A Beginner's Guide to Age of Sigmar

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Time Stamps
0:00 Introduction to Age of Sigmar
2:03 Basic Overview
3:33 The lore in one minute
5:01 Ad Read
6:15 Lore Analysis
9:58 Game Analysis
12:18 Manage your expectations
13:50 Picking your army
14:40 Overview of every Age of Sigmar Faction
19:52 Game Overview
25:33 The Age of Sigmar Community
30:11 How to build a list
32:07 Conclusion
All the factions and how they play?

[@-Markus-]

Im not gonna lie, "Dinosaurs ruled by magic frogs who live on spaceships" could be what tipped me over the edge and into this game again!

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Get in

[@Kirioth]

Only 5 minutes in but this is already fantastic. Great work mate, loving it.

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Thanks a ton!

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Feel free to share it

[@theDackjanielz]

I also love the fact this setting doesn't take itself so seriously all the time which makes a nice change. You have things like a dwarf with mustache guns and a top hat, or a sea elf that has a random helpful octopus doodling something with a "sea elf pen" - Its funny stuff.

[@kdhlkjhdlk]

Yeah, it's very much not a setting.

[@theDackjanielz]

@@kdhlkjhdlk Boo hoo

[@EuanMilne]

I do like how AOS art is now les cartoonish, but still much more colourful than grim dark art

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Yeah me too!!

[@jefferymartens6303]

Absolutely top-tier video! I've been playing Warhammer Fantasy for 25 years, and it has never been better than this. I really believe that is due to creators like you who have fostered this incredible community into something wonderful. That so much of this has been done in the face of obstinance and opposition from GW is a testament to your perseverance and the strength of the AoS community. Thank you!

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

I knew a group of friends who played Warhammer fantasy back in the 90thies . I didn't play myself,but helped to paint the figurines .Anyway ,I haven't seen them for many years by now,but I can't imagine they just threw everything away and started over. So my question is this. Do you know if players use the old armies in Sigmar ? Maybe 'unofficially '. I don't know much about the game , but the figurines ,the set-up and scale does seem pretty compatible to my laymen's eyes.

[@roguehobbies]

This is super insightful :o

[@TheHonestWargamer]

omg the lady from warhammer +

[@RatRatGirl]

ngl i do find the people saying Fantasy was a massive and huge part of GW kinda funny when it’s been reported that it would sell less in an entire year than one space marine codex lol

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Exactly

[@adamp3255]

Thanks for making this, Rob. Great content, as always 👍

[@sam2bass]

Fantastic work as always! As a fairly new player this was very helpful and I'm looking forward to the next in the series!

[@aavalen1133]

Excellent video! I am very excited for the rest of the series. Thank you for putting this together! I am new to AoS and I am really looking forward into getting more involved this year.

[@Malisteen]

I think in an introductory video like this it's worth calling out that, at least in the current edition, the game is very much designed to play at 2,000 points, and doesn't scale down particularly well. The core rules and GHB all imply that 1000 points is just as good, PtG even implies 600 plays well, but they really don't. Units and combos that are merely strong at 2,000 points can be utterly, unfairly dominating at 1,000 or lower - a problem made worse by the table size getting cut in half, meaning you really can't avoid even relatively slow death star units and formations. Rock-Paper-Scissors style advantages that give one faction an edge over another at 2,000 points can render games so lopsided as to not be worth playing at 1k. The priority roll, with its double turn possibilities, that keeps 2k games exciting and unpredictable reduces the outcome of many 1k games to a single die roll. You can't punch back with your second wave after a double turn saw your first wave destroyed if you only had enough points to buy a single wave of units in the first place. All of these together mean that 1k games are less balanced, less interactive, and, if played competitively, less fun. And yet, inevitably players are going to start with small point games. That's just the nature of collecting an army. It's really unfortunate that the game still puts its worst foot forward when making new impressions. Hopefully 4e AoS incorporates something similar to 10th ed 40k's Combat Patrol - a gameplay variant specifically tailored to smaller introductory games. In the mean time, being up front with the problems of low point AoS games helps new players see it as a learning experience for the game mechanics alone, and save judgement on issues of balance, tactics, and so on for when they're playing the full version. Calling the issues of 1k games can also be an effective reminder to experienced players to softball their games against new players - 1k games aren't real, there's no pride on the line, and in particular your 2k power pieces don't really belong there. Negative feelings about the double turn - common in new players after playing a 1k point game (or two, or three) where the outcome came entirely down to a single die roll - are in particular reduced when they understand that it's a mechanic that plays very differently at the full game size.

