Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Old/Death/Legions of Nagash

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Legions of Nagash changes up the way death plays by removing magical summoning and banner regen for skellies and replaces then with hero based regen and grave sites. They also add several new allegiance abilities.

Why play Legions of Nagash?

Pros

  • SKELETONS! Do you want to see hordes and hordes of skeletons endlessly marching out of the grave and pinging whatever it looks at with literally 400 attacks? Well, this is what you're going to want to play. You also get zombies, ghosts and all sorts of other creepy goodness!
  • A solid range of plastic miniatures and plenty of possibilities for conversion (looking at you triumvirate of Ynnead/vampires!)
  • More bodies with better durability for the cost than most and the ability to bring models back, when the stars line up you can end the game with net zero lost models.
  • You’ve got 4 legions to choose from as well as Death and Soulblight factions so you can test out a lot of stuff and play with lots of variations on a theme.
  • Did you play Orks in 40k? Would you like to throw a bucketful of dice? Well, if you get a unit of 40 skeletons into combat and buff them properly, they’ll be getting 5 attacks each with the possibility of piling in and attacking twice with Vanhels Danse Macabre. In a perfect storm that’s 400 attacks at 4+/4+!!!!
  • Is a summonable unit dead? Did you just kill an enemy unit within 6" of a gravesite? Start rolling your d6 because on a 4+, congrats! You get that unit back!! Unfortunately you will have to put points aside to do this so this isn't really a pro (nor a con really). As of AoS 2.0, this ability will be 'free' requiring only the use of Command Abilities.

Cons

  • Zero...ranged...units... (traditionally speaking). Not a single usable one, handful of short-range shooting attacks but other than that all melee... can’t even ally in Tomb Kings archers!
    • Ghosts, Terrorgheists and Zombie Dragons are all there is here. Prince Vhordrai is just a named VLoZD, just with a ranged ability with an 8" range, rather than a 9" range and a less assassin-y spell. That said, the Terrorghiest still has the best range out of all the variations in this box.
  • Doesn't support Tomb Kings, the Flesh Eater Courts or the Mourngul.
  • One thing to note about our unconventional ranged weapons is that they all contest a leadership score; Usually 2d6 vs their bravery. With good positioning of our new banners and the Overwhelming Dread spell our limited shooting can deal a fair amount of mortal wounds. Our shooting is extremely short ranged but they can put on some serious damage.
  • Rend -1 is effectively rend -2 for your skeletons...it hurts...a lot.
  • Quite a few slow units, necromancer at 4” and can’t take a mount anymore...
  • How many skeletons do you want to paint? Whatever that number is you’ll need to paint more than that.
  • The removal of magical summoning also means you can't bring in new units, only bring back the ones that are completely destroyed if they have the summonable keyword, and you still have to pay points to bring them back.

Allegiance Abilities

A bit of a long one as there are 4 allegiances for the Legions of Nagash themed around Nagash and his three top generals as well as Soulblight and Generic Death. The four themed legions all get the Gravesite mechanic, at least 1 extra spell from the Lores of the Dead and access Deathless Minions.

Deathless Minions: 6+ ignore wounds for your units within 6” of a hero, handy and ubiquitous throughout the legions.

Gravesite : Each of the four main allegiances gets access to the gravesite mechanic. After sides are chosen place two gravesites wholly within your territory and two anywhere else on the board. Importantly these are only points on the battlefield, whatever you choose to represent them does not exist for the purpose of line of sight or cover or scenery. Gravesites can heal a SUMMONABLE unit within 9” by d3 wounds or models up to the total wound count. Note, you cannot bring back models with missing wounds, nor can you both heal a model and bring back models with the same roll. So to bring back a spirit host you’d have to roll a 5 or 6, if you had a unit of black knights with models slain and a model missing a wound and you rolled a 5 or 6 you could only heal the remaining wound, not heal and bring back a model despite having rolled high enough to do so.

The second gravesite ability is placing SUMMONABLE units into the “grave” instead of deploying them. At the end of movement, a DEATH HERO can pull a unit out of the grave fully within 9” of the gravesite and outside of 9” of any enemy models. This is a nice way of getting around skeletons massively low movement speed if you can. They are vulnerable to area denial though so be careful.

Lastly are abilities that interact with regenerating units. The general of the four main legions gets an additional command trait that allows him to pull a destroyed unit out of the grave and place it within 9” of the gravesite and outside 9” of any enemy units. Sounds awesome, but remember you have to reserve points for this in matched play.

Final note is the Legion of Sacrament ability. If the last model in a unit getting destroyed is within 6” of a gravesite roll a dice, on a 4+ a destroyed SUMMONABLE it can be brought back within 9” of the gravesite and outside 9” of any enemy models. Again requires reserve points and is very situational.

Spell Lores

  • when giving out additional spells, Deathmages can pick spells from the Lore of the Deathmage, vampires get Lore of Vampires, and Deathlords has access to both

There is also the Locus of Shyish. Cast any spell from any lore on an unmodified casting roll of 9+, and you get to resolve the effect twice. Which provides a great boost to many of these spells if you are lucky.

Lore of the Deathmage

  1. Overwhelming Dread: at a casting value of 5, a unit within 18" losses 1 from hit rolls and 1 Bravery until your next hero phase.
  2. Fading Vigour: at a casting value of 6, a unit within 18" losses a melee attack and rolls only one dice on charges until your next hero phase.
  3. Spectral Grasp: at a casting value of 6, a terrain feature within 18", until the next hero phase, halve the movement of enemy units within 3" of the Terrain at the start of their movement phase.
  4. Prison of Grief: at a casting value of 7, a unit within 12", until your next hero phase, when they try to move, on a roll of 5+, they can't.
  5. Decrepify: at a casting value of 6, a Hero within 18" subtract 1 from its wound rolls and melee weapon damage until your next Hero phase.
  6. Soul Harvest: at a casting value of 7, enemy units within 3" of the caster suffer D3 mortal wounds. then on a roll of 5+ for each allocated mortal wound that was not negated, heal the caster by 1.

