Soul Wars Announced

The day has finally come. With the new edition almost upon us, we can reveal the culmination of Nagash’s great work and the beginning of a new chapter for Warhammer Age of Sigmar – SOUL WARS.

 

Soul Wars is, without a doubt, Warhammer Age of Sigmar’s best boxed set ever. Hell, it’s maybe the best Warhammer boxed set ever – jam-packed with brand new content for every kind of player, from two armies of never-before-seen models to the new edition’s magnificent core book, and even more besides.

And it can all be yours, available to pre-order on June 16th and in stores June 30th.

Let’s take a look inside, shall we?

Let’s start with the models – if these were the only thing in the box, it’d still be an incredible set. Soul Wars is the first place you’ll be able to get miniatures for the new Sacrosanct Chamber and Nighthaunt.

Thanks to some extra-cunning engineering, every single model in the kit is push fit, from your line infantry to the magnificent Heroes who lead each force. If you’re looking to get gaming in the new edition as soon as possible, just grab a pair of clippers and you’ll have both forces built in no time.

The miniatures in this set represent some of Warhammer Age of Sigmar’s most anticipated releases to date, from a bold new direction for the Stormcast Eternals, to Death’s first major release in years.

Representing nobility, justice and defiance, we have the Sacrosanct Chamber – a gathering of magi and engineers who have turned their arts to a singular purpose: annihilation. The box contains a host of warriors from this newly opened Chamber, including the first-ever Stormcast Eternals Wizards and the debut of the Celestar Ballista – the first Stormcast Eternals war machine. You’ll find this set great for bolstering an existing army or kicking off a brand new one.

Facing them are the dread legions of the Nighthaunt, a terrifying new force assembled by Nagash to conquer the Mortal Realms. These are some of the first new models for Death in Warhammer Age of Sigmar, and it’s safe to say the wait has been worth it. Each model is exquisitely detailed, using the latest miniatures design technology to create a force quite unlike any we’ve ever seen before in Warhammer. This is the best way to kick off a new Nighthaunt force or to add a contingent of these ethereal killers to the Legions of Nagash.

That’s a LOT of models! And that’s not all. You’ll also find everything else you need to play:

 

Firstly, you’ll find a Getting Started booklet in the set to guide you through your first few games and teach you how to play, so if you’re new and looking for an easy way in, this is it! Meanwhile, the 32-page Battle for Glymmsforge booklet follows the story of the armies in the boxed set, as the Stormcast Eternals encounter the new Nighthaunt for the first time in the opening battles of the Soul Wars.

If you want to learn more about the narrative, you’ll find the first chapter of Josh Reynold’s Soul Wars novel in the box as well (we’ll be sharing more about this later in the week).

Finally, 13 new-format warscroll cards make checking the rules of your models mid-game easy, while turquoise gem dice and measuring sticks mean that you’ll be able to start playing as soon as your armies are built.

And, to top it all off, you get the complete Core Book for the new edition – all 320 glorious pages in full colour and wrapped in a sturdy hardback cover.

So, what’s in this Core Book? We’re glad you asked…

If you’re serious about Warhammer Age of Sigmar, the Core Book is for you – it’s a compendium packed with lore, art and rules and is the ultimate guide for your battles in this new age of war.

The first part of the Core Book takes our closest look at the narrative of the Mortal Realms so far, fleshing out the timeline and taking a look at everything from the Age of Myth, to the capture of Slaanesh, to the Realmgate Wars and the Shyish Necroquake. Sumptuous new art realises the Mortal Realms in gorgeous detail, with sweeping vistas that truly underline the cosmic scale of the setting.

Next, we move on to a guide to every single one of the realms, designed to add depth and character to each. From maps to timelines and art that shows you what a citizen of that realm might look like, you’ll find intrigue, mystery and plenty of context for your collections and the mighty wars they will wage.

A close look at the factions provides your guide to each of the Grand Alliances. Learn how the disparate forces of Order forge common cause in the free cities, explore the serried hordes of Chaos or learn about Nagash’s dark schemes for the Mortal Realms.

