Scourge of Ghyran day 5: Torment by day, haunt by night

Kneel before us miserable creature and tremble, for the Nighthaunt have come. Gaze upon our wicked procession and know the horrors that are to be unleashed upon you. Our spectral herald, Alexious the Lily-livered will reveal your fate.

At the head of this Scourge of Ghyran procession are two new Nighthaunt battle formations. Hungry Nexus is every bit as grim as it sounds, enabling you to move your Nexus of Grief into enemy units, tying them down and denying them access to their commands. You’d probably stop listening to your general if you were attacked by a soul-sucking, spirit-riddled pile of animated bricks. Free rules for this new piece of Nighthaunt faction terrain are available from the downloads section – and these haunted hovels aren’t restricted to just this battle formation.

The other formation is for Deathrust Gheists whose mere presence corrodes the armour of their foes, reducing their save. If your opponent’s troops weren’t already terrified witless, having their armour disintegrate before their eyes will sort that right out.

There’s a triptych of ethereal artefacts, all of which are particularly unpleasant-sounding. The Stave of Suffering takes the pain and misery of recently deceased foes and to empower your wizards. The Amulet of Waking Nightmares sends harrowing visions into an enemy hero’s mind, making them cry out, run around screaming or otherwise make a target of themselves for your spectral shooters. Lastly, the Tombstone of the Penitent bolsters your unit’s melee attacks based on the number of terrain pieces your ghostly minions are currently haunting. RIP John Smith, loving Gheist, +3 attacks.*

At the heart of this paranormal parade lie two other-worldly warscrolls. These are big ones, too – the Black Coach and Kurdoss Valentian. The Scourge of Ghyran Black Coach is definitely built for smashing into things, running them over and laying claim to their lands. It doesn’t translocate quite as much as the original, but it does have the potential to become a wizard when it needs to, which could make for some very unsettling tactics and combinations… 

Meanwhile, Kurdoss has become – if this were even possible – even more bitter and twisted since entering Ghyran. It must be tough being a tormented spirit in a realm of unfettered life. He receives bonuses to hit and wound against those who have a lower Control characteristic than him, and he can rouse his followers to similar acts of pettiness. In truth, they ignore him and do what they want, which ranges from regicide (hero killing) to larceny (objective grabbing) and betrayal (stopping commands being used). This makes Kurdoss a particularly useful, not to mention entertaining, addition to a Nighthaunt army.

Battle Profiles

You know the drill by now. Finish reading this, maybe do some work, paint some models, have dinner, doomscroll a bit, bed – then back here tomorrow for more Scourge of Ghyran. Next up it’s the Cities of Sigmar!

* He was a real one.