The Disciples of Tzeentch are renowned for their far-reaching plans, so surely they’ve already accounted for the updated rules in the new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, right? Well, in today’s article, that’s exactly what we're about to find out with the help of one of our elite playtesters, so get ready for some Machiavellian schemes and strategies to be laid out before you.
Over the past week or so, we’ve been taking a look at how the new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar affects every faction, and we’ll be adding new articles every day. Whether you’re a new player looking to take the plunge into the Mortal Realms and learn more about each army or you're a hardened veteran wanting to get ahead with the faction of your choice, you’re in the right place.
Before we hand you over to our guest expert, we’ll give a brief overview of the faction’s lore.
Who Are the Disciples of Tzeentch?
Tzeentch is the Chaos God of magic, mutation, trickery and scheming, and his servants – be they mortal or daemonic – all share elements of these traits. To face them in battle is to be at their mercy, for the Disciples of Tzeentch plan for every eventuality, leaving nothing to the whims of fate.
The mortal followers of Tzeentch comprise Kairic Acolyte cultists and the blessed mutants known as Tzaangors – the most favoured of whom are gifted daemonic steeds by their infernal master in the form of floating discs, enabling them to speed across the skies. Tzeentch’s daemonic servants, meanwhile, are magic given form. Tides of Pink, Blue, and Brimstone Horrors cavort across the battlefield, spitting forth multispectral beams of mutagenic sorcery, while shoals of Screamers swoop overhead to devour their prey in a feeding frenzy.
The Disciples of Tzeentch are all but unrivalled in their spell-casting might, but that’s far from the only trick up their sleeves. To help us realise their most effective methods in the new edition, we’ll hand you over to Mike Wilson, who’s played them in more than 150 tournament games – so it’s fair to say he knows their capabilities intimately.
Mike: Competitive play in the new edition will be shaken up by the new core battalions that any army can use. The fact that warscroll battalions can’t be taken in the matched play battle packs in the Core Book and General’s Handbook will affect Disciples of Tzeentch, as they lose one of the most ubiquitous parts of their tournament armies – the infamous Changehost. This is great news, as it will encourage many more varied lists to be taken.
The followers of Tzeentch will still be highly focused on magic (though beware of miscasts in this new edition) and shooting, so you’ll want to keep the opponent at a distance to maintain your biggest advantages.
With the general reduction in unit sizes, Pink Horrors become a fantastic choice in the new edition. Their ability to split into Blue and then Brimstone Horrors allows them to control an objective for longer, and against smaller units.
Command abilities are now limited to only one use per ability, per phase, so the Disciples’ Destiny Dice are now even more powerful. They allow you to mitigate multiple battleshock tests in a turn and guarantee you can get good results for run and charge rolls. This allows you to save your command points to Unleash Hell when your opponent gets too close or to Redeploy and maximise the number of Horrors you have on an objective.
Biggest Winners
As you might well imagine, each faction has a handful of units that will benefit most from the key rules changes in the new edition. With that in mind, here are Mike’s top three picks for the Disciples of Tzeentch moving forwards.
Fatemaster
Mike: A Fatemaster may seem a little less durable with the save modifier from the Hovering Disc ability now capped at +1, but their re-rolls are more invaluable than ever, coupled with the +1 to hit from All-out Attack. A Fatemaster’s command ability, Lord of Fate, is a good addition to pretty much any Tzeentch army. Fancy some Tzaangors hitting on a 3+ with a re-roll? Of course you do. Between a Fatemaster and the new command abilities, all of your units are a bigger threat than ever before.
Burning Chariot
Mike: Burning Chariots offered some serious firepower in previous editions. Now, the potential to use a unit of three and take advantage of the Unleash Hell command ability to stand and shoot can cause a serious problem for your opponents. Being able to kick out 18 shots of billowing warpflame at a charging enemy increases their defensiveness, so they’re less of a glass cannon. They also count as two models each on objectives, meaning they can defend your backfield or disrupt the enemy with a critical charge – beautifully versatile.
Kairos Fateweaver
Mike: A fantastic Wizard, no slouch in combat, and a Monster – drop Kairos Fateweaver into whatever army structure you like and he’ll be a hard-to-kill centre for all your magical powers. With the ability to know all warscroll spells of friendly Wizards around him, he can have an unparalleled selection of magic missiles and buff spells. Bravery 10 means that he’s easy to heal with the new Heroic Recovery action. Pair this with the healing and mortal wounds from an Ogroid Thaumaturge’s Choking Tendrils spell to make Kairos Kairos an aggressive counter to well-armoured enemy units.
Thanks for your thoughts, Mike. Remember that, whether you’re looking to start a new Disciples of Tzeentch collection, or bolster an existing one with reinforcements, the Start Collecting! Daemons of Tzeentch set will see you right. Alternatively, Atra’zan’s Blazing Cavalcade is a great option if you’re after more Horrors to take advantage of Mike’s guidance on holding objectives.