Hex Wraith tactics

[Jgregs]

So I finally got around to building my 5 hexwraiths to add to my growing nighthaunt army. Now I know they aren't the best unit in the nighthaunt list but I really like the models. I've got a few ideas on how to run them but could use some input from players who have used them before.

1. Unit of 5 that lurks in the backfield. Waits for the enemy to crash into my front line then leaps over that enemy unit to get the movement attack and goes after vulnerable heros and or artillery.

2. Unit of 5 just set up in the underworld.

3. Unit of 10 backed up by a KOS on steed with midnite tome and ruler of the spirit hosts. KOS would run with them casting shademist, healing and give extra attacks with his command ability 

4. Go full hog with the deathriders batallion.

[Jaxler]

Hexwtaiths work best in a LON army. The tactic I use is a vampire lord and a lord on dragon. I run a blob of 15. I throw rerolls and +1 attack, and aim for whatever gives a minus to hit. (With rerolls, the minus means more possible mortals)

 

My goal is to barf put mortals. At 45 attacks, rerolling, I aught get 14 mortals, assuming I have a minus to hit on them. I should also get 9 wounds at -1.

I also like to throw danse macabre on it too, to ensure I delete something. I then either summon them back or keep them there as an extended annoyance, or fly over for free mortals. 

Hexwraiths need rerolls to work. If you do not give them it, their damage doesn't do enough. They need numbers to do stupid stuff, and rerolls give them enough shots to do something.

 

[Nevar]

9 hours ago, Jgregs said:

So I finally got around to building my 5 hexwraiths to add to my growing nighthaunt army. Now I know they aren't the best unit in the nighthaunt list but I really like the models. I've got a few ideas on how to run them but could use some input from players who have used them before.

1. Unit of 5 that lurks in the backfield. Waits for the enemy to crash into my front line then leaps over that enemy unit to get the movement attack and goes after vulnerable heros and or artillery.

2. Unit of 5 just set up in the underworld.

3. Unit of 10 backed up by a KOS on steed with midnite tome and ruler of the spirit hosts. KOS would run with them casting shademist, healing and give extra attacks with his command ability 

4. Go full hog with the deathriders batallion.

Hey, I use x20 Hexwraiths in every battle these days, and I 'swear by them'.

Keep in mind, you do not actually have to fly completely over an enemy unit to get the MW generation.  You base merely has to pass over an enemy base.  That means you can do a 'brush by' where the horses only graze the outer models of the enemy unit and get full dice, or even move forward to touch the enemy bases and then move back again to where you started.  That means if you can get your unit somewhere close, to a target, you can do the hunters MW run, and then still charge the same target for even more mortal wounds.

With only x5 riders though, I would suggest using them as fast moving objective grabbers.  They can kill chaff units pretty well and take a lot more than your opponent suspects to remove.  You can even have them follow your general around as a quasi-body guard if you are using a mounted hero like Reikenor, Dreadblade, or Mounted Knight of Shrouds.

My Hexwraith blob has played the center line every time so far, although I also have often charged them into combat, then teleported them out of combat with the Nighthaunt Command Ability so that I could charge them in again.

They are definately not as straight forward/easy to throw into battle and just win like Grimghasts, but their speed and abilities makes them capable of always dictating the shape of the battlefield, and sometimes that is worth more than some rerolls.

[XReN]

4 hours ago, Jaxler said:

Hexwtaiths work best in a LON army. The tactic I use is a vampire lord and a lord on dragon. I run a blob of 15. I throw rerolls and +1 attack, and aim for whatever gives a minus to hit. (With rerolls, the minus means more possible mortals)

Can you explain how minuses to hit makes you dish out more MWs?

[jazzy128]

4 hours ago, Jaxler said:

Hexwtaiths work best in a LON army. The tactic I use is a vampire lord and a lord on dragon. I run a blob of 15. I throw rerolls and +1 attack, and aim for whatever gives a minus to hit. (With rerolls, the minus means more possible mortals)

 

My goal is to barf put mortals. At 45 attacks, rerolling, I aught get 14 mortals, assuming I have a minus to hit on them. I should also get 9 wounds at -1.

I also like to throw danse macabre on it too, to ensure I delete something. I then either summon them back or keep them there as an extended annoyance, or fly over for free mortals. 

Hexwraiths need rerolls to work. If you do not give them it, their damage doesn't do enough. They need numbers to do stupid stuff, and rerolls give them enough shots to do something.

 

I agree that they are much better with rerolls, and glad to hear that you make good use of them! I really like them as well.

However, I think you might be playing the -1 wrong. Remember that rerolls happens before modifiers. I.e if re-rolling hexwraiths attack a unit with -1 to hit, you get to reroll 1-3’s but not the 4’s, as they would hit before the modifier. It’s a bit tricky, but I hope it makes sense.

[Spears]

1 hour ago, XReN said:

Can you explain how minuses to hit makes you dish out more MWs?

I suspect they are playing rerolls wrong and doing them after modifiers.

[XReN]

19 minutes ago, Spears said:

I suspect they are playing rerolls wrong and doing them after modifiers.

Well that would not be wrong actually, as I happened to mention earlier today in another discussion - it was in Designers Commentary

Q: Some abilities allow me to re-roll a successful (or unsuccessful) roll. When this is the case, is the success or failure based on the roll before or after any modifiers are applied?
A: Re-rolls happen before any modifiers are applied, so the success or failure will always be based on the unmodified roll. Note that, when an ability says you can re-roll a failed roll, you may want to consider the effect that modifiers may have before deciding to re-roll the dice. For example, if a roll succeeds on a 4+ and you have a +1 modifier, you probably don’t want to re-roll ‘failed’ rolls of 3, because they will become successful after the modifier is applied!

[XReN]

Though you may as well read it as "it only applies to positive modifiers"

[Spears]

Fairly certain your quote supports what I said. 

 

[Jaxler]

I knew it was that way in 40k, but I couldn't find a source that confirmed this in AOS. Why on earth would they not do rerolls after modifiers? It just complicates things and makes minuses to hit even more bonkers.

[Honk]

The MWs of hexwraith trigger on a roll of 6... modifiers are not relevant.

[peasant]

19 hours ago, Jgregs said:

So I finally got around to building my 5 hexwraiths to add to my growing nighthaunt army. Now I know they aren't the best unit in the nighthaunt list but I really like the models. I've got a few ideas on how to run them but could use some input from players who have used them before.

1. Unit of 5 that lurks in the backfield. Waits for the enemy to crash into my front line then leaps over that enemy unit to get the movement attack and goes after vulnerable heros and or artillery.

2. Unit of 5 just set up in the underworld.

3. Unit of 10 backed up by a KOS on steed with midnite tome and ruler of the spirit hosts. KOS would run with them casting shademist, healing and give extra attacks with his command ability 

4. Go full hog with the deathriders batallion.

I hate you! after reading this post, I had  to go to my gw store and bought a nigjthaunt battletome. Thanks,  my 100 beastof chaos grey miniatures say you hello!

[Tropical Ghost General]

The issue with hexwraiths is the base size and range combined with damage output and points costs makes them not as brutal as they should be for 160pts. They have extra use in death riders but they still aren't amazing. 😢

[Jgregs]

Yeah I'm sticking with just the 5 I have for now. If they get a point reduction in GHB 2019 and grimghasts get an increase I will probably get 5 more.