Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Order/Cities of Sigmar

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Grand Alliance Order

Cities of Sigmar

For the Empire God-King!

Lore
Tactics
General Tactics

The cities from the Firestorm campaign have finally gotten a 2nd edition battle tome. Humans, Aelves and Duardin join forces to be a bulwark against those who would tear down everything they have built.


Why Play Cities of Sigmar

Pros

  • If you complained about all the needless separations and divisions of old Empire/Dwarf/Elf models, then this faction fixes all that.
  • Over 30 potential choices for Battleline, including Kharybdiss, Hydras and STEAM TANKS!
  • Low to average to hit rolls but Lots of ways to add +1 to hit.
  • Many ways to generate CP.
  • the synergies of the sub-factions can be united. Ever wonder what happens if you take the range power of free peoples, surviving skills of dwarfs and the monsters of the dark elves? Now it's your chance to find it out!
  • One of the best ways to make a mixed Order List without needing allies. With additional synergies with Kharadron Overlords, Sylvaneth, and Stormcast Eternals, you can take some as part of your city.
  • battleshocks wouldn't be an issue. While the bravery of many units is average or bad, many cities (hallowheart, anvilgard, hammeral and tempest's eye) have many ways to avoid it with command ability,traits and artifacts.

Cons

  • Comes at the cost of mass squatting, particularly of old High Elves.
  • A lot of remaining factions lost a their units, like the Devoted losing Warrior-Priests, Witch Hunters, and the War-Altar.
  • Locked into City allegiance and their associated realms of Aqshy or Ghyran. Must "Counts As" if your units aren't up to code and tough luck if you wanted Realm artifacts from elsewhere.
  • A lot of units can feel like repeats on paper compared to their previous iteration (lots of abilities are now +1 to hits, and some ability were reappropriated by the cities), only set apart by their synergy with other models.

Allegiance Abilities

Universal Allegiance Abilities

Strongholds of Order: You must choose a city. You have 7 choices. Go wild.

  • For your chosen city, you gain all the Battle Traits. Your general gets one of the Command Traits; one hero, plus one hero per battalion, each chooses a unique Artefact Of Power; each wizard knows a spell from the Spell Lore.

Amplified Sorceries: If you cast an Endless Spell, it's always the empowered version, regardless of what realm you're playing in.

Warriors of the Realms: If you're using Malign Sorcery rules, your army must be from the realm your city hails from.

Honoured Retinue: If your general has a wound characteristic of 6 or less, you can pick a retinue (any unit of 5-20 models). If your general is within 3" of the retinue, each time your general takes a wound, on a 4+ the retinue takes it instead.

The General's Adjutant: If your general has a wound characteristic of 6 or less, you can pick a friendly hero to be their adjutant. The adjutant must have a wound characteristic of 6 or less. If your general is within 3" of the adjutant at the start of your hero phase, roll a die. On a 4+, you get a CP.

Stormkeeps: 1 in 4 units in your army can be Stormcast. They gain the City keyword in place of their normal Stormhost keyword.

Equipment: almost every unit has a Standard Bearer and a Musician for every 10 models.

  • Standard Bearer: gains +1 bravery if the unit has one.
  • Musician: Add 1 to charge rolls and also often run rolls if the unit has a Musician.

City Allegiance: Hammerhal (Aqshy or Ghyran)

The flagship twin city with named Stormcast Characters.

Battle Traits

  • City of Two Realms: Hammerhal armies must be from Aqshy or Ghyran.
  • Master of Hammerhal: If Aventis Firestrike is your general, you get an extra CP at the start of your first hero phase.
  • The Pride of Hammerhal: While wholly within your territory, your units ignore battleshock.
  • Command Ability: Righteous Purpose: You can only use this at the end of the combat phase on a friendly HAMMERHAL unit that is wholly within enemy territory, wholly within 12" of a friendly HAMMERHAL HERO and within 3" of an enemy unit. It gets to pile in and attack again.

Command Traits

  1. Academiate Prodigy: Add 1 to attack characteristic of melee weapons. Also start the game with an extra command point.
  2. Blood of the twelve: Reroll wound rolls of 1 for melee attacks made by friendly units wholly within 12" of the general.
  3. Aggressive General: Add 1 to hit for melee attacks made by friendly units wholly within 12" of the general if this general made a charge move in the same turn. Since it doesn't say round, it's only your player turn: YOU are aggressive.

Artefacts Of Power

  1. Armor of Malice: Add 1 to save rolls of the bearer.
  2. Saint's Blade: Pick 1 melee weapon of the bearer, improve its rend by 1. While the bearer is within 6" of an objective marker, add 1 to damage inflicted by the weapon.
    • Those high-number-of-attacks but low rend or damage 1 attacks on your characters? They've just become really good on your mobile griffon general or dragon-riding dark elf. It makes me want to take 5 attack sword or 4 attacks lance instead of 3 attacks great weapon in order to double down on the damage potential.
  3. Twin Stones: You can activate this artefact in each of your hero phases, if you do so, chose which aspect you want to use.
    • Aqshy Aspect, Add 1 to hit for melee attacks made by friendly units wholly within 12" of the bearer.
    • Ghyran aspect, roll a d6 for every unit wholly within 12" of the bearer, on a 4+ you can heal d3 wounds that were previously allocated to that unit.

Spell Lore

  1. Wings of Fire: Thermal Rider cloak was not enough for you? Have some wings of fire: cast on a 6, if successful pick 1 friendly unit that is visible to the caster, add 1 to run and charge rolls and that unit can fly until the start of your next hero phase.
  2. Cinder Cloud: Cast on a 7, until the start of your next hero phase, subtract 1 from attacks that target friendly units wholly within 9 of the caster. Combine with a Mystifying Miasma battlemage to give targeted penalties to compound the debuff.
  3. Twin Tailed Comet: Cast on a 7, you kickstart the events of Total Warhammer II pick one enemy unit within 18" of the caster that is visible, they take d3 mortal wounds (or if they had 10 or more models, they take d6 mortal wounds instead).

City Allegiance: Anvilgard (Aqshy)

The Tortuga of the Mortal Realms.

Battle Traits

  • Illicit Dealings: Choose one of the following:
  1. Black Market Bounty: 1 extra ANVILGARD Artefact of Power
  2. Dabblings in Sorcery: 1 additional ANVILGARD Dragon/Kharibdyss/War Hydra can have a Drakeblood Curse
  3. Hidden Agenda: D3 extra command points
  • Command Ability: Make an Example of the Weak: At the start of your Battleshock Phase, pick 1 friendly ANVILGARD unit wholly within 12" of an ANVILGARD hero. One model is slain, but ANVILGARD units wholly within 18" of the targeted unit ignore Battleshock.
  • Drakeblood Curses: One Dragon/Kharibdyss/War Hydra, plus one per Battalion, can have a Drakeblood Curse. No model may have more than one curse, and no curse may be taken more than once.
  1. Acidic Blood: Roll a dice each time the unit is allocated a wound in melee that wasn't negated. On a 4+, the damaging unit takes 1 mortal wound. Annoy your enemies who try to take down your War Hydra!
  2. Jutting Bones: After the model makes a charge, pick an enemy unit within 1". On a 2+, target takes D3 mortal wounds.
  3. Felgaze: 12" -2 bravery bubble. When stacked with the Kharibdyss’ already existing aura, you got the perfect anti-horde monster that can chew through Grots and Skaven like Thanksgiving dinner.

Command Traits

  1. Blackfang Crimelord: Pick 2 Illicit Dealings instead of 1.
  2. Slayer of Monsters: +1 to hit and wound rolls if you target a MONSTER.
  3. Secretive Warlock: If the general is a wizard, they know all the spells in the Anvilgard lore. If not, they know one.

Artefacts Of Power

  1. Drakescale Cloak: 5+ FNP, something you would want on your monster rinding heroes.
  2. Venomfang Blade: Pick 1 weapon. If the wound roll of the attack is an unmodified 6, it deals D3 mortal wounds in addition to any normal damage. Stack with the assassin’s Venom ability for hilarity to ensue.
  3. Asphyxia Censer: At the end of the combat phase, each enemy unit within 3" of the bearer on a 4+ takes D3 mortal wounds.

Spell Lore

  1. Sap Strength: CV6. Pick a visible enemy unit within 18". They get -1 to hit until the start of your next hero phase.
  2. Shadow Daggers: CV7. If cast, pick a visible enemy unit within 9". They take D6 mortal wounds.
  3. Vitrioc Spray: CV8. If cast, pick a visible enemy unit within 6". Until the start of your next hero phase, they have a save characteristic of "-". Use your sorceress's sacrificial dagger to make sure it goes through!

