Free Battleplans, maps for Warhammer Age of Sigmar│Wardoc.

With the 4th edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Games Workshop has overhauled the structure of battlepacks and battleplans to boost the game’s strategic depth and competitive aspects.

New Scoring and Battle Tactics

The updated scoring system now caps points at 50 per game over five rounds, allowing a maximum of 10 points per round. This aims to make scoring more detailed and competitive. While the ratio for primary and secondary objectives remains similar, the new system allows for finer scoring increments. The removal of grand strategy is a positive change, streamlining the game and emphasizing immediate tactical decisions.

However, the inclusion of battle tactics in scoring is less appealing. Some battle tactics can be completed without engaging with your opponent, which isn’t ideal. This aspect could have been refined to promote more interaction and counterplay.

I also hope battletome tactics are removed, but it seems they will stay as the developers believe faction-specific battle tactics are essential for balancing factions.

First Blood Battlepack

The First Blood Battlepack, part of the Core Rules, is designed for quick, balanced games, especially for newcomers. It introduces three battleplans for four-round games, focusing on objective control and successful execution of battle tactics.

Each battleplan in First Blood offers unique twists, potentially altering victory point acquisition or providing boosts for the underdog. This dynamic could help balance the playing field during critical moments.

The General’s Handbook and Matched Play

For competitive play, The General’s Handbook 2024-25 is essential. It standardizes tournament play and introduces additional tactical challenges with seasonal rules.

The handbook revisits 12 popular battleplans from the past eight years, updated for the new edition. This nostalgic nod should appeal to veterans and ensure robust challenges for all players. For example, the return of the “Border War” battleplan from 2016 emphasizes both objective control and tactical maneuvers.

Season Rules and Player Terrain

Season rules add thematic layers to each game, allowing players to choose powerful abilities during the deployment phase to tailor their strategies based on their opponent’s roster. The inclusion of player-placed terrain continues, with each battleplan recommending specific layouts to create balanced and thematic battlefields. This is a significant improvement, with more detailed rules for terrain, each having one or more abilities.

Underdog Mechanism

Each scenario seems to have an underdog mechanism. For instance, in “The Vice,” the underdog can deal 1D3 damage to each unit contesting an objective. Note that objectives are 40mm with a contest range of 3″, so the area of effect is reduced.

Thoughts

The new edition of Age of Sigmar has brought new exciting updates and promises, more strategic depth and access. However, the retention of certain elements like battle tactics, which can be too isolated from opponent interaction, remains a concern. Nonetheless, the changes in scoring and the introduction of nuanced season rules represent a significant evolution in the game’s competitive scene.