Castigation Battery: The Helsmith Gunline (AoS 4th Ed)
A war-machine formation that supercharges the ranged output of your artillery once the guns are running on full daemonic power.
SprueSentry strategy commentary for Age of Sigmar 4th edition, not official rules. Games Workshop updates points and rules regularly — always confirm against the current official rules and your latest dataslate before a game.
Castigation Battery is the artillery-focused formation, built around keeping your war machines maxed to 3 Daemonic Power Points for extra shooting. Exact bonuses and any bonus munitions rules should be checked against your current battletome and Battlescroll.
What the formation does
Reported effect: +1 Attacks to the ranged weapons of maxed War Machines, with additional munitions-style rules improving their shooting. Combined with per-point warscroll bonuses (such as added Rend), a fed battery puts out a lot of firepower.
Who it suits
Players who want a classic Chaos Dwarf gunline: park durable artillery, screen it, and delete targets at range while your infantry hold the line.
Key units
- Tormentor Bombard - long-range artillery, brutal into infantry
- Deathshrieker Rocket Battery - ranged damage
- Dominator Engine (Immolation Cannons) - durable centrepiece with shooting
- Infernal Razers - to add short-range volume
When to pick it
Pick it when your list is artillery-heavy and you can reliably keep the guns at 3 DPP. Be mindful that a pure gunline can be out-maneuvered, so pair it with solid screens and objective holders.
Common questions
Does the bonus apply to melee weapons too?
As reported it targets ranged weapons on war machines. Check the current warscroll and formation text for exact weapon types and values.
Can Hobgrots benefit from this?
No. Hobgrots cannot hold Daemonic Power Points, so they never meet the 3-DPP threshold. Use them as screens for your battery instead.
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Written by SprueSentry with SprueSentry editorial (hand-authored, research-grounded), grounded in the cited sources — original commentary, not Games Workshop rules text.