Helsmiths of Hashut Army Set – Contents, Lore & How They Play
Helsmiths of Hashut Army Set – Who They Are, What’s Inside, and What’s Next
The Helsmiths of Hashut Army Set is the fiery launchpad for Warhammer Age of Sigmar’s newest Chaos duardin faction. Inside you’ll find a full Spearhead’s worth of models plus the Battletome: Helsmiths of Hashut and warscroll/enhancement cards—everything you need to start claiming territory and powering up your daemon‑bound war engines from game one. This guide explains who the Helsmiths are (and how they relate to the old Chaos Dwarfs), what the army set includes, how the faction plays on the table, and what kits and support are already confirmed to follow.
Who are the Helsmiths of Hashut?
The Helsmiths are Zharrdron—duardin whose ancestors fell beneath the sway of the Bullfather, Hashut. Think everything noble about duardin—stubborn will, artisanal obsession, a bond with the earth—warped through an industrial, daemon‑binding creed. Their society runs on oaths, debts, and brutal merit, and their weapons are literal prisons for caged daemons. In Age of Sigmar, they stand as the spiritual successors to the classic Chaos Dwarfs, arriving with a modern lore arc, new sculpts, and a rules identity centered on domination and resource extraction.
What Comes in the Army Set?
The Army Set supplies a complete Spearhead force and your core rules materials. The exact contents (and what they do) are:
- War Despot (Hero): The iron‑willed commander of a ziggurat precinct. On the table, the Despot is a force multiplier who boosts control and turns your formation into a relentless wedge.
- Infernal Cohort(s): Elite infantry with daemon‑seared spears and ornate armor. They’re your anvil—hard to shift, harder still when infused with daemonic power.
- Hobgrot Gong Carrier: A jeering vassal bearing a massive gong. Besides the unmistakable look, the model roots your force in the Helsmiths’ ecosystem of disposable auxiliaries.
- Artillery kit – Tormentor Bombard / Deathshrieker Rocket Battery (build one): A mortar‑style daemon‑munitions lobber or a rocket battery belching the Bullfather’s flame. Choose per meta and model taste.
- Dominator Engine: A bipedal daemon engine forged in Hashut’s image. With options like Bane Maces or Immolation Cannons, it’s your centerpiece bully—faster and deadlier as it charges with infernal energy.
- Battletome: Helsmiths of Hashut (launch cover): Lore, art, faction rules, and two Regiments of Renown that Chaos players outside the faction can use.
- Warscroll & Enhancement Cards: A 32‑card pack that keeps your traits, spells, and unit rules at your fingertips during play.
How the Helsmiths Play – Control Land, Harvest Power, Break Lines
The army’s power loop is simple and nasty: occupy space → harvest daemonic energy → supercharge units. In rules terms, units out of combat or contesting objectives/terrain accrue desolation tokens. At the start of your turn, you Harness Daemonic Power, converting those tokens into a pool of daemonic power points (DPP) that you allocate to your non‑Hobgrot units. More territory under your heel means more infernal fuel to pump into heroes, engines, and cohorts.
Signature Pieces (and what they do when powered)
- War Despot – Black‑Hearted Conqueror: Grants a big boost to your control scores—and the aura grows as he holds more DPP. Use him to swing objectives and pin mid‑board scoring.
- Infernal Cohorts – Daemonic Resilience: Their Ward save improves as DPP stack, capping at a premium defensive profile, with extra protection versus magical/prayer‑borne damage.
- Dominator Engine – Daemonic Strength: Each point increases its Move and the number of Attacks. Maces hit like wrecking balls; Immolation Cannons lay down short‑range, armor‑scorching fire—even in a scrum.
Magic & Prayers – Scorching Control
- Lore of Infernal Power (Wizards): Hateful Fractures halves enemy Move to lock units in place; Molten Metal rolls against the target’s Save—perfect into elite armor.
- Prayers of the Scorched Sect (Priests): Black Flames of Hashut brands enemies in abyssal fire; a Furnace Blessing torments the daemons bound inside your weapons to burn hotter.
Play pattern: Start by claiming cover and objectives to build tokens. Allocate DPP to your anvil (Cohorts) and bully (Engine), then time your Despot‑led push. Control first, kills second—this army wins by turning seized ground into escalating power.
From Spearhead to 1,000/2,000 Points – Smart Expansion Paths
Out‑of‑the‑Box Spearhead
The Army Set is a “complete Spearhead” for the faction—ideal for learning the DPP economy, your anvil‑and‑hammer rhythm, and how artillery complements the Dominator’s lane‑breaking.
1,000 Points – “Break the Line”
- Add a Daemonsmith/Ashen Elder (dual kit): The Daemonsmith heals engines and hurls daemonfire; the Ashen Elder brings prayers and teamwide durability buffs. One hero, two very different list textures.
