Hey all, today I have my first thoughts on the new Idoneth Deepkin battletome for Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Games Workshop kindly provided me a free review copy. Let’s get in to it!

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Idoneth Deepkin Summary

• The tide mechanic has been retained and strengthened as there are now several ways to stack multiple tide effects in the same turn. 
  • Ionarch enclave allowing you to stack Flood and Ebb Tide with other tides.  So you could have retreat and charge and strikes first in turn 3 in order to gain the charge benefits (such as on the Akhelian King’s Bladed Polearm)
  • Akhelian King command ability allowing you to have High Tide, in addition to the normal turn tide effects, in turns other than turn 3.  So if you are in place for a turn 2/3 double then you can have High Tide in turns 2 and 3 to make sure you are always hitting first. 

• Forgotten Nightmares fixed to deal with Sentinels and the option for a ritual to limit shooting in the first turn to no longer than 12”.
  • “Friendly IDONETH DEEPKIN units can only be picked as the target of a shooting attack if they are the closest eligible target to the attacking model”

• Multiple build options – with mixed arms or Namarti builds much more viable than previously. Namarti certainly have legs with their 2” reach, low points cost and combat output, as well as the enclave support of Dhom-Hain or Mor’Phann.

• Strong push away from Akhelian Guard builds. 
  • No more +3 to charge from Soulscryer, 
  • Ishlaen Guard up 40 points and can no longer receive bonuses to save
  • The Eels’ Fangs and Lashing Tails have been reduced in range and strength
  • the Aspect of the Sea, Volturnos and Akhelian King bubble abilities now are smaller and don’t work on missile attacks or on mounts

• All the Isharann heroes have increased survivability with improved armour and ward saves.  A great change given you will want at least one Isharann hero to take advantage of the new Rituals to affect the tides. 

• High movement (with cavalry and Flood and Ebb Tides), but less likely to use off board deployment now that the Soulscryer has lost the +3 to charge. This also means opponents have to worry less about combat punch appearing in their back field or on an exposed flank.

• Strong damage output with decent rend, but limited mortal wound output or ways to combat very high save stacking or ward saves.  The Aspect of the Sea Tsunami of Terror spell helps with reducing saves. Combine that with an Akhelian King hitting on the charge at -3 rend and you will lift even the toughest save stacked 2+ armour save characters.

Idoneth Deepkin: Battle Traits

Tides of Death

• The tides are unchanged.
• Now any ISHARANN HERO general can flip the tides.

Isharann Rituals

• You can access a ritual to influence the tides if you have any ISHARANN units in your army (Tidecaster, Lotann, Soulscryer, Soulrender, Elthain Ill-Fated).  Pick one of the following:
  • During Low Tide, friendly IDK units cannot be picked as the target of a shooting attack unless the attacking model is within 12” of that unit
  • +1 to run and charge rolls for friendly IDK units affected by Flood Tide
  • Friendly NAMARTI units have a 5+ ward during High Tide
  • Before a friendly IDK unit retreats during Ebb Tide, roll a dice for each enemy unit within 3” of that unit.  On a 4+, that enemy unit suffers D3 mortal wounds. 
• Rituals are selected in the first battle round, after command points have been generated, but before the turn starts, so you can tailor the ritual to fit your opponent.
• A Tidecaster will allow you to pick two, and Lotann would allow you to pick one and apply it to a nearby IDK unit (so you could gain some shooting protection for your Akhelian King for instance).  

Enclaves

• Enclaves reduced down to one special rule each. 
• Several viable options.  Each tends to lead you down a particular army build path.  
  • Ionarch – Akhelians
  • Fuethan – Allopexes
  • Dhom-Hain or Mor’Phann – 
  • Nautilar – Leviadons

Ionarch

• Gives you a replacement heroic action for an IONARCH AKHELIAN HERO (Volturnos or an Akhelian King).  Pick 1 friendly IONARCH AKHELIAN unit wholly within 12” of that HERO.  Until the end of that turn, you can choose for that unit to be affected by either the Flood Tide or Ebb Tide ability in addition to any other abilities from the Tides of Death table they are affected by. 

Nautilar

• Gives you a replacement monstrous rampace for a NAUTILAR LEVIADON.  Change the Rend characteristic of that LEVIADON’s Massive Scythed Fins and Crushing Jaws to -3 until the end of the next combat phase. So assuming full health then that is
  • Scythed Fins 2” 4, 2+, 3+, -3, 4 damage
  • Crushing Jaws 1” 2, 2+, 2+. -3, 3 damage
• Leviadons can be Battleline (useful for sticking them in Hunters of the Heartlands too)

Mor’Phann

• Add 3 to the number of slain models returned to MOR’PHANN NAMARTI units returned by a MOR’PHANN SOULRENDER. So you will be adding 3+D3 a turn, or 6+2D3 a battle round.  NB: the Soulrender Lurelight ability does not stack on the same unit, so if you have multiple Soulrenders you need to pick different units.   

Fuethan 

• Allopexes can be Battleline. 
• Allopexes can also be bought as three single units in a Bloodthirsty Shiver (similar to the Rot Coven in Nurgle)
• At the start of the combat phase, you can pick 1 unit from each Bloodthirsty Shiver in your army.  Until the end of that phase, unmodified hits of 6 for that unit’s Ferocious Bites score 2 hits instead of 1.  If the attacking unit is within 3” of at least 1 other Allopex from the same Bloodthirsty Shiver then you score 3 hits. 

Dhom-Hain

• Settle in – this one is long and complex. Basically, Namarti go choppy-choppy or redeploy en masse.
• If you take the first turn in the current battle round, in your combat phase, after a friendly DHOM-HAIN NAMARTI unit has fought for the first time in that phase, if there are no enemy units within 3” of that DHOM-HAIN NAMARTI unit, you can attempt a charge with that unit if it is within 12” of any enemy units.  If that DHOM-HAIN NAMARTI unit finishes that charge move within ½” of an enemy unit, you can pick that unit to fight for a second time in that phase when it is your turn to do so. 
• If you take the second turn in the current battle round, when a friendly DHOM-HAIN HERO issues the Redeploy command to a friendly DHOM-HAIN NAMARTI unit, you can pick up to 3 friendly DHOM-HAIN NAMARTI units to receive the command instead of only 1 friendly unit. 

Briomdar

• A BRIOMDAR SOULSCRYRER can bring 3 friendly BRIOMDAR IDONETH DEEPKIN units with them rather than 2.

Command Traits

My picks of the command traits.

Traits of the Akhelians

• Unstoppable Fury – While this general is affected by the High Tide ability, for each enemy unit within 3” of them during the combat phase, add 2 to the Attacks characteristic of their melee weapons until the end of that phase. 

Traits of the Isharann

• Teachings of the Turscoll – flips the tides (no longer on the Tidecaster warscroll).

Traits of the Eidolons

• Ancient Pride – unmodified hit rolls of 1 or 2 made by melee weapons targeting this general fail and the attack sequence ends. NB: unmodified means after rerolls so sadly you don’t get to turn off reroll 1s abilities
• Nightmare Legacy – Aspects of the Storm get to use a monstrous rampage at the end of the charge phase despite not being a MONSTER
• Endless Sea Storm – Aspects of the Sea can attempt to cast 1 extra spell if they successful cast a spell that is not unbound with an unmodified casting roll of 7+.

Artefacts of Power

Akhelian Artefacts

• Potion of Hateful Energy – once per battle, start of your hero phase, drink the potion.  Until end of that turn, +1 to hit and wound rolls for the bearer, +1 to attacks for the bearer’s melee weapons and +1 to run and charge rolls for the bearer.  However, at the start of the next hero phase, the bearer suffers D3 mortal wounds and cannot pile-in until the end of that turn. 

