It’s out with the old and in with the newly released General’s Handbook 2017 for Age of Sigmar from Games Workshop. Let’s see what is new!
The General’s Handbook 2017 retails for $35 and has a lot more content in it than the original handbook. There is less fluff and more rules, abilities, and warscroll battalions that are a must have to continue playing. Included is the new section on Allies, which we have already seen the the new Allies bundles that have been released as well. Here is a sample of our quick and dirty review to give you the lowdown on what you can expect to see in the new General’s Handbook 2017.
For our complete review, be sure to scroll down and press play on the full video below.
Like we said, there is a lot of content in the new handbook. Open, narrative, and matched play rules that are followed by all new Allegiance abilities and warscroll battalions. Now, there are some warscroll battalions included for some of the battle tomes that did not get an update: Ironjawz, Seraphon, and Fyreslayers.
I would imagine that it does not look like they will get an separate battletome update as it appears that their update is included in the new handbook. Battle tomes that did come out post-original General’s Handbook, and were updated to the new format, were not be included in the General’s Handbook 2017.
However Skaven: Pestilens did not get a battalion update like the other previous battletomes, more on that later.
There is also a warscroll update for the Kharadron Overlords’ Grundstok Thunderers unit profile that matches their options to what comes in the box. 
The Pitched Battle rules have not changed much, save for the addition of the Allies rules. Pitched Battle profiles for each faction list the allegiances of the allied units you can take, as well as the point allotment of your army that can be spent on allies. Allied units can have a different allegiance than the rest of your army and do not count against your allegiance abilities nor the number of Battleline units in the army.
The General’s Handbook 2017 updates many of the stragglers that were in the original handbook but have not gotten a book of there own. Players of Clan Pestilens will notice something immediately. While there are command traits and artifacts for them, there are no warscroll battalions.
Clan Skyre also has command traits and artifacts but no warscroll battalions as well. This could possibly mean that there could already be updated/new books already in the works for them.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: General’s Handbook 2017: $35
Revised and updated with new ways to play and gaming tweaks based on feedback from the Warhammer community, this is the best way to get bang-up-to-date with Warhammer Age of Sigmar, however you like to play.
An essential toolkit of rules that you and your gaming group can use in any way you like, the General’s Handbook 2017 expands upon the rules of Warhammer Age of Sigmar – and those found in the previous iteration of the General’s Handbook – in a 158-page softback book.
The Rules
Each of these gives you, the player, massive flexibility and choice in the way games are played – they’re designed to make you and your friends masters of your own gaming tables. The different rules have massive scope for overlap; for example if you want to use the multiplayer rules for a tournament, or Matched Play rules for a narrative campaign, you’re totally free to do so.
Open Play
This is the best introduction to Warhammer Age of Sigmar and the wider world of wargaming in general. Open Play allows you to play unrestricted, even team-based and multiplayer games – all you need is your miniatures, their Warscrolls, the Warhammer Age of Sigmar rules, some dice and a tape measure. The General’s Handbook features different play styles for use with Open Play – Coalition of Death, which allows multiple players to forge alliances with an optional Game Master to watch over the ensuing carnage; Fog of War and Divine Intervention rules; and Triumph & Treachery, an every man for himself melee of 3 or more players with bribes, treacherous acts and secret objectives adding spice to your games. There are 6 different battleplans for each of these.
Narrative Play
The stories from the Mortal Realms are an important part of Warhammer Age of Sigmar – your collection of miniatures is made even more special by the rich history and thrilling tales told about them in various publications, making the hobby of collecting them an even more exciting venture. Narrative Play gives you a way to recreate the epic battles that have taken place in the Mortal Realms. The General’s Handbook shows you how to theme an army for Narrative Play, contains advice on where to find the inspirational stories that fuel the games – and how to build your own stories and play exciting games within them.
This section of the book contains Time of War rules for playing Narrative battles in each of the Mortal Realms, with wildly differing play styles appropriate to their environments, with 6 battleplans. It also includes Siege Warfare – detailed rules for battles in which one player must assault the other’s stronghold, which introduces the Siege Phase. In this, the attacker can smash against the stronghold, tunnel beneath it or simply starve out their foe, who can gather supplies and counter-attack in turn; 2 battleplans for this are included.
Matched Play
Some hobbyists prefer to test their mettle in an equally-matched battle of strategy and wits, in which no advantage is conferred simply by selecting the biggest and baddest miniature in your figure case. Matched Play is the perfect solution – this provides points values for the units available in the Warhammer Age of Sigmar range, allowing you and your opponent to size each other up, decide on a points limit, deploy your armies and go to war on an equal footing.
Balanced armies of course mean that there will be gamers itching to prove themselves in tournaments, and the Pitched Battle rules are expressly designed to get armies matched up and onto the table with a minimum of fuss. Does your gaming group have the whole night to play, or is time of the essence? This book has suggestions and recommendations for various sizes of gameplay an epic battle that takes a whole night, skirmish for an hour, or anything in between. Also included are rules for Ladder Campaigns – the General’s Handbook will make setting up and maintaining tournaments easy.
Also included:
An exhaustive list of Allegiance Abilities for Order, Chaos, Death and Destruction armies, along with a further 15 Allegiances – Fyreslayers, Seraphon, Darkling Covens, Wanderers, Slaanesh, Skaven Pestilens, Skaven Skryre, Slaves To Darkness, Brayherd, Flesh-Eater Courts, Nighthaunt, Soulblight, Ironjawz, Free Peoples and Dispossessed. With this book’s updated rules, it’s now possible to take 400 points of an Allied army without affecting your main force’s Allegiance Abilities – themed armies based on your collection are possible!
