Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Death/Flesh-Eater Courts
Please note: GHB 2.0 will be released on the 26th of August, this is based only in what Warhammer-Community.com has leaked so far. Please feel free to add depth to the article once we get the full release.
Allegiance Traits
- Deathless Courtiers: Each time one of your units within 6 inches of your hero takes a wound, they get an extra 6+ save. Not a lot, but certainly helpful.
- Feeding Frenzy: If your attacks in close combat kill a unit, roll a D6. On a 6, you get to immediately pile in and attack again (only once though, no setting off a chain reaction). If your enemy is spread out this won't come up much but it can be very useful against bunched up enemies.
- Court of Delusions: This is an ability you get to choose for your entire army before choosing your command trait. Can drastically alter how you play your army, so choose...carefully.
- Crusading Army: Your units can reroll dice rolls of 1 when running or charging. Very very nasty, and can add up to a lot of extra made charges over the course of a game
- The Royal Hunt: Your entire army can reroll hit and wound rolls of 1 but only when attacking monsters. Very specific and could be useless (ex: any kind of Dwarf without Magmadroths), but against the right enemy (Beastclaw Riders, hooooly bollocks) can be brutal.
- The Feast Day: You can reroll rolls of 1 when rolling for Feeding Frenzy. This will matter so rarely that it's basically a waste of a Delusion.
- A Matter of Honour: Your units can reroll hit rolls of 1 when targeting heroes. If it's the enemy general you can reroll wound rolls of 1 too. Much more universal than Royal Hunt, so worth a look.
- The Grand Tournament: Heroes other than your general can reroll hit rolls of 1. Weirdly specific and obviously only useful if you've got a bunch of heroes, but if that's the army you're running then it can hurt a lot.
- Defenders of the Realm: Reroll saves of 1 for all units with at least half of their models in your territory. Since you don't have much in the way of long range attacks, you're probably going to need to be aggressive, so this won't be useful.
Command Traits
- Bringer of Death: Your general can reroll wound rolls of 1. Pretty solid for a close combat monster general.
- Frenzied Flesh-eater: Reroll failed hits during a Feeding Frenzy. Solid, but given how rarely Feeding Frenzies will go off, don't worry about it.
- Majestic Horror: If you have a summoning Command Ability, you can use it twice a Hero Phase. If you don't, you get the Summon Men-at-arms ability. It sounds pretty nasty, but remember, you have to set aside points to summon stuff in matched play, making this ability dubiously useful.
- Savage Beyond Reason: You get a Feeding Frenzy on a 5+. The one time it goes off, you'll feel like a god, so this might be useful, especially if you took the Feast Day Delusion.
- Dark Wizardry: Add 1 to the General's Casting and Unbinding rolls if they're a Wizard. If they're not, they become a Wizard and get the same abilities as the Abhorrant Ghoul King. This right here? This is the shit, and this should be your first choice unless you have a VERY good reason for something else.
- Completely Delusional: As long as the General is alive, you can change your Delusion every Hero Phase. Usually you won't need this, but it could be funny to switch from Defenders of the Realm to Matter of Honour to Grand Tournament as you need.
Warscrolls
The common keywords of these warscrolls are: DEATH and FLESH-EATER COURTS. Apart from the Ghoul King (in all his variants), the Terrorgheist and the Zombie Dragon all the units also have the MORDANT keyword.
Leaders
Abhorrant Ghoul Kings
These are your typical leader Heroes. Each of them comes with a Command Ability and each is a wizard. Though none of them can use summoning magic as such, each Ghoul King variant can summon new units. Ghouls for the footslogger, Crypt Horrors/Flayers for the one on Terrorgheist and Courtiers for the one on Zombie Dragon. Thanks to the non-existence of summoning magic in this army, these Commands are the only way to set up entirely new units. Compare Commands and unique spells to find out which you want to use as your General.
