Khadron Overlords – Warhammer Age of Sigmar Guide

The Kharadron Overlords are the sky-faring duardin of Age of Sigmar: aether-powered airships, heavily armed crews and a society run on profit and the letter of the Kharadron Code. This guide covers who they are, how the army plays in Age of Sigmar 4th Edition, which models to start with and how to approach painting them.

Who Are the Kharadron Overlords?

The Kharadron are duardin who took to the skies when their mountain holds fell during the Age of Chaos. Rather than trusting the old duardin gods, who had failed to protect them, they put their faith in technology, commerce and law. They harvest aether-gold, a lighter-than-air substance that fuels their endrins and keeps their airships aloft, and it is also the basis of their wealth.

Each sky-port is a floating city governed by an Admirals’ Council, and every captain, crew and contract is bound by the Kharadron Code, a body of articles, amendments and footnotes that sets out how profit is shared and how disputes are settled. Battles are treated as business: an expedition fights hard when the reward justifies it and withdraws when it doesn’t.

The six major sky-ports are Barak-Nar, Barak-Zilfin, Barak-Zon, Barak-Urbaz, Barak-Mhornar and Barak-Thryng. Each has its own character, from scholarly Barak-Nar to the piratical, shadowy Barak-Mhornar, and players often pick a sky-port as the identity for their fleet.

What Are Kharadron Overlords Army Strengths?

Kharadron are Age of Sigmar’s signature shooting army. Their skyvessels, from the small Grundstok Gunhauler up to the Arkanaut Frigate and the huge Arkanaut Ironclad, bring a lot of ranged firepower, and the larger ships can carry crews across the battlefield. Arkanaut Company form the core infantry, Grundstok Thunderers add elite infantry firepower, and Endrinriggers fly in to repair ships and fight at close quarters.

The trade-off is that much of the army is fragile in melee, and the force is built around a small number of expensive ships. Fast, hard-hitting melee armies that reach the fleet early can do serious damage, so positioning and target priority matter a great deal.

Older guides mention Skywardens as a separate unit. In 4th Edition they no longer have their own warscroll: the kit is built as Endrinriggers. Check the current battletome and the Battle Profiles for each unit’s rules, regiment options and points, as these change with balance updates.

Where Should Beginners Start?

The best first purchase is the Kharadron Overlords Spearhead box, Grundstok Trailblazers, which gives you a ready-made Spearhead force and a solid start on a larger army. From there, these models are worth looking at:

Arkanaut Company: the core infantry of the army, useful for holding objectives and adding shooting.
Grundstok Thunderers: elite gunners and some of the best infantry shooting in the faction.
Endrinriggers: flying engineers who repair ships and handle close combat.
A Hero: an Arkanaut Admiral, Aether-Khemist, Aetheric Navigator or Endrinmaster to lead and support the fleet.
Gunhauler, Frigate or Ironclad: the Gunhauler is the cheapest skyvessel, the Frigate is a strong all-rounder that can carry crew, and the Ironclad is the centrepiece battleship.

Our Kharadron Overlords Spearhead guide breaks down what’s in the box and how to use it. Spearhead is a good way to learn the faction before building towards a full army.

How To Paint Kharadron Overlords

Kharadron models are mostly armour plate, brass fittings, cloth and ship hulls, which makes them well suited to a limited palette. Most players pick a sky-port and follow its official scheme from Games Workshop’s painting guides and the battletome, or invent their own sky-port with its own colours.

Colour Scheme Ideas

Aethergold Gleam: bright gold or brass on armour and ship details, deep blue or teal for cloth, finished with dark washes to bring out the panel lines.
Stormy Skies: dark grey or navy hulls and armour with a contrasting cloth colour such as crimson or green, and silver for weapons and fittings.
Custom sky-port: choose one main armour colour, one cloth colour and one metal, and use them consistently across infantry and ships so the fleet reads as one army.

Painting Techniques

Base coating: a solid, even base coat on the armour and hull panels gives you a clean foundation for everything that follows.
Drybrushing: a light metallic drybrush picks out rivets, pipes and plate edges quickly.
Washes: a dark wash such as Nuln Oil, or a dark blue, adds depth to recesses on armour and ship detail.
Edge highlighting: a lighter tone along plate and hull edges sharpens the look of large flat panels.
Contrast paints: useful on cloth and smaller areas, and a quick way to paint crews.
Sub-assemblies: paint the hulls, crew and rigging of the bigger ships separately before gluing them together.

