Vampire Counts Tactics

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sedge
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Vampire Counts Tactics Jun 22, 2018 15:41:45 GMT KevinC, strutsagget, and 2 more like this

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Post by sedge on Jun 22, 2018 15:41:45 GMT

This tactics article provides an overview of Vampire Counts army selection and battlefield tactics, ideal either for newcomers or as a refresher for veterans. Limits of time and space prevent it from going too in-depth, so if you want more analysis of a particular unit or tactics, I'd suggest posting a new thread in this forum for further discussion.

I have to credit 1d4chan's tactics article as a source for some of the thoughts here.

Undead Legions

A note on Undead Legions - there is virtually no disadvantage to playing Undead Legions instead. They are a combined Vampire Counts + Tomb Kings army introduced in End Times: Nagash. You can use every selection from the VC book save for the special characters, but get access to a selection of new special characters instead, as well as the TK units and Morghasts. The biggest change is that your army no longer crumbles when your general dies, massively increasing the survivability of your army.

So why bother with Vampire Counts then? The End Times and its overpowered combined armies aren't to everyone's preferences, and playing with Vampire Counts in their "proper" way as they fought for most of the warhammer timeline can be more enjoyable - the challenge of keeping your general safe is part of what Vampire Counts are about.

Why Play Them?

Vampire Counts are the embodiment of gothic horror, shambling hordes of mindless zombies, scuttling ghouls, dread dire wolves, and swarms of bats. Led by bloodthirsty vampires, the so-called "midnight aristocracy" cloak themselves with the trappings of faded grandeur, plotting their dominion over the world of the living from the hidden corners of the world. Under the cover of darkness, they prey on the crumbling empires of men, sure of eventual victory - for in life, only death is certain.

On the battlefield, the Vampire Counts boast massive hordes of weak thralls, overwhelming their foes through sheer numbers. Yet, they do not rely on numbers alone - for terrifying monsters and hard-hitting cavalry bolster their force, and they are one of the most powerful magic users around. While your army is slow and lacking in any ranged threat, the Lore of Vampires allows you to raise models back from the dead, bolstering some above their starting numbers and even bringing new units into play. And then there are the Vampires themselves - capable of besting the most mighty characters in single combat, only the Chaos Lords can compare, and none can rival the ability of a Vampire Lord to tear through whole units of elite troops. Yet herein lies the weakness of the Vampire Counts - for should their general and magic wielders fall, their army will quickly crumble away. Because they play a bit differently from regular armies, Vampire Counts are probably not the best starter army - but that's not to say you shouldn't give them a go. At low points levels they can actually be very competitive due to their special rules, and they are certainly not one of the weaker army choices.

They have a solid range of models, with some really stunning kits like the Corpse Cart and Black Knights, plenty of third-party alternatives, and also GW releasing new ranges of "Death" models that can fit well into a VC army (e.g. the new Black Coach). However, some of the models in the range are currently showing their age (e.g. the Zombie kit), and other options never got a decent model to represent them. You will therefore need to do some converting to get some of the more useful character options (particularly cavalry characters) - thankfully there are some good plastic kits that allow for creative modelling.

How They Play

As Undead, Vampire Counts (like Tomb Kings) play differently from regular armies. You don't need to worry about your units running away, so they are much more dependable in that regards - however, they can crumble away into nothingness if things don't go your way. You lack any shooting, and are also slow - units can only march if within 12" of the General. Close combat and the magic phase are where you win your games - which are likely to start with a slow trudge towards the enemy lines, engaging your massive infantry tarpits to hold your opponents in place, and then smashing them one by one with your more elite "hammer" units of characters, cavalry and monstrous creatures.

Your army is reliant on its wizards; if you lose the magical duel then you've probably lost the game. To keep your army functioning, you need to keep your wizards well-protected, which is a problem with Vampires, who are also one of the best combat characters around and who really want to be in the thick of it, tearing enemy units to shreds. This means you are likely to be spending a lot of points equipping them, and also on support casters.

Ethereal choices add another dimension to your play - only capable of being harmed by magical attacks (or static combat resolution - e.g. from ranks), they can hold up much more expensive units for an entire game if you play them right.

Army Special Rules and Equipment

Undead - every unit has this; it means they are Unbreakable, Unstable, and cause Fear. When charged, they can only hold - no fleeing or stand and shoot (not that you have any missile weapons). Finally, Undead units cannot march unless within 12" of the General (this does not extend to 18" if the General is mounted on a Large Target) or if they are Vampiric (see below). This defines your army - it will not run away, ever. However, when combats don't go your way, your models will start crumbling (for each unit in a combat, you lose one wound for each point you lose combat by) - this can cause problems if say you wanted to flank charge a unit with an expensive Vampire while it's held from the front by a block of Zombies - if your opponent kills lots of Zombies and you lose combat, your Vampire will suffer wounds too. That little disadvantage aside, this rule is a massive bonus to you - you can tarpit units better than any other army, and fielding massive blocks of cheap infantry mitigates Unstable.

Never forget your opponent's fear tests! Really. Your opponent should fail at least some in each game, and there are tricks you can use to help ensure this. Even your Skeleton Warriors look elite when fighting WS1 opponents. The last thing to bear in mind is that certain things (especially Lore of Light spells) do extra damage to Undead models, so be aware of your vulnerability to these.

The Generals of Undeath - your General has to be a Wizard, and if they can choose a lore it has to be Lore of Vampires (no bad thing; this lore is amazing). Should they be slain, your army starts to crumble - at the end of the turn your General is slain, and at the start of every one of your turns following that, each of your units has to take a Leadership test - if it fails (and your Leadership is generally abysmal), then you take wounds equivalent to the amount you failed by, with no saves at all allowed. However, other wizards can help to keep your army going - if at the start of your turn you have any wizards alive who know spells from Lore of Vampires, then you don't need to take the tests.

The impact of this is that more than any other army (except fellow undead Tomb Kings), you need to keep your General well-protected. That's not so hard for Necromancers who can lurk in a bunker behind your lines. It's more of a problem for Vampires who want to be in the thick of combat, so you'll have to spend heavily on magic gear for them. The other issues are that many LoV spells are area-effect "bubbles" which means your caster has to at least be close to your main lines, placing them at risk, and that of course if your General is your primary caster (they normally will be; Vampire Counts are reliant on magic and should almost always have a Level 4) then miscasts can be catastrophic - thankfully most LoV spells have relatively low casting values.

You will also want at least one backup LoV caster - a cheap Necromancer is the most common option.

Vampire Counts Battle Standards - in addition to the normal BSB effects, units within 12" suffer one less wound from Unstable or the death of the General. Given that you're Unbreakable, BSBs are far less useful to VCs, but are worth bringing if you have a Wight King already and want to bolster the centre of your lines.

