We won’t be waiting much longer to kick off the new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, it seems – as Games Workshop has put the standalone core rulebook, and the General’s Handbook matched play supplement, up for pre-order nearly a week before its big Skaventide launch box set hits shelves. Read on for the prices, dates, and details.
As revealed in Saturday’s weekly pre-order roundup on GW’s Warhammer Community site, the Age of Sigmar 4th edition core rulebook, 2024-25 General’s Handbook, and Fire and Jade – the starter pack for AoS’ new Spearhead quick-play mode – will all be released on Saturday, July 20.
That’s just one week after the Skaventide box release date of July 13 – so, as was the case with Warhammer 40k 10th Edition and its Leviathan launch box, you’ll still be able to get stuck into the new rules, even if you didn’t drop $275 on the big crate of Skaven and Stormcast Etenals minis that got you the rulebook earlier than everyone else.
The new Age of Sigmar rulebook costs $70 (£44) – or $170 (£105) for the snazzy, pre-order only limited edition. For that, you get a 288-page hardback volume, which breaks down to:
- 186 pages of lore on the Mortal Realms setting and all the Age of Sigmar armies
- 37 pages of core and advanced rules
- 29 pages of battlepacks (ready to play game scenarios)
- 10 pages of glossary and reference info, plus dummy army rosters
- A handful of lovely army photo and artwork pages in between
The Age of Sigmar General’s Handbook 2024-25 costs $42 (£26). This little ring-bound tome – despite being a little too expensive, in our view – is an essential companion for tournament players, laying out the up to date matched play (competitive) rules for the current season of Age of Sigmar, including:
- 12 GW-official battleplans designed for competitive play
- Battle Tactics legal to use in matched play games this season
- Updated Endless Spell warscrolls and terrain rules reference
The Spearhead: Fire and Jade Gaming Pack costs $65 (£42.50). Per WarCom’s article, it’s a mini tabletop setup in a box, meant to give you the absolute basics required to play Spearhead, AoS’ new quick-play mode aimed at casual players and newcomers.
For the cash, you get:
- A pretty nice double-sided 30-inch x 22.4 inch gameboard, printed with good quality battlefield art and the five themed objective markers used in Spearhead
- The four Skaven-themed terrain pieces from the Skaventide box set – two ruined walls and two bits of ruined statuary
- The 36 cards required to play Spearhead: one set of Battle Tactics, and two sets of Twists that modify gameplay – one for Aqshy (fire) and one for Ghyran (jade).
- Two cute little Skaven-themed plastic measuring sticks
We don’t reckon it’s amazing value for money – compared to Skaventide, anyway – but if you’re looking to start Age of Sigmar with a couple of Spearhead boxes, it’ll give you all the materials needed to start playing at home.
All these are available for pre-order now via the GW webstore – but, as usual, they’ll be a little cheaper at your local game store once they’ve shipped out and hit shelves at the end of this month, so (if you can wait) it might save you a few bucks to shop around.
For more Warhammer knowledge, check out our compendium of all the Warhammer 40k factions or – if you’re into deep lore – check out our vital explainer of the Horus Heresy book order.
Alternatively, to stay abreast of the latest updates, bookmark our Age of Sigmar news page and follow Wargamer on Google News.
Source: Wargamer
