Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Edition 1.0/Stormcast Eternals

Lo and behold the might of the Sigmarines! Stormcast Eternals!

Stormcast Eternals Summary

If you want to always have multiple wounds and fight for the Emperahh Sigmar, the Stormcast Eternals are for you! Stormcast Eternals all have at least a 4+ save and 2 wounds per model making them a really tough force to take down in hand to hand combat. At the moment they seem more focused on having X models and ensuring those X models survive until the end of the game through various hero abilities (immune to Battleshock, regain wounds, increase their already durable (for AoS at least) 4+ save and bonuses to hit). At the same time, your guys don't punch all that hard, though your Paladins (read: Elite) more than make up for that. Thanks to their hardiness and comparatively low damage output, they are the epitome of "easy to learn, hard to master", much like their 40k cousins.

Stormcast Eternals Warscrolls

The following section will be arranged with similar units and formations being grouped together for easier reading.

Now that the battletome is out, this is presumably a fairly complete listing of the warscrolls and battalions at your disposal.

Named characters

Celestant-Prime: While not exactly named, this here is your unique character to hold you over while we wait for the rules for Sigmar that'll probably also come whenever FW decides to make rules for that Turkish bastard. The Prime has a very powerful shooting attack, dramatically one-upping the Lord-Celestant on Dracoth by tossing a comet onto the battlefield. His close combat potential seems lacking at first, having only 2 attacks. That said, for every turn you don't set him up, he gains two additional attacks with Ghal Maraz. In addition, whenever he deploys, all enemies within 12" of him suffer -2 Bravery until his next Hero Phase. Unfortunately, Age of Sigmar games tend to be over by turn three, so the use he sees in all but the biggest games is somewhat limited. Let's put it this way: Nagash will kick his ass. The Glottkin will kick his ass. Archaon... will probably think twice, as might the Mortarchs. The point is, this guy only looks like a combat monster, but he's really your artillery equivalent, except for really big games, where you can afford to leave him off the table for two or three turns.

Heroes

Lord-Celestant on Dracoth: A guy in pompous golden armour and a big cloak who swings a giant warhammer and rides a dragon on lightning. Couldn't be more Power Metal if he tried. He's very killy in close combat and his command ability grants a huge bubble in which Stormcast Eternals don't have to take Battleshock. His ranged attack is potentially devastating, but only if the enemy was stupid enough to bunch up all his important stuff and you get very lucky. With a 50% chance to deal damage, it's nice to have but you shouldn't rely on it. Due to being mounted, he moves at a fast pace and has 7 wounds as opposed to the "general" hero base of 5. This guy is hard hitting, fast and durable meaning you want him up in the front line where he can lead the charge and give everyone the benefit of his aura.

Lord-Celestant: A strong hero on foot that can do an average of 1.75 mortal wounds in the shooting phase and 1,77 damage at -1 rend + 0,66 damages in the melee phase (more if he charges). His command ability gives nearby Stormcast Eternals units(including himself) a +1 to hit during the combat phase. At first, he seems to lose out to his brother on the Dracoth, but in the end you're exchanging personal killing power against powerful support that might end up being worth more than the hilariously unreliable breath attack of the Dracoth. Just make sure you surround him with lots of melee units and keep him alive. He's harder to use than the mounted verion, but with careful positioning he'll be more effective while taking up fewer Wounds.

Lord-Relictor: A mediocre foot-slogger who can control the storms. This means he can choose to either heal a friendly model for D3 wounds, best used on other Heroes, or to loose what is basically Arcane Bolt without a casting roll on an enemy, with the slight difference that anyone hit also takes a To Hit-penalty in the following turn. While no slouch in combat, he's nowhere near as good as a Lord-Celestant; of course, this isn't why you take him. The best use for him is in the "secondary" line, using his healing buff to keep your men in fighting shape and lending a hand with the lightning storm anywhere they're struggling. Heroes and paladins of all types will find him a very good "best bud". The comparison between him and the Lord-Celestant is easily explained: the Celestant is the fighter of the party while the Relictor is the chaplain cleric. Remember that the healing storm can't actually bring things back to life, it only heals stuff that's still alive.

