This a review of the Start Collecting Thunderstrike Brotherhood Box, for the Stormcast Eternals, is slightly different from the others, as it was earlier part of an Age of Sigmar starter set. If you want to find the old review of that starter set, you can find it at the bottom of my article going through all of the various AoS starter sets we have seen.
This review will be a short summary of the parts from the review detailing the Stormcast Eternals models.
Which models are included in the Start Collecting Thunderstrike Brotherhood Box?
This box contains the following miniatures:
- Lord-Celestant on Dracoth
- Lord-Relictor
- 3 Retributors
- 10 Liberators
- 3 Prosecutors.
1 Lord Celestant on Dracoth / Vandus Hammerhand
The Lord Celestant on Dracoth could also be assembled from the Dracothian Guard box, however, but only 2 models are included in that box so you would not be able to also assemble a valid unit of this powerful cavalry.
This model is also the model for Vandus Hammerhand (so not the same model you would get from the dracoth box), a special character from the Hammers of Sigmar – a Stormcast Eternals Brotherhood depicted in quite a lot of the early AoS lore (if you are interested in the realmgate wars, they are doing some collecting all of the books into big bundles now).
1 Lord Relictor
The Lord-Relictor is a priest able to heal or damage one unit in range. This specific model is only available in this Start Collecting box, so if you want it outside of conversions or second-hand market this is your only option.
3 Retributors
The Retributors are the more balanced of the paladin units. However, in a box of Paladins you have 5 models (minimum unit size) that you can configure as Retributors, Decimators or Protectors.
Here you have 3 Retributors all armed with Lightning Hammer, so you’ll need to find a Prime (champion) and a Retributor with Soulmace (special weapon the unit can take) somewhere else if you want to have a full unit.
To get the unit up to 5 models, a possibility could be to buy the 3 cheap easy to build Sequitors and do some kit-bashing/converting.
10 Liberators
The Liberators are your basic infantry and they come with 2 Liberator Prime options (the leader of the unit), allowing you to field 2 regular size units of 5 each.
Just like the Retributor, the original box allows further customization of weapons while in this start collecting box you have only Warhammers available for all 10 mono-pose figurines (but the hammers are not a bad choice, so that is fine).
3 Prosecutors
The Prosecutors are your flying options armed with missile weapons with 18” range. Their individual box comes with three weapon options, while the 3 in this box are armed only with Celestial Warhammers.
Total point cost and point cost of the different models in the Start Collecting Thunderstrike Brotherhood
As of General Handbook 2019 the points cost are the following:
- a Lord-Celestant on Dracoth is at 220 points (280 if used as Vandus Hammerhand)
- a Lord-Relictor is 100
- 5 Liberators are 100 (and count as battlelines). So the 10 in total will be 200.
- 3 Prosecutors 90
- 5 Retributors 200 (although you would be 2 models short for a legal sized unit).
Note: this article was made prior to the December 2019 points update, so some points could have changed there.
Value of the Start Collecting Thunderstrike Brotherhood box
The value of the box is difficult to calculate since the Lord-Relictor can only be found in this box, but assuming an average 20£ per this type of model, Vandus Hammerhand is 25£ for (direct order only), 37.5£ for 10 Liberators, 45£ for 6 Prosecutors (2 units instead of 1) and 35£ for 5 Retributors for a total of 140£.
At 50£ this box would give you a theoretic discount of a whopping 64%, which is the most of any of the AoS start collecting boxes.
Overall verdict on the Start Collecting Thunderstrike Brotherhood box
This box suffers some of the problems of the early starter set and start collecting boxes where the minimum unit size was not respected and sometimes you would end up with “illegal sized” units.
This is a big problem for new players, as nobody wants to experience rocking up to your first game and then being told your unit sizes are too small.
You just have to be aware of this issue, as you will need to find some way of getting those extra models. You can often find people on eBay selling various start collecting pieces in piecemeal or you could be lucky to find some second hand.
This starter set also suffers from the problems of the cheaper starter sets where all models are mono-pose and don’t offer the variety of weapon options available in the bigger boxes. For some this is no problem at all, for others, it is a deal-breaker.
As a summary, this is a good box for someone completely new to Age of Sigmar who wants to start assembling and painting fast.
If you want to start a Stormcast Eternals army this box could be a good start if you are not interested in customization and prefer the first wave of models (Warrior Chamber), however, know that Vanguard and Sacrosanct Chambers are much more popular nowadays (because of the power they bring to the table).
All in all, this box feels a bit dated. It provides tremendous value, but a year down the line you might find a tinge of regret buying this box (the pain of the half units and the power of the other Stormcast options being the biggest dealbreaker).