City Allegiance: Tempest's Eye (Aqshy)

Mountain trading port that touches the sky.

Battle Traits

  • Atop Titanspear Mountain: Tempest's Eye armies must be from Aqshy.
  • Alert and Forewarned: Add 3" to movement and 1 to saves for Tempest Eye units until the end of the 1st battle round.
  • Outrunners of the Realms: Add 1 to run rolls.
  • Standing Contracts: 1 in 4 units can be Kharadron Overlords. They gain the Cities of Sigmar and Tempest's Eye keywords.
  • Command Ability: Rapid Redeploy: In the shooting phase, pick a Tempest's Eye unit wholly within 12" of hero. That unit can shoot even if it ran in the same turn.

Command Traits

  1. Aether Guard Captain: Add 1 to charge rolls for friendly Tempest's Eye units that are wholly within 12" of the general.
  2. Hawk Eyed: Add 1 to wound rolls for missile attacks made by friendly Tempest's Eye units wholly within 12" of the general.
  3. Swift as the Wind: Can run and charge. Hero and mount fight at the start of the combat phase.

Artefacts Of Power

  1. Patrician's Helm: Do not take battleshock for friendly Tempest's Eye units wholly within 12" of the bearer.
  2. Seerstone Amulet: If bearer is on the battlefield at the start of your hero phase roll a dice, on a 4+ get an extra CP.
  3. Zephyrite Banner: Reroll charge rolls for friendly Tempest's Eye units that are wholly within 12" of the bearer.

Spell Lore

  1. Aura of Glory: Cast on a 7, add 1 to the attack characteristic of melee weapons for friendly Tempest's Eye units that are wholly within 12" of the caster. Damn! Stack this on your aether-chestmisted Balloon dudes to triple their melee output!
  2. Strike of Eagles: Cast on a 7, pick one enemy unit within 30" of the caster (and visible). Roll 6 dice, for every 4+ they take a mortal wound. Awesome range!
  3. Celestial Visions: Cast on a 7, get a CP.

City Allegiance: Hallowheart (Aqshy)

The city of magic. If you want to always cast a spell and have your opponent watch as they can't unbind them, here's your place.

Battle Traits

  • Eldritch Attunement: If a unit is affected by a spell or endless spell, you can choose to roll a die. On a 5+, ignore the spell's effects.
  • Mage of the Whitefire Council: Your wizards can cast an extra spell. They select TWO spells from the spell list instead of 1.
  • Command Ability: Arcane Channeling: Start of the hero phase. Pick 1 friendly hero wizard and roll a die. 1) that unit suffers that many mortal wounds. 2) for each mortal wound dealt (not suffered), your wizards wholly within 12" get that roll's result as a bonus to cast until the start of your next hero phase. Remember, in order to be able to measure to the model, it must not be dead! Works better on units with lots of wounds, such as celestial hurricanums and luminarks of hysh. Consider putting Ignax Scales on the user to block half the wounds and then sear wounds (with + a lot to cast) to heal it right back off!

Command Traits

  1. Veteran of the Blazing Crusade: Do not take battleshock tests for friendly units wholly within 18" of the general.
  2. Warden of the Flame: Start of your hero phase, on a 4+ you get an extra CP. If you were going to use your CPs for battleshock immunity, why not use the previous command trait instead?
  3. Famed Spell Hunter: If your general is a wizard, add 3 to attempts to dispell endless spells. Otherwise, they can dispell endless spells.

Artefacts Of Power

  1. Agloraxi Prism: Subtract 1 from missile attacks that target the bearer.
  2. Pauldrons of Living Flame: End of the combat phase, roll a die for each enemy unit within 3" of the bearer, on a 4+ they take d3 mortal wounds.
  3. Whitefire Tome: If bearer is a wizard, they know all the spells from the Lore instead of 2. Otherwise, they know one spell and can cast it.

Spell Lore The masters of magic get 6 spells instead of the usual 3! Not just that - each of your wizards gets 2 of them on top of their normal spells, leading to unparalleled choice when it comes to casting.

  1. Roaming Wildfire: Cast on a 6, pick enemy unit within 18" and visible, it suffers d3 mortal wounds. Roll a d6 for each enemy unit within 6", on a 4+ those units also take d3 mortal wounds.
  2. Sear Wounds: Cast on a 6, pick a friendly unit within 18" of the caster that is visible. Heal d6 wounds allocated to that unit.
  3. Elemental Cyclone: Cast on a 6, pick one enemy unit within 12" that is visible and roll a die per model unit that is within 12" of the caster, on a 4+ they take a mortal wound.
  4. Warding Brand: Cast on a 6, target a friendly unit wholly within 18" and visible. Until start of next hero phase, roll a dice each time a wound was dealt by a melee weapon and was not negated. On a 4+ the attacking unit suffers a mortal wound.
  5. Crystal Aegis: Cast on a 5, until the start of your next hero phase, add 1 to the rolls for Eldritch Attunement trait for friendly units wholly within 12" of the caster. You can now ignore spells and endless spells on a 4+!
  6. Ignite Weapons: Cast on a 6, pick a friendly unit wholly within 18" of the caster that is visible to them. Add 1 to wound rolls made by that unit until the start of your next hero phase.

City Allegiance: The Living City (Ghyran)

The Symbol of the alliance between Sigmar and Alarielle

Battle Traits

  • Living Wargroves: 1 in 4 units can include Sylvaneth units while adding the keywords Cities of Sigmar and Living City.
  • Hunters of the Hidden Paths: Similar to Sylvaneth (but more restricted), instead of setting up a Living City unit on the battlefield, you can say that it is set up in the hidden paths. You can set up a unit in reserve for each Living City unit you have on the battlefield (therefore this excludes potential allied units from the count). At the end of the movement phase, you can set them up wholly within 6" of the battlefield edge more than 9" from any enemy units. Make sure to deploy them at that latest on turn 3, because at the start of turn 4 any units that are still in the hidden paths are destroyed.
  • Attuned to Nature: In your hero phase, heal 1 wound allocated to every Living City unit.
    • great on units with Damage charts, Hyrdas are harder to kill
  • Command Ability: Strike and Melt Away: end of shooting phase, pick one friendly Living City unit that shot that phase, is more than 9" from enemy units and wholly within 18" of a friendly Living City hero. That unit can move, it cannot run.
    • This is INSANE for units that want to go into combat and combos perfectly with the Hidden Paths: you can deep strike your unit 9" away (say, into cover), shoot stuff with your shadow warriors getting the bonus to cover, then move them 6" (because you also deep struck a support hero nearby in order to use command abilities). Your charge now became a 3" charge. With other types of units, you can position them however you need, and then fade off in the distance: this is good for shooty and melee stuff like corsairs with crossbows and sisters of the watch, but for highly mobile shooting units it is extremely potent: try it with units such as dark riders, outriders, luminarks of hysh line of mortal wounds, Drycha, artillery pieces, scourge runner chariots, FREAKING STEAM TANKS, Durthu, any stormcast with a >9" shooting attack, drakesworn templar, any of the non-hero dracoth units, palladors, etc etc etc etc etc

Command Traits

  1. Iron Oak Artisan: Add 1 to saves and on to-wound rolls for this general.
  2. Farstrider: Can run and charge. Friendly units are not affected by the Deadly Scenery rule if they are wholly within 12".
  3. Druid of the Ever Spring Circle : If your general is a wizard, they know all of the spells of the Lore of Leaves. If they are not a wizard they know one spell and can cast it.

Artefacts Of Power

  1. Spear of the Hunt: Pick one melee weapon of the bearer, improve its rend by 1. Bearer and their mount fights at the start of the combat phase if they made a charge this turn.
  2. Deepmire Cloak: If the bearer has a wounds characteristic of 6 or less, they cannot be chosen as the target of a missile attack if they are in cover. If they have 7 or more wounds, they inflict -1 to missile weapons that target the bearer if they are in cover.
  3. Wardroth Horn: Once per battle in your hero phase you can sound the horn: add 1 to attacks of friendly Living City Sylvaneth units until the start of your next hero phase.