Lord-Castellant: 1 wound more than the standard hero on foot, this hero is slightly better than Lord-Celestant in the combat phase (2,66 damages at -1 rend and 2" range). His lantern's ability inflicts 1 mortal wound to a chaos unit or an average of 1,5 mortal wounds to a chaos daemon unit. If there aren't any such foes around, it can make Stormcast Eternals units more resistant and occasionally heal them. As above, the Celestant may be the fighter, the Relictor is probably the cleric and the Castellant is definitely the paladin. He's at home up front where the Celestant could be (though the Castellant lacks any command ability of his own), but equally at home in the secondary line warding your Eternals with his lantern (wording means that you can gain and lose wounds at the same time while your units will have a majority 3+ save thanks to him) or even as a beastmaster if he fights with a bunch of gryph hounds in close proximity. His lantern's other ability is very nice if a little circumstantial, autosniping a chaos maurader equivalent or letting him damage daemons something fierce without even trying. Finishing off a chaos hero who's down to his last wound is fun. All in all he's a flexible choice. He's good at buffing up units that are going to be taking some saves ensuring you've got enough men to hold on that little bit longer.

Knight-Venator: Your flying shooty Hero. Has a whole bunch of good shots at a ridiculously high 30" range, but is by far the worst Stormcast Hero in melee. He can also shoot a special arrow once per game that can either hurt a Monster real bad or murder the face off of a normal Hero with D6+3 Damage. Use his bullshit range to stay away from the enemy and laugh while you drop a ton of damage exactly where you need it each turn. Just keep him away from the enemy unless you're feeling VERY desperate or hitting a target of opportunity, such as an artillery crew.

Knight-Azyros: Your flying support Hero. Has the same lacking melee profile as the Relictor, but gets 3(!) special rules to make up for it. One is huge in concert with the Thunderstrike Brotherhood, providing a homing beacon that lets you ignore the 9"-from-the-enemy restriction so long as your deep strikers hug the Azyros. The next lets Stormcasts reroll 1s To Hit during the shooting phase if their target is close to the Azyros and finally he can forgo moving, charging and fighting to deal a bunch of Mortal Wounds to all enemy units within 8" once per game. If you find a situation where this is useful, go for it. Otherwise, the guy isn't a powerhouse, but he doesn't want to be. If you want him, simply tweak your army a bit to accomodate him. Prosecutors with Javelins profit a lot from his buff and a Thunderstrike Brotherhood might utterly annihilate opponents thanks to him. Keep in mind that Judicators already reroll 1s to hit against Chaos, so he's better for supporting Prosecutors in general or Judicators against any other army.

Knight-Heraldor: Your only Hero with a 4+ save. In melee, his profile is slightly worse than the Relictor and the Azyros. Why do you use him? Because he's got a big, honking Trumpet. With it, he can make a Stormcast unit run and charge or retreat and charge AND cause damage to opponents huddled up in a terrain piece. Pick a Chaos Dreadhold and cackle maniacally righteously.

Knight-Vexillor: Your Standard Bearer. In melee, he's a Hammer-Liberator with twice the attacks and he can have a pick of two banners. No matter which you pick, Stormcast Eternals around him get to reroll charge rolls. In addition, the banners have these effects: The Meteoric Standard grants you a one-shot version of the Prime's Cometstrike Scepter, which means a big boom. The Pennant of the Stormbringer, on the other hand, lets you pick up a Stormcast unit and then redeploy it anywhere so long as you stay 3" away from enemies, almost guaranteeing a charge. After that, you can cause mortal wounds for everything close by. Sure, that's also one-use, but it's absolute murder. This guy is the polar opposite of the Lord-Castellant; he's slow and hard to use, but the potential payout is far greater if you find creative ways to employ him.

