e Core Rules
This page explains how to play games of Warhammer Age
of Sigmar with your collection of Citadel Miniatures.
Contents
Books
FAQ
CORE RULES
1.0 Core Concepts
2.0 Tools of War
2.1 Measuring Distances
2.1.1 Within and Wholly Within
2.2 Dice
3.0 Factions
4.0 Warscrolls
5.0 Abilities
5.1 Keywords
5.2 Using Abilities
5.3 The Rules of One
5.4 Passive Abilities
• Abilities Example
6.0 Visibility
7.0 Combat Range
Setting Up for Battle
8.0 The Armies
9.0 Battleplans
9.1 Battlefield Map
9.1.1 Setting Up Objectives and Terrain
Features
9.1.2 Territories
10.0 The Deployment Phase
10.1 Universal Deployment Phase
Abilities
The Battle
11.0 Battle Sequence
12.0 Start of Battle Round
13.0 Turn Phases
13.1 Fight Abilities
14.0 Universal Core Abilities
14.1 Movement Phase
14.2 Shooting Phase
14.3 Charge Phase
14.4 Combat Phase
Movement
15.0 Movement
15.1 Coherency
15.2 Moving Across Terrain
15.2.1 Jumping Down
15.3 Pile-in Moves
15.4 Flying
Attacking
16.0 Picking Targets
17.0 The Attack Sequence
17.1 Attack Modifiers and Caps
17.2 Mortal Damage
17.3 Fast Dice Rolling
18.0 The Damage Sequence
18.1 Ward Saves
18.2 Allocating Damage
18.3 Slain Models
18.4 Destroyed Units
Attacking Diagram
• Attacking Example
Special Rules
19.0 Strike-first and Strike-last
20.0 Weapon Abilities
21.0 Healing
22.0 Returning and Adding Models
23.0 Tokens
24.0 Setting Up Units
24.2 Replacement Units
25.0 Guarded Heroes
26.0 Random Characteristics
27.0 Modifier Order
28.0 Advanced Ability Rules
28.1 Persisting Effects
28.2 ‘Once per’ Timings
29.0 Contradictory Rules
30.0 Order of Effects
End of Turn
31.0 End of Turn Overview
32.0 Objectives
32.1 Contesting Objectives
32.2 Objective Control
32.3 Terrain Control
33.0 End of Battle Round
ADVANCED RULES 2025-26
Commands 2025-26
1.0 Commands Overview
1.1 Earning Command Points
1.2 Using Commands
2.0 Hero Phase Commands
3.0 Movement Phase Commands
4.0 Shooting Phase Commands
5.0 Charge Phase Commands
6.0 Attacking (Shooting and Combat)
Commands
7.0 Defensive Commands
8.0 End of Turn Commands
Terrain 2025-26
1.0 Terrain Overview
1.1 Wholly on Terrain and Behind Terrain
1.2 Universal Terrain Abilities
1.3 Terrain Sizes
1.4 Terrain Types
1.5 Faction Terrain
1.6 Charging Units on Terrain
1.7 Scenery Pieces
Citadel Terrain List
Magic 2025-26
1.0 Wizards and Priests
1.1 Power Level
2.0 Spells
3.0 Prayers
4.0 Unbinding Spells
5.0 Jealous Mages and Fickle Gods
6.0 Known Spells and Prayers
7.0 Manifestations
7.1 Severed Connection
7.2 Banishing Manifestations
Army Composition 2025-26
1.0 Getting Started
1.1 Army Roster
1.2 Points Limit
1.3 Battle Profiles
2.0 Factions
2.1 Battle Formations
2.2 Armies of Renown
3.0 Adding Units
3.1 Regiments
3.2 The General
3.3 Reinforced Units
3.4 Unique Units
3.5 Regiments of Renown
3.6 Auxiliary Units
3.7 Faction Terrain Features
4.0 Finishing Touches
4.1 Enhancements
4.2 Lores
4.3 Battle Tactics Cards
Command Models
1.0 Champions
2.0 Musicians
3.0 Standard Bearers
Battle Tactics
1.0 Battle Tactics Overview
2.0 Picking Battle Tactics
2.1 Completing Battle Tactics
3.0 Universal Battle Tactics
BATTLEPACKS
• Spearhead
• Path to Glory
• Matched Play
BOOKS
Book Kind Edition Last update
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Core Rules
Rulebook 4 April 2025
Battle Profiles & Rules updates
Rulebook 4 July 2025
FAQ
2.2 DICE
CORE RULES
The Core Rules explain the basic concepts of the game,
including how your units move, shoot, charge and light. These
rules are used in all games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.
