A new Daughters of Khaine battletome has dropped for Warhammer Age of Sigmar!  Games Workshop has sent me a review copy and I break down the book and the key competitive matched play questions here.  If there is a burning question that I haven’t covered, get in touch on Twitter or by email. 

If you want to support the site you can:

• click on the banner below to go through to Element Games (the site receives a referral bonus);
• purchase terrain from Dark Fantastic Mills using the AoSShorts discount code to receive 10% off; or
• buy me a Kofi.

---

Daughters of Khaine 2022: Does the army feel like it should? 

For me, it is always important that a battletome encourages you to build armies that match the narrative background and pitch for the army.  If you are told that a faction is made up of fanatical murder machines without much armour then you want them to play like that on the tabletop.  

The new Daughters of Khaine battletome meets that goal.  You want to make an army that runs into combat and gets stuck in.  The Blood Rites allegiance ability and supporting abilities encourage you to power up your combat infantry and unleash high volume, efficient attacks on the opposing army.   

As with the last battletome, the Blood Rites table is a list of cumulatively acquired benefits which apply to DAUGHTERS OF KHAINE units in your army.  The biggest changes have been replacing rerolls with +1 (which is less powerful, but quicker in game) and changing Unquenchable Fervour to a 5+ ward save.  

• 1) Quickening Bloodlust: +1 to run rolls (used to be reroll 1s)
• 2) Headlong Fury: +1 to charge rolls (used to be reroll 1s)
• 3) Zealot’s Rage: +1 to hit for melee weapons (used to be reroll 1s and animate Avatars of Khaine)
• 4) Slaughterer’s Strength: +1 to wound for melee weapons (used to be reroll 1s)
• 5) Unquenchable Fervour: friendly DOK units have a 5+ ward save (used to worsen Rend by 1 of attacks against you and do not take battleshock tests)

The battletome has multiple ways of accelerating your army, or particular units from your army, up the Blood Rites table.  All these abilities stack, so you can gain most of the benefits in the second and third battle-rounds when you are deep in combat. 

• HAGG NAR units are always +1 to the battle round for the Blood Rites table
• True Believer command trait: +1 to the battle round for the general
• Sacrament of Blood prayer: adds +1 to the battle round for a target DOK unit wholly within 14”
• Bloodwrack Shrine and the Bloodwrack Medusa both add +1 to the battle round for a friendly MELUSAI unit wholly within 12”
• Witchbrew grants +1 to the battle round for a friendly DOK unit wholly within 12” (cannot be stacked on the same unit, but can be dished out from different sources to different units)

The other allegiance abilities include Fanatical Faith (DAUGHTERS OF KHAINE units have a 6+ ward save) and All Out Slaughter (a command ability that gives you a free Catechism of Murder). 

---

Is the new DoK battletome internally balanced? Are there multiple ways to play?

Early signs say yes, there are multiple ways to play and no clear stand-out build or broken units. 

So far in AoS3, Daughters of Khaine armies have largely been Morathi and the Bow Snakes.  What isn’t to like about a large unit that does mortal wounds at range in both the hero and shooting phases, supported by the game’s best tagging combat monster in the Shadow Queen?  Now the heart of this build still exists, but there are other options available too:

• Hordes of Witch Aelves and Sisters of Slaughter backed up by a Cauldron and combat foot heroes will put out a large volume of efficient attacks and are likely to get even more useful with the new incentives coming in General’s Handbook 2022 – Season 1.
• Combat snake builds have also been benefited by some of the new command traits and army construction rules. 

I’ll breakdown these builds further in the lists section below. 

As with all the new battletomes, the sub-faction allegiance abilities have been stripped back to a single special rule for each Temple of Khaine.  Personally, I love this change as you still get the narrative flavour of the different sub-factions while removing bloat and allowing people to build the armies that they want. 

I can see at least four of these temples seeing competitive play:

• Hagg Nar: +1 to the number of the battle round for friendly HAGG NAR units on the Blood Rites table.  This ability stacks with other similar abilities, and several of these can be taken without compromising your army build.  If you want to do damage quick and get your army to be a great all-rounder then this is the temple for you. 

• Draichi Ganeth:  +1 rend on the charge for the melee weapons of DRAICHI GANETH WITCH AELVES or SISTERS OF SLAUGHTER.  This ability works well with Mindrazor and the High Gladiatrix’s ability (or a cheeky ally such as the Aspect of the Sea or Chamon Battlemage).  Draichi Ganeth armies can also take a reinforced or double-reinforced unit of WITCH AELVES in addition to your usual number of reinforcement points.  So 3 x 30 infantry blocks is an option. 

• Khelt Nar: Daughters of Khaine units can retreat and charge. Still a very useful ability on the Shadow Queen making sure she doesn’t get stuck in places that she doesn’t want to be. 

• Khailebron: Command ability that can be used at the end of your movement phase.  Issued by a friendly KHAILEBRON HERO, received by a friendly KHAILEBRON unit.  Remove the unit from the battlefield and set it up again anywhere on the battlefield more than 9” from all enemy units.  So Khailebron have lost the -1 to hit from missile weapons which is a big blow, but the free teleport can also be game-winning in the right circumstances.  Khailebron armies can also have Khainite Shadowstalkers as battleline units. 

• Kraith: After a friendly KRAITH SISTERS OF SLAUGHTER unit has fought for the first time in the combat phase, on a 4+ that unit can fight for a second time with the strike-last effect.  A handy ability if you are running multiple units of Sisters of Slaughter.

• Zainthar Kai: Each time a model in a friendly ZAINTHAR KAI MELUSAI unit is slain, that model can fight before it is removed from play.  Very handy for combat snakes and it ensures that you are probably going to remove whatever enemy melee unit has come in to take your snakes off.  Great as a defensive protection for efficient trading of your units.  

As with some other recent battletomes, the number of command trait and artefact options has been trimmed back but there are a few standout choices that you will see again and again.  My picks from those items are:

• Zealous Orator Command Trait: If the general issues the Rally command, you can return 1 slain model to the unit that receives the command for each 4+ instead of each 6.  In line with the Battlesmith ability from Fyreslayers, I suspect this command trait will be errated to only work on friendly DAUGHTERS OF KHAINE units, rather than allies as well. 
• Crown of Woe (DOK HERO artefact): Enemy units cannot receive Rally or Inspiring Presence command while within 9” of the bearer.  In addition, if any enemy models are slain by the bearer, increase the range of this ability to 15” for the rest of the battle. NB: the artefact doesn’t require the bearer to slay an enemy model with a melee attack, so feel free to shoot or magic someone to death and get the benefit of the larger bubble.  If this is on a hero on cauldron then the Avatar of Khaine missile attack should trigger this bubble.
• Shadow Stone (DOK WIZARD artefact):  +1 to cast for the bearer when casting Lore of Shadows spells
• Crystal Heart (DOK WIZARD artefact): When the bearer attempts to cast a spell that summons an endless spell, the range of that spell is doubled. 
• Khainite Pendant (DOK PRIEST artefact):: once per game, before chanting, use the pendant and prayer automatically answered. 

Lore of Shadows

• Mindrazor is unchanged, but at an 8 to cast is harder to achieve now that Morathi-Khaine no longer has an in-built +1 to casting. 
• Pit of Shades has been reduced from a casting value of 7 to a 6.
• Mirror Dance has been returned to its original form (switch the places of two DOK HEROES on the battlefield (within limits). 

Endless Spells and Invocations

• All have dropped points
• Heart of Fury unchanged but lower. 
• Bloodwrack Viper has added the Monster of Blood rule: at the end of the charge phase, the commanding player can count the endless spell as a MONSTER for the purposes of the Monstrous Rampage rules, but they can only carry out a Stomp or Smash To Rubble monstrous rampage with it.  It cannot be picked to be the target of a monstrous rampage. 

Prayers haven’t changed.  A lot of viable options. 

---

Is the new DoK battletome externally balanced?