Troops

Liberators: Your basic melee troops, strong with average durability (4+ and 2 wounds). Sigmar tweaked those to be used against the strongest chaos enemies, so always go for the biggest model on the field. Now let's talk a little about weapon options, because you can have four different flavours of Liberators. If you want to arm them with a weapon and shield, it doesn't matter which weapon, as the math is the same (0,66 damage per model and you can reroll save rolls of 1 improving them from 50% to 58%) so long as there are no buffs and other special rules to change the odds. As soon as you double up on weapons, the Hammers gain a slight edge. When their Lay Low The Tyrants rule comes into effect, the Hammers win out. If you have a Celestant on foot to buff their hit rolls, the Hammers win out. Even if you add both special rules and the Swords hit on 1+ (automatically, basically), they still lose out to the Hammers, though you should not underestimate the psychological edge of only needing one roll to hit and wound. Really though, the differences between Sword and Hammer are so marginal you won't really see them; just remember that your Liberators get a lot better at punching if you heap on the buffs, going from 0,66 Wounds up to 1,29 Wounds per model if you do it juuust right. Always choose to add the special weapon (same efficiency again between the two, but doubled compared to the normal weapons and with a -1 rend). But even with all this, don't start to believe that your Liberators are powerful melee units, as a lot of stuff will outclass them on a Wound-to-Damage basis. What they can do is outlast most of those. This is because their true purpose isn't to be an incredible unit on the board. They're a convenient way to turn your heroes' buffs into actual damage, and most of your Battalion options are going to let you shunt them around to where they'll be most useful. Having at least one unit is always advisable even if you aren't using the formations (but why are you doing that?).

Judicators: your basic ranged troops, same stats as the Liberators. They can reroll hit rolls of 1 against chaos in the shooting phase. If you arm them with Skybolt Bow, you can do 0,44 damage per model with -1 rend at 24". With a Boltstorm Crossbow, you can do 0,66 damage per model with at 12" and if you don't move this number goes up to 0,99 damage per model. As with Liberators, always add the special weapon (1,54 damages per model with -1 rend at 24" for the Shockbolt Bow, 1,5 mortal wounds with the Thunderbolt Crossbow if it hits; the larger the target unit, the better your chances. It has a 1 in 3 chance of hitting a lone monster, so it's not a terrible idea if there aren't any blobs of Chaos Warriors around to blow up. In melee you do an average of 0,33 damage, the bare minimum to reply in combat, which is where these guys don't want to be. When it comes to weapon choice, different tactics apply. Bows will see you getting a better payoff in the long run; let them hang back and pincushion the enemy's units and they'll do just fine. However, if you manage set up the the triple shots for the crossbows, you're going to darken the sky with bolts and chortle heartily at all the saves your opponent is forced to take. Spread your Liberators wide so they act as a net to trap the enemy, then put Judicators behind them to tear up anyone foolish enough to attack you. This way your crossbowmen will start where they're most needed and you needn't go to any extra effort to set them up.

Paladins

All the paladins have the same basic profile, swapping an inch of movement for an extra wound and point of bravery over their Liberator brethren. All Paladins can alternatively get Starsoul Mace that automatically inflicts D3 mortal wounds (2 in every 5 models).

Retributors: It's Hammertime! Retributors are the jack of all trades when it comes to Paladins. You've also got a minimum squad size of 3 rather than 5, making them easier to cram into your army if you're using a wound cap. With each of them getting two attacks at 3+/3+, they'll pile on the saves your opponent has to take, and 2 damage/Rend -1 your opponent will sorely regret every save he fails. While their special ability isn't as gimmicky as the others', it's the most reliable: with every six to hit, they auto deal 2 mortal wounds as they literally blast their unfortunate foes to ash. Probably the best and most consistent all-round choice out of the paladins, there's not much in the game that'll enjoy being in combat with these guys. If you have the Celestant on foot, let your Retributors hug him, because while his bonus to Hit is great for Liberators, it's absolute murder with Retributors as they now hit on 2+ and each roll of 5+ immediately inflicts mortal wounds.

Decimators: These guys have an axe to grind. They don't like horde infantry, and horde infantry doesn't like them. With a 2" range per guy you want these men in the thick of the fight, as deep in an enemy unit as possible. Why, you ask? Because each Decimator gets one attack for every enemy model within that 2" and at 3+/3+/-1/1 they'll certainly put a combine harvester to shame. Furthermore, enemies have to add 2 to Battleshock tests when within 6" of a Decimator, so even more of your opponent's models will decide to call it a day after seeing their buddies get blendered. The wording of this rule also means that Daemon infantry hates their guts, as their standard can't bring back lost models in close proximity to Decimators. They're far weaker to monsters or characters, since they will generally only get 1 attack per guy. You could potentially add a Starsoul Mace to deal with that, but a previous anon covered this merit of this idea quite nicely. You're trading a bucketload of attacks against horde infantry for a few guaranteed knocks against a monster you shouldn't have engaged with Decimators in the first place.

