TOW 1.0 - Tomb Kings of Khemri

[Sception]

 

The Army:  The Tomb Kings are the Old World's premier undead faction, and one of two launch factions for the first edition of the game alongside the Brettonians.  The Tomb Kings benefit from a diverse Grand Army list supplemented by two compelling Armies of Infamy in their Arcane Journal, making the Tomb Kings a surprisingly flexible force on the table.  The Old World's take on the Tomb Kings combines the legendary implacability,  recursive resilience, arcane potency, and frightful psychological weapons of traditional Warhammer Fantasy undead, but without the usual lack of options in the shooting phase.  To be clear Tomb Kings won't be out-shooting wood elves, empire, or dwarves, but between skeletal archers, horse archers, greatbow ushabti, and the screaming skull catapult, the Tomb Kings are well equipped to clear screens had sweep away chaff.

This opens the field to the Tomb King's unbreakable battleline units, deep phalanxes of skeleton warriors and wide ranks of elite tomb guard, who are happy to grind opposing regiments down in battles of attrition with just a little support from combat heroes bolstering the front ranks, spellcasters healing from the backfield, and maybe a charge from a ponderous warsphinx or devastating warblade ushabti.

The other classic weakness of Warhammer Undead, a lack of speed, is also heavily mitigated by fast moving options including carrion, chariots, skeletal cavalry, necropolis knights, and of course the mighty Necrosphinx, which, along with Bone Giants, War-Sphinxes, and the all new Skeletal Dragons, mean Tomb Kings are also well equipped to compete in the early Old World monster spam meta.  These are further supplemented by more niche utility pieces, from the burrowing Tomb Scorpions which hit remarkably hard for a unit cheap enough to also be sacrificed as chaff if necessary to the classic Casket of Souls, a powerful support piece that buffs your wizards, shields your battle line, and unleashes arcane death on your opponents.

This versatility is even further expanded by Army-of-Infamy specific units like the Royal Host's heavy hitting Tomb Guard chariots or the Mortuary Cult's deceptively deadly Necroserpents, which make up for the loss of their Necropolis Riders with lower points cost, core slot allocation, and the 'terrors below' special rule, which is absolutely devastating to low-initiative infantry.

 

The Lore: In the half-buried streets of Nehekhara's long dead cities, sand-shades and the fragmentary remains of commoners still sleepwalk through a grim parody of their daily toils, while serried skeletal legions emerge from their willing entombment beneath the burning sands to answer the call of the same mummified monarchs they once served in life.  Some of these tomb kings and princes have forgotten that they ever died, while others are fully aware of the horrors they have become and roar their eternal grief and rage against the grim shadow that cursed them all.  Either way, these kings and queens of the dead wage war - against the same rivals the battled in life, against their own ancestors or descendants for control of their cities and necropoli, against interlopers who have come to steal their treasures.  Across the sands of Nehekhara, only the unbending determination of Settra the Imperishable is able to impose some semblance of order.

Now Settra leads the combined legions of Nehekhara north in a campaign that will take them from the boarder princes all the way to the frozen shores of Norsca in what will eventually be remembered as 'The War of Sand and Snow', reclaiming the stolen treasures of Nehekhara, proving that the first human civilization is still the greatest and most powerful, and reminding the barbarous northern peoples of the true king of kings to whom all humanity must kneel - whether living or dead.

At least until the Great Necromancer returns to stake his own claim at the end of all things.

The thousand year history of Nehekhara preceding its tragic downfall, with multiple generational dynasties ruling over various combinations of city-states each with their own history and identity, means there's no end of canon lore to draw from when building your Tomb Kings collection.  There's also plenty of room to make up your own Tomb King, Dynasty, and long forgotten Necropolis City if you prefer the freedom of a homebrew army background.

 

The Models: Where classic Warhammer Fantasy undead and Vampire Counts are a mish mash of horror staples, the Tomb Kings maintain a strong Ancient Egyptian theme and aesthetic that lends the army a distinct personality.  Admittedly, some of the old tomb kings models don't hold up so well.  The old skeletal warriors and horses in particular, while I'd argue they still have some nostalgic charm, are well past their 'best by' date, and that can be a bit of a problem since they make up the bulk of your core units, including faction staples like chariots, archers, and horse archers.  However, many of the oldest models still hold up quite well, and a few have even seen remaster from the current old world team.  The Casket of Souls, for instance, is still a faction seller in itself, the carrion fully sell their decrepit concept, and the screaming skull catapult, while a bit of a bear to assemble, remains an impressive and eye-catching kit.

