Tomb King Finecast model releases review

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Games Workshop have just announced some Warhammer reinforcements; Prince Apophas, the Necrotect, a Liche Priest, Ushbati with giant bows and some with great weapons, a King with Great Weapon and the old Casket of Souls in resin.

Now, I'm not that familiar with Tomb Kings, I don't have the 8th edition army book yet and amazingly, have never played against them ! (or Daemons of Chaos !!) so I hope I'm going to get all the detail correct here.

Some of the models are recasts in resin of existing metal models but others I don't recognize and they're not in the old 7th edition TK book so I'm guessing that these are the new guys...

Prince Apophas (great fluff btw), the Necrotect, the Ushbati with Giant Bows (I like that concept) and maybe the Liche Priest (at least I can't find a pic of him in the old book or on Google images).

Check the GW link below for all the Tomb King pics (including the resin recasts of the older metal models such as the Casket of souls and Tomb King with great weapon - both really brilliant models). Below, I'll just post my opinion of the new Finecast Tomb KIng models.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440004a



Prince Apophas

He sounds like a real bad'un in life and he's certainly been paying the price in undeath. He looks quite tricky to kill and like he's probably one of those annoying surprises you can get during a battle. The model looks quite cool although it could be a bit tricky to paint to make the scarabs look convincing. If you're prepared to just paint the scarabs black with a bit of lighter dry brushing then I guess this model is a pretty easy paint job.

The Liche Priest

I'm not sure whether I like this model or not. Initially, I definitely didn't like the miniature because it looked too bandy-legged and decrepit looking; I thought a Liche Priest should look far more commanding. Funnily enough though, after having a good old stare and re-reading this post I'm re-writing this bit because I'm starting to warm to the guy. I certainly think the weapon is too big for him but the head, and ring finger are excellent and the somewhat bent inwards "I'm having a problem with my bowels" posture certainly gives him a bit of character. I suppose blowing all the death into an undead army is bound to take it out of you !

Ushabti Great Bows

I love them ! Rubbish Ballistic Skill (2) but very nice models that should paint up a treat. The bows look deserving of "Giant" rather than just "Great". Mobile bolt throwers with close combat strength, sweet !

The Necrotect

I like the fluff and the bold move with the whip (they usually seem to avoid such long "bendy" and easily breakable bits - very wisely)  Maybe the use of resin has allowed the Citadel green-stuff wizards to be a bit more adventurous with this guy. The long dagger is great, it's like he's holding onto it rather firmly just in case the whip doesn't do the trick :)  I'm not as keen on the stance; it's in between aggressively whipping and being commandingly upright and rock solid like a Doctore (Gladiator trainer - I got that name from Spartacus - wow, what a series !). The face is not quite right, it's ok but he just doesn't quite look angry or hateful enough, given the accompanying fluff. Also, he looks slightly dim-witted (in a Zombie way).

Not a bad round up, I like the Tomb Kings minis overall. The Sepulchral Stalkers and Tomb King guard are the pick of the bunch for me. Tomb Kings were already supported by some brilliant models, like I said before the Tomb King with Great Weapon and the Casket of Souls are awesome models - they're iconic really. The Scorpions and chariots are also great so, if you like building sand castles, you're a bit spoiled for choice !

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Necrosphinx model 360 degrees by GW

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Some decent assembled / unpainted sprue pics and the rotating painted "mother" muhahaha

In case you missed it...like I did about a month ago, check this rotating multi-pic of the Games Workshop Sphinx (it's not greatly detailed but it's nice to see it all around - if you know what I mean).

Also there are some close up "grey" (or gray) sprue photos (like the one below) and a very good golden and sand coloured sphinx painted the way it should be - excellent stuff and maybe the current benchmark in Sphinx painting (?)

This is the link you need :-

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=16200017a (paste it into your browser)

Anyway, I believe the army book and miniatures are more or less all out tomorrow (7th May 2011 in the UK), althought they usually reserve something for a week or two later (so check before getting on the bus / train or in your car / tank / tele-transportation pod-thing)

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Sepulchral Stalkers and Warsphinx Photos

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Games Workshop's "What's New Today" blog is showcasing some of their staff's Tomb King Armies and a there are a couple of neat pics of the new Sepulchral Stalkers and Warsphinx.

