Age Of Sigmar: Skaventide

As the launch of Age of Sigmar 4th edition is finally here, I’d like to welcome you to the first of many articles we’ll be posting all about the launch box and the new edition in general.

We’re all really excited to see what this new edition brings, and I’m especially intrigued by the Spearhead mode. So without further ado let’s dive in. In our first article we’ll be opening up the Skaventide box and seeing what’s inside.

 What’s in the box?

A total of 74 all-new miniatures, this includes…

● Stormcast Eternals:

○ Lord-Vigilant on Gryph-stalker

○ Lord-Terminos and Memorian squire

○ Lord Veritant and Gryph Crow

○ Knight-Questor

○ 3 Reclusians with 2 Memorians

○ 10 Liberators

○ 3 Prosecutors

● Skaven:

○ Clawlord riding a Gnaw-beast

○ Grey Seer

○ Warplock Engineer

○ 40 Clanrats

○ 3 Rat Ogors

○ 3 Warplock Jezzails

○ Ratling Warpblaster

● 272-page hardback Warhammer Age of Sigmar Core Book

● 2024-25 General’s Handbook cards

● Double-sided Aqshy/Ghyran Spearhead board

● 4 pieces of terrain

● Snap-together 3″ and 6″ range rulers

● Battle Tactics and Twist Decks

● 144-page hardback Spearhead: Fire and Jade book

First impressions after opening

This is a monster of a box. So many sprues, 2 fairly hefty books and even a folded game board. It’s almost daunting the amount you get when you open it up, it’s sure to fill your hobby calendar for the foreseeable future.

The books are both really good quality as we’ve all come to expect from Games Workshop, as are the various cards. The novelty of having the General’s Handbook in card form is a neat idea, I’ll have to see how useful it becomes. There are also a couple of copies of a nice Stormcast vs Skaven art print which is going straight on my wall above the one I picked up from the Fyreslayer Fury of the Deep box.

Could they have improved? Sure. The box itself is pretty flimsy, looks nice enough but wouldn’t stand up to much punishment. This is fairly normal for GW boxes, just used as a means of transport, but I guess I’ve been spoiled by opening things like Marvel Crisis Protocol’s Earth’s Mightiest box, where the box is really tough and everything inside is separated out. In the Skaventide box the sprues are at the bottom, then the books, cards and board, then the art prints. At least that’s how it starts, where everything ends up after shipping is anyone’s guess, and I did end up with a couple of dents in the books and prints, but nothing major.

These complaints are minor in the grand scope of things however as this box has some amazing content in it for an extremely reasonable price. I can’t wait to dive in.

A note on building

All the models in this box are designed to be push fit. Given this fact I decided I would abstain from my usual glue everything approach and try them out. Now, at the time of writing I’ve only assembled my first model, the Lord-Vigilant on Gryph-stalker, but so far I’ve had a good experience. Most of the push fit pegs work well and the pieces aren’t going to be coming apart again, I only found 1 which was a bit loose. The only other time I needed glue was when I accidentally cut a peg off on my first snip of the sprue. Doh! So that’s definitely on me.

So in conclusion, give push fit a go, but have some glue on hand as a backup. Oh and having a sturdy poking device around is also useful, sometimes you are trying to line up multiple pegs at once and one isn’t quite there and needs a nudge, but you can’t reach it with your fingers.

Anyway, let’s break down what all the different units are in the box and why they are awesome.

Stormcast

Lord-Vigilant on Gryph-stalker

Leading the charge into the new edition for the Stormcast, and especially those who have emerged from the Ruination Chambers, is the Lord-Vigilant, and does he ever cast an imposing figure. Mounted atop a Gryph-stalker that is somehow both beautiful and menacing, this model will certainly make an impression on the tabletop.

Lord-Terminos and Memorian squire

This Stormcast is certainly an imposing figure, staring down all those that dare stand against Sigmar. While they execute foes left right and centre, they also have a much

more sombre duty. When some Stormcast can go on no longer and become soul-stricken, it is the duty of the Lord-Terminos to enact the rites of the Last Threshold and let them enter oblivion. Their Memorian squire who accompanies them keeps them tethered to the present and recounts their battle honours.

Lord Veritant and Gryph Crow

Chaos stands no chance in the face of the Lord Veritant. A warrior chosen because their hatred of Chaos knows no bounds. They wield a flame-wreathed judgement blade, a curse-breaking staff of abjuration, and have a loyal Gryph-crow companion by their side. All these Gryph companions are a really cool thing to see out on the battlefield.

Knight-Questor

Not all Stormcast fight with their comrades, some become like roving knights of old, crusading across the Mortal Realms as a one knight army. They are often given dangerous missions and call upon the aid of the Stormcast of the Ruination Chambers to achieve their goal.

3 Reclusians with 2 Memorians

Sigmar lied…while the gifts of the Stormcast are many, there is a price. With every noble death they lose a bit more of themselves, unless there’s so little left they are taken into the Ruination Chamber, on the verge of losing their humanity entirely. In times of great crisis though, they are called upon, and with the advent of the Vermindoom that time is now. They march forth onto the battlefield, their lightning-scoured souls shrugging off the tainted Chaos energies that sail them, while their memorians that accompany them keep them slipping away.

10 Liberators

These brave Stormcast form the core of any Stormcast army, and are now armoured in brand new thunderstrike armour and carrying mighty warhammers, ready to purge the realms of the God-King’s foes.