If you’re brand new to the setting, this is the perfect way to get caught up, and even if you know your way around the realms, you may find a few surprises.

And that’s just the first half – the second part of the Core Book is dedicated to playing games. As well as the essential core rules, you’ll find loads of content designed to let you expand your games however you choose. Here’s just some of what you get:

• Realm of Battle rules that let you set your games in the mystical landscapes of the Mortal Realms.
• An Open War Battleplan generator that makes choosing which battleplan you play easy, and some basic rules for multiplayer games.
• A guide to all sorts of narrative play games, from desperate sieges to brutal subterranean warfare, and some inspiration for your own campaigns.
• Six matched play battleplans, as well as Battle Strategies – a new way to score your games that rewards quick-thinking and flexibility.

In short, the Core Book is your gateway to every aspect of the Warhammer hobby, providing you with the tools you need to get started and play the type of games you want to, whether you’re a beginner or a veteran.

The Core Book is included in the Soul Wars box, but for those that want it on its own, you will also be able to pick it up separately.

Malign Sorcery is by far and away our favourite change in the new edition – it’s an expansion that takes magic and turns it up to 11.

Got a wizard in your army? Get this expansion, and they’ll have 13 new endless spells to play with, summoned sorceries with massive in-game effects. We’ve previewed a few of these over the past few weeks, but now, we can reveal the full list in all of its glory:

Every single one of these spells, along its warscroll card, is in the box. It’s your one-stop shop to a new age of magic, and that’s not even all!

Inside the Malign Sorcery box, you’ll find the full Malign Sorcery supplement – your guide to magic in the Mortal Realms. This book takes a closer look at magical lore in the Age of Sigmar, and the arcane materials that accumulate in each realm, such as Aetherquartz and Cyclestone. There are pages of spectacular new art and background depicting the unbound living magic rampant across each of the realms. You’ll even find painting guides for many of the endless spells, to help you get them ready for your own games.

There’s MORE. Seriously, even without the endless spells this would be a pretty hefty supplement. Skirmish on the Realm’s Edge lets you fight battles with a handful of models in some of the Mortal Realms’ most unstable landscapes as they hunt and bind wild spells for coin and renown. You can even expand your games to Path to Glory, as your warband grows into a fully fledged army gathering new spells to its cause.

For larger games, meanwhile, this book contains no fewer than 84(!) magical items that you’ll be able to use in any game, allowing you to customise your Heroes more than ever before, while the Spells of the Realms add a whole lore’s worth of magic to each of the Mortal Realms, building on the rules already found in the Core Book.

There’s even a set of Pitched Battle profiles, giving you the points you need to use your endless spells in matched play, while two Malign Sorcery battleplans aimed at matched play have a chance of showing up in any of your games where both players bring endless spells.

If you’re ready to take your games in the Mortal Realms to the next level, you won’t want to miss this year’s General’s Handbook.

For matched play gamers, you’ll be able to diversify your games with 12 more battleplans. Using new rules for rolling up which battleplan you’ll play, you can combine these with the battleplans in your Core Book for a total of 18 (or 20, if you include Malign Sorcery)! You’ll have to stay on your toes and build your lists to tackle all manner of possible situations if you want to thrive. Meanwhile, pitched battle profiles provide points for every single Warhammer Age of Sigmar model in the Mortal Realms.

Open play, as ever, remains a treat for those gamers who’re looking for fresh new ways to play Warhammer Age of Sigmar. A vastly expanded battleplan generator allows you to create new battleplans easily (no more wondering which one to choose), while Aerial Battles bring a whole new dimension to your games. Ever wanted to see how a wing of Prosecutors would fare against a pack of Tzaangor Skyfires and Enlightened on Discs of Tzeentch? This is a great way to find out. You can play overhead combat where the battle in the skies can violently affect the battlefield below, or stratospheric battles where aerial units rule the skies and those that cannot fly must perch atop eyries and buildings. A set of unique objectives and twists makes generating new Aerial Battles a breeze.