The Tomb Kings also saw a significant expansion to their plastic range in the 8th and final edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, and many of those models also hold up well, including the tomb guard and the imposing necrosphinx.  The new Bone Dragon, while not what I had hoped to see for the faction in terms of new model kits, is also large and impressive on the table, and imo much better looking in person than in 2d images.  There's also multiple ranges of independently produced tomb kings substitute models that cropped up in the years since the GW range was retired, so if you play in a venue where 3rd party models are allowed you really have no end of options to choose from.  You also won't have to deal with the hassle of GW's current restock issues.

In terms of painting, the classic sun-bleached bone with gold or bronze metalics can be very quick and easy to paint using washes, contrast paints, and-or drybrushing, while accent colors on the decorative designs - perhaps the traditional blue and red of Khemri or the somber black and red of the mortuary cult - can let you flex your skill and hone your painting hand, creating a colorful and cohesive look that is striking on the table even if some of the model sculpts themselves are showing their age.  Alternatively, something dramatically different like blackened or gilded bone, or an army glowing with unearthly arcane purples and greens can give your collection a unique feel.  No matter how you paint your force, the unifying egyptian aesthetic of the model range will help keep your army looking coherent, while the variety between lightly armored skeletal infantry, the more heavily decorated elite tomb guard, cavalry, chariots, tall ushabti, and towering monsters will ensure your collection has enough visual variety to keep it interesting.

 

Sample List:  The following list isn't intended to be tournament competitive, but is rather a varied force built to include and highlight some of the most iconic Tomb Kings units and model kits.  The greats are all here, from chariots to archers to ushabti to the necrosphinx and casket, giving you a broad sampling of those units that have come to define this army.

In terms of gameplay the Tomb Guard with the Necrotect attached plus the unit of Ushabti form the core of your line, with the High Priest joining the horse archers to dance around the flanks and rear of the formation, keeping the priest's line of sight open to cast spells while keeping out of charge arcs, and relying on -2 penalty to hit (-1 from skirmishers, -1 from the orb of Ptra) to keep your all important heirophant safe from ranged threats.  Meanwhile skirmishing skeletal archers and the catapult provide supporting fire - and an additional leadership penalty from 'skulls of the foe' that stacks with that imposed by various necromancy spells - and the casket of souls provides further support with its special rules and bound spells.  On the flanks your Tomb King general and his loyal chariot retinue move fast and hit hard, especially when paired with the devastating necrosphinx.  Finally a pair of swift carrion can keep pace with your flanking force and block an unfavorable countercharge, while an ambushing tomb scorpion can either rise from the sands at your heirophants call to redirect a charge or threaten a deadly countercharge, or alternatively can be left to its own devices, ambushing from a board edge to threaten the enemy's backfield support units.
 

Spoiler

++ Characters [667 pts] ++
Tomb King [295 pts]
(Hand weapon, Heavy armour, General, Skeleton Chariot, Icon of Rulership, Talisman of Protection, Flail of Skulls)

High Priest [277 pts]
(Hand weapon, Level 4 Wizard, Skeletal Steed, Warding Splint, Orb Of Ptra, Dispel Scroll, Necromancy)

Necrotect [95 pts]
(Hand weapon, Whip, Light armour, Armour of Silvered Steel)

++ Core Units [602 pts] ++
7 Skeleton Horse Archers [77 pts] - a bunker for the high priest.
(Hand weapons, Warbows)

20 Tomb Guard [258 pts] - 7 wide by 3 deep with the necrotect attached to buff them
(Hand weapons, Light armour, Shields, Nehekharan Phalanx (one per 1000pts), Tomb Captain (champion) [Death Mask of Kharnutt], Standard bearer, Musician)

3 Skeleton Chariots [167 pts] - a retinue for the tomb king
(Hand weapons, Cavalry spears, Warbows, Master Charioteer (champion), Standard bearer [Mirage Banner], Musician)

10 Skeleton Skirmishers [50 pts]
(Hand weapons, Warbows)

10 Skeleton Skirmishers [50 pts]
(Hand weapons, Warbows)

++ Special Units [276 pts] ++
3 Ushabti [147 pts]
(Hand weapons, Ritual Blade, Heavy armour)

