Landohammer

Quick Addendum to my winning streak. Just won another game vs Petrifex OBR + Nagash using my 18+ Kurnoth Hunter list., but this time I brought 10 Sisters of the Watch just for fun. Here is a quick rundown. -Sisters wiped out a unit of 3 monstrous infantry sword guys, and put 3 wounds on Nagash in just two turns. I may need to start looking into fielding more of these gals! -The player was terrified of getting too close to Durthu so he camped on an objective in his territory and just focused on killing Hunters at range. This was ok with me since the hunters had the wounds to weather the damage and still be effective. I suicide charged 5 spites into nagash and actually did 2 more wounds. Between Durthu's shooting, Sisters, and Spites I had Nagash down to 7 wounds by turn 3 with minimal effort. -I screened his cavalry with spites so they couldn't make any meaningful charges and countercharged them with Hunters. I then scored the double to finish them off as well as kill Nagash. At that point he had a single character left so we called it, 14-7 Sylvaneth win. I have a 2 game casual tourney next weekend using the same list (minus sisters since my list is already locked 😫) but I will let you know how it goes! Hoping to keep the winning streak going! -

The Gladius probably has the most potential. But the charge just can't be relied upon with a movement 5 model. And while the Spiteswarm helps in that regard, you really need the Spiritsong Stave to help get it off with throne. Otherwise your entire plan relies on a 7+ casting roll. And you will never have both the Gladius and the Stave in the same list. I'm also not a huge fun of running Durthu as a tank build. Dryads can fill that roll infinitely better (and in battleline nevertheless). Durthu is there to break through armor and kill stuff. 🌳🔪

You bring up a good point, and that is "what is actually the best artefact for durthu?" The loss of Ghyrstrike left a pretty significant hole in our army. But with the subfactions locking you into an artefact, the question is rather moot because the faction artefacts are a lot better on Durthu than any of our other options. Here is my logic Am I bringing a battallion? No -----> Durthu gets either the Frozen Kernel, Silent Sickle, or Jewel of Withering. Yes -----> Durthu gets either the Frozen Kernel, Silent Sickle, or Jewel of Withering and I give the Spiritsong stave to a Branchwraith. IMHO. The spiritsong stave is so good that is essentially just becomes the autoinclude any time you get a second artefact. It turns the branchwraith into quite an efficient model. Throne of vines + Rouse to Wrath or Verdant Blessing + Rouse to wrath or even Throne of Vines + Spiteswarm Hive are actually pretty solid casting phases that can't be ignored. So the only, and I mean the ONLY circumstance where Durthu gets a meaningful decision on artefact choice is if you take Winterleaf and a Battallion, and you give the Kernel to a support character that follows durthu around. So in that situation, what artefact is best? 🤔

I just ripped my bows off and replaced them with Scythes. I was tired of waiting for GW to make them playable lol. So at 180pts I don't think the Treelord will make or break a list, but in a meta full of Khorne, LRL, and Tzeetch, I am just not able to reliably summon a forest. So the tree lord is unlikely to be able to capitalize on that.

Hey guys, I just wanted to share my list that recently won a league. Full disclaimer I played 12 games in the league and only used Sylvaneth twice, but Sylvaneth won both times which included the championship match. My wins were vs a Lord Kroak Thunder Lizard list and a triple terrorgeist FEC list. I only ran the treelord because I lacked 3 more painted hunters models, but have since acquired them and plan to field 6+6+9 hunters version of this list in a tourney on 2-27 Generally, my plan was this: Drop the largest wood that I could (usually 5-6 pieces). Deploy 9 scythes and Durthu in the woods. Deploy the other Hunters wherever they could get to an objective the quickest. Then screen each unit with 5 spites. On my first turn, I ran the spites up as far as I could and follow with hunters. Durthu would camp near the forest, begging someone to charge him and threatening counter charges. Branchwraith was busy summoning forests/dryads, or healing. Pretty basic, but it ended up being effective. Durthu has a MASSIVE board presence, because even models that can easily kill him with one swing have to be concerned with him scoring a lucky 4+ and swinging first (and then potentially retreating). And with only 6-7 drops it out-dropped most other armies. What do you guys think? Have I just been lucky or does this list have the potential to take Sylvaneth from a D tier to a D+ tier 🤣 (Harvestboon) Durthu (sickle and seek new fruit) Branchwraith (stave and regrowth) 5 spites 5 spites 5 spites Outcasts Batallion 6 Kurnoth (swords) 9 Kurnoth (scythes) 3 Kurnoth (swords) Tree lord (drop Tree Lord for +3 Kurnoth to optimize)

