This week Khorne's Bloodbound make a huge stride to catch up the Eternals in terms of release. Besides a few bits of new fiction, it's all Khorne, all the time! Let's take a look.
White Dwarf/Hobby Books
White Dwarf 86: Unsurprisingly WD86 seems to focus on Khorne and the new models. The sales pitch doesn't give us much to work on, it mainly mentions looking at the brand new models, but it's definitely Khorne focused.
Chaos Battletome: Khorne Bloodbound: Like the Eternals, we're getting a variant of the Army Book for Khorne. It's 136 pages and sports a look at all the Warscrolls for the current Khorne line. On top of that we're to get new Battalions, Battleplans, painted figures and details on what it means to be a worshipper of Khorne. Again, as a fluff guy, this is intriguing to me. It comes in a regular version for $58 or a limited edition for $140.
Fiction
The Realmgate Wars: The Prisoner of the Black Sun Audio Drama: That's a long title... This begins a 4-Part Audio Drama series by Josh Reynolds (who's been doing a lot of AoS fiction writing) that shows a Hallowed Knights Stormhost as they attempt to bring Nagash back into the fold of the side of Order. Part 1 runs 68 minutes and serves as an introduction, promising not only moments with Nagash, but the return of one of the Von Carstein vampires! We're making nods to the Old World all over. The .mp3 is $15.99 or you can get the whole 4-Pack (and download them as they're released) for $62.99, savings of about a dollar... still, if you're planning on getting them all anyway, why not. It's also nice to see another Grand Alliance given some story outside of Order and Chaos.
The Black Rift of Klaxud Part 3 - The Gnawing Gate: We're up to part 3 of the eShort series by Josh Reynolds (see, there he is again), this time featuring Skaven. Again, it's nice to see more factions and armies get some fiction time, as we start to expand the line. Part 1 of this series was pretty good when it got past all the fighting, I'm curious to what Reynolds will do with the Skaven and giving them character as he did a good job with the Bloodbound.
Khorne Bloodbound
Aspiring Deathbringer: Not quite Exalted yet, the Aspiring Deathbringer has been risen above standard Blood Warriors but still must prove himself. This is a single model, well armored and standing atop a pile of skulls. He'll run you $20 and is only available through the webstore.
Exalted Deathbringer: The other weapon loadout of the Exalted Deathbringer from several weeks ago, this guy looks more like a traditional Blood Warrior and less daemonfied that his other option. For only $15, he's also a lot cheaper than the other version as well.
Lord of Khorne on Juggernaut: Now the Eternals aren't the only one to get a mounted leader. This is an imposing figure atop the awesome looking Juggernaut mount. this Lord of Khorne might not have all the expression of the standard Lord in the Starter Set, but his armor and bulk make up for it. $50 is the price to pay and isn't that bad given the model and what $50 can get you elsewhere from GW.
Mighty Skullcrushers: The first mounted cavalry (besides the single mounted figure for Nurgle) under the new AoS trappings, the Mighty Skullcrushers are pretty fantastic looking models. Like the mounted Lord above, they all ride Juggernauts, mechanical looking beasts, and are all covered in heavy plate. These are mounted Blood Warriors through and through, with the ability to make a full command. 6 mounted troops cost $100.
Scyla Anfingrimm: A repackaged named figure, Scyla is a large ape-like creature dedicated to Khorne. Not a full daemon (according to his Warscroll) he's posed ready to strike and looks quite menacing for $50.
Skarr Bloodwrath: Looking like a champion Skullreaper/Wrathmonger combination, Skarr has two doublebladed axes with chain whips attached to them (not overkill, I swear). His mutated body also makes him look as if he's on his way to becoming the more monstrous Exalted Deathbringer. He's a single hero model for $30.
Skullgrinder: Skullgrinders are the weaponsmiths for Khorne, but like all Khorne followers is also a fierce warrior. He also happens to use his actual anvil as his weapon, attached to a chain and covered in flame. It's Khorne, what more do you want? He's even got Skull in his name, and will cost you $30.
Skullreapers/Wrathmongers: Two specialized troop types can be made from the same kit here. Either the Skullreapers, who appear to fit somewhere between the barbarous Bloodreavers and fully armored Blood Warriors. These are warriors almost fully armored but still retaining the barbarian looks, with exposed torsos and heads and what looks like scavenged/pieced together weapons. Or, you can make the Wrathmongers, who are more armored and carry wrathflails, hammers at the end of long chain whips. You get 10 torsos here, but only 5 sets of legs, so you can only make 5 of one or the other for $57, thanks GW.
Slaughterpriest: The Slaughterpriest is a spellcaster for Khorne, though he does it through prayer as actual magic wouldn't fly with the bloodgod. He's a tall, lanky, man with a huge axe and spine pushed out of his back, mutations into horns coming down his shoulders. He's pieced with chains and comes with several skulls, all fitting for a priest of Khorne. Again, this hero model is $30.
Valkia the Bloody: Another named hero, Valkia is warrior blessed with many mutations from Khorne. Wings, horns, hooves, she's a wicked looking figure. Her spear is named and her shield is the face of a daemon prince that loss a fight to her, that's pretty impressive and she'd make a commanding unit on the field of battle and only costs $22.
And that's Week 12, a heavy week of releases indeed.
Looking at Age of Sigmar with a fresh set of eyes.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Review: Liberators
The standard grunts of the Stormcast Eternals, the Liberators make an obvious choice as the first box set of units after the Starter Set. So what's inside a box of Liberators? Let's find out.
The Models
The box comes with several sprues with a variety of heads, weapons, should pads, shields so you can customize the weapon loadout of each of your troops. Of course, it only comes with enough legs and torsos to make 5 models, even though there are enough weapons/heads/arms to make 10. But GW still has to be GW.
The legs and torsos are pretty static in terms of positions, they're all standing heroically, knee bent, ready for war. There are no troops "in motion" and it's mostly a single leg glued to a waist with one leg already modeled on, so you would have to do some clipping to customize your leg poses.
Outside of that is where you can customize. Your Liberators can have two hammers or two sword or either one hammer and shield or one sword and shield as their options for weapons. On top of that, one unit may also have a Grandblade or Grandhammer, which are two-handed versions of the weapons prior. And of course one model can also be a Liberator-Prime (I'd suggest the guy with the Grandweapon since owner of the models pick deaths in a unit and you always want your Prime removed last).
As for their look? They look a lot like what you got in the Starter Set. As the "main line" troops for the Eternals, they have the most basic design. These are your "Sigmarines" covered in the heavy armor, full face plates and not too much flourishes. You do get a small dagger at their hip, various scrolls that can hang from some models and a variety of spikey tops to the helmets, but that's about it.
They do have a ton of great detail like all these late/AoS GW models have had, but they're not all that striking. With the movement that the Prosecutors give and the grand look of the Lord-Celestant, they really don't have much that calls attention to them. I know the other models are built upon them as bases, but since the other models are almost exactly like them with improvements, it's hard to call these guys special.
