How to choose an army for AGOM XVI

So, how do you choose an Age of Sigmar army for AGOM XVI?

The first step is to download the Information Pack and the AGOM Points Cost document of your chosen Grand Alliance. Have a look through those, and if it's still not clear, come back here and we'll go through a theoretical player picking a theoretical army.

So - what do you need to bear in mind when it comes to selecting a list for AGOM XVI? There are a number of rules in the information pack that we need to look at first:

Your army must consist of no more than 2000 points using the AGOM Points System and must conform to the following statements:

• Must be selected from a single Grand Alliance (Order, Chaos, Death or Destruction)

This one is fairly obvious - only one Grand Alliance allowed per player. The Monstrous Arcanum monsters have been split into the Alliances according to what keyword they have, so that's nice and easy too.

• Must consist of at least three Warscrolls

We want you to field something that approaches an army, or at least a small warband. Of course, if you just want to take three characters or monsters, you can do that. You will probably need some troops to claim objectives though. You can take multiples of each warscroll (except for named characters), so it could be army entirely made of Ironguts, so long as there are at least three units of them.

• Only Warscrolls found on the official Games Workshop Warhammer: Age of Sigmar App may be fielded, and the latest version of these Warscrolls must be used

Basically this means that if a Warscroll has been updated, use that version. A good number of Warscrolls have been updated when they were included in the Grand Alliance books. You don't have to use the app, but you will need either it or the relevant Age of Sigmar book (be it a Grand Alliance book or a Battletome). Alternatively photocopies of rules or printed copies could be used, but the Warscroll compilations that were uploaded to the Games Workshop website when AoS was released are likely to be out of date, so please make sure the most current version is used. If in doubt, please get in touch with us, and we'll do our best to point you in the right direction.

• If a Warscroll does not have an associated AGOM Points Cost, then it cannot be used

We've given all the models in the Grand Alliance books a points value. We also pointed up the Forge World releases, and the newer Khorne characters that were in White Dwarf. Basically, anything released in an official publication for AoS, except for the older Warscroll companions that went online when AoS was released. These "legacy" Warscrolls cannot be used at AGOM XVI, though it is possible we might do something to some of them at a later date - don't hold your breath though. 
In general, we've decided to ignore the legacy scrolls so that we don't have to worry about multiple versions of Warscrolls for a single unit type, or for those models which are now unavailable. We understand that many players would want to use their old models, but there's only so much we could get through in a reasonable amount of time before the tournament, so we decided to follow the official release model from GW.
You can still use old models, so long as it is clear what they represent. For instance, Tomb Guard could substitute for Grave Guard. We'd like it to be clear to your opponent what you are using though, so please bear this in mind when using old models.

• All miniatures must be painted to an appropriate standard, as noted below

Again, this should be fairly obvious. As people could be travelling a great distance to AGOM XVI, we think that everyone should make an effort to get their army painted - in this case it's a minimum of base coated (the usual phrase is "three colours minimum") and appropriately based. There are further details in the Information Pack.

• Weapon and/or equipment must be modelled on the miniatures in question, in a What You See Is What You Get fashion

This should be fairly obvious too. If you take a unit with spears, the vast majority of models should have spears, not bows.

• Conversions are permitted, but it must be evident what the model represents – if you have any doubts please contact us as soon as possible and we will provide a decision as to whether you can use the model

Normal tournament rules here - if you have a converted model, your opponent still needs to know what it is - if you are uncertain as to whether it would be allowable, please contact us.

• No named Warscroll (Nagash, Archaon, Kroak, etc.) can be taken more than once in a single army

Again - this should be fairly self-explanatory. We don't want to see more than one of each "named" character in an army. So no more than one Lord Kroak, one Mannfred von Carstein, and so on. 


There are a few more points to consider before we start though:

• Units must consist of a minimum number of models, as listed on the Warscroll for that particular unit. There is no maximum size, but in the interest of sportsmanship and brevity we recommend that you limit your units to a sensible size.