You are not wrong. Hexwraiths are far from a fantastic unit. And you are also correct that the 120pt cost of DG (or any battallion) should be factored in to our comparisons. But battalions come with a lot more intrinsic benefits that are hard to measure. Specifically the extra CP, second artefact, and reduction in drops. So I am confident in saying that the battallion tax isn't really dead weight. At least not as much as a dedicated body guard. Also hexwraiths are some of the fastest natural battleline in the game. The 12" move plus fly increases the value of each of those attacks, because they are going precisely where I want them. Hammerers and Spites have insanely good melee profiles for battleline units. Especially given their points cost. (better than anything we can field) But the reason you don't see them in tournaments is because their movement is awful lol. I have found that on the tabletop throwing 30 dice fishing for mortals is quite anxiety inducing for most opponents. I have rolled anywhere from 1-10 sixes in those 30 dice and for many elite armies that can be terrifying. So it really makes your hexwraiths into a wildcard unit that even experienced opponents won't know how to measure.

^^^This is 100% the only way to win with NIghthaunt in its current format IMHO. The feedback from my opponents has been that they don't know how to manage the threats from my army because each unit is a threat and more often than not I get to pick my battles. The way to capitalize on this is to make sure each unit is large enough to be some kind of threat in its own right but not large enough to be crippling if you lose it. So that is why I steer clear from 30 man units of Reapers and over-investing in Bladegheist Revenants. Those are fantastic units but they are heavy point sinks. Sometimes 10 Harridans or 10 DG Hexwraiths properly supported/buffed are all you need to cripple a unit. And crippling a unit can be just as useful as destroying it. We often win the long game since our models grow back and we don't flubb battleshock tests. This exact scenario happened when I was fighting Khorne. 10 Harridans aren't strong enough to kill a bloodthirster. But I was able to bracket him hard enough to where he couldn't fight efficiently. Skarbrand was another story though. Turns out he brackets in reverse. That was a hard lesson lol.

So my success with DG has come while completely discarding the body guard function, and instead focusing on capitalizing on the +1 attack. If you dedicate 130+ points to guarding Olynder, she is no longer a 200pt character, but instead becomes a 330 point character. And her abilities are just too short of range to be worth that much investment. In my experience, the key to being successful with DG is exploiting the +1A by taking larger units of Hexwraiths. Now my 260pt unit of Hexwraiths has 60 attacks on the charge, and when I roll a Wave of Terror it becomes 120 attacks . That is a pretty sizeable amount of threat for a 260pt batteline unit. Especially since movement 12-15 allows you to pretty much pick your ideal combats. Also lets not forget that larger units of Hexwraiths do more damage on their flyover attack as well.

Its funny/sad because we all somehow end up with like 20 of the dang things. I will say this: In the old tzeentch and Sylvaneth codex, Flamers and Spites were trash units that nobody even bothered painting or fielding. But when the codex refreshes came out they were completely overhauled and both became completely new units. Spites went from a similar profile to Glaivewraith to a respectable 3A 3+/3+ profile without any points increase. So currently I am holding out hope that Glaives will get a rewrite from the ground up. Not sure what their role will be in an army already overloaded with elite melee infantry, but one can hope.

Nice! I don't really get the hate on the hexwraith kits. They hold up well and help break up the monotony of an all infantry list. I have painted 25 of them and they probably get more compliments than my harridans or rasps. I have tried the Craven King in one game and he is absolutely fine. He is a really good candidate for the generic "reroll 1's to hit" command ability (or just a Spirit Torment) if you have any CP to spare. I don't think I ever got his 5+ CP stealing ability to actually go off but he ended up just being a reliable beatstick. My only holdup with him is that Olynder is only 20 more points and tends to be a bit more useful in most situations. However, there are some armies that cannot function without a CP on turn 1 so I can see him being really critical in certain matchups. Glavewraith stalkers have two primary uses: Test models for trying out your paint scheme, or being melted down in acetone for use as basing goo.

I think we should look to the Sylvaneth and Tzeentch codex updates as an example of what we can probably expect when/if we get a codex refresh. GW is not really into releasing new behemoths to existing factions unless those factions have outdated behemoths that are critical to their function (such as Slaanesh Keepers) Basically the best case scenario we should expect would be a rules refresh, a new piece of terrain, and maybe a new model (likely just a small character) In codex refreshes, many of the old battallion abilities were rolled into subfactions, and new battallions were added. This ended up being a pretty huge buff since it granted units access to pretty stout army-wide abilities. Examples include battleline unlocks (screamers) and exploding 6's. (winterleaf) In our case, I imagine the abilities from Shrieker Host or Death Riders would probably become army-wide abilities tied to subfactions. However the downside would be having your artefact and command traits locked in place (a recurring theme among new codexes). So while having army-wide +1 to charge could be seen as a game changer, losing free access to the Pendant of the Fell Wind or Midnight Tome could be a pretty harsh trade-off. Here is hoping that the Broken Realms expansion really fleshes us out. In the 40k the Psychic Awakening expansions added so much content to each army that it was essentially a codex rewrite.