The War Scroll
The War Scroll is an update to the original one from the Starter Set, with some extra bits added for the weapon options. Since these are your baseline Eternals, this is you best look at how the Eternals average out as a whole.
A unit of Liberators needs to have 5 units or more and 1 in 5 can have a grandweapon. Your Liberator-Prime gets one extra attack compared to his brothers, pushing his attacks to 3.. They move 5", Save on a 4+, have Bravery 6, and 2 Wounds. As a baseline, this seems pretty standard. They're not as disposable as other Factions main lines with their extra Wounds, but their all their other stats seem average.
As for the weapon options, they're not that different. All weapons (Grandweapons included) have a 1" reach and 2 attacks. The Grandweapons have -1 Rend and do 2 damage instead of 1, but that's the only difference. With blade or hammer, you swap a 4+ and 3+ for To Hit and To Wound. The hammers Wound on 3+ and Hit on 4+ but the blades Wound on 4+ and Hit on 3+. Hammers hurt more but are harder to hit it appears.
As for the option of paired weapons or a shield. The Paired Weapons allow you to re-roll hits of 1 and the Sigmarite Shields allow you to re-roll save of 1. So it comes down to offense vs. defense.
Finally, they retain the Lay Low the Tyrants abilitly, giving them +1 to their hit rolls if going up against enemies with 5+ Wounds giving them an edge against heroes and monsters.
The Price
$50 gets you 5 completed models. GW will tell you about all the pieces you get and how awesome that is, but you still can only make 5 complete models out of the box. That's $10 a model, which is cheaper than buying a Lord-Celestant or Lord-Castellant solo, but they have a little less detail. They are bigger than your standard "normal dude" model and $10 a model is the going price that GW seems to have on the big bulky guys. While way more pricer than other companies, this is still within GWs normal price point. Much better deal than the Lord-Celestant.
Overall
These are your standard troops for the Eternals and they suffer because all the other Eternals are basically these units + bits. While they don't stand out among the Eternals, they still are quite striking to look at and have great detail. They are also pretty much a must if you're building a standard Eternals army. The price is what you expect from GW and if you're already buying their stuff, it shouldn't be a hard pill to swallow. Great detail, but sadly lost among all the other Eternals when put in the mix.
The Models
The box comes with several sprues with a variety of heads, weapons, should pads, shields so you can customize the weapon loadout of each of your troops. Of course, it only comes with enough legs and torsos to make 5 models, even though there are enough weapons/heads/arms to make 10. But GW still has to be GW.
The legs and torsos are pretty static in terms of positions, they're all standing heroically, knee bent, ready for war. There are no troops "in motion" and it's mostly a single leg glued to a waist with one leg already modeled on, so you would have to do some clipping to customize your leg poses.
Outside of that is where you can customize. Your Liberators can have two hammers or two sword or either one hammer and shield or one sword and shield as their options for weapons. On top of that, one unit may also have a Grandblade or Grandhammer, which are two-handed versions of the weapons prior. And of course one model can also be a Liberator-Prime (I'd suggest the guy with the Grandweapon since owner of the models pick deaths in a unit and you always want your Prime removed last).
As for their look? They look a lot like what you got in the Starter Set. As the "main line" troops for the Eternals, they have the most basic design. These are your "Sigmarines" covered in the heavy armor, full face plates and not too much flourishes. You do get a small dagger at their hip, various scrolls that can hang from some models and a variety of spikey tops to the helmets, but that's about it.
They do have a ton of great detail like all these late/AoS GW models have had, but they're not all that striking. With the movement that the Prosecutors give and the grand look of the Lord-Celestant, they really don't have much that calls attention to them. I know the other models are built upon them as bases, but since the other models are almost exactly like them with improvements, it's hard to call these guys special.
The War Scroll
The War Scroll is an update to the original one from the Starter Set, with some extra bits added for the weapon options. Since these are your baseline Eternals, this is you best look at how the Eternals average out as a whole.
A unit of Liberators needs to have 5 units or more and 1 in 5 can have a grandweapon. Your Liberator-Prime gets one extra attack compared to his brothers, pushing his attacks to 3.. They move 5", Save on a 4+, have Bravery 6, and 2 Wounds. As a baseline, this seems pretty standard. They're not as disposable as other Factions main lines with their extra Wounds, but their all their other stats seem average.
As for the weapon options, they're not that different. All weapons (Grandweapons included) have a 1" reach and 2 attacks. The Grandweapons have -1 Rend and do 2 damage instead of 1, but that's the only difference. With blade or hammer, you swap a 4+ and 3+ for To Hit and To Wound. The hammers Wound on 3+ and Hit on 4+ but the blades Wound on 4+ and Hit on 3+. Hammers hurt more but are harder to hit it appears.
As for the option of paired weapons or a shield. The Paired Weapons allow you to re-roll hits of 1 and the Sigmarite Shields allow you to re-roll save of 1. So it comes down to offense vs. defense.
Finally, they retain the Lay Low the Tyrants abilitly, giving them +1 to their hit rolls if going up against enemies with 5+ Wounds giving them an edge against heroes and monsters.
The Price
$50 gets you 5 completed models. GW will tell you about all the pieces you get and how awesome that is, but you still can only make 5 complete models out of the box. That's $10 a model, which is cheaper than buying a Lord-Celestant or Lord-Castellant solo, but they have a little less detail. They are bigger than your standard "normal dude" model and $10 a model is the going price that GW seems to have on the big bulky guys. While way more pricer than other companies, this is still within GWs normal price point. Much better deal than the Lord-Celestant.
Overall
These are your standard troops for the Eternals and they suffer because all the other Eternals are basically these units + bits. While they don't stand out among the Eternals, they still are quite striking to look at and have great detail. They are also pretty much a must if you're building a standard Eternals army. The price is what you expect from GW and if you're already buying their stuff, it shouldn't be a hard pill to swallow. Great detail, but sadly lost among all the other Eternals when put in the mix.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Weekly Shopping List: Week 10 & Week 11
Sorry, got a little busy last week and that stopped me from doing any posting like I would have liked. So, I have some serious making up time to do and I'll start by doing both last week's and this week's weekly shopping list.
It's all Stormcast Eternals for both Weeks 10 & 11, so atleast everything will flow nicely. Let's take a look.
Week 10
White Dwarf/Hobby Books
White Dwarf 84: WD 84 seems to be all about the new models. As even the website's description only mentions that they will take a look at the Prosecuters and what they're all about. What else is in there? Something about a Battle Plan featuring the Celestant-Prime, but then more about Prosectuers! At least I'm certain this will be an AoS focused mission.
Order Battletome: Stormcast Eternals: This 152-Page book features all the warscrolls, backstory, battalions, heraldry, color schemes, etc about the Stormcast Eternals. It combines the various background and fluff that's been scattered over other Big Books and White Dwarfs as well as combining all the Warscrolls. Yes, this is our first Army Book, as close as we're going to get anyway. It's either $58 for the regular edition or a whopping $140 for the limited edition version.