- Abhorrant Ghoul King on Terrorgheist: This count also as Behemoth. Oh heck yes. The Ghoul King adds a lot to the already powerful Terrorgheist, such as magic and a Command Ability. This guy can grant a 5+ save-after-the-save to a Flesh-Eater unit and can summon new units of Crypt Flayers or Crypt Horrors. Other than that, it's a Wizard, it has a Command and it has three powerful melee profiles in addition to a dangerous not-a-breath-attack. There's nothing he can't do at least decently. A great Command Trait to give this guy would be Red Fury, as you'd have to send him at 3 or 4 Wound infantry for him NOT to kill 6 models each combat phase (actually, you only have to inflict 6 WOUNDS per combat phase in order to get a second round of attacks due to Red Fury). However keep in mind that if you choose to do so, you lose the excellent Ruler of the Night trait and paint an even bigger bulls-eye on his head. You can also give him the Tomb Blade to ramp his regeneration up even more.
- Abhorrant Ghoul King on Zombie Dragon: This count also as Behemoth. Exactly what it says on the tin. Just like the variety on the Terrorgheist, this one here has some seriously powerful buffs. First of all, as a Command, he can summon new Courtiers OF ANY TYPE (who can then proceed to summon more foot soldiers). Then, his unique spell makes a 20" bubble centered on the Ghoul King which grants rerolls To Wound to ALL Flesh-Eater models. On top of that, the Zombie Dragon heals D3 Wounds each Hero Phase. Sweet.
- Abhorrant Ghoul King: Not that murderous when compared to a Vampire Lord in terms of killing power, but absolutely amazing when compared to the average Wizard. Their unique spell grants a Flesh-eater unit one more attack with each melee weapon, which makes Crypt Ghouls and Horrors better and Varghulfs terrifying, but if you cast this on a Ghoul King on Terrorgheist, he'll pluck whole units apart by himself. Unfortunately someone noticed how ridiculously overpowered his old Command was, so they exchanged it for the ability to summon 10 Ghouls without any casting roll. Still very decent, but nowhere near the buff aura he used to have. Another thing that needs to be addressed is that a Ghoul King is a fucking cockroach. 6 Wounds at a 4+ save and a regeneration of D3 Wounds a turn means the enemy either dedicates entire war machine salvos to kill this guy or he'll be good as new two turns later. Sure he can't go toe-to-toe with an Ironjaws Megaboss (who can?), but he'll survive stuff that could easily overkill most other buffers and wizards.
Courtiers
Courtiers are more support Heroes and beatsticks, not proper leader types and thus come without any Command Abilities or magic. What they do is still very important though, as they can add models to units you already have on the table. Keep in mind though that they cannot set up new units, only the Ghoul Kings can do that. This is not to say your Courtiers are less important though as they can, for example, add Ghouls to a unit until it gets its Battalion Strength back.
- Varghulf Courtier: Oddly not a monster. The Varghulf flies, has a bunch of strong attacks with more if it's in melee with ten or more models and if properly supported can be pretty much unkillable. If not, it'll die in turn 2. What this means is that you have a model that is very strong, heals D3 Wounds at the end of each combat phase where it slew any enemies, and can reroll To Hit if a Ghoul King casts a spell within 18" of him. Oh, and he can summon additional Ghouls, Horrors and Flayers for your eviscerating pleasure.
- Crypt Ghast Courtier: A teeny tiny Ghoul champion upstart. That's what he is. He has a bunch of weak attacks and is still somewhat fragile for a Hero, with 4 Wounds and a 5+ save, similar to a Grot. His real use is in summoning on average 5 Ghouls per Hero Phase (yes, that means you can heal Ghoul units back to the point where their size-bonus activates) and he makes them stronger if he personally kills an enemy. Only use this as a last resort, though, as his reviving is superb and he's too fragile to risk in melee.
- Crypt Haunter Courtier: A slightly stronger Crypt Horror champion who can summon more of his flunkies. That last part alone is already cool, as Crypt Horrors are very powerful, but the fact that the Courtier is strong in melee and regenerates should not be forgotten.
