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Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Death/Nighthaunt

2021-04-21T19:51:46Z

2800:300:6331:B3A0:0:0:0:3: /* Others */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Nighthaunt|Logo=LadyOlynderMortarch.png|Alliance=Death|Motto=Wooo!! I'm a ghosty!}}

Get ready to have [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSaqSVi--Ms Grim Grinning Ghosts] playing on a loop because the ghosts of the Mortal Realms have come out to socialize!

==Why play Nighthaunt?==

'''Pros'''
*Army wide Ethereal rule means enemy rend has no effect at all on your save rolls.
*Army wide ignore wounds and mortal wounds on a 6.
*Army wide fly means you pay no heed to the idea of "Battle lines", just go above your enemy and hit them where it hurts.
*Strong leadership and small army size means routing is never an issue
*Dish out mortal wounds like it's nobody's business.
*GW support, with some of the best models released recently.
*You have one of the best mobility in the game. With deep strike, teleportation, and that all of your units fly. You can run around your enemy(or crash into them like a screaming banshee train) with ease! and you're not all that fragile too.
*12 hero options to choose from. Spoilt for choice.
*Your main motivation is hatred of Sigmarines.
*Our army-specific Endless spells have cool models.
*Stupidly easy to paint. Just prime them white and apply some pale shades of greens or blues to give them a [[spook]]y appearance.

'''Cons'''
*Despite perfectly fitting the aesthetic, Mortis Engines aren't Nighthaunt units.
*Our army-specific Endless Spells suck crunch-wise, either being overcosted for what they do or too unreliable.
*Like a lot of Death armies, your heroes are the chain that binds the army together. If they get killed you might as well go back to the grave.
*12 hero options to choose from. Whaimmagonnadoo?
*Not all those 12 options are all that superb either
*Pray to Nagash for those 10's on the charge, because you're going to need them.
*Eats Mortal Wounds like a chump; you're going to need that 6+ FNP, since that's almost all you get.
*Depending on your opinion of mono-pose models, you will either love or hate the Nighthaunt range.
* They are very bad to transport. Many Nighthaunt models are made with a single small connecting point to the base along with parts that stick out like small bits and weapons. Take a leaf from Sylvaneth (hehe) when it comes to transporting your army anywhere, lest you snap your precious models and doom yourself with trying to superglue a 2mm surface together.
*Ethereal is a HEAVY point tax. You'll feel that all your models are 10-30% more expensive point wise than they would be due to not being affected by Rend. And in some match ups, Ethereal means very little.

==Rulebooks==
The ''Nighthaunt Battletome'' has all the Warscrolls, Battations and Allegiance Abilities.
*This should be supplemented with the Nighthaunt ''Errata'' and ''Designers' Commentary'' from the [https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/ FAQs].
*Matched play points are in ''General's Handbook 2019''.
*Alternatively up to date warscrolls can be found in the ''WH AoS'' app. Warscrolls on the GW webstore match those in the Battletome.

As with all factions you'll want:
*The core rules are either [https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Warhammer-Age-of-Sigmar-Rules downloadable] or in the ''Core Book''.
*Games taking place in a Realm need the Realm of Battle rules from the ''Core Book''.
*In you want to take advantage of realm specific artefacts you'll need the Artefacts Of The Realms section from the ''Malign Sorcery'' book.
*Matched play battleplans are split across the ''Core Book'' and ''General's Handbook 2019''.
*''All'' books should be supplemented with any updates from the [https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/ FAQs].

==Rulebooks==
{{AOSRulebooks|tome=Nighthaunt |points=[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/e2513c4c.pdf Nighthaunt Errata]}}

==Allegiance Abilities==
===Battle Traits===
*'''Deathless Spirits:''' Each time a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit takes a wound/mortal wound, if that unit is wholly within 12" of your general or any other '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' it can ignore the wound on a dice result of 6. Given how fragile a lot of your units are, this is a godsend.
*'''Aura of Dread:''' -1 Bravery to enemy units within 6" of yours. Decent, but nothing special.... until you read below.
*'''Feed on Terror:''' If an enemy unit fails a battleshock test, a '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' within 6" heals 1 wound. Adds a bit of sustainability considering how you desperately need to keep your heroes... unlive?
*'''From the Underworld They Come:''' For each unit you set-up on the battlefield you can keep them in reserve. Then you can deep-strike them with all of the normal limitations (9" range, can't move yadda yadda). No need to roll a dice now!
*'''Wave of Terror:''' When a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit makes an unmodified charge roll of 10+. The charging unit can immediately fight, and can still fight again in the following combat phase.This is fucking illegal and incredibly powerful.
*'''Spectral Summons:''' A Command Ability for your general. At the start of your movement phase pick a friendly '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit on the battlefield, then teleport it to your general. Entirely within 12" of your general and 9" from any enemy unit. Great to pull a unit away that's been charged by something that's about to wreck them or to charge with something pulled from the backline or to support a unit with another HERO or... you get the idea.

===Command Traits===
*'''Hatred of the Living:''' Your general can re-roll all hits unless the target has the DEATH key word.
*'''Terrifying Entity:''' At the start of the enemy movement phase, roll a d6 for each enemy unit within 3" than your general. If the result is equal to or greater than their bravery characteristic, that unit must retreat. Combos with your -1 bravery aura from Aura of Dread. Amazing against mob armies with low base bravery. Get them to retreat and then charge them again for the chance of that tasty, tasty 10+ charge.
*'''Lingering Spirit:''' The general gets +1 wound. Absolute trash unless for some reason you're using one of the more subpar heroes.
*'''Spiteful Spirit:''' If an enemy unit inflicts a wound on your general in melee combat, roll a d6. If you roll a 5+, enemy unit takes a mortal wound after all attacks have been made. Good on a Knight of Shrouds.
*'''Cloaked in Shadow:''' Gives -1 to hit for ranged attacks vs. the General. It's worth noting that with Look Out, Sir! it becomes -2.
*'''Ruler of the Spirit Hosts:''' At start of hero phase, return d3 models to a friendly '''SUMMONABLE NIGHTHAUNT''' unit within 9" of the general. Use on Hexwraiths or Spirit Hosts for maximum wound-return efficiency.

===Weapons of the Damned===
All Artefacts in this list requires you to pick one of the bearers melee weapons

*'''Shadow's Edge:''' An unmodified hit roll of 6 using that weapon deals d3 mortal wounds and the attack sequence ends. Basically gives a '''HERO''' an improved Frightful Touch, note that this does stack if they already have that rule. Kind of wasted on weapons with a damage stat higher than 1, but funny on a Cairn Wraith who can smack down 2+d3 MW each time he get's a 6.
*'''Reaper of Sorrows:''' Before attacking, roll 2D6. If the rolls exceed the target units Bravery then the Rend characteristic of this weapon is changed to -3. Since there is very little overlap between "units with low Bravery" and "units against which -3 Rend isn't wasted", better skip this one.
*'''Balefire Blade:''' Add 1 to the weapon's damage characteristic. Not bad on a Knight of Shrouds on mount, since it give's him a nice flat 3 Damage. If you're taking the Nighthaunt battalion which gives him an extra attack, consider it.
*'''Slitter:''' Every time the bearer is chosen to fight, but before piling in you can roll a dice against a model within 1". If the roll exceeds their wound characteristic, it is slain. Meaning you can pick the model you want to be removed from the unit, not your opponent. This can lead to some very interesting situations, considering the new rules for cohesion...
*'''Headsman's Judgement:''' Add 1 to the hit roll and wound roll. Just in case you'd like your Executioner to be able to pull his weight. Or stop pretending and give it to a Knight of Shrouds.
*'''Shrieking Blade:''' Subtract 1 from hit rolls made with melee weapons against the bearer.

===Relics of the Underworld===
*'''Cloak of the Waxing Moon:''' In melee, the owner's Deathless Spirits save works on a 5+ (normal wounds only).
*'''Pendant of the Fell Wind:''' Add +3" to the movement of any Nighthaunt units wholly within 12" of this character at the start of their phase. Perfect when the 6" Move of Spirit Hosts and Chainrasps aren't doing it for you, or combine with Chronomantic Cogs for Grimghast Reapers who move 13" and then charge 2d6+2".
*'''Dreadbolt Ring:''' If this model inflicts one or more wounds in the combat phase, then inflict d3 mortal wounds on an enemy unit within 3" after this model has finished attacking.
*'''Mirror of Screaming Souls:''' At the start of your shooting phase, roll 2D6 for each enemy unit within 8" of the bearer. If you roll above bravery, 1 mortal wound. Decent on a banshee or durable beatstick.
*'''Midnight Tome:''' The model becomes a Wizard and can cast/unbind once per phase and knows the two basic spells. If the model is already a wizard, it can cast one more spell.
*'''Covetous Familiar:''' At the start of each combat phase, roll a dice for every enemy unit within 3". On a 2+ they take a mortal wound. Better than the Dreadbolt Ring if you wanna get surrounded by multiple units, plus it goes off before anyone attacks.

===Infernal Lanterns===
Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern only.
*'''Lightshard of the Harvest Moon:''' Once per battle, at the start of the combat phase, every '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit wholly within 12" of the bearer rerolls all to hit when they attack in the combat phase.
*'''Wychlight Lantern:''' Add 1 to the bearer's casting roll.
*'''Beacon of Nagashizzar:''' Add +3 to the heal or resurrect roll when the bearer casts Spectral Lure.

===Notable Artifacts of the Realms===
Blade of Secrets- perfect for a dreadblade harrow unit that can teleport next to a caster and stop a specific spell that is causing your army grief for the rest of the game.

===Lore of the Underworld===
Like several armies you get a set of spells available to any '''NIGHTHAUNT WIZARDS'''.

*'''Soul Cage:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick an enemy unit within 12” of the caster that is visible to it. Until the start of your next hero phase, that unit fights at the end of the combat phase. In addition, the unit cannot retreat. ''A very nice way to deal with deathstars by using this and charging multiple units at it.''
*'''Spirit Drain:''' Casting Value 4. If successfully cast pick an enemy model within 18” of the caster that is visible to it. Roll number of dice equal to the wounds characteristic of the model. For each roll of a 6+ the model suffers 1 mortal wound. ''A Monster killer if there ever was one. Remember it's the Characteristic, so you can use this on a big beastie on it's last leg(s) to finish it off.''
*'''Lifestealer:''' Casting Value 7. If successfully cast pick an enemy unit within 12” of the caster that is visible to it. The unit suffers D3 mortal wounds. For every mortal wound inflicted in this manner, the caster heals 1 wound. ''This works great with Reikenor the Grimhailer. Snuff out your own corpse candle and cast this spell on a natural 4, and have a guaranteed wound to heal!''
*'''Reaping Scythe:''' Casting Value 4. If successfully cast pick one of this models melee weapons. You may reroll all failed to-hit and to-wound rolls made for that weapon until the start of your next hero phase.''Great on any kind of '''HERO''' that you turned into a wizard since most of them are beatsticks.''
*'''Shade Mist:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick a Nighthaunt unit within 12” of the caster. Until the start of your next hero phase, subtract 1 from all wound rolls made for attacks targeting this unit. ''Great for changing the odds on a unit's survival and complicating your opponent's targeting decisions.''
*'''Spectral Tether:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick a friendly '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' unit within 12”. That unit immediately heals D3 wounds. ''Mediocre use of a spell slot.''

===Endless Spells===
New to Second Edition, you're the other first to gain Faction Exclusive Endless Spells! These can only be cast by '''NIGHTHAUNT WIZARDS''' or '''NAGASH, SUPREME LORD OF THE UNDEAD'''. However, these are honestly pretty crap if used with Nighthaunt.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Shyish_Reaper.pdf Shyish Reaper]:''' The Shyish Reaper has a move of 8", and damages units by flying over models. The issue is that with its base being nearly 3", it can effectively only move 5", although this can be slightly extended due to it pivoting before it moves. It is more likely to deal damage to stuff with better save characteristics. Think for a moment - what armies around like to field lots of models with a 4+ save or better? Unfortunately, the top of the list is Nighthaunt. This spell is more likely to damage your own units than the enemy, most of the time. Pass.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Vault_of_Souls.pdf Vault of Souls]:''' It's a floating bomb that deals Mortal Wounds, and it explodes into D6 Mortal Wounds when it dispenses 20 of them. With how hard Predatory Endless Spells are to predict, this thing is too likely to turn and explode next to you at a critical moment. It may be worth considering, however, due to how cheap this bastard is, and how good our mobility is. Dropping it off as a parting gift from a deep striking Wizard can be delightfully good as they get snagged by Spectral Summons.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Mortalis_Terminexus.pdf Mortalis Terminexus]:''' It's a big floating Hourglass that either deal D3 Mortal Wounds to everything within 6" or heal D3 Wounds to everything within 6". It does not return dead models. In an army that already has great regeneration, mediocre regeneration that can't restore dead models is not worth taking. Avoid it. The model is cool, though, so use it as a proxy for the Chronomantic Cogs.

Some of the generic Endless Spells are also worth considering.

* '''Suffocating Gravetide:''' Now, let's not kid ourselves. The Suffocating Gravetide isn't strictly GOOD, but what it is is cheap. At 20 points, it's worth tossing in if you have a few points to spare once you've built your list, since they won't do anything for you otherwise. The Gravetide deals D3 mortal wounds to each unit it even slightly passes over, and inflicts a -1 leadership penalty on them, which can synergize with the -1 from Nighthaunt. The Gravetide is also on a pretty big base - it can be useful to plop it right in the way of an enemy unit and block them from getting that critical objective. The fact that the Gravetide provides cover is almost irrelevant to you - units with Ethereal can't benefit from cover, and you'll rarely care anyway.
** It also looks good next to your Nighthaunt, with the same design aesthetic.
* '''Chronomantic Cogs:''' Oh here we go. For a quick refresher, you need to have a WIZARD within 9" of the Cogs to activate them, and when you do you choose one ability to last until your next hero phase. If you slow down time, the controlling wizard can cast one additional spell in your hero phase and re-roll save rolls. If you speed up time, you add 2 to the move characteristic of and charge rolls for ''every unit on the board''. While this doesn't sync with your allegiance ability(the rule specifies unmodified 10+), you still really want to get your charges off, and a +2 is huge, especially if you're going for risky charges from out of reserves.
* '''Aethervoid Pendulum:''' Good for a 50 point spend when you don't feel like the Gravetide but don't have the 50 spare for a command point. The Aethervoid Pendulum avoids the main problem of predatory endless spells by always moving in one direction, which means it's telegraphed, but also means it will never turn against you just because you get a double turn. It deals D6 mortal wounds to anything it flies over or lands 1" from - send it towards the enemy, ideally at an allegiance terrain piece or objective they can't afford to step away from. Even if it doesn't do damage, it crimps your opponent's options, and that's always good.

==Warscrolls==
The common keywords of these warscrolls are: '''DEATH''', '''MALIGNANT''' and '''NIGHTHAUNT'''.

===Leaders===
====Named Characters====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Lady_Olynder.pdf Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief]:''' (200pts) First new Mortarch since the End Times. She is all about dealing mortal wounds on the enemy in multiple ways: is surrounded by banshees that deal 6 Spirit Host attacks in melee, once per battle can either heal D6 wounds on herself or deal D6 Mortal wounds on an enemy hero within 6", in every hero phase picks an enemy unit within 12" and inflicting mortal wounds on it on a 2+ roll (the wounds are equal to the roll result) and then heals D3 wounds on herself if she managed to kill at least a model, in shooting phase rolls 2D6 for each enemy unit within 10" and deals them D3 mortal wounds if the result is higher than their bravery, and also adds an extra fleeing model to every enemy unit failing battleshock tests within 12". Her exclusive spell takes an enemy unit and gives it -1 to their hit rolls and +1 to the hit rolls made against it in melee, and her command ability restores a dead model in every SUMMONABLE Nighthaunt unit within 12" - but only if she's your general. If you're looking for a support general it's a toss up between this and a generic general with Ruler of the Spirit Hosts - RotSH can heal multiple models from one unit rather than one per unit, but importantly doesn't use a command point. Olynder isn't really a support unit like her model suggests; she's an assassin that you drop in to your enemies backside or deathstar and wreak havoc upon them with mortal wounds, your other units have better damage-to-point ratio but since her's is almost entirely with mortal wounds you bypass a lot of those 3+/2+ saves with rerolls fuckers that you have a hard time with.
** Be careful using this gal. 7 wounds with a 4+ save and an ignore wounds on a 6 is ''not'' that durable, and the fact that she needs to be fairly close to the fighting just makes her more vulnerable.
**, Unlike the other Mortarchs, Olynder isn't a monster and does benefit from the Look Out Sir, which coupled with her unrendable save increases her survivability. She's right in the middle of Mortarch durability behind Katakros (with his combined 20 wounds, superior save and the option to auto-heal 3 wounds on himself a turn) and Neferata (who has superior CC healing to Arkhan and Mannfred, her immune to rend spell and her 1- hit debuff aura).
**<ASSEMBLY TIP> Gaps ahoy! There is a bulb that helps you to align the 3 pieces that make up her veil and headpiece. Snip that bulb off so you can still get rid of gaps whilst keeping her entire veil as a subassembly for easier painting. Her entire assembly is also resting on one single damned stalk of her gown. Find a way to stabilize her if you don't want to be the one grieving.
**A more viable strategy involving the pale lady now exists via the new Battalion from the White Dwarf. Taking her as your general can help keep her alive thanks to the body guard battalion, which lets her stand around on the field and fight without getting wasted instantly. Plus, her command ability lets you regenerate those Hexwraith body guards, and her spell helps with their subpar accuracy.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Kurdoss_Valentian.pdf Kurdoss Valentian, The Craven King]:''' (180pts) The General Killer. Usurper. Nagash' Monument to Dickishness. A flying beatstick with a very good but unreliable debuff. He has 6 Spirit Host attacks like his wife, his other weapon in melee is the Sepulchral Sceptre, a weapon with 5 attacks on a 3+/3+ roll with -2 rend, each dealing D3 wounds (D6 if you rolled a 6 to wound) and rerolls failed hit rolls against the enemy general. Also, in each enemy hero phase, when they get their command point you can steal it on a 5+ roll, which can take away some armies command abilities. There's really not much else to say about him, fly him into your enemies behind and wreck face.
** When Kurdoss was first resurrected he said "Kurdoss does not serve!", "But neither does he rule!" said the two Servants beside him and they laughed!
** Unfortunately as neat as he is at being a combat character, he does little to nothing for the army outside of CP stealing. Thus he tends to be overshadowed by nearly all the other leaders with the lack of synergy buffs. Plus 7 wounds, even with ethereal, isn't exactly too tough.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Reikenor_the_Grimhailer.pdf Reikenor the Grimhailer]:''' (170pts) Both a warrior and a wizard. Gets a souped-up version of the scythes we saw on Cairn Wraiths, Hex-wraiths and Grimghast reapers, getting the usual reroll on bigger units plus dealing mortal wounds instead of regular one on a hit roll of 6. His spell deals D3 mortal wounds on an enemy unit within 12", plus D3 more if the first ones killed something. When casting, can either deal 1 mortal wound to an enemy within 12" or himself, getting respectively +1 or +3 to the cast roll. Consider using this guy to cast your Endless Spell, just in case your opponent wants to dispel it.
** As this ability targets a specific model in a unit, you can use it to split coherency and open the way to clearing multiple models off the table if you are feeling evil. Use with cogs, do this twice, earn the undying hatred of your opponent.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//aos_warscroll_thorns_of_the_briar_queen_en.pdf The Briar Queen]:''' (180pts) Must include her Thorns of the Briar Queen. The first Mirrorghast Banshee, she's a wizard with 3 ranged attacks with -3 rend, hitting and wounding on 3s... sadly, only doing 1 damage each, breaking the numerical focus. Her melee attack hits at 3", hitting and wounding on 3 as well, -2 rend, doing D3 wounds. Her unique spell hits all enemies 6" of a point 18" away from her; if the roll is either greater than the target's Move value, or a double, it suffers a mortal wound and has halved movement until her next hero phase.

====Others====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG%20Knight%20of%20Shrouds.pdf Knight of Shrouds]:''' (100pts) Our first genuine commander model. Blessed with the same defenses as a Cairn Wraith but with an additional wound, he's pretty tough. With basically a Vampire Lord's melee profile (Damage 2 instead of D3) he's not a pushover. His Command grants Nighthaunt units WHOLLY within 12" +1 To Hit, meaning he can hit on a 2+ himself and can counteract those pesky To-Hit penalties. In a Nighthaunt army with some allies, he's absolutely fantastic. He's tough as nails and regenerates if you kill an enemy '''HERO'''. It also adds a bonus to Dreadblade Harrow as per the dreadblade warscroll.
**With the release of the new book following AoS 2, this guy has had some ups, but mostly some downs. With Spirit Hosts and Hexwraiths getting MWs only on unmodified sixes, and the rampant nerfing of the Mournghoul, this guy isn't cranking out the MWs like he used to. Plus, with the new book, there's not a lot of units that necessarily need that bonus, or can actually fit with his 12" aura, thanks to the accursed Wholly Within change. Plus, he's only got 5 wounds on a 4+, and his movement is rather pitiful. He may not be the worst hero, but outside of maybe buffing some smaller units, stick to the KoS on mount.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_knight_of_shrouds_knighthaunt_2018.pdf Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed]:''' (120pts) Mounted variant of the guy above. Similar stats, with double the movement and, weirdly, only one extra wound (In contrast to the Grimhailer and other mounted heroes who have 2 more wounds than regular) plus the extra attacks from the spooky horse, and his command ability gives +1 attacks at a Nighthaunt unit wholly within 18" instead. Actually a better general for your Spirit Hosts now that they deal mortal wounds on an unmodifiable 6. It also adds a bonus to Dreadblade harrow as per their warscroll. Also, when comparing him to a Vampire Lord, keep in mind that while a Vampire Lord's ability does last till the end of your next Hero phase, it cannot in any way affect units coming in from deep strike; luckily, since the KoSoES's command ability occurs in the combat phase, he is the perfect front-lines commander to help buff a unit that's coming from the underworld.
*Keep in mind, with the right buffs, the KoS can also be surprisingly killy too. Giving him a decent weapon artifact, and taking him in the right battalion can make him a decent beat-stick, perfect for warmachine or hero hunting.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Guardian_of_Souls_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern]:''' (140pts) First real wizard for the army. His exclusive spell restores d6 wounds to a SUMMONABLE unit within 18" '''or''' resurrects models with a combined wound count equal to the d6 roll, while he also makes every Nighthaunt within 9" add 1 to their wound rolls, which is phenomenal for most units and inconsequential to Spirit Hosts.
**Suffers from the "I'm so good at supporting the army that everyone guns for me" syndrome. Many NH players find their guardians dying real fast when people figure out they're the key to victory! Be sure to surround them with bodies and even then aren't protected from Mortal Wound sniping. You should consider taking two - the aura stacks, which means if you've got two of them on hand your chainrasps are wounding on 2s, but even more importantly, it lets you spread your Guardians out for redundancy and keep from losing your wound bonus, your heals, AND your magic to a single model.
**One thing to note is an artifact, the Beacon of Nagashizzar, which the Guardian can take. It upgrades the Guardian's unique Spectral Lure spell from restoring d6 wounds to D6+3 - it's a lot more reliable. However, the Wychlight Lantern does help the spell itself more reliably go off. Your choice between more models returning, or returning models reliably.

*'''Guardian of Souls with Mortality Glass:''' Same as above, but instead of buffing wound rolls forces enemy units within 9" to roll a single die when charging. He uses the spell Temporal Translocation which on a 6 allows one unit within 24" of the caster to make a normal move of 6" that can be used to retreat but still allows it to charge later in the turn. Great spell on everything other than Bladegheists and Glaivewrath Stalkers with a Deathbeat Drummer (they already can do this). Sadly the model was event exclusive, so good luck getting a hold of it.
**As of the GH19, this poor sap is no longer a matched play unit, due to him lacking a points profile. Still fun to use in regular play, and who knows, maybe he'll get a release with a new book. But for now, he's strictly narrative only.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Spirit_Torment_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Spirit Torment]:''' (120pts) The sleeper hit of the Nighthaunt hero lineup. He has a 12" aura that lets friendly Nighthaunt re-roll hit rolls of 1, which can make your force significantly better. He has average defensive stats but packs a surprising punch in melee thanks to his chains being a D3 damage weapon. He also heals units or restores models within 6" provided at least 3 enemy models were slain by the beginning of the Battleshock phase (this checks in both your turn and your opponent's turn, so it's potentially 2d3 models per battle round). The Spirit Torment is a must - put him close to where the fighting is thickest, and you'll rarely go wrong.
**However, do consider what you're actually getting here for 120 points; you get some decent, but conditional, regeneration, and a re-roll 1's aura that you can just pay a command point to get anyways. This guy will be frustratingly useless if you can't kill those 3 models per turn, and is most likely best suited to be paired with a unit of Bladegheists, who get to re-roll ALL hits instead of just 1's. Otherwise, stick him with your Dreadscythes or Chainrasps, as they have the most to gain.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Lord_Executioner_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Lord Executioner]:''' (80pts) Your generic Hero killer. Gets an average weapon that deals 3 wounds if you roll a 6+ to wound, rejects mortal wounds on a 5+ roll and can give -1 to hit rolls at an enemy hero within 3" in melee. That last ability is the only real reason this would be worth taking, and even then he's probably not worth the points.
*What he does boast, however, is being a tougher hero. That 5+ against MW will save your ghostly ass at times, and that -1 against heros can help mitigate flying bricks like Mawcrushas and Keeper of Secrets from totally smashing you.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_dreadblade_harrow.pdf Dreadblade Harrow]:''' (90pts) Mounted lieutenant that can warp on the field instead of moving regularly as long as he's not engaged in melee and a sword that gets different buffs depending on what he does (+1 damage in the turn he charged, +1 attacks in every other turn and can also reroll every 1 to wound if a Knight of Shrouds is within 9" from him). At first, he seems rather pointless aside from flanking long-range artillery or mages. But then you realize that his teleportation trick works at the beginning of the movement phase, much like your deathly summons, and because of this, you pick the order they go off. So say hello to your new Undead Taxi cab.
**Aside from teleportation shenanigans, Dreadblade Harrows are an awkward choice - they don't really offer much damage, they don't have supportability, and they need to buddy up with the Knight of Shrouds to get the most out of them.
**with the expansion of generic command ability. They can reliably deal them out at any time.
** Some conspiracies suggest DBH was supposed to be a unit, not heroes. But some weird book shuffling occurred. After all, it is a little weird to sell 2 heroes in a single EZ to build box

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG%20Cairn%20Wraith.pdf Cairn Wraith]:''' (60pts) The Cairn Wraith was an important forerunner in the aesthetics of the Grimghast Reapers, Reikenor, and lots of other Nighthaunt units. Unfortunately, the fact is that the Nighthaunt update kind of left the Cairn Wraith behind, as it no longer has a niche of its own. But what it still has going for it isn't completely useless; this guy may not be precisely tough or extraordinarily deadly in melee, but what he does bring is a good close combat profile and a incredibly small base; this sucker is on a 25mm round, for some ungodly reason, making it him easy to hide in a horde. Coupled with a 2" range, this guy can sit comfortably in a unit of 20 or so chainrasps, and when they're charged, this guy can help support them via CP abilities while still knocking back some wounds. Plus, while this guy only has 4 wounds, this can often cause an opponent not to throw as much damage at him as they probably need to, or perhaps too much.
** Another neat trick with the Cairn Wraith has to do with his Frightful Touch ability; If you have a spare artifact with no where to go, toss him the Shadows Edge. Now, every time you roll a 6 to hit, this dude is popping off 2+d3 MW. While not exactly reliable, this will suddenly make a Character most people ignore suddenly far scarier.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-tomb-banshee-en.pdf Tomb Banshee]:''' (80pts) For all intents and purposes, a Banshee is more or less a Cairn Wraith with much weaker attacks (though at -2 Rend, that's pretty decent) and a scream attack that causes damage off of Bravery. The Tomb Banshee fills an interesting role in the army, capable of being played both offensively defensively. Thanks to the 10' range on her scream, she can deepstrike in and still fire off a scream; while this is less effective against Death and Celestial Seraphon, this is still a great way to throw some wounds at the enemy with a lucky roll. This can also be especially deadly if you roll high against a misplaced Skaven or Goblin hero. Defensively, she is a nice way to add some punch to what may normally be a lack luster combat unit like Chainrasps or Spirit Hosts. Simply placing her behind them, and firing off your scream can chip away even at the mighty Stormcast or Chaos Warriors.
**is a great choice when facing Skaven, Grots, Khorne, Warclans or Cities of Sigmar. And she should be heavily considered if your running bravery reducing endless spells. Her mobility and scream power is not to be ignored.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/BR_Belakor_Warscroll_Krulghast_Cruciator_eng.pdf Krulghast Cruciator]:''' New Nighthaunt hero. They died during torture and in undeath they became torture technicians who inflict pain on those who defy Nagash. They have a Ranged attack with low damage but good to hit/wound/rend, he upgrades the Deathless Spirits save of units wholly whithin 12" to 5+ if he manages to inflict a wound with it and it is not negated. Kinda boring, not too impactful and his attack is only 12" so the added resilience only works if you are already close to combat.