Tomb Scorpion [75 pts]
(Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy armour (Bone Carapace), Ambushers)

2 Carrion [54 pts]
(Hand weapons (Beaks and Talons))

++ Rare Units [455 pts] ++
Screaming Skull Catapult [125 pts]
(Screaming Skull Catapult, Hand weapons, Light armour, Skulls of the Foe)

Casket of Souls [135 pts]
(Hand weapons, Great weapons, Light armour)

Necrosphinx [195 pts]
(Cleaving Blades, Decapitating Strike, Heavy armour)

---
Created with "Old World Builder"

[https://old-world-builder.com]

This is far from the only way to run Tomb Kings, especially with the extra options made available by the Arcane Journal.  Hoard infantry units are possible with multiple elite tomb guard and skeleton warrior units, with warsphinxes to further anchor the line.  The Royal Host can field a lightning fast assault army of multiple chariot units plus the elite tomb guard chariots.  Mortuary cult can consume their own tomb swarms and stone units to power some of the strongest spellcasting rolls in the game.  With access to dragons, sphinxes, and bone giants Tomb Kings are among the most effective monster mash armies in the game, with distinct builds in that style from both the Grand Army and the Mortuary Cult.  And that's just scratching the surface - if you dig beneath the sands you're sure to find new builds and strategies all your own, especially in these early experimental days.

...................

So that's a brief introduction to the Tomb Kings, and the floor is open to discussion or commentary.  Any thoughts on the faction?  Who all is starting the Old World with Tomb Kings?  What are you running, and how have your games gone so far?  Any interesting conversions to show off, or a favorite recipe for painting bone to share?

Edited May 4 by Sception

[Tonhel]

Wow!😍

[Sception]

Hobby post.

A few minor tomb kings conversions:

Spoiler

The bone dragon liche priest, slightly reposed & replacement left hand on a hexwraith steed with a milliput saddle

Metal tomb king with the dragon king's flail, to ride a chariot (waiting for hexwraiths to be back in stock).

Resin king with reposed arm & spear from the dragon king, to ride a warsphinx

Liche Priest bsb for mortuary cult, from empire battle wizard, skeleton skull, sphinx banner

Liche High Priest, from islands of blood high elf mage plus warsphinx crew bits, this guy has since been slightly reconverted & rebased back to square

Tomb Herald made from Warsphinx crew & banner, since rebased back to square

Necrotect, from warsphinx crew + lash tassles from... I forget.  since rebased back to square.

 

Plus my old Arkhan on a chariot conversion for AoS, waiting for a partial repaint and an adapter base to make him playable in Old World as well:

Maybe run him as a High Priest on a dragon?  Eventually I want to do some homebrew rules for him, but that'll wait until after my vamp counts arcane journal is done.

....

bonus: 1000(ish) points of Mortuary Cult, waiting for basing & primer.  Old vamp count skittles used for their better proportions.  They'll look Nehekharan enough with TK shields.

Edited April 29 by Sception

[JerekKruger]

I was surprised when I couldn't see a Tomb Kings thread yesterday. You must have read my mind @Sception 😄

Brilliant first post. I'm thinking about building a TK army myself. Some if their newer kits (as in the 2010-13 ones) are really nice, and I think they have an interesting play style.

[Boss Casman]

I think I've mentioned elsewhere on the site that I started dabbling with Tomb Kings as WHFB 8th Edition wound down; I dug them back out of storage when the Old World came out. I've had a few smaller games to get my head around the rules, and I'm definitely looking forward to doing more. I'm particularly excited about the Royal Host, and have plans to do an all chariot list!

[Sception]

On Ambush, From Beneath the Sands, and The Terrors Below

I've seen some confusion on how these rules work, and how they interact with each other, including a few battle reports online that get things wrong, so I figured it was worth going through them a bit.

