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Let’s kick off our second article about the Skaventide boxset and the new edition of AoS. This time we’re going to take a look at the new Spearhead mode, find out what it’s all about and whether it might appeal to you. This will only be an initial impressions article and I hope to return at a later date with a full review, likely alongside the release of the Fire and Jade pack separate to the Skaventide box. So without further ado…
What is Spearhead?
Spearhead is the brand new game mode set in the Age of Sigmar universe. It’s been released alongside the 4th edition of AoS and is designed to work alongside it, while also being accessible separately. It involves two small armies (or Spearheads) going head-to-head on custom boards that represent one of two Mortal Realms (currently Aqshy and Ghyran, but this could expand in the future). An army wins by scoring the most points in 4 battle rounds. You can score points by either controlling objectives or by completing small missions on battle tactics cards you draw.
The primary idea behind Spearhead is to give players an approachable game that can be played in a relatively short space of time (around 1.5 hours) and has a low barrier to entry but still feels like the epic Age of Sigmar we know. Each army in AoS has a Spearhead box for sale and the units contained within make up your Spearhead, so you don’t have to worry about army construction either. It still gives you some customizability each game you play though so you can adjust to the opponent you are facing.
Fire and Jade book
The Fire and Jade book is the first battlepack released for the Spearhead game (hopefully there will be more in the future). It contains everything rules wise you need to
play a game of Spearhead and shares it’s core rules with the main AoS game, so it is a good stepping stone if that is your goal. The advanced rules are more simplified to cater to the vision of this game, but they are no less fun. It begins by introducing you to what Spearhead is, how to prepare for a game and how the game plays out. Then it has a full list of all the available Spearheads and the stats for all the units (something that is nice given so often in the past we’ve had to purchase additional books for these kinds of things), finishing off with the core and advanced rules. It’s not a long read, especially if you’re only interested in specific Spearheads, so you can start gaming asap.
The book itself is of superb quality, which is something we’ve come to expect from GWs literature, and they rarely disappoint. One thing I especially like with the Spearhead rules for each faction is that there is a picture of that Spearhead painted by an employee at GW. And these people aren’t necessarily the professional painters, they are the graphic designers, the editors, the rules writers and product developers. It adds a nice sense of community to the whole thing, plus this game clearly appeals to those who have busy jobs and very little time to game, something I think many of us can identify with.
-- Game board image --
Game board
As well as the cards which we’ll discuss below, another thing you’ll need to play Spearhead is the double-sided game board. It features Ghyran on one side and Aqshy on the other, each with visuals to match their theme, and objective circles in different places. The board is thick and good quality, it’s not likely to get damaged easily. I like that the objectives are in different positions on each side, so they differ in more than just theme. Speaking of objectives, they are printed circles, each with their own name. Meaning not only is it easy to identify specific ones for missions, but it’s really easy to know if your units are contesting one or not. No more argument over measurements.
Twist decks
As if the Mortal Realms were dangerous enough, now the realms themselves are after you, or helping you, you never really know. Twists are drawn from the twist deck at the start of each battle round. There are two decks corresponding to the two Mortal Realms on the board, so you use the one for the side of the board you are playing on. Twists bring something unique to each round, for instance one might mark certain units on the board and you score extra victory points for destroying those units, or change an objective into a ring of fire that no longer can be claimed but will deal damage to anyone left standing on it at the end of the turn. They are all fun and make sure no two games of Spearhead will ever play out the same.
All the twists favour the underdog to some extent, giving them a chance to score extra points or do more damage, etc. What is an underdog you say? I’m glad you asked. The underdog is simply the player that is behind on points. The game helps them catch up in various ways, nothing too over the top, but enough to keep things interesting. If the points are currently tied then there is no underdog.
Scoring and the Battle tactics deck
Some of the scoring in Spearhead you’ll likely be familiar with if you’ve played AoS or 40k. Each turn you get 1 point for 1 objective, 1 point for 2 or more, and 1 point for holding more than your opponent. But you also get 1 point per battle tactic completed as well, which is where things get interesting. You draw 3 battle tactic cards to start with from your deck (there is a duplicate deck for each player), then at the start of each round you can discard any you don’t want and draw back up to 3. Each battle tactic can be scored at the end of the turn, or, and this is the crucial part, it can be played to use a command ability instead, forfeiting the chance to complete the tactic on that card.
Some examples of a battle tactic are having to get friendly units within 3” of each short board edge, slaying the enemy general or gaining control of an objective your opponent controls. Whereas the commands are things such as giving a friendly unit a 5+ ward save, casting a 2+ arcane bolt on an enemy unit that inflicts D3 mortal damage, or letting a unit retreat without taking any mortal wounds while at the same time returning models to that unit that have been slain. Commands are certainly powerful, but do you want to sacrifice those precious potential points to use them? That is the decision you have to make.
How it plays
I must confess, I’ve yet to have a game myself of Spearhead, still getting all the models built (of which there are many in the Skaventide box!), but from what I’ve read and games I’ve seen others play it seems like it’s going to be very fun, and very smooth. We’re so used to these giant battles which, while epic, can get clunky and lengthy at times. Spearhead is a bite sized treat that looks like it gives you all the same thrills as full AoS, but in a smaller, more approachable way. I’ll definitely be reporting back once I’ve sunk my teeth in.
The future of Spearhead
So how does Spearhead sound to you? Since they announced that Spearhead was coming out with the new edition I’ve been really excited to try it. I live a busy life and as much as I’d like to, I have less time to build and paint models nowadays, let alone play games. Knowing I can sneak a game or two of this in here and there is great.
Do I think it has a future? I can’t see why not. It’s set up in such a way that it will be easy to expand, they just have to release new battlepacks and game boards. They have 6 more Mortal Realms to make use of before they have to repeat any (which they could in different combinations), so that’s 3 more battlepacks at minimum. Plus each battlepack brings new Spearheads, which is more models for GW to sell. Given its low barrier to entry it feels like a win for both them and us. In the end though the game will live or die based on its popularity, so if you’re interested in this game and hope it continues to expand, the only way to do that is to get involved. Go on, give it a try!