Getting to grips with - Tomb Kings.

[Mr Mystery]

Hello, good morning/afternoon/evening (delete as appropriate), and welcome to my second bash at a 'getting to grips' guide.

For those who missed my first installment, about Orcs and Goblins, this is not intended as some tactical masterplan or a guide on how to build your army. Instead, this is intended as an overview, exploring the various units and special rules, hopefully without drawing conclusions about them on your behalf.

So without further ado, it's time to kick off with the army special rules.

Decent number here, so this section might be serious reading.

First up, Nehekharan Undead. Units and models with this rule come with Unbreakable, Unstable, and Cause Fear. Which is a useful combination. Downsideis that you can't march move, and as far as charge reactions go, you can only ever elect to hold. So this gives you ultimately dependable units which will never, ever flee, but at the price of being horribly punished if caught out of position, as you'll just have to grab your ankles and think of your country of origin (or if you don't like your country of origin, somewhere you don't like. Chances are your opponent won't be too fussy). Everything in the army has this rule, and there's now way around it. If this doesn't sound like your bag, best pick another army at this point

Next, would be The Hierophant. This rule means you must include at least one Nehekharan Undead Wizard. If you have multiple, it's always the one with the highest wizard level, and in the event of a tie, your choice. This gives the model, and any unit it joins, a 6+ Regeneration save. Which is nice, but not exactly game breaking. But there is a downside. If the Heirophant should be destroyed, your army very literally starts falling apart. End of the phase where he's bumped off, and at the start of each friendly turn thereafter, all friendly Nehekharan Undead unit must take a Ld test. If it's failed, it suffers wounds equivalent to the amount the test was failed by, with absolutely no saves of any kind ever allowed. No way past this one either....

Tomb Kings Battle Standard Bearer (or BSB). Normally, a BSB gives you a re-roll on break tests. But the TKBSB means you lose one less wound due to the Unstable rule (see your rulebook) if the unit is within 12". Not as universally useful as your standard BSB, but useful nonetheless (especially when you consider you won't ever be failing psychology test. Happens it's not really possible to scare the dead).

Animated Construct. This rule grants a 5+ Armour Save (which stacks with other armour). They also lose one less wound due to Unstable. And yes, this stacks with the TKBSB.

Arrows of Asaph (almost there!). Units with this rule ignore all modifiers when shooting, positive and negative. Surprisingly useful, as it's a standard 5+ to hit, whether you've moved, shooting at long range, or have a weasel stuffed in each eye socket.

Entombed Beneath The Sands. Grants the Ambushers special rule, but doesn't require the unit to be snickering behind a bush all game. Instead, when a unit with this special rule becomes available to deploy, you mark a point on the table with a counter of some kind, and scatter it. If you misfire, there's a chart, which can kill off the unit, or make it come on from a table edge. Overall, a superior ambush in every respect, as your opponent can't avoid it.


And that finishes the army wide special rules, and quite a selection we have!

Second section, as ever....Characters.

More so than other armies, these will define your army.

Tomb Kings and Princes are, in short, combat monsters. Decently tough, decently strong. But Flammable. Best Ld available too. Additional special rule of The Curse. If your King/Prince gets nobbled, the unit doing it gets cursed, and some stuff might die. Not game breaking stuff dying, but useful nonetheless! Best bit? My Will Be Done. The unit he's deployed into (or she, if you want Queens/Princesses) uses their WS instead of their own. At 6 for a King, and 5 for a Prince, that's a welcome little boost.

Liche Priests. The unbeating heart of the army. You need at least one (Heirophant) and you'll likely want multiple. Pretty standard caster, with access to Lore of Nehekhara, Light and Death. Keeps your army going, and buffs things up with spells. Fairly essential, and I don't think I've seen an army with less than two.

Tomb Heralds. Backup hero choices. Markedly cheaper than Tomb Princes, and a solid little killer. Has a bodyguard special rule which applies when deployed in the same unit as a Prince/King (you have to nominate the protectee upon deployment though). Comes with Killing Blow as standard, which is added to any Magic Weapon they might be toting (bonus attack ones can be a giggle!). Is also your sole choice for a BSB.

Necrotect. Pure buff character, but squishy as a wizard. Wrath of the Creator, which confers Hatred to any unit he joins. If he leaves the unit or someone chops him into little dusty bits, Hatred is instantly lost. Stone Shaper. Any unit of Animated Constructs (see special rules) within 12" get Regeneration 6+. Definitely has a role in the army, as giving Hatred to low WS troops is a massive, massive bonus. Same points as a Tomb Herald as well.

