Age of Sigmar: Top 5 Releases for 2021
2021 has been an awesome year to be an Age of Sigmar player.
2021 is almost at a close, and it has certainly been an eventful one. On top of all the real-world events, Games Workshop has had a banner year. They’ve released great things for 40k and Age of Sigmar. A grand betrayal shook the Mortal Realms. A deadly awakening brought a god a few steps closer to freedom, and a brand new form of Stormcast was born from the return of a powerful ally.
A ton of incredible tome and models were released; here are my Top 5 favorite releases of the year 2021.
Maggotkin of Nurgle
The servants of Nurgle have been outdated for quite some time. It was a breath of (not so) fresh air to see a new and improved battletome, and what a tome it is.
The Maggotkin are stronger than they’ve ever been. While the book didn’t bring anything earth-shattering to the table, it brought the gooey boys more in line with the current Age of Sigmar meta. The big guys were buffed, the little guys were balanced, and the whole army feels more cohesive and truly in the theme of Nurgle. Games Workshop did a great job closing out the year with such a fabulous release.
Kragnos
The big god model of Destruction, Kragnos, came out with a bang. Heralding a new power dynamic for the faction and setting the stage for the conflicts in the Realm of Ghur. His model is gorgeous, his rules are pretty nuts, and he’s a great centerpiece for any Destruction army. In part thanks to his Warmaster ability.
While he isn’t the highest tier god model in the meta, he has the potential to do a ridiculous amount of damage before combat even starts, so he fits the theme of “break all their stuff, ask for tactics later” very well. Sometimes being good isn’t needed: you just have to look awesome doing what you’re doing.
Soulblight Gravelords
The Soulblight Gravelords brought us some awesome new additions to the Death alliance. We got two new vampiric dynasties, a retooling of the old Legions of Nagash, and a gorgeous new kit for the Blood Knights. The knights are rumored to trade for gold bullion these days.
The entire tome is incredible, and the model options within make for an extraordinary amount of options. Whether you want to play overwhelming zombie spam or hyper elite vampiric warriors, the battletome gives you the means, and you’ll still be fairly competitive regardless of your faction choice.
Gobsprakk, Mouth of Mork
Riding on the back of a massive vulture-like creature, Gobsprakk is to Kunnin’ what Gordrakk is to Brutal. He is the right hand of Kragnos, the master strategist of the forces of Destruction, and the de facto leader of the Kruleboyz.
His model is absolutely gorgeous. His rules make him an almost auto-include in most Kruleboyz lists, especially Big Yellers. And should you decide you’d rather have punch than magic, his model can be built as a Killboss as well.
Krondys/Stormdrake Guard
It wouldn’t be a “Best Of” list without including the Stormcast Dragons, the first new dragons we’ve seen in quite some time and by far the most intricate. Krondys and Karazai are some of the best models Games Workshop has produced. They certainly rank in the top pieces of the year. The Stormdrake Guard deserves mention, and hopefully, they are a sign of things to come in the future.
Honorable Mention: Dominion
Besides bringing us firmly into AoS 3.0, Dominion introduced us to a brand new Orruk subfaction and the newest breed of Stormcast. Plus, we got some gorgeous new models to augment our armies. 3.0 is easily the best edition of Age of Sigmar so far, and this box was the perfect first push.
What are your favorite Age of Sigmar releases from this year?
