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05 Apr 24

The Anatomy of a Warscroll in

the New Edition of Warhammer
Age of Sigmar

The warscroll has been a mainstay of Warhammer Age of Sigmar since the first days of
first edition. They’ve evolved with each edition, but they’re still one of the most
recognisable parts of the game.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/05/the-an warscroll-in-the-new-edition-of-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 20/04/2024, 23 44

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 Things have changed once again for the new edition – and these changes tie into the
new modularity of the rules. Everything a unit can do is now an ability, and these are
clearly labelled, colour-coded, and symbol-coded to demonstrate exactly which phase
of the game each ability is used in.

This system is the key that unlocks the whole game – even basic, universal actions such
as moving and fighting are now shared abilities listed in the core rulebook,* while
every warscroll has at least one ability unique to them, which help define each unit’s
battlefield role.

What’s on a Warscroll?

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/05/the-an warscroll-in-the-new-edition-of-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 20/04/2024, 23 44

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 Despite this change to unit abilities, the information contained on a new warscroll is
actually mostly very similar to previous iterations. The unit title, for instance, remains
entirely the same, while the characteristic emblem still contains four stats:

Move, which is unchanged

Health, which is the current Wounds stat changed for sense purposes**

Save, which is unchanged

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/05/the-an warscroll-in-the-new-edition-of-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 20/04/2024, 23 44

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 Control, which replaces Bravery and functions as a measure of how able a unit
is to hold Objectives. A unit’s Control Score is the sum of this characteristic
from all models in the unit contesting an objective

Likewise, the keywords banner at the bottom remains the same – though important
gameplay keywords have been moved onto their own line at the top for easy reference.

Weapons have seen a few subtle changes, but they still function in more or less the
same way. In melee, five key attributes function as before: Attacks, Hit, Wound, Rend,
and Damage – though they’ve all been carefully rebalanced for the new edition to
better reflect each unit’s miniatures, lore, and battlefield role.

Liberators hit hard for basic troops, especially given their Crit (Mortal) ability – one of
seven universal weapon abilities. It has a simple e"ect: an unmodified 6 to hit counts
as a Critical Hit, and this ability turns Critical Hits into Mortal Damage.

However, while missile weapons still have a Range – albeit generally reduced – every
model can now fight within a 3” combat range in melee. It’s a simple change, but one
that will streamline pile-ins and combat resolution.

Finally, there are the redesigned abilities. Our Liberators have a fairly easy one –
Stalwart Defenders, which helps them control your closest Objectives. It’s purple,
which marks it out as an End of Turn ability, while the circle symbol makes it a Control
ability. Passive ensures that it happens automatically. Each phase and ability type has
its own colour and symbol, making it incredibly easy to see when you use them.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/05/the-an warscroll-in-the-new-edition-of-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 20/04/2024, 23 44

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 But that’s a fairly simple warscroll. How does a complex one look? Say, one belonging
to a god…

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/05/the-an warscroll-in-the-new-edition-of-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 20/04/2024, 23 44

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 Note that while Ossiarch Bonereapers is a keyword here, Nagash has a separate Warscroll in each of the Faction Packs from Grand
Alliance: Death.

Even though it belongs to the literal god of Death, Nagash’s warscroll (like everyone
else’s) fits on one side of a card. He has several decisive abilities, which a"ect the game
in three separate phases. The Staff of Power is a passive bu" which greatly improves
his spellcasting power during the Hero Phase, while Supreme Lord of the Undead is
an incredibly powerful once-per-battle ability that can turn the tide of a conflict.

His signature spell is Invocation of Nagash, a flexible conjuration that can restore
models, shield them from incoming damage, or deal damage to the opposition. Finally,
Hand of Dust may be used in your turn or your opponent’s. This is an example of a
new-look rampage – the vast majority of monsters now have a unique ability called out
on their warscroll. You’ll notice that various universal special rules, such as WIZARD,
FLY, and WARD appear in the keyword bar, and have been standardised in the core
rules.

As you’d imagine, there’s a huge scope of warscrolls which sit between humble soldiers
and literal gods, but they all fit into the same space and they all function exactly the
same. We’ll have more on Warhammer Age of Sigmar next week.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/05/the-an warscroll-in-the-new-edition-of-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 20/04/2024, 23 44

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 * And, you guessed it, we’ll have more on the rest of these abilities next week.

** Many newer players who hear that a model has 10 Wounds might assume that it’s in
pretty poor shape, rather than fighting fit…

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/05/the-an warscroll-in-the-new-edition-of-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 20/04/2024, 23 44

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 Keep Reading

Sunday Preview – New Releases Celebrate Warhammer Age of

Abound from the Age of Sigmar with Two
Darkness Commemorative Edition
Miniatures – only on
Warhammer.com
08 Oct 23

25 Mar 24

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2024/04/05/the-an warscroll-in-the-new-edition-of-warhammer-age-of-sigmar/ 20/04/2024, 23 44

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