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Based on my limited experience and ththe GHB 2019 point changes, I made this revised Nighthaunt list. Less leaders, less battleline, more damage. Any feedback on how effective you expect this to be? Thanks in advance

++ **Pitched Battle** 1,000 (Death: Legions of Nagash and Nighthaunt) [1,000pts] ++

+ Leader +

Dreadblade Harrow [90pts]: 1. Atherquartz Brooch, 6. Ruler of the Spirit Host, General

Spirit Torment [120pts]

+ Battleline +

Chainrasp Horde [80pts]: 10 Chainrasps

Hexwraiths [140pts]: 5 Hexwraiths

Hexwraiths [140pts]: 5 Hexwraiths

+ Other +

Bladegheist Revenants [180pts]: 2x 5 Bladegheist Revenants

Bladegheist Revenants [180pts]: 2x 5 Bladegheist Revenants

Chainghasts [70pts]: 2 Chainghasts

+ Allegiance +

Alliegiance: Allegiance: Nighthaunt

+ Game Options +

Game Type: 1000 Points - Vanguard

+ Realm of Origin +

Realm of Origin: Origin: Hysh

++ Total: [1,000pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe

I'm not quite sure what this army is trying to achieve. You lack numbers to control the board and objectives, you lack staying power because your units are so small, and your damage is meh at best. Revenants on the charge might do some damage, but anything that survives to hit them back will just evaporate them.

Chainghasts and Spirit Torments are good, but at this points value I think you're netting diminishing returns because they're only really buffing 10 Revenants.

Here are a couple options I'd probably consider at 1000 pts:

Allegiance: Nighthaunt
Mortal Realm: Hysh

Leaders
Dreadblade Harrow (90)
- General
- Trait: Ruler of the Spirit Hosts
- Artefact: Midnight Tome - Soul Cage
Dreadblade Harrow (90)
- Artefact: Aetherquartz Brooch

Battleline
10 x Hexwraiths (280)
5 x Hexwraiths (140)

Behemoths
Black Coach (260)

Battalions
Deathriders (130)

Total: 990 / 1000
Extra Command Points: 1
Allies: 0 / 200
Wounds: 52

Fast, and you have a block of 10 Hexwraiths are should be nigh unkillable. Use CP to give them free mystic shield, and you're ressing 2D3 bodies every turn into them with the Coach and RotSH. The goal of this list is to use your speed to play the objectives, charging support pieces and units and using the charge move plus pile-in as extra movement towards objectives or board positioning.

Soul Cage to help you win your combats, and +1 to charge plus Wave of Terror on 9+ are all just pros.

I would say the Brooch to help farm CP back, but you could swap for Pendant of the Fell Wind if you just want ludicrous speed (unnecessary IMO).

Allegiance: Nighthaunt
Mortal Realm: Hysh

Leaders
Dreadblade Harrow (90)
- General
- Trait: Ruler of the Spirit Hosts
- Artefact: Aetherquartz Brooch
Reikenor the Grimhailer (170)
- Lore of the Underworlds: Soul Cage
The Briar Queen (180)
- Lore of the Underworlds: Shademist

Battleline
10 x Chainrasp Horde (80)
10 x Chainrasp Horde (80)
10 x Chainrasp Horde (80)

Units
20 x Bladegheist Revenants (320)
6 x Thorns of the Briar Queen (0)

Total: 1000 / 1000
Extra Command Points: 0
Allies: 0 / 200
Wounds: 73

This one is less speedy, but still objective focused. Reikenor and the Briar Queen control and debuff, while your Revenants omnom relevant threats. Dreadblade helps to farm CP and uses his mobility to pull units to where they need to be, and 36 Chainrasps will give you solid board control at this points level.

You could drop 10 Chainrasps and take 2 Chainghasts to make your Revenants a bit fightier, but IMO I'd go with more bodies.

Thanks for the response. My initial reaction is that both lists seem to miss some punch. I'm not confident the damage output is as high. Also the chainrasps miss their >10 models bonus, isn't that something that's worth considering? I can imagine 3 blocks of 10 is more flexible though. My other worry is that there's no way I'll be able to be in reach with every attack for 20 bladegheists. They have 1" reach and normal sized bases. I'm here to learn so I'd appreciate any answer.

The problem isn't just initial punch, it's lasting power. 5 Revenants is VERY easy to kill (it's 5 wounds with a 4+ save, maybe 6+ death save). I lose 5 Revenants in a round of combat easy.

When you lose 5 Revenants in your list, they're gone. You're right in that you won't always get 20 Revenants into combat. But that's fine, because you need wounds to absorb damage. Also try not to think of combat as just "I'm going to push into you to maximize damage". It's best to think of combat as another move phase, where you get a chance to move 2D6" + 3" pile in, and maybe throw some attacks around. Oftentimes you actually don't want to full-frontal fight some units (Plague Monks with Death Frenzy, Hearthguard Berserkers, Witches, etc.) This becomes really key with Revenants who can also retreat and charge. You can charge your unit into the edge of a combat block to slingshot yourself forward and position further ahead towards, say, a back-field objective or gain further lateral movement towards enemy support pieces etc. The combat will then be just getting 1 or 2 models into combat to successfully complete the charge, do some damage, and then run away.

Also, Hexwraiths don't hit hard. At all. High points, 1" reach, and mediocre weapons (4+/3+ is kinda meh, especially without rerolls), so your list doesn't exactly have punch either. Hexwraiths should be taken in a Death Riders Battalion because of it's +1 to charge and proccing Wave of Terror on a 9+, and even then you're fighting tactically. Picking off key models/units and using your speed to control objectives and move around the board, less about scrumming in the middle.

The problem you're going to find with Chainrasps is that you almost always want a big block of 40 (staying power, you can spend a CP to make them immune, and you can stack buffs more effectively).

Taking units of 10 allows you to fill battle line, but it also allows you to more effectively control the board. 2 Units of 10 can cover more of the board (say, to prevent enemy units from deep striking within 9") more effectively than a unit of 20 could, because you can leave an almost 18" gap between the two units and cover more of the board.

Units of 40 for tarpitting and fighting, units of 10 for objective and board control. It all depends on your playstyle. If you want to really capitalize on 40 Chainrasps, I think you need to make that the core of your army (especially at 1000 pts, where you don't have wiggle room to do a lot of things).

Take the Chainguard Battalion, 2 blocks of 40, a few Guardians etc, and have at it.

Bottom line: AoS is an objective game. You can kill till the cows come home, but if your opponent scores even 1 more VP off objectives than you, you lose the game. Objectives first, kill second.