Category Archives: Warhammer Age of Sigmar

Age of Sigmar is the new Warhammer Fantasy Battles rules. In this section you can find all the articles relating to Warhammer Age of Sigmar and associated tactics.

AoS Skirmish Tactics

Age of Sigmar Skirmish Rulebook Cover

In these catacombs is the Star of Asher. With it’s power we will be able to bring many great victories to our cause! But beware! these catacombs are defended. What is more the tunnels will be too tight for us to keep in formation. It will be every man for himself! So now let adventure forward and create such acts of heroism that our story will be told for a thousand years!

Skirmish is an add-on rulebook released by Games Workshop. It is designed with Age of Sigmar at the small end. Instead of moving units of warriors around the table, each model is it’s own character. With each game in a campaign you can earn renown points. These points can be used to add models to your company, or used to improve your existing characters.

In a way the Skirmish rules fill in the gap from paying full role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons where each player plays a single character ( and you need a Dungeon Master to tell the story) and a full blown table top battle like Age of Sigmar where each player has a full army.

Age of Sigmar Skirmish Game on D&D room cards

Aelf & Chaos skirmish for relics in the catacombs

With Age of Sigmar Skirmish each player only has a few models, The minimum is three. There is no maximum number of models but you will rarely have more than 20 to start the game with.

One of the main differences between the Skirmish rules and a full game of Age of Sigmar is that each model is a separate unit. Each model can go his or her own way and does not have to be in coherency distance from another model. This affects the way that Battleshock Tests work and Spell like Summoning work. The core rules for Skirmish cover these points.

Where Skirmish really picks up is if you have a campaign of battles or adventures, specially if there is a storyline behind the campaign. One such campaign is included in the Skirmish rulebook.

Choosing a Warband

Selecting the right mix of models to form your initial Warband is a core skill in Age of Sigmar Skirmish. You will only be fielding a few models compared to other full Age of Sigmar games. Some rules on what you can take are written in the rules. First off you heed a minimum of 3 models and at least one of those must be a Character. Another limitation is that all the models must come from the same grade alliance. Beyond these basic necessities each model has a points cost listed in the Skirmish rulebook.

Once you are familiar with the rules on making a Warband you need to think about the structure of the group. For example you could take 3 heroes, however you will probably find yourself out numbered in most games. Another option is to have one hero and a number of basic troops. Over all I would recommend taking one or two heroes and troops that have a good range of skills. Ones that can both shoot and join in combat and especially useful!

How to extend the Skirmish Rules

Another benefit of the Skirmish rules is that it is very easy to create your own missions and even whole campaigns. Even solo play missions are easy to create. All you need to do is add instructions for the none player models (denisons). For example a mission where there is a Monstrous Creature and the player needs to take it down!

As the Skirmish rules fit between classic role playing and table top wargaming, a good source of storylines and missions are the public domain role playing scenarios. Many of these only need a little adaptation to become excellent Skirmish missions.

As usual with table top wargames the play becomes more interesting if you have plenty of scenery on the table. The Skirmish rules also come with a purposely designed mysterious terrain table to use in Skirmish games, but you are free to create your own table instead.

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Free Age of Sigmar Army builder online

Do you want to build an army list for Age of Sigmar games quickly, easily, and freely? Well you can! Over on the Warhammer Community site.

The army builder allows you to build a Matched Play army or a wound count balanced army list. One item of note is that you are able to select the General’s hand book or the General Handbook 2. Now I do  not know of a second General’s Handbook, so there may be another publication on the way!

How to use the Warhammer Community Army Builder

The army builder is easy to use.

  1. Select the version of General’s Handbook you are using
  2. Select the Grand Alliance you are wanting to build
  3. Select a faction and Alliance that you want to start with. You ca re-visit this section later if you want to have units in your army from several factions!
  4. Notice that the headings on the next line suggest the maximum number of units you can have for each section (after the slash) and the number of units you have added to your list (before the slash)
  5. For each of the sections click on the ‘Add Units’ button. There will be a number on the add units button showing how many unit types are available in the section for that faction. This means if there are zero choices available, don’t br too surprised that no unit choices are displayed!
  6. Notice that each unit added showed the number of wounds(marked by a hart), and the number of points(marked by a star). Also note that there is a dustbin icon that allows you to remove the unit from your list, and a copy icon that lets you duplicate a unit easily.
  7. Notice that if a unit has options that these can be set with drop-down boxes in the unit boxes. For example there is a ‘Genera’ on/off button where you can select a unit as your General.
  8. At the end of the units box there is a grey vertical bar. You can click and drag this bar to re-organize your units within a section.
  9. Right at the bottom is are a set of Save, Load, and Clear buttons. For excitement I will let you discover what these are for, but they are good, so give them a go (hint: use the save button first!)
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AoS Order Aelf Highborn Prince and Noble Tactics

