Age of Sigmar: Unleash the Dawnbringers! – Review of New Stormcast in Dominion
When life gives you lemons, smash them with a Sigmarite hammer.
Dominion is officially up for preorder, and with it a host of brand new miniatures for the Stormcast Eternals. Be’Lakor’s actions in the Realms meant that a new breed of Stormcast was required, and Sigmar and Grugni delivered with the Thunderstrike armor. Dominion gives us our first look at some of the new hotness crashing down from Azyr, and the new units are pretty incredible, so here’s a quick and dirty look at the Stormcast we get inside the battlebox.
Yndrasta, the Celestial Spear
The leader of the new Sigmarine forces is the Master Huntress of Azyr, and considering that the new edition is set primarily in Ghur, she fits perfectly. She has an incredible array of attacks, and can spell doom for any enemy monsters by knocking them an extra 10 wounds lower on their damage track. Her thrown spear hits and wounds on 2s and deals d6 damage and her four blade attacks hit on 3s, wound on 2, and deal a hefty 3 damage with a -2 Rend, meaning she can easily remove enemy heavies. She also has a 4+ ward save, can heal your units every turn, and protects nearby Stormcast and Cities of Sigmar units from Battleshock. She’s perfect in every role but spellcasting, so you’ll definitely want to add her to your army to remind your enemy that the hunter can quickly become the hunted.
Knight-Vexillor with Banner of Apotheosis
Carrying a banner made from a shard of the very anvil on which the Stormcast are forged, this new banner hero is an incredible support hero, especially with the extended command range for Totems. He carries a fairly powerful sword, which gives him 4 3+/3+ attacks that deal 2 damage each, and he allows nearby Stormcast to re-roll charges. However, his biggest buff comes from his banner which allows him once per battle to heal nearby Stormcast units up to 3d3 wounds or resurrect that many models. With the new reinforcement rules making smaller units favorable, this is a pretty great ability, and makes the Knight-Vexillor an almost auto-include.
Knight-Arcanum
A brand new spooky spellcaster, the Knight-Arcanum is a great defensive caster to bring against the new and improved Endless spells. The Arcanum has a decent 3+/4+ staff attack and a fairly powerful snipe attack, but the main reason you bring her along is for her ability to blunt Endless Spells. No Endless Spell can pass over her or end a move within 3″, so she can bounce frightening spells away from your important stationary units or perhaps even back at your enemy! An excellent choice to keep your models safe from enemy casting.
Lord-Imperatant
Your primary non-Unique leader, and what a leader he is. He has a staff that throws out bolts of lighting, a 3+/3+ warhammer, and a Gryph-Hound buddy to give him a few extra attacks. He can also use one command ability without spending a command point, letting you conserve the precious resource or coming in clutch should you run out, and he can call in one of your deep-striking units 2″ closer to the enemy, setting them up for a much easier charge. While not as much of a melee hammer as Yndrasta, the Imperatant is a phenomenal support piece, and should definitely be considered.
Annihilators
Big chonky battle boyes that don’t move fast but hit extremly hard, Annihilators certainly live up to their name. They have 3 wounds each and a 2+ save, so they won’t go down easy, and they do damage just by charging into the enemy. Because of their slow speed, you’ll want to drop them in from the sky, and the Annihilators reward you for dropping them in with even MORE damage and the ability to re-roll charges on the turn they arrive. They have 3 3+/3+ 2 damage attacks, and when they charge they roll a number of d6 equal to their charge roll, dealing a mortal wound for every 4+, which deteriorates to 6+ the less models they have in their unit. Keep these guys in the sky until the armies are already engaged and use an Annihilator impact charge to mop up major threats.
Praetors
Where Annihilators are all about damage, the Praetors are all about defense. At the beginning of the game, they pick a Hero to be their protective charge, and should that Hero suffer damage while they’re nearby, they can intercept it on a 3+, negating it entirely on a 5+. Their halbreds are 3+/3+ with 2 damage, so they can dish out damage just as well as block it, and you’ll want to keep a unit near the general to make sure he stays in the fight.
Vindicators
The standard troops of the Dominion Stormcast, the Vindicators are surprisingly potent for a battleline unit. They have a 2″ range, making it easier to take advantage of the new coherency rules while still getting the most attacks, and their spears deal a mortal wound on a 6 to hit. Not too much to say about these guys, as they will be the main battleline of any Thunderstrike army.
Will you be adding the new units to your Stormcast army?