Stormcast Eternals
Prosecutors with Celestial Hammers or Stormcall Javelins: The last troop type for the Eternals finally get their own release. The Prosecutors, certainly the most striking looking Eternal units can finally be picked up as separate models. $60 will net your three models, a high price point, but one that may be ignored since they are the most stand-out model designs the Eternals have. They can be constructed either as the box set did, with dual hammers, or with javelins and shields. The Prime also has several weapon options from great weapons similar to the Liberator options to a trident which looks very cool.
Knight-Azyros: One of the "lieutenant" class units for the Eternals, this guy isn't as powerful as a Lord type, but also is a single unit that operates on his own like the other hero types. The Knight-Azyros is a winged unit like the Prosecutors but is armed with a lantern like the Lord-Castallent. A slick looking model, though pricey at $40, much like the Prosecutors, I think the price point is based on the sales for the cool wings.
Knight-Venator: The second "lieutenant" type that can be built with the same sprues as the Knight-Azyros, the Knight-Venator is the lone sniper unit for the Eternals. Again, winged like a Prosecutor, this guy has the bow like a Judicator does and a very cool looking Star-Eagle flying beneath him. I certainly like the look of him over the Knight-Azyros, but I think both of them are very cool looking.
Celestial Warbringer and Knight-Excelsior Upgrades: An interesting release, something much more akin to Forge World releases, these are optional shield, shoulder pad, and tilting plates that add more detail and different styles than the standard releases you get with your regular units. These are totally optional and are used to make units "canon" for other Warrior Chamber types. They're $12 each and give you enough to change 8 units. An odd price point, and odd release, and something that should have came out earlier for people buying Liberators and Paladins earlier.
Fiction
The Solace of Rage: Coming out Tuesday of Week 10, the Solace of Rage is the third part of the Call of Archon series. Once again, we get a look at the Chaos side of things, this time following Ushkar Mir of the Khorne Bloodbound. However, this is a Khorne follower in Ghur, not on Azyr, so that's a change. I also like what they did with the Khorne followers in the Black Rift of Klaxus, so I'm interested where this goes.
Week 11
White Dwarf/Hobby Books
White Dwarf 85: Once again, the blurb is really pushing the new models, not the other articles. It mentions that they are in the Codex Apocrypha (which is mostly fluff based), as well as their warscrolls and such. They also talk about Army of the Month and Armies on Parade, which are recurring articles as well, so I don't know how much real fluff we'll get out of this one.
Stormcast Eternals
Knight-Heraldor: We are finishing out the lieutenant releases here, starting with a command level music player in the Knight-Heraldor. Since the main bulk troop types don't get a full command (musician and standard bearer are missing) outside of a commander, it's cool to see the Eternals get something like it. Their musician is at command level, a single hero type with a trumpet and sword, proudly announcing the Eternals presence. This guy has shown up in some of the fiction and he's a warrior true and only $25 the cheapest hero type for the Eternals yet.
Knight-Vexillor: The hero type standard bearer, he has two banner options, both which look quite cool. In fact, his look makes me wish that standard troop types did have a full command, so we could see variants of this look with Liberators, Paladins, and Prosecutors (I wish!) . But as a hero, he does have a striking pose and costs a smidge more than his partner this week at $30.
With that, every Eternal that's been mentioned or shown in various fiction, photos, lore, and war scrolls has been released. This may be the end of the Stormcast Eternals model push but I'm sure they can always think of more for the future, especially with the Warscroll format of making units. So do we get Khorne next week or a whole new faction? Or will we take a rest from AoS and do some pure 40K releases for a while? We'll see next Saturday!
It's all Stormcast Eternals for both Weeks 10 & 11, so atleast everything will flow nicely. Let's take a look.
Week 10
White Dwarf/Hobby Books
White Dwarf 84: WD 84 seems to be all about the new models. As even the website's description only mentions that they will take a look at the Prosecuters and what they're all about. What else is in there? Something about a Battle Plan featuring the Celestant-Prime, but then more about Prosectuers! At least I'm certain this will be an AoS focused mission.
Order Battletome: Stormcast Eternals: This 152-Page book features all the warscrolls, backstory, battalions, heraldry, color schemes, etc about the Stormcast Eternals. It combines the various background and fluff that's been scattered over other Big Books and White Dwarfs as well as combining all the Warscrolls. Yes, this is our first Army Book, as close as we're going to get anyway. It's either $58 for the regular edition or a whopping $140 for the limited edition version.
Stormcast Eternals
Prosecutors with Celestial Hammers or Stormcall Javelins: The last troop type for the Eternals finally get their own release. The Prosecutors, certainly the most striking looking Eternal units can finally be picked up as separate models. $60 will net your three models, a high price point, but one that may be ignored since they are the most stand-out model designs the Eternals have. They can be constructed either as the box set did, with dual hammers, or with javelins and shields. The Prime also has several weapon options from great weapons similar to the Liberator options to a trident which looks very cool.
Knight-Azyros: One of the "lieutenant" class units for the Eternals, this guy isn't as powerful as a Lord type, but also is a single unit that operates on his own like the other hero types. The Knight-Azyros is a winged unit like the Prosecutors but is armed with a lantern like the Lord-Castallent. A slick looking model, though pricey at $40, much like the Prosecutors, I think the price point is based on the sales for the cool wings.
Knight-Venator: The second "lieutenant" type that can be built with the same sprues as the Knight-Azyros, the Knight-Venator is the lone sniper unit for the Eternals. Again, winged like a Prosecutor, this guy has the bow like a Judicator does and a very cool looking Star-Eagle flying beneath him. I certainly like the look of him over the Knight-Azyros, but I think both of them are very cool looking.
Celestial Warbringer and Knight-Excelsior Upgrades: An interesting release, something much more akin to Forge World releases, these are optional shield, shoulder pad, and tilting plates that add more detail and different styles than the standard releases you get with your regular units. These are totally optional and are used to make units "canon" for other Warrior Chamber types. They're $12 each and give you enough to change 8 units. An odd price point, and odd release, and something that should have came out earlier for people buying Liberators and Paladins earlier.
Fiction
The Solace of Rage: Coming out Tuesday of Week 10, the Solace of Rage is the third part of the Call of Archon series. Once again, we get a look at the Chaos side of things, this time following Ushkar Mir of the Khorne Bloodbound. However, this is a Khorne follower in Ghur, not on Azyr, so that's a change. I also like what they did with the Khorne followers in the Black Rift of Klaxus, so I'm interested where this goes.
Week 11
White Dwarf/Hobby Books
White Dwarf 85: Once again, the blurb is really pushing the new models, not the other articles. It mentions that they are in the Codex Apocrypha (which is mostly fluff based), as well as their warscrolls and such. They also talk about Army of the Month and Armies on Parade, which are recurring articles as well, so I don't know how much real fluff we'll get out of this one.
Stormcast Eternals
Knight-Heraldor: We are finishing out the lieutenant releases here, starting with a command level music player in the Knight-Heraldor. Since the main bulk troop types don't get a full command (musician and standard bearer are missing) outside of a commander, it's cool to see the Eternals get something like it. Their musician is at command level, a single hero type with a trumpet and sword, proudly announcing the Eternals presence. This guy has shown up in some of the fiction and he's a warrior true and only $25 the cheapest hero type for the Eternals yet.
