Here is an interesting first 1000 points list, a little harder to do and limited but could be fun in narrative play: the Devoted of Sigmar.
There is no specific Devoted of Sigmar alliance ability right now, so you are giving up the bonus abilities, but it does allow you to select Flagellants as a battle line unit. Also as a warning this list is a lot of models so get your paint brushes ready. With so many models it won’t be cheap, if you already have a lot of these it could be fun to run. You could even proxy some free people’s models as Flagellants.
As there is no starter set for Devoted of Sigmar you are going to need to piece meal this together. Let’s start with the two units that you must include as battle line. You will want to take the full amount for both to get the cheaper units. Right now, 10 are about $20 on eBay, so $160 total.
- 40 Flagellants (260 points) Battleline 1 of 2
- 40 Flagellants (260 points) Battleline 2 of 2
Flagellants: Move 6, No Save, 8 Bravery, and 1 Wound. They have a melee attack with two attacks, hitting on a 5+, wounding on a 4+, for 1 damage. They get one additional attack if a model is killed, or two more attacks each if five or more have been killed. On charges, they can re roll hit and wound rolls of one and the leader of the unit gets to always re roll hit rolls. Finally, when they fail a battleshock test, for each model that flees roll a D6 of a 4+ an enemy unit within 6″ suffers a mortal wound.
With the two battle line units filled up you will then want to add some leaders to help guide those crazy doomsayers. Witch Hunter is about $10, Warrior Priest is $10, Alter is $40 on eBay.
- Warrior Priest (80 points) Leader 1 of 4
- War Alter of Sigmar (250 points) Leader 2 of 4, Behemoth 1 of 2 – Note it’s the old Volkar the Grim on Alter model
- Witch Hunter (60 points) Leader 3 of 4
Warrior Priest: Move 5, Save 4+, Bravery 7, Wounds 5. He either has a Warhammer and Shield or a Greathammer. The Warhammer has four attacks, hitting and wounding on a 4+, for one damage. Greathammer has two attacks, hitting on a 4+, wounding on a 3+, with -1 rend, for one damage. You can get this model on a warhorse which adds a horse attack, with two attacks, hitting and wounding on a 4+, for one damage, and bumps his move to 12″. If he has dual Warhammers, he re-rolls ones to hit. If he has a shield, his save becomes 3+, also he can try and unbind one spell a turn. Finally, he has a prayer which, on a 3+, he can cast one of the following on a Devoted of Sigmar units within 10 inches: 6+ save on all wounds and mortal wounds, re-roll failed wound rolls in the combat phase, or heal a model D3 wounds.
War Alter of Sigmar: Move damage table (10″ down to 6″), Save 4+, Bravery 7, Wounds 11. It has a missile weapon called Light of Banishment with range 20″, D3 attacks, hitting on a 3+, wounding damage table (2+ up to 4+), -1 rend, for 3 damage. The light does double damage vs all Chaos and against Chaos Daemons gets a -2 rend rather than -1. For melee, they either have a Warhammer and Staff of Sigmar, or a Greathammer. The Greathammer has three attacks, hitting on a 4+, wounding on a 3+, -1 rend, for one damage. If you go Warhammer, it has four attacks, hitting and wounding on a 4+, for 1 damage. With the Warhammer, they have a Staff of Sigmar which has one attack hitting on a 4+, wounding on 3+, for D3 damage. Finally, a horse attack, with four attacks, hitting and wounding on a 4+, for one damage.
This model can try and unbind two spells in each enemy hero phase, and any time a Devoted of Sigmar models is killed within 10 inches, on 6+ they ignore the wound that killed it. The War Alter allows Devoted of Sigmar models to ignore battleshock if within 10 inches, and once per battle is can use Devotional Horn which subtracts one from enemy unit’s bravery until the end of the phase. Finally, on a 3+ it can cast a prayer on a Devoted of Sigmar unit within 10 inches that does one of the following: Roll a dice for each enemy unit within 3 inches on a 4+ it takes a mortal wound, re-roll failed hit rolls, or add one to run, charge, and hit rolls.
Witch Hunter: Move 5″, Save 5+, Bravery 7, Wounds 5. He has a pistol missile weapon with 9-inch range, one attack, hitting and wounding on a 3+, with -1 rend, for one damage. He has two choices of melee weapons: a Rapier with three attacks, hitting on a 3+, wounding on a 4+, for one damage; or a Greatsword with three attacks, hitting and wounding on a 3+, with -1 rend, for one damage. If he carries the Rapier, he gets an extra pistol attack. Attacks against Wizards or Daemons for this model deal D3 wounds rather than just one. Finally, any spells cast on him have no effect on a 5+.
Finally add some allies from the Ironweld Arsenal in the form of a Gyrobomber, which adds some shooting power, mortal wounds, and quick movement. ($30 on eBay).
Gryobomber: Move (fly) 12″, Save 4+, 6 Bravery, 5 Wounds. It has a Clattergun with range 20″, four attacks, hitting on a 4+, wounding on a 3+, with -1 rend for one damage. Then a melee weapon with D3 attacks, hitting on a 5+, wounding on a 4+, for one damage. Pick an enemy unit they fly over in the movement phase and, on a 4+, they drop a bomb that deals D3 mortal wounds.
Loadouts: I would go with the Warhammer and Staff on the Alter and a Warhammer and Shield on the Warrior Priest. The Greathammers have -1 rend which is nice, but their damage output is still only one damage with less attacks. Finally, on the Witch Hunter, go with the Rapier and extra Pistol.
Tactics: Basically, run your mobs of Flagellants forward like madmen with the Warrior Priest and Witch Hunter in the middle of the mobs. With the mobs, the more models you lose in battleshock the more chances of mortal wounds you have against the enemy (also the more attacks they get). So, think about the Alter’s position because it does make them immune to battleshock and gives them a chance to stay alive. With the Gyrobomber it should be flying over units that are engaged in battle with your Flagellants, every turn shooting and dropping bombs.
For $250, I would have a hard time suggesting this as an army for someone looking to get competitive play. If you use some proxy models for the Flagallents and maybe you have some of the older models this would be a great force for a narrative game! I am hoping in the future GW will combine this force with another so that there are some more options for battle line units and leader types. But with the limit to 400 allied points at 2000, you are really limited building this beyond 1000.
Check out more “newbie” tips for the Hobby
About the Author: Travis Perkins
