A preview from the Generals Handbook 2017 for the Grand Alliance Death
Via Warhammer Community https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/07/27/grand-alliance-death-in-the-generals-handbook-2017-july27gw-homepage-post-3/
Commanders of Death armies in Warhammer Age of Sigmar have a lot to look forward to in the new General’s Handbook. Followers of the Great Necromancer can expect updated command traits, artefacts and allegiance abilities. You’ll be able to raise a variety of powerful and versatile armies – from classic hordes of shambling minions to an elite core of ancient necromantic constructs.
Death factions benefit hugely from the new allies system, able to harness powerful allegiance abilities and battleline choices while making full use of the great synergies available within the Grand Alliance. A Deathlords army, for example, can make use of powerful Mortarchs and use a strong core of Morghast Archai while allying in a key monster like the Terrorgheist that would otherwise be difficult to summon. Similarly, many Death factions can add a caster like Arkhan the Black or a handy Necromancer to their forces, providing key magical support; this is great in a force that otherwise lacks wizards, like the Nighthaunts or Deathrattles.
Excitingly, several Death factions are gaining completely new Allegiance Abilities. Flesh-eater Courts armies can now choose a powerful Delusion that applies to the whole force, like The Royal Hunt or Defenders of the Realm, and have command traits and artefacts to further arm your heroes. Your Abhorrant Ghoul Kings just got deadlier.
Nighthaunt forces make powerful and otherworldly armies in the new General’s handbook. They are capable of deploying to the battlefield in the middle of the game or even turning one of their Cairn Wraiths or Tomb Banshees into a Wizard. If you choose the Nighthaunt allegiance, you’ll also be able to benefit from Hexwraiths as battleline units, allowing for a whole army of spectral riders to run down your foes with. Overall, the Nighthaunts are a surprisingly fast and hard hitting army.
Finally, the Soulblight are a versatile elite army, taking advantage of some of the strongest Death heroes, in the form of loads of Vampire Lords, as well as hard-hitting units such as the Blood Knights. You’ll also be able to pick a bloodline for your Vampires indicating if they hail from an ancient clan of Necromancers or a draconic order of knights and giving them powerful traits. We’ll be taking a closer look at these guys in a later preview, so watch this space.
One small but significant change that’s going to be great for Death armies in the new edition is Massive Regiments. This new addition to matched play is aimed at making horde units more viable by offering players a points discount when they take a unit at its full size; you’ll want to take your Skeleton Warriors in units of 40 and your Zombies in units of 60.