===Troops===
====Battleline====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-nighthaunt-spirithosts-en.pdf Spirit Hosts]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 120pts, Min:3, Max:12). Compared to other swarms, Spirit Hosts have fewer Wounds, but way better attacks and a 4+ unrendable save, which makes them pretty tough against anything but Mortal Wounds. Effectively, they have a rather low damage output, but the vast majority of their damage is in Mortal Wounds, which makes them great, especially against stuff with big saves and high rend. Be'lakor in particular hates these things with a passion. Their Frightful Touch ability got changed to on work on an ''unmodified'' roll of 6, less synergy but you don't get fucked by hit penalties anymore. Your main reason for taking these guys, however, is their ratio of wounds per model, which when paired with some of Nighthaunt's ability to resurrect entire models, becomes a very lucrative way to bring back wounds. However, keep in mind that a unit of 3 Spirit Hosts is only 40 points away from 20 Chainrasps. Unless you're investing in the requisite abilities, Chainrasps have them beat in points per wound. When you use these guys, make sure you're respawning them, as well as using their 4+ effectively. Also, don't forget that you can almost always count on at least 1 MW per Spirit Host base. This may not seem like a lot, but with a WoT charge, you can effectively get 6 guaranteed MW on a unit just from 3 Spirit Hosts.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Chainrasp_Horde_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Chainrasp Hordes]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''', 80/280pts, Min:10, Max:40) The actual troops for the army, thanks to the new edition. Classic swarmy troops that deal a huge bunch of attacks, also reroll every 1 to wound as long as they're more than 10. Get a bunch of heroes around them to buff their attack stats and enjoy. These guys are your bread and butter horde choice, providing a more numerous battleline. While Grimghasts are deadlier, and Spirit Hosts are both tankier and resurrect wounds more efficiently, Chainrasps have them both beat on cheap bodies. These are the guys you want to stick on objectives and control the board, and while they certainly aren't on the level of Grimghasts, they do have the potential to deal a bit of damage from sheer weight of attacks. 280 points for 40 bodies is a steal, especially with 2 attacks base and a 5+ ethereal. But just make sure that your giving them proper hero support; an unsupported horde of Chainrasps will vanish under a dedicated assault, and bravery 10 only gets you so far in Battleshock. And speaking of Battleshock, your Chainrasps are only Bravery 6 without your Unit Leader AKA Candlabra man. Things that can snipe specific models can make your battleshock test even more painful. A Guardian of Souls is never a bad support choice for these guys, and Shademist is a superb choice if your casting on the first turn. And while the Chainguard battalion is risky, it's hard not to feel satisfied seeing your unrendable horde rematerialize.
**When running these ghosts, your going to want to really pick a role for them and stick with it. 10 Chainrasps serve as a cheap battleline filler, and a decent screen. If you're going for a bit more of an offensive bent to them, using them in 20 with a buffing hero or as part of the Condemned can see them do a bit of damage. 30 is to be avoided, since for 40 more points, you get another 10. But taking 40 can be a real problem as well; It's gonna be tricky as hell to keep them wholly within the range of your buffs unless you bring a KoS on mount or some Chainghasts for your Spirit Torments. But, 40 is good if your really maxing out your regeneration with the Chainguard battalion.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Grimghast_Reapers_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Grimghast Reapers]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 160/420pts, Min:10, Max:30) Band of scythe guys. A troop with a slightly worse version of the Cairn Wraith's scythe, while the leader gets a bell that deals a mortal wound for each model it killed with regular wounds. This unit is a flying blender, so it's no wonder they're your most expensive Battleline. Hordes beware.
**These guys have gotten into a weird position; in LoN and LoG, they're undeniably the best possible choice for an elite blob of anvils that can also grind through enemy units, and then come right back thanks to healing. However, in Nighthaunt, their worth is much more questionable; point per point, they fall behind units like Bladegheists when it comes to damage dealing when on the charge, and against elite units, Dreadscythes are more powerful thanks to the extra attack and bonus damage while also being slightly cheaper. Another knock against them is the fact that their horde bonus only hits at 30; It is nearly impossible to get 30 Grimghasts wholly within our range. Overall, if you run these guys, use them as a horde killer, and keep them in blocks of 20 for better buffing.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_hexwraiths.pdf Hexwraiths]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 140pts, Min:5, Max:20) Kinda average but can still be useful in certain situations. They hit with a bunch of decent attacks, and have a decent chance to damage enemy units they move over the top of by dealing a mortal wound on a roll of 5+ for each Hexwraith that flew over them and are very fast. Do not forget that you cannot end your movement within 3" of the enemy, so think of this ability as 12-3" if you intend to charge the enemy after that. They are also very durable and have a solid if a bit lackluster, weapon profile. These bois are your artillery killers. Fly them right over enemy battle lines and crush enemy archers and the like. You take these guys as a tactical option, rather than as a beat stick.
**One of the few units that can cause damage while retreating, which is done in the movement phase. Flying over a unit or two (don't forget your D6 run while retreating) counts for triggering their special ability.
**If taken in the battalion with the black coach, these guys get an even better chance to strike during the charge phase since they only need an unmodified 9+ charge roll. Another synergy comes with the Black Coach, as it too restores models, not wounds, to a unit. Thus, you can get anywhere from 2 to 6 wounds back per Black Coach.
**In the white dwarf battalion, these guys do become a more viable combat unit, perfect for harrying flanks or hunting down really obnoxious targets like Skyefires or Skaven Warmachine units, while also serving as an awesome bodyguard unit. With a buff from a Knight of Shrouds, you can have each Hexwraith hitting with 4 attacks each with their scythes, and 4 attacks with their horse on the charge; at first, this may not sound like a lot, but in a bigger unit, you can slam an opponent with 80 attacks from just a unit of 10 Hexwraiths. On average, a unit of 5 KoS-buffed Hexwraiths on the charge will do about 4 MW before even factoring in their regular attacks. Not bad for a unit that's also there to take wounds for your boss.

====Others====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Glaivewraith.pdf Glaivewraith Stalkers]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 60pts, Min:4, Max:16) These guys are Bladegheists, but worse in every way. They do reroll every failed hit roll in the turn they're engaged in combat (either if they're the ones who charged or not), and they also can get a drummer to retreat and charge in the same turn. Take note that at 15 points, 6" move and 1 wound a piece, these guys are slightly cheaper then everyone but Dreadscythes, but are by far worse. With a weapon profile thats the same as Chainrasps, these guys are by no means elite. If you must use them, your best bet is running them at max size as a way to try to get the best use out of WoT with their retreat and charge ability.
**Opinion: Never take them. Period. Grimghast reapers do more damage, Bladegheists are faster and do their retreat and charge stick better, and Dreadscythes are cheaper for a better profile. Not to mention the pokey sticks aren't battleline and move slower for almost the same price per model. As a comparison, for 3 points more per model you can bring bladegheists instead.
**Consider: By simply clipping off the horse face to leave an empty cowl and turning the blade 90 degrees, you can turn these guys into more Grimghast Reapers. Probably a better use of the model.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Mymourn%20Banshees.pdf Myrmourn Banshees]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70pts, Min:4, Max:12) Little tykes that can unbind spells and get an extra attack each if they succeed into doing it (But if you do it on an Endless Spell, they also suffer d3 wounds and basically die a lot). Since they each have 1 attack that does D3 damage, you effectively double their damage output any time you unbind a spell. Also, since spells are one of the main ways of dealing Mortal Wounds, and since Mortal Wounds are the only way to reliably kill your spooks, the fact that these ladies can unbind them makes them a must-have for your army. However, with only 4 models and a 4+ save, they're fragile - run them in blocks of 12 with healers or not at all.
**These ladies can kill; that's for certain. The problem is getting them to the right time and place to do so, without having them get killed before they get there. Like said above, they get crazy good with buffs, so make sure to use your deepstrike and Spectral Summons ability to help keep them alive. Another thing to look out for is their 4+ to hit; this sucks ghost balls. Always make sure they're either in Spirit Torment, KoS or any other re-roll or hit modifier range.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Chainghasts.pdf Chaingasts]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70pts, Min:2, Max:4) Spirit Torment's best friends. If they're within 12" from him, they extend his "everyone within 12" rerolls 1 to hit" ability by also emitting it. In melee, their scourge weapons dishing as many attacks as there are enemy models in the range. One of not very many NH units to get a shooting attack, and a fairly decent one at that.
**Their role is to boost the Spirit Torment's aura across half the table, and they're good at it. Use them for that and plink with their shooting weapons while spreading the re-roll love to your units. (Let it be noted that unless you got the Soulreach Grasp for your Black Coach, it is the ''only'' shooting weapon any of your units get). However, in a pinch, these guys can do quite a bit of work in melee as well; throwing them against 28mm hordes can really let them shine, and in cases like Plague Monks, these guys can soften the blow for units that come after them.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_bladegheist_revenants.pdf Bladegheist Revenants]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 90/320pts, Min:5, Max:20) With an 8" move and a very good weapon profile, Bladegheist Revenants are great at first glance. Second glance reveals a bonus attack on the turn they charge and the ability to retreat and charge, meaning they get 3 attacks in essentially all of your combat phases. Then you notice the fact that when they're near a Spirit Torment or Chainghasts, these guys re-roll ALL their hit rolls instead of just 1s (note that the Chainghasts do not need to be in range of a Spirit Torment to give this buff). The only downside Bladegheists have is they'll draw a lot of fire. Run them in blocks of 10 or even 15 to avoid losing the entire unit, and keep a Guardian of Souls on hand to revive dead models and make their swords wound on 2s.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads/ENG_dreadscythe_harridans.pdf Dreadscythe Harridans]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70/260pts, Min:5, Max:20) They apply -1 to hit against enemy units within 3" of them unless they have a Bravery of 6 or more (remember Nighthaunt Allegiance decrease it by 1, so even units with 6 bravery fall within this range). Decent in melee, with -1 rend and a chance for extra damage, with 3 attacks each. With support from a KoS on Steed or an allied Vampire Lord, their attacks can add up pretty quick.
**With the current GHB 2020, these gals have gone down to 70 points, taking the spot for one of the cheapest damage dealer units in the book. For a mere 260 points for 20, when compared to the Bladegheists and Grimghasts 320, these ghoulies are nearly 60 points cheaper at max size. And what your getting for that 70 points is frankly, awesome. Deeply consider taking these as your cheap damage dealers, or part of the shrieker host battalion, since their bang for their buck is absurdly cost effective.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//aos_warscroll_thorns_of_the_briar_queen_en.pdf Thorns of the Briar Queen]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 0pts) The Briar Queen's personal squad of six Chainrasps; can't be taken without her. In lieu of numbers, they reroll ones if an enemy unit is within 3" of 2 models of theirs(so almost always). Otherwise, a slightly undermanned Chainrasp Horde. Use them as a road bump, or something to tie up ranged units or warmachines.

===Behemoths===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Black_Coach.pdf Black Coach]:''' (220pts) This thing is not only aesthetically stunning but also a monster in-game: With 12 wounds, 14" movement with fly, and a 4+ ethereal save, it's not going down anytime soon. It has either a single shooting attack with a petty 10" range, but it does do D3 damage and has rend -3 or it's regular Cairn Wraith scythe. However, it is downright terrifying in combat: Not only does it have <s>4</s> 3 melee profiles, but the reaper scythe of the rider can also reroll hits against units with 5+ models (or a single attack with a rend characteristic of -3, D3 damage if you took the ranged profile.) These weapons along with the relic bearers' Spectral Claws(which goes down in attacks as it gets wounded) have the Frightful Touch rule. It's Evocation of Death works like this now: At the start of each battle round roll 3 dice, <s>on a 4+</s> on EACH 4+ it gains one level of power. Each level stacks and lasts for the rest of the battle.
*#'''Level 1''': Heal d3 wounds at the start of your hero phase and return d3 slain models to a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit within wholly within 12" of it.
*#'''Level 2''': Re-roll 1's to hit for this model and can run and charge in the same turn
*#'''Level 3''': After charging pick a unit within 1" of it, roll a dice, on a 2+ that unit suffers D3 mortal wounds
*#'''Level 4''': Can retreat and charge in the same turn.
*#'''Level 5''': At the start of your hero phase, roll a dice for each enemy unit within 3" of this model on a 4+ deal D3 mortal wounds.
** While it's a bit of a mixed bag, the mix is all things that you want and your opponent doesn't want on the table. It is almost impossible to ignore thanks to the huge amount of attacks and mortal wound opportunities it has. And it needs a huge amount of firepower to remove so even if it gets taken down early the rest of your army should be in quite good shape still. Also, the synergy this thing offers to Nighhthaunt is pretty excellent; outside of Olynder and RotSH, this baby is your other primary way to bring back multiple models at once, AKA, bringing back Hexwraiths and Spirit Hosts.
** Now, with GHB19, this baby is a cheap as chips 220 points; to put it this way, it offers almost the same amount of damage as a Cairn Wraith and 10 Chainrasps would put out anyways, with plenty of Frightful Touch. The general way to use this bad boy is start it off as a defensive piece, using it to help regenerate your screen of Spirit Hosts or Hexwraiths, and maybe giving a bit of damage through it's scythe. But once you get that second or third level, it's time to let this bad boy fly into the enemy and help finish off lightly wounded units. It's also worth noting that this thing is pretty easy to keep in tip-top shape since most Nighthaunt heroes and spells have ways to heal this bad boy.

{{anchor|FWMourngul}}
*'''[https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/fw_site/fw_pdfs/aos_warscrolls/Downloads-AoS/aos-warscroll-mourngul.pdf Mourngul] (Forgeworld):''' (270pts) As of the new edition a whole bunch of FW big boys have had stat changes. The Mourngul has been changed to be a bit more in line with the rest of the new Nighthaunt. First, his 3+ save is now a 4+ save, which is bad. And second his 6+ to hit that generated extra attacks that became 6+ deal additional damage has been replaced with Frightful touch, dealing 2 mortal wounds on a 6+ to hit, which is good (especially against well armoured heroes). With 8 attacks this is very scary note that it's an unmodified hit roll, so a Knight of Shrouds won't affect it's mortal wound generation. 10 wounds and his -1 to hit aura makes him quite tough in combat, but will melt to shooting. Fact is, the Mourngul was never a real beatstick, more of a distraction Carnifex. He's definitely lost some of that power, but now you have a whole army of synergies to play with, so he might still have a place in your lists.
** If the FW Model is too expensive, simply build two Mournghouls from one Aleguzzler Gargant - and you still have the lower half left to build a zombie gargant.
**The Mourngul is no longer the all-star that he was in GA:Death back in AoS 1.0, but after some serious point drops, he has some viability. The key to using this monster is mostly in picking his fights, and helping support other units already wedged into combat. His -1 to hit aura helps keep other units alive, while throwing down some MW with his claws. He can't finish off whole units anymore on his own, but he can certainly eat through a wave of chaff and draw attacks (and attention) from more important units.

==Battalions==

===Chainguard===
(580pt. min. - 820pt. max)

'''''A Guardian of Souls and two Chainrasp Hordes with 20+ models each'''''

'''The Heart of the Horde:'''The Guardian of Souls can bring back D6 models to one of the units of Chainrasps when he casts Spectral Lure.

When paired with the Beacon of Nagashizzar the Guardian can bring back 2d6+3 models (average 10) every turn on a 6. This is ridiculous, and will force your opponent to spend their limited unbind attempts on it, every turn.
What's that? Your massive damage unit almost thrashed the battleline of Chainrasp Horde? Don't worry about it, they'll all be right back. This is almost mandatory for anyone wanting to attempt the "endless horde" army style in Nighthaunts.
** Keep in mind that his Battalion ENTIRELY relies on being able to get the Guardian of Soul's spell off; and sure, it may be sweet to see that 2d6+3 Chainrasps pop back up, but the second the enemy sees this, their going to start throwing their considerably more powerful anti-magic at us. This makes this entire battalion a gamble, since if you happen to fight army that's good at magic, or has good ways at stopping magic, then congratulations, you just spent a bunch of points on an artefact and a CP.

===The Condemned===
(670pt. min. - 990pt. max)

'''''A Spirit Torment, a unit of Chaingasts and two Chainrasp Hordes with 20+ models each'''''

'''Cruel Taskmasters:''' Re-roll failed hit rolls for attacks made by the Chainrasp Hordes while they are wholly within 15" of the Spirit Torment or Chainghasts. This is an excellent pick, and choosing between this and the above battalion is hard. Extending the aura and making it a full reroll miss effectively makes chainrasp 3+ to hit. Add in guardian of souls buffs and you have 3+/3+ battle line that can get to four attacks each with other effects.
* First and foremost, this is our most expensive Battalion; and it is for a good reason as well. In a similar vein to the Death Riders, ShroudGuard and Chainguard, this is more of an "upgrade" rather then a straight up bonus. But arguably, this is one of the better bonuses we can get, since it gives the Spirit Torment and Chaingheists a formidable buff to their range. Another good thing to note is, that just like the Bladegheist rule, you don't actually need to have the Spirit Torment nearby to get the bonus for the Chainrasps, meaning it's entirely viable to run one block of Rasps with the Spirit Torment and then another block of Rasps with the Chaingheists. Than way, both Blocks get those sweet, sweet re-rolls. If your going to be running offensive Rasps, pass over the Chainguard and look towards these bad boys.

===Death Stalkers===
(580pt. min. - 1380pt. max)

'''''A Cairn Wraith, 2 units of Grimghast Reapers and 2 units of Glaivewraith Stalkers'''''

'''Soul-marked Prey: '''After setup is complete, pick an enemy unit to become 'Soul Marked' by this battalion. Add 1 to hit and wound rolls for attacks made by this battalion against the marked unit. This can be used to get rid of your opponent's power-units, like large groups of chaos warriors or sequitors.
* How do you balance being forced to take a really good unit with a really good buff? By making you take 2 terrible units and a slightly mediocre one. The Glavewraiths are a tax, simple as that, and an expensive one at that. Costing you at the very least 120 points, this effectively doubles the cost of the battalion. Until Glaviewraiths get better or cheaper, this battalion should be avoided at all costs.

===Deathriders===
(830pt. min. - 1890pt. max)

'''''1-2 Dreadblade Harrow, 2 units of Hexwraiths and a Black Coach'''''

'''Spectral Spearhead:'''Add 1 to charge rolls for units in this battalion. In addition, an unmodified charge roll of 9+ allows the unit to fight immediately (replaces allegiance ability). Overall, this is a solid choice, and if you were planning on bringing a Dreadblade, a Black Coach and some Hexwraiths, this should be your go-to. All three units synergize really well, and a Dreadblade is a must for a really fast moving army. The Black Coach works very well with the Hexwraiths, since it can help heal them, and then help finish off the enemy.
* Funny enough, after the discount, it's entirely possible to make a complete 2000 point army by just taking two battalions, and then running four units of 10 Hexwraiths each. Is this a good use of your points, and or money? Probably not, but it could be fun.
* Raises your chances for the charge bonus from 16.7% to 27.8%.

===Execution Horde===
(540pt. min. - 1620pt. max)

'''''One Lord Executioner and 3 units of Spirit Hosts'''''

'''The Headsman's Masses:'''Subtract 1 from the hit rolls of attacks that target this battalion's Lord Executioner while a Spirit Host unit is within 6" of the attacking unit. In addition, add 1 to the hit rolls of attacks made by the Lord Executioner while any Spirit Hosts are within 6" of the target unit. His job will be to tarpit enemy heros or sit around and bring back his spirit host buddies with the Ruler of the Spirit Host command trait.

===Shrieker Host===
(560pt. min. - 1280pt. max)

'''''A Tomb Banshee, 2 units of Dreadscythe Harridans and 2 units of Myrmourn Banshees'''''

'''Mournful Wailing:'''Re-roll battleshock rolls of 1 for enemy units while they are within 6" of any units from this battalion. In addition, Inspiring Presence cannot be used on enemy units within 6" of any units from this battalion.

Really good for the 'Leadership attack' strategy, however given that Seraphon, Daemons and well, DEATH, are popular armies, and have almost exclusively Bravery 10, this will be fairly hit and miss. Even with the maximum -3 to bravery, a bravery 10 model goes to 7, averaging 0 mortal wounds from banshees. This is probably more for someone who wants to run a gimmick list, or know that their local meta is low-bravery armies. In the latter case, it will be "frightening" how fast you lose your friends. heh...

===Shroudguard===
(410pt. min. - 930pt. max)

'''''1 Knight of Shrouds or Reikenor the Grimhailer and 2 units of Bladegheist Revenants'''''

'''Frenzied Fervor:''' Replaces the 6+ ignore wounds from the allegiance ability to a 5+ for the Bladegheist while wholly within 12" of the KoS or Reikenor.

This one has some really neat Synergy with the Ruler of the Spirit Hosts Command Trait. Make the Knight of Shrouds your General and pick this as his Command Trait. Now your Knight of Shrouds has a -1 to hit with Ranged Weapons (thanks to the Bladegheist Revenants blocking him), the Bladegheists can shrug off wounds and mortal wounds on a 5+ (thanks to the Battalion ability) and should a Bladegheist Revenant fall, this Command Trait will instantly let you set up some extra Bodyguards.

===The Forgotten Scions===
(440 pt.)

'''''1 Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed and 2 Dreadblade Harrows'''''

'''Gharest Malcor, the Traitor Knight:''' Add one to the attacks characteristic of the Knight of Shroud's Sword of Stole Hours. In addition, once per battle round, you can use the command ability on his warscroll without a command point being spent.

===The Dolorous Guard===
(400 pt. min. - 2360 pt. max)
'''''2-4 units of Hexwraiths'''''

'''Knights of Regret:''' Add one to the attacks characteristic of melee weapons used by units from this battalion if they charged in the same turn. In addition, if your general is within 3" of any friendly units from the battalion, on a 2+ you can pass on wounds and mortal wounds.

==Super-Battalions==

===Nighthaunt Procession===
(3730pt. min. - 12350pt. max)

'''''1 Shroudguard and 6 Battalions chosen between the others in the Battletome'''''

Do you know Deathless Spirits? That allegiance ability we described above that makes everyone ignore wounds at a 6+? The battalion units replace it with... something a little better? The drawback is that it only works on heros from this battalion, but that hardly matters, since your bound to have 6 seperate heros due to the battalions. What it does give is that it removes the word "Wholly" from our Deathless Minions aura. So we get the (longer range) legion version of it, and makes larger battles a little easier to manage.

===The Emerald Host===
(900 pt. min.)

''''' 1 The Forgotten Scions, 1+ The Dolorous Guard, and any number of The Condemned, Chainguard or Death Stalkers'''''

'''The Emerald Curse:''' After armies are set up, but before the first battle round, you can pick 1 enemy hero. Subtract 1 from save rolls for attacks that target that hero.

Note that the way this ability is worded, you don't need to be part of the battalion to take advantage of this ability, so only take optional sub-battalions if you're trying to get a single drop army.

==Army Building==

===1000 pt.===
Start with Soul wars, and then get another Soul Wars half. This gives you the 40 chainrasps you need as the core of most lists. Converting Glaivewraith Stalkers into Grimghasts is as easy as trimming the skulls and spikes and turning the blades 90 degrees. Run a Knight of Shrouds on Steed, two Guardians of Souls, two blocks of 20 Chainrasps, a unit of 10 Grimghasts, and the Chainguard battalion, and you have a decent list that's exactly 1k.

===2000 pt.===
A sweet/fun spot for this army. Tons of heroes. Tons of ghosts. Since nearly the entire Nighthaunt range is easy-to-build, putting together a functional 2000pt list is fairly inexpensive and beginner-friendly. At this points value, you should be allying in a Vampire Lord for extra healing(give him the wings so he doesn't get left behind if your force has to jump a wall). Generally at this level you'll want to have a big, powerful deathstar of your chosen killer unit(Grimghasts, Bladegheists, or even Harridans) surrounding and buffed by your heroes(Spirit Torment, at least one Guardian of Souls, and Vampire Lord at a minimum) plus two blocks of 20 Chainrasps to hold terrain. Once you've filled in those essentials, you'll still have a few hundred points to play around with - maybe add Lady Olynder for serious mortal wound output, maybe an endless spell and a unit of 12 Banshees to feed the endless spell to so you can boost their attacks. So many possibilities....

==Allied Armies==
Definitely consider taking a Vampire Lord. The ''DEATHLY INVOCATION'' ability is amazing, as it can dish out a huge amount of healing to your most critical units. The Vampire Lord costs only a little more than your Knight of Shrouds on Steed and has the same Command Ability and similar damage output. The only difference is the lack of Ethereal (And the lack of a Deathless minion save) and more reliable self-healing.

If you want to deploy a '''MALIGNANT''' army consider the Mortis Engine, if only because it's part of Start Collecting - Malignants. Otherwise, build it as either a Bloodseeker Palanquin or Coven Throne, since Soulblight are Nighthaunt allies while Deathmages are not for some reason. The Coven Throne deserves a special mention. They provide Deathly Invocation to help regen your ghosts, they are a Wizard, and their command ability is pretty good allowing any DEATH unit to reroll 1s of attacks, wounds, and saves. If you bought the Nighthaunt start collecting, it might be time to convert those Mortis Engines into Coven Thrones. Keep in mind that the Coven Throne is pricey though. But giving your Nighthaunt re-rolls to wounds, hit, and essentially a AoS 2.0 Mystic Shield, it is very recommended. For added fluff points, give it the Ethereal Amulet from Malign Sorceries for a ethereal save, just like your ghostly pals.

The foot-slogging/flying/Nightmare-riding Vampire Lord has a great buff to toss at your Hexwraiths, though sadly the one on zombie dragon is too expensive to take as an ally. Mannfred von Carstein is also nice because his Dread Abyssal is surrounded by spirits so he fits the theme, because he's very powerful and his buff aura is amazing and because he can summon more Nighthaunts for you every turn.

For Legions, no cheese is spicier than the triple whammy Grimghasts. Take a vampire lord, a Necromancer and a Knight of shrouds on ethereal steed, a guardian of souls with lantern, and a giant honking unit of Grimghasts (Preferably 30). Use the command abilities of both the vamp lord and the knight of shrouds to bump your guys up to 4 attacks each. Next, have your necromancer cast Vanhels Dance Macabre on them so they can fight twice. Did someone say 240 attacks at 3+\3+\-1\1? Now you see those four units you charged, now you don't. Add in a Coven Throne for its CA, and suddenly, they're all re-rolling their wounds.