Age of Sigmar Aelf Highborn Dragon Prince on foot

The Highborn Prince and Nobles are the leaders of the Highborn and other noble factions of the Elf / Aelf armies. in this section we will have a look at the Highborn Princes, Draconis Dragon Nobles, and several named Aelf heroes.

Why do we need a Hero?

In Age of Sigmar games you do not need to have a leader leading your army. However Heroes are the best fighters, have special/magic items that are better at killing your foe, and usually have Command Abilities that are better that the standard Inspiring Presence command ability.

Draconis and Highborn in one article?

Yes, this is a house rule around our way. The different Highborn factions are too small so we treat Highborn and Draconis as the same keyword and interchangeable. After a bit of play testing this seems to work well. If you want to take on the same house rule , great! otherwise ignore any tactics that assume that this is the case.

Aelf High Elf Prince on Griffon Tactics

If you have the Warhammer Fantasy Battles 8th edition box set ( Islands of Blood ), or the Spire of Dawn box set then you will have a lf Prince on Griffon.

The Griffon that the Elf Prince rides makes this a Monster and a hero. However this is an Elfish monster, sleek, elegant, and cuts like a razor. The upside of this is that the Prince on a Griffon is fast. The downside is that they will take damage quickly if they are attacked.

Griffon movement

Un-wounded the Prince and Griffon can fly 16″ a turn. This is a huge reach, but beware, this speed means that it is very easy to be caught out in the open without support. However this speed means that you can fly from one part of the table to another, supporting different units in your army or sniping at targets of opportunity. Just think ahead before you make your move!

One last note about movement is that the Griffon has a special rule when it comes to assault, the “Predatory Leap”. This rule allows you to leap 6″ when piling in. This should allow you to strike first in many assaults. Which leads us to…..

Prince on Griffon Weapons

All the prince’s weapons are combat weapons. This means that there is little advantage in holding back. He has quite a number of attacks too. 13 attacks per combat round when he is un-wounded. Most of these attacks wound 33.33% of the time, but many have -1 rend! This large number of attacks and minimal rend makes the Prince a good tool for taking on packs or swarms of smaller creatures rather than taking on Monstrous Creatures, even then the Prince will work better with assistance.

Prince on Griffon Command Ability : Glittering Charge

The Prince on Griffon makes for a good general. As such he come with an signature Command Ability “Glittering Charge” if you have the Prince as your general, and you use this ability in your command phase then near by Highborn units can re-roll either, or both charge roll dice if they charge before your next command phase. Remember that the Prince is always within 16“ of himself!

Aelf Dragon Prince Tactics

Age of Sigmar Aelf Highborn Dragon Prince on footThe Aelf Prince came as a box set of with a Dragon Prince on horse and a Dragon Prince on foot, or BSB (battle standard bearer). Game Workshop have added rules for including these models in Age of Sigma games.

If you have the downloaded the first warscroll pdf’s this model was listed as an Aelf Highborn Prince.

The Dragon Noble can be on foot or on horseback.

Dragon Nobel on Foot

The Dragon Noble on foot is armed with either a Starblade sword or a Enchanted Polearm.

Dragon Nobel on Horse

When mounted on a horse can take a Starlance instead of the Starblade or Polearm. If you are building your Dragon Prince have a think about your playing style before you stick the model together.

The Starlance has a 2″ reach so you will be able to attack the enemy over the top of any front line troops. The Starlance does wound less often (33.33% chance of wounding) but does have the -1 rend and a certain 2 damage.

Placing your Dragon Prince on a horse gives the Prince double speed at 12“ in the moment phase. The horse also gets in to the fight in the combat phase dishing out 2 attacks each with 25% chance of wounding.

As your Dragon Prince on horseback is much faster than your foot troops you will need to be careful that you don’t leave your Prince undefended. If you have other mounted troops you may want to make that unit a bodyguard for the Dragon Prince.

