Digging into Armies of Renown: Thanquol’s Mutant Menagerie and a Kharadron Idea
We recently went down a small Age of Sigmar rules rabbit hole and landed on one of those mechanics that instantly makes us want to build lists just to see how far the idea can go: Armies of Renown.
For some reason, we hadn’t really wrapped our heads around them before. Once we actually sat down and read about them, it clicked pretty fast: these are themed armies with a proper narrative hook, trading away the usual battle traits and standard faction tools for their own special bonuses — but also with clear restrictions on what units you’re allowed to bring.
And honestly, that sounds like exactly the kind of trade-off we enjoy.
Why this clicked for us
What we like most about Armies of Renown is that they don’t just say “here’s a stronger version of your army”. Instead, they push you toward a very specific concept.
That means:
- a more focused army identity,
- a list that feels tied to the lore,
- and some fun list-building puzzles because of the restrictions.
That last part is probably the biggest draw. We always like it when the game nudges us toward something weird or thematic instead of just defaulting to the same “best stuff” every time.
Thanquol’s Mutant Menagerie in action
The conversation started because Michał had already put one of these armies on the table earlier in the week.
He played Thanquol’s Mutant Menagerie, which is exactly the sort of name that already tells you what kind of nonsense is about to happen. Even without going deep into a full battle report, that was enough to get us interested, because it’s a perfect example of what Armies of Renown are supposed to do: take a faction, zoom in on one specific theme, and build rules around that idea.
There’s just something very satisfying about an army that feels like it exists for a reason beyond pure efficiency.
A Kharadron Overlords option we immediately started eyeing
The one that really caught our attention on the list-building side was the Grundstok Expeditionary Force for Kharadron Overlords.
The basic idea is great. You give up access to the bigger ships and only get Gunhaulers — the smallest ones — but in return they gain the ability to transport units. That alone is enough to make us start imagining how the army would play on the table.
It also creates a very specific visual and gameplay identity:
- no massive skyfleet centerpiece,
- more compact and scrappy expedition vibes,
- small ships zipping around with troops,
- and a much more specialized force overall.
That’s exactly the kind of army-building hook we love.
The catch: not everything fits
Of course, the restrictions are the whole point.
In this case, a lot of the usual options we might first think of just don’t make the cut. As we noticed while looking through it, most of the Spearhead box doesn’t fit into this setup. The Admiral makes it in, but beyond that the overlap is pretty limited.
For infantry, the key unit here is Thunderers.
And that immediately changes how we think about collecting the army. Instead of building outward from a convenient starter box, this kind of Army of Renown pushes us toward a more deliberate shopping and hobby plan. That can be a downside if you want to reuse a lot of what you already own — but it can also be a really fun excuse to build something that feels distinct from the standard faction roster.
Why we want to explore this more
The more we talk about Armies of Renown, the more they feel like a great middle ground between matched play list-building and narrative play flavor.
They’re structured enough to be a real army choice, but they also come with a strong built-in story. For us, that’s often where the hobby gets most interesting — when the rules encourage an army to feel like a specific force rather than just a basket of efficient warscrolls.
So yes, this started with us finally reading the rules properly and realizing we had been sleeping on the whole concept a bit.
Now we’re definitely curious to try more of them.
If nothing else, they’re fantastic fuel for army-building brainworms.