Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey everyone,
I'm starting to dable into the idea of AoS and thinking of starting an army of death units.
Now I have a few questions regarding making things fun for playing (for me and opponent) and also basic assembly help.
Now I haven't purchased anything yet but so far thinking
1. Tomb kings battalion
2. Krell and/or Nagash
3. Probably another TK battalion

I like the idea of having mainly skeletons, mostly archers, and staying away as much as possible from the Egyptian theme.
So was wondering how many bows come in the TK battalion? I think I read only 32 so after doing horse archers could only make 24 of the 40 skellys archers. Is that correct? Also how should I arm the others? 50-50 spears and blades?

Next question is how to keep things fun? I really want to play Nagash but I know he (and summoning) can make the game one sided very quickly. What do you think would be some reasonable rules/handicaps to assist this. I was thinking maybe limit summoning to double deployment wounds. Eg, if I start with Nagash and 40 archers I could only summon up to 55 more wounds? The other thought was to have a roll off with opponent before game and if they roll higher I deploy krill.

Thoughts?
Cheers y'all

Mantic makes some very nice skeletons also that don't have the Egyptian theme. They're pretty cheap too. If you don't want the Egyptian theme, i'd say the TK battalions aren't a very good choice.

http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/kings-of-war/undead/product/undead-skeleton-regiment-20-figures.html

I always loved the new Krell model, although the old one had more sass. But he's one bad looking dude. Shame you have to get him in finecast now. I'd look on ebay to see if there's any pewter ones kicking around.


edit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Krell-Lord-of-the-Undead-Metal-OOP-in-blister-/301752404228?hash=item4641d84904:g:ve8AAOSw3ydVsOH1

hah, old one is on ebay. that fist is just begging for a middle finger to be greenstuffed on. My old opponent back in middle school had one of these if I can recall correctly. used to beat the heck out of my dwarves.

I just ran my Nagash against a friends Glottkin list,we were using objectives and didn't get to finish the game,though I did get enough play in to see a few issues.
Nagash can summon pretty much anything he wants in AoS,its much easier than it was in 8th even though he was pretty OTT there too,heh.However the main thing to keep in mind is that you really need to have at least a couple of big things for him to put out there like Terrorghiests or maybe Vargulfs or some TK monster thing.If you just have skeletons and other fodder he will just be feeding them to your opponent and not really making any headway.If small stuff is all you have to run with him then plan on getting Nagash in there for some face time.

And secondly I wouldn't even consider running Nagash unless you opponent is throwing down at least one monster/character of the legendary type or you wont have much of a challenge...he can easily summon back everything that dies and if your opponent doesn't have way above par killing power stuff out there you will swarm him without any problem.

As for building a Death force,you can try to build toward one of the formations in the army listings as they are pretty good.Then add additional monsters or heros,maybe a named guy or two.Or just pick up what you think is cool looking and fun to play,with AoS that actually works

If you want to start away from the Egyptian theme I don't think the TK Battalion will be a good buy.

In a vampire counts skeleton box you probably get close to 20 heads and so kit bashing vampire counts and tomb kings together would be the way to go. (The vampire count skeletons are much better sculpts too Imo) :-)

Personally, we keep nagash out of games as he tends to cause serious issues.
With his constant spells and some tricks, its impossible to fail a cast.

So you have constant monsters and units being summoned.
Throw in arkhan on top of that and between them, they are unbeatable.

If I was playing Nagash I'd only do so against other big heroes. And I'm not looking for summoning spam, I'd probably run him as a solo hero also.
I know I said trying to not be Egyptian but I suppose I meant using non armoured models where possible, and probably cutting off the glaring Egyptian bits where possible.
I would love to run all VC skeletons but the price gets ridiculous very quickly. I might buy a box with the battalion and mix match a bit.

That sounds good. That box has a lot of bits and can go a long way!

I recommend some Spirit Hosts too, as they are great models, fun to paint and fun to play with (6 attacks each!)

I'll admit I overlooked spirit hosts, in the AoS app they're still the old model which I think looks quite bad. They're a pretty cool unit that could find a place in the future.
For now I'm thinking one of those 5 man skeleton boxes (to get the idea of painting them without a big commitment) then probably the VC skeletons, then hopefully TK battalion and a hero.
Now I'm a little unsure which hero to go with first. I like krells model and don't mind his play style but am thinking Manfred would suit my army a bit better and be a better substitute for Nagash.
Cheers everyone for the help :-)

Yes, I hate the old models are shown in the app! The new models are amazing, some of my favorites ever from GW. And they fit into VC and TK armies equally

They are still on the expensive side though... They'll be a down the track purchase :-P them partnered with Manfreds command ability can do some nasty damage