Azyr's Vanguard

Homebrew by cloneTrooper5555

THE LIGHTNING AEGIS

Stormcast Eternals • Vanguard Strike Cell

Bound by ancient lightning and a singular cosmic oath, the Lightning Aegis is a hyper-focused strike team deployed to wipe out high-priority targets with devastating, short-range tactical shock actions. Operating under strict Security protocols, this vanguard unit functions as a flawless machine of binary destruction: three elite Praetor protectors acting as an unbreakable shield line for a trio of volatile Stormcoven battle-mages. On the battlefield, they do not give ground, they do not break, and they leave nothing but ash in their wake.

OPERATIONAL DOCTRINE (SECURITY)

  • Phalanx Advance: The squad coordinates in strict pairs (one Praetor bound to one Mage). They advance up the board as three distinct, self-sustaining combat cells to lock down choke points.
  • Aggressive Containment: Rather than hunting for kills across the entire map, the team seizes the center objectives early, daring the enemy to enter the 6-inch lethal bubble of their Azyrite Bolts.
  • Interlocking Defense: Through the Staunch Defender protocol, any attempt to pick off the high-damage mages from afar is instantly thwarted by a Praetor stepping into the line of fire.
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Composition

SQUAD COMPOSITION

The Lightning Aegis operates as a fixed 6-model elite strike cell. It relies on absolute synchronization between its two functional halves to execute its tactical directives.

The Vanguard Anchor (3 Praetors)

The heavy frontline element of the squad. Clad in impenetrable sigmarite plate and carrying massive soulshield halberds, their sole function is to dictate the flow of close combat and absorb incoming fire. They form an unbreakable physical wall, pinning threats in place and ensuring their fragile spellcasting charges remain entirely unmolested.

  • 1x Praetor Prime (Leader / corvius NameType)
  • 2x Praetor Guard (Warriors / aesbaer NameType)

The Breaching Element (3 Stormcoven)

The aggressive firepower of the squad. These raw channels of celestial energy completely lack long-range rifles, instead carrying short-range Azyrite focus-staves. They advance directly in the shadow of their Praetor guardians, stepping out at point-blank range to unleash armor-melting blasts of magic that disintegrate elite enemy infrastructure.

  • 3x Stormcoven Spell-Breachers (Specialists / kassothor NameType)
Common Abilities and Options

Soul-Bound Bodyguard:
At the start of the game, pair this leader with one of your Stormcoven Mages. While within 2 inches of that Mage, this leader can absorb any damage intended for the spellcaster.

Azyrite Ward:
This operative has a permanent 5+ Invulnerable Save against enemy psychic attacks and mortal wounds

Praetor Prime
A 3
M 6"
S 3+
W 16
Weapons
ATK
HIT
DMG
Soulshield Halberd (Lethal 5+, Balanced)
5
2+
4/5
Abilities
Soul-Bound Bodyguard
Order, Stormcast Eternal, Leader, Praetor
Praetor Guard-01
A 3
M 6"
S 3+
W 15
Weapons
ATK
HIT
DMG
Soulshield Halberd (Lethal 5+, Balanced)
5
3+
4/5
Abilities
Soul-Bound Bodyguard
Order, Stormcast Eternal, Praetor
Praetor Guard-02
A 3
M 6"
S 3+
W 15
Weapons
ATK
HIT
DMG
Soulshield Halberd (Lethal 5+, Balanced)
5
3+
4/5
Abilities
Soul-Bound Bodyguard
Order, Stormcast Eternal, Praetor
Stormcoven Mage-01
A 3
M 6"
S 3+
W 14
Weapons
ATK
HIT
DMG
Azyrite Bolt (Rng 6", AP1, MW2)
4
3+
3/5
Stormstave (Stun)
4
3+
3/4
Abilities
Azyrite Ward
Order, Stormcast Eternal, Stormcoven, Psyker
Stormcoven Mage-02
A 3
M 6"
S 3+
W 14
Weapons
ATK
HIT
DMG
Azyrite Bolt (Rng 6", AP1, MW2)
4
3+
3/5
Stormstave (Stun)
4
3+
3/4
Abilities
Azyrite Ward
Order, Stormcast Eternal, Stormcoven, Psyker
Stormcoven Mage-03
A 3
M 6"
S 3+
W 14
Weapons
ATK
HIT
DMG
Azyrite Bolt (Rng 6", AP1, MW2)
4
3+
3/5
Stormstave (Stun)
4
3+
3/4
Abilities
Azyrite Ward
Order, Stormcast Eternal, Stormcoven, Psyker
Equipment

Sigmarite Barricade:
Deployable Cover: During the setup phase, you can place one extra temporary barricade anywhere on your half of the board. Use this to create a safe corridor for your short-range Mages to advance up the field without being shot out in the open.


