Black Blade

That makes good sense now and I wish I had tried it, the game was last night but I was victorious anyway thankfully. He pulled a surprise move and brought 2x10 Saurus Guard instead of the skinks so it all worked out. I was anxious for nothing I guess. Thanks for the input though Ill try that build next game which goes up to 1250

I had such a good time at my first official competitive game I decided to invoke my creative side and started a blog with a narrative interpretation of my battle reports, if that's your thing check it out and tell me what you think!

Today… battle was joined in the realm of Aqshy. In the Kindlerock Badlands where the scorching air is so hot it threatens to extinguish the life of those who breathe too deeply of that arcane atmosphere, two unlikely foes found themselves drawn into tragic conflict. The dutiful Slann of the Seraphon foresaw calamity in the stars when they looked into the future and witnessed Chaos worshiping cultists hidden among a caravan that would one day bring ruination to the bastions of the Heavens. The caravan was on it’s way back from trading with the Floating City of Bataar to its home city in the realm of shadow. Scheming as ever Tzeentch hid from the Slann’s sight that the caravan was not lightly guarded by fickle mercenaries but accompanied by a contingent of The Darkstars, a confederation of Celestial Vindicators Stormcast chambers who helped found the city in Ulgu. The Slann summoned a vanguard to intercept the caravan in Red Bone Pass. Sensing corruption a Stegadon carrying an Engine of the Gods on it’s howdah unleashed a torrent of celestial energy into a passenger wagon with cultists hidden among its occupants while a Bastiladon Solar Engine decimated a treasure transport which contained tainted artifacts. The Vindicators ,commanded by the trade expedition’s captain, Lord Castellant Kurnath Grimhelm quickly formed a rearguard action to shield the rest of the caravans escape. Though confused at the adversaries before him Grimhelm was aware the Seraphon were not renowned for their communication skills. Questions would have to wait for another day, Grimhelm formed the line of battle as the Darkstars recited their war hymns. The Skink Priest tending the Engine of the Gods, though disturbed at the grim array of Stormcast before him could not afford to retreat from battle; his mission was not yet complete and vital work lay ahead. He ordered his Saurus Guard forward under cover from Solar Engine fire and celestial magic. Stormcast warriors fall to arcane energies but are quickly reinforced via celestial lightening by ranged contingents under the command of Lord Arcanum Talia Stormcrown. Saurus fall to withering fire from Judicators and Celestar Ballista leaving the Bastiladon alone and exposed on the right flank. Meanwhile on the Stormcast left flank, a large cohort of Evocators advance under the beneficent light of Grimhelm’s Warding Lantern on the Seraphon’s last position of strength, the Engine of the Gods screened by Saurus Guard. The Evocators pace themselves in the sweltering heat making an orderly charge and engage the Saurus wiping them out with devastating blows from their grandstaves and blasting their earthly forms to ruin with celestial lightning. The Skink priest, incensed at the brutality with which the Vindicators fought fellow ‘scions of the heavens,’ charged his Stegadon at the offending Evocators unleashing a burst of celestial energy from the Engine blasting apart an Evocator. The stegadon lowered its head to gore the warrior mages, impaling two upon it’s crown of horns and trampling more underfoot. Simultaneously Lord Castellant Grimhelm was caught in the open, unable to keep pace with the swift Evocators by shrewd Ripperdactyle Riders. However the Riders weapons could find no purchase as befitting of his rank, Grimhelm defly defended himself from his attackers to a standstill. The Evocators regained their composure after the Engines charged and counter-attacked their rampaging enemy. The battle mages struck punishing blows with their grandstaves breaking bones and sundering flesh with barely contained celestial lightning… The Engine and it’s priest succumbed to their wounds, dissipating into the ether with a pale blue light. The Evocators rallied to Grimhelm’s side banishing the Riders to the heavens while the Bastiladon tragically reared on its hind legs and then onto it’s back letting out a pitiful cry as it was laid low by arrow and bolt. Grimhelm consulted with Talia after the battle and the Lord Arcanum’s shrewd calculating mind guessed at the Seraphon’s true intentions. Though she was more deliberate in her application of violence than the scions of the Slann had been Talia’s justice was just as merciless if not more so after catching up with the caravan down the pass… The schemes of Tzeentch had seemingly unraveled at the intervention of the Slann and the wisdom of a Lord Arcanum this time… or had they?

