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I'm a loooong time 40K player who has recently started showing an interest in AoS. I actually played WHFB years and years ago, and have a smattering of models remaining from an old Chaos Warrior army and a handful of dwarfs. I have a full Chaos Daemon army that I use for 40K, and while the most cost efficient way to start AoS would obviously be to play Chaos, I truly want to play a completely different army. In fact, my intention is to learn the game by playing Chaos Daemons vs Chaos Daemons with a fellow gamer who is also interested, rather than buy an army outright or the starter set, and if we like it, start building something else.

Coming from 40K, I expect the transition from a heavy rule set to something more streamlined to be somewhat jarring. Is the flow of the game that much different? How much time would a typical game take (say, 3-4 warscrolls)? Does the game scale well? This is particularly important because if our initial sessions prove enjoyable, our plan is to do a slow escalation style game, where we get 2 units and a leader model and build slowly from there, only using models we have fully built and painted. This game seems to rely heavily on campaign books, so what all is included in these books and are they that necessary? The AoS App seems to have the warscrolls for a lot of newer units (as well as all of the old stuff), what is the difference between the free warscrolls and those you have to buy?

I can't really answer all the questions myself, especially since I haven't played 40k in 10 years, but starting with just your existing demons is a great way to learn the flow of the game. I highly suggest using a comp system and doing a battleplan scenario or wait a couple weeks for the generals handbook if you want to do more traditional pitched battles.

The App contains all the warscrolls you need. The ones that you have to buy are for formations, which strictly give a bonus to all the units in the formation. Most comp systems (including the General's Handbook point system) will make those formations cost something, so the bonuses don't come without a drawback (the Bloodhost of Khorne costs just about the same as another Bloodthirster, so its up to you to decide if that's a fair trade).

The campaign books have a lot of fluff and story, as well as battleplan scenarios and a handful of formation warscrolls. They are not necessary, especially if you plan on traditional pitched battles. All of those scenarios are also available at a discounted price on the app (battlepacks), but unfortunately you don't unlock those for free if you buy the hardback books...

why not buy the starter set with your firend and build from that ?

 cyberjonesy wrote:
why not buy the starter set with your firend and build from that ?

Part of the great aspect of AoS is not having to buy anything, so if you already have some minis you can start right away. This way if you don't like it, no harm done with no money wasted.

I don't know if you know this or not, but do you know about The Generals Handbook that is coming out at the end of July? That will have a point system in the game. I make you more excited or less excited for AoS.

 cyberjonesy wrote:
why not buy the starter set with your firend and build from that ?

No interest in playing Sigmarines and yet another Khorne army for either of us, and since I already have enough to play two daemon armies, we just don't see the point. My friend wants desperately to play with the new Sylvaneth stuff, and I really want to play Orcs/Orks/Orruks.


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Davor wrote:

I don't know if you know this or not, but do you know about The Generals Handbook that is coming out at the end of July? That will have a point system in the game. I make you more excited or less excited for AoS.

Already plan on having my FLGS hold a copy for me. The addition of a points system and a Mordheim-style skirmish system is what finally pulled me over.


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Laughatdo0m wrote:
I can't really answer all the questions myself, especially since I haven't played 40k in 10 years, but starting with just your existing demons is a great way to learn the flow of the game. I highly suggest using a comp system and doing a battleplan scenario or wait a couple weeks for the generals handbook if you want to do more traditional pitched battles.

The App contains all the warscrolls you need. The ones that you have to buy are for formations, which strictly give a bonus to all the units in the formation. Most comp systems (including the General's Handbook point system) will make those formations cost something, so the bonuses don't come without a drawback (the Bloodhost of Khorne costs just about the same as another Bloodthirster, so its up to you to decide if that's a fair trade).

The campaign books have a lot of fluff and story, as well as battleplan scenarios and a handful of formation warscrolls. They are not necessary, especially if you plan on traditional pitched battles. All of those scenarios are also available at a discounted price on the app (battlepacks), but unfortunately you don't unlock those for free if you buy the hardback books...

Thanks for the info. As a fan of the fluff (both 40K and Fantasy), I'll probably end up with the books just to read. Even though I didn't play Fantasy at the time, I still read all of the End Times books, and I have a vague idea of the current direction of the AoS story, but know nothing of the particulars beyond the odds and ends that I've read here and there (such as Slaanesh being captured and Archeon is still alive and kicking).

Speaking of, how is the fluff so far? While I really enjoyed the story behind End Times, I have always hated GW's grasp (or lack thereof) of logistics, and those books were ripe with bad logistics when detailing the various armies and battles. Since its just as bad in 40K, I don't expect there to be any improvement in AoS.

Being a 40k player myself, I recently got into Age of Sigmar to try my hand at Lizardmen or "Seraphon". I'm really enjoying them so far. Here are a few points that I've noticed about AoS compared to 40k.

Since every model has a set to hit/wound roll there is no second guessing, although I've noticed many new players always checking their phones for what they need to roll. That'll go away with time as they learn their army. The most common roll is a 4+.

