AoS Shorts: Your Essential Guide to Age of Sigmar

CanCon 2019: Chaos Lists!

Hey all, today concludes the series of Doom & Darkness CanCon List Review shows with a review of all the Chaos lists at CanCon 2019. Doom is joined by Hey Woah (@HeyWoah_twitch), Skaven King Dan Brewer and Queen of Nurgle Jemma Shepherd.

Call to Glory at CanCon 2019 in Canberra, Australia will be the largest Warhammer Age of Sigmar event ever held! 220 players in the height of the Australian summer, battling the fires of Aqshy, for matched play supremacy.

And just before we dive into it, the site is now partnered with Dark Fantastic Mills. DFM produces amazing 3D printed terrain and you can use the code “AoS Shorts” to get a further 10% off and support the site.  The terrain is super light so shipping worldwide is surprisingly cheap.

Age of Sigmar

CanCon Chaos List Analysis

Here is where you can watch Doom’s show.

I’ll also return with some additional breakdowns and comments.


CanCon Chaos Lists: Full File

Here are all the Chaos lists going to CanCon 2019.


CanCon 2019 List Reviews

You can find all the other CanCon List Reviews here:

CanCon 2019: Destruction Lists

Hey all, today is the day of the Doom and Darkness Destruction List Review show for CanCon 2019. CanCon is the largest Age of Sigmar tournament in the world so far, with 220 players from across Australia, New Zealand and USA.

Today, Doom is joined by the Loonking himself, Donal Taylor – the world’s most infamous Gloomspite player – and Vincent Venturella, community figurehead, painter extraordinaire, games developer and all round legend.

You can watch the Doom and Darkness Destruction List Review for CanCon 2019 here and check out the Order and Death List Reviews too.

And while, you are watching, here are all the CanCon Destruction Lists for 2019.

I’ll come back and fill this post out with a whole load more details and analysis.

CanCon 2019: Death Lists

Hey all, very quick post as it is late here and the Doom and Darkness Death list review show is about to start. Doom is joined by Brendan Melnick (@Hobby_Bear) from Milwaukee, USA aka Lord of Death and CanCon TO, Clint Mallet (@heraldsofwar).

Follow Doom’s show here.

Here are all the CanCon Death Lists for 2019.

I’ll come back and fill this post out with a whole load more details and analysis.

CanCon 2019: Order Lists!

Hey all, Call to Glory at CanCon 2019 in Canberra, Australia will be the largest Warhammer Age of Sigmar event ever held! 220 players in the height of the Australian summer, battling the fires of Aqshy, for matched play supremacy. Today, I have the Order lists for the event.

And just before we dive into it, the site is now partnered with Dark Fantastic Mills. DFM produces amazing 3D printed terrain and you can use the code “AoS Shorts” to get a further 10% off and support the site.  The terrain is super light so shipping worldwide is surprisingly cheap.

Age of Sigmar

CanCon Order Lists Analysis

Doom & Darkness, excellent Australian AoS YouTube channel, is doing separate list rundown shows for each of the Grand Alliances. You can check out:


I’ll return to add some of my own thoughts, analysis and breakdowns of the Order Lists later.

Rough faction breakdown:

  • Stormcast (15)
  • Idoneth Deepkin (11)
  • Seraphon (10)
  • Daughters of Khaine (9)
  • Sylvaneth (6)
  • Mixed Order (4)
  • Fyreslayers (3)
  • Free Peoples (2)
  • Kharadron Overlords (2)
  • Wanderers (2)
  • Anvilguard (1)
  • Hallowheart (1)
  • Hammerhal (1)
  • Tempest’s Eye (1)
  • Darkling Covens (1)
  • Order Draconis (1)
  • Phoenix Temple (1)
  • Swifthawk Agents (1)

CanCon Order Lists: Full File

Here are the 73 Order lists going to CanCon 2019.

