Nagash controls all the armies of Death, from the deranged cannibals of the Flesh-eater Courts, through the sculpted perfection of the Ossiarch Bonereapers, to the endlessly quarreling but undeniably useful Soulblight Gravelords. The spectral ace up his sleeve, however, are the Nighthaunt, a legion of ethereal horrors shackled in eternal service to the Supreme Lord of the Undead. Each bears the marks of a punishment in undeath for their transgressions in life, a cruel torment devised by the Great Necromancer – who says gods can’t have a sense of humour?
Battletome: Nighthaunt features Armies of Renown and Regiments of Renown that provide new ways to use your gheists in battle. The two armies take very different approaches, one a cavalcade of cavalry and the other the opportunity to summon Nagash himself.
Incorporeal cavalry units – including Reikenor the Grimhailer – race into battle together in The Clattering Procession, accompanied by rattling Black Coaches; one of these morbid conveyances can even become a hero. The army retains the Ethereal rule, but leans heavily into movement shenanigans, as you’d expect from a bunch of ectoplasmic equines.
Spectral Swiftness is a Core, Move, and Retreat ability that lets a unit phase out of combat, even passing through other units entirely in order to escape. Pitiless Reapers lets you roll a bunch of mortal damage every time you pass over an enemy unit – real pain from ghostly hooves.
Once Per Turn (Army), Your Movement Phase
THE CLATTERING PROCESSION
SPECTRAL SWIFTNESS
The incorporeal cavalry of the Clattering Procession are impossible to surround and pin down.
Declare: Pick a friendly CLATTERING PROCESSION unit that is in combat to use this ability.
Effect: That unit can move a distance up to its Move characteristic.
It can pass through other models and the combat ranges of enemy units, but it cannot end that move in combat.
KEYWORDS: CORE, MOVE, RETREAT
Once Per Turn (Army), Your Movement Phase
THE CLATTERING PROCESSION
PITILESS REAPERS
The chill blades of the Clattering Procession flash down and reap a deadly harvest as they pass through the enemy ranks.
Declare: Pick a friendly CLATTERING PROCESSION unit that passed across any enemy units this phase to use this ability, then pick 1 of those enemy units to be the target.
Effect: Roll a dice for each model in the CLATTERING PROCESSION unit that passed across the target. Add 1 to the roll if any friendly CLATTERING PROCESSION Black Coaches passed across the target this phase. For each 6+, inflict 1 mortal damage on the target.
You can promote one of your heroes to the level of a Silent Overseer, who compels three nearby units into charging that turn even if they've already retreated, letting you make great use of your Hexwraiths’ and Black Coaches’ damaging charge phase abilities.
The spell lore has your wizards summoning Spectral Lashes, adding an extra 2” of movement for a unit within 12”, while Fell Riders provides the chance to re-roll run and charge rolls of the caster and a unit of their choice, ensuring you can close that distance reliably.
Your Charge Phase
THE CLATTERING PROCESSION
SILENT OVERSEER
With a gesture of a translucent finger, this gheist orders those spirits who have fled from their enemies to charge again, heedless of the cost.
Declare: Pick up to 3 friendly CLATTERING PROCESSION units wholly within 12" of this unit to be the targets.
Effect: For the rest of the turn, the targets can use CHARGE abilities even if they used a RETREAT ability in the same turn.
Your Hero Phase
THE CLATTERING PROCESSION
FELL RIDERS (6)
Words of power twist the air and ghostly green flames explode from the hooves of the Clattering Procession's steeds, giving them a deadly burst of speed.
Declare: Pick a friendly CLATTERING PROCESSION WIZARD to cast this spell, pick the caster and up to 1 other visible friendly CLATTERING PROCESSION unit wholly within 12" of them to be the targets, then make a casting roll of 2D6.
Effect: You can re-roll run rolls and charge rolls for the targets for the rest of the turn.
KEYWORDS: SPELL
The second Army of Renown is The Eternal Nightmare, a recreation of the kind of summoning ritual that might see Nagash returned to physical form. Featuring the head honcho himself amid a mass of non-Unique Nighthaunt Infantry, you’ll choose a Nexus of Grief terrain piece as the ritual site and place Nagash within 1”.