[@SpooKimi]

i really wish smaller point games were more balanced, the new combat patrols of 10th look amazing but if you like it than you are stuck to 1 list while while it's handy esepcially for new peeps, having just a balanced 500-1000p games would be nice as it's less overwhelming to list build but also if you just wanna play smaller point games with variation maybe they could just try experiment with it like maybe having alternate activasions making it less about who wins iniative etc

[@OPTTWoodrow]

Great video! Love the format and the passions you have for the game shows through, keep it up!

[@Tzenyatta]

Here it is!! Honestly, as someone who is new, having videos like the Battletome reviews makes things a lot easier, especially when you already have a spend time learning the phases, tactics, universal abilities etc. Maybe a guide on things to remember or keep track of during battles could be handy! Honestly, the main thing I'm here for apart from the AOS analysis is your humour and style of video, so I'm happy either way! I would absolutely love to see you do your flavour of Battle reports or in depth lore explorations though 🔥

[@tylorwilhelm2978]

Just painted my first model (a skaven warlock bombardier) I can’t wait to get into the hobby. Its amazing to know the community is very friendly and inviting. I’ve been into Warhammer since vermintide 1 and tw Warhammer 2. I’ve spent the last 4-6 years learning the lore, but I’ve been scared to go out and actually take the jump to playing the tabletop and going to conventions. The more I see about the hobby the more excited I get, thank you for the encouragement and the info on the game!

[@nlg702]

Rob, your content is always an absolute pleasure to observe. Keep up the good work!

[@Jacoooify]

Beautiful illustrations, funny, and thoughtful insights. 10/10 on this one.

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Thank you kindly!

[@Curran_Kleen_Brown]

Great video. I will use this as a starter video for any new players I meet.

[@AX50K]

Great video, been into 40k for ages dipped my toes into sigmar collecting for FEC but yet to play any games of it and this was a great overview of what to expect

[@markmccarron7645]

Great edit/production value. Very slick.

[@tomwallis1693]

Love this style of video essay type stuff!

[@johnnywatkins]

Fantastic video, thank you, please keep them coming

[@danwoods58]

One of the best things I ever did was go halves with a friend on the soul wars box. AoS is fantastic fun to play and the community is a lot more chill than the 40K one. I love my nighthaunt, soulblight gravelords and Seraphon armies. Great video.

[@TheHonestWargamer]

I'm glad you are having fun

[@TheRedDuke.]

Love this content mate, stumbled by your channel on my great escape from meta chasing 40k into the mortal realms. Well earned sub!

[@EtharealBTB]

Brilliant video as always Rob!

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Thankyou

[@doriangr8852]

I just got into Warhammer recently (because I like miniatures and worldbuilding) and heard about AoS like one week ago. Thanks for this, I feel like I'm taken seriously as a person thinking about getting into this hobby.

[@getorix1]

Great video, as someone considering starting an AoS army I found it really useful.

[@kristoff7049]

Love your army descriptions…. I wanna play them all!!! You made me laugh on almost all of them!

[@ryanoliver4930]

Best table top gaming video I have ever seen. Well thought out. New subscriber for sure.

[@azyrweekly]

Great video! A comprehensive rundown.

[@jansmrz1056]

One of best videos of its kind. Hope it was here before i was starting :)

[@joshsykes3670]

This is one of the best videos on AoS I've ever seen. Great job.

[@irishjesus3927]

That was positively heartwarming:) I’ve been playing the game since 2015 and still learned so thing new from this! I’ll be sharing it with my buddies on the morrow :) thanks!