Ambush:  Ambush is a rule that many Tomb Kings units have, and many more can purchase.  When deploying your army you may choose to set up such units as normal with the rest of your army.  Alternatively, instead of placing your unit on the table as normal during deployment, you man instead set a unit with Ambush off to the side as 'Reserves'.  Starting from Round 2, you roll a die for each unit in reserve during your Start Of Turn subphase to see whether the unit will arrive.  On a 4-6 they arrive that turn, on a 1-3 they are delayed, and you'll roll again next turn.  You do not roll on turn 5, any remaining units in reserve will arrive that turn.  Note that this roll is made is in the Strategy Phase, before the Movement Phase, and before the Command Subphase.  Arriving Units ARE NOT immediately set up.  Even if you roll the 4-6 for an Ambushing unit in reserve, they are still off the table and still in reserve until the Compulsory Moves subphase of your Movement phase that turn.  During the Compulsory Moves subphase, ambushing units are placed on any table edge, but must be more than 8" from any enemy models.  The unit can still move as normal during your Remaining Moves subphase, as it comes after the Compulsory Moves subphase.  However, Units arriving from Ambush CANNOT charge in the turn they arrive, as they are not set up on the table until the Compulsory Moves subphase, and that is after the Declare Charges / Reactions and Move Charges subphases.

.....

From Beneath the Sands:  From Beneath the Sands is a special rule possessed by Liche Priests - both High Priests and Mortuary Priests, which can affect other units in your army with the Ambush rule which are currently still in reserve.  During the Command Subphase of your Strategy Phase, each of your Liche Priests that is not engaged in combat may choose a single friendly Tomb Kings unit with Ambush that is still in reserve and roll a leadership test.  If the test is passed, then the chosen unit is immediately places on the table wholly within 12" of the Liche Priest but more than 6" from any enemy models.  The unit CANNOT charge that turn, counts as having moved for the purposes of shooting, but may otherwise act as normal, including making a normal move during the Remaining Moves subphase of that turn's Movement phase.  If you fail the leadership test for From Beneath the Sands then the unit is delayed that turn and may not be set up on the table unless it is Round 5, in which case they will still be set up during your Compulsory Moves subphase using the normal Ambush rules.

Important notes for FBtS:  You may attempt to use FBtS with your Liche Priests even if it is the first turn of the game.  If the Liche Preist is within range of a Tomb Kings Battle Standard Bearer they may re-roll this test.  You still have to make normal reserve rolls for each of your reserved units during your start of turn subphase starting in Round 2.  The FAQ specifies that you must do so unless the reserved unit itself has a special rule that changes how units arrive from reserve, but that isn't the case for FBtS - it's the Liche Priest that has such a rule, not the reserved unit.  You may however attempt to deploy an Ambushing Unit in reserve using FBtS even if you made the 4+ reserve roll for that unit during the Start of Turn subphase earlier that turn - they are still 'In Reserve' and thus a valid target for FBtS until they are set up on the table, and that doesn't happen until the Compulsory Moves subphase, which is after the Command subphase.  If you fail the leadership test for FBtS, you cannot then place them as normal ambushers during the Compulsory Moves subphase unless it is Round 5, as FBtS otherwise delays them for another turn.  Any units that you made a 4+ reserve roll which you have NOT targeted with a Liche Priest's FBtS rule MUST be set up as normal for Ambush during the Compulsory Moves subphase of that turn.  You may not choose to hold them back just because you would prefer to deploy via FBtS in a later turn. 

Because failing a FBtS roll delays the target unit until the next turn even if they rolled a 4+ reserve roll, you can if you wish guarantee that at least one Ambushing unit per Liche Priest will arrive via FBtS, provided you succeed on the leadership test by Round 5.  However, if you have more ambushing units than liche priests then there's always the chance that excess units might force their way onto the table via normal ambush deployment.  For example, if you have two lich priests and three ambushing tomb scorpions, and in Round 2 you roll a 4+ for each scorpion, then at least one of those scorpions will deploy that turn via the normal ambush rules, since you'll only be able to make two FBtS rolls.

From Beneath the Sands is a confusing and not perfectly written rule (the clause about units automatically arriving 'at the start of Round 5' is particularly awkward).  Take your time learning it, and its somewhat janky interactions with the Ambush rule as it is quite relevant to Tomb Kings, especially Mortuary Cults.

There's also lots of room for your opponent to interefere with FBtS deployment by engaging your liche priest in combat or simply surrounding them with chaff units so that there's no room to deploy reserved units wholly within 12" but more than 6" from all enemy units.  There's also potential counterplay via stacked leadership penalties and assassinating your BSB.  As such, FBtS shouldn't be a cornerstone of your battle strategy.  It's a useful tool, but you should always have a back up plan for if your reserved units need to deploy via the regular ambush rules.

.....