Knight-Vexillor: The hero type standard bearer, he has two banner options, both which look quite cool. In fact, his look makes me wish that standard troop types did have a full command, so we could see variants of this look with Liberators, Paladins, and Prosecutors (I wish!) . But as a hero, he does have a striking pose and costs a smidge more than his partner this week at $30.
With that, every Eternal that's been mentioned or shown in various fiction, photos, lore, and war scrolls has been released. This may be the end of the Stormcast Eternals model push but I'm sure they can always think of more for the future, especially with the Warscroll format of making units. So do we get Khorne next week or a whole new faction? Or will we take a rest from AoS and do some pure 40K releases for a while? We'll see next Saturday!
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Review: Lord-Celestant
The Lord-Celestant was one of the first models released for AoS after the Starter Set (along with the Liberators) and offered the first look at the style and pricing of future unit purchases. So, let's take a look.
The Model
The Lord-Celestant retains the look of all the other Eternals. He's a big guy in a big armor, he's not going to shake off the "Sigmarine" moniker anytime soon. However, being a general/hero type he gets to be much more dressed and dynamic than regular troops. Unlike his Starter Set brethren, he is an unmounted figure, so he does not retain the size of the mounted version. However, he still holds a good heroic dynamic pose, foot aloft on stone, sword held in the air while his cape moves behind him.
The front of his armor has an impressive lion face motif and his high pointed halo stands different than the roman line of horsehair that the mounted Lord-Celestant has. His cape is a little odd, I'm not against the individual strips, but the small hammers at the bottom I'm not too keen on. Especially because they're actual small hammers, handles and all, as opposed to worked into the design.
Still, he retains the look as a hero, a leader, and will stand out among the regular troops, despite having a similar helmet and build.
The War Scroll
The War Scroll names him as the leader he is, a single model with no real choices in terms of weapons or options. At Move 5, Bravery 9, 5 Wounds, and a 3+ Save, he's not too strong in any one trait.
He has a runeblade sword that gives him 4 attacks and a hammer that gives him 2 more. Each attack only does 1 damage however and only the sword has a rend of 1. At 3+/4+ to hit and 3+ to wound on each, he's a middle line troop in terms of basic melee attacks.
His abilities add a few wrinkles to him, however. He has Inescapable Vengeance, letting him make one extra attack per weapon if he successfully charged, meaning you have an advantage of moving him into melee first.
The Sigmarite Warcloak explains the hammers at the end of his cape strips...and doesn't make it any better. The hammers apparently are a missile weapon, with D6 of them flying off towards a target and suffering one mortal wound on a 4+. You can also pick multiple targets. It would have some use as an attempt to finish off a model that can't save against mortal wounds or to punch a few holes in one wound units before charging in. It's still silly sounding in terms of it "actually" happening on the battle field as little mini-hammers go flying off a cloak and smack into people.
Finally, his Command Ability, Furious Retribution, allows any units within 9" to add +1 to their Hit rolls for a turn.
Overall, these stats and abilities make for a very middle of the road single character unit. Nothing gives him an overwhelming advantage, but there is enough useful abilities to not make him worthless.
The Price
He will run you $33 to purchase, a single model with no options. You'll use everything on the sprue and can only form him in one way. Yes, he's a great looking mini, the amount of detail is very impressive compared to other minis at this scale from other companies. Still, GW can't even claim that you have all these options or leftover bitz for conversions when you're done to make up the value.
Overall
It's a pricey model and one that doesn't give you a huge amount of abilities and uniqueness to make him a definite purchase. He is an alright option to add to your army, but one that will look like all the others due to lack of options and him having to keep the Eternals aesthetic.
The Model
The Lord-Celestant retains the look of all the other Eternals. He's a big guy in a big armor, he's not going to shake off the "Sigmarine" moniker anytime soon. However, being a general/hero type he gets to be much more dressed and dynamic than regular troops. Unlike his Starter Set brethren, he is an unmounted figure, so he does not retain the size of the mounted version. However, he still holds a good heroic dynamic pose, foot aloft on stone, sword held in the air while his cape moves behind him.
The front of his armor has an impressive lion face motif and his high pointed halo stands different than the roman line of horsehair that the mounted Lord-Celestant has. His cape is a little odd, I'm not against the individual strips, but the small hammers at the bottom I'm not too keen on. Especially because they're actual small hammers, handles and all, as opposed to worked into the design.
Still, he retains the look as a hero, a leader, and will stand out among the regular troops, despite having a similar helmet and build.
The War Scroll
The War Scroll names him as the leader he is, a single model with no real choices in terms of weapons or options. At Move 5, Bravery 9, 5 Wounds, and a 3+ Save, he's not too strong in any one trait.
He has a runeblade sword that gives him 4 attacks and a hammer that gives him 2 more. Each attack only does 1 damage however and only the sword has a rend of 1. At 3+/4+ to hit and 3+ to wound on each, he's a middle line troop in terms of basic melee attacks.
His abilities add a few wrinkles to him, however. He has Inescapable Vengeance, letting him make one extra attack per weapon if he successfully charged, meaning you have an advantage of moving him into melee first.
The Sigmarite Warcloak explains the hammers at the end of his cape strips...and doesn't make it any better. The hammers apparently are a missile weapon, with D6 of them flying off towards a target and suffering one mortal wound on a 4+. You can also pick multiple targets. It would have some use as an attempt to finish off a model that can't save against mortal wounds or to punch a few holes in one wound units before charging in. It's still silly sounding in terms of it "actually" happening on the battle field as little mini-hammers go flying off a cloak and smack into people.
Finally, his Command Ability, Furious Retribution, allows any units within 9" to add +1 to their Hit rolls for a turn.
Overall, these stats and abilities make for a very middle of the road single character unit. Nothing gives him an overwhelming advantage, but there is enough useful abilities to not make him worthless.
The Price
He will run you $33 to purchase, a single model with no options. You'll use everything on the sprue and can only form him in one way. Yes, he's a great looking mini, the amount of detail is very impressive compared to other minis at this scale from other companies. Still, GW can't even claim that you have all these options or leftover bitz for conversions when you're done to make up the value.
Overall
It's a pricey model and one that doesn't give you a huge amount of abilities and uniqueness to make him a definite purchase. He is an alright option to add to your army, but one that will look like all the others due to lack of options and him having to keep the Eternals aesthetic.
Review: Age of Sigmar App
The Age of Sigmar App is a free app by GW for use in the construction and reference of your armies for playing Age of Sigmar. It's absolutely worth it's value and more and I see it as an essential component for anyone playing AoS.
So what does it do? It offers War Scrolls for every single unit that has been released (as well as all the old ones they retrofitted with War Scrolls), broken into the four Grand Alliances (and Scenery) as well as being further broken down by Faction. You simply choose the Faction you want, click on the cloud to download the War Scrolls and they are there for you to review.
