Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Old/Chaos
The savage warriors you all know and love in the Age of Sigmar setting, come to spill blood in the name of the Chaos Gods
Rules are here [1]
Forenote: The following section will be arranged with similar units and formations being grouped together for easier reading.
Allegiance Abilities
Unpredictable Destruction: Roll a dice when you choose a Chaos unit to fight in the Combat Phase; if it is within 12" of your general (or within 3" of another HERO from your army). If the result is a six or more, then that unit gains +1 to all hit rolls for that phase.
Command Traits
- Dark Avenger: All friendly CHAOS units within 10" of the general gain +1 to hit against ORDER units.
- Spiteful Destroyer: The general's melee attacks are at +1 to wound.
- Cunning Deceiver: All enemy attack rolls are at -1 to hit in the first battle round.
- There is no range on this ability, and it does not specify what target...
- Lord of War: No, not that kind of "Lord of War". Choose a friendly CHAOS unit within 3" and roll a dice. On a 3+ that unit gains +1 to hit until the next hero phase.
- Terrifying Presence: Enemy units are at -1 Bravery while within 3" of this general.
- Great Destroyer: At +1 to the result of Unpredictable Destruction rolls while within 12" of the general.
Artefacts of Chaos
- Daemon Weapon: Pick a melee weapon belonging to the model, when that weapon rolls a 6+ to wound it will inflict a mortal wound in addition to any damage it would normally do.
- Chaos Runeblade: You get +1 attack for one of the model's close combat weapons.
- Beguiling Gem: Once per battle you can pick one model within 3" in the Combat Phase, they are at -1 to hit for the rest of the phase.
- Chaos Talisman: You get a 6+ save against Mortal Wounds, gaining a +1 to the save if it was inflicted by an ORDER model.
- Favour of the Gods: Model gets +1 Wound
- Crown of Conquest: Roll a dice at the start of the Hero Phase, on a 5+ you can use the Inspiring Presence trait even if you are not the general. If you are the general you can use Inspiring Presense and one other command ability in the same phase.
Factions
Everchosen
Slaves to Darkness
Blades of Khorne / Khorne Bloodbound
Maggotkin of Nurgle / Nurgle Rotbringers
Disciples of Tzeentch
Hosts of Slaanesh
Chaos Monsters
Chaos Warhounds: They're warhounds. Each is just as durable and twice as powerful in combat as a Marauder, but without any of the buffs and an awful Bravery of 4. They're pretty fast, though, so that's good.
Giant: It's a Giant, same old version as all the other armies get. Always good for a laugh and decently killy, but also holds the title of most easily dispatched monster with a low Move characteristic and an awful 5+ save.
Chimera: Very fragile, but very fast and extremely damaging, with four weapon profiles in melee after a flame breath. The flame breath is D6 MORTAL wounds at full health. That's the equivilant of 'point-click-die' to any lone heroes if your opponent is stupid enough to allow this beast to go unmolested long enough to get close to his lines. As well as that, it has a number of different weapon profiles. The leonine head is 2 attacks, 4+, 3+ with a -1 rend and D6 damage at full health, this alone is pretty brutal. The avian head is also 2 attacks, except with a 3+, 4+ and (at full health) -3 rend, D3 damage, the dragon head is basically a middle ground between the other two; 2 attacks with a 4/4+, -1 rend and 2 damage. Also has 4 meh attacks with no rend from claws and tail. All in all, this has the potential to be an absolute beast and can very easily maul a lot of things in one turn of combat. The problem is ensuring it gets there as it's 5 up save won't do a huge amount to block any artilery fire that may very well aim at it unless you have deadlier choices. A good tactic is to get it a +1 save and then send it up the flank to any priority targets. D6 mortal wounds can get slapped on in advance and then charge it in to finish it off if it's still moving. It also gets +2 to charge rolls so this makes doing so a little easier.
Mutalith Vortex Beast: You can do much, much worse than to stick one of these in your army. This thing has the works: High Wound count, good Move characteristic, 4+ save, auto-Regen of D3 Wounds per friendly Hero Phase, a whole bunch of attacks, some of them pretty good, and one of the few random special rules that can never turn on you. Basically, you pick an enemy unit within 15", roll a D6 and consult a chart. The effects range from lowering enemy Bravery or Movement permanently by 1 to inflicting D6 Mortal Wounds and spawning a Chaos Sp--- you know, for every model that died from that. It isn't as outright killy as some other monsters, but it's great as an all around useful unit.
