Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Edition 1.0/Deathrattle

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For the skeletal variety of Undead, who are there to be fucking terrifying.

Deathrattle summary

While Skeletons are supposedly a standalone army, they need support from the other Death armies to work.

Icon/Standard Bearer: As long as the Stendard Bearer in a unit is still alive, during each Hero Phase the unit can regenerate d3 models (d6 for Skeleton Warriors and Archers).

Hornblowers: Units with Hornblowers will always make a 6" charge if the actual roll isn't higher than that. Units with Missile Weapons can also run and shoot in the same turn.

Deathrattle warscrolls

Forenote: The following section will be arranged with similar units and formations being grouped together for easier reading.

This is by no means a complete guide. Also due to the relatively recent release of Age of Sigmar, most of this is based on theory. Take everything with a grain of salt.

Named characters

• Arkhan is a Deathlords Faction unit, so including him in an army makes it no longer pure Deathrattle. Deathrattle gets no Wizards. Zero :/

Arkhan the Black: He has Skeleton in his keywords, so it's here. His staff gives him boosts when casting and unbinding spells (starting with a +2 on each when he has full health, then every 2 wounds he suffers the boosts decrease). He also regenerates 2 wounds at the end of the combat phase if he killed at least an enemy model and gets an additional +1 for casting summon spells. His Spectral Claws attacks deal mortal wounds if they roll a 6 to hit. He also gets a very ludicrous spell: you target a unit within 18" and roll 10d6. The unit suffers a number of mortal wounds equal to how many times you rolled a 6, then you roll a number of dice equal to the wounds you just inflicted, and this time they wound on a 5+, then again but on a 4+, and so on until you either fail every dice roll or you completely destroyed the unit. He also gets the spells from every Death wizard within 18", and his hero ability gives them +6" to the range of their spells.

While he's no slouch in combat, he isn't a match for the other Mortrarchs, or most other big monsters of other armies. He's best used pumping out spells and summoning units when you can't (or don't want to) squeeze Nagash into an army. His ability to cast the spells of any other Friendly Death Hero within 18" is also a great way to guarantee those powers go off - Arkhan is a lot more likely to fire off Varnhel's Dance Macabre than the Necromancer it comes with. I'm also a big fan of Kemmler's healing spell on Arkhan.

Krell, Lord of Undeath: See below

Heroes

Wight King with Baleful Tomb Blade: His Baleful Blade deals d3 wounds if he rolled a 6 to wound. Can also get a Skeletal Steed. Can replace his shield (that gives him a 3+ Save) with the Infernal Standard, which allows you to roll a dice every time a Death model within 9" (18" if the Wight King didn't move) dies: on a 6, it survives.

Wight King with Black Axe: Any amount of wounds he suffers is halved and if he wounds an enemy without killing it you can roll a dice and if the result is equal or higher than the amount of wounds that enemy still haves it's dead. Also an unit of Skeletons within 18" gets an extra attack.

The Wight King's Command Ability is the same with any load out: Add 1 to the number of attacks of a Deathrattle Unit within 18" - not too shabby!

Krell, Lord of Undeath: Krell is a Wight King with Black Axe, but with an improved Save (3+), 4 Attacks with a Black Axe (which works as above), and the same Rend -1 and D3 Damage. He also gets +1 to Hit against Heroes, and any Wounds or Mortal Wounds inflicted on him are Halved (rounding up). Sadly, he has the same Command Ability as the normal Wight King.

Troops

Skeleton Warriors: If an Hero is within 18", they get +1 to their hit rolls. If the unit includes at least 20 models, each one gets an extra attack, which becomes 2 extra attacks if they're at least 30. Crypt Shields give them +1 Save against attacks that have no Rend value. They're slow as molasses, but actually pack a punch in combat. And their ability to return D6 slain models to the unit in your Hero Phase is amazeballs. A good sized unit (I wouldn't run units smaller than 20) can swing from nearly dead to full strength repeatedly throughout the course of a game. Especially nasty if you can bring yourself to run a stock Necromancer for Varnhel's Dance Macabre.

Grave Guards: If they roll a 6 to wound, that attack deals double damage. They can either get a one hand weapon and a Crypt Shield (see above) or two-handed weapons. Compared to Skeleton Warriors, they're double the points, Hit/Wound on 3+, have Rend -1 and twice as many attacks. On the downside, they have 5+ Saves and only get D3 models back per turn for a Banner in the unit. These guys are nasty customers in combat, and a perfect option to Summon within Charge range so they get into combat ASAP. That said, they're not the unspeakable tarpit that normal Skeleton Warriors are.