this does look interesting. I like risky plays as well. Im a little worried he is going to bring 80 skinks and just shoot me to death and just harass me by never letting my slow units engage. IF you had to choose between the list you posted or this one which do you think would be better? It occured to me that evocators have a natural defense against shooting and will chew through most of his units if i hit them with the warding lantern and staunch defender a unit of 10 to just clear his objective. maybe an azyrite halo on them too? I think he will be taking an engine of the gods as well. so those are my two real targets (skinks and EotG) Allegiance: Stormcast EternalsLeadersLord-Castellant (100)- General- Trait: Staunch Defender - Mystic Light (Artefact): Lantern of the TempestKnight-Incantor (140)- Spell: Azyrite HaloBattleline5 x Liberators (100)- Warblade & Shield- 1x Grandblades5 x Judicators (160)- Skybolt Bows- 1x Shockbolt BowsUnits10 x Evocators (400)- 10x Grandstaves- Lore of Invigoration: Speed of LightningWar MachinesCelestar Ballista (100)Total: 1000 / 1000Extra Command Points: 0Allies: 0 / 200Wounds: 68 I know its a big change from the LCoD strategy

first off, thank you so much for responding i was afraid i wouldnt get any advice. The only reason I thought I would take him is because of the 40 blob of skinks, only way to score is with heroes and to kill the engine of the gods. you think i can compete on this scenario agaisnt that shooting without him?

Ok guys I have posted a few lists here in the past with no feedback or responses but I could really use it today. This is my first game in a competition ever. Here is my current list, I know I will be playing Seraphon in the realm of Fire and the plan is Duality of Death. It is a 1000 pt game. I expect a lot of skinks. I have almost one of everything for the Stormcast built ouside of Vanguard options. Too many heroes? not enough board presence? what do you think? Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals Mortal Realm: Ulgu Leaders Lord-Celestant On Dracoth (220) - Tempestos Hammer & Thundershield - Artefact: Dimensional Blade - Mount Trait: Keen-clawed Lord-Castellant (100) - General - Trait: Staunch Defender Knight-Incantor (140) - Spell: Azyrite Halo Battleline 10 x Liberators (200) - Warblade & Shield - 2x Grandblades 5 x Liberators (100) - Warhammer & Shield - 1x Grandhammers Units 2 x Fulminators (240) Total: 1000 / 1000 Extra Command Points: 0 Allies: 0 / 200 Wounds: 58

*double post, deleted

That actually sounds pretty interesting, The Prime is the only guy I can think of that lantern would be useful on. Do you know if the Prime can gain a stormhost keyword?

@AverageBoss If I take a Stardrake, it's for the aesthetic and even then he must have Staunch Defender. His wound output is 1. sub par for his points & 2. highly conditional. He is just a big roadblock as written for now I hope they just rewrite him someday where he is unconditionally worth his points. I think you should just make those Sequitors battleline and fill out your roster with more versatile units than 5 man liberator squads.

Interesting, this is sort of what I was getting at by asking the question. They are such a strong battleline buy they aren't good enough to really be one of our elite picks are they.

Hot question for you guys. If there was no way to take Sequitors as battleline, how often would you run them provided their cost remain at their current level and how many would you take?

I don't understand this list at all. You have Vandus who can only hit himself with his command ability an you have a CP factory that means nothing if he is magiced/ shot off the table? I am sorry but I do not think this looks either fun or competitive and I think those two are linked here.

I made a thread talking about Stormcast spells, I didn't want to clog up this thread with my breakdown. Pop on over and let me know what you think.