Slaughterbrute: This thing wreaks absolute havoc in combat. High Move, devastating attacks and a good save of 4+. It also has the trick of binding it to one of your Slave to Darkness heroes. As long as that Hero survives, the Brute hits on 3+ instead of the normal 4+. If he's killed or if you didn't pick one, however, the Brute will cause the nearest unit (friend or foe) within 3" D3 Mortal Wounds in each Charge Phase.
Cockatrice: It's a flying monster with a low Wound count of 8. However, because of this low Wound stat, it doesn't lose effectiveness as it gets damaged. It's Petrifying Gaze has you pick a unit in range (10"), roll a D6. At 4+, the enemy unit suffers D6 Mortal Wounds. Aside from that, the Cockatrice is okay, not devastating, but nothing you want to see charging your squishy units.
Harpies: Just awful. Even Nurgle avoids them like the plague. A miserable stat line with a single special rule of questionable effectiveness due to it's massive lack of reliability. All of this is compounded when you see that Furies are a thing. Furies, with the exception of a 12" movement, do everything better, because even the stats that the two share can be boosted through dedication to a dark God, something that Harpies can't do. Oh, and Furies are cheaper to boot.
Curs'd Ettin (Forge World): A two-headed monstrosity. Its fists can do plenty of damage and heals if it kills something, has plenty stomp attacks. It also must charge at any cost, which is cool. The only drawback is that during Hero Phase, it has a chance to inflict Mortal Wounds on anyone nearby friend or foe.
Preyton (Forge World): A flying beast with a handy ranged attack that can blind an enemy, making them fire at -1. It's melee attack is also dangerous, as charging at the beginning of the phase makes it instantly deal 2 Mortal wounds and its melee weapon also has a chance of dealing Mortal damage. Setting it up is also fun with the ability to arrive from reserves to the edge of the table.
Warpfire Dragon (Forge World): It's a fucking dragon. Its deadliest weapon is its Warpfire Blast, which can inflict Mortal Wounds to a targeted unit, which can possibly inflict even MORE wounds if it killed models. Its melee profiles are laughable considering its size and splendor, and its low wound count and 4+ save mean that it is easy to kill, while simultaneously not being very good at killing things itself. Theoretically can inflict a heap of mortal wounds to nearby units just for being nearby or dying nearby, but realistically it probably won't do much. The fact that it is not really a threat is somewhat reflected in its point cost, which is pretty low for a model that is this imposing So is it any good in game? It maybe, especially as a distraction piece. Is it any good as a dragon/wrecking ball/centerpiece for an army? No.
External Links
Rules are here
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-chimera-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-cockatrice-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-slaughterbrute-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-centigors-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-chaos-warhounds-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-razorgor-en.pdf
Thunderscorn
Hero
Dragon Ogor Shaggoth: One of the better picks by a long shot. Gee, that can't have anything to do with the Shaggoth being one of the most expensive kits in the WoC range, can it? 10 Wounds isn't all that high, but thanks to the Summon Lightning spell you just need to have a caster around to remedy this little problem. The Shaggoth also has an awesome special rule where, if the roll to see who goes first in a turn is a tie, every Dragon Ogre unit, including the Shaggoth, immediately heals D3 Wounds on a D6 roll of 4+. And those ties happen way more often than you expect them to. Also, the Shaggoth has some absolutely devastating attacks in close combat.
Troop
Dragon Ogors: Not bad, either. Five Wounds with a 4+ save, okay Bravery and scary weapons. Each has what is basically a Chaos Knight's horse bolted to it and in addition fights with a big weapon. You get either Ancient Weapons which are two Double-Hammer Liberators in one, Glaives which exchange the reroll 1s To Hit with 1 more inch of range and a Rend of -1, or Crushers which only have 3 attacks, but with 2 damage each. They also grant the Summon Lightning to nearby Chaos Wizards, which when cast heals the Dragon Ogres for D3 Wounds and grants them rerolls To Wound. With a pretty low casting value of 5, there are worse things you can waste casting attempts on.
External Links
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-dragon-ogors-en.pdf
Chaos Gargants
Behemoth
Chaos Gargant: The Giant is a very fragile monster. It has a lot of wounds (12) but only a 5+ save, with no regeneration nor any ability that could help him to survive against enemy attacks. His melee attacks aren't amazing, but with some luck they can cause heavy damage especially against infantry and cavalry. Also, before he attacks, you choose an enemy model and roll a dice: if it doubles the model's Wounds, it's slain. This works better against cavalry units, elite infantry or weak Monstrous Infantry ( no more than 3 wounds ). His movement is 8" when it's at full Wounds, but it decreases after the Giant takes damage. When he charges, if it rolls a double, he falls and models under it's body take D3 mortal wounds. This also happens after the Giant is slain. There are two ways to use correctly a giant:
- )use him as a sort of kamikaze. At the beginning of the game, make him run as fast as he can towards the enemy, especially towards concentrated units. He'll die very soon, but he will deal at least some Damage, and when it'll die a lot of enemy models will be crushed.