Isharann Artefacts

• Dritchleech – subtract 1 from casting rolls, unbinding rolls and dispelling rolls for enemy WIZARDS within 18” of the bearer.  Doesn’t work on IDONETH DEEPKIN. 
• Rune of the Surging Gloomtide – once per battle, at the end of your first movement phase, you can summon a Gloomtide Shipwreck.  Set it up within 12” of the bearer and more than 3” from all models, objectives, other terrain features, endless spells and invocations. 

Eidolon Artefacts

• Bio-shock Shell – once per battle, start of the combat phase, use the Shell.  Pick one enemy HERO within 9” of the bearer that is visible and roll 3D6.  If roll is greater than that enemy HERO’s Bravery characteristic, the strike-last effect applies to that enemy HERO until the end of that phase. NB: There is a 50% chance of getting an 11 or more on 3D6, 62.5% of a 10 or more, 74% of a 9 or more. 
• Kraken Tooth – once per battle in your shooting phase, pick 1 enemy unit within 12” of the bearer that is visible and roll a dice.
  • 1: D3 mortal wounds to the bearer
  • 2-5: D3 mortal wounds to the target
  • 6: pick 1 model in the target unit.  If the model has a Wounds characteristic less than 10 it is slain.  If it is 10 or more, that model suffers 2D6 mortal wounds

Mount Traits

You can give a mount trait to 1 DEEPMARE and 1 LEVIADON in your army. 

• Voidchill Darkness – DEEPMARE – -1 to hit for attacks made by enemy units within 3” of this unit
• Ancient – LEVIADON – if the Rend characteristic of a weapon used for an attack that targets this unit is -1, change it to – for that attack. 
• Denizen of the Darkest Depths – LEVIADON – -1 to wound rolls for melee weapons with a Damage characteristic of 1 that target this unit. 
• Reverberating Carapace – LEVIADON – increase the Void Drum range from 12” to 15”

Lore of the Deeps

• Steed of Tides (5) – range of 6”.  If cast, pick 1 friendly HERO that is not a MONSTER and that is within range and visible to the caster.  Remove that HERO from the battlefield and set it up again on the battlefield more than 9” from all enemy units.  A unit set up with this ability cannot move in the following movement phase. NB: this isn’t limited to IDONETH DEEPKIN HERO, so could be an allied hero. 
• Counter-current (6) – pick 1 enemy unit within 18” and visible.  Until your next hero phase, halve run rolls and charge rolls for that unit. 

Grand Strategies and Battle Tactics

Gloomtide Shipwreck

• Gloomtide Shipwrecks now give a 5+ ward to unmounted IDONETH DEEPKIN units while they are wholly within 6”.  If a unit that does not have the IDONETH DEEPKIN keyword is within 3” of the shipwreck then the ward save is turned off. 
• Gloomtide Shipwrecks can be garrisoned.  If it is a small piece, then it can be garrisoned by up to 5 IDONETH DEEPKIN models with a Wounds characteristic of 5 or less that do not have mounts.  If it is a large piece, then by up to 10 IDONETH DEEPKIN models (with the same conditions). 

Allies

• Expanded to include Cities of Sigmar, Daughters of Khaine, Lumineth Realm-Lords, Stormcast Eternals, Sylvaneth.  So if you are feeling the absence of mortal wounds, just ally in 2 Stormdrake Guard. 

Warscrolls

Aspect of the Storm

• Drench with Hate – the  +1 to wound bubble has now been limited so that it only applies to melee attacks and does not work on mounts.
• Gained the TOTEM keyword for an increased range for command abilities (but the Aspect of the Sea does not).  

Aspect of the Sea

• Missile attack range reduced from 15” to 12”
• Deep Sea Sceptre lost an attack and is now 4+ to wound instead of 3+
• Dormant Energies – the D3 wounds of healing now happens when you successful cast spells, rather than when you choose not to unbind or dispel.  Good change
• Tranquility of the Abyss – grants a Bravery characteristic of 10 for friendly IDK units wholly within 18” rather than giving +3 to Bravery
• Tsunami of Terror spell now reduced the save of D3 enemy units within range by 1 against melee attacks until your next hero phase.  NB: the Core Rules FAQ says you can select the same unit multiple times unless specified otherwise, so you could have up to -3 to save rolls on an enemy unit. However, there are no innate bonuses to cast so you are relying on Arcane terrain and the inbuilt re-roll to casting rolls to hit that 7 to cast.
• Take an Arcane Tome for 3 spells rerolling and using the heal and debuff spells to support the rest of your army. 

Volturnos

• Now Bravery 10 (as he should be) rather than 8
• Astra Solus reduced from 5 attacks to 4 attacks, but is now -2 rend and a straight 3 damage (rather than -1 and D3)
• Fangs and Talons now do D3 damage instead of just 1
• Treated as a general, even if not picked as the general. 
• The magic shield works against endless spells as well as against spells now. 
• First Among Akhelians has changed from re-roll 1s for Akhelians wholly within 18” to +1 to hit for melee weapons by friendly Akhelian units (excluding mounts) wholly within 12”
• The Supreme Lord of the Tides bubble has also dropped from wholly within 18” to wholly within 12”.

Akhelian King

• A combat monster – can be made very killy with 10 attacks, 2s, 2s, rend 3, damage 3
• Bladed Polearm now increased to 2+ to wound (from 3+) and a straight 2 damage, instead of D3 damage.  It also now has -3 Rend on the charge (as well as being 3 damage)
• Greatsword up to 5 attacks and a flat 2 damage instead of D3
• Falchion improved to 3+ to wound, from 4+
• The Fang and Talons attacks have also improved from 1 damage to D3
• The Akhelian Paragon bubble has also been reduced from 12” to 9” and only works on melee attacks and doesn’t cover mounts any more
• Lord of Tides ability is now much better – once per battle, at the end of your charge phase, you can pick up to D3 different friendly IDK units wholly within 12” and until the end of that turn, the units picked are affected by High Tide as well as the other tide effects. 
• Also increased to 10 Bravery

Isharann Tidecaster

• Save increased from 6+ to 4+ and gained a 5+ ward (but no longer ignores the first wound allocated).
• Bravery improved from 7 to 8. 
• Now has two combat profiles
  • Staff – 1” 2, 4+, 3+, -1, 2
  • Bite – 1” 2, 3+, 4+, – , 1
• No longer flips the tide, but allows you to select two Rituals instead of 1
• Riptide spell has been changed so that the D3 mortal wounds happen immediately rather than at the next hero phase. 

Lotann Warden of the Soul Ledgers

• Also now 4+ armour save, with a 5+ ward and 8 bravery
• Catalogue of Souls has now been changed to +1 to wound for melee attacks by friendly IDK units wholly within 12”
• New Fount of Willpower ability – once per battle, at the start of your hero phase, you can pick 1 Ritual and 1 friendly IDK unit wholly within 12” of this unit.  Until your next hero phase, the unit you picked is affected by that ritual in addition to any others it is affected by. 
  Whisper it, is Lotann actually an option now?
  

Isharann Soulscryer

• Also now a 4+ armour save, 5+ ward save and 8 bravery
• The missile attack is shorter range but deadlier – 12”, 8, 2+, 4+, -1, 1
• Finger claw wounds on a 3+
• Soulscryer has lost +3 to charge but kept the Finder of Ways. That change alone is now likely to see the Soulscryer not used. 