1.0 CORE CONCEPTS
Battles in Warhammer Age of Sigmar are fought on a surface
that is referred to as the battlefield. Each battle uses a scenario
called a battleplan, which will explain how to set up the
battlefield and how to determine the winner.
Each player is the commander of an army. Each army belongs
to a faction and is made up of groups of models called units.
Models and units in your army are referred to as friendly
models and units, and models and units in your opponent’s
army are referred to as enemy models and units.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE
While you’re playing Warhammer Age of Sigmar, you
might encounter a rules situation that you aren’t sure how
to resolve. If you’re new to the game, we recommend
discussing with your opponent and agreeing on a fair and
reasonable solution so you can get on with the game as
quickly as possible. Otherwise, the Special Rules section
includes detailed instructions on how to resolve these
situations.
RULES SUMMARIES
This page have red boxes, such as this one.
These give you short summaries of important rules.
If you need to read a rule in full, refer to the main text.
DESIGNER’S NOTES
This page have grey boxes, like this one, that provide
commentary on the rules or other supplementary
information. These boxes provide additional insight or
context, but do not contain any rules needed to play the
game.
2.0 TOOLS OF WAR
To fight a battle, you will need:
A tape measure
Some dice
A surface to play on (the battlefield)
2 armies of Citadel Miniatures
2.1 MEASURING DISTANCES
Distances in
Warhammer Age
of Sigmar are
measured in
inches ("),
between the
closest points on
the bases of the
models you’re
measuring to and
from. You can
measure distances whenever you wish. When measuring the
distance between units, always measure the distance
between the closest points on the bases of the closest models
in each unit. If a model does not have a base, measure to and
from the closest point on the model instead.
2.1.1 WITHIN AND WHOLLY WITHIN
A model is within a certain distance of something (e.g.
another unit, a territory or an objective) if any part of its
base is within that distance. A model is wholly within a
certain distance of something if every part of its base is
within that distance.
A unit is within a certain distance of something if any
part of the base of any model in the unit is within that
distance. A unit is wholly within a certain distance of
something if every part of the bases of all of the models
in the unit is within that distance.
2.2 DICE
Warhammer Age of Sigmar uses six-sided
dice, often abbreviated to D6.
Some rules refer to ‘2D6’, ‘3D6’ and
so on - in such cases, roll a number of
dice equal to the number before ‘D6’ and add the results
together.
A roll of ‘2+’ means a roll of 2 or more, a roll of ‘3+’
means a roll of 3 or more, and so on.
If a rule requires you to roll a D3, roll a dice and halve the
total, rounding up. For D3 rolls, a roll of ‘2+’ means a
result of 2 or more after halving the total and rounding up.
Effects that allow you to modify a dice roll are called
modifiers.
If you are instructed to roll off, each player should roll a
dice. Whichever player has a higher roll wins the roll-off.
If the result is a tie, each player should roll off again until
there is a clear winner, unless otherwise specified.
Some rules allow you to re-roll a dice roll, which means
you get to roll some or all of the dice again. You cannot
re-roll a dice more than once, and re-rolls happen before
modifiers to the roll (if any) are applied.
3.0 FACTIONS
Each army belongs to a faction, e.g. Stormcast Eternals or
Skaven. Each faction has a set of faction rules, which include
battle traits, battle formations, enhancements and lores.
These can be found in various publications but most commonly
in the faction’s battletome.
4.0 WARSCROLLS
The rules for each unit are contained on a warscroll:
1 The MOVE characteristic determines how quickly the
unit can move across the battlefield (see 15.0).
2 The HEALTH characteristic determines how many
damage points can be allocated to a unit before a model in the
unit is slain (see 18.2).
