Fire and Jade is the first supplement for the fourth edition of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar, and it introduces a new way to play Warhammer called Spearhead. The book comes as part of the excellent Skaventide box, and that set contains everything you’d need to play this mode (including sample armies).
The core idea behind this mode of play is that you pick a pre-determined army, make some light tactical choices at the start of play, and then begin. The scenery and the board itself are also proscribed by the game, so the result is a ‘potted’ version of a fantasy skirmish wargame.
This might rankle older players, but it’s actually quite a nice idea because it tightens gameplay to about an hour, and that includes the usual faff, such as setting up the board and repeatedly moving the cat off the gaming table.
The Skaventide box has enough models for two of these forces, the Vigilant Brotherhood for the Stormcast Eternals and the Gnawfeast Clawpack for the Skaven, and the book contains rules for both of these. It also has rules for pretty much every faction in the game so far, and if you don’t have the units you need, Spearheaded-branded boxed sets are available from your friendly local game store.
The game itself is pretty tight. The game is points scoring; you gain points by achieving set goals, and the tactical advantages you select at the start of the game effectively cost you points. So when you use your secret weapon, you’d better hope it’s worth it. This provides depth you wouldn’t normally expect.
STARBURST received both physical and digital versions of the book from Games Workshop for review, and we found the physical book well made and thought through, clearly designed by someone who’s dropped a heavy book off a gaming table more than once. The digital version we looked at was also fine and worked on a normal tablet device with no issue.
This new game makes us wonder what the future has in store for Warcry, a very similar skirmish game set in the Age of Sigmar. Sure Warcry is more unit-focused, lengthy and intense, but over in STARBURST’s Secret Gaming Thunderdome we were looking at out big box of Warcry stuff wondering if we could adapt it for Spearhead play instead.
Spearhead isn’t a new idea, and it isn’t radical, but it does open up the game for more people; new players have an easier access point, and older players will find it easier to get a game in. Overall, it is a worthwhile move for Age of Sigmar.