Honorable mentions should also go out to Morghast Harbingers and Arkhan the Black. Morghasts add in a good source of Rend -2 and Damage 3 attacks that Nighthaunt lack outside of spamming Mymourn banshees and Kudross. Mobility isn't as much a problem either, since you'll most likely be dumping half your Nighthaunt army on the enemy turn 1, and the rest on turn 2, so trust me, your enemy will have more to worry about. This lets your Harbringers to get up the field relatively quickly.

Arkhan also fills a hole in a Nighthaunt army, that hole being reliable magic support. Besides having a good unique spell, and the ability to extend both his and your other Nighthaunts spells, he can also cast the spells of other Death Mages, meaning that you'll get essential spells like Soulcage off.

Lastly, as of his new (Ossiarch Bonereapers) warscroll, his Deathly Invocation will return a flat 3 wounds worth of models to 4 different units - that's guaranteed Spirit Hosts or a crapton of 1 wound models returned.

*'''Big Drogg Fort-Kicka''': A Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant available to all Death factions as an ally. Functions like Gotrek in the Order factions where he uses up your whole allies allowance in exchange for a very destructive monster of a unit. His most important feature is the ability to destroy terrain, including faction terrain. He also has a unique breath attack that attacks one unit within 3" at the end of the combat phase; roll a dice for each model in the unit and deal 1MW on a 6+.

{{Age_of_Sigmar_Tactics}}

Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Death/Nighthaunt

2021-04-21T18:36:26Z

2800:300:6331:B3A0:0:0:0:3: /* Others */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Nighthaunt|Logo=LadyOlynderMortarch.png|Alliance=Death|Motto=Wooo!! I'm a ghosty!}}

Get ready to have [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSaqSVi--Ms Grim Grinning Ghosts] playing on a loop because the ghosts of the Mortal Realms have come out to socialize!

==Why play Nighthaunt?==

'''Pros'''
*Army wide Ethereal rule means enemy rend has no effect at all on your save rolls.
*Army wide ignore wounds and mortal wounds on a 6.
*Army wide fly means you pay no heed to the idea of "Battle lines", just go above your enemy and hit them where it hurts.
*Strong leadership and small army size means routing is never an issue
*Dish out mortal wounds like it's nobody's business.
*GW support, with some of the best models released recently.
*You have one of the best mobility in the game. With deep strike, teleportation, and that all of your units fly. You can run around your enemy(or crash into them like a screaming banshee train) with ease! and you're not all that fragile too.
*12 hero options to choose from. Spoilt for choice.
*Your main motivation is hatred of Sigmarines.
*Our army-specific Endless spells have cool models.
*Stupidly easy to paint. Just prime them white and apply some pale shades of greens or blues to give them a [[spook]]y appearance.

'''Cons'''
*Despite perfectly fitting the aesthetic, Mortis Engines aren't Nighthaunt units.
*Our army-specific Endless Spells suck crunch-wise, either being overcosted for what they do or too unreliable.
*Like a lot of Death armies, your heroes are the chain that binds the army together. If they get killed you might as well go back to the grave.
*12 hero options to choose from. Whaimmagonnadoo?
*Not all those 12 options are all that superb either
*Pray to Nagash for those 10's on the charge, because you're going to need them.
*Eats Mortal Wounds like a chump; you're going to need that 6+ FNP, since that's almost all you get.
*Depending on your opinion of mono-pose models, you will either love or hate the Nighthaunt range.
* They are very bad to transport. Many Nighthaunt models are made with a single small connecting point to the base along with parts that stick out like small bits and weapons. Take a leaf from Sylvaneth (hehe) when it comes to transporting your army anywhere, lest you snap your precious models and doom yourself with trying to superglue a 2mm surface together.
*Ethereal is a HEAVY point tax. You'll feel that all your models are 10-30% more expensive point wise than they would be due to not being affected by Rend. And in some match ups, Ethereal means very little.

==Rulebooks==
The ''Nighthaunt Battletome'' has all the Warscrolls, Battations and Allegiance Abilities.
*This should be supplemented with the Nighthaunt ''Errata'' and ''Designers' Commentary'' from the [https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/ FAQs].
*Matched play points are in ''General's Handbook 2019''.
*Alternatively up to date warscrolls can be found in the ''WH AoS'' app. Warscrolls on the GW webstore match those in the Battletome.

As with all factions you'll want:
*The core rules are either [https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Warhammer-Age-of-Sigmar-Rules downloadable] or in the ''Core Book''.
*Games taking place in a Realm need the Realm of Battle rules from the ''Core Book''.
*In you want to take advantage of realm specific artefacts you'll need the Artefacts Of The Realms section from the ''Malign Sorcery'' book.
*Matched play battleplans are split across the ''Core Book'' and ''General's Handbook 2019''.
*''All'' books should be supplemented with any updates from the [https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/ FAQs].

==Rulebooks==
{{AOSRulebooks|tome=Nighthaunt |points=[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/e2513c4c.pdf Nighthaunt Errata]}}

==Allegiance Abilities==
===Battle Traits===
*'''Deathless Spirits:''' Each time a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit takes a wound/mortal wound, if that unit is wholly within 12" of your general or any other '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' it can ignore the wound on a dice result of 6. Given how fragile a lot of your units are, this is a godsend.
*'''Aura of Dread:''' -1 Bravery to enemy units within 6" of yours. Decent, but nothing special.... until you read below.
*'''Feed on Terror:''' If an enemy unit fails a battleshock test, a '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' within 6" heals 1 wound. Adds a bit of sustainability considering how you desperately need to keep your heroes... unlive?
*'''From the Underworld They Come:''' For each unit you set-up on the battlefield you can keep them in reserve. Then you can deep-strike them with all of the normal limitations (9" range, can't move yadda yadda). No need to roll a dice now!
*'''Wave of Terror:''' When a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit makes an unmodified charge roll of 10+. The charging unit can immediately fight, and can still fight again in the following combat phase.This is fucking illegal and incredibly powerful.
*'''Spectral Summons:''' A Command Ability for your general. At the start of your movement phase pick a friendly '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit on the battlefield, then teleport it to your general. Entirely within 12" of your general and 9" from any enemy unit. Great to pull a unit away that's been charged by something that's about to wreck them or to charge with something pulled from the backline or to support a unit with another HERO or... you get the idea.

===Command Traits===
*'''Hatred of the Living:''' Your general can re-roll all hits unless the target has the DEATH key word.
*'''Terrifying Entity:''' At the start of the enemy movement phase, roll a d6 for each enemy unit within 3" than your general. If the result is equal to or greater than their bravery characteristic, that unit must retreat. Combos with your -1 bravery aura from Aura of Dread. Amazing against mob armies with low base bravery. Get them to retreat and then charge them again for the chance of that tasty, tasty 10+ charge.
*'''Lingering Spirit:''' The general gets +1 wound. Absolute trash unless for some reason you're using one of the more subpar heroes.
*'''Spiteful Spirit:''' If an enemy unit inflicts a wound on your general in melee combat, roll a d6. If you roll a 5+, enemy unit takes a mortal wound after all attacks have been made. Good on a Knight of Shrouds.
*'''Cloaked in Shadow:''' Gives -1 to hit for ranged attacks vs. the General. It's worth noting that with Look Out, Sir! it becomes -2.
*'''Ruler of the Spirit Hosts:''' At start of hero phase, return d3 models to a friendly '''SUMMONABLE NIGHTHAUNT''' unit within 9" of the general. Use on Hexwraiths or Spirit Hosts for maximum wound-return efficiency.

===Weapons of the Damned===
All Artefacts in this list requires you to pick one of the bearers melee weapons

*'''Shadow's Edge:''' An unmodified hit roll of 6 using that weapon deals d3 mortal wounds and the attack sequence ends. Basically gives a '''HERO''' an improved Frightful Touch, note that this does stack if they already have that rule. Kind of wasted on weapons with a damage stat higher than 1, but funny on a Cairn Wraith who can smack down 2+d3 MW each time he get's a 6.
*'''Reaper of Sorrows:''' Before attacking, roll 2D6. If the rolls exceed the target units Bravery then the Rend characteristic of this weapon is changed to -3. Since there is very little overlap between "units with low Bravery" and "units against which -3 Rend isn't wasted", better skip this one.
*'''Balefire Blade:''' Add 1 to the weapon's damage characteristic. Not bad on a Knight of Shrouds on mount, since it give's him a nice flat 3 Damage. If you're taking the Nighthaunt battalion which gives him an extra attack, consider it.
*'''Slitter:''' Every time the bearer is chosen to fight, but before piling in you can roll a dice against a model within 1". If the roll exceeds their wound characteristic, it is slain. Meaning you can pick the model you want to be removed from the unit, not your opponent. This can lead to some very interesting situations, considering the new rules for cohesion...
*'''Headsman's Judgement:''' Add 1 to the hit roll and wound roll. Just in case you'd like your Executioner to be able to pull his weight. Or stop pretending and give it to a Knight of Shrouds.
*'''Shrieking Blade:''' Subtract 1 from hit rolls made with melee weapons against the bearer.

===Relics of the Underworld===
*'''Cloak of the Waxing Moon:''' In melee, the owner's Deathless Spirits save works on a 5+ (normal wounds only).
*'''Pendant of the Fell Wind:''' Add +3" to the movement of any Nighthaunt units wholly within 12" of this character at the start of their phase. Perfect when the 6" Move of Spirit Hosts and Chainrasps aren't doing it for you, or combine with Chronomantic Cogs for Grimghast Reapers who move 13" and then charge 2d6+2".
*'''Dreadbolt Ring:''' If this model inflicts one or more wounds in the combat phase, then inflict d3 mortal wounds on an enemy unit within 3" after this model has finished attacking.
*'''Mirror of Screaming Souls:''' At the start of your shooting phase, roll 2D6 for each enemy unit within 8" of the bearer. If you roll above bravery, 1 mortal wound. Decent on a banshee or durable beatstick.
*'''Midnight Tome:''' The model becomes a Wizard and can cast/unbind once per phase and knows the two basic spells. If the model is already a wizard, it can cast one more spell.
*'''Covetous Familiar:''' At the start of each combat phase, roll a dice for every enemy unit within 3". On a 2+ they take a mortal wound. Better than the Dreadbolt Ring if you wanna get surrounded by multiple units, plus it goes off before anyone attacks.

===Infernal Lanterns===
Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern only.
*'''Lightshard of the Harvest Moon:''' Once per battle, at the start of the combat phase, every '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit wholly within 12" of the bearer rerolls all to hit when they attack in the combat phase.
*'''Wychlight Lantern:''' Add 1 to the bearer's casting roll.
*'''Beacon of Nagashizzar:''' Add +3 to the heal or resurrect roll when the bearer casts Spectral Lure.

===Notable Artifacts of the Realms===
Blade of Secrets- perfect for a dreadblade harrow unit that can teleport next to a caster and stop a specific spell that is causing your army grief for the rest of the game.

===Lore of the Underworld===
Like several armies you get a set of spells available to any '''NIGHTHAUNT WIZARDS'''.

*'''Soul Cage:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick an enemy unit within 12” of the caster that is visible to it. Until the start of your next hero phase, that unit fights at the end of the combat phase. In addition, the unit cannot retreat. ''A very nice way to deal with deathstars by using this and charging multiple units at it.''
*'''Spirit Drain:''' Casting Value 4. If successfully cast pick an enemy model within 18” of the caster that is visible to it. Roll number of dice equal to the wounds characteristic of the model. For each roll of a 6+ the model suffers 1 mortal wound. ''A Monster killer if there ever was one. Remember it's the Characteristic, so you can use this on a big beastie on it's last leg(s) to finish it off.''
*'''Lifestealer:''' Casting Value 7. If successfully cast pick an enemy unit within 12” of the caster that is visible to it. The unit suffers D3 mortal wounds. For every mortal wound inflicted in this manner, the caster heals 1 wound. ''This works great with Reikenor the Grimhailer. Snuff out your own corpse candle and cast this spell on a natural 4, and have a guaranteed wound to heal!''
*'''Reaping Scythe:''' Casting Value 4. If successfully cast pick one of this models melee weapons. You may reroll all failed to-hit and to-wound rolls made for that weapon until the start of your next hero phase.''Great on any kind of '''HERO''' that you turned into a wizard since most of them are beatsticks.''
*'''Shade Mist:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick a Nighthaunt unit within 12” of the caster. Until the start of your next hero phase, subtract 1 from all wound rolls made for attacks targeting this unit. ''Great for changing the odds on a unit's survival and complicating your opponent's targeting decisions.''
*'''Spectral Tether:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick a friendly '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' unit within 12”. That unit immediately heals D3 wounds. ''Mediocre use of a spell slot.''

===Endless Spells===
New to Second Edition, you're the other first to gain Faction Exclusive Endless Spells! These can only be cast by '''NIGHTHAUNT WIZARDS''' or '''NAGASH, SUPREME LORD OF THE UNDEAD'''. However, these are honestly pretty crap if used with Nighthaunt.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Shyish_Reaper.pdf Shyish Reaper]:''' The Shyish Reaper has a move of 8", and damages units by flying over models. The issue is that with its base being nearly 3", it can effectively only move 5", although this can be slightly extended due to it pivoting before it moves. It is more likely to deal damage to stuff with better save characteristics. Think for a moment - what armies around like to field lots of models with a 4+ save or better? Unfortunately, the top of the list is Nighthaunt. This spell is more likely to damage your own units than the enemy, most of the time. Pass.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Vault_of_Souls.pdf Vault of Souls]:''' It's a floating bomb that deals Mortal Wounds, and it explodes into D6 Mortal Wounds when it dispenses 20 of them. With how hard Predatory Endless Spells are to predict, this thing is too likely to turn and explode next to you at a critical moment. It may be worth considering, however, due to how cheap this bastard is, and how good our mobility is. Dropping it off as a parting gift from a deep striking Wizard can be delightfully good as they get snagged by Spectral Summons.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Mortalis_Terminexus.pdf Mortalis Terminexus]:''' It's a big floating Hourglass that either deal D3 Mortal Wounds to everything within 6" or heal D3 Wounds to everything within 6". It does not return dead models. In an army that already has great regeneration, mediocre regeneration that can't restore dead models is not worth taking. Avoid it. The model is cool, though, so use it as a proxy for the Chronomantic Cogs.

Some of the generic Endless Spells are also worth considering.

* '''Suffocating Gravetide:''' Now, let's not kid ourselves. The Suffocating Gravetide isn't strictly GOOD, but what it is is cheap. At 20 points, it's worth tossing in if you have a few points to spare once you've built your list, since they won't do anything for you otherwise. The Gravetide deals D3 mortal wounds to each unit it even slightly passes over, and inflicts a -1 leadership penalty on them, which can synergize with the -1 from Nighthaunt. The Gravetide is also on a pretty big base - it can be useful to plop it right in the way of an enemy unit and block them from getting that critical objective. The fact that the Gravetide provides cover is almost irrelevant to you - units with Ethereal can't benefit from cover, and you'll rarely care anyway.
** It also looks good next to your Nighthaunt, with the same design aesthetic.
* '''Chronomantic Cogs:''' Oh here we go. For a quick refresher, you need to have a WIZARD within 9" of the Cogs to activate them, and when you do you choose one ability to last until your next hero phase. If you slow down time, the controlling wizard can cast one additional spell in your hero phase and re-roll save rolls. If you speed up time, you add 2 to the move characteristic of and charge rolls for ''every unit on the board''. While this doesn't sync with your allegiance ability(the rule specifies unmodified 10+), you still really want to get your charges off, and a +2 is huge, especially if you're going for risky charges from out of reserves.
* '''Aethervoid Pendulum:''' Good for a 50 point spend when you don't feel like the Gravetide but don't have the 50 spare for a command point. The Aethervoid Pendulum avoids the main problem of predatory endless spells by always moving in one direction, which means it's telegraphed, but also means it will never turn against you just because you get a double turn. It deals D6 mortal wounds to anything it flies over or lands 1" from - send it towards the enemy, ideally at an allegiance terrain piece or objective they can't afford to step away from. Even if it doesn't do damage, it crimps your opponent's options, and that's always good.

==Warscrolls==
The common keywords of these warscrolls are: '''DEATH''', '''MALIGNANT''' and '''NIGHTHAUNT'''.

===Leaders===
====Named Characters====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Lady_Olynder.pdf Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief]:''' (200pts) First new Mortarch since the End Times. She is all about dealing mortal wounds on the enemy in multiple ways: is surrounded by banshees that deal 6 Spirit Host attacks in melee, once per battle can either heal D6 wounds on herself or deal D6 Mortal wounds on an enemy hero within 6", in every hero phase picks an enemy unit within 12" and inflicting mortal wounds on it on a 2+ roll (the wounds are equal to the roll result) and then heals D3 wounds on herself if she managed to kill at least a model, in shooting phase rolls 2D6 for each enemy unit within 10" and deals them D3 mortal wounds if the result is higher than their bravery, and also adds an extra fleeing model to every enemy unit failing battleshock tests within 12". Her exclusive spell takes an enemy unit and gives it -1 to their hit rolls and +1 to the hit rolls made against it in melee, and her command ability restores a dead model in every SUMMONABLE Nighthaunt unit within 12" - but only if she's your general. If you're looking for a support general it's a toss up between this and a generic general with Ruler of the Spirit Hosts - RotSH can heal multiple models from one unit rather than one per unit, but importantly doesn't use a command point. Olynder isn't really a support unit like her model suggests; she's an assassin that you drop in to your enemies backside or deathstar and wreak havoc upon them with mortal wounds, your other units have better damage-to-point ratio but since her's is almost entirely with mortal wounds you bypass a lot of those 3+/2+ saves with rerolls fuckers that you have a hard time with.
** Be careful using this gal. 7 wounds with a 4+ save and an ignore wounds on a 6 is ''not'' that durable, and the fact that she needs to be fairly close to the fighting just makes her more vulnerable.
**, Unlike the other Mortarchs, Olynder isn't a monster and does benefit from the Look Out Sir, which coupled with her unrendable save increases her survivability. She's right in the middle of Mortarch durability behind Katakros (with his combined 20 wounds, superior save and the option to auto-heal 3 wounds on himself a turn) and Neferata (who has superior CC healing to Arkhan and Mannfred, her immune to rend spell and her 1- hit debuff aura).
**<ASSEMBLY TIP> Gaps ahoy! There is a bulb that helps you to align the 3 pieces that make up her veil and headpiece. Snip that bulb off so you can still get rid of gaps whilst keeping her entire veil as a subassembly for easier painting. Her entire assembly is also resting on one single damned stalk of her gown. Find a way to stabilize her if you don't want to be the one grieving.
**A more viable strategy involving the pale lady now exists via the new Battalion from the White Dwarf. Taking her as your general can help keep her alive thanks to the body guard battalion, which lets her stand around on the field and fight without getting wasted instantly. Plus, her command ability lets you regenerate those Hexwraith body guards, and her spell helps with their subpar accuracy.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Kurdoss_Valentian.pdf Kurdoss Valentian, The Craven King]:''' (180pts) The General Killer. Usurper. Nagash' Monument to Dickishness. A flying beatstick with a very good but unreliable debuff. He has 6 Spirit Host attacks like his wife, his other weapon in melee is the Sepulchral Sceptre, a weapon with 5 attacks on a 3+/3+ roll with -2 rend, each dealing D3 wounds (D6 if you rolled a 6 to wound) and rerolls failed hit rolls against the enemy general. Also, in each enemy hero phase, when they get their command point you can steal it on a 5+ roll, which can take away some armies command abilities. There's really not much else to say about him, fly him into your enemies behind and wreck face.
** When Kurdoss was first resurrected he said "Kurdoss does not serve!", "But neither does he rule!" said the two Servants beside him and they laughed!
** Unfortunately as neat as he is at being a combat character, he does little to nothing for the army outside of CP stealing. Thus he tends to be overshadowed by nearly all the other leaders with the lack of synergy buffs. Plus 7 wounds, even with ethereal, isn't exactly too tough.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Reikenor_the_Grimhailer.pdf Reikenor the Grimhailer]:''' (170pts) Both a warrior and a wizard. Gets a souped-up version of the scythes we saw on Cairn Wraiths, Hex-wraiths and Grimghast reapers, getting the usual reroll on bigger units plus dealing mortal wounds instead of regular one on a hit roll of 6. His spell deals D3 mortal wounds on an enemy unit within 12", plus D3 more if the first ones killed something. When casting, can either deal 1 mortal wound to an enemy within 12" or himself, getting respectively +1 or +3 to the cast roll. Consider using this guy to cast your Endless Spell, just in case your opponent wants to dispel it.
** As this ability targets a specific model in a unit, you can use it to split coherency and open the way to clearing multiple models off the table if you are feeling evil. Use with cogs, do this twice, earn the undying hatred of your opponent.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//aos_warscroll_thorns_of_the_briar_queen_en.pdf The Briar Queen]:''' (180pts) Must include her Thorns of the Briar Queen. The first Mirrorghast Banshee, she's a wizard with 3 ranged attacks with -3 rend, hitting and wounding on 3s... sadly, only doing 1 damage each, breaking the numerical focus. Her melee attack hits at 3", hitting and wounding on 3 as well, -2 rend, doing D3 wounds. Her unique spell hits all enemies 6" of a point 18" away from her; if the roll is either greater than the target's Move value, or a double, it suffers a mortal wound and has halved movement until her next hero phase.

====Others====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG%20Knight%20of%20Shrouds.pdf Knight of Shrouds]:''' (100pts) Our first genuine commander model. Blessed with the same defenses as a Cairn Wraith but with an additional wound, he's pretty tough. With basically a Vampire Lord's melee profile (Damage 2 instead of D3) he's not a pushover. His Command grants Nighthaunt units WHOLLY within 12" +1 To Hit, meaning he can hit on a 2+ himself and can counteract those pesky To-Hit penalties. In a Nighthaunt army with some allies, he's absolutely fantastic. He's tough as nails and regenerates if you kill an enemy '''HERO'''. It also adds a bonus to Dreadblade Harrow as per the dreadblade warscroll.
**With the release of the new book following AoS 2, this guy has had some ups, but mostly some downs. With Spirit Hosts and Hexwraiths getting MWs only on unmodified sixes, and the rampant nerfing of the Mournghoul, this guy isn't cranking out the MWs like he used to. Plus, with the new book, there's not a lot of units that necessarily need that bonus, or can actually fit with his 12" aura, thanks to the accursed Wholly Within change. Plus, he's only got 5 wounds on a 4+, and his movement is rather pitiful. He may not be the worst hero, but outside of maybe buffing some smaller units, stick to the KoS on mount.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_knight_of_shrouds_knighthaunt_2018.pdf Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed]:''' (120pts) Mounted variant of the guy above. Similar stats, with double the movement and, weirdly, only one extra wound (In contrast to the Grimhailer and other mounted heroes who have 2 more wounds than regular) plus the extra attacks from the spooky horse, and his command ability gives +1 attacks at a Nighthaunt unit wholly within 18" instead. Actually a better general for your Spirit Hosts now that they deal mortal wounds on an unmodifiable 6. It also adds a bonus to Dreadblade harrow as per their warscroll. Also, when comparing him to a Vampire Lord, keep in mind that while a Vampire Lord's ability does last till the end of your next Hero phase, it cannot in any way affect units coming in from deep strike; luckily, since the KoSoES's command ability occurs in the combat phase, he is the perfect front-lines commander to help buff a unit that's coming from the underworld.
*Keep in mind, with the right buffs, the KoS can also be surprisingly killy too. Giving him a decent weapon artifact, and taking him in the right battalion can make him a decent beat-stick, perfect for warmachine or hero hunting.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Guardian_of_Souls_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern]:''' (140pts) First real wizard for the army. His exclusive spell restores d6 wounds to a SUMMONABLE unit within 18" '''or''' resurrects models with a combined wound count equal to the d6 roll, while he also makes every Nighthaunt within 9" add 1 to their wound rolls, which is phenomenal for most units and inconsequential to Spirit Hosts.
**Suffers from the "I'm so good at supporting the army that everyone guns for me" syndrome. Many NH players find their guardians dying real fast when people figure out they're the key to victory! Be sure to surround them with bodies and even then aren't protected from Mortal Wound sniping. You should consider taking two - the aura stacks, which means if you've got two of them on hand your chainrasps are wounding on 2s, but even more importantly, it lets you spread your Guardians out for redundancy and keep from losing your wound bonus, your heals, AND your magic to a single model.
**One thing to note is an artifact, the Beacon of Nagashizzar, which the Guardian can take. It upgrades the Guardian's unique Spectral Lure spell from restoring d6 wounds to D6+3 - it's a lot more reliable. However, the Wychlight Lantern does help the spell itself more reliably go off. Your choice between more models returning, or returning models reliably.

