Age of Sigmar: Three Cheers for New Releases
Saturday is going to be a big day for Age of Sigmar fans, with two factions getting a major update and a perfect streamlined rulebook going up for preorder. Here are my thoughts on this week’s preorders and my hopes for the new content.
Cities of Sigmar
At long last, all the separate factions of Order are together under one big umbrella to serve the God-King. This is great news for fans of classic fantasy races, like High Elves or Dwarves, or of the old classic Empire faction. Every “city” will have its own dedicated special rules and, depending on which general and faction you select, tons of units are going to be battleline now. If the Community site is to be believed, this includes gnarly things like hydras and even Steam Tanks.
Even better, all the realm endless spells cast by a CoS wizard counts as being cast in its home Realm, so it is automatically empowered. And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, Order armies that already have tomes, like Stormcast and Kharadron Overlords can sometimes ally in, representing the independent forces that make up the defenses of the various Realm Cities of Sigmar. For my part, I’m most looking forward to dabbling in the Living City, so that I can have my old Wood Elf army backed up by angry tree beings.
Orruk Warclans
Moving away from the ordered cities of Sigmar and his followers and allies, we have a slightly more…green alliance. The forces of the monster-slaying tribal Bonesplitterz have joined with the armored muscle that is the Ironjawz, and the union is one heck of a battletome. Both factions are getting brand new allegiance abilities, unique spell lores, and artefacts, as well as joining into a giant faction called Da Big Waaagh. A lot of Orruk fans have wanted an update like this for quite some time, and GW did not disappoint.
Both brands of Orruks have their own subfactions, and they have some powerful army abilities. The Drakkfoot Bonesplitterz, for example, can ignore Ethereal and wound negation, making them a nightmare for Death or armies that rely on their FnP saves. And should you take a Big Waaagh army, you can take advantage of Waaagh points to unleash powerful effects on the battlefield, like increasing your hit and wound rolls or even increasing the already impressive attacks of every Orruk on the battlefield. These new rules are going to make an exceptionally smashy army even more so, and I can’t wait to see some new Waaaghs unleashed on the battlefield.
AoS Gaming Book
The only thing I don’t like about wargaming is all the books I have to carry around to make sure I’m up to date. Realm spells and abilities, updated battleplans, and artefacts are all well and good, but I have to have three separate books in my bag at all times to utilize them properly. While that isn’t a huge problem, it can really gum up and slow down games, and when you’re playing on a schedule, or Azyr forbid a tournament, that is a liability you can’t afford.
This won’t be true after next Saturday when the new AoS Gaming Book drops. Combining the most important rules sections of the main rulebook, General’s Handbook 2019, and Malign Sorcery needed for play, the Gaming Book is going to be an invaluable resource for wargamers of all walks. I’m excited to cut down my required reading, and I am sure several of my fellow wargamers will be swearing by this book in no time.
Will you be preordering any of these awesome new supplements?
