When the Cities of Sigmar march to war in their trusty Castelite formations, they are accompanied by a vast entourage of aides, messengers, adjutants, wizards, priests, and hangers-on who keep an unwieldy army in good working order. Heroes all, they bring the cosmopolitanism of the Free Cities to the battlefield.
At the core of most Cities of Sigmar armies stands a Freeguild Marshal, an expert tactician who leads from the front. A seasoned veteran of many wars, they can issue vital Orders with the help of their Relic Envoys.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with their underlings against unthinkable odds, they can also deliver a Rousing Speech, bolstering the objective-capturing prowess of up to three friendly Cities of Sigmar Human units within 18”, should they score higher than their Bravery on 2D6.
These doughty generals can be backed up by motley Freeguild Command Corps, a coterie of individuals with all sorts of keenly honed skills.
War Surgeons keep the soldiers around them fighting fit, each a ruthless Sawbones administering a no-frills brand of battlefield care to up to three units within 12”. They can heal up to D3 wounds to a unit that has sustained damage, or return models with a total of D3 wounds to a unit that has previously lost some of it’s rank and file – presumably with a missing limb or two.
When the regular soldiery enjoys scant moments of relaxation around the campfire, they must be careful what they say. Whisperblades lurk in the shadows, listening carefully to gripes and grumbles for signs of sedition. Thankfully their tattling time is mostly taken up by Marshals who ask them to Dispatch Spies to disrupt enemy plans, shutting down an enemy command ability once per turn on a 4+ and forcing them to lose the command point.
Arch-Knights provide muscle for the Freeguild Marshal they have sworn to protect, while the Great Herald inspires the troops to hoof it just that bit further for Sigmar. Stranger yet are the Mascot Gargoylians, theorised to be the Cities’ faith made flesh, and the Soul Shepherds whose homunculi pipe out melancholic songs that somehow steel their allies’ spirits against death.
As the Cities of Sigmar fight not with lightning-wreathed weapons or scorching sunmetal spears, they have taken to employing Chamonic wizards known as Alchemite Warforgers to empower their forces.
As broad-shouldered and sweaty as blacksmiths, when they extract their red-hot runecubes from their crucibles, powerful metal magic turns plain steel and iron arms into Blazing Weapons. This spell has units wholly within 12”, causing mortal wounds in addition to standard damage on unmodified hit rolls of a 6.
Whether under the command of legendary mercenaries like Thalia Vedra, or ensuring the Great Wheel keeps turning under the ten-tonne glare of Pontifex Zenestra, these Heroes keep the Cities of Sigmar ticking. Details on the decisions behind designing this landmark new range will be heading to Warhammer Community next week.