Alliances of Dwarves, Elves, and Men. A deeper look into the Cities of Sigmar is here with and what we can expect from the next Order Battletome.
Warhammer Community announced the next Order Battletome being the Cities of Sigmar. This book is a bit unique from most of the other battletomes however. Similar to the Gloomspite Gitz, multiple forces are banding together under the same rules.
Cities of Sigmar Rules & More Previewed
Available Battleline Options for Cities of Sigmar
Cities of Sigmar armies are a little bit different, combining a vast range of sub-factions, a set of universal allegiance abilities that affect everyone, then a further set of optional allegiance abilities that let you dedicate your army to your favourite city.
Cities of Sigmar unlocks the ability to bring the following under one unified army:
- Freeguild
- Ironweld Arsenal
- Order Serpentis
- Dispossessed
- Wanderers
- Shadowblades
- Collegiate Arcane
- Phoenix Temple
- Devoted of Sigmar
- Darkling Covens
While you can mix your army as you like, thanks to the Cities of Sigmar keyword, you also get bonuses rules and synergies specific to the basic faction of the units. It encourages you to focus in on one or two unit-types especially.
Stormcast Eternals are Also A Part of Cities of Sigmar
Adding in a cool fluff element to the book, Stormcast Eternals can also be included in the army gaining the Cities of Sigmar keyword as well. This is to show the fact that Sigmar has a presence in the Cities through his Stormkeeps that hold Stormcast Eternals ready to fight at a moment’s notice.
Some Old Units Got Updated Rules
Some older units got a few bonus rules giving them an edge on the battlefield. GW previewed the One with the Shadows rule for the Shadow Warriors. This lets them drop down 9″ away from the enemy at the end of any movement phase. You can keep cheap squads of these guys in reserves and have them appear from the shadows right on top of an objective on the first turn!
With one of the most unique rules we’ve ever seen, the Pistoliers can shoot after they charge. Ignoring the basic rules of the game, that means these guys will get to shoot twice AND THEN fight in melee. It might not be a game-breaking effect but definitely is an added bonus.
Generals Get Their Own Warband
With one of the exclusive rules to Cities of Sigmar, your General can select a unit to be his elite guard that intercept wounds and follow his every command.
If you choose a unit with a Wounds characteristic of 6 or less, you can choose another unit in your army to be their retinue. These elite bodyguards can intercept wounds and mortal wounds for their liege, meaning your Freeguild Generals, Nomad Princes, Warden Kings and other unmounted champions are actually pretty durable!
From the fluff element, it’s pretty awesome that this exists. With smaller heroes leading different settlements, they’re not expected to be the most heroic fighters out there that can go toe-to-toe with an Orruk. That being said, your General can grab his band of merry men and go to war more effectively.
Endless Spells are Always Empowered
On top of the cool General bonus, your Endless Spells cast by Wizards will always count as being empowered by their home realm. If you didn’t know, some Endless Spells get things like movement bonuses and more when they’re used in the Realm they originate from. Now, if you cast an Endless Spell with a Cities of Sigmar Wizard, it always counts as being empowered.
City of Hammerhal Rules Previewed
Giving us a taste of the different Cities rules, Hammerhal was revealed playing on Command Points.
Spamming blobs of units with a standard banner may net you one or two CP each turn. Just remember you have you roll a 6 to net 1 CP so bring plenty of squads to keep your chances high.
Righteous Purpose is worded a bit weird. But essentially, if you have a Hero next to a friendly unit locked in combat in the opponent’s territory, you can fight twice. Given that you can bring fast Cavalry and that AoS is a melee-centered game, this shouldn’t be too hard to pull off at all.
Greywater Fastness is For Shooting Lists
Some Cities give better bonuses for armies that capitalize on certain ways of combat. If you fancy shooting armies, there’s good news. Greywater Fastness and Ironweld Arsenal is a match-made in the Azyr.
It only makes sense to run your Ironweld under the Greywater Fastness keyword as you get bonus range AND a bonus unit. If you’re running Ironweld (which are all about shooting) this is a no-brainer. But it gets better.
They’re coming with a rule that essentially turns your General into a Captain in 40k. You can re-roll failed hit rolls of 1 if they’re within 12″ of him. In a game where most ranged things hit on a 4+, this is a huge deal.
City-Specific Warscroll Battalions
If you haven’t gotten the theme by now, you’ve got plenty of options. However, you’re encouraged to focus in on a certain faction/city. With that being said their Warscroll Battalions capitalize on certain units coming from certain Cities.
Anvilgard’s Charrwind Beasthunters focus on laying low enemy Monsters. In a game where most decent units wound on a 3+, you’ll be able to devastate the big baddies of your opponent’s list getting +1 to Wound.
If you bring this Battalion, your big birds will be able to heal a wound each turn. This might not be game-breaking but it’s a nice bonus for some survivability in-game. Especially if you bring plenty of threats that your enemy has to focus-down.
We can think of no better choice than the Phoenicium’s Phoenix Flight, which makes Frostheart and Flamespyre Phoenixes even harder to kill. Throw in some Phoenix Guard for your Battleline choices, and voila! You have an army that just will not die.
With a massive Cities of Sigmar Preview under our belt, what are your thoughts? Have you got some ideas on which faction you’ll be focusing on? Do you need the book in your hand before you pick your city? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and sign up to get your free hobby updates newsletter (with discount coupon codes) each morning as well!
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials:@RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