Isharann Soulrender

• The Soulrender has gained a 5+ ward saver
• The Talunhook has now doubled from 2 to 4 attacks and the Serrated Bill has changed from D3 to 3 attacks. 
• The Lurelight bubble has grown from wholly within 12” to wholly within 18” and the bonus for slaying enemy models with your Talunhook has changed.  It is no longer +1 to the D3, but instead you can swap to a straight return of 3 slain models.  The proviso has been added that the Lurelight ability cannot be used more than once per turn on the same unit. 
• The Hangman’s Knot ability has changed to once per battle, at the end of the combat phase, you can pick 1 enemy model that has a Wounds characteristic of 7 or less, does not have a mount and is within 3” of this unit.  Roll 2D6, if the result is greater than the enemy model’s Wound characteristic, it is slain. 

Elthain’s Soulraid

• Slightly improved combat profile and has gained the 5+ ward save common to Isharann heroes
• Soulnet has changed to be the same as the Hangman’s Knot ability for the Soulrender
• Lurelight has also been changed to match the new Soulrender ability. 
• So if you want a Soulrender with the added bonus of ablative wounds from the Soulraid then here is your option.  Paying 60 points more for 4 extra wounds (one of which has a 6+ ward save) and a bit of extra damage. 

Akhelian Ishlaen Guard

• You now ignore modifiers (both positive and negative) for save rolls that target this unit.  The Save still increases to 3+ on the charge. 
• The Helsabre is now -1 rend instead of –
• Fangs and Lashing Tails have been combined into a shorter range profile – 1” 3, 3+, 3+, -1, D3
• Musician and Standard Bearer have both been changed to +1 rather than a re-roll 
• Up to 7 Bravery (instead of 6)

Akhelian Morrsarr Guard

• Biovoltaic Blast now happens after you make a charge move, rather than at the start of the combat phase.  Mortal wounds happen on a 4+, rather than 3+ (but you do add 1 to the roll if the number of models in the enemy unit is greater than the number of models in the Morrsarr Guard unit, so more chance of hitting the D3 mortals on a 5/6). 
• Voltspear is now only 1” reach instead of 2”
• Fangs and Lashing Tails have been combined into a shorter range profile – 1” 3, 3+, 3+, -1, D3
• Musician and Standard Bearer have both been changed to +1 rather than a re-roll 
• Up to 7 Bravery (instead of 6)

Akhelian Allopexes

• Allopexes are back down to 8 wounds (presumably to benefit from the Leviadon aura) after their brief sojourn up to 10 wounds with Fury of the Deep. 
• The Barbed Hooks and Blades have gone up to -1 Rend from -. 
• NB: the Akhelian King and Volturnos’ bubble will work on the Barbed Hooks and Blades, but not the Allopexes’ Ferocious Bite. 

Akhelian Leviadon

• A chunky increase to 500 points
• The Harpoon Launchers are now D3 damage instead of 1 damage
• Crushing Charge – has been changed to be an amended Stomp monstrous rampage.  If you Stomp against an enemy unit with a Wounds characteristic of 1 then the enemy unit suffers D6 mortal wounds on a 2+ instead of D3

Akhelian Thrallmaster

• No change from Fury of the Deep

Namarti Thralls

• No change from Fury of the Deep

Namarti Reavers

• No change from Fury of the Deep

Points

Unit	Old	New	Change
Namarti Reavers	170	170	0
Namarti Thralls	130	130	0
Leviadon	380	500	120
Aspect of the Sea	325	325	0
Aspect of the Storm	330	355	25
Volturnos	260	290	30
Elthain’s Soulraid	145	210	65
Akhelian King	230	250	20
Thrallmaster	110	110	0
Tidecaster	105	150	45
Soulscryer	140	150	10
Soulrender	90	120	30
Lotann	75	115	40
Allopex	165	165	0
Bloodthirsty Shiver	N/A	495	N/A
Morrsarr Guard	195	195	0
Ishlaen Guard	155	195	40

Hey all, The Games Workshop Warhammer Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament Finals were held this weekend (28/29 September 2019). The Grand Final is held between up to 120 players (with the top 40 players from each of three heats qualifying). All the qualifiers from the heats facing off at Warhammer World for the title of Grand Champion for 2019. In this report, you’ll find the results, awards, top lists, pictures and all the coverage from the weekend.

If you want to stroll down memory lane, you can read my report from the 2018 Grand Finals, which saw Benjamin Savva take it out with Slaughter Troupe Daughters of Khaine. A list not to dissimilar to what is still doing well on the top tables of large events.

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.

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AoS GT Finals Tournament Pack

The Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament Grand Final for 2019 was fought over six randomly selected scenarios from the 18 Pitched Battle battleplans.  The scenarios were drawn at the start of the tournament.  Realm rules (including spells), realmscape features and Malign Sorcery were all in play.   So the rounds were:

• 1: Scorched Earth – Realm of Metal – Irresistible Force
• 2: Relocation Orb – Realm of Beasts (no Monstrous Beast) – Hungering Animus
• 3: Battle for the Pass – Realm of Shadow – Shrouded Lands
• 4: Shifting Objectives – Realm of Fire – Every Step a League
• 5: Total Conquest – Realm of Death – Life Leeching
• 6: Focal Points – Realm of Life – Verdant Landscape

In terms of scoring, there is always a strong element of painting and sports scores in the overall results.  The scoring system was:

• major victory – 6 points
• minor victory – 4 points
• draw – 2 points
• loss – 0 points
• 1 point for each favourite game vote
• 1 point for each favourite army vote

At the end of the event, you selected two of your opponents to receive favourite game (who you liked playing) votes, and two of your opponents to receive favourite army (what you liked the look of) votes.

Kill points earned was the tiebreaker.  Summoned units did not count towards the total points value of enemy units destroyed and you get the full 2,000 points if you wipe out the enemy.

You can read the full pack for more details.

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AoS GT Finals Results

So another great weekend of Warhammer. Congrats to:

• 1st: James Tinsdale – Hedonites of Slaanesh (Godseekers)
• 2nd: Byron Orde – Bonesplitterz
• 3rd: Laurie H-W – Sylvaneth (Dreadwood)
• Best Painted: Terry Pike (Nurgle)
• Best Sports: Lars D. Hellwig (6 out of 6 votes)

Here are the full results

If you are interested in the standings before sports and painting (i.e. pure game score) then here they are.

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Painting Nominations

Just trying to work out the full list of painting nominations. Here are some pictures of nominated armies 🙂

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AoS GT Finals Top Lists

As with other Games Workshop events, lists are submitted on the day. So I try to scramble round and grab what I can from the Internet and what Warhammer Live now kindly send through from the streamed games. So here we have the top 10 lists based on battle score only.

1st – James Tinsdale – Slaanesh

2nd – Chris Caves – Changehost

3rd – Marc Brookes – Skaven

4th – Byron Orde – Bonesplitterz

5th – Laurie HW – Dreadwood

6th – Mike Wilson – Slaanesh

7th – Georgios Moudatsos – Beasts of Chaos

8th – Terry Pike – Nurgle

9th – Sam Saunders – Stormcast

10th – Dan Ford – Skaven

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Warhammer Live Coverage

The Warhammer Live team on Twitch streamed games through the weekend. Wade and the team sent me through the lists and details of the games.

Game 1: Slaanesh (Godseekers) vs Ironjawz

James Tinsdale (Team England) and his four Keepers Slaanesh list took on David Ellis and his Ironjawz. By way of reminder, this round was Scorched Earth in Chamon, with the Irresistable Force realmscape.

