A new box set format called 'Spearhead' has been revealed for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, and it's got me thinking. What if this is the fantasy equivalent to 40K's Combat Patrol? And what if a new way to play based on Combat Patrol comes with it?
OK, so I'll admit it's a leap. There's no indication that this Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Spearhead pack is anything more than it claims to be, after all – an easy and cost-effective way to start your collection, not unlike the Warhammer Vanguard series.
Except there is an indication. More than one, in fact. If I had to guess, I'd say this is the start of something big.
Spearhead: Stormcast Eternals was announced via Warhammer Community as "a balanced fighting force out of the box – and a way to add a powerful leader or some valuable reinforcements to your roster." Alongside Yndrasta the Celestial Spear (who was hard to find if you missed the Dominion box set or didn't want to shell out for a Thunderstrike Command Group), it contains a unit of Vanquishers, three Annihilators, a Knight-Vexillor to carry your standard into battle, and a Stormstrike Chariot pulled by some Gryph-Chargers. In other words? Beyond the addition of a named character, it doesn't stand out much from Age of Sigmar (AoS) Vanguard boxes.
But a couple of things about this reveal make me do a double-take. To start with, the aforementioned Vanguard kits don't offer "a balanced fighting force out of the box." Instead, they rarely equal more than 750 points (1,000 is needed for standard AoS games) and can't be used as an army in themselves. They don't claim to, either.
What's more, I checked on the official Warscroll army builder tool and found that Spearhead: Stormcast Eternals won't get you a 1,000-point army
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