And that's a rundown of your characters, without delving into Special Characters. As per opening to this section, these guys will largely dictate how your army will fight.


Core Units.

Well. So far it's been all sunshine and rainbows. Pokey characters, beneficial special rules. But here comes a thundercloud, in the shape of your somewhat rubbishy (on their own) units.

Skeleton Warriors. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Struggle to fight their way out of a paper bag when left on their own. But did I mention they're cheap? Bit of a bread and butter unit. Can have Spears as an upgrade, and Light Armour. Given all the various special rules and that, usually seen in big units. Can be horrifyingly effective with a Prince and a Necrotect dropped in..... Really good at receiving a charge and bogging down all but the killiest of units.

Skeleton Archers. Fairly cheap, and always use their BS2 to hit. Not as bad as it might seem, as a great many shots taken in Warhammer will be at BS2 after modifiers anyway (unless you're High Elves or Wood Elves, essentially). Can have Light Armour as well as an upgrade. Skeleton Horsemen. Come with Vanguard, which offsets the lack of marching to a degree. Other than that...fairly cheap Cavalry overall, but not really up to much in a fight on their own. However, they can prove a fairly decent flanking force (for instance, to counter charge a unit currently mired in combat with your Skeleton Warriors...)

Skeleton Horse Archer. Fast Cavalry. And always hit on a 5+ with their bows.

Skeleton Chariots. Oh yes. Quite probably the best Core Choice. Units. Of. Chariots. Not the toughest hombres in the Chariot world, but think about it. Units. Of. Chariots. Can be joined by characters mounted in Chariots. Also, if you have ranks, the units current rank bonus is added to the strength of the impact hits. Pretty useful unit, and again if memory serves, the only Chariot unit in core (others can have single chariots from their Core).


So yeah. Core is predominantly, on it's own, a bit lack lustre. But hey, they are dead already!

Special Units. Yeah....there's 8 of them. Brace yourself, this is likely to be another lengthy section.

Tomb Guard. A heavy infantry unit. Good strength, good toughness, reasonable armour. Oh. And Killing Blow. Can be upgraded to Halberds to make them extra hitty. Given all their perks, and lack of serious drawbacks, a competent combat unit. Pretty well pointed as well, at 11 basic.

Necropolis Knights. Seriously heavy cavalry. Monstrous mounts (yay stomps!), killing blow riders, and some poisoned attacks chucked in for good measure. Should be capable of engaging and trouncing enemy cavalry quite nicely, and even threaten monsters. Just beware of static combat res, as they're points intensive, and if you get bogged down, those points are surrendered depressingly quickly.

Tomb Scorpion. Sneaky burrowy snippy poisony death. It's rare you'll see a Tomb Kings force without at least one. Very, very good at hunting artillery, and if your opponent is a bit dopey, lone characters.

Ushabti. Say hello to serious muscle. Monstrous Infantry that can have a variety of upgrades, including Great Bows, which are S6 long bows. As with most Tomb Kings units, best off in decent sized units to get the most out of them (6 is a nice number!). Even with Great Bows, they can prove a competent supporting unit, as their basic strength of 4 is always welcome. Arguably one of the most flexible units, depending on how you want to use them.

Tomb Swarm. Small, Entombed Beneath The Sands, and poisoned. Overall, a pretty decent swarm, but not for everyone!

Carrion. Another competent flanking unit. Flying Warbeasts, with multiple wounds and attacks. Not especially deadly against most things, but given the right target (for my monet, artillery, lone characters and small units of skirmishers) can definitely punch their weight. Pretty well pointed as well.

Khemrian Warsphinx. It's big. It's ridiculously tough, and it's got crew with Killing Blow. This is a solid counter to big monsters, and other high strength enemy units, as it's toughness of 8 means even a mighty Dragon needs a 6 to wound. Can be upgraded to have a flaming breath attack, and/or a poisoned tail. Can also literally sit on enemy infantry, causing lot of damage, as well as it's Thunder Stomp. But again, best off supporting another unit, as being a lone, Nehekharan Undead leaves you horribly vulnerable to high static res and a fluffed round of attacks!

Finally.....Sepulchral Stalkers. Bit of a weird unit to be honest. Fairly decent ranged attack, which can turn enemy units to sand (S1, rolls against enemy I to wound, artillery die shots for each model, and no armour saves allowed. Can be devastating (try it on a Dragon!) or utterly pants (sodding High Elves). Can also fight, but not well enough on it's own. Once more, best off supporting another unit, or being supported.