- ) keep him away from your army, in a place where he can get the cover bonus, and wait there. When enemy cavalries or elite units will get closer to you, use him to block their charge, and to use his "bag" ability.
In every case, keep the Giant AWAY from the artillery, or it will not last a Shooting Phase.
Old, retconned stuff
Read: out of production models. Sigvald's model is still in production but is now labelled as a generic Slaanesh Lord. Do note that you can still totally use all these rules and models, even the squatted stuff can still be used.
Named characters
Archaon, the Everchosen: Here he is. He destroyed the Old World and he's ready to wreck the new one as well. Archaon combines High Wounds, high Movement, high Bravery, a 3+ save and a scary melee profile with a bunch of useful special rules. He's a wizard, though without any unique spells, not that you need any. Throw up a Mystic Shield around him and he rocks a 2+ save. And let's just say it's pretty easy to get rerolls of 1s for saves. His sword, which is already rapetastic, has a special rule where if you roll 2 6s To Wound (unlikely, given he only has 4 attacks with it) against a Hero or Monster, it's slain instantly. He can also deal Mortal Wounds just by rolling 6s on his save, can adjust Battleshock tests around him by 2 and has the single most broken Command Ability in the game. It allows every Chaos model with a Command Ability on the entire table to use theirs.
Crom the Conqueror: Crom isn't all that impressive at dealing damage, but he is immensely effective at stalling. His 3+ save, combined with his ability to cause To Hit penalties if he doesn't swing with his Axe makes him all but untouchable, especially with a bit of support from a Sorcerer.
Wulfrik the Wanderer: !!Joke rules incoming!! Wulfrik has a special rule where you (the player) have to insult the opponent as harshly as you dare. If they react offended, you get rerolls To Hit and To Wound if Wulfrik targets a Hero. Yes, this guy rewards you for destroying friendships. Aside from that, Wulfrik is worse than a standard Chaos Lord with the bad bad Axes. But unless you are looking for a reason to destroy your interpersonal relations, you don't play Wulfrik to fight. You use him because he can Outflank with up to one unit of Marauders. And pushing a suppository of angry Vikings into the tender rear of your opponent tends to be quite devastating.
Sigvald the Magnificent: !!Joke rules incoming!! If you stare into a mirror while rolling Sigvald's 3+ save, you can reroll it. If the reroll is a 1, he can't pile in or attack. Even when he can, his attacks aren't all that. What he does do is make a pretty decent rock to anchor your Slaanesh army to. Hellstriders and Slaanesh Daemons are all very fragile, but Sigvald is tough as nails and his Command Ability makes a 24" circle where Mortal Slaanesh don't have to roll Battleshock.
Galrauch: With all the unpleasant "Spirit of Galrauch" bullshit gone, he's here to kick ass and take names. He has two breath attacks, both of which are pretty good. His melee attacks are a bit lacking compared to other dragons, but other dragons aren't Wizards who can cast two spells a turn, so it evens out. His unique spell, 'Treason of Tzeentch', has a 7+ casting value, 18" range, and lets you select a weapon from the victim unit, then every model equipped with that weapon uses it to make one attack on itself. "Why are you hitting yourself" has never been quite so fun.
Throgg: Take everything awesome about Trolls and turn it up a few notches. Throgg's vomit is more damaging than that of a normal Troll, he hits slightly harder in melee, he automatically regenerates instead of on 2+ and he grants rerolls of 1s To Hit to Chaos Monsters, Chaos Ogres and Chaos Trolls. Oh yeah, and his Command Ability lets those three types use his high Bravery of 8. You want an army of monsters, Trolls and Ogres? He makes it happen.
Heroes
Chaos Lord: The basic Chaos Lord can choose between Glaive and Sword or pair of Axes. The Glaive and Sword combination is vastly superior in literally all circumstances which just can't have anything to do with the fact that the Glaive+Sword Lord costs about twice what the double-Axe version does. What is pretty fun about the Lord is that unlike most Chaos units, if he takes a Mark, it actually affects more than just his tag list. All Marks are decent, though the Mark of Khorne's effect doesn't stack with the Axes. He also carries a dagger which you can use once per battle to inflict D3 Mortal Wounds on a 2+ before being attacked by another unit as a last resort. He can also heal himself for D3 Wounds/add 1 Wound to a maxed out stat whenever he kills a Monster or Hero, so you want this guy to be in the thick of it. He can also use his command ability to summon a Slaves to Darkness unit to the battle, which means it's one of those abilities you must use in moderation. Yes, you can dump a fifty man squad of Warriors onto a really small game, but do you want to?
