Same Balloons, Completely Different Unit: Our Kharadron Army-Building Headache
We had one of those very Warhammer conversations recently: at first glance the models look almost the same, and then five minutes later we realise they are, in fact, completely different units with different warscrolls, different roles, and even different pages in the battletome.
That was exactly the case when we were talking about the balloon dwarfs from the Kharadron Overlords Spearhead.
“They’re totally different units”
Michal summed it up perfectly right away: these are not small variations of the same thing. They have different equipment, different rules, and they are treated as separate entries in the book.
And that’s where the hobby pain begins.
One kit, way too many choices
As End3r explained, from the three balloon guys in the box he can build:
- 3 Endrinriggers with pistol and saw
- 3 Skywardens with spears
- or even the hero versions of those units
And of course that’s only the start.
On top of the base unit choice, there are also weapon options. Endrinriggers can swap into heavier gear like a harpoon launcher or a minigun-style weapon, while Skywardens have their own alternative loadouts too.
So from one tiny set of three models, Games Workshop somehow managed to create a hobby decision tree that feels way bigger than it has any right to be.
The classic army-building trap
This is one of those situations that always gets us when building an army:
- the box gives you a cool multi-part kit,
- the instructions suggest several interesting builds,
- the rules make those builds meaningfully different,
- and suddenly you realise that owning 3 models does not mean you own the options.
If you actually wanted to have all of these variants available at once, End3r pointed out that he would need to buy 12 models instead of 3.
That is such a perfect example of the gap between:
- what is physically in the box, and
- what exists in the army list.
Why this matters
For casual hobbying, this is part of the fun. We like having options, weird builds, and little modelling decisions.
But from an army-building perspective, it also matters a lot:
- what role the unit fills,
- what weapons we want access to,
- whether we want a regular squad or a hero,
- and whether we are building for the table, the shelf, or future flexibility.
When two units share a kit but not a rules identity, it’s very easy to assume they are interchangeable. In practice, they really aren’t.
Probably the most Kharadron problem possible
There is something very Kharadron Overlords about this whole situation. Tiny flying dwarfs, lots of gear, specialist tools, multiple weapon configurations, and a battletome entry for every possible variation.
We love it, but we also immediately understand why someone can look at the sprues and ask: wait, how many different things is this one unit supposed to be?
The answer, apparently, is: far too many for three balloon lads.
In the end, this was a nice reminder that in Age of Sigmar, especially with multi-option kits, it’s worth checking the battletome before gluing anything. Sometimes “same models” really means “completely different unit”.
And sometimes it means that if we want every option, we should probably prepare our wallets first.