These miniatures belong to Andrew Kenrick's army and a very nice army it is indeed ! I particularly like High Queen Khalida's host of lady vampire priests and handmaidens, the chariots are also very cool as are the below new models. He's opted for a bone and red colour scheme which makes a nice change from the oft used turquoise. I just thought you might be interested in the pics, I love the stalker's tail and golden helm.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=16200033a

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

New Tomb Kings Army Video by GW

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A video with magic, monsters and some Khemri background without "too much" promo.

As soon as I started watching the video I got a bit annoyed expecting it to be promotion drivel delivered by people who wouldn't give two hoots on a Khemrian Bone Horn but it turned out a lot better than I expected.

What you can expect; some nice pics, insights into the thinking behind the army background (think scarabs, scorps, vultures and way too many Sphinxes), a rare "honesty-nod" towards the time it's taken since TKs were last looked at (blink and you'll miss it !), magic normalization and general army wide thinking made it worth watching (esp if you're looking for TK colour schemes and an alternative look at the model pics)

It's 14 mins long so... suffer like me my venomous serpent worshiping undead friends ! [signed: Sigmar]



Back to winds of magic with their own lore and a Sorcerous character that, with blessings and curses, somehow mixes the lore of light with lots of death :)

So far in the desert sand, so good until the oasis (of death !)  :D   Muhahahaha

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

New Tomb Kings Army Book Release

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The desert Kings arise from their Tombs once more - with (hopefully) a comprehensive 8th edition update and (once again) competitive Warhammer Fantasy Battle army list ;-)

There must have been the sand storm from hell to bury the pyramids so deep for it has taken 9 long years for the Tomb Kings to dig themselves out and reveal to us their new 8th ed. army book (and quite a few cool new units) !

Without further ado, if you fancy hearing what GW have to say and checking out some of the pics, here's the official GW getting started webpage for Tomb Kings:-

1) http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?aId=16000016a

And here's Games Workshop's promo blog entry:-

2) http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=16200008a

Where you will find a 360 degree "rotatable" picture of the Kemrian Warsphinx* (which can also be constructed as a Necrosphinx which is a very tough looking (and sounding) lone metallic / stone monster unit (think ultra stomp)

* I like the way GW have included a Tomg King miniature and Tomb Guards so you can assemble the War Sphinx as a unit ("Rare" I presume) or a Lord mount.

First impressions of the Warsphinx are excellent but I'm not so keen on the look of the Necrosphinx (below) which appears a touch too 40k-ish for my liking. It does however sound like a real "tank" for absorbing punishment and a potential game winner with a special rule named "devastating strike" which can kill anything with a single blow. For these reasons I suspect we'll be seeing more of the Necrosphinx on the battlefield than the Warsphinx. Anyway, I will reserve judgement until I have read the rules and seen them in the flesh bones!

And last but most importantly, the Advance Orders (7th May 2011)  Tomb Kings page:-

3) http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440004a

Where you will find loads more pics and the prices and those all important sprue shots.

The most "striking" (haha !) new models in my opinion are the Necropolis Knights which can also be assembled as Sepulchral Stalkers (or any combination of the two I suppose ?). Both units look quite cool although how the knights are supposed to hang onto their mounts when they strike (assuming they strike ?) is anyone's guess. Still, we are living in a fantasy world here so let's give them the benefit of lightning reactions  mastered over centuries trying to dodge out of the way of the undead serpents  !

Here are the pics (Sepulchral Stalkers followed by the Necropolis Knights) - from the GW blog post:-

If you click on the below book you can just about see the unit profiles...

So far, all is looking good with the new models which all seem to have been produced to top-notch GW standards. I know nothing of the book's contents and haven't been following the usual leaks in Warseer and the like so I can't comment on the army itself right now. I'll let you know what I think in due course, feel free to post your opinions here if you have already come to some conclusions.

