Warcry - Nighthaunt discussion

[Aaranis]

Yeah our damage is really reliant on crits or buffs save some models.

I've written a test list for a ranged Nighthaunt band:

- Guardian of Souls
- Tomb Banshee
- Chainghast
- Chainghast
- Grimghast Reaper
- Chainrasp
985 pts

Pros:
- Can hit at ranges 7-9 max with 4 models, meaning most warbands will need two full actions to move in engagement range if you manage your moves right, so better offensive tempo;
- 5 out of 6 fighters are T5, hard to wound except with crits or abilities;
- The Reaper can mark a target to have the Banshee and Guardian hit at S4 with their ranged attack, interesting because of base 2 or 3 damage

Cons:
- Not exploiting the full speed of Nighthaunts, half models move 5";
- Guardian of Souls' Triple is kinda meh;
- Chainghasts are weak outside of crits, they have to be well-positioned so as to do 2 attack actions each activation

I'll try to test it when my Chainghasts and Tomb Banshee are painted ! Looks fun overall even if not the most optimised.

[Tinniez]

Yeah, I totally get the benefit of Grimghast over Bladeghiests - they are pretty much just a straight upgrade at the same point value. However, I haven't assembled my Reapers yet and I much prefer the Bladegheist sculpts to the Grimghast ones. I will let you guys know how they fare this weekend after taking them for a spin.

As for dealing damage: on paper, Nighthaunt does look quite pillow-fisted - but I would say that most warbands end up dealing their significant damage through critical hits. This is why high crit value and number of attacks are such valuable characteristics in this game.

It's for this reason that I think that there is a lot of potential value in Dreadscythe Harridans. Their triple isn't half bad too.
 

[Tinniez]

Played the list I posted previously and got absolutely stomped by a StD warband containing a Chaos Lord on Karkadrak and Chaos Lord on foot.

StD are probably a bad match-up for NH. The StD double - which allows them to add extra strength to attacks - basically negated the inherently high NH toughness and my Chainrasps and Bladegheists just melted.

- Spirit Hosts are great, but I didn't roll particularly hot on my wild dice and ended up with an abundance of singles and very few triples.
- KoSoES pulled his weight, but doesn't have the same punch as some of the other models with a similar point cost.

I am feeling a bit defeated, but eager to tinker with my list and have another go.

[Aaranis]

Don't be disheartened, it's not only the list that makes the win or the loss, there's the mission objectives, the opposing list, the players, and luck ! You should keep trying the same list against different people it might come out great ! When testing a list, you should aim to do at least 4-5 games with it in different scenarios to truly know if it's to your liking or not.

[EnixLHQ]

Just played two games. Tied on the first, won on the second but only by the grace of the objective pull.

Game 1:

Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed (Leader) (265)

Chainghast (170)

Grimghast Reaper (135) x2

Bladegheist Revenant (135) x2

Total: 975

This did alright... The break out star was the KoSoES, who benefitted from the extra movement and his Stolen Hours ability on a double. This allowed me to put him into combat immediately, and since the objective was controlling quadrants for points and I was a model fewer than my opponent, I had to be aggressive. He did his job and more, healing himself and bringing back a model.

The worst performers were the Bladegheists. My opponent targeted my Reapers, so I never had the chance to Soul Mark, and against some KO who could consistently buff their own Toughness the Bladegheists scored, I think, maybe 1 point of damage in 3 turns. Unlucky rolls, for sure.

The Chainghast actually performed really well, doing the second-most amount of damage. Though his range was less than the KO ranged units, that didn't really factor in much, having most of his shooting opportunities in range without moving much. He was lucky with rolls, so if he wasn't I don't think he would have been that great of a unit.

Reapers get an honorable mention here because they usually perform well, but my opponents know to remove them ASAP, so if I don't protect them they don't last.

 

Game 2:

Guardian of Souls (220) x2

Chainrasp (80) x7

This game I wanted to see if we're meant to be a horde army even in Warcry. The GoS triple is a gamble, because not only is it taking up the same ability level as Spectral Summons, it only brings back 1 damage per model. But, that suggested to me that the GoS is meant to be surrounded by models like Chainrasps, where you'd actually replace Spectral Summons with the heal. Makes sense, right?

Yeah, well, maybe not. Against the KO again, this time melee-centric, every matchup was a dead Chainrasp in a single exchange. 8 HP is just not enough. I couldn't make any combat exchange worth it. The victory condition was the defender (me) being able to select a model as a treasure carrier in the 2nd round, and wining if I retain the treasure by the end of the 3rd. That was just a stroke of luck that I had 3x the movement and basically cinched the victory on that virtue alone.

 

All in all I think that our strongest models are still KoS, KoSoES, Spirit Hosts, and Reapers. Still, there's a lot of roster left to pick through for some possible synergies and matchups. 

[Yeknomious]

I've been using a warband consisting of:

Slasher Crone / Dreadwarden / Dreadscythe Harridan / Chainrasp x 6 (TOTAL: 995).

I've been playing against a Stormcast Eternal Sacrosanct warband comprised of Sequitor Prime with Redemption Cache / Sequitor with Stormsmite Greatmace / Evocator with Grandstave / Castigator x 2 (TOTAL: 1000pts).

Games that involve movement, objectives and treasure have always been won by the Nighthaunt (the majority in my case so far). The only loss was a game that required taking down half or more of the enemy warband. The Nighthaunt in this warband just lack hitting power.

