We finally made it folks. After two weeks off from events waiting for everyone to grab a copy of the 4th edition rules we’re finally here, attending and reporting on results from the first big events for Age of Sigmar’s new edition. In addition to the GW US Open in Tacoma we have four other major GTs of varying sizes to look at for our first taste of the new edition. While it’s still early days and that’s not enough to build a solid foundation on with regard to say, event statistics and win rates, we can at least look at new builds and think about what they look like on the table.

Before going forward I do ask that you bear with me, as a lot of this is going to be learning rules and interactions from scratch so I may miss stuff or get it outright wrong!

Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament: US Open Tacoma

84-player, 8-round Major in Tacoma, WA, United States on July 19 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mason Knox – Nighthaunt:
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vs.

Thomas Guan – Soulblight Gravelords:
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Thoughts

While we don’t have the mission handy for this matchup it’s worth point out that these are both very strong lists that adapt well to a lot of scenarios. Nighthaunt are highly mobile and have many tools to allow them and charge and retreat for multiple swings at their Wave of Terror abilities. They also have more ways to pop up around the field where they need to, and once set up have so many ways to make them hard to pick up and are a big enough sack of health that cutting them down is a real challenge. Ultimately this game was very close, coming down to a single objective difference.

Result

Soulblight Gravelords Victory, 42 – 40

Thomas Guan – Soulblight Gravelords – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Doggos

Thoughts

While this list looks a bit all over the place, the name really sells it all. This list is about Dogs and being annoying as possible.

Dire Wolves are unassuming on their own: 21 4+/3+ Rend 0, Damage 1 attacks per unit isn’t a whole lot, and with 5+ Save they aren’t protecting against a lot either, but with some support pieces they can shine.

20 wounds is still a fair commitment to cut through, saves or not. Belladamma can give them all -1 to rend and ignore the beast ability, so they can actually cap worth a damn. The Necromancer can let them fight twice with Danse Macabre. Now we get somewhere with damage. Even if you try and avoid them, Mannfred can pile them right into combat, or the Necromancer’s Heroic Trait can give them a free D6 move or pilein, giving them a lot of maneuverability. The subfaction lets them do a few mortal wounds and pile in at the end of combat, too. Which is a nice perk.

On the defense, Torgillus can give a -1 to wound a unit, which is huge for helping them stick around and Orb of Enhanctment gives Heroes Strike Last if they start trying to clear things out.

In addition to those you have Black Knights, Mannfred and Grave Guard all as solid hammers to take down the really big stuff.

Mason Knox – Nighthaunt – 2nd Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Midrange Nighthaunt

Thoughts

This list tries and takes a variety of just solid Nighthaunt units. Hexwraiths, Dreadscythe Harridans, Bladegheist Revenants and Dreadblade Harrows are all just really solid hammers charging into units and reaping them like corn.

Reikenor is one of the best casters in your army and can give himself 2 casts and +1 to cast. Nighthaunt have an excellent defensive spell lore with a decent offensive spell for hordes. Knight of Shrouds on steed can fight in tandem with the cavalry units, allowing them to put down a unit, or mostly do so, early in the fight.

 

LSO Outlaw GT 2024

58-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Allen, TX, United States on July 20 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission – Jaws of Gallet

Kel Pigg – Flesh-eater Courts:
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vs.

Ryan Rutherford – Gloomspite Gitz:
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Thoughts

This is a tough one to call. In the early game where more objectives are open the Morbheg Knight focused list can thrive on Jaws of Gallet, but as things consolidate the Troggs can hold their ground far better against the charges.

It’s mostly going to come down to if the FEC can dismantle enough of the Troggs that they cant make a come back in the end game and ultimately it comes up just short, with Gitz squeaking by 2 points ahead.

Result

Gloomspite Gitz Victory – 46 – 44

Ryan Rutherford – Gloomspite Gitz – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Troggs

Thoughts

The new edition really doesn’t change Trogg lists a whole lot and that’s shouldn’t really be a surprise. It’s a straightforward – but effective! – strategy.

Skragrott is your support piece who remains essential due to being able to manipulate the moon once per game. Troggs really need that +1 to save and you don’t want it leaving at an inopportune time. It also helps that Skragrott is probably your best wizard point for point. Supporting him is Trugg who’s just a solid beat stick all around and his buffs can be really helpful. It takes a lot of work to knock him down so much you only roll one dice now, so his slot machine looks way better.