It was short and very bloody – very, very bloody.

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James chose the Retake agenda and achieved it. David failed to get Secret Mission.

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Game 2: Stormcast (+ Gotrek) vs Gloomspite Gitz

Round 2 saw Will Barton (UK Masters attendee) and his Stormcast (+ Gotrek!) play Dan from Spain with his Gloomspite Gitz. The Relocation Orb in Ghur, with the Hungering Animus (but no Monstrous Beasts rule).

Will had the Onslaught hidden agenda (and achieved it), while Dan chose the Conserve agenda (but failed).

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Game 3: Khorne (Reapers of Vengeance) vs Flesh-Eater Courts (Blisterkin)

Game 3 saw a heavyweight match-up between Russ “The Face” Veal (Playtester / Facehammer / Team England) with his Reapers of Vengeance (feat Archaon) versus Steve Curtis (UK Masters attendee and all round top bloke from Bucks!) with his Blisterkin Flesh-Eater Courts. The match was Battle for the Pass in Ulgu, with the Shrouded Lands realmscape (no effect).

Both players took and achieved the Retake agenda.

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Game 4 – Daughters of Khaine (Hagg Narr) vs Hedonites of Slaanesh (Pretenders)

Piotr Kurkowski (London GT champion) and his Hagg Narr Daughters of Khaine took on Andy Hughes (UK Masters attendee) and his Pretenders.

Shifting Objectives in Aqshy, with Every Step a League.

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Game 5 – Beasts of Chaos (Phantasmagoria) vs Disciples of Tzeentch (Changehost)

Game 5 saw Georgios Moudatsos and his Beasts of Chaos vs Chris Caves and his Changehost. Both had giant-killing runs to get to round 5 with Chris defeating Benjamin Savva and Byron Orde on the way. They played Total Conquest in the Realm of Shyish with Life Leeching.

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Game 6 – Slaanesh (Godseekers) vs Beasts of Chaos (Phantasmagoria)

The top table saw undefeated James Tinsdale take on Georgious Moudatsos for the overall title (subject to sports votes and painting). Focal Points in Realm of Ghyran with Verdant Landscape.

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GT Finals Photo Gallery

A collection of photos from across the weekend.

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Hey all, doing a quick Age of Sigmar tournament round-up to catch-up on events from the last two weekends. Here you’ll find the results and lists from events in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, Oklahoma, California and Quebec! The ADFA ANZAC Cup, the Warhammer Championship for Australia Heat 1, Iron Realms, the Broadside Bash and the Tireux D’des Grand Clash respectively. The common theme is Flesh-Eater Courts and Skaven continue to perform well and take a large number of podium spots.

If you want to see what is coming up check out the Age of Sigmar Tournament Calendar (aosevents.org) and use the Google Calendar I update, or if you are running an event get in touch at [email protected].

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.

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The ADFA ANZAC Cup (Canberra)

The ADFA ANZAC Cup was held in early April in Canberra. A two-day, five game event run by the Australian Defence Force Wargaming Association.

The awards:

• Best General
  • 1st: Ashley McEwan (Nighthaunt)
  • 2nd: James Moorhouse (Order Draconis)
  • 3rd: Steve Gibb (Gloomspite Gitz)

• Best Painted
  • 1st: Brandt Cers
  • 2nd: Ben Spinetti
  • 3rd: Andrew Bigwood

• Best Sports
  • Nathan Princi (19 out of 30 players got best sports nominations!)

You can find the full results on TTT and the full lists here.

The lists for the podium places were:

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Mr Stats, LLV and the Honest Wargamer, provided the breakdown of the event meta here. As you can see, Australia still going strong with some Order Serpentis!

Ash, the event winner, also kindly sent through some photos of the event (held in the same venue as CanCon).

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The Warhammer Champs for Australia (Heat 1)

Australia’s new Warhammer Championship Store at Mt Gravatt recently played host to the first heat in the Australian Age of Sigmar Grand Championship. 24 players competing for 6 spaces in the Grand Final over 4/5 May.

The results were:

• Best General
  • 1st: Michael Creighton (FEC)
  • 2nd: Gabe (Legion of Azgorh)
  • 3rd: Jack (???)
  • Other qualifiers: James, Hayden, Keaghan
• Favourite Player
  • Christopher
• Best Presented Army
  • James Lynch (Blades of Khorne)

Some photos from the event and of the Warhammer Championship Store

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Best painted went to James Lynch and his stunning Blades of Khorne army.

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Gabe’s army (that came second in the event) was also a great looking Legion of Azgorh army with a cool centrepiece conversion.

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Iron Realms GT (Oklahoma)

The Iron Realms GT, another five game, two-day event in Oklahoma, USA.

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You can find the full results on Best Coast Pairings and below.

The next gallery has the podium placing lists – with a special shout out to Scott who piloted his Wanderers to 6th place. You can find all the other lists on Best Coast Pairings.

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The Broadside Bash (California)

The Broadside Bash is a Californian multi-system event now in its 10th year. Age of Sigmar has been growing from year to year at the Broadside Bash.

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The top 12 players were:

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And the podium winning lists:

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And some pictures courtesy of Alex Ramirez.

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The Tireux D’des Grand Clash (Quebec)

The Tireuz D’des Grand Clash was a 40+ player Age of Sigmar event held in Quebec with 6 games over two days. This is one of the largest Age of Sigmar events held in Canada. You can check out the Facebook group, or the pack (French, English), for more details on the event.

The full results were:

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The podium lists were:

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Rob Boyce (@HardChaff) had the grand idea of running a Warhammer Age of Sigmar Dream Team competition for 2019 as a bit of a laugh. This page summarises the rules and contains the current standings.

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AoS Dream Team 2019 Rules

Each entrant selects a team of six Warhammer Age of Sigmar players active in the UK Age of Sigmar tournament scene. The aim of the competition is to have the team with the lowest combined individual rankings on the Bad Dice UK Age of Sigmar rankings by the end of the year.

Now, to make it interesting, and so you don’t just pick the top six players from last year, your team must have a combined ranking of at least 600 for the UK season starting 9 December 2017. Therefore, you need to pick a team containing hidden gems, up and comers or people who’ve picked up a more competitive army for 2019.

The person at the top of leaderboard on the day of public release of General’s Handbook 2019 will win a ticket to the Age of Sigmar event at the London Grand Tournament.

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AoS Dream Team 2019 Current Standings

[table id=1 /]

Marc Wilson is currently top with a team of:

• Benjamin Savva
• Daniel Ford
• Tony Moore
• Darren Watson
• Ben Murphy
• Aaron Wilson

You can find the full table here.

The UK Age of Sigmar Masters are fast approaching, with the title of the best Warhammer Age of Sigmar player in the UK up for grabs on 26 – 27 January 2019].* Today I’ll have an introduction to the Masters event, the attendees, the tournament pack and all the top Age of Sigmar army lists from the event.

The Masters are hosted by Ben Curry and the wider Bad Dice team at Boards and Swords in Derby. You can check out all Ben’s coverage on Instagram, on The Grand Alliance Community, and on Twitter.

*Jack Armstrong, two-time Warhammer Master and the current UK #1, is missing the Masters this year.

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The UK Age of Sigmar Rankings

The UK Age of Sigmar Rankings operate from December to December each year.

Points are awarded to players based on (1) their final placing at Age of Sigmar events in the UK and (2) the number of players at those events (i.e. points awarded are a sliding scale, with bigger events worth more points, recognising the depth of competition).

