Alongside the filthy carrion kingdoms bequeathed to the Mortarch of Delusion, Nagash is also loyally served by Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief, and the unquiet dead known as the Nighthaunt. These shrieking hordes are made up of spirits reshaped by the Supreme Lord of the Undead’s cruel humour into tormented souls that suffer in death an ironic reversal of their sins in life.
They sweep across the Mortal Realms to claim souls for their tyrannical master, chilling the blood of their foes with their ghastly appearance and cackling as blades and spells fail to find purchase on their incorporeal forms.
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.
They retain their Ethereal rule, but now they only ignore negative modifiers like Rend, so you can pop that crucial All-out Defence when needed. 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+.*
In tandem though, every unit also gets a 5+ Ward save, up from 6+ in the faction pack. Grimghast Reapers, Bladegheist Revenants, Pyregheists, and other larger spirits are receiving one extra health per model to represent the difficulty of cutting down an incorporeal being.
Passive
ETHEREAL
Nighthaunt spirits can rarely be harmed by blows delivered by those caught in the grip of a spiritual terror.
Effect: Ignore negative modifiers to save rolls for friendly Nighthaunt units, excluding Nagash.
Prolonged exposure to the Nighthaunt is guaranteed to send a chill up the spine of even the boldest and bravest warriors in the Mortal Realms, the constant reminder of Nagash’s ultimate plan for a cold Necrotopia causing Mounting Dread in their opponents. As the battle progresses, armies find their grip on sanity slipping, and their control score eroding over time.
For a command point, Ethereal Translocation lets you scoop a unit off the table and set them up elsewhere – an ability previously locked to a battle formation now made universal, much to the pleasure of scythe-wielding spirits around the realms. Rounding out the tableau is the Nexus of Grief, Sepulchral Apparitions that manifest on the battlefield, preventing nearby enemies from using commands and refashioning spirits into reinforcements for the Nighthaunt.**
Passive
MOUNTING DREAD
The keening wails and harrowing shrieks of the Nighthaunt are a continuous assault on the courage of those who face them in battle, until their will to fight has all but crumbled.
Effect: Subtract the current battle round number from the control scores of enemy units while they are in combat with any friendly Nighthaunt units.
Once Per Turn (Army), Your Movement Phase
ETHEREAL TRANSLOCATION (1)
The Nighthaunt appear and disappear from sight to torment their prey.
Declare: Pick a friendly Nighthaunt unit that is not in combat to use this ability.
Effect: Remove that unit from the battlefield and set it up again on the battlefield more than 9" from all enemy units.
Battle formations have also been updated, with Quicksilver Gheists now able to Vanish and Reappear, usually with their spectral blades aimed squarely at the backs of their foes, while the blood-curdling cores of the Shrieker Host prevent units in combat with a Nighthaunt Hero from retreating.
Death Stalkers retain their ability to flit out of combat before charging back in (or shooting their flummoxed assailants, and the Lethal Rancour of the Royal Procession gives two Nighthaunt units Anti-charge (+1 Rend) should their foes be able to close the distance on these baleful spectres.
Once Per Turn (Army), Your Movement Phase
VANISH AND REAPPEAR
These mercurial spirits are feared for their ability to dissolve into nothingness before suddenly reappearing elsewhere – often right behind their next targets' backs.
Declare: Pick a friendly Nighthaunt unit that is in combat to use this ability.
Effect: Roll a dice. The unit using this ability can move a distance up to its Move characteristic added to the roll. It can pass through other models and the combat ranges of enemy units, and it can end that move in combat.
Keywords: Core, Move
Once Per Turn (Army), Enemy Hero Phase
LETHAL RANCOUR
The gheists of this horde are drawn from haughty nobles and obsequious courtiers who refused to admit fault even at the very end. They rail constantly at their kingdom's doom, and their undying bitterness renders their spectral touch even more deadly against those they perceive as interlopers.
Declare: Pick up to 2 friendly Nighthaunt units to be the targets.
