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Stormcast Eternals: All-Dragon Army
So, I am taking the first steps toward a Stormcast Eternals all-dragon army. I’m taking these steps slowly, because I’m still not sure if that’s what I want to do, but it is honestly just so tempting to field a force that is 100% dragons. It seems like something that any decent fantasy wargame should be able to do, and even though it was technically possible a while ago, it is really possible to do it justice with the new releases.
I was thrilled to get Karazai the Scarred for Christmas this year, and I have been busy painting him. I have spent the first two editions of Age of Sigmar being very disinterested in the Stormcast Eternals. I bought the Soul Wars set and sold the Stormcast on eBay, and otherwise had ignored them entirely. This wasn’t because of the lore. I actually like the lore because it’s kinda nice, from a company that brings us games where There Is Only War, to have someone who is actually the Good Guys. And these are literal angels.
But I didn’t like the look of the Stormcast Eternals. I didn’t like the stolid, statue-like appearance of their big blocky bodies. They didn’t look like characters. They looked like they had just climbed down from off a golden pedestal. Well, they looked like they were still up on that golden pedestal–no dynamic poses, nothing interesting.
That all changed with Age of Sigmar 3.0 and the release of the Dominion boxed set. Now there were some Stormcast Eternals I could love. The Annihilators. The Vindictors. Yndrasta. Bastian Carthalos. They all looked like real people. Still angelic, still massive soldiers. But they looked like they could actually move, swing those swords around, jump–anything.
Krondys and Karazai
Then came the announcement five months ago about the new dragon models that were going to be coming down the pipeline. Krondys, Son of Dracothion, the massive dragon who was the mage, and Karazai the Scarred who was the brutal fighter. They were proper looking dragons. The dragons that we had always wanted to see from Age of Sigmar.
There have been a lot of dragons in Warhammer Fantasy and some of them have been better than others. I admit that I like a lot of the classic Warhammer Fantasy Battles dragons a lot more than the dragons that have made their way into Age of Sigmar, and that absolutely includes Lord=Celestant on Stormdrake. This is a model that I could 100% do without. It is everything about Stormcast Eternals that I dislike: massive, immovable, looking more like it’s carved out of stone than that it’s an actual creature.
Krondys, Son of Dracothion
But Krondys, Son of Dracothion, and Karazai the Scarred are dragons that I can get behind completely. Krondys looks regal, like a leader, like the mage that he is. He wears armor, but not armor that will protect him from anything–it’s armor that looks like it’s ceremonial, and that’s very fitting of Krondys.
Krondys’s big spell is his Atavistic Tempest, a storm that he can conjure that creates a whirlwind of trouble around the enemy: the unit who is targeted with Atavistic Tempest subtracts 1 from hit rolls, worsens their Rend by -1, subtracts 1 attack from missile weapons, and subtracts 1 from saving throws. It’s a pretty potent spell that would really mess up the heavy hitter on your opponent’s side.
He’s got a massive 18 wounds, a 14″ move, 3+ Save, and can breath fire (Blazing Tempest) up to 18″ away. He’s a brute. Is he worth the 600 points? Honestly, it’s too early since release to see how these guys do reliably in tournaments, but if you’re playing an all-elite army, which is what an Age of Sigmar all-dragon army is, then you should be used to dropping 600 points on a model. Think Sons of Behemat.
Karazai the Scarred
Karazai the Scarred is the brutal fighter of the bunch. He is indeed scarred, with a long jagged tear down his neck and his horns broken. And you can tell that this has happened because Karazai has been in fight after fight, seeking vengeance against his enemies.
Loaded up with the missile attack of breathing fire (Blazing Tempest), he also has Annihilating Jaws, Ruinous Talons, and Calamitous Tail. But what makes Karazai the Scarred such a wicked fighter is Fires of Vengeance, where he gets more and more powerful the more enemies he kills. Kill a Hero or Monster and he can add +1 Attack to each melee weapon for the rest of the battle. Kill something with more than 3 Wounds and he adds 1 to his Run and Charge for the rest of the battle. And if the enemy has less than 2 Wounds, then Karazai heals 1 Wound.
I love mages, but it was a no-brainer for me to build Karazai with my first Stormcast Eternals dragon model.
