Age of Sigmar: How to Play Disciples of Tzeentch
Today we take a look at the basics of how to play Disciples of Tzeentch in Age of Sigmar. Change you can believe in!
Servants of the Daemon God of Change and Magic, the Disciples of Tzeentch, are masters of the mystical arts without equal. Combining unorthodox warriors with powerful spellcasting and the ability to alter reality itself, they act out their roles in the ever-changing plans of their duplicitous god. On the battlefield, they give you the tools to outmaneuver your opponent every step of the way with surprising speed and durability, and their ability to shape their own fates makes them a nightmare for even the best-laid plans.
Who are the Disciples of Tzeentch?
The Mortal Realms are home to many nations devoted to the Changer of the Ways. Those places of torment are a kaleidoscopic clash of madness made real where hope turns to screaming terror and impossible beasts are brought to life. Anyone who dares to trespass in such a land is sure to mutate into something foul, to have one’s mind unravel and one’s soul curdle.
The ambitions of the Disciples of Tzeentch go further than the conquest of the realms. The twisted path they walk sees them longing for reality to change, for that which was once solid and reliable to turn into a quicksand of sanity-sapping hideousness. Ultimately, they would see Tzeentch’s own crystalline domain consume the Mortal Realms. In their own perverted minds, to try to outwit the Architect of Fate is futility made manifest, therefore, one is better to serve the inevitable victor of the Great Game.
Why Play Disciples of Tzeentch?
While not the toughest or strongest army in the game, Tzeentch has a lot of special tricks they can bring to the table to make them a real threat for just about anything your opponent can conjure. With powerful spellcasting, surprisingly potent melee and shooting, and plenty of speed to get you out of sticky situations, the Disciples can adapt or build for any situation. Of course, a master strategist like Tzeentch knows the best way to win a game is to fix the rules, so you also have the ability to guarantee important rolls with your Destiny dice, or add more threats to your opponent’s plate with your summoning Fate points.
Strengths
- There is almost no one in the game that magics better than you.
- You benefit from all magic on the battlefield, meaning spells your opponent casts will add to your summoning pool.
- You have a lot of surprisingly fast units that can secure distant objectives or zoom past screens to the juicier targets.
- Your primary daemon troops can gum up combat harder than zombies if you play them carefully.
Weaknesses
- You are kind of made of paper and really need to ally/coalition in something with some staying power.
- You are a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. Everything you do, someone does better.
Subfactions
Your subfactions are called Changecovens, and each one benefits a specific style of troop choice. You can kit your army to drown the enemy in magical flames, overwhelm them with an ever-shifting army of Tzaangors, or assert your magical superiority by summoning an army’s worth of Lords of Change to the battlefield. The choice is yours.
Signature Disciples of Tzeentch Rules
- Arcane Armies – Before the first turn, one of your Wizards can automatically cast one of the Tzeentch Endless spells (if you brought them) and it can’t be unbound. Besides having a powerful spell on the field, you get a free Fate Point!
- Masters of Destiny -Before the game begins, you roll 9 dice and set them aside. You can use these to pre-determine certain dice rolls to ensure victory.
- Summon Daemons of Tzeentch – Whenever a spell is successfully cast, friendly or enemy, and not unbound, you get a Fate point, which you can spend to summon powerful daemonic allies.
Key Disciples of Tzeentch Units
While the Tzeentch army is vast and exciting, especially with new coalition rules, these are a few units you’ll always want to consider.
1. Lord of Change
One of the most powerful spellcasters in the game, as befits a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, and a potent backline Monster for your army. They always cast on a double of the highest dice they roll, they can steal spells from your opponent, and they buff all your magic rolls…and that’s just in the hero phase. For maximum shenanigans, bring Kairos, the named variant, and restock your Destiny Dice.
2. Kairic Acolytes
While not really the first choice for Battleline in a Tzeentch army, Kairic Acolytes are a surprisingly durable and potent midline unit. They have a decent melee profile, a good shooting attack, and a ward save to keep them in the fight. Plus, they’re wizards, so they’ll be pumping more juice into your Fate points pool.
3. Tzaagor Enlightened
A fast and deadly beatstick, these guys are the kings of being underestimated and then ruining your opponent. They can shut enemy units out of their command abilities, and if you happen to be taking the second turn in a round, they wound on a 2+. While they aren’t the murder engines they once were, they can still lay down a metric ton of damage.
4. Horrors of Tzeentch
The mainstay for most Tzeentch players, the Pink Horrors of Tzeentch, are a potent force on the battlefield. With their ability to spilt into a smaller form and then do it again (or throw out mortal wounds on death), they can gum up an opponent for the entire game, and they’re no slouch in combat.
5. Screamers of Tzeentch
Your speed daemons and objective grabbers, these sky-sharks will make absolute mincemeat out of the enemy. Their ability to damage units they fly over, coupled with their ridiculously high speed makes them wonderful assassins. Just don’t expect them to weather much return fire with only a 5+ save.
6. Curseling
One of the best heroes in the book, this guy can do a little bit of everything. He’s durable, he’s powerful in combat, and he’s a deadly spellcaster. He can even cast in your enemy’s hero phase, meaning you can unbind your opponent’s deadliest spells and still score the coveted Fate Points. An almost auto-include in any non-Daemon Tzeentch list (and maybe even there).
7. Chaos Warriors
While not a unit from the Tzeentch tome, having a unit of Chaos Warriors is a good tough unit/ screen for an otherwise fragile army. While including them DOES take points away from your Wizards, having a unit of them is still probably not a bad idea to keep the ones you do bring safe.
8. Krondspine Incarnate
Again, while not part of the Disciples of Tzeentch tome, the Krondspine Incarnate is an excellent addition to the army. It gives extra bonus’ to the Wizard who is Bonded. Also, it is an absolutely immovable anvil that will, in most circumstances, take at least two player turns to be destroyed. The ability to grab a unit in combat and not allow them to retreat, all while the rest of your army blasts them with magic, is a huge utility. This all gets better if you have a good way to let it run Wild, and feed it your own Endless Spells to power it up even more.
Sample Disciples of Tzeentch Army (2K pts)
Army: Disciples of Tzeentch
Leaders
Curseling, Eye of Tzeentch
– Lore of Fate: Arcane Suggestion
Lord of Change
– Lore of Change: Unchecked Mutation
Ogroid Thaumaturge
– Lore of Fate: Glimpse of Future
Tzaangor Shaman
– Lore of Fate: Infusion Arcanum
Magister
– Lore of Fate: Bolt of Tzeentch
Battleline
Pink Horrors of Tzeentch
Kairic Acolytes
Kairic Acolytes
Behemoths
Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur
– Allies
Disciples of Tzeentch Tips
Save for Destiny Dice for important spells, overwhelm your enemy with Mortal Wounds, and use your speed to clean up anything that survives. And remember, even when things go wrong, it was supposed to.
~Just as planned…