[Mr Mystery]

Right, hope you've had a tea break, as it's time to round off with Rare, Magic Items, and then a look at the Lore of Nehekhara.

Rare section. 5 choices here, all kind of much of a muchness.

Necrolith Colossus. This was once called a Bone Giant, and fulfils exactly the same role. Big, reasonably tough, and potentially devastating. Can have an additional hand weapon, great weapon, or Bow of the Desert (aka a honking great Bolt Thrower). Best of all, is it's Unstoppable Assault. In a round of combat in which the Colossus successfully charged, every unsaved wound generates an additional attack, and continue to do so until it fails to wound something. Basic 4 attacks (5 with second hand weapon, because frankly why wouldn't you!), and S6 means this has the potential to seriously mess up enemies something awful. And being a monster, also Thunderstomps, though these don't generate extra attacks (mostly because a tap dancing stone giant is silly). Bow of the Desert, as stated, is a Bolt Thrower. Quite an expensive upgrade, but can add decent ranged power should you feel the need. (please be aware, no actual model at present, unless you can get your hands on a bone giant)

Heirotitan. Like a Colossus, but different! Has two bound spells. Shem's Burning Gaze, and Spirit Leech (see your rulebook, Lores of Light and Death respectively). Not utterly terrible in a punch up, but a last resort type. Best thing about it? Spirit Conduit. Any Nehekharan Spellcaster within 12" of one of these bad boys adds D3 to it's casting total when...erm...casting. Decent little bonus. (No current model though)

Necrosphinx. Massive, honking assassin beasty. One of it's attacks is S10, Heroic Killing blow, which is nice. Flies, and has Killing Blow. Fairly pricey points wise, but not to be sniffed at. As with all big nasties, still does best with ideal targets, or supporting another combat.

Screaming Skull Catapult. An absolute classic artillery piece. Fairly bog standard Rock Lobber, except even a single wound causes a panic test. Can be upgraded to be extra scary, granting -1 to any panic tests caused on enemy unit it squishes. Many battle have be won due to a jammy screaming skull shot, and a subsequent panic!

Casket of Souls. It's Artillery Jim, but not as we know it. Think Lost Ark, and you're not far off. Can potentially affect your opponents entire army every turn. Forces a Ld test. For every point the target fails by, it takes a wound with no armour saves allowed. That resolved, on a 3+ you pick another enemy unit within 6", and the ghosties go and pay them an identical visit. Rinse and repeat, but without hitting the same unit twice. Also, and possibly most usefully, adds D3 dice to your power pool. This is an essential boon, given your large dependance on magic (wait for the Lore bit to see why...)


Magic Items.

Mostly unsubtle stuff here! Destroyer of Eternities is a Lord level weapon, which grants +2 S, and Heroic Killing Blow. Horrible at that. But you can also swap all the characters attacks to make a 'sweep attack'. If you do, all enemy models in base contact with your dude take suffer an automatic hit, at S+2, with Heroic Killing Blow. If sweeping a mounted enemy, both rider and mount get slapped (which can be funny!) Pricey though!

Blade of Antarhak. Very, very nice. Reasonable cost, and every wound caused is heals your character. If at full wounds, grants Regeneration instead!

Golden Death Mask of Kharnut. Grants Terror, and enemy units within 6" cannot use their General's Ld or benefit from a BSB's Hold your Ground rule. Good in the right place at the right time!

Cloak of the Dunes. Gives you Fly (wheeee!) Also grants a sort of bombing run, in that any unit moved over during the Fly move takes 2D6 S2 hits. This can affect as many units as you move over in a turn. Damned useful, but does require a sacrifical prawn to go flapping about on his own, so think carefully!

Neferra's Scrolls of Mighty Incantations. One use only, and grants the using wizard bonus power dice equal to his casting level. Any double rolled causes irresistible force, but also a miscast. High risk item, but can genuinely mean the difference between a loss and a win....

Enkhil's Kanopi. When an item is as whined about as much as this, you know it's a winner! Bound Spell (so multiple uses....) If cast successfully, roll a D6 for every 'remains in play' spell on the tabletop. On a 2+, it's automatically dispelled, and you bag D3 power dice for your pool. Really, REALLY useful. And it rare I'll say this, but do not leave your tomb without it!

Standard of the Undying Legion. Reasonable cost. Bound Spell, Level 5. Ressurects D6+2 wounds worth of models, as per ressurecting fallen warriors (put this with the Lore description, as it's only relevant there for the most part!). Ideal if you've taken a big old unit of Tomb Guard!

