Meet the best most powerful warband in the game with no prior bias.
Welcome to my warband review of Ironsoul’s Condemnors. This is one of two warbands found in the boxset Champions of Dreadfane. You can check out my review of it here. As always thanks to Games Workshop for providing this warband for me to review for free. Now onto the review!
Narrative
Gwynne Ironsoul and her Condemnors of the Sacrosant Chamber. These Stormcast Eternals specialise in channeling the power of Azyr through their weapons who excel in fighting daemons and ethereal creatures. After being trapped in the Dreadfane for so long, the Condemnors finally found freedom but their new land soon turned into yet another prison. From the depths of the Dreadfane in Shadespire, the Condemnors now try to battle for freedom from the Beastgrave.
Miniatures
Ironsoul’s Condemnors consists of 3 Stormcast Eternal Sequitors. Ironsoul and Tavian are both armed with Stormsmite Maces and shields whereas Brodus wields a Stormsmite Greatmace. Each miniature packs the refined details of the Sequitors from their robes to crystal vials. My favourite is Ironsoul, I just love her pose. It’s near perfect.
The warband comes in Stormcast blue plastic. They go together fairly easily but don’t glue them to their bases if you want an easier painting time. A nice little thing is you have the option to give Ironsoul either a bare head or a helmeted head. I went with the latter but it’s nice to have a little choice in there.
The Fighters
Ironsoul’s Condemnors are your typical Stormcast warbad. Movement 3, 4 wounds and defends on blocks. They’re all pretty standard in that regard. What marks them out as unique is their inspire mechanic as it requires you…requires you…to roll…roll….a..a…a……c-c-c-c-crit. Crit. CRIT. CAN YOU ROLL A CRIT?
WELCOME TO THE BEST WARBAND IN THE GAME DESIGNED FOR ME. It’s so simple. Roll a crit to attack or defend. I love it. Best inspire mechanic ever. Damn. Games Workshop can just stop now, they’ve reached perfection.
Gwynne Ironsoul
Gwynne Ironsoul is your stoic leader. Her Stormsmite Mace is range 1, 3 smash and 2 damage which gives you 42.1% to roll a crit. Not bad. Fun fact my middle name is Wynne. Just saying.
Ironsoul inspired has her Mace go up to 3 damage with Knockback 1. She also gains 2 block. She goes from reliable fighter to Brightshield on steroids. Roll them crits.
Tavian of Sarnassus
Tavian comes with a Stormsmite Mace like Ironsoul and Shield Slam which is range 1, 2 smash, 1 damage and Knockback 1. Looks weak but that innate Knockback 1 opens up a lot of options for the warband.
Tavian inspired gains the standard 2 block but his Shield Slam becomes Shield Rush which is just range 1, 2 smash, 2 damage and Knockback 2 for even more pushing power. Becomes really good at messing with enemy positioning once inspired.
Brodus Blightbane
Brodus Blightbane is the muscle of the group and the one true BRO. His Stormsmite Greatmace is range 1, 2 smash, 3 damage with Knockback 1. He’s probably killing anything he touches but only has a 30.6% chance to inspire off of his attack action.
Blightbane inspired has his Greatmace gain Cleave and Knockback 2 because of his bro power. He also gains Channelled Blow which is range 1, 2 smash, 2 damage with Cleave and Scything! Madness! Not to mention his 2 block and increased movement characteristic of 4! He’s a monster but getting the bro inspired ain’t easy.
Cards
Now I’ll be going through Ironsoul’s Condemnor’s faction cards. As always I’ll go over the alright ones and then my top picks.
Faction Objectives
Aetheric Mastery is a 2 glory Dual objective that requires 2 or more surviving friendly fighters and all friendly fighters inspired. Easy for me but not for everyone else.
Martial Prowess is 2 Surge glory for making your 3rd or subsequent successful attack action. Great with Brodus inspired but outside of that it’s really tough.
Sacrosant Purge is 1 glory for taking 2 or more enemy fighters out of action in a round. Not worth the payoff.
Sally Forth is a nice 1 glory objective but just hampered by the low movement of the warband. Getting 2 or more friendly fighters adjacent to each other early is almost impossible with certain board setups.
Vengeance Satisfied is great for you dedicated aggro players out there.