The Terrors Below:  This is an optional upgrade available to Tomb Scorpions and unridden Necroserpent units only in a Mortuary Cult Army of Infamy for +2 points per model.  If a unit with this rule is set up via the From Beneath the Sands special rule within 8" of an enemy Normal Infantry or Heavy Infantry unit, then you may choose for one such unit to have to roll a number of initiative tests equal to the unit strength of the arriving unit, and for each failed test one model in the target unit is slain.  As the unit strength of both scorpions and necroserpents is 3 per model this ~can~ be highly effective, but it is highly dependent on your opponent.  Dwarves and undead hate having to make initiative tests, elves mostly don't care.  On top of that, positioning and timing is even more tricky than FBtS already is.  You have to have an ambushing unit with Terrors Below that is still in reserve.  Your opponent has to have a unit of normal or heavy infantry worth targeting - cavalry, monstrous infantry, monsters, chariots, war machines, and swarms are all completely immune, high initiative models might as well be, chaff units and tar pit hordes don't mind dying anyway.  So there's really only so many units in the game that are good targets for this, and plenty of enemy armies that won't run any of those units at all.  You have to have a Liche Priest who isn't in combat, and at least one decent target unit of enemy normal or heavy infantry set up perfectly relative to each other such that you can deploy the summoned unit wholly within 12" of the priest, more than 6" from all enemy units, but within 8" of the target enemy unit.  If you keep your Liche Priests safely bunkered behind your front lines then there may not be possible until later turns of the game, and by then all your Terrors Below ambushers may have arrived on the table already.  But if you let your Liche Priests range forward - perhaps a High Priest riding a bone dragon, or Mortuary Priest BSB in the front rank of one of your battle line units - then they're likely to end up locked in combat an unable to roll for FBtS at all. 

Perfectly placing the ambushing unit becomes much more difficult the bigger that unit is, which is a problem for what are otherwise the most threatening Terrors Below users - large units of Necroserpents.  five serpents for 200 points of compulsory core allotment forces 15 initiative tests, and on average that's 10 dead dwarf ironbreakers, 7 black orcs, or 5 dead chosen - without saves of any kind.  But only if you can place them within range of one of these units, and only if your opponent has such units worth targeting to begin with, which is again very match up dependent.  Brettonians are mostly cavalry, ogre kingdoms and Troll armies are mostly monstrous infantry.  Elves mostly have such high initiative that they just don't care, etc.

Altogether, the Terrors Below is a highly situational ability.  In the situations where it matters it can be very powerful, so you'd like to have it available as an option.  Mortuary cults are required to field at least one scorpion per thousand points, so any that spend the 5 points to ambush might as well spend the 2 extra for Terror Below.  Mortuary cults can also have trouble filling their core requirement since they lack access to grave guard and have to take chariots as a special choice.  Yes, you can fill core points with one unit of Ushabti, but while greatbow ushabti can be useful they're not exactly points efficient for their damage output, and warblade ushabti kind of want the venerable upgrade which puts them back in special slots.  So yeah, a Mortuary Cult army might find itself light on core points, in which case a unit of 2 to 4 necroserpents with Terrors Below might be worth the investment, just to have it as a threat.

If you do want to try to make use of this ability, and particularly if you're ambushing a unit of 3 or more necroserpents, then you really might want to consider taking the scarab brooch on one of your liche priests.  it's a 20 point magic item to extend the range of that priest's From Beneath the Sand rule to 18" instead of 12".  Since the raised unit can still move that turn, regular FBtS usually doesn't have too much trouble with the normal 12" range, but the extra 6" range makes a huge difference with the added requirement of placing the unit within 8" of an enemy unit for Terrors Below.

.....

Example in Play:  Imagine you are running the following Mortuary Cult army:

Spoiler

++ Characters [745 pts] ++
High Priest [445 pts]
(Hand weapon, Level 4 Wizard, General, Necrolith Bone Dragon, Serpent Staff (Liche only), Talisman of Protection, Lore Familiar, Illusion)

Mortuary Priest [167 pts]
(Hand weapon, Level 2 Wizard, Battle Standard Bearer (Mortuary Cult Only), Skeletal Steed, Scarab Brooch, Hieratic Jar, Elementalism)

Tomb Prince [133 pts]
(Flail, Light armour, On foot, Armour of Silvered Steel)

++ Core Units [766 pts] ++
7 Skeleton Horse Archers [77 pts]
(Hand weapons, Warbows)