Each player’s standing in the ranking is based on the total of their 4 highest-scoring events. For reference, the 2018 Masters attendees averaged 7.3 events each in this season.

The previous winners of the UK Age of Sigmar Masters are Russ Veal (with Tomb Kings for 2016) and Jack Armstrong (with Vanguard Wing Stormcast for 2017).

You can find the UK Age of Sigmar rankings here.

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UK Age of Sigmar Masters Players

On 8 December 2018, invites were sent to the top 15 players in the UK Age of Sigmar Rankings and the current champion, Jack Armstrong. Depending on responses, additional invites were then issued to the following players based on their final rankings. A further 4 players were offered reserve spots and asked to submit army lists.

The current UK Age of Sigmar Masters 2018 attendees are:

• Benjamin Savva (2nd) – @theerstwood
• Dan Ford (3rd) – @victorvictor136
• Craig Namvar (4th) – @ravman2
• Darren Watson (6th) – @PositiveVictim
• Gary Percival (7th) – @goddamitgary
• Dan Bradshaw (9th) – @CheekyBNOC
• Will Barton (10th) – @Beardyface21
• Terry Pike (12th) – @TerryPike84
• Russ Veal (14th) – @Russ_Veal
• Laurie Hugget-Wilde (15th) – @lhwaos
• Byron Orde (16th) – @ElementGames_
• Steve Curtis (17th) – @firebornminis
• Andy Hughes (18th) – @Dobies101
• Ritchie McAlley (19th) – @JustPlay_Ritchie
• Ian Spink (20th) – @Kanamorf
• Michael Wilson (21st) – @tzeentchmike

Below you’ll find player profiles for each of the players, plus the lists they are bringing to the event. I’ve also created a Twitter list of all the players if you want to follow along some of the coverage from home.

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UK Age of Sigmar Masters Rules

The key points of the UK Age of Sigmar Masters pack are:

• six games
• realm rules are in play:
  • all games are in the Realm of Aqshy (Fire)
  • all wizards know the Fireball spell and the Firestarter command ability from the Core Book
  • the realmscape features and realm spells have been pre-selected for each of the battleplans (see below)
• the Games Workshop Hidden Agendas
• terrain warscrolls will be used for any Games Workshop terrain on the tables.

You can download the full pack here.

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UK AoS Masters battleplans

• Relocation Orb
  • Geysers of Boiling Blood
  • Spell: Stoke Rage
• Star Strike
  • Burning Skies
  • Spell: Incandescent Form
• Better Part of Valour
  • Every Step a League
  • Spell: Parch
• Total Commitment
  • Clouds of Smoke and Steam
  • Spell: Infernal Blades
• Places of Arcane Power
  • Flaming Missiles
  • Spell: Fiery Blast
• Focal Points
  • Scorched Landscape
  • Spell: Glare of Vulcatrix

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UK AoS Masters Scoring system

The UK Age of Sigmar Masters has a combination of gaming and “soft” scores to determine the winner.

• Gaming scores
  • Major Win – 30
  • Minor Win – 25
  • Draw – 15
  • Minor Loss – 5
  • Major Loss – 0
• Lists on time – 30
• Sports – 300
  • 5 points per turn completed at the event
  • 25 points per game for gentlemanly conduct. Issued or removed at TO’s discretion (i.e. not player scored)
• Painting – 60 points
  • fully painted, based on rounds or ovals and cohesive.

Masters players are expected to get full scores in painting and sports.

The UK Age of Sigmar Master 2018 will be the person with the most points overall.

Ties will be separated as follows:

• Head to Head
• Hidden Agendas Scored
• Soft Scores
• Total Units killed

The awards are:

• The Master
• Second Overall
• Third Overall
• Most Sporting
• Best Painted

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UK Age of Sigmar Masters Lists

The UK Age of Sigmar Masters Pack has brought a real interesting mix of army lists to the event. In a tournament year dominated by Daughters of Khaine and Legion of Sacrament, neither appear in the Masters field. You can find a full set of the army lists here.

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Benjamin Savva – Nighthaunt

Benjamin Savva, #sohotrightnow, Games Workshop Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament Champion and proud member of the South London Legion. Second in the rankings and Best in Race: Daughters of Khaine, Benjamin has been playing a mixture of Bonesplitterz and Daughters of Khaine this year, but has switched it up with a Nighthaunt list for the Masters. Check out Benjamin’s Masterclass podcast for the site on Daughters of Khaine.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Dan Ford – Legion of Night

Dan Ford, Master of Murderhost and Dabbler with Maggotkin, had another strong tournament season in 2018 with a third place finish and Best in Race: Khorne. Strong results at the Bravery One British Open, the London GT and GW Heat 3 set him up for the Masters.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Craig Namvar – Stormcast Eternals

Craig Namvar, 4th in the rankings, had qualifying results from 4 different armies (Stormcast Eternals, Disciples of Tzeentch, Chaos and Khorne) showing just how well-rounded a player he is. Big results at Blood Tithe (team), South Coast GT, London GT and Blood and Glory qualified him for Masters.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Darren Watson – Seraphon

Darren! Darren! Darren! everyone’s favourite member of the Bruces,
UK AoS tournament dancing champion, ferocious list-writer, owner of the world’s best postal-themed army, and all-round nice guy. Darren had a great 2018 season, finishing 6th in the rankings running mainly Chaos (Blades of Khorne, Nurgle, Maggotkin of Nurgle etc), and earning himself a debut place in the Team England ETC team. If you are interested in more from Darren, you can check out his AoS 1 Archaon Masterclass he wrote for the site.  Over 4,000 words of list-tech goodness.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Gary Percival – Stormcast Eternals

Gary had another strong tournament year in 2018 finishing 7th with a mixture of order armies and Best in Race: Deepkin. Gary has been pushing around the Sequitor Surecharge lists lately with great success at both Crimbobo (his first overall title) and the Games Workshop Grand Tournament Final. Gary gave a Masterclass show back in AoS 1 that, while focussed on Kharadron Overlords, also gave his overall thoughts on improving as a tournament player.

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Dan Bradshaw – Beasts of Chaos

Dan Bradshaw, camera guru extraordinaire and hirsute master of social media. Dan’s an excellent hobbyist as well as player and took a variety of lists in the 2018 season, finishing 8th (Idoneth Deepkin, Disciples of Tzeentch, Order and Flesh Eater Courts).

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Will Barton – Stormcast Eternals

To be honest, I don’t know much about Will (sorry, Will). Will holds the Best in Race: Stormcast Eternals icon for 2018 with solid results at BLACKOUT, BOBO, Blood Tithe and the Sheffield Slaughter. Will switched to Deepkin for an all important qualifying result at Blood and Glory.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Terry Pike – Maggotkin of Nurgle

Terry Pike, amazing White Dwarf featured painter, Facehammer podcast member, a fan of a pink tentacle or two and Best in Race: Maggotkin of Nurgle. Seriously, check out Terry’s Instagram. Terry qualified with great results at the Games Workshop Grand Tournament (Heat 1, Heat 2 and Final) as well as the Element Games Grand Slam.

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Russ Veal – Legion of Blood

Russ Veal, past Age of Sigmar Master, Team England ETC member, Facehammer podcaster, official AoS playtester and simply “the Face”. Russ took Best in Race honours for both Legion of Sacrament and Nighthaunt in 2018 (one of the few attendees to hold dual-race honours).