Pitched Battle profiles for each Warscroll and Warscroll Battalion from Battletomes and Grand Alliance books available in the range at time of printing, updated following feedback from the Warhammer community – these are designed to overwrite any published prior to August 2017.
Warhammer Age Of Sigmar: Open War Cards: $15
A simple, quick and fun way to set up games of Warhammer Age Of Sigmar, Open War cards take all the indecision and doubt away and let you get on with your gaming. A deck of 48 cards split into 5 types, they help you determine the deployment, objectives and special rules for Open Play games. Included:
– 12 x Deployment cards – 12 player deployments;
– 12 x Objectives cards – 12 objectives for winning the game;
– 12 x Twist cards – 12 special rules that can be used to add a special factor to the game, such as battle frenzies, lashing rain, and fighting in the dead of night;
– 6 x Ruse cards – 6 cards that can be used to glean an advantage, such as ambushing or digging in – used to counter an opponent’s larger army;
– 6 x Sudden Death cards – 6 cards that provide different ways to win if you are significantly outnumbered – if your enemy outnumbers you, you get a secret advantage to use as you wish!If you use every type of card, that’s over 60,000 combinations – a huge amount of variety! The cards are presented with an instruction booklet, and feature artwork on the reverse.
Warscroll Cards: Ironjawz: $15
Huge, hulking brutes, much taller and broader than a man, the Ironjawz rumble across the mortal realms in search of a good scrap. To them, nothing is so pleasing as the sound of battle – blades on metal, screams of the dying, the clamour and rattle of absolute violence is music to their ears. The most fightsome of all orruks, the Ironjawz are rightly feared all across the realms as their numbers swell and their Waaagh! grows ever larger.
This pack of 8 large-format cards contains each of the unit Warscrolls from Battletome: Ironjawz, printed on individual cards for handy reference in your battles, along with a selection of double-sided card gaming tokens – use these to indicate the Allegiance Abilities, skills and statuses used by your models in games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Please note, you’ll need a copy of Battletome: Ironjawz to use the contents of this set.
Warscroll Cards: Sylvaneth: $15
The air sings with glorious life magic as the children of Alarielle surge into battle. The reborn goddess of war leads from the front as glorious Wyldwoods burst forth from the heaving ground, called into being by ancient spirits. Determined to protect the Realm of Life, mighty Wargroves advance, crushing enemies with the inexorable strength of nature. Outcasts and Free Spirits strike suddenly and without warning, slaughtering the foe mercilessly to cleanse the tainted land. The sylvaneth’s rebirth will be remembered as a harbinger of absolute vengeance.
This pack of 12 large-format cards contains each of the unit Warscrolls from Battletome: Sylvaneth, printed on individual cards for handy reference in your battles, along with a selection of double-sided card gaming tokens – use these to indicate the Allegiance Abilities, skills and statuses used by your models in games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Please note, you’ll need a copy of Battletome: Sylvaneth to use the contents of this set.
Warscroll Cards: Bonesplitterz: $15
Driven quite mad by the thrumming power of Gorkamorka, the Bonesplitterz hunt the great beasts of the mortal realms in order to slay them and absorb the spiritual might of their god, which they believe is bound within the creatures’ bones. Led into battle by crazed Wurrgog Prophets, these savage orruks are wildly unpredictable and difficult to best in combat – what they lack in organisation and tactics they make up for in toughness and sheer single-mindedness. The boys of the Bonesplitterz swarm over the enemies’ ranks, tearing into them and chewing out their hearts with anarchic abandon.
This pack of 10 large-format cards contains each of the unit Warscrolls from Battletome: Bonesplitterz, printed on individual cards for handy reference in your battles, along with a selection of double-sided card gaming tokens – use these to indicate the Allegiance Abilities, skills and statuses used by your models in games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Please note, you’ll need a copy of Battletome: Bonesplitterz to use the contents of this set.
Warscroll Cards: Beastclaw Raiders: $15
Harbingers of dark months and dead seasons, marauders who stalk through the frozen darkness, the ogor tribes of the Beastclaw Raiders are gargantuan creatures of strength and hunger. Unlike orruks or warriors of the Bloodbound they fight not for the thrill but for survival – battlefields are their hunting grounds, and when the foe lies cold and dead their bodies are harvested with a gluttonous fury, for it takes a truly staggering amount of meat to satisfy these massive, ravenous raiders. Constantly on the move, their nomadic way leaves behind naught but a wasteland of cracked ice and frozen bones – and their appetites drive them to every corner of every mortal realm.
This pack of 10 large-format cards contains each of the unit Warscrolls from Battletome: Beastclaw Raiders, printed on individual cards for handy reference in your battles, along with a selection of double-sided card gaming tokens – use these to indicate the Allegiance Abilities, skills and statuses used by your models in games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
Please note, you’ll need a copy of Battletome: Beastclaw Raiders to use the contents of this set.
The General’s Handbook 2017 is available now online and in local Games Workshop stores. Be sure to press play on our quick and dirty review video below for the full product breakdown.
For more on the General’s Handbook 2017 and all things Age of Sigmar, visit Games Workshop!
