Spearhead is the revolutionary smaller-scale way to play Warhammer Age of Sigmar. It’s both the perfect introduction to the system and setting, and a stellar game mode in its own right.
Where accumulating 2,000 or more points of a new army might seem daunting, Spearhead boxes are the best place to start. It’s easy to paint them up and get them onto the table, where you’ll be playing fast, tactically satisfying battles in no time. From there, you can grow your army at your own pace, adding units and characters as you see fit.
Our friends at The Hobby Collab YouTube channel are already big Age of Sigmar fans, and they leapt at the chance to begin an entirely new campaign with six entirely new factions, beginning with one Spearhead box each and growing from there.
Nighthaunt
Zach: The new Nighthaunt Spearhead is a really strong place to start a full force. Dreadscythe Harridans and Bladegheist Revenants are among your heaviest hitters, but they’re also great at bogging down the enemy. The first place to start as you build up your forces would be to reinforce one or both of those units because they really are that useful: 20 spooky ghosts with two Health each are a menace on the battlefield, and you can’t go wrong with 20 of either type (or 20 of both!).
You’ll also want to pick up a smaller unit to lend a hand, one that might not hit hard but is great for making its way around the battle to score. Craventhrone Guard and Pyregheists do this quite well and can provide a little shooting while doing so. Finally, you’ll want to pick up a few characters. The new Nighthaunt have incredible characters, but it’s impossible to not recommend Lady Olynder. While small in stature compared to other Mortarchs, Lady Olynder is nearly invincible – send her towards something scary in your opponent’s army and watch her completely shut your opponent’s plans down.
Lastly, the Scriptor Mortis is a nasty buff character. He can sentence an enemy unit and your entire army switches from Critical (Auto-wound) to Critical (Mortal) against that target.
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Tzeentch
Graeme: I started my collection with two Spearheads of Disciples of Tzeentch! Reinforced units of Tzaangors and Kairic Acolytes (boosted by Scourge of Ghyran special rules) are a great backbone for the army, especially if you want to lean into Arcanites. I have had a lot of fun running the Flamers of Tzeentch both as a reinforced unit of six for damage output and in units of three for a fast throwaway threat, while Screamers make great objective grabbers with their 14-inch move. All Wizards are amazing in Tzeentch lists and the Magister on Disc of Tzeentch is no exception. They are especially great at grabbing late-game objectives after burning the enemy to the ground with Bolt of Change.
There are a lot of options to expand beyond the Spearhead. I started by leaning more into the daemonic side of the range by getting Pink, Blue, and Brimstone Horrors. I originally fell in love with Tzeentch because of Horrors, and they continue to be staples in almost every list I run. Their splitting mechanic is one of my favourite abilities in all of Warhammer. On the mortal side, Skyfires and Enlightened on Discs of Tzeentch are both mobile threats which are very capable on their own, but they also pair amazingly with the Magister on Disc of Tzeentch in the Spearhead. The Magister gives them the ability to run and charge, which, coupled with the At the Double command, gives them a 20-inch movement before they even roll any charge dice!
There is no shortage of Disciples of Tzeentch characters to expand your army. One of my favourites has been the Scourge of Ghyran Ogroid Thaumaturge, who can teleport around the table to your Arcanite units, which include both the Kairic Acolytes and Tzaangor from the Spearhead. He offers a melee and magical threat to make opponents wary of engaging your mortal units.
Finally, I don’t think any Disciples of Tzeentch army is complete without Kairos Fateweaver. I cannot stress enough how fun this model is to play. He makes all of your Wizards better with a 12-inch bubble adding +1 to cast, and he has an amazing spell that either subtracts from enemy Hit and Wound rolls, reduces their armour saves, or stops them from using commands.
He also lets you cheat (not actually) at magic and Battle Tactics! The lower dice from a 2d6 cast roll can be changed to match the higher dice, which makes his casting incredibly reliable, and once per game you can even change a Battle Tactic. Run out of units to fulfill Scouting Force? Well, we are doing Master of the Paths now. This ability is almost impossible for your opponent to plan around and adds a level of unparalleled scheming to the game that is very befitting the Changer of Ways!
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Seraphon (Megan)
Megan: The Sunblooded Prowlers are such a fun group of little guys, and a fun opportunity to incorporate the Jaws of Itzl, a warband originally taken from Warhammer Underworlds. You have a nice set-up of Saurus Warriors, I’d want to pair them up with a slann, who have the ability to bring back units at half size in the hero phase, which is really helpful with some of these guys that you want to keep nearby. Collecting objectives becomes a little easier with Hunters of Huanchi – a Warcry warband of Chameleon Skinks – and then all we need is Carnosaur to act as a bully and a distraction.
Since this list leans more into many lower-impact units, I’d want to use the Lore of Celestial Manipulation, which is a little more offensive and can help keep enemies at bay, or at least thinned out.
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The Hobby Collab began as a group of gamers with a craving for more oddballs like themselves to hobby with. Formed by Zach, Cire and Meg, their mission is to create a positive and supportive hobby community where everyone is welcome. The channel is best known for its painting tutorials and live Age of Sigmar battle reports, but they love to paint all kinds of miniatures from a variety of systems. If you want to learn more about the channel and its crew, check out their live coverage of the Age of Sigmar Championship at the Las Vegas Open, which runs between 2nd and 5th October.
