Warhammer Age of Sigmar is more than a game – it’s a hobby. Build armies of plastic warriors drawn from the many warring factions that inhabit the Mortal Realms. Paint your models to personalise your collection. Then take them to the tabletop to play fast-paced games of strategy and action that let you tell your own stories within the Age of Sigmar.
After building a rad army full of heroes, wizards, and monsters, you and your opponent will fight for supremacy over fantastical battlefields. Move your units across the tabletop, fire withering fusillades with missile weapons, and charge into brutal close-quarters combat in these death-or-glory struggles for control over the Mortal Realms.
The core rules and unit profiles are completely free, making it simple to look around the different factions and try things out. What are you waiting for?
Start your adventure here
The outcome of each battle is determined by the units you bring to the table, the effectiveness of your strategy, and the luck of the dice. If you’re thinking about trying out Warhammer Age of Sigmar, check out these resources to help you get started.
The official website
All the core rules of Warhammer Age of Sigmar are available for free on the Warhammer Age of Sigmar website. You can download a copy to read at your leisure and install the official app on your mobile device and tablet. The basics of the game are quite simple – you can even watch a set of tutorial videos to get to grips with them.
The website also includes a wealth of information about the setting of the Mortal Realms and the factions that battle for dominance over them. Before you can begin collecting your first army, decide which of the many choices is the right fit for you. Will it be the stalwart, golden-armoured Stormcast Eternals? Or perhaps the sinister, phantasmal Nighthaunt? There’s something for everyone in the Age of Sigmar.
What you need to play your first games
Once you’ve decided which faction you’ll use to dip your toes into Warhammer Age of Sigmar, you’ll need a few things before you can play your first games.
- An army, including several basic units and a Hero or Wizard to lead them.
- A place to play, including scenery – with a little imagination these could be rocks from the garden, books, tins of food, or anything else you have to hand.
- A set of six-sided dice and a tape measure to see how far your units can move, shoot, and reach with their melee weapons.
- The basic rules and set of profiles (also known as warscrolls) for your units.
That’s it! It’s really easy to take your first steps into the Mortal Realms and build up your army as you go.
Let’s take a look at some of the boxed sets that will help you kick off your collection.
Soul Wars
The ultimate Warhammer Age of Sigmar boxed set includes two armies that can be quickly assembled without glue, plus a full-sized, hardback core rules book, dice, measurers, and a set of reference cards and booklets to get you to the table quickly. In short, there’s everything you need to get started in one box!
Both the Stormcast Eternals and Nighthaunt armies offer a strong mix of units to start playing games, making this an ideal box to split with a friend or family.
Start Collecting! boxes
If you’d rather build your own army from scratch, Start Collecting! boxes bundle a variety of units to get the ball rolling, including a leader to sound the charge. They’re available for a wide range of factions, so it’s easy to find an army you like and jump in with minimal fuss.
From here, you can pick up one or two extra units to field a small but well-rounded force, which is more than enough for many hours of happy gaming.
Battletomes
Besides a copy of the core rules, you’ll want to grab the battletome for your chosen army. These are definitive guides for each faction, including background information about their history and methods of warfare, painting guides, profiles for all of their units, and powerful abilities you can wield in battle. They’re available as both physical books and in digital formats, so you can decide how you want to read and use them.
Paints and brushes
Painting miniatures is an extremely rewarding part of the Warhammer hobby. If you’re completely new, you’ll want to pick up some paints and tools to make your models your own. The Warhammer Age of Sigmar Paints + Tools Set will get you started with paints, a starter paintbrush, clippers, and a mouldline scraper tool to help you prepare your models.
You have a huge range of Citadel paints and hobby supplies to choose from, so put a little thought into a colour scheme for your troops and select the colours you need to achieve your vision.
The Citadel Colour website is an excellent resource for getting started with painting your miniatures. It has guides to help you learn about the different types of paints and techniques you can use, as well as step-by-step tutorials for the most popular models.
Where do you go from here?
Once you’ve got a handle on the basics of the game, and have started developing a feel for the type of strategies you like to employ (aggressive and fast or slow and calculated, for example), you can take a look at the other options available to your faction and work on growing your army, unit by unit.
Building your collection, painting the models, and using them in games is a deeply rewarding experience, so take your time and enjoy it.
Once you’ve added a few units to your collection, you’ll open up lots of options for assembling an army to dominate on the battlefield. That’s where list-building comes in.
Games are generally balanced by pitting armies of similar points values against each other, such as 1,000 points on each side. Each battletome includes the points values for each unit type – mixing and matching them to dream up different army lists is an absolute blast.
The Warscroll Builder website lets you quickly and easily create competition-legal rosters and even print them out or email them to your opponent.
Tabletop boards and scenery kits
Besides your army, you’ll want to collect a set of tabletop scenery to set the stage for your battles, as well as a suitable surface for the action. The
Realm of Battle: Blasted Hallowheart
box includes both, allowing you to transform your dining room table into a tiny slice of the Mortal Realms.
Inside the box, you’ll find a set of sturdy double-sided card gaming boards, plus plastic scenery kits that can be assembled and painted just like your warriors. These pieces are all designed to be put together into a wide variety of configurations, so no two games need to be fought over the same setup.
Black Library fiction
If you want to learn more about the mysterious and fascinating worlds of the Mortal Realms and the beings and places within it, take a look at the Black Library website to find a dazzling array of fiction.
The Warhammer Adventures series is aimed at younger readers, and you can even try out Warhammer Horror books if you want your spine to tingle a bit.
Supplements and campaign books
If you want a strong story to make your games feel rooted in the sagas of the Mortal Realms, take a look at campaign books like the Broken Realms series. These supplements detail cataclysmic wars that shift the direction of the ongoing narrative, as well as special rules and scenarios you can use to recreate pivotal battles from the stories.
Once you’ve played a few games, you’ll want to grab a copy of the latest General’s Handbook as well, which includes advanced rules for all factions and types of play.
There’s always something exciting going on in Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Check out the official Facebook page to stay up to date with the latest news, and keep an eye right here for the latest model reveals, tips and tactics, and painting inspiration. We can’t wait to see what you create.