They may have been through the wars of late, but the Cities of Sigmar are about to rise to new heights with the updated rules for Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Join us as we discuss how this incredibly diverse faction is adapting to the Era of the Beast, and learn how to get the most out of them with the help of one of our playtesters.
We’ve recently been looking into how the new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar affects every faction, so be sure to catch up if you’ve missed any to date, and keep your eye out each day for the latest instalment. But before we dive into the hustle and bustle of the Cities of Sigmar, let’s remind ourselves of the faction’s lore.
Who Are the Cities of Sigmar?
Founded across the Mortal Realms in the wake of the Realmgate Wars, the Cities of Sigmar are beacons of hope in lands that were once overrun with the servants of Chaos. Their towering walls, built by the finest artificers of the free peoples, are strong enough to repel all but the most terrible assault, and they are protected by the valiant warriors of every race still loyal to Sigmar.
Many Cities of Sigmar also house mighty Stormkeeps, each serving as both a stronghold and barracks of the Stormcast Eternals. The presence of the God-King’s chosen champions serves to inspire the population of the cities – and maintain peace among the diverse populations that dwell within. From these bastions of order, the Stormcast Eternals lead great sorties to drive back the wilderness and clear a path for expansion.
The Cities of Sigmar comprise a huge variety of sub-factions. These include humans of the Freeguild, Devoted of Sigmar, and Collegiate Arcane; duardin of the Ironweld Arsenal and the Dispossessed; and aelves of the Darkling Covens, Shadowblades, Order Serpentis, Wanderers, and Phoenix Temple. Whatever your preference of army composition, you’re spoilt for choice with the Cities of Sigmar.
To tell us all about some of their most effective strategies to utilise the new edition rules, we’ll hand you over to elite playtester and Cities of Sigmar veteran Jack Armstrong.
Jack: One of the key elements of Warhammer Age of Sigmar’s new edition is how you manage your command points, as there are many more options available to you. The good news is that the Cities of Sigmar armies have a few abilities that allow you to generate extra command points. Both The General’s Adjutant battle trait and the Hammerhal-specific ability Banners Held High give you access to extra command points each turn. You can use these to take advantage of all of the new universal command abilities that let you stand and shoot, redeploy, bolster your attack and defence, and more besides.
The changes to endless spells will benefit Hallowheart players. Being able to continually control your own endless spells means that, in addition to their awesome Lore of Whitefire, they can also have predatory endless spells such as the Purple Sun roaming the battlefield causing havoc. The general abundance of Monsters in the book is also something to take advantage of. Most armies now want to have a couple of them to take advantage of their monstrous rampages, such as destroying faction terrain and stopping units receiving commands. The likes of War Hydras, Kharibdysses, and Flamespyre Phoenixes will be seen on many battlefields.
There are a number of Cities of Sigmar units with already formidable saves which will massively benefit from the All-out Defence command ability. Blocks of Ironbreakers or units of Demigryph Knights with a 2+ armour save will be incredibly tough, giving you great survivability.
Biggest Winners
The Cities of Sigmar are blessed with a number of units that benefit enormously from the changes to the game’s Core Rules. We’ll hand you over to Jack once more to discuss his top three unit choices from their roster in the new edition.
Shadow Warriors
Jack: Units that can start off the table are incredibly useful, as they can’t be killed before they do something, and your opponent has to plan for them being able to appear anywhere. Shadow Warriors can be Battleline units if you have an Assassin as your general, meaning you can take them in units of 30 with a double reinforcement. Deploy them in cover and unleash 30 shots hitting on 2+ and wounding on 3+ with Rend -1. When an opponent tries to charge them, you can spend a command point to shoot again with Unleash Hell before striking with up to 60 attacks in combat. Not bad at all.
Demigryph Knights
Jack: Multiple small units of powerful Demigryph Knights will give your opponents plenty to deal with. Use All-out Defence to increase their survivability and ensure they’ll be around to devastate the foe with their charging lances. Having a Freeguild General on Griffon nearby is also really helpful to bolster their charges and to hit rolls with his Rousing Battle Cry.
War Hydras
Jack: These Monsters are great all-rounders. They have a shooting attack, and with either All-out Attack or All-out Defence to bolster them in combat, they can either survive and heal, or they deal plenty of damage. The monstrous rampage abilities also provide really good utility. Two Hydras cost you fewer points than a single Monster for many other armies and give you threats for each flank that can’t be ignored.
Thanks, Jack. The Cities of Sigmar are blessed with two options when it comes to Start Collecting! sets – themed around the cities of Anvilgard and Greywater Fastness – so whether you’re looking to bolster your collection or start a new one, you’ve got two fantastic options.