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Stormcast Battletome Revamp Project


PJetski

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Just now, kenshin620 said:

Technically Skaven Warplock Jezzails are Artillery.

Fair enough haha

I think Jezzails have the same issue as Longstrikes, but since Skaven don't have crazy damage multipliers on their shooting it keeps their power in check. If Skaven had the Anvils command ability to shoot in the hero phase then you would have to make Jezzails cost a lot more than 140p.

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19 minutes ago, The World Tree said:

One option is to make the Anvils command ability not work on shooting but be useable at the end of any hero phase. Might be too good, but in a CP-starved army, would at least come at a cost... This would then free up longstrikes for points reduction and/or boosts to their rules.

I like that it works on shooting, though. It's a cool option for Judicators, Hurricanes, Prosecutors, and Castigators. It's also fun to use it on melee units that have shooting attacks like Dracoths. It only becomes a problem when you combine it with the super long range on Longstrikes... and I think that's going to be true with many buffs in the game.

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15 minutes ago, PJetski said:

I like that it works on shooting, though. It's a cool option for Judicators, Hurricanes, Prosecutors, and Castigators. It's also fun to use it on melee units that have shooting attacks like Dracoths. It only becomes a problem when you combine it with the super long range on Longstrikes... and I think that's going to be true with many buffs in the game.

Maybe have it limited to short range shooting? Like enemy is within 8" or so? So it's more of a "Shoot when you see the whites of their eyes" kind of command rather than a 40k Firebase.

Plus then you can't combo it with the Deep Strike without moving.

Edited by kenshin620
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11 hours ago, PJetski said:

Fair enough haha

I think Jezzails have the same issue as Longstrikes, but since Skaven don't have crazy damage multipliers on their shooting it keeps their power in check. If Skaven had the Anvils command ability to shoot in the hero phase then you would have to make Jezzails cost a lot more than 140p.

They can up their damage to 3 though, so that's around (because I think their MW's ability is flat 2) 75% damage for 82% price, kinda feels fair. Not counting the cost of heroes, but jezzails can sit near bombardier and WLC and all 3 units will shoot stuff and get buffed, whille SCE don't really have this sort of synergy

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8 hours ago, XReN said:

whille SCE don't really have this sort of synergy

I think though that where lies the question, was Anvils of Heldenhammer suppose to be the shooty stormhost? Because other than it's CA (which I'm pretty sure they would have made it only be a Melee Double Fight in a newer book) all the other abilities don't really do anything with shooting.

Now to be fair the Stormhosts are a hot mess due to them somehow shoving down 8 in a book (I mean BoC can't even balance 3) and the mere existence of Staunch Defender.  So I think one stormhost being rebuilt from the ground up to be the "shooty" one would be a possibility.

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General / SCE things I would like to see.

1) Altar/Shrine Terrain piece. Maybe reroll prayers, maybe extend prayers, maybe extend CA range for heroes/general while 6-12" in range. Something.

2) Sigmar's Invocations (prayer endless spells, 2-3) - debuff(-hit/charge for enemies), buff(+hit/wound or MW protection in range), heal&revive(Sigmar's Lifeswarm)

3) General: Priests can nullify (dispel) other priest's buffs or Invocations. But not "unbind".  With Prayers more powerful than spells this seems logical to me. (I could be biased, playing vs Khorne a lot...)

4) Priest (better prayers, maybe some tiny bonus vs Death/Chaos), Mage (arcanum/soulwars thingy), Cavalry (Dracoths, Cats, Gryphs..), Infantry (bonus movement/buffs on small guys),  Scout(better deepstrike, retreat)  stormhosts and one General one (HoS). Anvils seem "priestly" to me for some reason /shrug.

5) Reworked battalions, like all of them. Not sure if there's more than 2 actually used. Make sure there's one or two versatile cheap ones overall (eg. Priest + 2x Liberators + 1x Judicators or Castigators) that are there more for "Buy extra CP/Artifact/MountTrait with this" than power.