One last thing, I'm really pleased with the way GW are approaching some of the larger multi-part kits these days. They seem to be focusing on the customer a bit more with the variety of possibilities available and the different assembly options leading to noticeably different unit appearance and of course unit rules. Nice work, thanks GW.

Images are © Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Tomb Kings on sale on eBay right now !

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Casket of Souls, Carrion & Tomb Swarms (Tomb Kings Tactics)

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The casket of souls is an excellent 'weapon' against low leadership and/or slow moving enemies.

The casket has limitless range and all enemy units in line of sight suffer the effects of looking into despair itself !

The casket is like an incantation and so is always cast successfully with a power level of 2D6 (ie an average of 7). The enemy can attempt to dispel as usual.

The problem with the casket is 3 fold:-

1) If the enemy expect you to bring one he or she we do the utmost to negate it's powers by bringing dispel scrolls or by fielding multiple spell casters.

2) needs to be kept out of combat otherwise you cannot use it. This reveals a 'hidden cost' to the casket. You will need to deploy a unit specifically to protect it. If the enemy has flyers you will need to take carrion to hold them up (remember your carrion cannot be routed but they are not great in combat so will be destroyed quickly unless you take them in numbers)

3) it's a rare unit so no screaming catapult if you are playing a 2000 pt game ! This is a big loss.

4) It is only effective against lower leadership units (8 or lower). An enemy with a leadership of 9 will only lose 1 wound per unit (no armour save) every other turn (on average) IF the casket 'spell' is not dispelled.

Despite these drawbacks remember that the casket is a great battlefield addition. Personally, I would only use it in larger 3000 pt battles against lowish leadership enemies like humans, skaven or gobbos.

Note: It is fantastic against enemy artillery crews. You should always have line of sight (if they're on hills) and their leadership is never great unless they are accompanied by a character.

Settra The Imperishable and his magic items (Tomb Kings Special Characters)

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Settra is a stronger fighter than Queen Khalida.

This is partly due to his impressive profile, ie Ws 7, S5, T5, Attacks 5 and always strikes 1st rule thanks to his Blessed Blade of Ptra.

Not only that but he has an armour save of 2+ that cannot be modified to worse than 4+* and a 4+** ward save, so only 1 in 4 wounding hits will actually hurt him !

The Armour of Golden Magnificence (*)

The Crown of Nehekhara (**)

Other handy attributes:-

His magic weapon can reduce an enemy units Weapon Skill to 1 when they take hits (and can cause extra hits on enemies with low leadership)

He rides in a heavy chariot with scythed wheels (D6 +1 str 5 impact hits before combat begins)

If he dies, nearby units will suffer lots of str 2 hits.

And here's the big one...

Settra the Imperishable is the Army General AND the Army Hierophant, he takes up 2 Lord choices and you cannot take any more liches (but you won't really need to !)

All in all the above makes Settra one of the most powerful and difficult to kill individuals in the Warhammer World but that's not the best bit.

Settra is probably one of the most effective army generals even when you ignore his fighting skills (providing you like to field chariots, heavy cavalry and Tomb Guard - who doesn't ?!)

50% of your army must consist of Tomb Guard, chariots and heavy cavalry if you field Settra but the good news is that he can use 'My will be done' Tomb King special abilitiy on any or all of these units without range restriction and once per turn each.

The enhanced 'Thy Will Be Done' rule makes Settra's army very fast moving (Mankara's Incantation of Urgency - extra movement in Magic phase) and much harder hitting thanks to :-

Horekhah's Incantation of Righteous Smiting

...an extra round of close combat every magic phase.

Settra makes a great addition to a predominantly combat oriented Tomb King army. At marginally over 600 pts he costs a lot but I wouldn't regard this as overly expensive given the powers he brings with him.

Note that because Settra uses 2 Lord choices he cannot be used in battles of less than 3000 pts, that's the only real bummer :(

Settra Photo © Games Workshop Ltd 2008. All rights reserved. Used without permission

High Elf Drain Magic vs Tomb Kings Incantations (Rule Clarification)

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Rule Clarification (unofficial, by me !):

The new edition 7 High Elf Drain Magic spell works perfectly against a Tomb King Army Incantation but...

