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The Idoneth Deepkin are an Age of Sigmar faction that I had always admired for their gorgeous models, but which I never expected to dive into. It takes a lot for me to get into an Age of Sigmar army to begin with, partially because I don’t play the game very much, but also because the armies of Age of Sigmar don’t appeal to me as much as Warhammer 40k.

But I needed something to paint, browsed through various models on Amazon–looking solely for something interesting, not for something that would launch an entire army–and I landed on the Akhelian Allopex. If you’re not familiar with the Akhelian Allopex, it is two aelves riding a shark, one of whom has a crossbow. It’s one of the silliest ideas that have come out of Age of Sigmar, and I thought: why not Idoneth Deepkin?

Fast forward six weeks and I have got a pretty substantial Idoneth Deepkin army. It’s no tournament list (it’s notably lacking in infantry, but I’ll get to that later) but it is all of the awesome models of the Idoneth Deepkin. I am extremely proud of the paint jobs on these models--these Idoneth Deepkin are some of my favorite models I’ve ever done. But I chalk that up more to the fact that the sculpts are incredible, and that I love painting creatures much more than I love painting troops.

Idoneth Deepkin Lore

The Idoneth Deepkin are an abandoned race, created by the Aelven god Teclis after the destruction of the Old World. They were his first attempt to recreate the elves–he would later go on to create the much lighter and “better” Lumineth Realm-Lords–but this first attempt was poor. He messed up, as much as a recuperating god can mess up, and he created something vile, something dark and evil. And he did it in the deepest, darkest depths of the sea, hiding from the Chaos Gods. For being in the Realm of Order, they are definitely the baddies of the bunch–soul-stealing, vampiric pirates who exist to feast on the souls of others. They are nightmares, and they are cruel. 

The Lord of the Idoneth Deepkin,, the High King of the Deep Volturnos, has glutted himself on many souls to the point where he believes that he has actually memories of Teclis and the creation of the Idoneth Deepkin.

When necessary, the Idoneth Deepkin casters are able to summon a being of water and hate known as the Eidolon of Mathlann, who can appear as either the Aspect of the Storm or Aspect of the Sea..

The Idoneth Deepkin have a further curse: only a fraction of their babies are born with souls, and the vast majority die quickly. This is what led the Idoneth to venture to the surface and onto land–to seek the souls of others and to enslaves them. They can move about on land through the ethersea, a kind of bubble of air-like water through which their sea creatures can “swim” and breathe, without being suffocated by the land’s oxygen.

The Idoneth Deepkin have three castes: first, the half-souled Namarti, which account for the bulk of their infantry. They look identical to other Idoneth, but they are slaves, their bodies marked by runes. Second and third, the true-souled Idoneth Deepkin as split into the magical Ishrann and the fighting Akhelians.

So how are the Idoneth Deepkin in the Grand Alliance of Order? It’s because their magic obliviates the minds of those they attacked so that the survivors remember nothing more than a massive sea storm landing on their village. The soul-stealing generally remains under wraps. (Which is not to say that everyone is unaware. Nagesh is very bothered by the Idoneth stealing the souls of the dead that, he believes, should belong to him. )

There is obviously much more than could be said about the lore of the Idoneth Deepkin, and may I recommend the book that I’ve been listening to while painting this army: The Court of the Blind King, by David Guymer. 

The Idoneth Deepkin Models

(I’m only highlighting the models I have. You will have seen most of these in my hobby streaks here, here, and here.)

Eidolon of Mathlann

Eidolon of Mathlann is a model that is probably too expensive for what he brings to the table, especially when you bring him as the Aspect of the Sea–his magic caster version–rather than Aspect of the Storm–his combat version. He rarely shows up in tournament lists, but that’s okay because he just looks too awesome to not have him in your army. He’s a 12″ Flying non-Monster with 12 wounds and a 2+ save. He has access to an artifact known as Cloud of Midnight which is the artifact that EVERYONE takes for him, so it might as well be standard. It essentially makes him invisible (and therefore untargetable) by everyone on the table. He rerolls to hit and rerolls to wound. All of that said, he is fragile after the Cloak of Midnight does its thing. Fun model to bring, but nothing great to play.

The models shown below is actually the Aspect of the Sea, who is the caster, who is even less powerful yet somehow costs more points.

(Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games)

Volturnos, High King of the Deep

Has a 14″ Flying move, with 8 Wounds on a 3+ save. He buffs other Akhelian units around him. But the thing about him that makes him cool is his command ability: up to three units within 18″ get +1 attacks with all melee weapons, and you can stack this with as many command points as you have. The catch is that this can only be used on the third round of the game, making the Idoneth Deepkin something of a game within a game: you are trying to get all of your units within his 18″ and into combat at precisely the right moment, while protecting Volturnos to make sure that he will survive until the third round.

There is a different variation of this same model, the Akhelian King, who is pretty much the same but the command ability only applies to one unit within 18″. He’s 30 points cheaper than Volturnos, so if you’re really strapped for points, maybe go with him? I don’t see why, though.

(Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games)

Lotann, Warden of the Soul Ledgers

This guy is an absolute delight to paint, because he is just so absurd, and also because he is just so useless in the game. He has no spells, can’t have artifacts, can’t use abilities other than allowing Namarti a reroll to hit if they’re within 12″. And he’s relatively cheap at 75 points. (Not as cheap as he should be.)

(Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games)

Namarti Reavers

The Namarti are weird in Idoneth Deepkin armies. Instead of leading the charge with cheap battleline infantry, you should send in the elites first–like the Akhelian Guard that we’re about to talk about–and then follow up with the infantry. I take a lot of solace in this strategy, because I have absolutely ZERO interest in painting Namarti. I want to paint sea creatures, not watery elves.

(Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games)

Akhelian Guard

Really fast elite cavalry come in two varieties: the Akhelian Ishlaen Guard and the Akhelian Morrsarr Guard. The Ishlaen Guard are the screens at 14″ flying, just like the King, 4 wounds per model, a 4+ save and a 3+ save if they charge. They’re not great at attack, but that’s not their role on the tabletop–they’re screens. They’re immune to battleshock and they are immune to rend. On the other hand, the offense is the Akhelian Morrsarr Guard, who have mostly the same stats as the Ishlaen, but they have Rend 2 Damage 2 on the charge. They also have a biovoltaic shock that can dish out mortal wounds.

The Morrsarr Guard, above anything else, are the backbone of the Idoneth Deepkin armies–but they need to get the charge to get the most out of them.

(Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games)

Akhelian Allopex

An alternative is the Akhelian Allopex which similar damage output, but are slightly slower, can’t reroll charges, but they have decent damage output and have a ranged attack. It’s really sixes as to whether you like eels with the Akhelian Guard or sharks with the Akhelian Allopex.

(Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games)

Akhelian Leviadon

An enormous disappointment, because the Akhelian Leviadon, which is the best looking model in the Idoneth Deepkin (or, I’d argue, in all of Age of Sigmar) is one of the least useful and never appears in competitive lists. 16 Wounds with a 3+ Save, 12″ Fly, and he grants cover to units within 12″.

(Buy from Amazon | Buy from Element Games)

The Rest of the Idoneth Deepkin

There are a few characters, the Namarti Thralls, and that’s about it. They’re in dire need of an update just to expand the range, but I don’t see that coming anytime in the near future.

Idoneth Deepkin Playstyle.

The Idoneth Deepkin are the quintessential hit hard and fast, alpha strike army. But there’s a catch: there’s really only one way to play the Idoneth because they have so few models. Here’s how it goes:

1. Mess up the enemy’s deployment by putting Gloomtide Shipwrecks in the way.
2. Deep strike ambush two units of Akhelian Guard right in their faces relying on your charge and Rend, immediately killing whatever is most important.
3. Finish off lesser units with Biovoltaic Blast.
4. Move fast and crisscross the board, harassing them wherever possible while you wait for Turn 3.
5. On Turn 3, let Volturnos loose, combined with your attackers Akhelian Guard or Akhelian Allopex.
6. Hope that you’ve won by now, then survive to the end of the game.

The interesting thing is that the warscrolls make it seem like they want you to play a slow game, wait for the enemy to advance, and to take a very Ossiarch Bone-Reapers strategy. But ignore that and watch some battle reports to see the best way that they can play. Here are some good Idoneth Deepkin battle reports: Miniwargaming and Season of War.

You are best on Offense, by far, and Defense is middling at best. Your best aspect is your positioning–so good that it carries your entire strategy on its back.

Contrary to some Redditors, you don’t want 24 Akhelian Guard, spam but half of your army should be cavalry of some sort. 

What do you think? Do you play Idoneth Deepkin (or play against Idoneth Deepkin?) What would you do differently?