Vampiric - units with this rule (certain characters, Blood Knights, Varghulfs and Vargheists) don't suffer wounds as a result of a slain General, and can make march moves as normal (unless they've joined a non-Vampiric unit). This allows them to operate more effectively away from your centre. Sounds great, but unfortunately Invocation of Nehek, your key spell, will only restore 1 wound per casting for Vampiric models, which makes it harder to keep these units at full strength.

Resurrecting Fallen Warriors - some of your army's abilities allow you to resurrect models; this has various points to it:

Single model units cannot exceed their starting wounds value.
Multi-model units resurrect the Champion first, then Musician (both only if there was one originally), but never Standard Bearers. Rank-and-file follow, you fill out the front rank until it has at least 5 models (3 for Monstrous Infantry) and can then be added to either the front rank or the rear rank (only the rear rank if there is more than one rank already). You can't displace enemy models - if there's no room to place your resurrected models, you lose them.
For multi-wound models, you heal wounds back to full before resurrecting new models.
A unit cannot normally be taken beyond its starting size - though exceptions do exist (Zombies primarily, and a few other units if your characters have certain abilities).
Unless stated otherwise, abilities that restore lost wounds cannot heal characters or their mounts, even if they have joined a unit (though the unit can be affected).

Resurrecting models is a key feature of your army, and you will need to be doing it regularly to keep your army effective.

Last Edit: Nov 19, 2019 12:06:07 GMT by sedge

sedge
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Vampire Counts Tactics Jun 22, 2018 15:42:50 GMT KevinC likes this

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Post by sedge on Jun 22, 2018 15:42:50 GMT

Special characters in general are overpriced in Warhammer - you can usually build a better character from their generic equivalent for less points. However, they should not be dismissed entirely, as they tend to have abilities you can't get elsewhere, and therefore most still have a use.

Lords - special characters

Vlad von Carstein - 495 points, and comes with standard Vampire Lord stats, and The Hunger. He's a Level 3 Wizard (LoV), has Aura of Dark Majesty, Beguile and Supernatural Horror (see Vampiric Powers section, below). Beloved in Death means that if fighting in the same unit as Isabella von Carstein, they both gain Always Strikes First, and if one is slain the other gains Frenzy and Hatred. His magic sword Blood Drinker gives him +1S, and regains wounds on a 4+ for The Hunger, instead of a 6+. The famed Carstein Ring gives Vlad a 4++ ward, and the first time he's removed from play, on a D6 result of 2+, he's restored to life with 1 wound in the front rank of a friendly unit within 12" (even if it's in combat). If no such unit exists, he's properly dead.

Vlad is an expensive investment, and liable to be your only Lord choice. That's bad, as in the games he can fit in (2,000 points+ unless playing End Times rules - though he has an alternate End Times profile) you want a Level 4 caster, as your army is reliant on a strong magic phase. He also lacks Red Fury and Quick Blood, which are what you want for blender lords. As a footslogger, you'll need him in an infantry bunker - and Grave Guard are the obvious choice as a semi-elite unit. His abilities make him good in challenges, though the mere 5+ armour save is poor.

If you are taking him, bring Isabella too, to buff him, and stick them both in a large Grave Guard block. Your opponent will do their best to avoid that unit, but anything it catches should be minced. Keep another infantry block close, so he can be resurrected there if things go wrong.

Count Mannfred - even pricier at 530 points, and that's before you give him a mount - Barded Nightmare, Hellsteed or Abyssal Terror are the choices. He's a Level 4 Loremaster of the Lore of Vampires and the Lore of Death. Has standard Vampire Lord stats and abilities, plus Dark Acolyte, Master of the Black Arts, and Summon Creatures of the Night. His dramatically named Sword of Unholy Power means that for each unsaved wound caused by the sword, he gets an extra dice at the start of the next magic phase (whether dispel or power dice). The Armour of Templehof is heavy armour and gives Mannfred a very useful extra two wounds.

Mannfred is an outstanding caster - but to get the best of him, you want him in combat killing things. He's not well-protected, with no ward save, so you want him in a unit rather than flying solo on a Hellsteed or Abyssal Terror. The Nightmare is a good option for the 3+ save and allows him to join a unit. You really want him to be chopping through weaker units (goblins etc.) to keep him safe and to get the most extra magic dice, which doesn't fit well with the obvious cavalry bunkers of Black/Blood Knights.

He is potentially devastating, but tricky to use, and doesn't work well against all armies. If you're facing Ogres or Chaos Warriors, he's going to struggle to get the kills he needs - though at least you can use Death spells to snipe enemy characters.

Heinrich Kemmler - your cheapest named character Lord at 350 points. He's a more skilled Necromancer with the precious Lore of Vampires Loremaster ability, getting you the spells you need. Master of the Dead allows him to increase Skeleton Warriors above their starting values, so go heavy on those. His Chaos Tomb Blade gives him +2A (so 3 total, so he's no combat character) and if bunkered in Skeleton Warriors or Grave Guard, for each model he slays in combat, he adds another model to his unit! The Cloak of Mists and Shadows allows Kemmler to choose at the start of each of his turns whether to have the Fly or Ethereal special rules (Ethereal will almost always be the best choice, unless you're stuck in a bad position - you don't want him flying around the battlefield). The Skull Staff gives him +1 to dispel rolls, and at the beginning of each magic phase, your opponent has to declare all magic items within 12". That'd be more useful if you could make the Fly/Ethereal decision after seeing what magic weapons your opponent has nearby.

He's 130 points more than a Level 4 Master Necromancer with Master of the Dead. The Loremaster and Ethereal rules are probably more or less worth that expense, so consider him if you want a Necro rather than Vampire led army - Kemmler is a rare reasonably priced special character. Krell has some special rules when in the same unit as Heinrich Kemmler, and can make a decent, if expensive, bodyguard.

Lords - generic characters

Vampire Lord - the defining character of your army, and the one every opponent fears. Vampires are outstanding combat characters - only Chaos Lords are better in challenges, and Vampire Lords are better at tearing through units - hence the infamous "blender lord" build. They are also strong casters, with Vampiric Powers to boost their abilities beyond mortal wizards. However, all this unsurprisingly comes at a cost - and given the need for Vampire Counts to keep their General alive, you have to invest in protecting a Vampire Lord - expect to be spending around 500 points on a fully kitted-out one, and you're going to need a 3,000 point game before you can consider the top-level mounts for them (unless using End Times limits for Lords/Heroes). Don't be daunted by this, though - your army is top-heavy, and you have to invest in characters to be effective. Your basic troops make up for this by being dirt cheap.