Past that, Troggs do trogg things. Even with their swingy 4+ to hit, Troggs do Rend 2 damage 3 attacks, it seriously adds up! Trugg can also improve the Rend or the attacks with proper dice rolls. They’re resilient too, with a -1 to hit with Sneaky Distraction, +1 to save from the Bad Moon and  it’s too many wounds for most things but the spiciest of hammers to take down.

Benjamin Richardson – Lumineth Realm-Lords – 2nd Place (Undefeated)

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Teclis and Friends.

Thoughts

It’s nice to see Teclis back in a 5-0 list. Although the Bladelords can’t protect him anymore, the 5+ ward aura from Protection of Hysh pays off big with a pie plate base like that. Beyond that it’s a simple but effective Midrange good stuff list. Wardens hold the line, Sentinels shoot, and Dawnriders ride up and smash face then fall back to safety with Power Through.

The Best of the Rest

There were 8 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 3rd – Kel Pigg – Flesh-eater Courts: See Showdown.
• 4th – Matt Taylor – Ossiarch Bonereapers: Nagash and Deathriders.
• 5th – JT Johnson – Nighthaunt: Nagash and a sample of ghosts.
• 6th – Christopher Schelling – Stormcast Eternals: Triple big dragons
• 7th – Stuart Angleton – Idoneth Deepkin: Cav skew.
• 8th – Dillon Rieger – Slaves to Darkness: Nurgle-based list of Warriors and Furies.
• 9th – Matt Robisch – Daughters of Khaine: Mid range mixed list.
• 10th – Kenneth King – Gloomspite Gitz: Troggs.

Southern Fried Sigmar GT

50-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Marietta, Georgia, US on July 20 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Matchup & Mission –

Tommy Miklos – Ogor Mawtribes:
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vs.

Barton Kennelly – Cities of Sigmar:
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Thoughts

Gluttons are probably uniquely posed to shut a lot of this list down. Since they’re 4 wounds apiece, Power through from the Dark Riders is not going to work on them, which cuts into the Riders’ damage output quite a lot. They can always retreat instead, which is pretty good, but on a 3+ it’s still prone to failure and they’re unlikely to last long in an extended melee.

The Hammerers and Ironbreakers pose a threat here but are also slow. The Ogors can make up for that and be surprisingly are surprisingly fast with Keening Gale giving them Run and Charge and the spell Bloodfeast giving them +1 attack if they get the first swing they can do some significant damage.

Result

Ogor Mawtribes Victory – 40 – 38

Tommy Miklos – Ogor Mawtribes – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Glutton Focus

Thoughts

The focus on here is the Gluttons who are surprisingly resilient. While their save may be pretty bad at 5+, 24 wounds for 220 points is a lot to chew through. The prayer Keening Gale gives them Run and Charge while the spell Bloodfeast gives +1 attack giving them a lot of 31 Rend 1 Damage 2 attacks.

Gorgers are not slouches in combat either and can deep strike in, letting them snag back like objectives while the Frost Sabres make excellent cheap screens that cannot be easily gunned down by range units without getting dangerously close to do so.

The Best of the Rest

There was 1 player on a 4-0-1 and 6 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 2nd – Mike McAbee – Ogor Mawtribes: Glutton focused foot Ogors
• 3rd – Christopher Gropp – Slaves to Darkness: Belakor and Varanguard.
• 4th – Barton Kennelly – Cities of Sigmar: See Showdown.
• 5th – Frederick Schmidt – Lumineth Realm-lords: Bladelord Spam.
• 6th – Joshua White – Lumineth Realm-Lords: Midrange infantry list.
• 7th – McKenzie Ewing – Lumineth Realm-Lords: Another mid range infantry list.
• 8th – Cody Bates – Nighthaunt: Dreadblade Harrows and Bladegheist Revenant Skew.

 

Age of Sigmar Grimnir’s Vengeance 2024

32-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Coraopolis, PA, United States on July 20 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Roger Barker – Daughters of Khaine:
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vs.

Michael Rausch – Ossiarch Bonereapers:
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Thoughts

The Battleplan: Feral Foray

This Daughters of Khaine list is very control heavy, focusing on using Krethusa and the Slaughter Queen to hand out buffs that will weaken enemy units engaged with the army. 3 units of 20 Sisters of Slaughter can be a lot to chew through, even without buffs you’re looking at a -1 to hit them which is much more impactful this edition with generally worse hit rolls.

The OBR list meanwhile happens to be a pretty solid counter. As a skew list with Kavalos Deathriders they can soar over the Sisters of Slaughter and hit the softer targets inside the castle, even retreating with Power Through to do it again as needed.

