The vampires of the Mortal Realms are supremely powerful creatures whose cursed existence comes with a range of benefits. For the low cost of an unquenchable thirst for blood, these pallid nobles gain superhuman strength and speed, and control over vast armies of undead soldiers. The upcoming Battletome: Soulblight Gravelords provides the dynasties with three new Manifestations, and a piece of terrain that empowers those who dabble in Shyishian magic.
The Mortal Realms are littered with sites of great tragedy, marked by gravestones or edifices that the raw energy of death has seeped into over innumerable ages. These Cursed Sepulchres become lodestones for fell necromantic power – their very stones and wrought iron embellishments palpably exuding grim energy.
Locus of Shyish
A palpable aura of death lingers over these ancient burial sites, dormant necromantic energy that can be harnessed by Shyishan practitioners.
Effect: Each time a friendly Soulblight Gravelords Wizard casts a Summon Spell from the ‘Manifestations of the Grave’ lore, you can measure the range and visibility from this terrain feature instead.
These structures act as a Locus of Shyish, an anchoring point for summoning Manifestations of the Grave, allowing wizards to extend their thaumaturgical reach further. This dilapidated mausoleum can be built in a number of ways – even without a roof – and has reversible walls that let you instead build a Nexus of Grief for use by the ghastly Nighthaunt.* You get three structures in each box.
Death wizards now have access to magical control, healing, and swarms of bloodsucking bats – everything you need to wage a good undead war – via the Hand of Nagash, Unholy Requilary and the Sanguine Swarm.
The Hand of Nagash is a simulacrum of the Supreme Lord of the Undead’s own bony mitt, able to swipe and rake at enemies to, or capture them in its Chill Grasp, reducing their Control score to 1, or stopping them from using Move abilities.
Chill Grasp
A deathly chill seizes the hearts of the foe, leaving them petrified with fear.
Declare: Pick an enemy unit in combat with this Manifestation to be the target.
Effect: Roll a dice. On a 4+, the following effects apply until the start of your next turn:
While the target is within 3" of this Manifestation, the target has a maximum control score of 1 that cannot be modified.
While the target is within 3" of this Manifestation, the target cannot use Move abilities.
By summoning the corpse of an elder vampire to the battlefield, sorcerers can create a conduit for necromantic magics, so Soulblight Gravelords Heroes can Draw on Power to heal themselves or enhance their attacking prowess.
Appearing as a twin colony of bats, the Sanguine Swarm will meanwhile harry their foes with a flurry of Leeching Bites, with critical hits doling out mortal damage and healing this sorcerous flock. Both swarms must remain within 9” of one another, but they can attack independently for maximum annoyance.
Draw on Power
The necromantic energy of this long-perished vampire can be siphoned by their kind for sustenance or drawn upon to grant a temporary rush of power.
Declare: Pick a friendly Soulblight Gravelords Hero wholly within 12" of this Manifestation to be the target.
Effect: Pick 1 of the following:
Heal (D3) the target.
Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of the target’s melee weapons for the rest of the turn and banish this Manifestation.
Leeching Bites
Although arcane in nature, these magical creatures still feed on the blood of the living.
Effect: Each time an attack made by this Manifestation scores a critical hit, Heal (1) this Manifestation.
All these rules and more are to be found in the upcoming Battletome: Soulblight Gravelords. The first place you can get it will be in the Deathrattle Army Set – the Barrow Kingdom’s legions are beginning to rise from the slumber, and we’ll let you know when they breach the topsoil here on Warhammer Community.
* Rules to use Nexus of Grief in your Nighthaunt army will be made available for free here on Warhammer Community – stay tuned!