Stats-wise, Vampire Lords are amazing. Weapon Skill 7, Strength and Toughness 5, 5 Attacks hitting at Initiative 7, plus Leadership 10. Oh, and movement 6, though you're unlikely to be using that stat much. They are obviously Undead and Vampiric, and have The Hunger - when they kill one or more models in close combat, roll a D6 at the end of that phase; on a 6 they regain a lost wound. Given you almost always want a Vampire Lord in combat, and they're virtually guaranteed to be killing (lots), you should gain at least one wound back this way during a game, unless you get prematurely killed - though you also have a more reliable way of healing yourself (The Curse of Undeath lore attribute). Starting at 220 points, Vampire Lords have the standard 100 point magic item allowance, but can also spend up to 100 points on Vampiric Powers, which is what sets them apart from other characters.

Unless you're playing a massive game, if you're bringing a Vampire Lord, they're likely to be your only Lord. That means they will be playing the role of your primary caster, and that means you want them as a Level 4. I cannot emphasise enough how reliant Vampire Counts are on good magic - their spells keep their units and characters alive, make up for your army's lack of speed, buffs them massively in combat, and can cause some nasty damage to your opponent. That's not to say it's impossible to play a low-magic VC army, but you're seriously handicapping yourself if you do so. As your Vampire Lord is your General, you'll be taking Lore of Vampires on them. You can take Death or Shadow instead if you've somehow got multiple Vampire Lords (this must be a massive game) but Lore of Vampires is so good for you that it should be your first choice.

Your mount options are a Barded Nightmare, good for boosting your armour save, getting you into combat quickly, and giving you a bunker of Blood Knights or Black Knights (though that impacts Black Knights' movement, but see the Black Knights Bus further below). The Hellsteed lets you fly, but characters can't join flying units, leaving you exposed and riding a lesser mount. The Abyssal Terror is awful, with no saves, and a poor damage output - no thanks. The Zombie Dragon is amazing...ly expensive but the prospect of having a Vampire Lord and Dragon smashing into their lines will terrify any opponent. Yes, your mount may be shot out from underneath you, but once you're in combat (and you want to get there quickly) you'll be destroying anything you meet. Finally, there's the Coven Throne - another expensive but strong choice that has a 4+ ward save to keep it alive; see the Mounts section below for more on each of these. Of course, you can footslog - if you do so, then Grave Guard are your best option, though you can run around with mere Skeleton Warriors if you're on a budget - but beware your unit crumbling around you, and your expensive vampire following them into the ground.

I'll cover the Blender Lord now as it's the most common (and feared) build for a Vampire Lord - rather than being a challenge beast, this character eviscerates units, particularly infantry. This is built around Red Fury (extra attack for each unsaved wound caused in close combat) usually in partnership with Quickblood (Always Strikes First which normally gets you re-rolls to hit thanks to your initiative). That leaves you 20 points left to spend on Vampiric Powers - while you don't need to spend more, Fear Incarnate is a solid choice, or Beguile to neutralise an enemy character. Magic items will need to be a mix of protection to keep you alive, and potentially a magic weapon to boost your offensive output. This build works with either a footslogger or mounted vampire, and a mounted one can take a lance if on a budget, or wanting to spend more on protection.

You can build a Challenge Lord instead - to be honest, Red Fury and Quickblood are still your best bet for ensuring damage output, but you could pair these with either Beguile or Dread Knight, and you'll want The Other Trickster's Shard to force your opponent to re-roll ward saves. Either bring both the Talisman of Preservation and Nightshroud for double protection, or drop one for the Ogre Blade and +2S (better for chopping through the high armour saves you'll definitely encounter). If you don't have a magic weapon, take a Lance if mounted. The "Unkillable Daemon Prince" builds and super-tanks Dwarf Lords are probably the only characters who can survive this onslaught.

For Vampiric Powers and Magic Items, there are three broad things to consider - defence, damage output, and magical assistance. Defence is the most crucial given the need to keep your General alive and to protect your investment. Heavy armour and a shield are almost obligatory, for a minimum 4+ save. This can be boosted with either the Enchanted Shield, Dragonhelm or Nightshroud. The Nightshroud is an outstanding magic item, improving your armour save by 1, and also enemy models in base contact with the wearer lose any strength bonuses from normal and magical weapons and gain Always Strike last. This is amazing - it virtually guarantees you hit first, and nullifies the weapons most likely to hurt you. The Talisman of Preservation is the other protection to consider, with its 4++ ward (I would not recommend the similar Armour of Destiny, as you want your magic armour to boost your armour save) - this will help you against Killing Blow, cannonballs, insta-kill spells, and those miscasts that there's a good chance you'll encounter. A Vampire Lord on Barded Nightmare with heavy armour, shield, Nightshroud and Talisman of Preservation is incredibly hard to kill - T5, 3 wounds, 1+/4++ and opponents in base contact only hit at their basic strength, so will usually struggle to wound, let alone bypass your armour. The Talisman is probably the better choice over the Nightshroud if choosing between the two, as it protects you in more situations. Curse of the Revenant can get you an extra wound, but at 55 points is overpriced - with enough protection you are unlikely to suffer 3 wounds in a turn, and your magic and The Hunger can heal you back up to full.

A Vampire Lord has a prodigious damage output without any upgrades, but can be buffed to superhuman levels. As discussed above, Red Fury and Quickblood are the best choices for Vampiric Powers in this regards. With regards to weaponry, I wouldn't recommend a great weapon or additional hand weapon, as you really need a shield for protection. If mounted, a lance is a cheap option to boost your Strength up to 7 on the charge. Otherwise, the Sword of Might will get you to S6 for just 20 points, or the Ogre Blade to S7 constantly for 40 points. The Giant Blade is great (S8!!!) but probably more than you want to spend. Skabscrath is discussed more later - while potentially devastating, the flaming attacks risk you being held up by a character carrying the Dragonbane Gem. On a real budget, the Sword of Striking for 15 points means you're likely to hit on a 2+, or Biting Blade gives you Armour Piercing for 10 points - your base Strength of 5 is good already. The Other Trickster's Shard is almost never a bad choice -- though if in a unit of Blood Knights with the Banner of Blood Keep, it definitely is a bad choice as you don't want them re-rolling their ward saves -- and will help you deal with enemy characters, Daemons, Phoenix Guard etc.