The current Daughters book is strong and I don’t see that changing.  The battletome has a number of strong builds which will pair well in a matched play season designed to encourage and support battletline choices. 

The army has a range of tools that will help it succeed:

• High melee damage output sufficient to meet “DPS” checks and remove stubborn units.  Rend comes from the Blood Rites table, Mindrazor, and High Gladiatrix for a nice -3 rend on Witch Aelves and Sisters of Slaughter, and that’s before you think about taking allies
• Ranged damage in order to hit behind the lines; and
• Reasonable mobility with the addition of some movement-phase teleports to bounce units around the board and keep your opponent honest.

---

Daughters of Khaine lists

So what kind of lists might you see from the new book? And how will existing lists change?

Your Battleline choices are Witch Aelves and Sisters of Slaughter. Your Battleline If choices are Blood Sisters and Blood Stakers (both Battleline in a Zainthar Kai army or with a MELUSAI general) and Khainite Shadowstalkers (Battleline in a Khailebron army). 

Allies: Cities of Sigmar, Idoneth Deepkin, Lumineth Realm-lords, Stormcast Eternals and Sylvaneth.  The ally choices give you access to some useful support heroes and neat special rules. 

Infantry hordes

• Blender witches and sisters – hitting and wounding on 2s with several options for increased rend.  
• Bladed Bucklers give a 5+ save and unmodified save rolls of 6 bounce back a mortal wound. Shield changes makes them a lot more tanky than they were.  Can also be backed up by a Cauldron for +1 save bubble
• Combine with small heroes – Hag Queen, Slaughter Queen and some High Gladiatrixes 
• Sequencing shenanigans with fight first cauldron, snakes/witches and then sisters of slaughter with the long 6” pile in mean you can have cascading combats wiping out enemy units

Morathi and the Bow Snakes

• Morathi command ability reduced to 18” bubble, but still gives the ability to fight or shoot in the hero phase.
• Morathi and the Shadow Queen now 680
• No change to the Two Bodies, One Soul or Iron Heart of Khaine
• Morathi lost the +1 to cast
• Snakes unchanged, and easy battleline with Zainthar Kai temple (allowing you to ditch the Melusai Ironscale and use points elsewhere if you wish)
• Zealous Orator for an easy rally option
• This build has also got stronger because with the new battletome they have dropped out of Battlescroll: The Hunt so will no longer be giving up extra victory points. 

Combat snakes

• Fighty snakes in Zainthar Kai. 
•  A 15 block with Martyrs Sacrifice will put out hurt.  
• Remove casualties so that you are out of combat (which you can do with large base sizes) and then you can Rally back on a 4+ with Zealous Orator. 

Other notes

• Avatars of Khaine no longer need to be activated, act as a +1 chant bubble and have their own ward.  They are also MONSTERS for the purpose of the Stomp or Smash to Rubble monstrous rampage rules. 
• The Cauldrons give nice +1 to chanting bubbles
• Doomfires used to be only able to use Arcane Bolt, Mystic Shield and their warscroll book, but they can now cast spells from realm rules and battlepacks.  They can’t cast Lore of Shadows spells as those are limited to DAUGHTERS OF KHAINE HERO WIZARDS only. 
• Khainite Shadowstalkers have had their scroll stripped right back to just having the teleport and have increased in points.  However, they are also now battleline in Khailebron. 

Unit	Old	New	Change
Morathi-Khaine	330	340	10
The Shadow Queen	330	340	10
Melusai Ironscale	115	115	0
Bloodwrack Medusa	120	130	10
Bloodwrack Shrine	190	200	10
Morgwaeth the Bloodied	175	185	10
The Blade-coven	0	0	0
Hag Queen	105	110	5
Hag Queen on Cauldron of Blood	255	270	15
Slaughter Queen	110	130	20
Slaughter Queen on Cauldron of Blood	300	315	15
High Gladiatrix	100	90	-10
Witch Aelves	120	115	-5
Sisters of Slaughter	135	135	0
Blood Sisters	140	140	0
Blood Stalkers	180	180	0
Doomfire Warlocks	140	145	5
Khainite Shadowstalkers	120	150	30
Khinerai Heartrenders	95	95	0
Khinerai Lifetakers	90	90	0
Avatar of Khaine	120	155	35
Bladewind	80	50	-30
Bloodwrack Viper	95	80	-15
Heart of Fury	55	45	-10

Will you take the DoK core battalions?

I don’t think so. 

What about the DoK grand strategies and battle tactics?

Unlikely for the grand strategies. [Ed: Chris Welfare tells me I’m wrong and you will all be running Bloodthirsty Zealots]

• Bloodbath: When the battle ends, you complete this grand strategy if all enemy HEROES and MONSTERS either have at least 1 wound allocated to them or have been slain and if all other enemy units on the battlefield have had at least 1 model slain.
  • I struggle to understand what this grand strategy requires.  Is everything after the “or” the same condition? Or does everything after the last “and” have to be achieved regardless? 
• Conquered in the Name of Khaine: When the battle ends, you complete this grand strategy if there is a friendly AVATAR OF KHAINE or CAULDRON OF BLOOD wholly within enemy territory.
• Bloodthirsty Zealots: When the battle ends, you complete this grand strategy if all friendly units either fought at least once during the battle or have been destroyed.
• Naught But Destruction: If you pick this grand strategy, after deployment, pick 1 defensible terrain feature wholly within enemy territory.  If there are no defensible terrain features wholly within enemy territory, your opponent picks 1 defensible terrain feature anywhere on the battlefield.  When the battle ends, you complete this grand strategy if that terrain feature has been demolished. 
  • What if there is no defensible terrain on the battlefield?

Yes for the battle tactics.  The battletome includes DoK-specific battle tactics that receive extra victory points if they are achieved by particular units.  Even better, these are units that you are going to take anyway so I can see at least a couple of these being used in conjunction with the core battle tactics. 

• Clash of Arms: You complete this tactic if 3 or more friendly units make a charge move this turn.  If 2 or more of those units are WITCH AELVES or SISTERS OF SLAUGHTER, score 1 additional victory point. 
  • Highly achievable
• Cruel Delight: You complete this tactic if 2 or more friendly KHINERAI units move using their Fire and Flight ability or Fight and Flight ability this turn. 
• Tide of Blades: You complete this tactic if there are 2 or more units from your starting army wholly within your opponent’s territory at the end of this turn.  If 2 or more of those units are WITCH AELVES, score 1 additional victory point.
  • Highly achievable 
• Executioner’s Cult: You can pick this battle tactic only if there is a friendly HIGH GLADIATRIX on the battlefield.  You complete this tactic if an enemy HERO is slain by that unit’s Killing Stroke ability this turn. 
  • Very situational
• Hatred of Chaos: You can pick this battle tactic only if you have a Hagg Nar or Khelt Nar army.  You complete this tactic if 2 or more CHAOS units are destroyed this turn. 
• Unexpected Attack: You complete this tactic if a friendly KHAINITE SHADOWSTALKERS units uses its Shadow Leap ability and makes a charge move this turn. 
  • Don’t think I’d ever want to take the risk of failing the charge. 

Well, that’s about it for the initial review.  It will be interesting to see how the faction develops as players get games in on the tabletop.  Let me know anything interesting that I’ve missed or what you think are the cool ways to play the army. 

Since they emerged from the Silver Tower, Destiny Dice have been a potent (and controversial) mechanic in Warhammer Age of Sigmar. The first Disciples of Tzeentch Battletome introduced Destiny Dice back in Tzaanuary 2017. The second Battletome heralded profound changes to how Destiny Dice operate (2020 Destiny Dice). Tzeentch armies play differently under the second Battletome and 2020 Destiny Dice have contributed to that new playstyle. 

Reading this article will help you to understand the nuances of 2020 Destiny Dice. We’ll explore available combos, nonbos* and counters to improve your games of Age of Sigmar.

