Fire and Jade

To play a game using this battlepack, you’ll need the Core Rules. The Core Rules explain the basics of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, such as how to move your models and how to use abilities. You can find the Core Rules in the Core Book Publication.

You don’t need the Advanced Rules to use this battlepack.

Each player in a Spearhead battle is the commander of a Spearhead army. A Spearhead army is a set of units that comes with its own rules and warscrolls. You can find the rules for 25 different Spearhead armies in their relevant Publication.

On the first page of every Spearhead army’s rules, you will find the army composition. This lists which units are included in the Spearhead army and who the general is. Unlike other Warhammer Age of Sigmar armies, the composition of a Spearhead army is fixed and cannot be changed.

Every Spearhead army has one or more battle traits. These are powerful and thematic abilities that apply to some or all of the units in the army. For example, the ‘Holy Orders’ battle trait enables the Stormcast Eternals to use powerful once-per-battle abilities to smite their foes, while the ‘Gnawhole Ambush’ battle trait allows Skaven warriors to arrive on the battlefield behind enemy lines.

Every Spearhead army has a choice of 2 regiment abilities, each of which provides the army with a different strength in battle.

Every Spearhead army has a set of 4 enhancements to pick from. These are upgrades for the army’s general that make them more powerful in a variety of ways.

The warscrolls for all of the units in each Spearhead army are included in this battlepack. Although Spearhead warscrolls are similar to the warscrolls found in battletomes, they have been tailored to work specifically with Spearhead and cannot be used with other battlepacks.

Spearhead battles are fought on realm battlefields. Once the players have picked their Spearhead armies, they must agree on a realm battlefield to use. Each realm battlefield comes with a matching Spearhead deck, along with a battleplan that explains how to fight a battle on that realm battlefield.

A realm battlefield is 30" × 22" and double-sided, with each side corresponding to a different Mortal Realm. The first realm battlefield is Fire and Jade, which has one side representing Aqshy, the Realm of Fire, and the reverse representing Ghyran, the Realm of Life.

Spearhead decks are sets of cards that are used in Spearhead battles. Each realm battlefield has its own Spearhead deck. Each Spearhead deck consists of 2 twist decks (one for each side of the realm battlefield) and 2 battle tactic decks (one for each player).

Each twist deck is made up of twist cards. A twist is a special rule that applies to the battle round being played. Each deck of twist cards corresponds to a specific side of the realm battlefield.

Each battle tactic deck is made up of battle tactic cards. The rules on each are split into 2 parts: a battle tactic and a command. You can either score the battle tactic at the end of your turn if you meet its conditions (to gain victory points) or you can use the command on the card for a more immediate benefit. You cannot do both, so choose wisely!

Each command will say when it can be used and what effect it has. After the effect has been resolved, the card is discarded. You can issue multiple commands to the same unit in the same phase.

Each realm battlefield has a corresponding battleplan. The battleplan is a set of instructions on how to fight the battle and how to determine the winner.

You can find the battleplan for the Fire and Jade realm battlefield in the Battleplan Fire and Jade section.

In every Spearhead battle, the armies fight around 2 large terrain features and 2 small terrain features.

Before the armies are deployed, each player will set up 1 large terrain feature and 1 small terrain feature wholly within their territory. Each terrain feature has certain passive abilities depending on its size:

Large Terrain Feature: Cover, Obscuring, Unstable
Small Terrain Feature: Cover, Unstable

When a unit is targeted by an attack, if it is impossible to draw a straight line from the closest point on the attacking model’s base to the closest point on a model in the target unit’s base without that line passing over a terrain feature, the target unit is considered to be behind a terrain feature for that attack.

Subtract 1 from hit rolls for attacks that target a unit that is behind or wholly on this terrain feature, unless that unit charged or has the FLY keyword.

A unit cannot be targeted by shooting attacks if it is behind or wholly on this terrain feature, unless it has the FLY keyword.

Models can move across but cannot be set up on or end any type of move on any part of this terrain feature that is more than 1" tall.

In Spearhead battles, objectives are printed on the surface of each realm battlefield (the objective is the whole circle, not just the symbol in the centre).

In Spearhead battles, while a model is on an objective (wholly or partially), it is contesting it.

Some units have the REINFORCEMENTS keyword. These units can be brought back to the battlefield after being destroyed as replacement units (Core Rules, 24.2).

If any of your units have the REINFORCEMENTS keyword, you can use the following ability:

Units with the REINFORCEMENTS keyword have this icon in the top-right corner of their warscrolls for ease of use.

As the Hour of Ruin dawns, the fight to secure sacred sites and geomantic nexuses rages fiercer than ever. It is in Aqshy and Ghyran that the first battles of this new age are fought, each faction sending out vanguard forces to take and hold these places of power in the name of their deities – or even the godbeasts of myth. So unpredictable are these frontiers of war that the land itself can lend its blessing to the chosen or send wracking curses against those who incur its wrath.

1. Roll off. The winner chooses who is the attacker and who is the defender.

2. The attacker picks their regiment ability and their enhancement. Then the defender does the same.

3. The defender chooses which side of the realm battlefield the players will fight on: Aqshy or Ghyran.

4. The defender picks 1 of the deployment maps on the right and chooses which territory belongs to which player.

5. The defender sets up their terrain features, followed by the attacker. Each terrain feature must be set up wholly within friendly territory, more than 6" from all other terrain features and more than 3" from both long battlefield edges and enemy territory. Terrain features cannot be set up on top of the objectives (either wholly or partially).

Do not deploy armies as described in the Core Rules. Instead, the attacker sets up all the units in their army first, followed by the defender. Each unit must be set up wholly within friendly territory and more than 6" from enemy territory.

The battle lasts for 4 battle rounds.

This battle uses the Fire and Jade Spearhead deck. One player takes the twist deck that corresponds to the side of the battlefield the players are fighting on, shuffles it and places it face down next to the battlefield (the other twist deck is not used).

Then, each player takes 1 battle tactic deck, shuffles it and places it face down where they can reach it during the battle.

The following sequence is resolved at the start of each battle round:

1. If it is the first battle round, the attacker chooses who will take the first turn. In any other battle round, the players make a priority roll (Core Rules, 12.0).

2. Determine the underdog (Core Rules, 12.0).

3. The twist card is drawn.

4. The players draw battle tactic cards (see below).

5. Any abilities with the Start of Battle Round timing are used.

One twist card is drawn at the start of each battle round. Follow the rules on it as soon as it is drawn.

At the start of the first battle round, each player draws a hand of 3 battle tactic cards.

At the start of each subsequent battle round, each player draws battle tactic cards until they once more have a hand of 3 battle tactic cards. Before they do so, they can discard any number of battle tactic cards in their hand. Cards are discarded face-up.

Each player scores victory points at the end of each of their turns as follows:

The player with the most victory points at the end of the battle is the winner. If the players are tied on victory points, the battle is a draw.

In this series of questions and answers, the rules-writing team respond to players’ queries and explain how the rules are intended to be used.

Q: If a rule requires more friendly models than enemy models to be contesting a terrain feature (e.g. the Ghyran twist ‘Take the Land’ or the battle tactic ‘Hold Ground’), should I use the control scores of my units contesting that terrain feature?

A: Yes. In these cases, the rule should be treated in the same way as determining control of a terrain feature (Core Rules, 32.3).

Add the following:
‘When a unit is targeted by an attack, if it is impossible to draw a straight line from the closest point on the attacking model’s base to the closest point on a model in the target unit’s base without that line passing over a terrain feature, the target unit is considered to be behind a terrain feature for that attack.’