While all Kaishargas are powerful in the arcane arts, not all of them are pure casters. Some were warriors in their mortal life, other swordmages, others simply exploited the boons of their undeath to perfect martial skills.
Many among the Dead Lords that serve the Dragon followed such a path. Known as the Lords of Blades, these immortal swordsmen are both powerful arcane casters and extraordinary fighters.
Resurrected by the unparalelled arcane powers of the Dragon, these undead are above many of the weaknesses that affect most similar creatures. They are incredibly fast and nimble, and while they don't often need to resort to their agility, they're capable of superhuman feats of strength and dexterity.
They're masters of the arcane arts, and when engaged in combat they use them relentlessly and with no remorse for defiling. Thanks to their magical capabilities and their undead nature, they're capable to briefly step into the Gray and to assume ghostly, incorporeal forms.
Their most fearsome tool is however their swordplay, which they mastered during an eternity of mortal lifetimes spent in the Dragon's service. The Lords of Blades are proud warriors of unmatched skill; they dart through the battlefield and engage as many opponents as they can, swinging their curved blades in elaborate but swift movements that would test even the most accomplished swordmaster.
Closing comments:
A few months ago I've been engaged in a small discussion on how iconic DS undeads were being retconned into "mainstream" (and more accessible) monster manual entries. However, ever since then I've been wanting to write down a "melee" version of the Kaisharga/Lich to cover up the archetype of the undead arcane swordsman of Ur Draxa. Advancing Death Knights to mid-epic level could have been an option, but I wanted to write up a creature that was more in line with the DSCC's power scale (and I admit I may have gone overboard, as the result feels extremely lethal to me) and more importantly, slight different from what the books offered so far.
As usual, PEACH and comment for flaws or balance problems.
That is an awesome picture.
It's artwork for the Warhammer MMORPG. The Warhammer franchise has been pushing out exceptional artwork for 20 years now.
No need to add Arcane as a keyword unless you're wanting to make the guy into an adventure's own BBEG. Notice only published adventures have BBEGs with keywords like Arcane, Divine, and Primal.
Ghost Step: Should be teleportation, not shifting.
I don't want to start an argument, just pointing out that the guy would be a lich according to Creature Catalog.
No need to add Arcane as a keyword unless you're wanting to make the guy into an adventure's own BBEG. Notice only published adventures have BBEGs with keywords like Arcane, Divine, and Primal.
Ghost Step: Should be teleportation, not shifting.
I know that Kaishargas are now lichs, and honestly I think that's the way it should be. However, I wanted to depict an undead monster working under the warrior archetype to depict the creatures from the old lore. They weren't all casters. This isn't a "this replaces lichs as Kaishargas" entry; it's a melee variant. I used the lich as the starting template, made him a Soldier and twisted abilities somewhat to fit.
As for the arcane keyword, I felt that without it he would have felt like a martial power source monster, which he clearly isn't; it's more of an undead swordmage than an undead fighter. Plus I wanted to use the cool defiled terrain rules.
On Ghost Step, you're probably right considering I've added the Teleportation keyword, but I would rather remove the keyword than change the ability. They're not supposed to teleport around; they step into the Gray and assume a "ghostform" (I picture them shifting from the armored mummy looks to a robed ghost appearance during the shift); the Phasing is part of the deal (reducing damage from eventual opportunity actions from marking defenders and area effects).