This article covers a lot of ground, so I’ve split it into these three parts:

1. how core mechanics of the game such as Pick, Change, Replace, Reroll, Multiplier and Modifier abilities operate and interact;
2. the evolution of 2017 Destiny Dice mechanic and their impact on the wider rule set; and
3. a guide to 2020 Destiny Dice as they operate in the game now.

We at The NicoLab hope that you enjoy this article and survive the puns. You can also check out other articles in the NicoLab series:

• The Activation Wars – Sequencing in Age of Sigmar
• The Activation Wars Part 2

*Nonbos in this context are where two abilities combine in a negative manner for the player using them (anti-synergy or lack of synergy). They can also arise when the player expects there to be a combo/synergy but in fact there is no such combo/synergy.

---

Part 1: Pick, Change, Replace, Reroll, Multiplier or Modifier

You’re likely familiar with Rerolls and Modifiers as common dice mechanics in Warhammer Age of Sigmar.  However, there are also more exotic species of dice mechanic, including Picks, Changes, and Replaces. Let’s explore each of these in turn. 

Rerolls in Age of Sigmar

Since Age of Sigmar Second Edition, Rerolls have evolved from Reroll failed Hits/Wounds/Saves, to you can Reroll Hits/Wounds/Saves. This change has made Rerolls more efficient. Rerolling only failed hits/wounds/saves leaves you at the mercy of debuffs and rend which are applied after rerolls (causing you to fail). Now you can often Reroll dice which would fail after modifiers are applied.

For example, if you can only reroll failed hits, your To Hit is 4+ and you face a -1 to hit Modifier, then you can only Reroll 1s, 2s and 3s. If you roll a 2, 3, 4 and 6, then you can Reroll the 2 and the 3, but the 4 is not a failed hit at the Reroll point in the sequence. The 6 does hit.  After the Rerolls you have a 1 and a 5 together with the original 4 and 6. You then apply any Modifiers and find that the 4 becomes a Modified 3, which is below a 4+, so it misses. You’re left with the 5 and the 6 (Modified 4 and 5) as the only 2 hits. If you had Reroll hit rolls, then you could have also Rerolled that 4.

The Gruesome Bite Mount Trait for Flesh Eater Courts seems to be a deliberate exception. This is a new rule which only rerolls failed hits (perhaps the intention was to limit fishing for unmodified 6s that inflict 6 Mortal Wounds).

Modifiers in Age of Sigmar

Modifiers are additive buffs (+1 to hit), which can affect either a characteristic (+1 to bravery) or a dice roll (+1 to save rolls). They can stack on top of each other, unless expressly prohibited in the rule.

Multipliers in Age of Sigmar

Multipliers are anything that multiples or divides the value of a dice roll. The Core Rules FAQ confirms that Multipliers are applied before Modifiers. In practical terms, this reduces the impact of Multipliers compared to first modifying a value and then doubling it.

Picks, Changes and Replaces

Picks, Changes and Replaces allow you to either:

• pre-determine a dice roll (proactively before rolling); or 
• change/replace a dice roll (reactively after rolling).

By convention, Change abilities have been performed by physically turning a single dice to the desired value. For example, at Blood & Glory 2016, Terry Pike (@terrypike84 of the Facehammer podcast) pioneered the combo of:

• Warpfire Stormfiends, when they spewed out Mortal wounds to any target;
• Sayl the Faithless, whose spell could (at that time) double their move to pump up their threat range; and
• Kairos, who could change priority rolls, the casting roll, unbinding roll or any other crucial roll for your opponent.

The Tzeentch Battletome of Tzaanuary 2017 heralded much change (27th pun in this article). One welcome development was that Kairos could no longer change a priority roll:

Oracle has the potent (and very rare) wording “Once per battle” as its timing trigger. As users of the “Laser Pen” (Luminary Rod artefact) know well, this can create all manner of opportunities. You could interrupt your opponent to change a single dice roll. The June 2018 Disciples of Tzeentch FAQ later emphatically clarified this as “Just one dice!” rather than (say) 35 hit rolls or a 2D6 charge roll.

Other example of Changes are Prime Time (The Celestant Prime) – who can change the entirety of a 2D6 Charge Roll using Orrery of Celestial Fates. However, this is then subject to forced rerolls from your opponent and modifiers.

---

The sequencing of Pick, Change and Replace abilities

The sequencing of these types of ability is as follows:

1. Proactive Pick/Replace. This is where you use the ability instead of rolling the dice. For example, 2017 Destiny Dice used “predetermine”. 2020 Destiny Dice is a “would have made”. You don’t roll a D6 first for both of these.**
2. Rolling the dice.
3. Reactive Pick/Change/Replace. This timing is the default position, unless there is a more specific timing within the ability. 
4. Rerolls
5. Multipliers
6. Modifiers

** Proactive Pick appears to mean choosing any arbitrary value (1 to 6) for the D6, whereas Proactive Replace is limited to specified values (e.g. the actual Destiny Dice you have available).

Core Rules FAQ

The following Core Rules FAQ makes clear that the rule set recognises distinct categories of Picks, Changes, Replaces, Rerolls and Modifiers and explains the timing in point 3 above:

2017 Destiny Dice were subject to rerolls, multipliers and modifiers. So back then Lord Kroak was the hard counter for Disciples of Tzeentch with his supply of universal rerolls (including forcing your opponent to reroll). He could simply make the Tzeentch player reroll a Destiny Dice.

A few special cases

However, as with many things in Age of Sigmar, there are unique abilities that operate outside this neat characterisation. 

The Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon’s Ancient Shield causes the model to have a 3+ Save (rather than adding 1 to its save roll as a Modifier). Hence, this synergises with the Ethereal Amulet (for a 3+ save that ignores all modifiers like rend).

The Freeguild Shield of the Freeguild General on Griffon no longer works in this way (so the Ethereal Amulet doesn’t synergise – a nonbo).

The Mistweaver Saih’s Glimmermist ability allows it to tank one attack with a 1+ save:

The timing is a little odd here (as the attack could miss or fail to wound, so you could waste the ability). However, this 1+ save is even better than it sounds because dice rolls (unlike characteristics) cannot be modified to below 1.

This means that even a -5 rend Attack from Volturnos will modify a roll of 2-5 to a 1. A 6 will also be modified to a 1 as normal. All of these are ‘‘1+’, so this armour save succeeds. Only a natural 1 fails (from the Core Rules).

The new Bastiladon

The FAQ to the Seraphon Battletome confirmed this position regarding the 1+ Save Bastiladon. With the benefit of hindsight, a Designer’s Note printed in the Battletome may have reduced the confusion over this mechanic.

This is particularly strong in melee due to the All-out Defence generic command ability from GHB 2019 for Reroll saves of 1. But because this is activated in the Start Part of the Combat Phase, cunning Hermdar Hearthguard Berzerkers with Broadaxes could activate first in the Fyreslayers’ turn and hope the Seraphon player rolls some natural 1s and inflict enough damage to drop the save profile of the Bastiladon. Then the HGB could fight again in the During Part of the Combat Phase against a reduced armour save. Or they could just bring Poleaxes!

At the Double

The At the Double generic command ability provides that the run roll is reactively treated as being a 6. This is efficient as you can roll the dice and only then decide whether you need to use the command ability (a 5 or 6 run roll might be sufficient to tag an objective for example).

---

Part 2: The Evolution of 2017 Destiny Dice

The first Disciples of Tzeentch Battletome introduced 2017 Destiny Dice back in Tzaanuary 2017. This proved to be a controversial mechanic. It’s worth seeing how 2017 Destiny Dice evolved over time, as the rules writers have learned from the mistakes made and taken on feedback when writing the rules for 2020 Destiny Dice. Of course, as with all things Tzeentch, be careful what you wish for….

The Mortal Wound distinction

Prior to 2017 Destiny Dice, mortal wounds and “regular” wounds had been fairly similar (just skipping the wound roll (and sometimes the hit roll) and the armour save). There were lengthy debates over whether ward saves (damage prevention rolls) that worked against mortal wounds also worked against regular wounds and vice versa.