*'''Guardian of Souls with Mortality Glass:''' Same as above, but instead of buffing wound rolls forces enemy units within 9" to roll a single die when charging. He uses the spell Temporal Translocation which on a 6 allows one unit within 24" of the caster to make a normal move of 6" that can be used to retreat but still allows it to charge later in the turn. Great spell on everything other than Bladegheists and Glaivewrath Stalkers with a Deathbeat Drummer (they already can do this). Sadly the model was event exclusive, so good luck getting a hold of it.
**As of the GH19, this poor sap is no longer a matched play unit, due to him lacking a points profile. Still fun to use in regular play, and who knows, maybe he'll get a release with a new book. But for now, he's strictly narrative only.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Spirit_Torment_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Spirit Torment]:''' (120pts) The sleeper hit of the Nighthaunt hero lineup. He has a 12" aura that lets friendly Nighthaunt re-roll hit rolls of 1, which can make your force significantly better. He has average defensive stats but packs a surprising punch in melee thanks to his chains being a D3 damage weapon. He also heals units or restores models within 6" provided at least 3 enemy models were slain by the beginning of the Battleshock phase (this checks in both your turn and your opponent's turn, so it's potentially 2d3 models per battle round). The Spirit Torment is a must - put him close to where the fighting is thickest, and you'll rarely go wrong.
**However, do consider what you're actually getting here for 120 points; you get some decent, but conditional, regeneration, and a re-roll 1's aura that you can just pay a command point to get anyways. This guy will be frustratingly useless if you can't kill those 3 models per turn, and is most likely best suited to be paired with a unit of Bladegheists, who get to re-roll ALL hits instead of just 1's. Otherwise, stick him with your Dreadscythes or Chainrasps, as they have the most to gain.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Lord_Executioner_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Lord Executioner]:''' (80pts) Your generic Hero killer. Gets an average weapon that deals 3 wounds if you roll a 6+ to wound, rejects mortal wounds on a 5+ roll and can give -1 to hit rolls at an enemy hero within 3" in melee. That last ability is the only real reason this would be worth taking, and even then he's probably not worth the points.
*What he does boast, however, is being a tougher hero. That 5+ against MW will save your ghostly ass at times, and that -1 against heros can help mitigate flying bricks like Mawcrushas and Keeper of Secrets from totally smashing you.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_dreadblade_harrow.pdf Dreadblade Harrow]:''' (90pts) Mounted lieutenant that can warp on the field instead of moving regularly as long as he's not engaged in melee and a sword that gets different buffs depending on what he does (+1 damage in the turn he charged, +1 attacks in every other turn and can also reroll every 1 to wound if a Knight of Shrouds is within 9" from him). At first, he seems rather pointless aside from flanking long-range artillery or mages. But then you realize that his teleportation trick works at the beginning of the movement phase, much like your deathly summons, and because of this, you pick the order they go off. So say hello to your new Undead Taxi cab.
**Aside from teleportation shenanigans, Dreadblade Harrows are an awkward choice - they don't really offer much damage, they don't have supportability, and they need to buddy up with the Knight of Shrouds to get the most out of them.
**with the expansion of generic command ability. They can reliably deal them out at any time.
** Some conspiracies suggest DBH was supposed to be a unit, not heroes. But some weird book shuffling occurred. After all, it is a little weird to sell 2 heroes in a single EZ to build box

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG%20Cairn%20Wraith.pdf Cairn Wraith]:''' (60pts) The Cairn Wraith was an important forerunner in the aesthetics of the Grimghast Reapers, Reikenor, and lots of other Nighthaunt units. Unfortunately, the fact is that the Nighthaunt update kind of left the Cairn Wraith behind, as it no longer has a niche of its own. But what it still has going for it isn't completely useless; this guy may not be precisely tough or extraordinarily deadly in melee, but what he does bring is a good close combat profile and a incredibly small base; this sucker is on a 25mm round, for some ungodly reason, making it him easy to hide in a horde. Coupled with a 2" range, this guy can sit comfortably in a unit of 20 or so chainrasps, and when they're charged, this guy can help support them via CP abilities while still knocking back some wounds. Plus, while this guy only has 4 wounds, this can often cause an opponent not to throw as much damage at him as they probably need to, or perhaps too much.
** Another neat trick with the Cairn Wraith has to do with his Frightful Touch ability; If you have a spare artifact with no where to go, toss him the Shadows Edge. Now, every time you roll a 6 to hit, this dude is popping off 2+d3 MW. While not exactly reliable, this will suddenly make a Character most people ignore suddenly far scarier.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-tomb-banshee-en.pdf Tomb Banshee]:''' (80pts) For all intents and purposes, a Banshee is more or less a Cairn Wraith with much weaker attacks (though at -2 Rend, that's pretty decent) and a scream attack that causes damage off of Bravery. The Tomb Banshee fills an interesting role in the army, capable of being played both offensively defensively. Thanks to the 10' range on her scream, she can deepstrike in and still fire off a scream; while this is less effective against Death and Celestial Seraphon, this is still a great way to throw some wounds at the enemy with a lucky roll. This can also be especially deadly if you roll high against a misplaced Skaven or Goblin hero. Defensively, she is a nice way to add some punch to what may normally be a lack luster combat unit like Chainrasps or Spirit Hosts. Simply placing her behind them, and firing off your scream can chip away even at the mighty Stormcast or Chaos Warriors.
**is a great choice when facing Skaven, Grots, Khorne, Warclans or Cities of Sigmar. And she should be heavily considered if your running bravery reducing endless spells. Her mobility and scream power is not to be ignored.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/BR_Belakor_Warscroll_Krulghast_Cruciator_eng.pdf Krulghast Cruciator]:''' New Nighthaunt hero. They died during torture and in undeath they became torture technicians who inflict pain on those who defy Nagash. They have a Ranged attack with low damage but good to hit/wound/rend, he upgrades the Deathless Spirits save of units wholly whithin 12" to 5+. Kinda boring, not too impactful and his attack is only 12" so the added resilience only works if you are already close to combat.

===Troops===
====Battleline====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-nighthaunt-spirithosts-en.pdf Spirit Hosts]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 120pts, Min:3, Max:12). Compared to other swarms, Spirit Hosts have fewer Wounds, but way better attacks and a 4+ unrendable save, which makes them pretty tough against anything but Mortal Wounds. Effectively, they have a rather low damage output, but the vast majority of their damage is in Mortal Wounds, which makes them great, especially against stuff with big saves and high rend. Be'lakor in particular hates these things with a passion. Their Frightful Touch ability got changed to on work on an ''unmodified'' roll of 6, less synergy but you don't get fucked by hit penalties anymore. Your main reason for taking these guys, however, is their ratio of wounds per model, which when paired with some of Nighthaunt's ability to resurrect entire models, becomes a very lucrative way to bring back wounds. However, keep in mind that a unit of 3 Spirit Hosts is only 40 points away from 20 Chainrasps. Unless you're investing in the requisite abilities, Chainrasps have them beat in points per wound. When you use these guys, make sure you're respawning them, as well as using their 4+ effectively. Also, don't forget that you can almost always count on at least 1 MW per Spirit Host base. This may not seem like a lot, but with a WoT charge, you can effectively get 6 guaranteed MW on a unit just from 3 Spirit Hosts.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Chainrasp_Horde_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Chainrasp Hordes]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''', 80/280pts, Min:10, Max:40) The actual troops for the army, thanks to the new edition. Classic swarmy troops that deal a huge bunch of attacks, also reroll every 1 to wound as long as they're more than 10. Get a bunch of heroes around them to buff their attack stats and enjoy. These guys are your bread and butter horde choice, providing a more numerous battleline. While Grimghasts are deadlier, and Spirit Hosts are both tankier and resurrect wounds more efficiently, Chainrasps have them both beat on cheap bodies. These are the guys you want to stick on objectives and control the board, and while they certainly aren't on the level of Grimghasts, they do have the potential to deal a bit of damage from sheer weight of attacks. 280 points for 40 bodies is a steal, especially with 2 attacks base and a 5+ ethereal. But just make sure that your giving them proper hero support; an unsupported horde of Chainrasps will vanish under a dedicated assault, and bravery 10 only gets you so far in Battleshock. And speaking of Battleshock, your Chainrasps are only Bravery 6 without your Unit Leader AKA Candlabra man. Things that can snipe specific models can make your battleshock test even more painful. A Guardian of Souls is never a bad support choice for these guys, and Shademist is a superb choice if your casting on the first turn. And while the Chainguard battalion is risky, it's hard not to feel satisfied seeing your unrendable horde rematerialize.
**When running these ghosts, your going to want to really pick a role for them and stick with it. 10 Chainrasps serve as a cheap battleline filler, and a decent screen. If you're going for a bit more of an offensive bent to them, using them in 20 with a buffing hero or as part of the Condemned can see them do a bit of damage. 30 is to be avoided, since for 40 more points, you get another 10. But taking 40 can be a real problem as well; It's gonna be tricky as hell to keep them wholly within the range of your buffs unless you bring a KoS on mount or some Chainghasts for your Spirit Torments. But, 40 is good if your really maxing out your regeneration with the Chainguard battalion.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Grimghast_Reapers_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Grimghast Reapers]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 160/420pts, Min:10, Max:30) Band of scythe guys. A troop with a slightly worse version of the Cairn Wraith's scythe, while the leader gets a bell that deals a mortal wound for each model it killed with regular wounds. This unit is a flying blender, so it's no wonder they're your most expensive Battleline. Hordes beware.
**These guys have gotten into a weird position; in LoN and LoG, they're undeniably the best possible choice for an elite blob of anvils that can also grind through enemy units, and then come right back thanks to healing. However, in Nighthaunt, their worth is much more questionable; point per point, they fall behind units like Bladegheists when it comes to damage dealing when on the charge, and against elite units, Dreadscythes are more powerful thanks to the extra attack and bonus damage while also being slightly cheaper. Another knock against them is the fact that their horde bonus only hits at 30; It is nearly impossible to get 30 Grimghasts wholly within our range. Overall, if you run these guys, use them as a horde killer, and keep them in blocks of 20 for better buffing.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_hexwraiths.pdf Hexwraiths]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 140pts, Min:5, Max:20) Kinda average but can still be useful in certain situations. They hit with a bunch of decent attacks, and have a decent chance to damage enemy units they move over the top of by dealing a mortal wound on a roll of 5+ for each Hexwraith that flew over them and are very fast. Do not forget that you cannot end your movement within 3" of the enemy, so think of this ability as 12-3" if you intend to charge the enemy after that. They are also very durable and have a solid if a bit lackluster, weapon profile. These bois are your artillery killers. Fly them right over enemy battle lines and crush enemy archers and the like. You take these guys as a tactical option, rather than as a beat stick.
**One of the few units that can cause damage while retreating, which is done in the movement phase. Flying over a unit or two (don't forget your D6 run while retreating) counts for triggering their special ability.
**If taken in the battalion with the black coach, these guys get an even better chance to strike during the charge phase since they only need an unmodified 9+ charge roll. Another synergy comes with the Black Coach, as it too restores models, not wounds, to a unit. Thus, you can get anywhere from 2 to 6 wounds back per Black Coach.
**In the white dwarf battalion, these guys do become a more viable combat unit, perfect for harrying flanks or hunting down really obnoxious targets like Skyefires or Skaven Warmachine units, while also serving as an awesome bodyguard unit. With a buff from a Knight of Shrouds, you can have each Hexwraith hitting with 4 attacks each with their scythes, and 4 attacks with their horse on the charge; at first, this may not sound like a lot, but in a bigger unit, you can slam an opponent with 80 attacks from just a unit of 10 Hexwraiths. On average, a unit of 5 KoS-buffed Hexwraiths on the charge will do about 4 MW before even factoring in their regular attacks. Not bad for a unit that's also there to take wounds for your boss.

====Others====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Glaivewraith.pdf Glaivewraith Stalkers]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 60pts, Min:4, Max:16) These guys are Bladegheists, but worse in every way. They do reroll every failed hit roll in the turn they're engaged in combat (either if they're the ones who charged or not), and they also can get a drummer to retreat and charge in the same turn. Take note that at 15 points, 6" move and 1 wound a piece, these guys are slightly cheaper then everyone but Dreadscythes, but are by far worse. With a weapon profile thats the same as Chainrasps, these guys are by no means elite. If you must use them, your best bet is running them at max size as a way to try to get the best use out of WoT with their retreat and charge ability.
**Opinion: Never take them. Period. Grimghast reapers do more damage, Bladegheists are faster and do their retreat and charge stick better, and Dreadscythes are cheaper for a better profile. Not to mention the pokey sticks aren't battleline and move slower for almost the same price per model. As a comparison, for 3 points more per model you can bring bladegheists instead.
**Consider: By simply clipping off the horse face to leave an empty cowl and turning the blade 90 degrees, you can turn these guys into more Grimghast Reapers. Probably a better use of the model.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Mymourn%20Banshees.pdf Myrmourn Banshees]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70pts, Min:4, Max:12) Little tykes that can unbind spells and get an extra attack each if they succeed into doing it (But if you do it on an Endless Spell, they also suffer d3 wounds and basically die a lot). Since they each have 1 attack that does D3 damage, you effectively double their damage output any time you unbind a spell. Also, since spells are one of the main ways of dealing Mortal Wounds, and since Mortal Wounds are the only way to reliably kill your spooks, the fact that these ladies can unbind them makes them a must-have for your army. However, with only 4 models and a 4+ save, they're fragile - run them in blocks of 12 with healers or not at all.
**These ladies can kill; that's for certain. The problem is getting them to the right time and place to do so, without having them get killed before they get there. Like said above, they get crazy good with buffs, so make sure to use your deepstrike and Spectral Summons ability to help keep them alive. Another thing to look out for is their 4+ to hit; this sucks ghost balls. Always make sure they're either in Spirit Torment, KoS or any other re-roll or hit modifier range.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Chainghasts.pdf Chaingasts]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70pts, Min:2, Max:4) Spirit Torment's best friends. If they're within 12" from him, they extend his "everyone within 12" rerolls 1 to hit" ability by also emitting it. In melee, their scourge weapons dishing as many attacks as there are enemy models in the range. One of not very many NH units to get a shooting attack, and a fairly decent one at that.
**Their role is to boost the Spirit Torment's aura across half the table, and they're good at it. Use them for that and plink with their shooting weapons while spreading the re-roll love to your units. (Let it be noted that unless you got the Soulreach Grasp for your Black Coach, it is the ''only'' shooting weapon any of your units get). However, in a pinch, these guys can do quite a bit of work in melee as well; throwing them against 28mm hordes can really let them shine, and in cases like Plague Monks, these guys can soften the blow for units that come after them.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_bladegheist_revenants.pdf Bladegheist Revenants]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 90/320pts, Min:5, Max:20) With an 8" move and a very good weapon profile, Bladegheist Revenants are great at first glance. Second glance reveals a bonus attack on the turn they charge and the ability to retreat and charge, meaning they get 3 attacks in essentially all of your combat phases. Then you notice the fact that when they're near a Spirit Torment or Chainghasts, these guys re-roll ALL their hit rolls instead of just 1s (note that the Chainghasts do not need to be in range of a Spirit Torment to give this buff). The only downside Bladegheists have is they'll draw a lot of fire. Run them in blocks of 10 or even 15 to avoid losing the entire unit, and keep a Guardian of Souls on hand to revive dead models and make their swords wound on 2s.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads/ENG_dreadscythe_harridans.pdf Dreadscythe Harridans]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70/260pts, Min:5, Max:20) They apply -1 to hit against enemy units within 3" of them unless they have a Bravery of 6 or more (remember Nighthaunt Allegiance decrease it by 1, so even units with 6 bravery fall within this range). Decent in melee, with -1 rend and a chance for extra damage, with 3 attacks each. With support from a KoS on Steed or an allied Vampire Lord, their attacks can add up pretty quick.
**With the current GHB 2020, these gals have gone down to 70 points, taking the spot for one of the cheapest damage dealer units in the book. For a mere 260 points for 20, when compared to the Bladegheists and Grimghasts 320, these ghoulies are nearly 60 points cheaper at max size. And what your getting for that 70 points is frankly, awesome. Deeply consider taking these as your cheap damage dealers, or part of the shrieker host battalion, since their bang for their buck is absurdly cost effective.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//aos_warscroll_thorns_of_the_briar_queen_en.pdf Thorns of the Briar Queen]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 0pts) The Briar Queen's personal squad of six Chainrasps; can't be taken without her. In lieu of numbers, they reroll ones if an enemy unit is within 3" of 2 models of theirs(so almost always). Otherwise, a slightly undermanned Chainrasp Horde. Use them as a road bump, or something to tie up ranged units or warmachines.

===Behemoths===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Black_Coach.pdf Black Coach]:''' (220pts) This thing is not only aesthetically stunning but also a monster in-game: With 12 wounds, 14" movement with fly, and a 4+ ethereal save, it's not going down anytime soon. It has either a single shooting attack with a petty 10" range, but it does do D3 damage and has rend -3 or it's regular Cairn Wraith scythe. However, it is downright terrifying in combat: Not only does it have <s>4</s> 3 melee profiles, but the reaper scythe of the rider can also reroll hits against units with 5+ models (or a single attack with a rend characteristic of -3, D3 damage if you took the ranged profile.) These weapons along with the relic bearers' Spectral Claws(which goes down in attacks as it gets wounded) have the Frightful Touch rule. It's Evocation of Death works like this now: At the start of each battle round roll 3 dice, <s>on a 4+</s> on EACH 4+ it gains one level of power. Each level stacks and lasts for the rest of the battle.
*#'''Level 1''': Heal d3 wounds at the start of your hero phase and return d3 slain models to a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit within wholly within 12" of it.
*#'''Level 2''': Re-roll 1's to hit for this model and can run and charge in the same turn
*#'''Level 3''': After charging pick a unit within 1" of it, roll a dice, on a 2+ that unit suffers D3 mortal wounds
*#'''Level 4''': Can retreat and charge in the same turn.
*#'''Level 5''': At the start of your hero phase, roll a dice for each enemy unit within 3" of this model on a 4+ deal D3 mortal wounds.
** While it's a bit of a mixed bag, the mix is all things that you want and your opponent doesn't want on the table. It is almost impossible to ignore thanks to the huge amount of attacks and mortal wound opportunities it has. And it needs a huge amount of firepower to remove so even if it gets taken down early the rest of your army should be in quite good shape still. Also, the synergy this thing offers to Nighhthaunt is pretty excellent; outside of Olynder and RotSH, this baby is your other primary way to bring back multiple models at once, AKA, bringing back Hexwraiths and Spirit Hosts.
** Now, with GHB19, this baby is a cheap as chips 220 points; to put it this way, it offers almost the same amount of damage as a Cairn Wraith and 10 Chainrasps would put out anyways, with plenty of Frightful Touch. The general way to use this bad boy is start it off as a defensive piece, using it to help regenerate your screen of Spirit Hosts or Hexwraiths, and maybe giving a bit of damage through it's scythe. But once you get that second or third level, it's time to let this bad boy fly into the enemy and help finish off lightly wounded units. It's also worth noting that this thing is pretty easy to keep in tip-top shape since most Nighthaunt heroes and spells have ways to heal this bad boy.

{{anchor|FWMourngul}}
*'''[https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/fw_site/fw_pdfs/aos_warscrolls/Downloads-AoS/aos-warscroll-mourngul.pdf Mourngul] (Forgeworld):''' (270pts) As of the new edition a whole bunch of FW big boys have had stat changes. The Mourngul has been changed to be a bit more in line with the rest of the new Nighthaunt. First, his 3+ save is now a 4+ save, which is bad. And second his 6+ to hit that generated extra attacks that became 6+ deal additional damage has been replaced with Frightful touch, dealing 2 mortal wounds on a 6+ to hit, which is good (especially against well armoured heroes). With 8 attacks this is very scary note that it's an unmodified hit roll, so a Knight of Shrouds won't affect it's mortal wound generation. 10 wounds and his -1 to hit aura makes him quite tough in combat, but will melt to shooting. Fact is, the Mourngul was never a real beatstick, more of a distraction Carnifex. He's definitely lost some of that power, but now you have a whole army of synergies to play with, so he might still have a place in your lists.
** If the FW Model is too expensive, simply build two Mournghouls from one Aleguzzler Gargant - and you still have the lower half left to build a zombie gargant.
**The Mourngul is no longer the all-star that he was in GA:Death back in AoS 1.0, but after some serious point drops, he has some viability. The key to using this monster is mostly in picking his fights, and helping support other units already wedged into combat. His -1 to hit aura helps keep other units alive, while throwing down some MW with his claws. He can't finish off whole units anymore on his own, but he can certainly eat through a wave of chaff and draw attacks (and attention) from more important units.

==Battalions==

===Chainguard===
(580pt. min. - 820pt. max)

'''''A Guardian of Souls and two Chainrasp Hordes with 20+ models each'''''

'''The Heart of the Horde:'''The Guardian of Souls can bring back D6 models to one of the units of Chainrasps when he casts Spectral Lure.

When paired with the Beacon of Nagashizzar the Guardian can bring back 2d6+3 models (average 10) every turn on a 6. This is ridiculous, and will force your opponent to spend their limited unbind attempts on it, every turn.
What's that? Your massive damage unit almost thrashed the battleline of Chainrasp Horde? Don't worry about it, they'll all be right back. This is almost mandatory for anyone wanting to attempt the "endless horde" army style in Nighthaunts.
** Keep in mind that his Battalion ENTIRELY relies on being able to get the Guardian of Soul's spell off; and sure, it may be sweet to see that 2d6+3 Chainrasps pop back up, but the second the enemy sees this, their going to start throwing their considerably more powerful anti-magic at us. This makes this entire battalion a gamble, since if you happen to fight army that's good at magic, or has good ways at stopping magic, then congratulations, you just spent a bunch of points on an artefact and a CP.

===The Condemned===
(670pt. min. - 990pt. max)

'''''A Spirit Torment, a unit of Chaingasts and two Chainrasp Hordes with 20+ models each'''''

'''Cruel Taskmasters:''' Re-roll failed hit rolls for attacks made by the Chainrasp Hordes while they are wholly within 15" of the Spirit Torment or Chainghasts. This is an excellent pick, and choosing between this and the above battalion is hard. Extending the aura and making it a full reroll miss effectively makes chainrasp 3+ to hit. Add in guardian of souls buffs and you have 3+/3+ battle line that can get to four attacks each with other effects.
* First and foremost, this is our most expensive Battalion; and it is for a good reason as well. In a similar vein to the Death Riders, ShroudGuard and Chainguard, this is more of an "upgrade" rather then a straight up bonus. But arguably, this is one of the better bonuses we can get, since it gives the Spirit Torment and Chaingheists a formidable buff to their range. Another good thing to note is, that just like the Bladegheist rule, you don't actually need to have the Spirit Torment nearby to get the bonus for the Chainrasps, meaning it's entirely viable to run one block of Rasps with the Spirit Torment and then another block of Rasps with the Chaingheists. Than way, both Blocks get those sweet, sweet re-rolls. If your going to be running offensive Rasps, pass over the Chainguard and look towards these bad boys.

===Death Stalkers===
(580pt. min. - 1380pt. max)

'''''A Cairn Wraith, 2 units of Grimghast Reapers and 2 units of Glaivewraith Stalkers'''''

'''Soul-marked Prey: '''After setup is complete, pick an enemy unit to become 'Soul Marked' by this battalion. Add 1 to hit and wound rolls for attacks made by this battalion against the marked unit. This can be used to get rid of your opponent's power-units, like large groups of chaos warriors or sequitors.
* How do you balance being forced to take a really good unit with a really good buff? By making you take 2 terrible units and a slightly mediocre one. The Glavewraiths are a tax, simple as that, and an expensive one at that. Costing you at the very least 120 points, this effectively doubles the cost of the battalion. Until Glaviewraiths get better or cheaper, this battalion should be avoided at all costs.

===Deathriders===
(830pt. min. - 1890pt. max)

'''''1-2 Dreadblade Harrow, 2 units of Hexwraiths and a Black Coach'''''

'''Spectral Spearhead:'''Add 1 to charge rolls for units in this battalion. In addition, an unmodified charge roll of 9+ allows the unit to fight immediately (replaces allegiance ability). Overall, this is a solid choice, and if you were planning on bringing a Dreadblade, a Black Coach and some Hexwraiths, this should be your go-to. All three units synergize really well, and a Dreadblade is a must for a really fast moving army. The Black Coach works very well with the Hexwraiths, since it can help heal them, and then help finish off the enemy.
* Funny enough, after the discount, it's entirely possible to make a complete 2000 point army by just taking two battalions, and then running four units of 10 Hexwraiths each. Is this a good use of your points, and or money? Probably not, but it could be fun.
* Raises your chances for the charge bonus from 16.7% to 27.8%.

===Execution Horde===
(540pt. min. - 1620pt. max)

'''''One Lord Executioner and 3 units of Spirit Hosts'''''

'''The Headsman's Masses:'''Subtract 1 from the hit rolls of attacks that target this battalion's Lord Executioner while a Spirit Host unit is within 6" of the attacking unit. In addition, add 1 to the hit rolls of attacks made by the Lord Executioner while any Spirit Hosts are within 6" of the target unit. His job will be to tarpit enemy heros or sit around and bring back his spirit host buddies with the Ruler of the Spirit Host command trait.

===Shrieker Host===
(560pt. min. - 1280pt. max)

'''''A Tomb Banshee, 2 units of Dreadscythe Harridans and 2 units of Myrmourn Banshees'''''

'''Mournful Wailing:'''Re-roll battleshock rolls of 1 for enemy units while they are within 6" of any units from this battalion. In addition, Inspiring Presence cannot be used on enemy units within 6" of any units from this battalion.

Really good for the 'Leadership attack' strategy, however given that Seraphon, Daemons and well, DEATH, are popular armies, and have almost exclusively Bravery 10, this will be fairly hit and miss. Even with the maximum -3 to bravery, a bravery 10 model goes to 7, averaging 0 mortal wounds from banshees. This is probably more for someone who wants to run a gimmick list, or know that their local meta is low-bravery armies. In the latter case, it will be "frightening" how fast you lose your friends. heh...

===Shroudguard===
(410pt. min. - 930pt. max)

'''''1 Knight of Shrouds or Reikenor the Grimhailer and 2 units of Bladegheist Revenants'''''

'''Frenzied Fervor:''' Replaces the 6+ ignore wounds from the allegiance ability to a 5+ for the Bladegheist while wholly within 12" of the KoS or Reikenor.

This one has some really neat Synergy with the Ruler of the Spirit Hosts Command Trait. Make the Knight of Shrouds your General and pick this as his Command Trait. Now your Knight of Shrouds has a -1 to hit with Ranged Weapons (thanks to the Bladegheist Revenants blocking him), the Bladegheists can shrug off wounds and mortal wounds on a 5+ (thanks to the Battalion ability) and should a Bladegheist Revenant fall, this Command Trait will instantly let you set up some extra Bodyguards.

===The Forgotten Scions===
(440 pt.)

'''''1 Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed and 2 Dreadblade Harrows'''''

'''Gharest Malcor, the Traitor Knight:''' Add one to the attacks characteristic of the Knight of Shroud's Sword of Stole Hours. In addition, once per battle round, you can use the command ability on his warscroll without a command point being spent.

===The Dolorous Guard===
(400 pt. min. - 2360 pt. max)
'''''2-4 units of Hexwraiths'''''

'''Knights of Regret:''' Add one to the attacks characteristic of melee weapons used by units from this battalion if they charged in the same turn. In addition, if your general is within 3" of any friendly units from the battalion, on a 2+ you can pass on wounds and mortal wounds.

==Super-Battalions==

===Nighthaunt Procession===
(3730pt. min. - 12350pt. max)

'''''1 Shroudguard and 6 Battalions chosen between the others in the Battletome'''''

Do you know Deathless Spirits? That allegiance ability we described above that makes everyone ignore wounds at a 6+? The battalion units replace it with... something a little better? The drawback is that it only works on heros from this battalion, but that hardly matters, since your bound to have 6 seperate heros due to the battalions. What it does give is that it removes the word "Wholly" from our Deathless Minions aura. So we get the (longer range) legion version of it, and makes larger battles a little easier to manage.

===The Emerald Host===
(900 pt. min.)

''''' 1 The Forgotten Scions, 1+ The Dolorous Guard, and any number of The Condemned, Chainguard or Death Stalkers'''''

'''The Emerald Curse:''' After armies are set up, but before the first battle round, you can pick 1 enemy hero. Subtract 1 from save rolls for attacks that target that hero.

Note that the way this ability is worded, you don't need to be part of the battalion to take advantage of this ability, so only take optional sub-battalions if you're trying to get a single drop army.

==Army Building==

===1000 pt.===
Start with Soul wars, and then get another Soul Wars half. This gives you the 40 chainrasps you need as the core of most lists. Converting Glaivewraith Stalkers into Grimghasts is as easy as trimming the skulls and spikes and turning the blades 90 degrees. Run a Knight of Shrouds on Steed, two Guardians of Souls, two blocks of 20 Chainrasps, a unit of 10 Grimghasts, and the Chainguard battalion, and you have a decent list that's exactly 1k.

===2000 pt.===
A sweet/fun spot for this army. Tons of heroes. Tons of ghosts. Since nearly the entire Nighthaunt range is easy-to-build, putting together a functional 2000pt list is fairly inexpensive and beginner-friendly. At this points value, you should be allying in a Vampire Lord for extra healing(give him the wings so he doesn't get left behind if your force has to jump a wall). Generally at this level you'll want to have a big, powerful deathstar of your chosen killer unit(Grimghasts, Bladegheists, or even Harridans) surrounding and buffed by your heroes(Spirit Torment, at least one Guardian of Souls, and Vampire Lord at a minimum) plus two blocks of 20 Chainrasps to hold terrain. Once you've filled in those essentials, you'll still have a few hundred points to play around with - maybe add Lady Olynder for serious mortal wound output, maybe an endless spell and a unit of 12 Banshees to feed the endless spell to so you can boost their attacks. So many possibilities....

==Allied Armies==
Definitely consider taking a Vampire Lord. The ''DEATHLY INVOCATION'' ability is amazing, as it can dish out a huge amount of healing to your most critical units. The Vampire Lord costs only a little more than your Knight of Shrouds on Steed and has the same Command Ability and similar damage output. The only difference is the lack of Ethereal (And the lack of a Deathless minion save) and more reliable self-healing.