Spell Lore

  1. Life Surge: Cast on a 6, pick 1 friendly model within 18" of the caster. You can heal d6 wounds that were allocated to the model.
  2. Cage of Thorns: Cast on a 7, pick 1 enemy unit that's within 18" of the caster and that is visible, halve the move characteristic of that unit until the start of your next hero phase. Also, until the start of your next hero phase, the first time that unit moves it takes d6 mortal wounds.
  3. Iron Oak Skin: Cast on a 6, pick 1 friendly wholly within 18" of the caster and visible, subtract 1 from wound rolls that target that unit until the start of your next hero phase.

City Allegiance: Greywater Fastness (Ghyran)

The polluted, industrial gunpowder city in the Realm of Life.

Battle Traits

  • Amidst the Ghoul Mere: Greywater Fastness is from Ghyran.
  • Runelord: In your hero phase, ONE Greywater Fastness Runelord can chant the following prayer as well as one from their warscroll.
    • Rune of Unfaltering Aim: On a 2+, select a friendly Greywater Fastness Ironweld Arsenal war machine within 3", until the start of your next hero phase it gets +1 to hit with its missile weapon attacks.
  • Home of the Great Ironweld Guilds: Friendly Greywater Fastness Ironweld Arsenal missile attacks have their maximum range increased by 3". In a pitched battle, you can include an additional artillery unit.
  • Command Ability:Salvo Fire: Use this in your shooting phase. Pick 1 friendly Greywater Fastness Freeguild Handgunners or Irondrakes unit wholly within 12" of a hero. Add 1 to hit rolls for missile attacks made by that unit until the end of the phase. Doesn't stack.

Command Traits

  1. Seat on the Council: If this general is on the battlefield, roll a dice in your hero phase. On a 4+ you gain a CP.
  2. Drillmaster: Reroll hit rolls of 1 for friendly missile weapon attacks made by units wholly within 12" of this general as long as the general is more than 3" away from any enemy units.
  3. Ghoul Mere Ranger: Friendly units wholly within 12" of the general can run and still shoot later in the same turn.

Artefacts Of Power

  1. Steam Piston Plate Mail: Add 1 to save rolls for the bearer. If the bearer does not have a mount, add 1 to its move.
  2. Runic Munitions: Pick 1 of the bearer's missile weapons, add 1 to its damage characteristic.
  3. Magnificient Macroscope: Start the game with 1 extra CP, and add 1 to hit for missile attacks made by the bearer.

Spell Lore

  1. Descending Ash Cloud: Cast on a 6, pick an enemy unit within 18" that is visible to the caster, subtract 1 from hit rolls made by that unit until the start of your next hero phase.
  2. Eroding Blast: Cast on a 6, pick a terrain feature wholly within 18" and visible to the caster. Roll a die for every model within 1" of the feature. On a 5+ they suffer a mortal wound. In addition until your next hero phase that terrain gains the Deadly Scenery Rule.
  3. Choking Fumes: Cast on a 6, pick 1 enemy unit within 15" that is visible to them, roll a die for every model that is within 15". For each 5+ that unit suffers a mortal wound. Combine with balewind vortex to get a bit more range.

City Allegiance: The Phoenicium (Ghyran)

The Phoenix city resurrected from amber

Battle Traits

  • Vengeful Revenants: Add 1 to hit and wound rolls for melee weapon attacks if any friendly Phoenician units have been destroyed in the same phase.
    • Read as "this army is for MSU and chaff users".
  • Blood of the Phoenix: Both types of phoenixes get an extra wound.
  • Command Ability: Living Idol: Each combat phase, pick a Phoenicium unit. If a model is slain within 12" of it, the destroyed model can fight before it's removed.
    • This is more guaranteed to happen if you set it up than the Skaven's death frenzy spells, which can fail to be cast or be dispelled. If building Phoenician lists, I would try to build around this ability.

Command Traits

  1. Seeker of Vengeance: Add 1 to the attack characteristic of the general's melee weapons if a friendly model has been slain this phase, add 3 instead of 5 or more models were slain. Use this on a tanky hero, because you're waiting until your opponent kills a model somewhere before hitting with your hero. I recommend a frost phoenix.
  2. One with Fire and Ice: If your general is a wizard, they know all spells from the Lore of the Phoenixes. Otherwise, they can cast one spell from that lore.
  3. Aura of Senerity: Do not take battleshock tests for friendly units wholly within 12" inches of the general. With the amount of stuff you are trying to get killed just to proc your bonuses, maybe this is a good idea, maybe it's a bad one?

Artefacts Of Power

  1. Amber Armor: If the attack that targets the bearer has a rend characteristic of -1, change it to "-".
  2. Phoenix Pinion: Bearer can fly as well as run and charge.
  3. Pyre Ashes: If you roll a natural 6 when saving for the bearer, you can heal 1 wound allocated to the bearer. Troll the shit out of your opponents with this item on a fucking frost phoenix.

Spell Lore

  1. Amber Tide: Cast on a 6, pick enemy unit within 18" and visible. Until the start of your next hero phase, halve their movement. Not as good as living city bramble/thorn cage, which inflicts mortal wounds if they move!
  2. Phoenix Cries: Cast on a 5, until the start of your next hero phase, subtract 1 from the bravery characteristic of enemy units while they are within 18" of the caster.
  3. Golden Mist: This is the one you're taking. Cast on a 6, heal d3 wounds to each friendly Phoenician unit within 12" and visible. Because you're not resilient enough. Combo this with emerald lifeswarm to troll the fuck out of your opponents some more!

Warscrolls

Human

This encompasses the Collegiate Arcane, assorted wizards in dresses and magical scenery; the Devoted of Sigmar, aka Flagellants; and all Freeguild, what remains of the Empire list. It turns out that thousands of years later, in a totally different place in time and space, men and women still dress in exactly the same silly feathered hats and pantaloons.

The overall best army of the Cities and the one with more units. Hero are good at support and damage dealers, great blocks of specialized infantry, two fantastic units of shooters and fast, hard hitting cavalry. Their weak points are generally bad bravery, the fact that you have to not move for using them at their best and being quite frail against -rend units, because the average saves run around 5+/4+. They are at the center of tons of armies lists, being easily supported by others races.

Leaders

  • Freeguild General (Freeguild, 100p): An anchor for human lines, Giving Freeguild +1 bravery and a CA that grants 3 units +1 hit & wound if they don't move or charge. Pop this on units that don't need to move like handguns, and/or on Freeguild Guard so they hit hard during the opponents turn. They are what make Human Guns so much more Dangerous, and makes stealing important objectives from Spears so much harder.
  • Freeguild General on Griffon(Freeguild, 320pts): A more capable use of the griffon, though you are certainly paying for the cost. Your loadout is actually quite flexible between the flurry of attacks from your sword, your few but deadly hammer hits, and the mid-point lance, followed by the option for either a shield to boost your save from 4+ to 3+ or leave it for +1 to run and charge rolls. Whatever you pick, your get a CA that still capitalizes on charging with a 12" aura of +1 to charge rolls and hit rolls so you can make the most of that charge.
  • Battlemage (Collegiate Arcane, 90pts): Your go-to wizard, able to pick which Realm they specialized in which gives them: A unique spell and Casting bonus while in that realm. Despite how it initially looks, Azyr wizards are better against elite armies than horde ones, aim for the support, ideally the ones with the aura abilities and know you're likely going to be hitting one or two elite squads around them. If you want something better against hordes then you want Aqshy, fireball scales in damage with however many models are in the target unit so large squads with high saves are ideal. Ulgu wizards are a pretty good warning against anybody threatening a vulnerable squad and gives them at least a chance to run away, while Shyish wizards could be the thing you need to turn around a contested battle or wipe out a unit with Battleshock before they can break away. If you want a protective ability then you need to go with Hysh to drop -1 to hit for enemy units targeting a unit, which is very good since it works on everything, especially when you use it on something that can already take a beating like a unit of Phoenix Guard. Ghyran ends up being somewhat pointless, since if you want charge protection you'll be taking Cage of Thorns instead to halve their movement and deal Mortal Wounds, and even Chamon is better for that. Speaking of which, Chamon is pretty good if you're going missile-heavy and want to focus down something elite while avoiding combat with them. In general it's a must-have if you're up against Stormcast Eternals or Kharadron Overlords. Finally, Ghur is a great spell if you're going melee-focused or you want to abuse the easy charges you can get from the Living City or the tempest's eye command trait and artifact, who give +1 to charge and re-roll them automatically.
  • Battlemage on Griffon (Collegiate Arcane 300pts): You get a flying Ghur wizard with a capable but quite squishy beast. The two-headed griffon can at least throw out some blows with its bite (Doubling hits for each 6 to hit) and claws (though those drop with damage). Your wizard, on the other hand, is more capable at shooting, with his special spells being Wildform (see above) and Amber Spear, a pretty effective beam of damage with few hangups.
  • Celestial Hurricanum with Celestial Battlemage (Collegiate Arcane 280pts): Slapping a wizard onto this doesn't do much besides making a bigger target. What it does provide, though, is the absolutely sick Comet of Cassandora spell, now always able to deal damage, though it's best suited for slow, plodding fools (or just get a Metal Wizard to slow them first and then smash 'em).
  • Luminark of Hysh with White Battlemage (Collegiate Arcane 270pts): The aura of protection makes putting a Hysh wizard less of a gamble, though you're still a visible target. You also get the Burning Gaze spell, which is the final word on eradicating mobs.