3 The CONTROL characteristic determines how well
each model in the unit can contest objectives (see 32.2).
4 The SAVE characteristic determines how well armoured
the unit is. This characteristic is the roll you need to equal or
exceed to save a model from harm, so a lower value is better
(see 17.0).
5 The UNIT TYPE.
6 The KEYWORDS that the unit has (see 5.1)
7 The WEAPONS the unit is armed with. Weapons are
either melee weapons, used to make combat attacks, or
ranged weapons, used to make shooting attacks. Each
weapon has its own characteristics (see 16.0).
8 Any special ABILITIES the unit can use (see 5.0).
5.0 ABILITIES
The vast majority of things that units can do in Warhammer
Age of Sigmar are called abilities. This is an example of an
ability:
1 Timing
2 Name and description
3 Declare instructions
4 Effect
5 Keywords
Ability icons give you an idea what kind of effect the
ability has at a glance.
Movement Ability
Offensive Ability
Defensive Ability
Shooting Ability
Rallying Ability
Special Ability
Control Ability
5.1 KEYWORDS
Some abilities have one or more keywords listed at the
bottom of the ability on their keywords bar, e.g. the ‘Shoot’
ability shown above has the CORE, ATTACK and SHOOT
keywords. Units also have a keywords bar on their
warscroll.
Keywords let you know which abilities can be used or
which units can be picked as targets for an ability. For
example, the ‘Charge’ ability can only be used by a unit if it
did not use an ability with the RUN or RETREAT keyword
earlier in the turn. The singular and plural forms of a
keyword are synonymous for rules purposes.
5.2 USING ABILITIES
The timing of an ability tells you when it can be used.
When using an ability, follow these steps:
1. Declare the Ability: Tell your opponent which ability
is being used. If the ability has Declare instructions,
resolve them at this step.
2. Use Reactions: Starting with the player using the
ability, the players alternate using any abilities with an
appropriate Reaction timing. Players can choose to pass
instead of using a reaction, but once both players
consecutively pass, no further reactions to that ability can
be used.
3. Resolve the Effect: Follow the instructions in the
Effect part of the ability.
5.3 THE RULES OF ONE
A unit cannot use more than 1 CORE ability per phase
(see 14.0).
A unit cannot use the same ability more than once per
phase, unless specified otherwise.
A unit cannot be affected by the same passive ability
more than once at the same time. For example, if a unit
is within range of two different terrain features that
have the ‘Cover’ passive ability, the effect only applies
to it once.
5.4 PASSIVE ABILITIES
Abilities that have the Passive timing are called passive
abilities. Passive abilities are not declared. The effects of
passive abilities always apply if the conditions of the ability
are met, and they must be applied if it is possible to do so.
ABILITIES EXAMPLE
Ben and Jes are fighting a battle, and Ben’s Rat Ogors have
charged into Jes’s Liberators. It is Ben’s turn to pick a unit
to fight. The following example shows how abilities are
used, but don’t worry too much about the specific abilities,
as they will be explained later in the rules.
Ben uses the ‘Fight’ ability. Tie first step is to
1
resolve any Declare instructions for the ability. In
this case, Ben picks his unit of Rat Ogors to use
the ability, then they make a pile-in move. Finally, Ben
picks Jes’s Liberators unit as the target of all the Rat
Ogors’ attacks.
Any Combat Phase
FIGHT: Locked in a deadly melee, the fighters
strike out at their foes.
Declare: Pick a friendly unit that is in combat or
that charged this turn to use this ability. That unit
can make a pile-in move. Then, if that unit is in
combat, you must pick one or more enemy units as
the target(s) of that unit’s attacks.
Effect: Resolve combat attacks against the target
unit(s).
KEYWORDS CORE, ATTACK, FIGHT
After declaring the ability, Ben has the first
2
opportunity to use any reactions. As ‘Fight’ has
the ATTACK keyword, Ben is able to use the ‘All-
out Attack’ ability to improve his Rat Ogors’ attacks.
Reaction: You declared an ATTACK ability 1
ALL-OUT ATTACK: The warriors fight with a
frenzied vigour.