Lore of the Vampires

  1. Blade of Shyish: roll for each enemy unit within 12" suffer a mortal wound on a 5+.
  2. Spirit Gale: roll three dice and inflict a mortal wound on 5+. if you rolled matching numbers, subtract 1 from their hit rolls. if 3 matches then also subtract 1 from their wound rolls until your next hero phase.
  3. Vile Transference: an enemy unit 12" away takes d3 mortal wounds and then a friendly unit within 6" heals that many wounds
  4. Amethystine Pinions: give 5" and fly to the caster
  5. Soulpike: target a unit within 18", until your Next hero phase, if the unit charges, inflict a mortal wound on a roll of 5+ each too the charge distance roll.
  6. Amaranthine Orb: has a casting value of 7, draw a 1mm line starting within 12" and ends back at the caster. Roll a dice for each unit (friend or foe, apart from the caster) that has any models beneath this line. On a 4+ that unit suffers D6 mortal wounds.

Grand Host of Nagash

Can include any units in the battletome, if it includes Nagash he must be the general....as though you didn’t want his amazing command ability?! The only Allegiance that can actually have Nagash in a list, besides Death.

Gravesites of course. All DEATH WIZARDS know an additional spell from one of the Lores of the Dead, if Nagash is included he knows three additional spells, which is good since he can cast 8 at full health!

Chosen Guardians: Morghast units get +1 attack! Very scary given their damage output.

Legions Innumerable: roll a die for each unit, on a 5+, heal d3 wounds or returns single wound models. Note: it specifically leaves out the ability to bring back other models. Handy to have, remember this all happens in your hero phase so choose the order in which you heal things carefully. Out of range of a gravesite by an inch? Heal with legions or a Deathly Invocation and place the models close enough to use that gravesite! Note that the gravesites' resurrecting ability takes place at the beginning of the hero phase, unlike similar abilities.

Artifacts of Nagash

  1. Deathforced Chain: At the start of your hero phase, the bearer heals 1 wound that has been allocated to it. Pretty useful for keeping your hero alive.
  2. Balefire Lantern: Subtract 1 from wound rolls for enemy units within 6" of the bearer. In addition, re-roll successful casting rolls for enemy WIZARDS within 6" of the bearer. This is amazing when you consider the number of additional effects that occur on 6's to wound and that's not even including the chance of protecting your general by turning wounds into fails! The anti-wizard ability is, unfortunately, a double-edged sword, as although they have to roll twice, the second roll could end up being higher making it harder to unbind.
  3. Grave-sand Timeglass: Whilst the bearer is on the battlefield, once per battle, in your hero phase, you can pick an enemy HERO on the battlefield. The enemy hero suffers D3 mortal wounds. At the start of each of your subsequent hero phases, roll a dice. On a 4+ the enemy hero suffers 1 mortal wound. You'll always crack this during your first hero phase. It's good for sniping backline heroes but don't expect it to kill anything.
  4. Ossific Diadem: Any time a friendly DEATHRATTLE model within 12" of the wearer takes a wound or a mortal wound, roll a dice. On a 6+ the wound or mortal wound is ignored. Decent protection. You can take this save and the deathless minions save thus giving skeleton warriors and grave guard another layer of protection making them that much more annoying to kill. Taking this on a Wight King also gives him an additional save and might keep him alive long enough to heal up some wounds.
  5. Amethyst Shard: Once per battle, in your hero phase, you can declare that the bearer will merge the shard with one of their melee weapons. Pick one of the bearer's melee weapons. Until your next hero phase, add 1 to hit and wound rolls made for that weapon. Really meh considering it's once per battle.
  6. Terrorgheist Mantle: In your shooting phase, you can declare that the bearer will unleash a death shriek. Pick an enemy unit within 10" of the bearer and roll 2 dice. If the total is higher than the enemy units Bravery, it suffers a number of mortal wounds equal to the difference. While it does give you a shooting attack, it requires an army dedicated to stacking Bravery modifiers. Could turn out to be a very fun army though.

Command Traits

  1. Master of Death: Re-roll results of 1 (i.e. rolls of 1-2 on a D3) for friendly units affected by a Deathly Invocation that are within 12" of this general. At first glance, this seems meh, but it doesn't just affect the general's rolls. So long as the summonable unit is within 12" of the general, any Deathly Invocation will get that re-roll. If you bunch your heroes and summonable units together you can expect to replenish a huge amount of wounds/models per turn.
  2. Chosen Champion: Add 1 to the Damage characteristic of melee weapon used by this general for attacks made against enemy HEROES. Has it's uses. On a Coven Throne/Bloodseeker Palaquin, those Ethereal weapons will cause 2 mortal wounds on 6's. Can get nasty with the Amethyst Shard, now causing 2 mortal wounds on 5's and 6's (due to the wording of the spirit hosts rules, that's still only gonna be one mortal wound. Unfortunately, you'll be stuck hunting down heroes to gain that extra damage.
  3. Bane of he Living: Re-roll wound rolls of 1 for this general for attacks made against enemy units that do not have the DEATH keyword. Pretty good against Order, Chaos and Destruction to make your general more killy. Useless against opposing Death armies.
  4. Aura of Ages: At the start of the combat phase, roll a dice for each enemy unit with 3" of this general. On a 4+ subtract 1 from hit rolls made for that unit until the end of the combat phase. If your general is looking to get into the thick of things then this is pretty dang useful at keeping him alive. Situational with backfield generals but a decent pick all the same.
  5. Ancient Strategist: Re-roll failed charge rolls for friendly DEATHRATTLE' and MORGHAST' units within 9" of this general. Re-rolls are always great to ensure your army gets to where it needs to be. A good pick for Deathrattle armies.
  6. Lord of Nagashizzar: Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of melee weapons used by friendly DEATHRATTLE units within 6" of this general. If your playing a predominately Deathrattle army (which you should be if your playing Grand Host of Nagash) then this is amazeballs. If you're not, it's really bad.

Legion of Sacrament

This is Arkhan's legion, if he is included in this army he MUST be the army general and if you include any Mortrach units he has to be one of them.

The Master's Teachings: So whenever a SUMMONABLE unit is destroyed within 6" of a gravesite, On a 4+ you can set it up again at full strength. This costs reserve points so take that as you will.

The Black Disciples: Add 1 to all casting rolls for friendly LEGION OF SACRAMENT WIZARDS. This ability is great because our magic is powerful now, so this helps our spell go off easier. This also gives Arkhan a +3 casting modifier when he is at full wounds. Give him soul harvest, and chances are, he'll never die. Don't quote this on that. Oh, and did we mention? He can take any of the Lores of the Dead spells, ANY of them!

