There’s a new Nighthaunt battletome on the way and the spooky ghosts of the Mortal Realms are in for some big changes.
Games Workshop is releasing the new Nighthaunt battletome to pre-orders this weekend and that means we’ve got some previews of their rules updates. It sure seems like the slot-machine playstyle of the Nighthaunt army is gone — no more hoping for massive rolls on your charges to activate things. Now, it’s a different kind of terror rolling out on the tabletop. We’ve got some pretty major changes ahead so let’s get into them.
“With new battle traits that say goodbye to Wave of Terror, the Nighthaunt have phased through the shackles of the capricious charge roll to receive an array of changes that let you create an unstoppable tide of terrifying gheists on the tabletop. “
Nighthaunt – An Ethereal Update
First up, the iconic army wide rule Ethereal has undergone a major change. It now only applies to negative modifiers to save rolls for the Nighthaunt. That means you’ll actually want to use commands like All-out Defence! However, there’s a few trade offs in the mix.
“As a result of this change, saves across the board have been reduced to 5+ for Heroes (and the Black Coach) while your hordes of spectres have gone down to 6+.”
Additionally, every unit also gets a 5+ Ward save which is increased from the 6+ from the previous iteration. Also many of the units have received an extra health per model to represent the difficulty to slaying that which is already dead. Or at least Ethereal in this case.
As Nighthaunt player myself I’m divided about these changes. Having a flat 5+ ward is going to be nice. But having a weaker armor save across the board is less comforting. I understand why GW wanted to change it because of things like All-out Defence. However, you can’t give that to EVERY unit and there in lies the issue. On paper, this seems weaker overall. But there’s more changes ahead.
Another new army wide rule is Mounting Dread. This one gets more potent the longer the game goes on. It causes your opponents to subtract the current battle round number from their control scores while they are in combat with any Nighthaunt units. You can see how this is going to play out. Taking late game objectives is going to be the Nighthaunt army’s big play. Especially when you can use Ethereal Translocation as a universal command option.
The spookiness doesn’t stop there. The Nexus of Grief is also going to make a return in the battletome. These Sepulchral Apparitions are going to prevent nearby enemies from being able to use commands and can also return reinforcements to the Nighthaunt.
These rules are already out if you want to read-up on them.
Lore of the Underworlds
The Nighthaunt army is also getting some revamped spells to sling in the new battletome. Chains of Death is going to allow you to cause an enemy hero with 18″ of the caster to strike-last for the rest of the turn. And that’s just the tip of the frightening iceberg.
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On top of the movement shenanigans of Wrench Souls, they have a new unlimited spell with Fell Blades. Being unlimited you can grand these Fell Blades to a number of your units. This cause an enemy unit to get a -1 to their save rolls for the rest of the turn. Why would that be helpful? Well, toss this on a mounted Knight of Shrouds and have them swing first on a unit. The Knight can then cause a friendly unit to immediately attack after them. The follow-up attacks from that fellow Nighthaunts will instantly get the benefit of that -1 save.
Battle Formations of the Nighthaunt
As is standard with new battletomes, the Nighthaunt are also getting new and reworked Battle Formations to bring. The Quicksliver Gheists are back and can now use the Vanish and Reappear ability above. The Shrieker Hosts are going to prevent enemy units engaged with an Nighthaunt hero from retreating.
Furthermore, the Deathstalkers are retaining their ability to retreat and charge (or shoot) in the same turn. And the Royal Procession gives up to 2 Nighthaunt units Anti-charge (+1 Rend) on their melee attacks for the rest of the turn. There’s also a bunch of new heroic traits and artefacts to play with now, too.
The Lord Vitriolic Joins the Haunted Hosts
This guy is kind of hilarious to me. First off, you need to roll a 3+ for his Spectral Alchemy to go off and when it happens you have to make a choice: do I choose one effect or do I roll for two? I think it’s going to be an easier call to make when you know what you’re targeting. Personally, I think most of the time I’d just opt for one effect of my choice. But if you like randomness, you know what to do!
The Nighthaunt are coming to pre-order this weekend.
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Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.
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