Protector: Guan Yu would be proud. Protectors come with Big Fuckoff Glaives and are almost as blendy as the Decimators with a whopping 3 attacks each. And thanks to their 3" reach, they can quite easily fight over the top of any other troops you want to put them with. These guys have pretty decent abilities too, deflecting a portion of shooting that is fired either at them or over them. Despite these fun abilities, though, they're most at home cutting down monstrous creatures. On a 6 to wound a big beastie, you'll deal a cool D6 damage, potentially cutting down even dragons with ease. Can also reach over a front rank to shank any dickheads who thought they were safe in the back with their 2" weapons. And never ever forget that, potentially, even a single Protector can murder the Glottkin at full wounds. Sure, the chances are about as high as winning the lottery, but the fact that it's even possible puts them head and shoulders over a lot of your other choices.

Fast Movers

Prosecutors with Lightning Hammers: With the ability to fly 12", these guys are basically assault marines. The hammers shoot 18" at 4+/4+. This goes up to a 3+/3+ when you close to face-smashing range, which won't be hard considering that they can charge 3D6; never forget that, especially when you are setting them up via Lightning Strike, as it grants them a significantly better chance of making that 10" charge. These guys will lend your army some much-needed mobility. Soften up a big enemy unit for a charge, pick off wizards and war machines, or zoom on to a much-needed objective. For every one in three, one can take a special weapon: Either the Grandblade or Grandhammer you were already used to, or 1" range version of the Decimators' greataxe. The main advantage of these is that, with one for every three Prosecutors, you get enough special weapons to really change the unit's role. With a Grandaxe or two, they can help you clear tarpits while not being as useless against single targets as an actual unit of Decimators, for example. The other two can add a good bit of punch, but do note that neither have a ranged profile. Also note that Sword and Hammer can also be used by the Prime, getting more mileage out of the better profile.

Prosecutors with Stormcall Javelins: Get a completely exclusive Warscroll for some arbitrary reason. While you would expect a goddamn winged armoured Spartan with Spear and Shield to be good in combat, they are actually really bad in melee, but pretty damn good at range. They get only 1 attack at 4+/4+/-/1 in melee, but also an 18" shot at 3+/3+/-/1, which goes up to 2 damage at ranges over 9". One in three can instead get a Stormsurge Trident so you can also rock freaking Poseidon while you're at it. The Trident is pretty much what you're used to from the Stormcasts, gaining -1 Rend and 2 damage both in melee and shooting. Their Prime also shoots twice, so stick (hehe) him with the Trident. And to top it off, they get some nice Sigmarite Shields for rerolls of 1s on saves. Never let these guys anywhere NEAR the enemy. Because their damage goes up to 2 outside of 9", they're going to do roughly 3.4 wounds per turn whether you stay back for the bonus or charge in to shoot and stab at the same time. One of those options keeps them almost entirely out of harm's way, so it shouldn't be a difficult decision. If you need some burst damage, throw your javelins at 10" and then use your 3D6" to make that charge.

Gryph-hounds: If you have a Lord-Castellant you must have one of this unit next to him. His 1,33 damages are a better wounds/damages ratio than liberators and at the same time with a bit of luck you can avoid being hit back with the Darting Attacks ability (which is always good since it has no save). His warning cry ability is useful, but you must remember to deploy this unit (and the Lord-Castellant) exactly in the middle of your army. with a bunch of these circling around or at least close to the castellant you can have a fairly decent beastmaster unit, doubling up on their attacks then darting off.

Monsters

You don't need those evil beasts... yet!

Formations

• Skyborne Slayers: a Lord-Celestant leads 2 squads of Liberators, 2 squads of Judicators, and a squad each of Decimators and Protectors. This entire formation can deep-strike absolutely anywhere they like so long as it's 5" from any enemies and never suffer Battleshock. LUBE UP, THE STORM'S COMING IN DRY!

• Thunderhead Brotherhood: Two gangs of Liberators and Judicators. If one model's within two others, they all re-roll wound rolls of 1 and if a Liberator squad is put in front of a judicator squad when they get shot, the Liberators act as cover (Which will get a lot less usage then it sounds).

• Lords of the Storm: A formation based upon the heroes; a Lord Celestant (Either on foot or on a Dracoth), a Lord-Relictor, and 2-5 choices for any other hero. All assembled, they add +1 Bravery to any Stormcasts within 6" of a hero and if 3+ heroes are nearby, they can inflict damage on any enemies within 3" of them - a mortal wound for each hero in the group. In general, very meh, but necessary for most meta-formations.