- Crypt Infernal Courtier: Blessed with everything a Crypt Flayer needs to be good. 5 attacks with 2 damage already make him as good as a small squad of normal Crypt Flayers and instead of a milquetoast Bravery-scream, he breathes fire. This guy is an absolute powerhouse AND he can summon additional Crypt Flayers.
Troops
Unlike their unit entries in Grand Alliance: Death, the Flesh-Eater Courts cannot use summoning magic as none of their warscrolls kept the summoning spells on them. Not to fear though, you can still pile heaps of new models onto the table with this army.
- Crypt Ghouls: Your basic infantry and not too shabby, all things considered, especially since just about everything in this army either makes these little guys better or allows you to toss more of them onto the board. They get two attacks each with a third if the unit's big enough and they have a 6+ save, which may sound bad but is actually pretty good because that means unlike, say, Zombies, Ghouls can actually make use of cover and Mystic Shield. If you want to capitalize on Ghouls, just remember to bring some Crypt Ghast Courtiers to keep your units nice and big and remember that all in all, the save-after-the-save buff of the Terrorgheist-Ghoul King is probably better than a simple Mystic Shield at keeping your Ghouls on the board longer.
- Crypt Horrors: Simply put, Crypt Horrors are Ogre equivalents. 4 Wounds, 5+ save, 3 attacks with no Rend and 2 Damage each. You know, the usual. These here also regenerate and get rerolls To Hit if a Ghoul King is nearby, thereby eliminating their only real weakness. Take these first. Flayers are also useful, but more gimmicky skirmishers compared to the powerful sledgehammers the Crypt Horrors are.
- Crypt Flayers: At first glance, Crypt Flayers look kind of meh, as their melee profile is the same as that of Vargheists with one more attack, but with only damage 1 and the chance to inflict mortal wounds. Then you see that they have a scream attack that inflicts damage off of Bravery but it's unfortunately so weak that you won't hurt anything but Skaven or Grots with it. Then you finally realize they're not meant to be powerhouses. They're harassers and tarpits, just like Razorgors for the Beastmen and are very useful when summoned via Command Ability, because they are fast enough to close the distance quickly. Oh, and you need these because the Crypt Infernal Courtier, aka the second-best Courtier, summons them.
Behemoths
Unlike the versions in Grand Alliance: Death, the warscrolls for this army actually have the Flesh-Eater Courts keywords and are thus susceptible to the awesome buffs you dish out. Never forget that, as it gives you an enormous edge.
- Terrorgheist: It's powerful, with its Shriek being downright terrifying.
3D6 minus Bravery mortal wounds, eh? That'll halve a Liberator unit on average.Unfortunately someone at GW noticed just how powerful this was and now it's 6+D6 minus Bravery Mortal Wounds. And while this has dramatically cut down on the maximum damage, it has also made it much more reliable. They also decided to make the Terrorgheist's regeneration dependent on having a Ghoul King of any kind close by, but in exchange they gave it a better 4+ save and even stronger attacks than before. It also explodes into a bunch of mortal wounds when it dies, which can make your opponent hesitate to finish it off, at which point it will regenerate and eat his sorry ass. In short, a Terrorgheist has the works: High flying Move, lots of wounds with a good save, very high damage, a dangerous shriek and if run alongside a mounted Ghoul King, great regen.
- Zombie Dragon: Don't. Scroll way up. Play this thing with the Ghoul King on top. Seriously, the Ghoul King adds so much to this thing it isn't funny. As in, another melee profile, powerful regeneration, magic and a Command Ability.
Battalions
Royal Family
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
An Abhorrant Ghoul King on Terrorgheist or an Abhorrant Ghoul King on Zombie Dragon and between 2 and 6 Abhorrant Ghoul Kings
Your basic leader Battalion buffs Courtier summoning abilities and gets your general (so long as said general is from this battalion) an additional Command Ability which sets up a new foot-slogging Ghoul King. If you have a bunch of the old Strigoi Ghoul King models lying around, by all means play it.
