Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been taking a look at all of the factions in Warhammer Age of Sigmar and seeing who’s coming out on top with the new edition’s changes. Now that we’ve seen what the individual armies stand to gain, we’ve brought back some of our playtesters to shine a light on the five unit types that are quite possibly the biggest winners of the lot.
1. Monsters
Every unit with the Monster keyword has seen a major improvement in the new edition thanks to the addition of monstrous rampages. Having delved deep into a Monster-heavy faction like the Ogor Mawtribes, Paul Buckler had plenty of praise to heap on the factions that get the most out of these new rules.
Paul: As I discussed in their faction focus, Ogor Mawtribes are well placed to take advantage of the new monstrous rampage rules. Key units like a Frostlord on Stonehorn can smash into an enemy unit and Roar at them, preventing them from using All-out Defence to mitigate the damage. Does your opponent have a faction scenery piece that’s causing you problems? Send in a mighty Huskard on Thundertusk – that Bone Tithe Nexus won’t be so troublesome after being smashed to rubble.
2. Fast Units with Champions
A major change to regular units in the new edition sees champions able to give their own units commands, allowing units to fight at peak performance even when away from their leaders. With superfast troops that can zoom around the battlefield, Michael Willson is convinced the Hedonites of Slaanesh will see particular use from this ability after getting in-depth with the faction.
Michael: Hedonites of Slaanesh have a number of units who make superb flanking forces or can attack at range while holding distant objectives. Fiends are great at harassing small units and Heroes, and in units of six, they can even threaten some of the bigger Monsters in the game while their innate debuffs disrupt your opponent’s forces. Their Blissbringer gives them access to the Redeploy command ability, which can be used effectively to sneak into the enemy backfield to pick on weaker units and support Heroes.
Blissbarb Seekers can easily snipe heavily armoured support heroes from range and generally cause a nuisance. With 4 Wounds each, they’re surprisingly resilient too. As long as the High Tempter is alive, they can use Inspiring Presence to bolster their Bravery, and Unleash Hell or All-out Attack to ensure they do the damage where and when it’s needed.
3. Sub-commanders
Some of the new core battalions require you to recruit sub-commanders to lead troops into battle. With their large roster of powerful Heroes, the Stormcast Eternals have good options for this role, as Chuck Moore found out when he got into the nitty-gritty of Sigmar’s immortal champions.
Chuck: Stormcast Eternals have some very strong Heroes that easily fill the sub-commander section of the new core battalions. In fact, there are so many choices that it can be hard to pick just who to bring to the battlefield. You can field a Lord-Arcanum to help get the most of any endless spell – their command ability grants an extra D6" of movement to a friendly endless spell within 12". Alternatively, you might wish to use your Lord-Relictor with his ability to heal friendly models or to damage a nearby unit and give them -1 to their hit rolls until your next hero phase.
One last Hero to consider, out of the many available, is the Knight-Incantor. Magic has become much more powerful in the realms as of late, and their Voidstorm Scroll ability can easily dispel one of your opponent's crucial spells. This is just a taster of what’s available – no matter who leads your Stormhost into battle, you can always find a good use for their abilities in the new edition.
4. Wizards
As Chuck just mentioned, Wizards in particular have a lot more on their hands now that endless spells have become even more deadly. Playtester and Wizard fan Tom Mawdsley is keen to explore different tactical approaches for spellcasters in the new edition.
Tom: Wizards have multiple roles in the new edition. You’ve got your big-name Wizards like Nagash, Teclis and Lord Kroak, who are powerful as ever, and your sub-commander level Wizards have an important role to play too. They can deal small (or sometimes large) amounts of damage or hand out much-needed buffs to units. One of the new roles that Wizards have in controlling your predatory endless spells, since only one predatory spell can be controlled by the summoning Wizard in each hero phase! This is where the Lumineth Realm-lords can shine, as not only are many of their Heroes spellcasters, but also a fair few of their units.
Units like Vanari Auralan Wardens and Vanari Dawnriders – who have access to just the basic Power of Hysh spell – can put their powers to good use keeping your endless spells from running riot while your other Wizards focus on harnessing the elements to bring victory over their unfortunate foes.
5. Priests
Once envious of their more powerful arcane comrades, Priests have received a major upgrade in the new edition thanks to new universal prayers. Jack Armstrong took a look at the Seraphon in the new edition and reckons that the humble Skink Starpriest will thrive under the new core rules.
Jack: Of all the Priest models that are seeing a renaissance in the new edition, Skink Starpriests are ones to watch out for. Historically, they’ve been used to buff large units of Skinks or Stegadons with their ability to give +1 to hit, +1 to save rolls, or the ability to run and charge. Unlike other Priests, they don’t have an innate prayer on their warscroll, so their newly granted ability to dispel endless spells and chant the Core Book prayers is an incredible boost. Your large units of Skinks and Saurus can now benefit from a 6+ ward save, or the priest can smite your foes from afar. They’re also a cheap way to take advantage of the new command abilities and to fit sub-commanders into the core battalions.
These are just a few examples of units that have gained extra tactical options in the new edition, and we can’t wait to see which other units and Heroes come to the fore as the new era of war in Warhammer Age of Sigmar commences this weekend.
Let us know on Facebook which members of your army are about to get major buffs, and don’t forget to order your copy of Dominion while stocks last to get two full armies and a unique full-art version of the new rulebook.