24 Skeleton Warriors [214 pts]
(Thrusting spears, Light armour, Shields, Nehekharan Phalanx (one per 1000pts), Master of Arms (Champion) [Death Mask of Kharnutt], Standard bearer [War Banner], Musician)

4 Ushabti [203 pts]
(Hand weapons, Ritual Blade, Heavy armour, Ancient (champion))

2 Tomb Swarms [78 pts]
(Hand weapons (Venemous Bites and Stings), Ambushers)

2 Tomb Swarms [74 pts]
(Hand weapons (Venemous Bites and Stings))

3 Necroserpents [120 pts]
(Lashing tails and venomous fangs (hand weapons), (Mortuary Cult Only) The Terrors Below)

++ Special Units [354 pts] ++
Tomb Scorpion [77 pts]
(Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy armour (Bone Carapace), Ambushers, (Mortuary Cult Only) The Terrors Below)

Tomb Scorpion [77 pts]
(Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy armour (Bone Carapace), Ambushers, (Mortuary Cult Only) The Terrors Below)

Necrosphinx [200 pts]
(Cleaving Blades, Decapitating Strike, Heavy armour, Envenomed Sting)

++ Rare Units [135 pts] ++
Casket of Souls [135 pts]
(Hand weapons, Great weapons, Light armour)

---
Created with "Old World Builder"

[https://old-world-builder.com]

Note that I'm not suggesting this as an ideal MC army, just an example for the purposes of demonstrating Ambush, FBtS, and Terrors Below.

Imagine you set up against dwarves: say a front line with two blocks of great weapon longbeards and one of ironbreakers with runed up king and runesmith, and a back line on a hill with an anvil of doom, 20 thunderers, 2 cannons, and an organ gun.  We'll say the front line is about 4 inches back from the edge of their deployment zone, and you deploy as far forward as possible, so there's 28 inches between your front line and theirs.

You start with four ambushing units in reserve: one unit of 3 necroserpents, one unit of 2 tomb swarms, a tomb scorpion, and another tomb scorpion.  You have a small core battleline of a 5x5 block of skeleton warriors with full gear, full command, deathmask, war banner, and a tomb prince with a unit of four melee ushabti to one side and a bsb priest on a skeletal steed in a unit of 4 skirmishing horse archers offering support from behind.  This priest has a heiratic jar to double-raise once per game and the scarab brooch to make FBtS easier from behind your lines.  The non-ambushing unit of tomb swarms will deploy nearby to empower the priests spellcasting, as will the casket, which also can shield the small battleline or blast enemy units.  In addition to the small battleline, you also have a fully kitted dragon priest with illusion and a lore familiar to guarantee doppleganger with its deadly serpent staff, plus a necrosphinx to double up on fast, flying, high toughness threats.  The dragon and sphinx can pair up to tag team on one flank, or move in from both flanks to pinsir around your small battleline.

During deployment you make sure sure your high priest on the dragon is within range of the BSB on your first turn.  For the sake of convenience, we'll assume you go first.

In Round 1 you don't roll for reserves, but you can roll for FBtS, and your high priest does so, with the BSB reroll to help them succeed, placing the reserved tomb swarm unit forward, outside of your deployment zone, in the direction the priest intends to move that turn.  Your prince gives your skeletons +1 movement with my will be done, your priest and casket buff up, your level 2 priest is able to cast Incantation of the Desert Wind on the 10+ value thanks to +1 from the casket and +3 from sepulchral animus, damaging the normally deployed tomb swarm unit, your line moves 10" forward (now 18" from the dwarf front line - the mortuary priest in the horse archers behind your ushabi is 22" away), your necrosphinx and dragon priest march way out to one flank, the scarabs that just emerged from the sand scuttle along after to make sure your dragon priest will have them in range to buff his casting next turn.

Dwarves shoot, taking out, say, half your skeleton unit and damaging but not killing your dragon priest.