Dragon Prince Command Ability : Might of the Dragon

If you use this ability then the selected unit can re-roll failed hits. Remember that you can select the Dragon Prince himself. The best unit to select would be one that you are expecting to do a good deal of shooting or combat attacks. Another way to use this command ability is to choose a war machine where hitting the target delivers a large amount of damage.

 

 

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AoS Order Collegiate Arcane Battlemage Tactics

Age of Sigmar Order Collegiate Arcane Battlemage Wizard Hero

Lord Barrek was in serious trouble. The Orruk Warlord in front of him was just too big and tough. He could feel the cracked bones burn as he desperately fought for his life. All of a sudden Barrek felt a surge of energy flood through his veins. A quick glance behind revealed Calif finishing one of his incantations. At the same time Barrek could feel bones in his body bind back together and flesh in the being made whole again. The Orruk Warlord was enraged with the trickery before him, his prey was becoming whole again. In a fit of anger the Warlord raised his mighty blade to smash the remaining life from Barrek. In doing so left the Warlord open for a second and Barrek took the opportunity, and his new found strength to peirce the Warlord where Barrek hoped his hart was and then twisted the blade for good measure. The Warlord let out a blood curdling cry to Gorkk. The closest Orruks turned to see their champion mortally impailed. They too echo the Warlord. Other Orruks turned to look and like a wave of sound the ripples of lamentation spread over the battlefield. As the howling became a eerie silence the Orruk turned and started to leave the battlefield. As if by a miracle the Warg was finished. The Orruks headed back to their homeland plains, and the free peoples would see another spring.

The Collegiate Arcane is the college of magic that the Free Peoples of Sigma go to if they need a Battlemage. These Battlemages protect the army from enemy wizards and to cause magic mayhem of their own!

Battlemages are not designed for close-quarter fighting. With a 6+ save most opposition will slice through their 5 wounds with ease. If it does come to the crunch you may get a lucky hit in as the Mages have a single attack with the usual 33.33% chance of hitting but comes with a -1 rend and D3 wounds! My advice though would be to keep your magic user behind a wall of warriors.

He’s My Hero!

One often overlooked feature of the Battlemage is that he is a Hero. This does not improve is usefulness directly, but some units have special bonuses if they are near a Hero, Human Hero, or Order Hero.

Look for the units with special rules that activate if you are near a hero and think about how you can use the unit and the Battlemage as a mini formation.

Battlemage Magic

With Mages, Wizards, and other magic users, the main source of usefulness comes from the spells and magic that they can wield. This is the case with the Battlemage too.

All Battlemages come with 3 spells they can cast. The first two are the standard Arcane Shield and Mystic Bolt. The Third spell comes from a list of 8 on the Battlemage warscroll and needs to be selected as you set up the model. Note that if for some reason you do not need to set up the Battlemage until partway through the game, you can see how the game is playing out before you choose your 3rd spell!

If you are playing using the rules from the Generals Handbook then you will probably be using the ‘rule of one’. This rule says that no spell can be used twice it one round, so you can not have two wizards casting Arcane Bolt in the same turn. If you have several wizards this can get limiting, Two reduce the limitation, I recommend that you give each Battlemage a different third spell.

Chain Lightning

Lightning Flash Chain Lighting is a direct damage spell that is very useful against massed units. If you can force your enemy in to a confined space then this may be the spell for you! It casts on a 6+, which is over half the time, but only just! However it will cause D3 mortal wounds to the target unit, and then there is a 1in6 chance for each other unit within 6″ of the first to cause D3 mortal wounds on them too!

So what is the best way to use this spell? First, as I mentioned, you need to herd the enemy in to a large group. You may find this spell works better if there is a lot of scenery on the table or if  you can flank the enemy so that they become concentrated  in one spot. The next step is to place your battlemage where you can cast a spell on one of the central units, preferably when your battlemage is near an Arcane scenery piece to get the +1 on your spell casting. Also having a bodyguard of warriors between the battlemage and the enemy will reduce the chance of having a counter attack on the mage! Now I know that it will be very rare that you can get all these elements in place, but the closer you get to the perfect situation the better!

Fireball

Fireball Fireball does not need and introduction, it does what you expect, blasts a ball of fire at your opponent! It is also similar to Arcane Bolt when it comes to range and casting value. What is different is that Fireball is more random when it comes to damage. If you successfully cast Fireball you roll a D6 ( D3 really), on 1 or 2 the target suffers 1 mortal wound, on a roll of 3 or 4, you get to cause D3 wounds, and on a 5 or 6 to get to cause D6 wounds!

