The bell you hear isn’t from a sleigh; we’re here for round two of the Grand Alliance Throwdown! Today’s battle: the game’s best monsters.
Welcome in, Generals of the Realms! We’re back again with another Grand Alliance battle royale. Every good general knows that to win in the Realms of Sigmar, you must bring your best. As powerful as the great heroes, mighty wizards, and ingenious machines are, sometimes you need something a little more…wild. Enter the Monsters of the Realms, the biggest, baddest critters to crash across the battlefield. Though I named some pretty snazzy monsters last week, I’m making it a rule not to have any repeats, so if you don’t see your favorite monster, I may have already covered it. These are the best monsters from each Grand Alliance NOT counting anything previously listed.
Order: Leviadon
One of my favorite models of all time, not just in Order, the Leviadon is an eye-catcher on the tabletop. The details on this model make it the perfect centerpiece for your Idoneth army, and the conversion possibilities for other armies are as endless as your imagination. However, a pretty face isn’t all this big reptile is good for. After all, I don’t call it the Hurtle for nothing.
This living siege engine can absolutely devastate your enemies on the battlefield. It can lay down a withering hail of attacks at range that are the bane of enemy monsters before closing the distance and finishing off the enemy with its bladed fins and the harpoons wielded by its riders. Should it happen to hit infantry when it charges, you can simply run over some of them. Best of all, the sonorous drum on the back hands out a Ward save to all nearby Idoneth units. This monstrosity truly does it all.
Chaos: Belakor
If I’m honest, this shadow daemon was almost in the running for the top model in my Chaos ranking. However, just like in the lore, he lost to Archaon by a hair. That’s not to say he isn’t incredible, though; his textured base, dynamic pose, and phenomenal details make him one of the coolest-looking models Chaos can muster. His sword in particular stands out as gorgeous. Experienced painters can have a field day with the semi-corporeal weapon, painting it with flames, ice, or the shadow stuff Belakor is famous for.
The Lord of Shadows isn’t all looks, of course. While he’s on the battlefield, your opponent will have to think carefully about where they commit their forces. He has a nasty spell that can sap their strength, he can allow himself and nearby Slaves to Darkness to Strike First, and he can shut down a unit once per battle. All of that is to say nothing about his devastating combat potential. Let’s just say the Mortal Realms are lucky that Archaon is keeping this monster in check.
Death: Terrorgheist
I will be completely honest: this was the easiest of the four Alliances. Since it was released back in Warhammer Fantasy, the Terrorgheist has been one of my favorite GW models. The nasty details of the undead bat monster evoke the feeling of terror that the Vampires strive for, and the distended jaw gives a clear image of the deathly shriek the creature is capable of. Sure, the Zombie Dragon is a cool part of the kit as well, but there’s something about the giant bat that just really scratches the horror itch.
The cadaverous chiropteran has some nasty rules in the Flesh-Eater Courts list to match its fantastic look. It can demoralize and damage an enemy unit with a screech, devour enemies of all sizes, and cover ground at a disturbing rate. It only gets nastier with an Abhorrent on its back, pushing its destructive power even further. However, for my money, the Royal variant with no rider is the best version.
Destruction: Stonehorn
On the other hand, THIS was hard since my top two from last week were Kragnos and the Maw-Krusha. However, the Ogor Mawtribes have a close third option that works well for Top Monster. The Stonehorn is a dynamic and mighty beast, perfect for bearing a Frost Lord into battle. Everything about this speaks of a creature you don’t want to meet on a mountain pass, from the stone plates on the creature’s face to the massive, trunk-like legs. I can only imagine what it must sound like when two of these things are vying for territory; Probably like an avalanche.
As you might guess for a creature with “stone” in its name, this creature is extremely durable. It can ignore the first point of damage it takes each phase, and it has a pretty hefty stack of wounds. When it finally decides to retaliate, it hits like a landslide and then just keeps going. This creature is designed to destroy everything in its path, and it excels.
Did your favorite monster make the cut?
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From North Carolina to Texas and back to North Carolina again, Clint lives the life of a traveling artist. An avid gamer, writer, actor, pyrotechnician, and general nerd, he has finally turned his love of EDH into a career. When not busy being a clueless cowboy, Winterfell Bannermen, or whatever else acting life throws at him, he enjoys reading folklore from around the world, writing narratives for his Wargaming armies, or running D&D 5e games as a professional DM. Look for his storytelling podcast, By the Dancing Fire, or find him on Twitch at FeybornPhyrexian, where he produces MTG content.
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