Warhammer Age of Sigmar

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Warhammer Age of Sigmar is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop that simulates battles between high fantasy armies by using miniature figurines. Games are typically played on a relatively flat surface such as a dining table, bespoke gaming table, or an area of floor. The playing area is often decorated with models and materials representing buildings and terrain.

Players take turns taking a range of actions with their models: moving, charging, shooting ranged weapons, fighting, and casting magical spells; the outcomes of which are generally determined by dice rolls. Besides the game itself, a large part of Age of Sigmar is dedicated to the hobby of collecting, assembling and painting the miniature figurines from the game.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar is the spiritual successor to the discontinued Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop miniature wargame, after the setting was discontinued in 2015. Due to this, Warhammer Age of Sigmar contains many of the same characters, themes, and models as its predecessor, though it is set in an entirely new setting comprised of multiple planes of existence based on the eight individual Winds of Magic known as the Mortal Realms.

More can be found on the new setting at the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Wiki.

Editions

The first edition of Age of Sigmar in 2015 replaced Warhammer Fantasy Battle as Games Workshop's fantasy tabletop wargame. The initial release of Age of Sigmar did not include point values for individual units -- these were added later -- and instead imbalance was to be mitigated by number of models. If one side started the game with one-third more models than the other, the smaller side could choose a "sudden death" win condition for itself. Summoning new units used the same mechanics as spellcasting and required the dedication of reinforcement points for each summonable unit.

The initial First Edition release is notable for having included many absurd rules such as Pride of the Reiksguard, which states: "Helborg's skill is as legendary as his moustache is magnificent. You can re-roll any failed hit rolls when attacking with the Runefang so long as you have a bigger and more impressive moustache than your opponent."

Escapist Magazine noted that such ridiculous rules could easily be exploited since nothing in the rules said the moustache had to be real and suggested players buy novelty moustaches to satisfy the condition. Other such rules included re-rolls for players pretending to ride and talk to an imaginary horse, screaming a guttural warcry, and keeping a straight face when their opponent tries to make them laugh. Some contemporary reviews were highly critical of such rules saying that while they may have been intended as jokes to encourage roleplaying, they opened up players to ridicule and body-shaming. Speculation on the return of Chaos Dwarfs to Age of Sigmar proper began in 2020 after the sourcebook Wrath of the Everchosen referred to Chaos-worshipping ‘corrupted duardin kingdoms.’

Grand Alliances

In Warhammer Age of Sigmar all of the factions are divided up into four main coalitions or "Grand Alliances" dedicated to Order, Chaos, Death and Destruction. This division formalises a breakdown that was already largely present, if unofficial, among the previous factions of Warhammer Fantasy Battle.

Order

The forces of Order are the Mortal Realms' shield against Chaos. Alongside defenders of Law like Sigmar's superhuman Stormcast Eternals, exotic factions such as the mysterious Seraphon and the aelven Lumineth Realm-lords form powerful alliances, often for their own mysterious reasons.

