Endless spells have been out for a while now and they are changing the way the Age of Sigmar is played. Check out how they can give you an edge.
Let’s talk about the endless spells available to all armies in Age of Sigmar 2.0 and follow up with the Stormcast and Nighthaunt specific ones.
Age of Sigmar Endless Spells & How to Use Them
Spell: Aethervoid Pendulim: 40 points (Predatory Spell)
What it Does: Casts on a 6, set up 6”, away and has a move of 8” (fly). It can only move back and forth in one direction, and any units it passes over or ends its move within 1” of suffer D6 mortal wounds.
Trav’s Take: I like and hate this spell, it is an easier cast on a 6, is relatively cheap at 40 points, and it does a D6 mortal wounds. The problem is it can only move back and forth in one direction, so it is much easier to dodge away from than some of the other spells. I have found casting it on an objective though is a solid way of getting heavy use out of it, so that it can swing back and forth over a piece of the battlefield that is highly coveted.
Armies This is Useful For: All
Spell: Balewind Vortex: 40 points (Not included in the Malign Sorcery Box)
What it Does: Casts on a 6, you place the caster (with wounds less than 9) on top of the spell and more than 3” away from enemy models. The wizard gets a +1 to save rolls, can cast an additional spell, and can add 6 to the range of any of their spells.
Trav’s Take: Another useful spell particularly for Tzeentch as it counts as a spell and allows an additional spell cast. This feeds into their summoning mechanic quite nicely. if your opponent chooses not to dispel this then you are getting a bonus cast at an additional 6” and with the realm magic that can add up pretty nicely.
Armies This is Useful For: Magic heavy armies like Seraphon, Tzeentch, etc.
Spell: Chronomantic Cogs: 60 points
What it Does: Casting value of 7, set up within 12” of the caster, a single wizard within 9” can speed up or slow down time. If you speed up time you can add 2” to the Move characteristic of all units on the battlefield, and add 2” to run and charge rolls. If you slow down time the wizard gets to cast an additional spell and can re roll failed save rolls.
Trav’s Take: This one is interested in that the +2 to all movement gets you into combat in a hurry. I have had times where is was more beneficial to my opponent to get that then my own army. Slowing down time is also useful for a wizard to get the bonus spell and re roll saves. Though if you are going to use it just for slowing down time you are better off using the Balewind Vortex
Armies This is Useful For: Melee armies like Ironjawz, Stormcast Eternals, Blades of Khorne, etc.
Spell: Emerald Lifeswarm: 60 points (Predatory Spell)
What it Does: Casts on a 6, set up within 15” of the caster, can move 10” and can fly. It heals 1 unit within 1” of it D3 wounds or returns slain models worth a D3 number. (D6 if the battle is in the Realm of Life)
Trav’s Take: For 60 points a D3 number of wounds is not great in my opinion. Sure, returning slain models is always nice, but the most your getting back is on average 2 models/wounds a battle round. Maybe if it was 3-40 points but unless the battle is in the realm of life I would have a hard time taking this in most lists.
Armies This is Useful For: All, every army likes healing.
Spell: Geminids of Uhl-Gysh: 40 points (Predatory Spell)
What it Does: Casts on a 7, both models are set up within 6” of each other, and within 18” of the caster, they move 8” and can fly they must stay within 6” of one another. If the geminid of shadow passes over an enemy unit it suffers D3 mortal wounds and they must subtract 1 from their attacks characteristic (minimum of 1). (If taking place in the real of shadow you can re roll the D3) If the geminid of light passes over an enemy unit it suffers D3 mortal wounds and they must subtract 1 from hit rolls. (Can re-roll the D3 if the battle is in the realm of light) A unit cannot be affected by both geminid’s the same turn, you must choose one or the other.
Trav’s Take: A solid spell that can dish out 2D3 wounds to separate units, while effecting the attacks and hit rolls. It is also a bit more mobile than the other endless spells which can play nicely to keep it away from your own troops. The casting value of 7 is a little bit harder to cast, but with some arcane terrain or some sort of other boosting, you should be able to get them off.
