Joseph Mackay

Grand Alliance armies can’t/don’t need to take allies which is why they don’t show up in the allies tables. Forbidden Power being mostly a ‘campaign book’ I suspect that yes Legion of Grief is going away. Almost nothing from any of the previous campaign books is allowed in matched play, and gw seems to not like ‘limited’ things being in matched play (ie if everyone doesn’t have access to it, it doesn’t stay legal very long, like all the dual box battalions from Looncurse etc and I suspect the white dwarf stuff too)

This is not entirely true either. The 2016 GHB introduced the whole Open, Narrative and Matched Play concepts to the game, as before that it was just the 4-page core rules, with what we now call Narrative battleplans available through The Realmgates War campaign books

Haha glad I wasn’t the only one. Yeah when they were previewing that book they said the siege rules were updated but as far as I can tell it’s the same

Matched play is easier to arrange as pick-up games with people you aren’t familiar with at the local store or something, and Open/Narrative doesn’t really work for a tournament because winning isn’t the important part in Narrative play, however it can be done. you’ll find most Open/Narrative games are played amongst a close group that all know each other well, usually in a private environment rather than at the store

This is not true at all. The Generals Handbook is for all 3 types of play (Open, Narrative and Matched) and always has been. This misconception is why they started putting points in a separate booklet starting with ghb19. also, the content from Generals Handbook doesn’t get removed by the new version unless It specifically says so (eg the battleplans and points). Everything else is still 100% usable unless stated otherwise. They’ve even said this when they released the ghb17, because they can’t reprint everything in the new version or it’d be bigger than the core book. now, some of the content may over time no longer be valid (siege rules from the original GHB, have since been updated in Wrath Of The Everchosen) but just because ghb20 is out doesn’t mean the content from ghb19, 18, 17 or the original is no longer valid

Wait what? They’re 200 and 180 in mine. Are you telling me they actually DO update the battletomes in the AoS app? (Worth pointing out that the errata for Soul Cage hasn’t been applied nor has the December 2019 points changes)

Something has just occurred to me: looking back at the ghb18, ghb19 and December 2019 points updates, it looks like gw changed points just to change them back, almost like gw felt the battletome points were correct but they had to look like they were doing something to address balance issues. thoughts? Was The Black Coach ever worth 280pts? Olynder and Kurdoss worth more than 200pts?

What about the battalions from the dual army boxes that had points but were made not legal after the GHB release (Carrion Empire, Looncurse, Feast Of Bones, Atherwar, Wrath & Rupture) it seems that gw don’t like ‘limited’ availability items being allowed in matched play due to some perceived belief that it’s ‘unfair’ or a disadvantage that not everyone can access it

So I’ve played a couple of games now proxying what I think I’ll take to the teams tournament and here’s some of my thoughts -Battleline. Originally I was running 3x3 Spirit Hosts, however I started realising that Reiknor is so much faster than the rest of my army that he either ends up hanging back and wasting his movement (and also probably being out of range for spell casting), or he rushes ahead of the army and gets his ethereal ass handed to him. So I dropped one of the Spirit Host units for Hexwraiths to keep up with him, however I found a unit of 10 a bit problematic due to the base sizes, I also ended up too focused on trying to trigger their mortal wound ability that they ended up going in different directions to Reiknor 😂 -Bladegheists. I’ve been running 2x10. I think units of 5 are too fragile and definitely not worth their points, however the base sizes have been causing me issues with units of 10. I’ve Been putting them in the Underworlds with a Spirit Torment, but the problem is when they charge there’s no room for the hero or the hero fails his charge. The unit manages to remain within range for rerolls and deathless save but they’re too far away for his reviving ability. -Black Coach. Doesn’t seem to do much for me in combat, but I can’t see not taking it. -The Briar Queen. Her spell is pretty good, her unit is pretty meh though especially since you can’t heal them. -Lord Executioner. I’ve been making him my general with the reviving models command trait and artefact to make him a wizard. I think I’ll start experimenting with artefacts that buff his attacks instead as he doesn’t seem to do much for me when he gets into the fights. -Kurdoss. Aside from the Bladegheists, he’s been my biggest damage dealer. Narratively it irritates me not making him my general (I’m strongly opposed to named characters playing second fiddle to some nobody just so you can get a command trait and artefact). In one of my games he stole all of my opponents command points 😂 but then in another he decided he didn’t feel like getting involved lol -Reiknor. See Battleline above. He’s been a bit hit and miss, some games he kills a bunch of stuff and others he gets killed. All the named characters (minus The Briar Queen) only being 7 wounds hurts a bit.