Models die very quickly because of rending and mortal wounds. Forcing multiple 5/6+ or no armor saves kills things fast! = Quicker games

Rolling to see which player goes first each turn can add to the suspense of the game.

Melee combat goes back and forth between players, activating a single unit, until all units in melee have been activated. This adds a lot of strategy to the game.

Casting and unbinding magic is simple. You roll 2d6 to equal or beat the casting cost of the spell and if the enemy has a wizard within 18 inches then they need to beat your roll to unbind it. Simple. Simple. Simple. Each warscroll tells you exactly which spells you can cast and how many spells per turn you can cast.

Battleshock. Prepare for it. Cowards will run off of the battlefield = less models on the field = quicker games.

Haven't started collecting yet. I'm rolling constant willpower saves to force myself to finish my Blood Ravens before starting my AoS Chaos army. I really like the rules, and would actually like to see some of them (like the set to-hit/to-wound values) in 40k.

In response to your question of fluff: it's sort of refreshing to read a background where the bad guys are sort of pushed in the defensive with the good guys being on the offensive.

The logistics of it all make zero sense again... But why would they? There are frigging magic portals and storms that bring in troops.

 undertak1983 wrote:
Being a 40k player myself, I recently got into Age of Sigmar to try my hand at Lizardmen or "Seraphon". I'm really enjoying them so far. Here are a few points that I've noticed about AoS compared to 40k.

Since every model has a set to hit/wound roll there is no second guessing, although I've noticed many new players always checking their phones for what they need to roll. That'll go away with time as they learn their army. The most common roll is a 4+.

Models die very quickly because of rending and mortal wounds. Forcing multiple 5/6+ or no armor saves kills things fast! = Quicker games

Rolling to see which player goes first each turn can add to the suspense of the game.

Melee combat goes back and forth between players, activating a single unit, until all units in melee have been activated. This adds a lot of strategy to the game.

Casting and unbinding magic is simple. You roll 2d6 to equal or beat the casting cost of the spell and if the enemy has a wizard within 18 inches then they need to beat your roll to unbind it. Simple. Simple. Simple. Each warscroll tells you exactly which spells you can cast and how many spells per turn you can cast.

Battleshock. Prepare for it. Cowards will run off of the battlefield = less models on the field = quicker games.

I really like the warscroll system and how everything is in a single place for that unit, including how each weapon works. Its been a while since I initially read the rules, so I had forgotten about rolling to go first each turn, I personally like that way of playing and use it for 40K when we have 3-way matches. Speed and easy rules are the biggest attraction for me at this point, as my gaming time is often very short. The absolutely beautiful models over the past year have also made it very hard to resist.


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 Elmir wrote:
In response to your question of fluff: it's sort of refreshing to read a background where the bad guys are sort of pushed in the defensive with the good guys being on the offensive.

The logistics of it all make zero sense again... But why would they? There are frigging magic portals and storms that bring in troops.

I just started reading the first Realm Gate War book last night. I got a good chuckle after reading the creation method for Space Mari... er, I mean Stormcast Eternals. I knew about the similarities, but didn't realize how blatant it was. I guess we'll have a Horus Heresy-style event in the near future. At least they did establish that the Stormcast Eternals were built up over centuries to explain their numbers, and they are immortal and reincarnate, thus somewhat easy to replenish. Not exactly sure where all the mortal Chaos warriors came from, but we'll just chalk that up to the Warp.

So, I finally got to play a couple of games of AoS using Chaos armies against each other. I really enjoyed the game, especially how it flows, and that everything seems geared towards keeping the fights as grand as possible and not penalizing the players. Rules such as allowing the unit owner to remove the models they choose to keep the unit in the fight longer, no goofy challenge mechanic, and limiting magic just enough to prevent it from taking over the game were refreshing. I also liked that common soldiers can absolutely play a big part in the game, even taking down the big beasties if played right.

One the things that was kind of confusing is when to make those special saves against wounds like the GUO's ability. Do those saves get made after the failed armour save or after the damage is dealt (and do they get the save for each damage?). The timing on this wasn't very clear.

It depends, the feel no pain equivalents are taken against each wound inflicted, for instance the destruction artifact that lets a character ignore a mortal wound on a 4+ is rolled for each mortal wound inflicted. The other is a ward style second armor or fixed value save and it's specificallt states it's per attack.

Looking at the GUO, his is the FnP style, where he has to save against individual wounds, so if an attack inflicts 3 wounds, he needs to make 3 blubber and bile saves. Anyway glad you enjoyed the game!

 Grimgold wrote:
It depends, the feel no pain equivalents are taken against each wound inflicted, for instance the destruction artifact that lets a character ignore a mortal wound on a 4+ is rolled for each mortal wound inflicted. The other is a ward style second armor or fixed value save and it's specificallt states it's per attack.

Looking at the GUO, his is the FnP style, where he has to save against individual wounds, so if an attack inflicts 3 wounds, he needs to make 3 blubber and bile saves. Anyway glad you enjoyed the game!

That's the way we assumed it worked, so glad that we were on the right track there. The GUO is a nasty beast, what with being able to negate wounds and then heal during his hero phase. He went toe-to-toe with my Bloodthirster and totally smacked him down.