For step-by-step recipes and airship tips, see our guide on painting Kharadron Overlords.

Kharadron Overlords in the Current Meta

Kharadron’s competitive standing moves with each balance update. For the latest picture, check our Age of Sigmar faction tier list.

Most Kharadron lists are built around one or more of the larger skyvessels supported by Thunderers, Arkanauts and Endrinriggers, with Heroes adding buffs. The faction rewards players who enjoy shooting, careful movement and planning several turns ahead.

Playing Kharadron Overlords: Practical Tips

Work out your threat ranges. Know how far your ships and the units they carry can move and then shoot, so you can threaten areas your opponent thinks are safe.
Don’t rely on one ship. Losing your only big vessel early can sink the whole plan. A second ship or extra infantry gives you redundancy.
Remember objectives win games. In 4th Edition matched play you score by controlling objectives at the end of each turn, so plan when your infantry will get onto objectives rather than holding them back all game.
Shoot the threats to your fleet first. Fast melee units and heroes that can reach your ships are usually the priority.

New to 4th Edition? Our Kharadron Overlords army list guide has 1,000 and 2,000-point lists to start from.

Collecting Kharadron Overlords

Kharadron have a fairly low model count, so a full army needs fewer kits than a horde faction, but the airships are large and expensive. Start with the Spearhead box, then add the units that define the faction: Arkanaut Company for core infantry, Grundstok Thunderers for firepower and a Frigate or Ironclad as a centrepiece.

Not sure which army to collect? Answer 7 quick questions and get matched to your faction.

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Some ships have several weapon options, so consider magnetising them. Second-hand models and local store deals can save a lot on the bigger kits. Check our Age of Sigmar faction tier list before buying expensive kits purely for competitive play.

Related Armies

If you enjoy Kharadron Overlords, you might also like these armies:

Fyreslayers — fellow duardin, but devoted to Grimnir and built for ferocious melee.
Cities of Sigmar — the Kharadron trade with and fight alongside the Cities of Sigmar across the Mortal Realms.
Leagues of Votann — the closest Warhammer 40k equivalent: technologically advanced, profit-minded space dwarfs.

Everything Kharadron Overlords on Warhammer Guild

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Painting

How to Paint Kharadron Overlords

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Kharadron Overlords?

The Kharadron Overlords are sky-faring duardin who abandoned traditional worship in favour of the Kharadron Code, a set of rational, profit-driven laws. They sail aether-powered airships, mining aether-gold and trading across the Mortal Realms.

Are Kharadron Overlords good for beginners?

They’re moderately beginner-friendly. The shooting-focused playstyle is easy to grasp, but getting the most from the ships and the units they carry takes some practice. The Spearhead box is a good, low-commitment way to learn.

What are the strengths of Kharadron Overlords?

Strong ranged firepower and mobile airships that can move crews around the battlefield. Grundstok Thunderers and the bigger skyvessels provide much of the damage, while Endrinriggers repair ships and handle close combat.

What are the weaknesses of Kharadron Overlords?

Much of the army is fragile in melee and relies heavily on a few expensive ships. If those ships are destroyed early, the army loses a lot of its firepower and mobility. They also have little or no access to conventional magic.

What is the Kharadron Code?

The Kharadron Code is the governing framework of Kharadron society, replacing religion with laws focused on profit, contracts and mutual benefit. Each sky-port interprets the Code in its own way, which shapes its culture.

What is aether-gold?

Aether-gold is a precious, lighter-than-air substance that the Kharadron harvest from the skies of the Mortal Realms. It fuels their endrins and keeps their airships aloft, and it’s also the basis of their wealth and trade. Much of Kharadron society and the Kharadron Code revolves around finding, mining and profiting from it.

What is in the Kharadron Overlords Spearhead box?

The current Spearhead, Grundstok Trailblazers, contains an Endrinmaster with Dirigible Suit, five Grundstok Thunderers, a Grundstok Gunhauler and three Endrinriggers. That’s about 500 points, roughly half a 1,000-point army, and it’s the best starting box for the faction.