Effect: The targets' melee weapons have Anti-charge (+1 Rend) for the rest of the turn.
The Nighthaunt can look forward to a revamped collection of heroic traits and artefacts, as well as a ghoulish new Lore of the Underworlds. Their undead Wizards can Wrench Souls with a gesture, letting a unit make a move or retreat as if it was the movement phase. They can also shackle an enemy Hero within 18” with the Chains of Death, burdening them with Strike-last for the rest of the turn.
Fell Blades is the Lore’s unlimited spell, empowering Nighthaunt weapons with macabre energies that subtract 1 from save rolls against subsequent attacks that target the unit the ensorcelled weapons have swung at – pairing perfectly with both the on-foot (or is that floating?) and mounted Knight of Shrouds, who invite their followers to fight immediately after them.
LORE OF THE UNDERWORLDS
Your Hero Phase
WRENCH SOULS (6)
With a clasped fist and a horrible twist, the caster drags a horde of gheists to their desired location.
Declare: Pick a friendly Nighthaunt Wizard to cast this spell, pick a visible friendly non-Hero Nighthaunt Infantry unit wholly within 12" of them to be the target, then make a casting roll of 2D6.
Effect: The target can immediately use the 'Normal Move' or 'Retreat' ability as if it were your movement phase.
Keywords: Spell
LORE OF THE UNDERWORLDS
Your Hero Phase
FELL BLADES (6)
A malignant curse screeched to blackened skies coalesces on spectral blades, causing the weapons to glow with the magics of ending.
Declare: Pick a friendly Nighthaunt Wizard to cast this spell, pick a visible friendly Nighthaunt unit wholly within 12" of them to be the target, then make a casting roll of 2D6.
Effect: Until the start of your next turn, each time the target uses a Fight ability, if all of its attacks targeted the same enemy unit, after that ability has been resolved, subtract 1 from save rolls for that enemy unit for the rest of the turn.
Keywords: Spell, Unlimited
The alchemically minded Lord Vitriolic joins the morbid procession with this battletome, a wretched figure cursed by Nagash to fuss over tonics and potions with a care he never gave his craft in life. Spectral Alchemy allows him to unleash either a potent chemical perfectly fine-tuned to weaken his foe, or just hurl whatever he has at hand in a pique of rage.
In other words, on a dice roll of a 3+ you get to pick your poison, otherwise you roll two dice and get what you’re given. Phantasmal Solvent dissolves anything with a Move characteristic of ‘-’, Choking Vapours and Fear-laced Hallucinogens discombobulate Wizards and Priests, while an Unholy Prescription strips the target of its blessed Ward save.
Once Per Turn (Army), Your Shooting Phase
SPECTRAL ALCHEMY
Declare: Pick an enemy unit within 10" of this unit to be the target.
Effect: Roll a dice. On a 3+, pick 1 of the following effects or roll two dice and apply both corresponding effects in an order of your choosing, including duplicate effects:
1 Phantasmal Solvent: If the target has a Move characteristic of'-', inflict 6 mortal damage on the target.
2 Acidic Fug: Inflict D3 mortal damage on the target.
3 Fling Concoctions: Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of this unit's Hurled Vial this phase but all attacks made by this unit this phase must target that enemy unit.
4 Choking Vapours: If the target is a Wizard, subtract 1 from its power level until the start of your next turn.
5 Fear-laced Hallucinogen: If the target is a Priest,
remove D3 ritual points from it.
6 Unholy Prescription: Ward rolls cannot be made for the target for the rest of the turn.
You’ll be able to check out all the changes to your rules in Battletome: Nighthaunt, which is available for pre-order on Saturday, alongside the phantasmal potion-master and a brand new Spearhead.
* With a 3+ save and 18 wounds, the Supreme Lord of the Undead is thankfully exempt from this rule… such is the power of Nagash.
** Rules for this terrain feature are currently available for download, if you’ve not checked them out yet.
