Warhammer: Spearhead – City of Ash review - "If you've never played Spearhead before and want an easy way into the game, then – finally – this is it"

Spearhead has been a game mode in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar for the last few years. Effectively a compact and streamlined version of AoS, with pre-set army lists, it's a very fun and competitive system that's easy to pick up and play.

In theory, the skirmish game holds a similar function (though very different rules) to Kill Team, which is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. In practice, however, there's been confusion in some areas of the fandom about what Spearhead actually is, with some players not even realizing that it's a fully-fledged game in its own right, rather than a simple branding exercise for army sets, à la 40K Combat Patrols.

Part of this is likely down to the fact that it has always been presented alongside the main game, rather than as a standalone boxed product – until now. Yes, City of Ash is, slightly bafflingly, the first time that Spearhead has been issued as a standalone game in a box, with two complete forces that go toe-to-to over a small 30" × 22.4" game-board, that's also included.

Warhammer: Spearhead – City of Ash features & design

• Two armies in the box: Cities of Sigmar and Skaven
• Terrain and a double-sided game board are included
• Dice are not – and you'll need a lot!

The two factions in the box are Cities of Sigmar and Skaven – specifically Clan Eshin. The really cool thing here is that, with the exception of one Skaven hero, these are all brand new models. That alone should make the box a must-buy for Cities and Skaven collectors.

I've been looking for a way into the Cities of Sigmar range for a while. I've got the Warcry warband, but otherwise haven't really explored further until now. In the box you get 10 Freeguild Grenadiers, split into two five-man squads, while five Freeguild Gallants make up the elites choice.

I love these guys, all of which come with optional knight's helms, which I stupidly didn't realize while building until I'd already made three of them. Always read the instructions thoroughly, William.

Leading the army is Jorvan Kreel and his Ash Panther Thexa, while an unnamed Mallus Forgepriest provides magical assistance.

The Skaven half of the box provides 10 super-speedy Gutter Runners (in two units of five), 10 Night Runners, plus two Bomb Rats. Leading them is Deathmaster Crixxit (more on him later) and the box's only older sculpt, a Skaven Deathmaster.

Rounding out the models are two ruined manor terrain pieces, and five relic objectives. The battlefield itself is fairly terrain light, but that makes sense in the context of the game.

You also get a 72-page Handbook detailing the rules, a durable double-sided game board, a battlepack book with missions for the board, and a deck of 36 Spearhead cards.

One small gripe here: putting the miniature build instructions in the rulebook is a bit annoying, as you can't lay the pages out flat, as with a standard paper pamphlet.

Warhammer: Spearhead – City of Ash gameplay

• Two forces clash in a fast-paced skirmish game
• It's effectively a scaled down Age of Sigmar
• You use pre-set army lists with minimal customization

In terms of the actual game, this is pretty much Spearhead as we already know it, aside from the specific rules for the new units and missions. If you've played the game before then this will all be reassuringly familiar. This isn't meant as a reinvention of the system, but as an introduction to it.

The Cities of Sigmar force (Sentinels of Embergard) is nice and flexible. The Grenadiers are intended as your ranged combat unit and, with 2 attacks per person, they're OK and more than capable of clearing out a Skaven unit quickly – though both the Gutter and Night Runners get reinforcements when a unit has been wiped out.

The Gallants are a decent for targeting enemy heroes, with 2 attacks, rend 1, and a nifty special rule called Unbreachable Will, which removes 1 rend from enemy weapons if the Gallants haven't charged that turn. That's super useful because the Skaven Gutter Runners all have rend 1 on their Eshin Blades.

In terms of the characters, Jorvan is solid if unspectacular in combat with 6 attacks, rend 1 and, if you choose to equip him with throwing knives as one of his enhancements, a ranged weapon that deals a mortal wound on a 3+ hit. His Battle Trait and Regiment Abilities are also handy for moving your troops around the board.

The Mallus Forgepriest, on the other hand, is straight up disappointing. Sure, 3 attacks with his hammer isn't bad, but he's too fragile and his main skill is being able to cast a 5+ ward on friendly units when they're contesting objectives. Handy, but too specific.

The Skaven side (Crixxit's Kill-Pack) is very fast and very murdery. All the models here have a movement of 7" meaning that they can get up close and personal quickly. The Gutter Runners have 3 attacks and rend 1, while their accompanying Bomb Rats can inflict 1 mortal damage on a 3+ – if they don't self destruct, which happens quite often. The Night Runners are slightly less effective, but have a reasonable ranged weapon.

Deathmaster Crixxit is the definition of a glass cannon. He can deal an astonishing 13 attacks, meaning that if you put him into combat with a unit like the Grenadiers, they are almost certainly immediately dead. He's vulnerable to melee with large units, though, or a barrage of weapons fire and his 6 health depletes very quickly. Luckily he has a very handy Battle Trait for getting out of such situations, being able to shadow-travel on a 3+, meaning that he stands a good chance of being able to simply shift out of combat to within 6" of another fight.

Finally, the old Deathmaster is good for performing precision strikes, with 5 attacks and the Anti-Hero ability.

It's also worth pointing out that all the models here, from the heroes to the lowliest rats have Crit (Mortal). Ouch.

Should you buy Warhammer: Spearhead – City of Ash?

If you've never played Spearhead before and want an easy way into the game, then – finally – this is it. It's fast, fun, and you get everything you need to play right here in the box except for dice.

You also don't get the full set of rosters for every army in the game, as you do in the Spearhead book that comes with Age of Sigmar 4th edition. That's not really a deal breaker, though. You can download the rules easily enough.

The models are great, too. Cities of Sigmar has quickly become one of Age of Sigmar’s most exciting ranges and these are all beautiful sculpts, even if the head on one of the guys I've painted above does look a bit like Frasier Crane.

I'm less into the Skaven, but that's just a general antipathy on my part towards the rat boys. They're still lovely models and a clear step up from the previous versions of the Night Runners. That said, some of the miniatures are a little tricky to build. Not super difficult, but I can see someone new to the hobby being intimidated while making the Skaven miniatures.

City of Ash, then, seems aimed more at existing hobbyists (like, say, established 40K players) rather than at complete newbies. Either way, it's a lot of fun and if you're into one or both of these factions then you'll want to grab it as soon as possible.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...