AoS: Tome Celestial Top Contenders
Tome Celestial is legal for Matched Play now, and there’s some great options hidden inside.
Recently, GW put out an article approving Tome Celestial battalions for matched play without specifically needing your opponent’s permission. That gives players that want a more narrative feel to their army, or players like myself that found something in the Tome Celestial that augmented their playstyle, the ability to play the army they want and still play viable tournament lists. Here’s my two favorite Tome Celestial battalions, and some tips to utilize them on the battlefield.
The Forgotten Scions
A mounted Knight of Shrouds is a powerful leader for your Nighthaunt army, and Gharest Malcor is one of the strongest among them. With this battalion, you can bring this powerful Knight and his Dreadblade guards alongside your usual ghostly force. Gharest increases his sword attacks by 1, and can use his ability to increase the attacks of a nearby unit for free once per turn.
Taking this battalion alongside a Deathriders or Chainguard battalion will make for a powerful, aggressive wave of spirits, which is the way you’ll want to play with Gharest at the head of your force. For extra killing power, equip Gharest with the Midnight Tome artefact and have him take the Reaping Scythe spell. Not only does this give you a frontline wizard, but it allows Gharest to re-roll his 5 3+ attack and wound rolls. If you want to make a powerful militant Nighthaunt force, look into this battalion.
Da Bossfist
Dakkbad Grotkicker is the Megaboss of the Ironsunz warband, the most kunnin’ of all the Ironjawz forces, and this battalion lets you bring his personal force to bear against your enemies. You are locked into Ironsunz if you take this battalion but that’s not that big of an ask. Dakkbad must be your general, and as such must take the compulsory command trait, but rather than getting an additional command point on just the first turn, Dakkbad can get one EVERY turn on a roll of a 4+.
In addition, every model and all their mounts get an additional attack, and if there’s one thing you want with Ironjawz, it’s more attacks. That gives Dakkbad and any other Maw-krusha bosses you take a disgusting 25 attacks base, to say nothing of how much damage one of the Brute units can do. Like the Scions battalion above, if you really want to double down on aggression with your Orruk force (and why wouldn’t you) this is the battalion for you.
What’s your favorite Tome Celestial battalion?