As a result, and following a Warhammer TV episode introducing and discussing Battletome: Disciples of Tzeentch, it was confirmed that 2017 Destiny Dice can substitute 5 or 6 mortal wounds for “D6 Mortal Wounds” on the basis that this was a “Damage roll”. This led to perhaps the worst non-interactive playing experience of AoS – a 1 drop list that surgically zapped 20+ Mortal Wounds into key targets turn 1. Players such as Tony Moore found success with this type of army. This could be followed up by a guaranteed charge by a Lord of Change with a -3 Rend Sword that rarely missed (the Rob Bradley build at The South London Legion). 

A swift FAQ prevented this application of Destiny Dice. The following FAQs enshrine a hard distinction between mortal wounds and regular wounds:

There are numerous examples of this distinction being important in the current rules:

• Ardboyz’ shields only work on regular wounds.
• The Godbone Armour (Petrifex) only works on regular wounds (compare with Mannfred’s Armour of Templehof)
• Scaly Skin (Coalesced Seraphon) does not work on Mortal Wounds inflicted by an attack (Poleaxes, Keepers of Secrets) – as confirmed in the FAQ for Seraphon:

• Gotrek’s Avatar of Grimnir ability is plainly intended to work on mortal wounds caused by abilities and spells (noting in particular that years have passed since the last spell that caused regular wounds, namely Malagor the Dark Omen’s Carrion Viletide spell):

• It is interesting to try to resolve Curse of Years against Avatar. The FAQ provides that you roll the 10 dice looking for 6s, apply the Ward saves, then carry on rolling based on the failed Ward Saves looking for 5s, apply Ward saves again, etc. Avatar seeks to aggregate the mortal wounds, reduce them to 1 and then apply the 3+ Ward save, which conflicts with the Curse of Years FAQ.

• The Curse of Years FAQ should be deleted to fix this. Presumably this arose from player feedback (ignoring the silent evidence of when Curse inflicts zero or one mortal wound). A similar issue arises for Tzeentch’s Firestorm (where multiple D3 mortals are inflicted by a single spell).

The hard distinction between mortal wounds and regular wounds is also easier for new and experienced players alike. 

Using a 2017 Destiny Dice on a reroll and for one of the dice in a 2D6 roll

Originally, players used Destiny Dice on their rerolls. This was efficient for casting as Tzeentch had access to bubbles of reroll casts and reroll ‘1s’ in a casting roll. It was also possible to use only one Destiny Dice for a 2D6 roll (like a casting roll or charge rolls). 

Combining these two gave a decent outlet for those pesky 2s (the weakest Destiny Dice), since for a cast of 7, you could use a 5 Destiny Dice and roll the other D6. If you rolled a 1, then you could Reroll it and then make use of that 2 Destiny Dice. The June 2018 FAQ prevented the use of Destiny Dice for Rerolls.

---

Part 3: Your guide to 2020 Destiny Dice

Having traversed the background, it’s easier to see how the new 2020 Destiny Dice operate and why they do so. The re-amended Masters of Destiny Rule is as follows:

We’ll summarise the key points here and then go on to consider some of the interesting nuances. Where there is significant doubt over a point, we’ve included a percentage to reflect the degree of confidence/uncertainty.

9 Destiny Dice “at any time”

There is a hard cap of 9 Destiny Dice “at any time”. It seems that gaining a new one when you already have 9 would have no effect (unless the wording of the ability in question specifically caters for this scenario).

Only the 10 types of roll – Kairos hit

Destiny Dice and Kairos’s new Oracle of Eternity only work on the 10 types of dice roll listed above (Dispelling has been added to the previous 9 types). The restriction to these 10 is a significant limit to Kairos – he can no longer rig those critical 2+ rolls or 3+ rolls for your opponent’s abilities that aren’t spells (the Run and Charge prayer Ember Storm for Hermdar Fyreslayers or Prayer of Ash for +1 to save; Blessing of Khaine for Daughters; or changing Arcane Channeling to a 1 against Hallowheart).

Destiny Dice don’t work on mortal wounds from spells

The new version of “Damage roll” makes it clear that Destiny Dice do not work for mortal wounds from a Spell (like Bolt of Tzeentch, which causes D6 Mortals). The mortal wound/regular wound distinction is addressed directly in the ability.

Proactive Replace 

Destiny Dice proactively Replace a dice roll.

Oracle of Eternity is a reactive Replace

Kairos’s new Oracle of Eternity has a distinct timing “Once per battle, in either player’s turn”. Therefore, it can be a reactive Replace by contrast with Destiny Dice (“Instead of making one of the rolls….”).

This is slightly more restrictive than the old wording (“once per battle”). Oracle cannot be used:

• in the start of a battle round or
• to rig a run roll for a unit making a scout move in the start of the battle.

However, you can still wait to see if your opponent fails a roll, then only Replace it if they succeed.

Destiny Dice before Rerolls, Multipliers or Modifiers

Destiny Dice operate before any Reroll, Multiplier or Modifier (both from the wording of Masters of Destiny itself and consistent with the FAQ discussed above under The sequencing of Pick, Change and Replace abilities). This maintains the status quo that you cannot use a Destiny Dice for a Reroll.

Oracle can Replace a rerolled dice

Conversely, it seems (60%) that you can use Oracle to Replace a dice that has already been rerolled. This is particularly useful if your opponent has rerolled a charge roll for example and succeeded. This maintains the status quo for Oracle.

This probably works because the specific timing of Oracle (point 5 above) is a possible exception permitted by the Core Rules FAQ on Pick, Change and Replace. That FAQ accepts that the general rule can be overriden (“Unless noted otherwise in the ability”). Kairos can wait until after the Reroll has happened, which is still “Once per battle” and still in “either player’s turn”.

Destiny Dice are “unmodified”

As confirmed in the re-amended FAQ above, a dice roll replaced by a Destiny Dice counts as unmodified. This is significant for rules that operate or trigger on unmodified rolls of 1 or 6. The re-amended FAQ helpfully gives the specific example of the Icon Bearer for Horrors of Tzeentch (which returns Horrors to the unit).

You can’t reroll Destiny Dice

A dice roll replaced by a Destiny Dice cannot be rerolled. We refer to this as “unrerollable”.

A Destiny Dice can’t be modified

A dice roll replaced by a Destiny Dice cannot be modified. We refer to this as “unmodifiable”.

There are two narrow exceptions – the “Casualties Exception” for Battleshock rolls and the “Rend Exception”. 

The Casualties Exception

A Battleshock Test is a comparison between the Battleshock Roll (replaced by a Destiny Dice) plus the Casualties (which is a modifier to that Roll that still applies due to the Casualties Exception) against the modified Bravery. The Bravery is not a negative modifier to a Battleshock roll. You don’t ignore the Bravery if you use a Destiny Dice for a Battleshock Test.

The Modifier in the Battleshock Phase for every 10 models in a unit is a modifier to the Bravery of the unit. This Modifier is not a Modifier to a Battleshock roll either. 

The Casualties Exception is narrow. It only applies to casualties, not to any Modifier to a Battleshock roll, so any ability that adds to or subtracts from a Battleshock roll would still be overridden by the use of a Destiny Dice.

Both exceptions still apply to Kairos

It almost goes without saying that the Rend Exception and the Casualties Exception for Masters of Destiny are intended to apply equally to Oracle.

If Kairos Replaces a save roll, then the rend would still apply. If Kairos Replaces a Battleshock roll for 40 Marauders, you don’t ignore the 21 casualties suffered as a modifier.

Oracle is meant to be an exceptional ability, but not in this regard (particularly given the visceral reaction of the Community to this aspect of Destiny Dice).

Replacing other dice rolls

There is no core rule that you cannot Replace a Change, Replace a Replace, Replace a Pick etc.. We’ve discussed the core rules relating to these abilities above.

