From Spearhead to a Proper Battle
We recently had one of those very hobby conversations that starts with a joke about painting 10,000 points and somehow ends with us seriously discussing what kind of game we actually want to put on the table.
And honestly? We love those discussions, because they say a lot about where we are as a group.
10,000 points?!
It started with the idea of “fixes after you paint 10,000 points” — which immediately raised the important question: 10,000 points of what, exactly? Warcry? Battle? Something else entirely?
Very quickly, it turned out we were talking about the full, big-army experience. Not a skirmish. Not a side mode. A proper battle.
That, of course, led to the obvious reaction:
That. Is. A lot.
Because it really is. Even in a hobby where collecting too much plastic is basically part of the culture, 10,000 points sounds less like a list-building exercise and more like a life project.
How big is “big” anyway?
We started comparing what we had seen before. The biggest battles seen on YouTube were around 4,000 points, and there was also mention of someone playing 7,000 points in 40k. Bigger games do exist, but at some point they stop being a normal match and start becoming a spectacle.
And that is part of the charm, really. Huge tabletop battles have always had that special-event energy. They are not just “a game on Wednesday.” They are something you plan, talk about, and remember afterwards.
But first: Spearhead
Before we start dreaming about massive armies covering the whole table, we landed on the most sensible conclusion possible:
first, let’s play Spearhead.
That was probably the most grounded moment in the whole exchange.
Spearhead really does feel like one of the smartest ideas Games Workshop has had for Age of Sigmar. You grab a single box, you get a predefined force, the rules are a bit simplified, and you can actually start playing something that still feels like a “real” army game.
That is a huge deal.
For a lot of us, and probably for many people getting into the hobby now, that lower barrier to entry is exactly what makes the system so appealing. There is something genuinely magical about buying one box of miniatures and being able to put them on the table in a format that captures at least some of that classic big-battle feeling.
As one of us put it: if 12-year-old us had seen that, it would have absolutely blown our minds.
Is Spearhead the same as “battle”?
Naturally, this became the next point of friendly argument.
On one side: Spearhead uses predefined armies and simplified rules, so it is clearly not the same as the full-size game.
On the other: apart from that… it is still recognisably the same kind of experience.
And honestly, both takes are fair.
Spearhead is not trying to replace the full game. It is more like a very elegant on-ramp: less intimidating, easier to organise, faster to learn, and much easier to get to the table. But crucially, it still points in the same direction. It still lets us move ranked-up fantasy toy soldiers—well, in spirit, at least—and make dramatic decisions over objectives, positioning, and combat.
That is probably why it clicked so hard in our chat. We were joking around, teasing each other about army sizes, making increasingly questionable metaphors, but underneath all that was a very simple truth:
we want to play bigger games, and Spearhead feels like the best way to get there.
The dream: a four-player battle setup
The idea that really stuck with us was trying a four-player battle-style setup, but using Spearhead armies and Spearhead combat rules.
That sounds like exactly the kind of thing we enjoy most as a group:
- a bit experimental,
- a bit chaotic,
- much easier to organise than a giant full-scale clash,
- and still big enough to feel like an event.
It is also a very “us” solution. Instead of waiting until everyone has thousands of points painted and ready, we can just start with what is manageable and see how it feels. If it works, great. If it turns into glorious nonsense, also great.
Also, yes, there was mock drama
No proper hobby discussion is complete without someone pretending to be deeply offended after being told their army is worth approximately zero points.
In this case, the counterargument was important and very relatable:
It’s not zero points. It’s about two hundred points, and it’s sitting in a plastic box. And it’s for WFB.
That, frankly, is one of the most Warhammer sentences imaginable.
And because no internet exchange is complete without a reaction image, we also got one.
Why we like this so much
What we took away from the whole conversation is pretty simple:
Spearhead lowers the entry barrier in a way that feels genuinely exciting. It lets us stop treating the “real game” as something locked behind a mountain of purchases, assembly, and painting. Instead, we can start playing sooner, learn the flow of Age of Sigmar, and build toward larger battles naturally.
And yes — one day we absolutely want to put on a proper big battle. The kind that makes everyone stop and stare at the table for a second.
But first, we should probably do the sensible thing.
A few Spearheads. Four players. Some nonsense. Then we’ll see how far down the rabbit hole we want to go.
And who knows — maybe 10,000 points is only ridiculous until someone actually tries it.