AoS: Expanding the Four Holiday Battleforce Boxes
Games Workshop cooked with the Age of Sigmar holiday Battleforce boxes this year, but you’ll want to pick up a few things to make them shine.
Welcome in, Generals of the Realms! Picture this: you’re sitting with your family celebrating your winter holiday of choice when someone passes a sizeable rectangular box your way. You tear off the wrapping and there it is: the Battlebox to start off your new Age of Sigmar army! You play a few quick games to get a handle on the units, and then you’re ready for a whole army. The only problem is you’re not sure what pieces to buy next. Well, worry not, fellow warrior! We’ve put together a quick guide for your next purchases, to make sure you get the most out of your lists!
Shudderblight Cyst – Maggotkin of Nurgle
The Shudderblight Cyst is a phenomenal start to a Maggotkin of Nurgle army, giving you many of the essentials. You’ve got the Blightlords as “fast” heavy hitters, the Blightkings to hold the line, a Rotmire Creed unit for skirmishing and speed, and a Harbinger of Decay to lead them. From here, you only need to decide where you want to go with the army.
For me, you can never go wrong with a Great Unclean One. They provide you with a massive damage soak, a heavy hitter, and a spellcasting leader all at once. Since you can build one of the Blightlords as a Lord of Afflictions, you’ll have plenty of options for the general of your army. Even better, you’ll have something to eat your opponent’s shooting while your ponderous army makes its way across the field.
Wrekkamob – Ironjawz
My personal favorite of the battleforces, this Ironjaws box is an absolute unit. You get some ‘Ardboyz, Brute Ragerz/Weirdbrute Wreckaz, and a Mawgrunta, which can be built three different ways. This is a super solid start to an Ironjawz army, and it’s the sort of boxset I’ve always wanted for them.
While you might think the obvious choice for next steps would be the Angry Cabbage, I’d suggest investing in some Gore-gruntaz. These boar-riders can pack a mean wallop, and can keep up with the Mawgrunta to tear apart your enemy. You could also invest in a Megaboss to keep your ‘Ardboyz in line.
Charnelgrand Jury – Flesh-eater Courts
It’s unfortunate what happened to the Flesh-eater Courts in the newest edition. They had a super powerful codex with gorgeous new models at the end of the last one. Once the faction packs came out, however, my favorite cannibals found themselves wanting. Thankfully, this battleforce includes some of the heavy hitters. You get 6 Crypt Horrors/Crypt Flayers, a massive unit of Cryptguard, 6 Morbheg Knights, and the right honorable Grand Justice Gormayne. While the army isn’t in the best place, you still get cool models. That counts for something.
You’ll definitely want to grab an Abhorrent Gorewarden to lead your army (it’s one of the best models for the army) and make sure your knights are as strong as they can be. A Terrorgheist wouldn’t be bad, either, but you’ll want to ensure your heroes are fortified first. Death armies are nothing without their heroes.
Founding Foray – Cities of Sigmar
If there’s one thing the Cities of Sigmar love, it’s black powder. You’ll find no shortage of that in this box and have plenty to share with your enemies! You get a Freeguild Marshal with Relic Envoy, a Fusil-Major on Ogor Warhulk, an Ironweld Great Cannon, a Command Corps squad, 5 Cavaliers, and 10 Fusiliers. That’s plenty to unleash the fury of Anvilgard on your enemy, and however you want to play, you’ll have pieces to do it.
Since most of the box is shooting, you’ll want a bit of a melee punch to hold the enemy still for a bit. Freeguild Steelhelms are perfect for that, and give you a solid base to build the army off. After that, the world is your explosive oyster. There are many heroes, units, and cities to try out, and they can all include these pieces.
