If you’re capturing the Daemons and using them as fuel are you really the bad guy? Let’s dive into the rules for the Helsmiths of Hashut.
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar is getting a new army. The Helsmiths of Hashut are coming to town and they are indeed powered by daemons. But not in the typical chaos way. They don’t make pacts for power. Instead they ensnare and bind daemons from the Realm of Chaos into their machines and weapons. This is really taking that whole “fight fire with fire” to a different level. So it is a little odd (to me at least) that they are technically part of the Grand Alliance of Chaos. Anyhow, we can delve into their lore deeper once the book comes out. For now, we’re going to focus on the rules previews that Games Workshop has shared with us today.
“When the Zharrdron head to war, they Leave the Land in Ruin. Units that are out of combat or contesting an objective or terrain piece earn a desolation token at the start the turn if they don’t already have one. These units can Harness Daemonic Power at the start of each turn, transforming the tokens into daemonic power points, which can then be allocated to anyone but hobgrots.
By spending a Command Point, they may also draw on Reserves of Daemonic Power in the Hero Phase, suffusing one unit with additional daemonic power points. But what does all this raw energy do?”
Helsmiths of Hashut Rules Preview
What does all that stored up daemonic power do?! That is a great question. Turns out quite a bit. For starters, let’s look at the War Despot. They get to use the Black-Hearted Conqueror to add three to the control score to friendly units with 6″ of him. This can really help you flip those objectives to your ownership quickly!
Another example is the Infernal Cohort who gain a Ward that gets better with the number of Daemonic Power Points(DPP) they are infused with. Note: That 4+ is only vs Spells, Prayers, and abilities used by Manifestations. Other damage is a 5+ Ward. Still, that’s very good.
The Dominator Engine gets to add 1″ to it’s move AND 1 to it’s attacks for every DPP it has. I’m not sure what base stats are for it’s move but you can see the potential damage output there. That could be pretty scary!
Again, these are the only three examples we’ve seen but you can bet there will be lots more uses of those Daemonic Power Points. I’m betting just about every unit will have their own buffs and they are all going to be spicy.
Helsmiths of Hashut Spells & Prayers
“The Zharrdron harness the Lore of Infernal Power for Daemonsmiths, magical mastery over earth and fire. Halve the Movement of enemy units with Hateful Fractures, or summon a wave of Molten Metal that can torch armour and flesh alike.”
These are the two spells we get teased and I’m detecting a theme here. I actually really like Molten Metal as a spell because it hurts those high armor targets easier. It’s also going to be at least 8 dice because it’s based on the unmodified casting roll. But a unique spell lore isn’t the only thing they are bringing. They have prayers, too!
The prayers of the Scorched Sect are also going to be pivotal for success in the Helsmith of Hashut army. Furnace Blessing seems like a potent prayer as it adds Rend (always welcomed) but also adds Crit (Mortal) if you get an 8+ on the chanting roll. I have a feeling that’s going to be a popular go to prayer.
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As far as other noteworthy teasers GW did mention a bit about the four battle formations coming with the Helsmiths of Hashut.
“Four battle formations point to armies of infantry, war machines, mutant centaurs, or scornful sorcerers, providing benefits whenever you pour daemonic power into those particular units. “
It’s not much to go on but at least we can get a little bit of the theme of the lists. I’m a little curious to see how the “mutant centaurs” battle formation works out! Which one are you interested in?
Daemonically Infused Power-ups? What could possibly go wrong…
Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.