Age of Sigmar Spearhead – City of Ash

Games Workshop sent us the City of Ash boxed set, the latest entry in their Spearhead format for Age of Sigmar. It is the first Spearhead set we review on this blog, and we will do an unboxing review for City of Ash in a similar way to how we covered the Kill Team sets. But just to point out: Spearhead is not comparable to Kill Team (of which the Fantasy counterpart is Warcry), but rather to 40k’s Combat Patrol game mode.

City of Ash is a themed boxed set for the Spearhead game mode: a self-contained two-player set designed for fast, focused games. There is also a regular variant, based on the last Age of Sigmar starter set containing Stormcast Eternals and Skaven.

What is it about?

The name says it all: Embergard, the City of Ash. A dead city fought over for its reserves of emberstone, a magical resource with military significance in the ongoing wars of the Mortal Realms. Two Spearhead-warbands clash in its ruins: the Freeguild soldiers of the Cities of Sigmar under the command of Jorvan Kreel, and the Clans Eshin Skaven, rat-folk assassins led by the notorious Deathmaster Crixxit.

If that premise sounds familiar to anyone who spent time in Mordheim — humans versus Skaven, ruined city, scarce resources — that is surely entirely intentional. The thematic parallels are obvious, and Games Workshop knows exactly what it is doing here. It is not the first throwback to older times, just like the Blood Angels vs. Space Orks teaser for the 11th edition, which picks up the vibes of 2nd edition Warhammer 40,000. But do not be misled. For a Mordheim spin-off, this is conflict is set on a different scale. While Games Workshop brands Spearhead as a skirmish game, these are far more miniatures than the fights in the City of the Damned.

The two factions in City of Ash are the Cities of Sigmar, the spiritual successors to the Empire from Warhammer Fantasy Battle. The Empire was rooted in the aesthetic of the Holy Roman Empire: Landsknechts, plate armour, and state troops that would not look out of place in a Dürer woodcut. The Cities of Sigmar have moved in a different direction, blending that foundation with a more fantastical, stronger steampunk sensibility. For those of us who grew up with the old Empire range, the shift is noticeable. The Skaven, sneaky ratmen who live in large networks underneath the earth, made the transition into Age of Sigmar quite smoothly, with many new models blending perfectly with some of the older sculpts.

What Is In The Box

The City of Ash contains 42 multipart plastic miniatures, split across the two warbands of Sentinels of Embergard (Cities of Sigmar) and Crixxit’s Kill-Pack (Skaven):

Sentinels of Embergard (Cities of Sigmar)

• Jorvan Kreel (character, new sculpt)
• Thexa the Ash Panther (character, new sculpt)
• Mallus Forgepriest (character, new sculpt, choice of 2 heads)
• 5 Freeguild Gallants (with champion and standard bearer options, 8 interchangeable weapons, 5 shields, 12 heads)
• 10 Freeguild Grenadiers (helmeted or bare heads, champion with pistol options)

Crixxit's Kill-Pack (Skaven)

• Deathmaster Crixxit (character, new sculpt)
• Deathmaster (already released and available separately)
• 10 Night Runners
• 10 Gutter Runners (shared sprue with Night Runners)
• 2 Bomb Rats (as part of the Gutter/Night Runners sprue)

Beyond the miniatures, the box contains a double-sided folding game board, two plastic ruined manor terrain pieces, 36 Spearhead cards, 5 plastic relic objectives, a 72-page Age of Sigmar Handbook, and a 24-page City of Ash Battlepack booklet. The instructions are not a separate leaflet, but part of the handbook. This is a downgrade, as it is less comfortable to handle. A Cities of Sigmar transfer sheet with 410 waterslide transfers rounds out the package.

Build Quality and Sprues

Cast quality is, as expected from Games Workshop in this era, very good. Details are sharp, mould lines are minimal, yet partially difficult to remove due to the tender proportions of the new miniatures. The Skaven in particular benefit from this — fine tails and small details on cloaks and equipment all come through cleanly. Assembly is moderately complex. This is not a snap-fit set. Some parts are delicate and require patience, particularly on the smaller Skaven figures. Nothing beyond the abilities of a hobbyist with a bit of experience, but newcomers should take their time.

Each Spearhead-warband has two characters. With Crixxit’s Kill-Pack, it is a bit odd that they went for two Deathmasters: the named Crixxit and a regular Deathmaster. Neither of them has any options, and both are built as shown.

The Gutter Runners and Night Runners share a sprue, which means that sprue is included twice to provide the parts needed for the 2 x 10 models. You either build set A or set B per set of sprues; the only real variant you get is for the Night Runners champion, who can either be a champion or a regular tenth Night Runner.