Finally, there's magic - as your primary caster, you could invest in Vampiric Powers to boost your magical prowess; however, this is a less common option (Blood Dragons are cooler than Necrarchs) as you're already paying a hefty premium for a Vampire Lord's combat ability, so you want to get a return on that. On the magical gear front, the Book of Arkhan helps you get an extra casting of Vanhel's Danse Macabre to close the distance with your opponent, and the Staff of Damnation is an excellent buff, particularly if bunkered in Grave Guard or Black Knights. The Black Periapt is a strong choice (particularly against Dwarves - presumably they still roll for power dice, and you get some dispel dice to save for your next casting phase?). For Vampiric Powers, Master of the Dark Arts is very expensive but can turn a weak magic phase into a strong one. Dark Acolyte at 25 points is a little overpriced too, though it helps you get your key spell cast. Summon Creatures of the Night is excellent if going heavy on bats/wolves, and essential if you're doing something funky like bunkering in the wolves. Forbidden Lore lets you choose any Warhammer rulebook lore except Life, but really isn't worth it - Lore of Vampires is your best choice. For generic magic items, mostly don't bother - you'll have at least one backup caster to take the Dispel Scroll and so on.

Master Necromancer - but you're playing Vampire Counts! Oh, allright then. If you're on a budget, or don't want to risk all your eggs in one basket, a Necromancer is still a good choice. They're pretty standard puny wizards, costing 165 points, and can pick between the Lore of Vampires or Death; take Vampires - your Leadership is only 8, so not good enough to exploit Death, and Vampires is amazing anyway (as I think I've mentioned already a few times) plus obligatory for your General. One Master Necromancer or Necromancer in your army can take the Master of the Dead upgrade that allows you to increase Skeleton Warrior units above their starting size - at 20 points this is a really good upgrade, and you should take it on a Master Necro if you have one.

Keeping him on foot is the best option - bunker him with Skeletons or Zombies just behind your lines (he needs to be close due to the area of effect "bubble" spells). Skeletons are superior to Zombies as you can get a champion, who can can challenge out any lone character who charges you (e.g. Dark Elf Pegasus Master) in the hope of assassinating your Necromancer, keeping you alive for at least another turn. Hellsteeds and Abyssal Terrors are awful choices, as you can't get a decent armour save, and you'll find yourself pincushioned with arrows (or burnt to shreds with Fireballs). The Barded Nightmare isn't great, as then you'd be wanting to bunker in Black Knights, which are a combat unit - you don't want your Necromancer in combat. The Corpse Cart is an interesting choice - mounting a Necromancer on one works well with the Cart's Vigor Mortis, getting ASF on nearby units (and Unholy Lodestone too, if taken) - but you're still sitting outside a unit with a measly save, and are too big a target for war machines and so on. You'll absolutely 100% need a ward save if doing this, but it's better to risk a hero level Necromancer on a Cart instead.

You'll want a 4++ to keep your Master Necromancer safe and protect against miscasts - that's the Talisman of Preservation. You can actually take the Nightshroud (the Army Book specifically allows it, despite it being magic armour) - this is fun for pulling a surprise on your opponent, but is more use on a combat character. Any of the Staff of Damnation, Book of Arkhan or Rod of Flaming Death are very useful on a Master Necromancer; you can leave scroll caddying duties to a hero level wizard. Beyond the ward save and an arcane item, don't bother with other magic items - the Master Necromancer's strength in your army is that he's cheap.

Strigoi Ghoul King - the unconventional Lord choice, clocking in at a whopping 260 points without upgrades. Compared to a regular Vampire Lord, they have one less WS (6) and Ld (9), and one extra I (8). They also have Poisoned Attacks, Regeneration (5+) and Infinite Hatred (re-rolling misses in all rounds of combat), but are a mere Level 1 caster (Lore of Vampires) and can't add wizard levels. They have no armour options, but can take 100 points of magic items (not magic armour, and that includes the Nightshroud) and 100 points of Vampiric Powers. They can also be mounted on a Terrorgheist - their only mount option.

They are not a strong choice. They're a very expensive character lacking decent protection, and they also saddle a magic reliant army with realistically nothing higher than a Level 2 wizard (if you're playing a massive game, they become more interesting). However, they can be fun to play if you want a crazed Strigoi-themed army that makes Konrad von Carstein look sane.

The Dragonbane Gem is a must-have; at 5 points it gives you a 2++ ward against Flaming Attacks that bypass your Regeneration. You've got no protection against Killing Blow, so just avoid it. You could get a magic weapon, but that'd lose you your Poisoned Attacks. Skabscrath gives you a double Death Shriek if riding a Terrorgheist. Other Trickster's Shard is useful as ever. Either of the Potions of Strength/Toughness could help you out in a tricky situation. Don't bother with challenges - be pure blender with Red Fury; Quickblood is unnecessary as you're already re-rolling misses. Aura of Dark Majesty and Fear Incarnate are useful if you're bunkered up (Ghouls are a fluffy choice, and similarly suicidal though Grave Guard are more durable), while Beguile is an amusingly disturbing choice that can help you neutralise a character who might be able to threaten you. The Book of Arkhan lets you cast Invocation twice (if you pick that as your "regular" spell too), helping you close with the enemy, and keeping your mount/self alive (via the Lore Attribute). Curse of the Revenant could actually be worth it on a Ghoul King were it not priced at 55 points and thus preventing you from getting Red Fury.

A Strigoi Ghoul King isn't subtle, and you want to be smashing it into combat from Turn 2 onwards. You'll also need backup casters to handle the bulk of your magic phases, and take over when the Strigoi collapses in a welter of foetid blood.

Heroes - special characters

Mannfred the Acolyte - the junior version of Count Mannfred. 200 points, and unsurprisingly has Hero level Vampire stats, heavy armour, Sword of Unholy Power, Dark Acolyte, and is a Level 2 wizard for Lore of Vampires, but is still a Loremaster for that lore. Can take a Barded Nightmare or Abyssal Terror, but not a Hellsteed. An equivalent Vampire with heavy armour, level 2, Dark Acolyte would be 169 points, so you're paying only a little more for the Sword and Loremaster, although you lose the flexibility.

Without the extra wounds of the Armour of Templehof, you really need him mounted on a Nightmare for the 3+ save, probably in a unit of Black Knights. He's still expensive to risk throwing into combats to try and generate extra magic dice, but you need to be doing that to make him worth buying - otherwise get a cheap Level 2 Necromancer as your backup caster. He can be useful if your lord is focused on combat at the expense of some wizard levels, ensuring you access to the really useful spells from the Lore of Vampires.