Banner of the Hidden Dead. Well expensive, but gives a small unit Buried Beneath The Sands. Has a bonus affect that anything trying to burrow up from the sands within 12" can re-roll it's scatter.....


And that's your race specific magic items. Absolutely no subtlety, but very, very good selection!


Finally, The Lore of Nehekhara.

Yeah. You're going to want every one of these spells!

Lore Attribute is dead good. Every time you successfully cast an augment spell from this Lore on a friendly, Nehekharan Undead unit, they get D3+1 wounds back, as per the Fallen Warriors bit (to follow).

Signature Spell - Incantation of the Desert Wind. Targets *all* friendly Nehekharan Undead units within 12" for your basic 8+ casting, or 24" for the boosted 16+ (all of which will nicely benefit from the Lord Attribute). Affected units can immediately make a normal move as if it were the remaining moves sub phase. Offsets your lack of marching nicely, but doesn't allow out of sequence charges.

Spell 1. Incantation of Cursed Blades. Augment, 7+ to cast (nice and cheap). Pick a friendly unit within 12". It now has Killing Blow close combat attakcs until your next Magic Phase. Can be boosted to a 24" range for a 10+ casting. If the target already has Killing Blow or Heroic Killing Blow, it takes affect on a 5+ instead of a 6+..... Awesome spell! (told you big blocks of Skellingtons were worth considering!)

Spell 2. Incantation of Protection. Augment, 9+ to cast. Pick a unit with 12", and boom, it's got a 5+ Ward save. Can be boosted to a 18+ casting to affect all friendly Nehekharan Undead within 12". Yep. Mass protection for the masses!

Spell 3. Righteous Smiting. Extra attacks or shots anyone? Augment, 9+ to cast. Unit with 12" either gets an additional attack, or if armed with a Bow/Great Bow (sadly, Bow of the Desert is ommited), Multiple Shot (2).. Can be boosted to a 18+ casting, to affect all friendly Nehekharan Undead within 18"

Spell 4. Incantation of Vengeance. Hex, 10+ to cast. Target enemy unit within 18" gets -D3 to it's movement and treats all terrain (even open ground) as dangerous terrain, testing every time it moves (including fleeing, charging and that). Can boost range to 36" for a 13+ to cast.

Spell 5. Incantation of Desiccation. Hex, 11+ to cast, 24" range. Target enemy unit has -1S and -1T until your next magic phase. Can be boosted to a -D3 (roll once for both) de-buff for a 22+ casting (ouch!)

Spell 6. Incantation of the Skullstorm. S4 Vortex. Not great, but still surprisingly useful in a pinch. 15+ to cast, so at least it's well cheap. Can be boosted to the large round template for a 25+ to cast.

Ressurecting Fallen Warriors (on account I forgot to include this)....

First and foremost, if a unit is destroyed, it can't be ressurected. Once it's completely gone, it's gone for good. Then, there's a strict order. Champion is always the first ressurected (usually after a botched challenge!), then comes the musician. Standards cannot be ressurected, as these are lost, rahter than destroyed. These displace rank and file to be in the front rank, without charging the units disposition. After that, it's a free for all! In the case of multiple wound models, you replace all wounds, then onto the next model. Ressurected models are added to the front rank, until it's a minimum of 5 wide (or three for Monstrous Infantry, Monstrous Cavalry and Chariots). Once the front rank is 5 wide, you can either widen it, or start adding additional ranks. If it's already got a complete front rank, crack on adding ranks straight off the bat. It cannot enlarge a unit beyond it's starting size, and it never affects characters (unless another rule says it does). Animated Constructs can only ever recover a single wound per phase....

And there you have it, an overview of the joys of Tomb Kings.

Overall, it's a suitably rewarding army to play. Definitely one for those who enjoy tactical subtlety and forward planning. Your generally pretty bobbins troops can become horrendous killing machines given the right support and spells. Indeed, I would say it's a solid countercharge army. Use your Core to pin the enemy, then jump them with everything else! You will need to consider your synergy carefully though, as it's really, really hard to make an all rounder army work. Decide where you want to focus, and pick accordingly!

And just as a reminder, this is an opinion piece, and not meant to be taken as a comprehensive view. Feel free to chip in your thoughts and wisdom!

[ACE01]

Plenty of good info in here for anyone wanting to get a feel for a tomb kings army. I can say from experience that you magic phase is essential, and often makes or breaks games. Personally the commentary I've found:

Skeleton Core survive better with a prince, don't just think of them offensively as they are still very much an anvil unit. Speed is a problem. Very slow to get into combat, and a canny opponent can often avoid you.

