Thursday, September 21, 2017

Firestorm Preview: The Wraith Fleet


Another faction preview for Firestorm is out, the Wraith Fleet.




via Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/09/21/the-armies-of-firestorm-the-wraith-fleet-sep21gw-homepage-post-4/

We did promise you vampire pirates! [Editor’s Note: Pretty sure you mean to write ‘vampirates’ there…] In Firestorm, you’ll be able to theme your Death army around the Wraith Fleet, a new allegiance representing the forces of vampire corsair Varkos Varactyr. Commanding a fleet of spectral galleons, Varkos has raided the Realm of Fire for thousands of years, spreading Death at the will of Nagash and filling his rotting holds with plunder. On the tabletop, allying your army with the Wraith Fleet has some powerful benefits, adding some much-needed mobility to the generally slow-moving Death army:



Without Warning is great for a variety of Death units, allowing them to encircle the foe and take key territory. Usually, Death armies rely on summoning to deploy their units to the far-flung corners of the tabletop, but here, you won’t have to rely on the unreliability inherent to this mechanic. Meanwhile, Nimbus of Shrieking Souls is a handy way to stack up bravery penalties on your enemies and ensure you make the maximum impact on the turn you arrive.

Who benefits?
Wraith Fleet armies can use units from Soulblight, Deathrattle, Deathmages and Nighthaunt.



Best Factions
Soulblight Vampires really benefit from Without Warning. With a variety of powerful units like the Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon and the Blood Knights, being able to get behind the enemy and devastate their ranged units, or simply having the chance to pull off a charge on the turn you deploy, is very handy.



There are some powerful combinations to be had with the various Soulblight allegiance abilities, too. Take the Necromantic bloodline on your units, and you could be inflicting a hefty -2 bravery penalty on your opponents, while the Swift Death bloodline provides even more mobility by allowing your units to move as if they can fly.



While Deathmages aren’t necessarily a faction of their own, they make a great ally in any Wraith Fleet force thanks to the Mortis Engine. Deploying yours within 9″ of your opponent puts them in range of deadly abilities like The Reliquary – drop yours on a vulnerable enemy flank as a kind of death-fuelled bomb.