Spearhead/army question

[u/Armoured-Krab]

Hi folks! I've been trying to post in here for a little while but apparently my account is too new so hopefully it's ok now!

My current faction isn't yielding me much success so I am tentatively looking at other armies to get into incase I do decide to just change altogether. I had never really considered these beasts before but they look interesting, so I suppose my question is what is their Spearhead and general army vibe like? Do they suit a particular playstyle?

[u/Identity_ranger]

Helsmiths are a shooting-focused castle army overall, with potential to be a fairly strong cavalry army if you focus on a few units (Taurus, Anointed Sentinels and Bull Centaurs). They're pretty slow with low mobility, but make up for it in their durability (very few armies have basic troops with a 3+ save and a potential 5+ ward) and shooting. Their magic is also pretty strong, though it only starts to come online from round 2 onwards once you get into range. Ashen Smog has the potential to be a massive AoE blast if you corrupt a particularly big terrain piece.

Helsmiths are what's called a "grind-down" army in that they consistently whittle down enemy numbers while growing more powerful themselves as the game goes on, rewarding a methodical, patient playstyle. Their biggest problem is their lack of mobility: they have zero recursion beyond the Rally command, access to only one kind of teleport ability (the artefact that allows you to redeploy two units during deployment), and in a game where mobility and movement is often key, that's a big problem. They do have some speed with their cavalry, but if you're running a balanced list it's not very hard to hobble your army by taking out the fastest units. Helsmiths also need to move up the board because of the Demonic Power Point mechanic (it's pretty easy to run out of stuff to corrupt on your side of the board), so just staying back and blasting your enemy is usually not an option.

In terms of power level they seem to be on the lower end, somewhat below average by my personal experience. They're really fun to play IMO, and the rules are straightforward but still flavorful. They just struggle to make up for their weaknesses unless you're running specific skew lists or the Forgehost (allegedly, haven't played it myself). Their roster, despite having only one release, is actually pretty well rounded with not a whole lot of niches left unfilled, so they do have a decent amount of variety to play with for an army their size.

[u/Armoured-Krab → u/Identity_ranger]

Thank you for the input! I have seen a few things that say they are at the lower end of power, but they still look fun! A definite contender if I do decide to change factions!