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Laurie Hugget-Wilde – Sylvaneth

Laurie Hugget-Wilde, self-styled most sporting and narrative man in the UK. Laurie attended 9 events this season and qualified for Masters with a mixture of results from Daughters of Khaine and Sylvaneth (holding the Best in Race icon for the Trees). He has bravely kept up the defence of the Sylvaneth with consistently losing a game most tournaments. Laurie qualified via Blood and Glory, Facehammer GT, Heat 3 and the London GT and earned a spot on the Team England 6 Nations team for 2019.

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Byron Orde – Order

Byron is the face of Element Games, a pro-painter, lover of grey, and has shocked the world with fantastic results from seemingly a bundle of Order models just picked off a shelf.  Byron took 1st at the Games Workshop GT final in 2017 and has only built from there with consistent GT performances, earning himself a Team England ETC spot.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Steve Curtis – Legion of Blood

Steve Curtis, another great painter in the ranks, took home Best in Race Legions of Nagash and Grand Host of Nagash after the 2018 season. His best results were from GW Heat 3, the Dorset Doggers Invitational, GT Final and Crimbobo.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Andy Hughes – Fyreslayers

Andy qualified for the UK Masters with a combination of Fyreslayers, Sylvaneth and Legion of Azgorh (holding the Best in Race title for the Legion). Andy is probably most well known for his Fyreslayers run under General’s Handbook 2017 and he has returned to the army for the UK Masters.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Ritchie McAlley – Sylvaneth

Ritchie McAlley has had an impressive first year on the UK Age of Sigmar tournament scene. Member of JustPlay Games and a host of the JustSaying podcast, Ritchie attended 12 events (the joint equal most of any attendee, shared with Mike Wilson). He and Laurie love to debate who came with the latest Sylvaneth list idea first.

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Ian Spink – Bonesplitterz

Ian Spink, undeniable master of Bonesplitterz, impressively committed to hunting down big monsters with an army many have forgotten about. Ian qualified through the GW Heat 1, Facehammer GT, GT Final and Blood and Glory.

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Michael Wilson – Host of Slaanesh

Last but not least, we have Tzeentch Mike Wilson – funnily enough who has been running Slaanesh all year. Slaanesh have been an interesting sleeper choice since they picked up allegiance abilities via the General’s Handbook and Mike will be well-placed for when the Battletome drops. He attended 12 events this year, with his strongest run a purple patch in the halcyon days of summer (Dorset Doggers, BLACKOUT and EGGS).

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[Bad Dice Player Spotlight Coming]

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Hey all, I’ve been sent an advance copy of Battletome: Gloomspite Gitz and want to give you an AoS Shorts-style review of the new release. This Gloomspite Gitz review will be in parts – each focusing on different aspects of the new battletome over the coming days.

This review introduces the Gloomspite Gitz and covers the top 10 things you need to know. Subsequent parts will provide a warscroll by warscroll review, slice apart the allegiance abilities, assess battalions, and cover the lore and background. As I write them, I’ll link them here.

• Part 2: Allegiance Abilities (Battle Trait, Command Traits, Artefacts and Spells)

For all the preview information we have seen so far from Games Workshop and other sources, check out my all-in-one page.

In addition to these written previews, I’m going to be recording a show with Donal Taylor, (@WargamerDonal) the UK’s most infamous grot expert, in the next week or so to dive into the matched play aspects further.

I also want to do a follow-up post in a month after the FAQ. This gives us all time to digest the book.

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. Check out the Doomcap Deeps range for things suitable mushroom-inspired and DFM have special offers on now.

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My approach to reviews

As this is my first preview review, I want to explain how I:

• intend to approach these reviews and
• hope to add value to the existing blog, podcast and YouTube options for preview reviews out there.

Short and useful is always my aim. Covering just what you need to know about the Gloomspite Gitz (whether you are a narrative or matched play gamer).

Some provisos

I won’t be making grand definitive calls about the likely matched play effectiveness of the army in this review. As we see with most releases the competitive matched play lists can offer differ significantly once players have had time to consider the book, any FAQs or errata. Nor will I be making recommendations about purchases. Its not my place to tell you what is cool or how to spend your hobby dollars.

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Who are the Gloomspite Gitz?

The Gloomspite Gitz are the combined forces of the Moonclan (Night Goblins), Spiderfang (Goblin Spider Riders) and Troggoths (Trolls), with the odd Gargant (Giant) shambling along for the ride. This army embodies the random, comical, spiteful malevolence that we all come to expect from the Moonclan and their fellow subterranean dwellers.

The Gloomspite Gitz share a worship of the Bad Moon and are united under Skragrott the Loonking. The Bad Moon is a portent for lunacy and predicting its appearance is of crucial importance to the Gloomspite Gitz. The Bad Moon is at the centre of the Gloomspite Gitz’ allegiance ability.

I’ll have a full lore and background review in the coming days, but in the mean time, you could read my notes on the Warhammer TV Gloomspite Gitz lore video.

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Gloomspite Gitz Review: Essentials

Here is what I think are the ten key points from Battletome: Gloomspite Gitz:

• Availability of army builds
• Several different playstyles
• Moonclan ascendant
• Spiderfang re-energised
• Troggoths – strong models, new rules, some question marks?
• the Bad Moon – worth building around?
• Loonshrine – a massive rock
• Fungoid Cave-Shaman – a different role, still useful
• Gloomspite magic is strong but different
• New Fanatics, not quite like your old fanatics

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Available army builds

As with all recent Warhammer Age of Sigmar battletomes, Games Workshop aims to have a variety of available army builds within the same faction.

The Gloomspite Gitz are no different. You can make a Moonclan army, a Squig-based army, a Spiderfang army, a Troggoth or a mixture of the lot. Depending on your general, you can unlock additional battleline units:

• Any general: Shootas and Stabbas are battleline
• Dankhold Troggboss unlocks Rockguts and Fellwater Troggoths as battleline
• Spiderfang keyword general unlocks Spider Riders
• A general on Giant Cave Squig or Mangler Squig unlocks Squig Hoppers
• A Moonclan general unlocks Squig Herd

Whether each of these builds is actually viable, we will see, and I’ll touch on in later reviews this week.

Gloomspite Gitz can have “one-drop” army builds, with Squigalanche likely to be the strongest of the “one-drop” option from a competitive matched play standpoint.

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Playstyle options

Games Workshop also try to offer a variety of playstyles in each army (regardless of whether they are all viable from a competitive matched play perspective).

My initial impression is that the Gloomspite Gitz could run:

• horde builds with lots of grots recycling through the Loonshrine
• an “alpha bunker” list (a large unit thrown rapidly into the enemy’s lines to slow its advance while your other pieces move into position and claim objectives)
• combat heavy squig or troggoth lists
• a fast mortal wound spider swarm list
• magic heavy list

I’ll touch on these in more detail in our parts of the preview series. Available playstyles – horde / alpha bunker / combat speed heavy squigs / mortal wound swarm / casting heavy

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Moonclan ascendant

The Moonclan look like early beneficiaries in the new book, especially the squig-based units.

• The Loonboss on Mangler Squig gives you a powerful, fast hero unit for 300 points. At that points cost you could take two. Plus add the Fight Another Day command trait to be able to charge and retreat as well and the Squig Lure spell to run and charge.
• The Boingrot Bounderz are cheap, damage dealers offering a combination of mortal wounds, speed and numerous normal attacks. For instance, 15 do 7.5 mortal wounds on the charge, then have 60 attacks which would do 20 wounds on average at -1 rend (or 90 attacks and 30 wounds if they are buffed by the Sneaky Snufflers.
• Moonclan units benefit with recycling Stabba units through the Loonshrine and the synergies from Snufflers and the Sporesplatta Fanatics.
• Unfortunately, Shootas still are just going to give you a large volume attacks without much end result. You can buff their hit rolls, but not their wound rolls or rend (like Sneaky Stabbin did). So I don’t suspect we will see large hordes of them on the table.
• Moonclan also get the greatest benefits from some of the battalions as the Squig Rider Stampede and the Squigalanche and artefacts such as the Squig Lure.