• Stormcast Eternals - Mighty warriors with celestial power crackling in their veins, Stormcast Eternals are forged from the souls of heroes plucked from the realms at their time of death and reforged by arcane magic. They couple hard-hitting weaponry with near-impenetrable defences, and are a fantastic all-round force. Each group of Stormcast Eternals is an autonomous army called Stormhost.
  • Hammers of Sigmar - Let all who would oppose order and justice be warned – the Hammers of Sigmar have been unleashed. They are the power and majesty of the tempest, the fury of the bolt from heaven made manifest.
  • Hallowed Knights - They are so pure of spirit that the unholy has has little effect on them. Their war cry is "only the faithful".
  • Celestial Vindicators - The Celestial Vindicators are forged from those who implored Sigmar for retribution. They are holy avengers who will unleash righteous vengeance upon evil.
  • Tempest Lords - The most regal and proud of the Stormhosts are the Tempest Lords. Taken from the strongest and most just of the rulers that fought back against Chaos, every one of these Stormcast Eternals was once a lord, a noble or a monarch. They see it as their duty to protect those less fortunate, not with edicts, but with hammer and shield.
  • Celestial Knights - The dark blue of the Celestial Knights is reminiscent of the gloaming skies of Azyr at twilight, yet this Stormhost crusade to bring the light of Hope to benighted lands.
  • Lions of Sigmar - Little is known of the mysterious Lions of Sigmar, save for their heraldry and the thunderous roar of their battle cry, yet Chaos has tasted their wrath in many of the realms.
  • Sigmarite Brotherhood - The Sigmarite Brotherhood were recruited from Chamon, the Realm of Metal. None can stand before their relentless advance of their exemplary shield walls.
  • Astral Templars - Their measures extreme, their methods merciless, the Astral Templars seek to purify the lands of all Chaos. None may stay their wrath.
  • Anvils of the Heldenhammer - A sinister Stormhost, the Anvils of the Heldenhammer were reforged as the Broken World spun under a phase of fell magic. They are grim of aspect.
  • Knights of the Aurora - No Stormcast Eternals strike more quickly than do the Knights of the Aurora. As swift as lightning bolts, they are masters of rapid assault.
  • Blades of Dawn - There is no Stormhost more proud than the Blades of Dawn. They are composed of champions taken from the riftcoast tribes of many different realms.
  • Maelstrom of Light - The Maelstrom of Light are daemon-killers supreme. In Ghur, it was they that turned back the daemon legions at the Battle of Verdant Abyss.
  • Knights Excelsior - The Knights Excelsior bring to battle with them crackling chains of celestial lightnings. ‘For the Glory of Sigmar!’ is their motto.
  • Sons of Mallus - The Sons of Mallus were forge-struck under the zenith of the darksome span of Dharroth, the Dark Moon. Their armor is a lustrous black.
  • Lightning Hawks - Named after a fierce raptor of Azyr, the Lightning Hawks strike out of blue skies. They are the scourge of Chaos and bane of daemons.
  • Radiant Suns of Sigmar - In battle the Radiant Suns of Sigmar gleam with the brilliance of Sigendil, the High Star. Theirs is the purity of justice, the might of the righteous.
  • Sons of the Storm - The Sons of the Storm crash upon their foes in a deluge of violence. In common with many Second Striking Stormhosts, they bear the icon of the hammer and bolts.
  • Ghyran Guard - The Ghyran Guard were formed from a single tribe of warriors, the last of their kind. They reserve a special hatred for the minions of Nurgle.
  • Celestial Warbringers - The Celestial Warbringers were the first Stormhost of the Second Striking. They bear the sign of the twin-tailed comet as their symbol.
  • Fists of Sigmarite - For boldness and surety of action none can best the Fists of Sigmarite. It is their vow to be first in glory, and they seek hammer-worthy deeds.
  • Knights of Azyr - The Knights of Azyr are known well for their motto, ‘know thy prey as well as thyself.’ Many a foe they have bested before a single blade has been drawn.
  • Crimson Seraphs - The soothsayer rites of the Crimson Seraphs are bloody, yet effective. Though few in number, their mastery of omens sees them strike with great prescience.
  • Bloodied Dawn - The Bloodied Dawn is comprised solely of those who have fought Chaos since they were old enough to hold a weapon – they are highly insular, but deadly indeed.
  • Silent Host - Whether the Silent Host keeps its peace deliberately, or through an accident of Reforging, is immaterial – even in silence they are a potent force indeed.

