AoS: Hero Focus – Slann Starmaster
Slann Starmasters are some of the most powerful casters in the game–but just how should you use one of these nigh-omniscient froggos? Let’s find out.
Behind every great Seraphon army (or at least MOST great Seraphon armies) is a semi-omnipotent Frogman pulling the strings. The Slann Starmasters are some of the nastiest spellcasters in the game, and they make amazing force multipliers for a Seraphon army. Here are my thoughts on the Starmasters, and how best to utilize them in the game.
As expected from a chubby frog floating like Palpatine on an ancient stone chair, the Starmasters are not very fast, with only a 5” Fly move. Their other circle stats are fairly standard, with 7 wounds, a 4+ save, and Bravery 9. Honestly though, for what you want this froggy to do, he doesn’t need to be all that fast or really all that durable. He has some snazzy abilities as well, like the passive ability to roll 2 d6s at the start of your hero phase and give you an extra command point on a 4+ (useful for pulling off all the snazzy command abilities your army has) and his personal command ability Gift from the Heavens, which lets one Seraphon unit within 18” move as though it can fly and add 1 to save rolls against missile weapons.
Throw that on a unit of Saurus Knights or a Stegadon and you’ll have a massive scaly missile aimed directly where your opponent doesn’t want it that they will have a much harder time taking down. They also aren’t entirely defenseless in combat, with 6 3” attacks that hit on a 4+, wound on a 3+, and deal 1 damage with -1 Rend. This is useful, because you’ll want to keep your spellfrog safely behind a line of Saurus Guard, who can keep him out of combat and absorb any stray hits that make it his way while he attacks with impunity from behind them. However, the real reason you bring this guy is his earth-shattering magical skill.
Right out of the gate this guy is built to sling magic, since he can add 1 to every casting, unbinding, and dispelling roll he makes, as well as being able to unbind and dispel magic with unlimited range. He can also cast 3 spells a turn, and his signature, Comet’s Call, can completely devastate an opposing line. Casting on a 7, it allows you to pick d3 (or d6 if the casting roll was 10+) units ANYWHERE to suffer d3 mortal wounds, rolling separately for each one.
If you’ve bloodied several units with tactical Saurus or Kroxigor charges, one batch of this spell could clean them all up nicely if you roll well enough. And with his other spells, he has the Arcane Vassal ability, which allows him to channel his spells through a Skink Wizard within 12” or a Skink Oracle anywhere on the battlefield, meaning he can throw an Arcane Bolt into the enemy’s backline from the safety of the opposite corner. My suggestion is to take Mystical Unforging as his additional spell, which casts on a 7 and deals d3 mortal wounds to a hero carrying an Artefact of Power, and then on a 5+ destroys that Artefact. Just waltz your Oracle right up to the offending hero and watch your opponents plans unravel as his scary magical weapon falls apart.