Units:

Liberators, Give them "Lock Shields" ability, Start Movement Phase: Move at 1/2, can't run, can't charge, fights last, 2" pilein. But +1 save, re-roll all save rolls till next movement. Now you have really solid boys at price and ability can't be used if they are 'dropped' on objective or somewhere form sky.

Hunters, +1 range (10") on guns, +1 move(7") and add Spotter ability "Any unit that suffered wounds from this unit is visible to other allies in X" range, allies shooting over terrain due this ability have -1 to hit" OR give their Tireless hunters "Can retreat/run/shoot and maybe charge" instead of just run&shoot.

Palladors, give them Prosecutor "if 9" or farther away, Javelins deal 2 damage" and give Trident to Prime by default.

GryphHounds, ugh. Remove or improve Warning cry (it only works vs reserve units...) and increase Loyal Companion range to 6-9" OR Rework LC to 'eat' wounds on 4+ for whatever character  they are guarding. Might give them role against sniping those 5-6w boys. 6+ save would be nice also.

Heroes:

Named Heroes - give them each a battalion with their Keyword. Eg. Gavriel + 2x Any Paladins. Gavriels CA can now be used in any Stormhost, but just on the friends he brings along. They don't get current stormhost keyword (eg. anvils) but battalion has something nice for them. So they are not totally holed into one Stormhost. Name these battalions "Strike Force" or something and make rule they can be only used by non-home stormhost (to prevent stacking of battalion and stormhost rules).

Veritant - let him dispel endless spells and invocations and resist those effects by default (eg 5+ ignore magic/prayer/invocation) and let him kill enemy priest's with same vengeance as mages.

Vexillor - becomes a Priest, Has 2 prayers but can only use one on his banner. Wholly within 12" Battleshock immunity aura OR 12" 6+ save vs MortalWounds aura and heals 1 wound to each wounded model.

Venator - Remove his Star Fated arrow. Give him Anvils CA ability ONCE per Phase in 6-9" for free (remove it from Anvils). He's flying so he's harder to hide and every Stormhost can use it now. But it's also riskier do use. IF taken alone for some reason, he could CA himself all the time and achieve some SUB raptors damage while moving making him worth at 140-160 eh? PS. I feel like currently anvils CA is only thing keeping SCE afloat among all those 30" charge, rend -2, fight first and twice and whatnot armies... :/. And that this kind of treatment would both make it somewhat worse but better for entire Faction.

Aquilor - While teleport is interesting for Raptor transport. It does nearly nothing for Hunters/Palladors. Give astral compass units... +1 to charge and melee attacks or +1 charge and -1 to hit against(like scions of storm) on turn they astral so there's more incentive to teleport and charge.

Adjust points to buffs ofc.

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31 minutes ago, Sapca said:

Units:

 

Liberators, Give them "Lock Shields" ability, Start Movement Phase: Move at 1/2, can't run, can't charge, fights last, 2" pilein. But +1 save, re-roll all save rolls till next movement. Now you have really solid boys at price and ability can't be used if they are 'dropped' on objective or somewhere form sky.

While that sounds fluffy, that seems like an overtly complicated rule. This isn't WFB 6th edition!

In comparison the Lethisian Defender allegiance has the Command Ability Onyx Shield wall where a Stormcast hero can give a Liberator units +1 to saves during the enemy's turn but they can't pile in that turn.

 

So maybe a more streamlined version would be Liberator Shieldwall: At the start of the Hero Phase, Liberator units equipped with Sigmarite Shields may lock their shields together to form a wall. They gain +1 to their Save but may not Charge, Run, or Pile In until the next Hero Phase.

Hero phase is also important in case of any Hero Phase attacking or movement shenanigans.

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12 hours ago, kenshin620 said:

While that sounds fluffy, that seems like an overtly complicated rule. This isn't WFB 6th edition!

