Flesh Eater Courts – Warhammer Age of Sigmar Guide

The Flesh-eater Courts are Age of Sigmar’s mad cannibal kingdoms: vampire Abhorrants and their ghoulish subjects who believe they are noble knights, courtiers and kings. Where everyone else sees a horde of starving ghouls tearing at corpses, they see a glittering court at a royal banquet. This guide covers who they are, how the army plays in Age of Sigmar 4th Edition, the key units and where to start collecting.

Who Are the Flesh Eater Courts?

The Flesh-eater Courts are a Grand Alliance Death faction built around a shared delusion. At the top of each court sits an Abhorrant, a vampire whose bloodline carries a curse of madness. The Abhorrant’s delusion spreads to the ghouls around it, so the whole court lives inside the same hallucination of chivalry and grandeur.

A court is led by Abhorrant Ghoul Kings and Archregents, served by hordes of Crypt Ghouls (the “peasants” and men-at-arms), hulking Crypt Horrors (the knights), winged Crypt Flayers and monstrous mounts such as the Royal Terrorgheist. The newer range adds Morbheg Knights, Royal Beastflayers, Cryptguard, the Abhorrant Gorewarden, the Abhorrant Cardinal and the Varghulf Courtier, with Ushoran himself at the head of the army.

What Are the Flesh Eater Courts Army Strengths?

Flesh-eater Courts are an aggressive melee army. Crypt Ghouls come in large units that swarm objectives, while Crypt Horrors, Morbheg Knights and the big monsters provide the hitting power. Their heroes buff the units around them, and the army has ways to heal and bring slain models back, which lets it keep pressure on objectives over a long game.

Their weaknesses are just as clear. The army has very little shooting, many units have poor saves, and it depends on its heroes being alive and in the right place. Lose the key characters early and the army loses much of its punch, so careful positioning matters.

Where Should Beginners Start?

If you’re starting a Flesh-eater Courts collection, these are the models to look at first:

Crypt Ghouls: the backbone of the army. Numerous and cheap, they hold objectives and screen your heroes.
Abhorrant Ghoul King: a core leader who makes the units around him more dangerous.
Royal Terrorgheist: a fast, hard-hitting monster that can be ridden by an Abhorrant hero or fielded on its own, and draws attention away from your ghouls.
Crypt Flayers or Crypt Horrors: both are built from the same kit and give you elite melee support, either fast and flying (Flayers) or tough and hard-hitting (Horrors).

The Flesh Eater Courts Spearhead guide covers the faction’s current Spearhead box, which is the easiest way to buy a playable starter force.

How To Paint Flesh-Eater Courts

The Flesh-eater Courts’ models suit a palette of pale, sickly flesh tones with blood-red accents. Rakarth Flesh or Pallid Wych Flesh make good skin base colours, washed with Reikland Fleshshade or Carroburg Crimson. The contrast between pale skin and gore-stained claws and mouths creates the right undead-cannibal look, and Blood for the Blood God technical paint is ideal for fresh gore around mouths and hands.

For Terrorgheists, layer flesh tones over the body, keep the wing membranes darker, and pick out claws and exposed bone in bone colours. Crypt Ghoul units are large, so batch painting matters: Contrast paints over a light primer, followed by a drybrush, will get them done quickly. Many players also give each Grand Court its own heraldry colour on cloth and banners, which ties a mixed army together. See our guide on painting Flesh Eater Courts for step-by-step recipes.

Flesh Eater Courts Lore and History

The Flesh-eater Courts are among the most tragic factions in Age of Sigmar. They are not willing servants of darkness but deluded cannibals who believe themselves to be noble knights serving righteous kings. The Abhorrant Ghoul Kings, vampires driven mad by a curse of delusion, project their insanity onto their followers, creating entire kingdoms of ghouls who see rotting corpses as grand feasts and ruined crypts as magnificent castles.

The curse traces back to Ushoran, who ruled as a vampire lord in the world-that-was and later served Nagash as the Mortarch of Delusion. His madness passed down his bloodline, creating the Abhorrants. Each Abhorrant Ghoul King establishes their own court, complete with knights (Crypt Horrors), peasants (Crypt Ghouls) and terrifying flying beasts (Crypt Flayers and Royal Terrorgheists).

What makes the Flesh-eater Courts so compelling is the gap between how they see themselves and what they are. In their own eyes they are paragons of chivalry, defending the innocent and upholding sacred oaths. In reality they are ravenous monsters who devour the living and the dead alike. That tragic irony runs through every part of the faction, from their unit names to their army rules.

In recent Age of Sigmar storylines, Ushoran has returned to lead the courts in person, and the great ghoul kingdoms have grown bolder as a result. The faction offers a uniquely dark corner of the setting, blending gothic horror with tragic, twisted nobility.

Flesh Eater Courts in the Current Meta

How strong the Flesh-eater Courts are depends on the latest battletome, Battle Profiles and balance updates, all of which change through the year. For current rankings, check our Age of Sigmar faction tier list.

In general, competitive lists build around a few key Abhorrant heroes and monsters for damage, supported by Crypt Ghouls for objective control and screening. The army rewards players who like a grinding, aggressive playstyle and who are comfortable protecting fragile but important heroes. Check the current battletome and Battle Profiles for exact points and rules before building a list.

Collecting Flesh Eater Courts

The Spearhead box is the natural starting point. Check our Flesh Eater Courts Spearhead guide for what’s in it and how to use it. Spearhead is also a good way to learn the faction before committing to a full 2,000-point army.

