AoS: Battle of Kings – Best Special Characters From Every Grand Alliance
We’re here for round three of the Grand Alliance Throwdown! Today’s battle: four heroes that won’t drop the ball this New Year.
Welcome in, Generals of the Realms! We’re back again with another Grand Alliance battle royale. If you’ve been playing AoS for a while, you know your army is only as good as its leader. From Akhelian Kings to Skaven Clawlords, every Grand Alliance has a host of powerful leaders to guide your army. However, some heroes are so epic that their deeds transcend the basic rules. These elite warriors get their own unique rules and are worth including to play iconic forces from the Realms.
While each faction has no shortage of such heroes, some stand above the rest. As always, we won’t repeat previous entries (otherwise, Archaon would win almost every category), so if you don’t see your favorite leader, check the earlier posts.
Order: Morathi
As evidenced by several previous points, I’m a massive fan of the Dark Elves and the “Umbraneth.” While I’m still pining for a Malerion release (don’t let me down, 2025), the Daughters of Khaine army is a decent holdover. At the head of the army is Morathi, the Shadow Queen herself. In the old times, you had to use the little version before getting the deadly snake monster, but thanks to some dubious experiments with Varanite, Morathi now exists as a single soul split between two entities: the sorceress and the beast.
Each half of this queenly aelf is a wrecking ball in its own right. Morathi-Khaine is a deadly sorcerer, and the Shadow Queen is an absolute blender in combat. Best of all, the pair can only take three wounds per turn, full stop. It doesn’t matter what the source is, or even if it kills outright; Morathi is too favored of Khaine to worry about something trivial like dying. When these two hit the field, you can believe that they’ll dominate it like the Queen they are.
Chaos: Skarbrand
I’ll fully admit, I wanted to put Thanquol here. I’m a huge Skaven fan, and he’s one of my favorite models in the range. However, regarding sheer power in the Chaos faction, you can’t go much higher than Skarbrand, a man so angry he thought he could tussle with Khorne. He was backhanded through reality for his slight, and he’s only gotten madder since. Once this disgraced Bloodthirster is on the field, he will be bathing it in blood in just a few short turns.
Being the strongest Bloodthirster isn’t an empty claim, either. Skarbrand can lay down a devastating 32 wounds each combat phase, some of which might be mortal. If he happens to be damaged, that number jumps up to 40. That’s to say nothing of the additional mortal wounds he can deal just by shouting at the enemy, making him an army unto himself. It’s probably a good thing Khorne doesn’t like him; I’d hate to say what he could do with Khorne’s blessing.
Death: Arkhan
Death has no shortage of incredible unique heroes, thanks to Nagash gathering all the best warriors he can pry out of Sigmar’s hands to his side. His Mortarchs are among the strongest warriors and spellcasters in all the Realms. However, one stands above the rest for style points, loyalty, and honestly, tenure. I’m talking, of course, about Nagash’s first lieutenant, Arkhan the Black.
Arkhan has been one of my favorite characters since classic fantasy, and his AoS counterpart lives up to the hype. I love his complicated relationship with serving Nagash and how everything he does serves his own ends in addition to his master’s. On the tabletop, he can age an enemy unit with a spell that gets better the longer it lasts, heal himself, and keep his legions safe from enemy magic. Once he hits the field, enemy spellcasters need not apply.
Destruction: Gordrakk
I know I technically picked the Maw Krusha already, but I think Gordrakk is unique enough to count. He’s the strongest of all the Ironjawz (no easy feat) and Gork’s enforcer in the Mortal Realms. There’s a new Orruk Warclans book headed our way early next year, so it makes sense to talk about the biggest, baddest Boss before he remixes his army.
As befits the strongest Megaboss in the Ironjawz faction, Gordrakk is ded stompy! He and his angry cabbage have 16 attacks between them, and the more damage he deals, the more attacks he gets. If this living war machine isn’t dealt with promptly, he’ll quickly turn the field into a stomped pancake, just as Gork intended.
Did your favorite hero make the cut?