 

No need to throw everything in. I totally agree it's to much.

Just some positive with some negative so it balances out. (never played older WH editions, D&D player mostly, cough)

I tend to drop bunch of ideas down, pick something ;)

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Here's my 2nd pass at the battletome rules: https://imgur.com/a/dHAJdvI

I added command traits for Aquilor and made more changes to warscrolls. 
I decided to take some of the feedback from this thread and changed all Paladins to a 3+ save, but I think Decimators still need to be a little bit cheaper to be a competitive option. I also changed the Castellants lantern to be -1 to wound rolls rather than a 6+ ignore.

Let me know what you think!

Quote

List of Warscroll/point changes, patch notes style:

  • Celestant Prime
    • +2 Wounds
    • Points cost reduced from 320 to 300
  • Aventis Firestrike
    • +2 Wounds
  • Vandus Hammerhand
    • +2 Wounds
    • Heldensen: Adds 3 to the attacks while charging instead of D3
    • Lord of the Hammerhands: Reworked. If Vandus is your general and uses Soul of the Stormhost, you can add 10 Liberators instead of 5.
  • Gavriel Sureheart
    • +1 Wound
    • Once More, For Sigmar, Charge!
      • Now requires Gavriel to be the general
      • Now grants all Stormcast units +1 to charge, or +3 if they are HAMMERS OF SIGMAR
  • Lord-Arcanum on Tauralon
    • +2 Wounds
    • Command Ability now effects all STORMCAST ETERNAL units, rather than just SACROSANCT
  • Lord-Celestant on Dracoth
    • Lord of the Host: Now grants +1 save instead of Battleshock immunity
    • Notes: Only usable if he is your general, once per turn, Staunch Defender is gone, Warding Lantern has been changed
    • Points cost increased from 220 to 280
  • Lord-Celestant on Stardrake
    • Great Claws +2 Attacks
    • Points cost reduced from 560 to 480
  • Lord-Celestant
    • +1 Wound
    • Sigmarite Runeblade +1 damage
  • Lord-Castellant
    • +1 Wound
    • Warding Lantern now grants a unit -1 to wound rolls
  • Lord-Exorcist
    • +1 Wound
    • Now has the PRIEST keyword
  • Lord-Ordinator
    • +1 Wound
    • Command Ability changed to boost a units shooting hit rolls
  • Lord-Relictor
    • +1 Wound
  • Knight-Questor
    • Questor Warblade damage increased from 1 to 2
    • No longer a Leader
    • Points cost reduced from 100 to 80
  • Knight-Venator
    • Star-fated Arrow: Now causes D6 mortal wounds if it hits
  • Drakesworn Templar
    • Points cost reduced from 460 to 400
    • Great Claws +2 Attacks
    • Tempest Axe changed. Now reads: "Enemy units within 3" of this model in the combat phase cannot pile-in (but they can still attack)."
  • Tempestors
    • Battleline if your general is a STARDRAKE
  • Prosecutors
    • Grandaxe: Range increased to 2"
    • Cleaving Blow: Range increased to 2"
    • Paired Celestial Hammers: Can re-roll all hit rolls instead of just hit rolls of 1
    • Battleline in a TEMPEST LORDS army
  • Decimators
    • Save increased to 3+
    • Points cost reduced from 180 to 160
  • Protectors
    • Save increased to 3+
    • Battleline in a HALLOWED KNIGHTS army
  • Retributors
    • Lightning Hammers are now Rend-2 instead of Rend-1
    • Save increased to 3+
    • Battleline in a KNIGHTS EXCELSIOR army
  • Liberators
    • Paired Weapons now grants +1 attack all the time instead of adding an extra hit on hit rolls of 6
    • Maximum unit sized reduced to 20
    • Points changed from 100/520 to 100/360
  • Gryph-Hounds
    • Battleline in an ASTRAL TEMPLARS army
  • Vanguard Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows
    • Maximum unit size reduced to 6, down from 12
  • Vanguard Raptors with Hurricane Crossbows
    • Maximum unit size reduced to 9, down from 12
  • Vanguard-Hunters
    • Points cost reduced from 110 to 100
  • Castigators
    • Thunderhead Greatbow does D3 damage instead of 1
    • Prime now has +1 attack instead of +1 to hit rolls
    • Burst of Celestial Energy reworked
      • Now deals bonus hits against units with 10+ models
      • Can re-roll damage against DAEMON or DEATH
    • Points cost increased from 80 to 120
  • Sequitors
    • Stormsmite Greatmaces now deal bonus hits to DEATH units instead of just NIGHTHAUNT
    • Points cost reduced from 130/440 to 120/400
  • Celestian Vortex
    • Points cost reduced from 40 to 30
  • Dais Arcanum
    • Wound restriction increased to 7 (now heroes with 6 or less wounds can ride it)
    • Points cost reduced from 30 to 20

