Let's Talk About Age of Sigmar

I just finshed a 1000 point game with my son, just a little king of the hill thing with a standing stones objective point in the middle. Forces were:

Skaven (Me)
20x Clanrats
20x Clanrats
2x Rat Ogors
Pack Master
Warlock Engineer
Skaven Warlord
Warpfire Thrower
Poison Wind Mortar
Warp Lightning Canon

Stormcast (River)
5x Liberators (hammer/shield)
5x Liberators (hammer/shield)
5x Liberators (dual swords)
5x Retributors (2 with Starsoul Maces)
5x Judicators (bows)
Lord Castellant on Dracoth
Lord Relictor

Turn one, he moved his Judicators up on a hill because I sort of steered him that way. He ran with pretty much everything, sending one group of H&S Liberators to my right flank and putting the swordsmen right up the middle to the objective. The Relictor stayed far behind the frontlines, because I also steered him toward doing that. The other H&S Liberators went to my left to support the Celestant. Retributors held down a pass between the standing stones another rock formation. On my turn, one group of Clanrats got a huge run and went straight to the objective. The Pack Master prodded the Ogors and they flopped their run, as did the Warlord who maybe wasn't quite as excited about the battle. The Warlock Engineer went off to the right, the mortar stayed in the back, the Warpfire Thrower headed toward the Celestant. The Warp Lighting Cannon moved a mighty three inches and we laughed about it.

So I was all excited to shoot that thing, having just finished painting it this morning. You roll a D6 to set its power, and then you roll five dice and anything over that power die does a mortal wound. So this thing is BAD ASS. SOMETIMES. Didn't hit anything on the first turn. Got in a Warplock pistol shot with the Engineer but that was about it. Poison Wind completely whiffed.

Turn 2, River wipes out five Clanrats with a Shockbolt Bow, and the other Judicators knock out a couple. Then the Dracoth charges into one pack and just wreaks havoc with the Tempestos Hammer (double attack on a charge) and then the Dracoth's biting and clawing. Rend attacks on Clanrats are as good as mortal wounds- they have a 6+ save, with +1 due to shields if the attack is only 1 damage. The Clanrats barely got to counter attack, and at the end of the turn they took battleshock and the entire unit was wiped out. Gotta get that Grey Seer built...

So the Rat Ogors charged the Celestant, prodded on by the Packmaster. Their attack does a whopping 2 damage the the Celestant, who just completely destroys them with Stormbreath and his regular attacks. I charge the Retributors with the 20 Clanrats and they benefit from the Warlord's special ability that gives them all an extra attack- which is nasty because this unit has the 2" reach Rusty Halbreds. And...they manage to do three wounds in 22 attacks. The Retributors are pretty hardy, but damn. The good thing that comes out of this turn is that the Warpfire Thrower wipes out three Liberators supporting the Celestant. That thing is awesome. Especially because it can blow up on you.

So it's practically a comedy of errors on turn 3, but then there's a turnabout. River starts flopping attacks. I start going nuts with my artillery/shooting. I use the Warlock Engineer's ability to overcharge his Warp Lightning spell (at risk) and take out two Retributors (D6 mortal wounds- rolled a six). By this time, River is using the Relictor to heal stuff, which sucks because that carryover damage gets lost. River puts out some damage on the Warpfire Thrower, the Warlord (who uses his ability to retreat after he attacks just to go hold the objective), and the Clanrats who miraculously make their bravery check.

Turn 4 is a bad time for the Clanrats. They wind up surrounded by the Retributors (just the two Starsoul Mace dudes left). By the time it's all done, they've wiped out all but ONE. We had a good laugh about that, one lone Clanrat still fighting. He ain't gonna make battleshock at the end of the turn so he gets in one last attack. But he does nothing, and dies mercifully.

Warp Lightning does it again and wipes out the Retributors. Warlock Engineer likewise does big damage with his spell and pistol. Warpfire Thrower gets one last shot in and takes out the Liberators it was close to, but then the Dracoth eats it.

So by the end of turn 4, I had the Mortar, the Warlord, the Warlock and the Cannon left so we just called it over. He had too many wounds left around the stones for me to really do anything, especially with how tough Stormcast are.

Great fun, I really like playing with the Skaven. Stormcast are by far the best "beginner" faction and are the most suitable for children. They don't have a lot of complex synergies or tons of special rules, and nothing goofy and capricious like with Skaven. That Warlock Engineer was something of an MVP, I was really liking what he does. Packmaster was kind of a bust, he's really just in the Spire of Dawn set for the Rat Ogors. Who were completely useless this game.

Nice write-up, Barnes. You might want to think about starting a column on Warhammer stuff...

As for skaven bravery situation, I'm hoping there's a rule-lawyer on this thread, because here is something I realized about the Grey Seer after buying one. His COMMAND ABILITY is to prevent units from fleeing on a roll of 4. So, I understand this can only be used if he's a General, right? But if he is a general, why not arrange all of your 40 clanrats as 1 unit (which you want to do, anyway, because they get a great buff for 20+ and 30+ models) and use his default Inspiring Presence on them? That way they won't even have to take the battleshock test.

Which (if I am right in the previous conclusion) brings me to the next point. Skaven Warlord is a better general, because he can either give inspiring presence or a +1 to Attack (an agonizing decision).

So, all in all, the Grey Seer is kinda useless if you want to improve the bravery condition.

Looking at the grey seer rules, seems his ability works on ALL skaven units within 26". That's a giant 4' wide circle where you have a 50/50 shot to not have to take any of your battleshock test.