This General’s Handbook is also an incredible resource for narrative play, offering you some really flexible and powerful rules for designing battleplans of your own and telling rich stories on the battlefield. 43 new special rules allow you to add all manner of strange effects to your games, from showers of meteors to storms of magic and networks of tunnels – combined with the battleplan generator, you’ll be able to create rich campaigns with ease.

Gathering of Might, meanwhile, is designed to let you play your biggest games ever – titanic and climatic clashes that define the Mortal Realms forever. With these rules, games between whole teams of players using hundreds of models are simple. Streamlined rules for deploying and fighting combats mean that you’ll be able to get through these games quickly, while legendary traits, artefacts, spells and gifts of the gods allow you to represent the incredible feats and legendary champions at the hearts of these conflicts.

Finally, for every kind of gamer, the General’s Handbook 2018 contains a new set of rules for summoning for every army that used it before, as well as allegiance abilities for every faction that was featured last year – for reference, that’s:

• Darkling Covens
• Dispossessed
• Free Peoples
• Fyreslayers
• Seraphon
• Wanderers
• Brayherds
• Slaanesh
• Slaves to Darkness
• Skaven Pestilens
• Skaven Skryre
• Flesh-eater Courts
• Ironjawz

Part toolbox, part guide to matched play, all awesome – this year’s General’s Handbook is a must-have for all warlords.

What about painting your new Nighthaunt models? The Hobby Studio (that’s the guys who design all your paints, scenery and other accessories) are constantly looking for new ways to make painting easier, from staples like Agrax Earthshade to innovative technical paints that make effects easy, like Nihilakh Oxide. Nighthaunt Gloom and Hexwraith Flame allow you to create awesome-looking ghostly effects in moments.

Just spray white, slap on a coat of these, and you’re done. We’re serious – here are some examples of how they look:

In the new edition, tactical play is key, and victory could come down to a matter of inches. You’ll want to make sure that every move, every pile in and every charge is as effective as possible, and a great way to do it is with the new Combat Gauge! Made of solid metal, this little device makes small measurements easy and is a great way to quickly resolve combats, check coherency and more.

We first looked at the new objective markers at Warhammer Fest, and they’re definitely worth another look. These models are great for giving your troops something thematic to fight over and each is a characterful little piece that takes a peek at a corner of the Mortal Realms, from some strange, arcane machinery to treasure chests packed with loot. We reckon the markers will be a blessing for scenery builders, too – by combining multiple packs, you could build anything from ancient tombs to gold-filled vaults or strange, magical landscapes.

Last, but very far from least: dice! We love them, and the Hobby Studio have been hard at work designing more. To help you play the new edition, there’s a range of new dice sets available designed to track in-game effects and make working out what’s going on at a glance easy. The new terrain dice, for instance, feature symbols that correspond to those in the rulebook, making adding mysterious terrain effects to your battle simple.

Meanwhile, the Command Dice Set features command point trackers as well as nifty status dice that let you check which units have charged, ran, are currently enchanted with Mystic Shield and so on – no more scribbling in notepads or relying on your memory! There’s also a new set of wound trackers on the way, designed in a brand new shape and engineered not to roll around for maximum reliability.

If Soul Wars has you hungry for even MORE of the new Stormcast Eternals and Nighthaunt models – well, rest assured, there’s plenty more cool stuff on the way. On the release weekend, meanwhile, you’ll be able to grab a range of push fit kits to bolster your forces from Soul Wars. If you’re a fan of the Sacrosanct Chamber, you’ll be able to reinforce your army with some Sequitors and Castigators (not to mention a loyal Gryph-hound!)…

…while Nighthaunt players can add a Deathbeat Drummer to their Glaivewraith Stalkers, or add the shrieking Myrmourn Banshees to their armies – diabolical wizard-hunters with the power to feast on magical energy.

All of these will be available on the launch weekend for the new edition – and they’re just the start. There are loads more models, boxed sets and books planned, and we’ll be previewing them all right here on Warhammer Community.

 

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