Has no effect whatsoever !

...because Incantations are atuomatically cast and are not dependent on casting values.

Photos of miniatures © Games Workshop Ltd 2008. All rights reserved. Used without permission

Tomb Kings Arcane Items and the Staff of Mastery

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Another 'in a nutshell' post...

The TK's arcane items are not that impressive when you consider how the whole undead army coarses with magic.

One item does stand out a little more than the others though.

The Staff of Mastery very simply allows the spellcaster to add +1 to the Power Level rolled. This is continual, turn after turn. The longer the battle the more you will benefit from this. That is the enemy will be using up more and more dispel scrolls / dice to stop your incantations.

I think this item is worth taking for 40pts if you are playing with an emphasis on Liches and Liche Lords and /or you are using the High Queen and a ranged weapon approach rather than hand to hand.

The Best Tomb King unit Banner ?

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The Mirage Standard has to be one of the best 'value for points spent' unit standards available in the whole Warhammer World.

Enemies have to reroll missile 'bow fire' type hits and the unit gets a 5+ ward save against artillery template type hits. You can give this banner to a Tomb Guard unit (it only costs 40 pts).

Always take it if you're facing Elves, Dwarfs or Empire !

High Queen Khalida Neferher (Tomb Kings Lord)

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A well balanced Lord (or should I say Lady) level character.

The High Queen has close combat uses - not fantastic but good enough to take on most other Heroes and Lords not mounted on beasts. She is suitable for an army facing High Elves because she also has the always strikes first rule and has an initiative of 9 plus 5 poisoned attacks.

She is also reasonably well protected from missile file having a toughness of 5, regeneration and immunity to poison.

The Queen's most advantageous attributes relate to her qualities as an army general (she must be your general if you take her to the battle).

The queen's bowmen, light cav and chariot crew can all be upgraded to have poisonous shooting attacks for +2 pts per model.

Also, and this is the best bit ! She can always cast the Incantation of Righteous Smiting once per turn and it CANNOT be dispelled ! How cool is that ?!!

That means she can choose a unit to fight twice (with no retaliatory hits) or fire twice (even the skull catapult) every turn !

Now this ability, if used well, really could be a battle winner.

The Queen is accompanied by a curse so that anyone who kills her may regret it later in the game. Anyone or unit involved in her death has a 50% chance of being cursed. Cursed models and units forever after (ie for the remainder of the battle) suffer have a 3.5/6 chance of suffering an automatic wound every single turn - OUCH !

She has a few other bits and pieces like the Venom staff which is a ranged fireball like weapon and has the additional benefit of preventing any unit suffering wounds from moving in their subsequent turn.

All in all, providing you don't try to use her for challenges and Lord killing, I thin she's well worth the 420 pts whe costs.

Magic Banners of the Tomb Kings - Possible Army Standards

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The undead banners are quite consistently useful. Some armies have some very desirable banners but more usually they seem like the final counterweight on the pan-armies balancing scales.

Tomb King banners embody the spirit of an undead desert based army. They have plenty of character about them and they're all rather handy in a "dry" humoured kind of way ;-)

Two of the banners offer you significant control over your enemy's movements across the battle field.

The Standard of the Sands

... allows you to prevent your enemy from making any march moves at all ! Yep, the whole enemy army and there's nothing they can do about it !

At 75pts I find it a touch on the expensive size but the challenge is for the Undead army to come up with a seriously cunning plan to make the best use of the ability.

The Banner of the Hidden Dead

... can also be used to disrupt enemy movements by animating a unit right next to an enemy unit (note you can then move but not charge because the banner takes effect in the remaining moves part of the turn after charges have been declared - which seems a bit cheap to me). The range is a bit limited as is the restriction of 100pts maximum core unit (which must be a unit already included in your army).

However, despite these weaknesses, the banner still offers up some interesting tactical options (like getting behin enemy lines !) Sure, the 100 pt core unit is not going to win yoy any battles (or combats !) but it will be good enough to hold up a possibly key enemy unit (think heavy cavalry) while you charge them in another flank or rear !

