I can envision clever generals setting up advantageous teleporting lanes for their part of the battle round, while simultaneously setting up their opponents to either have nowhere to teleport to in their turn, or even better, setting a trap by having the enemy troops surrounded by theirs upon arrival. That said, playing along the longer length of the battlefield could really strain the deployment disadvantages certain army builds will face, either for getting across the table efficiently or for avoiding a first or second turn alpha strike by having to hang further back in their deployment zone.
While I can’t talk about all the new missions in detail, I will take a moment to point out a few trends. Firstly, a couple of the battleplans centre around a mechanic of steadily decreasing numbers of objectives to work with, perhaps the most interesting amongst them being Avalanche of Ash, which has increased odds of losing each of its six objectives as more units stand upon them. Another theme is having objectives or terrain features that do damage to your troops, as seen in Curse of the Gnaw.
Overall, aside from the strong tie-ins to Aqshian lore, from a purely game design perspective, many of these missions come across as brand-new concepts we haven’t yet encountered, with a handful of others as interesting twists on missions we’ve come to love. I’m particularly curious as to which missions become the staples of singles and teams tournaments as the season progresses, and which align best with different players and army builds.
Ultimately, I couldn’t possibly do the new General’s Handbook the justice it deserves with only a handful of hours steeped in the ashen innards of this fiery tome. I, too, will have to be forged in flame along with the rest of the community, and I’m excited to dive in as soon as possible!
Thanks, Ryan! Get ready for the new season of Warhammer Age of Sigmar with General’s Handbook 2026-27, which is available for pre-order tomorrow.