Krell, Lord of Undeath - at 205 points, he's well over double the cost of a standard Wight King, and sadly nowhere near worth it. An extra pip of WS and I, plus another wound, he also causes Terror. Champion of the Dead means he must issue a challenge whenever possible, and answer any your opponent issues. If Krell is in a challenge in the same combat as Heinrich Kemmler, then he gains Heroic Killing Blow. Armour of the Barrows gives him a 4+ save, and also if an enemy with a magic weapon wounds Krell in combat but he passes his save, it's treated as a non-magical weapon of the same type for the rest of the game. Highly unlikely to happen, given that most magic weapons will be bypassing that armour save. The Black Axe of Krell is a two-handed weapon that gives +2S, Always Strikes Last, Multiple Wounds (D3), and any model wounded by it but not killed must roll a D6 at the start of each subsequent turn - if the result is higher than its number of remaining wounds, the model suffers another wound with no armour save allowed. Ideally you want Krell killing things outright, but this means that at least if he dies (or his opponent runs off) then you may still get a kill.

The only occasion in which he might be justified is acting as a bodyguard to Kemmler - because few characters/monsters will want to risk heroic Killing Blow. He's still expensive for that role, and not nearly well-protected enough. You're better off with a cheaper Wight King kitted out with a couple of magic items.

He'll struggle even with monster hunting, as those will usually hit (and kill) first. A Corpse Cart nearby can help to get ASF to mitigate his ASL, so he hits at his surprisingly decent Initiative of 5.

Konrad von Carstein - 160 points, he has one more point of WS but one less of Ld than a regular Vampire. He's the maddest of the von Carsteins, and devoid of any magical talents. He has a 50 point Vampiric Power, Red Fury (generating extra attacks) as standard, which means he's kind of cost-effective... but has the usual special character problem in that he lacks further protection than heavy armour, and cannot be mounted. One Bat Short of a Belfry is one of the best-named rules around. Roll a D6 at the start of each of your turns, and on a 1-3 he's got Stupidity, 4-6 Frenzy. This makes him very unreliable, particularly with his terrible Leadership - if he's not licking blood off his sword, he's running off trying to chase down that unit of Dark Riders. The Sword of Waldenhof combines with his hand weapon as paired weapons, giving him 5 attacks (plus possibly 1 more from Frenzy, and more from Red Fury) and also gives him Multiple Wounds (2).

A typical glass cannon, he'll definitely be entertaining to use, but will probably go down quite quickly in a welter of blood (your opponent's and his own). Any sort of multi-wound low armour units will be terrified of him - Ogres being a prime example. Keep a BSB nearby to help with his Stupidity/Frenzy.

Isabella von Carstain - 175 point hero level Vampire, yet again protected merely by heavy armour. Apparently the von Carsteins never cared for shields. She's a measly Level 1 caster (LoV, of course), and unsurprisingly has Beguile (same as Vlad). Beloved in Death works the same as Vlad's (ASF when in the same unit, if one dies the other gets Hatred and Frenzy). Her big thing is the Blood Chalice of Bathori - her, or another Vampiric character in the same unit (i.e. Vlad) can drink from this at the start of each Magic phase, healing 1 wound.

She's not a good choice, but if taken, do so alongside Vlad. Together they are a formidable pairing, very dangerous in combat, and through magic, The Hunger and the Chalice, can keep each other alive.

Heroes - generic characters

Necromancer - almost every Vampire Counts army has at least one Necromancer as their backup caster. They're cheap at only 65 points, and are a much better choice than the glass cannon hero level Vampire. If you have Skeleton Warriors (you should) and don't have a Master Necromancer, then get the Master of the Dead upgrade - at a mere 20 points it lets you increase them above their starting numbers. They can take Lore of Death, but again, don't bother - Ld is too low, and Lore of Vampires is more useful. Mounts are the Nightmare (unbarded) and Corpse Cart, which is a better option for a hero Necromancer than the Master Necromancer as you don't have so many points at risk; however you're best off staying on foot in Zombies or Skeleton Warriors.

For magic items, you could take a ward save or Nightshroud, but this isn't so necessary on a backup caster - though you'll want a 4++ if sitting exposed on a Corpse Cart. Otherwise, take a Dispel Scroll, or Staff of Damnation/Book of Arkhan/Rod of Flaming Death. Take several Necromancers around your lines to spam Invocation of Nehek, and watch your opponent cry as you finish the game with more models than you started with (convert zombie versions of his favourite troops to make this even more fun).

Vampire - disappointing glass cannons; see more on them here. They're expensive at 105 points, and have only 2W and T4, and a maximum 4+ mundane armour save unless mounted. Rank and file troops will allocate attacks to your Vampire, and it won't last long. If you mount them, they're too vulnerable on a Hellsteed, don't have the Ld to make use of a Coven Throne, and the most viable bunker for a Barded Nightmare Vampire is Blood Knights, and then you're taking Frenzy tests on Ld7... plus you can get more damage output with 2-3 more Blood Knights, though at least you can get BSB status on the Vampire to help with Frenzy tests.

Necromancers are a cheaper backup caster, and Wight Kings a more durable BSB. If you are going to take a Vampire hero, either load it into the Blood Knights and upgrade it to a BSB so you re-roll those Frenzy tests, or use it as a combat glass cannon, probably amongst Grave Guard. The Nightshroud or Talisman of Preservation may keep it alive a little longer, while Red Fury increases its already prodigious damage output. They do have a place in the "Black Knight Bus" alongside a Vampire Lord for extra hitting power.

Wight King - a beast. Other armies would kill for a hero of this quality at just 85 points. The Wight King is a more defensive option than a Vampire, having an amazing T5 and 3W, and coming stock with heavy armour. It isn't the most skilled, with WS4, I4 and A3, though its S4 is boosted by Killing Blow. Leadership of 9 makes it invaluable should your General die, keeping a precious unit (often Black Knights/Grave Guard) alive as the lesser undead crumble around it. Your mount option is a Skeletal Steed, which can (and should) have barding - ideal for riding alongside Black Knights.

A Wight King is the obvious choice as BSB, being extremely hard to kill. While he can take the outstanding Banner of the Barrows, you're better off giving that to your unit's standard as both Black Knights/Grave Guard have a 50 point allowance. If you want to be really nasty, take the Screaming Banner too, and your whole unit will probably be hitting on 2+! However, in general you're better off using your magic item allowance on weapons/armour/talismans.

As ever, you're balancing protection and offensive power for your Wight King. If you're mounted, then a shield and lance gives you 2+ armour, and S6 on the charge; you can leave things at that for a budget option, or give them the Screaming Banner. However, in Black Knights, you probably want to opt for a weapon that gives you good damage output after the charge, so the Ogre Blade is a good choice; combine with the Enchanted Shield for 1+ armour, and constant S6. A ward save or the Nightshroud aren't so vital given your strong armour save when mounted, but could be considered if you want safety first.