I’m with you on Bladegheists 100%. I don’t feel like they’re worth 90pts and they don’t feel ‘elite’ enough, they need 2 wounds. this is my opinion on a lot of elite units actually (Bladegheists, Saurus Guard, Auric Hearthguard/Hearthguard Berzerkers-before they got 2 wounds of course) I recently added some Hexwraiths to my collection and found it quite odd that they don’t have Reaped Like Corn, making them the only scythe unit in the book without it Dreadblade Harrows are really weird being sold in boxes of 2 but are single heroes, they probably should be changed to units id like the Cairn Wraith and Tomb Banshee to lose the LEADER battlefield role like Grimwrath Berzerkers in Fyreslayers a new, seperate warscroll for the clampack release Lord Executioner, make him a named character (as a side note, has anyone else noticed that he’s sold with a 32mm base but the bases document says he should be on a 40mm-likely because the Soul Wars Lord Executioner is on a 40mm) Mortis Engine should gain the Nighthaunt keyword so that Start Collecting box actually becomes useful. I want to buy one, but as the engine is useless to us I’m just going to buy the separate boxes for Spirit Hosts and Hexwraiths

Yes sorry I meant without allies, as in part of a Legions/Soulblight army

As it’s a Nighthaunt battalion I don’t think you can take it in Legions? Being Nighthaunt you definitely can’t take it in Soulblight except using allies

The problem with Nagash is that heroes of that level (Nagash, Morathi, Teclis, Gotrek etc) is that they just shouldn’t exist in the game, at least not in matched play. Nagash is very obnoxious, annoying and unfun to play against. Every game I’ve played against Nagash comes to down to if you can’t kill him in a single turn you’ve lost as he manages to heal back up to full, and with his 8 spells and +3 to cast he does way too much to be able to ignore him

What’s the general thoughts on best unit sizes for each of the Nighthaunt units?

Don’t have my books on me, but I’m pretty sure that in the GHB at the bottom of the points section it states that the * indicates a change from the previous publication date (in this case December 2019) rather than the battletomes points list

He’s the best looking model of the 3 mortarchs from that kit, he’s also the best of the 3 at combat (although his survival rate is still minimal)

I think the concern about Mercenaries going away is because right after they introduced those rules, they discontinued the dwarf cannon/organ gun (one of the specific mercenary companies) which kind of suggests they aren’t going to be a permanent thing

1v1, scores count for the team

It’s for a teams tournament. We have a few restrictions that limit what I can do: -each warscroll can only be taken by one of your 4 team members (Chainrasp Hordes and most of the Soul Wars units are already taken by the Grand Host player on our team). This applies to Endless Spells too. -no double-ups of Allegiances within the team. we decided to do a theme where we’re all running Death armies, we’ve got Bonereapers, Legion of Blood and Grand Host of Nagash. I decided I don’t want to run my Flesh-Eaters due to past bad experiences, so I had to choose between Legion of Night, Soulblight or Nighthaunt. I have about a month to get the army built and painted and decided Nighthaunt would be the easier of the 3. my thoughts behind what I’ve included: I really like Kurdoss and Reiknor, they are probably the main reason I’m doing Nighthaunt so they both have to be there. I dislike Grimghasts and Glaivewraiths, and as mentioned above I can’t take Chainrasps. So as far as units, Bladeghiests are my favourite (although I believe they’re incredibly overpointed), Spirit Hosts I needed as battleline, and Chainghasts are pretty much the only shooting in the army. I like the Black Coach model but it’s up in the air weather I’ll get it, built and painted in time (to be clear I still have to actually buy the army, I’m just tossing ideas around at the moment). Spirit Torment combos with the Chainghasts. The Lord Executioner is a pretty cool model and makes the battalion with the Spirit Hosts. Regarding the battalions, I’m unsure if I’ll actually take them or drop them for more units, the above list with 2 battalions is still about 8 deployment drops so most armies will get to choose who’s going first and I don’t really think the battalions do enough to be worth it (with most of my heroes being named, I have little use for extra artefacts anyway). I will probably give the Lord Executioner the command trait/artefact that makes him a Wizard, although I haven’t given much thought about those things yet. as for how I’m going to play the army, Nighthaunt from what I can tell aren’t really a rush forward and kill things army so that’ll take some getting used to, luckily I’ll have a lot of games before the event to practice, but I really haven’t thought much about ‘how’ I’m going to play them. the following is a list of other units I’d like/still thinking about fitting in somehow: -Myrmourn Banshees -Tomb Banshee -Cairn Wraith -The Briar Queen + unit -Hexwraiths -Knight of Shrouds (foot and/or mounted) -Nighthaunt endless spells i wanted to ally in a Vampire Lord or something to interact with the Summonable keyword more, but of course Legion of Blood has those already spoken for