Each War Scroll is broken into 4 or more pages. The first offers the description and composition, the second a picture, the third has the stat wheel and weapon options, and the final page (or two or more if a lot of rules apply) offer the special abilities and Keywords for that unit. They are the same as the .pdf or hard copy War Scrolls just broken into easily digestable pages for your tablet or phone.
What's more, you can click the gold crossed weapons on any War Scroll to place it into a My Battle page, that will only display those War Scrolls on your menu. This means you can build an army and have each War Scroll on the same page, especially useful if you're mixing factions or don't have all unit types for a large army.
The app also features the free ruleset so you can reference it quickly and, if you prefer your book e-style, you can purcase them through the app to link them all together. This includes all the Battletomes, Realmgate Wars Big Books, and Painting Guides (as well as a link to Black Library for fiction).
Purchasing the books through the app also unlock their relevant Battalion War Scrolls to allow you to add them to your My Battle or read through them. If you don't want to purchase them (I prefer hard copies for instance), you can unlock the Battalion Scrolls for .99 cents a piece, no worse than any other in-app purchases.
My only complaint is that you can't uninstall any War Scrolls you've downloaded easily. If you have downloaded the Khorne Bloodreavers when they were part of the Starter Set, for instance, and then wanted to look at them after they have had updates with their individual release (for their new weapons and such), you can't delete the original War Scroll to get the new one through the app. You can go into your phone's app setting and delete all downloaded data or clear data or what have you to redownload the new Scrolls, but that's needlessly complicated. I wish there was a long press option or something to redownload new Scrolls quickly.
But other than that, this app is essential at the table to make planning quick and easy, you don't have to shuffle through papers or books to find the War Scrolls you need. And it's free, there's no reason not to get this app.
So what does it do? It offers War Scrolls for every single unit that has been released (as well as all the old ones they retrofitted with War Scrolls), broken into the four Grand Alliances (and Scenery) as well as being further broken down by Faction. You simply choose the Faction you want, click on the cloud to download the War Scrolls and they are there for you to review.
Each War Scroll is broken into 4 or more pages. The first offers the description and composition, the second a picture, the third has the stat wheel and weapon options, and the final page (or two or more if a lot of rules apply) offer the special abilities and Keywords for that unit. They are the same as the .pdf or hard copy War Scrolls just broken into easily digestable pages for your tablet or phone.
What's more, you can click the gold crossed weapons on any War Scroll to place it into a My Battle page, that will only display those War Scrolls on your menu. This means you can build an army and have each War Scroll on the same page, especially useful if you're mixing factions or don't have all unit types for a large army.
The app also features the free ruleset so you can reference it quickly and, if you prefer your book e-style, you can purcase them through the app to link them all together. This includes all the Battletomes, Realmgate Wars Big Books, and Painting Guides (as well as a link to Black Library for fiction).
Purchasing the books through the app also unlock their relevant Battalion War Scrolls to allow you to add them to your My Battle or read through them. If you don't want to purchase them (I prefer hard copies for instance), you can unlock the Battalion Scrolls for .99 cents a piece, no worse than any other in-app purchases.
My only complaint is that you can't uninstall any War Scrolls you've downloaded easily. If you have downloaded the Khorne Bloodreavers when they were part of the Starter Set, for instance, and then wanted to look at them after they have had updates with their individual release (for their new weapons and such), you can't delete the original War Scroll to get the new one through the app. You can go into your phone's app setting and delete all downloaded data or clear data or what have you to redownload the new Scrolls, but that's needlessly complicated. I wish there was a long press option or something to redownload new Scrolls quickly.
But other than that, this app is essential at the table to make planning quick and easy, you don't have to shuffle through papers or books to find the War Scrolls you need. And it's free, there's no reason not to get this app.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Weekly Shopping List: Week 9
We have moved beyond 2 months of AoS releases and there is still no end in sight. It actually would be nice if there was one so I could do some catch-up without falling horribly behind and draining my bank account.
Atleast this week is small, with only 2 releases! Of course, one is a big release.
White Dwarf/Hobby Books
White Dwarf 83: Our latest issue of White Dwarf focuses on on the big release for this week, the Celestant-Prime, featured prominently on the cover. Besides that, there is mention of a write-up on the Hallowed Knights, the Stormhost leading the charge in Ghyran. It's nice to see an article dedicated to a Stormhost that isn't the Hammers of Sigmar. Maybe this means the Vindicators will get some more love.
Stormcast Eternals
Celestant-Prime: Here is the big bad super hero model for the Eternals (unless they have something even bigger hiding up their sleeves), the Celestant-Prime. Supposedly the first Eternal ever forged and now wielding Ghal Maraz after the Eternals got it back, this is the big centerpiece model like many other armies got during the End Times. He's $80 for a fairly large model, with impressive looking wings, however I'm not to sure if I like the swirling magics/orrey under him and for the most part, he still just looks like an Eternal. Atleast he keeps a conformity to the rest of the army.
And that's it, it's a nice break from the repacks or massive fortresses that would cost a pretty penny if you're trying to catch 'em all. Will next week see more AoS releases? Or will there be a small break in the action to give 40K some love, I suppose we'll see soon enough.
Atleast this week is small, with only 2 releases! Of course, one is a big release.
White Dwarf/Hobby Books
White Dwarf 83: Our latest issue of White Dwarf focuses on on the big release for this week, the Celestant-Prime, featured prominently on the cover. Besides that, there is mention of a write-up on the Hallowed Knights, the Stormhost leading the charge in Ghyran. It's nice to see an article dedicated to a Stormhost that isn't the Hammers of Sigmar. Maybe this means the Vindicators will get some more love.
Stormcast Eternals
Celestant-Prime: Here is the big bad super hero model for the Eternals (unless they have something even bigger hiding up their sleeves), the Celestant-Prime. Supposedly the first Eternal ever forged and now wielding Ghal Maraz after the Eternals got it back, this is the big centerpiece model like many other armies got during the End Times. He's $80 for a fairly large model, with impressive looking wings, however I'm not to sure if I like the swirling magics/orrey under him and for the most part, he still just looks like an Eternal. Atleast he keeps a conformity to the rest of the army.
And that's it, it's a nice break from the repacks or massive fortresses that would cost a pretty penny if you're trying to catch 'em all. Will next week see more AoS releases? Or will there be a small break in the action to give 40K some love, I suppose we'll see soon enough.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Review: Age of Sigmar Big Book
The Age of Sigmar Big Book (I'm calling it the Big Book so as not to confuse it with the line's overall title) is the first release of the "campaign structure" that AoS is toting to use. Here we continue the story presented in the Starter State and The Gates of Azyr, presented in a collection of fluff, scenarios, and artwork. How does it hold together? Let's check it out!
I went for the Collector's Edition because I have a hard time turning that down, I'm a sucker I know. The Collector's Edition comes in a white slip case featuring the Age of Sigmar logo in gold on the front and an image of Ghal Maraz and small blurb on the back. The book itself is a thick hardcover tome, with the same front cover as the regular edition but with gold print on the spine, gold page edges, a bookmark, and the same back cover as the slip case with the limited edition number on it (I have 1027 of 2000).