Exalted Hero with Battle Standard: Useless. He's bad in melee. Not quite Sorcerer-bad, but bad. His banner also grants +2 to Bravery, because WoC have such a problem with awful Bravery </sarcasm> and rerolls to charge rolls.
- Alternate opinion: No, give this poor lad another chance. His real selling point is his ability to re-roll charge distances: this and similar abilites get underestimated a lot, but in fact are very useful. Getting two or three more inches (on average) to your charges can make you reach combat a turn faster, which can be vital for a melee-centric army like this one. Not only that, it also reduces the randomness of your plays, making them more consistent, and to fail a charge you thought guaranteed is, in many games, the difference between victory and defeat. Play some games with him and you'll see what I mean; the ability of this guy is subtle, but very good in its own way.
Khorne Exalted Hero: Do not confuse him with the Exalted Hero with Mark of Khorne, he might split your skull if you do. He always has a Daemon Axe, but also carries either a Chain-flail or a Runemarked Shield. The model with the Chain-flail has been retconned as the Bloodbound's Aspiring Deathbringer, but you can still use him as a Khorne Exalted Hero, I guess, because his battlescroll is still there. He has the same exact Command Ability as both Aspiring Deathbringers: he gives extra attacks to close Mortal Khorne units. But he is a Slave of Darkness instead of a Bloodbound, and he's (at least initially) stronger and tougher(with the shield) than the Deathbringers. It's a pretty good General if you mark Khorne your Warriors and Marauders. Feel like a Bloodbound without being a Bloodbound!
Infantry
Forsaken: These guys actually profit from the changes Age of Sigmar brought. They get D3 attacks apiece, so on average the same as Warriors but with a chance to go lower or higher though only at 4+ To Hit. To compensate, they get a randomly generated special rule on their attacks every turn, which can range from better rend to higher damage. They also come in minimum squad sizes of 5 and have a higher Bravery than normal Warriors. Probably still best to stick with Warriors, but not nearly as awful as they used to be.
Chaos Familiars: Familiars are awful. Really awful. They Hit on 6+ and Wound on 5+ and have 1 attack each. But you don't take them for that. No, they aren't a tarpit, either. They do, however, add 1 to all casting and unbinding rolls for Chaos Wizards within 6" and can have "any number of models". So just have one or two of them tag along with your important casters. Vilitch for example loves these guys to pieces. Arcane Meddlings: Subtract 1 from casting and unbinding rolls for enemy Wizards while they are within 6" of any units of Chaos Familiars. They are awful alright.
Stuff
Chaos Ogres: Nothing to see here, move along. No, seriously, their attacks are worse than Chaos Trolls, they don't have a ranged weapon either and their special rules are worse. They have better Bravery, but that's not even a small blessing. If you don't have Trolls on hand, however, Ogres aren't half bad, with pretty devastating attacks, the chance to heal lost wounds whenever they kill stuff and four Wounds apiece.
Chaos Trolls: YES. Do you remember the awful days of just last month when you had to decide between letting your Trolls barf on the enemy or smacking them to bits? No longer! Now you can do both. The barfing is a ranged weapon (albeit at 6") with the impressive profile of 3+/3+/-2/D3. In combat, they are almost the same as Ogres, except they have -1 Rend on their strikes. They also get to make extra attacks in combat for every To Hit roll of 6 and they heal D3 Wounds in each of your Hero Phases on a 2+. Weak Bravery of 5, yes, but that's why you have Inspiring Presence, right? Right.
War Machines
Hellcannon: One of the better guns around, but not as reliable as what some other Factions get. You can fire on the move no problem, but you gain a +1 To Hit if you stay still. This, combined with the fact that the Hellcannon has a 12" minimum range explains why you still don't want it to roll towards the enemy so it can hit them with its teeth. If you get it to stay still, however, you have a pretty reliable gun that hits on 3+, inflicts D6 Mortal Wounds on a hit and can fire twice so long as at least 2 Dorfs survive. And yes, the fact that it fires off Mortal Wounds instantly makes it better than all the other Cannons out there. In fact, thanks to its enormous Range, and indirect fire capabilities, you can even use it as a very effective Hero assasin. They can't run, and they can't hide!