Battleline/Conditional Battleline

  • Freeguild Guard (Freeguild, Battleline: 80/280pts, min 10, max 40): These guys are as good as ever. They lost the possibility of having shields with every other weapon and the militia equipment, gaining instead generally better equipment and ability. Halberds are quite terrifying now, with a 3+ for wound and -1 rend. Better save with shield and swords and a really nasty ability with the spear. Always take in large crowds and take the best weapon for the occasion. (Spears get in more attacks and charging them a nightmare, Sword & board grants durability, and halberds helps smake up tougher units when you can't have the numbers advantage)
  • Freeguild Crossbowmen (Freeguild, Battleline, 100pts, min 10, max 30): Your long-range shooting. Basically for having them at their best you have to don't move them and have 10+ models, as they gain +1 attack with their Crossbow.
  • Freeguild Handgunners (Freeguild, Battleline, 100pts, min 10, max 30): Trade range for rending on their shots and Quantity for consistency. These guys get a nice nerfed, going from "terrifyingly op" to "nice normal shooter" [Wrong, there was no nerf - both +1 requirements were put into one rule granting a single extra +1 and they just got their base hit improved by 1 to a 4+: considering the unit size requirement for the bonus went down to 10, this is objectively a buff, making it easier to take MSU for long rifles while keeping +1's to hit]. Basically for having them at their best you have to don't move them and have 10+ models, as they gain +1 to with their guns, but their low range makes them not that dangerous and almost vulnerable to fast units. Now it's only their ability to shoot at charging units, use it wisely. The units' MARKSMAN can take a Repeater Handgun for more shot or Long Rifle which is a 30" D2 gun that ignores Look Out, Sir! for picking out weak support heroes.
  • Freeguild Greatswords (Freeguild, Conditional Battleline: Freeguild General, 160/420pts, min 10, max 30): Elite infantry without question. Though with a rather weak 6 Bravery, you get some pretty effective weapons that deal mortal wounds on unmodified 6's to hit. They're especially effective as a retinue, as they'll get an additional +1 to hit for being in range of any Freeguild Hero.
  • Demigryph Knights (Freeguild, Conditional Battleline: Freeguild General, 180pts, min 3, max 12): Tough guys with some good mobility. Though your loadout's either stuck between the lance's charge bonus or the all-rounder halberd, you always get your menacing mount's attacks for the chance to pop some mortal wounds.
  • Freeguild Outriders (Freeguild, Conditional Battleline: Tempest's Eye, 100pts, min 5, max 20): Your mobile Gunners, able to Retreat and/or Run, and still shoot. Repeater Handgun can deal a lot of inaccurate shoots, especially if they're not near an enemy for D3+1 attacks.
  • Freeguild Pistoliers (Freeguild, Conditional Battleline: Tempest's Eye, 100pts, min 5, max 20): short-ranged guns, and can re-roll run and charge rolls. They do bring Rend and a lot of attacks, especially since they get to shoot again when they charge. With all this attacking, they are likely to deal many wounds before that target gets their swing.
  • Flagellants (Devoted of Sigmar, Conditional Battleline: Human General, 80/280pts, min 10, max 40): That cheap unit that likes dying. Also, they keep devoted of Sigmar keyword, so you CAN ally warrior priest to power them and intentionally kill them with endless spells for more attacks. A perfect fit for The Phoenicium Battleines.

Behemoths

  • Celestial Hurricanum (Collegiate Arcane 220pts): This is purely made to support your forces, provided its own killer shooting and auras for supporting your entire army. Your men will love the +1 to hit while within range of it, though that requires that they protect it to ensure the range, while Wizards of any realm can benefit with a +1 to all casting from it. In all cases, keep it away from any means of battle. Also, it's weapon is one of the best mortal wounds dealers in the game, being capable of doing a best 3D3 mortal wounds on any target, basically killing any less hero stupid enough to get too close.
  • Luminark of Hysh (Collegiate Arcane, 210pts): The more protective of the giant casty-engines. This one's got auras of wound-negating (range limited by damage) and grants nearby wizards +1 to unbind. While the Hurricanom operates its weapon based on a burst of shots, this one fires a singular laser beam of doom, its effectiveness restrained only by damage. A stupidly good combination with flagellants, giving you the possibility of kill them (extra attacks) and give them a (weak-but-better-then-nothing) defense.

Duardin

This encompasses the Dispossessed, or Dwarfs if you're still holding a grudge and are rather grumpy about it. Do remember that any conditional Battleline that requires a Duardin general (such as Irondrakes, or any others GW might change in the future) will also be met if your General is a Cogsmith, despite them not being Dispossessed.

Heavy infantry with a really high survival rate, dispossessed are hard as a rock, hits like trucks and have a pair of gromril balls. They are really good at war of attrition, being generally invulnerable against battleshock, with a save roll generally over the average of others races and don't really needs wizards thanks to their runelords. Unfortunately, they are slow, can't use magic in anyway, with just one (fucking wonderful yes, but still one) shooting unit and with a really high points (and money) cost for units. Except to be easily outnumber by others armies. Gain great support by faster units, artillery and mages.

Leaders

  • Warden King (Dispossessed, 110pts): A Powerful Lynchpin for the DISPOSSESSED bunker as he can grant a Battleshock immunity aura for not moving, and a CA that let's him pick an enemy unit within 18" of him. Any DISPOSSESSED unit attacking the selected enemy in melee get +1 attack. When paired with other Allegiance abilities he makes Ironbreakers and Hammerers a force to be reckoned with.
  • Runelord: (Dispossessed, 90pts): One of the best Anti magic Heros in the game, worth taking even if you don't have other DUARDIN. They can unbind magic and have a +2 when they make the roll. They also support with a DISPOSSESSED Prayer that either gives a DISPOSSESSED within 16" a Feel no pain on a six or give their weapons -1 more rend. Put a luminark together with this guy and get a double feel no pain against mortal wounds!

