Warhammer – Age Of Sigmar: Strongest Factions In The Lore

Highlights

• In the Age of Sigmar, races fight for survival in the Mortal Realms, bound by Grand Alliances of Order, Death, Destruction, or Chaos.
• Skaven and Orruks pose a mighty threat to Sigmar but often fight among themselves.
• Stormcast Eternals, elite warriors of Sigmar, fight Chaos with celestial energy, risking loss of humanity in endless battle.

From the ashes of the old world, came the Age of Sigmar. The Mortal Realms is a place where many races escaped the end times and now prosper once again. Fearing the rise of Chaos that had destroyed the world that was, The God-King of humanity, Sigmar, set about preparing the Mortal Realms for the inevitable rise of chaos once again. In his journeys, he discovered and awoke many of the divine beings, gods of the various races in the Mortal Realms. With this combined strength, Sigmar vowed this time, he would not fail.

The high fantasy setting of Warhammer: Age Of Sigmar is filled with various factions all fighting for the survival of their lands and people. Many of Sigmar’s original alliances would fail over time, with each race now fighting largely for themselves. From the raging forces of Chaos to the resolute armies of Order, the factions of the Mortal Realms are varied and unique. Each race has its own agendas, but all fall into one of four Grand Alliances, either Order, Death, Destruction, or Chaos.

10 Sylvaneth

Grand Alliance: Order

Created by Alarielle, the goddess of life and nature, the Sylvaneth are a race of humanoid tree spirits that live within the Realm of Life, within the Mortal Realms. With a deep connection to nature, the Sylvaneth welcome other plants to grow on their bodies and are indistinguishable from plant and creature. Using their thick bark as armored skin, they have natural protection against damage and have many variations in size and appearance.

The term Sylvaneth encompasses many different species, who were all created by their goddess, Alarielle. As beings that represent life and the natural order of things, the armies, Death and Chaos, are the complete opposites to the Sylvaneth. They rarely venture away from their forest homes, making them less active within the Mortal Realms. Although they fiercely protect their lands from any outsiders, the Sylvaneth are not a large warmongering nation like other factions.

9 Soulblight Gravelords

Grand Alliance: Death

The noble houses of the vampiric Soulblight Gravelords lead their undead armies to war, scouring the people of the Mortal Realms, thirsting for blood. These soldiers of death emerge in the darkest of nights and attack with malice and hunger. The nobility of the various dynasties is a mask that hides their true bestial nature.

The Soulblight Gravelords are followers of Nagash, the Supreme Lord of the Undead, who leads the various factions in the Grand Alliance of Death. Many of the Soulblight dynasties are Nagash’s most fervent and dedicated generals. Their goal is to push their boundaries further, throughout the Mortal Realms, always seeking to gain power and raise more dead for their immortal armies. Although powerful, the Soulblight Vampires are fewer than the other undead hordes. The noble dynasties are often at odds with each other, scheming and backstabbing to gain more influence over their rivals.

8 Lumineth Realm-Lords

Grand Alliance: Order

This ancient race of Aelves was saved from the belly of the chaos god Slaanesh and made anew by their gods Tyrion and Teclis. Of all the Aelf races, the Lumineth are the most stable and are the most numerous. They have spread across the Ten Paradises of Hysh and work to expand their knowledge of all things.

The Lumineth are scholars of the metaphysical and seek to master themselves, spiritually and physically. Once a supremely powerful race, the Lumineth came close to self-destruction, with only the help of their gods saving them. The remaining Lumineth have become extremely attuned to their natural world and base their society around the ideas of humility and self-sacrifice, to protect themselves from the devastating nature of chaos. The Lumineth are one of the most advanced races in the Mortal Realms. This pursuit of knowledge almost led to their total downfall, with advancement bringing rivalry and conflict. Once a large race, the Lumineth are somewhat diminished now and fight to return what was lost.

7 Seraphon

Grand Alliance: Order

Led by the Slann, the Seraphon is a mysterious race of bipedal lizardfolk with a deep connection to celestial magic. They were able to escape the destruction of the old world and found themselves within the Mortal Realms. Here they rebuilt their civilization, creating tribes known as Constellations, which are unique from one another, but all work towards the same goal.

Within their societies, they continue the great plan, working to destroy Chaos once and for all. The Seraphon worship ancient beings known as The Old Ones, who were the first to send visions of the great plan to the ancient Slann. The Seraphon are a powerful race that are sometimes worshiped by more primitive cultures as star gods. In battle, the Seraphon can attack from out of nowhere, with the Slann able to summon forces into the Mortal Realms at will. They fight with a singular focus, all working towards the same goal. Although not as warlike as other races, the Seraphon possess powerful magic that makes them a dangerous foe to anger.

6 Skaven

Grand Alliance: Chaos

The Skaven are one of the most dangerous races within the Mortal Realms. Usually content with fighting among themselves in their Under-Empire, once their population has grown to a large enough size, they will emerge and go on a deadly rampage.

