Tailored Downfall is one of the three Command Traits and basically allows you to choose one Hero prior to battle. Should said Hero come within 3″ of your General, that enemy Hero gains strikes-last. Amulet of Screams is as delightful to your opponent as the very name suggests. Any time your opponent successfully casts a spell within 18″ of the bearer, you roll a dice. On a 3+, that caster takes D3 mortal wounds after the effect of the spell takes place. Brand new and providing decent power is Unbending Will , giving your general a 12” aura that makes summonable units count as two models on an objective. With the sneaky ways Soulblight have of getting summonable units onto objectives, this could have a lot of value in flipping close matches. Artefacts of Power Neferata is the Mortarch of Blood. She thinks of herself as the queen of all vampires and maintains an incredibly complex network of spies. While Neferata prefers political manipulation to threats of outright violence, her Legion of Blood is no stranger to warfare. Nagash does return however he took another points hike pushing him up to 975 pts. His warscroll is identical to the Ossiarch Bonereapers one, although a special rule allows him to gain the Soulblight Gravelords keyword, and he does know all 13 spells in the disciple. Is this worth a 95 point price hike? Probably not. He was already suffering as it stood and I’m not sure if all those spells are worth it. It may depend if everything goes up in price in 3rd edition Age of Sigmar, similar to how the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 worked. Because they were created from living humans, they retain much more independence and personality than others under Nagash’s control (like the Ossiarch). Though Nagash is a petty, jealous, and tyrannical ruler, he must admit that the Soulblights, with their sense of dignity and independent thought, make for good leaders. And so he allows them their bit of independence (though he’s not afraid to destroy them the instant they get out of line).

The Namarti Thralls kit is full of really cool accessories such as little fish and bits of coral for the bases of the models. I’ve decided not to use them yet as the warriors in that unit will have to earn the right to accessorise through performing heroic deeds over the course of the Path to Glory campaign. Experienced Vampire fans will also be satisfied with the content in this section of the book. As I mentioned, they are starting to really feel at home away from the Empire of Old. The trusty old Terrorghiest is still as good as he has ever been with no profile changes, still doing those delicious 6 mortal wounds on a hit of 6 for it’s maw. However they have had a small 5 points bump in cost. Can now be taken as Battleline in an Avengorii army One final key point here is that Blood Knights become Battleline with this Bloodline. Avengorii DynastyArtefacts and Traits are good, with the ability to give all nearby vampires one of the above buffs in the first battleround and improving the wound of nearby units by 1 if the general slays something. Mannfred von Carstein’s endless pursuit of power has made his vampiric vassals ambitious and arrogant. The Legion of Night prefer to use hordes of the undead to slow the enemy down and act as bait, while powerful vampires sweep in to claim glory once they sense an easy kill. Thank goodness then, that the Soulblight Gravelords don’t suffer from this, and have a few great choices for both.

Wight Kings once ruled prosperous kingdoms. In death, the ambition, willpower, and martial skill that made them famed warlords now make them fine servants of the Soulblight dynasties. This mighty sovereign was once found in the Start Collecting box for Soulblight Gravelords – they now ride out on their own for the first time. Vanguard: Soulblight Gravelords Expand the dread territory of the Soulblight Dynasties with a vanguard box containing 29 miniatures. This bite-sized battalion is led by a vainglorious Vampire Lord , 20 Deathrattle Skeletons , five Blood Knights , and three monstrous Vargheists . Warscroll Cards: Soulblight Gravelords Finally Soul Harvest only has a 3″ range, but every unit affected takes D3 mortal wounds and heals the caster for each wound suffered on a 5+! WarscrollsStormcast Eternals • Orruk Warclans • Maggotkin of Nurgle • Fyreslayers • Idoneth Deepkin • Nighthaunt • Daughters of Khaine • Skaven • Sylvaneth • Disciples of Tzeentch • Sons of Behemat • Lumineth Realm-lords • Ogor Mawtribes • Slaves to Darkness • Beasts of Chaos • Gloomspite Gitz • Kharadron Overlords • Blades of Khorne • Hedonites of Slaanesh • Ossiarch Bonereapers • Soulblight Gravelords • Seraphon • Cities of Sigmar • Flesh-Eater Courts

If you like Special Named Characters, this Dynasty is probably the place for you, as it is still home to the vast majority of characters from this book. Neferata: She’s lost her -1 to hit aura, but her Dagger of Jet is still capable of one shot killing any enemy Heros. Her spell Dark Mist allows for a Legion of Blood unit to ignore any save modifiers. Not only are the Avengorii twisted in body, but their minds also become increasingly deranged over time. Other bloodlines see them as debased, but they know they’re just a hair’s breadth away from becoming just like them. Lady Annika/Kritza: These two, dare I say, lesser Vampires have had a little glow up. Annika has the ability to worsen a Hero or Monsters save for the rest of the game should she wound them She can also deepstrike. Kritza on the other hand can potentially destroy an enemies artefact, is the only Summonable Hero Vampire and can retreat instead of fighting.

Vampire Lord

Mannfred’s legion was generally considered the weakest of the original Legions of Nagash. Its powers weren’t generally that helpful and the attached warscroll battalion didn’t do it any favors either. The new Battletome attempts to retain the feel of the legion but steps it up by a lot. Ageless Cunning lets you pull a Stormcast Eternals and put half your army in reserve (though you can only outflank from the board edge, so it’s not exactly the same) and The Bait makes your chaff Deadwalkers and Deathrattle units slightly tougher with a +1 to save for the first turn. So put your strong stuff away where it can be protected from ranged fire, lure your foe in with some Skeleton Warriors and then drop the Vampires on them. The armies of the Ossiarchs march to war supported by huge and terrifying bone constructs . These mighty skeletal engines are tended to by the Mortisan Ossifectors, masterful artisans who practice their bone-shaping artistry even in the midst of battle, buffing the behemoths in their charge to terrifying new heights.* Vanguard: Ossiarch Bonereapers