Review: AOS3 Age of Sigmar Dominion box set (Unboxing)

Dominion is the brand new launch set from Games Workshop pitting the fearless Stormcast Eternals in their new Thunderstrike armour against the hordes of Kruleboyz. Today I rip open the cellophane, plop the lid off and delve into the box and share with you sprue pics, warscrolls, size comparisons and more!

Couple of days ago I received this awesome box in the post from Games Workshop. I’m going to be honest with you guys. When I received Cursed City a few months ago I spent a week filming, photographing, editing and writing my review of the game only for the game to sell out before anyone had seen the review. I felt bad sharing my review because so many people were angry they didn’t get a chance to buy the set. So that’s had a profound affect on me and this “review”.

This launch set is limited and it has a 2 week preorder window starting on the 19th June. It will be available in stores on the 3rd July. With all this in mind, I’m reluctant to spend too much effort on videos, so instead, I thought I’d do a first look post where I share high-resolution images of the sprues, war scrolls, some rulebook pages, and some size comparisons.

I’ll be putting my efforts into painting the models and sharing those along with paint recipes and tutorials over the next coming months. But lets kick things off with this first look unboxing.

Unboxing Dominion

The Dominion box art follows the design style of the Indomitus launch box with a single figure illustration surrounded by a duotone background illustration. It’s pretty striking.

The first thing that greets you inside the box is full colour artwork of the battle scene on the front. This has a real Warhammer Fantasy Battle vibe if your ask me but that might just be because it has Orruks on it.

Sprues

Underneath the lightweight card protector sheet are the sprues. 11 plastic frames of various sizes make up the factions in the set.

In the picture above you have the Stormcast Sprues. My guess is the large sprue will be left out of future starter sets and sold separately at a later date. What’s super cool about these sprues are the options for helmeted and bare heads as well as separate push fit shields. Separate shields will make painting and customisation so much easier.

Looking at the Kruleboyz sprues these also get a single big sprue which you can imagine will also be left out of the inevitable starter sets to follow. I’ve also just noticed the Knight Incantor has snuck into the picture above. Sadly the Gutrippaz arms are joined to their shields.

Gaming material

Underneath the sprues is a second card protector.

Beneath the second card protector are the rules, instructions, Warscrolls and bases.

Here are the Stormcast Warscrolls in high-resolution detail. I really like the addition of the Pitched Battle Profiles and Allegiance abilities. Pretty cool to be able to add these to your armies and use them straight away without needing a Battle Tome.

The Kruleboyz also get their own Warscrolls and Pitched Battle Profiles.

The Start Here War at Amberstone Watch is purely background info on the location and units fighting. There isn’t any box specific missions or warscroll battalions. It’s a nice quick read and brings you up to speed on the lore of these new models. The rulebook has a unique cover only available in this set. Separate rule books will be available but will have different covers.

The new terrain that Warhammer Community recently shared is scattered throughout the book. My theory is the new terrain will be featured in the starter sets.

The Player’s Code makes it into the rules. It’s all common sense but because some people still can’t seem to function correctly it’s definitely warranted. Interesting nothing about using deodorant, that would have been my number one! Tell me in the comments what you’d add to the player’s code.

For all you competitive players here are the Matched Play Battle Packs. Warhammer Community have already shared this and it’s been leaked by some unscrupulous type that cares not for their NDA.

As well as Matched Play, Narrative Play and Open Play make a welcome return but this time both section feel very substantial. Narrative Play is a fully revised Path to Glory system where you can dominate territories, earn veteran abilities and more. Feels like big boy Warcry. Very coo.

I’m really excited for Open Play for the first time ever because it now includes Points Values! So using Core Battalions (basic Battalions available to everyone) I can structure an army of Slaves to Darkness and Daemon battalions fighting side by side and not be hampered by mini unit choices or allies points limits.

Here’s all the info and background on the new terrain pieces. It’s pretty interesting.

Without fail, every boxed game I get early I get asked how many and what size bases are included in the set. Keen hobbyists like to get a head start on their sets by getting all the bases done before they get their hands on the models. So using the above picture you guys can work it.

Here’s the back of the box. Nowhere throughout the set does it mention paint recipes or painting tutorials. Usually on the back of the instruction booklet there are the list of paints but not this time.

Models & Size Comparisons

Here are the first models I’ve assembled from the set. They’re all easy to assemble push-fits. Check out this top tip about assembling push-fits to avoid the unsightly gaps.

Here’s a comparison shot of the new models against their older counterparts and a human sized fighter. Slightly taller, not too bad though. Not Primaris Space Marine levels of scale creep.

The Kruleboyz size comparision is interesting. I would say the Hobgrot is spot on, taller than a Grot but smaller than a man. The Gutrippa is just taller than the man which is right but when stood next to an Orruk boy or Ironjaw he’s easily a head taller. This might make them look a tad out of place when adding them to an existing army. I got to admit I prefer the new Orruk physiology to the old one. I know it’s not a replacement but it sure does make the old stuff look dated.

Conclusion

Well this is just a quick first look but I really like these launch sets. They’re fantastic value (price tbc) with brand new models with all the rules you need to play with the contents of the box. The lore is fresh and exciting and moving forward. None of the previous army books are invalidated. Another huge plus are how well the rules are laid out with numbered sections and designers notes. The only downside is why does Games Workshop keep insisting on making these limited? I get their production schedules are packed and Warhammer Stores only have a finite amount of space and can’t stock everything and the same goes for warehouse space but so far this year everything has been in pretty short supply that I really hope everyone who wants one is able to get one.