The book starts with a small introduction and then goes into the meat of the book. Nearly half the book is full of fluff, while the second half is a mix of fluff and scenarios/rules/warscrolls.
The fluff sections consist of a few standard layouts:
The standard sections of writings interspaced with artwork, be it models or original art.
1 to 2 page sidebars that contain charts, layouts, color schemes, etc.
2 page spreads with a little text down the left side (seen in many WD issues)
The 2 page spreads feature some absolute gorgeous artwork. The art overall is very good, but these pieces really show off how amazing and evocative the art can be.
Section 1: The Storm Breaks
We start by getting a look at our two main factions we've been seeing since the beginning; the Stormcast Eternals and the Khorne Bloodbound. This section basically gathers a lot of the information that's come out in bits and pieces in the previous fiction and WD articles. But there is some new information in there as well. We get a look at some of the force compositions for both sides and a lot of questions added as well.
For instance, we've only seen Warrior Chambers for the Eternals, but a chart shows there are Exemplar, Harbinger, Sacrosanct, Ruination, Extremis, and Auxiliary Chambers. Also, command comes out of the Heraldor, Judicator, Relictor, and Valedictor Temples, only a few of those names we've seen before. Similar to the Space Marines compositions I've seen, we get a cool two page spread of what a full Warrior Chamber would be (and like a full Space Marine layout would be) madly expensive. Things like a total of 9 Liberator Retinues that each contain 20 units (at $50 for 5, that would run you $1,800. Of course, nothing has said you need to field that many units, but I bet someone does and we'll see it online. We also see some command units that do not have models yet, but were mentioned in the Assault on the Mandrake Bastion, such as the Knight-Heraldor.
There is also another look at the various Stormhosts of the Eternals (I still like the green of the Celestial Vindicators) and the Warbands of Khorne in Azyr.
Besides some great art and a nice compilation of info that has been scattered, there isn't a whole lot of new information here. If anything, these would do well to make up the first respective chapters of Army Books if there were to be ones. As a side note, if there were pure/majority fluff Army Books released that just filled in some gaps about the composition, mindsets, armory, etc. of various factions, I'd buy them. Then again, I'm a fluff junkie.
Section 2: The Age of Sigmar
The Age of Sigmar section presents where the Realms are at the current moment of the storyline, what is going on right before and right as the Eternals make their first landings. While Chaos has been considered triumphant in their takeover of the Realms, the people still left aren't just waiting around for the Eternals to show up. In fact, not all the Realms could even be considered fully taken over. We learn of the mortal champion leading Chaos, Archaon, (yep, the same big bad guy from the Old World) and him helping to unit the four Chaos armies (he doesn't consider the Skaven as true Chaos and pays no heed to The Great Horned Rat) in their initial assault on the other Realms.
While most of the Realms are fully subjugated, with the few mortals surviving by hiding/running from various Chaos tribes, there are two in which the battles aren't quite over yet. In Shyish, the Undead are not going quietly against the forces of Chaos. Nagash was killed in the first assault, but then gets better after several years and comes back. Chaos just can't get a handle on killing things that keep coming back, much like they do. The battle of the Realm is never quite decided, but the story catches up with the Undead Forces nearly being taken out outside a Realm Gate to Azyr when the Eternals arrive to turn the tide.
Meanwhile, in Ghyran, while the forces of Nurgle are enjoying corrupting the abundance of life that the Realm has to offer. They are suddenly attacked by seemingly the forest itself, as the Sylvaneth faction comes to life and fights back.
It's nice to see the book acknowledges that the Realms shouldn't just sit around and wait for the Eternals to come around. There are things happening, and it opens up battles that aren't just your Eternals vs. Chaos.
Section 3: The Lost Ages
Oddly, after we see where the Realms are right before the timeline catches up with the present, we go back in time to a very quick overview of what has gone on before. In fact, I feel like these two sections should have been swapped, especially with the current battles coming as the next section after it.
The Lost Age expands upon the bit of information that was in the very first White Dwarf. We go over Sigmar drifting through space, him being discovered by Dracothion and shown the 8 Realms, and his visit upon all the Realms to unite them. There is a lot of bits to pull out of this section, we name drop all the major characters from the Old Realms as current gods and how Sigmar got them to to form a council. There are mentions to the fire haired Duradin mercenaries, Savage Orruks, how the Skaven can burrow into any Realm (Blight City, their home, was only pulled slightly in the Realm of Chaos and still touches all the other Realms), and more.
Read straight on, there isn't a lot that actually is told. Sigmar goes around the Realms, finds the named characters in trouble, helps them so they join his council and build the great Azyrheim. Eventually Chaos hears about this and decides to strike at the Realms. Chaos overwhelms the Realms, Sigmar retreats for centuries and then comes back with the Eternals. But it's digging up all the details that add a lot to what's going on. Not just the name drops, but the little things that go on.
We learn of the Allpoints, a sub-realm that has gates connecting all the Realms. We learn of Gorkamorka splitting and reforging into one/two beings and each time it signals a great Waaaagh. We learn about Nagash slipping away from the battle of Allpoints and Sigmar's barbarian pride actually costs the Alliance of Order the battle of Allpoints as he goes to pursue Nagash, leaving the battle and sealing the fates of the Realms. There are a lot of seeds for story here, I'd love to see more of it explored through fiction and more in depth articles.
Section 4: Battle Unbound
This is a small section that is once again a pimping of products section of the book. On one level, it's weird to see it here when White Dwarf is a much better vehicle for that sort of thing. However, it is also the first "major" book for AoS and it really does well to show off what could be coming. This section is 2-page spread after 2-page spread of model shots showing off nearly every Faction and Grand Alliance they will offer.
Section 5: Fire & Thunder
Another short section, this just explains the upcoming format of Battleplanes and then reprints the rules for you, just in case you don't have them.
Section 6: The Realmgate Wars Begin
Finally, the meat of the more game side of the Big Book, as well as starting the fiction beyond the Start Set's initial invasion by Hammerhand.
We see the initial battle launched by the Eternals on three fronts; within the Brimstone Peninsula on Aqshy (which continues on from the Starter Set), taking back the Kingdom of Greenglades in Ghyran, and the assault at the ruins of Elixia in Chamon.
For each one, we get the story of the assaults, both as narrative text and actual fiction. Each of these come form various points of view of the participating Factions. Spaced between these are Battleplans, scenarios that can emulate the various battles the stories touch upon. While each one is based on the narrative, they are set-up to be generic so you can use them as just scenarios to run with your favorite armies.
On top of that, there are two sets of general rules for fighting in Brimstone Peninsula and Greenglades. These range from new spells available, to specific terrain rules, to just overall rule changes to reflect the Realm. These add another layer of depth to your fight without disrupting the 4-page general rules.
Storywise, a few interesting things end up happening, that moves us into the next major release.