The next pass will have special characters for non-HOS Stormhosts and some changes to the WIZARD artefacts to make them more compelling.

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I think this version of Castigators is too good for 120 pts. (basically a better version of the hellstorm rocket battery for less points and less range)

I think LCoSD should be max 350 and DT should be max 300. 

Retributors should do flat 3 dmg or have an additional attack.

Liberators 5/20 should be 80/300.

Vanguard Hunters and Sequitors always Battleline.

Lord-Ordinator should grant +1 to hit rolls for all missile attacks within range. 

Just my thoughts. Feel free to tell me I'm a dummy.

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36 minutes ago, feraxil said:

I think this version of Castigators is too good for 120 pts. (basically a better version of the hellstorm rocket battery for less points and less range)

I think LCoSD should be max 350 and DT should be max 300. 

Retributors should do flat 3 dmg or have an additional attack.

Liberators 5/20 should be 80/300.

You're right, they might be a little too cost effective at 120. I am going to raise them to 140p - that should make them a little bit worse than other shooting units in the army, but when shooting against hordes they will be fantastic.

With all the new options in the house rules those Stardrakes are definitely going to be worth their points now!

Retributors doing 3 damage on their melee attacks means their Blast to Ashes would have to do 3 damage as well, or it would be super weird to roll a 6 and reduce their maximum damage.

  • Hammerstrike Force gives them +1 to wound and charge
  • Devastation Brotherhood can give them +1 attack
  • Hammers of Sigmar (through Vandus) and Celestial Vindicators can give them +1 attack for a phase
  • Hallowed Knights can give them a permanent +1 attack each time a hero dies near them
  • Knights-Excelsior will let you pile in and attack twice, and re-rollable wound rolls
  • Tempest Lords lets them run, retreat, and charge, and reroll wound1
  • Astral Templars gives them a free 6" move, +1 hit vs MONSTER, +1 to wound rolls, and +2 to charge

They're also 3+ save and Rend-2 in this battletome... I think Retributors are looking pretty good now!

I think I want to keep Liberators at 100 points and improve them indirectly through battalions, stormhosts, etc. I like the Hammers of Sigmar ability summoning them into play, so I don't want to buff them too much or that ability becomes insane. Compared to their old version Liberators are now improved in a few significant ways:

  • Paired Weapons always give a bonus attack, instead of just on hit rolls of 6
  • Their battalions (Thunderhead Brotherhood and Vanguard Wing) are much better and worth using
  • It's generally not worth using command points on Liberators, but they get directly improved from being used in Stormhosts

The goal isn't to make every unit exceptional for its cost - what matters most to me is the factions strength as a whole, making sure there is a niche for every unit, and creating interesting combinations through stormhosts and battalions.

Edited by PJetski
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I feel like celestant prime's whole gimmick needs to be reworked. I dont remember where I read it, but someone else put it best, it's such a beautiful centerpiece model, I want it to be on the board! It's so weird to have your coolest model off the table for half of the game. 

