Age of Sigmar: Belthanos Will Sound The War-horn To Victory
With a unique damage table and potent abilities Belthanos is a nice boost for Sylvaneth Armies in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.
The Sylvaneth are getting a new character riding a big beetle and this aspect of the Kurnoth is bringing the pain! Today we’re getting a look at Belthanos, First Thorn of Kurnoth and what makes this character unique.
Download Belthanos, First Thorn of Kurnoth’s Warscroll Here
Belthanos, First Thorn of Kurnoth Rules
Belthanos is a tough character with 14 wounds and a 3+ save. He’s got a built in 12″ move and has Fly as well — makes sense because he’s on a cool beetle called a Carnelian Greatspite. He’s also got a built in 5+ ward thanks to his Mantle of Leaves. But check out the weapon stats and damage table:
His Kurnoth Glaive is no joke. It starts with a 2+ to hit and degrades down to a 4+, but it’s 4 attacks that each have some serious -3 Rend and 3 damage. His mount is also unique in that it’s number of attacks match the damage. It starts at 4 attacks that each do 4 damage and drops down to 2 attacks for 2 damage. Still, it’s a solid 4+/3+ with -2 Rend! And while we’re looking at the damage table let’s talk about the Kurnothi War-horn which is a fantastic ability:
Friendly Sylvaneth units wholly within range can run and charge. That’s a 36″ bubble (which is actually slightly bigger because of his base) of run and charge! Belthanous is a great pairing with Kurnoth hunters or really any other Sylvaneth units that want to get in close and mess things up.
If all that wasn’t good enough for you Belthanos also has some nice army utility with Nature Aetheric. Basically, it can make a terrain feature overgrown (which is already handy for the Sylvaneth). Additionally, you can apply a Mysterious Terrain feature to a scenery piece — this can overwrite a harmful one with a helpful option you want. That’s just good all around.
His final ability is The Unending Hunt which is a command ability. You can target a friendly Sylvaneth unit and that unit can now retreat and charge in the same turn. Again, just handy to have! You get that entire package for 360 points a well.
There’s also the option to play Belthanos as part of the Evergreen Hunt which is an Army of Renown:
“As the envoy of Kurnoth, Belthanos leads The Evergreen Hunt, an Army of Renown constructed from Arch-Revenants, Kurnoth Hunters, Revenant Seekers, and Spiterider Lancers.
The whole army is captive to the Harmonies of the Hunt that resonate with the primordial melodies within them. At the onset of each battle, they pick an enemy unit to be their quarry, and by chasing down and killing their prey they add new chords to the growing harmony.”
They have an interesting “chord” mechanic that applies a bonus to the entire army as the game goes on:
When you start stacking up chords the effects really add-up. Again, those are cumulative as well. You’ll end up with +1 to run/charge, hit and wound, and attacks if you can get to 3. That doesn’t seem too hard if you bring Belthanos and attempt to get to your quarry unit.
Also, just like all the other Armies of Renown, the Evergreen Hunt will also have their own command trait, artefact of power, grand strategy, and three more battle tactics to use. Basically all the things you’ve come to expect with an Army of Renown.
Your first crack at this mini will be in the upcoming boxed set — time to sound the War-horn!
What do you think of Belthanos?