So how do you use this spell? The main tactical point is to target units that have 6 wounds or more. Smaller, weaker units may run out of wounds if you roll a 6, and that seems a wast of mortal wounds. The next point to consider is that this spell is very random. You need to roll to cast, then hope that it will not be dispelled, then roll for spell strength, and last of all roll for number of mortal wounds. This means that this spell could be very effective, or not work at all! With this in mind, try to have a backup plan. One where if the spell works really well you can take advantage of it, and on where if it goes horribly wrong you can get out of there!

Soul Steal

Soul Steal SpellThe Souls Steal spell creates a battle of bravery. Once cast both players roll a D6 and add this to their bravery scores. If the battlemage gets a higher final score then the target unit suffers a number of mortal wounds equal to the difference between the two scores. So if you win by 3 then the target unit receives 3 mortal wounds!

Don’t worry if you loose the roll off. This spell does not backfire!

So how do you use this spell? Well the first point to note is that he battlemages bravery is 6. This is not high by any measure, so if you can increase the mage’s bravery somehow this will help. Inspiring scenery will help, as will some command abilities, and maybe spells cast by other friendly nearby mages. In the same way look for targets with lower bravery scores. Night Golblins and Trolls make good targets. In addition, friendly units near sinister scenery can reduce the bravery of enemy units around then, as can some spells too.

In summary this spell may need you to have several elements in place for it to work well. But then the organising of units for the best results is what tactics is all about!

Light Of Battle

Many time a wizard can do more to win a battle by aiding friendly units than he can by causing direct damage. This is one of those spells.

Light of Battle works in a similar way to the Inspiring Presence command ability but with a batch of bonuses. First off it has an 18″ range (over the 12″ of the Inspiring Presence ability), and the second advantage is that it gives all the other friendly units within 6″ of the target unit in the battle shock phase get +1 bravery.

Final Transmutation

This is another direct damage spell a Battlemage can cast, and it is designed for those who like to kick the opponent while they are down!

How it works is you pick a unit in 18″, roll to see if the spell works, and then pick a model in that unit as the target. Now some units are single models like heroes or monsters. However in multi-model units you can pick out the one you want to target. This may be the unit leader or banner carrier, or a multi-wound model that has already taken some wounds. Note that the mage does not need to be able to see the target model, just any model from the unit.

Once you have picked your target and made sure the spell goes off, then you roll a D6. If you roll greater that the remaining number of wounds for that model then it changes in to a golden statue & is out of the game! Note that the target does not suffer mortal wounds, so it does not get a chance save against wounds or mortal wounds!

So how do you use Final Transmutation spell? Well as I said at the top, look for wounded characters or monsters with a couple of wounds left and finish them off! Otherwise look for units that have one or two wounds per model and snipe a model out of the unit. Remember that units get +1 bravery for every 10 models, so smaller units make better targes. My favorite targets are Chaos Warriors that have 5+ saves against mortal wounds. With this spell you can pick off the units leader or banner carrier with ease!

Mystifying Miasma

Mystifying Miasma a spell that does not damage your opponent directly, but causes them to be weaker than usual. In this case if the spell is successfully cast then the target unit becomes a bit befuddled and has 1 subtracted from their to hit rolls.

So how do you use this spell? With this spell you want to target units that will be shooting or in combat this turn. The more attacks you think they will make, the better target they become. Another way to look at it is to protect a key friendly unit by reducing the incoming hits. A cannon may only have one shot, But if you can stop it from firing at your general then it may be worth trying to block the shot!

Wildform

Beast man eye. This is another of those spells that helps your friends rather than kills the enemy directly. With this spell you choose a friendly unit within 18″ of the wizard and roll 6+ on 2D6 plus any bonuses. If the spell activates then the target unit gets +1 to wound in thier combat phase or phases untill your next command phase. So if your enemy gets double turn you get your combat phase and their combat phases.

So how do you use this spell? The key issue with the Wildfire spell is that it only works on friendly units in close combat, or just about to enter close combat. This may include the Battlemage himself. However as the Battlemage is not great in close combat you will want to have him protected by warriors anyway!

So have your Battlemage near the front line, but protected by warriors. Have the warriors engage in close combat, and have the Battlemage use this spell on them to give them an extra boost!

Lifesurge

The last spell it the Battlemage spell book is Lifesurge. This spell can heal wounds of nearby units and give them a 1 in 6 chance of shrugging off wounds until your next hero phase.

