Age of Sigmar: The Game’s Top 5 Monster Riders
Monsters are awesome, but the true mark of a hero is being able to tame and ride one into battle. Here’s AoS’s best of the best.
Greetings, Generals of the Realms! Continuing our series of incredible pieces to base your army around (and responding to your accurate comments on the Monster article), we have Monster Riders. As cool as it is to have a titanic warlord thundering across the battlefield, it’s also pretty cool to have a deadly swordsman or mage on the back of said warlord. In the Realms, the monsters are deadly, fast, and strong, so it takes a special kind of warrior to bring them to heel. Here are five of the coolest heroes who managed to befriend, enslave, or simply tame one of these savage beasts.
Alarielle
Starting off strong, we have the queen of life herself and the mother of the Sylvaneth, Alarielle. This tree lady rides into battle on the back of a giant Wardroth Beetle, which can run over your opponents or just give her some extra defense. Alarielle herself is a powerful caster and combatant, able to instill life in her followers or spell the doom of her enemies. When you see this tree coming, you’ll definitely want to leaf.
Archaon
The Everchosen of Chaos, the Three-eyed Raven; Archaon goes by many titles. But what everyone knows him as is the undisputed master of Chaos. With the blessings of all four Chaos Gods, the Kingslayer in hand, and his loyal mount Dorghar, he has laid waste to the Realms since their founding. In fact, it was Archaon himself who broke the World-that-was in the first place. His model remains one of the coolest in the entire GW range, and he makes a great general for your Slaves to Darkness.
Ionus
One of the newest monster riders on the scene, Ionus is an imposing figure nonetheless. Wearing the grim death mask of his order and wielding the deadly Soulbreaker mace, he makes an excellent alternative for a Knight-Draconis. You can either field him at the head of a dragon rider force or a standard Stormcast army. However, he looks best when leading an aerial charge.
Thanquol
One of my favorite characters from the lore, Thanquol is another survivor of the Old World fighting for Chaos. However, unlike Archaon, who has taken a very public role in the Chaos faction, Thanquol hides in the Under-Empire with the rest of his Skaven kin. He is a master strategist nonetheless, and he is accompanied into battle by his giant bodyguard Boneripper. Boneripper can either be equipped with smoking Warpstone Censors, Warpflame Projectors, or a mix of the two. However he’s equipped, Thanquol utilizes him to great effect, hurling deadly spells from his back while he decimates the hated surface things.
Tahlia Vedra
One of the primary leaders of the newly re-minted Cities of Sigmar, Tahlia is a powerful figure. Chaos fans will recognize a Manticore when they see one, but Tahlia’s is unique. It looks more leonine and noble, not the chaotic beasts the Chaos Lords ride (though I still love them). This is easily one of the coolest models the Cities get, and considering how awesome their release box was, that’s saying something. There’s no foray into the wilds that won’t succeed with this Lioness at the helm.
Who’s your favorite?
