TMS

There's something special about armies that go all in on a theme. What they give up in variety they get in a striking appearance and a strong cohesion. I'm sure this is going to look great on the table! I like the conversions you've done for the shaggoths and as long as you don't paint them identical to each other they'll be an awesome trio. Do you have any conversion work in mind for your masses of dragon ogors?

Yeah, even though many have already countered it by saying it's old art re-used, I'm still holding out hope.

Well, it's only 80 points for something that can just sit in the back and hand out +1 to cast. Pretty funky with Necromantic and a Mortis Engine, I imagine. And @Lucky Snake Eyes I would also love to see something new, although I don't think we're next in line just yet.

Unfortunately I don't think that works for us. Soulblight doesn't have Flesh-Eater Courts as allies, only the legions do. That's actually only one thing in a list of small kicks to the fangs GW has given to Soulblight. Consider the following... 1) The Deathless Thralls rule states specifically that it protects friendly SOULBLIGHT units, deliberately not covering Dire Wolves and such. All the legions' same rule says friendly DEATH units. 2) The extra magic spell we get says that it's specifically from the Lore of Vampires. The Legions' same rule says it's from one of the lores of the dead. In our case it means that the two vampire mortarchs still can't get at those juicy deathmage spells. 3) And as I wrote above, no Flesh-Eater allies...

That's weird, I inserted your name and suddenly couldn't type anything else in, and it wouldn't go away no matter what I did. Anyway, I agree, the Bloodseeker Palanquin is uninspiring. So I'll move on to another topic, but if anyone else wants to share any thoughts on this thing, please do. So the next thing I've been thinking about is... allies! What allies have you used to give you some kind of advantage that we don't get on our own? Personally I think I'm on the same page as @discoking with how Soulblight really works best - be good at moving fast and punching hard. Other fripperies only dillute that strength. But still it can be fun and useful to try some outside stuff out. Here are the things I have in mind myself. 1) Dire Wolves. Cheap, durable and reasonably quick. Almost everything in Soulblight costs some multiple of 80 points so it's good to have these as a way to fill out lesser remains. And I think a bigger pack can have a place too, bringing plenty of wounds for cheap. 2) Corpse Cart. Pretty weak but it's cheap and has an 18'' bubble for either giving you +1 to cast or giving the enemy -1. I've tried it and it can hold a home objective decently and the bubble is usually big enough to effect something worthwhile. 3) Mortis Engine. Pretty much a Corpse Cart +1, for a lot more points. Fast enough to hang with the rest of the army and gives some cool bonuses. Never tried it myself. Fill in with what stories of allies to Soulblight you might have!

@Honk

Continuing general discussion, has anyone had any good use of the Bloodseeker Palanquin? It's weird, expensive and seems to miss quite a few things (poor invocation, no 'The Hunger' and no funky command ability) but handing out more attacks in a bubble is cool, as well as the banshee scream. I haven't tried it myself yet and looking at it I wouldn't pick it as a first choice... but with the faction being so limited everything should be given a fair chance.

I don't think he's actually referring to the legion of night (or else we've got some bad news for him regarding his true allegiance...) but I guess the extra CP is for handing out multiple Dread Knights or re-rolling important charges.

I do miss the deathless thrall save whenever I neglect to have a hero nearby so I see your case. @discoking, do you use lists with few characters in them?

I'd like to get a discussion going on the different bloodlines we can choose for Soulblight armies. There's been snippets of stuff here and there but nothing focused on this particular choice. I'll start by going over my experiences with them. Dragon Warriors: Blood Knights (and anything else hitting on a 3+) thirst for those re-rolls and charging is what we want to be doing. I've found it to be a good pick for smaller games where you don't have much access to the command abilities that boosts dice rolls. Lords of the Night: Completely overshadowed by everything else, which is unfortunate since the von Carsteins used to be my favourites back in the day. Necromantic: There's just something that feels good with having a +1 to casting and unbinding. Being elite both in combat and magic, you know? But every time I've used it I end up not throwing enough important spells to really make it worthwhile. I think using this with either Neferata or Mannfred (him in particular) could have potential, though. And the additional -1 to enemy bravery is always nice. Swift Death: The one that gives Soulblight a good part of its identity, if you ask me. We go from being just another ground-pounding melee mash to something else. Flying charges in particular is nice since if the opponent isn't careful we can reach support characters hiding behind things. Going straight for the neck, so to speak. The +2 to movement is obviously great as well. I would rank them with Swift Death at the top, followed by Necromantic and Dragon Warriors fairly even with each other depending on the context, and Lords of the Night dead last. Have you found it otherwise?

I like the list. If I had to get a VloZd in there I think I would drop the Coven Throne and 3 Vargheists but that will change the makeup of your list quite a bit. And Blood Knights sure do love to re-roll all those 1s! One idea I've had for an ally is a Corpse Cart with unholy lodestone. It's slow and pretty weak but decently cheap and could hold a backfield objective (if there is one) while handing out a 1+ to cast within 18'', although I'd rather pair that with the necromantic bloodline instead. Good luck!

@Countess Elise, I've used the coven throne a fair bit and I love it. It's a great way to get a general with a decent amount of wounds without having to go all in with a dragon. It's decently strong on its own against things without much armour, it's very mobile and even gets to use Look out Sir since it isn't a monster. The command ability is brilliant, both on itself and for things like blood knights. For the points I think its a great deal.

This thread should be fine to necromance a little.. This is what I have for my Soulblight army, including some allies. It feels more or less complete, although far less so in painting. I intend to start a painting log when more things come together. 1 Coven Throne 1 Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon 2 Vampire Lords 15 Blood Knights 6 Fell Bats 4 Bat Swarms 3 Vargheists 10 Dire Wolves 1 Corpse Cart 1 Evil Fortress made from the Chaos Dreadhold