Black Knights: Lances get +1 on To Wound rolls and +1 damage in the turn they charged. They also get the classic "Return D3 slain models to this unit in the Hero phase" with a Banner in the unit (can't go over their original unit size), and they always charge 6" even if their roll is lower if they have a Musician in the unit. Their shields are the same as Skeleton Warriors: +1 Save against attacks with no Rend value. If your army is entirely Deathrattle, Black Knights can be used as Battleline - you know, if you just hate Skeleton Warriors. I like to run 15 of these suckers with at least one Banner, flanked by Count Mannfred. If you don't have a "better" option, Mannfred's "Target Friendly Unit re-rolls 1's on Hit/Wound in a single round of Combat" Command Trait is excellent for getting the most out of Black Knight charges, when they hit their hardest.

Retconned stuff

TOMB KINGS ARE SQUATTED, SORRY

But!... There's still joy in undeath! Read here why!

Tomb Herald: He can take wounds for any other hero, can take a Skeletal Steed, and owns the Standard of the Undying Legion which allows every Skeleton unit within 24" to regenerate a single model if the Herald stands still for the remainder of that turn. His bodyguard ability is amazing for Tomb Kings, Liche Priests and even Necrotects if you wanna use them. Give him the horsie and you can run here and there between Heroes, taking hits for the team wherever it's needed. His Standard ability, which has enormous range, is great for stalling or winning wars of attrition, but can also resurrect Necropolis Knights, who are each as powerful as a minor Hero. But be careful not to move the Hero you're protecting if you plant the Standard. Also, he's decent in combat.

Skeleton Warriors: Wait, WHAT? Well, they're still here since they're also listed above, but with Tomb Kings squatted they lose the option of getting Tomb Shields (+1 Save if they neither run nor charge in that turn). Decent at stalling things, but do not expect to kill much with them.

BUT if you still play Tomb Kings, try the following. Get 40 skellies with Spears (so you can lose some of them while still getting the two extra attacks for having 30+ models), make four rows of ten, get a Liche Priest within 18" of them, cast his Righteous Smiting on them, then use My Will Be Done from a Tomb King on them. With this not-extremely-difficult setup, and in combat against a unit as least as wide as yours (ten models), you'll get on average: 89 attacks (61 + 20 + 6 + 2, remember that extra attacks can generate new extra attacks), wich means 59 hits, wich means 29 wounds before saves (39 if Settra used his Command Ability instead of the Tomb King). That, with Battleshock, should be enough to kill basically any unit.

Skeleton Archers: If the unit includes at least 20 models and there are no enemies within 3", they can shoot twice. And can shoot even if they run, so you can play cat and mouse with a slow unit, but with 4" move, that will rarely happen. The horrible thing about them is their 5+/4+ ranged attack, but with Khalida they become threatening. Also they regenerate D6 models each turn and you can summon them. They can be good, but only if you center your army around them, otherwise they'll only be a decent ranged support unit.

Tomb Guards: The elite of non-monstruous Tomb Kings infantry, pretty good at what they do. Same as Grave Guards, but with Tomb Shields. And their two-handed weapons hit on a 4+ instead of a 3+ like the ones from the Grave Guards, but Tomb Guards are better against things with Rend. Either way, they're pretty durable and killy, with two -1 Rend attacks, a 4+ save on the defense, and double damage on 6+ to wound. That last detail means that with a Royal Warsphinx's ability they will deal 1/3 additional damage in that combat. They'll also win any attrition fight, with Bravery 10 and D3 models resurrected each turn, while dealing good amounts of damage. Always choose to summon these with a Liche Priest if you have them (5 models with a 5+ spell, or ten if you roll 10+).

Skeleton Horsemen: Can run and charge in the same turn (they move 12"), and their spears get +1 to wound in the turn they charged. With two Wounds, 5+ save in combat an D3 models resurrected each Hero phase, they're not as squishy as you might think, but still quite fragile. Their saving grace is that they're lightning fast, so use them to threaten weak and useful things, charge flanks or otherwise zones of an enemy unit with low concentration of models (so less of them will be able to reach you when they pile in), or complement a chariot army. Be smart with them and they're good.