The Sentinels of Embergard are led by Jorvan Kreel, the Heir of the Kraken. He has a companion, and unlike some of the other sets, it is not a hunting dog or wardog, but the Ash Panther Thexa.

The second character is the Mallus Forgepriest, not just a warrior priest of Sigmar, but adapted to the new times. He is the only one of the four characters who has an option: a different head sculpt without the chains in his face.

The Freeguild Gallants offer the most customisation of the lot. Twelve heads, half of them bare, two banner tops, two different champion poses, and swappable hand weapons. But beyond that, the poses are fixed. Good production quality, room for freehands or decals, but still enough detail to just use washes.

The Freeguild Grenadiers have dynamic poses and make good use of their mixed armament. You can choose between bare and helmeted heads, and there are options for the unit champion.

The Terrain

This Spearhead starter set comes with 2 plastic ruined manor terrain features and 5 plastic relic objectives, all packed into one sprue. The production quality is very high, which is not always the case with terrain, as companies often cut corners or outsource production for smaller content ranges.

Looking at the promotional pictures, I was surprised that all the terrain fit into a single sprue, as I expected it to be bigger.

We are going to build these and give them a closer look.

We get two L-shaped ruined corners. Both are different designs, but you could probably swap the middle section of the corner between the two sets.

The wooden beams are added next. They have a lot of play when you assemble them and quite large gaps to the left and right. They become a bit more sturdy once you add the second layer, but I would still have expected something with a more tongue-and-groove design and a tighter fit.

These beams become sturdier once you add the first floor to the ruined corners. Still, they do not really fill the gaps and leave some room on the sides, which made me check whether I had missed some parts or a build step.

The footprint is okay. A bit small for a table, to be honest, but as a ruined building it is sufficient.

And here are the relic objectives, which do not feel all that like points-of-interest, to be honest. The barricade is neat, but the others are just greeblies. And the small part with the bottles seems to go onto one of the ruins, but that was not mentioned in the instructions, only shown in one of the painted terrain pictures in the store.

To give you a scale comparison, here is a comparison shot with some miniatures from the Age of Sigmar range. The open floor will work with most bases larger than 25 mm round.

I am very happy that we see something different from the Realmscape ruins, and I hope they add more to this design.

Conclusion

My verdict depends on how you look at this box. It gave me strong Mordheim vibes when it was announced, but that is just a brushstroke, not something it really leans into. This as a Warcry set, with smaller and more different warbands — and a lot more terrain — would certainly be interesting. The terrain itself has potential, and I would love to see this design picked up and produced in a broader range with more options, barricades, and different sizes. Therefore, the Mordheim inspiration (and the closer connection to what I think of as Warhammer compared to, for example, Realmscape) is real but limited to the theme — the format and miniature count place this firmly in squad skirmish (almost platoon) territory rather than skirmish campaign territory. The terrain, while decent, does not create the dense ruined-city atmosphere the setting implies.

As a thematically coherent Spearhead set, City of Ash is well made. It delivers on production quality and character design. The Skaven are the highlight of the box. Deathmaster Crixxit and the accompanying Deathmaster are well-posed, characterful sculpts that capture the murderous elegance of Clans Eshin without overcooking it. I can see both sculpts being used for entries in painting competitions. Night Runners and Gutter Runners share a frame, but are versatile enough to work in multiple hobby contexts beyond Spearhead.

The Cities of Sigmar characters are well executed technically, but carry the aesthetic baggage of their faction. The Freeguild range has moved away from the classic Empire visual language — the Landsknecht feel, the feathered hats, and the slashed doublets — and settled into something more generically fantastical. Jorvan Kreel and Mallus Forgepriest are good miniatures, but for those of us who collected the old Empire range, they do not quite scratch the same itch. The connection to the HRE-inspired aesthetic that defined the faction’s predecessor is there if you look for it, but it has been softened considerably. For myself, the aesthetic direction of the faction remains a point of division, as it strays far from the strong memories of the old Empire range.

At 175 EUR, City of Ash sits at the same price point as the standard Spearhead starter set. For comparison, individual Spearhead army sets run at around 120 EUR each, so the combined box offers a price advantage for players wanting both sides. That said, 175 EUR is a significant entry price, and the set sold out quickly, but has since been restocked. If you are primarily interested in one faction, splitting the box with a fellow hobbyist is the sensible approach. The Skaven half in particular justifies the investment for anyone with a Mordheim or AoS28 project in the back of their mind.

• Production Quality: 4/5
• Design Appeal: 4/5
• Options / Customisation: 3/5
• Value for Money: 3/5
• Ease of Assembly: 3/5

Warhammer Age of Sigmar is a brand by Games Workshop

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.