If on foot (usually in Grave Guard), you'll want to boost your armour save, and you don't have the option of a lance. The Nightshroud is an excellent option if you haven't used it elsewhere, but leaves you unable to get a decent magic weapon - you could combine it with great weapon, but you'll only have a 4+ save (though the Nightshroud should mean you're mainly going to face S3/4 hits). The same applies to the Talisman of Preservation. To focus on damage, go for the Ogre Blade and Enchanted Shield for 3+ and S6, or the Sword of Might, Enchanted Shield and The Other Trickster's Shard for 3+ and S5 with your opponent re-rolling successful ward saves.

You should always have space in your army for a Wight King or two - they bolster a unit with some solidity and extra damage output. They aren't challenge beasts or blenders, but are good at working through heavily armoured infantry or cavalry, and your opponent will want to avoid their Killing Blow. While BSBs are not so vital in Undead, it's useful to have one in the centre of your infantry lines. The usual bunkers are Grave Guard and Black Knights because of banner options/mount synergies, but they can also give some extra kick to a unit of Skeleton Warriors. Don't both putting them in Zombies - they're pure tarpit or Ghouls, which play a different role.

Cairn Wraith - 60 point Terror causing Ethereal infantry character. Puny stats, but has a Movement of 6, and 3 Attacks at S3 boosted to S5 with its Great Weapon. Chill grasp allows it to substitute all its attacks for a single one that if it hits automatically wounds with no armour save allowed. Not a great choice, as you can get a unit of these guys at a lower points cost, albeit from your precious Rare allowance, which with extra wounds will allow you to better handle the monsters, cavalry and so on you want to be targeting. If you want to tarpit, use Spirit Hosts, which are cheaper. As Ethereals with no saves at all, spells and magic weapons will obliterate them, so you're unlikely to be able to assassinate characters with them. If going spirit heavy, you could plonk a few of these around the place so you have target saturation; the Hexwraiths do most the killing, the Spirit Hosts the tarpitting, and the Cairn Wraiths pick off the odd cavalry model or monster.

Tomb Banshee - like a Cairn Wraith, but more expensive (95 points) and worse - only 1 Attack. Their special rule is Ghostly Howl, which they can use in the shooting phase even if they marched, charged or are in combat (if in combat it has to target the unit she's in combat with). It's got a range of 8" and needs line of sight (sound, surely?), but can target a unit in close combat. Roll 2D6+2 and for every point that exceeds the target's Leadership, they suffer a wound (magical attack) with no armour saves allowed. You can use them to wipe out a rank of cheap models (skavenslaves, goblins, zombies) but that's not a great deal of points worth. You can combine this with some Leadership tricks, such as Aura of Dark Majesty, but that's not going to make a great difference. These also come as a champion for a Cairn Wraith unit (see the Rare section).

Mounts

Skeletal Steed - a basic steed that only the Wight King can take - adds no noticeable combat prowess with WS2, S3 and I2. However, can be barded, and comes with the amazing Spectral Steeds rule - a model mounted on it gains the Ethereal special rule for the purposes of movement only, and doesn't have a movement penalty for being barded. This means you don't need to worry about dangerous terrain tests, and can even charge through impassable terrain such as buildings, so long as a model has line of sight to the target! As Black Knights have this, they're the obvious cavalry to pair a Wight King with, as he'd lose this rule if in with Blood Knights. A really strong choice.

Nightmare - a slightly stronger mount with WS3 and S4... still not amazing, but it'll occasionally kick something's head in. Vampires can bard theirs, Necromancers cannot. Again a solid choice, and the most common mount option for Vampires. Because of the Spectral Steeds rule (above) which Nightmares don't have, you don't generally want to put a Nightmare mounted character in with Black Knights (which have Skeletal Steeds). Blood Knights are the standard bunker choice. Because your cavalry are combat specialists, and Necromancers are anything but, you shouldn't normally mount a Necromancer on one of these.

Hellsteed - a flying Nightmare without the option for barding. Cool in theory, but available only to Vampire Lords, Vampires and Master Necromancers. You don't normally want your expensive characters flying solo, as they'll get targeted by every ranged attack available, and the Hellsteed isn't a combat beast like a Dragon. You're not Dark Elves; don't try to emulate their Pegasus Masters. Remember - characters can't join flying units, so whatever you read on the internet, you can't bunker a Hellsteed character in amongst Fell Bats.

Abyssal Terror - should be named the Abysmal Terror. 120 point Frankenstein's monster that appears to have all the worst bits of the warhammer world's monsters stitched together. Flies and causes Terror, and WS4, S5, T5, 4 Wounds... but only 3 Initiative 2 Attacks and no saves. 15 points Poisonous Tail upgrade gives you Poisoned Attacks, 10 points Sword Claws upgrade gives you Armour Piercing. Master Necromancers should never ride this, as you don't want them in combat. Vampire Lords should never ride this, as they'll have their mount shot out from underneath them, and be left exposed and footslogging. Could've been worthwhile with a 4+ Scaly Skin upgrade like the Manticores do, but sadly GW's design-your-own-monster didn't include this. If you want a big scary monster, do it properly, and take a Zombie Dragon.

Terrorgheist - see more in the Terrorgheist section in Rare, or the Strigoi Ghoul King listing (above). Don't mistake it for a Zombie Dragon - it has one less point of WS, S and A, and no Scaly Skin/Breath Weapon/Swarm of Flies to keep it safe. It isn't going to smash stuff up in combat, though with a Strigoi on top that's where you want it. The Death Shriek is its main way of inflicting damage, so use the Strigoi's casting to heal its Wounds up, and target low Leadership, high value targets.

Zombie Dragon - standard stuff from a dragon with S/T/W6, and 5 Initiative 2 Attacks, plus Terror and Fly. If your opponent says it looks more like a Wyvern to him, tell him its arms fell off. Scaly Skin is only 5+, but Swarm of Flies is effectively a Mark of Nurgle, so -1 to Hit rolls in combat; however the exact wording is "Enemies in base contact with a Zombie Dragon deduct 1 from their rolls To Hit in close combat" - so this applies to any model they target, including the Vampire Lord on top. Nice! The Breath Weapon is a mere S2, but with a -3 armour save modifier, so is good at wiping out low Toughness, high save targets (elite Elves). Like any big monster, it'll get shot at loads. However, using the Lore Attribute of the Lore of Vampires, you can heal it up again! Pair with a level 4 blender Vampire Lord for the ultimate points sink, and include the Nightshroud to nerf any great weapons trying to chop its head off (the massive base size comes in handy here). Sadly, you're going to need a 3,000+ point game to use this, unless you're using End Times rules.