It follows that there is no reason why Kairos in Tzeentch Army X cannot use Oracle to Replace a dice that Tzeentch Army Y has Replaced using its Destiny Dice. (85%)

Furthermore if Tzeentch Army Y also has its own (pretender?) Kairos, then it could use its Oracle to Replace the dice a third time! In practical terms, similar to “Vecting a Vect” in 40K, the first person to use or rely on Oracle usually loses out in this scenario. All of this preserves the status quo as far as Destiny Dice being replaced by Oracle and competing Kairoses.

Considering this point further, players did ask the FAQ team whether Oracle can replace the opponent’s Destiny Dice. The question wasn’t answered in the FAQ, suggesting that it may have been considered clear that it can. It remains possible to assume that the FAQ team meant to write: “Cannot be rerolled, modified or changed or replaced” in an errata that has itself already been amended. It is not possible to put this down as an unlikely or obscure interaction either given that Kairos is the most significant named character in the faction. In other words – the FAQ team didn’t just forget to say that Destiny Dice can’t be replaced again by the iconic named character.

You must use two Destiny Dice for a 2D6 roll

In contrast to 2017 Destiny Dice, for a 2D6 dice roll (casting, charges) you must spend 2 Destiny Dice to replace the entire roll. This seems more consistent with the Lore (the result is completely set in stone – subject to the named character Kairos further pulling on the strings of fate). This also implements part of the author’s stated intention, namely “to control unruly casting rolls and other exploits….” Intention is discussed further below. This is a substantial nerf to the efficiency of Destiny Dice (see 2017 Destiny Dice above). You can no longer replace one dice with a 6 and then roll the other one when you’re looking for an 8. You can’t reroll the entire roll, which prevents you from rerolling if you rolled a 1 for a (6, 1) – a casting roll of 7.

Oracle still works with 2D6 rolls

Oracle replaces only a single D6 (including one D6 from a 2D6 roll). Significantly the unrerollable and unmodifiable rules apply to the entire roll (not just the D6 of the 2D6 that was replaced).

This means that if Kairos replaces one D6 in an opponent’s charge roll or casting roll, then the entire roll cannot be rerolled and no modifiers apply even though the other D6 has been rolled as normal.

The FAQ from the Skaventide Battletome regarding Warpstone Tokens is consistent with this point as neither the 3D6 and the resulting 2D6 roll can be rerolled or modified.

This creates useful counters against abilities such as Marauders charging using Boundless Ferocity (after they change the lower D6 to a 6, you replace it with a 1 and also turn off their +1 modifier to charge from Barbarian Drummer, capping them at a 7” charge (if they rolled at least one 6 in the initial roll):

Master of Magic is a Change rule

Lords of Change and Kairos also have the Mastery of Magic ability, which is a Change rule (not a Replace). There is an FAQ for how this interacts with Destiny Dice, preventing the Lord of Change/Kairos from Replacing both dice in a casting roll with Destiny Dice and then Changing the lower one with Mastery. You cannot use Destiny Dice to replace a casting roll with (6, 2) and then use Mastery to change this to (6, 6).

There is no reason to generalise the above narrow FAQ into a general rule that you cannot Change a Replaced dice roll (75%). Had this been the intention, then it could have been expressed in general terms here in the FAQ. We’ve seen that Games Workshop are happy to set out global changes in faction-specific FAQs before (e.g. Gristlegore and The Activation Wars, see here https://aosshorts.com/nicolab-sequencing-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 

It is very likely that Replace abilities can be used to Replace a dice roll previously affected by a Change ability, e.g. Oracle can trump Orrery of Celestial Fates, Boundless Ferocity etc.. This preserves the status quo. (90%)

It seems that if Kairos uses Oracle to replace one D6 of a casting roll, then he can still use Mastery on the other normal D6. This is powerful, but it’s a once per game ability for a named character (75%)

Arguably a Multiplier could still affect a dice roll that has been Replaced using a Destiny Dice. This could be relevant to an ability that halves or doubles weapon damage for example. One could argue the other way that this is an oversight (noting that Multipliers are comparatively rare) and that there’s no reason to distinguish a Modifier and a Multiplier in this specific regard. (55%)

Despite the unusual wording of At the Double (discussed above – A few special cases), Oracle should still be able to Replace a run roll that has been treated as being a 6.

We can speculate as to whether Destiny Dice should perhaps have been a Pick ability with Oracle remaining as a Replace. This could have made it easier to distinguish them as proactive and reactive abilities. On the other hand, using significant amounts of wording in common (except for the timing trigger) has its advantages in terms of consistency and clarity.

The Casualties Exception and the Rend Exception

Upon the release of the Battletome, 2020 Destiny Dice provoked a visceral reaction in players (particularly at Heat 1 at a Warhammer World) due to two particular interactions. 

As 2020 Destiny Dice are unmodifiable, an opponent’s unit’s rend was ignored as a modifier to the save roll itself (noting that it is not affecting the save characteristic). This allowed a 2020 Destiny Dice of 5 to bounce a -3 rend attack off a Flamer of Tzeentch. Furthermore, the number of casualties is a modifier to a Battleshock roll, so 10+ casualties would be ignored if you used any 2020 Destiny Dice for Battleshock (not only a 1 that triggers the Icon ability).

Ignoring rend and casualties seemed unintended in the players’ opinions. Destiny Dice have been controversial from the outset (even in the Warhammer Quest Silver Tower game). Games Workshop responded swiftly to this feedback.

Arguably, this focus on Destiny Dice distracted attention from deeper issues in the Battletome such as reliably stacking +3 to hit and +1 to wound on an undercosted shooting unit (Flamers) and the power of army-wide no-retreat in a combat-driven game, where you can 2.9” enemy units to take them out of the game. I must admit recommending in the past that dedicated anti-horde shooting be a bigger part of the game (and not of the 2D6 vs 10+ models variety, as D6 Damage is rarely desirable compared to flat damage), however Flamers are too efficient against almost any target and Tzeentch didn’t need the help!

On the other hand, as we’ve seen before with Gloomspite Gitz (“Skragrott is so undercosted!”), FEC, Slaanesh, Petrifex Elite and others, subsequent releases often tone down or soft counter an army or combo. Seraphon (Scaly Skin Salamanders and Bastiladons), Lumineth Realmlords and Sons of Behemat may soft counter Tzeentch’s shooting builds. The Battletome has tremendous depth so this is manageable.

The intention behind 2020 Destiny Dice

Rules in a game should be interpreted in their context and taking into account both the author and their audience (as with any other document in any other context). The key question to ask is what the audience would understand the author to mean by using these words (in context). This is distinct from the meaning of the words that the author uses.

Rules for a game are not written in legalese, nor with the mathematical precision required for engineering or physics. They may use vivid or poetic or fun language rather than dry, specific and less ambiguous words. 

Normally we can piece together the intention of Games Workshop by looking at similar rules and earlier FAQs, listening to podcasts from the Rules Writers and reading their articles in White Dwarf. We know, for example, that Games Workshop has used more extensive templating for Battletomes since at least the Beasts of Chaos Battletome. We’ve reaped the benefits of this, for example – none of the recent fight twice abilities allow you to fight for a third time (other than fighting twice and then fighting on Death, which may be possible).

That it may be impossible (or very difficult) to find or prove the definitive intention of the author to a 99% standard or a beyond reasonable doubt standard is not a good reason for adopting literalism or “rules as written”. If you and your opponent conclude that the author’s intention is (over 50% or more likely than not), then naturally you would use that one. The literal interpretation should not be elevated (when it is quite possible that it’s absurd or there may be multiple literal interpretations). If it’s close to 50-50 or you can’t agree with your opponent, then roll off or ask for the kind assistance of the overworked and underpaid TO.