Trying something unorthodox this weekend. What do you guys think? Is it too bare bones? Would I be better off taking the Celestial Vindicators Stormhost than the general abilities? Allegiance: Stormcast EternalsMortal Realm: UlguLeadersLord-Arcanum on Celestial Dracoline (240)- General- Trait: Shielded by Faith - Artefact: Doppelganger Cloak - Spell: Thundershock- Mount Trait: Keen-clawedLord-Relictor (100)- Prayer: Divine LightBattleline10 x Sequitors (240)- Tempest Blades and Soulshields- 5x Stormsmite Greatmaces5 x Judicators (160)- Skybolt Bows- 1x Shockbolt BowsUnits2 x Fulminators (240)Total: 980 / 1000Extra Command Points: 0Allies: 0 / 200Wounds: 52

While we are on the topic of the Prime, I noticed in the card game that they put out he's listed as a warrior wizard. I wonder if he will be updated in a year in the next battletome to being a wizard. I think it might make him actually be taken by Stormcast players even if he is a squishy 300+ unit.

Its short for "staunch defender" a command trait for unaffiliated Stormcast generals. Grants a +1 to save bubble around said general. Sequitors benefiting from SD and the WL (warding lantern) are effectively at a 2+ rerollable save making them nigh invincible outside of MW (mortal wounds).

Are you sure about that? I thought I remember there being a discussion about "hold the line" and how you cannot make a normal move which was said to include pile-ins. Therefore normal moves are not only in the movement phase. I may be misremembering though.

I can help you out a bit here, I ran five for quite a while so I have some experience. I never scioned them mostly because I want them casting and eating dispels if possible but 5 evocators will melt away almost anything you put them into. They single-handedly won me about 3 of my first 5 games of AoS. They did so well will grandstaves against the right targets I forgot that they dish out mortal wounds after their attacks. They destroyed 1 unit of 3 Gore-Gruntas, 1unit of 30 skinks, 1 unit of 20 sarus warriors killed a bunch and the rest ran after battleshock. For them its all about striking first when they are at 5, they just arent tanky enough for some elites but those elites arent either so you must hit first. I bumped them to 10 models, all grandstaves and they eliminated a 30 block of bloodletters. granted they had buffs but so did the daemons and I went second in that match up. only lost 3 models but 7 deleted them before I even rolled for MW. The guy foreit the match immediately. Sounds like you have kind of a ranged oriented list though. If you want to keep your numbers I would break the sequitors into two 10 man units and put the judicators in one big unit. you can divide your shots anyway but with two ten mans you can pressure the board better. Thanks, I see what you mean about the Fulminators having a job worth their points even if they weren't taking units or even models off the board consistently. I think the Dracolines should cost about as much as the Fulminators do now but that was a terrible match up that I just had to learn about the hard way. Thanks for breaking it down for me, I see it more clearly now.

I did not forget but I shot the first turn hitting with just 1 of the 4 shots and that did 2 MW I think. My next turn my unit had failed to break the Hunters or even do any damage at all with their charging glaives so I intended to use my Heraldor so they could retreat and charge. However he was just out of range (a unit of 4 dracoths is a a big footprint to be wholly within 12") and durthu and two scythe hunter units were coming forward so I just flat retreated to have a better position. In either case I had to forfeit my shots that turn. SO. To clarify I was using 4 fulminators in a single unit and that particular game I found them lacking for hitting hard targets; that being said with a Warding lantern and their anti shooting ability they took zero wounds over 3 turns except 2 from mortals that they healed back later. I see no reason to ever take more than 1 unit of 2 dracoths as they currently exist and even then only as fulminators. Tremendous staying power but its a toss up if they will break something or just be a road block. @Turragor Yeah, I went in with little to no foreknowledge of what that army was capable of. I knew they were solid but I had no idea how sturdy they actually were. So what you're saying is that before throwing both units out the window I should realize that those particular match ups were on the extreme end of what combats would be like should choose them more wisely?

Hello, you actually need to take a stormhost if you plan on using Aventis command ability and furthermore he cannot take an item anyway. You should run the generic Talaron guy if you want one, give him the +1 to cast and damage staff and take the cogs so he can cast 3 spells a turn if you want that kind of boost.

