Warhammer Age of Sigmar (Second Edition) Core Rules

Warhammer Age of Sigmar is more than a game – it’s a hobby. Build armies of plastic warriors drawn from the many warring factions that inhabit the Mortal Realms, paint your models to personalise your collection, and take them to the tabletop to play fast-paced games of strategy and action that will allow you to tell your own stories within the Age of Sigmar.

The new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar features the most comprehensive look at the core rules since the first Generals Handbook, and like those changes, the new ones will have an equally huge impact on the tabletop.

Artefacts of the Realms

The Mortal Realms are enormous, and the factions that fight among them are characterised as much by which of the realms they hail from as by their Grand Alliance. Previously, we’ve seen this represented largely through creative paint jobs and appropriate basing, with some hobbyists using clever conversions to identify where their force comes from. Now, in the new edition, you’ll be able to represent where your army hails from with 84 new magic items. When you’re writing your army list, you have the option to pick a Realm for your army to be from. As well as providing you with loads of opportunities for roleplaying (not to mention painting and converting), you’ll be able to replace one of your normal Artefact picks with a special artefact from your chosen realm.

Battling in the Realms

The new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar turns the Mortal Realms into rich backdrops for all of your battles. These aren’t just optional expansions, but a core part of the game. Each of the Mortal Realms has a set of unique rules that create unusual challenges and opportunities for the armies fighting in them. Firstly, each realm has a command ability, apart from Shyish, which has two, and Ghur, which has wandering, feral monsters instead. Available to every Hero fighting in that realm, these abilities ensure that your army fights in a thematically appropriate way for the realm it’s in. Secondly, each Realm has a set of Realmscape Features – a random in-game effect that’ll often have a significant impact on how your game will go. Last, but not least, each of the Mortal Realms has a massive selection of spells associated with it, representing the unique powers that Wizards are able to harness. Each realm has seven spells, ALL of which will be available to ANY Wizard fighting in that realm. Finally, choosing a Realm has a range of impacts on certain warscrolls. Each endless spell, for example, is more powerful when cast in its associated realm.