Hey everyone, Reecius here to talk about my first impressions of the very awesome new Age of Sigmar Order Battletome: Sylvaneth!
Be sure to check the Tactics Corner for more great Age of Sigmar content!
So caveat: this is not a comprehensive review, but a first shot overview. We’re going through a comprehensive Sylvaneth review over at FLG for anyone interested, the first article of which can be found here.
As a long time Wood Elf player, I am thrilled to see these models! I mean, WOW. They’re just mind blowing! So good! If you want to see an unboxing video of the new kits, follow this link. We’ve come a loooooooong way from the old, incredibly awful Wood Elf models.
Yeah, that was were west started, lol. The new Duthu is a thing of beauty!
That is a quantum leap forward in quality. The entire new line is of this degree of improvement. So, so good. Gushing about the beauty of the new models aside, the book itself is very exciting! I am very pumped about what this means for the game. We can glean a lot about it from the structure of this Battletome.
The backstory in the book is very solid. The story of Alarielle and the Sylvaneth’s battle and near loss to Nurgle was great! With her return thanks to the sacrifice of her daughter and help from Sigmar, the forces of life are on the counter-attack! This sets the stage for where we are in the story.
The structure of the book is fun. It’s a combination of 40k and AoS, IMO, which is a good thing. We have unit Warscrolls, but also army wide rules for taking Sylvaneth only forces. We get some cool Command Traits to customize your general, custom spells for Sylvaneth Wizards and slick magic items for your Heroes. These are not only good on the tabletop, but fun and characterful. You can start the game with a Wyldwood Grove on the table which helps Sylvaneth armies a ton, and can move them around with spells, create more via Arcane Treasures, spells, etc. Your forces can teleport around through the woods, be healed by them or they can attack your opponent. They form a key part of the Sylvaneth army’s strategies.
You have options to make both powerful and themed characters in your armies, which is really fun. You can also take a magic item for each Hero per Battalion in your army! Often I think we’ll see 2-4 of these sprinkled around a 2,000pt list which will add a lot of fun to games and help to make your Heroes even more heroic.
There are also a combination of Warscroll Battalions in the book which function as the equivalent of both Formations and “Decurion” style Detachments in 40k. These give you themed groups of units that grant special bonuses to represent their play style. Personally, I decided to go with a Gnarlroot Wargrove warband comprised of a Household Battalion, Forest Folks and Free Spirit Battalions! The idea of super powered life Wizards really appealed to me. Oh, and of course, I am throwing Alarielle in there because WOW. Dat model.
But that’s just me! You can build your Sylvaneth Warband in so many different ways. You can go for a cool theme like one of the other Wargroves, or a season, etc. That is the beauty of it, you have tons of different ways to customize your army, give it a cool theme and have it play well on the table. I dig it! Oh, and what else? My Warband is only 33 models! That’s not too difficult to assemble and paint and not too pricey, either (relative statement, of course). That means you can easily collect a new, themed warband every year or even quicker if you were so inclined. I love variety so I am already thinking about my next Warband! Most likely some awesome Wanderers to compliment my Sylvaneth but I also have my eye on those Orruks and Minotaurs, too!
Are you all excited for the new Sylvaneth?
And as always, Frontline Gaming sells Games Workshop product at up to 25% off of retail, every day!
You can also pick up some cheap models in our Second Hand Shop. Some of these gems are quite rare, sometimes they’re fully painted!
Destruction is the way to go. Orruks (especially ironjaws) look great and the destruction alliance ability to run and charge can be really good for a melee heavy force. Also Gordrak is a really fun character and great model.
Orruks are so cool! Love the models. i actually find myself leaning towards the Savage Orruks.
But yeah, holy crap, Gordrak is a BEAST.
The Ironjawz are pretty good. Although from using them the warherds are no slouches either. Give all the minotaurs great weapons and watch them rip stuff up. Especially in the bullgor stampede where they get 2 extra attacks for each 6 to wound.
I would generally vote chaos but he didn’t seem interested in them. The learning leagues current focus on bloodhound is holding them back.
Add a hell canon for some very good firepower, some skullcrushers for speed if you still want khorne, and a bloodthirstier (insensinate rage is a good one).
Granted I would vote to move towards nurgle daemons for their multiple saves or Tzeentch for complete magical domination. Lords of change are scary.
I don’t like most of chaos honestly. Its the monsters and beastmen that caught my eye. The minotaurs are really good though. Next are the 3 death armies I have planned and then the 3 Orcs and goblins and squig armies.
Big projects on the way for you!
Yep now to try and motivate myself to paint them. Or more likely pay someone to paint them.
Yeah, I love all of the Minotaur models.
I’m excited for battletombs going forward. Artifacts, Command Traits, Spell Lore, Allegiance rules, and the Decurion-style battalions are all awesome.
Same! I instantly decided to make a Sylvaneth army when I saw those.
Took the plunge and ordered some orruks, models are soo awesome. It will be nice to play orks with an armor save for a change!
Haha, right? Feel free to shoot us some bat reps or WIPs of your models as you paint them up! We can add it to out WIP Wednesday posts.
I was initially worried about Battalions and Decurion-style Battalions. Some people believe those are some of the most problematic things in 40k, and they aren’t entirely incorrect.
But, the AoS ones seem… I dunno, better? The big thing I see is that you have to pay for them, and in a system where points can be really restrictive, that’s huge. Additionally, there don’t seem to be any (so far) that are as strong as the Libby Conclave or Battle Company in 40k.
I’m excited to see which ones come out in the future!
Agree on this – just looking at the recent Tau FAQ and quickly picking out Rearm and Refuel, Supporting Fire, and the Ghostkeel Holophoton rules, on top of SM getting 500 pts of free transport – it’s Bull Shit. These things do not make the game fun, and come off as feeling very heavy handed to either power-game or go home.
At the moment AoS is a breath of fresh air. Really hoping GW stays consistent and keeps sight of the “game” as they release future AoS battletomes. Keep re-rollable saves in check, keep damage output in check and therefore keep the game fun.
Even with rerollable saves, due to armor modifiers and mortal wounds in AoS, it’s something that can be overcome.
Yeah, some of them are VERY good, but nothing like the Libby Conclave or Battle Company, I agree.
I am teetering on buying a full Ironjaws force. Right now I just have the basic infantry characters(megabits being my favorite) but Gordrakk is incredibly tempting. Loved him in the books so far (was also really happy to see new named characters).
Only problem is if I plunk down the cash to get him I’ll eventually have to invest in a full force for him. Though his command ability allows him to boost all destruction models.
My buddy just started them and they look really cool. The Gordrakk especially is awesome.
Yeah, the models are so cool.
And hey, you can always get them at a discount at FLG =P
I could do that but all the way out in Pittsburgh I’ve got to deplete my wallet at the local stores. I have been eyeing those fat mats though. I’ll probably have to get myself one for Christmas.
Yeah, we’d be happy to hook you up with a fat mat
Ya the one store here just got a few and they are pretty sweet.
Nice!