Round two you have to start making reserve rolls, and there are three units to roll for - both scorpions and the necroserpents.  We'll say one scorpion and the necroserpents roll the 4+ to arrive from ambush this turn.  Thanks to the extra reserve move from Incantation of the Desert Wind and the extra 6" range from the scarab brooch, your mortuary priest is within range to try for Terrors from Below with your necroserpents even from behind your front line, and even though the dwarves haven't advanced at all.  Thanks to the reroll from the BSB you succeed.  The three necroserpents emerge 7" in front of the ironbreakers, forcing 9 initiative tests - your opponent rolls average and six ironbreakers are slain.  Your High Priest could also attempt a FBtS roll this turn.  If you want to maximize terrors below you could roll for the scorpion that's going to arrive normally otherwise - if you pass the check it will emerge from beneath the sands within range of the high priest, causing 3 initiative tests for terrors below to the unit of longbeards closest to your dragon lord, and if you fail it will be forced back into reserve to try again next turn.  However, you choose to prioritize trying to get both your scorpions onto the field as fast as possible, so you instead make a FBtS roll for the scorpion that failed the reserve roll instead.  This time you fail the FBtS roll, and your high priest is no longer within range of the BSB, so that scorpion remains in reserve while the one that passed it's reserve roll shows up from the opponent's table edge, 8 inches away from their organ gun.  Also in your command subphase your prince again enhances the movement of your skeletons, your bsb priest double heals the skeletons up with their jar, and the high priest heals itself a wound.

Your high priest tries to cast the 'don't charge' spell on the ironbreakers but fails thanks to that darned dwarven resistance (and the fact that you're conserving tomb swarm wounds for doppleganger).  Your BSB priest and casket buff up your line.  Your dragon and necrosphinx charge the longbeards on that flank, your snakes that just emerged from the sand this turn move forward then turn to the side, explosing their flank but stretching 300mm long just an inch in front of the ironbreakers & second longbeards unit to prevent them from positioning or charging anything else on their turn.  Your scorpion moves up stopping just a couple inches from the organ gun.  the high priest's scarab swarm moves up to be within animus range for the coming combat.  Your monsters smash the longbeards, thanks in part to doppleganger forced through via 3 wounds to the scarabs, but a few of the stubborn dwarves remain and pass their break test, giving ground 2 inches, and you follow up with both monsters to avoid the dwarves shooting.

On the dwarf turn the scorpion is shot off the table, some skeletons die, the rest of the longbeards are slain and the necrosphinx overruns into the anvil while the dragon turns to face the ironbreakers and the ironbreakers and second longbeard unit charge and destroy the necroserpents, with the ironbreakers tilting to just barely get the dragon in their front arch while the longbeards overrun, ending up just a few inches in front of the skeletons and ushabti but at least preventing them from charging the ironbreaker's flank.

Round 3, and you roll reserve for the remaining tomb scorpion and once again fail.  But this time you pass the FBtS roll - on the BSB's leadership w/ reroll - bringing up the scorpion in front of the ironbreakers and killing another two with terror from below rolls.

......

We could continue talking out this hypothetical game, but the purpose is demonstrating how ambush, from beneath the sands, and terrors below might play out in a game, and there are no more units in reserve, so we'll stop there.

This hypothetical game shows was imagined to highlight the potential strengths of these rules.  Ambush allowed a Tomb Scorpion to deploy behind your opponents line on turn 2, threatening their ranged unit and war machines, and though they shot it off the board before it could charge, it did distract more than 77 points worth of shooting from your main units.  From Beneath the Sands - on turn one - let you deploy a unit of scarabs far enough forward that the unit could still be in range for sepulchral animus of your High Priest on a dragon on round 2 even  after a long distance flying march move in round 1.  It also let you position a 120 point necroserpent unit in a way to block the movement and charges of multiple more expensive enemy units for a turn, letting your flying monsters pick up one flank for free and letting your infantry battleline get into position for their own charge.  Terrors below picked off half of the enemy's most dangerous melee unit, and while that unit is still threatening you were well positioned to take them out in Round 3, with charges from dragon and ushabti for damage, skeletons with prince for combat res, and a scorpion to threaten a possible killing blow on one of the heroes.

On the other hand, this is was an ideal match up.  Dwarves are low initiative, making them prime targets for terrors below, and this dwarven army chose to turtle up in their backfield, which made forward deployment options like Ambush and From Beneath the Sands ideal, even with a delay.  a More aggressive, higher initiative, or less infantry based opponent would not have highlighted the strength of these rules the same way, and indeed if you were playing the same sample army against a cavalry or monstrous infantry heavy aggro army you might choose not to reserve /any/ of the possible ambushing units, preferring instead to have them on the table normally in Round 1 in order to position them to block or redirect charges going into round 2.  Ambush, From Beneath the Sands, and Terrors Below are nice tools to have access to in a list, but they're not always the right tool for the job, and you don't have to use them if deploying normally makes more sense.

Edited May 2 by Sception