Armies This is Useful For: All armies
Spell: Malevolent Maelstrom: 20 points (Predatory Spell)
What it Does: Casts on a 7, set up within 18”, moves up to 8”. If a Wizard casts a spell within 12” of this model and is not unbound, make an unbinding roll for this model. If the unbinding roll is successful add 1 energy point to this model. Each time a unit is destroyed within 6” of this model add 1 energy point to the model. At the end of each battle round roll a D6 and add the energy points to the roll, on a 7+ the maelstrom explodes and all units within 3D6 suffer D3 mortal wounds. (If the battle is taking place in the realm of death add 1 energy point to the model every turn)
Trav’s Take: This is a good spell for less magic focused armies, it gives them a chance at unbinding beyond 1 or 2 spells. The exploding Maelstrom is always welcome as well.
Armies This is Useful For: Blades of Khorne, Nurgle, less magic focused armies.
Spell: Prismatic Palisade: 30 points
What it Does: Casts on a 5, is set up within 18” of the caster. Units within 6” of this model subtract 1 from hit rolls on a 5+. (4+ if taking place in the realm of light) It also blocks all line of sight, so a model cannot target another model if an imaginary line drawn from the center of the bases passes through this model.
Trav’s Take: This is a great spell to use against opponents shooting units, you can just plop this down in front of them or your troops and block line of sight.
Armies This is Useful For: All armies particularly armies especially melee centric armies that need a turn to close the gap between forces.
Spell: Purple Sun of Shyish: 100 points (Predatory Spell)
What it Does: Casts on an 8, set up within 6” of the caster, move 9” (12 if the realm of death). After its move any units it passed over or ends its move within 1” of you roll a dice equal to the number of models in the unit. On a 6+ a model is instantly slain unless it has a wounds characteristic of 6 or more in which case it suffers 2D6 mortal wounds. Subtract 1 from the bravery of all units while they are within 6” of this model.
Trav’s Take: This is a great spell to be used against horde armies, and the chance it removes a model is 16.7%. The base, however, is huge so as long as there is room you could potentially get multiple units with it as well. With a casting value of 8, it will be a little bit harder than normal to dispel it… It is 100 points so kind of a tough sell.
Personally, my main use of this spell would be my Tzeentch army where I set up the changeling smack dab in the middle of my opponent’s army and then use Disciple Dice to get this bad boy off. Then let it wreck all of my opponent’s plans and they play around it rather then what they wanted to do.
Armies This is Useful For: Armies that have deepstrike as well as bonuses to casting rolls.
Spell: Quicksilver Swords: 20 points (Predatory Spell)
What it Does: Casts on a 6, set up wholly within 10”, moves 8”. After this model moves pick a unit within 6” of it and roll 12 dice (15 if in realm of metal). On a 6+ (5+ against chaos) the unit suffers a mortal wound.
Trav’s Take: This is a cool spell that has potential (I played against Nurgle in the realm of metal and got 8 mortal wounds in one go from it) but on its own, you’re really looking at 2 mortal wounds on average from it. However, at 20 points, it’s not a terrible option to throw into a list as a potential damage dealer.
Armies This is Useful For: All armies not named chaos (unless playing against chaos)
Spell: Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws: 40 points (Predatory Spell)
What it Does: Casts on an 8, set up within 6” of caster, moves 12” (add D6” if in the realm of beasts). Each unit is passed over or is within 1” at end of its move suffers D3 mortal wounds. In addition, subtract 1 from their bravery until the end of the battle round.
Trav’s Take: The base is huge, so you can get quite a few units with this spell and the lowering the bravery is great against the lower bravery units (skaven). At 40 points it is not super expensive either, though the casting value of 8 makes it a bit harder to get off. If I knew my opponent was playing a lower bravery army I would consider taking this spell.
Armies This is Useful For: All armies, especially if you go after their bravery with multiple spells, abilities, etc.
Next time we’ll cover the rest of the Malign Sorcery spells and the faction specific ones.