Coven Throne - 230 point chariot mount for Vampire Lords and Vampires only. The Throne itself is S/T/W 5, with a 5+/4++. It's drawn by a Spirit Horde - M8, and with Spectral Steeds, so no dangerous terrain tests and you can move through impassable terrain, overcoming one of the key weaknesses of chariots. They have 2D6 WS3 S3 I1 magical (FAQed) attacks. It also comes with two Pallid Handmaidens - lesser Vampires essentially, each with 2 WS S5 I5 Always Strikes First attacks! Unsurprisingly, it's a Large Target and Vampiric (not that you can march, as it's still a chariot).

It has two special rules - Scrying Pool is a Bound Spell (Level 3) that causes the Coven Throne (all parts of it) and any character riding it to re-roll all failed to hit/to wound rolls for the rest of the turn. Battle of Wills is the bigger one - when rolling to hit (shooting or combat) against the Throne or its rider, you and your opponent's unit roll a D6 and add to their respective Ld; you then subtract their score from yours. 0 or less has no effect, 1-2 and they're at -1WS/BS (to a minimum of 1), 3-5 and they have to re-roll successful to hit rolls, and 6+ they turn on themselves and each model in the attacking unit makes a single close combat attack upon themselves, and then cannot shoot or attack this turn!

Battle of Wills is the key ability of the Coven Throne, and you need a high Leadership to get the best out of it - such as the Vampire Lord's 10; the hero Vampire's 7 is just not good enough to make use of the Throne. For obvious reasons this is much weaker against high Ld armies (Dwarves, Elves) and very strong against low Ld armies (Orcs and Goblins and so on). Aura of Dark Majesty is the ideal Vampiric Power to partner with it, reducing nearby enemy units' Leadership. The cost of it prevents you getting both Red Fury and Quickblood on your Vampire Lord, but in this case that is justified.

As with the Zombie Dragon, it's a very expensive choice, realistically limited to 3,000+ points games. Your opponent will target it with every ranged attack it can scrape together - but the Coven Throne is actually reasonably durable against warmachines compared with other mounts, with the 4++ ward. It's very much a case of "all your eggs in one basket" - but that's what Vampire Counts are all about. The Coven Throne is a strong choice, looks fantastic, and it's immensely satisfying to have three ladies in dresses tear the heart out of your opponent's lovestruck force.

Last Edit: Sept 24, 2018 10:53:24 GMT by sedge

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Vampire Counts Tactics Jun 22, 2018 15:43:39 GMT knoffles likes this

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Post by sedge on Jun 22, 2018 15:43:39 GMT

Core Units

Zombies - 3 points each, these are your premier tarpit, and can't be taken in units smaller than 20. WS/I/A are 1, Ld is 2, and S/T 3; they also have Always Strikes Last in case they weren't bad enough already, and no equipment save a hand weapon (which is often just a hand). Can get a Musician or Standard (5 points each rather than the usual 10) and the Standard is worth taking, but there's no such thing as a Zombie Champion. The Newly Dead means they regain an additional D6 wounds when casting Invocation of Nehek on them and can be increased beyond their starting size. That's key. They're cheap so you can field them in massive units, won't run (thanks to being Undead), and you can boost them back up (and beyond) when they inevitably suffer losses. Field them in big units, and they can hold up single-attack units forever.

They're particularly good against those elite great weapon/halberd single attack troops, who waste all their skill and strength on a puny 3 point Zombie. Multi-attack anti-infantry units such as Witch Elves are more dangerous - they can kill dozens per round of combat and similar numbers will crumble. There are various buffs in the Lore of Vampires that can make your troops better in combat, but your Zombies will always be bad - don't expect them to kill anything, and you won't be disappointed. If your General dies, your Zombies will crumble badly.

Even if for some reason you've not got any Zombies in your army list (why not?), bring some models along in case you get the Raise The Dead spell.

Skeleton Warriors - your second choice for tarpitting, they are more expensive at 5 points each. You get an extra point of WS so are more likely to be hitting things on 4+ rather than 5+, and also of Initiative and Leadership. While they don't have Always Strikes Last, they probably will strike last anyway, and they'll still crumble badly should you lose your General. A full command group is available at a pricey 10 points each, and one unit can take a magic standard up to 25 points - The Screaming Banner is okay, though your damage dealing units will get more from it; otherwise the Banner of Swiftness or Banner of Eternal Flame could be useful - but don't feel a need to give them a banner. They have light armour and a shield for a nice 5+/6++ parry, which you will pass a surprising number of. You could give them spears for free, but that loses you the parry save that is more useful to you than an extra rank of rubbish attacks.

The Champion makes them a better choice than Zombies for a wizard bunker, as he can challenge out lone characters that try to target your wizard, and if putting a combat character like a Vampire or Wight King in the unit, the Champion can take a challenge you don't want to waste your character on. Despite the relative high cost, it's worth taking a full command on your units.

The choice between Zombies and Skeleton Warriors is most often down to personal preference - both are good and perform the same tarpit role well, and armies will usually field both. If you've got Master of the Dead on a Necromancer, they're especially worth it.

Crypt Ghouls - an offensive infantry unit, Ghouls are more expensive at 10 points each. They have WS and Initiative 3, and while still only S3, have 2 Poisoned Attacks each. They have no saves, but at least have Toughness 4. You can get a Champion for 10 points, but no other command. Leadership of 5 means they'll crumble a bit less than the others. They're a fragile unit, but good at taking out monsters, monstrous infantry and low armour infantry. They will still die in droves, so even with Invocation, most units of Ghouls don't make it to the end of the game. You can stick a Vampire of some sort in there, as there's still a Champion to take an irritating challenge, and they're similarly offensive in nature. They work well in large hordes of 30+ to ensure they reach combat in a decent state, and that they put out a massive amount of hits.

Dire Wolves - a fast moving core choice with M9 and Vanguard (though be aware they likely won't be able to march). 3s on most the rest of the stats make them mediocre, though Slavering Charge gives them S4 on the charge. You can get a Champion for 10 points... just buy another wolf, unless you're bunkering a character in them for some silly reason. Summon Creatures of the Night on a Vampire will allow you to expand the unit over its starting size. They're decent chaff and redirectors, and a speedier alternative to Spirit Hosts, allowing them to get to warmachines quicker (though Fell Bats do that better). Don't feel that you have to Vanguard them just because you can - you can keep a unit or two in reserve for late game redirecting. At 40 points a unit, it's worth bringing a couple along.

Special Units

Corpse Cart - a 90 point chariot that's there to buff your units, not to run them down like Tomb Kings. Toughness 4 with 4 wounds, it's protected by a 5+ armour save, and Regeneration (4++), which means it has at least some resistance to (non-flaming) warmachines; however, it won't stand up long to BS shooting. Damage output is minimal, with only S4 for its impact hits, 2D6 attacks from the Zombies pulling it, and a solitary S3 attack from the wizened Corpsemaster on top - though for 1 point you can get him a spear, which is worth remembering if you have a single point left over.

