Aelves of the realms and Idoneth Deepkin got their rules previews from GW over the weekend. Time to take a look at what these armies are getting in AoS 2.0.
Warhammer Community announced some of the Aelves traits and let us in on how all the factions of pointy ears will play on the tabletop.
Darkling Covens in 2.0
We’ve seen loads of comments by Darkling Covens players about how their faction will fare in the new edition, and we’ve got good news – not only are you keeping your General’s Handbook allegiance abilities, but you’re very well placed to take advantage of the new mechanics with your existing units.
The Sorceress on Black Dragon is a really scary spellcaster – after all, having a Wizard is one thing, but mounting them on the back of a Monster is just that much better! With her Blood Sacrifice ability, she can boost her casting ability – at the cost of the life of one of her underlings. This is great for pulling off a trickier endless spell – like Geminids of Uhl-Gysh.
Having a mounted wizard able to cast an endless spell is going to be a must-have in 2.0. With your mount giving you so much more maneuverability, you won’t be as likely to get hit with your own endless spell that your opponent decided to move back towards you.
Tendrils of Shadow And Light
This spell is the wombo combo of all spells. Getting 2D3 mortal wounds and having a unit get -1 attacks and -1 to hit effectively makes the unit not worth their points. This can set up the Aelf player to have some of his riders come in and clean up.
Wanderers in 2.0
Wanderers are getting a bunch of points cuts across the board. On top of that, you can make your characters a real-life headache to try and kill. With Look out sir! and the invisible hunter ability, he will be -2 to hit.
Spellweavers should also be sprinkled into your army for the simple fact that they can Auto-unbind a spell with Ancient Blessings. This is a once-per-game ability, but smacking a Purple Sun out of the sky without needed to roll is really unbeatable.
Shield of Thorns
Sisters of the Thorn are going to be nothing to scoff at in 2.0. With the ability to cast Shield of Thorns on a measly 6, you make an entire unit of Aelves reroll saves and dish out mortal wounds. The worst part is that these Aelves can retreat and shoot when it’s all said and done.
Swifthawk Agents
Shadow Warriors are getting a points drop. Skycutters are going to be very mobile. With having the FLY keyword and a 16″ movement, you can dart in and out of any situation. Use the Skycutters to tie up shooting units that you don’t want to deal with!
Order Draconis
Dragon Lords will be a nasty unit to deal with. with a 4+ save and rerolling failed saves along with 14 wounds, this unit won’t be leaving the table first turn. You can also give it an artifact that ignores all rend modifiers. That’s a fancy way of saying “4+ rerollable invulnerable save”
Order Serpentis
If you’ve been using an Order Serpentis army, good news! Nearly everything in your army has had a points reduction. You could spend these on some endless spells for an allied Wizard, or if you’ve been eyeing up the Idoneth Deepkin, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now officially take them as allies – if you’re looking to go HARD, bring an Aspect of the Storm… If you’d rather stick with drakes than sea-monsters and dead gods, your Dreadlord on Black Dragon has some great picks from the artefacts of the Mortal Realms – we’d recommend the Miasmatic Blade, a sneaky option that’ll make you harder to hit:
this is a decent relic giving the bearer some added survivability. Making all hit rolls -1 for things that target him.
Phoenix Temple
Phoenix Temple units have been very popular for matched play in Warhammer Age of Sigmar, with the mixed Order list that won the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament using two Frostheart Phoenixes. These guys are still pretty great in the new edition, and their counterpart, the Flamespyre Phoenix, is also well worth a look. Previously, when using this unit in your army, you could set it up again on a 4+ after it died – but in matched play, you had to pay reinforcement points to do so. With reinforcement points a thing of the past, you can now bring your Flamespyre Phoenix back for free! Pretty cool, right?
Lion Rangers
Lion Rangers remain a nice allied choice for Order armies, while White Lion Chariots are particularly handy for tying up enemy shooting units. In the new edition, if you’re locked in combat, you can only shoot units directly involved in the combat – by using the White Lion Chariots’ impressive speed, you’ll be able to quickly engage enemies, while the Lion Cloak ability means you’ll be able to weather ranged counter-assaults effectively.
Shadowblades
It would be a good idea to ally one of these guys into your army with the Sword of Judgement artifact. Its payoff is pretty devastating.
The assassin already has 6 attacks. If you roll hot, you can potentially do 2-3d6 mortal wounds on a target.
Eldritch Council
This can be taken as an army, or sprinkled in as allies. Eldritch Council have a +1 to unbinding spells and can also cast a spell to let a unit reroll failed hits and wound rolls. Having a large magical presence is going to be recommended with all the spells running around in AoS 2.0.
Scourge Privateers
Using the Scourge Privateers in the edition, the first thing you’ll notice is lower points for several units, as well as the Realm Reavers warscroll battalion – a powerful option that lets you nominate a nearby unit to move, shoot or fight every hero phase. It’s a great place to start your army, as, like all warscroll battalions, it’ll grant you an extra command point, artefact (which can be an artefact of the realms) and will let you deploy the included units in a single drop. Taking an extra Black Ark Fleetmasterwouldn’t go amiss, either – for a mere 40 points, you’ll be able to grant a unit in your army re-rolls to hit with At Them, You Curs!
Who are the Idoneth Deepkin?
From the blackest depths of the oceans come the Idoneth Deepkin – a terrifying, soul-stealing race of aelves whose origins are mired in tragedy. Created from the spirits of those aelves consumed by Slaanesh, the Idoneth Deepkin are twisted, cold beings that fled to the seas in the Age of Myth. Harnessing sea creatures and strange, tidal magics, they raid the Mortal Realms in search of souls, needing them to extend their lives and reproduce.
Deepkin in 2.0
Deepkin are going to have a unique turn rule to get the feel of the tide closing in on the war zone. Starting with no bonus on round 1, to Flood Tide on round 2, and High Tide of round 3, The Deepkin will get stronger as the game goes on. One of these bonuses is the Lord of Tides ability.
AoS 2.0 will also have a way to mitigate losing your general turn 1 or 2. If you bring another hero in your army, you can elect him as the new general after the first one dies. you’ll just have to roll on a table to see what ability he will get.
Suffocating Gravetide
This goes off on a 6. Something easily doable on 2D6. On top of that, it can move 8″ after being cast. When it hits something, it immediately does D3 mortal wounds and subtracts 1 bravery. On top of that, it can act as cover for you or your enemy. It’s literally a giant tidal wave that can soak up arrows. Ever try to shoot arrows through waves? So have we. Turns out they’re really good cover.
We hope you got your fill of Aelves this morning as we’ve finally covered ALL of the factions coming to AoS 2.0. What Aelves will you be playing in the new edition? Let us know in the comments on our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