Monsters
Great Taurus: Same low Wound count as the Cockatrice, but with a much worse shooting attack, a better save and okay attacks. Oddly, when charging, the Taurus is actually worse than the Cockatrice.
Lammasu: Even worse than the Taurus in combat and without a missile weapon, there is not much that speaks for the Lammasu. However, it has a high Move and can Fly, which can bring its -1 to casting rolls for enemy wizards-aura quickly to where it's useful and it is also a Wizard. It does not have any unique spells, but a Chaos Wizard in general has more spells to choose from than he can count. The Lammasu also holds the distinction of being one of the few Wizards who is not a Hero.
Formations
- Overlords of Chaos: Archie takes his new giant daemon-thing and rides with a Gaunt Summoner and his Varanguard. When right next to the Summoner during a Hero Phase, the summoner can roll, leading to either you or the other guy going first next combat phase instead of having to roll it. Furthermore, he can designate a unit within 20" (or more if the Summoner's on the field) to be killed, making Varanguard re-roll hits and wounds.
- Bloodmarked Warband: A Mortal Khorne Hero takes 8 Mortal Khorne units, meaning you can pick anything you want If any units have 8 models at the start, they re-roll wound rolls of 1 for the turn, and if the hero ever dies. The Hero takes a big charge here, as he can give distant allies an extra attack with melee weapons if he kills an enemy model and if he dies, another non-hero model replaces him and gains an attack for his melee weapons.
- Plaguetouched Warband: A Mortal Nurgle Hero takes 7 Mortal Nurgle units. Any units with 7 models at the start gain an ability to inflict a Mortal Wound to any enemy that wounds them with a 6+, while the leaders of these units (if they have one) inflict a Mortal Wound on any shmucks within b2b on a 4+. To make things even worse, enemies have to suffer -1 to hit these bastards thanks to the flies!
- Fatesworn Warband: A Mortal Tzeentch Hero takes 9 Mortal Tzeentch units. Any units with 9 models at the start gain a 6+ Invulnerable save. Everyone in the formation gains a minimum of -1 Rending on their weapons (So now everything wrecks light armor) while all Heroes can fire Arcane Bolt even if they aren't a wizard (while actual wizards get to fire it twice).
- Pleasurebound Warband: A Mortal Slaanesh Hero takes 6 Mortal Slaanesh units. Ant units with 6 models at the start gain +2 Bravery. If any of your guys die in combat, then the rest of the band gets +3" on their pile-in moves.
- Archaon's Grand Host: The Overlords of Chaos can now add 4 formations of any combination from the God-aligned Warbands. Archie gains the ability to summon Daemons on a 5+ every Hero Phase and, once per game, command everyone within 10" to pile in and strike at once. The issue here is that this shit is insanely expensive, and not that much more useful than just employing them separately.
- Godsworn Champions of Ruin: A Daemon Prince, Lord of Chaos or Sorcerer Lord (either on foot or on a Manticore) takes 3 to 8 units between Warriors, Chosen, Knights, Exalted Heroes, Sorcerer Lords and Sp-those things. One unit from the formation can pile-in and attack in the Hero phase, if it's within 3" of Hero or Monster.
- Godswrath Warband: A Lord on Manticore takes 10+ units between Warriors, Chosen, Knights, Chariots and Gorebeast Chariots, plus any number of Warshrines. In each Hero Phase you can roll a number if dices equal to the number of units from the formation within 24" from the Warshrine, and for every 6+ you basically get an Arcane Bolt on an unit that can be seen from the Warshrine. Note that an unit can't be hit twice in the same turn by this unit, meaning that if there are no more enemy units in the line of sight and still have some Bolts to throw, you must wound your own units.
- Ruinbringer Warband: A Lord on Daemonic Mount takes 5+ units between Knights, Marauder Horsemen, Chariots and Gorebeast Chariots. Once per game, every unit in the formation can charge during Hero Phase dealing d3 mortal wounds on enemy units reached (d6 if 10+ models are touching the unit).
- Blightguard: A Lord of Plagues and a Rotbringers Sorcerer take 4 units of Putrid Blightkings. Everyone can reroll every 1 to wound and gets a permanent version of Bloab Rotspawned's flies.
Army Building
The Slaves to Darkness start collecting is a great buy, even if you intent to build a mono god force. IF you want to start a bloodbound force, see if anyone wants to split the AoS starter box. Some sites even have it super cheap because the game didn't take off in their area. Also, a Bloodbound Start Collecting box is good too.
External links
| Age of Sigmar Tactics Articles | ||
|---|---|---|
| General Tactics | ||
| Order | ||
| Chaos | ||
| Death | ||
| Destruction | ||
| Others | ||