Warhammer Age of Sigmar - Season of War Challenge 2024!
Who: YOU and anyone excited about Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
What: An all aspects Hobby Challenge in the mortal realms!
When: Starting March 15th and running until June 22nd.
Where: Golden Rhino Games, 2092 Whittaker rd, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197
Why: To be a part of this year's Summer of War and play Age of Sigmar!
The seasons are changing and WAR is in the air! Our Warhammer Age of Sigmar Season of War is a full aspect Hobby Challenge. Truly everything for Warhammer Age of Sigmar! Building, Painting, Collecting, Gaming, Lore, and much much more! This year’s Season of War will take place from March 15th through June 22nd. During this Season of War you and others will be challenged to collect a new Warhammer Age of Sigmar army to either defend the lands or lay siege to the enemy defenses. With your army amassed you will slowly build up a truly mighty force to leave your mark across the Mortal Realms. Whether you want to build an Epic force or create something comical to have great laughs at, this Season of War is for you! Make the best of it and enjoy it with your friends. There is no wrong way to Warhammer!
Here's what you need to know.
Sign up is from March 1st through March 15th. You may also sign up later if you need. There is no cut off to join the league.
Every two weeks you are encouraged to grow your army, battle against other players, paint models, and attend our different activities and events. Whether your focus is more hobby or gaming, or you simply want to learn more about the “Hobby” there are many opportunities for you to participate and score Season of War victory points. By the time the league is finished you will be well versed in the game and the hobby that is Warhammer Age of Sigmar and have a full army to show off to your friends and family. You might even meet new friends along the way!
While it is fun to collect victory points and play games, the goal of this league is for you to have fun and build up a collection at a pace that works for you. The only rule that will be truly enforced with any bearing is the Rule of Kool! If you think it’s cool and there's a good reason to do it, go for it! Just make sure that everyone has fun and if there is ever a doubt ask for permission from your opponent or a staff member.
Let’s Build Your Starting Warband!:
The Seasons of War Challenge is a slow-grow escalation league for Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Players will start with a small warband of 3 to 5 units and build up until it is a fully fledged army. Each player will be given an Army Roster to fill out. For each unit a player adds to their collection they can score points for their Season of War score or SoWpts for short. We recommend players start with a Vanguard box or use the contents of one as a general guideline when making your warband. All players will be in charge of tracking their army’s progress throughout the league.
Your starting warband must contain the following units and cannot contain any unique units.
1 non-named hero.
1 battleline unit.
1-3 additional units.
*NOTE at most a single Battleline unit may be reinforced in your starting warband.
Starting Warbands should not exceed 750pts.
We ask players to get approval from a staff member before either rule is bent or broken.
Every two weeks you’ll increase your army by 250 pts. You can either spend as much of the 250 pts as possible or bank them to add on a larger unit at the next checkpoint or a combination of both. But once a unit is added to your Army Roster it cannot be removed. By the end of the league you will have collected a MASSIVE 2500 pt army! Great for the final MEGA battle at the end of the league on June 22nd.
Because this is a narratively driven league about your Warlord and their warband we discourage players from adding Named Heros or unique units to your warband. That being said, we also don’t want to stop you from participating just because you can’t take a named hero. Should a player add a named hero to their warband throughout the league we ask you to rename them and give them a small back story as to who they are and why they would join your warband. You can even earn bonus SoWpts if you convert the model to better fit your army.
The Grand Narrative Alliances:
During the league there will be an overarching narrative that all players will be encouraged to play into. Each player will select a faction to participate with (their army) and then decide which Narrative Alliance they wish to pledge their allegiance to. There are four alliances to choose from. They are listed below along with a small narrative for each one. Any faction may be a part of the four alliances.
-The Northern Tribes.
Tucked high in the mountain ranges to the north, there are small tribes all warring for control of the many resources that can be mined from the mountains. But as war wages closer to their lands they know to band together against any outside aggressors.
-Nomads of the Wastes.
Far westward there is a great plain that was once plentiful of life and spirit. When a great God Beast was slain and fell to the realm its remnants poisoned the land turning it into a desert of wastes. The few that stayed became incredibly tough in order to survive. Moving from location to location within the wastes searching for life magics. It is said that a giant worm was inside the God Beast when it was slain and now roams the wastes. For what purpose, that is unknown.
-Arch Warbringers.
A Fearsome instigator, the many warbands that make up the Arch Warbringers are ruthless and blood thirsty. Their goal is simply to wage war on the weak and expand their ever growing influence upon the lands. Many Chaos and Death warbands have been seen locked in battle only to turn their attention on a neighboring clan and utterly annihilated it down to just a few followers. Any who have crossed their path to tell the tale tend to be the last of their kind.
-Defenders of the Wall.
With many warbands on the rise seeking dominance, the last human king still willing to listen to Sigmar’s call had the foresight to build a massive wall to defend the cities south of it. Once erected many follower warbands gathered at its base in support of it. Now almost constantly besieged, the Defenders of the Wall take great pride over every battle won and any new warbands willing to pledge their allegiance to its defense. But is it enough to save them from the all out war that is about to take place?…
As you play in this Season of War the points you score will go towards your Narrative Alliance’s overall score and your own. The better you do the better your alliance does. There are many ways to score points. See point scoring below.
Scoring Points in the Season of War!:
Starting at the very beginning, you’ll have opportunities to complete tasks and score SoWpts. The main ways to score points is the following:
Collecting Models
Participating in Store Activities
Playing Games
Completing Hobby Challenges
There is no right way to participate. So participate in the way that most excites you! You will be rewarded no matter how you participate, so long as you do for each checkpoint every two weeks.
