Stormcast Eternals - Thunderstrike Brotherhood

Last month, when the new Age of Sigmar Soul Wars was announced, I decided that now was the time to get off the fence with getting into AoS.  I really wanted the new Nighthaunt army but I also needed a good alternate opponent army.  Since both the old and new box sets include Stormcast Eternals, and since this seems to be the baseline army for AoS, I decided to go with them.

The contents of the first edition box plus one extra model.  This is the Thunderstrike Brotherhood.  This force is now available as a start collecting set.

I knew that the new Nighthaunts would really pull me in so I decided that I would have to work on the Stormcast first or they would likely not happen.  I was extremely luck and was able to buy a first edition starter set on clearance for a really nice price.

Lord Celestant on Dracoth.  This model can also be Vandus Hammerhand and in fact that is what it is called when you buy it on its own.  No matter how you play him this guy is a blast in the game.

The first task, obviously, would be assembling all the models from the set.  I went ahead and build the Khorne army as well.  I can see now why Games Workshop is stressing the easy build features of the new set.  These guys were kind of a pain in the ass to build.

Lord Relictor.  Early in the game call down lightning on your enemies and later in the game use his healing powers to bolster your force.  This guy is only available in the old starter set or the new start collecting box.

I was really amazed at the fine details of the models as well as how delicate some of the parts are.  I have mostly worked on GW sci-fi stuff and those models are beefier for the most part.  Many of these feel like they could break just touching them but it turns out that they are fairly durable.

Prosecutors.  These guys are fast and have a long reach.  They represent your ranged attack unit as well as your fast strikers.  Use them wisely.

Once assembled I had to work out the color scheme.  I cannot tell you how much I detest the gold dominant scheme that GW uses for these. In fact, that scheme was bad enough to really make me question doing the army at all.

Retributors.  These guys are NOT space marine terminators.  Nope.  Don't let the elite and powerful nature of these guys to confuse you.  Afterall, they have Lightning Hammers, not Thunder Hammers.

I decided to go with a scheme that had the armor looking more like traditional armor.  I wanted to go with cool colors and stay away from primary colors as the focus.  I used P3 Trollblood base for the shields and the primary army color.  I selected Vallejo Game Color Hexed Lichen as the accent color.  Once I got going on the painting my daughter pointed out I had selected the classic Arizona Diamondbacks team colors...hmm.

Liberators.  This is the core of your force.

With the right color scheme select the painting actually moved pretty fast.  These are really nice models to paint.  They are big with just the right details to make stunning finished models.  The colors are the key for these models.  I actually fell in love with this army as I was painting.

I need to get a box of Liberators so I can build a few other weapon options.  These are pretty flexible troops.

While I was working on the painting I was able to get in a few games to learn the rules.  Two of those game were with this army.  I really had fun with those games and I am glad I decided to give this army a chance.  I also played one game with the Khorne force from the starter set and it too was good fun to play.

Knight Questor.  This model is from my Warhammer Quest Silver Tower set.  GW has thoughtfully provided AoS stats so you can use him in standard AoS games.  I mostly painted him for quest.

I think I am really hooked on Age of Sigmar now.  In June I had nothing for this game but a lot of curiosity.  By the end of July I have a painted army and two more in the works.  My shopping list for this game is really getting out of hand but I am excited about this game.