- Layer a second body block: A second Cohort kit (or the upcoming ranged Razers) lets you lock two objectives while your Engine and Despot overload one flank.
2,000 Points – “Bullfather’s Anvil”
- Bull Centaurs/Anointed Sentinels (dual kit): Fast, hard‑hitting shock troops or shrine guardians with vicious counter‑punch. They punish over‑extension and win the pivot turn.
- Extra Artillery: Double up on Tormentor/Deathshrieker builds to punish castle setups and force the enemy wide—perfect for maximizing token income across the board.
- Name Character Spike: Urak Tarr astride an Infernal Taurus is a narrative and mechanical crown jewel for 2,000‑point armies once released.
Season note: Points and battlepack scoring change over time. Keep a flex slot for whichever tool (extra screens, a second wizard, more guns) the current season demands.
What to Expect Next – Confirmed Kits & Support
Games Workshop has already previewed the first wave beyond the Army Set:
- Daemonsmith / Ashen Elder (dual hero kit): The Daemonsmith empowers and repairs war engines; the Ashen Elder is a priest of Hashut who buffs nearby units and calls down black flames.
- Bull Centaurs / Anointed Sentinels (cavalry dual kit): Iconic bull‑bodied enforcers return, either as trampling strike cavalry or shrine guardians with lethal counter‑attacks.
- Infernal Razers (ranged infantry dual kit): Build for Grizmalok blunderbusses or Karagthrun flamehurlers for mid‑board fire support.
- Hobgrot Vandalz: The faction’s disposable vassals fielded as unruly mobs—great for screens and objective dithers.
- Urak Tarr on Infernal Taurus (named Daemonsmith): A petrified master of daemonforges riding a colossal beast, with an alternate build for an unnamed rider (son or daughter of Hashut).
- Battletome editions & dice: In addition to the Army Set’s launch‑cover tome, a standard hardback and a compact “gamer’s edition” (with reference cards) and a faction dice set are on the way.
- Warcry support: Free rules to use the Helsmiths in Warcry will be posted after the army launches, and a wider Warcry balance update has already teed up Helsmiths content.
Hobby & Painting – Red, Black, Gold (and Furnace Glow)
- Armor & trim: Deep black or soot‑stained iron plates with warm edge highlights; rich gilded trim to sell the aristocratic cruelty.
- Cloth & banners: Oxblood reds and royal purples read regal without stealing focus. Subtle freehand—runic Zharralid glyphs—levels up characters fast.
- Daemonfire & OSL: Glow for speartips, muzzles, and eye‑slits. Start with a hot white core, glaze orange → red toward the edges, then soot on surrounding plates.
- Bases: Volcanic ash with cracked lava veins; occasional industrial grating or chains to hint at ziggurat foundries.
- Dominator Engine options: Paint Immolation Cannon barrels with heat‑stain blues and purples; for Bane Maces, add dented brass and oil streaks.
Image Suggestions
- Hero banner: War Despot leading Infernal Cohorts, Dominator Engine looming behind.
- Loadout spread: Flat‑lay of Tormentor Bombard/Deathshrieker options, mace vs. cannon arms for the Engine.
- Future wave: Daemonsmith/Ashen Elder duo plus Bull Centaurs vs. Anointed Sentinels side‑by‑side to show dual builds.
FAQs – Helsmiths of Hashut (tap + to expand)
They’re the spiritual successors—the Zharrdron—arriving in AoS with new lore, models, and a rules engine built around harvesting daemonic power from seized territory.
A War Despot hero, Infernal Cohort infantry, a Hobgrot Gong Carrier, an artillery kit built as Tormentor Bombard or Deathshrieker Rocket Battery, a Dominator Engine, the Battletome (launch cover), and a 32‑card warscroll/enhancement pack.
Units earn desolation tokens for holding ground; at the start of your turn you convert tokens into daemonic power points and allocate them to your non‑Hobgrot units, powering up auras, wards, movement, and attacks.
Yes—Wizards wield the Lore of Infernal Power (e.g., Hateful Fractures, Molten Metal), and Priests chant the Prayers of the Scorched Sect (e.g., Black Flames of Hashut), giving you both control and damage options.
Dual‑build Daemonsmith/Ashen Elder, Bull Centaurs/Anointed Sentinels, Infernal Razers, Hobgrot Vandalz, and the named Urak Tarr on an Infernal Taurus, plus standard/gamer’s edition battletomes and dice—and free Warcry rules after launch.
Yes—the set is framed as a “full Spearhead” with your battletome and cards. You can learn the economy, then expand with engines, cavalry, or ranged units as you move to 1,000/2,000 points.
They’re your vassal rabble. The Army Set includes a Gong Carrier, and a separate Hobgrot Vandalz unit has been previewed for future waves to screen, stall, and swarm objectives.