Had an interesting game today where I tried out some new units/combos in preparation for the local escalation league. It was my first time coming up against Sylvaneth and I felt his list was pretty solid and fun to play against while also was quite revealing for what my units were effective at. Basic rundown of the list 1. Tree Lord Ancient, Spirit of Durthu, Branchwytch, 4 units hunters (2xU bows and 2xU scythes) 3 units of dryads. He was running a battalion but I dont remember the name. 2. LAoGC, L. Castellant, K. Heraldor, 10x Sequitors, 10x LIberators, 5x Liberators, Evocators on foot and on Dracolines and then 4x Fulminators and a Vortex. Like I said my SC list was about having a few tests, the Vortex is iffy, Liberators cap things just fine but obviously dont push like Sequitors can. The Heraldor was a little unwieldy with his abilities wholly within wording as well as the charge one being a shorter range than the shooting one which confused me during the game. The other heroes were as reliable and effective as ever but where I was really let down was my cavalry. My expensive expensive cavalry... I wanted to push them hard to test their limits and I felt letdown. The fulminators hit the Bow hunters and did 1 damage between the four of them. I rolled poorly but still, the rend on charging giant glaives and giant dragon claws/fangs is underwhelming. He just absorbed everything with his rooted ability which was cool at least. Then you have what I thought were my assassins, the Evo's on Dracolines deepstriking in the back; 3 of those dudes hit durthu for 5 wounds including the mortal throws. In their defense I didnt intend to actually kill him just cripple him and I didnt know he had an artifact giving him a 2+ save. Effectively my cavalry boxed the north and south of his giant tree guys battalion between some terrain and a board edge. tying them up won me the game while i capped objectives and pushed his dryads around. But again my cavalry was underwhelming for being 780 points. the fulminators never took more than 2 wounds and healed everything else from buffs but Durthu was healed by the witch and swung on my evocators who have a bad save of 4+ for their cost and his sword killed 2 instantly doing 6 damage on 2 successful swings and bringing the 3rd down to 1 wound. TL;DR Evocators on foot are amazing and the ones on Dracolines look even better but are absolutely not worth 300 points. They would be good hitting light weight battleline but then again what wouldnt. The steeds for both types of cav I used were underwhelming and didnt make sense to me, how a thundercat and a lightning dragon hit as softly as they do ill never know but d6 damage on a 6 to wound or d3 on a charge are not worth much if they are only really getting through on horde infantry anyway. I find myself looking for something than can reliably get through tough saves and Im hoping this will be one of the niches filled by ruination chamber.

Interesting, I've heard 15 was the sweet spot. I've run 20 and it was just too huge in my opinion. I was going to try 15 to start but I'll give 10 a shot instead.

I'm about to go against my first Sylvaneth opponent in a few days, so I wrote this list with the hopes of having a competitive and fun battle, how does this list strike you? Anything big I'm just not seeing? Should I switch some artifacts around or what? Allegiance: Stormcast EternalsMortal Realm: UlguLeadersLord-Arcanum on Gryph-Charger (240)- General- Trait: Staunch Defender - Artefact: Doppelganger Cloak - Spell: Azyrite Halo- Mount Trait: Aethereal StalkerLord-Castellant (100)Lord-Relictor (100)- Artefact: Sword of Judgement - Prayer: Divine LightKnight-Heraldor (100)Battleline15 x Sequitors (360)- Tempest Blades and Soulshields- 7x Stormsmite Greatmaces5 x Sequitors (120)- Stormsmite Mauls and Soulshields- 2x Stormsmite Greatmaces5 x Sequitors (120)- Stormsmite Mauls and Soulshields- 2x Stormsmite GreatmacesUnits5 x Evocators (200)- 5x Grandstaves- Lore of Invigoration: Speed of Lightning3 x Evocators on Dracolines (300)- 2x Grandstaves- Lore of Invigoration: Celestial Blades2 x Fulminators (240)BattalionsCleansing Phalanx (120)Total: 2000 / 2000Extra Command Points: 1Allies: 0 / 400Wounds: 113

Hello everyone Ive started another thread about one of my favorite Sigmar novels no one seems to know about. Please have a look and leave a comment if you are interested and have time. Thanks!

This. He doesnt have the shield the vanilla version has and my Evocators are routinely deleting units so thoroughly I forgot they do mortals after their attacks for a few games.