Age of Sigmar: How to Play Soulblight Gravelords – Legion of Night
Today we look at how to play Avengorii, the Soulblight Gravelords faction, the ninjas of the undead world.
Rounding out our Soulblight HTP we have the things that go bump in the dark, the Legion of Night. By far the army with the most trickery, the Legion of Night can dance circles around most armies, and can be in almost everywhere at once with ease. These guys are the epitome of undead boogeymen, and they have no problem making your enemies disappear.
Who are the Legion of Night?
Led by Mannfred, last of the Von Carstein vampires and Mortarch of Night, the Legion of Night are perhaps the most well-known of the Vampiric bloodlines, and certainly the most prolific (though the Vyrkos are vying for that spot these days). They appear from the shadows in wave after wave of undead bodies, striking like lightning and then vanishing again, only to attack from a different angle a moment later. Mannfred himself is one of the greatest practitioners of the necromantic arts in the Realms, surpassed only by Arkhan and Nagash himself, but his ambition towers even higher. It was for this reason that he was able to survive numerous attempts to bring him down, and it is the primary carrot that Nagash uses to both drive him and keep him under control.
Why Play Legion of Night?
The Legion of Night is the most tactically flexible force in the battletome, and it can utilize some fantastic ambush tactics not usually present in an undead list. Mannfred himself is an incredible support and combat piece, combining all the best aspects of wizard, warrior, and commander.
Strengths
- Ambush mechanics will have you dancing circles around armies that would normally outpace you.
- You have close to the same strength as the power subfactions without their low model count.
- Ambushing battleline Vargheists will spell doom for your enemy’s backline.
Weaknesses
- The same ambush tactics can leave your units out of position and unsupported.
- Your tactical flexibility can leave your army a bit unfocused.
Signature Rules
Your bloodline depends on how you play and what rules you worry about, but these are the basic rules you need to know for this army.
- The Unquiet Dead – You get to pick two points on the battlefield to resurrect or deploy Summonable units from. This is awesome since your enemy will have to decide whether to stimmy this ambush point or the table edges.
- Locus of Shyish – If a Wizard casts from one of the book lores with a 9+, the spell is activated twice. Amazing in this list.
- Deathless Minions – Soulblight units wholly within 12″ of a friendly Hero or gravesite have a 6+ shrug. You’ll be utilizing your gravesites a lot and your heroes will remain mobile, so this is great.
- Reanimated Horrors – Deadwalker and Deathrattle units mess with enemy Bravery. Because of your special rules, you’ll have a ton of these, and having them mess up your enemy is an added bonus.
- Endless Legions – You can recycle slain enemy units into half-strength Deathrattle or Deadwalker units that you lost earlier in the game. See above.
- Deathly Invocation – Your heroes all heal nearby Summonable units innately. See above above.
In addition, Legion of Night armies have the following army rules:
- The Bait – Your Deathrattle and Deadwalker units get +1 to their saves in the first battle round. Great to help your frontline survive enemy shooting and tie them up for your ambushers.
- Ageless Cunning – Let’s you set up up to half of your army in ambush, arriving in any of your movement phases from the battlefield edge. Unlike gravesites, this doesn’t specify Summonable, so you can put big units in your enemy’s face right away.
5 Key Units
In a Legion of Night army, these are five units you’ll always want to consider.
Mannfred Von Carstein – The Mortarch of Night and big boss of your bloodline. He has incredible combat power, he’s an impressive wizard, and he can bamf out of combat if he needs to. Never leave him behind.
Vampire Lord – A good support hero to put into ambush to babysit your other ambushing units. Not too expensive or big so it won’t hurt as much if he gets locked down, but strong enough to present a real threat.
Dire Wolves – A great ambush unit, either from the graves or the battlefield edge. They’re fast, they hit pretty hard, and with the first turn buff they can be surprisingly tough.
Vargheists – Battleline in your army and a powerhouse ambush unit. They can be set up in the sky or to arrive from the table edge, and you don’t have to say which.
Zombie Dragon – Another unit that is terrifying to see in ambush. For added evil, stick a vampire on its back too.
Sample Army (1000 pts)
Army: Soulblight Gravelords (Legion of Night)
Leader: Mannfred. General.
Leader: Vampire Lord. General.
Battleline: 3 Vargheists
Battleline: 10 Dire Wolves
Battleline: 10 Dire Wolves
How to Play Legion of Night
Dance circles around your enemy and make them fear where your next unit will appear from. If things stop going your way, just do a strategic redeploy.
~Make them fear the dark…
