Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Old/Order/Phoenix Temple
These guys have now become their own faction. You can run then alone (as they actually have leaders and battleline units) or as part of an allied force.
Why Play Phoenix Temple
Pro
- Because you want an entire army of awesome looking models.
- Because you want an army that laughs at morale while your opponent suffers from worse battleshock tests.
- Because you want an entire army that can easily laugh off cannonballs and mortal wounds.
- In addition, you want to remember the glory days of WHFB where Phoenix Guard and High Elves in general were obnoxious.
- People with no prior experience against PG will underestimate you wiht your lack of proper allegiance rules!(but you also probably should run PG themed army using GA Order to get some more tasty support pieces).
Con
- Limited unit options. You're not exactly spoiled for choice with only 4 warscrolls.
- No unique allegiance abilities, meaning you'll be left lagging against the unique mechanics of other factions. Hopefully GW will fix this one day by releasing a battle tome for all non-Daughters of Khaine or deepkin Elf armies.
- No access to any ranged units without allying in other armies. Your force is entirely close-combat oriented, which is not entirely a bad thing as the game places more emphasis on movement and close combat.
- Expensive in both money and points. While you don't have it quite as bad as other armies (Daughters of Khaine), your basic troops cost $41 for 10.
Warscrolls
The common keywords of these warscrolls are: ORDER, AELF and PHOENIX TEMPLE.
Leaders
- Anointed: Same brutal save as Phoenix Guard, makes them not take Battleshock tests (but they don't need it, they're very brave by themselves), unbinds a spell a turn, and decent at combat. Has a command ability that allows Phoenix Temple units within 8 inches to re-roll failed wound rolls.
Troops
- Phoenix Guard: Battleline if your army has the PHOENIX TEMPLE allegience. Elves that have been revealed how and when will they die, so if today is not the day they don't have a reason to flee, and if today is the day they don't have a reason to flee. That makes them so serious they don't talk, EVER. This right here is, wound-per-wound, one of the most powerful (if not the most) infantry of the game: 4+ save, 7 Bravery, and ridiculously good halberds, with the range of a spear (2"), the wounding power of a hammer (3+), the number of attacks of paired hand weapons (2), and all at 3+ to hit, because the Phoenix Guard is also frickin' skillful. But the thing that makes them broken is their save-after-the-save of 4+ against wounds/mortal wounds. So, against things without Rend, they will suffer 1/4 of the wounds the enemy manages to inflict upon them. And this secondary save is a "ward", meaning Rend doesn't do a thing to it, so even against the most powerful Monsters or Heroes, they'll only take half damage. Also any enemy unit within 3" of them suffers one more loss as a result of a Battleshock test, while the Guard doesn't even take the test if an Annointed of Asuryan is within 8". To sum it all, they hit like a truck, they're gods on the defense, they win any attrition fights, and they laugh at shooting/artillery/magic. They only have one "weakness": they lack any Rend, so it will take them a litte more than usual to defeat heavily armored opponents (but they'll do it). They'll excel at whatever task you use them for: holding the line, spearheading the offense, killing Monster/Heroes, protecting vulnerable areas, they do it all. The ultimate all-rounders. Did I mention these guys took a price reduction in AoS 2.0?
Behemoth
- Flamespyre Phoenix: Also counts as LEADER if ridden by an Anointed. While the Frostheart Phoenix is an old durable bastard that can protect other units, its younger counterpart sacrifices this and a bit survival for a more aggressive approach, and if is what you are looking for, the Flamespyre won't disappoint while turning enemies to ashes and coming back after dying.
- First thing to note is that shares the Attuned to Magic and Witness of destiny (if mounted by an Anointed) abilities to increase its survival. The Anointed also adds a Phoenix Halberd (and the Highborn keyword) but the Phoenix real treat is not only during combat but also while it moves, since its "Wall of Fire" ability inflicts mortal wounds only by flying over other units!!! (only one unit at the time). If this bird has no damage, we are talking about a napalm spray of D6MW moving 16" each turn but decreasing as the Phoenix gets more wounds. If you are lucky, when he dies you roll a dice and in a 4+, the bird comes back with all its wounds, 9" from ANY unit, yes, he also teleports.
- Whatever version you pick depends on the role you want it to perform. The Frostheart is more of a team player who can protect and boost other units (that neat command ability), while Flamespyre has none of this but can take entire units and hard to kill enemies by its own.
- Frostheart Phoenix: Also counts as LEADER if ridden by an Anointed. A hard to kill SOB who is 2W/1SV less than the dragon but that is compensated because of his awesome abilities that make him an annoying bird that refuses to die:
- Blizzard Aura. Enemies chill and subtract 1 from wound rolls to any unit that dares to attack within 9" of your Phoenix. This is a huge help to other fragile units who get the bonus just by being close to your bird. It also means you always get the bonus when charged against enemies!! (the range goes down if it gets wounded though).
- Attuned to Magic extends his survival by adding 1sv in a 2+ roll until your next hero phase each time a spell is successfully cast (whether unbound or not) within 12". OH MY. Keep your wizards close and you can potentially get many bonuses since it doesn't specify it only works once each turn.
- Witness of Destiny. As if the other abilities were not enough to keep this bird flying. You can only get this ability if you also field him with Anointed. Enjoy your 4+ sv each time a wound/mortal wound is inflicted.
- As mentioned before, you can make an Anointed ride this beast. This offers the witness of destiny ability (and the Highborn keyword) and also lets the miniature wield the Great Phoenix Helberd (2"/4A/3TH/3TW/-1R/1D) and the Phoenix blade that has the same profile but D3 damage.
Battalions
Spyreheart Warhost
Found in the Grand Alliance: Order book.
An Anointed, 2 units of Phoenix Guard and 2-4 units chosen from the following: Flamespyre Phoenix or Frostheart Phoenix
Ability: Elemental Nova: A flight of phoenixes can beat their wings in union to batter the foe with freezing blizzards or searing firestorms. In the hero phase, select one enemy unit and roll a dice for each Flamespyre and/or Frostheart Phoenix from this battalion that is within 9" of it. For each result of 4 or more, that unit suffers D3 mortal wounds.
Army Building
Well, look at which points level you're playing and go from there if you're looking at matched play. A good setup would be 3 Anointed, 2 of them on a Frost and Flame Phoenix respectively, and 3 units of 30 Phoenix Guard. This is versatile and strong overall.
Allied Armies
External links
Rules are here
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-phoenix-guard-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-frostheart-phoenix-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-flamespyre-phoenix-en.pdf
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