Artifacts of Sacrament

  1. Spiritcage: Friendly units gain +1 to wound for the rest of the turn if an enemy hero is slain within 6" of the bearer. This item has a very situational use.
  2. Shroud of Darkness: This is... WOW! Enemy shooting is -1 to hit within 8-inches of the model, or -2 if they are further away. Any shots that confer mortal wounds on a 6+ won't get that bonus. This is excellent against shooty armies. While it offers better protection against attacks that deal mortal wounds on a 6+ (these are ignored automatically rather than on a dice roll of 4+), it's otherwise slightly outshone by the Wristbands of Black Gold below. However it's still a great choice.
  3. Asylumaticae: Bedlam House in a box (except this one is filled with the weaponized undead souls of insane murderers) or a nod to the far better Casket of Souls. Once per game, roll a dice. On a 1 the bearer takes a mortal wound. On a 2+ each enemy unit within 12" suffers one mortal wound. Between being a one-shot, a risk of friendly fire and being outperformed by the Black Gem, it's not worth it.
  4. Wristbands of Black Gold: Amazing. This throwback from Warhammer Fantasy returns with a vengeance. Roll a dice for every wound or mortal wound allocated to the wearer as a result of shooting. On a 4+ the wound is ignored. Essentially an unmodifiable +4 save against all shooting. Are pesky Kurnoth Hunters sniping your best units? Has the mass barrages of those godless Kharadron got you down? If you're versing a shooty army, TAKE IT. Slap this on a VLOZD and, between this and magic support from the rest of the army, you can almost guarantee your VLOZD will reach enemy lines and make those shooty units PAY. If you want some lulz, you could equip a female character on foot with these and re-enact the No man's land scene from the latest Wonder Woman movie.
  5. Azyrbane Standard: A nod to how Arkhan freed Mannfred from the wall of Faith in The End Times. Subtract 1 from the casting rolls of enemy wizards within '6' of the bearer. If they're also Order Wizards, they also have to re-roll successful casting attempts. Though it has a limited range this is a welcome addition. Best used on a character dedicated to a support role or Wizard hunting, and especially against certain Order armies (such as Sylvaneth from the Gnarlroot Wargrove). Though keep in mind some Wizards are also monsters and thus could just lay the smackdown in combat (again, such as Sylvaneth wizards Drycha, Alarielle and Treelord Ancients).
  6. Black Gem: Pick a point with 8" of your character. Then roll a dice for EVERY UNIT within 3 of that point, on a 6+ one model dies. This is situational, one use only and it does carry the risk of friendly fire. While it can put the hurt on MSU, especially multi-wounds foes like Skullcrushers and Dracothian Guard, it needs a 6+ to kill them and it's weak against Hordes. It's not known if this can target solo characters or Behemoths. Not mandatory but a better choice than the Asylumaticae. BUT: it is one of the few things that can ONESHOT Morathi now, the other Death thing that can is Nagash (there is a third but that's situational - Arkhan, if he's in the same army as Nagash, due to his ability), and if you're using this and him, read your battletome.

Command Traits

  1. Emissary of the Master: Lets you re-roll failed charges for nearby units. A solid choice but not as good as equivalents in other armies.
  2. Dark Acolyte: Makes the general a Wizard, or grants them an additional spell if they are already a Wizard. Useful if you want a magic heavy army, though it's not like there's a shortage of Wizards in this list. May be useful for a Wight King with battle standard.
  3. Mark of the Favored: Each time the general is targeted by an attack in combat, the attacking unit suffers a mortal wound on a 6+. While it sounds useful, so far this trait has generated Skub due to poor wording in the rules, and so far even the FAQ hasn't satisfied the debaters.
  4. Peerless Commander': Allows the general to summon a unit "in the grave" while further away from a gravesite.
  5. Mastery of Death: Grants a bonus move to units in the hero phase. When combined with the Deathmarch battalion's bonus move, Deathrattle units can be moving up to 7 extra inches in the hero phase. Very nice, especially on Black Knights.
  6. Bound to the Master: The General can use Arkhan the Black's Command Ability. This is useful if you have a variety of wizards in your army.

Legion of Blood

This is Neferata's legion, if she is included in this army, she MUST be the army general and if you include any Mortarch units she has to be one of them.

Favored Retainers: Legion of Blood Vampire Lords and Legion of Blood Blood Knights gain +1 attack. Good for characters, but not as much for Blood Knights since they were nerfed.

Immortal Majesty: Subtract 1 from bravery for any enemy unit within 6" of any Legion of Blood units.

Artifacts of Blood

  1. Ring of Domination: When the bearer is selected in the combat phase, pick an enemy model within 3" and roll a dice. On a 5+ you can use one of their melee weapons to attack in addition to whatever weapons your character has. Imagine killing Archaon with his own sword (or finishing him off with your other weapons if that one doesn't work), or using a Spirit of Durthu's weapon to cut down a unit of Kurnoth Hunters. If you're lucky with dice rolls and in combat, with the right units this can be excellent. Take it on a CC oriented character, especially in conjunction with anything that allows them to strike first and, with a good dice roll, watch them beat down characters with many times their points cost.
  2. Shadeglass Decanter: After armies have been set up but before the first battle round, select an enemy Hero. In your hero phase, as long as that hero is on the battlefield, you can roll a d6. If the result is higher than the number of the current battle round, they take a mortal wound.
  3. The Orb of Enchantment: Once per battle, the bearer can pick an enemy hero within 3". At the beginning of the combat phase, they cannot pile in, attack or use abilities. Apart from a one-shot, this is excellent. You could use this to troll major combat characters like Archaon or Skarbrand. Slap this on a character on foot in a big unit and you have an excellent tarpit.
  4. Soulbound Garments:Reroll saves of 1 for the bearer.
  5. Oubliette Arcana: When an enemy Wizard casts a spell within 30", you can roll a d6 instead of attempting to unwind it. On a 6 the spell is negated and the caster can't use that spell again for the rest of the battle.
  6. Amulet of Screams: Once per battle, the bearer of this amulet can use this to unbind an enemy spell on a 2+.