Midwest Meltdown 2018 Preview

Hey all, this weekend is the first large Warhammer Age of Sigmar singles tournament using the Second Edition rules – the Midwest Meltdown.  Hosted by Domus in East Peoria, Illinois, almost 60 players will battle it out in a 2,000 point matched play event.  In this post, I’ll cover the pack, the army lists and some stats.

Follow along over the weekend on Twitter by keeping an eye on Domus’ Twitter account and using #midwestmeltdown.  For more Age of Sigmar Second Edition event news, check out my event coverage, AoS 2 events packs page, the Age of Sigmar event calendar and the tournament list archive.


The Midwest Meltdown 2018 Pack

So let’s talk about the tournament pack.  In this new edition, but pre-FAQ world, tournament organisers have a hard job making an accessible pack that uses the new rules, while avoiding the rare negative play experience which can sometimes arise from something which may have slipped through play-testing.  Now, its only a problem for a short window because Games Workshop now tidy up any stray points quickly, but if your event is in the interim you need to make arrangements.

Rules

The Midwest Meltdown 2018 is 5 games of 2,000 points matched play using Age of Sigmar Second Edition, the General’s Handbook 2018 and Malign Sorcery.  You can nominate that your army is from a specific realm and use the artefacts.  Firestorm allegiances are also in play.

Battleplans

Players will play 5 of the following 9 battleplans, with the battleplan being announced at the end of the following round.

  • Total Commitment
  • Focal Points
  • The Better Part of Valour
  • Shifting Objectives
  • Places of Arcane Power
  • The Relocation Orb
  • Duality of Death
  • Border Wars
  • Gift from the Heavens

Realms of Battle

The Realms of Battle rules will be in use with a house rule to Ghur below. The realm will be set by the tournament organiser each round for all players as well as the Realmscape Feature.  Additionally, the Spells of the Realms will be in play for that realm per Malign Sorcery.  Realms may be duplicated.  Ghur – will not be using the Monstrous Beasts rule.

Scoring

For gaming, the Midwest Meltdown uses a 12.9.6.3.0 system with secondary objectives announced on the day worth an extra 3 pts a game (i.e. the difference between a minor and a major result).

House Rules

Finally, the event has a number of house rules for clarity and to address a couple of issues that have arisen pre-FAQ.  Its worth reading the full pack to check these out.  View the full pack here.


The Midwest Meltdown Prizes

Domus has arranged some awesome trophies, along with swag from popular US Warhammer retailer, Ministomp (@ministomp).  There are awards for:

  • Best Overall
  • Best Player in Each Grand Alliance
  • Best Painted
  • Best Sportsman
  • Best Terrain Piece
  • Coolest Army


Age of Sigmar Second Edition Lists

Domus has also done a great job in the lead-up to the event teasing lots of great statistics for the event.  I’ve reproduced the stats here, otherwise you can jump straight to the lists.

Grand Alliance breakdown

  • 19 Chaos
  • 17 Order
  • 15 DEATH
  • 5 Destruction

Allegiance Breakdown

  • 1 Beastclaw
  • 1 Clan Skryre
  • 1 Flesh Eater Courts
  • 1 Kharadron Overlords
  • 1 Legion of Blood
  • 1 Moonclan
  • 1 Slaanesh
  • 2 Idoneth Deepkin
  • 2 Seraphon
  • 3 Chaos
  • 3 Daughters of Khaine
  • 3 Ironjawz
  • 3 Khorne
  • 3 Nighthaunt
  • 3 Order
  • 3 Tzeentch
  • 5 Grand Hosts of Nagash
  • 5 Legion of Sacrament
  • 6 Stormcast Eternals
  • 8 Maggotkin

Chosen Realms

  • The most popular realm is Shyish, closely followed by Hysh (surprise, surprise).

Artefacts

  • Lens, Ethereal Amulet and Muttergrub are the run-away most popular artefacts.