Attendants at Court
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
A Crypt Haunter Courtier and two units of Crypt Horrors
A very nice formation. For one, their reroll To Hit abilities, which normally hinge on a Ghoul King being close by, are always active in this Battalion. The other bonus is almost more interesting, as it allows a Ghoul King to use two Command Abilities so long as he's close to the Attendants and also your general. Yes, you may use your summoning Command twice per turn. And all of that for stuff you want to field anyway! (Or use the Death Book Ghoul King for a devastating +2 to Hit and +2 to Wound in an 18" bubble, which from experience is quite devastating.)
Deadwatch
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
A Crypt Infernal Courtier and 3 units of Crypt Flayers
Slightly bigger Battalion but worth it, as it allows the whole Battalion to pile in and attack in your Hero Phase as well as in the Combat Phases. Turns their decent attacks into terrifying attacks.
Abattoir
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
A Crypt Haunter Courtier, two units of Crypt Horrors and a unit of Crypt Ghouls
This one grants two abilities, one of them milquetoast and one devastating. The milquetoast one grants the Courtier +1 To Wound against monsters. The devastating one lets you roll a D6 for every enemy model within 3" of any model from this formation in each of your Hero Phases. On a 6, their unit takes a Mortal Wound. This is, again, in addition to any other damage they will do during the game.
Ghoul Patrol
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
A Crypt Ghast Courtier and 3 units of Crypt Ghouls
Lets the entire formation basically outflank. In your first movement phase, you can set them up close to any table edge. You also get to add D6 Ghouls onto each of the units in each of your Hero Phases, ensuring that your Ghouls get that little extra edge they need to survive so far away from all the buffs they usually rely on. cyka blyad
King's Ghouls
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
A Crypt Ghast Courtier, a unit of Crypt Horrors and 2 units of Crypt Ghouls
Very meh by comparison to the rest. One rule grants them all immunity to Battleshock (though they all had Bravery 10 anyway) and the other lets them pile in 6" (but not attack) in your Hero Phase.
Royal Mordants
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
A Varghulf Courtier, a unit of Crypt Horrors, a unit of Crypt Flayers and a unit of Crypt Ghouls
Not too great either, as it only allows the units to reform in the Hero Phase if they're close to the Varghulf.
Royal Menagerie
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
3 or more Terrorgheists or Zombie Dragons in any combination
Terrifying. Not only is this Battalion just monsters, but the bonuses are mean as well. If they are close to a Ghoul King general, they get to move 6" in your Hero Phase and they each heal a Wound in each friendly Hero Phase (in addition to any they would otherwise have healed). Brings your monsters into the opponent's face much quicker and helps them survive.
Flesh-eater Court
Found in the Flesh-eaters Courts Battletome.
1 of each of the following battalions: Royal Family, Attendants at Court, Deadwatch, Abattoir, Ghoul Patrol, King's Ghouls,Royal Mordants and Royal Menagerie
For the filthy rich. This allows the entire super-Battalion to move in the Hero Phase as well as in the Movement Phase (yes, they can run twice. Yes, this includes the units you JUST summoned). If your general is part of this Battalion, he also knows all the unique Command abilities in this Battalion and can use THREE per turn.
King Vlagorescu's Ghoulish Host
Found in the King Vlagorescu's Ghoulish Host box.
An Abhorrant Ghoul King on Terrorgheist, a Varghulf Courtier, a unit of Crypt Horrors, a unit of Crypt Flayers and a unit of Crypt Ghouls
The same reform ability the Royal Mordants get and more interestingly the entire Battalion has a chance of piling in and attacking in your Hero Phase.