Rules as written/literalism also falls down when common English words are regularly used to convey two or more different meanings. Words like “including” or “during” or “until” are inherently ambiguous. We’ll not risk a discussion of “wholly within”, where I’ve seen other players invoking advanced mathematics. The word “a” can mean “one” or “any” or “all” in normal English usage as the venerable Gnarlroot Wargrove FAQ illustrated:

Tying this back to Destiny Dice, we now see an acknowledgment of the importance of “intention” in the Designer’s Commentary for the Tzeentch Battletome, which twice refers to the Designer’s intention and spells out what that was:

The change to make Destiny Dice unmodified and unmodifiable reduces the power level of Destiny Dice significantly – especially for casting (Beacon of Sorcery, Arcane scenery and Mastery no longer allow a single Destiny Dice of 6 to yield a cast roll of 14 for a Lord of Change). This seems to be part of the intention to contain “unruly casting rolls”.

One can see how this is simpler to understand (“straightforward”)  for newer players who don’t have any baggage from the old Battletome and 2017 Destiny Dice. They aren’t having to unlearn combos and aren’t finding nonbos.

2020 Destiny Dice are also consistent with a broader drive towards abilities triggering on unmodified 6s (rather than modifiable 6+), which limits the power of a buff stack of +2 to hit or more and a 6+ ability (like old Murderhost Bloodletters).

---

What can I do against Destiny Dice?

Possible Counters

While one can see the appeal of the intentions behind the Destiny Dice changes, one consistent feature is that a number of soft and hard counters simply don’t work against Destiny Dice. This may be frustrating for the other player. 

1. The Khorne Hexgorgers ability (-2 Modifier to cast) will not work against a Destiny Dice casting roll (as the roll is unmodifiable by either player).

2. The Slaanesh Discordant Disruption ability (Enrapturess) will not force a Reroll of a Destiny Dice casting roll (it’s unrerollable).

3. Suppressing Fire (-1 to charge rolls) from Raptors (Hurricane Crossbows) will not work against a Destiny Dice charge roll.

4. Arguably (55%), the Khorne Daemon Prince Command Ability Bloodslick Ground will halve a Destiny Dice run roll or charge roll. This is on the basis that a Multiplier (or Divisor) is distinct from a Modifier. See point 25 above.

5. The Hornblower rule for Bloodletters and many other Daemons (including Horrors themselves) do not force a unit of Horrors of Tzeentch to reroll a Destiny Dice of 1 for Battleshock (so the test is passed and this returns D6 Slain Pink Horrors back from the Icon Bearer). 

6. While we’re on the subject, query whether you can bring back an Icon Bearer using the Emerald Lifeswarm if there are fewer than 10 Pink Horrors in the unit. It’s also worth remembering that the rule against returning models to within 3” of enemy units that aren’t already ‘tagged’ is a global one (so it applies to Emerald Lifeswarm too).

These examples are often the mirror image of a nonbo for the Tzeentch player (e.g. that Arcane or Beacon of Sorcery don’t modify a Destiny Dice cast roll any more).

The removal of Lord Kroak’s forced rerolls mechanic and the unrerollable and unmodifiable nature of Destiny Dice reduces interactivity and counterplay. Ultimately, there isn’t much you can do other than ally in Kairos (which I’ve been doing for Slaanesh), try to bait out the Destiny Dice (e.g. through the threat of Unbinding casting rolls) or give your opponent opportunities to make errors or mismanage their resources (for example using Destiny Dice, when rolling the dice was the correct call in the circumstances). 

A Silver Tower Lining?

There is a positive to this. While 2020 Destiny Dice remain a powerful allegiance ability, they aren’t as potent as 2017 Destiny Dice (in the current meta). Players rarely build entire lists around using 2020 Destiny Dice or generating more of them (though it does happen). James Page’s CanCon list leaned heavily into Endless Spells where Destiny Dice were arguably more important.

In this context, the Darkfire Daemonrift is extremely powerful in Tzeentch hands using 2020 Destiny Dice to cast it. It can lead to an area of effect of D3+10 Mortal wounds (or more) to multiple enemy units. After this carnage, a Lord of Change can then simply pick it up off the table using Spell-eater as this rule is intentionally worded as in the Hero Phase rather than in the Start of the Hero Phase (90%). Contrast this with the distinct Myrmourn Banshees’ Spell-eaters wording, which is a dispel “in the same manner as a WIZARD” (rather than causing the Endless Spell to be “dispelled”).

I’ve suggested that the bonus damage should only affect Wizard keyword (rather than just capping the damage – this is more fun and you live by the sword and you die by the sword). My own Heat 2 Syll’Esskan Host Slaanesh list sought to use an allied Kairos to rig the cast roll for Darkfire Daemonrift from a Sorceror on Manticore (or to rig an otherwise successful unbind).

Shooting or board control (Hosts Duplicitous) armies are the go-to options for Tzeentch with Destiny Dice largely smoothing out the random element of the game and increasing certainty. Typically, players allocate 2020 Destiny Dice to a key 9” or other charge, one or two casts and a clutch unbind of their opponent’s key spells. This is quite different from the T1 barrage of Gateway and D6 Mortal Wounds spam (early 2017 Destiny Dice, for example https://www.tga.community/blogs/entry/1513-archaon-does-a-submarine-at-heat-2/) or Endless Spell spam (late 2017 Destiny Dice).

Even if you have five 6s and a 1 staring back at you (as my Slaanesh army did in my first game against new Tzeentch at the inaugural Bucks Club Clash), you can still deploy defensively, try to bait out a mistake and give yourself a real chance to win the game in the late-game. I lost this one against my opponent Ed Hamon but we managed to make it a meaningful and enjoyable game for us both. 

Today, I have a Mawtribes tactics article combining the knowledge of three excellent Mawtribes generals, Doom & Darkness, Adam Burt & HeyWoah Twitch!

Michael of Doom & Darkness has done the hard yards and written the piece and you can also check out his full Mawtribes review.

---

Mawtribes Tactics: Tyrants of Legend

Adam Burt 

The first Tyrant is Adam Burt from the Heralds of War Podcast. Adam recently went 5-1 (five wins, one loss) at the Call to Glory tournament at Cancon 2020.

I approached Adam to ask if he had any advice for Mawtribes players looking to be competitive.

“You may have heard of a tactic called Hammer and the Anvil, this is an age-old tactic that requires two units be used in conjunction with one another. It invariably consists of a tough-as-nails unit (the anvil) that can take some punishment. While the hammer is a unit that may not be tough, but hits like a freight train, in Age of Sigmar hammers could be Exalted Seeker Chariots of Slaanesh, Flamers of Tzeentch, Evocators or even a monster like a Maw Krusha.

Well with Mawtribes you can forget this tactic because your anvils are your hammers and your hammers are also your anvils! It is two for the price of one! Here are three great examples of units from the Mawtribes book that will take this role for you on the battlefield.

* 12 Ogor Gluttons – 48 wounds of fleshy goodness, for 400 points a unit of these big boys also pumps out 37 attacks, with 6s becoming two hits. They may not have rend, but at two damage per attack and possibly combined with some spell support from a Butcher or Slaughtermaster they will make work of even the hardiest opponent.

* Frostlord on Stonehorn – 13 wounds, a 3+ save, and 5+ Stone Skeleton “aftersave” gives the Stonehorn great survivability. Don’t discount the 5+ Stone Skeleton either, this provides the Stonehorn with 17 effective wounds… combine this with a whopping potential of 57 damage on the charge and this bad boy will give your opponent something to worry about for only 400 points.

*8 Ironguts – your opponent will only make the mistake of underestimating Ironguts once. A unit of 8 has 32 wounds with a 4+ save, in cover this would give them a 3+ save and because of their two-inch reach, they can all attack with a small frontage of only four models (which makes fitting them all in terrain that little bit easier). Then, when they do attack, they throw out three attacks each that have rend -1 and three damage! Units of four of these guys will mince a Mortarch in a turn (not Katakros), let alone a unit of 8!” 

