Finally I got some time to actually play a game with the new rules. We played Border War.
My list was:
Subfaction: Death Stalkers Awlrach the Drowner (160) - 1 x Cairn Wraith (130) - 20 x Grimghast Reapers (280) - 20 x Grimghast Reapers (280) Guardian of Souls (140) [General] [Cloaked in Shadow] [Lightshard Lantern] - 20 x Bladegheist Revenants (300) - 4 x Myrmourn Banshees (120) Reikenor the Grimhailer (210) - 2 x Dreadblade Harrows (160) - 10 x Craventhrone Guard (200) Lore of the Underworlds Morbid Conjuration 1980/2000pts
His list was:
Lumineth Realm-lords Archmage Teclis and Celennar, Spirit of Hysh (590) [General] - 20 x Vanari Auralan Sentinels (300) - 1 x Hurakan Spirit of the Wind (240) - 1 x Vanari Bannerblade (130) Scinari Enlightener (180) [Silver Wand] [Perfect Strike] - 20 x Vanari Auralan Wardens (280) - 10 x Vanari Bladelords (280) Shrine Luminor [Lore of Hysh] [Morbid Conjuration] 2000/2000pts
Reflections on the Game
I won a decisive victory as my opponent conceded in round 3. I’ve never experienced such an incredible streak of luck in a game before—it was almost absurd. I consistently rolled 10 or higher, effortlessly unbinding everything. While this might sound like a display of my generalship, in truth, it was more about the dice than my skill (though I believe I played reasonably well). The silver lining is that this extraordinary luck allowed for a real contest. Had I not been able to unbind three times as many spells as I should have, there would have been no ghosts left by turn two.
Despite my opponent's crucial oversight—a missed -1 to hit—and my nearly miraculous dice rolls, the Lumineth still had a fighting chance until the end of round three. I genuinely believe that in a more typical game, my list would stand little chance against my opponent's. Additionally, I suspect my opponent should have taken the first turn, which would have made the game significantly harder for me.
Thoughts on 4th Edition
Endless Spells need immediate adjustment. Playing against Teclis made it clear just how broken they are, as he can deploy up to four of them each turn without even rolling a die. Endless Spells retain all their previous advantages, but now they’ve also become combat beasts, and they’re harder to unbind due to the rarity of bonuses to unbinding. I should probably revisit the rules to ensure we played them correctly. EDIT: We thought that Endless Spells can make a move the turn they are set up - this is not the case, which is a huge relief, because the other way was bonkers.
That said, this is the only negative aspect I’ve encountered with 4th edition so far. The game remains complex and has not become faster, but that’s Age of Sigmar in a nutshell. On the positive side, there have been some quality-of-life improvements, the most notable being that non-active players can now only use their abilities after the active player has completed their move. This means that abilities like redeploy, covering fire, and counter charge no longer require constant vigilance but can instead be used once your opponent has finished moving everything. It’s a welcome change. Armies feel much as they did in 3rd edition, with Warscrolls appearing more streamlined and armies overall having fewer rules. However, the remaining rules are more defining for playstyle.
Countercharge was particularly impactful in my game, as it allowed me to get an extra unit of Bladegheists into combat with Suffocating Gravetide, killing it (and thereby denying my opponent's Battle Tactic) and then piling in to steal his home objective. It’s no wonder that Countercharge is the only command ability that costs 2 command points. Overall, Battle Tactics seem well-balanced—not too difficult but not too easy either. You should definitely consider how to approach them when building your list. Command abilities, in general, seem stronger than before, so careful management of CP is crucial.
On Playing Nighthaunt
Nighthaunt remains the glass cannon army we know, laughing at high rend but crying against Mortal Wounds. They’ve improved significantly in two areas: the Death Stalkers subfaction grants Run and Charge, greatly increasing the army’s speed and enabling alpha strikes. Additionally, charge debuffs are no longer stackable but are also not dependent on dice rolls. Now, the three types of debuffs are tied to the unit type making the charge: Shriek (-1 to hit) is produced by my infantry, Stun (-1 to saves) by my cavalry and war machines, and Petrify (always strikes last) by my heroes.
Why is this better than before? Because now you know exactly what you’re getting. If it’s crucial to apply "always strikes last" (which it often is when sending five units into combat), you can plan for it. This change also has the positive effect of encouraging a more varied list composition.
Facing the Lumineth
This was my first game against the Lumineth, and they played exactly as one would expect from an army led by the literal God of Magic. It’s a super-strong magic castle that litters the board with Endless Spells. They also have access to some absurdly fast units, which I believe are key to scoring objectives and Battle Tactics. Teclis is a magical powerhouse but easier to take down now than before.
Though I didn’t play perfectly, I think my strategy (if you could call it that) was sound: get in the elves’ faces as quickly as possible. The key to this approach is to deal as much damage as possible before being melted by magic. Additionally, the closer you are to the Lumineth’s castle, the harder it is for Teclis to place Endless Spells effectively, as most of them have medium range and must be placed 9" from enemies. By boxing them in, you can limit the effectiveness of their magic. However, this strategy is a double-edged sword, as it also brings you within 18" of Teclis with all your units, increasing the damage output from his Storm of White Searing Light—a ridiculously strong AoE bomb.