Command Traits

  1. Swift Strikes: Each time you make a hit roll of 6+ in the combat phase for your general, you can make one additional hit roll for the same weapon against the same target.
  2. Soul-Crushing Contempt: If your general slays a model, it's unit has -1 bravery this turn.
  3. Aristocracy of Blood: Reroll failed charges for Soulblight units within 9" of your general.
  4. Aura of Dark Majesty: Another blast from the past. -1 to Hit rolls that target your general.
  5. Walking Death: If you roll a 6+ to Hit with one of your general's melee weapons, you deal mortal wounds equal to the weapon's Damage.
  6. Sanguine Blur: The general gains 2" to their movement and can reroll failed charges.

Legion of Night

This is Mannfred's legion, if he is included in this army he MUST be the army general and if you include any Mortarch units he has to be one of them.

The Bait: Deathrattle units gain +1 to saves while wholly in your own territory.

Ageless Cunning: Looks like Mannfred learned how to CREEEEED! from big daddy Carstein. Up to three units can be deployed in reserve and can ambush by moving on from any table edge.

Artifacts of Night

  1. Vial of the Pure Blood: Once per game the user gains +1 to all hit and wounds rolls until their next hero phase. Way worse than it first seems when you factor in the useful candidates for it (Coven throne/ Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon) and then realize that artifacts don't affect the users mount. Pass.
  2. Shard of Night: -1 to hit the bearer in the shooting phase. Solid choice, slap it on a Vampire Lord on a Zombie dragon. Job done.
  3. Gem of Exsanguination: The standard issue unholy hand grenade. Pick an enemy unit within 6 and roll a die, on a 1 the unit takes 1 mortal wound, 2-5 D3 mortal wounds, and on a 6+ D6 mortal wounds. Not great but a bit of fun, overall I'd pass on it.
  4. The Chiropractor's Cloak: Aside from helping with your back the bearer can declare its using the cloak at the start of any (not 1 use only) combat phase. If the bearer does it takes 1 mortal wound but for each hit roll made against the bearer of 1 or less the attacker suffers a mortal wound. Deceptively good providing you pull off the right combo. Cast Overwhelming dread on the unit you intend to charge the bearer into combat with and make your opponent weep. Best slapped on Vamp Lord on Zombie dragon (like most of these artifacts it seems) built for a turn 1 charge. Pass if you know that you'll be going up against units with a small volume of attacks but otherwise a very solid choice.
  5. Morbheg's Claw: If the bearer stands still, they can add 2 to all casting rolls for friendly Legion of Night's wizards within 12" including their own. Fantastic on a support character if you have lots of wizards.
  6. Curseblade: At the beginning of the battle, pick an enemy Hero anywhere on the battlefield. In every hero phase roll a dice, on a 4+ they take a mortal wound, and the bearer heals a wound. This is a nice weapon for sniping an enemy hero and healing the bearer.

Command Traits

  1. Above Suspicion: Allows the general to be set up in an ambush in addition to the normal maximum of three. This trait is complete trash; no uses for it. Moving on swiftly...
  2. Swift Form: +2 to the bearer's movement characteristic and add 2 to their run rolls. If you brought a Vampire Lord on a zombie dragon and you insist on playing Legion of Night, this is the one for you. It helps your vampire beatstick get that turn 1 charge off and makes it significantly more maneuverable should it need to hop over to various objectives.
  3. Unbending Will: Re roll failed battleshock checks within 12 of the general. Pretty bad as usually your big blobs of skelejonays or grav guard either don't run at all or they've been hit hard, and they're all un-undying. Overall a pretty shit tier command trait for death.
  4. Merciless Hunter: Re roll wound rolls of 1 for the general. Pretty good, nothing amazing to write home about but not the worst either. Again, best on a beatstick vamp lord on a spooky dragon.
  5. Unholy Impetus: If the general slays an enemy model in close combat, one friendly unit within 3" gets +1 attack on all their melee weapons until the end of the phase. This is good on heavy hitting units such as unridden Zombie Dragons or Grave Guard. Alternative Opinion: Forget the zombie dragon, pair it with a blob of 40 skelijonays ambushing to give them 4 attacks each at full strength. Overall the best one here as unlike a similar command trait in the grand host of nagash this one doesn't just work on deathrattle but all legion of night units. Pair this ability with a huuuge unit of vargheists or morghasts for added FUN.
  6. Terrifying Visage: -1 bravery to all enemy units within 6 of the general. A solid choice especially when brought alongside the standard death banners and the morghasts' penalties for bravery. Add in a mortis engine or two or a banshee and bam you've got some lethal shenanigans going on.

