The Ruinous Powers lurk beyond existence in the otherworldly hellscapes known collectively as the Realms of Chaos, always jostling for position in the Great Game, looking to conquer the eight realms arrayed before them once and for all.
Tzeentch has been one of the Great Gods of Chaos* since before the Age of Myth. He is the Architect of Fate, the god of change, ambition, and magic. Wherever wizards seek shortcuts to arcane dominance or covetous subordinates plot to usurp their leaders, Tzeentch whispers schemes in their ears and tantalises them with the promise of unchecked power and glorious evolution. This all comes at a cost, one of unpredictable and eternal upheaval… and perhaps a sickening mutation or two.
His devoted armies are the Disciples of Tzeentch, convocations of daemons and mortals who are just as warped as the Lord of Flux himself. When their god demands it, cackling shapeless daemons spill into reality to set everything aflame in the inferno of change, and mortal followers cast off arcane disguises to battle alongside tribes of avian mutants, conjuring pyroclastic displays of magic and ensuring that destiny follows a route ordained by Tzeentch.
Overview
Hope empowers Tzeentch. When revolutionaries rise up to overthrow tyrants or mages research eldritch secrets to defend their people, it is Tzeentch who answers with bargains and boons. Anyone who accepts is caught up in the Changer of the Ways’ insatiable desire for constant flux – no revolution should end, no scheme should have a final step, no wizard should be free from the mutative influence of raw magic.
In orchestrating countless plans, Tzeentch tugs on the threads of fate that control the cosmos, attempting to arrange destiny in his favour. Seemingly inconsequential decisions taken hundreds of years in the past may have massive ramifications in the future, and the Disciples of Tzeentch can find themselves baffled by the infinite, intricate schemes their master keeps weaving but will bring them to fruition without question.
First amongst his followers are the daemons, warped and mutated creatures woven from the very stuff of change itself. Powerful daemonic entities unleash blistering waves of wyrdflame, transforming mortals into gibbering Chaos spawn with a gesture. They are joined through rents in reality by a kaleidoscopic parade of cavorting Pink Horrors, fluttering Flamers of Tzeentch, and other ever-shifting creatures that defy comprehension and exist to see the world reduced into a spasming sea of endless mutation.
They are joined by flocks of avian mutants known as Tzaangor. The origins of these bestial creatures are unknown, but their many mutations and limited ability to see the future cause them to believe they are blessed by Tzeentch himself. Led by babbling Shamans, they are drawn to sources of arcane power and knowledge which they claim for their god, slaughtering foes with cruel blades and savage beaks.
Alongside them are the mortal Arcanites who – when not plotting in the shadows – grant themselves magically swollen physiques. What better way to dominate the well-drilled militaries of the realms than with sly sorceries? No matter their individual ambitions, the Disciples of Tzeentch are all unified in one goal: twisting the fate of the Mortal Realms to achieve change. With this, they ensure the ascendancy of their master, the Great Mutator.
Battle Traits
As worshippers of the Architect of Fate, the Disciples of Tzeentch can subtly shift probability in their own favour. They are led by Masters of Destiny who can manipulate reality to ensure the right outcomes in the direst circumstances. Destiny dice (you get nine, because that’s Tzeentch’s sacred number) allow you to replace your dice results, from casting rolls to save rolls, ensuring that your fragile sorcerers can survive incoming attacks and retaliate with suitable force.
By drawing on the Conflagration of Tzeentch, these potent wizards can also engulf enemies in Burning Wyrdflame – a profane, unnatural fire that twists and mutates its victims instead of simply reducing them to ash. Foes struck by certain infernal spells and shooting attacks gain the BURNING keyword – and at the end of each turn, they can suffer mortal damage. The kaleidoscopic fire will only naturally disperse on a D3 roll of 1, but Quenching the Flames is also possible for those with healing abilities.
Battle Formations
With near-limitless transformative power, the Disciples of Tzeentch can engage in battle in myriad ways that no mortal could hope to count. To keep it comprehensible in Warhammer Age of Sigmar, they have four Battle Formations in their Faction Pack. The Wyrdflame Host showers their foes in a Mutagenic Inferno, causing them to squirm and thrash as mutations erupt over their bodies, subtracting 1 from Wound rolls.
The scheming cultists of the Arcanite cabals meanwhile combine their sorcery to unravel enemy spells and counterattack with their own conjurations, while other convocations use their mastery of fate to slip through reality or call on screeching warflocks of Tzaangors.
Arcana and Incantations
Tzeentch is the god of magic, and his followers are obsessed with the arcane arts. As a result, their Faction Pack is one of the few to include two Spell Lores – though you may still only choose one.