On the Brimstone Peninsula, Hammerhand defies his orders when he sees a vision of Khul placing Vandus' head atop a pyramid of skulls. Instead of holding the Realmgates, he moves to assault the 8 towers outside Khul's Red Pyramid. There, they learn, is a Realm Gate connected directly to the Chaos Realm where Khorne's daemons can endlessly appear. After many battles and loses on both sides, Vandus sacrifices himself, calling Sigmar to strike him down as he holds onto the portal, destroying it and ending reinforcements for Khorne.
In the Greenglades, the Hallowed Knights seek to secure a Realm Gate to Azyr, while also entreating with Alarielle to support the assault. Alarielle, going mad from Nurgle's corruption of her Realm, has been lost in memory far more than leading her armies against the Rotbringers. When the Hallowed Knights arrive, she fears Sigmar is also trying to take her Realm and dismisses them. Meanwhile, the Great Unclean One that has held sway in the Greenglades pulls himself from Nurgle's gardens to fight the Hallowed Knights, summoning massive amounts of daemons. The battle seems lost of the Hallowed Knights, until reinforcements from the Astral Lions appear. These are countered by Skaven from Clan Pestilens however, who are then countered by the Sylvaneth, finally joining the fray. The Great Unclean One is destroyed when he attempts to pull himself free of the portal to chase the Hallowed Knights Lord-Celestant, ripping the portals frame and causing a massive explosion that kills them both.
Lastly, in Chamon, the Celestial Vindicators manage to take a Realm Gate without battle, but soon a sorcerer of Tzeentch and his armies are upon them. The Vindicators push back, forcing the sorcerer back to his fortress, where the Eternals lay siege to it. The battle is going in the Vindicators favor until the fortress itself, a giant battery of magical energies built around an artefact too strong for any of Chaos to look upon, charges up and explodes in a flash of heavenly light.
Once reforged and before Sigmar, Lord-Cellestant Thostos Bladestorm tells him of the brillant light and explosion. Then, Sigmar knows, Ghal Maraz has finally been found.
This is by far the best part of the book, it moves the story forward, but also gives you a ton of scenarios to use in the game. This further cements the ability to play AoS as more than two armies smacking into each other. You can now run specific scenarios and link them together however you wish for your own narrative. You can pick a friend, pick 5 scenarios and see who is the first to win 3 (using the Major/Minor Victory rules as they are different each scenario as well). You can decide to play Battleplans from the Brimstone Peninsula section, mixed with the Elixia fights, but have it occur on the Greenglades and use their rules. As more books are released that add more specific Battleplans and location rules, you can easily ignore the over all story and create your own campaign to play out.
Section 7: Legends of War
The final section collects Warscrolls, mostly the units from the starter set, but also some Sylvaneth units as well. We also get a few Warscroll Battalions, which give you special bonuses for composing an army exactly as listed.
In Conclusion
So, is this book worth it? Well that depends on your stance of fluff over gameplay. While the Battleplans are awesome and add a ton of new ways to play on your table, they are a small part of the book. For the most part, this is a fluff piece and an art book, something it does very well. If you want to follow the story of Age of Sigmar, this book moves the game forward, if you want more gameplay options, they're in here too. However, the amount of pure gaming material is small compared to the rest of the book and while a lot of theses scenarios are interesting, if you're just into gaming, find someone who has the book or make up your own scenarios.
For me, though, it was quite a good read that shed some interesting facts on the past and present of the Realms.
I went for the Collector's Edition because I have a hard time turning that down, I'm a sucker I know. The Collector's Edition comes in a white slip case featuring the Age of Sigmar logo in gold on the front and an image of Ghal Maraz and small blurb on the back. The book itself is a thick hardcover tome, with the same front cover as the regular edition but with gold print on the spine, gold page edges, a bookmark, and the same back cover as the slip case with the limited edition number on it (I have 1027 of 2000).
The book starts with a small introduction and then goes into the meat of the book. Nearly half the book is full of fluff, while the second half is a mix of fluff and scenarios/rules/warscrolls.
The fluff sections consist of a few standard layouts:
The standard sections of writings interspaced with artwork, be it models or original art.
1 to 2 page sidebars that contain charts, layouts, color schemes, etc.
2 page spreads with a little text down the left side (seen in many WD issues)
The 2 page spreads feature some absolute gorgeous artwork. The art overall is very good, but these pieces really show off how amazing and evocative the art can be.
Section 1: The Storm Breaks
We start by getting a look at our two main factions we've been seeing since the beginning; the Stormcast Eternals and the Khorne Bloodbound. This section basically gathers a lot of the information that's come out in bits and pieces in the previous fiction and WD articles. But there is some new information in there as well. We get a look at some of the force compositions for both sides and a lot of questions added as well.
For instance, we've only seen Warrior Chambers for the Eternals, but a chart shows there are Exemplar, Harbinger, Sacrosanct, Ruination, Extremis, and Auxiliary Chambers. Also, command comes out of the Heraldor, Judicator, Relictor, and Valedictor Temples, only a few of those names we've seen before. Similar to the Space Marines compositions I've seen, we get a cool two page spread of what a full Warrior Chamber would be (and like a full Space Marine layout would be) madly expensive. Things like a total of 9 Liberator Retinues that each contain 20 units (at $50 for 5, that would run you $1,800. Of course, nothing has said you need to field that many units, but I bet someone does and we'll see it online. We also see some command units that do not have models yet, but were mentioned in the Assault on the Mandrake Bastion, such as the Knight-Heraldor.
There is also another look at the various Stormhosts of the Eternals (I still like the green of the Celestial Vindicators) and the Warbands of Khorne in Azyr.
Besides some great art and a nice compilation of info that has been scattered, there isn't a whole lot of new information here. If anything, these would do well to make up the first respective chapters of Army Books if there were to be ones. As a side note, if there were pure/majority fluff Army Books released that just filled in some gaps about the composition, mindsets, armory, etc. of various factions, I'd buy them. Then again, I'm a fluff junkie.
Section 2: The Age of Sigmar
The Age of Sigmar section presents where the Realms are at the current moment of the storyline, what is going on right before and right as the Eternals make their first landings. While Chaos has been considered triumphant in their takeover of the Realms, the people still left aren't just waiting around for the Eternals to show up. In fact, not all the Realms could even be considered fully taken over. We learn of the mortal champion leading Chaos, Archaon, (yep, the same big bad guy from the Old World) and him helping to unit the four Chaos armies (he doesn't consider the Skaven as true Chaos and pays no heed to The Great Horned Rat) in their initial assault on the other Realms.
While most of the Realms are fully subjugated, with the few mortals surviving by hiding/running from various Chaos tribes, there are two in which the battles aren't quite over yet. In Shyish, the Undead are not going quietly against the forces of Chaos. Nagash was killed in the first assault, but then gets better after several years and comes back. Chaos just can't get a handle on killing things that keep coming back, much like they do. The battle of the Realm is never quite decided, but the story catches up with the Undead Forces nearly being taken out outside a Realm Gate to Azyr when the Eternals arrive to turn the tide.