Says what it does on the tin, here. All Warscrolls tell you the minimum amount of models needed - so that is the minimum unit size that you must pay for.

• Standards and musicians do not have an associated cost, and therefore count as a normal model of their type, however you may only have one standard bearer and one musician in a unit, regardless of the number of available options.

You can take ONE standard and ONE musician in each unit, for no additional points cost. So if there are multiple choices of standard or musical instrument, such as is the case for Plague Monks, you have to choose which one you want.

• Unit leaders have an associated cost as noted in our system. Unit leaders are not compulsory, meaning a Warscroll can consist entirely of basic troopers if you wish.

Normally a Warscroll will say something along the lines of "The leader of this unit is a Whatever Name Champion". You can pay the points for a unit leader if you want, but if you don't think it's worth it, you don't have to. I know one player in particular who doesn't bother taking leaders in his Leadbelcher units! It's completely up to you - just note your choice on your army roster if you have taken a unit leader.
And it's only one unit leader per unit. Otherwise it'd be more of a committee than a unit, and nothing would get done.


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Right - that took longer than expected didn't it! I'd actually be surprised if you've read all that and you're still with me!

On to our theoretical player. Let's call him Bede.
Bede is a Destruction player, and a somewhat venerable one at that. His army consists of models collected over a long period of time, so he has quite a few options.

Bede decided that he wants several components in his army - a few numerous units of infantry to hold or claim objectives, some ranged options and monsters to take the fight to the enemy, and a number of wizards to support the troops or to deal damage where necessary. Bede is not the most competitively minded player, so his army probably won't be an ideal base for your own lists.

Bede starts by selecting two mobs of Savage Orcs, or Orruks as they are now known (the name changes may make Bede rather venomous, but we hope he doesn't show that side to his opponents).

15 x Savage Orruk with Stone Choppa & Bone Shiv = 15 x 7
1 Savage Orruk Boss with Stone Choppa & Bone Shiv = 8
2 x Savage Orruks with Big Stabba = 2 x 26

Unit cost = 179

Bede takes two units equipped identically at 179 points each. As you can see, Bede has carefully read the Warscroll, which states that all the models in this unit must have the same equipment, except for two Orruks in every ten, which can be equipped with a Big Stabba between them instead.

From the Bonesplitterz section of Grand Alliance: Destruction, Bede also makes the following choices:

Savage Orruk Warboss on boar with Granite Choppa & Shield = 86
Savage Orruk Shaman on boar = 110

Having spent 554 points, Bede decides to add something else to his army. From the Moonclan section, he adds the following:

29 Moonclan Grots with Pokin' Spear = 29 x 4
Boss with Pokin' Spear = 4
5 Grots with Nets = 5 x 6
Unit = 150
Bede takes two identical units, totaling 300 points.
5 Grot Fanatics = 5 x 27 =135
Moonclan Grot Warboss with Prodder and Giant Cave Squig = 85
Moonclan Grot Shaman = 85

This Moonclan contingent costs 605 points. Bede decides to take the Fanatics as a single unit, and notes this on his army roster. When he deploys his army at the start of each game, he will note down which unit the fanatics are hidden in. He doesn't have to put this on his army list. In these situations, read the Warscroll in question carefully.

Bede decides that he needs some firepower in his army, and takes two Ironblasters at 148 points each.
At this point, Bede has spent 1455 points. He decides to add a pair of Aleguzzler Gargants, at 201 points each, and spends another 140 points on an Ogor Butcher with Cleaver.

This means that Bede has spent 1997 / 2000 points. He decides not to try to spend the last 3 points,

As you can see, all the Warscrolls in Bede's army are above the minimum size, and he has at least three Warscrolls in his army.
When writing his army roster, Bede notes down which units have unit leaders, and chooses a standard and musician for each unit. He does not have to note down which model is his general, as this is declared after setting up all your models for a game, and can change in each game at AGOM XVI.

And it's as easy as that! You probably didn't need to read this far, as we like to think we actually made it all fairly obvious. Good job for getting this far by the way.