It’s a tale of two handbooks, how does the new 2018 handbook stack up to the old one, and why do you need it for Age of Sigmar 2.0?
The 2018 General’s Handbook is the only piece of the puzzle that was still missing for Age of Sigmar 2.0 Second Edition. Now that it is here, players can point up their armies, as well as use battalions for the battle tomes that came out before the first GHB back in 2016.
Must Have? AoS Generals Handbook 2018
Nowadays the look of the GHB 2018 is much more traditional and classic, with a touch of 70’s retro. That being said it’s a little less colorful than the past editions layout wise as well.
General’s Handbook 2018 $35.00
Get yours for less from Miniature Market
New summoning rules, including battle traits, abilities and spells – for Blades of Khorne, Disciples of Tzeentch, Everchosen, Seraphon, Sylvaneth, and Grand Alliance Chaos allow you to raise unquiet spirits and draw daemonic entities into battle.
Updated Allegiance Abilities – with battle traits, command traits and artefacts of power – allow your armies to act and fight in a way that closely fits the stories you’ve read in Battletomes and other publications – these are included for Darkling Covens, Dispossessed, Free Peoples, Fyreslayers, Seraphon, Wanderers, Brayherd, Slaanesh, Slaves to Darkness, Skaven Pestilens, Skaven Skryre, Flesh-eater Courts, and Ironjawz, with new Warscroll Battalions for the following factions: Fyreslayers, Seraphon, and Ironjawz.
Must Have AoS Generals Handbook 2018
Certain armies will be able to summon spirits and daemons into the realm to fight alongside them. We saw how all that worked recently and for the most part it looks like it will pan out well on the tabletop.
It goes without saying that you need this book to get the points to play your models in Age of Sigmar, but it also gives you new battleplans as well. Plus if you loved the open war cards from 2017, well, there is a cool little generator that mimics the style of those as well!
The part most folks will want to see is the new Pitched Battle profiles that provide the points and max/min sizes for units now. Here’s a little overview on some of my favorite changes to the Beastclaws.
Beastclaws in the 2018 General’s Handbook
Beastclaw Raiders will always be the burly bruisers of the tabletop. Having only a handful of models in a 2,000 point game, they can dish out pain and take a lot of punishment. Good news is on the way for Beastclaw fans as they are getting some hefty point reductions.
If you missed our Beastclaw report from earlier, we’ve got it all here from Warhammer Community.
In the light of everyone talking about Beastclaws getting a point reduction. Let’s take a look at a few units.
- Stonehorn Beastriders: They are down from 360 to 320 points. (-40 pts)
- Frostlord on Stonehorn & Thundertusk: Are down from 460 to 420 points. (-40 pts)
- Huskard on Stonehorn: Went down from 380 to 340 points. (-40pts)
- Huskard on Thundertusk: Went down from 380 to 360 points. (-20 pts)
Most of the point reductions we’ve seen have reduced by 40 points. GW wasn’t lying when they said they’d be cheaper. You can save over 100 points for 3 models in AoS 2.0 That allows you to take some cannon fodder allies or maybe squeeze in a Warscroll Batallion.
Check out the full video for all the details packed into this new edition.
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