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Spiderfang re-energised

Spiderfang were one of the micro-factions of Warhammer Age of Sigmar with only 4 units. They have now been fleshed out into a fully fledged force with the full benefits of a modern battletome.

The Spiderfang have far more options, have a higher base movement now (10″), and even stronger mortal wound output (especially under the Light of the Bad Moon, which doubles their mortal wound output by activating them on 5s and 6s). The Scuttleboss combined with the Black Fang artefact and the Spiderfang spell which doubles mortal wounds from spider venom mean you could have a hero doing up to 44 mortal wounds in one combat. I suspect that the interplay of some of these artefacts/spells may be part of the Gloomspite Gitz FAQ in two weeks after the release.

The Spiderfang spell lore also has a number of great options while the Webspinner Shaman on Arachnarok gives you bonuses to cast. I can see people having fun with a mixed mortal wound and heavy spell spider-based army complimented with Scrapskuttle’s Arachnacauldron (to further boost casting) and large Stabba units to hold objectives and zone board space.

The only issue with taking a pure Spiderfang army is that you are foregoing the ability to control the path of the Bad Moon through having Skragrott the Loonking as your general. And as mentioned, the Bad Moon has some real strong benefits for Spiderfang.

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Troggoths – strong models, new rules, some questions?

There has been a lot of coverage in the previews so far about the ability to build a full Troggoth army, led by its new hero the Dankhold Troggboss. The army can revolve around the Troggherd battalion with a Troggboss, units of Rockgut or Fellwater Troggoths for battleline, some Dankhold Troggoths and the odd Gargant if you wanted.

The Troggboss is a great model, but at 300 points is probably only going to be taken by people wanting to field a full or heavy Troggoth list.

The Fellwater Troggoths have received a strong offensive boost for their shooting and melee weapons. However, the healing is not as strong as it once was.

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The Bad Moon – worth building around?

The Gloomspite Gitz battle trait is the Bad Moon Rises. As I’ve covered elsewhere, you pick a corner of the board at the start of the game for the Bad Moon to be located. From the start of the second battleround, the Bad Moon will move at a random speed in a diagonal line across the board. The Moon may stay still, move slow or move fast, and has beneficial and negative effects on units in the board quarter it occupies. If it is in the middle of the table, those effects apply to the entire board.

The effects are:

• Enemy Units anywhere on the board are bombarded with meteors from the Bad Moon, and take damage.
• Gloomspite Gitz Wizards under the Bad Moon get +1 to their casting rolls, while all other wizards get -1
• Gloomspite Gitz Generals get an additional command point in each hero phase they’re under the Bad Moon.
• Squigs under the Bad Moon can run and charge in the same turn.
• Moonclan Grot units re-roll hit rolls of 1.
• Spiderfang Grot units deal mortal wounds on a 5+ to hit, rather than a 6+.
• Troggoths can re-roll the dice to see if they regenerate wounds, or double the results of their first roll.

Now, the question for Gloomspite Gitz players is whether it worth building a list around manipulating the Bad Moon in order to maximise its impact, or if the effects will just be a pleasant bonus if they occur when needed. The effects are strong (especially if in the centre of the board), but the timing is unreliable (it could skip the centre of the board entirely), and you may have to heavily commit your army to one quarter of the board (which could be disadvantageous depending on the scenario).

If you do want to manipulate the moon in order to reap its benefits (for a devastating squig or spider charge), Skragrott the Loonking will be your general. Once per battle, Skragrott can choose for the Bad Moon to either not move that battleround, or to make 1 move, or 2 moves that battleround.

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The Loonshrine – a massive rock

With each new army for Warhammer Age of Sigmar we now get a faction specific terrain piece which is deployed at the start of the battle without a points cost – think Sylvaneth Wyldwoods, Deepkin boats, Maggotkin of Nurgle trees and Beasts of Chaos herdstones. For Gloomspite Gitz, it is the Loonshrine.

The Loonshrine model is truly massive. It is about 12″ tall and 6 to 8 inches wide, meaning it is perfect for line of site blocking for your heroes or your Squig Gobba artillery (which don’t need line of site to fire). The Loonshrine is set up wholly within your territory, more than 12″ from enemy territory and more than 1″ away from other terrain.

The Loonshrine does two things in addition to just being a big chunk of rock:

• Gloomspite Gitz units wholly within 12″ do not take battleshock tests – useful for your bunker units and to save command points for other things (such as re-roll charges). Its large size really helps create an effective 30″ bubble of battleshock protection that will be very useful in scenarios such as Take and Hold.
• at the end of your turns, and on a 4+, you can return half of a destroyed Stabbas or Shootas unit to the battlefield for free (so 30 models of a 60 model unit etc). You can only do this once for each destroyed unit (it isn’t endlessly recycling grots) and the unit must be set up wholly within 12″ of the Loonshrine and more than 3″ away from enemy units.

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The Fungoid Cave-Shaman – a different role, still useful

The Fungoid Cave-Shaman is an amazing model and saw lots of use in Mixed Destruction armies before the release of the Gloomspite Gitz battletome. Its previous command ability allowed one friendly Grot or Orruk unit wholly within 18″ to charge at the start of the following charge phase (even if that unit had ran or retreated). This gave the army great movement for its hammer units.

Now the Fungoid Cave-Shaman does not have a command ability, but generates a command point on a 4+ at the start of your hero phase each battleround. While the loss of movement hurts the army (slightly offset by the Hand of Gork spell and some of the artefacts for squigs), the extra command points are a nice touch for an army that has historically needed them to be effective. The interesting thing to keep an eye on is whether the army is as command point hungry in the future now that it has the Loonshrine to rely on for battleshock immunity.

I suspect we will see a lot of Fungoid Cave-Shamans in Gloomspite Gitz lists given the model’s use as a multi-spell caster and command point factory.

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Gloomspite magic: strong but different

Gloomspite Gitz have several strong magic options, with lots of different casters and spell options. Moonclan used to have easy access to boosting casting through eating mushrooms, however those options have now been changed.

Your options for a powerful magic army now revolve around:

• the Loonking (casts and unbinds twice each turn, +1 to cast and unbind)
• Webspinner Shaman on Aracknarok (+1 to cast and unbind for friendly Spiderfang wizards nearby)
• Fungoid Cave-Shaman (casts twice once per game)
• Zarbag (+2 to cast)
• the Arachnacauldron (+1 to cast and unbind, and the caster knows all the Lore of the Moonclans spells)

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New fanatics, not quite like your old fanatics

There have been significant changes to Fanatics with the Gloomspite Gitz battletome. Previously, Moonclan Fanatics were set up in hiding and at the start of any charge phase (including your opponent’s) they could be released and set up within 1″ of the unit hiding them. The Fanatics could then charge immediately, acting as powerful blocking units for holding up important charges by your opponent. Now the Fanatics can be released but can’t charge in your opponent’s charge phase.

However, we now have a whole new unit variant called Sporesplatta Fanatics. At 120 points for five models, this unit has a number of cool features, including:

• blocking line of sight to your models behind them – allowing you to protect vulnerable heroes (whether ones with low wounds or whose effectiveness decreases with wounds taken). Your opponent can still shoot the Sporesplatta unit, but will have to waste shots or magic clearing them first before your more important units
• giving Moonclan Grots units wholly within 12″ +1 attack to melee weapons

I can definitely see Sporesplattas used behind Stabbas and in front of a set of support heroes.

