Age of Sigmar courts new players with three tiers of introductory wargaming sets
Baby’s first Stormcast sprue.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar is hoping to draw plenty of new - or returning - players into the miniature wargaming fold with a trio of starter sets meant to introduce the rules and start their collection.
Publisher Games Workshop announced July 12th that it would be selling three boxes for the high fantasy Warhammer Age of Sigmar designed specifically as a hobby entry point. Each is a different size and contains a varying amount of miniatures, terrain and all the other tools needed to play.
The included rules - derived from Age of Sigmar’s newly released third edition - will also scale in complexity depending on the set. The Warrior box sticks to the basics and boasts 18 miniatures alongside a single piece of uncomplicated terrain. Harbinger nearly doubles army sizes and delivers more advanced components, such as warscrolls and hero units. The Extremis starter set is meant for those ready for the unadulterated Warhammer experience - it upgrades the Harbinger by swapping the card mat for a double-sided board and the squarish folded box for several pieces of Citadel terrain. Extremis also includes a full version of the third edition rules.
Regardless of the chosen set, players will gain access to two classic factions - the ever-present Stormcast Eternals and the Chaos-worshipping Orruks - to field against each other. These models are designed as push-fit constructions, meaning new players won’t need to learn how to glue their armies together quite yet.
Games Workshop seems plenty aware that painting their game pieces is a part of the hobby on par with actually playing - if not more so - and announced an accompanying range of paint sets for the introductory boxes. The big one will contain 13 Citadel paint colours in 12ml pots in a range of hues that should cover both armies, along with one brush, sprue clippers and a tool for removing those mouldline bits. There will also be paint sets dedicated to both the Stormcast Eternal Vindicators and Orruk Warclans Gutrippaz, though neither will come with tools beyond a single brush.
The publisher has not announced a date for pre-orders or price on the three starter sets, but it did end the announcement by claiming that supplies of Dominion - on which these sets are based - would soon be gone. Boxes have been announced as limited and without the promise of future printings since the release of Cursed City, much to the consternation of players. Games Workshop did not provide any clarification on whether these new starter kits would follow suit.