After waiting for what seems an age, the next installment of the Age of Sigmar storyline has finally arrived – Blightwar, in a great big box set. So, what secrets does it hold..?
For all the piccies, head to:
https://ttgamingdiary.wordpress.com/2017/08/30/review-blightwar/
Now, one word of warning – I quite got into the storyline behind the Realmgate Wars, so I come to Blightwar wanting to like it.
That said, the first impression of the box set is that it is… light. It is one of
GW’s big £95 box sets and it really lacks the heft of something like Dark Imperium, being more akin in feel to Execution Force and games of that ilk.
You just don’t get the feeling that you need a pack mule to get the thing home, you know?
Still, opening up the box, you can see it is filled to the brim with plastic models.
Split between Stormcasts and Daemons of Nurgle, most of these models you have seen before (not classing that as a bad thing at all, as those Nurgle daemons will be joining my Death Guard this weekend!). However, there are two brand new models, thus far exclusive to this box set. First up is the first female Stormcast we have seen, Neave Blacktalon:
Followed by the snail-riding champion of Nurgle, Horticulous Slimux:
You also get a Cycle of Corruption wheel, which I will come back to in a minute. Please forgive the meaty paw in the photo, but I wanted to get across the size of this wheel – you are not going to lose it in your box of counters and dice!
Finally, the Blightwar book itself – for me, the most important part of this box set, as this is the start of a new cycle in the Age of Sigmar storyline.
First impressions? Well, if you got used to the giant hardbacks that made up the Realmgate Wars series, it feels light. In fact, if you remember the softback you got in the original Age of Sigmar starter, it still feels light.
Blightwar is a 40 page saddle-stitched (stapled) book – however, what is important is content, so we dive in…
The first handful of pages are a general introduction to the Mortal Realms (this is the war, the Realmgate Wars were a thing, these are Stormcasts, etc). This is fair enough, as Blightwar is intended as a starter set of sorts (though you now have a fair selection of starters for Age of Sigmar, and
40k seems to be going that way as well).
You then get the preamble to the Blightwar, starting with how Nurgle fared (not brilliantly, letting Alarielle slip through his fingers) in the Realmgate Wars, and how he decided what he would do next. In a nutshell, Nurgle believes he was way too selfish when he fixated on the Realm of Life – there were beings all over the Mortal Realms just desperate to receive his blessings.
So, summoning his Grand Cultivator (Horticulous Slimux), Nurgle sent his hordes across all the Realms, tainting sites of magical power to bring forth his own Garden.
Simples!
The two lead characters in this part of the story (Horticulous and Blacktalon) get their own write-ups in the standard ‘unit’ style. It is suggested that Horticulous might be the first daemon Nurgle ever created, and he is the preeminent expert on spreading the Garden of Nurgle.
Neave Blacktalon, on the other hand, is the first of the Knights-Zephyros to appear, assigned to the Vanguard Chambers to basically act as an assassin in battle – they pick a target, then race ahead to destroy it.
Funnily enough, while you get a good sense of who Horticulous is and what he is like, you don’t really get a good feeling of what Neave is like as a person, other than being bloody hard.
There is a two page introduction to the Blightwar itself, depicting Neave and her Vanguard Rangers (the Shadowhammers) chasing down Horticulous across the realms. They finally track him to Ghur (Realm of Beasts) where he seems to be heading to one of Sigmar’s cities, Excelsis.
Cue big fights.
There are three Battleplans that showcase this fight, starting with Rearguard Strike which has the Stormcasts falling upon the trailing host of the Nurgle force, and culminating with The Great Sowing where the Stormcasts finally corner Horticulous in a final showdown.
In the past, such Battleplans were presented on three pages, preceded by 4-6 pages of story that set up the fight. This time round, perhaps because of the limited space in this book, you get one page of story and one for the Battleplan itself. And you know what,
GW? If this is indeed the new format for story-based Battleplans… I am okay with it. There is just enough information (once you consider the general overview that comes before) to make the battle mean something rather than just getting a collection of random models to fight.
I quite like it, especially if it means we will see more story-based battles rather than standalone Battleplans.
Oh, and there are no set forces in these Battleplans – while they obviously revolve around the contents of the box set, there is no reason you cannot really go overboard with both Stormcasts and Nurgle daemons if you already have the models.
The latter half of the book is devoted to rules, and the first thing you come across are the Allegiance Abilities of Stormcasts and Nurgle. These just cover the Battle Traits (so no Command Traits or Artefacts), but fans of Nurgle will not be too unhappy as they now get Cycle of Corruption.
If you lose the wheel that comes with this set, it is reprinted in the book, and basically Nurgle forces get a new effect applied every round, ranging from everyone getting healed to bonuses to wound rolls – I don’t think there are any bum notes struck here, and Nurgle generals will be able to predict what is coming next and plan accordingly
Warscrolls are provided for all units in the box set, along with two new Battalions. Blacktalon’s Stormhammers move a bit faster when they are close to their leader, and gain bonuses to hit rolls when they charge a unit that has already been shot up.
The Fecund Rituculturalists re-roll hits when they are close to Horticulous and can grow new Plaguebearers every round.
Finally, Pitched Battle profiles for all the units in the set, including the two characters and the Battalion
So, is it all worth it?
I think that will depend on whether you want/need the models. £95 is a lot (too much) if you are just wanting to continue the Sigmar storyline. However, if you want to continue the storyline and want a Nurgle and Stormcast force… yeah, sure. It is not a brilliant set by any means, but it is solid. Even if you are just after one of the forces and are looking to pass on or sell the rest, it remains solid.
I think the best I can say is that, for me personally, I like the story as presented (as short as it may be), will be using Neave and all the Nurgle Daemons in my existing forces, and consider my appetite suitably whetted for the next installment of the Blightwar which, I very much hope, will be a nice juicy hardback I can sink my teeth into.
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