Age of Sigmar: A New Beginning (Skelle Warrior Paint Scheme & Tactica)

So Warhammer Fantasy has officially passed with the conclusion of the End Times and the Age of Sigmar has come. What does this mean? Well I sold off all of my fantasy miniatures before AoS was even announced and that means I have no miniatures to play AoS. Well that is changing! I was given a copy of the starter set which allowed me to read through the rules (I have had no interest prior). I actually really like it! I wasn't a big fan a fantasy but I loved the hobby. 

HOBBY

Well now I am rebuilding my Tomb Kings to play Age of Sigmar. I am bringing back a similar theme to what I was doing before (although I never finished). 

These are what I currently have assembled and I am working on more. The Lich Priest is the one from the Casket of Souls. I have a friend who is using  3D printer to make a customer base to fit the Priest, his guards and the casket. I don't want to use the giant mound of skulls. I modified the second banner pole to be a halberd to differentiate the leader of the unit. The back two (banner and priest) are my current WIP.

This is Bill. He is the first of the skelles to be finished. I took the pictures outside because the lighting in my house sucks. I am going a bit traditional with slight variations. I am using red as the accent color with turquoise as the main heraldry. I am making the bones very dark using layered washes and highlights. It gives it a more menacing aged look and less cartoony as many other schemes I have seen.

Tactica

So in 8th, skelle warriors were the necessary evil. They just weren't as good as the rest of the other options but were core and cheap. Now in AoS they have some uniqueness that makes them set apart from other options. 

I you opt to play the skelle warriors, likely you are wanting to go full skelle synergy. Skeleton armies in the TK are horde armies. The unites want to be big because for have 20 or 30+ skelles you get and extra attack. This is ALOT of attacks. The reason I have equipped the seemingly weaker spear instead of sword is because of the 2" reach. If you position the skelles where they can get ranks of supporting attacks from the rear (not the rule for ranks in 8th, merely a tactical positioning), you get a TON more attack. Add in the bonus from massive unit size and you will tear apart just about anything.

After you have the unit, using a Tomb King to boost their attack stat or a Lich Priest to grant extra attacks on 6s, these seemingly fragile warriors are a terrifying force. Also since the banner brings back D6 each turn, and you can plant your shields to get a minor defensive bonus, maybe add in another priest casting arcane shield, they become a killer unit.

All these tactics play very much to the style of the Tomb Kings: unit support and synergy. Many other factions have star player characters. Well the TK get fantastic supporting characters and they can turn this unit into a force to be reckoned with.

I hope you enjoyed my preview of my Tomb King project and the tactica! stay tuned for more!