We’ve seen a few of these, and following on from the success of the Combat Patrol series for Warhammer 40,000, Hachette Partworks have announced a return to the Mortal Realms with a new Spearhead magazine series for Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
The original magazines (Imperium, Mortal Realms, etc) including models from the edition’s starter sets, and then expanded on the range, sometimes bringing in models from other factions. Combat Patrol bucked the trend by instead giving you, well, full Combat Patrols to play with across a multitude of factions.
Spearhead is to Age of Sigmar what Combat Patrol is for Warhammer 40k, a cut down version of the game designed to be played quickly on a coffee table. You buy a Spearhead box from one of the Sigmar factions, build them up then play them in games of Spearhead, such as the new edition Sand and Bone which we reviewed not too long ago.
On top of this, again like the Combat Patrol series, you can pay for the Premiuium edition of the series, which then distributes additional, larger, models throughout the series run.
Please note, any prices I list in this article are taken at the time of writing from Warhammer.com. You can order from other retailers, such as our affiliates at Element Games which would affect the values in the article.
Which Models Are Coming in the Spearhead Magazine Series?
Just look at the amount of models you’ll collect in this series:
There are 12 factions represented during the series run, as well as terrain (and I imagine rules and battle mats) for both current editions of the game (including the aforementioned Sand and Bone, as well as Fire and Jade which launched alongside the new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar).
Firstly, let’s list the factions represented, going from the back, left to right:
- Sylvaneth
- Seraphon
- Gloomspite Gitz
- Ossiarch Bonereapers
- Idoneth Deepkin
- Lumineth Realm-lords
- Soulblight Gravelords
- Maggotkin of Nurgle
- Cities of Sigmar
- Stormcast Eternals
- Skaven
- Slaves to Darkness
Now it’s important to mention right off the bat here, that you can buy each of the Spearhead boxes right now for all of the above factions, so if only one or two appeal then skip this series and just pick up the Spearhead box of your chosen faction.
If however, you are like me, someone who loves playing games of Age of Sigmar and find that this is an amazing way of picking up a few forces to grab small games with and potentially expand in the future, then this ideal!
Will I Be Able to Play Games of Spearhead Just from this Magazine Series?
Almost definitely yes.
The Hachette Partworks website shows images of dice, and these series of magazines normally at least include a measuring ‘stick’ for lack of a better word (although investing in a tape measure would be recommended).
The above image includes terrain featured from both Fire and Jade and Sand and Bone, so we can almost 100% assume you’ll also get the mats with pre-printed objectives (as per the standalone releases of Spearhead) as well as all the missions in the magazine itself.
How Much is Each Issue of Spearhead?
Each issue costs £9.99, and the series will run for 90 issues.
What Are the Premimium Kits, and How Much Do They Cost?
At the cost of £2.50 extra per magazine you can receive 4 premium models throughout the run of the magazine. These are:
- Ionus Cryptborn (Stormcast) £85 RRP
- Rotigus / Great Unclean One (Maggotkin of Nurgle Dual Kit) £100 RRP
- Katakros (Ossiarch Bonereapers) £74 RRP
- Beast Smasher Mega Gargant (Sons of Behemoth) £135 RRP
This means you’ll be paying a total of £225 to receive models that would cost £394 from Warhammer.com.
Is the Spearhead Magazine Series Good Value?
This is it, isn’t it? Is the series worth it.
All we need to do is review the text that has come before this question to obtain an answer.
Spearhead boxes retail at £87.50. So forgetting the Premium issues, terrain, rules and any bundled paints, etc, you are looking at £1,050 for just the 12 different Spearheads.
90 issues of Spearhead (albeit some won’t come with models) at £9.99 a pop comes out at £899.10.
That is already a basic saving of £150.90.
Add to this the two Spearhead packs with scenery (Fire and Jade is locked behind the Ultimate Starter Set for Sigmar, so we’ll give it the same price as Sand and Bone at £42.50) which roughly equals to £85, brings the saving up to £235.90.
If you opt for Premium, whilst you are paying more you’ll save £169 vs buying them all right now from Warhammer.com.
If we add that Premium saving to the total saving of the normal magazines it brings the potential saving VS RRP to £404.90.
On final bit, freebies. If you subscribe you’ll receive free gifts dotted through the first few months of issues. These are:
- Knight-Relictor Mini (Stormcast) RRP £24
- Citadel Modelling Kit (Clippers, Mould Line Remover) RRP £47
- Binders and Dividers
- Citadel Paint Brush Set RRP £17.75
- Age of Sigmar Mug
Totals a value of £88.75.
This in total grants a saving of £324.65, or if you go Premium you’ll save £492.75.
All comes down to how much value you feel you’ll have by getting lots of different Spearheads!
Want to Subscribe?
If you have been sold then you can sign up via Hachette’s website right here.
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