[@lektavia]

Great job on this chief!

[@thesoothsayer9223]

Commenting to feed the algorithm on bombad content. Thanks my dude for all you do

[@mrbunning8051]

Wicked video, can't wait for the rest. 👍

[@markmcdowell2733]

This was amazing. Great stuff.

[@Jimantry]

A someone who has followed AoS from day 1 but never actually played a game and recently just got a mate into it to actually start with, this video has been great. In fact, all your content has really stood out as being a cut above. Great job man and thank you for all the hard work and helping us new guys get into the hobby. Looking forward to more videos!

[@apexFMUKGaming]

Great well made video. Helped alot!!

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Glad to hear it!

[@jaredmolberg7125]

Thank you for this, I’m super curious about miniature war gaming so videos like this are helping me figure out where I should start.

[@TheHonestWargamer]

I'm really glad

[@daveschwartz7817]

Excellent and informative video. I've been playing since the beginning of AoS and love the game. I struggle with strategy and tactics and would love to see videos covering these aspects.

[@Farmers-Almanac]

this is great. my gaming group just got 3 new players this week so I'll definitely be showing them this

[@TheHonestWargamer]

So glad!

[@nathanfee9644]

Great video Rob!

[@jimmiller4382]

Great video. Thanks for the community

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Anytimr

[@spagwag3079]

Gotta say I love the interview bits, I think I've said this on another video as well lol. Good stuff

[@jfraley80]

I love the ad read! Keep it

[@elysiontyhron6157]

Really really great video, it inspired me a lot, thank you very much my friend! You have gain one more subscriber, another honest wargamer:)

[@smatta84]

Finally watched it….hands down the best video you have ever done. Pro quality

[@blind020]

Great intro guide. In terms of learning, love the "concept" video you made and the list masterclass. I guess like any sort of videos that get us to understand how people think is higluly valuable. May it be about core concepts or a specific army.

[@thebiggoldfish]

Another belter keep em coming dude ❤

[@joshuaclark3406]

Great intro video Rob & Team, will keep this on quick draw to send to all of the AoS curious types.

[@dizqord]

Hey that's me. And you did. Huzzah!

[@deethom1987]

Great vid, love your live stream stuff but think the pre-recorded/ scripted videos some of the best out there!

[@davidefelappi3148]

Good one Rob: sharp, witty and clear - as usual 🙂

[@wesszmaglik4697]

Great video. More like these, please!

[@johnbinham8399]

Fantastic thanks for this rob

[@nathanhayes1836]

Awesome work

[@stevekearns6173]

Great stuff man.

[@danielcraine120]

Best AOS overview video ever! Best advice on list building for new players. Choose at least one leader, three battleline, and use 2K points and then have fun.

[@tomdoysch]

After a year of playing I often still feel new... this is excellent, cheers dude. Would be good to see a masterclass on best strategies for deployment!

[@DolusMilan]

Amazing video Ron! A fine mixture of education & entertainment: call it edutainment ;). Really liked the segment about our community laying down the foundation for current AoS: the peoples game.

[@jaymehickey]

Awesome video. New to the hobby and trying to understand the difference between 40K & Age of Sigmar. This really helped.

[@woodstock7063]

You smashed it. It's a great introduction to the game for any newcomer.

[@cmleibenguth]

Great video Been playing since AoS launched Quite the rollercoaster Your 1 minute lore analysis is concise and 100% accurate New lore is a mix of Norse cosmology, Tarot, some bits of Hermeticism, and Greek epics built using the Copyrightable ingredients of the Old World ((that'd be the only bit I would add)) Between you and HeyWoah, I don't know who does a better 5 second summary of each faction Well done sirs!

[@kylerocco7467]

Ibwas already playing the game, and juat needed somwthing to listen to while painting. The way you described the factions was amazing.

[@Failerist]

Great work, If I was a new player i would love it. I still do because i know how much helpful it's gonna be for people joining the hobby !

[@FlipityGibett]

I love your anthropology of the game and the metagame!