Result

Ossiarch Bonereapers Victory – 44 – 36

Michael Rausch – Ossiarch Bonereapers – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Kavalos Deathrider skew

Thoughts

We’re probably going to see a lot of lists like this in OBR for a while – Deathriders are just so, so good for their point cost.

Katakros hands out a few buffs, being able to hand out Relentless Discipline over 18″ instead of 12″ makes him essential for the extended range of the Deathriders, and being able to give 3 key units +1 to Save while also saving All Out Defence on top of it is fantastic.

Zandtos and the Deathriders goal is to charge in and do some mortal wounds before they fall back again. At least one call fall back with Power Through while more can leave next turn by activating Reform Ranks as your relentless Discipline. Zandtos hands out a +1 to attack which actually makes Death Riders pretty killy for that first round of combat with their +1 damage on the charge.

The Best of the Rest

There were 4 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 2nd – Ben Klos – Lumineth Realm-Lords: Midrange list of Battle Cattle, Dawnriders and Wardens
• 3rd – Roger Barker – Daughters of Khaine: See Showdown.
• 4th – Hunter Hoeper – Ogor Mawtribes: Midrange list of mixed Ogor units.
• 5th – Preston Schlagel – Nighthaunt: Bladegheist and Hexwraiths.

 

Thunderstrike GT II

30-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Estevan, SK, Canada on July 20 2024. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Mission – Jaws of Galet

Patrick Hudson – Slaves to Darkness:
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vs.

Cort Barker – Soulblight Gravelords:
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Thoughts

An Archaon list is a bold choice, given how much he costs in an army with some pretty pricey units, but it appears to pay off to make it to the finals. I would on paper say that Soulblight have a bit of an advantage, because of the mobility Jaws of Galet asks in order to keep on top of objectives early on, while being able to turtle up later.

In the early game Soulblight can summon units on top of (or at least near) objectives to snag them and then as the game consolidates Nefereta inflicts a -1 to hit on any attacks to units wholly within 6″, which really hurts melee bruisers like Slaves to Darkness. That said, Slaves to Darkness are no slouches at taking a hit and if they can get a few good hits in they will do a lot of damage.

Result

Slaves to Darkness Victory – 38 – 36

Patrick Hudson – Slaves to Darkness – 1st Place

The List

See Showdown

Archetype

Archaon and the boys

Thoughts

Ooo and Archaon list! It’s been a dog’s age! Archaon is extremely expensive at almost 900 pts but he’s a really dangerous enemy. He hits like a truck with some surprisingly good hit and wound stats so he is also very consistent and with his 25 wounds and 5+ Ward he is a tough nut to crack.

The Chosen and Varanguard are two additional hammers that can take down other targets as needed, while Chaos Warriors guard the back line and Furies can screen out threats and snag objectives.

Overall a solid mid-range list that hits all the things you want to see in a slaves to Darkness list.

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

• 2nd – Cole Winsor – Soulblight Gravelords: Mannfred and Friends
• 3rd – Cort Barker – Soulblight Gravelords: See Showdown.
• 4th – Dave Bonselaar – Gloomspite Gitz: Skragrott, Trugg and Troggs.
• 5th – Riley Pichlyk – Idoneth Deepkin: Midrange mix of units.
• 6th – Carl Ong – Seraphon: Big Dinos.

Wrap Up

Well that’s a strong opening for 4th, with a pretty solid representation of armies in play.

Some Patterns we can see:

• A lot of Mid Range lists – Mid range, to be clear, doesnt refer to the power of the list but that it doesn’t skew toward a particular unit. This does make sense in a new edition, people tend to want to try out all their toys so they will try and make a list that brings a bit of everything. Eventually the higher performers drift to the top and we see what tends to work more consistently.
• Cavalry is King – Many of the top lists run 3+ units of cav if their army has access to solid cav. Barring that, any high speed movement is acceptable. If they can fly, even better. The command ability Power Through has been noted by some as extremely powerful though maybe not for the reason the name implies. It’s easy for cav to charge, fight, then dip out at the end of combat if at least one unit remains. They can move onto an objective, or back behind screen units, to prepare for the next round and another charge.
• This is Not Permanent – Remember to keep in mind that while these can be helpful for us to see where power might be trending, a lot of players come out of the wood work for new editions. Some are experienced and can figure out the math of what’s good and run roughshod over everyone, but theyre also in the same pool as people who just want to try out every unit possible in their army and also people who haven’t played since 3rd edition launch (or even 2nd edition) and need to learn the game from scratch. So expect some growing pains while certain strats trend to the top before counter-play is formed.

See you all next week!

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