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So, im slowly starting a Death army. Pure death with no specific aligiance. But in trying to figure out what battleline to use?
Skeletons are cheap but slow and require alot of them to make to make good.
Crypt Ghouls seem really good.
Zombies are both cheap for points and models. But again slow.
What is the meta like for death now?
So far I got
Manfredd
Skeletons
Black Knights
A vampire lord
Im ordering a start collecting ghouls and another unit of cryptflayers.
But what after that?

Be careful. I'd strongly advise against planning to field a mix of Flesh Eater Courts and non-FEC units. FEC are strong mostly because they have great internal synergy, while they don't have much synergy with the rest of Death Grand Alliance. If you do go FEC, then Ghouls are an obvious choice.

If you don't go FEC, there are two basic battleline strategies:

1. Go small: take minimum sized battleline units with the intention of having them play only a minor role on the battlefield, likely adding bodies to objective play. Zombies are the cheapest way of doing this, and you can merge them into one larger unit when the battle starts. However, skeletons are quite a bit stronger and you might prefer having multiple smaller units rather than one big one. Typically for skeletons you will use the ancient blades option.

2. Go big. In this case, you want to take the maximum size for at least one of your battleline choices in order to get the substantial unit size bonuses. This would be 40 for skeletons or 60 for zombies iirc. In this strategy, your big block is a major part of your battle plan. You will probably want to provide at least one corpse cart to support zombies. Skeletons in this configuration typically want spears as it will help you get more models into combat.

I think both of these strategies can work, and what you prefer will depend on your overall playstyle.


There are a few other options to consider which involve more niche choices.

First of all, you can go elite if you use one of the subfactions. A pure Deathlords army can use Morghasts as battleline while a pure Soulblight army can take Blood Knights as battleline. Both of these choices will lead you to have very small but very elite armies.

Your other option is to dip into the Tomb Kings warscrolls for the Skeleton Chariots option. Skeleton Chariots are OOP and thus can be somewhat hard to find, but you can definitely still get them on Ebay and sometimes on sites like Bartertown, Dakka's own swap shop, or r/Miniswap. Skeleton Chariots are more expensive than just taking minimum battleline requirements but cheaper than giant blocks. They are very mobile, hit hard on the charge, and are very tanky due to their banner. They even get a (small) ranged attack. They are very nasty in units of 6, which are not cheap but still not as expensive as a maxed out infantry unit. The problem with these is that because the model count is low they aren't great for contesting objectives.

I hope that helps!

Seals pretty much covered all the bases, though I will note that the Ghoul Patrol battalion is good enough that it can easily serve in any Death force, and it will contain your battleline requirements.

Yeah. Chariots looked fun. The ability to just add a model looks powerful. But they are expensive. People are charging 20$ for one

$20 per is a bit high. You should be able to get them for $10-15 each with a little patience, especially if you are willing to buy assembled/painted ones and strip them yourself.

That is a bummer. Well hopefully I can find some.
Because using those with a necromancer would make my friends HATE ME.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Or does anyone know any good conversions?

Buy a normal chariot kit of choice, replace the crew with skeletons from GWs kit, and paint the steeds to look spectral (or replace them with stress from the black knight kit).

Make the horses look like zombies and paint the chariot to look worn out?
Brilliant.

Yeah, honestly this method is probably better than getting actually skeleton chariots if you are going for standard vc/death as the TK ones have a distinct aesthetic.

That said, keep in mind that chariot kits retail for more than $20, so you will probably need to look to secondhand stuff to get em cheaper.

I can also try mantic second hand.
My fear is them eventually just getting rid of the rules for chariots for good.
Also, I don't loose my allegiance to death with them right?

Does mantic even have skeleton chariots?

Not, but I can convert.

Most people I see go with the Zombies and just merge them on Turn 1 so they're not completely useless. Though you also have the option to keep them apart to get more objective presence.

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Also, I don't loose my allegiance to death with them right?

So, I decided I'm going pure FEC for now while I build up the rest of my army.