3 big new Stormcast rules are here for AoS 3.0 with the reveal of the chonky Annihilators that come crashing down on the Mortal Realms!
Warhammer Community just unveiled how the new juggernauts will work on the battlefield. They previewed two special rules and their statline!
Before we jump into the rules, let’s quickly recap what the Annihilators even are!
Annihilators
Annihilators are a new generation of Paladin, they’re built like a granite column and protected by the heaviest armour we’ve seen on a Stormcast Eternal.
As you can tell by the art, these guys are big, and they definitely will tank hits left and right. That hammer and shield do look special too…
Other than at Warhammer Fest, we also got a peek at them during the Dominion unboxing since they are inside of it!
These are a squad whereas previously it looked like a character, but these are clearly an elite squad. Up to today the only sense of rules we got came in as a 2+ armor save! They also hinted at some bonuses on the charge. After all, getting run into by these guys is sure to hurt a little bit.
As it turns out they were telling the truth, about those bonuses- now let’s check out the specifics on those rules!
3 New Stormcast Annihilators AoS 3.0 Rules REVEALED!
First up, feast your eyes on their glorious statline!
With a 2+ Save and 3 Wounds each, they are hard to kill, even in small units. Send them into the thickest fighting and watch a minimum-sized unit, like the three you get in the Dominion box, dish out 10 very solid Attacks (the unit’s Champion throws in an extra Attack just to show the others how it’s done).
10 attacks for a potential of 20 damage is pretty impressive especially when you combine that with just how to dang tanky these big boys are. While you won’t get all 20 damage in, with a 3+ to hit and wound, you’ll get a lot of them- which is a relatively rare bonus these days in AoS.
Having less than a 4+ is some serious chops.
Stormcast Eternals’ favorite trick is to drop out of the sky during the battle to take an objective or hound the enemy’s backline. Annihilators’ special rules make them particularly devastating in this case, especially if they make a successful charge.
GW might have said “if” they make a charge, but with a re-rollable charge after crashing down, that charge is much more likely than not. A 10″ bubble of potential d3 mortal wounds is also pretty big. Even if they focus these guys down, you’re guaranteed at least some value just by deep striking them in over 9″ away (as the rules are currently).
Plus a 9″ charge with a re-roll is nothing to sneeze at either, and even though it won’t happen every time, but when it does your opponent will feel it harder than how hard these guys will hit.
Mortal wounds bypass the enemy’s Save roll, which means they are extremely useful for dislodging powerful units, Heroes, and Monsters who often head into battle with heavy armour of their own. Annihilators don’t just deal mortal wounds when they arrive on the battlefield, they can potentially land even more in the midst of the fighting too.
But that’s not all, on top of mortals when deep striking, they also can dish some out on the charge! Force of a Falling Star seems nuts, assuming you get a 10 on the charge, that’s an average on 5 extra mortal wounds for free.
The Annihilators are very tanky and seem great in combat, but even further they disk out a ton of mortal wounds throughout the game. If they aren’t too expensive these will easily make it into most Stormcast lists.
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About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Miniatures & Warhammer Hobby Staff Writer
Socials: Facebook
About Andrew Schrank: Over the past 15 years, Andrew has played all the games, including tabletop and video games, and immersed himself in the associated lore. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018 and covers the Warhammer hobby and tournament scene, along with the latest in tabletop miniatures, each week.
Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer, He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam. During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, Andrew plays commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits.
He believes each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
