Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Tomb Kings

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And sometimes, in ghastly dry voices, like the rustling of sun-baked reeds, they whisper the one word they remember from life. The name of the one who cursed them to their existence, more than death but less than life. They whisper the name Nagash..." — Extract from the Liber Necris, translated by Mannfred von Carstein, unless it was Abdul ben Raschid, unless it was Arkhan the Black.

Why play Tomb Kings?

Tomb Kings are relentless, remorseless, and resilient... for a given value of resilient. For all that they're an army of walking corpses with magically animated statue brosephs backing them up, the core of the army plays suspiciously like an ancient-period historical force, with light infantry, archers and a few chariots and cavalry working together to bring down the foe through superior and surprising tactics. No monstrous mounts, no 5" template doom spells, just solid play... and you're gonna need it.

Make no mistake: on a stat for stat basis Tomb Kings are mediocre. Skeletons, arguably the worst line units around (even Goblins get to march and flee!) do not inspire confidence, 1+ armour saves are conspicuous by their absence, and even your heroes skew toward "take your hits like a champ", with Toughness and Wounds as their standout stats. Unlike their Vampiric Counterparts, the Kings of Nehekhera won't be springing new units out of the ground like daisies or banishing a whole unit with a single top-end spell.

But when those mediocre troops get to take their entire turn twice, when those unspectacular spells never fail or miscast, when those characters laugh off a challenge from tricked-out enemy heroes and messily eviscerate them (even from beyond the grave) - that's where the Tomb Kings shine. It's entirely possible for a unit of Tomb Kings Chariots to start the turn 24" from their target while facing the wrong direction, and end it having not only charged into combat, but dished out two rounds of attacks and their impact hits before the opponent even got to lift a finger. Will your opponent let you get away with that? Probably not on turn one. But by turn three, they may not have a choice.

If that sounds like fun: read on.

Army Special Rules

Undead! Absolutely every single model in the army follows the same set of rules, thus:

• cannot be broken in combat, but suffer an unsaveable wound for each point of combat resolution by which they lost, which you get to allocate around characters and chariots as you see fit.
• lose one less wound if their Battle Standard is within 12"
• do not count any bonuses or penalties to hit when shooting.
• are immune to psychology, on account of having no brain meats.
• cause fear.
• cannot march.
• cannot make any charge reactions other than "stand there and take it like a man/statue/scorpion/thing."

The General: a Tomb Kings army must be led by either a Tomb King or a Tomb Prince, who'll be in charge. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties, and if you have more than two candidates with the same Leadership, you get to pick.

The Hierophant: a Tomb Kings army must include at least one Liche Priest or High Priest, who's responsible for waking the bony boys up and getting them on task. If you have more than one, highest Leadership breaks ties etc. etc. as above.

If the Hierophant dies, the army starts a'crumbling. At the end of the phase when the Hierophant dies, and at the beginning of every Tomb Kings turn thereafter, all your units take a Leadership test. (Note that they can use the General's Leadership for this test, which makes them a lot less all-or-nothing than the Vampires: your Tomb King can keep a good chunk of army going all by himself.) If they fail, they take unsaveable wounds equal to the amount by which they failed. Characters don't have to test: if they're riding a chariot, the chariot has to test on their leadership.

Incantations: the 'magic lore' of Nehekhera

Tomb Kings don't cast spells: they incant incantations. They don't roll them up on a chart: there are four Incantations and each Priest knows all of them. They don't generate or use Power dice: they just go off as a Bound Spell with a random power level (one at 2d6 for a normal Priest, two at 3d6 for a High Priest). No Miscasts, no Irresistible Force, no target numbers: they just WORK. On top of that, all your Tomb Princes and Kings have an ability called My Will Be Done, which lets them cast low-power (1d6), reduced-range versions of the two 'do stuff out of sequence' incantations.

All of which sounds pretty neat. However, the Tomb Kings are a tiny tiny bit set in their ways, and they have to do their magic phase stuff in exactly the same order every single turn of the game.

If you happen to have been a beardy boy and brought along a spellcaster (see Dogs of War, later), they can cast either before or after the Hierarchy begins, but not during it.

So what do these dang incantations actually do?

• Horekha's Incantation of Righteous Smiting: 12" range, friendly target takes a Shooting or Close Combat phase out of sequence: opponents are unable to fight back, and there is no combat resolution, but you can cause a Panic test if you do very well. Doesn't stack.
• Mankara's Incantation of Urgency: 12" range, friendly target takes a Movement phase out of sequence: they can charge if they want to, all normal rules apply. Also doesn't stack.
• Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance: 18", d6 S4 hits magic missile, included in case your Priest has nothing better to do or urgently needs to blast a Banshee out of the way.
• Djedra's Incantation of Summoning: 12" range, restores wounds to friendly unit: baseline d3, up to d6 for Tomb Guard and two d6 pick-the-highest for Skeletons. Lots of spilled ink over exactly how it works, but read the goddamn book for that. Filler, but occasionally very useful if it puts an Ushabti back on its feet or restores a point of rank bonus to an embattled unit.

