A month or so ago I decided to jump into the deep end and dive head first into Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. Warhammer can be daunting to get into so I hope this inside look of a new player joining the game can give some insight.
Disclaimer: I should probably remind you that I work at Gamers Grove. However, I think my experience getting into Age of Sigmar is close to what a new player would experience except for my modest employee discount.
During the Halloween season Gamers Grove held a Warhammer model painting contest. We had so many sweet submissions but one thing I never expected came from it: I wanted to paint too! With that realization I began my journey into Warhammer.
40k or Age of Sigmar?
Initially I wanted to hop into 40k since it’s a bit more popular in our area than AoS. However, every time I saw a model that hyped me up it was from Age of Sigmar! I talked to a few friends and they explained that AoS is known for having beautiful high-fantasy models and a streamlined, simple ruleset. 40k focuses on a grim-dark sci-fi future with fantasy themes and so the story and models are a bit less fantastical. However, they all said that the rules for 40k are more complex and nuanced.
So I was facing this choice: Models I really liked with streamlined rules in AoS or models I didn’t find as interesting but a more robust rules system in 40k. Ultimately, I chose Age of Sigmar because I couldn’t get over just how cool the dragons, zombie-dragons, treelords, and merfolk looked.
Finding My Faction
I wanted to play Age of Sigmar and I wanted to play with models that tickled my high-fantasy loving nerd brain. After browsing the long list of armies, these are the ones that caught my attention:
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Stormcast Eternals because they have dragons and dragons are cool
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Sylvaneth because LOTR: The Two Towers was my childhood fave movie and the March of the Ents is one of my favorite scenes ever in TV
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Soulblight Gravelords because vampire lords controlling armies of zombies is metal as hell
I weighed my options and settled on Sylvaneth; I just couldn’t turn my back on Treebeard. A wizard should know better!
Building an Army
So, in 40k and Age of Sigmar, armies are comprised of units and each unit has a points value that can be tweaked by Games Workshop to balance the unit’s strength. For example, a small unit of Dryads is worth 100pts while Alarielle, the god of the Sylvaneth, is worth 820pts!
This is all important because the upcoming league at Gamers Grove has a recommended army size of 2,000pts. With my settling on Sylvaneth, I needed to figure out which direction to take the army within that point limit. Most AoS armies have multiple different ways to be built. If that’s a little confusing, it’s kind of like how the US Military has Marines, the Army, the Airforce, etc. but are all the US Military. In the same way, the Sylvaneth have Treelord focused armies, Alarielle focused armies, magic focuses armies, and hybrids of all of them. Age of Sigmar has a ton of variability but ultimately, I had to choose units to fit within the 2,000pt limit.
I found a YouTube channel I really liked called Seasons of War and found a few current Sylvaneth lists on Goonhammer to begin formulating my army list. Watching videos and reading blogs about my army from those two sources helped me understand what I wanted and I ultimately ended up on this list:
Buying Models
My first recommendation when looking to buy models is to check with local players to see if they have any spare, old, or unwanted units for your army. This is how I got like 1/3 of my army (thanks Tyson!). The Gamers Grove Discord is where I met a lot of folks who helped me get started. Then I recommend taking advantage of Gamers Grove’s 15% discount on Games-Workshop models and their ability to special order any model you want at a 10% discount (unless it’s from the Forgeworld line). This is how I got most of my army and my Sylvaneth Battletome.
Supplies
While I was in the process of purchasing models over the months of November and December, I also started painting the ones I already owned. Once again Gamers Grove came through and had all the paints, brushes, basing materials, glues, and the hobby knife I needed. I think the only things I got outside Gamers Grove was a cheap painter’s palette and some extra brushes from a local craft store. At one point I needed clippers to get models out of the sprue but I just special ordered them through Grove and had them within a few days.
The Final Army
And here it is! Over 4000 points of Sylvaneth, painted with love and care, and WAY more than I had started this journey to collect.
Wrapping Up
With my army painted (and always expanding!) I feel more than ready to start getting games in and to sign up in the January Age of Sigmar league. The league starts on January 29th, has a $10 buy-in, and lasts for 6 weeks so I’m beyond excited to join in the fun with my awesome tree dudes.
If you’re interested in joining the league, learning the game, or if you just have a few questions before dedicating more time to the hobby, feel free to hop into our store discord. There we have a lively Warhammer community and all of us employees are available to answer questions.
Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!