Battleline/Conditional Battleline

  • Longbeards (Dispossessed, Battleline, 110/270pts, min 10, max 30): The old grumblers are back... And they are even more unsatisfied! They support other Duarden with their complaints. Unfortunately, shields aren't that overpower now, and you can't get shields and big weapons anymore. Better weapons or better defense are up to you, but their ability to being incredibly annoying is even more powerful. You can decide to give 1 plus bravery to dispossessed units (for when you expect to be on the receiving end of a devastating charge and you aren't in range of a Warden King's battleshock immunity bubble), make dispossessed units (wholly within 12") re-roll wounds rolls of 1 and with the last one you can even try to DISPEL ONE ENDLESS SPELL IN THE HERO PHASE! That's right, even mindless spells can't stand the continuous grumbling of this guys. Good to mix in one with other dispossessed units for their support.
  • Ironbreakers (Dispossessed, Battleline, 130/330pts, min 10, max 30): They get twice as many swings, their saves are one better then Longbeards. These are your Smachy anvils. They never ever fucking die and can dish out surprising amounts of hurt. Wound-per-Wound, they leave most infantry in the dust. Their leader can also opt to swap out his ax and shield for a pistol and bomb or a brace of pistols. Remember: These dorfs can beat the enemy with their anvillyness, but you also have Strong hammers from other factions. Worth noting that the pistol and bomb combination provides 4 attacks instead of 3, two of which rend and hit at range, and the ability to dish out d3 nigh-guaranteed mortal wounds per game. All at the expense of losing 1 to hit on your Mailed Fist attacks. Food for thought.
  • Irondrakes (Dispossessed, Conditional Battleline: Duardin General, 150pts, min 10, max 30): If Ironbreakers are anvil and tongs, Irondrakes are the hammers. Any unit held in place by Ironbreakers (or any dorf infantry, for that matter) is already dead and only too stupid to realize it if you have Irondrakes nearby. Why? They get a pretty good missile weapon, being pretty much exactly a Judicator with Bow, only with 16" range. If there's no enemy within 3" and they didn't move, they add get 1+ Attack more shooting! So, wound per wound, they shoot four times as well as Judicators. Yikes. Their champion can take a Trollhammer Torpedo, which has better Rend and deals D3 damage (D6 if the target's a monster), and now you can fire that twice, so it's a no brainer to use it.
  • Hammerers (Dispossessed, Conditional Battleline: Dispossessed General, 140/360, min 10, max 30): There is nothing subtle about Hammerers and you wouldn't want them any other way. They swing a big Hammer, which has two swings at 3+/3+/-1/1, a rather nice profile that inflicts additional Mortal wounds on unmodified wound rolls of 6, they have a 4+ save and don't take Battleshock if there's a Dorf Hero whooly within 12". Have a Runelord put their -1 Rend ability on them, with your Warden King's +1 attack.. and you have a single unit doing 30 hits at a 3+/3+/-2/1 with chances for mortal wounds. You can hammer down most foes with them. Consider the following: If you really want to be an asshole to your opponent, try running these guys in Tempest's Eye as a block of 30 under a Warden King with Aether Guard Captain as his warlord trait and Zephyrite Banner as his artifact. Top it off with a Runelord, a set of Longbeards, a Celestial Hurricanum with Aura of Glory and a baytlemage coming from ghur. You now have 1 wound infantry clocking 360 points that for the first turn move 7", run d6+4", charge 2d6+4" rerolling, is covered under a 3+ save thanks to Alert and Forewarned that craps out 4 attacks per head at 2+/3+ reroll 1/-2/1. A full strength unit is burying a target in 121 swings averaging 20 mortal wounds as icing on the cake. We're talking enough mortal wounds to send Nagash right back to the grave, nevermind the other 121 swings. For days when you want to settle the entire Dammaz Kron in one sitting.

Ironweld Arsenal

A bunch of Human and Duardin engineers came together and compared notes. This encompasses your artillery, tanks, and helicopters. The mechanized forces of the order, ironweld arsenal is a stand-alone group of war machines and hero, ranging from artillery support to unstoppable tanks. This faction isn't a jolly, but more of a list of units that can be filled and complete other armies (gyrocopters for dispossessed, artillery for everyone who lacks long-range units while the steam tank can simply fit everywhere without being an annoyance).

Leaders

  • Steam Tank with Commander (Ironweld Arsenal, 250pts): The key to Steam Tank battleline and smashing that max behemoth limit (as per core FAQ Dec 2019, battleline units do not count towards behemoth limits). Adding him onto the heaving tank gives you two nice guns and a decidedly shite melee weapon. He's also the tank's sole means of healing (so long as you don't use "More Pressure!") His CA lets you mark a single target so all your nearby tankbros can blast the shit outta that target a little faster.
  • Cogsmith (Ironweld Arsenal, 60pts): The poor man's HQ. Don’t let that fool you though; this guy is arguably more useful than the Steam Tank Commander. While always equipped with some pistols he can slap within melee, the rest of his loadout is what impacts his usefulness. Taking the Grudge-Raker gives him a shotgun, while dropping it adds +1 to his melee attacks, while the Cog Axe gives him a bundle of attacks or a +1 to hit with the shooting. In any case, he lacks a Command Ability, instead of using the Hero Phase to let heal a nearby Ironweld Arsenal War Machine, indeed your only way to preserve those precious steamtanks.

Battleline/Conditional Battleline

  • Steam Tank: (Ironweld Arsenal, Behemoth or Conditional Battleline: Steam Tank General, 200pts): This incredible beast got a nerf but is still scarier for your enemy, especially now that you can have it as a BATTLELINE! basically an artillery platform with a weapon for every situation can deal with crowds and lesser monsters alike (just don't send it against Archaon please. You'll make Sigmar cry). The mobility is quite problematic, being a roll of dice impacted by damage, but this can be fixed with his ability, "More Pressure!". Basically you roll 2d6 and if the result is less than the tank's current wounds, you add 2 to the attacks of the steam gun and re-roll the movement. Always take a Lord Ordinator, a Celestial Hurricanum or the Commander for making their attacks more powerful. (the steam tank is resembling the old empire quality: fine against everything, but good against nothing.)

Artillery

  • Helstorm Rocket Battery (Ironweld Arsenal, 130pts): Got a devastating nerf (someone would call it "make units more balanced" and they are probably right but still...). The damage of the missiles now d3 instead of d6. For the rest, they are better than before, with the ability to re-roll hits rolls of one with an engineer close. Get 4 of them with the battalion, a lord ordinator and see your adversary get desperate because you are killing everything he has from 36" of distance (39" for Greywater Fastness).
  • Helblaster Volley Gun (Ironweld Arsenal, 120pts): Let's get this straight, this artillery is practically useless compared to the rocket batteries. Basically, you can decide to roll 1, 2 or 3d6 for the attacks made by this weapon, but when you roll 2 dice or more and you get a double, the machine would jam, don't shoot and get one mortal wound. Yeah, that's right. This means that you would NEVER have more attacks than 15 (6+5+4) and many other results are blocked! Compared this piece of junk to the helstorm (only 10 points more care) and you can easily understand what is the right choice to do.
    • for ten points less a celestar ballista can easily fit the role that this rusty piece of iron should fit, close-range fire suppression, thanks to many heroes that can give a plus 1 to hit rolls, without the risk of jamming, have the best results blocked and with better rend and save. They will eat your Stormcast allowance.

Other Units

  • Gyrobomber (Ironweld Arsenal, 80/210pts, min 1, max 3): Dedicated Flying bombers. You can pick an enemy unit that this unit passes over, for each gyrobomber that flew over that enemy, deal D3 mortal wounds on a 2+ roll. with running and not dying, you can make about 3 bombing runs before the end of the game.
  • Gyrocopter (Ironweld Arsenal, 70/180pts, min 1, max 3): Smaller, faster Gyrobomber with a better gun. They can only drop one bomb per game but are better at shooting. You have a pick of a normal Brimstone Gun or the short-range Steam Gun which can clear blocks. The Brimstone Gun will on average do the same damage as the Gyrobomber's Clattergun with a shorter range, but you'll probably be keeping fairly close anyway so you can drop your bombs. When taken with Greywater Fastness the 11" steam gun on top of the 16" inch move is an incredibly effective massed infantry clearer.

Aelf

This encompasses the various Elves you have available to you. Included within are the Darkling Covens, Aelven sorceresses (and occasional sorcerer) that didn't agree with the rules of the Eldritch Council and went to do their own thing. There is the Phoenix Temple, a group of silent warriors who are some of the hardest to kill in the entire game. There is the Order Serpentis, Elves who have a hardon for anything with scales, as well as the Shadowblades, the setting's non-furry sneaky assassin bois, and finally there are the Scourge Privateers, your pirates and monster hunters, as well as the Wanderers, the non-squatted remnants of the Wood Elves.

