Warhammer Age of Sigmar Starter Set Guides

Warhammer Age of Sigmar (AoS) has just had a new edition of the rules released, AoS 3rd Edition, along with three new starter set to get you going. In this article, we're going to look at what's in each box so you can best judge which one is for you.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar

Warhammer Age of Sigmar is a fantasy wargame by Games Workshop. It takes place in the timeline just after the destruction of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, which was set in the Old World. Age of Sigmar is set in the Mortal Realms, eight different areas connected by gates. Each realm has its own unique characteristics.

• Azyr, the Realm of the Heavens
• Aqshy, the Realm of Fire
• Ghur, the Realm of Beasts
• Ghyran, the Realm of Life
• Chamon, the Realm of Metal
• Shyish, the Realm of Death
• Hysh, the Realm of Light
• Ulgu, the Realm of Shadow

Age of Sigmar also includes twenty-six different playable factions, under four core Grand Alliances.

• Order - The forces of good in the world, made up of alliances of men, aelves, and dwarfs.
• Chaos - Forces from the four different chaos gods.
• Death - Anything that has survived beyond life comes under the banner of death.
• Destruction - The different factions that seek nothing but war, mainly orruks and ogres.

What Do You Need To Play Warhammer Age of Sigmar?

Games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar require a few things:

• Warhammer Age of Sigmar rules
• Six-sided dice (D6)
• Measuring tool
• An army for each player (along with the rule and warscrolls for them)

Age of Sigmar Starter Sets

Luckily, Games Workshop have you covered with everything you need to start playing Age of Sigmar with single purchase starter sets. There are three starter sets available, and we'll have a look at what's in each set below.

Whichever set you choose, all of the miniatures in all three sets are push-fit, which means they only need to be removed from the sprues and cleaned up. They can be put together without glue, making them perfect for beginner hobbyists.

Each set also contains a digest rulebook, perfect for finding rules quickly in-game, and a quickstart guide, which has some of the background for Age of Sigmar, along with some play-along tutorials that use the miniatures from the set, and introduce rules and concepts slowly.

Warrior Starter Set

The Age of Sigmar Warrior Starter Set contains:

• Age of Sigmar Digest Rulebook
• Warrior Editon quickstart guide
• Two rules reference sheets
• Ten D6
• Two measuring sticks
• Fold-out paper battlemat
• Card scenery
• Stormcast Eternals Force
  • Knight-Arcanum
  • Five Vindictors
• Kruleboyz Orruks Force
  • Killaboss plus Stab-grot assistant
  • Ten Gutrippaz

Harbinger Starter Set

The Age of Sigmar Harbinger Starter Set contains:

• Age of Sigmar Digest Rulebook
• Harbinger Editon quickstart guide
• Two rules reference sheets
• Ten D6
• Two measuring sticks
• Fold-out paper battlemat
• Card scenery
• Stormcast Eternals Force
  • Lord-Imperatant and Gryph-hound
  • Three Praetors
  • Five Vindictors
• Kruleboyz Orruks Force
  • Swampcalla Shaman and pot-grot
  • Ten Gutrippaz
  • Ten Hobgrot Slittaz

Extremis Starter Set

The Age of Sigmar Extremis Starter Set contains:

• Age of Sigmar Digest Rulebook
• Extremis Editon quickstart guide
• Two rules reference sheets
• Ten D6
• Two measuring sticks
• Large double-sided card battlemat
• Five pieces of push-fit Realmscape scenery
• Stormcast Eternals Force
  • Lord-Imperatant and Gryph-hound
  • Three Praetors
  • Five Vindictors
• Kruleboyz Orruks Force
  • Swampcalla Shaman and pot-grot
  • Ten Gutrippaz
  • Ten Hobgrot Slittaz

The Realmscape scenery in the Extremis Starter Set is also push-fit, and extremely durable. The detail in the scenery is fantastic and really captures the theme of an abandoned construction site at the edge of the crusades very well.