• Cities of Sigmar - The Cities of Sigmar are populated by humans, duardin, and aelves who band together against the many threats that plague the Mortal Realms. Their massive array of heroes, units, war machines and monsters can be customised to suit any play style.
  • Collegiate Arcane - A loose alliance of tower and palace-dwelling mages, seers, wizards, alchemists, elementalists, and other practitioners of magic. The organization is academic in nature and serves as a safe place for the magically gifted to explore their abilities and study. The most skilled of these sorcerous artisans create magical devices and artefacts to assist the Cities of Sigmar both on and off the battlefield. Others personally take to the field as Battlemages.
  • Darkling Covens - These matriarchal cults are dedicated to the acquisition of resources, power, and influences. Each Darkling Coven is comprised of a Sorceress and her personal entourage of thralls, lieutenants, and followers. Members, or at least spies, of the Covens, can be found wherever the forces of Order congregate.
  • Devoted of Sigmar - The Azyrite Church is led by Arch War-Priestess Asvai Stormwright and nominally her authority extends to the entirety of the Devoted of Sigmar, but there are many sects and denominations within the Devoted. Notably the Order of Azyr is said to answer to the God-King alone. Whatever their denomination or form of worship, the Devoted are the zealous followers of Sigmar, seeking to purify the Realms in his name.
  • Dispossessed - The Dispossessed clans are the remnants of the mighty Khazalid Empires that fell in the Age of Chaos, they have clung to the arts of smithcraft, masonry, and rune-shaping of their ancestors. They now use their expertise to build some of the mightiest fortifications of Sigmar's empire with their hammers and when the need arises they take up their axes and defend those same walls.
  • Freeguilds - Many of the military guilds known as the Freeguilds serve as the standing military and city watch of the Cities of Sigmar, while many others contract themselves out as mercenaries. Still, others are employed in a wide range of duties from guarding palaces to clearing sewers.
  • Ironweld Arsenal - This conglomeration of human and duardin weaponsmiths was formed in the aftermath of the closing of the Gates of Azyr. They have since become the creators of some of the most innovative and deadly inventions made by mortalkind. Their guilds are scattered across the Cities of Sigmar.
  • Order Serpentis - An ancient order that once ruled over the empire of Narkath in the Realm of Ulgu, long ago during the Age of Myth. Though the empire was mighty indeed, it fell in only a few mere decades when the forces of Chaos invaded Ulgu. Those that survived the slaughter fled to Azyr like so many others and brooded over their losses during the entire span of the Age of Chaos. Though they fight alongside and within the armies of Sigmar, they are known to be cruel and brutal to both foe and ally alike. The Dreadlords that lead the order see the crusades of Sigmar as their best chance to regain power and influence in the Realms.
  • Phoenix Temple - This martial order serves the Godbeast known as the Ur-Phoenix and its members fight alongside the fiery and icy spawn of the great godbeast.
  • Scourge Privateers - Often employed by the ruling conclaves of coastal Free Cities such as Anvilgard and Excelsis. Once they were pirates and reavers who commanded vast, ocean-spanning empires, and there are any among the ambitious Fleetmasters who dream of one day rebuilding those empires, beyond the authority of Sigmar and his lieutenants. But for now, they turn their talents to hunting beasts of the sea and those fleets that would endanger the Free Cities, such as those of Orruk freebooters.
  • Shadowblades - No one knows the exact origins or nature of this secretive order of assassins, but many tales and legends surround their legendary exploits, and the enemies of Order have learned to fear them. Whatever their origins may be, the Shadowblades are dedicated to destroying the enemies of Azyr.
  • Wanderers: There was a time when Aelven kingdoms and their inhabitants served as guardians of the Realm of Life and lived in its great canopy-cities. Initially when the legions of Chaos fell upon the Ghyran valiantly fought to defend their homes, but in the end, they joined Sigmar in his flight to Azyr, a betrayal that Alarielle and the Sylvaneth have never truly forgiven. With the coming of the Age of Sigmar, the Wanderers return to the Realms to save, secure and purify their wild places.

• Lumineth Realm-lords - Aelves who glow with the light of Hysh, the Lumineth Realm-lords are masters of art, magic, philosophy, and war. On the battlefield, they harness the power of the elements and the magic of the realms to devastate their enemies with swift, overwhelming assaults.

• Sylvaneth - Sprouted from soulpods planted in places rich with life magic, the Sylvaneth take up sword and bow to defend the Jade Kingdoms. An army of Sylvaneth consists of hordes of forest spirits, from Dryads to towering Treekin, which overwhelm their enemies with magic and blade.

• Seraphon - Creatures of celestial energy given reptilian form, the Seraphon are devoted to the obliteration of Chaos. Masters of magic, they combine legions of cold-blooded killers, rampaging monsters, and mystic arts into deadly armies that can appear as if from from nowhere to suddenly overwhelm foes.

• Kharadron Overlords - The Kharadron Overlords strike from the air in swift skyvessels bedecked with deadly weapons. The armoured duardin devastate their enemies with gun and blade alike. Between the technological marvels of their skyvessels and heavily armoured troops, Kharadron Overlords suit a long-ranged, fast-paced play style.

• Daughters of Khaine - The Daughters of Khaine are a religious order of aelves from the Realm of Shadow. They live for the thrill of war and spilt blood. Led by the goddess Morathi-Khaine, their cults revel in slaughter. The more blood they spill, the more dangerous they become.

• Fyreslayers - Fyreslayers are duardin sellswords who go to war clad in magical runes and fiery conviction. Known for their incandescent temper, they make valuable allies – for the right price. With a mixture of powerful heroes, durable units and mighty monsters, Fyreslayers are formidable foes.

• Idoneth Deepkin - When need arises, the three castes of the Idoneth Deepkin unite to capture the souls they need to survive, striking their prey quickly with agile footsoldiers and fierce oceanic beasts. They attack with the force of an unstoppable tide before suddenly receding into the mists.

Chaos

The Gods of Chaos are primeval forces dedicated to conquering reality itself. From the Realm of Chaos, Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh send forth their daemonic legions while their mortal herald, Archaon, leads vast armies of corrupted mortals. Meanwhile, the rat-like Skaven infest the realms, pursuing their own nefarious goals.