Gunline armies can be problematic, as your chariots and monsters are simple to hit with cannon. I take a necrosphynx along with my warsphynx(s) to give a quicker moving option that artillery has to think about.

Chariots can be unwieldy in units, but are a nice option in core, particularly with a prince for ws5. I like Banner of Swiftness for +1m to help get the charge off.

[Mr Mystery]

I would agree overall. It's definitely an army unused to having the initiative! Massive onus on your deployment as a result, as you can genuinely throw the game before anyone moves.

Does very well in games of attrition though, particularly if you've invested in a good amount of magic. With the right magic phase, you can replace a turn, maybe two turns worth of casualties to your rank and file, which is not something your opponent really wants to see happening too often.

[King Chud]

There is no army like TK that dominate the magic phase. When you start playing with the Casket of Souls, the Constructs, and the extra magic die that can come with a myriad of combos, the TK dominate it. We have a TK player in our area that always goes with lore of nehek and death or light magic. He is always outflanking larger horde armies and getting into games of attrition. My only complaint is that he uses the minimum core troops to do the job. The magic comes first for TK, they live or die by it.

I would agree overall. It's definitely an army unused to having the initiative! Massive onus on your deployment as a result, as you can genuinely throw the game before anyone moves.

Does very well in games of attrition though, particularly if you've invested in a good amount of magic. With the right magic phase, you can replace a turn, maybe two turns worth of casualties to your rank and file, which is not something your opponent really wants to see happening too often.

[angrybear]

I really like tomb kings. They got some good looking models and a nice egyptian feel to them. However after facing them several times they are not the strongest army. They need a good general, however as you mentioned they can have a ridiculous magic phase (their spells are however not the most effective). Most effective units I think are the tomb guard, catapults and the sphinxes, casket of souls and liche priests.

[Mr Mystery]

For my money, I'd say Tomb Kings can be far pokier than many give them credit for.

Take for instance the ridiculously low cost of a Skellington with Spear. 5 points for a warrior which your opponent can't make run away, spook or scare. Take them in a big old Horde, say 50 to 60 strong, and that's a mere 300 points (before command) and a serious obstacle for your opponent to overcome, particularly if and when he fluffs his Fear test and drops to WS1. Buff them up with a Prince or King, not to mention a Necrotect, and suddenly that entire unit is seriously punching above it's weight. Couple of spells here and there (oh, hello Killing Blow) and there is precious little they can't take in a fight!

But otherwise I do agree. Tomb Guard are frankly too tasty not to field. Any T4 unit with static Killing Blow is an absolute must! Catapults can be utterly deadly, especially when you send the cream of your opponents army screaming from the field with a single shot.

Trick, as with their cousins the Vampire Counts is of course synergy. When a player gets this right, Tomb Kings are horrendous to face! Sadly, if chosen without this careful thought, they do suffer.

You can also pull out some unpleasant surprises by exploring your ancillary Lords, Death and Light. Death in particular has some 'orrible spells. From the vastly overrated Purple Sun (tricky to cast, needs a good position to cast from, any opponent worth his salt keen to dispel it), to the sneaky and very useful Spirit Leech, and the oft neglected Fate of Bjuna being able to assassinate dangerous looking enemy characters, which can weaken an entire battle line (try Spirit Leeching or Bjuna'ing his BSB. LOLS!). Death also keeps generate dice for your pool if you're lucky.

Soulblight is also a ridiculously useful spell. With troops the quality of Tomb Kings, dropping your opponents S and T very much levels the field to the point where a ropey combat suddenly becomes a much surer thing!

Light? Very nice overall, much more about boosting up your guys. Net of Amyntok can pin an enemy unit in place, nicely offsetting your own lack of pace.

Trouble with writing these Getting to Grips guides? Makes me want to do an army of the chosen race! Bah!

[Chronowraith]

For my money, I'd say Tomb Kings can be far pokier than many give them credit for.

Personally, I think that is one of the strongest tools in the Tomb King player's book.

Many players see Tomb Kings as easy pickings and have preconceptions and a canny TK general can use these both to their advantage.

[Mr Mystery]

True that.

I think a large part of that perception is because they were followed by Ogre Kingdoms, which is not an army most Undead have a great time against, on account you can't killing blow them, and they aren't even remotely scared by you! Thus the predictable switch in army du jour left TK looking far squishier than they actually are.

Use this to your advantage, as the Timeghost says!

[Blackbladder]

Nice , as a recent tomb kings player myself it's nice to actually read up on some positive and useful articles.
They are in no way a weak army they just lack the 'point n click' of other armies and there's no one 'uber build' which I think is a great touch !