• Vanguard Wing: 3 packs of Prosecutors and a pack of Liberators in a rather nice formation. If the Libeators are within 8" of the Prosectors and they roll a 6 to hit, they can even inflict 2 wounds for each hit, making dual-wielding an actually useful option. On top of that, the Liberators can also teleport to anywhere within 5" of the Prosecutors, solving their mobility issue.

• Hammerstrike Force: Two Retributor gangs and a pack of Prosecutors - at least one squad of Retributors has to deep-strike near the Prosecutors 9or at least 9" away from an enemy if you fucked up and the birdboys have carked it). Note that this can be done at any point during the movement phase - even after the Prosecutors ran! And that's serious deployment! On top of that, if the Retributors are within 6" of the flyboys, they add in +1 to wound.

• Devastation Brotherhood: One pack of every sort of Paladin assembled together with a pack of Prosecutors. If the Paladins all wound an enemy unit in the same Combat Phase, that unit will get even further turbo-rekt by d6 additional mortal wounds. The Prosecutors are there to bog down the enemy so you can hit them; they can force an enemy unit within 9" to take -1 Bravery and lose d6 movement during your Hero Phase.

• Wardens of the Realmgate: A Lord-Castellant (with optional hound) joins a gang of Protectors and two gangs of Liberators in protecting a Baleful Realmgate. That gate is set up after the Castellant and any time he's within 6" of it during the Hero Phase, he can roll a d6 and summon a new set of Sigmarines (or a unit that just died) within 6" of it. All the Protectors do is give anyone in this set re-rollable saves if they're within 6". S'yeah, summoning Sigmarines. Not really worth it considering you need to shell out for that terrain.
  • Like Nagash, this Battalion is practically a scenario in and of itself. It can't move away after being placed, but it can crap enormous numbers of Sigmarines onto your opponent and is nigh indestructible with the Castellant's save bonuses and the rerolls from the Protectors. If you're going to field this, build a narrative around it, because under normal circumstances, it's immobility makes it nearly useless for the Stormcasts, even if it's actually very powerful.

• Harbinger Chamber: The Lords of the Storm grab 3 Vanguard Wings. This leads to quite a lot of goons. However, any model can deep-strike wherever and whenever they want and they also gain +1 to-hit. Things that get hit by these boys get wrecked. Especially fun for the Venator and the Prosecutors.

• Exemplar Chamber: The Lords of the Storm instead join 3 Devastation Brotherhoods. They get the same Deep-Strike rule but also gain an extra attack if ever a unit dies. If you piss them off, you better pray you can run from the STORM.

• The Host Azyric: A formation made only for those who seriously have too much money. not only do you need Celestant-Prime, but you also need an Azyros, a Heraldor, a Vexilor, and a Venator, but you also need 4 wings of Prosecutors, 3 packs of Liberators, 2 gangs of Judicators, and a squad of Retributors. This formation makes everyone except the Venator Deep-Strike on any turn, forcing enemies within 15" to halve their movement and roll 1d6 for charging on the turn they arrive. The Prime additionally benefits by getting the ability to use his comets to summon more Stormcasts within 10" of the blast.

Army Building

Stormcast are able to do a few things. Their guys are durable, can hit like a freight train, and have some unique rules as opposed to other armies. As of yet however they dont have wizards or monsters (arguably barring the Dracoth) and rely on their support characters to give them vital staying power. Start with a Celestant to lead you, mounted or otherwise, and your pick of bulk units. If you dont know what to go for then Liberators are a good all-round choice as they are above the average for most race's 'core' anyway. Augmented by a secondary line (shooty Judicators and either a Lord-Relictor or Castellant to make sure they stay on the feild) they should hold up fine, even can even stall other armies' big hitters. When it comes to the Paladins, use them as lock-breakers. Stormcast excel at (fittingly) hammer and anvil tactics, especially with the unique deployment options available to them. Try to get Liberators to tie up important units initially and then have your second line units shoot them down or your Paladins break them like Bane did Batman.

Another interesting point to consider is this; most armies rely on keyword support to really get the most out of their units. Stormcast Eternals have very little in the way of support outside specific heroes, because they don't need it - many of their units are strong enough on their own. What this means is that you can quite comfortably add their units to nearly every other army to cover up their weaknesses.