Units

Heroes

Mortarch

  • Nagash, Supreme Lord of the Undead: The biggest and baddest bitch you or anyone else can get. Costs a whopping 800 points and, if used correctly, is worth every single point. First he has 16 wounds with a 3+ save which will be rerolling 1's because of his command ability. He also has a 4+ save against mortal wounds that reflects the wounds back on a roll of 6. If you cast mystic shield on him (and you should) he will become just about unkillable. His real sauce comes from his ability to cast 8 spells a turn. He knows his own 2 unique spells, both of which are fantastic, as well as 3 spells from either of the Lores of Death. Couple this with Arcane Bolt and Mystic Shield and he can cast 7 times a turn on his own, but he also knows the spells of all Death Wizards on the board, so go fucking nuts kids. This bitch can and will demolish units with mortal wound spam whilst also healing himself with spells like Soul Stealer and Vile Transference (if he ever gets hurt) and debuffing the survivors. So he can look at them. Because HIS EYES ARE LASERS or something like that. And if you still aren't convinced he also boasts one of the scariest melee profiles in the game. The staff with -3 rend and d6 damage is great but the real sauce is that fucking sword. -2 rend and 3 damage flat hitting 6 times is just brutal and scares just about everything. And a sprinkling of spirit host attacks for more mortal wounds because yes. He also boasts some fucking amazing buffs for your army. His deathly invocation is re-rollable and affects 5 units anywhere on the board. His command ability is downright fucked, rerolling 1's to hit and for save rolls and ignore battleshock for your ENTIRE ARMY including himself. The ignoring battleshock may not seem so important because of deaths naturally high leadership but it means you just don't have to worry about certain battleshock activated abilities like a Carnosaur roar. All in all Nagash is one of the most well rounded characters in the game, being an incredibly dangerous model in every phase of the game and buffing the shit out of your army, his only drawback being his insanely high points cost being prohibitively expensive at low point games and forcing you to build around him at higher points. And also fuck me his model is amazing and absolutely fucking towers above everything. Just like Nagash would want.
  • Mannfred, Mortarch of Night: Mannfred's price point means that he will be competing against VLoZDs, and he will almost never come up short. He has several factors which put his head and shoulders above other options. First is his command ability, a big bubble of rerolling 1's to hit and wound. This is a huge force multiplier and can be combo'd with so many units to create massive sweeping charges. Black Knights, Blood Knights, Morghasts and other fast-moving elite units become far more dangerous when near Mannfred. Since his command ability also affects his own attacks, it makes his sword of unholy power, Ghiestvor, one of the most reliable and hard-hitting weapons in the game. Ghiestvor gains +1 to hit and wound rolls if you successfully cast a spell in your last hero phase. This hitting and wounding on 2's rerolling 1's and rend -1 means that you can bank on an almost guaranteed 3-4 d3 damage from the sword alone. Couple this with his also powerful Sickle-glaive, and his Dread Abyssal and spirit attacks, he will be crippling monsters and decimating units left, right and center. He is also a competent spellcaster, able to cast 2 spells a turn, and has an ok if a bit situational, unique spell. Where he falls short is his relative frailty compared to a VLoZD. He only has a rather meager 11 wounds and a 4+ save, and whilst this is somewhat mitigated by his 2 wound regen every time he kills a model in combat, a couple of big hits will be far more noticeable. That being said, his most powerful attacks aren't linked to the dragon, so they will not degrade as he takes damage. If it comes down to a choice between the 2, Mannfred is more of a force multiplier than a VLoZD, but there is plenty of overlap. Or just take both with a shitload of cavalry and just annihilate your enemy on a first turn charge.
  • Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament: The addition of the Lords of Death have really helped out Arkhan, and he works best when you focus on magic spam. His command ability gives him and all death wizards within 18" an additional 6" range to all spells, which is downright terrifying when used with some of the new spells. Try casting Amarantine Orb with a range of 18", or even better, using Soul Harvest to deal d3 mortal wounds to each enemy unit within 9". And let's not forget his unique spell, Curse of Years, which is one of the most ridiculous spells in the game. Roll 10d6. Every 6 is a mortal wound. Now roll all your 6's again, this time every 5 is a mortal wound. Keep going until you hit 1 because the rules of 1 don't affect spell effects so as soon as you hit 1 you deal UNLIMITED MORTAL WOUNDS. You may decide to include the rule of one, so people don't beat you up after you one hit the Glottkin or not, depending on how much your opponent deserves it. So Arkhan excels as a dangerous spellcaster, but what are the rest of his stats like? As a Mortarch, he rides a Dread Abyssal and has a spirit host following him around, and be attacks with basically 2 vampire sword attacks. So he won't shine in combat against dedicated enemies, but he can hold his own. His durability is solid, with 11 wounds and a 4+ save, and the ability to heal 2 wounds every time he kills a model, but it isn't spectacular, but luckily his additional range for spells that can generate healing makes him more survivable. Compared to the other Mortarchs he is considerably cheaper but does lack the sheer combat potential. Compared to then he does require more fine-tuning, you have to build around his strengths and maximize your spell casting, as opposed to say Mannfred, who you just set loose. Although Arkhan's Legion of Sacrament and his Warscroll battalion do increase his effectiveness.
  • Neferata, Mortarch of Blood:

Soulblight

  • Prince Vhordrai: a unique Vampire lord on Zombie Dragon with an upgraded Bloodlance but replaces its Pestilential Breath with the ability to properly inflict up to 6 mortal wounds. He also has a unique spell that increases his own hit and wound rolls by one until the next hero phase, and a command ability that let another hero perform an out of turn pile in and attack or another casting attempt.
  • Bloodseeker Palanquin: Similar to the Coven Throne but with a lot fewer melee attack. it can increase the attack of all Soulblight units if a Hero is slain near it. It has a short range missle weapon that deals d3 mortal wounds if you roll higher than the unit's leadership with 2 dice. is also has a 12 spell that targets a hero that has a 50% to deal 1 mortal wound, 2/3 to deal d3 and a 1/6 chance to deal d6 mortal wounds.
  • Coven Throne: For when you really want to cherry-tap some shmucks. This thing pours out TWENTY-FIVE attacks in melee, but only one of them is actually powerful and can potentially make new generic Vampire Lords, but don't bet on it. They also allow you to reroll a single dice roll per game (Either your own or your opponents. That's right, you can force your opponent to reroll a critical save in a pinch). Don't you dare forget that, it might help? It's also a wizard with a meh unique spell (which is potentially strong but has a short range and a bravery test save or die) and its Command Ability lets you auto-win ties on the Initiative roll, which is potentially powerful but it comes up pretty rarely. It's also ridiculously fast with a 14" flying movement.
    • It can be argued that the throne is a single model with no rider or mount. In such case, many traits and artifacts start looking pretty good. For example, you could take a killing blow and the saccharine goblet, triggering mortal wounds on 5+ to wound (and 5+ to hit for the ghosts) on its shit ton of attacks, making it quite the scary bruiser.
  • Vampire Lord: Unfortunately, your Vampire Lord isn't the unit-shredding dragon-out damaging monster he used to be. At least he's still crazily awesome at support. While most armies must choose between fighter and caster, your Vampire Lord does both. He's got a great melee profile, can cast a spell a turn and has a powerful Command Ability. And since he can heal wounds by killing stuff, you want him in the thick of it. Can also have wings or a nightmare to increase his movement, with the wings letting you fly while the nightmare grants you another melee weapon. Since the command ability grants an additional attack with each weapon of the affected unit, it's best to use this on models with few strong attacks or better yet on models with more than one weapon profile. If you want to be a real jerk, use the Lord's buff on a Necrosphinx, which turns into an absolute rape machine thanks to this. Using his command ability on a big unit of skeletons is also a great tactic to just drown the enemy with attacks. If you play carefully enough, 30 skeletons would be getting 4 attacks each (1 attack base, +2 attacks with a unit of 30, +1 from buff) with +1 to hit if they are near a lord. To top it off, he has one of the best debuff spells in the game: at 6+, it subtracts 1 from the Attacks of EACH weapon of a unit to a minimum of 1. Yes, against basic troops with one attack is useless, but against those elite units with 2 attacks (Stormcast, chaos warriors, hammerers, Phoenix guard, saurus guard... come on, every army has at least one)? Well, all of a sudden, that crucial unit is half as powerful. Use this spell wisely, and you can beat almost anything even with half-decomposed zombies! He can also get a blood chalice that gives him back D6 wound once per game, increasing quite a lot the dude (un)life spawn. All in all, a quite nice little hero that can be a pretty scary backline assassin, ready to debuff an enemy monster and then jump some squishy unit.
  • Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon: Finally, finally the Zombie Dragon actually out-damages the Vampire riding it. It has a bunch of devastating attacks and what might be the meanest breath attack in the game, as it hits units of 6 or more models automatically and then Wounds on 2+. The Vampire, on the other hand, provides a bunch of healing to the Dragon and yet another powerful melee profile. Like all Vampires, he's a Wizard, but with a very gimmicky unique spell that will never see use. Trust me, it is far more worth it to give him Mystic Shield for that sweet 2+ saves. His Command Ability is providing rerolls To Hit to a friendly Death unit. Couple this with the once per game chalice of blood that gives you D6 wounds back and this guy will have your opponents wishing they had one. He has the same healing ability as the normal vampire lord which boosts this further. Use him as an absolute beast to shred through large number units or stick him into an enemy monster, but make sure to be attacked first, using the output at full wounds will most likely guarantee the death or serious crippling of the enemy. Too bad that relics such as the goblet do not work on the dragon's attacks but then again, with the saccharine goblet you have a lance wounding and hitting on a 2+ while dealing 3 wounds for each attack which is still quite nice. I don't need to tell you how awesome is to give this guy mist form: charge a unit with the deathlance and do a shit ton of damage, then in the next turn bail the shit out of that fight and charge again.


