Warhammer Age of Sigmar is getting a vampiric addition. Revealed in Saturday’s Faith & Damnation preview, the Soublight Gravelords will be the next army to join the Mortal Realms, with a slew of new units and battletome. Akin to the Vampire Counts of Warhammer Fantasy, the Soulblights have so far existed as a subsidiary army in the Order of Death, but now they’re becoming a fully-fledged force. Release dates for the battletome and new units are yet to be announced.
Unit-wise, the most exciting reveal of the Soublight roster is the Blood Knights. Heavy, undead cavalry, Blood Knights were something of a fan-favourite for collectors of Warhammer Fantasy’s undead armies. According to the lore, Blood Knights are immortal, Soulblight vampires, who channel the strength of their vampiric curse, plus a dollop of Nagash’s loving deathly embrace, in the throes of battle. Expect to steamroll opposing forces under your crimson armour.
The preview also revealed new Deathrattle Skeletons. Infantry units that are intended to make up the core of a Soulblight army, they can be customised with swords or spears. And joining them on the frontlines are the new Deadwalker Zombies. The squishiest infantry of the Soulblight force, they’re a horde unit, intended to fill up your army’s ranks and overpower enemy units through the sheer weight of their shambling, decaying flesh.
Alongside the infantry units comes new Fell Bats – enormous vampiric monsters that look as pretty as they are likely to be deadly.
As for the Soulblight Gravelords’ battletome, so far we’ve only seen its cover art, but it will reportedly include the usual assortment of army rules, warscrolls, updated lore, battleplans to field your vampiric force, as well as more general Order of Death content for all you Nagash zealots. The preview stream confirmed that you’ll be able to specialise your Soublight army around particular units, so you can field a force focused on skeletons, Deadwalkers, or Blood Knights if you’re keen to build an elite army.
The battletome’s cover art might also hint towards another, upcoming Soublight centrepiece unit. Look to the left of the central Vampire Lord, and you’ll spy what appears to be an undead dragon. Nothing has been confirmed, but this might be a subtle tease at an updated vampiric dragon mount. Maybe.
The announcement of the Soulblight Graveyards comes alongside the upcoming release of Warhammer: Cursed City, a new standalone Age of Sigmar dungeon-crawler boxed set, with the same undead theme and visuals as the vampiric army. The new units of the Soulblight Gravelords have reportedly been visually designed as an extension of those undead ghouls of Cursed City, so their units can sit nicely alongside one another on the tabletop.
Cursed City will see you and your party fight through hordes of undead beasties and vampiric lords in a series of modular scenarios across the fallen city of Ulfenkarn, before facing off against vampiric lord Radukar the Rat, who cursed the city.
Want to brush up on the denizens of the Mortal Realms, read our Age of Sigmar armies guide, and find out what devious and defiled ranks the Soulblight Gravelords will be joining.