Via the Warhammer Community
The Warbands of Shadespire: Steelheart’s Champions
Steelheart’s Champions are one of the warbands in the Shadespire core set focused around making the most of a small group of elite fighters. Combining handy powers, versatile upgrades and a diverse pool of objectives, Steelheart’s Champions are perfect for players who want a reliable warband capable of adapting to a variety of play styles.
The Fighters
Severin Steelheart is the warband’s leader. With great all-round stats and a devastating melee attack, Severin can knock out most Khorne fighters with a single blow, while in the late game, he can transition into a ranged attacker thanks to some handy power cards or take out multiple opponents at once with his Mighty Swing.
Obryn the Bold is a key fighter for controlling territory. Even if his mighty attacks don’t succeed, his Knockback ability allows you to drive the foe away from the rest of your fighters, stopping you from being surrounded. When Inspired, Obryn is great for dealing with heavily armoured fighters from Ironjawz or other Stormcast Eternals warbands.
Angharad Brightshield excels at dealing with swarming fighters from Garrek’s Reavers or the Sepulchral Guard warbands. With 3 attack dice, her Sigmarite Hammer is more reliable than her fellow fighters’ weapons, at the cost of some damage, while Brightshield Inspired is very hard to kill, with 2 defence dice and Furious Parry, allowing her to injure anyone who fails to take her out.
Play Style
In Shadespire, the way you play the game is defined by your two decks. The first – the Power deck – is made up of cards that directly influence gameplay, such as Ploys, which provide immediate effects, and Upgrades, which improve the abilities of fighters or give them completely new ones. The second is the Objective deck – there’s no one way to win in Shadespire, and you’ll be able to choose how you want to claim victory. Think of the power deck as the “how” and the objective deck as the “why” – with a range of cards in the core set and even more in the booster sets, you’ll have a lot of control over both.
There are a few ways to play Steelheart’s Champions, but in general, the strongest decks lend themselves towards defensive play. Ploys in Stormcast Eternals decks are generally based around making up for your fighters’ low mobility or making them more reliable, working to provide small but helpful bonuses throughout the game rather than huge swings.
Upgrades in Stormcast Eternals decks are some of the best in the game, often providing a character with game-changing abilities – the choice when building your deck is whether you focus your upgrades on a single fighter or spread them across your warband.
Meanwhile, Stormcast Eternals Objective decks can be tweaked towards attacking or defending play. One warband may want to stock up on objectives that reward holding ground, while another could choose more aggressive options. We’d suggest a hybrid deck, gaining Glory from defending in the first turn to purchase key upgrades, then playing more aggressively in the latter two turns.
Stormcast Eternals warbands are perfect for players who want to win their Shadespire games with a small, elite and reliable fighting force capable of adapting defensively and offensively as the situation demands. You’ll be able to forge your own warband very soon by pre-ordering the Shadespire core set on the 14th of October.