Others

  • Necromancer: Sit at 110pt., they can use what is basically 40k's Look Out Sir, allocating wounds they suffer to Skeletons and Zombies around them, which grants them significantly more staying power. That's great because you really need these guys alive and out of harm's way. They can cast a spell a turn, in addition to the great spells the legion gives, they have a very powerful unique spell that lets a friendly Skeleton, Mordant or Zombie unit (most infantry and cavalry) pile in and fight twice, which gets A LOT more mileage out of your Zombies.
  • Wight King w/ Baleful Tomb Blade The Wight King on foot is unfortunately pretty unremarkable (The model does look cool so props if you field him.) Wight King on a steed, however, deserves a special mention. Being a mounted unit, he is a solid addition to a unit of black knights/hexwraiths/dire wolves giving them Deathless Minions and possibly his command trait for black knights while also keeping up with them. He is pretty decent in melee but admittedly is outclassed by a Vampire Lord on Steed which is only 20 points more for a better weapon and access to spells. With the new edition coming out, he might deserve another look since he can use his command ability without also being your general. Here's some food for thought. A Wight King w/ the Baleful Tomb Blade with the Lord of Nagashizzar trait also gives +1 attack to himself, while a Wight King of the Legion of Night can claim a 2+ save while in your territory to help not being shot at.
  • Wight King W/ Black Axe: Lacking a stead option and has a worse save then its Sword counterpart. Instead, the model can slay enemies that it has wounded on a 6+ and Halve the damage it takes from an attack, rounding up.
  • Cairn Wraith While he is not as killy as a VLoZD, he is a very deadly hero for the low price of half of a Wight King. That's a steal considering this guy has the classic Nighthaunt saves and Frightful Touch, and his Frightful Touch does 2 damage on a hit roll of a 6+! Also, he gives the standard Deathless Minions to your units and he himself gets to reroll all hits vs units with 5 or more models.
  • Tomb Banshee Remember what we said about shooting? This is one of the few units that has a shooting phase in our army and her attack deals mortal wounds based on the opponent's Bravery. She has classic Nighthaunt defenses and Frightful touch BUT she only makes one attack. Her weapon has a solid profile, but it's better to keep her out of melee range and instead support your Skeletons with Deathless Minions. Her Scream has great synergy with any unit that has a -1 bravery banner or any death wizard that can reduce bravery. She also is pretty affordable as far as hero units go, just make sure you don't bring her along when you fight high bravery armies like Daemons and Death. She shines vs Stormcast because they have low bravery and are vulnerable to mortal wounds.

Battleline

  • Skeleton Warriors: Literally the reason you wanted to play Death. These guys are nasty when taken in 40 man chunks. Always go spears if you go the maximum size to get the most out of your bones. With Necromancers casting Vanhel's Danse Macabre and the command ability from regular vampire lords or wight kings these guys will sport 4 attacks each and can fight twice, bonus memes if you have the Grand Host of Nagash alliegence you can also use the Lord of Nagashizzar to give them an extra attack totalling 5 attacks per skeleton. They also have a 6+++ FnP and a 6+ save that can be increased to 5+ if the enemy has a weapon with no rend. Against rend 1 or more expect them to drop like flies only to be resurrected in the following hero phase as they are SUMMONABLE and restore d3 models per hero and gravesite. Neat!
  • Dire Wolves: These mangy pups are actually really good thanks to the new battletome. They have two wounds and are fast as fuck which is useful for grabbing objectives and they are SUMMONABLE meaning these guys can resurrect fallen models just like skeletons can. (Although, thanks to the wording on Deathly Invocation, you can only resurrect a wolf on a result of 2 or more on a d3.) And to top it all off, these guys are going to be your cheapest battleline because unlike Zombies and *somewhat* Skeletons; they are very effective taken as a minimum sized unit.
  • Zombies: Zombies are in a rough spot. They're actually quite good, but wolves and skeletons are stiff competition. They can get 3+/3+ if they have 40 or more models. (2+/3+ if there is a corpse cart) The maximum unit size for these guys is a whopping 60 models. They have only 1 attack each and no save BUT they are summonable and if they kill a unit in the fight phase, on a roll of a 6 they become a zombie! If you have them don't be afraid to run the zombie train, but unless you really like zombies, I would advise new players to stick with skeletons for big hordes.

A quick note about the models: Mantic games sells a box of 40 skeletons and zombies which is more price efficient than buying the GW ones with boxes of 10 and 20 respectively. Just be wary of people who won't play you because you're not using GW ones.

