WAAAGH!

THE CROWN
OF SORCERY
O
AZHAG ne of the most dangerous Orc
Warlords of recent history, Azhag’s
campaigns of destruction brought
and began to dominate the Orc’s
somewhat uncomplicated psyche. From
that day forth, Azhag’s primal power was
The Crown of Sorcery
the eastern provinces of the Empire to the combined with the tactical genius and
speaks to Azhag with a
brink of ruin. Azhag possessed a strange arcane fury of the ancient Liche.
voice as dry as the grave
iron helm, which appeared to give him Though he was never truly able to
and as old as the southern
sorcerous powers, and rode to battle on convince his followers as to the value of
deserts, offering words of
the back of his malodorous Wyvern, turning an enemy’s flank, the new-found
counsel and power way
Skullmuncha, directing the arcane fury insights Azhag gained from the crown
beyond the ken of most
of his crown against the foe. allowed him to make short work of the
Orcs. The crown not only
rival Warbosses who stood in his path.
grants Azhag with an The Waaagh! of the Slaughterer Prior to each battle, Azhag dictated the
otherworldy companion but
Azhag the Slaughterer was never the same plan of attack, speaking in a decidedly
has given the Orc Warlord
after he won the Crown of Sorcery in the un-Orcy voice that seemed heavy with the
a talent for death magic.
ruins of Todtheim, for the Liche Nagash’s weight of centuries, and then bellow at his
insidious spirit still clung to the artefact ladz to get moving. Such successes swiftly

72 WHITE DWARF WAAAGH! AZHAG

 It was at the Battle of Butcher’s Hill
Praag that Azhag earned the title ‘Slaughterer’.
MIDDEN Erengrad The battle commenced with Azhag
THE
MO ORS deploying his horde in three separate
MIDDLE
WA S T E L A N D M O U N TA I N S cohorts that quickly surrounded the foe.

S
1 Kislev As if such a cunning deployment by an

N
Middenheim Wolfenburg Orc were not dire enough, what

AI
followed would ensure Azhag’s place

NT
Bechafen amongst the most hated of man’s foes.
Hergig 2 Bellowing in a voice not his own,

MOU
Talabheim O S T E R M A R K Azhag drew on sorcerous powers. His
Altdorf
Mordheim Karak words bound the spirits of the recently
Kadrim slain, turning them upon their still-
living fellows. The last, doomed
defenders of Butcher’s Hill stood back-

GE
Nuln The Moot to-back upon its peak, battling Azhag’s
Black

ED
Orcs whilst the bloody limbs of the
Water
Undead tore at them from below. So
THE EMPIRE 2512-2515 terrible was the slaughter that none

S
D escaped Butcher’s Hill, the slain bound
to Azhag’s will, enslaved and forced to
L
The Battle of
R

Azhag’s Waaagh! 1 Butcher’s Hill rage bitter war upon their living kin.
O

It was not until the Battle of

W

Empire Army 2 The Battle Osterwald that Azhag was finally

of Osterwald defeated and the dead avenged.
100miles

gained him a huge following of greenskins

– they didn’t care that Azhag spoke funny,
just as long as he ‘showed ’em where da
fighting wuz.’
As his horde marched into the Empire,
Azhag’s strategies became ever more
complex. This led to, amongst other things,
the infamous synchronised Goblin attack
waves at the Battle of Dark Moor and the
dastardly Snotling pincer assaults at
Butcher’s Hill. Those foes that exemplary
tactics did not vanquish were easily
dispatched by the dark magics that the
crown placed at Azhag’s command. With
brain and brawn so closely aligned, it
seemed that no force could stop Azhag’s
mighty Waaagh!
The Green Horde continued to cross
the Empire, heading west towards the
Middle Mountains. In Ostland the horde
began to loot and destroy with customary
Orc efficiency, crushing the spring crops
underfoot and gorging on the hard-won
stores of the local people. After besieging
Wolfenburg, the Waaagh! turned south and
then east through the Great Forest and into
Ostermark once more.
Azhag finally met his match at the
Battle of Osterwald. Werner von Kreigstadt,
the Grand Master of the Knights Panther,
slew Azhag and left the Waaagh!
leaderless. After the battle, the Orc horde
dispersed into the forests and hills. As for
the Crown of Sorcery, it was recovered by
the Grand Theogonist who took it back to
Altdorf and placed it in the deepest vault of
the Temple of Sigmar to be guarded for
eternity by powerful spells.
 Azhag’s Wyvern,
Skullmuncha, is a craggy
beast noted for the thick
plates that cover its
spine. Many a heavy
blade or magical
weapon has broken
upon its tough scales.

Azhag’s totem is a tangled wooden

marionette, symbolising his
predicament under the dark
influence of his crown.

Skullmuncha’s belly,
usually the Wyvern’s one
weakpoint, is covered with
a large iron plate, granting
the monster formidable
protection in battle.

The mean visage of Azhag up-

close. Joe Tomaszewski, who
painted this model, has given him
malignant red eyes and painted the
crown with sinister purple hues.

‘Now is your time,’

Fielding Azhag the Slaughterer bring him down. Still, keeping Azhag with
Azhag is the most expensive Orc character your troops is a good idea as his ‘Get on
murmured the ancient
in the game and for good reason – you’re Wiv It’ rule means you can re-roll failed
voice inside Azhag’s head.
not only getting a powerful close combat animosity rolls and keep the battleline
‘Just what I thought,’
warrior, but he’s mounted on a winged moving. Azhag will prove a massive
growled the Orc
monster that also has an impressive profile distraction, allowing your blocks of infantry
Warlord, kicking the
and hardy saves of its own. But that’s not to reach their targets relatively unscathed.
flanks of his Wyvern.
all, as the Crown of Sorcery gives Azhag He can then fly in to support a charge or
The creature leapt into
the magic power of a Level 2 Wizard with countercharge fast-moving enemy units
the sky with a vicious
access to the Lore of Death. such as knights. And, with the Lore of
hiss. ‘Time for some fun.’
With such a powerhouse on the Death containing many offensive spells
battlefield it can be tempting to place him you can start causing casualties relatively
front and centre in your battleline and early on. For more tips on using special
charge him forwards as fast as possible. characters in your games, check out next
This can work, but you need to be aware month’s White Dwarf, as Andy Hoare
that a well-placed cannonball can still presents a guide to these mighty heroes.

74 WHITE DWARF WAAAGH! AZHAG