Time for our Weekly Age of Sigmar review! Today we will be looking at the Daughters of Khaine Path to Glory rules. These rules seem to be creeping up in power, compared to the Stormcasts and Kruelboyz, let’s see if the trend continues.
Army Special Rules:
So after every battle, you can pick one Battleline or Hero unit to fight in the arena. You then roll on a table with the chance to earn a lot of renown points (especially for heroes), but also the risk to have the unit gain an injury or even permanently lose your character. Certain units get +1 to their rolls, making it less risky, but the chance of failure can make it a risky gamble.
Quests:
The DoK get two quests, one is picking a Hag or Slaughter Queen that isn’t on a cauldron of blood and giving it the ability (after killing enough enemy heroes and participating in enough battles) to buy one for half price! The second quest sets up the custom mission like every other faction.
Custom Mission:
The DoK actually get two custom missions. The first is set up using the Quest, the second is tied to getting a new territory.
Divide and Conquer is the standard DoK special mission, but it requires three players. The DoK player is trying to get the two players to kill each other while also keeping one side from being too strong. It’s an interesting set up, that will quickly go off the rails as people start to team up but with a good group could be amazing. It’s the first time I have seen a Path to Glory mission require the Triumph and Treachery rules but fits the DoK well.
The Ceremony of Blood is linked to the player discovering a new territory. The mission revolves around trying to consecrate a new temple of Khaine by killing your opponent. Your opponent is trying to stop the ritual by destroying the central “Cauldron” objective. It is complicated by the fact that your opponent can set up a unit that has been destroyed at the end of their turn on a 4+. To balance this out, the DoK gain the ability to heal D3 wounds on the cauldron of a 5+ on any of 4 “Blood Font” objectives on the board. It would appear that this mission is one that is very much a survival one for the DoK. You will need to screen the cauldron carefully, as while it has 12 wounds that won’t count for much against most armies. As with some other missions shooty armies will dumpster the DoK on this mission so choose your opponent carefully.
Veteran Abilities:
The veteran abilities table yields one result for most types of units. Some are generic but terrifying (+1 to wound once per game for Melusai units). Others are more unique, Khinerai dropping down 6″ from enemy units, Doomfire warlocks getting boosted spells once per game. A lot of these upgrades make their units more killy but not tougher which is an interesting trade offf that plays into the factions lore.
Territories:
The DoK get four new territories. One gives you re-rolls on your gladiatorial combat results which is super handy. Once upgraded it also yields additional glory points too! The Khainite Temple can only be built after you win the custom mission but grants you +3 units on your roster. The Scathborn Lair gives you +2 Melusai units. Lastly, you can add a Sigmarite shrine getting +3 allies but they must be Cities of Sigmar. I really like this last one as it feels very on-brand and a reminder that these gals are (technically) part of the Order faction. It’s interesting to note 3/4 of these territories give you additional units for your roster, this might be how the rules writers are trying to compensate for the innate squishiness of DoK.
Conclusion:
I like these rules a lot, the missions are decently fair, the upgrades are limited but strong, and the territories are solid. GW seems to be fighting the urge to over complicate these rules, which has been the trend in the Crusade mission packs. While I am still annoyed about having a new DoK book less than a year after I bought my old one, I think these Path to Glory help assuage my bruised wallet.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