Faction Objectives – Top Picks
Forceful Banishment is a better Get Thee Hence. Simply drive back an enemy fighter with an attack action that has Knockback. Great thing is this works on attacks that fail as long as you roll equal successes to your opponent. Great.
Stormforged Heroes is 1 glory for having 2 or more surviving friendly fighters that each have 1 or more upgrades. Quite easy to score even if you lose a fighter.
Strength in Unity is a really flexible Dual objective. 1 glory for having all your surviving friendly fighters (minimum 2) to each have a move, charge or guard token.
Uncontested Might is a simple 1 glory for holding an objective in enemy territory.
Vindicated Arrogance is dependent on your opponent but it’s a reliable 1 glory as long as your leader lives.
Wrathful Blow is an amazing Surge and Dual objective. Just need your friendly fighter wounded. Lethal hexes are your friend.
Your Turn! Make the Knockback of your attacks work for you. Really like this.
Faction Gambits
Adaptive Tactics is alright. Draw first then discard an objective. At least the drawing is optional and you can draw a power card too.
Thunderous Smite trades full damage from an attack for a 1 damage splash against adjacent enemy fighters. Alright but situational.
Faction Gambits – Top Picks
Champions of Sigmar grants innate single support. Great for 3 dice attacks.
Fulminating Blast, faction Distraction!
Improvised Blow is a surprise range 1, 3 fury and 1 damage attack. More chances to inspire and kill.
Inevitable Blow grants Cleave or Ensnare to the next attack action. Amazing.
Outflank is super Sidestep but requires your friendly fighter adjacent to any other fighter.
Steadfast gives a free guard token, great!
Unyielding Resolve is faction Healing Potion. It’s good.
Vengeful Strike is a 50/50 attack back. Unreliable but powerful when it goes off.
Faction Upgrades
Hallowed Aura has a 50/50 chance of healing the equipped fighter for 1. I’d go with +1 wounds instead.
Soul-Hardened Shield is nice but misses Change of Tactics. Better for if you’re going down the hold objective route.
Faction Upgrades – Top Picks
Aetherically Charged Shield gives Ironsoul or Tavian defensive re-rolls. Great. Faction Champion’s Fortitude.
Aetherically Charged Weapon is a once per round Awakened Weapon. Use wisely but re-rolls are always loved.
Consecrated Pendant is faction Great Fortitude.
Enchanted Robes is Great Speed but ignore lethal hexes.
Punishing Blow is a once per game attack for Brodus. Range 1, 3 Smash, 4 damage and Cleave is bonkers! Always take!
Sanctified Armour reduces all damage taken by 1. Make the Sequitors super durable.
Spirt Flask is either 1 damage to an opponent or heal yourself for 2. I really like the flexibility it offers.
Stoic Stance makes you immune to being driven back. It’s solid. Like your stance.
Deck
There’s no universal cards so I’m using the currently available universal cards in Beastgrave and Nightvault for a Championship Format deck.
Playstyle: Flex (Aggro and Hold Objective)
The deck primarily focus on aggro play with aggressive hold objective play to get objectives in enemy territory while keeping them out of your own. Get Thee Hence and Forceful Banishment build off of your Knockback attacks while Uncontested Might and Plant a Standard can both be scored by Gwynne Ironsoul. The deck has multiple push cards as well as Restless Prize to disrupt enemy objectives and help hold your own. Regal Vision and Blazing Soul are your reliable inspire cards. Upgrades mainly focus on damage with Great Strength and Sting of the Ur-Grub providing +1 damage each. Tome of Offerings helps maximise your kills.
Warband Overview
Ironsoul’s Condemnors are a fun elite warband. They focus on getting up close with the enemy. Once inspired they become monstrous. Inspiration is unreliable but powerful. Their faction cards also give them a lot of good tools to play around with, just don’t forget that they’re movement 3.
I’d recommend picking up Ironsoul’s Condemnors. They’re more like a traditional Shadespire warband but slightly better. You just have to play around their movement of 3 and range 1 attacks. If you want to pre-order/buy this warband you can do so direct from Games Workshop here.
That’s a wrap for the best warband in the game. Too powerful for most players. Just remember every time you play them to always ask yourself: can you roll a crit?
Can You Roll A Crit? 
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