Starter Set Forces

Stormcast Eternals

The Stormcast Eternals in the starter sets are part of an evolving force. The Stormcast Eternals are immortal warriors, who return to the world when slain, but recent events in the living narrative have meant that their return isn't as easy, so these new Stormcast Eternals all wear Thunderstrike Armour, which makes their return to the world easier.

• Lord-Imperatant - The Stormcast Thunderstrike units can be set up in reserve and can arrive during the battle anywhere on the battlefield more than nine inches away from your opponents' units. The Lord-Imperatant is able to guide a Thunderstrike unit with greater accuracy onto the battlefield, reducing the distance from enemy units to seven inches when they arrive. They can also issue a command once per turn without using a command point. They have a range eighteen attack with D6 strikes so you don't need to push them into combat, and they're protected by a Gryph-hound to assist them in melee should the enemy engage them.
• Knight-Arcanum - The Knight-Arcanum are wizards unit with access to the Blaze of Heavens spell, which can deal D3 mortal wounds to an enemy unit within eighteen inches. The range of the spell is boosted by two inches for every Thunderstrike unit within twelve inches of the Knight-Arcanum, so surround them with friendly warriors for a long-rage sniping spell.
• Praetors - Praetors are bodyguard units to Stormcast heroes, and are assigned to a hero at the start of the battle. If they are within three inches of their bound hero, whenever that hero suffers a wound, a roll determines if the hero takes the wound as normal the Praetors suffer the wound, or it is negated entirely.
• Vindictors - The Thunderstrike line troopers, with two attacks each, they deal mortal wounds with their Stormspears on rolls of a six.

Orruk Kruleboyz

The Kruleboyz are a new breed of Orruk, more akin to shootin' and back-stabbin' than rushing headlong into a fight. They come from the marshes and bogs and are brand new with the release of the new edition of Age of Sigmar.

• Killaboss with Stab-grot - The Killaboss with Stab-Grot has a choice of armaments, a Boss-hacka, and either a Skareshield or Rusting Flail. The Skareshiled raised the save of the boss and the Flail gives the boss an extra couple of attacks. The push-fit nature of the miniatures means that you're not committed to picking an armament and can change from game to game until you paint them. We opted for the flail though, as more dice in attack gives more chances of the Venom-encrusted Weapons ability doing its work. The Stab-Grot, as well as throwing in an additional three attacks, can take a wound for the boss and there's a chance can even negate the wound completely.
• Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-grot - The Swampcalla Shaman can summon mists that add one to the charge rolls of friendly units and subtract one from the charge rolls of enemy units, or they can give nearby friendly units a poison or elixir to boost their venom-encrusted weapons or raise their saves.
• Gutrippaz - The Gutrippaz can reduce the capability of enemy units before charging in. If they can beat the bravery score of an enemy unit within twelve inches, that unit suffers -1 to hit rolls against the Gutrippaz. They have two attacks each with a range of two inches, to make good use of their venom-encrusted weapons.
• Hobgrot Slittaz - Hobgrot Slittaz units can be built with a Champion, Standard Bearer, and Musician. They're armed with both a range eight grenade, and a two attack close combat weapon that can deal extra hits on a roll of a six. With a 6+ save, they won't withstand a direct charge from the Stormcast for long, but they can tie them up and try to bring them down with volume of attacks.

Beginner Hobbyists

To make it simple for new hobbyists, there are also set new hobby starter sets available. Two paint sets, one for the Stormcast Eternals and one for the Kruleboyz, each contain some miniatures to get started, a paintbrush, and six paints to match the scheme of the force it contains. 

The starter paint and tool set contains thirteen paints, a paintbrush, some hobby clippers, and a mold line remover. This is the perfect addition to any of the Age of Sigmar starter sets for any new hobbyist.

This guide was produced using an Age of Sigmar Extremis Starter Set provided by Games Workshop.