This spell does not raise the dead back to life! The target model needs to be on the table when the spell is cast. As the dead are immediately removed, they will not be there to heal. In a similar way you can not heal models in reserve either!

So how do you use this spell? Well you need to have your Battlemage near a unit of multi-wound models. Heroes and monsters are usually single model multi-wound units, so they will do nicely! Also if you pick a unit that you expect will need to make several saves in the next round, all the better! Remember that the Battlemage himself is a multi-wound character and you can cast spells on yourself!

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AoS Destruction Ogor Gutbusters

Age of Sigmar Destruction Gutbuster Ogors

Ogor Gutbusters are not subtle. Coming from the frozen waste lands where only the biggest and toughest survive, Ogors Gutbusters come to grab supplies and smash and bash anything and everything that gets in their way!

If you like to fight battles with monster creatures that win battles using brute force, then an Ogor Gutbusters army could be your thing!

In 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy the Gutbusters where the Ogor Kingdom army.

From a gamers point of view one great advantage of building a Ogor army is that you do not need many models to make a good sized force. It only takes 3 models to make a unit. Sure a unit of 12 works better, but compared to a unit of 30+ Orruks, that is still much easier to collect, carry and paint!

Ogor Gutbuster Butcher Tactics

Butchers are the wizards of the Ogor army. However that is not to say that Butchers are useless in a fight. Far from it! The Butchers are only slightly behind the

Ogors Brute Tactics

Age of Sigmar Destruction Gutbuster OgorsIn the Age of Sigmar Destruction Gutbuster Ogors army, Ogors Brutes are the rank and file units. They have no ranged weapons so you will want them to get stuck in to combat as soon as possible.

Ogre Brutes have 3 attacks and a 33% of wounding before saves. This means that you should expect one wound per Ogor model. However the winds of fate will mean that this will vary, but the more Ogors you have in a fight, the more the averages will even out!

Ogor Brutes have 4 wounds and a 5+ save. This means that they are not invulnerable, but they should take a battering before they are laid low!
Ogor Weapons

Ogor Brutes have two weapon options. the first is to have two clubs/blades, the second is to have one club/blade and one iron fist. A unit can have a mix of models with different weapon options.

If you take two blades then your chance of hitting increases by 1 in 12 (8.33%). With this option the chance of wounding goes up to 37.49% chance of wounding (before saves). Not a lot, but worth remembering the re-roll if you get it!

If you take the iron fist option then you do not gain any advantages during your melee round, bur you do get to hit back if you save with a roll of 6+. Remember that you may save bonuses that will help your save roll, these are added to the final dice rolls first.

Ogor Irongut Tactics

If the regular Ogors are not brutish enough, then meet the Ogor Ironguts! These are Ogors with heaver armour and double handed weapons!

Iron Guts wear basic armour and get a 4+ save because of it. That’s 50% of regular wounds saved. Adding this save to the usual 4 wounds that Ogors get and you start to see what makes this unit so tough!

Ogor Leadbelcher Tactics

Age of Sigmar Destruction Ogor LeadbelchersLeadbelchers are Ogors that have picked up a cannon from some where, loaded it with gunpowder and scrap metal and now use it as an oversized blunderbuss!

Like many of the other Ogor units there you only need a minimum of Leadbelchers in a unit. The unit does not get any special rules for being larger than this, so keeping to smaller sized units may be a good strategy!

The Leadbelcher Gun

The main feature of the Leadbelcher unit is the Leadbelcher Guns that they carry. In true Ogor fashion, these guns have no finesse! The closeted weapon that I can think of is a Blunderbuss. They have a short 12″ range, and a random number of attacks.

The Leadbelcher Gun can be used in 3 ways. The first is as a melee weapon, hitting the opponent with is like a club. Do not under estimate the effectiveness of this weapon on close combat. It has 2 attacks per model, each attack with a 33.33% chance (2 in 3 chance of wounding per model) of wounding, with -1 rend and 2 wounds! Basically these weapons can make a mess of most units!

The second is a close ranged move and fire weapon where you can fire the Leadbelcher Gun even if you have moved or you are in combat. Fired this way you get D3 attacks, each with a 33.33% chance of wounding with -1 rend and 1 wound. This means that they are less effective as a ballistic weapon (49.99% chance of wounding) then they are and close combat clubs (66.66% chance of wounding) ! Don’t give up hope though, because you have to remember that you can shoot in the combat phase too, so the chance of wounding is not either /or but the sum of the two chances to wound!