Hey guys, just reporting back in. I have now played 6 games with my new Nighthaunt army that I started and finished in Sept. I have beaten Khorne, Lumineth, Seraphon, Cities, and Ogors. And I wanted to provide some feedback from my experience as a new NH player. -I think 2 units of 10 Hexwraiths in Dolorous Guard battallion will be a mainstay in my list. I know hexwraiths are still meh overall but their speed is still really good for a batteline unit, and dolorous guard buff really pushes them into a decent threat range for their points. Throwing 30 attacks that do mortals on 6's is not something people can ignore. -A single unit of Chainrasps have won me 2 games. A unit of 40 is an absolute steal for 280pts and saving a CP for inspiring presence can make these a huge problem for alpha strikers. I got double turned by 3 bloodthirsters and the chainrasps screened my entire army from being wiped out. -Olynder is really good but I am learning that most of her work is done in the hero phase, and unless you are willing to deepstrike her right in your opponents face, she often only gets to use her mortal wound abilities once. I still think she is A tier (in our book at least) but I don't think she is as mandatory as I initially thought. I often wished I had instead spent her 200pts on 2-3 cheaper characters. -Dreadscythe Harridans can often accomplish the same things that Revenants and Reapers would, but for cheaper. -The Blackcoach is the greatest distraction-carnifex ever. I had one opponent who, after spending quite a few resources to take it down, said "man I'm glad that thing is dead. What is its points cost? 400pts?". 🤣

Yea exactly. I often find myself holding a unit of 5 hexwraiths in reserve until the last possible second. They don't really present a significant threat, but just the psychology of getting charged in the rear lines forces people to become overly conservative. I guess a unit of 10 chainrasps could accomplish the same goal for cheaper, but 5 dolorous guard hexwraiths are actually strong enough to do something lol. The Dreadblade Harrow often has a similar psychological affect but I don't teleport him as much as I thought I would. He is often needed for deathless minion saves and charge rerolls, and I generally lack the CP to spectral summon.

Cool game. I wish they would do something about Lord Kroak. Seraphon is already a strong book but Kroak just pushes it over the edge into insanity. I played a game against Seraphon recently and somehow managed to pull a win. (he was a newer player though). It was the the 7+ behemoth list with a bunch of stegadons and bastilladons. The battleplan ended up being a huge factor. The deployments were super far apart (forcing the hand maybe?). His stegadons were quite scary in combat, but they just weren't fast enough to get across the table, so I was able to pick and choose my fights (and objectives!) one at a time. He was also scared of my deepstrikers dropping behind his line (a valid fear) but he held a bit too much back and it ended up costing him later. A carnosaur shouldn't be doing guard duty lol. Final score was like 34-16. I think Olynder will be in every list going forward. She is a steal for her points.

Wow as an old Wood elf player this theory blows my mind. Cool idea. The in-game mechanics of 8th edition also support that theory with the forest spirits sharing a lot of rule similarities with daemons. And the lore of Athel Loren itself quite resembled a realm of chaos with time and space being inconsistent and the inhabitants tormenting any outsiders. They really need to expand the Sylvaneth model line (or release Kurnothi as an expansion). The codex is built on the back of 3 newer kits (Alarielle, Spites, Hunters) mashed together with 2 old kits. (Treelord, Dryads). Thats a shame for such a cool faction.

As a new NH player this drives me insane. Its even in the dang start collecting box. I understand that maybe "Deathmage" faction needed more units but its perfectly fine to have multiple faction keywords on unit. Chaos does it all the time.

You may be right. The list that podiumed had like 110 chain rasps. And between the FNP and rez, many armies just don't have the killing power to deal with that While I admit this is an effective strategy for holding an objective, I can't say that it is a particularly fun way to play the game. It actually sounds quite tedious. Part of the appeal of Nighthaunt, at least to me, is playing a very mobile and tactical game of hit and run tactics. Maybe I just haven't lost enough games yet to get that desperate. (just give me more time lol)

Same. I am sticking with Dolorous Guard as well. The obvious threat is having 10 Hexwraiths put out 30 scythe attacks (and 30 horse attacks!). I played another game vs Mawtribes last night, and despite losing, I was quite impressed at what a 5 man unit of Hexwraiths accomplished. Consider that 5 hexwraiths in DG can start to compete with 10 man units of Bladegeists despite being 50 points cheaper and 50% faster. Hexwraiths also synergize better with Ruler of the Spirit Hosts and Black Coach heals.