The board I've been playing on also lacks verticality and platforms - with the addition of these I think the Nighthaunt would become much stronger due to gaining toughness with height (thanks to universal flying) and weakening the opposition with Aura of Dread (double for -1 strength on enemy fighter). That combo takes the average Sacrosanct Stormcast down to strength 4 and the Chainrasp up to toughness 5, so nicely 5's and 6's to wound rather than 3's.

The Slasher Crone has been clutch at times for controlling the Stormcast Side which is devastating due to their low model number.. The Slasher Crone and Dreadscythe's main strength is actually just their slight speed over the Chainrasp and the fact that they can do some damage.

Another key to winning with this warband was the key timing of Spectral Summons. I played two games where I had to get models off the board edge. I thought this would be easy, and it was for one game, but the second game was harder due to the Castigators and Sequitor with Stormsmite Greatmace efficiently taking down quite a few Chainrasp. Although this was the case the Dreadwarden scampered over to one corner, skulked under cover, and summoned three Chainrasp back across two rounds (third ability gained by waiting), all of which fled the field ensuring victory.

The Stormcast warband could throw in some Gryph-Hounds and drop the Evocator with Grandstave as that unit underperforms (seemingly at least) and the Gryph-Hounds are great point efficient units. The Nighthaunt could certainly do with a unit or two with hitting power. I suspect I will be adding a Knight of Shrouds (possibly on Ethereal Steed), Spirit Host and perhaps the Extoller of Shyish and a couple of Grimghast Reapers. I'm unsure what the overall 'Take on all comers' List would look like. Perhaps:

Knight of Shrouds / Extoller of Shyish / Spirit Host / Grimghast Reaper x 2 / Chainrasp (TOTAL:995).

This list has some hitting power with enough models with the Soul Marked ability to ensure the Spirit Host can do some damage while it tanks. The leaders can bring back units as required and the single Chainrasp can 'Do his part'. I would like the KoSoES and/or a Dreadscythe Harridan but the points just don't work out.

I do find the Nighthaunt odd in Warcry as in AoS we're a horde army while in Warcry we simply do not have any really cheap chaff units.

Edited March 21, 2021 by Yeknomious

[EnixLHQ]

This weekend I finally got around to playing again and decided to try out a new leader.

 

Tomb Banshee (Leader) (210)

Grimghast Reaper (135) x2

Spirit Host (220) x2

Chainrasp (80)

Total: 1000

Dagger: Tomb Banshee, Chainrasp | Hammer: Grimghast Reaper, Spirit Host | Shield: Grimghast Reaper, Spirit Host

 

At a lighter cost, the Tomb Banshee allowed me to do a pairing of Reaper/Spirit Host a couple times, and have an extra body in the Chainrasp. In previous games, that lone Chainrasp has proved more valuable than it seems; you won't be putting him in combat if you can help it, so double moves every round makes for a speedy guy. And if that's not beneficial to your game, he's a throw-away unit that you can use to slow someone else down.

I went up against a melee-only Sylvaneth group and played the scenario where there are 6 objectives and if you and your opponent have any of them by the end of the turn you can burn one, first to 4 burns wins. I end up tying the game.

My leaders tend to do almost nothing in games, so the Tomb Banshee having some ranged allowed me to put her close enough to scream, but still out of danger. This amounted to a fair few damage, too. Whenever I had a spare triple I could use Frightful Touch (she has the runemark and nothing says a ranged attack can't be buffed so having her limited attacks all hit for 5 damage at 9 inches is nice).

As always, the pairing of a Spirit Host to almost guarantee a little damage, potential Frightful Touch to ensure a bit more damage, and a Reaper's Soul-marked Prey to really increase damage output (against enemies of 4 toughness or lower), serves to dish out enough damage to be threats to be targeted. Still, just a little lacklustre in the damage output for all those dice you're banking, and it's way more common that you won't be firing off more than maybe the double.

Still, not bad.

Next time I will be combining Reapers and Bladegheists. 4 Strength seems to be the sweet-spot for damage output in this game, and with a reaper pushing that up to 5 you can pretty much bank on a 3+ roll. Costs less than a Spirit Host, too, but also more fragile. I'll see what I can come up with.

[Bayul]

Any first impressions?

Chainrasps still seem too costly, except if movement (and flying) is super important in missions in this edition.
At least one Spirit Host might still be a must-take with Frightful Touch.

 

[Gitzdee]

Does anyone know about a guide for the 2nd edition. Did things actually change from the 1st edition at all? I am just looking at Nighthaunt for the first time so i want to know how accurate the info about these models still is. Thanks!

[Gitzdee]

I recently played a game and i played these. 

2x spirit hosts

2x chainghasts

1x spirit torment

1x lord executioner

I found the Spirithosts really underwhelming. The reaction that damages them on misses almost outdamaged them even when using Frightfull Touch. They werent bad, but not an auto include for me next time.

I did really like the 2 Chainghasts. Chipping away at foes with ranged attacks and threatening objectives and blocking attacks with reactions really made them deal a fair amount of damage as they got targeted over the Spirit Hosts a lot of times. More than i expected them to.

Spirit Torment didnt do much last game but got to ress a Spirit Host.

Lord Executioner hit like a truck with the use of a double. Got a bit lucky with the dice but couldnt complain.

Managed to pull out a win. Did also play catacombs for the first time and i didnt expect it to be as fun as it was. I really liked the dungeon setting and fun thematic addition they added for the extra flavour.