Age of Sigmar: Salute the Sun! Subfaction Predictions for Dawnbringer Crusade
To spread Sigmar’s light, you need the best candles.
The forces of Order are seeing a period of victory for the first time in a while, and after a long series of defeats, it seems only fair. Feeling a bit more confident, followers of Sigmar and the other Order gods are striking out into the wider Realms, joined by forces from the Stormcast and Cities of Sigmar as they look to establish new footholds. These Dawnbringer Crusades are the first step in Sigmar spreading Order further into the Realms and reuniting with some of his lost followers. They will likely attract all manner of new and interesting warriors, hunters, and scouts eager to show their mettle and test themselves against the dangers of the Age of Beasts. Here are three subfactions I think will show up in the new Dawnbringer Crusade books and some of the evidence we’ve already seen.
Kurnothi
Making their first appearance in Warhammer Underworlds, the Kurnothi is one of the other attempts to create new races from the Aelven souls recovered from Slaanesh. These are the wild hunters and guardians of nature, possibly created by the as-of-yet unmentioned god Kurnous, the counterpart to the Everqueen. An inclusion of Kurnothi would give us a new and exciting style of skirmish warrior (the wild centaur, in particular, is incredible) and present the opportunity to return Orion to the battlefield, something old-school Wood Elf fans have been clambering for for a while. Plus, in the Realm of Ghur, there’s no one better to have on your side than fae avatars of the hunt.
Witch Hunters
Committed to snuffing out dark sorcery wherever it appears, the Witch Hunters would be a perfect addition to the Dawnbringer Crusades that trek into Shyish or Ulgu, where such magic is at its peak. In addition to the ven Denst fighters pictured above, we have the hunters included in Cursed City to hunter Radukar. Including a force specifically designed to face off against necromancers or dark magic would fit perfectly into the current climate of the Realms, with Morathi still a bit of a questionable entity, Nagash still the same threat as ever, and the added issue of Be’Lakor’s spell over Chamon. Plus, it would be a fantastic way to reintroduce Battle Priests and the like back into the game.
Wood Aelves
While potentially covered by both the Wanderers keyword in the Cities of Sigmar book and the Kurnothi above, the original Wood Elves deserve a real shot at returning to the tabletop. Glade Guard, Glade Riders, and Waywatchers specifically would make excellent additions to a scouting force of Order, and would allow for an expansion of the existing ambush tactics of Living City. An army of expert archers with access to multiple types of special ammunition would be incredible to see, and having expert hunters to instruct and assist the Witch Hunters and other exploratory forces would make for awesome list building.