Fair. I saw a Legion of Grief Chainrasp list podium at a big tournament recently so it had me re-assessing my allegiance lol Question though: What specifically about Emerald Host made us more competitive? Is it the potential for a single drop? I like that idea but the 3 battalion taxes was a pretty hefty price tag. I really like Dolorous Guard on its own though. Especially since I am already bringing Hexwraiths anyway. I think in the meantime I will continue to play Nighthaunt mostly because I don't necessarily want to be forced to pay 240pts+ to bring 3 units of chainrasps just to meet batteline. Also Legion of Grief gets ham stringed as soon as you lose your general, and that can be frustrating to play around.

Hey guys, here is a tough question. Now that Legion of Grief is unquestionably legal again, what is the most competitive way to field a majority Nighthaunt army? Here are key differences as I see them. Nighthaunt -Hexwraith, Grimghast Reaper, and Spirit battleline options. -Wave of Terror -Spectral Summons - Soul Cage -Pendant of the Fell Wind -Olynder doesn't come with any baggage - Deepstrike without gravesite conditions - Access to Vampire Lord as ally Legion of Grief -Can summon an entire unit back for 1 CP - Dread Withering -Vassal of the Craven King -Access to Necromancers -Access to Mortis Engine without the need for allies All in all it looks pretty close. To me the big items are the differences in battleline, and the resurrection command ability. I guess what it boils down to is if the loss of good battleline is worth the ability to summon units back. As the magic items and spells are relatively comparable, as is Wave of Terror and Necromancer (both provide situational double fights). Thoughts?

Hey guys, just played my first ever game with NH vs Mawtribes (and my first game in 8 weeks so forgive any errors). Here is a quick rundown. List at the bottom. Scenario was scorched earth. Turn one I deepstriked Hexwraiths and Knight on Steed right in front of his large block of Gluttons and somehow managed to roll an 11 on the charge (risky move I know). I burnt a CP for the knight buff and deleted the gluttons with minimal casualties. On his turn he pushed up with his units and easily destroyed the Hexwraiths with his Ironguts (Iron guts are really scary) Turn 2 I ran the Knight onto the objective the dead gluttons were guarding and burnt it. Coach powered up and killed a giant. My bladegeists deepstriked and charged his leadbealchers but failed to kill them. Meanwhile his Iron guts charge and wipe out 20 Harridans while his other large unit of gluttons avenged the giant by killing my coach. Bladegeists at least manage to take (and burn!) the objective his leadbelchers were standing on. Turn 3 I push 20 Grimghast reapers into his overextended iron guts and roll a 10 for the double fight. I do a ton of damage but a few Ironguts survive and somehow kill 16 Reapers. (did i mention iron guts are scary?) I am out of CP so the rest run. Elsewhere my 2 surviving Bladegeists finish the leadbelchers and burn another one of his objectives. Turn 4 - My last unit of hexwraiths make a charge into his last unit of Gluttons but roll poorly on their attacks and die horribly lol. My Guardian of Souls and Spirit Torment then make a desperate charge into his 2 remaining ironguts and an epic fight ensues. Spirit Torment dies, but so do both of his Ironguts, leaving a severely wounded Guardian of Souls left. Soul Cage was clutch here because it let me swing before him two combats in a row. Turn 5 - I have nothing left but the Guardian of Souls, however I burn a CP to auto-6 run the Guardian of Souls onto his last objective and burn it. He retaliates by sending his unit of Gluttons to kill it and thus table me. Tabled but final score 24-11 Nighthaunt win! List Knight on Steed Spirit Torment Guardian of Souls 10 Hexwraith 10 Hexwraith Dolorous Guard 20 Grimghast Reaper 20 Dreadscythe Harridan 10 Bladegeist Black Coach

RAW I believe you are correct. And interestingly they removed the verbage where they specifically mentioned mercenary rules as requiring opponents permission. I don't own the Forbidden Power book though, does it specify the same requirements as GHB19 regarding fielding mercenaries? (such as the -1CP cost?)

I still like the old hexwraith models. They would be A- models in any other faction. Nighthaunt just has some of the best models in the game so they look a bit dated by comparison. Ya know if they would just make Stalkers relevant and update our redundant/useless characters, it would go a long way toward making us more competitive.

Nice! I am just glad somebody is getting some use out of their Glavewraith Stalker models. Mine are just sacrificed for conversion bits lol.

@EnixLHQ I am also mourning the loss of Dolorous Guard. Deathriders is definitely a viable alternative but i prefer units of 10 hexwraith to capitalize on the battallion ability and make them a bit more of a threat. Most opponents arent going to worry too much about 5 hexwraiths, but 10 can be a problem if ignored. Especially if you roll a 9 and/or manage to get some flyovers. My newbie plan is to fling units of hexwraiths at opponents and buff them with a Knight of Shrouds on steed if they make the charge. The +1 attack also affects the horses so that becomes 31 hex attacks and 30 horse attacks. Not bad for 260pts!