Meanwhile, in Ghyran, while the forces of Nurgle are enjoying corrupting the abundance of life that the Realm has to offer. They are suddenly attacked by seemingly the forest itself, as the Sylvaneth faction comes to life and fights back.
It's nice to see the book acknowledges that the Realms shouldn't just sit around and wait for the Eternals to come around. There are things happening, and it opens up battles that aren't just your Eternals vs. Chaos.
Section 3: The Lost Ages
Oddly, after we see where the Realms are right before the timeline catches up with the present, we go back in time to a very quick overview of what has gone on before. In fact, I feel like these two sections should have been swapped, especially with the current battles coming as the next section after it.
The Lost Age expands upon the bit of information that was in the very first White Dwarf. We go over Sigmar drifting through space, him being discovered by Dracothion and shown the 8 Realms, and his visit upon all the Realms to unite them. There is a lot of bits to pull out of this section, we name drop all the major characters from the Old Realms as current gods and how Sigmar got them to to form a council. There are mentions to the fire haired Duradin mercenaries, Savage Orruks, how the Skaven can burrow into any Realm (Blight City, their home, was only pulled slightly in the Realm of Chaos and still touches all the other Realms), and more.
Read straight on, there isn't a lot that actually is told. Sigmar goes around the Realms, finds the named characters in trouble, helps them so they join his council and build the great Azyrheim. Eventually Chaos hears about this and decides to strike at the Realms. Chaos overwhelms the Realms, Sigmar retreats for centuries and then comes back with the Eternals. But it's digging up all the details that add a lot to what's going on. Not just the name drops, but the little things that go on.
We learn of the Allpoints, a sub-realm that has gates connecting all the Realms. We learn of Gorkamorka splitting and reforging into one/two beings and each time it signals a great Waaaagh. We learn about Nagash slipping away from the battle of Allpoints and Sigmar's barbarian pride actually costs the Alliance of Order the battle of Allpoints as he goes to pursue Nagash, leaving the battle and sealing the fates of the Realms. There are a lot of seeds for story here, I'd love to see more of it explored through fiction and more in depth articles.
Section 4: Battle Unbound
This is a small section that is once again a pimping of products section of the book. On one level, it's weird to see it here when White Dwarf is a much better vehicle for that sort of thing. However, it is also the first "major" book for AoS and it really does well to show off what could be coming. This section is 2-page spread after 2-page spread of model shots showing off nearly every Faction and Grand Alliance they will offer.
Section 5: Fire & Thunder
Another short section, this just explains the upcoming format of Battleplanes and then reprints the rules for you, just in case you don't have them.
Section 6: The Realmgate Wars Begin
Finally, the meat of the more game side of the Big Book, as well as starting the fiction beyond the Start Set's initial invasion by Hammerhand.
We see the initial battle launched by the Eternals on three fronts; within the Brimstone Peninsula on Aqshy (which continues on from the Starter Set), taking back the Kingdom of Greenglades in Ghyran, and the assault at the ruins of Elixia in Chamon.
For each one, we get the story of the assaults, both as narrative text and actual fiction. Each of these come form various points of view of the participating Factions. Spaced between these are Battleplans, scenarios that can emulate the various battles the stories touch upon. While each one is based on the narrative, they are set-up to be generic so you can use them as just scenarios to run with your favorite armies.
On top of that, there are two sets of general rules for fighting in Brimstone Peninsula and Greenglades. These range from new spells available, to specific terrain rules, to just overall rule changes to reflect the Realm. These add another layer of depth to your fight without disrupting the 4-page general rules.
Storywise, a few interesting things end up happening, that moves us into the next major release.
On the Brimstone Peninsula, Hammerhand defies his orders when he sees a vision of Khul placing Vandus' head atop a pyramid of skulls. Instead of holding the Realmgates, he moves to assault the 8 towers outside Khul's Red Pyramid. There, they learn, is a Realm Gate connected directly to the Chaos Realm where Khorne's daemons can endlessly appear. After many battles and loses on both sides, Vandus sacrifices himself, calling Sigmar to strike him down as he holds onto the portal, destroying it and ending reinforcements for Khorne.
In the Greenglades, the Hallowed Knights seek to secure a Realm Gate to Azyr, while also entreating with Alarielle to support the assault. Alarielle, going mad from Nurgle's corruption of her Realm, has been lost in memory far more than leading her armies against the Rotbringers. When the Hallowed Knights arrive, she fears Sigmar is also trying to take her Realm and dismisses them. Meanwhile, the Great Unclean One that has held sway in the Greenglades pulls himself from Nurgle's gardens to fight the Hallowed Knights, summoning massive amounts of daemons. The battle seems lost of the Hallowed Knights, until reinforcements from the Astral Lions appear. These are countered by Skaven from Clan Pestilens however, who are then countered by the Sylvaneth, finally joining the fray. The Great Unclean One is destroyed when he attempts to pull himself free of the portal to chase the Hallowed Knights Lord-Celestant, ripping the portals frame and causing a massive explosion that kills them both.
Lastly, in Chamon, the Celestial Vindicators manage to take a Realm Gate without battle, but soon a sorcerer of Tzeentch and his armies are upon them. The Vindicators push back, forcing the sorcerer back to his fortress, where the Eternals lay siege to it. The battle is going in the Vindicators favor until the fortress itself, a giant battery of magical energies built around an artefact too strong for any of Chaos to look upon, charges up and explodes in a flash of heavenly light.
Once reforged and before Sigmar, Lord-Cellestant Thostos Bladestorm tells him of the brillant light and explosion. Then, Sigmar knows, Ghal Maraz has finally been found.
This is by far the best part of the book, it moves the story forward, but also gives you a ton of scenarios to use in the game. This further cements the ability to play AoS as more than two armies smacking into each other. You can now run specific scenarios and link them together however you wish for your own narrative. You can pick a friend, pick 5 scenarios and see who is the first to win 3 (using the Major/Minor Victory rules as they are different each scenario as well). You can decide to play Battleplans from the Brimstone Peninsula section, mixed with the Elixia fights, but have it occur on the Greenglades and use their rules. As more books are released that add more specific Battleplans and location rules, you can easily ignore the over all story and create your own campaign to play out.
Section 7: Legends of War
The final section collects Warscrolls, mostly the units from the starter set, but also some Sylvaneth units as well. We also get a few Warscroll Battalions, which give you special bonuses for composing an army exactly as listed.
In Conclusion
So, is this book worth it? Well that depends on your stance of fluff over gameplay. While the Battleplans are awesome and add a ton of new ways to play on your table, they are a small part of the book. For the most part, this is a fluff piece and an art book, something it does very well. If you want to follow the story of Age of Sigmar, this book moves the game forward, if you want more gameplay options, they're in here too. However, the amount of pure gaming material is small compared to the rest of the book and while a lot of theses scenarios are interesting, if you're just into gaming, find someone who has the book or make up your own scenarios.
For me, though, it was quite a good read that shed some interesting facts on the past and present of the Realms.
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