Leaders

  • Sorceress (Darkling Coven, 90pts): Your Coven leaders and non-collage wizard. They do a lot of things. for a magic side like Sacrificing another Darkling(Ideally the cheaper ones) to gain +2 to cast and know a damage spell that also lowers the enemy's hits by 1. When Paired with other casting buffs, they can reliably cast High-level spells and not be worried that your opponent will unbind your linchpins. Their Command ability lets one Darkling Run, Shoot, and/or charge, allowing a footslogger to cover more ground.
  • Sorceress on Black Dragon (Darkling Coven, 300pts): Sorceress + Dragon + another weapon + different spell + another command ability. Not a true fighter like Dreadlords, but can clear skaven hoards with Noxious Breath and Bladewind. Also, have a decent CA Inspire Hatred which rerolls wounds of 1 for a Darkling Coven unit. They are also a decent target for Command Underlings with their 14" move so they can grab objectives and be close enough to decimate a unit.
  • Anointed (Phoenix Temple, 100pts): Same brutal save as Phoenix Guard, cheap way to make them not take Battleshock tests, unbinds one spell or endless spell per turn like a wizard and is decent at combat. He has a command ability that allows PHOENIX TEMPLE units wholly within 12" inches to re-roll failed wound rolls, making him an excellent force multiplier since your army only knows how to get stuck in to close combat. Unless you really need to fill out Hero slots in your army, or you explicitly want to be able to unbind enemy spells then your first choice should always be to take an Anointed on a Phoenix of one form or another. If you have the GW model for the Anointed then you will have a Phoenix anyway, since they both came in the same box.
  • Anointed on Flamespyre Phoenix (Phoenix Temple, 300pts): Providing an Anointed grants the Phoenix a fully consistent set of strong melee attacks and the badass Command Ability.
  • Anointed on Frostheart Phoenix (Phoenix Temple, 320pts): There's a second perk to putting an Anointed to this phoenix besides the simple wedding of a dead 'ard hero and a defensive bird - a 4+ FNP. This can be taken against Mortal Wounds as well, so you can definitely match up against the Flamespyre in terms of durability, though it's far from infinite and you will need to watch your health.
  • Dreadlord on Black Dragon (Order Serpentis, 300pts): A heartless elf mounted on an (as always) very fast and powerful Dragon, and he's no slouch in combat himself. You can give him paired weapons or lance to deal more damage, or a crossbow to be shooty, but usually, the best option is the shield to make him live longer and use his Command Ability again and again. Because he makes an Order Serpentis unit wholly within 18" reroll wound rolls, which can be awesome, especially combined with his great mobility. He's an awesome hero, no matter how you use him.
  • Assassin (Shadowblades, 80pts): Assassin are Assassins, Cheap killers that are placed in reserve, and then they jump out of any Cities unit with 1 wound and 5+ models (no Calvary but from Flanknig, vangarding, or unconventionally fast units). A strong fighter with 6 attacks and deals d3 mortal wounds if they roll a 6 to wound. Giving him Artifacts to help kill bigger things better, provide deepstriking support or Mobility to get to the next kill.
  • Black Ark Fleetmaster (Scourge Privateers, 60pts): One of the Cheapest heroes in-game. They are ok fighters but their true Power is their Command Ability At Them, You Curs!, which gives a Scourge Privateers unit +1 attacks on all their melee weapons (and Privateers have a lot of weapons).
  • Nomad Prince (Wanderer, 120pts): Another support hero for their faction, with a falcon that causes an enemy hero to be worse at magic and hitting things and a command aura ability that grants Wanderers +1 to hit. Mounted are too fast but your foot units will be near for the buff.

Battleline/Conditional Battleline

  • Dreadspears (Darkling Coven, Battleline, 90/320pts, min 10, max 40): Rank and file Aelfs with 2" spears. Taken in units of 10+ they gain +1 to hit which pairs well with their 2" reach. They also gain -1 rend if they roll an unmodified 6 to hit. They have the least stipulations on them, so feel free to use a Sorssorus to get a 40 Aelf blob that runs and changes 3d6 + 8".
  • Bleakswords' (Darkling Coven, Battleline, 90/320pts, min 10, max 40): The Swordsmen version of Dreadspears, Shorter reach but inflict 2 hits on an unmodified 6 to hit instead of rending, better in smaller sizes while dealing with hordes.
  • Darkshards (Darkling Coven, Battleline, 100pts, min 10, max 40): Aelf Crossbow, Shooting 2 shot at 16". They get the standard Darkling Coven +1 to hit when they have 10+ models. They have a shorter range and have less synergy then Freeguild Crossbow but are more mobile and don't need to give up mobility for firepower. Want cost-effective and mobile dakka for your CoS? These are ya bois.
  • Black Guard (Darkling Coven, Conditional Battleline: Darkling Coven General, 140pts, min 10, max 30): Elite Bodyguards SpearMen, with 2 attacks hitting and wounding on 3+ with rend -1. Gain +1 to hit when near a Darkling Coven hero. Taken for Quality over Quantity. They could be seen as 20pts cheaper Phoenix Guard that trade their revered durability so they could cover more ground with a CP.
  • Executioners' (Darkling Coven, Conditional Battleline: Darkling Coven General, 130/330pts, min 10, max 30): Elite Swordsmen, 2 attacks hitting and wounding on 3+, with unmodified hit rolls of 6 dealing a mortal wound instead of normal damage.
  • Phoenix Guard (Phoenix Temple, Conditional Battleline: Phoenix Temple General, 160/420pts, min 10, max 30): 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 and rend 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, while the Guard remains wholly within 12" of a general they don't even have to take battleshock tests. 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'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. Their only real drawback is they are relatively expensive compared to some other battleline options in the book but this is more than made up for by their inherent awesomeness.
  • Drakespawn Knights (Order Serpentis, Conditional Battleline: Order Serpentis General, 150pt, min 5, max 20): Your Scaly Aelf M:10" Calvary with a 3+Sv. They can act as a Tarpit on mobile legs while still delivering DPS. Their mounts fight better than horses, and lances' rend and Damage increase to 2 when they charge. They are Ideal if going for a Cavalry rush build that will hold on to the objectives. Points drop in FAQ, at the loss of a hoard discount.
  • Drakespawn Chariot (Order Serpentis, Conditional Battleline: Order Serpentis General, 80/210pt, min 1, max 3): The dinosaur chariot. Not as impressive at fighting as Knights but when they finish a charge, they will often deal d3 mortal to one unit within 1", Ideally picking on monsters and those melees that are too close to the bubble wrap.
  • War Hydra (Order Serpentis, Conditional Battleline: Anvilgard, 170pts): A more Ranged Balance Version of the Kharibdyss, with 9" firebreathing and granted the d3 regeneration rather than having to eat someone in melee.
  • Dark Riders (Shadowblades, Conditional Battleline: Shadowblades General, 110/260pts, min 5, max 20): Aelf Fast Skirmish calvary, 14" Movement, with Repeater crossbows and spears. enemies subtract -1 bravery when 12" of a Rider. Makes the quick objective grabbers and provide supporting damage to your damage dealers like Griffins to scare off more enemy models
  • Shadow Warriors (Shadowblades, Conditional Battleline: Shadowblades General, 110pts, min 10, max 30): Steath archers and ok fighters, they can Deepstrike. Put them near the enemy's terrain and shoot up their wizards and Warmachines.
  • Black Ark Corsairs (Scourge Privateers, Conditional Battleline: Scourge Privateers General, 80/240pts, min 10, max 40): Hoards of pirates, resistant to arrows, more accurate when taken in hoards. They can be taken with a crossbow or a secondary weapon but you want the weapon if you have a Fleetmaster too double their attacks to four. Crossbows may get uses when in smaller numbers when a Fleetmaster is not around. Mixed units are your friends, as both your melee weapons are 1” range, so take some hand-bows so the rest of your guys can contribute while in combat
  • Scourgerunner Chariot: (Scourge Privateers, Conditional Battleline: Scourge Privateers General, 60/150pts, min 1, max 3): A mobile harpoon launcher with some Crossbow. The harpoon can hurt some monsters with unmodified hit rolls of 6s dealing d3 mortal wounds.
  • Kharibdyss (Scourge Privateers, Conditional Battleline: Anvilgard, 170pts): Wound-per-Wound the Kharibdyss is by far one of the strongest units in this list, with a bunch of terrifying attacks, the potential self-healing, and Bravery-lowering skill to make more chumps run away screaming once it tears into them. It is also slightly faster than your Corsairs, though comparatively slow for a monster, so it can still be out-maneuvered if you aren't careful. Wound-per-Wound, the Kharibdyss is also the most efficient target for the Fleetmasters' At them, you Curs Command. Unfortunately, since Corsairs tend to be fielded in units of more than 12, they are still the most logical choice for the Command ability. On the other hand, the Kharibdyss is already plenty scary without it. Also, damage degrades its abilities noticeably quicker than you might expect.
  • Eternal Guard (Wanderer, Battleline, 130/330pts, min 10, max 30): More Elite Spearmen than DARKLING COVEN Dread Spears costing 40 more points, having 7 Bravery, two attacks, and gain +1 to hit, +1 to wound and +1 to Sv rolls if they don't move.
  • Wildwood Rangers (Wanderer, Conditional Battleline: Wanderer General, 130pts, min 10, max 30): Rangers hunt monster with their 2 attack axes that deal 2 damage against them. Find a way to move them close and then hack a dragon to pieces.
  • Sisters of the Thorn (Wanderer, Conditional Battleline: Wanderer General, 130/520pts, min 5, max 20): A Wizard conclave riding Stags. They have attacks and Javlines but you take them As relatively cheap mobile wizards that cast spells at point-blank. As long as they have at least two models they can cast Arcane Bolt, Mystic Shield, and a spell that grants a Wanderer unit cover and reflects 6s to saves during melee as mortal wounds, but more importantly is getting a pick from their City's lore and Endless Spells. For Example, Anviguard's Vitrioc Spray is a short-range spell that removes the target's saves.
  • Sisters of the Watch (Wanderer, Conditional Battleline: Wanderer General, 160pts, min 10, max 30): What's left of the Wood elf Archers, Getting 1+ attacks when they don't move, can fire overwatch when charge, and deal Additional Mortal wounds on Unmodified 6s to wound. you have cheaper Sources of Arrows, but the Mortal wounds could get past some high armour units.
  • Wild Riders (Wanderer, Conditional Battleline: Wanderer General, 130pts, min 5, max 20): Your Fast Aelf Cavalry, with Riders getting 2 spear attacks that deal -2 rend and 2 damage when they charge. More offensive than defensive than Drakespawn Knights. Became battleline in the FAQ.