You've just got to hand it to those old bone heads. I don't know where they keep their brains but they still know how to use them :)

Tomb Kings Skeleton Heavy Horsemen - or Tomb King Cavalry if you refer :)

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I have just seen something I previously overlooked with regards to...

Tomb King Heavy Horsemen...

One unit can be given a magical standard worth 25 pts. It's something worth pointing out aswell because they can take the Banner of the Undying Legion. This profers the ability to cast Djedra's Incantation of Summoning on the associated unit. So, either you enemy wastes at least 1 dice dispelling it or you get to ressurect D3 skeletons (thats's an average of 2 or 32pts worth of unit) every magic phase (up to the original unit strength)

Better still... You can place a character in the unit and he can benefit from the incantation if you specify that you are targetting him specifically. He is technically part of the unit containing the banner so this is allowable (as far as I'm concerned although I'd better double check the errata to make sure it doesn't say otherwise !)

If you find out before me, let me know if I'm wrong please.

Thanks,
Sigmar

Note: 04-Jan-2008

Eratta: Games Workshop say you cannot use the banner of the undying legion on a character who is within a unit. This seems completely wrong to me, the character could well be the leader of the unit, might always fight with it, and for all intents and purposes is a part of the unit just like the unit's champion, standard bearer and musician.

I know why GW have done this, it is to sprevent manipulation and having characters join units to get regenerated and then leave them again. I think it should say, any character beginning the battle within a unit who hasn't left that unit can benefit from the banner.

Tomb King Liche Priest Magic Incantations

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Another "in a nutshell" post...

Liches are not quite the same as your standard Warhammer wizard and other spell casters. They use incantations instead of spells, all priests know all 4 incantations, they are automatically cast with a random bound level (2D6 for a Priest and 3D6 for a High Priest). A high priest can cast 2 incantations (even the same one twice) in his (or her) magic phase and a normal lowly priest can cast 1.

Incantations are cast in strict order, decided before the game. this is basically from the lowest Priest to the Highest Priest (ie the Hierophant). (Important note from "Scelerat" one of our blog readers - the casket of souls always comes last which could be important because it is some of the most feared magic and the enemy will usually try to save dispel dice /scrolls to counter it)

Note : I have no idea why you have to do this in the same order every turn but it gets a specific mention in the rules so I guess there's a good reason for it (does anyone know why ?)

Further more (again mysteriously !), there is a specific order for using all magic, it goes like this:-

1st : Non-character bound items
2nd : Icon bearer bound items
3rd : Tomb Princes
4th : Tomb Kings
5th : Hierophant, High Liche Priests and normal Priests

(strange but true, I guess it's something they realise while play testing the game, maybe some cumulative effect that can come from magic used in specific order. Let me know if you find out).


The Incantations

Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengeance

8" D6 str 4 hits (boring !)

Horekhah's Incantation of Righteous Smiting

one of your missile units (within 12") can fire again (once only !) or
one of your combat units (within 12") can fight another round of combat (once only !)
(note: no combat resolution taken but panic test if applicable as normal, ie 25% casualties)

Note: there are lots of ifs and buts in the rules about this incantation, the above is just a summary and tells you most of what you need to know for most occassions. You had best refer to the Army Book for the specific details.


Djedra's Incantation of Summoning

one of your undead units recover D3 wounds (cannot increase wound count above starting wound count for that unit)
Tomb Guard recover D6 wounds

Can be used against all units and characters. You must nominate characters separately to their unit though.

Note: Again there lots of additional bits and pieces in the Army Book so you should refer to it for the details. The above really if for enemy commanders to get an idea about the incantations.


Mankara's Incantation of Urgency

A target unit in your army within 12" can make a normal move (including charges)
note: cannot be cast more than once on a unit per turn.

Tomb Kings Army List / Tomb King Reference Sheet (all Army List Sheets are courtesy of Games Workshop)

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Click here for ALL Warhammer Army / race lists and choose the one you're looking for.

Tomb King Incantations Liche Lords and Priests. The trick to winning with Tomb Kings.