If you want to deploy a '''MALIGNANT''' army consider the Mortis Engine, if only because it's part of Start Collecting - Malignants. Otherwise, build it as either a Bloodseeker Palanquin or Coven Throne, since Soulblight are Nighthaunt allies while Deathmages are not for some reason. The Coven Throne deserves a special mention. They provide Deathly Invocation to help regen your ghosts, they are a Wizard, and their command ability is pretty good allowing any DEATH unit to reroll 1s of attacks, wounds, and saves. If you bought the Nighthaunt start collecting, it might be time to convert those Mortis Engines into Coven Thrones. Keep in mind that the Coven Throne is pricey though. But giving your Nighthaunt re-rolls to wounds, hit, and essentially a AoS 2.0 Mystic Shield, it is very recommended. For added fluff points, give it the Ethereal Amulet from Malign Sorceries for a ethereal save, just like your ghostly pals.

The foot-slogging/flying/Nightmare-riding Vampire Lord has a great buff to toss at your Hexwraiths, though sadly the one on zombie dragon is too expensive to take as an ally. Mannfred von Carstein is also nice because his Dread Abyssal is surrounded by spirits so he fits the theme, because he's very powerful and his buff aura is amazing and because he can summon more Nighthaunts for you every turn.

For Legions, no cheese is spicier than the triple whammy Grimghasts. Take a vampire lord, a Necromancer and a Knight of shrouds on ethereal steed, a guardian of souls with lantern, and a giant honking unit of Grimghasts (Preferably 30). Use the command abilities of both the vamp lord and the knight of shrouds to bump your guys up to 4 attacks each. Next, have your necromancer cast Vanhels Dance Macabre on them so they can fight twice. Did someone say 240 attacks at 3+\3+\-1\1? Now you see those four units you charged, now you don't. Add in a Coven Throne for its CA, and suddenly, they're all re-rolling their wounds.

Honorable mentions should also go out to Morghast Harbingers and Arkhan the Black. Morghasts add in a good source of Rend -2 and Damage 3 attacks that Nighthaunt lack outside of spamming Mymourn banshees and Kudross. Mobility isn't as much a problem either, since you'll most likely be dumping half your Nighthaunt army on the enemy turn 1, and the rest on turn 2, so trust me, your enemy will have more to worry about. This lets your Harbringers to get up the field relatively quickly.

Arkhan also fills a hole in a Nighthaunt army, that hole being reliable magic support. Besides having a good unique spell, and the ability to extend both his and your other Nighthaunts spells, he can also cast the spells of other Death Mages, meaning that you'll get essential spells like Soulcage off.

Lastly, as of his new (Ossiarch Bonereapers) warscroll, his Deathly Invocation will return a flat 3 wounds worth of models to 4 different units - that's guaranteed Spirit Hosts or a crapton of 1 wound models returned.

*'''Big Drogg Fort-Kicka''': A Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant available to all Death factions as an ally. Functions like Gotrek in the Order factions where he uses up your whole allies allowance in exchange for a very destructive monster of a unit. His most important feature is the ability to destroy terrain, including faction terrain. He also has a unique breath attack that attacks one unit within 3" at the end of the combat phase; roll a dice for each model in the unit and deal 1MW on a 6+.

{{Age_of_Sigmar_Tactics}}

Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Death/Nighthaunt

2021-04-21T18:22:48Z

2800:300:6331:B3A0:0:0:0:3: /* Others */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Nighthaunt|Logo=LadyOlynderMortarch.png|Alliance=Death|Motto=Wooo!! I'm a ghosty!}}

Get ready to have [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSaqSVi--Ms Grim Grinning Ghosts] playing on a loop because the ghosts of the Mortal Realms have come out to socialize!

==Why play Nighthaunt?==

'''Pros'''
*Army wide Ethereal rule means enemy rend has no effect at all on your save rolls.
*Army wide ignore wounds and mortal wounds on a 6.
*Army wide fly means you pay no heed to the idea of "Battle lines", just go above your enemy and hit them where it hurts.
*Strong leadership and small army size means routing is never an issue
*Dish out mortal wounds like it's nobody's business.
*GW support, with some of the best models released recently.
*You have one of the best mobility in the game. With deep strike, teleportation, and that all of your units fly. You can run around your enemy(or crash into them like a screaming banshee train) with ease! and you're not all that fragile too.
*12 hero options to choose from. Spoilt for choice.
*Your main motivation is hatred of Sigmarines.
*Our army-specific Endless spells have cool models.
*Stupidly easy to paint. Just prime them white and apply some pale shades of greens or blues to give them a [[spook]]y appearance.

'''Cons'''
*Despite perfectly fitting the aesthetic, Mortis Engines aren't Nighthaunt units.
*Our army-specific Endless Spells suck crunch-wise, either being overcosted for what they do or too unreliable.
*Like a lot of Death armies, your heroes are the chain that binds the army together. If they get killed you might as well go back to the grave.
*12 hero options to choose from. Whaimmagonnadoo?
*Not all those 12 options are all that superb either
*Pray to Nagash for those 10's on the charge, because you're going to need them.
*Eats Mortal Wounds like a chump; you're going to need that 6+ FNP, since that's almost all you get.
*Depending on your opinion of mono-pose models, you will either love or hate the Nighthaunt range.
* They are very bad to transport. Many Nighthaunt models are made with a single small connecting point to the base along with parts that stick out like small bits and weapons. Take a leaf from Sylvaneth (hehe) when it comes to transporting your army anywhere, lest you snap your precious models and doom yourself with trying to superglue a 2mm surface together.
*Ethereal is a HEAVY point tax. You'll feel that all your models are 10-30% more expensive point wise than they would be due to not being affected by Rend. And in some match ups, Ethereal means very little.

==Rulebooks==
The ''Nighthaunt Battletome'' has all the Warscrolls, Battations and Allegiance Abilities.
*This should be supplemented with the Nighthaunt ''Errata'' and ''Designers' Commentary'' from the [https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/ FAQs].
*Matched play points are in ''General's Handbook 2019''.
*Alternatively up to date warscrolls can be found in the ''WH AoS'' app. Warscrolls on the GW webstore match those in the Battletome.

As with all factions you'll want:
*The core rules are either [https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Warhammer-Age-of-Sigmar-Rules downloadable] or in the ''Core Book''.
*Games taking place in a Realm need the Realm of Battle rules from the ''Core Book''.
*In you want to take advantage of realm specific artefacts you'll need the Artefacts Of The Realms section from the ''Malign Sorcery'' book.
*Matched play battleplans are split across the ''Core Book'' and ''General's Handbook 2019''.
*''All'' books should be supplemented with any updates from the [https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/ FAQs].

==Rulebooks==
{{AOSRulebooks|tome=Nighthaunt |points=[https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/e2513c4c.pdf Nighthaunt Errata]}}

==Allegiance Abilities==
===Battle Traits===
*'''Deathless Spirits:''' Each time a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit takes a wound/mortal wound, if that unit is wholly within 12" of your general or any other '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' it can ignore the wound on a dice result of 6. Given how fragile a lot of your units are, this is a godsend.
*'''Aura of Dread:''' -1 Bravery to enemy units within 6" of yours. Decent, but nothing special.... until you read below.
*'''Feed on Terror:''' If an enemy unit fails a battleshock test, a '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' within 6" heals 1 wound. Adds a bit of sustainability considering how you desperately need to keep your heroes... unlive?
*'''From the Underworld They Come:''' For each unit you set-up on the battlefield you can keep them in reserve. Then you can deep-strike them with all of the normal limitations (9" range, can't move yadda yadda). No need to roll a dice now!
*'''Wave of Terror:''' When a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit makes an unmodified charge roll of 10+. The charging unit can immediately fight, and can still fight again in the following combat phase.This is fucking illegal and incredibly powerful.
*'''Spectral Summons:''' A Command Ability for your general. At the start of your movement phase pick a friendly '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit on the battlefield, then teleport it to your general. Entirely within 12" of your general and 9" from any enemy unit. Great to pull a unit away that's been charged by something that's about to wreck them or to charge with something pulled from the backline or to support a unit with another HERO or... you get the idea.

===Command Traits===
*'''Hatred of the Living:''' Your general can re-roll all hits unless the target has the DEATH key word.
*'''Terrifying Entity:''' At the start of the enemy movement phase, roll a d6 for each enemy unit within 3" than your general. If the result is equal to or greater than their bravery characteristic, that unit must retreat. Combos with your -1 bravery aura from Aura of Dread. Amazing against mob armies with low base bravery. Get them to retreat and then charge them again for the chance of that tasty, tasty 10+ charge.
*'''Lingering Spirit:''' The general gets +1 wound. Absolute trash unless for some reason you're using one of the more subpar heroes.
*'''Spiteful Spirit:''' If an enemy unit inflicts a wound on your general in melee combat, roll a d6. If you roll a 5+, enemy unit takes a mortal wound after all attacks have been made. Good on a Knight of Shrouds.
*'''Cloaked in Shadow:''' Gives -1 to hit for ranged attacks vs. the General. It's worth noting that with Look Out, Sir! it becomes -2.
*'''Ruler of the Spirit Hosts:''' At start of hero phase, return d3 models to a friendly '''SUMMONABLE NIGHTHAUNT''' unit within 9" of the general. Use on Hexwraiths or Spirit Hosts for maximum wound-return efficiency.

===Weapons of the Damned===
All Artefacts in this list requires you to pick one of the bearers melee weapons

*'''Shadow's Edge:''' An unmodified hit roll of 6 using that weapon deals d3 mortal wounds and the attack sequence ends. Basically gives a '''HERO''' an improved Frightful Touch, note that this does stack if they already have that rule. Kind of wasted on weapons with a damage stat higher than 1, but funny on a Cairn Wraith who can smack down 2+d3 MW each time he get's a 6.
*'''Reaper of Sorrows:''' Before attacking, roll 2D6. If the rolls exceed the target units Bravery then the Rend characteristic of this weapon is changed to -3. Since there is very little overlap between "units with low Bravery" and "units against which -3 Rend isn't wasted", better skip this one.
*'''Balefire Blade:''' Add 1 to the weapon's damage characteristic. Not bad on a Knight of Shrouds on mount, since it give's him a nice flat 3 Damage. If you're taking the Nighthaunt battalion which gives him an extra attack, consider it.
*'''Slitter:''' Every time the bearer is chosen to fight, but before piling in you can roll a dice against a model within 1". If the roll exceeds their wound characteristic, it is slain. Meaning you can pick the model you want to be removed from the unit, not your opponent. This can lead to some very interesting situations, considering the new rules for cohesion...
*'''Headsman's Judgement:''' Add 1 to the hit roll and wound roll. Just in case you'd like your Executioner to be able to pull his weight. Or stop pretending and give it to a Knight of Shrouds.
*'''Shrieking Blade:''' Subtract 1 from hit rolls made with melee weapons against the bearer.

===Relics of the Underworld===
*'''Cloak of the Waxing Moon:''' In melee, the owner's Deathless Spirits save works on a 5+ (normal wounds only).
*'''Pendant of the Fell Wind:''' Add +3" to the movement of any Nighthaunt units wholly within 12" of this character at the start of their phase. Perfect when the 6" Move of Spirit Hosts and Chainrasps aren't doing it for you, or combine with Chronomantic Cogs for Grimghast Reapers who move 13" and then charge 2d6+2".
*'''Dreadbolt Ring:''' If this model inflicts one or more wounds in the combat phase, then inflict d3 mortal wounds on an enemy unit within 3" after this model has finished attacking.
*'''Mirror of Screaming Souls:''' At the start of your shooting phase, roll 2D6 for each enemy unit within 8" of the bearer. If you roll above bravery, 1 mortal wound. Decent on a banshee or durable beatstick.
*'''Midnight Tome:''' The model becomes a Wizard and can cast/unbind once per phase and knows the two basic spells. If the model is already a wizard, it can cast one more spell.
*'''Covetous Familiar:''' At the start of each combat phase, roll a dice for every enemy unit within 3". On a 2+ they take a mortal wound. Better than the Dreadbolt Ring if you wanna get surrounded by multiple units, plus it goes off before anyone attacks.

===Infernal Lanterns===
Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern only.
*'''Lightshard of the Harvest Moon:''' Once per battle, at the start of the combat phase, every '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit wholly within 12" of the bearer rerolls all to hit when they attack in the combat phase.
*'''Wychlight Lantern:''' Add 1 to the bearer's casting roll.
*'''Beacon of Nagashizzar:''' Add +3 to the heal or resurrect roll when the bearer casts Spectral Lure.

===Notable Artifacts of the Realms===
Blade of Secrets- perfect for a dreadblade harrow unit that can teleport next to a caster and stop a specific spell that is causing your army grief for the rest of the game.

===Lore of the Underworld===
Like several armies you get a set of spells available to any '''NIGHTHAUNT WIZARDS'''.

*'''Soul Cage:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick an enemy unit within 12” of the caster that is visible to it. Until the start of your next hero phase, that unit fights at the end of the combat phase. In addition, the unit cannot retreat. ''A very nice way to deal with deathstars by using this and charging multiple units at it.''
*'''Spirit Drain:''' Casting Value 4. If successfully cast pick an enemy model within 18” of the caster that is visible to it. Roll number of dice equal to the wounds characteristic of the model. For each roll of a 6+ the model suffers 1 mortal wound. ''A Monster killer if there ever was one. Remember it's the Characteristic, so you can use this on a big beastie on it's last leg(s) to finish it off.''
*'''Lifestealer:''' Casting Value 7. If successfully cast pick an enemy unit within 12” of the caster that is visible to it. The unit suffers D3 mortal wounds. For every mortal wound inflicted in this manner, the caster heals 1 wound. ''This works great with Reikenor the Grimhailer. Snuff out your own corpse candle and cast this spell on a natural 4, and have a guaranteed wound to heal!''
*'''Reaping Scythe:''' Casting Value 4. If successfully cast pick one of this models melee weapons. You may reroll all failed to-hit and to-wound rolls made for that weapon until the start of your next hero phase.''Great on any kind of '''HERO''' that you turned into a wizard since most of them are beatsticks.''
*'''Shade Mist:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick a Nighthaunt unit within 12” of the caster. Until the start of your next hero phase, subtract 1 from all wound rolls made for attacks targeting this unit. ''Great for changing the odds on a unit's survival and complicating your opponent's targeting decisions.''
*'''Spectral Tether:''' Casting Value 6. If successfully cast pick a friendly '''NIGHTHAUNT HERO''' unit within 12”. That unit immediately heals D3 wounds. ''Mediocre use of a spell slot.''

===Endless Spells===
New to Second Edition, you're the other first to gain Faction Exclusive Endless Spells! These can only be cast by '''NIGHTHAUNT WIZARDS''' or '''NAGASH, SUPREME LORD OF THE UNDEAD'''. However, these are honestly pretty crap if used with Nighthaunt.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Shyish_Reaper.pdf Shyish Reaper]:''' The Shyish Reaper has a move of 8", and damages units by flying over models. The issue is that with its base being nearly 3", it can effectively only move 5", although this can be slightly extended due to it pivoting before it moves. It is more likely to deal damage to stuff with better save characteristics. Think for a moment - what armies around like to field lots of models with a 4+ save or better? Unfortunately, the top of the list is Nighthaunt. This spell is more likely to damage your own units than the enemy, most of the time. Pass.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Vault_of_Souls.pdf Vault of Souls]:''' It's a floating bomb that deals Mortal Wounds, and it explodes into D6 Mortal Wounds when it dispenses 20 of them. With how hard Predatory Endless Spells are to predict, this thing is too likely to turn and explode next to you at a critical moment. It may be worth considering, however, due to how cheap this bastard is, and how good our mobility is. Dropping it off as a parting gift from a deep striking Wizard can be delightfully good as they get snagged by Spectral Summons.

* '''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Mortalis_Terminexus.pdf Mortalis Terminexus]:''' It's a big floating Hourglass that either deal D3 Mortal Wounds to everything within 6" or heal D3 Wounds to everything within 6". It does not return dead models. In an army that already has great regeneration, mediocre regeneration that can't restore dead models is not worth taking. Avoid it. The model is cool, though, so use it as a proxy for the Chronomantic Cogs.

Some of the generic Endless Spells are also worth considering.

* '''Suffocating Gravetide:''' Now, let's not kid ourselves. The Suffocating Gravetide isn't strictly GOOD, but what it is is cheap. At 20 points, it's worth tossing in if you have a few points to spare once you've built your list, since they won't do anything for you otherwise. The Gravetide deals D3 mortal wounds to each unit it even slightly passes over, and inflicts a -1 leadership penalty on them, which can synergize with the -1 from Nighthaunt. The Gravetide is also on a pretty big base - it can be useful to plop it right in the way of an enemy unit and block them from getting that critical objective. The fact that the Gravetide provides cover is almost irrelevant to you - units with Ethereal can't benefit from cover, and you'll rarely care anyway.
** It also looks good next to your Nighthaunt, with the same design aesthetic.
* '''Chronomantic Cogs:''' Oh here we go. For a quick refresher, you need to have a WIZARD within 9" of the Cogs to activate them, and when you do you choose one ability to last until your next hero phase. If you slow down time, the controlling wizard can cast one additional spell in your hero phase and re-roll save rolls. If you speed up time, you add 2 to the move characteristic of and charge rolls for ''every unit on the board''. While this doesn't sync with your allegiance ability(the rule specifies unmodified 10+), you still really want to get your charges off, and a +2 is huge, especially if you're going for risky charges from out of reserves.
* '''Aethervoid Pendulum:''' Good for a 50 point spend when you don't feel like the Gravetide but don't have the 50 spare for a command point. The Aethervoid Pendulum avoids the main problem of predatory endless spells by always moving in one direction, which means it's telegraphed, but also means it will never turn against you just because you get a double turn. It deals D6 mortal wounds to anything it flies over or lands 1" from - send it towards the enemy, ideally at an allegiance terrain piece or objective they can't afford to step away from. Even if it doesn't do damage, it crimps your opponent's options, and that's always good.

==Warscrolls==
The common keywords of these warscrolls are: '''DEATH''', '''MALIGNANT''' and '''NIGHTHAUNT'''.

===Leaders===
====Named Characters====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Lady_Olynder.pdf Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief]:''' (200pts) First new Mortarch since the End Times. She is all about dealing mortal wounds on the enemy in multiple ways: is surrounded by banshees that deal 6 Spirit Host attacks in melee, once per battle can either heal D6 wounds on herself or deal D6 Mortal wounds on an enemy hero within 6", in every hero phase picks an enemy unit within 12" and inflicting mortal wounds on it on a 2+ roll (the wounds are equal to the roll result) and then heals D3 wounds on herself if she managed to kill at least a model, in shooting phase rolls 2D6 for each enemy unit within 10" and deals them D3 mortal wounds if the result is higher than their bravery, and also adds an extra fleeing model to every enemy unit failing battleshock tests within 12". Her exclusive spell takes an enemy unit and gives it -1 to their hit rolls and +1 to the hit rolls made against it in melee, and her command ability restores a dead model in every SUMMONABLE Nighthaunt unit within 12" - but only if she's your general. If you're looking for a support general it's a toss up between this and a generic general with Ruler of the Spirit Hosts - RotSH can heal multiple models from one unit rather than one per unit, but importantly doesn't use a command point. Olynder isn't really a support unit like her model suggests; she's an assassin that you drop in to your enemies backside or deathstar and wreak havoc upon them with mortal wounds, your other units have better damage-to-point ratio but since her's is almost entirely with mortal wounds you bypass a lot of those 3+/2+ saves with rerolls fuckers that you have a hard time with.
** Be careful using this gal. 7 wounds with a 4+ save and an ignore wounds on a 6 is ''not'' that durable, and the fact that she needs to be fairly close to the fighting just makes her more vulnerable.
**, Unlike the other Mortarchs, Olynder isn't a monster and does benefit from the Look Out Sir, which coupled with her unrendable save increases her survivability. She's right in the middle of Mortarch durability behind Katakros (with his combined 20 wounds, superior save and the option to auto-heal 3 wounds on himself a turn) and Neferata (who has superior CC healing to Arkhan and Mannfred, her immune to rend spell and her 1- hit debuff aura).
**<ASSEMBLY TIP> Gaps ahoy! There is a bulb that helps you to align the 3 pieces that make up her veil and headpiece. Snip that bulb off so you can still get rid of gaps whilst keeping her entire veil as a subassembly for easier painting. Her entire assembly is also resting on one single damned stalk of her gown. Find a way to stabilize her if you don't want to be the one grieving.
**A more viable strategy involving the pale lady now exists via the new Battalion from the White Dwarf. Taking her as your general can help keep her alive thanks to the body guard battalion, which lets her stand around on the field and fight without getting wasted instantly. Plus, her command ability lets you regenerate those Hexwraith body guards, and her spell helps with their subpar accuracy.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Kurdoss_Valentian.pdf Kurdoss Valentian, The Craven King]:''' (180pts) The General Killer. Usurper. Nagash' Monument to Dickishness. A flying beatstick with a very good but unreliable debuff. He has 6 Spirit Host attacks like his wife, his other weapon in melee is the Sepulchral Sceptre, a weapon with 5 attacks on a 3+/3+ roll with -2 rend, each dealing D3 wounds (D6 if you rolled a 6 to wound) and rerolls failed hit rolls against the enemy general. Also, in each enemy hero phase, when they get their command point you can steal it on a 5+ roll, which can take away some armies command abilities. There's really not much else to say about him, fly him into your enemies behind and wreck face.
** When Kurdoss was first resurrected he said "Kurdoss does not serve!", "But neither does he rule!" said the two Servants beside him and they laughed!
** Unfortunately as neat as he is at being a combat character, he does little to nothing for the army outside of CP stealing. Thus he tends to be overshadowed by nearly all the other leaders with the lack of synergy buffs. Plus 7 wounds, even with ethereal, isn't exactly too tough.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Reikenor_the_Grimhailer.pdf Reikenor the Grimhailer]:''' (170pts) Both a warrior and a wizard. Gets a souped-up version of the scythes we saw on Cairn Wraiths, Hex-wraiths and Grimghast reapers, getting the usual reroll on bigger units plus dealing mortal wounds instead of regular one on a hit roll of 6. His spell deals D3 mortal wounds on an enemy unit within 12", plus D3 more if the first ones killed something. When casting, can either deal 1 mortal wound to an enemy within 12" or himself, getting respectively +1 or +3 to the cast roll. Consider using this guy to cast your Endless Spell, just in case your opponent wants to dispel it.
** As this ability targets a specific model in a unit, you can use it to split coherency and open the way to clearing multiple models off the table if you are feeling evil. Use with cogs, do this twice, earn the undying hatred of your opponent.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//aos_warscroll_thorns_of_the_briar_queen_en.pdf The Briar Queen]:''' (180pts) Must include her Thorns of the Briar Queen. The first Mirrorghast Banshee, she's a wizard with 3 ranged attacks with -3 rend, hitting and wounding on 3s... sadly, only doing 1 damage each, breaking the numerical focus. Her melee attack hits at 3", hitting and wounding on 3 as well, -2 rend, doing D3 wounds. Her unique spell hits all enemies 6" of a point 18" away from her; if the roll is either greater than the target's Move value, or a double, it suffers a mortal wound and has halved movement until her next hero phase.

====Others====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG%20Knight%20of%20Shrouds.pdf Knight of Shrouds]:''' (100pts) Our first genuine commander model. Blessed with the same defenses as a Cairn Wraith but with an additional wound, he's pretty tough. With basically a Vampire Lord's melee profile (Damage 2 instead of D3) he's not a pushover. His Command grants Nighthaunt units WHOLLY within 12" +1 To Hit, meaning he can hit on a 2+ himself and can counteract those pesky To-Hit penalties. In a Nighthaunt army with some allies, he's absolutely fantastic. He's tough as nails and regenerates if you kill an enemy '''HERO'''. It also adds a bonus to Dreadblade Harrow as per the dreadblade warscroll.
**With the release of the new book following AoS 2, this guy has had some ups, but mostly some downs. With Spirit Hosts and Hexwraiths getting MWs only on unmodified sixes, and the rampant nerfing of the Mournghoul, this guy isn't cranking out the MWs like he used to. Plus, with the new book, there's not a lot of units that necessarily need that bonus, or can actually fit with his 12" aura, thanks to the accursed Wholly Within change. Plus, he's only got 5 wounds on a 4+, and his movement is rather pitiful. He may not be the worst hero, but outside of maybe buffing some smaller units, stick to the KoS on mount.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_knight_of_shrouds_knighthaunt_2018.pdf Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed]:''' (120pts) Mounted variant of the guy above. Similar stats, with double the movement and, weirdly, only one extra wound (In contrast to the Grimhailer and other mounted heroes who have 2 more wounds than regular) plus the extra attacks from the spooky horse, and his command ability gives +1 attacks at a Nighthaunt unit wholly within 18" instead. Actually a better general for your Spirit Hosts now that they deal mortal wounds on an unmodifiable 6. It also adds a bonus to Dreadblade harrow as per their warscroll. Also, when comparing him to a Vampire Lord, keep in mind that while a Vampire Lord's ability does last till the end of your next Hero phase, it cannot in any way affect units coming in from deep strike; luckily, since the KoSoES's command ability occurs in the combat phase, he is the perfect front-lines commander to help buff a unit that's coming from the underworld.
*Keep in mind, with the right buffs, the KoS can also be surprisingly killy too. Giving him a decent weapon artifact, and taking him in the right battalion can make him a decent beat-stick, perfect for warmachine or hero hunting.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Guardian_of_Souls_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Guardian of Souls with Nightmare Lantern]:''' (140pts) First real wizard for the army. His exclusive spell restores d6 wounds to a SUMMONABLE unit within 18" '''or''' resurrects models with a combined wound count equal to the d6 roll, while he also makes every Nighthaunt within 9" add 1 to their wound rolls, which is phenomenal for most units and inconsequential to Spirit Hosts.
**Suffers from the "I'm so good at supporting the army that everyone guns for me" syndrome. Many NH players find their guardians dying real fast when people figure out they're the key to victory! Be sure to surround them with bodies and even then aren't protected from Mortal Wound sniping. You should consider taking two - the aura stacks, which means if you've got two of them on hand your chainrasps are wounding on 2s, but even more importantly, it lets you spread your Guardians out for redundancy and keep from losing your wound bonus, your heals, AND your magic to a single model.
**One thing to note is an artifact, the Beacon of Nagashizzar, which the Guardian can take. It upgrades the Guardian's unique Spectral Lure spell from restoring d6 wounds to D6+3 - it's a lot more reliable. However, the Wychlight Lantern does help the spell itself more reliably go off. Your choice between more models returning, or returning models reliably.

