New Year, New Lists: Warcry Nerfs, Weird Allies, and Where to Start
We started the year in a very familiar way: by arranging a meetup, talking nonsense about factions we like, and immediately falling into list-building rabbit holes.
Tomorrow’s plan was simple — 11:00 at Ciołka 25/67 — but before any dice hit the table, we were already deep into Warcry discussion. And honestly, that is half the fun.
Skaven took a beating
Michał dropped the kind of message that instantly changes the mood for anyone even remotely interested in ratmen: according to the new rules this year, Skaven got hit hard. Not just “a bit weaker”, but the kind of nerf that makes you look at your collection and start wondering what exactly happened.
What made it more interesting was the tournament angle. Looking at the Warcry Championships in the UK, apparently nobody brought Skaven at all. That is always a pretty loud signal in a competitive game — players do not abandon a faction for no reason.
Of course, tournament representation never tells the whole story. Sometimes a faction is genuinely bad. Sometimes it is just out of fashion. Sometimes people are still figuring out the new rules. But when a faction disappears completely from a major event, it is hard not to notice.
Kharadron also seem to have vanished
Right after that, Ender noticed something else: no Kharadron either. That raised the obvious question — were they also pushed down by the latest update?
Apparently there had at least been one Kharadron list back in September, and from the screenshots it looked like it did extremely well.
That is the funny thing with balance discussions in skirmish games: a warband can go from “solid result” to “where did everyone go?” very quickly, especially after an update. If you are building an army or warband right now, this is exactly the kind of stuff worth keeping an eye on. Not because you must chase the meta, but because it helps to know whether you are signing up for an uphill battle.
The allied nonsense we love
Then we got to one of the best parts of Warhammer list talk: spotting something weird in a roster and trying to work out how it actually functions.
Michał noticed that one of the names high on the list probably was not the leader, because the leader likely could not come from an allied force. That led straight to the discovery that the Fusil-Major is a Cities of Sigmar unit.
And, more importantly, to the truly essential hobby insight: it is basically an ogre with a gun turret attached to his head.
Which, honestly, is peak Warhammer design.
The profile did not exactly make it look subtle either. Michał’s reaction was immediate: 15” range, 6 attacks, 140 points. That is the sort of statline that makes you stop mid-conversation and just stare for a second.
This is also one of those moments that reminds us why army-building is so much fun. Sometimes it is not about finding the most elegant or lore-pure list. Sometimes it is about discovering a completely ridiculous unit interaction and going: yes, we need to talk about this immediately.
Matched Play is a bigger jump than it looks
The other useful takeaway from the chat was about Age of Sigmar itself, especially for anyone moving beyond the most basic games.
Michał pointed out that the battlepack / Matched Play rules in AoS are a lot more complicated than the absolute basics. That is not really surprising, but it is good to say out loud. If someone is just getting started, the full matched format can feel like a serious jump.
The good news is that the core book includes three introductory games with simplified rules, and each one adds more mechanics. That sounds like exactly the right way to approach it: start small, learn the flow, then layer in complexity instead of trying to absorb everything at once.
We are big fans of that kind of onboarding. Warhammer rules can be great, but they are often much easier to enjoy when learned in stages rather than all at once.
Our takeaway
This whole exchange had a bit of everything we enjoy:
- checking how updates affect faction viability,
- comparing tournament results,
- getting distracted by bizarre ally options,
- and remembering that the “proper” matched format is not always the best starting point.
So if you are building into Warcry right now, it is probably worth asking two questions at the same time:
- What looks fun?
- What survived the latest balance changes?
And if you are stepping into Age of Sigmar more broadly, maybe do yourself a favor and play the simplified intro missions first. There is no shame in easing into the rules — especially when the alternative is trying to process everything at once while also wondering why an ogre artillery officer is apparently so efficient.
Very Warhammer problem, that.