Touting some of the coolest fluffs in all of AoS, the Courts can range of top-table big winners, to charmingly mediocre. Let’s decide which are which.
I love Flesh-Eater Courts. Yes, I know I am madly in love with most of Age of Sigmar, but there is a special mad-love for this band of lunatics. What isn’t to love about a faction so deluded that even the God of Death himself can’t help but buy into their madness? The idea that this faction is the remnants of the Old World’s Brettonians is cool, but it is also a fun, glass-hammer approach to gaming that elevates these guys for me.
The army tends to be on the stronger side, to be sure, but still has pitfalls for those hoping to maximize competitive/tournament potential.
Over-Performer: Abhorrent Arch-Regent (Honorable Mention – AGKoRT)
Let me get this out of the way. The Abhorrent Ghoul King on Royal Terrorgeist is undoubtedly the work-horse of the army, and I cannot conceive of a list without at least one. His Command-Ability and natural profile make this a devastating model, 100% worth his point investment.
That said, the premise of these articles is to look at who over and under performs at their respective points, and on those merits, no one can touch the value this unit brings. Stating the obvious, whether near his free Charnel Throne, or for one CP, this unit will always bring you an additional free unit, potentially making himself “functionally” cost as little as 70pts.
Those 70pts give you a sturdy, two-spell caster in an army with access to both excellent spells (and Endless Spells) and also access to a +2 to casting/dispelling between Traits and Artifacts. Further, “Ferocious Hunger”, the unit’s exclusive spell is absolutely amazing and has a range perfectly suited to the army’s tendency to want to hold the mid-table. And by no small fluke, a perfect target for this spell is the aforementioned Ghoul King, who then grows to incredible, to army-clearing.
Best of all, this model has an automatic heal each turn which helps shrug off unsuccessful sniping attempts, and can even defend itself with a competent combat stat-line, adding further value to an already excellent caster.
I think the highest praise I can give a model is to say it is an auto-inclusion at the start of list building, and this model totally fits that bill.
Under-Performer: Zombie Dragon
I very nearly awarded this to the Infernal Courtier before realizing its presence, if nothing else, unlocks some viable, interesting builds and formations.
The Zombie Dragon, however, adds nothing of value to an army rich with superiors uses for 300pts. Whereas a Terrorgeist without a rider still has inherent charms as well as the potential for some quirky, effective lists, a Zombie Dragon was a fringe case even with a rider, and without one, is simply poor for its points. “Malefic Hunger” is such an excellent spell that it almost compensates for the short-comings, but sans that option, it really does lose all its allure.
There are certainly worse 300pt options in AoS, some profiled here in this series of articles, but at this moment in time there just isn’t a reason to field a Zombie Dragon competitively, especially when the kit can build three superior choices.
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