• Slaves to Darkness - The servants of the Everchosen march to war in countless hordes of corrupted mortal warriors fighting alongside the fearsome Varanguard. Seeking ever to subjugate the Mortal Realms under the power of the Dark Gods, when led by Archaon himself a Chaos army is nigh unstoppable.

• Beasts of Chaos - The Dark Gods have many strange and monstrous followers. From the Brayherds – goat-headed warriors who inhabit the dark forests of the realms – to mighty Thunderscorn Dragon Ogors who feed on lightning, and mutant monsters such as Chimera, these varied creatures attack with bestial fury and dark magic. The major tribal groupings of the Beasts of Chaos are called Greatfrays.
  • Allherd - It's the most widespread and belligerent of all Greatfrays, its numbers greater than all of its rivals combined. There is no realm but Azyr that has not suffered under the brutal onslaughts of its beastherds, who have transformed vast tracts of land into bloodstained hunting grounds where they raid and slaughter at will.
  • Darkwalkers - The mysterious Darkwalkers are apex ambushers, skulking along the hidden pathways that link the realms. Possessed of a cruel, predatory cunning, they prefer to surround their prey on all sides, cutting off any escape routes before pouncing from the shadows to butcher them wholesale.
  • Gavespawn - Truly the most depraved of the Greatfrays, the Gavespawn worship Chaos in its purest form and seek to return the realms to a primordial state of anarchy. To these insane creatures, the mutated and misshapen Chaos Spawn is a thing of sacred wonder.
  • Quakefray - Ancient destroyers risen once more to lay waste to civilisation, the Quakefray are led into battle by Cygor prophets whose bodies thrum with chaotic power. They will not cease their rampages until every last city, fortress and monument in the realms has been ground to dust beneath their hooves.

• Skaven - The many skaven clans utilise sorcery, arcane technology, plagues, and flesh-warping powers to further their inscrutable goals. Characterised by skittering hordes of rat-men, a skaven army can specialise in these areas, or mix them into a force that will keep their enemies on their toes. The Skaven are now formally part of the realm of Chaos as the Great Horned Rat ascended to the pantheon of the Chaos Gods. These vile ratmen are subdivided into clans with different approaches to warfare.
  • Masterclan - Unites the leaders of the Skaven armies.
  • Clan Skryre - Arcane engineers, who employ a wide variety of unstable weaponry.
  • Clan Moulder - Breed grotesque war beasts.
  • Clan Pestilens - Religious fanatics dedicated to disease and pestilence.
  • Clan Eshin - Assassins and saboteurs.
  • Clan Verminus - Are the most numerous, formed of petty overlords and teeming hordes beyond count.

• Blades of Khorne - Ferocious butchers one and all, the Blades of Khorne strive to shed blood and reap skulls, desperate to gain the attention of their infernal master. Their armies consist of powerful troops whose bloodthirst is spurred on by nearby heroes, backed up by vicious Daemons.

• Disciples of Tzeentch - Change follows the armies of Tzeentch as they march. Human cultists battle as powerful wizards and capering daemons fill the air with a magical onslaught of scintillating and mutagenic powers. A Disciples of Tzeentch army brings many subtle and deadly threats to the tabletop.

• Maggotkin of Nurgle - The diseased servants of Nurgle are a reminder of the fate that awaits all living creatures. Their mortal warriors, made insensate to even the mightiest attacks, march alongside shambling daemons in an army that is as resilient as it is hideous to behold.

• Hedonites of Slaanesh - The Chaos god Slaanesh is the embodiment of excess. His decadent servants exemplify this, shedding their humanity with every depraved act made in his service. When the Dark Prince’s hideously alluring daemons accompany the hedonites in battle, none are safe from this parade of slaughter.

Death

Opposed to Chaos and more or less allied with Order when against Chaos, Death wishes to rule all the realms for themselves. The most homogeneous of the Grand Alliances, it is ruled almost entirely by Nagash, the self-proclaimed God of Death.

• Soulblight Gravelords - A Gothic Horror inspired faction of Vampires, primarily based on the Vampire Counts from Fantasy Battle. They are primarily lead by the two vampiric Mortarchs - Mannfred von Carstein and Neferata - and were created to spread Nagash's influence across the realms. They are split into individual Dynasties, each of which originates from the two Mortarchs.
  • Deathmages - Necromancers that are commonly employed by Vampires to maintain the ranks of zombies and skeletons.
  • Deathrattle - Barrow kingdoms lead by Wight Kings and populated with skeletons. They lend military aid to Soulblight Vampires out of both mutual defence and respect.
  • Deadwalkers - Mindless Zombies that are created either by Death magic or risen by Necromancers or Vampires.
  • Soulblight - Vampires, being those afflicted by what is known as the "Soulblight Curse". They are some of the most intelligent and independent of Nagash's servants, only paying lip service to the Great Necromancer.

