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28 Mar 24

Warhammer Age of Sigmar –

What Are Modular Rules and
What Do They Mean for You?

The new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar has been revealed, with a totally fresh
look to the core rules, featuring refinements and tweaks that make the world’s greatest
fantasy miniatures game even better. We’ve mentioned modular rules as one of these

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 new changes, but what exactly does this mean?

Put simply, the game is divided into Core Rules and Advanced Rules. The Core Rules are
quick to learn, and cover moving, fighting, shooting, unit coherency, and everything
else you need to know to play a simple battle from start to finish with objectives and
terrain. The Advanced Rules cover Commands, Terrain, Magic, Army Composition,
Command Models, and Battle Tactics. As any experienced player will tell you, these are
all vital for in-depth, tactical games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, so what makes them
modular?

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 “Rules have been structured in a modular manner,” says Ben, the Product Developer for
the game. “This means that you can learn and play games with the Core Rules, and
then when you need them you can go on to learn the Advanced Rules. You can even
just leave them out completely if you want – though some battlepacks will require
them. It’s all part of making the game that existing players love more accessible to
newer players.”

“Modularity is born from the idea that Warhammer Age of Sigmar is much more than
just a game,” continues Matt, the man in charge of the rules. “It’s essentially a platform
that supports many types of games. People play Warhammer Age of Sigmar as a
narrative experience, a competitive tournament game, at sizes ranging from huge
mega battles with hundreds of miniatures to smaller format games like Spearhead,
and everything in between.

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 “With modular rules, you only need to read the rules necessary to play the type of
game you want. To play Spearhead, all you need to read is the Core Rules, and no
Advanced Rules. Everything else is covered in the Spearhead battlepack, the Warscroll
cards, and the unique cards that Spearhead uses.”

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 This system means that everything outside the Core Rules is designed to be plug-and-
play – which has serious implications for the future of the game. Those familiar with
the General’s Handbooks will know that each season has focused on a unique spin,
from the Predators and Prey of Ghur – which centred monsters and those hunting
them – to the devastating Primal Magic channelled by Andtorian Locuses in the current
season. The new modular structure provides a clean and clear way of implementing
such things in future.

“The current General’s Handbook is set in Andtor and focused on magic. It’s one of my
favourite seasons, but in practice, it ends up being a little bit awkward for newer
players because the rules are split between Primal Magic rules at the beginning of the
book, and the standard magic rules they interact with deep in the core rules at the
back of the book,” explains Matt.

So, how will modularity impact this? “In the future, we could simply replace the magic
module entirely with a ‘Magic of Andtor’ module, as an example. This could seamlessly
integrate thematic modifications to the magic rules for that battlepack, without
resorting to extensive Core Rules errata or layers of extra rules on top.”

There are also other benefits, as Matt explains: “Say, for example, we find out during
the course of a season of Matched Play that the economy of Command points isn’t
quite right for competitive play. We don’t need to issue an errata online; instead, we

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 could have a new General’s Handbook with a new Command Module that is both
thematically resonant and helps evolve the internal balance. If we want to bring that
Advanced Rule module back in the future, we can.”

The potential for this system is huge, and it helps clearly delineate certain aspects of
the rules for both beginners and experienced players, creating clear steps to follow
when teaching the game. The team has plenty of ideas on how this might shake things
up in the future, and you’ll see from the start of the new edition how it works in
practice. Tomorrow, we’ll be back with a look at one of the most exciting and unique
aspects of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, the tactical twist known as the priority roll.

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 More to Explore

Pre-order Now
Check out the latest releases!

New online
Available to order right now!

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 New from Black Library
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 This Week’s Battle Report Serves
Up A Molten Slice of Warhammer
Age of Sigmar History

18 Oct 23

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