Behemoths Do note that some of your Behemoths are conditionally also a Battleline. If this is the case they will be listed above under the Conditional Battleline section instead of this section.

  • Flamespyre Phoenix: (Phoenix Temple, 200pts) An annoying bird that comes back to life once per game. It's discounted when not ridden by an Anointed but you trade your 4+ save after save for this. It is what you are looking for, the Flamespyre won't disappoint all the while turning enemies to ashes and potentially coming back to life again for more punishment. The Attuned to Magic ability extends his survival by adding +1 to saves when a spell is successfully cast and not unbound within 12", this buff lasts until the players next hero phase. The rules state that this ability can never add more than 1 to the saves so while not as powerful as it once was, it's now happens every time a spell is cast rather than requiring a dice roll. The Flamespyre's real trick is not only during combat but also when it moves, since its Wall of Fire ability inflicts mortal wounds simply by flying over other units; If this bird has taken less than three wounds then we are talking about a napalm spray of consistent 5 Mortal Wounds moving 16" each turn, but decreasing as the Phoenix gets more wounds. If you are lucky, If/when a Flamespyre Phoenix first dies, you roll a dice, on a 4+ the bird comes back with ALL its wounds.
  • Frostheart Phoenix (Phoenix Temple, 220pts): While stripped of all the flash and style of the Flamespyre, the Frostheart does have a much more singular purpose: Protection. While it still has the Attuned to Magic ability to boost wizards, its only power now is a Blizzard Aura that forces enemies to take -1 to wound when within range. It has a second ability, but it's only used when carrying your Anointed.

Battalions

Each city gets one battalion. Each unit in the battalion must belong to that city.

Hammerhal: Hammerhalian Lancers

140 points (Min: 1000pt Max: 2980pt): 1 Freeguild General on Griffon, 3-6 units Demigryph Knights.

  • +1 to hit and wound on turns where you charged and are wholly within 18" the Freeguild General in the battalion.
  • At minimum, this comes to a neat 1000pts and is a small amount of cool-looking models, making it a good choice for a starting force.

Anvilgard: Charrwind Beasthunters

120 points (Min: 480pt Max: 1640): 1 Black Ark Fleetmaster, 3 units Black Ark Corsairs, 1-3 Scourgerunner Chariots, 0-1 Kharibdyss.

  • +1 to wound rolls when you target a monster.
    • Fluffy, though extremely situational, your taking this for the artifact and less drops.

Tempest's Eye: Aetherguard Windrunners

120 points (Min: 740): 1 Freeguild General on Griffon, 3-6 units Freeguild Outriders or Pistoliers, 0-2 Grundstok Gunhaulers.

  • Units in this battalion can retreat and still shoot and/or charge this turn.

Hallowheart: Whitefire Retinue

140 points. (Min: 320pts Max: 1340pts) 3-6 HERO WIZARDS

  • +1 to cast and unbinding rolls if they're within 6" of a friendly wizard from this battalion. So, unless you're thinking of taking 7 or more wizards, then everything in your army (except Sisters of the Thorn and any Stormcast wizard-units) is getting the +1.

The Living City: Viridian Pathfinders

140 points. (Min: 650pts Max: 1950pts) 1 Nomad Prince, 3 units Wildwood Rangers, 0-1 unit Wild Riders.

  • Add 1 to charge rolls when they set up on the battlefield using the city trait. This adds up to a roll of 2d6+2 with Musicians.
    • This is not the best, as your mostly going to be 9" away at best from any enemy and they will not likely keep anything valuable near the board edge. None of the units listed for the battalion have ranged attacks, so they cannot benefit from 'Strike And fade Away' (see below).
    • Use units that can shoot and are competent in melee (such as shadow warriors) and a CP to move them after the shots are done, so that you have a 3" charge instead.

Greywater Fastness: Greywater Artillery Company

120 points. (Min: 420pts Max: 700pts) 1 Cogsmith, 2-4 Helstorm Rocket Batteries or Helblaster Volley Guns.

  • In the first battle round, during your shooting phase, friendly WAR MACHINES can shoot twice if they're within 6" of a friendly battalion hero and not within 3" of an enemy unit.
  • Why would you not take this? Your Cogsmith is always gonna be planted next to his war machines so this is perfect.

The Phoenicium: Phoenix Flight

130 points. 1-2 FROSTHEART PHOENIX, 1-2 FLAMESPYRE PHOENIX

  • Heal 1 wound to each PHOENICIUM unit wholly within 12" of ANY unit within this battalion.

List building

With so many unit options, the first steps are to decide what to use as a battleline (you may pick your general based on your battlelines or your battlelines on the general you want). After that, it comes down to picking what you want. There's no restriction on thematics, there's nothing stopping you from taking only one unit from each faction. Don't let a Grudge from the world that was stopping you from fielding a line of Duardin with Aelf Calvary. THAT'S GOING IN THE BOOK

When picking, pay attention to differences as many units do the same thing but with additional niches.

Ideally, you should try to use some faction synergy, like taking heroes to boost your units' performance.

Playing duardin? Increase your rend and/or attacks with runelords and warden kings. Playing freeguild? You are favoring a static gunline around a general that wants you to hold the line. The darkling coven can run and shoot/charge with a cp, making them quite mobile. Generally collegiate arcane wizards are good with everyone and generally, you should at least take one battlemage for every army you want to build.

  • Hammerhal: the CP Generator. Along with getting artifacts from either realm, for each unit (they will have a banner) you can gain CP. Freeguild and Covens benefit greatly for having piles of CP to burn.
  • Anvilgard: gives treats to Dark elf monsters (Dragon/Kharibdyss/War Hydra). Flying wizards and Sisters of the Watch are great at delivering their close-range spells. Black dealing lets you build have more equipment or cp. Their Unique CA also lend well to hoards as you can spend 1 cp to ignore Battleshock and pay another + slay a model to ignore another Battleshock
  • Tempest's Eye: the city for fast, hit harder bastards. Personally, an all-out cavalry list can be quite devastating with this city, thanks to his bonuses in the first round. The faster you get into melee, the better, this is also extremely easy if you get the command trait and artifact who give you the +1 at the charge and the ability to re-roll the charge rolls without command points. it's up to you which kind of cavalry you want. Dark riders and outriders are light, skirmish units good for shooting afar, demigryph and drakespawn knights can deal devastating charge, helped by the Stormcast's monsters-riders like fulminators. Technology vehicles are also good, going from gyrocopters to arkhanaut airships. You also get good spells who are perfect for a celestial hurricanum with battlemage (aura of glory just behind a band of drakespawn? Yes, please!) good monsters like black dragon or hippogryph can take out the enemy's monsters, and a band of pistolers for charge right where the enemy shows a weak point, for destroying his lines. At least, if you want a band of objective grabbers, flagellants are what you need. Just remember, outflanking and outmaneuvering are the keywords of this army.
  • Hallowheart: Going Magic spam.
    • Nomad Prince generals are nice for Hallowheart armies since they unlock battleline cavalry wizards and the Sisters also benefit from Hallowheart's 2 spells of your choice rule.
    • Between their unique battalion, the Hurricanum, a Sorceress' ability to leech Coven units, and Hallowheart's command ability, you can stack up a casting bonus of +5-10, if you really want to get that always-empowered Endless Spell off.
  • The Living City: let half your army ambush, take Sylvaneth units, heals Hero's and monsters every turn.
    • Surprisingly decent choice for a Steam Tank army- Ironoak Artisan command trait gives a 2+ save to your lead tank, and having several tanks come in from the board egdes can mitigate their random movement and let you place your guns exactly where you need them. Getting a wound back per turn is always welcome on models with damage tables.
    • Instead of using their battalion, consider getting the use out of their unique command ability instead. Take units that have good melee/charge ability that also have a ranged attack (such as Drakespawn Chariots, dreadlords on Dragons, or various flavours of Stormcast Dracoth cavalry), set them up from ambush with a Hero, shoot, use the command ability, enjoy your 3" charge.
  • Greywater Fastness: Very supportive of Artillery and missile weapon, encouraging you to sit back and blast the enemy apart.
    • a lot of abilities call for the range approach, the CA buff Freeguild Handgunners and Irondrakes. Also, Good Idea to Invest in most units that gain bonuses from Playing defensivly in addition to the object grabbers, enemies will be coming for you.
    • If you go freeguild focused, take a Freeguld General with Drillmaster and Handgunner so resulting in (16" 2+/2+/-1/1) shooting, and a (30" 2+/2+/-1/2) sniper Rifle per unit.
  • The Phoenicium: It might be expensive at $45 US for a box of ten models, but you can field so much with Phoenix Guard. Take as MSU or as blocks of thirty for one of the game's better battlelines. For The Phoenicium you can take them as MSU and bring two Frostheart Phoenix and one Anointed on foot for dispells and unbinds. Use your CA to make your front unit of ten fight again before they die, and then the general gets buffed up if any models die. Screen off the map and board control with these murder aelves.

