Age of Sigmar: The Anvil of Apotheosis Returns!
Thondia lets you revisit the old Hero forging engine, so I thought I’d give the Anvil of Apotheosis another go!
The Season of War: Thondia book is up for preorder, and it’s definitely a book you’ll want to add to your collection. Alongside the rules for the gorgeous Krondspine Incarnate and a few new additions to Matched Play, we’re getting back the Anvil of Apotheosis. This treasure for Narrative and casual Matched players was first introduced in General’s Handbook 2020.
It’s back!
It allowed players to return to the bygone era of custom heroes in Warhammer Fantasy. We looked into the characters you could build before, but the new variant offers more Ghurish heroes, so I figured I’d give it another go. What better Hero to lead an army of Ghur than a Beast of Chaos Doombul? With that in mind, here’s a walkthrough of how I built Asterius, Doombull of Tzeentch and leader of the Frozen Flame Warherd.
Point Limit and Ancestry
Asterius has devoted himself to Tzeentch, and he’s a bit smaller than a standard Doombull. However, he traded strength and size for sorcery and intellect. I decided on the Champion level to represent him, giving me 20 Destiny points. Where my last character Lyrian was a lowly Aelf, Asterius is a Doombull, so I had to spend 8 points to start things off. That gives him a starting profile with 8 wounds, 7″ Movement, 7 Bravery, and a 5+ save. Since Bullgors are pretty bog-standard, I don’t need to select any keywords for Asterius, so I move on to weapons.
Weaponry and Archetype
Next up, we need to arm our Murder Cow. As before, you have a few options when it comes to weapons. I want Asterius to carry a custom halberd and shield, but that option doesn’t exist. Instead, I go with the Great Axe weapon to represent his massive blade, and I’ll add the shield on using tricks later. Moving on, we select our Hero’s Archetype. As a servant of Tzeentch, Asterius has some skill with the mystic arts, so I choose Mage. Of the four spells available to me, Curse of Damnation is the closest to his style of magic, so that’s my pick. I’ll, of course, flavor the name with a more Tzeenth flare, but the effect will be the same. Having a spellcaster with that much combat prowess will be fun, so let’s add our finishing touches.
Bestial Companion
Your Hero can select a companion, a standard mount, or a Monster, as with the last iteration. Unfortunately, Bullgors are not allowed to mount up (they’re far too hefty), and I don’t want to spend my remaining points on a pet, so we’ll skip this for now. However, if you really want to go hard on the Ghurish archetype, there are plenty of excellent options for adding critters to your Hero.
Alas, only in his dreams…
Enhancements
Finally, we can put the final details on Asterius. Starting the bidding, we need to represent his shield, so I spend 2 points on the Extra Armor enhancement, raising his armor to 4+. Asterius has a masterwork weapon, so I need to add more power to his “great axe”. I spend 4 more points to purchase the Sharpened Edge and Weapon Master enhancements, increasing the Hit and Rend of Asterius’s massive weapon. Finally, I want to represent my Bullgor’s bestial rage, so I spend my last 4 points to take the Zealot trait, allowing him to run and charge. If Asterius wants to be in combat, he will be.
With that, we have Asterius, ready to lead the charge of the Frozen Flame Warherd! All that’s left is to make a warscroll, then stretch your creative muscles with a suitable conversion. With the new Anvil of Apotheosis, the possibilities are endless.
The Miniature Unveil…
Here he is in all his newly rolled up glory! He’ll see you on the tabletop!
What sort of Hero will you create?