Collecting Models:
Your goal for this league is to complete an army by the end. We are looking for players to do this in one of two ways or perhaps a mix of both. Either start a brand new army or complete an army you have already started. Either way you will receive SoWpts depending on how you expand your army. Each two week period, called a Checkpoint, you’ll have the option to add on a new unit(s) to your army up to 250 pts worth. During this league you can do this in two ways.
Bring in a unit from home that is at most built and primed. Meaning this could be a model kit in your “Pile of Potential” that you will finally finish or even models that you never got around to painting. This is a perfect way for you to work through your back log and slowly finish your army! When you do so, bring in your new unit(s) and show them to a staff member for approval. (This is usually by getting your picture taken with the models). Once approved you will receive SoWpts based on how many points you have increased your army by.
For example, If you added on two units, each worth 120 pts, you would score 240 SoWpts for that checkpoint.
Purchase a new in box unit(s) for your army from Golden Rhino Games. In this instance, once approved by a staff member (as mentioned above), you will receive x2 SoWpts based on how many points you have increased your army by.
For example, If you added on one unit that costs 180 pts you would receive 360 SoWpts for that checkpoint.
Please note* Purchases from another store other than Golden Rhino Games will not qualify for SoWpts. Only purchases made through Golden Rhino Games will qualify.
Scoring points through Collecting Models can only be done once per checkpoint.
Participating in Store Activities:
Throughout this league we will be hosting many different store activities for you to participate in. For each event you partake in you will earn SoWpts. These activities will be labeled as Season of War Challenge events. Some of these events will have entry fees and some will be free for those participating in the Season of War Summer Challenge. Each week there will be at least one activity you can participate in. Depending on what type of event/ activity it is you will score SoWpts.
Hobby Workshops: 300 SoWpts
These will be activities designed around Building, Painting, or other hobby lessons to help enhance your army. These will be labeled as SoW Hobby Workshops.
Learn to Play!: 200 SoWpts
These events are designed to help new players learn the game, Warhammer Age of Sigmar. New and veteran players are encouraged to attend to help learn the game. Most Learn to Play events will be hosted by store staff where we walk you through all of the basic rules to play and we teach you with your own models. These events are very laid back and not structured around the game's normal points system. Each attendee will be required to bring no more than 5 units to play. This should be your starting Warband.
Narrative Events: 100 SoWpts
These are all day gaming events like tournaments but they will introduce fun narrative aspects from the league that can heavily influence the feel of the event. In no way are these to be considered “balanced tournament” play events. These will usually have one side be in favor over the other and have fun challenges and twists that happen to change the course of the battle. You can expect fun random double events, secret mission events, siege warfare events, and so on!
Painting Contests!: 100 SoWpts
It wouldn’t be a full aspect hobby league if we didn’t include some painting contests! During this league there will be at least 4 unique painting contests for you to challenge yourself to. Any models entered in any of these contests must be models from your warband.
Beginning Warband Painting Contest (March 31st)
Single Hero or Monster Painting Contest (April 14th)
Single Unit Small Display Painting Contest (May 5th)
Armies of Display Painting Contest (June 16th)
Playing Games!:
This one is easy! Each two week period you can play as many games as you like against as many different people to try to earn SoWpts. There will be a few conditions that can earn you additional points based on the type of game you play and who you play against. At the end of each game you play you will earn SoWpts based on each checkbox you complete.
Played a game = 10 pts
Lost the game = 10 pts
Game was a Draw = 20 pts
Major win or Minor win game victory = 30 pts
Played against a new opponent this checkpoint = 50 pts
For each unit you played with that was painted to Battle Ready Standard = 20 pts (per unit)
Played with or against a New Player to Age of Sigmar = 100 pts (must be new to the game this year)
Completed a Narrative Mission = 50 pts (pgs 328 - 335 core rulebook)
Completed an Open War Mission = 25 pts (pgs 292 - 297 core rule book)
Completed a Generals Handbook mission = 10 pts (current or past GHB)
Played a game that was filmed for the Golden Rhino Games YouTube Channel! (once during the league only. All models must be painted to a Battle Ready Standard.) 100 pts
Completing Hobby Challenges:
To go along with each of our activities and events, players can also complete different hobby challenges to score further SoWpts. If you cannot attend the specific activity or simply want to complete it from home on your own schedule that is fine too. For each Hobby Challenge that is completed you will score its points. Each challenge can be completed as many times as your army allows. Missing or failing to complete other Hobby Challenges will not suffer you any penalties. We want all hobbyists to participate at their own level.
Painting a unit to Battle Ready Standard = 100 pts (per unit)
Painting a unit to Parade Ready Standard = 100 pts (per unit)
Basing all of the models in your army (once per checkpoint) = 100 pts
Building a display board for your army (once during the league only) = 100 pts
Creating a deep narrative about your Starting Warband (once per league) = 100 pts
Creating a narrative about a game you played (once during the checkpoint) = 100pts
Creating a narrative for a Named Hero you added to your army (once during the league = 100 pts
Converting models, using green stuff, or kitbashing a unit in your army = 100 pts (per unit)
Painting free hand symbols or applying Transfers to your models = 100 pts (per unit)
Magnetizing weapons on a unit in your army = 100 pts
All of these options are not mandatory in any way. Pick and choose the ones you feel comfortable completing. If you need help with any of them please attend one of our lesson activities or ask a staff member for help.
This is going to be one amazing all aspect hobby challenge! Are you up to the challenge?!
Stop in the store to find out more! And if you have any questions please ask a trained staff member or call the store. The Season of War is calling! Will you answer the call?
734-544-1515
Also, as an aside, this league is designed for you to participate at your own pace. Join when you can, and participate as much or as little as you want. Just make sure you’re having fun while you do it!