By capitalizing on each unit type’s strengths, as well as Sigrun’s ability to buff the defenses of nearby troops, I captured an Arcane Conduit, which I then converted into a Muster point. Heroes, such as Sigrun, exist outside of the triangle, and have a variety of abilities to buff their troops or annihilate enemy forces. But after an ambush sent the scouts deeper into the wild, I gained control of a larger Stormcast force.Īt its foundation, Realms of Ruin deploys the usual rock-paper-scissor triangle to dictate unit weaknesses: Offensive units, such as Vanguard Hunters, fare best against shielded units, such as Orruk Guttrippaz shielded units more easily bum rush ranged troops, such as Man-Skewer Boltboyz and ranged units can easily dispatch offensive units. I began with a small group of scouts, battling lesser groups of enemies belonging to the Orruk Kruleboyz faction, and sneaking past caves filled with rogue trolls. As the Stormcast Eternals - superhuman knights that use wyverns, huge weapons, and lightning magic to accomplish their goals - I explored a portion of Ghur, the untamed, swampy wilderness where the game takes place. I spent the first of three hours with Realms of Ruin playing a brief chapter of the strategy game’s campaign.
As skeptical as I was following the initial announcement - the phrasing is a bit buzzword-y, after all - I came away from a recent hands-on demo convinced that Frontier may actually be onto something. Since Frontier Developments revealed Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin in May, the developer has been billing it as a “modern take on the classic RTS” - something with the sheen of the current Warhammer fantasy universe, but mechanics reminiscent of Warcraft, StarCraft, or Command & Conquer.