Flesh-Eater Courts Royal Hunt
Found in Flesh-Eater Courts Starter Kit '1 Ghoul King on Terrorgheist, 1 Unit of Crypt Horrors, 1 Unit of Crypt Ghouls' +1 to attacks by any model of hunt in 10" of King - No obvious Battalion cost at this stage
Army Building
Just buy two Start Collecting! boxes to start. That's it, you will get 20 Ghouls, a practically obligatory big monster, three Crypt-ids and a Courtier of your choice, there you have an 900 points army, excluding the additional big monster, which you could use to make a Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon and a Ghoul King on foot (this last guy will fill your 100 points army perfectly) and two spared Crypt models. Here you have enough saving to buy yet another SC! box, mainly for the extra Ghouls and Crypt guys. From there, you can freely go crazy.
The new nightfeast hunter box is a good deal as well! 20 Ghouls and 3 Crypt for $65 US. Though at this point, the Start Collecting! Box is only a little more, and you'll get the Terrorgheist, but only ten ghouls.
If you chose the Terrorgheist, a good next step would be three boxes Crypt Horrors. Build one as a Crypt Haunter Courtier and the other eight as Crypt Horrors. This supplies you with an Abattoir Battalion, some Crypt Ghasts and a big monster-riding general.
If you chose the Zombie Dragon, you may want to add some Crypt Flayers instead. Have your general summon a new Crypt Infernal Courtier every turn and have them summon Crypt Flayers until all your models are in play.
If you chose to build the foot-slogger, get another such kit asap, build both monsters as Terrorgheists and put the second Ghoul King on the second bat, since normal Terrorgheists profit massively from having a Ghoul King on monster along for the ride.
For competitive play (2000pts) try this list, I've played several battles (vs order and chaos armies) and still have to find this armies adversary.
- Battlescroll: Deadwatch 6 Crypt Flayers 6 Crypt Flayers 9 Crypt Flayers 1 Crypt Infernal Coutier - Abhorrant Ghoul King on Terrorgheist - Varghulf Coutier
This army is fast, all of them fly, regenerates units (flayers) and is full of possible mortal wounds dealing which are quit the deal.
Normal set up would be the 9 flayers in the middle with the 6 flayers each covering its flanks.
the Infernal (who has to be the general in order to make flayers battleline) and the varghulf hug each other and if possible cover behind the 9 flayers for adding losses. The Abhorrant Ghoul King on Terrgheist can be used for support on a flank though keep him close to the frontline for his delicious spell for 5++ save against all kinds of (mortal)wounds. Now with the Deathless minions rules you get for having the Death Allegiance from the Generals Handbook (actually, because you have to have the Flesh-Eater Courts allegiance in order for Flayers to be Battleline, you can't use any of the Death allegiance abilities, you can only pick one allegiance)(see General's Handbook FAQ), you'll have a 6++ (5++ if you choose or roll that one command trait for your general) save against wounds and mortal wounds. Enjoy your 9 flayers with 5+, 5++, 6++/5++ with casualty replenishment for each 5+ on 12 dice all the while they deal wounds and mortal wounds both in close combat and your hero phases! I've seen them tear down Alarielle due to volumes of attacks and those delicious mortal wounds. Watch out for negative modifiers against your flayers (they'll lose the mortal wounds on 6s when they have a -1 to hit) and protect your infernal and varghulf!
Allied Armies
The logical choice for allies would of course be other Death units.
Necromancers can make your units better via their very powerful unique spell Vanhel's Danse Macabre, which allows Mordants to pile in and fight twice.
Dire Wolves get you some flankers that aren't quite as valuable as Crypt Flayers.
Spirit Hosts get you some more non-magic-inflicted mortal wounds and are tough as nails, especially against cannons, which your Ghouls hate with a passion. Also, Ghouls and Ghosts.
Mannfred von Carstein provides a fast flying melee monster with a very powerful Command buff.
If you want to look outside Death for some reason, you might be well advised to add a ranged unit or two.
External links
Rules are here
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-zombie-dragon-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-terrorgheist-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-crypt-horrors-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-crypt-flayers-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-crypt-ghouls-en.pdf
https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-varghulf-courtier-en.pdf