Thoughts on this list? Allegiance: NighthauntLeadersKurdoss Valentian, the Craven King (180)Lord Executioner (80)Reikenor the Grimhailer (170)Spirit Torment (120)Battleline3 x Spirit Hosts (120)3 x Spirit Hosts (120)3 x Spirit Hosts (120)Units10 x Bladegheist Revenants (180)10 x Bladegheist Revenants (180)4 x Chainghasts (140)4 x Chainghasts (140)BehemothsBlack Coach (220)BattalionsExecution Horde (100)Shroudguard (110)Total: 1980 / 2000Extra Command Points: 2Allies: 0 / 400Wounds: 99

Oh and another interesting point of note: the order battletomes are released in, is not necessarily the order they were written. So using the ‘but book X is bad and was released after Y’ isn’t a good argument against power creep existing or not

Thoughts on this list? It’s for an upcoming somewhat casual teams tournament Allegiance: Flesh Eater Courts - Grand Court: Court of Delusion - The Feast Day Mortal Realm: Shyish Leaders Crypt Haunter Courtier (120) - General - Command Trait: Dark Acolyte - Blood Feast - Artefact: The Flayed Pennant Abhorrant Archregent (240) - Artefact: The Dermal Robe - Lore of Madness: Deranged Transformation Abhorrant Ghoul King (160) - Lore of Madness: Spectral Host Battleline 6 x Crypt Horrors (260) 6 x Crypt Horrors (260) 40 x Crypt Ghouls (360) 6 x Crypt Flayers (340) Battalions Abattoir (120) Endless Spells / Terrain / CPs Chalice of Ushoran (50) Corpsemare Stampede (70) Total: 1980 / 2000 Extra Command Points: 1 Allies: 0 / 400 Wounds: 131

In regards to Bonereapers, I think everyone is forgetting the mechanics built into their units. The Hekatos (unit leaders) being able to use command abilities and providing a 6+ damage save in the same manner as a hero. Additionally with the RD points, they tend to get to use more command abilities than any other army. in general, I’m of the belief that ‘power creep’ is accidental. Late during an edition they create these new ideas (RP points and Hekatos for Bonereapers as an example, or Allegiance Abilities in the first Sylvaneth battletome), and the problem is it takes them so long to implement these ideas into the older armies as well, so it creates this situation where armies get left behind until they redo the battletomes. additionally I actually think most units are just under/over costed rather than being ‘OP’ or an example of power creep. Deepkin Eels for example were (and still are, in my opinion) too cheap for their stat lines, but when combined with their allegiance abilities and Volturnos spamming his command ability they just become insane for their points. Conversely though I think the Abbhorrant Archregent is overcosted. The thing is that yes he can summon a 200pts unit but let’s not forget that said unit is overcosted to account for the summoning and various healing abilities within the army. Flesh-Eaters have this weird economy where the units that can be summoned pay for it rather than the unit that summons them. As such when you compare the warscrolls, the Ghoul King at 160pts, the Archregent was fine at 200pts for +1 attack, +1 wound, +1 spell/dispel and a choice of summoned unit (however, I also think he should only summon 10 ghouls rather than 20. He should basically get a choice between all the 3 summon abilities whereas the others don’t). His points only went up due to people complaining about the more competitive/borderline WAAC players spamming 6 of them in lists. not necessarily related to ’power creep” but the small model choice armies (Fyreslayers, Flesh-Eaters etc) hurt the game by being so restricted in choices due to low amount of units to choose from, that gw are unable to force lore based list restrictions. Take Fyreslayers for example, by the lore in the battletome, if you’re using any of the Lodges then you should only be able to take a single Auric Runefather and Auric Runemaster as the book makes very clear that there’s is only ever one of each in a lodge at a time. Additionally, neither Hearthguard units should be battleline options as they’re both described as ‘bodyguard’ type units that you shouldn’t be able to spam the board with. For Flesh-Eathers, the Archregent should also be one per army. But because the model range is so small for those armies, they’re unable to make it so that lists actually match the lore

Unfortunately I disagree. So far it looks like a standard release schedule rather than rushing to get everything out that’s been sitting in the warehouse ready for release these past months. Expect a lot of things to be delayed, especially because they won’t be delaying 40k 9th edition. Anything not 40k related is unlikely to release before 40k 9th at this rate, all the 40k releases need to be out before 9th as the rumoured Necrons and Space Marines codex will invalidate a lot of stuff before it’s even out. GW has a LOT of things that should have been out before now and I expected them to at least double up each preorder cycle to fit as much as they could (ie elves and giants same week, necromunda, warcry,underworlds and bloodbowl could have all been one week etc)

Anyone have info on the Path To Glory tables? I have a game on Saturday but won’t have the book until sunday