Age of Sigmar: Breaking Down the 4 Holiday Battleforces
GW has treated us to a preview of their 4 holiday AoS battleforces, so strap in everyone, here are my thoughts on how to use them on the tabletop.
So normally in my Wednesday post, I mention 3 things that I think are awesome, or a review of 3 new GW releases. HOWEVER, recently GW has treated us to a preview of their 4 holiday battleforces, and I couldn’t leave one off my review list.
Let’s wade in. You can see these set’s prices here.
Skaven Corrupting War-Swarm
Even before the updated Skaven battletome, Clan Pestilens could bring a lot of power to the table through their combination of mortal wounds and a massive amount of attacks. With this battlebox, you can start a little plague warren of your own (or expand one you’ve already been building) or add some extra punch to a mixed Skaven force. You get a Verminlord, which can be built several ways depending on what you need (though the suggested Corrupter is a pretty solid option), a Grey Seer on foot, a Plagueclaw Catapult (which can also be built as a Warp Lightning Cannon), a Plague Furnace/Screaming Bell (which can give you an extra Plague Priest or Grey Seer), 20 Clanrats, and 20 Plague Monks. Unfortunately the Clanrats do mean that the box is viable for a Pestilens only army, which requires that all members be Clan Pestilens and the General be either Pestilens or Masterclan, but the rest of the box is enough to start down the path of poxy goodness. Add in the Skaven Start Collecting box and you’ll have an almost table ready Pestilens army, complete with two Verminlords and an insane amount of magical supremacy. And if you’ve a modeling mindset there’s no reason you can’t convert the Clanrats into Monks to make your list solid Pestilens.
Nighthaunt Court of the Craven King
I have always had a special place in my heart for the ghost boyes, and this battleforce really makes me happy. Kurdoss alone is a gorgeous centerpiece model, and you get a ton of additional models to support him. You don’t get quite as many heroes as you do with the Skaven box, but the army is immediately playable straight from the box so it’s a great starting point for a new player or a veteran looking for a new army. You get 8 Dreadscythe Harridans, 10 Bladegheist Revenants, 10 Grimghast Reapers, 10 Chainrasps, and 5 Hexwraiths. This is a pretty good start, since it gives you a good mix of everything the Nighthaunt offers (some speed, some damage, some anti-magic, and some horde). Adding a mounted Knight of Shrouds and a Guardian of Souls or two should be all you really need to do to have a decently viable army. You might not win many tournaments out of the box, but you can easily find which aspect of the army fits your playstyle best and start focusing on that. I would definitely recommend adding a Black Coach to the mix, but that would be my recommendation regardless, that thing is nasty. Long story short, this box will give you great insight into the options available to you as a Nighthaunt player, and give you plenty of choices for your army.
Stormcast Eternals Exorcism Soulstrike
Well it wouldn’t be an AoS big release without some Stormcast Eternals creeping onto the scene, and of course they brought their nastiest boys to play. The Exorcism Soulstrike is one of the smaller boxes, but I assure you it comes with plenty of power to smash and make it well worth the price. You get a Lord-Exorcist to lead the troops, along with 10 Sequitors, 5 Evocators, and 6 Evocators on Dracolines, the last of which is the real draw of the box. Mounted Evocators are a nightmare to face, combining all the power of an Evocator on foot with the ferocity of a Dracoline. While this box won’t give you a playable army on its own, it is an incredible addition to an already started army or a good launching point for a Sacrosanct force. All you really need to flesh this out is another box of Sequitors and maybe another hero or two to beef up the force a bit (personally I’d suggest either a mounted Lord-Celestant or Lord-Arcanum).
Gloomspite Gitz Caveshroom Loonz
Ah the good ol’ mushroom boys are bringing all their squig ridiculousness to bear, and man is it a heck of a front. This box contains just about everything you might need to fill out a Gloomspite army, especially if you invested in Looncurse earlier in the year and snagged some Hoppers. You get an infantry Loonboss, a pair of Mangler Squigs (which can be built as a hero should you wish to be especially hateful), 5 Fanatics, 3 Rockgut Troggoths, and 10 Squig Hoppers. Adding this to an already established Gloomspite force, even one without many squigs, will increase its power exponentially. The Troggoths and Mangler will be incredible roadblocks for the rest of your army, and the Hoppers can be built as Boingrot Bounders to give you a strong spear tip to protect slower footsloggers or augment an already speedy force. And if nothing else, you get 5 more Fanatics to bury in your units and unleash to decimate the enemy ranks.
Will you be adding any of the boxes to your list?