Saw that GW has more Spire of Dawn in stock. Trying to hold off on it though, have piles of stuff to paint and build as is, don't need two new armies.

ufe20 wrote: Looking at the grey seer rules, seems his ability works on ALL skaven units within 26". That's a giant 4' wide circle where you have a 50/50 shot to not have to take a battleshock test.

Yeah, but I'm just talking about an army mostly composed of Spire of Dawn units. Which is basically the 40 clanrats, who are better served arranged in 1 unit.

Aaah OK relooked at the spire of Dawn contents. Guess rat ogres are the only non solo unit in the box that would be susceptible to battleshock. So yeah, it may not be the best general until you have more units. Then again, how many units will skaven have since they're pretty war machine heavy.

Grey Seer is definitely better if you have multiple low bravery units- and if you want to keep your General away from the front lines because that ability has a tremendous 26" range. He also has some cool stuff- the Warpstone tokens and Vermintide. The units that benefit from a morale boost- Clanrats, Stormvermin, Plague Monks, etc.- aren't durable so if you want them to last beyond a shooting phase and alpha strike they need some convincing to not run away. Those big groups are effective screeners and they can be brutal...but if they break on turn 2 (see above)...

I'm taking them to 1500 with a Ratling Gun, Warp Grinder Team and Stormfiends. Ratling does 2D6 attacks, which is sick. But you can overcrank it to do 4D6 attacks, which is disgusting. But the team can get caught in the machinery! The Grinder is awesome- set it and a unit aside. They can pop up anywhere 9" away from an enemy. Surprise! 40 Clanrats! It they can also get lost and never show up. Stormfiends have a bunch of weapon options and you can actually mix them...the Warpfire Projector they can take is NONSENSE- 2D6 mortal wounds. That's right, up to 12 wounds in one shot, 8" range. If all three have this, it's a MINIMUM of six mortal wounds, max _18_. No drawback, but these are a "kill it first" kind of unit.

Man, I don't think I will be able to paint MORE units. I've done 16 clanrats in 2 evenings, I feel like I've been working in a rat sweatshop and dreaming with rats, too. And there're still 24 little suckers to go.
Going to keep the Grey Seer, probably. His unbinding will come in handy, and maybe the shield to give those tiny clumsy cowards a chance in a save roll.
But my big hope is the assassin. In most games I played so far, my opponent had a mage or a cleric hiding behind a line of medium-strong units. The clanrats probably wouldn't have a chance in a straight fight, but I figure that with their numbers and ability to retreat and charge in the same turn, they'd be able to flank the defenses and reach the cleric/mage - at which point I'd drop the assassin at him.

I have 32 of them painted, based, and sealed. Here's a tip. All of the other Skaven in Spire of Dawn can be batch painted with the clanrats. So I actually have everything in process except for the 8 others, and I wish I had just put them all in the line. I've found them easy and enjoyable, much more so than the Bloodreavers for example.

As for that mage or cleric...this is what the Warp Grinder is for. Dig a tunnel!

So thinking of tossing some old Skull Pass goblins up on ebay to fund some other AoS purchases. Figured I'd see if anyone here is interested first. Got a bunch I never got around to painting from 8th edition days of needing 150+.

Would have to do an exact inventory sometime later this weekend, but I think it's something like:
2 groups of 20 spears and shields
1 group of 20 bows
1 troll
1 group of 5 spider riders, with some slightly busted legs on some spiders (should have the legs though, so some glue should fix it)
may have an extra boss too

All groups should come with full command, but again, need to look through again to be 100% on that. Fair warning though, most of these guys are glued to their square bases.

FYI, per the General's Handbook that looks like 500-600 points worth of Grots. Good jump start to a Destruction force!

Wrong place

allismom3, saw your post/got your PM. Would prefer to sell 'em in one go because I'm lazy, but we'll see. Probably looking for like $50 for the lot, which works out to less than $1 per dude. Not sure about the cheapest/easiest way to ship these, but if it's cheap enough, I'll just eat the cost.

As Barnes said, decent start to a destruction force. A common"competitive" destruction list I've seen uses grots as battleline for the bodies and ogres on thundertusks to get the killing done.

Michael Barnes wrote: I have 32 of them painted, based, and sealed.

Sealed, like varnished? What do you use for that?

Vallejo Matte Varnish. Mix a little water in it, use your Army Painter Regiment brush (you DO have one, right?). Takes about a minute per figure. I like it better than 'Ardcoat, which is too glossy.

Waffling between a box of Clanrats and boosting my two groups of 20 to 30 each or a Stormvermin box...the Jezzails are too expensive and they aren't available anywhere. Want a Doom Flayer, but it's resin and nobody seems to have one to sell.

REALLY want Slambo but I don't have a place for him in any army right now...I may get him for my eventual Tzeentch army. I love the green paint job thy have him.

Michael Barnes wrote: Vallejo Matte Varnish. Mix a little water in it, use your Army Painter Regiment brush (you DO have one, right?).

Yeah.. yeah.... sure I have it, and now I have to leave for something completely unrelated... (sound of running footsteps and starting engine).

Been working on the Doomwheel most of the day. It is the biggest model I own. It is somewhat similar to ork kopta from vedros, but with way more parts.
One thing I just realized is that if you lose control of the wheel, it doesn't hurt your own units (at least, the way the warscroll is written). Which is a bit of a bummer, in my opinion.