Used By: The unit using that ATTACK ability.
Effect: Add 1 to hit rolls for attacks made as part
of that ATTACK ability. This also affects weapons
that have the Companion weapon ability. For the
rest of the turn, subtract 1 from save rolls for the
unit using this ability.
After Ben uses ‘All-out Attack’, Jes uses the ‘All-out
Defence’ ability to try to protect his Liberators against the
upcoming onslaught. Ben then passes on using any further
reactions, then Jes does the same.
Reaction: Opponent declared an ATTACK
ability
1
ALL-OUT DEFENCE: The soldiers close ranks to
hold off an incoming attack.
Used By: A unit targeted by that ATTACK ability.
Effect: Add 1 to save rolls for that unit until that
ATTACK ability has been resolved.
‘All-out Attack’ and ‘All-out Defence’ are examples of
Advanced Rules, which are used in certain battlepacks.
Now that the Declare instructions have been
3
resolved and both players have had a chance to use
reactions, Ben can resolve the effect of the ability,
resulting in 2 Liberators being slain (see 18.3).
Any Combat Phase
FIGHT: Locked in a deadly melee, the fighters
strike out at their foes.
Declare: Pick a friendly unit that is in combat or
that charged this turn to use this ability. That unit
can make a pile-in move. Then, if that unit is in
combat, you must pick one or more enemy units as
the target(s) of that unit’s attacks.
Effect: Resolve combat attacks against the target
unit(s).
KEYWORDS CORE, ATTACK, FIGHT
6.0 VISIBILITY
A target model is visible to another model (which we’ll call the
‘observing model’) if you can draw a straight line through the
air (whether horizontal, diagonal or vertical) from any point on
the observing model to any point on the target model that does
not intersect any objects except for other models in the
observing model’s unit. A target unit is visible to an observing
unit if at least 1 model in the target unit is visible to at least 1
model in the observing unit. A model is always considered to be
visible to itself.
If a rule or ability requires a target to be both within a given
range of and visible to the unit using that ability, or to a model
in that unit, both conditions must be met by the same model in
the target. You could not, for instance, target a unit where one
model is within range but not visible and another model is not
in range but is visible.
If any part of another model can be seen by an
observing model, both the target model and its unit are
visible to that observing model.
In some cases, it might not be immediately clear whether a
model is visible. If so, stoop down to get a look from
behind the observing model. If any part of the other model
is visible, even if it is just the tip of a spear, then that
model is visible for rules purposes.
Even though only half of this Liberator can be seen, he counts
as being visible. A model is visible no matter how much of the
model is blocked from sight or how little of it is visible; if any
part of the model can be seen, it is visible.
An observing model’s visibility can be blocked by enemy
models. The Rat Ogor in this shot is visible to the Liberator on
the right but is not visible to the Liberator on the left because it
is hidden by the Plague Furnace.
The Liberator at the back of this unit can see through their
fellows. Models don’t block the visibility of other models in
their unit - it is assumed that they fight in such a way as to not
obstruct one another’s attacks.
7.0 COMBAT RANGE
Each model has a combat range that extends 3" horizontally
from its base and any distance vertically from that circle to
form a cylinder. The combat range of a unit extends 3"
horizontally and any distance vertically from every model in
that unit. Units from opposing armies that are within each
other’s combat range and that are visible to each other are in
combat with each other. When a unit that is not in combat
enters the combat range of a visible enemy unit, it moves into
combat.
A model is considered to be in combat with an enemy unit if
that unit is within the model’s combat range and visible to it’
A unit’s combat range extends 3" out from every
model in that unit.
If any enemy models are within a unit’s combat range
and visible to it, that unit is in combat.
A model’s combat range extends 3" horizontally outwards from
it in all directions and an infinite distance vertically. Note that
this is measured from the edge of its base, not the centre.
A unit’s combat range extends 3" horizontally and any distance
vertically from all models in the unit. As you can see, this forms
a sort of ‘cloud’.
Even though both Rat Ogors are within the combat range of the
Liberator, the Rat Ogor behind the wall is not visible to the
Liberator and is therefore not in combat.