Blessed Whetstone:
Weapon Sharpener: Choose one Soulshield Halberd on this model. For the entire match, its normal damage is increased by +1 (changing its damage profile from 4/5 to 5/5).


Azyrite Scroll:
Focusing Item: Each time this Mage performs a shooting action with their Azyrite Bolts, you can reroll one of your attack dice that rolled a natural 1.


Thunderstrike Pendant:
Once per battle: When this Mage is targeted by an enemy shooting attack, you can activate this pendant to force the enemy to reroll one of their successful hit dice. This adds an extra layer of protection if their Praetor bodyguard isn't close enough to intercept the hit.


Ploys

Firefight - Staunch Defender:
In the Shooting phase, when a friendly Stormcoven operative is selected as a target, if a friendly Praetor is within 2 inches of that Mage, you can instantly swap the targets. The enemy must resolve the entire shooting attack against the Praetor.


Firefight - Sigmar's Vengence:
In the Firefight phase, after a friendly Praetor operative is incapacitated by an enemy melee attack, select one friendly Stormcoven operative within 6 inches of that combat; they can immediately perform a free, out-of-turn Shooting action against that same enemy model.


Firefight - Cleanse the Defiled:
When a friendly Stormcoven operative scores a critical hit with their Azyrite Bolts, that attack gains the Splash 1 rule (every enemy model within 2 inches of the primary target takes 1 automatic mortal wound from the attack).


Strategic - Form Shieldwall:
Until the end of the Turning Point, each time an enemy model makes a shooting attack against a friendly Praetor operative that is within 2 inches of another friendly Praetor operative, the defender can reroll one of their failed defense dice.


Strategic - Ride the Lightning:
Until the end of the Turning Point, each time a friendly Stormcoven operative performs a Charge or Dash action, it can move an additional 2 inches.


Strategic - Unyielding Bastion:
Until the end of the Turning Point, while a friendly operative is contesting an objective marker, the enemy cannot use rules that modify or subtract from your operatives' Action Point Limit.


TacOps
Security: Plant Banner

Reveal: When you perform the Plant Banner action.

Mission Action: Plant Banner (1 AP)

  • Place your Banner mission marker within the active operative's control range, wholly within your opponent's territory and more than 5" from a neutral killzone edge. Operatives can perform the Pick Up Marker action on your Banner mission marker.
  • An operative cannot perform this action during the first turning point, while within control range of an enemy operative, or if a friendly operative has already performed this action during the battle.

Victory Points:

At the end of each turning point after the first, if your Banner mission marker is wholly within your opponent's territory and friendly operatives control it, you score 1VP; if that's true and no enemy operatives contest it, you score 2VP instead. Note your Banner mission marker must be in the killzone (not being carried) to score.


Security: Martyrs

Reveal: The first time a friendly operative is incapacitated while contesting an objective marker.

Additional Rules:

Whenever a friendly operative is incapacitated while contesting an objective marker, that marker gains one of your Martyr tokens.
Note that this is only the first time each operative is incapacitated, so if an operative is incapacitated, set back up (e.g. HIEROTEK CIRCLE Reanimation Protocols) and then subsequently incapacitated again, a second Martyr token cannot be gained as a result.

Victory Points:

At the end of each turning point after the first, if friendly operatives contest an objective marker that has one or more of your Martyr tokens, you can remove any of those tokens. For each token you remove, you score 1VP; if friendly operatives also control that marker, you score 2VP instead.

You cannot score more than 2VP from this op per turning point.


Security: Envoy

Reveal: The first time you select an envoy.

Additional Rules:

As a STRATEGIC GAMBIT in each turning point after the first, select one friendly operative to be your envoy until the Ready step of the next Strategy phase. You cannot select an operative you selected during a previous turning point or an operative that's ignored for the kill op.

Victory Points:

At the end of each turning point after the first, if your envoy is wholly within enemy territory and not within control range of enemy operatives, you score 1VP; if this is true and your envoy has not lost any wounds during that turning point, you score 2VP instead.