*'''Guardian of Souls with Mortality Glass:''' Same as above, but instead of buffing wound rolls forces enemy units within 9" to roll a single die when charging. He uses the spell Temporal Translocation which on a 6 allows one unit within 24" of the caster to make a normal move of 6" that can be used to retreat but still allows it to charge later in the turn. Great spell on everything other than Bladegheists and Glaivewrath Stalkers with a Deathbeat Drummer (they already can do this). Sadly the model was event exclusive, so good luck getting a hold of it.
**As of the GH19, this poor sap is no longer a matched play unit, due to him lacking a points profile. Still fun to use in regular play, and who knows, maybe he'll get a release with a new book. But for now, he's strictly narrative only.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Spirit_Torment_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Spirit Torment]:''' (120pts) The sleeper hit of the Nighthaunt hero lineup. He has a 12" aura that lets friendly Nighthaunt re-roll hit rolls of 1, which can make your force significantly better. He has average defensive stats but packs a surprising punch in melee thanks to his chains being a D3 damage weapon. He also heals units or restores models within 6" provided at least 3 enemy models were slain by the beginning of the Battleshock phase (this checks in both your turn and your opponent's turn, so it's potentially 2d3 models per battle round). The Spirit Torment is a must - put him close to where the fighting is thickest, and you'll rarely go wrong.
**However, do consider what you're actually getting here for 120 points; you get some decent, but conditional, regeneration, and a re-roll 1's aura that you can just pay a command point to get anyways. This guy will be frustratingly useless if you can't kill those 3 models per turn, and is most likely best suited to be paired with a unit of Bladegheists, who get to re-roll ALL hits instead of just 1's. Otherwise, stick him with your Dreadscythes or Chainrasps, as they have the most to gain.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Lord_Executioner_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Lord Executioner]:''' (80pts) Your generic Hero killer. Gets an average weapon that deals 3 wounds if you roll a 6+ to wound, rejects mortal wounds on a 5+ roll and can give -1 to hit rolls at an enemy hero within 3" in melee. That last ability is the only real reason this would be worth taking, and even then he's probably not worth the points.
*What he does boast, however, is being a tougher hero. That 5+ against MW will save your ghostly ass at times, and that -1 against heros can help mitigate flying bricks like Mawcrushas and Keeper of Secrets from totally smashing you.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_dreadblade_harrow.pdf Dreadblade Harrow]:''' (90pts) Mounted lieutenant that can warp on the field instead of moving regularly as long as he's not engaged in melee and a sword that gets different buffs depending on what he does (+1 damage in the turn he charged, +1 attacks in every other turn and can also reroll every 1 to wound if a Knight of Shrouds is within 9" from him). At first, he seems rather pointless aside from flanking long-range artillery or mages. But then you realize that his teleportation trick works at the beginning of the movement phase, much like your deathly summons, and because of this, you pick the order they go off. So say hello to your new Undead Taxi cab.
**Aside from teleportation shenanigans, Dreadblade Harrows are an awkward choice - they don't really offer much damage, they don't have supportability, and they need to buddy up with the Knight of Shrouds to get the most out of them.
**with the expansion of generic command ability. They can reliably deal them out at any time.
** Some conspiracies suggest DBH was supposed to be a unit, not heroes. But some weird book shuffling occurred. After all, it is a little weird to sell 2 heroes in a single EZ to build box

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG%20Cairn%20Wraith.pdf Cairn Wraith]:''' (60pts) The Cairn Wraith was an important forerunner in the aesthetics of the Grimghast Reapers, Reikenor, and lots of other Nighthaunt units. Unfortunately, the fact is that the Nighthaunt update kind of left the Cairn Wraith behind, as it no longer has a niche of its own. But what it still has going for it isn't completely useless; this guy may not be precisely tough or extraordinarily deadly in melee, but what he does bring is a good close combat profile and a incredibly small base; this sucker is on a 25mm round, for some ungodly reason, making it him easy to hide in a horde. Coupled with a 2" range, this guy can sit comfortably in a unit of 20 or so chainrasps, and when they're charged, this guy can help support them via CP abilities while still knocking back some wounds. Plus, while this guy only has 4 wounds, this can often cause an opponent not to throw as much damage at him as they probably need to, or perhaps too much.
** Another neat trick with the Cairn Wraith has to do with his Frightful Touch ability; If you have a spare artifact with no where to go, toss him the Shadows Edge. Now, every time you roll a 6 to hit, this dude is popping off 2+d3 MW. While not exactly reliable, this will suddenly make a Character most people ignore suddenly far scarier.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-tomb-banshee-en.pdf Tomb Banshee]:''' (80pts) For all intents and purposes, a Banshee is more or less a Cairn Wraith with much weaker attacks (though at -2 Rend, that's pretty decent) and a scream attack that causes damage off of Bravery. The Tomb Banshee fills an interesting role in the army, capable of being played both offensively defensively. Thanks to the 10' range on her scream, she can deepstrike in and still fire off a scream; while this is less effective against Death and Celestial Seraphon, this is still a great way to throw some wounds at the enemy with a lucky roll. This can also be especially deadly if you roll high against a misplaced Skaven or Goblin hero. Defensively, she is a nice way to add some punch to what may normally be a lack luster combat unit like Chainrasps or Spirit Hosts. Simply placing her behind them, and firing off your scream can chip away even at the mighty Stormcast or Chaos Warriors.
**is a great choice when facing Skaven, Grots, Khorne, Warclans or Cities of Sigmar. And she should be heavily considered if your running bravery reducing endless spells. Her mobility and scream power is not to be ignored.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/BR_Belakor_Warscroll_Krulghast_Cruciator_eng.pdf Krulghast Cruciator]:''' New Nighthaunt hero. They died during torture and in undeath they became torture technicians who inflict pain on those who defy Nagash.

===Troops===
====Battleline====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls/aos-warscroll-nighthaunt-spirithosts-en.pdf Spirit Hosts]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 120pts, Min:3, Max:12). Compared to other swarms, Spirit Hosts have fewer Wounds, but way better attacks and a 4+ unrendable save, which makes them pretty tough against anything but Mortal Wounds. Effectively, they have a rather low damage output, but the vast majority of their damage is in Mortal Wounds, which makes them great, especially against stuff with big saves and high rend. Be'lakor in particular hates these things with a passion. Their Frightful Touch ability got changed to on work on an ''unmodified'' roll of 6, less synergy but you don't get fucked by hit penalties anymore. Your main reason for taking these guys, however, is their ratio of wounds per model, which when paired with some of Nighthaunt's ability to resurrect entire models, becomes a very lucrative way to bring back wounds. However, keep in mind that a unit of 3 Spirit Hosts is only 40 points away from 20 Chainrasps. Unless you're investing in the requisite abilities, Chainrasps have them beat in points per wound. When you use these guys, make sure you're respawning them, as well as using their 4+ effectively. Also, don't forget that you can almost always count on at least 1 MW per Spirit Host base. This may not seem like a lot, but with a WoT charge, you can effectively get 6 guaranteed MW on a unit just from 3 Spirit Hosts.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Chainrasp_Horde_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Chainrasp Hordes]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''', 80/280pts, Min:10, Max:40) The actual troops for the army, thanks to the new edition. Classic swarmy troops that deal a huge bunch of attacks, also reroll every 1 to wound as long as they're more than 10. Get a bunch of heroes around them to buff their attack stats and enjoy. These guys are your bread and butter horde choice, providing a more numerous battleline. While Grimghasts are deadlier, and Spirit Hosts are both tankier and resurrect wounds more efficiently, Chainrasps have them both beat on cheap bodies. These are the guys you want to stick on objectives and control the board, and while they certainly aren't on the level of Grimghasts, they do have the potential to deal a bit of damage from sheer weight of attacks. 280 points for 40 bodies is a steal, especially with 2 attacks base and a 5+ ethereal. But just make sure that your giving them proper hero support; an unsupported horde of Chainrasps will vanish under a dedicated assault, and bravery 10 only gets you so far in Battleshock. And speaking of Battleshock, your Chainrasps are only Bravery 6 without your Unit Leader AKA Candlabra man. Things that can snipe specific models can make your battleshock test even more painful. A Guardian of Souls is never a bad support choice for these guys, and Shademist is a superb choice if your casting on the first turn. And while the Chainguard battalion is risky, it's hard not to feel satisfied seeing your unrendable horde rematerialize.
**When running these ghosts, your going to want to really pick a role for them and stick with it. 10 Chainrasps serve as a cheap battleline filler, and a decent screen. If you're going for a bit more of an offensive bent to them, using them in 20 with a buffing hero or as part of the Condemned can see them do a bit of damage. 30 is to be avoided, since for 40 more points, you get another 10. But taking 40 can be a real problem as well; It's gonna be tricky as hell to keep them wholly within the range of your buffs unless you bring a KoS on mount or some Chainghasts for your Spirit Torments. But, 40 is good if your really maxing out your regeneration with the Chainguard battalion.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Grimghast_Reapers_Nighthaunt_2018.pdf Grimghast Reapers]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 160/420pts, Min:10, Max:30) Band of scythe guys. A troop with a slightly worse version of the Cairn Wraith's scythe, while the leader gets a bell that deals a mortal wound for each model it killed with regular wounds. This unit is a flying blender, so it's no wonder they're your most expensive Battleline. Hordes beware.
**These guys have gotten into a weird position; in LoN and LoG, they're undeniably the best possible choice for an elite blob of anvils that can also grind through enemy units, and then come right back thanks to healing. However, in Nighthaunt, their worth is much more questionable; point per point, they fall behind units like Bladegheists when it comes to damage dealing when on the charge, and against elite units, Dreadscythes are more powerful thanks to the extra attack and bonus damage while also being slightly cheaper. Another knock against them is the fact that their horde bonus only hits at 30; It is nearly impossible to get 30 Grimghasts wholly within our range. Overall, if you run these guys, use them as a horde killer, and keep them in blocks of 20 for better buffing.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_hexwraiths.pdf Hexwraiths]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', '''Battleline''' only in a '''Nighthaunt''' army, 140pts, Min:5, Max:20) Kinda average but can still be useful in certain situations. They hit with a bunch of decent attacks, and have a decent chance to damage enemy units they move over the top of by dealing a mortal wound on a roll of 5+ for each Hexwraith that flew over them and are very fast. Do not forget that you cannot end your movement within 3" of the enemy, so think of this ability as 12-3" if you intend to charge the enemy after that. They are also very durable and have a solid if a bit lackluster, weapon profile. These bois are your artillery killers. Fly them right over enemy battle lines and crush enemy archers and the like. You take these guys as a tactical option, rather than as a beat stick.
**One of the few units that can cause damage while retreating, which is done in the movement phase. Flying over a unit or two (don't forget your D6 run while retreating) counts for triggering their special ability.
**If taken in the battalion with the black coach, these guys get an even better chance to strike during the charge phase since they only need an unmodified 9+ charge roll. Another synergy comes with the Black Coach, as it too restores models, not wounds, to a unit. Thus, you can get anywhere from 2 to 6 wounds back per Black Coach.
**In the white dwarf battalion, these guys do become a more viable combat unit, perfect for harrying flanks or hunting down really obnoxious targets like Skyefires or Skaven Warmachine units, while also serving as an awesome bodyguard unit. With a buff from a Knight of Shrouds, you can have each Hexwraith hitting with 4 attacks each with their scythes, and 4 attacks with their horse on the charge; at first, this may not sound like a lot, but in a bigger unit, you can slam an opponent with 80 attacks from just a unit of 10 Hexwraiths. On average, a unit of 5 KoS-buffed Hexwraiths on the charge will do about 4 MW before even factoring in their regular attacks. Not bad for a unit that's also there to take wounds for your boss.

====Others====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Glaivewraith.pdf Glaivewraith Stalkers]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 60pts, Min:4, Max:16) These guys are Bladegheists, but worse in every way. They do reroll every failed hit roll in the turn they're engaged in combat (either if they're the ones who charged or not), and they also can get a drummer to retreat and charge in the same turn. Take note that at 15 points, 6" move and 1 wound a piece, these guys are slightly cheaper then everyone but Dreadscythes, but are by far worse. With a weapon profile thats the same as Chainrasps, these guys are by no means elite. If you must use them, your best bet is running them at max size as a way to try to get the best use out of WoT with their retreat and charge ability.
**Opinion: Never take them. Period. Grimghast reapers do more damage, Bladegheists are faster and do their retreat and charge stick better, and Dreadscythes are cheaper for a better profile. Not to mention the pokey sticks aren't battleline and move slower for almost the same price per model. As a comparison, for 3 points more per model you can bring bladegheists instead.
**Consider: By simply clipping off the horse face to leave an empty cowl and turning the blade 90 degrees, you can turn these guys into more Grimghast Reapers. Probably a better use of the model.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_NightHaunt_Mymourn%20Banshees.pdf Myrmourn Banshees]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70pts, Min:4, Max:12) Little tykes that can unbind spells and get an extra attack each if they succeed into doing it (But if you do it on an Endless Spell, they also suffer d3 wounds and basically die a lot). Since they each have 1 attack that does D3 damage, you effectively double their damage output any time you unbind a spell. Also, since spells are one of the main ways of dealing Mortal Wounds, and since Mortal Wounds are the only way to reliably kill your spooks, the fact that these ladies can unbind them makes them a must-have for your army. However, with only 4 models and a 4+ save, they're fragile - run them in blocks of 12 with healers or not at all.
**These ladies can kill; that's for certain. The problem is getting them to the right time and place to do so, without having them get killed before they get there. Like said above, they get crazy good with buffs, so make sure to use your deepstrike and Spectral Summons ability to help keep them alive. Another thing to look out for is their 4+ to hit; this sucks ghost balls. Always make sure they're either in Spirit Torment, KoS or any other re-roll or hit modifier range.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Chainghasts.pdf Chaingasts]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70pts, Min:2, Max:4) Spirit Torment's best friends. If they're within 12" from him, they extend his "everyone within 12" rerolls 1 to hit" ability by also emitting it. In melee, their scourge weapons dishing as many attacks as there are enemy models in the range. One of not very many NH units to get a shooting attack, and a fairly decent one at that.
**Their role is to boost the Spirit Torment's aura across half the table, and they're good at it. Use them for that and plink with their shooting weapons while spreading the re-roll love to your units. (Let it be noted that unless you got the Soulreach Grasp for your Black Coach, it is the ''only'' shooting weapon any of your units get). However, in a pinch, these guys can do quite a bit of work in melee as well; throwing them against 28mm hordes can really let them shine, and in cases like Plague Monks, these guys can soften the blow for units that come after them.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_bladegheist_revenants.pdf Bladegheist Revenants]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 90/320pts, Min:5, Max:20) With an 8" move and a very good weapon profile, Bladegheist Revenants are great at first glance. Second glance reveals a bonus attack on the turn they charge and the ability to retreat and charge, meaning they get 3 attacks in essentially all of your combat phases. Then you notice the fact that when they're near a Spirit Torment or Chainghasts, these guys re-roll ALL their hit rolls instead of just 1s (note that the Chainghasts do not need to be in range of a Spirit Torment to give this buff). The only downside Bladegheists have is they'll draw a lot of fire. Run them in blocks of 10 or even 15 to avoid losing the entire unit, and keep a Guardian of Souls on hand to revive dead models and make their swords wound on 2s.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads/ENG_dreadscythe_harridans.pdf Dreadscythe Harridans]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 70/260pts, Min:5, Max:20) They apply -1 to hit against enemy units within 3" of them unless they have a Bravery of 6 or more (remember Nighthaunt Allegiance decrease it by 1, so even units with 6 bravery fall within this range). Decent in melee, with -1 rend and a chance for extra damage, with 3 attacks each. With support from a KoS on Steed or an allied Vampire Lord, their attacks can add up pretty quick.
**With the current GHB 2020, these gals have gone down to 70 points, taking the spot for one of the cheapest damage dealer units in the book. For a mere 260 points for 20, when compared to the Bladegheists and Grimghasts 320, these ghoulies are nearly 60 points cheaper at max size. And what your getting for that 70 points is frankly, awesome. Deeply consider taking these as your cheap damage dealers, or part of the shrieker host battalion, since their bang for their buck is absurdly cost effective.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//aos_warscroll_thorns_of_the_briar_queen_en.pdf Thorns of the Briar Queen]:''' ('''SUMMONABLE''', 0pts) The Briar Queen's personal squad of six Chainrasps; can't be taken without her. In lieu of numbers, they reroll ones if an enemy unit is within 3" of 2 models of theirs(so almost always). Otherwise, a slightly undermanned Chainrasp Horde. Use them as a road bump, or something to tie up ranged units or warmachines.

===Behemoths===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Downloads//ENG_Black_Coach.pdf Black Coach]:''' (220pts) This thing is not only aesthetically stunning but also a monster in-game: With 12 wounds, 14" movement with fly, and a 4+ ethereal save, it's not going down anytime soon. It has either a single shooting attack with a petty 10" range, but it does do D3 damage and has rend -3 or it's regular Cairn Wraith scythe. However, it is downright terrifying in combat: Not only does it have <s>4</s> 3 melee profiles, but the reaper scythe of the rider can also reroll hits against units with 5+ models (or a single attack with a rend characteristic of -3, D3 damage if you took the ranged profile.) These weapons along with the relic bearers' Spectral Claws(which goes down in attacks as it gets wounded) have the Frightful Touch rule. It's Evocation of Death works like this now: At the start of each battle round roll 3 dice, <s>on a 4+</s> on EACH 4+ it gains one level of power. Each level stacks and lasts for the rest of the battle.
*#'''Level 1''': Heal d3 wounds at the start of your hero phase and return d3 slain models to a '''NIGHTHAUNT''' unit within wholly within 12" of it.
*#'''Level 2''': Re-roll 1's to hit for this model and can run and charge in the same turn
*#'''Level 3''': After charging pick a unit within 1" of it, roll a dice, on a 2+ that unit suffers D3 mortal wounds
*#'''Level 4''': Can retreat and charge in the same turn.
*#'''Level 5''': At the start of your hero phase, roll a dice for each enemy unit within 3" of this model on a 4+ deal D3 mortal wounds.
** While it's a bit of a mixed bag, the mix is all things that you want and your opponent doesn't want on the table. It is almost impossible to ignore thanks to the huge amount of attacks and mortal wound opportunities it has. And it needs a huge amount of firepower to remove so even if it gets taken down early the rest of your army should be in quite good shape still. Also, the synergy this thing offers to Nighhthaunt is pretty excellent; outside of Olynder and RotSH, this baby is your other primary way to bring back multiple models at once, AKA, bringing back Hexwraiths and Spirit Hosts.
** Now, with GHB19, this baby is a cheap as chips 220 points; to put it this way, it offers almost the same amount of damage as a Cairn Wraith and 10 Chainrasps would put out anyways, with plenty of Frightful Touch. The general way to use this bad boy is start it off as a defensive piece, using it to help regenerate your screen of Spirit Hosts or Hexwraiths, and maybe giving a bit of damage through it's scythe. But once you get that second or third level, it's time to let this bad boy fly into the enemy and help finish off lightly wounded units. It's also worth noting that this thing is pretty easy to keep in tip-top shape since most Nighthaunt heroes and spells have ways to heal this bad boy.

{{anchor|FWMourngul}}
*'''[https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/fw_site/fw_pdfs/aos_warscrolls/Downloads-AoS/aos-warscroll-mourngul.pdf Mourngul] (Forgeworld):''' (270pts) As of the new edition a whole bunch of FW big boys have had stat changes. The Mourngul has been changed to be a bit more in line with the rest of the new Nighthaunt. First, his 3+ save is now a 4+ save, which is bad. And second his 6+ to hit that generated extra attacks that became 6+ deal additional damage has been replaced with Frightful touch, dealing 2 mortal wounds on a 6+ to hit, which is good (especially against well armoured heroes). With 8 attacks this is very scary note that it's an unmodified hit roll, so a Knight of Shrouds won't affect it's mortal wound generation. 10 wounds and his -1 to hit aura makes him quite tough in combat, but will melt to shooting. Fact is, the Mourngul was never a real beatstick, more of a distraction Carnifex. He's definitely lost some of that power, but now you have a whole army of synergies to play with, so he might still have a place in your lists.
** If the FW Model is too expensive, simply build two Mournghouls from one Aleguzzler Gargant - and you still have the lower half left to build a zombie gargant.
**The Mourngul is no longer the all-star that he was in GA:Death back in AoS 1.0, but after some serious point drops, he has some viability. The key to using this monster is mostly in picking his fights, and helping support other units already wedged into combat. His -1 to hit aura helps keep other units alive, while throwing down some MW with his claws. He can't finish off whole units anymore on his own, but he can certainly eat through a wave of chaff and draw attacks (and attention) from more important units.

==Battalions==

===Chainguard===
(580pt. min. - 820pt. max)

'''''A Guardian of Souls and two Chainrasp Hordes with 20+ models each'''''

'''The Heart of the Horde:'''The Guardian of Souls can bring back D6 models to one of the units of Chainrasps when he casts Spectral Lure.

When paired with the Beacon of Nagashizzar the Guardian can bring back 2d6+3 models (average 10) every turn on a 6. This is ridiculous, and will force your opponent to spend their limited unbind attempts on it, every turn.
What's that? Your massive damage unit almost thrashed the battleline of Chainrasp Horde? Don't worry about it, they'll all be right back. This is almost mandatory for anyone wanting to attempt the "endless horde" army style in Nighthaunts.
** Keep in mind that his Battalion ENTIRELY relies on being able to get the Guardian of Soul's spell off; and sure, it may be sweet to see that 2d6+3 Chainrasps pop back up, but the second the enemy sees this, their going to start throwing their considerably more powerful anti-magic at us. This makes this entire battalion a gamble, since if you happen to fight army that's good at magic, or has good ways at stopping magic, then congratulations, you just spent a bunch of points on an artefact and a CP.

===The Condemned===
(670pt. min. - 990pt. max)

'''''A Spirit Torment, a unit of Chaingasts and two Chainrasp Hordes with 20+ models each'''''

'''Cruel Taskmasters:''' Re-roll failed hit rolls for attacks made by the Chainrasp Hordes while they are wholly within 15" of the Spirit Torment or Chainghasts. This is an excellent pick, and choosing between this and the above battalion is hard. Extending the aura and making it a full reroll miss effectively makes chainrasp 3+ to hit. Add in guardian of souls buffs and you have 3+/3+ battle line that can get to four attacks each with other effects.
* First and foremost, this is our most expensive Battalion; and it is for a good reason as well. In a similar vein to the Death Riders, ShroudGuard and Chainguard, this is more of an "upgrade" rather then a straight up bonus. But arguably, this is one of the better bonuses we can get, since it gives the Spirit Torment and Chaingheists a formidable buff to their range. Another good thing to note is, that just like the Bladegheist rule, you don't actually need to have the Spirit Torment nearby to get the bonus for the Chainrasps, meaning it's entirely viable to run one block of Rasps with the Spirit Torment and then another block of Rasps with the Chaingheists. Than way, both Blocks get those sweet, sweet re-rolls. If your going to be running offensive Rasps, pass over the Chainguard and look towards these bad boys.

===Death Stalkers===
(580pt. min. - 1380pt. max)

'''''A Cairn Wraith, 2 units of Grimghast Reapers and 2 units of Glaivewraith Stalkers'''''

'''Soul-marked Prey: '''After setup is complete, pick an enemy unit to become 'Soul Marked' by this battalion. Add 1 to hit and wound rolls for attacks made by this battalion against the marked unit. This can be used to get rid of your opponent's power-units, like large groups of chaos warriors or sequitors.
* How do you balance being forced to take a really good unit with a really good buff? By making you take 2 terrible units and a slightly mediocre one. The Glavewraiths are a tax, simple as that, and an expensive one at that. Costing you at the very least 120 points, this effectively doubles the cost of the battalion. Until Glaviewraiths get better or cheaper, this battalion should be avoided at all costs.

===Deathriders===
(830pt. min. - 1890pt. max)

'''''1-2 Dreadblade Harrow, 2 units of Hexwraiths and a Black Coach'''''

'''Spectral Spearhead:'''Add 1 to charge rolls for units in this battalion. In addition, an unmodified charge roll of 9+ allows the unit to fight immediately (replaces allegiance ability). Overall, this is a solid choice, and if you were planning on bringing a Dreadblade, a Black Coach and some Hexwraiths, this should be your go-to. All three units synergize really well, and a Dreadblade is a must for a really fast moving army. The Black Coach works very well with the Hexwraiths, since it can help heal them, and then help finish off the enemy.
* Funny enough, after the discount, it's entirely possible to make a complete 2000 point army by just taking two battalions, and then running four units of 10 Hexwraiths each. Is this a good use of your points, and or money? Probably not, but it could be fun.
* Raises your chances for the charge bonus from 16.7% to 27.8%.

===Execution Horde===
(540pt. min. - 1620pt. max)

'''''One Lord Executioner and 3 units of Spirit Hosts'''''

'''The Headsman's Masses:'''Subtract 1 from the hit rolls of attacks that target this battalion's Lord Executioner while a Spirit Host unit is within 6" of the attacking unit. In addition, add 1 to the hit rolls of attacks made by the Lord Executioner while any Spirit Hosts are within 6" of the target unit. His job will be to tarpit enemy heros or sit around and bring back his spirit host buddies with the Ruler of the Spirit Host command trait.

===Shrieker Host===
(560pt. min. - 1280pt. max)

'''''A Tomb Banshee, 2 units of Dreadscythe Harridans and 2 units of Myrmourn Banshees'''''

'''Mournful Wailing:'''Re-roll battleshock rolls of 1 for enemy units while they are within 6" of any units from this battalion. In addition, Inspiring Presence cannot be used on enemy units within 6" of any units from this battalion.

Really good for the 'Leadership attack' strategy, however given that Seraphon, Daemons and well, DEATH, are popular armies, and have almost exclusively Bravery 10, this will be fairly hit and miss. Even with the maximum -3 to bravery, a bravery 10 model goes to 7, averaging 0 mortal wounds from banshees. This is probably more for someone who wants to run a gimmick list, or know that their local meta is low-bravery armies. In the latter case, it will be "frightening" how fast you lose your friends. heh...

===Shroudguard===
(410pt. min. - 930pt. max)

'''''1 Knight of Shrouds or Reikenor the Grimhailer and 2 units of Bladegheist Revenants'''''

'''Frenzied Fervor:''' Replaces the 6+ ignore wounds from the allegiance ability to a 5+ for the Bladegheist while wholly within 12" of the KoS or Reikenor.

This one has some really neat Synergy with the Ruler of the Spirit Hosts Command Trait. Make the Knight of Shrouds your General and pick this as his Command Trait. Now your Knight of Shrouds has a -1 to hit with Ranged Weapons (thanks to the Bladegheist Revenants blocking him), the Bladegheists can shrug off wounds and mortal wounds on a 5+ (thanks to the Battalion ability) and should a Bladegheist Revenant fall, this Command Trait will instantly let you set up some extra Bodyguards.

===The Forgotten Scions===
(440 pt.)

'''''1 Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed and 2 Dreadblade Harrows'''''

'''Gharest Malcor, the Traitor Knight:''' Add one to the attacks characteristic of the Knight of Shroud's Sword of Stole Hours. In addition, once per battle round, you can use the command ability on his warscroll without a command point being spent.

===The Dolorous Guard===
(400 pt. min. - 2360 pt. max)
'''''2-4 units of Hexwraiths'''''

'''Knights of Regret:''' Add one to the attacks characteristic of melee weapons used by units from this battalion if they charged in the same turn. In addition, if your general is within 3" of any friendly units from the battalion, on a 2+ you can pass on wounds and mortal wounds.

==Super-Battalions==

===Nighthaunt Procession===
(3730pt. min. - 12350pt. max)

'''''1 Shroudguard and 6 Battalions chosen between the others in the Battletome'''''

Do you know Deathless Spirits? That allegiance ability we described above that makes everyone ignore wounds at a 6+? The battalion units replace it with... something a little better? The drawback is that it only works on heros from this battalion, but that hardly matters, since your bound to have 6 seperate heros due to the battalions. What it does give is that it removes the word "Wholly" from our Deathless Minions aura. So we get the (longer range) legion version of it, and makes larger battles a little easier to manage.

===The Emerald Host===
(900 pt. min.)

''''' 1 The Forgotten Scions, 1+ The Dolorous Guard, and any number of The Condemned, Chainguard or Death Stalkers'''''

'''The Emerald Curse:''' After armies are set up, but before the first battle round, you can pick 1 enemy hero. Subtract 1 from save rolls for attacks that target that hero.

Note that the way this ability is worded, you don't need to be part of the battalion to take advantage of this ability, so only take optional sub-battalions if you're trying to get a single drop army.

