Warhammer Age of Sigmar‘s Seraphon lizardmen army is getting some powerful new rules from a Battletome Update in the latest White Dwarf magazine – leading with an upgrade to the ‘Coalesced’ subfactions’ ‘Primeval Domain’ Allegiance Ability that forces terrain in your territory to buff your troops, while endangering enemies who come close.
Per the new version of Primeval Domain, terrain pieces within your territory (Deployment Zone, in Warhammer 40k language) automatically gain the Mystical and Deadly scenery rules – with the proviso that the former (granting a 6+ Ward and a +1 to Chanting and Banishment rolls) only applies to your Seraphon, while the ‘Deadly’ (a 1/6 chance of units taking d3 Mortal Wounds when moving within one inch) only applies to enemies. Previously, the ability merely shielded the Seraphon from negative terrain features that happened to be there. It’s a significant survivability and reliability boost to their Priest units especially.
In addition to these terrain features, the updated rules in White Dwarf Issue 469 (published on October 11) also include a new Mount Trait; a new Monstrous Rampage; a new Core Battalion choice; two Grand Strategies and two Battle Tactics for Matched Play; new Twists and Ruses for Open Play; and four pages of Path to Glory narrative rules.
The stand-out among them is probably the new Mount Trait, Beastmaster; a particularly fitting addition to the Thunder Lizard Coalesced subfaction, whose approximate theme is ‘big dinosaurs, all the time’.
Once per battle, this lets you grant one Stegadon, Carnosaur, or Troglodon Mount either the ‘Swift’ or ‘Savage’ bonus ’til your next Hero Phase. ‘Savage’ gives each of the Mount’s melee weapons one extra attack (great if you’re already in a scrap) – but ‘Swift’ is the game changer here; it’ll let the Mount’s unit run, then shoot and/or charge as well in the same turn. The potential to get a big Seraphon beastie into combat nice and quickly is significant – we can see this working especially brilliantly on the Stegadon with Skink Chief.
Did the Seraphon need fresh, strong-seeming rules right now? As ever, it’s a debate that’ll be fought over tabletops and comment sections right up until the next faction gets an update.
However, while the Seraphon have certainly had their time as a faction to beat, the most recent Goonhammer tournament analysis ranks them as a “Tier 2” army, that still faces an “uphill battle” against currently dominant forces like the Soulblight Gravelords and Daughters of Khaine. So perhaps a little shot in the army won’t do much harm.
You can scoop up White Dwarf, Issue 469 (October 2021) on the Games Workshop webstore right now for $11 / £6.99.
Alternatively, take a broader stroll round the Mortal Realms with our full guide to Warhammer Age of Sigmar armies.
Source: Wargamer
