k that's not terribly useful since re-rolling leadership is standard on half the armies, and the rest can usually drop a hat to ignore it. Is that the case in AOS? I know there'll be a command ability to re-roll that anyone has access to, but that has to be used at the start of the enemy's turn (so if I'm lucky, I can get a turn without it) and costs a command point that they can't then spend on their favourite ability.

[Requizen]

How common is it for models in AOS to ignore/re-roll battleshock? I can see some combos that would reduce enemy bravery by three or four - but I know that in 40k that's not terribly useful since re-rolling leadership is standard on half the armies, and the rest can usually drop a hat to ignore it. Is that the case in AOS? I know there'll be a command ability to re-roll that anyone has access to, but that has to be used at the start of the enemy's turn (so if I'm lucky, I can get a turn without it) and costs a command point that they can't then spend on their favourite ability.

Well, the Inspiring Presence Command Ability currently is just pick a unit in your Hero Phase, and then they don't have to take Battleshock until your next Hero Phase. In AoS2, it's changing so you use it at the beginning of any Battleshock phase, so can be used reactively:



In general, I think bravery-affecting mechanics are really strong (making a 4-wound Ogor disappear is dope), but it's quite unreliable a lot of times.

[LeSwordfish]

Ah, okay... that makes it way worse, since they can spam it to ignore any effect whatsoever. However, I suspect that near-forcing people to spend command points is useful - if you have a 3-CP super-combo and have five CP at that point in the game, spending two on not running away is a really tricky choice. It also happens before rolling, so if I can put a handful of casualties on several units, I can force tricky choices and try and get lucky.

What I'm currently thinking of at 1500pts is the following:

Legion of Blood
Deathmarch - 110pts

Wight King - 120 (Soulbound Garments)
20 Skeletons - 160
20 Skeletons - 160
20 Skeletons - 160
5 Black Knights - 120
10 Grave Guard - 160

Vampire Lord - 140 (Amulet Of Screams, General: Soul-Crushing Contempt, Spell: Amethystine Pinions)
Morghast Archai - 220

This adds up to 1350, giving me 150pts left. The Wight King and Vampire get surrounded by Skeletons and march forward, healing 2d3+1 casualties per turn and moving an extra 4" in the hero phase. The Morghasts and Black Knights go off on their own. I'm not sure what to do with the rest (and will wait on the cost of the endless spells before doing so) - more Black Knights? Dire Wolves? A Necromancer for Dance Macabre? Another vampire because vampires are very cool? The vampire is squashier than the Wight, but I think should be the General because she's more likely to land the hits required for Soul-Crushing Contempt, and then that way my Deathmarch buff-machine and my General aren't the same model.

Everyone near my units is at -2 bravery while the banners are alive, and the Vampire hands out another -1 if she kills anyone. A necromancer could then do 2d6-bravery mortal wounds by casting a spell.EDIT: Wait no that's a banshee. I can use a necromancer's spells to keep tanking LD. I'm not entirely a fan of the Morghast: I could ditch them for... something? Just thirty more skeletons? I feel like I should have something relatively big but I'm not sure what.

[RagingBluMunky]

Grave guard are pretty choppy, maybe a Mortis Engine, or the forthcoming new Black Coach.

The Mortis Engine fits with your theme also, having its own source of leadership based mortal wounds

[LeSwordfish]

Grave guard are pretty choppy, maybe a Mortis Engine, or the forthcoming new Black Coach.

The Mortis Engine fits with your theme also, having its own source of leadership based mortal wounds

Huh, the Mortis Engine is pretty cheap too. I could take one instead of the Morghasts and then have 190pts left... Necromancer and ten more skeletons? Or five more Grave Guard?

[Requizen]

I would back more Grave Guard as well, I've seen them do really nasty things and they'll be freely rezzable with the new edition

But of course, I might wait for the new GHB so you know the costs too, though I don't expect Legions of Nagash to change overly too much.