==Army Building==

===1000 pt.===
Start with Soul wars, and then get another Soul Wars half. This gives you the 40 chainrasps you need as the core of most lists. Converting Glaivewraith Stalkers into Grimghasts is as easy as trimming the skulls and spikes and turning the blades 90 degrees. Run a Knight of Shrouds on Steed, two Guardians of Souls, two blocks of 20 Chainrasps, a unit of 10 Grimghasts, and the Chainguard battalion, and you have a decent list that's exactly 1k.

===2000 pt.===
A sweet/fun spot for this army. Tons of heroes. Tons of ghosts. Since nearly the entire Nighthaunt range is easy-to-build, putting together a functional 2000pt list is fairly inexpensive and beginner-friendly. At this points value, you should be allying in a Vampire Lord for extra healing(give him the wings so he doesn't get left behind if your force has to jump a wall). Generally at this level you'll want to have a big, powerful deathstar of your chosen killer unit(Grimghasts, Bladegheists, or even Harridans) surrounding and buffed by your heroes(Spirit Torment, at least one Guardian of Souls, and Vampire Lord at a minimum) plus two blocks of 20 Chainrasps to hold terrain. Once you've filled in those essentials, you'll still have a few hundred points to play around with - maybe add Lady Olynder for serious mortal wound output, maybe an endless spell and a unit of 12 Banshees to feed the endless spell to so you can boost their attacks. So many possibilities....

==Allied Armies==
Definitely consider taking a Vampire Lord. The ''DEATHLY INVOCATION'' ability is amazing, as it can dish out a huge amount of healing to your most critical units. The Vampire Lord costs only a little more than your Knight of Shrouds on Steed and has the same Command Ability and similar damage output. The only difference is the lack of Ethereal (And the lack of a Deathless minion save) and more reliable self-healing.

If you want to deploy a '''MALIGNANT''' army consider the Mortis Engine, if only because it's part of Start Collecting - Malignants. Otherwise, build it as either a Bloodseeker Palanquin or Coven Throne, since Soulblight are Nighthaunt allies while Deathmages are not for some reason. The Coven Throne deserves a special mention. They provide Deathly Invocation to help regen your ghosts, they are a Wizard, and their command ability is pretty good allowing any DEATH unit to reroll 1s of attacks, wounds, and saves. If you bought the Nighthaunt start collecting, it might be time to convert those Mortis Engines into Coven Thrones. Keep in mind that the Coven Throne is pricey though. But giving your Nighthaunt re-rolls to wounds, hit, and essentially a AoS 2.0 Mystic Shield, it is very recommended. For added fluff points, give it the Ethereal Amulet from Malign Sorceries for a ethereal save, just like your ghostly pals.

The foot-slogging/flying/Nightmare-riding Vampire Lord has a great buff to toss at your Hexwraiths, though sadly the one on zombie dragon is too expensive to take as an ally. Mannfred von Carstein is also nice because his Dread Abyssal is surrounded by spirits so he fits the theme, because he's very powerful and his buff aura is amazing and because he can summon more Nighthaunts for you every turn.

For Legions, no cheese is spicier than the triple whammy Grimghasts. Take a vampire lord, a Necromancer and a Knight of shrouds on ethereal steed, a guardian of souls with lantern, and a giant honking unit of Grimghasts (Preferably 30). Use the command abilities of both the vamp lord and the knight of shrouds to bump your guys up to 4 attacks each. Next, have your necromancer cast Vanhels Dance Macabre on them so they can fight twice. Did someone say 240 attacks at 3+\3+\-1\1? Now you see those four units you charged, now you don't. Add in a Coven Throne for its CA, and suddenly, they're all re-rolling their wounds.

Honorable mentions should also go out to Morghast Harbingers and Arkhan the Black. Morghasts add in a good source of Rend -2 and Damage 3 attacks that Nighthaunt lack outside of spamming Mymourn banshees and Kudross. Mobility isn't as much a problem either, since you'll most likely be dumping half your Nighthaunt army on the enemy turn 1, and the rest on turn 2, so trust me, your enemy will have more to worry about. This lets your Harbringers to get up the field relatively quickly.

Arkhan also fills a hole in a Nighthaunt army, that hole being reliable magic support. Besides having a good unique spell, and the ability to extend both his and your other Nighthaunts spells, he can also cast the spells of other Death Mages, meaning that you'll get essential spells like Soulcage off.

Lastly, as of his new (Ossiarch Bonereapers) warscroll, his Deathly Invocation will return a flat 3 wounds worth of models to 4 different units - that's guaranteed Spirit Hosts or a crapton of 1 wound models returned.

*'''Big Drogg Fort-Kicka''': A Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant available to all Death factions as an ally. Functions like Gotrek in the Order factions where he uses up your whole allies allowance in exchange for a very destructive monster of a unit. His most important feature is the ability to destroy terrain, including faction terrain. He also has a unique breath attack that attacks one unit within 3" at the end of the combat phase; roll a dice for each model in the unit and deal 1MW on a 6+.

{{Age_of_Sigmar_Tactics}}

Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Death/Ossiarch Bonereapers

2021-04-19T02:51:53Z

2800:300:6331:B3A0:0:0:0:3: /* Battalions */

{{Age of Sigmar Faction|Faction=Ossiarch Bonereapers|Logo=Immortis-WC2.jpg|Alliance=Death|Motto=The Skeleton War is upon us! We ride against the fuckboys!}}

Get ready to send a chill down your opponent's spine, for this is no time to be humerus. Nagash is rising, and he has a bone to pick with the Mortal Realms!

==Why play Ossiarch Bonereapers?==
* They're SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS!
* You liked playing super-elite units like Blood Knights? Well you now play a different elite FACTION!
* You miss the Tomb Kings and this is as close as it gets for now with a vulture being called a Carrion, undead constructs and a war machine that hurls flaming skulls.
* They collect protection payments of bone like a skeletal version of the Mafia.
* Part of the reason for their existence is to troll Sigmarines.
* You want a sneak peek at what civilization would be like if Nagash wins.

===Pros===
* [[Awesome|'''Immunity to Battleshock!''']]. Not just bravery 10, the Bonereapers do not take battleshock tests. They have no guts, but they're braver than everyone else.
* Excellent at debuffing their enemies in various ways, especially their bravery (spells, Morghasts...)
* Conversely, they have numerous ways to buff themselves.
* Very durable, and various ways to boost that to the point of being arguably the most durable army in the game.
* Point-for-point, they have some of the strongest warscrolls of the game as few units can beat their ossiarch counterpart (Mortek Guard and Kavalos Deathriders are strong contenders for best battleline units in the game).
* They use the Relentless Discipline Points mechanic (also called RDP) instead of Command Points. Things that screw with CP won't work on them. Despite this, they still benefit from Command Abilities.
* They're a Death army that isn't reliant on Heroes. Unit champions have the HEKATOS keyword, which gives a smaller radius of 6+ Deathless saves and allows them to use RDP abilities. Certain elite units are also HEKATOS, so they can function completely independently.
* If you're sick of those magic-heavy armies like Tzeentch's forces, the Lizardmen and the Lumineth, the Null Myriad Bonereaper Legion is for you with army-wide +5 immunity to spells that can be buffed.
* Almost everything is 3+ to hit, with various ways to boost it.
* With the Crematorians Bonereaper Legion, your guys can take enemies down with them when/if they're slain - the more they attack you, the more they die! [[Awesome|Rinse and repeat, since you can bring back slain models!]]
* Nagash and [[Arkhan the Black|bro-tier mini-Nagash]] are part of the army roster; [[Awesome|they also benefit from keywords and Battle Traits]].
* Numerous characters and a unit that can heal anything in your army - including themselves - or bring back dead models.
* Our Endless Spells are awesome. Not only that, they're soul linked, so no friendly fire and they're always under the casting player's control.
* If you like bone puns...

===Cons===
* Most of your army is slow (though there are a few abilities to mitigate this).
* Shooting is almost non-existent. Apart from the amazing Mortek Crawler, you only have the Gothizzar Harvester's shooting and Nagash's laser eyes.
* No extra protection against shooting beyond certain spells. Shooting armies tend to really hurt the Ossiarchs (especially the Kharadron Overlords).
* The army's quite straightforward and lacking in useful tricks. There's no summoning, deepstrike or special combat mechanics like striking twice. Any decent opponent knows what you will do. There is a teleportation mechanic, but it's very gimmicky, limited and requires a lot of cunning to get something out of it.
* Limited means to deal Mortal Wounds. Ossiarchs tend to bounce on really armored units if stalkers aren't around. This can be mitigated with MW dealers like the Crematorians Legion and anyone with "Kavalos" in their name, but still relies a lot on the dice.
* Magic is average and mostly around buffing allies and debuffing enemies. Sure, Nagash and Arkhan are there, but the magic lore is still unimpressive, especially compared to real magical factions (looking at you, Tzeentch and Seraphon).
* Low model count, slightly mitigated by having the means to bring back (re)dead models.
* No allies apart from the Mega-Gargant Drogg; their foreign policy makes the Daughters of Khaine look like the Stormcast Eternals (can still have mercenaries though - unless you bring Nagash or Arkhan).
* If you know the Greek language, it'll be hard to take any unit or hero with "Kavalos" in their name seriously.
* Hope you like bone puns.

==Rulebooks==
{{AOSRulebooks|tome=Ossiarch Bonereapers}}

==Allegiance Abilities==
===Battle Traits===
*'''Ranks Unbroken by Dissent:''' [[Awesome|Do not take battleshock tests for friendly OSSIARCH BONEREAPER units]]. Yes, you read that right, immunity to Battleshock. Your enemy's only options are killing, flee or be killed. In addition, you do not generate Command Points. Instead, you generate Relentless Discipline Points at the start of each battle round but lose them when you generate your next batch (they should be all spent before that happens).
**Generate a Relentless Discipline Point if:
*** EACH {{AOSKeyword|Ossiarch Bonereapers Hero}} - 1
*** EACH Warscroll Battalion - 1
*** EACH Friendly {{AOSKeyword|LIEGE}} - 1
*** If KATAKROS is the general and on the battlefield - 3
*** Roll a die for each UNIT with the {{AOSKeyword|OSSIARCH BONEREAPERS}} keyword, including the previous {{AOSKeyword|HEROES}}. On a 6, you get 1.
**Unfortunately, you can't use the Generic or Scenario command abilities (rerolling Run, charge, shooting rolls) but you have a ton of CAs that will Guzzle your DP.

*'''Deathless Warriors''': It's Deathless Minions from Legions of Nagash, albeit with a rename. It allows you to ignore wounds and mortal wounds on a 6+. However, you'll be able to get more mileage out of it than other Death armies, as any unit wholly within 12" of a {{AOSKeyword|BONEREAPERS Hero}} or 6" of a Hekatos (i.e: the leader for your battlelines) count for the ability, removing the need to have your Heroes babysitting your units. Units that are {{AOSKeyword|HEKATOS}} (elite bone warriors units) always benefit from the ability, allowing them to strike out entirely unsupported.

*'''Unstoppable Advance (CA)''': In Movement Phase. Pick 1 unit within X" of a hero or hekatos. +3" movement. It can still run OR charge. You cannot pick the same unit more than once per phase.

===Command Traits===

====Liege-Kavalos====
*'''Ancient Knowledge:''' While on the battlefield, get an extra RDP at the start of the battle round.
*'''Immortal Ruler:''' Deathless Warrior trait works on a 5+ for this general. Always good.
*'''Dark Acolyte:''' Becomes a 1 cast/unbind {{AOSKeyword|WIZARD}} with one Mortisan Lore spell.
*'''Peerless Warrior:''' Melee wound rolls of 6 deal an extra mortal wound.
*'''Hatred of the Living:''' +1 to hit in melee (including their mount) against non-{{AOSKeyword|DEATH}} units.
*'''Life-stealer:''' If they kill any models in combat, heal 1d3 wounds at the end of that phase.

====Mortisan====
*'''Ancient Knowledge:''' While on the battlefield, get an extra RDP at the start of the battle round.
*'''Immortal Ruler:''' Deathless Warrior trait works on a 5+ for this general. Always good.
*'''Dire Ultimatum:''' -2 to Bravery for enemies within 12". Although it requires coordinating a couple of units, you can cause a MASSIVE debuff to enemy Bravery by combining this and the Scroll of Command (see below).
*'''Grave-sand Bones:''' Knows an extra spell from the Lore of the Mortisans.
*'''Oathbreaker Curse:''' Every time your opponent gets a CP, on a d6 roll of 6 it is lost. Obviously Katakros does it better, but this does work more than once per turn if your enemy has CP-generating abilities.
*'''Soul Energy:''' You can re-roll casting, unbinding and dispelling rolls, but whenever you do you take a mortal wound.

===Artefacts===
*'''Relics of the Kavaloi (Liege-Kavalos)'''
#'''Mind Blade:''' Pick one of bearer’s melee weapons. If unmodified hit roll is a 6, and target is a hero, opponent loses a Command Point and the hero can’t use command abilities for the rest of the battle. Apart from only working on sixes this is incredible.
#'''Lordly Phylactery:''' Once per battle start of any phase, gain D3 RD points.
#'''Scroll of Command:''' Subtract 2 Bravery from enemy units within 6” of bearer. Only really recommended if you're going for Mortis Praetorians (see their Legion description for more information). Although, a Liege-Kavalos with this, with a Mortisan general with the Dire Ultimatum command trait nearby drops enemy Bravery by a whopping -4!
#'''Grave-sand Boneplates:''' At the end of the combat phase, roll dice for each enemy unit within 3”, on a 4+ that unit suffers a mortal wound. Mediocre.
#'''Marrow Pact:''' Once per battle, in hero phase pick one enemy unit within 6” of bearer. On a 3+, unit suffers D3 mortal wounds, heal the same number of wounds.
#'''Helm of the Ordained:''' Add one to hit rolls for attacks made by {{AOSKeyword|BONEREAPERS}} units and mounts while wholly within 12” of the bearer. One of the best choices for a Liege-Kavalos if including Bonereaper Legion weapons, otherwise it's the best unless you have a very specific playstyle in mind.

*'''Tools of the Boneshaper (Boneshapers)'''
#'''Artisan's key:''' Before using the bearer’s bone shaper ability, roll a dice and on a 4+ either you can pick two units instead of one, or the same unit twice within 6”. The best of the three by a narrow margin.
#'''Lode of Saturation:''' At the start of the Hero phase, choose a unit within 1”, deathless warrior battle trait on 5+ instead of 6.
#'''Crafter Gems:''' Hero phase, heal up to 3 wounds. Once the total wounds healed in the battle is 3 you cannot use it any longer.

*'''Treasures of the Soulmason (Soulmasons)'''
#'''Gothizzar Cartouche:''' +1 to melee wound rolls for units wholly within 9” of bearer if target does not have Death keyword. The best option if you're not facing {{AOSKeyword|DEATH}} armies.
#'''Soul Reservior:''' +2 to cast, but if casting roll is unmodified 10+ artifact cannot be used again.
#'''Thorne of Dzendt:''' +2 to wounds and +2 attacks for mount. A good all around choice, especially for keeping your chair bound wizard safe.

*'''Weapons of the Soulreaper (Soulreapers)'''
#'''Luminscythe:''' minus 1 for hit rolls targeting bearer. +1 casting rolls for bearer for Lore of Mortisans or warscroll spell.
#'''Vial of Binding:''' Once per battle in hero phase, pick enemy model within 12" of bearer and roll a D6. If roll is equal or greater than the wound characteristic they are slain. The best choice if you take a Soul Reaper, and the obvious choice for offensive.
#'''Guardian Reavesoul:''' Negate wound on a 5+ instead of 6+ for deathless minions. Can shatter to negate last wound if about to die. If you're not taking Vial of Binding, this is the go-to choice.

===Spell Lore===
#'''Arcane Command:''' CV5. Gain D3 Relentless Discipline Points. Nice if you've got an extra spell, or had some bad luck with your rolls.
# '''Empower Nadirite Weapons: ''' CV5. Pick 1 {{AOSKeyword|BONEREAPERS}} unit wholly within 24" and visible. Until the start of your next hero phase, the units Nadirite Weapons ability explodes on a 5+ instead of 6, or 4+ if its a {{AOSKeyword|DEATHRIDERS}} attacking with spears after charging.
# '''Protection of Nagash: ''' CV6. 5+ FNP for the caster. If any wounds get through your FNP, and the caster isn't slain, remove them from the battlefield after all wounds have been allocated, and place them anywhere on the board 9" away from enemy models then dispel this spell. Great for getting important casters out of sticky situations, or absolutely hilarious on Nagash if you wanna fuck with your opponent.
# '''Reinforce Battle-shields: ''' CV6. Pick 1 {{AOSKeyword|BONEREAPERS}} unit armed with Shields or Nadirite Battle-shields wholly within 24" and visible. Until the start of your next hero phase, they gain a 5+ FNP but only for mortal wounds. Pair this with a gothizzar harvester, the reroll saves command ability for some truly unkillable troops.
# '''Drain Vitality: ''' CV6. Pick 1 enemy unit within 18" and visible. Until your next hero phase, reroll unmodified hit and save rolls of 6 made by that unit. Good for blunting a spooky unit's charge, but less useful than the other options available.
# '''Mortal Contract: ''' CV7. Pick 1 enemy unit within 18" and visible. For the rest of the '''BATTLE''', roll a die at the end of any phase that the unit dealt damage to a friendly {{AOSKeyword|BONEREAPERS}} unit (but only if it was with an attack). On 3+, the cursed unit suffers D3 mortal wounds. Lawdy, this is probably the most obnoxious spell we can sling, if you can remember who you marked the entire game. Great into low unit-count armies.

===Endless Spells===

An important distinction to note between these Endless Spells and others that exist is that the ones presented below have the '''Soul-Linked''' ability, meaning they always move before Endless Spells without the Soul-Linked ability and are controlled by the casting Player only, meaning your opponent cannot control these Endless Spells to mess with your plans. However on the flip side, the Wizard who cast the spell has a -1 to his casting rolls and cannot cast anymore soul-linked spells while their soul-linked endless spell is up. If the caster dies then the soul-linked spell is also dispelled, so keep him alive if you want the spells to last.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Bone-tithe-Shrieker-en.pdf Bone-tithe Shrieker]''': 30 points, Gives -1 bravery, and +1 to be hit to enemy units within 12" of it. Simple, but effective. Place it just in front of your battle line to make the enemy think twice, or use it to make holding an objective less than desirable.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Soulstealer-Carrion-en.pdf Soulstealer Carrion]''': 20 points, Gives LOS to the Soul-Linked wizard. You won't be taking it for this. Instead, you'll be taking it for it's actual ability: Soul Thief. Roll a D6 at the end of each Phase if any Chaos, Order, or Destruction models were slain within 6" of it. On a 1 or 2, the Wizard this Endless Spell is Soul-Linked with heals a wound. On a 3 or 4, it does 1 Mortal Wound on each Chaos, Destruction or Order unit within 6" of it, and on a 5-6, it does both effects. AMAZINGLY fun, if you're not playing into Death, so do with that as you will.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Nightmare-Predator-en.pdf The Nightmare Predator]''': 40 points, Your standard causes Mortal Wounds Endless Spell (dealing D3 Mortal Wounds to all non-bonecasts within 3" of it), but with a twist - when cast, pick an enemy Hero to be marked as it's prey. If this spell gets within range of them, it spits out d6 mortal wounds instead. For it's dirt cheap point cost, this is almost auto-include.

==Famous Legions==

For awhile the best Legion was Petrifex Elite, by far. But due to Petrifex spam and the resulting complaints GW jumped them with something even they couldn't take - the nerf-bat. Oh, the old gray Petrifex, it ain't what it used to be. Now, Mortis Praetorians are in the lead and the others are good but situational, eg; Crematorians are worth considering if you spam Mortek Guard and Null Myriad against a magic-heavy opponent.

<big>Mortis Praetorians</big>
*'''Battle Traits''': '''The Dread Legion''':-1 bravery to enemy units within 12".
*'''Command Trait''': '''Katakros' Chosen''': Once per battle if the general is on the Battlefield, gain D3 RDP points.
*'''Command Ability''': '''Counter-strike''': Pick a friendly unit Wholly within 6" of a HEKATOS or Wholly 12" of a HERO. If charged, they can re-roll hits.
*'''Artefact of Power''': '''Artificer's Blade''': Pick one of the bearer's melee weapons. It has -3 Rend.
The poster boys, the jack-of-all-trades and the best choice if you’re bringing Katakros, otherwise it's decent but not an auto-take. Plus other death armies capitalize on "fear-bombing" a bit more effectively (looking at you, Legions of Grief and Blood).

<big>Petrifex Elite</big>
*'''Battle Traits''': '''Unstoppable Juggernauts''': Re-roll save rolls of 1 in melee.
*'''Command Trait''': '''Mighty Archaeossian''': +2 Wounds.
*'''Command Ability''': '''Bludgeon''': In the combat phase, give a unit +1 rend on one weapon, can't stack.
*'''Artefact of Power''': '''Godbone Armor''': The first wound allocated to the bearer in each '''phase''' is negated.
Makes your entire army (including Nagash) overall more tanky, gives your commander a few extra wounds for a chuckle, lets you put some durability on a caster via the relic (especially useful if you're bringing some Endless Spells), AND comes with a command ability that makes you killy, just to throw your opponent for a loop. Pre-nerf it added +1 to everyone's armor save and was THE choice of Bonereaper Legion. Now it's decent but no longer the one best choice.

<big>Null Myriad</big>
*'''Battle Traits''': '''Eldritch Nulls''': Ignore the effects of spells on a 5+.
*'''Command Trait''': '''Unsettling and Sinister''': -1 to Bravery in 3", and -1 to be hit during combat phase.
*'''Command Ability''': '''Holdfast''': Make the battle trait work on a 2+ instead of 5+.
*'''Artefact of Power''': '''<s>Cheese</s> <s>Chad</s> Baleful Blade''': Pick 1 of the bearer's weapons. [[Awesome|Saves can't be made against attacks from this weapon and wounds can't be negated]] (though they can later be healed).
The magic choice. Their innate rules mean you can focus more on offensive magic, and the Artefact is perfect for any combat character... but is obviously best on a Liege-Kavalos. One of the best choices, but if your meta is very magic heavy this is clearly the best. Make those six hallowheart battlemages cry because they can do nothing to you (and then notice that you can't probably do much to them either, so the battle is probably a void of winds of magic).

<big>Ivory Host</big>
*'''Battle Traits''': At the start of each combat phase, any IVORY HOST unit within 6" of an IVORY HOST model that is wounded is subject to rage for that phase. While subject to rage, get +1 to hit, but -1 save. Dependent on having damaged multi-wound models nearby and can potentially really mess your own forces up, but can lead to you hitting very hard. Fortunately, as it's only for the combat phase, you don't have to worry about it when you're being shot at.
*'''Command Trait''': Every hero phase your general gains 1 attack for all his melee weapons on a 5+. Best to have a Liege-Kavalos as your general for this.
*'''Command Ability''': Cancel the -1 save from the battle trait. This is what makes the Ivory host interesting, letting you pull some shenanigans with a screen unit or pulling some clutch damage out at a vital time.
*'''Artefact of Power''': '''Beastbound Blade''': One of the bearer's melee weapons gets +1 attack.
The combat choice, though dependent on good dice rolls, positioning and carefully picking your fights. Decent in and of itself, but very situational and the worst choice crunch-wise compared to the others.

<big>Stalliarch Lords</big>
*'''Battle Traits''': Run and charge. Pretty good for increasing your threat range on a slow army.
*'''Command Trait''': Pick an enemy hero within 3" at the start of the combat phase. Gain +1 to hit against it but -1 to anything else. Pretty situational and lackluster.
*'''Command Ability''': Retreat and charge in the same turn. Good for repositioning or getting your charge bonuses again. Here's looking at you, Deathriders.
*'''Artefact of Power''': '''Nadir-Bound Mount''': Can only be taken by a Liege-Kavalos. They roll D3 additional dice for their Unstoppable Charge ability.
The speedy and somewhat trollish choice. Do you wanna go fast? Do you want a liege or Zandtos to run fast next to fast cavalry? Or if you take a Liege make them hit like a ton of bricks? Then go these guys. They let you skimp out of the costly battalion with their inherent command ability, and make your already fast cavalry even faster. They even pair well with Stalkers, Morghast Harbingers or Harvesters, to just really irritate your opponent.

<big>Crematorians</big>
*'''Battle Traits''': '''Immolation''': When a model dies you get a chance to cause MW to an enemy within 3" on a 5+, with monsters and characters adding 1 to their roll/going off on a 4+.
*'''Command Trait''': '''Wrathful Avenger''': If the general dies, add 2 to the dice roll for Immolation and it does D3 Mortal Wounds rather than 1.
*'''Command Ability''': '''Levelers of Cities''': One friendly CREMATORIANS unit with 6" of a Hekatros or 12" of a hero ignores cover saves.
*'''Artefact of Power''': '''Searing Blade''': Pick one of the bearer's melee weapons and add 1 to the Damage characteristic.
The TRUE trolling choice. Paired with some revives and harvesters, and laugh as your opponent realizes that killing your models meant their guys died and then revived the dudes they just tried to kill, rinse and repeat. Especially lulzy against Sons of Behemat, given how reliant they are on combat... which is ground zero for your skeleton suicide bombers.

==Warscrolls==
The common keywords of these warscrolls are: '''DEATH''', '''OSSIARCH BONEREAPERS'''

===Leaders===
====Named Leaders====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Katakros-Mortarch-of-the-Necropolis-en.pdf Orpheon Katakros, Mortarch of the Necropolis]''': (500pts) Like Skarbrand, his attacks get stronger the more wounds he takes. Katakros himself has [[Awesome|Rend and Damage 3]] and he can bop foes with his shield to dole out Mortal Wounds, so he can dish out some hurt in combat, but not until he's taken some wounds representing his companions dying so Katakros himself joins the fray. However, he is one of the slowest characters in the game - 4" move (which doesn’t much matter when he’s on a '''12 centimetre''' base, and you can use the Relentless Advance to boost Katakros' movement to 7") and can't fly, but Mortarch of Necropolis allows Katakros to heal up to three friendly OBR units wholly within 24" of his model for 3 wounds worth on your hero phase. Katakros is a friendly OBR unit within 24" of himself, so he can choose to heal himself for 3 wounds every one of your hero phases. Because he is so slow, he hates cannons even more than his boss so engage shooty armies at your own risk. He's pricey in points and cash, but you get what you pay for - no more no less - as he's a good beatstick and support character, just don't try to send him up against other super combat lords who have a damage of 3 or better because he can easily get his shit kicked in, especially if they have some serious wound negation. If your opponent is fielding a character with either (or worse, both) then make sure to screen him out. It's better to not get him in combat and keep your Relentless Discipline points, heals and Command Point sabotage than it is for you to possibly lose all of those.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Nagash-Supreme-Lord-of-the-Undead-en.pdf Nagash, Supreme Lord of the Undead]''': (880pts) Changed from his early forms, Nagash is now 30 points more expensive, and no longer loots the spells from all of his Death-based allies. (but he does know the whole spell lore by default.) Instead, he can now restore wounds/models to 5 of his Bonecast Eternals, and can sling Mystic Shield and Arcane Bolt as much as his undead heart (and casting limit) desire.
**As Nagash and Arkhan gain the OSSIARCH BONEREAPERS keyword, they can heal themselves, making them quite a bit more resilient in an OBR army than when accompanying their own legions. Go figure.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Arkhan-the-Black-Mortarch-of-Sacrament-en.pdf Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament]''': (360pts) Much like Nagash, Arkhan is more expensive now, at a "whopping" 20 points more than before. With an extra cast and deny, and the ability to sling Arcane Bolt and Mystic Shield like his Boss, (along with learning the whole spell lore,) it sounds like that price increase came with some buffs. However, overall Arkhan's in a slightly more disappointing place. Curse of Years no longer succeeds on 1s, meaning it's slightly more fair, and his command ability has now been limited to one use a turn, spoiling an awful lot of fun that could have been had.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Arch-Kavalos-Zandtos-en.pdf Arch-Kavalos Patru Zandtos]''': (220pts) A named Mortis Praetorians Liego-Kavalos, with additional abilities like more damage on the charge, rerolls to wound, and another CA that grants a Praetorians unit the same reroll ability. A good choice for leader - practically an auto-take if you want a Liege-Kavalos in Mortis Praetorians.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Volkmortian-Master-of-the-Bone-tithe-en.pdf Vokmortian, Master of the Bone-tithe]''': (180pts) He is a Wizard that should be very close to the front lines. He has a chance to prevent a model within 3" from attacking him on a 5+ as a defense. He also has a 12" aura of -1 to bravery and -1 to any Wizard attempting to unbind any spell he casts (which improves in that rare instance an enemy General dies near him). His Unique spell can instantly kill any model within 1" of him on a 5+, and the range on it cannot be modified, which can be used to punish any foolish combat heroes or big monsters he ends up fighting - though it is a bit unreliable to make him a dedicated assassin. Overall, he should be standing behind your troops (ideally Immortis Guard or Mortek Guard), providing the debuff and using his 2 spells per turn.