Nighthaunt

  • Black Coach: Theoretically, the Black Coach is pretty good, especially if you keep buffing it with Wizards. The problem with this is that in order to get all those buffs, you pretty much need to spam Wizards, which can work as most of your Leaders are wizards.
    • It is fast with a 10" move, but lacks flying (gaining it later at the Fourth Level of Evocation of Death.) and is missing the Nighthaunts penchant to ignore rend. He has the same weapon as the Cairn Wraith and the reroll hits if a unit has 5+, with the addition of 4 more attacks with his horses. So in a Nighthaunt Allegiance army he will not level up reliably and costs the same as two Cairn Wraiths...the Wraiths will have 1 more wound, collectively, and double the good attacks on top of ignoring rends, oh and they fly.
  • Hexwraiths: Hexwraiths occupies an interesting spot in LoN. On paper, they are better than ever. Summonable makes them targets for Deathly Invocation, giving them regeneration they never had. The addition of Frightful Touch to all Nighthaunt Units means that they now deal more damage than before as well and in mortal wounds. But the buff of Black Knights means you have 2 types of cavalry to pick from, (not including Blood Knights) and in a lot of cases, Black Knights are superior. They have the ability to deal far more wounds for 40 points less. But Hexwraiths do have several things over their cheaper cousins. They have far better durability, with the classic Nighthaunt 4+ unmodifiable save. They are also substantially quicker due to having fly and ignoring terrain and models when moving, and the ability to deal mortal wounds to a model if they do move over them. Hexwraiths also have a permanent -1 rend on their scythes, making them far better in protracted combats or if they are charged first. Hexwraiths are then better suited at striking at vulnerable enemy units. Their speed and resilience means that they are very good at taking out enemy support elements and assassinating enemy war machines and characters that stray, as well as dodging screening units. Nothing is quite as troll-y than flying straight over your enemies tarpit, dealing a handful of mortal wounds to it and charging the archers behind them.
  • Spirit Hosts: Oh boy these ghoulish ghastlies are by far one of the most underrated units in the battletome. They seem expensive at first but they come with a lot of nasty surprises. First, like all Nighthaunt units, they have a 4+ save that cannot be modified positively or negatively (for those coming from 40K it's like an invulnerable save) they have 6 attacks each and if they hit on a 6+ they deal a mortal wound instead! These guys will be dishing out mortal wounds left at right all while being durable as fuck. And if that wasn't enough they are SUMMONABLE meaning they can regen fallen units (remember they have 3 wounds each meaning that they can only resurrect on a 5+ with deathly invocation and gravesites also holy shit they have 3 wounds.) It's worth saying that units of 3 or 6 are probably your best bet seeing as they have large bases and it would be hard for say 9 or 12 to all be in combat. Also be wary of anything that gives you a -1 to hit in combat as it effectively neuters their offensive potential.

Deathrattle

  • Black Knight: Black Knights have become an absolutely fantastic unit in LoN due to receiving an +1 to hit with and an additional attack with their lances. This means that on the charge Black Knights can put out a rather frightening amount of 2 damage attacks for a very reasonable price. They are also very survivable, with 2 wounds each and a 5+ save+crypt-shield making it very difficult to wipe the unit before your regeneration kicks in. They only have 2 major weaknesses. First is their lack of rend. This can really gimp them against some targets, but the amount of attacks they put out typically means that only a couple of failed saves can really hurt. Second is that they need the charge to be capable of putting out actual damage. If they have to go into the second round of combat or they are charged themselves they will not hold up in combat at all. This is not so much of a problem as their speed and low price point means that they should both be able to get the charge and they are cheap enough to be used as a tarpit if need be. They are best used as a fast-moving screening unit alongside Hero's like Mannfred who can buff them so they hit obscenely hard on the charge but are also cheap enough that they can be used to buffer the enemy to line up a perfect turn of spellcasting and combat from Mannfred.
  • Grave Guard: Before the battletome, they were outclassed by skellies but now not so much. They are a battleline choice if you choose Grand Host of Nagash and they have more quality attacks, but skeleton warriors just have so so much quantity. Fear not for the Grave Guard can now regenerate models just as fast as skeletons and boost a better armor save and better rend while also having the potential to deal double damage on a wound roll of 6+. You can take 30 of these guys for a very steep price, but since they have 1" swords, it's unlikely they will all be able to attack HOWEVER they'll have enough bodies to keep from being blasted off the table turn 1. The shields are pretty helpful against rend 0, and the great blades +1 to wound really helps make these guys as killy as possible so depending on what you normally face at your FLGS you should kit these guys out accordingly which will more than likely be the great blades.

Soulblight

  • Bat Swarms: SUMMONABLE They're swarms. Lot of attacks, awful Hit, and Wound rolls. Their flavor heals all wounds if it inflicts a wound. But that's not why you take them. You take them because all enemy units within 12" of them take a -1 penalty To Hit in the shooting phase, which is fucking massive considering they have a 12" flying movement.
  • Fell Bats: SUMMONABLE These are odd. They have surprising staying power with 3 wounds each, but their damage output can generously be described as lacking. However, once an enemy model in their vicinity dies, they double their attacks for the rest of the game, granting 6 attacks to each bat.
  • Vargheists: These guys are a cheap hammer unit, and man do they do work. They are not particularly durable, but they are very fast and swing for 2 damage a hit, AND for every model they kill they roll a dice and on a 6 they get an additional attack. Legion of Night loves these guys for the ability to outflank with them. They are not quite as strong as Morghasts (another hammer unit) in terms of raw power, but you are saving 60 points by taking Varghiests over them. But hey! Why not take both? It is advisable to take both as they do sort of fulfill different roles. Varghiests especially excel at murderising hordes. Those additional attacks can really stack up, as multiple damage attacks against hordes can wipe out a lot of models. This is not to say they aren't versatile, but they are a fantastic unit to clear out enemy tarpits with their sheer speed and damage.
  • Blood Knights: BK's are one of the most contentious units LoN, and for good reason. First, the models themselves are dated and crazy expensive. 5 of them will set you back a Baneblade (Fingers crossed for new models). Second, they are also incredibly expensive points wise, clocking in at 100 points more expensive than Chaos Knights, which are comparable, and 20 points less than a max unit of Skellingtons. Finally, the changes to banners mean they have lost their source of model regeneration. They still heal 1 wound when they kill something, but lacking the summonable keyword, this is their only form of healing outside of spells. So what do you get for all this? You basically get Chaos Knights with Glaives, but +1 to hit, an additional attack, permanent -1 rend, and d3 damage on the charge. They also have all the standard death goodies of shields, banners and hornblowers. The Kastellan adds +1 to attacks instead of +1 to hits. Put bluntly they are a very expensive unit that is capable of dealing huge amounts of damage on the charge. The problem is your opponent will know this and will take them out ASAP. They are fairly tough, but the loss of regen has really hurt them in this department. But this isn't to say that they haven't gained anything from the new rules. If taken in a Legion of Blood army, they each gain an additional attack (horses included) and an additional -1 to bravery that stacks with their banner. This bonus to attacks makes this unit one of the single most offensively powerful units in the game. You basically have an entire unit of Vampire Lords or Daemon Princes' on the charge. A unit of 5 will be putting out 21, -1 rend, d3 damage attacks, and 15 horse attacks every turn, at -2 to bravery. If you can get some rerolls in there you'll be putting out 20+ damage a charge, enough to annihilate most units and monsters. Blood Knights are powerful, but they do require quite a bit of list tailoring and building your play around them maximize their power, but when you do, oh fucking boy will you mentally scar your opponent.

