Another look into the Nighthaunts from the Warhammer Community. The Nighthaunts are really a driving force for a lot of new players who have been sitting on the sidelines for the Age of Sigmar. Its an beautiful looking army and a lot of people are just waiting to see how they play.
via the Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/06/12/12th-junedesign-insights-the-nighthauntgw-homepage-post-4/
The Soul Wars boxed set is nearly here – and with it, two brand new armies. The Sacrosanct Chamber and the Nighthaunt are some of Warhammer Age of Sigmar’s best models ever, bringing the Mortal Realms to life with two rich, characterful sets of miniatures. We caught up with miniatures designer Ben Jefferson and studio head Ben Johnson to learn more about how these new armies were fleshed out with rules and lore…
When designing the new Nighthaunt, the miniatures design team went back and looked at the entire Death range for inspiration. The team was looking for something completely different – something that would allow them to take Death in a brand new direction. While Nighthaunt had been a part of Warhammer for a while, there still weren’t any models quite like them, and the unique aesthetic embodied by the Tomb Banshee and Cairn Wraith was chosen as the basis for the entire range. Each new Nighthaunt miniature builds upon the core concept established by these spectral champions in some way.
The Nighthaunt were meant to be more than “just” an army, but a way to explore death and the underworlds in the Mortal Realms. The Nighthaunt aren’t a force of brave soldiers, or mechanical automatons, but rather a motley collection of prisoners – complete with wardens, jailors, and guards. Rather than weapons, the Nighthaunt wield ancient instruments of torture, or simple implements from their former lives, like the clubs and daggers wielded by the Chainrasp Hordes.
While the Nighthaunt units have similar silhouettes, and lack a great deal of specific iconography, each manages to look distinct from the others. This was achieved by each being given a distinct form of movement. The Glaivewraith Stalkers, for instance, are drifting inexorably towards their foes, while the Grimghast Reapers are poised in frantic, slashing stances.
To make the Nighthaunt “feel” right on the tabletop, the rules writers took an unusual approach to creating the army, making it play quite unlike anything else in Warhammer Age of Sigmar so far. Where the Stormcast Eternals are individually all powerful warriors, the Nighthaunt are first and foremost an army based around synergy and combos between characters. You’ll get no fewer than four Nighthaunt Heroes in the Soul Wars set, making it a great way to learn how the army works.
Finally, the Nighthaunt provided a chance for our loremasters to delve into Nagash’s personality and explore just how this god has changed during his time in the Mortal Realms. In Legions of Nagash, the militant side of the Death God was explored through examining his armies, while the Nighthaunt shed light on his twisted sense of justice – or petty cruelty. These souls were not twisted by natural means, but by the direct intervention of Nagash himself, with the Great Necromancer finding a flicker of fulfilment in meting out punishments to those who thought death would be an escape…
