Review: Cities of Sigmar Tahlia Vedra, Freeguild Cavalier-Marshal & Command Corps

In the realm of Aqshy, Tahlia Vedra, the Lioness of The Parch, has risen from a skilled mercenary to a visionary Freeguild leader. Accompanying her in this review are the Freeguild Cavalier-Marshal and Command Corps, all up for preorder now. Join me as I unbox these heralds of the new Cities of Sigmar range.

The new Cities of Sigmar models will be available for preorder starting Saturday, October 28, 2023, and go on sale not one but two weeks after (which means a preorder window of two weeks).

Tahlia Vedra, Lioness of the Parch review

Tahlia Vedra, the reformer of the Freeguilds and military leader of Hammerhall, is the centrepiece of the new Cities of Sigmar range. She rides atop her Manticore, and the box includes three medium-sized sprues, a 100mm base, and an assembly guide (unfortunately, the Cities of Sigmar decal sheet is missing). The Manticore’s large wingspan gives the model presence on the battlefield, but without the wings it’s not exactly a huge model.

The assembly options are limited. Tahlia can either have a helmet or a bare head, and in her right hand, she can carry either an axe, a hammer, a mace, or a sword. These are the only cosmetic options, and the Manticore can only be built in one pose.

Freeguild Cavalier-Marshal review

The design of the Freeguild Cavalier-Marshal resembles a small diorama, and I believe we will see some impressive examples at Golden Demon. The horse is less heavily armored than the Cavaliers, suggesting that the Marshal might not necessarily be leading from the front.

The box includes a medium-sized sprue, a 75mm oval base, an assembly guide, and a Cities of Sigmar transfer sheet. The model is monopose, and the options are limited to a helmeted and unhelmeted head. Compatibility with the Cavaliers is restricted. Head swaps should be relatively straightforward, but the Marshal’s legs are separate from the horse, while the Cavaliers are fused with barding. Additionally, the right arm is connected to the cape, and the left arm holding the shield is gripping the reins, making these parts not easily swappable.

Freeguild Command Corps review

The Freeguild Command Corps Box contains a selection of six character models, and I’m delighted that we get all these heroes in one box without having to buy them individually. In addition to a decal sheet and an instruction guide, the box includes two medium-sized sprues with the following six models:

• An Arch-Knight on a 32mm base. The model features two pairs of arms, either with a two-handed axe or a hammer, two head options, and two pairs of shoulder pad decorations.
• A Great Herald (Standard Bearer) on a 28mm base with two different heads.
• A Whisperblade (Assassin) on a 28mm base with two head options.
• A War Surgeon, also on a 28mm base, with two heads.
• A Soul Shephard (Priest) on a 40mm base, each with two heads for the Shephard and his Haemonculus.
• A Gargoylian on a 28mm base.
• Three small Gargoylians that can be freely placed on the bases as decorations.

The design of these six models can only be described as highly inspired and shows that the culture of the Cities of Sigmar in Age of Sigmar seems to be quite different from its predecessors, which largely consisted of Empire models from Warhammer Fantasy/The Old World.

Value

The price for Tahlia Vedra is £90 / 120 €, for the Cavalier-Marshal, it’s £35 / 45 €, and for the Command Corps, it’s £32.50 / 42.50 €. The Command Corps is reasonably priced for having six heroes in one box, but the two character models are relatively expensive when considering the amount of plastic you get. A similar trend is seen with the other Cities of Sigmar models that are also available for (pre)order. The infantry models are generally acceptable in terms of pricing, although the Steelhelms for 10 small models on 25mm bases are also expensive, while the character models are quite costly.

The army set (which we have reviewed here) certainly offers significant savings compared to buying the components individually. At the time of this article, the set is still available at Element Games.

You can find the latest Cities of Sigmar releases at our 🇬🇧/🇪🇺 partner stores Wayland Games, Element Games, and Firestorm Games, at 🇩🇪 Taschengelddieb and PK-Pro, and at 🇺🇸 Noble Knight Games with a welcome discount of up to 20% over RRP. Using our links helps to support Tale of Painters at no additional cost to you, so thank you very much for using them!

I hope you found this review helpful, feel free to leave a reaction or comment below, or post your questions here or discuss on our Discord channel.