The 3rd option is as a stand and fire weapon. If you stand and fire you do not increase the, but you do increase the number of attacks from D3 to D6 per model! This doubles your chances of of wounding (before saves) which works out at 99.99% chance of wounding, or 1 wound per turn per model!

So how do you get to shoot at close range without moving? The usual best tactic is to get the enemy to come to you, preferably slowly and in small numbers at a time! This means holding an objective that they want, funnelled through a tight space and over difficult ground. The chance that you will be able to set this up each game will be slim, however the closer you get to this ideal the better!

 

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AoS Destruction Ogor Beastclaw Raiders Tactics

Age of Sigmar Destruction Gutbuster Ogors

If you like the grunt of the Ogor Gutbusters, but want them mounted on the biggest, badest monsters you are likely to see, then the Ogor Beastclaw Raiders could be just up your street!

Gutbusters where created with Age of Sigma in mind so it is no surprise that they have their own Battle Tome, and that they fit into the Age of Sigma game easily.

Ogor Frostlord on Thundertusk Tactics

The biggest, badest of the Ogor Beastclaw Raiders is the Frostlord.

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AoS Chaos Skaven Clan Moulder Tactics

AoS Chaos Skaven Skryre and Moulder Stormfeinds

Clan Moulder is the clan of  Skaven race that love to meddle in bio-genetics. By grafting body part from different creatures they create monsters that rival Frankenstine’s.  Clan Moulder also have an affinity with the smaller and more feral rat creatures that accompany the Skaven in to battle.

General Clan Moulder Tactics

It is possible, but rare to play a pure Clan Moulder army. If you do want to play a Clan Moulder only army then you will need a good number of Ratings Swarms and Giant Rats, herded by Pack Masters followed up with Rat Ogors, and a brood horror or two to tack on more difficult enemy units.

A more usual way to play Clan Moulder is to use them as auxiliary units to a more inclusive Skaven army. A common example of this is adding Pack Masters and Rat Ogers to back up basic Skaven, adding mussel when needed.

Clan Moulder Pack Master Tactics

Pack Masters are the core of Clan Moulder. The junior Pack Masters are in charge of herding swams of Rat Swarms and Giant Rats. More senior Pack Masters get to herd Rat Ogers that they have created. The most senior get to create the massive Hell Pit Abominations.

As the Pack Master has such a key role in the army in will be a key target for your enemy. Following this line of thought it makes sense to give your Pack Masters plenty of protection. This is where the Wolf Rats come in their own.

Pack Masters can be armed with one of three different herding tools/weapons. There is surprisingly little difference between the three weapons. The knife and whip has more attacks but causes less damage. The Shock Prod hits less frequently but causes plenty of damage if it does hit. The Thing Catcher lies somewhere in the middle.

Clan Moulder Rat Swarm Tactics

Rat Swarms are the smallest of the rat folk. They are so small several are placed on one base to make them large enough to make them playable. So does this mean that the Rat Swams should be overlooked? Absolutely not! I know that they will take wounds and they are not particularly quick, but 5 attacks per base adds up! One base with 5 attacks has a 55% chance of wounding (before saves). Add this to the 4 wounds per base and you can see that the Rat Swams will hang around longer than you would expect, and hopefully catch you opponent off guard!

As we see, each base of Rat Swarms has bite. But hang on, there’s more! The special rule will allow you to add an extra base to the unit each Hero Phase. This means that if you have a single base, and can keep it alive for one hero phase then you double its value by adding a second base to the unit. It also means that fielding two single bases is far more valuable than starting out with a unit of two! Make sure you have enough bases to allow for reinforcements. Remember that you can reuse dead units to act as newly spawned ones.

Because the Rat Swarms reproduce so quickly they are worth saving and allowing to grow in number before you send them in to the fight. Using them to defend an objective is a good example of this.

Clan Moulder Giant Rats Tactics

Age 0f Sigmar Chaos Skaven Giant Rats and Rat SwarmLarger than a rat swarm, but smaller than Skaven are Giant Rats.

Giant Rats definitely work better in larger numbers. If you look at the basic stats line their hit and wound rolls look terrible. 5+ to hit and 5+ to wound means you have a 1 in 9 or 11.11% chance of wounding per model! However if you look at the special rules you see that as packs get larger they get more useful too. With a pack of 10 you effectively only need to roll a 4+ to hit. This means that you have a 16.66% chance of wounding (before saves). With 20+ models in the pack you get +2 to hit and an extra attack. This is a 44.44% chance to wound per model! And with 30 models you get +3 to hit and 2 extra attacks each.