• Flesh-Eater Courts - Insane cannibalistic Ghouls descended from a Soulblight bloodline, that perceive themselves as shining and honourable aristocrats. This is due to a curse placed by Nagash upon their founder Ushoran, who escaped into the realms and infected others with it. Each court is lead by an Abhorrant, who is seen as a noble king by ghouls.

• Nighthaunt - Ghosts that were unleashed upon the realms at the onset of the Necroquake. Most Nighthaunt are souls given a cruel or ironic punishment for their actions in life - for example, healers become scythe-handed harridans, and prisoners who died in prison are bound with chains forever. They are led by Lady Olynder, the Mortarch of Grief, and came to the fore as the rivalry between Sigmar and Nagash developed in the Second Edition of the game.

• Ossiarch Bonereapers - Bone constructs imbued with gestalt spirits. They are Nagash's intended vision for the realms, with their sole purpose being to serve as his vanguard and elite troops, and to collect and assimilate all life in the realms into their own ranks, creating a society known as the Necrotopia. They are led by Orpheon Katakros, the Mortarch of the Necropolis.

Destruction

Unpredictable and opportunistic, Destruction factions are unified by their love of a good fight, their own self interest, or just pure survival. The patron god of each faction of the Grand Alliance is Gorkamorka - traditionally the god of the Greenskins - who is worshipped in different guises by each faction.

• Orruk Warclans - The Orruk Warclans are large, muscular greenskins known as Orruks that gather in hordes known as WAAAGH!s to do battle for the fun of it. They are inspired by both the Orcs and Goblins army from Warhammer Fantasy Battle and the Orks from Warhammer 40,000.
  • Bonesplitterz - Savage, tribal, bone-wielding orruks that are seen as insane even by other Orruks. Bonesplitterz are created when an Orruk has a mind-breaking religious experience with Gorkamorka, which causes them to go cover themselves in war paint and run away into the wild. They specialise in hunting and slaying the beasts of the realms, as they believe that if they kill the monsters, then its strength will pass into them.
  • Ironjawz - Ironjawz are the heavily-armoured elite of the Orruks, being the biggest and toughest Orruks in any given tribe. Each Ironjaw is an Orruk that has personally crafted a suit of armour by punching a plate of scrap metal into shape with their bare hands. The most famous Ironjaw is Gordrakk, known by many as the Fist of Gork. He gathered an enormous WAAAGH! with a battering ram carved from the bones of a Godbeast to batter down the gates of Azyr.
  • Kruleboyz - The Kruleboyz are cunning swamp dwellers, using stealth and poison in place of brute strength. They are more gangly and thin than other Orruks, favouring worship of Mork over that of Gork. Their goal is to manipulate the god Kragnos into leading a never-ending WAAGH! through the realms, by poisoning his homeland and sending him into a rage.

• Gloomspite Gitz - A diverse faction of Goblins (known as Grots in Age of Sigmar) united by their love of dark places and worship of the portentuous Bad Moon.
  • Moonclan - Troglodytic cave-dwelling Grots that make heavy use of fungus and breed numerous different types of Squig.
  • Spiderfang Grots - Grots that traditionally dwell in either forests or caves, worshipping a "Spider-God" and their arachnid mounts.
  • Troggoths - Brutish and durable Trolls that are manipulated by the Grots into fighting for them.
  • Aleguzzler Gargants - Drunken Giants that are coerced into fighting for the Gitz by promise of alcohol or gold.

• Ogor Mawtribes - Giant, fat Ogres, renowned for their constant and all-consuming hunger. They were formerly the Ogre Kingdoms. Aside from the two main factions, it includes the fire-breathing Firebellies and the mercenary Maneaters.
  • Beastclaw Raiders - Tribes of ogors who ride on massive warbeasts. Eternally pursued by the supernatural Everwinter, they are constantly on the move, and anything they do not eat or destroy is frozen in their wake.
  • Gutbusters - Ogors most similar to the former Ogre Kingdoms.

• Sons of Behemat - A faction of Gargants (giants) descended from the godbeast Behemat. They sometimes hire themselves to other factions as mercenaries, being paid with things such as gold, food, and alcohol.

Videos

Warhammer Age of Sigmar - Official trailer

Sources

• 1: Warhammer Age of Sigmar Wiki