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More Gloomspite Gitz Reviews

With each Warhammer Age of Sigmar battletome release there is a lot to talk about and the Gloomspite Gitz are a bumper crop given the large number of new units being released and the size of the battletome.

Over the next week or so, I’ll complete the subsequent parts of my Gloomspite Gitz review, including:

• Allegiance abilities, spells and artefacts
• Warscroll by warscroll review
• Moonclan focus
• Spiderfang focus
• Troggoth focus
• Lore and background

In the mean time, let me know what you think of the new releases and the warscrolls we have seen so far. You can contact me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Today on Warhammer TV, Ben Johnson (Product Developer for the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Studio at Games Workshop) went into the development process of the Gloomspite Gitz and shared some tips and tidbits. I made some notes of the various points below and you can check out the full interview if you are a subscriber. For all the coverage on the Gloomspite Gitz in one place, check out my “all-in-one” page with all the coverage, previews and more from Warhammer Community, Facebook and the independent scene etc.

Watch WARHAMMER AGE OF SIGMAR // INTERVIEW // BATTLETOME GLOOMSPITE GITZ with Ben Johnson from Warhammer on www.twitch.tv

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Gloomspite Gitz Development

• Gloomspite Gitz started with the Skragrott the Loonking model.
• Andy Clark took the lead on the battletome.
• The product development team took the opportunity to fold a number of smaller factions into AoS rule love – with battalions and allegiance abilities etc.  The three factions included all fit similar lore, all around caves.
• Humourous but also spiteful and nasty.  Just like in the old world.

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Gloomspite Gitz Units

• All the kits have been shown but all the variants have not been yet.
• All the Moonclan, Spiderfang and Troggoth units are moving into the new book.
• Forgeworld aren’t in book but have had keywords updated for keywords – Hag, Colossal Squig, Squig Gobba and Bonegrinder Gargantuas.
• Scuttlings aren’t in the book (no longer available for sale)
• Loonboss with giant cave squig (the Skarsnik model) is in the book.
• Mollog’s warband and Zarbag’s Gitz are both in the battletome.
• Mollog is a type of Dankhold Troggoth and just lives in a smaller cave

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Gloomspite Gitz Allegiance Abilities

• Allegiance abilities like Beasts of Chaos and Legions of Nagash – Spiderfang units benefit from the Moonclan allegiance abilities etc – so you aren’t silo-ed into particular types.
• Can run a full squig army led by a squig-mounted Grot Warboss

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Gloomspite Gitz New Warscrolls

• Skragott – wizard and warrior – trading off his reputation of having predicted the Bad Moon once (or just got lucky).
• Rockgut Troggoths – the mix of comedy and spite, funny but horrible, can be seen between the feeding the bird and also the dead grot which was tied (alive) as a loin cloth around the waist of a Troggoth.
• The Dankhold Troggoths live in underground cave – the bigger the cave, the bigger they grow.  Sleep for several years, during which time everything grows on them.
• Loonboss – moon face and boss-fungus.  Believe that squigs won’t attack them if they are wearing the shape of the bad moon. Key hitty piece.
• Sneaky Snufflers – first into the battlefield to collect the fungus to feed to units nearby for beneficial effects. Spider cages on their backs.
• Boingrut Bounders – slower but hit harder and more armour than squig hoppers.  Really interchangeable.
• Squigs – one herder per five grots.
• Gobbapalooza – five class shamans with own role to play in. Spiker is the scuttling one. Shroomancer is the one on the mushroom. Scaremonger – How do you scare a Moonclan grot? You wear a sun mask.
• Fanatics – Loonsmasha (operate a similar way).  New fanatics effects to be revealed soon on Warhammer Community.
• Loonshrine – 12” tall.
• Endless Spells – the final two named Endless Spells are the Malevolent Moon and Mork’s Mighty Mushroom.

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The Light of the Bad Moon Allegiance Ability

• Started with the idea of the Bad Moon as it is at the centre of all the races
• Then thought about how the Bad Moon could be brought to the table in a thematic, skittish and erratic manner
• Team wanted the balance of randomness for Moonclan, but also being easy to use and not mind-bendingly crazy

• Path of the Bad Moon – moon starts on one of the corners of the board and will move towards the centre of the board.  If it is in the centre of a board quadrant it effects just that quadrant. If it hits the middle of the table, it affects the whole table.
• Each turn, roll a dice, it may move towards the opposite corner of the board.  Can move off the other side of the board.
• Unclear if/how the movement is affected when there are two Gloomspite armies on the board.
• The Bad Moon moves in one direction unless it is manipulated. Skragrott can manipulate the path of the Bad Moon –  move it or hold it place.
  
• Rules on warscrolls, artefacts, spells all influenced by the position of the Bad Moon.  
• Command traits and artefacts can also change the effects of the Bad Moon.
• Timing important for maximising the benefits for your army. Where do you want to attack and when?  Do you want it helping you late game or early? Are you playing defensive or looking for strong combat in turns 2 or 3?
  

Right, so just a little bit of news has dropped lol.  A new edition, new magic, new double turn, changes to shooting mechanics, new starter set, Nighthaunt battletome and whole new models.  At the moment, I’ll pull together what I’ve found from the internet here.   This is about an hour’s worth of work collating material.  There is so much information out there, and the Warhammer Community team have done a really good job of covering all the releases, so I highly recommend checking it out.

As we learn more and more coverage comes out about Age of Sigmar Second Edition, I’ll have a new section of the site up to collate all the coverage, news, rules and models details.

Age of Sigmar Second Edition

Age of Sigmar second edition coming in JUNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do we know?

• Stormcast v Nighthaunt starter set
• Expanded hero phase – every hero can use, not just the general
• No shooting out of combat
• Addition of new command points system
• Scenery dice and wound counters from GW
• A more strategic double turn
• If you have an army in Age of Sigmar now, you can play it in Age of Sigmar Second Edition.  Every unit will be in the new game.
• Core rules and unit warscrolls still available to download for free.
• All existing battletomes will work.
• General’s Handbook 2018 will come out at the same time as Age of Sigmar Second Edition.

There is even a “Your Questions Answered” section.

Age of Sigmar narrative

The new edition book will have an expanded description of the Mortal Realms including maps, maps and maps!

New Stormcast – The Sacrosanct Chamber opens

Engineers, Wizards and Priests as new chambers open.

Nighthaunt

A whole wave of new Nighthaunt models and a battletome to boot. New Mortarch of Grief coming.

Malign Sorcery – Age of Sigmar

Magic now has a greater and more permanent effect on your games of Age of Sigmar.

New Age of Sigmar Scenery and Technical Paints

New scenery, objective markers and technical paints.

Also a licensed table! Look at that bling.

Forgeworld Khorne Dragon

The Forgeworld Khorne Dragon was on display at Warhammer Fest.  We have seen works in progress at events before, now you can see it finished and painted.

New Warhammer Community content

The Warhammer Community team is releasing an official Age of Sigmar podcast called “Stormcast”.

Hammerhal Herald – think the Regimental Standard but for Age of Sigmar.

And a new webcomic for Age of Sigmar.

More coverage

Check out all the coverage at:

• AgeofSigmar.com
• Essential Guide to the New Edition
• Your Intro to the Mortal Realms
• Warhammer Fest Live Blog
• Warhammer Weekly New Reveal Breakdown
• Fjordhammer rundown