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I have studied the Tomb King army book in depth now. The army itself is quite a departure from tbe norm for Warhammer and ignores many of the weaknesses that most armies are exposed to, namely psychology and break tests. The army is quite well balanced but not impressive in any single way until you get to consider Liche magic.

Liches have a unique ability to 'cast' incantations. These special 'spells' are treated like bound item spells and are always cast successfully (with a random power level).

They are particularly useful in assisting your army to move faster or fire extra missiles or even fight more than once in a single round.

Incantations and a cunning use of Liche magic is the Tomb King's key to victory.

I will be detailing the individual incantations and their characterisitcs so please check back here.

Tomb Kings Core Units. Skeleton units, Chariots and Swarms

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One problem you have to overcome with a Tomb King army is the scarcity of hard hitting core units.

You do however know that none of your units will yield any ground to the enemy. Even if they lose round after round of combat they remain unbreakable and your enemy will have to destroy them to win the battle.

You can use this knowledge to your advantage. A large unit of skeletons can hold up enemy units for several turns and are great for protecting your flanks but that's not enough to win the battle. It's imperative you include support troops in your army and they need to be fast.

Your enemies rank bonus is key to them winning a quick and decisive victory over you. There are 3 things you MUST do when fielding a Tomb King army:-

1) flank your enemy with cavalry so they lose their rank bonus
2) keep your important combat units near your battle standard (12" to reduce the wounds you suffer when losing a combat)
3) protect your Hierophant at all costs, if he dies your army will soon turn to dust and return to the sands.

So, for evey skeleton foot unit you should include a cavalry unit or chariot.

Note: Tomb Kings use light chariots which are not as effective as normal chariots. Don't worry though, they are cheap and your primary consideration is to outnumber your foe, flank him and eventually he will rout.

Another important consideration is the use of standard bearers. All foot troops should be given a standard to help with your rank bonus, this is particularly important for Tomb King. Remember that you lose an extra wound (on top of those lost in the actual combat) for each point by which you lose a combat resolution.

Anything you can do to increase your combat resolution and reduce your enemy's is of the utmost importance. Always have 4 or 5 ranks at the beginning of the battle.

Light chariots are cheap in comparison with your cavalry options and they will cause impact hits which could be useful against foes who always strike first.

Your fast cavalry should not lose their 'undeath' too cheaply. Only you them to outflank if there are no other cavalry or chariot units on hand to assist foot soldiers. Keep your light cavalry for outflanking the whole enemy force so you can try to get to their rear echelon units like artillery. Your enemy will have to tie down units and keep them in reserve to cater for any of your fast cavalry units.

With Tomb Kings more than other armies you will find your forces bunched up around your battle standard to reduce loses and your Hierophant to protect him. You don't want the enemy to take advantage of this so keep fast cavalry units near your flanks to harry any enemy foot soldiers and heavy cav to tie up any enemy cavalry.

Next up we will look at the special characters and magic to see if there's anything in the undead world that can save your skin (or what little of it you have left)

Tomb Kings Special Units

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There are 4 special units available, 2 are dedicated offensive units; Ushabti and the Tomb Scorpion. One is a tactical option, Carrion, and finally there's the elite-ish Tomb Guard.

For a 2000 pt game you get to choose 4 special units. You could just opt out of the decision and have one of each but that might not be the right choice. Let's take a closer look.

Starting with the lowest points cost unit and working upwards...

Tomb Guard (12 pts)

This unit must be fielded in a unit size from 10-25. The profile is very similar to Black Orcs with slightly better initiative (+1) and slightly worse Ws (-1). Black Orcs have choppas and Tomb Guard have Tomb Blades (magical + killing blow !).

All in all and considering the army factors of immunity to psychology, cause fear and unbreakable I would consider Tomb Guard to be reasonably good value for points spent. Not as hard hitting as Black Orcs (choppas) but overall more resilient and a better tactical 'bet'

Given that skeletons will almost inevitably lose their combats and gradually turn to dust I would have to say that you should field at least 1 large 25 models Tomb Guard unit. Also, you should include a hero and/or the Tomb King and magical items to ensure they are capable of winning combat rounds and benefitting from their Fear.

Tomb Guard may still need some flankers to support them in negating the enemy's rank bonus.