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On 11/14/2019 at 2:00 PM, PJetski said:

You're right, they might be a little too cost effective at 120. I am going to raise them to 140p - that should make them a little bit worse than other shooting units in the army, but when shooting against hordes they will be fantastic.

With all the new options in the house rules those Stardrakes are definitely going to be worth their points now!

Retributors doing 3 damage on their melee attacks means their Blast to Ashes would have to do 3 damage as well, or it would be super weird to roll a 6 and reduce their maximum damage.

  • Hammerstrike Force gives them +1 to wound and charge
  • Devastation Brotherhood can give them +1 attack
  • Hammers of Sigmar (through Vandus) and Celestial Vindicators can give them +1 attack for a phase
  • Hallowed Knights can give them a permanent +1 attack each time a hero dies near them
  • Knights-Excelsior will let you pile in and attack twice, and re-rollable wound rolls
  • Tempest Lords lets them run, retreat, and charge, and reroll wound1
  • Astral Templars gives them a free 6" move, +1 hit vs MONSTER, +1 to wound rolls, and +2 to charge

They're also 3+ save and Rend-2 in this battletome... I think Retributors are looking pretty good now!

I think I want to keep Liberators at 100 points and improve them indirectly through battalions, stormhosts, etc. I like the Hammers of Sigmar ability summoning them into play, so I don't want to buff them too much or that ability becomes insane. Compared to their old version Liberators are now improved in a few significant ways:

  • Paired Weapons always give a bonus attack, instead of just on hit rolls of 6
  • Their battalions (Thunderhead Brotherhood and Vanguard Wing) are much better and worth using
  • It's generally not worth using command points on Liberators, but they get directly improved from being used in Stormhosts

The goal isn't to make every unit exceptional for its cost - what matters most to me is the factions strength as a whole, making sure there is a niche for every unit, and creating interesting combinations through stormhosts and battalions.

I apologize, I missed the whole battalion sections. I feel uninformed! Lemme try again.

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On 11/14/2019 at 5:39 PM, PJetski said:

Here's my 2nd pass at the battletome rules: https://imgur.com/a/dHAJdvI

I added command traits for Aquilor and made more changes to warscrolls. 
I decided to take some of the feedback from this thread and changed all Paladins to a 3+ save, but I think Decimators still need to be a little bit cheaper to be a competitive option. I also changed the Castellants lantern to be -1 to wound rolls rather than a 6+ ignore.

Let me know what you think!

Now that appeals to me much more, but maybe the Houndmaster can be permament?

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On 11/14/2019 at 9:05 PM, Climb said:

I feel like celestant prime's whole gimmick needs to be reworked. I dont remember where I read it, but someone else put it best, it's such a beautiful centerpiece model, I want it to be on the board! It's so weird to have your coolest model off the table for half of the game. 

To be fair it keeps him safe since the big issue with centerpiece models is "shoot or MW it off the board in 1-2 turns", resulting in wanting to get them in CC asap like Gordrakk or Greater Daemons.

 

Not saying that the deep strike thing is the correct solution I also agree, but he has only a 3+ save keeping him alive.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Why no points reduction for Judicators? 140 seems better than the 160 they're at right now... It would be cool to see more FNP for us, like how you have the Castellant. This is a lot to sort through but I'm liking the Hallowed Knights changes, Castigator upgrade, Sacrosanct being all Daemon and Death keywords, and the 3 ups for paladins!

Edited by CommissarRotke
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/11/2019 at 2:39 PM, CommissarRotke said:

Why no points reduction for Judicators? 140 seems better than the 160 they're at right now... 

This is an interesting topic. Bow Judicators are really poor points per damage (PPD) but they have a good range for a battleline unit so they can sit on objectives and keep throwing out some damage. I think they would still have a niche of double tapping in an Anvils list, especially since my rules limit Longstrikes to 6 per unit - in that situation it seems like 160 is a fair price for them.