Picking the mutative Lore of Change gives your wizards access to three new sorceries – including the Transformed to Spawn spell, which turns enemies into a gibbering, betentacled Chaos Spawn of Tzeentch
There is no summoning units from nothing in the new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, in order to reduce the need for extra miniatures beyond your initial army list. Instead, recycling destroyed units with powerful abilities is the order of the day. The Chaos Spawn of Tzeentch is designed specifically for this purpose as it is set up in reserves and unleashed straight into combat by the Transformed to Spawn spell.
Once your Chaos Spawn has been cut down by its former allies, you can instead use the same spell to revive a dead Chaos Spawn. Ordinarily, destroyed units can only be replaced once per battle – the Chaos Spawn of Tzeentch is an exception. It can come back as many times as you want, thanks to its Waves of Mutation ability.
Alternatively, selecting the Lore of Fate will let your casters scry the future, with spells that affect and are affected by your pool of destiny dice, tasking you with managing your potential re-rolls in new ways.
Unit Focus
Whether fighting as a swirling mass of shapeshifting daemons or as a host of avian mutants and cultists with magic muscles, the Disciples of Tzeentch wage an uncommon kind of warfare.
Few are as talented in understanding the machinations of the Changer of the Ways as Kairos Fateweaver, the two-headed lieutenant of Tzeentch. One head possesses perfect clarity of everything that has already transpired, while the other can see the future with unwavering precision. Though this has unmoored him from the here and now, the Oracle of Eternity can use his powers to bend the rules of the game when it comes to scoring battle tactics.
Kairos isn’t all about meta-manipulation, however. He remains a Beacon of Sorcery who buffs friendly casting and unbinding rolls within his arcane aura, while wielding his Mastery of Magic to change the outcome of his own spellcasting. With a simple Arcane Suggestion he can make enemies give up and lay down their weapons.
The nine Gaunt Summoners that preside over the Silver Towers are some of Tzeentch’s most potent servants, and they use the reality-warping power of the crystalline edifices they command to transport daemonic and mortal followers into battle.
Minions of the Silver Tower can deploy within these citadels, travelling space and time to join the battlefield when the Gaunt Summoner opens their Book of Profane Secrets. They can further enhance their abilities in inter-realm travel by casting Divert Realmgate, allowing them to disgorge units at a greater distance from themselves and closer to their enemies.
Should a mortal bargain with Tzeentch for forbidden knowledge, they may well end up as a Curseling. A homunculus-creature with pallid skin and prismatic pinons known as a Tretchlet will grow from their body, inhabiting them with the will of Tzeentch and guiding them with truths and lies.
This creature is a Disrupter of the Arcane, tampering with the magic of enemy spellcasters by stealing their arcane energy.
Tzeentch has an entire menagerie of daemons under his control, the most numerous of which are the prismatic Horrors which dance across the battlefield, warbling nonsense and shooting gouts of wyrdflame from their elongated digits. Pink Horrors are the largest and most dangerous of their kind, and when killed, their Lunatic Demise allows them to split and return slain models to nearby units of Blue Horrors – or you can decide you’d rather they explode and inflict mortal damage on the enemy.
These new Blue Horrors can only be added to existing units of Blue Horrors and Brimstone Horrors, which start out with 10 Blue Horrors and acquire Brimstone Horrors as casualties mount. These fiends themselves have a chance to turn into a Brimstone Horror when they die, bursting into a pair of flickering imps that swarm their foes in an attempt to immolate them.
The Word from the Studio
Sam: “One of the most exciting parts of the Disciples of Tzeentch army is the new Wyrdflame weapon ability. The new weapon ability system allows us to add custom rules that represent the unique weapons and lore-accurate powers of factions while keeping the pool of universal weapon abilities intact.
“Three of the Disciples of Tzeentch battle traits, Conflagration of Tzeentch, Burning Wyrdflame, and Quenching the Flames, all key into this weapon ability, and other abilities provide benefits to targeting units that are covered with Burning Warpflame, helping you keep the pressure up beyond your spell casting.
Along with their mastery of magic, movement shenanigans, and some out-of-the-box abilities, you’re always in for a unique play experience when battling with and against the servants of Tzeentch.”
Spearhead Spotlight
Even Spearhead is not safe from the dizzying machinations of the Great Conspirator. The Fluxblade Coven are still Masters of Destiny who can alter the outcome of pivotal moments – this key Battle Trait translates directly into Spearhead, allowing the Magister on Disc leading the army to ensure that his Flamers of Tzeentch find their mark while enemy blades swipe at thin air.
The Kairic Acolytes that follow their disc-riding warlord into battle spend much of their time conspiring in the shadows, and hurl sorcerous bolts at distant foes while pooling their powers together in acts of Gestalt Sorcerery that make these prismatic energy blasts even more dangerous.
After all of that strange sorcery and thinking up endless schemes within schemes, we’re feeling a wee bit hungry. Thankfully, it’s the gluttonous Ogor Mawtribes up next, providing us with a real feast of a faction focus.
* A pantheon of four, until the Great Horned Rat inveigled its way into the upper ranks of Chaos…