When expanding, focus on the units that define the faction. Crypt Ghouls provide the horde, Crypt Horrors and Crypt Flayers add elite hitting power, and an Abhorrant on a Royal Terrorgheist makes a striking centrepiece. Our Flesh-eater Courts army list shows how these units fit together at 1,000 and 2,000 points.

Second-hand models and trades can make a large ghoul horde much more affordable, and many local gaming stores run loyalty schemes. Check our Age of Sigmar faction tier list before buying expensive kits if competitive play is your aim.

How to Play Flesh Eater Courts

Flesh-eater Courts play as a melee army that wants to get stuck in quickly and win the fight for objectives. Your Abhorrant heroes are the engine: they make nearby units hit harder and help keep them in the fight. Crypt Ghouls hold ground and screen, while Crypt Horrors, Morbheg Knights and monsters do the heavy damage.

Age of Sigmar 4th Edition is won mainly by holding objectives. Each objective is controlled by the side whose models contesting it have the higher total Control characteristic, so a big unit of Crypt Ghouls is a genuine scoring tool, not just a speed bump. There’s no Bravery or battleshock in 4th Edition, so older advice about terrifying low-Bravery armies no longer applies.

Key Tactics

Protect your heroes: Abhorrants are your army’s engine. Keep them close enough to buff your units but screened by Crypt Ghouls, and watch for enemy shooting.
Use ghouls for Control: big Crypt Ghoul units are cheap Control. Push them onto objectives early and make your opponent spend effort removing them.
Pick your monster fights: the Royal Terrorgheist is fast and dangerous but loses effectiveness as it takes damage. Commit it where it can do real work while it’s healthy.
Plan your commands: in 4th Edition you get command points each battle round and each unit can use only one command per phase. Save some CP for reactive commands like All-out Defence in your opponent’s turn, and remember Forward to Victory can re-roll a vital charge.

Best Flesh Eater Courts Units

Abhorrant Archregent

The supreme leader of a court and one of the most important models in the army. The Archregent is a powerful Wizard and buffs the units around him. Keep him protected and central to your plan.

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Crypt Flayers

Flying monstrous infantry that are fast and hard-hitting, with a shriek attack that can damage enemy units. They are one of the Flesh-eater Courts’ best offensive units, able to strike deep into enemy territory and threaten support heroes and backline units.

Royal Terrorgheist

A huge winged monster with a deadly shriek and powerful melee attacks. Like most big monsters it gets weaker as it takes damage, so use it aggressively while it’s healthy.

Crypt Horrors

Tough monstrous infantry who serve as the army’s durable hammer and anvil. They hold objectives and tie up enemy units while your faster pieces flank and attack.

Crypt Ghouls

Cheap troops that serve as screens and objective holders. In large units their attacks add up and they can overwhelm weakened enemies, but their main job is to hold ground and protect your heroes.

For exact warscroll abilities, points and current army rules for all of these units, check the latest Flesh-eater Courts battletome and Battle Profiles.

Related Armies

If you enjoy Flesh Eater Courts, you might also like these armies:

Soulblight Gravelords: the vampire-led Death faction, with a very different aesthetic of rising skeletons and zombies.
Nighthaunt: a fellow Death faction with a horror-themed army of spirits.
Skaven: both armies bring swarms of fast-moving creatures to overwhelm opponents.

Everything Flesh-eater Courts on Warhammer Guild

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How to Paint Flesh Eater Courts

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Flesh Eater Courts?

The Flesh Eater Courts are cannibalistic vampires and ghouls trapped in a shared delusion, believing themselves to be noble knights and courtiers. In reality, they are monstrous creatures who devour the dead and living alike while maintaining a grotesque parody of chivalry.

Are Flesh Eater Courts good for beginners?

Yes, with a caveat. The army’s plan is straightforward (swarm objectives with ghouls, hit hard with monsters and elite infantry), but you need to learn to protect your heroes, as the army relies on them. The Spearhead box is a good low-cost way to learn.

What are the strengths of Flesh Eater Courts?

Flesh Eater Courts are strong in melee, can field large ghoul units that are good at holding objectives, and have fast, dangerous monsters like Crypt Flayers and Terrorgheists. Their heroes make the whole army more effective and help keep units in the fight.

What are the weaknesses of Flesh Eater Courts?

Flesh Eater Courts have low armour saves and very little shooting. Their basic Crypt Ghouls are individually weak, and losing key heroes early cripples the army’s ability to fight and recover.

Why do Flesh Eater Courts think they are noble?

The Flesh Eater Courts’ delusion stems from the madness of their Abhorrant Ghoul Kings, vampires cursed with insanity. Their madness spreads to the ghouls under their rule, so the whole court shares the same hallucination of courtly grandeur.

Who is Ushoran?

Ushoran is the Carrion King, the vampire whose cursed bloodline created the Flesh-eater Courts. Once one of Nagash’s Mortarchs, he was imprisoned for his betrayal, and his madness spread through his descendants as the Abhorrant delusion. He returned in Age of Sigmar as Ushoran, Mortarch of Delusion, with his own model.

What are the Flesh-eater Courts’ Grand Courts?

The Grand Courts are the great ghoul kingdoms that give an army its flavour. The best-known include Morgaunt, Hollowmourne, Blisterskin and Gristlegore, each with its own style of madness, from knightly crusaders to monster-riding royalty. Picking one is a good way to choose a theme and colour scheme.

Are the Flesh-eater Courts part of Grand Alliance Death?

Yes. The Flesh-eater Courts are a Death faction alongside the Soulblight Gravelords, Nighthaunt and Ossiarch Bonereapers, all ultimately linked to Nagash, the God of Death. Unlike most Death armies, though, their ghouls are living, mortal flesh-eaters rather than true undead.