Skaven Clan Moulder Rather Ogor Tactics

Rat Ogors are Clan Moulder creations. As the name suggests they are Ogor sized rat creations that can add extra mussel to your army.

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AoS Destruction Grot Gitmob Snotlings

AoS Destruction Snotlings show off to their Orruk kin.

Snotlings are are smaller Grots that run around in small mobs (all on one base). What they lack in size they make up for with noise.

Grots are not short of small, cheap disruptive units. Snotlings are another unit that can take on this role.

Snotlings have a 6″ ranged attack, and a close combat attacks. The ranged attack in only short so you may only get one shot before assaulting, or being assaulted. However if you sit your Snotlings on the sidelines as you Orruks take on the enemy and have the Snotlings fire in to the combat.

Don’t get excited about the amount of damage the Snotlings will cause. The basic chance to wound is 5+,6+, or 1 in 18 (5.55%). Even if you are 6″ then the melee attacks only come down to 1 in 12 (8.33%) per attack. So with 5 melee attacks per base you get a 27.5% or 41.65% chance of wounding per base depending if there are any Orruks around. If you do wound there is no rend and 1 damage per unsaved wound!

In summary Snotlings are not going to be game winners. You may want to add them to the army for fun but that is about it!

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AoS Chaos Scaven Skryre Warlock Engineer and Arch-Warlock 

Age of Sigmar Chaos Skaven Skryre Warlock Engineer

In the Skryre Skaven army the Warlocks are part engineer and part wizard.

Warlock Engineer Tactics

The Warlock Engineers have two main uses. The first is using their Warlock Pistol they can offer some covering fire as your clanrats some cover as they engage with the enemy, the other is as a wizard casting and unbinding spells. The Warlock Engineer does have a melee weapon, but he is far more useful behind the front line than he is in combat.

The Warlock Pistol is a one attack 9″ ranged weapon with the usual 3+,4+ to hit and wound (33.33% chance of wounding). So don’t depend on it wounding. However if it does wound then the -1 rend and D3 wounds will bite.

Skaven Skryre Warlock Engineer Magic

Age of Sigmar Chaos Skaven Skryre Warlock EngineerThe Skaven Warlock Engineer can dispel one enemy spell if they are in range during the enemy command phase. This means that they are a useful addition to any units that are going wizard hunting.

The Skaven Warlock Engineer can cast the usual Mystic Shield and Arcane Bolt spells.  If you are new to Age of Sigma battles I highly recommend that you get use to these spells as they will pop up  very regularly.

The Warlock Engineers also has a signature spell Warp Lightning. This casts on a roll of 5+ on 2d6 and causes D3 wounds. So just like the Arcane Bolt. So why have a second spell?  The first reason is that in games using the rule of one (found in the Generals Handbook) it means that you can fire off two Arcane Bolt like spells if you have 2+ wizards in your army.  The second reason is that the Warp Lighting spell can be powered up by the Engineers Warp-power Accumulator! This causes the Warp Lightning spell to cause D6 mortal wounds instead of D3. Be careful though! If you use the Warp-power Accumulator and fail to get the spell off (eg.  roll 4 or less) then it will back fire can cause 1 mortal wound to your Engineer!

So how can you increase the probability of getting spells off?  One way way is to seek out Arcane scenery. If you are within 3″ of a piece of Arcane scenery then you get +1 to you spell cast roll. This means that you only have to roll 4+ to get the Warp Lightning spell of (11 in 12 chance of success). Another option is to take a Chaos Familiar. These add 1 to casting rolls for Chaos Wizards near by. Skaven Warlock Engineers are Chaos Wizards, so this would work. Note that taking one would make your army a Chaos Grand Alliance army and not a pure Skaven one. This in turn may affect some of the special rules available.

Where can I get Warlock Engineers?

The usual way to get Warplock Engineers is to go to the Games Workshop site. Also there is a Warlock Engineer in the ‘Spire of Dawn’ box set that is a splash re-release of the ‘Island of Blood’ 8th edition of Warhammer Fantasy models with Age of Sigmar rules (minus the rulers and dice!)

Chaos Skaven Skryre Arch-Warlock Tactics

Age of Sigmar Chaos Skaven Skeyer Arch-Warlock EngineerIf you want to scale up your Skaven Warlock Engineer then you get the Arch-Warlock Engineer. These grey bearded Skaven are the masters of their art.

