Games Workshop - Warhammer Age of Sigmar - Ossiarch Bonereapers Mortek Guard

Product Information

Legion Ability: Shimmering Rage –At the start of the combat phase all units within 6″ of a unit with wounds allocated to it become enraged, which gives +1 to hit and -1 to save. This seems to encouraging clumping your units together because if a unit has lost models but has no wounds allocated, it doesn’t benefit, it also means Mortek guard can never benefit from their own wounds. But if they remain next to a partner, it increases the chances both will become enraged. As if this guy didn’t need to get better. Same as before, 2 spells and can cast his Warscroll Spell an extra time on a 2+ (D3 times on a 6). Since rerolls are a big no-no, his warscroll spell now gives +1 to wound which, honestly, damn good trade. Also, if that wasn’t enough, he knows all the spells now. Mortisan Boneshaper Command Trait: Unsettling and Sinister –Subtract -1 from melee hits against this general and give -1 bravery to enemy units within 3″. Good both as a defensive and offensive tool. Ancient Knowledge: Identical to the Kavalos version, gain 1 additional relentless discipline point.

Combined arms –Unlike other, sadder undead armies, the Ossiarch Bonereapers can build a force that really feels like an army, blending infantry, cavalry, war machines, monsters and magic to feel like a cohesive whole, rather than having to lean too heavily into one. You’ve got some real power behind those bones, but can also play a horde to be a real pain for your opponent. Options! There is one newcomer, Impenetrable Ranks which gives a unit a +1 to ward rolls. While in most situations that means a unit can get a 5+ ward, which is still pretty good, it doesn’t just say Deathless Warriors which means if you’re crazy and run Nagash, you can get a 4+ ward. Have fun. Command Traits Arcane Command: Casting Value 5, gain D3 Relentless Command Points. If you worry you don’t gain enough each turn, this is a good take. The Ossiarch Bonereapers army is disciplined, durable, hard-hitting, magically potent, but can be tactically brittle. They can overwhelm objectives with troops that are hard to (permanently) kill, while you pare away your opponent’s best units with your own elites. Just beware enemy mortal wounds, or your units becoming mired in situations that they’re not suited for.

Seraphon – Magical Dominance, Ranged Mortal Wounds, and Board Control

As a proud Mortisan myself, I took control of the elite warriors of Nagash – it’s actually my own army we use in the game – while actual real-life Chaos worshipper Ben commands the Slaves to Darkness. If you’ve ever wanted to see what happens when a bunch of angry, heavily armoured brutes charge into unwavering lines of elite skeletal warriors, then this is the show for you.

Steve: Are there any armies that can offer up a counter-punch to the armies you have mentioned above? Slow. With some exceptions your units are slower than usual without spending limited resources, and combined with the low model count that means you could potentially be out-maneuvered.

The Metallics

Command Trait: Twisted Challenge –At the beginning of a combat phase, choose an enemy HERO within 3″, your general gets +1 to hit against that Hero, but -1 to hit anything else. Makes them a good Hero killer, be sure to equip them for the job. That’s right, you didn’t lose access to your old Command abilities. Basically all of them returned intact and unlike other command abilities you can still use them multiple times in a turn. The issuer and receiver must be different each time, but you can still, say issue Unstoppable Advance onto several units for that +3″ of movement. The Null Myriadlegion are able to resist the effects of any spell on a 5+ – they don’t even have to be the target of the spell, allowing them to resist things like the mortal wounds that spill over from the Stormcast Eternals’ spell Chain Lightning. The new edition of Warhammer Age of Sigmar has been kind to some units, as the updated core rules make certain units even stronger than they were before. Steve shared his top three pics. Nagash, Supreme Lord of the Undead

The Bonereapers are a fantastic candidate for Contrast paints if you want to get your army tabletop ready fast – though there’s plenty of detail on their models if you enjoy painting miniatures (just be prepared to paint an awful lot of bone, ivory, and off-white). Like all Death armies, you can ignore wounds on a 6+ for all your models. The only catch is that you have to be wholly within 12” of a hero or wholly within 6” of a Hekatos (unit leader). This can actually be harder than you think so a lot of game time is spent finding that skeleton with a slightly different hat to make sure he’s in the middle of your blob of Mortek Guard. Note that this ability only works if the whole unit is within range; you can’t assign wounds to models in range of a Hekatos if even one model is out. Nadirite Weapons Lordly Phylactery: Once per battle gain d3 Relentless Discipline points. Not great since its once per battle. While more Relentless discipline points is great, you can only do this once per battle and the randomness means you may just replicate the Ancient Knowledge trait but worse. Katakros’ material form was destroyed, but he could not be banished. Instead, Sigmar interred him in a hidden Stormvault to wait out the ages. But death is nothing if not patient….Incorporate an auto-unbind artefact or ability – for instance, a Knight-Incantor or an Aetheric Navigator with a Voidstone Orb. While these abilities are single-use only, they may be crucial to stopping that one vital spell. Trouble empathizing with other, lesser factions. As Ossiarch Bonereapers, you get to ignore a lot of basic rules, meaning if you’re learning AoS you may not understand what other factions do, or their struggles. Over time you will become detached and aloof, unable to connect with the plight of the common battleline infantry mook in these armies, or even their generals. You will sit in your tower, alone save for your undead servants, growing bored with this life and the petty squabbles of its inhabitants, until the only thrill you feel will be from crushing your enemies so utterly that only the sight of their masks of naked contempt turning to terror as you mow them down brings you any joy. At this point, you will have completed your metamorphosis into a true servant of Nagash. The important healer/caster. He heals a nearby unit passively during every hero phase and can resurrect dead models just as easily. His signature spell isn’t great, but you aren’t bringing him along for that- grab a Lore spell! 3. Mortek Guard Scroll of Command: -2 bravery within 6″, the Kavalos will want to get into melee combat often so this is pretty good, especially if you can combine it with other bravery traits. If you can’t it’s only so-so. The army therefore starts out strong and declines in power as you lose key pieces (canny opponents will take out your Relentless Discipline generators as soon as possible).

Shaped by the unbending will of Nagash, the Ossiarch Bonereapers army doesn’t rely on Command Points (CP). Units can heroesinstead activate their Command Abilities using Relentless Discipline Points (RDP). They’re similar but, in manyways, better. Soul Reservoir: +2 to casting rolls, however if the bearer rolls an unmodified 10+ the bearer loses this artefact. Basically turns your Soulmason into a mini-Arkhan and the bonus is probably worth the risk, for reference it’s a little less than 20% chance you’ll roll an unmodified 10.

Anti-magic Options

On the tabletop, the Ossiarch Bonereapers are Nagash’s elite. With plenty of powerful Heroes, strong core units, and both Monsters and artillery to choose from, they can be tailored to a variety of play styles. Whenever a Crematorian is slain in melee, roll d6, adding one if a hero or monster was slain: on a 5+, one enemy unit within 3” suffers a mortal wound