Each Chaos God has a domain of expertise that their followers practice, like the martial mastery undertaken by the followers of Khorne and the penchant for pestilence exercised by Nurgle’s acolytes. For the Disciples of Tzeentch, magic is the primary pursuit. His sorcerous followers change fate, mutate flesh, and rain down pyroclastic flames on their opponents, bringing glorious disorder to the battlefield. While the core Disciples of Tzeentch battle traits focus on twisting fate and hoodwinking foes with illusions, the Change Lord’s followers can also summon Argent Shards to aid them in their spellcasting supremacy.
Each Argent Shard is a fragment of one of the legendary Silver Towers of Tzeentch, ominous floating monoliths that manifest in pairs. As with most faction terrain, you’ll pop one down in the relevant step of the deployment phase, and its Silver Simulacrum will manifest itself after both armies have been set up.
Being a sliver of a Silver Tower, these hovering edifices do not obey the laws of physics, and when destroyed they can replace themselves through Sorcerous Duplication. This ability also lets them phase out from reality and reappear closer to enemies without warning, which is handy for wizards who want to use them as a Magical Focus for their spells.
ARGENT SHARD
SORCEROUS DUPLICATION
Once Per Turn (Army), Any Movement Phase
Argent Shards do not obey the laws of reality. They can phase into and out of existence and split apart into two identical copies.
Effect: Pick 1 of the following effects:
If there is only 1 friendly Argent Shard on the battlefield,set up another Argent Shard wholly within 12" of this terrain feature, more than 1" from all other terrain features, more than 3" from all objectives and more than 9" from all enemy units.
Remove this terrain feature from the battlefield and set it up again on the battlefield more than 1" from all other terrain features, more than 3" from all objectives and more than 9" from all enemy units.
ARGENT SHARD
MAGICAL FOCUS
Once Per Turn (Army), Any Hero Phase
The Argent Shards act as channelling foci through which Tzeentch’s spellcasters can launch their devastating arcane bombardments.
Effect: The next time a friendly DISCIPLES OF TZEENTCH unit uses a Spell ability this phase, when picking targets for that SPELL, you can measure range and visibility from this terrain feature instead of from the caster, and your opponent can measure range and visibility to this terrain feature instead of to the caster for the purposes of the ‘Unbind’ ability.
Once per turn, a Disciples of Tzeentch wizard can choose an Argent Shard to be the origin point of their spell. In doing so, you measure range and visibility from the Argent Shard instead of the wizard, increasing the potential casting range – though enemy wizards can also use the Shard as the target for their unbind.
As Masters of the Silver Towers it should come as no surprise that Gaunt Summoners are well attuned to the Argent Shards, and when they’re nearby they can prevent enemy units from ending charge moves within ½” of the Shards, ensuring they remain intact. Gaunt Summoners on foot can also further mess with their foes, giving them Leaden Limbs and reducing enemies’ movement and ability to fly.
GAUNT SUMMONER
MASTERS OF THE SILVER TOWERS
Passive
Gaunt Summoners are attuned to the esoteric magic of the Argent Shards and can call upon their power to violently repulse charging foes.
Effect: Enemy units cannot end a charge move within 1/2" of a friendly Argent Shard that is wholly within 12" of this unit and was set up on the battlefield in the same turn.
LEADEN LIMBS
Your Hero Phase
The Gaunt Summoner turns the bones of their foes to heavy lead, slowing them to a pained crawl.
Declare: Pick a visible enemy unit within 18" of this unit to be the target, then make a casting roll of 2D6.
Effect: Until the start of your next turn:
Halve the target’s Move characteristic.
The effects of the ‘Fly’ ability do not apply to the target.
KEYWORDS: SPELL
The Disciples of Tzeentch have plenty of other spells they’ll want a little extra range on too. The Lore of Change feels the same in spirit, but Fold Reality and Transformed to Spawn now make use of units put into reserve by the Eldritch Illusions battle trait. The Lore of Fate retains Infernal Gateway and Shield of Fate, the latter of which lets you choose a Ward (5+) or subtract 1 from hit rolls that target the unit. New spell Wyrdflame Haze gives you even more ways to mess with your foes, creating a bubble around units set up that turn, which obscures nearby units from view. If you can’t pick between the two, just conjure the Tome of Eyes, a Compendium of Dark Knowledge that lets a Disciples of Tzeentch wizard cast a free spell from either lore on top of the number of Spell or Banish abilities they can already use.
LORE OF FATE
WYRDFLAME HAZE
Your Hero Phase
The caster causes the smoke from arcane blazes to linger on the battlefield, obscuring those to be defended by the very hand lurking within.
Declare: Pick a friendly DISCIPLES OF TZEENTCH WIZARD to cast this spell, then make a casting roll of 2D6.
Effect: Until the start of your next turn, friendly DISCIPLES OF TZEENTCH units are not visible to enemy units more than 12" from them while those friendly units are wholly within 12" of a friendly DISCIPLES OF TZEENTCH unit that was set up in the same turn.
KEYWORDS: SPELL
LORE OF FATE
COMPENDIUM OF DARK KNOWLEDGE
Your Hero Phase
As the Tome flicks through its endless pages, it peers into the minds of nearby mages and gives knowledge to the loyal.
Declare: Pick a visible friendly DISCIPLES OF TZEENTCH WIZARD within 3" of this MANIFESTATION to be the target.
Effect: The target can immediately use a SPELL ability from the Lore of Change or the Lore of Fate.
Designer’s Note: That spell does not count towards the number of SPELL or BANISH abilities the target can use this phase.
There are lots of other spells to explore in Battletome: Disciples of Tzeentch, and mastering this arcane knowledge will be your key to victory. You’ll be able to read all about them soon, as the battletome, Argent Shards, and Fatemaster are all available to pre-order on Saturday. Make sure you show Teclis and his pointy-eared kin who the Mortal Realms’ real masters of magic are.