Knight Draconis and the Stormdrake Guard
Of course, Krondys and Karazai are not the only dragons new to the Stormcast Eternals. There’s also the Stormdrake Guard, a kit that comes with two dragons, one of which can be built as the Knight Draconis.
The two Stormdrake Guard are important because they are your Battleline, so you need to invest in them, but making the Knight Draconis your General can be an excellent use of the points. He’s got some excellent stats and attacks. My favorite is the Dragged Into the Tempest where, at the end of the combat phase you roll a die and if the number is higher than the Wounds characteristic of a model within 1″, that unit is slain. Pretty good stuff.
The rider has an incredibly good attack with his sword, the Aeonfire Blade, which does 5 Attacks, 3+ to Hit, 2+ Wounds, -3 Rend, 2 Damage. And that’s on top of the Draconic Fangs and Talons which are 4 attacks, 3+ to Hit, 3+ Wounds, -2 Rend, 2 Damage. (And he can breath fire with Draconic Flamestream up to 12″.) And he’s HALF the points of Krondys and Karazai.
The Stormdrake Guard are excellent Battleline because they can not only fly, but they can set up further apart from each other, allowing them to control the table well. They’re cheaper, but they have one big bonus: at 9 wounds, they can hide behind terrain.
Stormcast Eternals: All-Dragon Army
Who can you take then in your Stormcast Eternals all-dragon army?
Krondys, Son of Dracothion — 600 points
Karazai the Scarred — 600 points
Lord-Celestant on Stardrake — 500 points
Drakesworn Templar — 455 points
Knight Draconis — 300 points
Stormdrake Guard — 340 points (2 models)
Stormdrake Guard — 170 points (1 model)
Dracothian Guard (Concussors, Desolators, Tempestors) — 220 points (2 models)
Dracothian Guard Fulminators — 230 points (2 models)
Stormcast Eternals: All-Dragon Army Sample List
So let’s say that you want to play a Stormcast Eternals all-dragon army list, and let’s say that you’re like me and you like the new models a lot better than the old models. What should you do?
Well, the current thought (which hasn’t been thoroughly tested through tournament play) is that the best thing you can do is take a Knight Draconis and spam a whole bunch of Stormdrake Guard, and I honestly have a hard time finding fault with that. It uses the new models, it ignores the old models, and it appears to be very competitive.
Personally, I would go this way:
Tempest Lords: The Host on High (Flying Tempest Lords can re-roll one die for charges)
Unique Enhancement: Steadfast March (One unit can run and still charge one turn)
Knight Draconis (300 points)
General
Master of the Celestial Menagerie (-1 on Wound rolls for attacks made with melee weapons against friendly units with Behemoth role)
Karazai the Scarred (600 points)
Stormdrake Guard (340 points)
Stormdrake Guard (340 points)
Stormdrake Guard (340 points)
1920 points
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Stormcast Eternals All-Dragon Army?
Now, here’s the question. An all-dragon Stormcast Eternals army is one thing, but how much does it cost to build one? It’s a little like a Sons of Behemat army: very few models but each model is pretty frigging expensive.
To build the list above I would need one Karazai kit and four Stormdrake Kits. Paying full Games Workshop prices, you can get them for:
Karazai: $150 (Currently $127 if you buy on Amazon)
Stormdrake Guard: $110 x4 (Currently $93 if you buy on Amazon)
This comes out to $590. Which honestly isn’t half bad.
Compare that to Sons of Behemat:
3 Mega Gargants: $195 each (Currently $165 if you buy on Amazon)
3 Mancrusher Gargants (each box has 2) $125 each (Currently $106 if you buy on Amazon)
Total: $835
And really, we’ve looked at the cost of tournament lists in Warhammer 40k, and $590 is pretty dang good in comparison.
Conclusion: Should You Build A Stormcast Eternals All-Dragon Army?
Well, anything in this article has piqued your interest–you love dragons, you love the rules, you love big elite armies–then the answer might very well be yes. It’s really not as expensive as you’d think. In fact, I think that an all-dragon army might be a great starter army for someone just getting into Age of Sigmar. A lot of people find that painting large creatures is more forgiving than painting lots of individual soldiers, and even if you struggle with the painting, this army only has you painting eight models and then you’re 100% good to go, ready to play.
I think an all-dragon Age of Sigmar army is totally worth it.