Age of Sigmar: Thoughts on the Weekend Reveals
The big Warhammer reveal was this weekend, and it came with some really awesome stuff that you should be excited about.
Last Saturday, we were treated to the Warhammer Preview, and it treated us to a treasure trove of awesome upcoming releases for the next few months. Here’s my thoughts on what we saw (and what we didn’t) for Age of Sigmar, and what I”m looking forward to the most. Note: while we saw a ton of things for the AoS adjacent standalones, Warcry and Underworlds, if I talked about it all we’d be here all day. However, look for a review of the side game goodies later in the week.
Age of Sigmar has been treated to some incredible battleboxes over the years, bring new and powerful heroes into the Realms as they fight a deadly foe for dominance, and this year will be no different with the release of Shadow & Pain. Pitting an invading army of Hedonites against a force of Aelven monstrosities, this box looks to have all the excitement we’ve come to expect from the clash boxes over the years. Leading the Slaanesh force is a Lord of Pain, a Chaos Lord well trained in the fine art of dishing out exquisite agony and wielding a wicked mace. From what the preview says, it looks like he’ll be able to reflect damage back on his opponents, meaning he has the potential to rack up a massive haul of Depravity Points for your army.
Opposite him is a Melusai Ironscale, a half-snake alpha creature wielding a wicked looking stave. We can’t be sure whether she’s a wizard, warrior, or priest, but I think we can say that she’s going to bring a whole lot of hurt to anything you point her at. Aside from the heroes, the box contains a small force for both factions, fully playable out of the box with the included scenarios or useful reinforcements for your existing armies. As an avid player of both the Daughters of Khaine and Hedonites of Slaanesh, this is definitely a box I’ll be investing in, and I can’t wait to see what the new heroes bring to my games.
However, the box is only the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come, as GW showed us the beginning of the next chapter of the Age of Sigmar story. In the wake of the Soul Wars, and with the forces of Death expanding outwards under the command of Katakros, the Realms are once again quaking with the echoes of war. Morathi, Teclis, and Alarielle, along with their as yet model-less fellow gods, are beginning to strike out on their own, and not even their former allies will be spared their wrath. Broken Realms: Morathi will be the first in a series of supplements pushing the game forward. It will provide insight into the ever-changing events of the Warhammer World, as well as new rules and options for your army on the tabletop. Considering all of this hype around Morathi, and the release of a gaggle of new Daughters of Khaine models, I imagine it’s only a matter of time before we see a much-desired update and new rulebook for the DoK, as well as the Idoneth and (fingers still crossed) Malerion’s Shadow Aelves.
Unfortunately, not every army was a winner this go round, and we still have no new information on the state of the Sons of Behemat faction. We know we’re getting the three giant gargants, but will that be all? Will they be Imperial Knights, or monsters like we already have? Will they usher in a new style of gaming? Will the next meta be Order Soup? We’ll just have to wait and see I suppose.
What was your favorite bit from the big reveal?