[@NikkiAnnMarie]

This is a great introduction to AoS! I think something that is sorely missing is a good guide on how to actually start playing the game from a point of 0 knowledge - i.e., when neither player has any experience with AoS, and you don't have a local community to learn from, so your videos are standing in as proxy. The list building video sounds really useful in this regard, for instance. I think AoS is also desperately missing gameplay to onboard new players as well - 1000 points is a lot of army to buy just to try the game at a reasonable points level, and it's still very overwhelming at that point. Something as simple as a set of scenarios similar to how a board game tutorial works to introduce mechanics, and a starter battlepack with easier rules perhaps modified slightly to make lower point games work, would go a long way to fix this. The partworks magazines (mortal realms, stormbringer) seem to do an okay job at this, but lock you into certain factions and aren't widely available, so it would be great to have an alternative:)

[@wargamerwilly8756]

Your videos are incredible! They have it all, comedy, tactics, guides, everything! It's perfect, thank you for constant video creation! ❤🎉 hope all is well at the Honest Wargamer studios and household! 💚💙💜❤ another banger!🔥

[@bruceclimas2266]

Excellent video 😄👍

[@maxrice6990]

Love your optimism my dude! Glad I found this channel. I'm part of your typical Warhammer Fantasy player returning to the hobby after years of not playing when GW ended my game of choice and made my many Fantasy armies I had invested so much time and money into obsolete. Ironically, Old World coming out is part of what brought me back, but I had a few boxes of AoS that I received as gifts from my wife over the years being away that I wanted to get painted to warm back up and listening to videos and getting excited about AoS actually has me more invested in this game. But I do plan to play both.

[@marks6928]

This video is bloody excellent.

[@lancetan7699]

Fantastic video!

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Glad you liked it!

[@nickpilgrim8414]

What a brilliant video Rob! Really well put across :) Also, reallllly wish there was that central events database! As someone who wants to do more tournaments, it can be annoyingly hard to find what’s even out there! (Would love some tips on this).

[@jamesjones-pv7sl]

What a great video! As someone new to the game I really appreciate you taking the time to do videos like this. Cheers

[@harald2101]

thanks for this great video. i played warhammer fantasy during the 90s and got curious again around 2015 after my telling my nephew about how cool warhammer fantasy was. when i found the the gw shop i was pretty suprised to find this age of sigmar. during this time there were only grand alliance books and 4 page rules, no points. but i got really curious. unfortuntelly i couldn't convince my nephew and friends to play regularly but i played quite a few pickup games in the stores or took part in a handful small tournaments. my last AOS game was about 5 years ago and i was curious on how the game developed. this video was exactly what I was looking for. I always was a AOS player at heart and can't wait to play another game. I have a huge grand alliance death army out of which i should be able to make a good 2k points list for vampires or flesh eater courts. looking forward to play again. great video!

[@supacheeze1]

Hey man, great video as per usual. Just on that last bit at the end about what I want to see. I would love to show my mates a video showing clever moves, outplays, strategies, or neat tricks in AoS. I feel like many of the early games I played with my mates were center of the board slugging matches without much going on upstairs. Now that I've spent more time playing and engaging with the game I can see way more depth in the game but it's hard to show my friends whose only experience so far is i move all my guys in to all your guys at 750pts. I feel like being able to say 'hey check out this video by the "slap chop guy" it shows of some really cools moves' would really help entice them in. Cheers man, banger content.

[@dionyvice953]

You are a treasure Ron , well done !

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Thank you kindly Lets be friends

[@phoenixdragoon]

One thing the internet is woefully lacking in, given how FASCINATING the topic is, are oral histories of the birth and evolution of AoS. Great video.

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Happy you liked it

[@JanTreasure]

Great video!

[@oleww50]

Are there any more videos in this series? I’m currently trying to learn AoS, great video thanks!