Battalions

  • The most popular battalions are Blight Cyst and Lords of Sacrament

Characters

  • The most popular named characters are Nagash and Arkhan (5 each)

Midwest Meltdown

Endless Spells

  • Geminids is the most popular Endless Spell
  • The list with the most Endless Spells has 5 spells
  • 17 lists with no Endless Spells

Check out the full lists here, if you missed them along the way 😉


Photos of armies mustering

Twitter has been awash with people putting together great looking armies and display boards (always a feature of the US Age of Sigmar scene) for the event.  I’ve just grabbed a few pics below (I’ll come back and add Twitter handles etc).

AoS 2 Early Event Round-Up

Hey all, with Age of Sigmar Second Edition now out for a few weeks, we have had a number of events testing out the new rule-set.  To the extent that I have been able to get them, I have a wrap-up of the events, AoS2 lists, and results.  This post covers Summer Massacre (UK), Summer Carnage (US), the ATC Singles event (US), a German event hosted by the Würfelgötter club, and the Games Cube (Aus).

You can also check out the coverage of Warhost 2018 and the AoS 6 Nations for more Age of Sigmar second edition event coverage.  For more event details, check out the events page and the tournament list archive.

Summer Massacre – UK

First up is Summer Massacre.  Hosted by the Newcastle Warlords and run by James Chalmers of the Tales of Sigmar podcast/YouTube.  The Warlords have a really great set of club nights going and seem to be growing from strength to strength.  They are definitely worth checking out if you are in the area – you can find them on Facebook.

Summer Massacre event pack and lists

Summer Massacre Pack

Summer Massacre AoS2 Lists

Summer Massacre Results

The podium places went to:

  • 1st place – Richard Hudspith – @13on2D6 – Seraphon
  • 2nd place – Martin Swaffield – @martinswaffield – Nighthaunt
  • 3rd place – Lee Hamilton – @leehamilton86 – Fyreslayers
  • MOST SPORTING – Kyle Brunskill
  • The Reserved (Least Kill Points) – Ian Crew
  • Last Place (Winning is for Losers) – Scott Wall
  • BEST IN FACTION (Kill Points)
    • Chaos – Philip Gibbons
    • Order – Richard Hudspith
    • Death – Tom Healey (@ladvoncarstein)
    • Destruction – Andy Thompson

The full results were:

Armies on display at the event

There were also painting prizes:

  • 1st – Mike Plissken (Maggotkin of Nurgle)
  • 2nd – Samuel Robert Goodwin (Legions of Nagash)
  • 3rd – Tom Healey (Legions of Blood) (@ladvoncarstein)

Germany event hosted by Würfelgötter (the Dice Gods)

The Würfelgötter club have recently hosted the biggest Age of Sigmar tournament in Germany.  This last weekend they had 20 players testing out Age of Sigmar Second Edition.   You can find the pack and lists here.

The event was won by Stormcast, with Nurgle Blight Cyst second and Gnarlroot third.

For more on the European Age of Sigmar scene, check out the T3 Tournaments site and this forum.

Age of Sigmar Europe

Summer Carnage – US

Regular readers of the site will know that Scott Reed (@thelnorn1) runs a number of Age of Sigmar events in the West of the US.  Recently he ran Summer Carnage at @AtEaseGames in San Diego.

Scott always does great Age of Sigmar event packs, so it is worth checking his out here: Summer Carnage pack.  The event used Realm of Battle Rules and allowed players to pick one realm spell from the realm for use in their army.

Congrats to the following podium winners:

  • Jarrett Zazuetta – Seraphon
  • James Thomas – Tzeentch
  • Mathew Jones – Grand Host of Nagash

American Team Championships (ATC) Singles Event

The ATC has traditionally been a large 40k team event.  This year it added an Age of Sigmar event at (fairly) short notice.  I understand 12 players turned up and the podium places were:

  • William Soehaili – Tzeentch
  • Robert Baer – Beastclaw Raiders
  • Terry Throop – Seraphon.