Transport Tactics

many footsloggers units are strong fighters but need methods to reliably reach their prey.

  • The Living City Hidden Paths: lets Half your army arrive on board
  • Endlessspells: you need to pay points but they can cover a lot of ground Especially since they are automatically empowered.

Endless Spells

Magic Support:

  • Umbral Spell Porta: can be cast anywhere on the board. Short-range but powerful spells like Anvilgard’s spell that removes saves or Hallowheart’s spell that deals mortal wounds to half the models in a unit can be cast from well outside unbind range (unless you're fighting a Slann).
  • Chronomantic Cogs: you know what they do. +1 spell or +2" movement.
  • Emerald Lifeswarm: always heals D6 - useful for bringing back elite units like Phoenix Guard, or for healing damage back to your Celestial Hurricanum with Battlemage after you took damage to empower your Hallowheart wizards.
  • Prismatic Palisade: Deployable Line of sight blocking

Transports:

  • The Soulscream Bridge: allows you to move models 24” (or really up to 30-36” if you go from the back to the front of the bridge) without them counting as having moved - excellent for getting your Irondrakes or Handgunners into range while still getting those extra shots.
  • Lauchon the Soulseeker: Magic Transport. Pile in some Duardin, move them 18", then use a Lifeswarm to bring back that guy still on the boat.

Slowdown:

  • Soulsnare Shackles: cover a larger area - instead of threatening up to 24” away, you can threaten up to 27” away, allowing for a turn 1 shackles onto an enemy’s front rank regardless of mission.

Damage:

  • Geminids are always a good option and are made better when you can reroll the D3 mortal wounds in case you roll a 1.

strategies and lists

who got the guts?! An army based on enemy battleshock, so better not use it against ossiarch and fyreslayer. Play a kharibdyss on anvilgard for getting the -2 bravery bubble who get together with its passive ability, going to a -3 12" bubble. Now, take an horrorgast endless spell (or a gravetide for spare points and money) adding a -2(1) together. For end all of this, a battlemage coming from shysh for his unique spell -2 to a specific unit and darks riders for shoots and -1 around them. You now have more enemy units under a sure -6(5) that can influence more units and a -2 that you can add at a enemy unit that you hate in a peculiar way. Positioning is the key of this strategy. Now you just need some good shooting (hellstorm or crossbowmen) for make inflict casualties at more units at once. Look at your enemy when he have to do a terrible battleshock test with elites units like stomcast, ogor, troll or when he know that his hordes models are going to desert in mass. (it's easy to give a dark elves theme at this army. Remember that other units, mercenaries and allies influenced bravery as well) (also wizards who would get benefits from low bravery characteristic, like a lord-exorcist on balewind vortex)

Allied Armies

CoS has a large selection of ally options - everything Order except Seraphon(poor seraphon). Some factions can be taken as non-allied - instead, they gain the city keyword but not the host keyword, and up to 1 in every 4 units in the army can be taken, gaining your faction keywords, and not subject to ally restrictions.

  • Stormcast Eternals: Taken as non-allied in any CoS army. They act as big elite units with multiple wounds. Provide strong shooting, Skull smashing, and strong cavalry.
    • Liberators or Sequitors can provide a solid anvil, especially when buffed by a Lord-Castellant. 40 wounds saving at 3+ rerolling either 1s or all could give your shooting plenty of time to deal with anything they engage.
    • Paladins and Evocators provide Strong Hammers for any line.
    • Dracoth mounted Evocators, and Gryph-chargers provided powerful alternatives to Gryph-knights.
    • If you're playing Hammerhal allegiance, remember that Aventis Firestrike provides an extra CP *and* is thematic, being the city's magister and whatnot.
  • Daughters of Khaine:
  • Fyreslayers:
  • Idoneth Deepkin:
  • Kharadron Overlords: Taken as non-allied in Tempest's Eye. Gives Flying Dwarfs, more guns, and Airships.
    • aetheric-navigator: can unbind, slow flyers and let Skyvessel reroll their run & charge dice.
    • Aetheric-Khemist: Let supports a Skyfarers unit with granting more shooting attacks and discourages CCing them with threats of Attack debuffing and damaging gasses.
    • Arkanaut Company: dwarfs with pistols and firepower, can also do well taking down Monsters/Hero with volume.
    • Grundstok Thunderers: A special weapons team. you would have an Aetheric-Khemist + all Rifles for more volume then handguns, but the special weapon combos can hurt closer ranges.
    • Grundstok Gunhauler: a flying cannon, that can provide some melee support
    • Arkanaut Frigate: bigger then a Gunhauler and is a Kharadron transport
    • Arkanaut Ironclad: a big flagship and powers up other SkyVassels.
  • Sylvaneth: Taken as non-allied in Living City. Cannot be taken in Greywater Fastness. Without their wyldwoods and Allegiance spells, the Sylvaneth are a little neutered, but can still be useful.
    • Durthu is a damage monster, although he needs ghyrstrike or similar to stop him being so swingy.
    • Drycha is also great, but will probably die quickly.
    • Alarielle only fits in Living city. Lots of magic and healing.
    • Treelord Ancient your only way to summon Wyldwoods. Can be paired with a Branchwraith to set up a Dryad factory
    • Tree-Revenants can use their teleporting to take objectives and/or sacrifice themselves to block a charge.
    • Dryads if you really want more battleline or a reasonable tar pit.
    • Kurnoth Hunters for some of the best elite troops in the game. Boost with Arch-Revenant if you've got the points spare.
    • spite-revenants can be the shock infantry unit that wanderers need. Get an archrevenant for one extra attack and exterminate light infantry on your path. Also good as a general ally.

The squatted ones

With the coming of the Cities of Sigmar, a lot of models and units, mostly from the High Elves, got squatted. These units all still have valid warscrolls and points remain for them. However, they cannot be taken in a Cities of Sigmar as they do not have the Cities Of Sigmar keyword and they don't belong to any of the allied groups. If you want to use them, you need to be playing Grand Alliance Order.

Mercenary Companies

  • Blacksmoke Battery: The only way for Dwarfs to get access to their beloved cannons and organ guns now and a fluffy option for Greywater Fastness since the mass squatting of artillery.
  • Grugg Brothers: cheap but highly offensive monsters. A generally good combination with free guilds centered armies.
  • Gutstuffers:
  • Nimyard’s Rough-Riders:
  • Order of the Blood-Drenched Rose: a way to bring back your squatted empire knights or high elf knights. Amazing how much they squatted perfectly good plastic sets. Gw are Terrible capitalists.
  • Rampagers:
  • Skroug’s Menagerie: Fluff wise these beasts work perfectly as monsters caught/sold by the Scourge Privateers.
  • Sons of the Lichemaster: for those who wanted a dead living amongst the living city
  • Tenebrous Court:


Age of Sigmar Tactics Articles
General Tactics
Order
Chaos
Death
Destruction
Others
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