Unboxing: Thunder & Blood: An AoS Starter Set
Age of Sigmar has new style starter set. Come take a look inside Thunder & Blood!
Our friends at Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy brought over a copy of the new Age of Sigmar Starter Set Thunder & Blood:
If already had a copy of the Age of Sigmar Starter Set from when the game first launched then this one shouldn’t be a major surprise for you. But this box does have a few things that we did like that make getting into the game even easier than before.
Thunder and Blood comes with two starter forces – Stormcast Eternals and Khorne Bloodbound. It also contains dice, a battlemat, a new clear ruler, and the box converts over to a building that you can use to play on top of – hey, we all have to start somewhere! And if you’re wondering why those plastic models look different – it’s not because of the paint jobs. The plastics in this new starter are all dyed plastic; Gold for the Stormcast and Red for the Bloodbound.
The Stormcast Eternals
Khorne Bloodbound
In case you were wondering, these are the same models from the previous kit – they are just dyed plastic. They also haven’t lost any quality as far as we could tell. It’s the same hard plastic quality which is a really good sign. For a lot of newer players the painting part of the hobby can be pretty intimidating. Now, with these plastics, your models are basically based coated. I’m sure there are purists out there that would still like to prime them and paint them – and you still can. But now the army won’t be a sea of grey plastic. For new players, everything is color coded so they can at least tell who’s-who!
While I do miss the whippy-sticks, it’s not because I used them for measuring. No, those were used for sword fighting to determine rules disputes for me. Many a whippy-stick was lost in brave battle… but seriously, the plastic ruler is much better. It’s clear and bendy so you won’t break it and you can hold it over models and still see them for better accuracy. Why haven’t we done this sooner?!
The Battle mats is also double sided. It’s basically a folded up poster but the quality isn’t bad! Again, if you’re new is a nice touch because you can at least see what the game is supposed to look like. It’s much more visually appealing than playing on a wooden table. And when you toss the “building” on it, it’s a much better setup than I had when I first started…kids these days.
Again, if you already have an army this one probably isn’t for you (unless you want to add to it on the cheap). However, if you’re looking for a way to get new players in the game with two reasonably sized starter armies then the new Thunder & Blood Starter Set is perfect for doing just that.
Thunder & Blood: A Warhammer Age Of Sigmar Starter Set $80
It is a time of madness and horror. The Mortal Realms writhe in the grip of the Chaos Gods, whose murderous champions fight furiously to extinguish the last lights of hope. But above, the heavens roar and the sky itself is rent by searing bolts – the Stormcast Eternals, glorious warriors of celestial light, have arrived to turn back the tide of Khorne’s murderous Bloodbound. The war has begun in earnest.
Thunder and Blood is the perfect starter set , containing everything you need to start playing games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar. It contains 44 Easy To Build miniatures from both the Khorne Bloodbound and Stormcast Eternals armies, supplied in red and gold plastic – these are a great introduction to the wider world of Citadel miniatures as a whole. Included:
– 2 units of 5 Liberators each armed with Warhammers and Sigmarite Shields, including a Liberator-Prime;
– 3 Prosecutors armed with Celestial Hammers, including a Prosecutor-Prime;
– 3 Retributors armed with Lightning Hammers, including a Retributor-Prime;
– 1 Lord Relictor armed with Relic Hammer;
– 2 units of 10 Bloodreavers each armed with Reaver Blades, including a Chieftain and Icon Bearer;
– 5 Blood Warriors armed with Goreaxes and Gorefists, including a Chaos Champion;
– 1 Khorgorath;
– 1 Bloodstoker armed with Torture Blade and Blood Whip.Of course, you’ll need rules and guidance in order to play games with your new miniatures – included is a 96-page softback book, packed with background and essential information on painting and playing:
– An easy to follow guide to setting up and playing games of Warhammer Age Of Sigmar, including the basic rules of movement, spellcasting and attacking, with notes and annotations explaining exactly how each phase works;
– 4 Battleplans – these are scenarios that feature the included miniatures, with special instructions for setting them up, each re-creating a specific battle from the rich history of the struggle to dominate the Mortal Realms – these increase in scale from the initial few miniatures to finally fielding every one of the 44 included, easing you into larger and larger battles;
– 8 Warscrolls – these contain the rules for individual miniatures, explaining how far they move, how strong their attacks are and any special abilities they may have;
– Overview and background of the Age of Sigmar, with guides to the Mortal Realms and a history of the battles between Chaos and Order that are tearing them apart;
– Simple, easy to follow guides (4 steps each!) to painting a Stormcast Eternals Liberator and a Khorne Bloodbound Blood Warrior;
– Uniform guides to 6 Stormcast Eternals and 6 Khorne Bloodbound factions – these are designed to be inspirational rather than necessarily followed to the letter, making your collection unique;
– Guides to and explanations of the various types of Citadel brushes – what they’re used for, and how to take care of them;
– Guides to the various techniques used to paint miniatures – undercoating, basecoating, shading, drybrushing, layering and glazing are covered, with explanations of each technique and practical examples showing you their effects on; – Methods for creating evocative bases for your miniatures to stand on;
– An explanation of Technical paints, and their use in creating special effects like blood and rust;It also contains a double-sided gaming mat, representing different areas of the Mortal Realms, 6 dice, a measuring stick, a rules reference card and a Stormcast Eternals transfer sheet: even the internal box tray doubles up as a scenery piece!
Thunder & Blood – Let’s get this party started!