There are differences between Skaven Warlocks and Arch-Warlocks, the main one is that the Arch-Warlocks only have a one shot ranged weapon but better melee weapons. This means that you will need to ballance the Arch-Warlock’s ranged magic with his combat skills and how valuable he is to your army. 

The best way to balance the Arch-Warlock’s skills is to set him up with a heavy hitting bodyguard (Stormfeinds or Stormvermin), and may be your general, and then pick your fights carefully. 

Skaven Arch-Warlock Strength and Weapons 

As mentioned above the Arch-Warlock has a single shot weapon and two melee weapons. 

The ranged weapon is a Warpfire Gauntlett. With a range of 8″ you will need to be in charge range for it to work. However it automatically hits and does D3 mortal wounds. This is a great way to peal off a few wound from a hero or monster just before getting into combat with them. 

The Arch-Warlock’s melee weapons have quite a bite. The Piston Claw has the usual 33% chance of wounding and with a – 2 rend, a strong chance of causing its 3 damage. So one in 3 melee rounds he will be doing quite a lot of damage,  if he lives long enough! 

The Stormcage Halberd is a 2″ weapon with 2 attacks each with a better 44.44% chance of wounding. This works out at a 88% chance (most of the time) of landing a wound. Add with a -1 rend, and causing D3 damage and your Arch-Warlock is not to be sniffed at! 

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AoS Destruction Grot Doomdiver Catapult

Twang, whoosh, “Wee!” the sounds of another moonclan grot launched towards the Chaos army.  You may have thought that the Grot war engine crew would have difficulty finding Grots to send on a one-way trip in to the enemy lines, but this was not the case. Around the war machine where a throng of willing Grots wanting to fly high over their Orruk overlords, even if it was just the once.

Bubby was next in line to be hurled into oblivion. With his wing harness strapped on he flop landed in to the launch seat. The catapult groned under the weight but it held firm as the crew pulled back the bungie cord.All of a sudden the cord was released, Bubby felt himself catapulted forward at a tremendus rate just before blanking out.

Bubby woke up, still in the air hurtling towards the enemy. “No one warned me of that” he thought, but as noone had come back from one of these trips, it was no surprise! “Oh bother, I have over shot the Barron and his Guard. I will just have to hit something else. Bubby set is eyes on a Chaos Giant right in his flight path.

Gob the Giant thought it was his lucky day. The Grots where flinging treats high in to the air ready for Giants like himself to catch in his open mouth, and this one looked specially plumb and switched direction for an easy catch. Chomp! Down in one! However the Grot’s wings got caught in Gob’s throat.It turned out not to be Gobs lucky day at all!

The Grot Doomdiver is he classic war machine used by the Moonclan Grots. It consists of a big catapult, a few war machine crew, and a willing Grot that gets fired at the enemy. You need the models for the war machine and crew, but the ‘Diving Grot’ Grot projectile never stays on the table, so is not strictly needed.

How to Use the Doomdiver Catapult

Age of Sigmar Aleguzzeler Giant. A favorite target for Doomdiver Catapults!

​The Divin Grot is guided. This means that they are surprisingly accurate and can hit targets out of line of sight. The Divin Grot will hit 4 in 6 times. However if you miss you get a 50/50 chance to hit a 2nd unit within 10″ of the first one. So as long as you pick a first target that has a second possible within 10″ you have a 5 in 6 chance of hitting something before rolling to wound. Once you have hit a target you still need to roll to wound. As Divin Grots wount 2 in 3 times, you should wound most of the time.There is a -1 rend that will help negating saves, and models with a 6+ save will not save against Divin Grots at all.Giants are a favourate target of mine because they have  poor 5+ save and a few wounds will slow them down a lot!  Acouple of Doomdivers and a few good rolls can kill them off completely.

Divin Grots normally cause D3 damage. However if you set tem up in pairs them bot the Doomdiver Catapults cause D6 dammage. This is a massive bonus so I highly recommend setting the Catapults up in batteries of 2+

Doomdiver Catapults do better if there are a few crew around. The optimum is 4. If there are a few crew around you will be able to fire the Divin Grot further and move the Catapultaround faster if trubble comes your way! This is another reason to set up Doomdiver Catapults up in batteries. Unfortunatly  if the Catapult is destroyed the Crew can not join another Catapult. But they can be there to defend another machine against assault.

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