Each Dawnbringer book propels the narrative of the Age of Sigmar forward, as the Twin-Tailed Crusade marches its way through Aqshy and Ghyran. One prong is fated to succeed and the other is destined to fail as they encounter some of the mightiest heroes and villains in the Mortal Realms.
Trugg the Troggoth King, Belthanos, First Thorn of Kurnoth, and Ionus Cryptborn will all be available to pre-order on their own for the first time this weekend. Each has a powerful Army of Renown that exemplifies their preferred style of combat, but these unique heroes can add a lot to your collection even if you don’t run these particular lists. We’ve come up with three fun armies, one for each hero, that eke something novel or exciting out of their unique warscroll rules.
Trugg’s Troggherd is an Army of Renown that pairs the Troggoth King with an entourage of slow-witted, rock-skinned subjects who all benefit from the mystical energies spilling from the artefact lodged in his back.
He is a self-sufficient bruiser thanks to his D3+3 Regeneration in the hero phase. Stick him alongside a Dankhold Troggboss, and a unit of six Rockgut Troggoths in Glogg’s Megamob, and you’ve got eight Troggoths who regenerate wounds every time they fight.
This near impossible-to-shift slab of Troggoth-hide pairs perfectly with a 24-strong contingent of Squigs and 10 snarling Boingrot Bounders, facilitated by Skragrott the Loonking. Sneaky, just like the best grots.
For a far more upstanding army, Belthanos provides Sylvaneth players with the ability to charge, even if they’ve already run that turn. This widens your strategic options, no longer relying on surgically striking via the Woodland Paths. You can now load up on heavy hitters – Drycha Hamadreth, a Spirit of Durthu, and a unit of six Kurnoth Hunters with Greatswords and send them charging up the middle of the board, wrath in their eyes.
It’s a delightfully brutish gamble that forgoes the usual subtle Sylvaneth subterfuge, but it’s devastatingly effective in melee. The Lady of Vines supports this thicket of swords with a Spiteswarm Hide for bonuses to both running and charging, and then adds Aspect of the Everqueen for a 5+ Ward in a 12” bubble. Two units of Tree-Revenants are on duty to snag objectives and score Battle Tactics with their Waypipers allowing them to hop around the map with impunity.
Ionus Cryptborn is a solitary figure who has spent many years wandering the realms in search of a solution to the flaw in the reforging process. He’s a bit of a solo agent in battle, but his ability to choose a single prayer to chant that will not fail makes him a prime candidate for every Stormcast Eternals player’s favourite trick – Translocating a unit of lightning-spewing Dracothian Guard Fulminators right into the enemy to unleash their Mortal Wound-rich Stormblasts, with Tempestors to harry the foe.
This is a simple, no-nonsense list that lets Ionus and his Dracothian Guard apply pressure where needed. Ionus is protected by a unit of Praetors who efficiently tank wounds, and while the enemy is busy dealing with all that fire and lightning, a unit of six Gryphounds can slip by and snag an objective…
These are just three suggestions for armies you could build around the characters from Dawnbringers. Share your own list tech with us on the official Warhammer Age of Sigmar Facebook page or on X/Twitter, and then pre-order your favourite hero of the bunch on Saturday.