====Generic Leaders====
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Liege-Kavalso-en.pdf Liege-Kavalos]''': (200pts) Your commander on a big-boned mount that gives two guaranteed Relentless Discipline points. Lots of decent attacks, but nothing too nutty. When he charges he has an increased pile in and the ability to fling out some extra mortal wounds. His Command Ability gives a unit wholly within 12" +1 attack. He probably functions best running with some deathriders for a spoopy cavalry wing, though having him roam around your anvils can make for some good time damage output.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Mortisan-Soulreaper-en.pdf Mortisan Soulreaper]''': (120pts) Our CC battlemage, though with his weapon the most he'll be reaping is chaff mobs. His unique spell lets him smack one unit at range, or every unit in CC with him with a few mortal wounds. Probably our worst unit, as outside of his spell-slinging, he's basically a really expensive cairn wraith from nighthaunt. Look elsewhere, unless you really love his amazing model.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Mortisan-Boneshaper-en.pdf Mortisan Boneshaper]''': (130pts) Probably your most included HQ, and part of the <s>glue that holds your army together</s> calcium that strengthens your bone boys. With the ability to restore 3 wounds (or 3 wounds worth of boys (raise 3 Mortek Guard, or 1 Kavalos Deathriders everything else has 4+ wounds)) to a friendly squad and sling a few spells, he feels close to auto-include, especially if you left Nagash or Arkhan at home. His unique spell lets him fling [[Awesome|BONESTORM!]] at an enemy unit, roll for each model within 18" and every 6 deals a mortal wound, a nice anti-horde spell being easy to cast on 5. Keep him out of combat and out of LoS so he can spend your whole game building bonecasts in a dark corner away from anyone else.
** Boneshapers and Immortis Guard are a good match, as they can take wounds for him and he can heal them if they take too many hits.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Mortisan-Soulmason-en.pdf Mortisan Soulmason]''': (140pts) The grand vizier will see you now. He's got a passable melee profile, but that's not why you take him. He's a wizard with 2 casts and unbinds and a unique spell, Soul-Guide, that gives a friendly Ossiarch Bonereapers unit the ability to reroll 1's to hit. Pretty good so far, but it gets better. At the end of your hero phase, on a 2+ cast Soul-Guide more times even if it was already attempted that turn. Basically, bring him when you're spamming catapults (or anything, really) and spread the re-rolling to hit love.
** For extra fun, his potential multiple casts force the enemy to consider whether to unbind these spells or other spells.

===Battleline===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Mortek-Guard-en.pdf Mortek Guard]''': (Battleline, 130/440pts, Min:10, Max:40) Your basic skellies are a decently-protected lot with a 4+ save. Their basic weapons are 2 attacks with -1 Rend sword or a spear, both can double the hits inflicted on a 6+ to hit. The greatblade, on the other hand, trades that for a slightly better wound score, which isn't remarkable but at least keeps the sword's Rend. Their slow speed is helped by their banner giving them +1 to runs and charges, and the +3" move order mentioned above. A good choice for loadout is sword for smaller units and spears for bigger units.
**'''Mortek Hekatos''': This boy is a mini-HQ that gives to your Relentless Discipline pool and keys to a lot of other things. (in big units you have to pack a lot of models very close together to have Deathless Warriors). He's only got an attack more than the base guard, but he also confers a command ability that lets his pack re-roll all saves for the combat phase - much more valuable for their survival.
** With the Petrifex Elite, you can take the spears and use the Petrifex command ability to give them rend, just save the spears for larger units of Mortek Guard.

*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Kavalos-Deathriders-en.pdf Kavalos Deathriders]''': (Battleline, 180/460pts, Min:5, Max:15) Your basic skellies, but on a horse! When compared to their foot-slogging brothers, these guys have +1 attack and 3 wounds each, the 2 extra pony swings we all know and love (actually, even their horses are on steroids, wounding on a 3+), and a whopping 12" move compared to the former's 4". Not only that, but their spears have exploding hits on a 5+ roll on the charge, giving you a bit more reason to consider selling the rend on your swords.
**'''Mortek Hekatos''': Much like the Mortek Guard, the Deathrider's hekatos has +1 attack with their weapon, but his command ability gives you some mortal wound output on the charge and a double-range pile in. FAQ'd to confirm a unit can only benefit from this once per phase.

===Hekatos===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Necropolis-Stalkers-en.pdf Necropolis Stalkers]''': (180pts, Min:3, Max:6) Speedy, Re-rolling, <s>tyranid warriors </s> skeleton boys. Each turn, these massive lads pick whether they want to re-roll hits, wounds, saves, or add +1 to their weapons' Rend and Damage. While rerolling saves is nice when you get charged by something scary, you'll almost always use +1 rend and damage, as it turns your basic stalker into a stormcast blender, and your unit leader <s>into a literal monster</s> into an equally strong blender as the normal weapons, when enhanced with -1 rend and +1 dmg, are actually stronger than the special weapon, proven by Mathhammer. Their command ability that lets them re-roll run and charge rolls while also ignoring terrain as if they could fly.
** Another option is to run them with a Soulmason equipped with the Gothizzar Cartouche in support which gives +1 to wound rolls. Now, assuming you also have Katakros on the board and you can get Soul-Guide onto your Stalkers then the best Aspect to run is the Destroyer Aspect because this combo would then mean your hitting on 2's and re-rolling 1's '''AND''' wounding on 2's (with spirit blades)
** Upon testing with Mathhammer, in this precise scenario, precision still pulls far ahead if you take 3 of the normal weapons and give them all of these buffs. There is around an average damage difference of 5 per round.
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Immortis-Guard-en.pdf Immortis Guard]''': (180pts, Min:3, Max:12)The Anvil to the stalker's hammer. These guys have a lower damage output, with 2 3+/3+/-2/2 damage (though the base rend 2 is nice), and the ability to bop someone with their shields for a bit of extra damage, with the occasional mortal wound when rolling a 6. Their main draw, however, is their base 3+ save and bodyguard ability. Whenever they're within 3" of a friendly hero, on a 2+ they must eat a wound or mortal wound that would have been applied to said hero. Their command ability lets them immediately pile in and swing again after their first go, but only with their shields. Less than impressive, but nice for positioning. Having two weapons means they get more out of the Liege's extra attack command ability, and with their own on top of that the mortal wounds do become bit more reliable.
*'''Morghasts [https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Morghast-Archai-en.pdf Archai] & [https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Morghast-Harbingers-en.pdf Harbingers]''': (190pts, Min:2, Max:6) Nagash's angels of death come in 2 flavors, with the archai having a chance to shrug off mortal wounds, and harbingers getting a 3d6 charge. Beyond those differences either one is monstrous combatants, and tough to boot, with 6 wounds 4+ armor and being Hekatos for the death save. They also have a bravery debuff as a bonus. You should always take the halberd for 3 attacks at 3+/3+/-2/3, as they will only do less damage against units with a 6+ save, shown by Mathhammer. You don't want your Morghasts engaging Chaff, as they aren't meant to be wiping chaff for you. Additionally, adding attacks to the Halberd from your Liege is much stronger than doing so to your swords.
** See the above option for Stalkers and apply to Morghasts - you'll lose out on the re-rolling wounds but up the rend to -2 and the damage to 3 (with halberds) so the Mathammer will result in more wounds on average (even if you run swords) - only real issue with this is keep up with the Morghasts on your bone throne.
** Following the Petrifex nerf, these guys just got a bit more viable. They mesh well with quite a few Legions (the Archai save against spells compliments Null Myriad spell nullifying, the Harbingers compliment the Stalliarch rules - and they're probably our best unit against the Kharadron Overlords and more).

===Behemoths===
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Gothizzar-Harvester-en.pdf Gothizzar Harvester]''': (200pts, Behemoth) Big guy has 10 wounds and a 4+ save. Has good damage potential with 4 solid ranged attacks and a BUNCH of 2 damage melee swings, with a choice between bludgeons or sickles. These weapons have the exact same melee stats, but different effects. Bludgeons do 2 mortal wounds on unmodified hits of 6 instead of normal damage, (basically giving the guy a Nighthaunt's frightful touch) while the sickles get +1 to hit against units with 5+ models. The Bludgeons are the better choice, as there are other ways to boost hit rolls and Mortal Wounds are useful whoever you're up against. More importantly than that, this guy is another source of precious calcium/healer. Each time any models (friend or foe) die within 3" of him, he can heal an Ossiarch Bonereaper unit within 6" on a 4+. The heals he gives depends on the wounds characteristic of the model slain. It's worth noting he can do this to himself, making his relatively fragile 10 wounds and 4+ save last a little longer.
**For the Crematorians, this guy makes the list even more trollish. Camp him by your Mortek Guard, and when they die and cause mortal wounds, he can heal them right back up. Free mortal wounds, anyone?
*'''[https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/AoS_Warscrolls//aos-warscroll-Mortek-Crawler-en.pdf Mortek Crawler]''': (200pts, Artillery, Behemoth) The most trolltastic catapult in all of AoS. With a nice 36" range and solid durability, it starts as a remarkably strong springboard for the absolute terror of its ammo types. Once per battle, you can fire a different choice of ammo from two different options and their effects are trolltastically memeable.
**Necrotic Skulls: Your normal shots. You're getting a pretty hefty 3 2+/3+/-/variable shots that start at 5 damage, and dips down to 1 as the model takes damage. Good as a general all-rounder, but pales in comparison to what follows.
***Just to reiterate however: 3 shots at 5 damage initially. Although lack of rend hurts, this is a horde killing volley beyond compare, particularly as their hit and wound rolls are so good.
**Cauldron of Torment: the first of the meme shots. Instead of firing like normal, you roll a dice for every model in the target unit, and whenever you meet or beat their '''UNMODIFIED''' Bravery, one model is slain. "But Anon," you reply, "lots of units have high Bravery! That's not good," To which I say, sure, you're right. this isn't good against undead, Stormcast, or Chaos, but do you know what it IS good against? grots, where you wipe half of whatever squad you fire at. Or freeguild, where you gun down a third of whatever unit you want in a ghostly fog. And we're STILL not done with this bad boy.
**Cursed Stele: Does your local meta not really do hordes? Or do they just love low model-count armies with high leadership? Well, have I got a unit for you! Instead of shooting normally, pick a model within range (so, characters, banners, unit leaders, etc.) and roll 2d6. If you roll equal to or higher than their wound stat, the guy dies (with some modifiers, starting at -3 to your roll, slowly turning to +3 as you lose wounds). This right here is disgusting. With an average roll of 4, you kill support heroes about 60% of the time or get to guaranteed snipe off important banners or unit champions whenever you're feeling cheeky. Did that daemon prince swoop in and drop you to 1 wound? Wouldn't it be great if his failure meant your average roll is now a 10 and insta-gibs the winged sexy, sexy biscuit daemon? (Lovely to consider, but the 6" minimum range on the Crawler's attacks means if it's in melee it's been neutered - protect at all costs!)

===Scenery===
*'''Bone-tithe Nexus''': (0pts) Your mandatory accompanying setpiece is a giant monolith surrounded by bones upon bones. In truth it acts more like a sentry that can chuck out one of four different Punishments each turn: -1 to hit, MW Sniping, causes problem for a wizard, or Can't run and only roll 1d6 for charges. The physical footprint of this thing is BIG. You're supposed to place the terrain before defining and placing any of the game's (neutral) terrain. Placing the damn thing can therefore be problematic in organized events, where terrain is pre-set before the game starts.

==Battalions==
<big>'''Ossiarch Cohort'''</big> 100 pts (min points: '''4450''')
''Katakros, Zandtos or Liege Kavalos, 1-3 Mortek Shield-Corps, 1-3 Kavalos Lances, 1 Mortisian Trident, 1-2 Katakrosian Deathglaives, 1 Aegis Immortal, 1 Mortek Ballistari''
* The Super Battalion.
For putting together all that dough together your general generates 1d3 additional RDPs at the beginning of your hero phase.

<big>'''Aegis Immortal'''</big> 80 pts (min points: '''690''')
''1 Archai, 2 Immortis.''
The ARCHAI from this battalion has the SOULBOUND PROTECTORS ability from the Immortis Guard warscroll. In addition, if you use the SOULBOUND PROTECTORS and the roll is a 5+, the wound/MW is negated instead of allocated to a unit from this battalion. Take with Petrifex Elite to make your characters near unkillable. Solid choice, pun intended, the only drawback is if you want a more offensive playstyle since this is defensive-based.

<big>'''Katakrosian Deathglaive'''</big> 80 pts (min points: '''690''')
''2 Stalkers, 1 Morghast Harbinger''
After units are set up but before the first battleround, if all units from the btn are WHOLLY WITHIN 12" of the Harbingers, you can move any of them up to 6" The best name for a Battalion in all of AoS. Useful for strategic positioning and claiming objectives, it's a decent choice. One foe it does help against is Kharadron Overlords, positioning your Morghasts and Stalkers to better catch their fliers.

<big>'''Kavalos Lance'''</big> 120 pts (min points: '''680''')
''Arch-Kavalos OR 1 Liege-Kavalos, 2 Kavalos Deathriders.''
Units from this battalion can retreat and charge if wholly within 12" of the Liege when the charge roll is made. In addition, once per turn, you can use the Deathrider Wedge CA for a unit from this battalion without spending RDP. Pretty good, especially if you bring a spellcaster with Empower Nadirite Weapons, more so if you're running Petrifex to give the weapons extra rend. Just remember it's a waste of points if you're using the Stalliarch Lords legion because they do this but better and for free.

<big>'''Mortek Ballistari'''</big> 100 pts (min points: '''760''')
''1 Boneshaper, 1 Mortek Guard, 2 Crawlers.''
Roll a die before you allocate a wound/MW to a Crawler from this btn while it is within 3" of the Mortek Guard unit from the same btn. Add 2 if the Crawler is within 3" of the Boneshaper from the same btn. On a 4+, it is instead allocated to the GUARD instead of the CRAWLER.

<big>'''Mortek Shield-corps'''</big> 120 pts (min points: '''630''')
''Either Volkmortian, a Boneshaper, a Soulreaper OR a Soulmason, and 3 Mortek Guard.''
Once per turn, you can use Shieldwall for one unit in the battalion without spending RDP. The cheapest option, and a decent choice, making your Mortek Guard that much more durable and freeing RDP to be spent elsewhere. Petrifex Mortek Guard will be even tougher with a free re-roll, and it's a good safety net if a unit loses their Hekatos.

<big>'''Mortisan Trident'''</big> 110 pts (min points: '''700''')
''1 Boneshaper, 1 Soulreaper, 1 Soulmason, 1 Harvester.''
EACH Mortisan from this battalion can attempt to cast 1 extra spell if WITHIN 18" of the harvester AND the harvester is within 3" of any enemy units.

<big> '''Volkmortian’s Retinue''' </big> 120 pts (min points: '''840''')
''Volkmortian, 1 Mortek Guard, 1 Stalker, and 1 Archai.''
The exclusive battalion from Feast of Bones. At the start of your hero phase, you can return 1 slain model to a unit within 8 inches of Morty.
This battalion, and it's older dreadier brother, is the armies only reliable method of bringing back dead Stalkers and Archai.

<big> '''Volkmortian’s Dread Retinue''' </big> 130 pts (min points: '''850''')
''Volkmortian, 1-3 Mortek Guard, 1 Stalker, and 1-2 Archai or Harbingers, in any configuration.''
One of the battalions from May 2020's issue of White Dwarf. This battalion must be taken with the Mortis Praetorians legion. Comes with the same ability as Vokmortain's Retinue, but also gives you a start of game ability to hurt the chances of a single enemy hero hitting Vokmortian. Because you can take Harbingers instead of Archai with this battalion, which opens up returning Morghast Harbingers to play, this battalion is much better than the regular Retinue. The restriction on legion means that, of course, this cannot really be considered competitive at this time.

<big> '''Harvester Scythe Corps''' </big> 100 pts (min points: '''660''')
''2 Kavalos Deathriders and 1 Gothizzar Harvester.''
One of the battalions from May 2020's issue of White Dwarf. This battalion must be taken with the Mortis Praetorians legion. Battalion lets you add one to wound rolls for the Harvester if within 12 of the dead ponies. Decent if you need to generate the RDP and the artefact, but if you are taking a pair of Deathriders, you might as well be taking a Liege and going for the Kavalos Lance battalion, which also doesn't restrict you out of the better legions.

<big> '''Vokmortian's Tithe Legion''' </big> 110 pts (min points: '''5640''')
''This list of other battalions: 1 Vokmortian's Dread Retinue, 1-3 Mortek Shield Corps, 1 Mortisan Trident, 1-2 Katakrosian Deathglaives, 1 Aegis Immortal, 1-3 Kavalos Lances or Harvester Scythe Corps in any configuration, 1 Mortek Ballistari, 1 Harvester Scythe Corps.''
One of the battalions from May 2020's issue of White Dwarf. This battalion must be taken with the Mortis Praetorians legion.
The boring part of this battalion is that you probably won't ever get to field it, and even if you do, the abilities from it aren't the best. You get to generate an additional D3 RDP per hero phase, and you get to take '''any number of''' Nighthaunt allies, without them counting against ally rules. Super battalions are fun, but this one means that outside of the nearly 6k points you have to spend on it, you also need Nighthaunt to make use of it. It's a good goal for a collection, though.

<big>'''Horrek's Dreadlance'''</big> -- pts (min points: '''---''')
''1 Arch-Kavalos (Horrek), 2 Kavalos Deathriders.''
A battallion from Broken Realms. This battallion must be taken with the Stalliarch Lords legion.
The Arch-Kavalos is a named character (Horrek) and has to be the first '''LIEGE''' to take an artifact and take the Nadir-bound Mount (his legions artifact), if he is chosen as general he has the Twisted Challenge Command Trait (His legion's again).
This battallion allows you to regain the RDP you spent on Rally Back (The Stalliarch Lord's unique command abilitty) on a 4+.. It is extremely boring and probably not worth the cost since you can just spend the battallion cost on another unit of deathriders.

==Army Building==
=== Getting Started ===
When getting started with the Ossiarch Bonereapers, it's important that you understand the direction you want to take your list in. If you are going for competitive, you're going to be making the most out of Mortek Guard, while if you are going for fun and cool, you have a lot of fun and cool options.

If new to the game, look out for a Feast of Bones set half, as it can be a great start to your Ossiarch Army. Another way to start would be with a box of Mortek Guard and a Liege Kavalos, as this gives you a little bit less than a Start Collecting worth of points, but a lot of cool units to start working on.

=== Currently Competitive ===

The best lists right now center around the fact that Mortek Guard units are incredibly over-statted for their points cost. As for which Legion, following the nerfing of Petrifex, Mortis Praetorians have stepped up to top spot. Petrifex are still viable, but no longer auto-take.

==== Heroes ====

A Petrifex-aligned Liege-Kavalos is a mainstay in the General position, as the Mighty Croissant command trait and Godbone Armor artefact make it a 9 wound, ignoring first wounds of every phase monster, along with the extra RDP generation for being a liege, and a built in Mystic Shield effect making the Liege basically indestructible, as Nagash would want. The other best hero seems to be the Soulmason, as it has great casting for the points, and really fills out the support role of your army.

You can also build Nagash or Arkhan centric lists, and those typically look like Nagash/Arkhan + 40 blobs of guard and a support unit or two.

==== Battleline ====

Mortek Guard, usually a pair of 2 40 blobs are great. Then, fill out the battleline with some of those dead ponies. Seriously, Mortek Guard are only 130 points right now, can be given exploding 5+s and additional rend. They're practically the backbone of any Ossiarch army.

==== Other Models ====

Necropolis Stalkers are your can-openers, popping heavily armored units. They can also move as if flying, opening up more options, and are cheaper than the other Hekatos units.

Gothizzar harvesters can be run as a one of per blob of Guard you manage to field. This means that your Mortek Guard is going to have a 4+/6+/4+ save, which is equal to about a 13.88% (or a "1.25+" save equivalent) chance to wound. Per model. That's like having a 0.83+ save.

Mortek Crawlers can be utilized to constantly rampage as your large blobs of guard gum up the board, create incredibly tough tar pits, and slow down enemy units. Another benefit is that if a cheap unit is used by your opponent to attempt to capture an objective, you might be able to wipe it out before it gains any points if you notice it soon enough and identify that part of your opponent's game plan.

==== Spells ====

There are several good spells that you can take, although overall the spell lore is kind of boring. Empower Nadirite Weapons is the best spell in the lore, mainly because most lists are running blobs of 40 Mortek Guard and the spell makes them table. Arcane Command can be taken on a second support wizard, as can Mortal Contract, depending on who you think you might be facing. Reinforce shield walls can also be a decent spell, especially if you are combining several layers of saves to make Mortek Guard the ultimate pit of bone.

==== Using Battalions ====

Because of the ability to increase RDP generation, there are some ways you can use cheap battalions to increase the amount of RDP you have, and lower the amount you need for specific units. One of the best and cheapest battalions is the Mortek Shield Corps battalion, which requires one of your 3 Mortisans or Vokmortian and 3 units of 10 Mortek Guard, allowing you to use one of the CAs on the Mortek Guard for free, once per turn. It also presents you with an additional RDP per turn. The shield wall ability allows you to reroll saves, which means that your 4+/6+ save turns into a 4+/4+/6+ save. Now, add in one of those Harvesters, meaning that you have a 4+/4+/4+/6+ save, or a 10% chance to fail incoming non-rend armor saves. That means that for every 20 armor saves, less than three should convert to a wound.

The Kavalos Lance battalion makes use of a pair of the fantastically modelled (by Nagash or GW) Kavalos Deathriders, and a Liege Kavalos. This battalion allows you to make up some of the difficulties of movement that the Ossiarch are presented with, and the additional RDP are always great for the +3" movement.

Another interesting battalion to consider taking is the Mortisan Trident Battalion, which would be how you go about building a strong Magical Ossiarch Bonereapers army. With the current state of Tzeentch, however, this army might be a bit rough to play. This battalion requires you to take all three Mortisans, as well as a Harvester, allowing you additional spell casts, when close to the harvester. That battalion and an Arkhan would allow you some crazy amounts of spells, and if you can take full advantage of that, you might end up thrashing a lot of armies that can't deal with heavy spell usage. Sadly, a lot of your spells work much better when you have a lot of your points in Mortek Guard, who are core to any army you create.

Other battalions can be taken solely for RDP generation and the artefacts you can take, seeing as your first artefact will generally have to be the Petrifex Elite artefact, Godbone Armor. Both Boneshapers and Soulmasons have decent "tools" for their artefacts, but they are not necessary, so don't feel forced to take a battalion for some bad models.

==Tactics==

===Mr. Arkhan’s Wild Ride===
Take Arkhan the Black as your general, along with two Gothizzar Harvesters and a buttload of Mortek Guard. Finally put them all under the Crematorians legion. Your boney boys will proceed to explode in the faces of the enemy and then be brought back to un-life from the ashes thanks to the Mortarch and Harvesters’ restoration abilities. Is this trolling? Yes. Is it fun? ''Oh yes.'' Also take a Mortisan Boneshaper as a cherry on top for extra heals and bring an Endless Spell or two; cast with Arkhan to laugh off that casting penalty.

* Nerfed slightly in December 2019 Errata. Now Gothizzar Harvester ability only triggers "each time a model is slain within 3" of any models with this ability." No double dipping on the Gothizzar heals anymore by choosing to remove a model within 3" of both. Personally, I'd say this is a good thing since this formation would be pretty much unbeatable without enough ranged firepower/artillery to snipe the 10 wound Gothizzars out of the Mortek blob (and in a single shooting phase to prevent 6 wound auto-heal from Arkhan and the Boneshaper).

===Trolling with Catapults===
Take a Soulmason as your general and put him in a massive blob of 60 Mortek Guard with 4 Mortek Crawlers behind. With some amazing dice rolls (which can be helped by using the Soul Resevoir artefact) the Soulmason can give all 4 Crawlers rerollable hits of 1. The Guard can block any incoming attackers whilst the catapults bombard your enemies from across the table. Even if your skellie dudes are taken out and the enemy damages your Centipedes of Doom it just means that their characters are more likely to be decimated by the most trolling shot in AoS, the Cursed Stele. So just sit back, relax and watch your enemies die before they even reach you.

Alternatively, take 2 of Ballistari battalions. Lose the Soulmason but gain some mad defenses.

=== Feast of Bones upgrades ===

If you started with the Feast of Bones kit, there are several ways to build the army. The first is the (maybe subjectively) best, which is to go with the Rule of Cool - buy the cool models. Run 3x10 Mortek Guard to get Battleline out of the way, and then take advantage of how cool Morghasts are to scare your opponents.

Starting with Vokmortian, 10x Mortek Guard, 3x Necopolis Stalkers, and 2x Morghasts, and the Vokmortian's Retinue battalion, you can instead use the Dread Retinue Battalion, to use Morghast Harbingers instead of Archai. Or, get a second unit of Stalkers and create the objectively coolest battalion, the Katakrosian Deathglaive. Add in some more guard or Kavalos Deathriders, and whatever else you want that you like. That's it. It's the rule of cool. With Morghasts - the coolest rule of cool unit.

The other way is to move to a more competitive list, but sadly, the Feast of Bones units aren't great. Vokmortian is pretty bad, as are Morghasts, relative to what is offered in the army, although they can be used as a tool. You can run Vokmortian as a Boneshaper, especially if you figure out a cool conversion for it. Then, add in a Soulmason and another support HQ or Liege, and a lot of Mortek Guard. Add in a few Gothizzar Harvesters and/or Crawlers, and you have the fundamentals to a competitive list.

==Allied Armies==
No Allies. Nope, none. Nighthaunt hate your guts. Legions of Nagash hate your attitude. Not even the Flesh Eater Courts is crazy enough to be your friend. Don't like it? Go play Stormcast, and go fuck yourself while you're at it.

There is...one however...

*'''Big Drogg Fort-Kicka''': A Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant available to all Death factions as an ally. Functions like Gotrek in the Order factions where he uses up your whole allies allowance in exchange for a very destructive monster of a unit. His most important feature is the ability to destroy terrain, including faction terrain. He also has a unique breath attack that attacks one unit within 3" at the end of the combat phase; roll a dice for each model in the unit and deal 1MW on a 6+.

{{Age_of_Sigmar_Tactics}}