Skaven are followers of Chaos. Their allegiance, though, is to the Horned Rat. Upon death, their souls are sent to their afterlife, known as Ruin. For all their seemingly violent and bestial nature, the Skaven are ingenious inventors and are capable of creating complex weapons of war that can devastate their enemies with destructive power. The Skaven have the weapons and numbers to be one of the largest powers in the Mortal Realms. But by their nature, their major attacks come in cycles. Only when they have reached a certain size do they emerge and run rampant. Once defeated, they return to their Under-Empire and fight among themselves once again.

5 Orruks

Grand Alliance: Destruction

The most numerous and powerful of the greenskin races, the Orruks, are a war-hungry people who are the main force within the Grand Alliance of Destruction. Followers of the god of destruction, Gorkamorka, Orruks are large and violent, and value strength above all else. Because of this, they will often fight among themselves, with only the biggest and strongest of the race able to unite the various clans and ride to war, known as a Big Waaagh.

Once started, a warring tide of greenskins poses one of the greatest dangers to all the people of the Mortal Realms. When Orruks fight, they can grow in strength and size, with only the mightiest of united armies able to stop them. Orruks are an extremely dangerous race but suffer from disorganization. Once a Warboss has been defeated, the army will be rudderless and more easily stopped, with the Orruks returning to their smaller clans.

4 Maggotkin Of Nurgle

Grand Alliance: Chaos

The followers of Nurgle, the Chaos god of rot, are some of the Mortal Realm’s most dangerous denizens. Spreading the many plagues and diseases of the grandfather to all mortal folk, the Maggotkin of Nurgle are his devoted warriors. Many of the Maggotkin are bloated and mutated parodies of humanity. To help in the spread of decay, Nurgle also sends forth his many daemons to aid the Maggotkin in battle.

Among Nurgle’s army are hordes of Plaguebearers, which are mindless foot soldiers that are tasked with endlessly counting the many diseases created by their god. The most dangerous of them are The Great Unclean Ones, who are giant bloated greater daemons who lead the armies of Nurgle. All manner of grotesque and decaying monstrosities are summoned into the Mortal Realms, to bring the gifts of the grandfather to its people. The Maggotkin march to war, like the diseases they spread, relentless and unforgiving. The forces of Nurgle had a stranglehold on the Sylvaneth lands of Ghyran, before the coming of the Stormcast Eternals. A united Stormcast and Sylvaneth force managed to push back against the Maggotkin, saving the land and dealing a strong blow to Chaos.

3 Ossiarch Bonereapers

Grand Alliance: Death

The Bonereapers are the Supreme Lord of the Undead’s frontline army in his plan to create a vast empire of the undead, known as Necrotopia. These new forms of undead are custom-made for war. The Ossiarch are created from bones that have been magically altered to become stronger. Each of these walking dead are infused with hundreds of souls, trapped within a gem within their bodies. Destroying this gem is the only way to kill an Ossiarch Bonereaper permanently.

Found in the Realm of Shyish, the center of the Ossiarch Empire, the Ossiarch are from being mindless undead, harnessing their crafting abilities and living within a complex society, where they all work towards the same goal of Necrotopia. The Bonereapers are harsh masters and expect tithes of bone from their mortal subjects. Failing in these tithes can lead to a quick and brutal death for those unlucky enough to live within their borders. They are the elite soldiers of Nagash and represent his greatest ambitions in the Mortal Realms, and are tough to kill, numerous and expanding.

2 Blades of Khorne

Grand Alliance: Chaos

In a world of endless war, the Chaos god of blood, battle, and slaughter, Khorne, prospers. The followers of the Blood God, The Blades of Khorne, are the living embodiment of rage. Their primary goal is to spill as much blood for their god as they can. They raid and battle throughout the Mortal Realms, killing all in their path. To aid his Blades in battle, Khorne sends forth all manner of daemons.

Within Khorne’s bloodthirsty army are Bloodletters, the foot soldiers of Khorne, who are born from his most devoted followers; Flesh Hounds, daemon beasts that tear flesh from bone; and the dreaded Bloodthirsters, Khorne’s greater daemons and most powerful warriors. The Blades Of Khorne represent the unstoppable nature of chaos and are maybe the greatest danger to Sigmar and the other grand alliances.

1 Stormcast Eternals

Grand Alliance: Order

These golden armored warriors are the God-King Sigmar’s frontline troops against the forces of Chaos. The Stormcast are superhuman beings who have been forged from the souls of great paragons of honor and infused with celestial energy. Most of the Stormcast Eternals are made from the souls of humans and, upon death, can be reforged to fight anew.

This process is not without loss. Each time an Eternal is reforged, they lose a little bit more of their humanity. These towering immortal warriors are engaged in a never-ending battle with Chaos. They are not one single entity though, but divided into autonomous Stormhosts, each with its own unique history. These are the elite soldiers of Sigmar, ready to take the fight directly to Chaos. Their immortal natures make them an unstoppable force as, even in defeat, they will always return. They are also willing to unite with the other forces of Order, where Chaos factions will often fight among themselves.