---

HeyWoah Twitch

Next up we have Joe Alane from Wisconsin, also known as Heywoah Twitch. Joe has been a champion of the Beastclaw Raiders component of the Mawtribes since he first got into the hobby. Joe recently went 4-1 with his Stonehorn heavy list (four Stonehorns!) at WAAAGH! Paca 2020 in the US. Let’s hear what advice Joe has to give.

“Might Makes Right is a potent tool which makes your Ogors count as two models to capture objectives but more importantly your Stonehorns count as 10! Being three or fewer drops is the most critical requirement for Mawtribes competitive play. Focus on your strengths and play Boulderhead Jorlbad or Eurlbad with two Frostlords on Stonehorns. Give your opponent the first turn and go for the double. 

In the current Meta, 10-model capturing Stonehorns with a powerful initial hit and a consistent chance at a double turn allows you to steal wins from armies that should by all rights beat you on paper. When using a Stonehorn heavy army almost everything in your opponent’s army is a nail. Luckily you have lots of hammers to hit them with!

Capturing objectives wins games, but so does positioning and tempo. Reduce variance as much as possible. If you can’t beat it, find a way to reduce its impact on the game. Understand that the majority of what decides a game of Warhammer Age of Sigmar happens before the first turn begins.”

---

Mawtribes tactics: Which tribe should I take?

Right now, there are two different Mawtribes tribes at the top of matched play – Bloodgullet and Boulderhead. This is not to write off the other tribes completely, but there has been a strong preference for these two tribes.

---

Bloodgullet

The Bloodgullet tribe herald from the realm of fire, Aqshy. Slaughtermasters and Butchers from this tribe are infused with the power of blood magic drained from their enemies. On the tabletop, this means your Slaughtermasters and Butchers can cast two spells instead of one. 

The real power, however, comes from combining the command trait Nice Drop of the Red Stuff and the command ability Bloodbath.

• Nice Drop of the Red Stuff: friendly units wholly within 12″ can pile in an extra 3″;
• Bloodbath: your Gluttons wholly within 12 of a BLOODGULLET BUTCHER can reroll wound rolls.

This combination of abilities makes a unit of 12 Ogor Gluttons #deadliertthanever….but wait…there is still more!

---

Gormand battalion

A Slaughtermaster will often lead a Bloodgullet army in a Gormand battalion which contains many of the units you would normally want to take anyways (Slaughtermaster, Gluttons,Ironguts and Leadbelchers).

This battalion allows you to reduce the number of drops in your army to normally between three to five, often allowing you to dictate who has the first turn.

The battalion also allows your Slaughtermaster to use the Great Cauldron ability twice. With this ability we are fishing for a roll on a d6 of three or four to get the Spinemarrow buff off. This makes Ogor Gluttons now hit on a 2+ instead of 3+.

The Mawtribes spell lore has many great spells, but in particular, we want to try and get either Blood Feast or Ribcracker off in support of our Gluttons or Ironguts.

So let us bring it together, 12 Ogor Gluttons with Paired Clubs supported by a Blood Gullet Slaughtermaster in a Gormand battalion buffed with the great cauldron and Blood Feast means that 12 Ogor Gluttons are making 48 attacks, hitting on 2+s with exploding sixes and wounding on 3+s with rerolls. If that’s not enough then the follow up 24 Gulping Bites hitting on 2+ and wounding on 3+s with rerolls will likely finish off whatever is left!

While buffed Ogor Gluttons can hit hard, they can unfortunately also get hit very hard if they do not get to attack first. The unit has 48 wounds which are enough to take a hit in a lot of instances. However, have no doubts that units like a Megaboss on Maw-Krusha, Flamers of Tzeentch or buffed up Ardboys will blow through a unit of 12 Ogor Gluttons in one round of combat.

Make sure if you don’t have control of the initiative or are too far away from your enemy to reliably get the charge on them that you have a screen up to protect your Gluttons. A line of Gnoblars or Frost Sabres in front of your units could save you from losing your strongest unit in one turn.

---

Boulderhead

The second tribe we see commonly selected for competitive play is The Boulderhead tribe. This tribe once fought a brutal and gruelling civil war against the Blood Fists tribe to try and establish dominance over all Ogor tribes.

Stonehorns of a Fearsome Breed lead the charge in this tribe, increasing the number of wounds of your Stonehorns from 13 to 14 and allowing Frost Lords on Stonehorn and Huskards on Stonehorn to use the Dig Deep Your Heels command ability. This allows the unit to use the top row on the unit’s damage table regardless of how many wounds it has taken, preserving its effectiveness for longer. This not only has useful implications for the combat phase but also the movement phase.

Games are often won in turns four and five and suddenly restoring your Stonehorns’ movement to full, may be the difference between getting him onto that critical objective where he counts as ten models to win the game. Knowing that your Stonehorn can always fight at full strength if you have a CP available can also force some difficult combat activation decisions onto your opponent. 

---

Jorlbad/Eurlbad

If you’re running Boulderhead then you might find yourself taking a Jorlbad or Eurlbad which, excluding the battalion’s abilities, allows you to reduce the number of drops in your army hopefully enabling you to dictate who takes the first turn. In addition, it will also give you access to that critical second artefact.

---

Artefact choices

Typical builds for Boulderhead Stonehorn include combining the Brand of the Svard artefact and Black Clatterhorn mount trait to ensure both your Stonehorn’s horns and hooves hit on 2+ so you can deliver that critical killing blow when required.

Alternatively, you can take an Ethereal Amulet artefact from the realm of Shyish and combine it with the Metalcruncher mount trait to make a super resilient Stonehorn who can go toe to toe with almost any monster/hero in the game. 

You are, however, not restricted to one or the other and typically you will see two Frostlords on Stonehorn in a competitive Boulderhead list. If you wish to spread the + 1 to hit love around a little bit more, then put the Brand of the Svard on one Stonehorn and Black Clatterhorn on the other, and now they are both hitting on 3+ with those high damage horns.

Facing off against up to five Stonehorns can be very intimidating for your opponents and poses quite the problem for your opponent when it comes to target priority!

---

Underguts

Now I can’t write an article about the competitiveness of the different Ogor Mawtribes without giving an honourable mention to the Underguts. This tribe specialises in shooting, and while we have not seen it float to the top of a tournament yet, that does not mean it won’t.

Unfortunately, the firepower brought to the table with Underguts Ironblasters is very erratic. While being capable of blowing soft targets like Keepers of Secrets off the table, heaven forbid you find yourself opposite an ethereal Megaboss on Mawkrusha or Petrifex Elite Nagash.

---

Mawtribes tactics: What else does your list need?

Now to finish off the Mawtribes tactics article I want to talk about one of the most important components of many armies, and that is screens. “What’s a screen you might ask?” well a screen is a cheap disposable unit that is placed in front of your larger expensive and more critical units to block an enemy charge. 

One thing about Ogors is that they have no save after save and no real “always strikes first” mechanic. The majority of your units have a 4+ or 5+ save and what this means is if your opponent charges you and attacks first then you are going to take a significant amount of damage before you ever get to strike.

A simple 100-point, 20 strong unit of Gnoblars in a line in front of your Ironguts or Ogors Gluttons for the most part will prevent this from occurring in your opponent’s turn. If you find that Gnoblars are sometimes too slow or restricting your own army’s movement, try switching to small units of Frost Sabres and play them sideways, they are faster and can screen almost as well!

Unfortunately, I need to wrap this up, but this article is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Ogor Mawtribes tactics. To all the Tyrants out there keep up the good fight and remember to show your enemies why two clubs are better than one and why Ogors are the best!

Today is a follow up in the NicoLab series on rules issues in Warhammer Age of Sigmar – the Activation Wars Part Two. You can check out the original article, where Nico dissects the rules of sequencing, activation and combat in Age of Sigmar. Feel free to drop a comment at the end of the article with your thoughts, reasoning and ideas for future articles in this series.

