Warhammer Age of Sigmar’s 3rd Edition Stormcast Eternals battletome, due out next month, will split the faction into two archetypes, one of which can take Cities of Sigmar units as “auxiliaries”, according to a Warhammer Community article posted on Thursday. There’s still no precise release date, but GW has said it’s coming in August, along with the Orruk Warclans battletome.
With the new book, you’ll be able to take a more aggressive, all-Stormcast Scions of the Storm force – described by GW as “the thunderbolt-riding warriors we all know and love” – or opt for the new Stormkeep army type – which plays more defensively than the Scions, and can take a quarter of its units as ‘coalition units’ from the allied Cities of Sigmar faction, lending some serious strategic flexibility (we’re already imagining glorious ranks of Stormcast and Duardin warriors, artillery booming, and skyvessels overhead… )
We also got a look at two Battle Traits for Stormkeep armies – Mortal Auxiliaries and Shield of Civilisation – one of the Stormcast Eternals’ Command Traits, titled Staunch Defender, and – excitingly for some – the Fires of Vengeance ability for Karazai the Scarred, one of the two Draconith dragons who, GW announced last week, are joining the Stormcast’s cause.
We’ll examine each of these in detail below.
First, the Stormkeep Mortal Auxiliaries Battle Trait is what allows those Cities of Sigmar allies to join your army list.
The +1 Bravery buff for those coalition units when they’re within 12 inches of your Stormcast troops is a particularly nice touch, encouraging coherency, and narratively signalling the morale boost that mortals get from fighting beside Sigmar’s Chosen.
Shield of Civilisation, meanwhile, represents just how good Stormkeep Redeemer Stormcast are at taking and holding ground – letting you control objective markers much more easily than your opponent right from the start of the game, leaving your Cities of Sigmar coalition units free to launch attacks or harry key targets.
A two-thirds chance to deal out D3 mortal wounds to any enemy that tries to charge you off the objective is very spicy indeed – and the Staunch Defender Command Trait only makes it spicier by letting you re-roll that damage if within 12” of your general.
In matches where objective-holding is crucial, these folks look to be a leading choice.
And, for the dragon fans among you, Thursday’s article also revealed Karazai the Scarred’s in-built ability, Fires of Vengeance. Essentially, he gains a permanent +1 buff to run and charge rolls every time he kills a normal unit – and a permanent +1 buff to his attacks every time he kills a Hero or Monster. The sheer potential for snowballing power here is terrifying, and makes us wonder about his points cost (and killability).
Sadly, we suspect we won’t find out for sure until the new Stormcast Eternals Battletome comes out next month.
Also on the way in August 2021 is the new Orruk Warclans battletome, featuring full rules for the Kruleboyz faction first introduced in last month’s Dominion box set.
If you want to learn more about Karazai and his brother Krondys, check out our breakdown of the Stormcast Eternals’ new dragon allies – or if you need a primer on all the forces in the Mortal Realms, read our guide to Warhammer Age of Sigmar armies.