Crossbow Judicators are surprisingly good if you don't move. They are almost as good as Hurricane Raptors in PPD but theyre battleline. If you reduce their cost then Judicators become better than Hurricanes, and it doesn't seem right for a battleline unit to be more cost effective than a specialized unit.

So I'm not sure how to handle that situation.

I think the first step would be to split them into two warscrolls; one for bows and one for crossbows. 

The second step would be to improve them indirectly through useful allegiance abilities and battalions, and I think with my rules Judicators become a pretty good choice in Anvils (double tap with 20 bow judicators), Hallowed Knights (+1/+1 prayer is great on crossbows), Knights-Excelsior (Reroll wounds), Celestial Warbringers (reroll that D6 shockbolt bow), Tempest Lords (retreat + run + charge, reroll wound1), Astral Templars (free move, +1 hit versus MONSTERS, +1 to wound rolls) and the significantly improved battalions.

In the end I think Judicators are a "basic" unit like the Liberator. They dont need to be shining stars, they just need to have a niche and not feel like a waste of points.

Edited by PJetski
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48 minutes ago, PJetski said:

Crossbow Judicators are surprisingly good if you don't move. They are almost as good as Hurricane Raptors in PPD but theyre battleline. If you reduce their cost then Judicators become better than Hurricanes, and it doesn't seem right for a battleline unit to be more cost effective than a specialized unit.

 

I've had good luck with crossbow judicators by leaving them off the board, and then dropping them behind a unit that is tied up in combat and just start shooting them in the back while they are pinned down. 

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48 minutes ago, chord said:

I've had good luck with crossbow judicators by leaving them off the board, and then dropping them behind a unit that is tied up in combat and just start shooting them in the back while they are pinned down. 

I guess you've never played against a trie skaven horde player😂.

jokes aside, that does sound great, I might consider taking a unit for a maybe soon City of sigmar project

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8 hours ago, chord said:

I've had good luck with crossbow judicators by leaving them off the board, and then dropping them behind a unit that is tied up in combat and just start shooting them in the back while they are pinned down. 

I feel that crossbow judicators should be slightly more efficient than hurricane raptors due to the much shorter range (12' vs 18'). 

If both judicators are 150, I think they will start to be useful situationally, assuming similar buffs to allegiance abilities. 

Edited by Evantas
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3rd update! https://imgur.com/a/zdDQQ8J

Major changes since the last update:

  • Shock and Awe updated
  • Knight-Vexillor updated
  • Lord-Relictor now has the TOTEM keyword
  • Prayers updated
  • Treasured Standards updated
  • Mystic Lights updated
  • Celestial Staves updated
  • More mount trait updates
  • Lord-Veritant can now dispel, and has +3 to dispel an endless spell near a gryph hound
  • Lord of the Host is now a command ability known by every Lord-Celestant
    • "Once per turn, if this model is your general, you can use this command ability at the start of the hero phase. Until the start of your next hero phase, add 1 to save rolls for friendly STORMCAST ETERNAL units while they are wholly within 18" of this model."
  • Lord-Celestant on Dracoths command ability has been changed to Shield Wall
    • "You can use this command ability at the start of the movement phase. If you do, pick any number of friendly STORMCAST ETERNAL units wholly within 18" of this model. Until the start of your next movement phase, the picked units cannot run or declare a charge, but they can re-roll save rolls of 1. If a unit already has an ability or effect that allows them to re-roll save rolls of 1, they can instead re-roll all save rolls."
  • Lord-Celestant on Dracoth has a new ability:
    • If this model is your general and on the battlefield at the start of your hero phase, gain 1 additional command point.
  • New named character: Lord Victrian Cyrocco, Lord-Celestant of the Royal Victrian Chamber of the Tempest Lords
  • Small point tweaks (Judicators, Gryph-Hounds, Dracolines, Castigators, Lord Celestant on Dracoth)

Let me know what you think!

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