Ushabti (65 pts)

These undead constructs are enemy unit routers. With a strength of 6, Ws 4 and 3 attacks they are going to do some damage. However, with no ward save and a low (beastie) toughness of 4 they are very prone and expensive considering this. Once in combat however they are lethal but your enemy's plan will be to avoid fighting them altogether. If your enemy is a fast mover or has very strong missile troops I would be wary of talking Ushabti into battle (so don't use them against Wood Elves or Bretonnians !)

If you do use them you will need a 'missile shield' unit (or cannon fodder if facing Empire, Skaven or Dwarfs !)

They would be excellent against slower armies or those without too many +2 str great weapons in the rank and file.

Don't send them to fight the enemy hard men, use them against rank and file for the victory points. They are one of the few units in your Tomb King army that is a genuine victory point grabber, the skeleton units wear down the enemy, these smash them apart !

Carrion (24 pts)

Rathe large undead vultures are important if you need to take out or just tie up missile
troops to allow you Ushabti to get across the battlefield unmolested. They are essential if you are facing 'artillery strong' armies. If neither of the above apply then don't bother with them because they are not battle winners.

Tomb Scorpion (85 pts)

This giant creature represents excellent value for 85pts. Compare it to a Tree Kin Elder for the same cost. The scorpion has +2 Move and +1 Wound. The treekin is a forest spirit with a 5+ ward save and 4+ 'bark' save. The scorpion has less defence (5+ armour save) but is far deadlier with poisoned attacks (if you roll a 6 to hit then no to wound roll, just roll armour and ward saves) AND killing blow (6's to wound = a kill !)!

The only problem with the scorp is that it's a lonesome solitary bug :) so unit size is 1. However, it has a special attribute...

'It came from below' This rule allows the scorp to remain buried in the sand - anywhere you want on the Tabletop (if it's not very sandy then we can only presume that scorpy is buried in the mud !). As each turn passes it becomes increasingly likely that the scorpion will emerge (D6 roll of 4+ on turn 2 decreasing by 1 each turn there after). You do have to roll a scatter and artillery dice to see where the scorp arrives (a hit on the arty dice means it turned up where expected).

I look on this 'It came from below' rule as a major bonus. Place the marker in the middle of the enemies deployment zone and you'll probably end up charging him as soon as you shake the sand off your claws and dust down your stinger.

So in summary...

Tomb Guard - Yes, at least 1 unit
Scorpion - Yes, at least 1
Ushabti - maybe
Carrion - only for engaging long range foe or for tying up closer range missile troops.

Tomb King Tactics Rare Units - Screaming Skull Catapult and Bone Giant

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With a 2000 pt army you can only choose 1 rare unit. Unlike the Goblin & Orc rare unit choice which is easy, ie take the giant, the Tomb King choice is much tougher.

So, what are your plans and do you know which Army you're fighting ?

The skull catapult is great for spreading panic amongst lower grade low leadership rank and file. It costs 90 pts but you should pay the extra 20 pts to lob the heads of your foe's race into his somewhat perturbed units. Doing this will force them to take a panic test with -1 to their leadership if they take any casualties.

The screaming skull catapult is ideal for targetting enemy artillery which doesn't usually benefit from high leadership nearby. Alternatively, it's great for hitting the enemies massed rank missile 'shield' units, especially troops like gobbos who are likely to run, maybe straight through the ranks of following troops causing 'domino' panic and maybe saving you from a fanatic attack..

The Bone Giant is a hardy foe, if a little unpredictable. Providing the Battle Standard is within 12" than he deducts 2 from wounds from any that were inflicted on him in a lost combat. This makes the bone giant quite tough to break down (he has 6 wounds).

To make the most of the giant you really must keep him within 12" of your General and Battle Standard. I guess this is a bit predictable from your enemies perspective but he's quite a large investment for a 2000 pt army so it's worth it.

The choice between these 2 is too hard to make without info on the rest of you forces and who you are facing. If you take the Giant you should also take carrion to engage any missile troops in his line of sight. He will fall to missile fire eventually if you allow your opponent to take this initiative.