Behemoths

  • Terrogheist: The giant zombie bat is back and now he is more terrifying than ever. No, really this guy is straight up nasty and he'll have your opponent screaming imba. He now sports a 4+ save which he desperately needed and carries a very deadly ranged weapon in the form of a deathly shriek. Now the Terrogheist's shooting attack is unusual as it deals mortal wounds as long as you roll over their bravery. Even Stormcasts will suffer significant losses due to the death shriek. His Gaping Maw is the butter to his biscuit when you attack with this weapon and roll a 6 TO HIT, you do not need to make a wound roll or save and the damage deals 6 automatically. Basically, it's a really shifty way to say it deals 6 mortal wounds but doesn't actually use the words "mortal wounds" so it bypasses a lot of saves this way. And then when the Terrogheists inevitably dies it explodes and deals d3 mortal wounds to each unit (friend and foe) within 3" to say fuck you one last time as it dies.
  • Zombie Dragon: Similar to the Terrogheist except has more melee attacks and a breath attack that can auto-hit by rolling equal or less than the target's model count before rolling for a hit. For more details, look at the vampires that mount them.
  • Mortis Engine: The cheapest of the 3 throne variants, the Mortis Engine is a support behemoth that provides several useful abilities and attacks. First, it has 12 wounds, and a 4+ save and a movement of 14", giving it some pretty impressive stats. It has several different attack profiles, in combat, it has 2 spirit hosts worth of damage, and the Corpsemaster's Staff, which is your standard wizard attack that deals d3 damage and will never hit. It also boasts an aura of banshee screams, rolling 2d6 against any enemy unit within its range and dealing d3 mortal wounds if you beat their bravery. It has utility in its Bound Necromancer, giving +1 to death wizard casting within 12", and -1 to all other castings. Its real sauce is that once per game in the hero phase you may open the Reliquary, allowing you to roll 4d6 and everything within that range will either take d3 mortal wounds or heal them if they are death units. This ability can be obscenely powerful. Coupled with its Banshee screams it is not unlikely that you can throw out an absolute bucket of mortal wounds, whilst also healing your own troops. This makes the Mortis Engine hilarious when put near spellcasters like Nagash and Arkhan, making their casting guaranteed, or just buffing your regular Necro's and Vampires, as well as once per game healing them all and blasting anyone that gets too close. It can also be used as a hilarious tarpit, where you can throw it into the heart of the enemies army due to its high movement and fly, and your opponent will either have to divert serious attention to murder it or just run away before it nukes and heals itself. That being said this monster will not hold up in combat against powerful melee units and is best used to support your casters from behind a wall of skeletons where it can use its ranged attacks to damage enemy units and provide a powerful counter push if you need.

Corps Cart

  • Carts main use is to buff zombie chance to hit and Dire Wolves saves, in addition to its attachments options
  • Balefire Brazier: causes subtract one from enemy wizard's casting rolls and can inflict a mortal wound to them in the Hero phase on a roll of 4+ but at a range of 8".
  • Unholy Lodestone: adds one to your casting rolls and re-roll wounds healed under the effects of the Deathly Invocation ability.

Morghasts

  • Morghasts: Squishier than you think but a threat to literally everything. Always take halberds in legions of Nagash army. Last game mine dealt 18 wounds to a soul grinder and 12 the next turn to a lord of change. Actually just always take halberds in general. You lose out on a potential 1 point of damage but if you're taking the blades you may as well be taking Varghiests. Morghasts with Halberds are some of the best monster hunters in the game. If they can strike first they will almost certainly cripple whatever they are facing and take the subsequent retaliation due to their solid 6 wounds. Their potential damage skyrockets when under the effects of buffs so they excel as bodyguards to models like Mannfred and Nagash. Can also be taken as wound sponges for Nagash in the first cohort battalion. Whilst this may seem a tad expensive, giving Nagash an extra 12 wounds for 200 odd points is just pure cheese and is as such, highly recommended.
  • MORGHAST ARCHAI: Halberds that ignore Mortal wounds on a roll of 5 or 6.
  • Morghast HARBINGERS: Swords that get 3 dice in their charge roll.
  • Its worth mentioning that when using your Morghasts as wound-soaks for Naggy in a First Cohort battalion you should be using Morghast Archai. This gives you an extra 5+ save against Mortal Wounds with their armor. If you are looking for that "fuck you I'ma turn you into goo now" unit then Morghast Harbingers with scythes are going to please you greatly.

Battalions

  • Castellans of the Crimson Keep:
  • Court of Nulahmia:
  • Deathmarch:
  • Lords of Sacrament:
  • Nightfall Pack:
  • The First Cohort:

Allies

  • Flesh-eater Courts: currently the only supported Death Faction you can Ally with. you could use Crypt Flayers like VARGHEISTS that can deal mortal wounds


Age of Sigmar Tactics Articles
General Tactics
Order
Chaos
Death
Destruction
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