Lemon Knuckles

It does. I'm thinking of taking something like the below list for a spin to get a sense for what's possible: I think the list is fairly balanced, but we'll see. Thoughts: The VLoZD outfitted as is under the LoB seems scary. 21 to hit rolls at full health means 3-4 of those attacks score mortals on average with the command trait. Might be a bit janky, but I think I can add to this nonsense with Ring of Domination, with the stolen weapon also getting +1 attack from the Allegiance Ability, and the ability to Mortal off a roll of 6. Combine with Dread Knight and I can't imagine much surviving that combat. Blood Knights pack a very good punch as well, as long as they get in on the charge. Hexwraiths provide the screen necessary to keep the Blood Knights from getting bogged down, and can fly over the target unit, do some mortals, pile-in from the back, and open up the lane for the Blood Knight charge. The mounted VL rides with this cavalry block for support. The Morghasts pose another legitimate threat with good reach thanks to extended charge range, and big rend-2 to tackle more defensive blocks if needed. The bravery debuff bubble adds to the LoB bravery threat. The battleline is meant to grind out a win by attrition. 40 Skeletons can do surprising damage. 20 Chainrasps add durability. Both supported by a Necromancer for extra recursion and either VH buff or OD debuff as needed. The Mortis Engine accelerates the attrition game by radiating MW across a -3/-4 bravery debuffed bubble and also debuffs enemy casting. Small unit of wolves roam as needed, grabbing objectives, tying up a shooting unit for a turn, or pinning a key target in place. There are holes here for sure, but it seems fun, and gives me an option for Death other than Nagash.

That's right. Allegiance abilities like the Lore Spells are not available to allies. BUT.... Guardian of Souls CAN take an extra spell, and from either Lore to boot, since it is now LoN legal. Makes no sense tbh, but is in keeping with RAW.

I don't think that is accurate? She can't pick an extra spell from the Lore of Death because she's an ally and doesn't get the allegiance ability. The only keyword that is necessary to qualify for the extra spell is Wizard, which she does have. The extra rules about Deathmages, Vampires and Deathlords are additional sub-rules specific to those types, not a pre-requisite for the ability itself. I think?

All I'm saying is that there might be something there if people really think through all of the changes. For example, hordes lose their objective priority in the new scenarios. In some of the new ones, casters get priority. Easier to get in combat turn one due to deployment changes. Changes to CPs and some combo shenninghans with Prince V or VLoZD. The gravesites and recursion are the most obvious and powerful of the Death abilities, and that's the route I'm going down personally. All I'm saying is that it's too early to say for sure that elite vampire armies are a non-starter. I'm rooting for whoever has the balls to figure out how to make it work.

There might be game for elite Vampire lists. Some new scenarios have shorter distance between deployment zones (18'). That, along with some of the tweaks to shooting, and the buffs to casters in general, might open up space for some smart cookies to hit gold.

My Grand Plan is to slowly go bankrupt buying more new plastic than I can ever hope to paint up in my lifetime. I need a new Grand Plan.

Looks good as a Blood list to me. I like it. The tinkerer in me might try two changes: Combine 2 min BoK into 1 x 10 man unit to get more mileage out of a CP buff. Change the max Wolves unit to 10 Hexwraiths (!?). Idea here is to use the Hexwraiths as a screen for your big BoK group, then on your turn fly over the enemy to open them up to the charge. Can't charge through wolf screens.

Drop 1 unit of Dogs to 5 and add Mirrors. Why with Arkhan? Seems like a less useful pairing to me? And yes, she counts as an ally.

Placeholder for when a stand-alone Soulblight battletome comes out. Pretty sure it will happen, and pretty sure it will be a long, long wait.

In honor of today's reveal, what about this? Grand Host of Nagash Nagash Lady Olynder Necromancer 40 x Skeletons 40 x Skeletons 10 x Dogs 10 x Dogs 1950 points, 143 wounds, +1CP Olynder's spell combos well with Necro's Dread to put an enemy unit at -2 to hit and has Nagash hitting it on a 2+ in melee. Necro's Gravesand artefact combos well with Olynder's Gravesand ability to deal D3 + D6 MW to enemy hero and a further 1 MW per round on a 4+. If they focus Olynder to remove her, it's just more time for Nagash to do his thing. If they focus Nagash to contain him, well, her smallish 7W becomes less of a problem. The dogs could be anything really... a unit of Morghasts to be more killy, perhaps... but I kinda like the mobile meatshields. ADDED BONUS: Paint a tuxedo on Nagash and you have a morbid, Tim Burton-esque Bride and Groom combo.

The bases look amazing! Great work.

First off, I really like your list here. That said, I understand people's reservations. Our batallions are all pretty lackluster, and considered in a vacuum, I don't think there's ever a reason to take any of them. However, we don't play in a vacuum, and given what we know about 2.0, I do think that Deathmarch is a reasonable pick. I think your math is a bit off, because I count 1970 points, not enough for another CP. More importantly, you will only start the game with the CP from the batallion, as you generate CPs at the start of your own hero phase. This is important because without a batallion, you will always want to short your list by 50 to ensure you have access to a first-turn reactive command ability if needed. A Batallion solves for that, so its true cost is price -50. Batallions also give access to another artefact, and the new battleplans prioritize Wizards and Characters with Artefacts. The only part of your list I'm unsure about are, surprisingly, the Morghasts. They are a scarey unit for sure, but you are essentially paying a 30 point tax on them because of your list build, and I'd be tempted to try and be more point efficient and double-down on either more casters or summonables or some combination of both. But I definitely could be worried about nothing here. Nice job!

I like Gravesand better in your list. Haven't seen Mannfred get a lot of play. Would be very interested to hear how he does for you.

I saw it and first thoughts are I really like it. Necro or Mannfred as general? And I like the 6-3 split of Hosts better than the blob of 9 (I think).

******. If that's the case, I am less interested in trying to ally one into a LoN list.

I'm really torn by this too. I'm currently noodling a list with WK even though the VL is superior. 20 points + barrow armor + the extra ward save from diadem is shading things toward the WK right now. But I could just as easily drop the unit of 10 skellies to 5 dogs and upgrade from WK to VL. Thoughts? Allegiance: Grand Host of Nagash LEADERS Arkhan The Black Mortarch of Sacrament (320) - Lore of the Dead : Fading Vigour (Deathmages) Necromancer (110) - Lore of the Deathmages : Overwhelming Dread Wight King with Black Axe (120) - General - Command Trait : Lord of Nagashizzar - Artefact : Ossific Diadem Abhorrant Ghoul King on Terrorgheist (400) - Allies UNITS 30 x Grave Guard (420) -Great Wight Blades 40 x Skeleton Warriors (280) -Ancient Spears 10 x Skeleton Warriors (80) -Ancient Blades 5 x Hexwraiths (160) TOTAL: 1890/2000 WOUNDS: 125 LEADERS: 4/6 BATTLELINES: 3 (3+) BEHEMOTHS: 2/4 ARTILLERY: 0/4 ALLIES: 400 / 400

I haven't tried it, but want to try it out once 2.0 drops to see if it has any legs. Yeah, I was originally thinking of it in terms of ambushing in Night, and am now noodling it as a possible for GHoN.

For 20 points more than Terrorgheist + Banshee you could maybe ally in the Ghoul King version? Adds a Wizard, provides itself recurring heals, and for a CP you can summon in 3 Flayers that can each make their own scream attack on the turn they were summoned. Granted its a weaker scream than the Banshee, but under the right conditions it might do some work, and the Flayers can actually get in there and mix it up too.