It wouldn't be a Nautical Tabletop Month without flying sharks, and the best place to find them is in Warhammer Age of Sigmar's masters of the sea faction, the Idoneth Deepkin. It just so happens that this month, as part of a brand new book, Broken Realms Morathi, the Deepkin have a brand new box, The Bloodsurf Hunt. In this article, we'll introduce Warhammer Age of Sigmar, the Idoneth Deepkin, and take a look at the Start Collecting Idoneth Deepkin and the Bloodsurf Hunt boxes.
This article forms part of our Nautical Tabletop Month that's running across all of November. We're going to look at different nautical wargames and board games, as well as interview developers about capturing the sea feel on the tabletop. We'll also look at nautical factions in popular wargames along with tabletop accessories that are available to keep your hobby ship-shape. You can see all the articles here on the hub. So come aboard as we set sail and celebrate all games nautical in nature.
You can buy all the Nautical Tabletop Month products from our tabletop sponsor, Firestorm Games.
Warhammer Age Of Sigmar Introduction
Age of Sigmar is a skirmish wargame by Games Workshop. It was initially released in 2015 and moved the Warhammer narrative into Age of Sigmar following a cataclysmic event. The Age of Sigmar setting is set in 8 interconnected realms, each based on a different type of magic. Age of Sigmar has 4 Grand Alliances, each with their own sub-factions. The 4 grand alliances are:
- Order - An alliance of Men, Aelves, Dwarfs, and the mighty armored warriors of Sigmar, the Stormcast Eternals.
- Chaos - Forces of the 4 Chaos gods of Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh, and Tzeentch.
- Death - Various forces of death and undeath, all under the rules of the god of Death.
- Destruction - Orruks, Goblins, Ogors. Destruction factions fight for the love of fighting.
The Core Rules for Age of Sigmar, currently in its second edition, are available for free via the Age of Sigmar website.
Idoneth Deepkin
The Idoneth Deepkin are the Aelves of the sea. Usually residing under the great oceans, they are able to wage war on land through the conjuring of a phantasmal sea. They are a tragic race who capture the souls of others, in order to ensure the survival of their own race.
On the tabletop, the Deepkin are fast and hit hard. A lot of their units are cavalry with fly, and under their tidal special rules, they get a bonus each round depending on what level the tide is at. It changes each round, but they can also manipulate it with certain characters.
Start Collecting Idoneth Deepkin
Buy Start Collecting Idoneth Deepkin from Firestorm Games
Almost all of the Warhammer Age of Sigmar factions have a Start Collecting box to help players get into the game. They're usually a lot more cost-effective than buying the miniatures individually and present an easy way to pick up a core to build out a faction.
Start Collecting Idoneth Deepkin contains:
- 1 Isharann Soulrender - The leader of the force, can resurrect the Namarti Thralls each turn.
- 10 Namarti Thralls - The Deepkin infantry. Effective combat troops, but not very durable. Luckily the Soulrender can bring them back.
- 3 Akhelian Guards - These can be built as Morsarr Guard or Ishlaen Guard, who are either aggressive or defensive.
The Start Collecting Idoneth Deepkin force is a very good force to learn how they play from. You get the rules and profile for the troops in the box, so this, combined with the free digital rules means you can start playing straight away, and if you like the Deepkin's playstyle, then you can look to expand your force from here.
The Boodsurf Hunt
Buy the Bloodsurf Hunt from Firestorm Games
The Bloodsurf Hunt is a brand new boxed set as part of the Broken Realms series for Warhammer Age of Sigmar. The Broken Realms are a series of books, that will further the Age of Sigmar narrative, along with giving new rules and an ongoing campaign with details of the battles. The first book Morathi features the Idoneth Deepkin, so if you already have the Start Collecting box, picking up Broken Realms Mortahi and The Bloodsurf Hunt box is a great way to expand your Idoneth Deepkin force.
King Sythis Nemmetar - The Bloodsurf Hunt contains:
- 1 Akhelian King (which can also be built as Volturnos, High King of the Deep)
- 2 Akhelian Allopex
The Bloodsurf Hunt are a special Battalion for the Ideonth Deepkin, using a named Akhelian King, Nemmetar. Using this special Battalion means that the Allopwx units get to add 1 to hit and can also take damage for Nemmetar.
The Bloodsurf Hunt, combined with the Start Collecting Box comes in at 800 points and provides a solid foundation to build out a Deepkin force. The Allopex's aren't the best units if looking to play competitive, which for the Deepkin is generally just lots of Akhelian Guards. But the Bloodsurf Hunt is a fantastic narrative piece and features as part of the Broken Realms campaign. Flying sharks are also probably one of the coolest things ever.
The Bloodsurf Hunt box is insane value, even if you don't want to use it as the special Batallion, as you can build the King as Volturnos. If buying separately against the RRP, you essentially get Volturnos for free.
The copy of the Start Collecting Idoneth Deepkin and The Bloodsurf Hunt used to produce this preview was provided by our Tabletop Sponsor, Firestorm Games.