Skeleton Horse Archers: Can run and shoot in the same turn. But their unique gimmick is that they can choose to shoot in Movement Phase and move in Shooting Phase, and if they do they can retreat in the Shooting phase of that turn. That means they can flee from ugly combats while still being able to shoot, but more than that, that you can always control what distance they'll be from the enemy. And that can be golden, because you can pepper the enemy with arrows while being out of range, ideal against infantry or any other thing that can´t catch you. Just be wary of wizards, ranged units and cavalry that can reach you, but with their 20" range bows only light cavalry will be able to do that. You only have to be outside of their Move + probable Charge, and a Charge move will be 7" on average, remember that. All this and their two shots will seem to make them the best horse archers in the game, but they're awful at archery, with 5+/4+ shots. Still, they can be pretty useful and annoying for your opponent, and with Khalida they become pretty good. You can also summon them if you feel like it.

Skeleton Chariots: They were brutal before, they are brutal now. They double their melee attacks in the turn they charge (so 12 of them), always charge at least 6", can run and shoot (two shoots), and one of them resurrects each Hero phase. In WHFB they were used to break units by charging its rear or flank. In Age of Sigmar that tactic doesn't make the enemy more likely to run anymore, only lets you suffer less attacks (because how pile in works, usually less models end up attacking you if you charge a flank). But remember that the more models you kill in a turn, the more will run at its end because of Battleshock, so the tactic still works. So, you run near something, shoot at it, and brutally charge its flank. Next turn, you resurrect one chariot, retreat, run, and shoot. Next turn, resurrect chariot, run, shoot, charge. You recover completely if you only lost two models in combat, you don't "waste" the retreat turn because you double your attacks on the charge anyway, and you are outside of combat each other turn, where you can threaten other things that are at least 17" from you (10" move, 1" minumum run, 6" minimun charge). To sum it up, they are powerful, versatile and flexible. You can still make the bone train the center of your strategy.

Necropolis Knights: Your heavy cavalry, and an awesome one. They have a 8" Move and min 6" charge to surf the dunes, and one of them resurrects each turn. They also make five fucking attacks each between rider and mount, and if a Necroserpent's attack rolls a 6 to wound, it deals an extra mortal wound (a Royal Warsphinx ability will make it more likely). Also, with a shield they get a 4+ save in the Combat Phase, which at 5 wounds per model makes each of them as tough as a minor Hero, so always gave them the shield, even if you have to stick it with cellophane. They hit like a truck and ALL of their attacks have Rend, so point them at something with armor and start a massacre. Lastly, as always, you can add a model to the unit on a 5+ with a Death Wizard at 18" range, not easy because they'll probably be far away, but still nice.

Khemrian Warsphynx: This is what you call a Monster. When you charge you can also roll a dice and the result is equal or less than the amount of models in that unit it suffers d3 mortal wounds. The sphynx also halves any amount of wounds/mortal wounds it suffers (best defensive ability of the game, along with the "ignore Rend" some ghosts and the Bastilodon get). And hits like a ton of bricks built in the shape of a giant cat (some 15 attacks at ful health). It even gets a 8" ranged weapon, which you can use to attack units in nearby combats if you're going to win yours anyway (the sphinx is tall enough to have line of vision to them). AND a Death WIzard at 18" can heal it D3 wounds with a 6+ spell, which will be twice as useful on the sphinx, who by the way has 12 wounds and a 4+ save. So, like, it's a nightmare to kill and destroys anything in its path, so what's its catch? Well, it's relatively slow for its bulk (6" Move), so your opponent will try to slow it with chaff while he deals with the rest of your army. Don't let that happen: kill the speedbumps with massed shooting and the sphinx's ranged weapon, then charge the most powerful unit your opponent has. Be brutal, yes, but also be subtle.

Screaming Skull Catapult: An ancient piece of bone engineering that would make the Necrons green with envy. It has a 6-36" range, can attack units it can't see, and can shoot twice if a Tomb King Necrotect is nearby. Units damaged attacked by the Catapult also get -2 to their Bravery (yes, it says "attacked" in the warscroll, and the rules says that you attack, then roll to hit and wound, so the mere fact of choosing the target of a shot with this makes it lose the Bravery). With full crew each shot deals a brutal 4 wounds, and because with a Necrotect you shoot twice, and you can split attacks, you can make two units lose -2 Bravery each (it doesn't stack if you choose the same unit, sorry). Only with all of that it would be a superb war machine, but also comboes with the Casket of Souls, and shock tactics with the chariots, making it even better. Always take at least one.

Formations

Deathrattle Horde: One Wight King, 3 units of Skeleton Warriors, one of Grave Guards and one of Black Knights. Every unit can decide to run 4" instead of rolling the dice, and can reroll any 1 to Save as long as there is another unit from the formation within 6".

Legion of Death: Same formation as above, except this time instead of rerolling saves everyone within 9" from the Wight King revives an extra model along with the ones revived from the Standard Bearer.

External links

Rules come from here [1] and here [2]