And, as always, check out Dark Fantastic Mills for great 3D printed terrain perfect for wargaming.  Its super versatile and light so worldwide shipping is inexpensive. Use the “aos shorts” discount code for a further 10% off the already decent prices.

---

Of the six new Battletomes since the original article, some have brought new tools for the Activation Wars. The Arms Race continues with the emergence of clear winners and losers.

Slaanesh’s impact on the activation wars

The first article was being edited as the Fyreslayers and Slaanesh books were dropping. In that first article, I noted that the special rule in the final paragraph of Locus of Diversion (now called the Slaanesh Proviso) would be “very interesting” and so it has proven:

Slaanesh proved dominant off the back of their excessive summoning and Locus. Now Locus (and Slaanesh in general) are reeling from changes to the dice roll to trigger Locus (and summoning changes). However, the Slaanesh Proviso remains intact, which should keep Slaanesh in the top tier of armies (if no longer dominant).

---

Recap: phase dependent rules and subphases

We can briefly recap the key principles set out in the previous article. Some have been refined since then by FAQs.

1. The Start, During and End parts of a phase are important distinctions which can be likened to discrete subphases.
2. Abilities that are used “During” the phase cannot be used in the Start (e.g. Morathi).
3. Many abilities (7 or more from both players) can be used in a given Start of a phase. 
4. The Active Player (the player whose turn it is) does all of its simultaneous abilities in an order of its choice, then the non-active player does all of its simultaneous abilities in an order of its choice. 
5. The phases and sequencing rules have been interpreted strictly even where this leads to odd results.
6. The Slaanesh Proviso (see above).
7. The Triggered Exception. During part abilities can be triggered in the Start part of a phase. For example, Savage Strike (Strike First in the Start part) does count as happening  in the During part for the sole purpose of triggering other abilities such as Feeding Frenzy (fight again in the combat phase) or No Respite (Blood Warriors’ phase-dependent fight on Death). It’s worth emphasising that the Triggered Exception is a narrow one – this doesn’t allow During abilities to be used in the Start part turn normally.
8. Units of the Active Player that Fight Last and move within 3” of enemy units that did not fight earlier in the During part of the combat phase, will make those enemy units eligible to fight in the End of the combat phase. This is not true of units of the non-active player’s units that have been made to Fight Last and then move within 3” of non-activated enemy units. This is because of 4. above – the Active Player has to do all its end of the combat phase abilities first. 
   1. This is a bad ruling that is overly complicated. There should be no eligibility to fight in the End part without a specific ability. Tough luck if you’ve missed your chance. There is no reason to restart the selection of units to activate which was already completed in the During part.
9. If there are two contradictory abilities affecting a unit, then the second to be applied takes precedence. The most recent ability trumps.
   1. This is not a new rule (originating in the Beasts of Chaos FAQ for the Taurus and High Tide), but the December 2019 FAQ has granted it greater prominence. Contradictory abilities could include Strike First and Strike Last but also Strike Last and a triggered ability to Strike (e.g. Smashing & Bashing or Tyrants of Blood). See below:

---

A more recent Strike Last may not help?

You would think that a Start of the Combat Phase Strike Last would be pretty good right?

The Alvagr Ancient Command trait is triggered in the start of the combat phase and causes enemy units to Strike Last. However, in the Alvagr Ancient player’s turn, he must use Strike Last before the opponent in the start of the combat phase (because Active Player abilities go first). So the opponent can immediately trump this with its own Start of the Combat Phase Strike First (e.g. Hermdar).

On the other hand, in the opponent’s turn, the opponent uses Strike First and… resolves this activation – before the Thundertusk can use Alvagr Ancient. It’s lose-lose.

One sliver of good news is that the Lords of the Lodge fight again ability merely allows the Hermdar unit to be selected to activate for a second time in the combat phase. There’s no hook for it to activate for a second time in the Start of the Combat Phase. Hence, in the Fyreslayer’s turn, the order would be:

• Start of the Combat Phase
  • Hermdar (Hearthguard Berzerkers fight)
  • Alvagr Ancient Applies to HGB
• Combat Phase
  • Other activations alternating order (starting with the Fyreslayers).
• End of Combat Phase
  • HGB fight again (Lords of the Lodge)
  • Any other End of Combat Phase abilities of the Mawtribes player.

---

A Hierarchy of Abilities

With full credit to Vince and Tom of Warhammer Weekly fame, here’s a fleshed out list of weapons for the Activation Wars.

• Start of the Battle
  • Immortal Champion (S to D)
  • Halo of Blood (Khorne)
  • Swift as the Wind (Tempest’s Eye)
• Start of the Third Battle Round
  • High Tide (Idoneth) 
• Hero Phase
  • Itchy Nuisance (Gloomspite Gitz)
  • Soul Cage (Nighthaunt)
  • Binding Damnation (Slaves to Darkness) 
• Shooting Phase
  • Flinger (Gloomspite Gitz) 
• Charge Phase
  • Wave of Terror (Nighthaunt) (not subject to the Slaanesh Proviso)
  • Savage Strike (FEC)
  • Spear of the Hunt (Cities of Sigmar)
  • Helm of Many Eyes (Slaves to Darkness) 
• End of the Charge Phase
  • Locus of Diversion (note the Slaannesh Proviso still applies if this combines with a Strike First ability). 
• Start of the Combat Phase
  • Hermdar (Fyreslayers)
  • Strike Quickly (Hysh)
  • Alvagr Ancient (Mawtribes)
  • Stomp (Sylvaneth)
  • Khartoth the Bloodhunger (Khorne)
  • Quicksilver Draught (Stormcast)
  • Doppelganger Cloak (Ulgu)
  • Halo of Blood (Khorne) 
• Combat Phase
  • Tyrants of Blood (Khorne) (not subject to the Slaanesh Proviso)
  • Smashing & Bashing (not subject to the Slaanesh Proviso)
  • Death Frenzy (any time – also not subject to the Slaanesh Proviso)

Abilities towards the bottom of the above hierarchy are less likely to be trumped than those at the top and are more valuable.

---

What can I do to navigate the Activation Wars?

Generally speaking buffs are stronger than debuffs in the Activation Wars (as the debuffs tend to be earlier in time e.g. spells) or their timing is such that they always get outfoxed by a Start of the Combat Phase Strike First (e.g. Stomp and Alvagr Ancient).

If you’re playing with one of these debuffs, you should check for any Strike First abilities and as the opponent you should volunteer information about these (and discuss how they will interact before deployment).

It’s worth noting that the presence of the word “immediately” in a rule is essentially poetic or decorative language and has no impact on sequencing.

Doppelganger Cloak remains one of the best answers to Slaanesh/Strike First or Fight Last. It’s particularly strong in the Slaanesh player’s turn as Locus will cause the Slaanesh player to be unable to attack at all (as it must resolve all of its End of Combat Phase abilities before the Locused player – see principle 8. above). Against the Doppelganger Cloak, the Slaanesh player is better off not using Locus at all.

Fight on Death is also a reasonable solution to Strike First abilities. For example Plague Monks or StormVermin with Death Frenzy can make positive trades with your opponent. Death Frenzy – like Smashing & Bashing – is a triggered ability, so it will be resolved at that trigger, trumping any Strike Last ability (as it is more recent than the Strike Last ability).

---

Conclusion

With the proliferation of Strike First and Strike Last abilities out there, the Activation Wars are still going strong. However, the rise of Ossiarch Bonereapers shows that there are alternatives. Despite having almost no Activation Wars tricks of their own (only a lesser quality 6” pile in on the Kavalos Death Riders); and Mortek Guard losing their re-roll saves against Strike First, Ossiarch Bonereapers remain competitive through sheer efficiency and astute resource management. 

The absence of the expected nerf to the Soulscream Bridge also encourages heavy shooting lists like Hallowheart or Tempest’s Eye (particularly those that benefit from not moving by being setup instead). Kharadron Overlords and Tzeentch also loom large on the scene! All to play for!