So let's walk through it. In a 2000 point game you should be throwing out at least five spells, every turn, and you WILL cast all of them. The first few will be low powered extra phases for key units, led by characters. The next couple will be higher power, and might bring models back from the dead or double down on activating higher value units. And all the while your opponent will be hanging on to their Dispel dice, just in case you have a Bound item up your sleeve, or worse - the Casket of Souls parked at the back.

The chief drawback of Incantations is that they have uniformly awful range and a strict casting order, so you have to plan ahead and put the right characters in the right place, which can in turn make your play very predictable. You also have ONLY five to go around, and some of them will be Dispelled because you're bound to roll low on them. What this means, in short, is that you'll probably have to pick one or two units and sink all your efforts into getting them to do stuff or patching them up. Tomb Kings do not lend themselves to a bitty or Multiple Small Units playstyle where most of the army ends up unsupported. Don't fiddle about with three units of three Ushabti: bring a brick of eight or nine and get them right up in the enemy's grill.

Magic Items Companion

Rather than go through the entire section and explain exactly what sucks about each individual gimmick, we're going to present a selection of "ackshuwally semi competitive" builds for various characters and break down what makes them tick.

King Sauron: Tomb King with Destroyer of Eternities, Talisman of Protection, Vambraces of the Sun. This bad lad is built for challenges. He relies on the -1 Attack penalty to the opponent (Vambraces) and his four wounds to survive one round, then swings back with two auto-hitting S7 attacks that come with Killing Blow. Two rounds of that should finish anyone off (and remember, the King can always get to fight out of sequence with a crafty Incantation of Righteous Smiting). Also works as a conventional great weapon, dealing four S7 Killing Blow attacks. Only downside is the Destroyer can't be used while mounted.

Scorpion King: Tomb King in Chariot with Crown of Kings, Scorpion Armour, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade. This King's job is to support his Chariots and other fast stuff with more reliable Incantations (two dice and pick the highest goes a long way toward getting them through), and to stay alive. His save is about as good as it gets in this army, and he makes a great speedbump if there's an Icon Bearer nearby: the Scorpion Armour means he only suffers one wound if he loses a round of combat, and the Icon Bearer will cancel that out. (And yes, you can take the Enchanted Shield with another set of magic armour. It can be combined with other magical or mundane armour: core rules, page 154.) You can do a pocket version of this build that only works as a speedbump by taking a Prince with the Enchanted Shield and Scorpion Armour.

2 Fast 2 Furious: Tomb Prince in Chariot with Icon of Rulership, Chariot of Fire, plus armour/weapons to taste. Essentially, this fella is a proper chariot: d6+1 hits, Unit Strength 5, but still moving like fast cavalry. Charge flanks, break ranks, revel in insane mobility, use his Incantation to get him where he needs to go.

Standard Issue Hierophant: Liche Priest with Cloak of the Dunes, Hieratic Jar. If it's a High Priest, add the Golden Ankhra (if you're boring) or Staff of Ravening (if you want a magic missile that actually does something). The best way to keep your Hierophant alive is to catapult him 20" away from any potential threat at the drop of a hat; the Jar will let you force through an extra Incantation on a crucial turn.

Notes on magic standards will appear in the relevant unit entries.

Units Analysis

Named Characters

Settra the Imperishable, Tomb King of Khemri, Ruler of Nehekhara, and all the rest of it.

Only shows up to 3000 point games, as he takes up two Lord slots. Dictates your army composition, as you have to spend 1500 points on Chariots, Heavy Cavalry and Tomb Guard, and you can't bring Liche Priests, which means no Casket either. Costs a fifth of your points all by himself. What do you get for your trouble?

A jacked-up Tomb King who Invokes like a Liche High Priest, and has a special My Will Be Done which, although low in power level, affects EVERY one of those signature Chariot, Heavy Cavalry or Tomb Guard units. (Opinion is divided on whether you make a single 1d6 rolls to cast it and it affects every unit if successful, or whether you roll 1d6 for each unit individually and get to do one thing with it, which would be almost impossible to dispel, but the rule IS meant to simulate his supreme generalship rather than magic powerz as such, so maybe it's meant to be? To the best of this anon's knowledge, no erratum was forthcoming.) This alone is worth the price of admission, as being able to shuffle 1500 points of troops about with either a single casting roll or a cascade of rolls is frankly incredible and makes up for the loss of conventional Priests in a lot of ways.

On top of that, he causes terror, has a 2+/4+ save (and the 2+ can only be modified down to a 4+, and never bypassed by cannonballs or the like), and always strikes first in close combat, with good odds of reducing the enemy's WS to 1 after he's been and before they get to strike. Oh, and he rides a proper Chariot. With Unit Strength 8. And two extra horses. He's not Fast Cavalry, but who the hell cares with that kind of gear?

Oh, and he explodes when he dies. 2d6 S2 hits on every enemy within 12", on top of the normal Curse.

Settra's bloody great. You won't be bringing back many models, unless they're in units near Settra himself, and you won't have the terminally shooty back line that a conventional Tomb Kings force has to offer, but you will have a mobile, aggressive army that's about as elite as Tomb Kings get. A shame 3000 point games are few and far between.

