Games Workshop has unveiled the Age of Sigmar General’s Handbook for season two of the 2022-2023 Pitched Battles, and along with it comes a new keyword to consider. According to a Warhammer Community post from December 21, Galletian Champions describes all unmounted Heroes with a Wounds characteristic under ten. While the previous season focused on the battleline with the Galletian Veterans keyword, the new General’s Handbook takes a closer look at the unmounted Heroes on the front lines.
GW gives us a taste of what this keyword can do in Wednesday’s post. ‘The Key To Victory’ means that Galletian Champions can’t be targeted by enemy missiles at all – as long as they’re within an inch of friends, that is. Meanwhile, ‘Desperate Action’ allows a Champion to perform two heroic actions in your second turn instead of one.
The new season also introduces two new Heroic Actions for Galletian Champions to use. ‘Strike at the Opening’ gives a Galletian Champion within three inches of a foe the chance to attack (if it hasn’t already done so).
This seems to let the Champion fight during the hero phase, but the Warhammer Community post isn’t clear on this. It says (presumably in error) the Galletian Champion both can and can’t fight during the hero phase. Whichever it is, the Champion can’t fight again in the same phase once it’s attacked, and it gets a strike-last effect until the end of the turn.
‘Lead By Example’ is a Heroic Action that relies on a Galletian Champion having already used ‘Strike at the Opening’. The target Champion also needs a Sworn Bodyguard unit, which GW says is part of the Galletian Command, “one of three new core battalions this season”.
Once you’ve used the right Heroic Action and got your Sworn Bodyguard ready, that Galletian Champion is ready to Lead By Example. If the Sworn Bodyguard unit is within six inches of your Champion and within three inches of an enemy unit, the Sworn Bodyguard can fight if it hasn’t done so already in that phase. The unit can’t fight again and gets hit with the strike-last effect for its keenness, of course.
The Sword Bodyguard/Galletian Champion combo also unlocks the United in Purpose ability. When the Galletian Champion fights for the first time during the combat phase, it and its buddy can fight one after the other as long as the Sword Bodyguard is wholly within six inches of range.
For more Mortal Realms goodness, here’s our complete Age of Sigmar armies guide. We’re also gradually growing our catalogue of individual army guides, with everyone from the Stormcast Eternals to the Gloomspite Gitz turning up to register.