3 Prosecutors

Flying in on truly glorious wings, the Prosecutors have spent too long amongst the Cursed Skies in the Mortal Realms and now also join the ranks of the Ruination Chamber. That doesn’t mean they are out of the fight however, far from it. They swoop forth and cast javelins of crackling lighting at Sigmar’s foes without mercy.

Skaven

Clawlord riding a Gnaw-beast

Some basic tenants of the Skaven are violence, scheming and paranoia. The Clawlord is a Skaven who has achieved their peak in all of these things. They ride upon a Gnaw-beast which is both amazing and terrifying, and not something you’d want to run into on a dark night…or in the middle of the day to be honest. The Clawlord is far more skilled than your average Skaven and he’ll give even the Stormcast a run for their money.

Grey Seer

I know there are like multiple Grey Seer’s, but to me this will always be THE Grey Seer that has followed Gotrek from the World-that-was. My Gotrek model got twitching just seeing the sprues for this guy.

Grey Seers are prophets, spreading the Great Horned Rats’ will throughout the Mortal Realms (side note, the Great Horned Rat is an official Chaos god now, good for him). While some Skaven can wield magic by doing some frankly quite dodgy things with warpstone, the Grey Seers can naturally wield it, summoning warp lightning at will. Despite their power however, they are some of the most paranoid Skaven and are always coming up with new plans or considering who they need to backstab.

Warlock Engineer

While the Grey Seers might be prophets and magical conduits, the Skaven hordes wouldn’t be nearly as well equipped without the Warlock Engineers. They manage the huge arsenals of weird and wonderful weaponry the Skaven use, such as Warplock

Jezzails and Ratling Warpblasters (more on them below). They are also quite the marksman themselves, happy to sit behind the lines and take pot shots at the enemy from a safe distance.

40 Clanrats

When we talk about the Skaven hordes, these are the bread and butter of it. Clanrats are the lowest rank of Skaven society and generally just charge towards the enemy in mobs hoping for the best. They are not expected to live long and it acts as a crucible as only the sneakiest and most cunning will survive. That isn’t to say they are useless however. Their swarms seem unending and can bring down much mightier foes through sheer weight of numbers.

3 Rat Ogors

Clan Moulder have been experimenting again and have really broken the mould with these Ogors…and I mean physically I think they broke to mould, they guys are huge. Whether it be through arcane cryptosorcery or just jamming warpstone into things, they have created monsters that are always hungry and very angry. They are often seen ripping enemies limb from limb and torching whole regiments with searing emerald blasts from their warpfire guns.

3 Warplock Jezzails

If I had to pick my favourite models in the Skaven lineup, these would be it. I love the idea that these Skaven worked out that the easiest way to both stay safe and kill their enemies is to just shoot them from really far away. While perhaps not as fancy as some of the Cities of Sigmar gun teams, they are still cool in a ramshackle kind of way. They don’t even fire bullets, they fire crystalised warpstone shards which honestly sound very painful.

Ratling Warpblaster

Clan Skryre always brings the best toys. This one is a gatling gun…on wheels…likely help together by very little. We’ve seen how effective this thing can be in the cinematic trailer for the new edition and I can’t wait to see how it holds up on the tabletop.

Core book

The core book is as special a sight as I expect from Games Workshop, their book team really knows what they are doing. Of course, the core book comes with everything you need to know to play games of Age of Sigmar, as well as advanced rules, Battlepack: First Blood with 3 Battleplans for matched play, and Battlepack: Ascension for Path to Glory campaigns. But what really makes it special are the pages upon pages of lore, artwork, photography, and even a full cosmology of the eight realms. Well worth it if you want to immerse yourself in the full setting of the Age of Sigmar.

Faction wise the book contains a summary of each faction, to give you some insight into each and perhaps tempt you into trying something new. Since the new edition changed so much the old Battletomes are no longer valid, so you’ll need the updated rules for your army. Those aren’t in this book or this box, but will be released separately. Don’t worry, free copies will be available to download online, but you will also be able to purchase faction cards for handy quick reference.

General’s Handbook Cards

Whoever came up with the idea of condensing a General’s Handbook down into card form deserves a medal. They are easy to manage and sort through, and it means you can just keep the few cards you might need in any given situation handy, rather than having to rifle through the book every few minutes. They did a good job when they changed to the spiral-bound book format, but I think this is a solid alternative, if not a step forward. The cards contain the core and advanced rules, plus the season rules (which is focused on General’s honour guards), 12 Battleplans (many of which you’ll find familiar from previous editions), updates for Endless Spells and a tournament Organisers pack.

Spearhead pack

We’ve all heard a lot about Spearhead over the last few months, and it definitely sounds intriguing. A way to play an awesome setting, that takes up much less time and requires a considerably lower monetary investment. Yes please. I’m looking forward to trying this mod out soon, and I can see myself collecting ‘wide’ as they say, getting multiple Spearhead forces rather than collecting full armies.

For Spearhead the Skaventide box contains the Fire and Jade rulebook (which contains rules for all Spearheads), a two-sided board, several pieces of terrain, range rules, twist decks for each realm on the board (one per side) and battle tactics decks for each player.

I’ll definitely have more to say on this very soon!

And that is it for now. I’m as excited as you to get stuck into this box and get some forces ready for battle. You can look forward to hearing more about my experience in the coming weeks and months. Until then, happy gaming.