It loses the Hungry Crypts ability but gains a 4+ ward save. For the first two battle rounds, Nagash must Gather Power, meaning his physical aspects – moving, fighting, controlling objectives – are lessened, but his ward save starts off far stronger than usual.
Passive
THE ETERNAL NIGHTMARE
GATHER POWER
Nagash's formidable will gathers magical power to reinvest his divine spirit with corporeal raiment once more. During his unholy resurrection, there is a brief window where he is at his most vulnerable.
Effect: The following effects apply to the friendly Nagash during the first and second battle rounds, as shown:
Battle Round 1:
His Move characteristic is '-' and he cannot make pile-in moves.
He has WARD (3+).
He has a Control characteristic of 1.
Alakanash and Zefet-nebtar each have an Attacks characteristic of 2 instead of 4.
Battle Round 2:
His Move characteristic is 6".
He cannot end a move more than 6" from the ritual site.
He has Ward (4+).
He has a Control characteristic of 5.
Alakanash and Zefet-nebtar each have an Attacks characteristic of 2 instead of 4.
This army is about playing the long game, having Nagash weather incoming magic and shooting attacks while his loyal Nighthaunt swarm around him. One of his ethereal toadies can hold The Seal of Nagash and sacrifice 3 damage points to heal their lord, should you need to top-up the health of the deathly despot. A hero can also become a Damned Vessel and act as a conduit for Nagash to cast his spells through.
You get access to their standard manifestation lore, and The Will of Nagash can turn a unit near invincible to attacks, causing unmodified hit or wound rolls of 1-3 fail completely.
Reaction: You declared a Spell ability for a friendly Nagash within 18” of this unit
THE ETERNAL NIGHTMARE
DAMNED VESSEL
With a wretched wail, a gheist's will is temporarily eclipsed as Nagash channels his power through their ragged shape.
Effect: Measure the range and visibility of that SPELL ability from this unit instead of that Nagash.
Your Hero Phase
THE ETERNAL NIGHTMARE
THE WILL OF NAGASH (8)
Eye sockets flaring with power, the wizard renders nearby gheists almost invulnerable to enemy attacks.
Declare: Pick a friendly ETERNAL NIGHTMARE WIZARD to cast this spell, pick a visible friendly ETERNAL NIGHTMARE INFANTRY unit wholly within 12" of them to be the target, then make a casting roll of2D6.
Effect: Until the start of your next turn, if the unmodified hit roll or unmodified wound roll for an attack that targets the target unit is l-3, the attack fails and the attack sequence ends.
KEYWORD: SPELL
As Nagash controls all of his armies with a hand of freezing bone, he can force the Nighthaunt to lend out their forces. The Casket of Resurrections is a Black Coach with the powers of revivification, syphoning lifeforce from enemy units to perform a Dark Resurrection and return a non-Unique Death Infantry Hero back to battle.*
The Craventhrone Executioners meanwhile are Kurdoss Valentian’s miserable lackeys, two units of Craventhrone Guard who add one to their hit and wound rolls if their Scriptor Mortis boss has successfully Sentenced a unit as an Enemy of the Throne with his warscroll ability.
End of Any Turn
CASKET OF RESURRECTIONS
DARK RESURRECTION
The Black Coach's occupant is fed the amethyst energies drawn by the slaughter, fuelling their return to undeath.
Declare: If any damage points were allocated to an enemy unit by this unit's combat attacks this turn and that enemy unit was destroyed this turn, pick a friendly non-UNIQUE DEATH INFANTRY HERO that has been destroyed to be the target.
Effect: Set up a replacement unit identical to the target wholly within 12" of this unit. The replacement unit can only be set up in combat with enemy units that are in combat with this unit.
Passive
CRAVENTHRONE EXECUTIONERS
ENEMY OF THE THRONE
Sent by royal decree against those known to have mocked or derided Kurdoss Valentian, the bolts of the Craven throne Executioners are guided by spite-filled sentence scribed on the mark's death warrant.
Effect: Add 1 to hit rolls and wound rolls for units in this Regiment of Renown for attacks that target a SENTENCED unit.
All this and several more spectral delights await you in Battletome: Nighthaunt, which is available for pre-order on Saturday.
* Core rule restrictions mean you can only return each Hero once, but it’s great if you’ve got a lot of wights or abhorrants you want to keep in play.