The Games Cube – Sydney, Australia

Every month runs a monthly 3 game mini-tournament in Sydney.  24 players turned up to the first event under Age of Sigmar Second Edition and it was taken out by friend of the show, Mr Anthony Magro (Legion of Night with Mannfred).

If you are in or near Sydney, check out Anthony’s Sydney GT in September.

Warhost 2018 – First AoS2 Matched Play Tournament

Hey all, a quick preview post for the world’s first* two day matched-play Age of Sigmar Second Edition matched play tournament happening this weekend in Hamilton, New Zealand.  Its going to be really interesting to see how the armies go in the Wild West of the early days of AoS2.  So check below for the crazy hot takes on AoS2 lists.

We are also trialing a few new things in order to encourage narrative and hobby involvement at a traditionally matched play focused event.  Game-play, narrative and painting all have separate scoring systems and prizes of equal value awarded at the end.  Check out the details below, and I’d encourage you to participate in the public voting for narrative and painting here over the weekend.

Finally, the event has been sponsored by Mighty Ape, a New Zealand online retailer and hobby store that is currently starting to host its own Age of Sigmar events in Auckland.  Mighty Ape have kindly provided prize support and discounted mats for use on the table tops.

AoS2 Lists

Warhost AoS2 Pack

The Warhost pack is 5 rounds of 2,000pt Age of Sigmar Second Edition using the General’s Handbook 2018, Endless Spells and Realm Artefacts.  The Realm of Battle Rules are not in play.  But apart from that, the event is straight out of the book.

We are playing Total Commitment, Focal Points, Shifting Objectives, Places of Arcane Power and the Relocation Orb.  We are also using 3 hour rounds so that everyone can get a grip with the new rules.

For the full details check out the pack.

Warhost AoS2 Lists

All our AoS2 lists are now in, and you can download and check them out.   As you will see there are quite a few lists rocking magical defence, some strong Death lists coming and a lot of order armies bringing the Lens from Hyish to protect their armies from mortal wounds.

I’ll have some coverage on these lists and how they did after the weekend, but check out the Notorious AoS podcast on Podbean and iTunes for a list preview show.

Warhost AoS2 Narrative

Each player has been encouraged to write a narrative for their army for the tournament, including a narrative that ties into the scenarios that are being played.  Players are invited to engage with their opponent about their narrative.

We are trying something a little different with this tournament. One of the things we love about the hobby is the ability to create a shared story between the players. For this tournament there will be a narrative competition judged by your pairs. Further details on this section will be discussed on page two of this pack. The minimum requirement for this section is that you must participate with your opponent in their story. This section is mostly optional we do not expect
players to come up with background information or a narrative story if they just wish to throw dice, however you will still be asked to rank your opponents on the narrative they presented to you during your games as discussed on page two

Event Narrative
For this event, YOU will be setting the narrative for your games. Examine what scenarios are being played on which rounds and come up with interesting narratives for your army on those scenarios. During each game you with play through your narrative with your opponent. The narrative could involve sub objectives for your army to accomplish or stop your opponent form accomplishing, however these sub objectives do not come into play for gameplay scoring in deciding who achieves victory. Effectively you are trying to create a story during gameplay with your opponent – perhaps during one scenario your heroes are attempting to draw power from one of the objectives or one of the objectives signify a hostage. The options are endless and it is up to the players to create an enjoyable story with their opponent.

Narrative Scoring
At the end of the tournament each player will score their opponents from favourite to least  favourite in terms of their narrative. Each players favourite opponent scores 5 points, second favourite 4 points down to 1 point for least favourite.

Already we have some players going to great lengths to really set the scene for their armies.  Just check out Andy Long (@golongdesign)’s work for his Slaanesh army.

AoS2 Event Coverage

I’ll be providing coverage over Twitter over the weekend, and you can follow along at #Warhost2018.  I’m also hoping to have some videos recorded 🙂

*as far as I know, and by only about 12 hours over the AoS 6 Nations in the UK 😉