General's Handbook II announced!

[Unas the slayer]

here we go

OK, it seems to be plenty of new things. Many of them are interesting ones, but two things captured my interest..

"The General’s Handbook is to be the mechanism by which the game is continually supported every year"

"The new book will cover Allegiance Abilities for the likes of Fyreslayers, Seraphon, Slaaneshi hosts, Nighthaunts and over a dozen Others".


Regarding the release of a Handbook each year, personally I think it's good.
From a gaming pov, everytime there's a new release, especially one that involves directly all the armies and the way you play the game, for many months there's an increase in games, with peoples that want to try all the new things, and so on.
It will only bring positive results, we will have a system truly alive, in constant evolution, with no "consolidated tactis" that are doomed to remain the same for years...

Thoughts?

 

[Oppenheimer]

What this means is that Nighthaunt won't get an actual book or new models because they'll get this stop gap measure instead.
Night haunt doesn't have enough models to use by itself as anything but a one off. It needs an actual update with expanded range.
Also we probably still won't get new spells or artefacts just the alliegance ability. Our alliegance ability is already really good I can't see why I would replace it with anything else.

 

[Unas the slayer]

What this means is that Nighthaunt won't get an actual book or new models because they'll get this stop gap measure instead.
Night haunt doesn't have enough models to use by itself as anything but a one off. It needs an actual update with expanded range.

That's certainly true, however they have announced that the new book will cover over 16 armies so I imagine (fear) that those armies not covered by those new allegiance abilities could be merging under the other forces.
If Nighthaunt is listed as Death sub-faction, sooner or later should receive some boost: I don't think that all those 16+ factions that will be given new tools in the GHBII, will be all completely forgotten for the next year.
I'd prefer the certainty of something, rather than the hope of something more.
I'm trying to see the glass half full.

Also we probably still won't get new spells or artefacts just the alliegance ability. Our alliegance ability is already really good I can't see why I would replace it with anything else.

Under Allegiance Abilities are listed also artefacts and command traits, so I'm pretty confident it won't only be the Death trait.
And anyway, even if our abilities are good, I welcome new options: they will let me think to different lists and new synergies.

 

[Alabaster427]

New abilities would be sweet. They name-dropped Nighthaunt, but I wonder if there will be any other Death subfactions that get abilities, such as Flesh Eaters or Deathrattle. I'd bet that Deathrattle would allow extra models to be healed back in the hero phase or something similar in exchange for the 6+ Death save.

 

[Irisado]

How much is GW going to charge annually for this book? The idea of updating rules on an annual basis is potentially a positive step, but it depends how much it's going to cost. If GW were to adopt the approach of offering free rules, with books available for those who want extras, such as the narrative, then I think that this would be a much more attractive proposition.

 

[Unas the slayer]

How much is GW going to charge annually for this book? .

IIRC, the GHB was priced around 18 Euro.
basically, 1.50 / month, which is not bad.

 

[Unas the slayer]

ohohoheheheh...


contents of the new GHB!


Allegiance abilities for: Death (generic), Flesh Eater Courts, Nighthaunt, Soulblight.

The BAD part is that Deathrattle will not have their own Allegiance.... which not only sucks for poor Wight King / black knights / Grave Guards, but it was basically the only way to gain improvements for Tomb Kings in AoS.

 

[Oppenheimer]

The BAD part is that Deathrattle will not have their own Allegiance.... which not only sucks for poor Wight King / black knights / Grave Guards, but it was basically the only way to gain improvements for Tomb Kings in AoS.

What it probably means is that deathrattle is likely to get a real battletome this year whereas the others won't.

 

[Unas the slayer]

That's a possibility, indeed. I'm crossing my fingers.

 

[Aranei]

Today they revealed more details about Death Faction in the new GHb.
https://www.warhammer-community.com...erals-handbook-2017-july27gw-homepage-post-3/

Summary:
1. Updated command traits, artefacts and allegiance abilities.
2. Death factions benefit hugely from the new allies system. Examples include adding a necromancer (or even Arkhan) to you Nighthaunt/Deathrattle list without breaking allegiance.
3. Everything in the Deathlords faction cost around 10% less points compared to GHB 1.
4. Flesh-eater armies can now choose a powerful Delusion that applies to the whole force (because being mad makes them more effective somehow )
5. Nighthaunt armies are capable of deploying to the battlefield in the middle of the game (stormcast-style) or even turning one of their wraiths or banshees into a Wizard.
6. You’ll also be able to pick a bloodline for your Vampires in a Soulblight army indicating if they hail from an ancient clan of Necromancers or a draconic order of knights and giving them powerful traits. One of the Soulblight artefacts also mentions von Carsteins. So, bloodlines are back!
7. Massive Regiments - a rule that rewards any army for using big infantry units. Really big units get a discount in points - and "big" means 40 skeletons or 60 zombies.

Opinions?

 

[Oppenheimer]

Tomb Kings and all other compendium won't be in the book at all. Their profiles will be made available "seperately". So they probably won't get allied rules.

 

[Unas the slayer]

They are gradually leaving them out.

Probably, the next year it will be no more possible to play tournaments with TK, Bretonnia and all the discontinued armies.

 

[Eyeless]

luckily for us most TK units have deathrattle keyword so they might still get allied rules. as for next year i can't say but probably it's up to the community. if people don't show interest in them anymore they'll die out, however in one of their comments about path to glory book they said they might consider adding TK and Brets if the community shows enough interest.

 

[Oppenheimer]

I read that too. Sounds like PR BS to me. How are people supposed to show interest? Posting a lot I guess? Certainly not through mini sales

 

[Alabaster427]

They are gradually leaving them out.

Probably, the next year it will be no more possible to play tournaments with TK, Bretonnia and all the discontinued armies.

I'm not sure about about all of the compendium factions because some were included in the Skirmish book where TK wasn't. I think TKs only hope of survival/update is with a Deathrattle battletome, which will likely drop around Shadespire.

 

[Unas the slayer]

I'm not sure about about all of the compendium factions because some were included in the Skirmish book where TK wasn't. I think TKs only hope of survival/update is with a Deathrattle battletome, which will likely drop around Shadespire.

True, Deathrattle as keyword will be useful, but I don't think that specific units will be included in any formation of the (hopefully incoming) battletome.

They are not going to ban compendiums' armies, but GW will (logically) give no support, no bonuses, no incentives.
Armies as TK and Bret are probably going to slowly fade away, but they will still be loved and played, even if by less people.

 

[Alabaster427]

Apparently allies will be able to affect things they normally wouldn't be able to. GW just said that a Necromancer ally in a FEC list would be able to cast Vanhels Danse on ghouls and such. That's really sweet. If the necromancer is allowed to cast on all FEC, I know a certain ghoul king on terrorgheist who is getting Red Fury and a Tomb Blade (pending those still being options).

 

[Eyeless]

i think they meant because flesh eater units have the Mordant keyword and vanhel's dance can be cast on a mordant zombie or skeleton keywords
but what you said would be nice =]

 

[Sception]

Necromancers, as mentioned, can already affect ghouls, because they're mordants. Horrors, too. Not Ghoul Kings, though, and not Terrorgheists, and definitely not ghoul kings on terrorgheists.