[@Tikaoo_]

Thank you so much for your video. As a former fantasy player who wants to get back into the hobby, I had quite a hard time with AOS. This really helped. Also, Subscribed for the calamari cavalry. Keep up the great work =)

[@Sergiocalvominiatures]

I need to learn more about it :D

[@reflexdogtraining1337]

You're an absolute baller. Amazing production Rob

[@user-tx8jy2ki3s]

Thanks for the video! I really really enjoyed it. I've been hesitating in getting into anything WH, however this video helped me get a much better view of the whole ecosystem... so maybe it's time for me to start :)

[@bartrus5414]

Amazing video❤

[@MPRSN__]

Mate, as a newb myself this is brilliant. Positive and encouraging. Just what we need 👌

[@Junius01]

Lovely video. An idea for a future series might be on how to start collecting each army, as a new or returning player. It doesn't have to be one video for each army. It could be a video for each grand alliance, and splitting Order and Chaos into two videos. Just an idea. Best of luck!

[@stuartmortimer3922]

Love this vid. Thanks man. Really wanna play some AOS

[@tobyfrost9770]

Nice one, Rob.

[@iratebovine]

I'm a relatively new player who's trying to rope a few friends - refugees from other games - into this new world I've found that I already love. This video is a great affirmation for getting into AoS for me, but also going to be what I share to get mates into this with me!

[@boop2908]

I'm looking forward to more of these style videos.

[@TheHonestWargamer]

you like?

[@boop2908]

@@TheHonestWargamer I thought it was a fun video yeah.

[@boop2908]

​@@TheHonestWargamer A beginner's guide to each of the factions in this style would be neat.

[@nataliegoblintoes]

Really cool video! As much as i miss Fantasy, AoS really has become a brilliant game with very fun armies. Thankyou Rob!

[@filippovezzoni386]

Such a great video!

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Thank you!!

[@paulausten5786]

This is a great video & describes everything I feel about AoS. Maybe as a side project to this get a couple of new people to start & play, so people can see how it’s played maybe (if your brave enough or mad enough) start a mini slow grow league.

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Sounds fun

[@adamfillier3515]

Amazing video!! What happened to the SBGL review!? Very much looking forward to your take on it😊

[@johannes7377]

Very nice video overview! I am still somewhat new to AoS, after a long break from the hobby overall, since I stopped in Fantasy 7th. I do think that there is a lot of great content out there to get back in, but what I am currently kind of missing is an overview of how to play against the other armies. What to look out for from your opponent, to avoid the worst surprises because you didn’t know every battletome. I guess this comes with time and playing many games, but a nice overview would be fantastic for me and others at this stage (perhaps preparing for the first event even). You army archetype Video goes somewhat in this direction and in 40k there are some gotcha-guides, but I couldn’t find anything like that for AoS yet. Maybe an idea for future videos.

[@TheHonestWargamer]

Do you have a link to gotcha guides?

[@dr.d3039]

There’s some stuff out there in AoS on playing with intention and how to be a good player, by declaring gotcha capabilities but a good gotcha guide could also be knowing the questions to ask, like what can deepstrike or flank, insta kill spells or abilities, alpha strike super fast movement (Squigs!!!), etc

[@r1ck5m1th]

Love this ❤ More of this! Wargaming needs more people reaching down from the top to help please have better experiences and more fun.

[@TheNeoanomally]

This video got me so hyped I backed via patreon

[@Rosgakori]

"Invested in financially" is one way to put it. I worked at a popular hobby shop in the early 2010s, just before AOS came, and the WHFB stuff sold very badly, as in "we didn't know what to do with them, and GW sales reps demanded we take in more stuff so people would buy them somehow" badly. Back then, the game was at the point where it demanded bigger and bigger armies, and people responded by buying 3rd party models that were cheaper. Was a complete reboot bold and radical answer to this problem - absolutely. But it probably saved GW in the long run.

[@ozstrider]

Brilliant video. Stoked my fires for AOS again. Sadly, 24:58 hit home pretty hard. Circumstance and life means I don’t get to commit the time needed for 3rd edition, but I definitely feel a bit more inspired to get involved after this.

[@alphabetbeer]

Man I love the Seraphon, but trying to explain them in one sentence really stresses how batshit insane their lore actually is.