My list was:
Subfaction: Death Stalkers Awlrach the Drowner (160) - 1 x Cairn Wraith (130) - 20 x Grimghast Reapers (280) - 20 x Grimghast Reapers (280) Guardian of Souls (140) [General] [Cloaked in Shadow] [Lightshard Lantern] - 20 x Bladegheist Revenants (300) - 4 x Myrmourn Banshees (120) Reikenor the Grimhailer (210) - 2 x Dreadblade Harrows (160) - 10 x Craventhrone Guard (200) Lore of the Underworlds Morbid Conjuration 1980/2000pts
His list was:
Lumineth Realm-lords Archmage Teclis and Celennar, Spirit of Hysh (590) [General] - 20 x Vanari Auralan Sentinels (300) - 1 x Hurakan Spirit of the Wind (240) - 1 x Vanari Bannerblade (130) Scinari Enlightener (180) [Silver Wand] [Perfect Strike] - 20 x Vanari Auralan Wardens (280) - 10 x Vanari Bladelords (280) Shrine Luminor [Lore of Hysh] [Morbid Conjuration] 2000/2000pts
Reflections on the Game
I won a decisive victory as my opponent conceded in round 3. I’ve never experienced such an incredible streak of luck in a game before—it was almost absurd. I consistently rolled 10 or higher, effortlessly unbinding everything. While this might sound like a display of my generalship, in truth, it was more about the dice than my skill (though I believe I played reasonably well). The silver lining is that this extraordinary luck allowed for a real contest. Had I not been able to unbind three times as many spells as I should have, there would have been no ghosts left by turn two.
Despite my opponent's crucial oversight—a missed -1 to hit—and my nearly miraculous dice rolls, the Lumineth still had a fighting chance until the end of round three. I genuinely believe that in a more typical game, my list would stand little chance against my opponent's. Additionally, I suspect my opponent should have taken the first turn, which would have made the game significantly harder for me.
Thoughts on 4th Edition
Endless Spells need immediate adjustment. Playing against Teclis made it clear just how broken they are, as he can deploy up to four of them each turn without even rolling a die. Endless Spells retain all their previous advantages, but now they’ve also become combat beasts, and they’re harder to unbind due to the rarity of bonuses to unbinding. I should probably revisit the rules to ensure we played them correctly. EDIT: We thought that Endless Spells can make a move the turn they are set up - this is not the case, which is a huge relief, because the other way was bonkers.
That said, this is the only negative aspect I’ve encountered with 4th edition so far. The game remains complex and has not become faster, but that’s Age of Sigmar in a nutshell. On the positive side, there have been some quality-of-life improvements, the most notable being that non-active players can now only use their abilities after the active player has completed their move. This means that abilities like redeploy, covering fire, and counter charge no longer require constant vigilance but can instead be used once your opponent has finished moving everything. It’s a welcome change. Armies feel much as they did in 3rd edition, with Warscrolls appearing more streamlined and armies overall having fewer rules. However, the remaining rules are more defining for playstyle.
Countercharge was particularly impactful in my game, as it allowed me to get an extra unit of Bladegheists into combat with Suffocating Gravetide, killing it (and thereby denying my opponent's Battle Tactic) and then piling in to steal his home objective. It’s no wonder that Countercharge is the only command ability that costs 2 command points. Overall, Battle Tactics seem well-balanced—not too difficult but not too easy either. You should definitely consider how to approach them when building your list. Command abilities, in general, seem stronger than before, so careful management of CP is crucial.
On Playing Nighthaunt
Nighthaunt remains the glass cannon army we know, laughing at high rend but crying against Mortal Wounds. They’ve improved significantly in two areas: the Death Stalkers subfaction grants Run and Charge, greatly increasing the army’s speed and enabling alpha strikes. Additionally, charge debuffs are no longer stackable but are also not dependent on dice rolls. Now, the three types of debuffs are tied to the unit type making the charge: Shriek (-1 to hit) is produced by my infantry, Stun (-1 to saves) by my cavalry and war machines, and Petrify (always strikes last) by my heroes.
Why is this better than before? Because now you know exactly what you’re getting. If it’s crucial to apply "always strikes last" (which it often is when sending five units into combat), you can plan for it. This change also has the positive effect of encouraging a more varied list composition.
Facing the Lumineth
This was my first game against the Lumineth, and they played exactly as one would expect from an army led by the literal God of Magic. It’s a super-strong magic castle that litters the board with Endless Spells. They also have access to some absurdly fast units, which I believe are key to scoring objectives and Battle Tactics. Teclis is a magical powerhouse but easier to take down now than before.
Though I didn’t play perfectly, I think my strategy (if you could call it that) was sound: get in the elves’ faces as quickly as possible. The key to this approach is to deal as much damage as possible before being melted by magic. Additionally, the closer you are to the Lumineth’s castle, the harder it is for Teclis to place Endless Spells effectively, as most of them have medium range and must be placed 9" from enemies. By boxing them in, you can limit the effectiveness of their magic. However, this strategy is a double-edged sword, as it also brings you within 18" of Teclis with all your units, increasing the damage output from his Storm of White Searing Light—a ridiculously strong AoE bomb.
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