High Queen Khalida Neferher, Beloved of the Asp Goddess, Tomb Queen of the Eastern Deserts

One of the first named characters without a 'tax slot', Khalida only takes up a single Lord slot, making her viable in 2000 point games. She'll eat a good fifth of your points, like Settra, but good goddess you get your money's worth.

Other things she has in common with Settra include a special My Will Be Done ability (hers casts the Incantation of Righteous Smiting, with Irresistible Force, every turn), a restriction on unit choice (you must include at least one unit of Skeletons with bows), causing terror, and having a unique Curse when she dies (hers is basically a Curse of Years that can't be dispelled, but doesn't increase in power turn on turn, always wounding on sixes).

Unlike Settra, she's at least halfway to being a Vampire. M6, I9, A5? That's Lahmian Lady numbers. All her attacks are magical and poisoned, and all her poisoned attacks do d3 wounds instead of 1. She struggles at getting through armour, since she's only S4, but she can potentially rip through Ogres or Swarms or Wizards in no time at all. Especially since she has Always Strikes First on top of her absurd Initiative. She can also have every bow-armed Skeleton in her army pick up Poisoned Attacks for two points apiece, and she Regenerates in lieu of any armour saves.

Only the one magic item, but it's a cracker: the Venom Staff is a standard issue magic missile with a good Power Level and a twist: anything it wounds ain't moving next turn.

So, she buffs archers, she will be making one of your shooty pieces shoot twice come what may, and she has a board control ability that keeps the targets at bowshot's length. While Settra is the master of aggression, Khalida enables the Kings' strong defensive game like nobody else, and you can fit her in to a normal army pretty easily.

Lords & Heroes

Tomb King

The good: easy access to the war-engine-wrecking S7, above average T and Ld, and W4. If he does die, the unit responsible must take a Ld test or suffer d6 unsaveable wounds. The bad: lousy I, no heavy armour option, and the only mount he gets is a standard issue light chariot - not a monster in sight.

The Tomb King is what he is: an expensive, solid, unspectacular fighting general, with a lowkey support ability that lets nearby units move or shoot or fight out of sequence. His chief advantage is actually a subtle bit of build optimisation: taking a Tomb King as your army general moves Chariots from Special into Core, thus reducing your dependence on bog-standard Skeleton infantry and allowing you to go harder on Tomb Guard or Ushabti as your line fighters.

Tomb Prince

A pocket version of the Tomb King, with the same advantages and disadvantages over comparable heroes from the land of the living (no S7 though, sad face). The Prince's My Will Be Done is shorter ranged, only affecting him and a unit he joins, and he only gets to cast it once. If you take a Prince as your general you're advised to slap him in a unit of heavy cavalry, chariots or Tomb Guard and hope you get his My Will Be Done off, ever. Another, better option is to take a Prince as a Hero choice in a King's army, and have him ride solo on the Chariot of Fire or lead one of the aforementioned units, taking some strain off the King to do all the movement-based incanting.

Liche High Priest

Brittle even by the standards of wizards (T3 and W3 are not the stuff of legend), but with a credible Ld9 and the best casting power in the army. Can ride a horse, but the Cloak of the Dunes moves him faster and lets him hide better. Can also ride the Casket of Souls, but owing to the Casket's immobility and the short range of Incantations, this is probably a bit of a waste; it'll tether your essential support caster to an artillery piece, and the rest of the army to him. Keep him mobile and you'll keep your army rolling. Take him instead of a King and you've better Incantations, but fewer good units to Incant upon.

Liche Priest

As above, so below: an extremely brittle wizard-equivalent who will probably be tagging along with one unit and babysitting them with one Invocation per turn. Makes a better candidate for riding the Casket, as you can park the Casket next to a Screaming Skull Catapult and have this little fella wring an extra shot out of it every turn while the other Priests keep your army going.

They're unspectacular, but in practice they will take up at least two of your character slots in most of your games.

Icon Bearer

A Tomb Guard 'hero' who looks enviously over at the Wight Lords in the Vampire Counts army. Lagging behind them in terms of Ld, A, weapon options and armour save, the Icon Bearer is only worth bringing along if you're fielding a lot of constructs (they quite like taking two fewer wounds from lost combats) or you're in love with one of the magic banners.

He's the only way you're going to get the Icon of Rakaph on a Skeleton Warrior unit (see below) but it's better on Tomb Guard; he allows Chariot or Cavalry units to double up and gain the Icon of the Sacred Eye (a nice to have) plus something else; and he's the only way you'll get two of the banners in at all.

Of those two banners I say this. The Banner of the Hidden Dead is a gimmick that can't conceal anything worth concealing, so leave the "new units out of the ground!" stuff to the Vampire Counts and stop overpaying for it. The Standard of the Sands is actually a pretty strong board control option, but it's very very VERY expensive for a one use only item and once you've used it, that Hero slot (which could have contained another Liche Priest who'd be helping out every single turn) is basically dead in the water. Potentially worth a go in 3000 point games, but not when slots are at a premium and every little has to help.