Vigour Mortis is the first of your buffs - if an augment from the Lore of Vampires targets the Corpse Cart and is successfully cast, then all friendly Undead units within 6" gain Always Strikes First until the start of your next magic phase. It specifically states that Zombies lose Always Strikes Last and then gain Always Strikes First, rather than cancelling each other out - your Zombies will be hitting first in combat! You will always be taking LoV, which includes three Augments, two of which you will want to be casting whenever possible. The Corpse Cart is slow, unable to march at all as a chariot, and with a movement of just 4" - though Danse Macabre should help it keep up with your lines. Keeping one in the centre of your infantry lines, just behind the front, is well advised - and if you've got lots of blocks of footsloggers, two would be good. It's particularly useful to deny Elves their re-rolls from ASF, and can also help your troops hit before high Initiative armies like Warriors of Chaos.

Two upgrades are available - Balefire costs 15 points; enemy wizards within 24" deduct 1 from their casting rolls (this doesn't stack with multiple Corpse Carts); this helps with magical defence and is a decent choice. Unholy Lodestone is more expensive option at 30 points, but much more useful - when a friendly wizard within 6" successfully casts Invocation of Nehek, he can re-roll a single D6 for each eligible infantry unit when determining how many wounds are restored. You'll need a wizard close by, and to have several infantry units surrounding the Corpse Cart... but that should have been the case anyway. It makes Invocation much more reliable, and works well with a hero level Necromancer mounted on top.

Grave Guard - elite skeletons, they cost 11 points each with heavy armour, hand weapon & shield, or 12 to drop the shield for great weapons. They come with Killing Blow, and WS and Initiative 3, S/T 4 and Ld 6. They can take a full command group, and a magic standard up to 50 points. Grave Guard are the first of your damage dealing units, and are usually taken with great weapons to threaten high Toughness or heavily armoured units; that's not to say that the hand weapon & shield versions are bad - just you'll have several units from your Core choices already that work well at holding an opponent in place.

That said, the often ignored hand weapon & shield version do serve a use, if doing a traditional "hammer + anvil" approach with one unit holding your opponent in place, and another flank charging to do the damage. Zombies and Skeleton Warriors don't work too well as the anvil, as they will die in droves - and that negative combat resolution can result in your hammer crumbling. Grave guard with hand weapon and shield are Toughness 4, 4+/6++ parry, so are hard to kill, and have more static combat resolution than the alternative choice for this role of Crypt Horrors.

However, great weapons are the go-to option for these guys, as they give you valuable high strength attacks that are actually quite rare in your army. Grave Guard will chop through heavily armoured infantry, cavalry or monstrous creatures; however, they will die in droves so you should take them in large units. 20 is an absolute minimum (you are not an MSU army) but 30 or 40 in a horde is better; with a single attack each, anything you can do to get more is welcome. Magic banners are well advised - Banner of the Barrows is designed for Grave Guard, giving you a +1 to hit; the Screaming Banner is half the cost and a budget alternative to try to force opponents to fail their Fear tests.

Grave Guard often play host to combat characters - whether those be footslogging Vampires or a Wight King. These can add some reliability to the unit, whether it be extra kills, or a tough to kill character to handle challenges.

Black Knights - mounted Grave Guard, they start at 21 points, but should take barding (3 pts) and lances (2 pts) as upgrades. They have the same command group and magic banner allowance as Grave Guard, as well as Killing Blow. One key rule is Spectral Steeds, which means they are treated as Ethereal for the purposes of movement (so no dangerous terrain tests, and you can charge through impassable terrain if you have line of sight to your opponent) and don't suffer a movement penalty for barding. You can have great fun with this, sitting on one side of a building, holding off potentially several enemy units from approaching the other side.

I'd recommend taking them in units of 10 rather than 5; firstly, as a cavalry unit you may be away from your casters who could've resurrected your losses; secondly you have a low WS and a small number of attacks, so it's all too easy for your charge to be wasted as you fail to get the hits you expected. For this reason, I also consider it all the more important to add a magic banner and/or character to the unit to give it more reliability. The same two banners as for Grave Guard are advised; if you'd adding a character, it should be a Wight King who shares the Spectral Steeds rule - there's more in the Wight King section about how to kit them out.

There is a build known as the "Black Knight Bus" that involves a unit of around 12 Black Knights with full command, a Vampire Lord and Vampire in the front rank, and then Necromancer hero hiding in the second rank. It is extremely hard hitting, and you don't need to worry about Blood Knights' Frenzy, but you'll need a lot of chaff units (Dire Wolves most commonly) to ensure you get your charges off in the right place, and you've also got all your eggs in the one basket.

Crypt Horrors - tough monstrous infantry, costing 38 points each. With T5, 3W and 5++ Regeneration, they can take a beating, though watch out for flaming weapons and static combat resolution, as you can't get a musician/standard bearer. Their damage output is mediocre, with WS3, S4, and 3 Attacks at Initiative 2, though they are at least poisoned. Movement 6 helps you get them in position, though despite being Ghouls fed on Vampire blood, they are not Vampiric so can only march within 12" of the General, though at least you can heal more than 1 wound per casting of Invocation. Leadership is a rather poor 5 as well.

You can build an incredibly expensive death star horde of 18+ of Crypt Horrors, but you're reliant on magical buffs to get sufficient damage out of them. More normally, they're taken in a block of six (as monstrous infantry you get your full attacks from the second rank) to give you a bit more damage output and sturdiness than the minimum unit size of 3. A Mortis Engine nearby will boost their Regeneration to make them sturdier, and is a common combo. They're a decent choice but not an outstanding one.

Fell Bats - your ideal warmachine hunters. 16 points each, they Fly (obviously), have WS/S/T/I/Ld 3, and W/A 2, plus Swiftstride as war beasts. You can take them in units of just 2+ giving you lots of drops in deployment, and also making them harder to shoot down. Bear in mind that most the time they won't be marching, as they'll be away from your General. If you're playing Skaven, expect them to be grounded and crawling along at just Movement 1, so take the wolves instead then. Take a few units (more if playing warmachine heavy opponents) and annoy your opponent with them. I've seen people advocate them as a bunker for a Hellsteed-riding character, but that's an unconventional choice... plus illegal as characters can't join flying units.

Bat Swarms - these play a completely different role to Fell Bats. They're a swarm, 35 points each, and coming in units of 2+. They might have 5 Attacks, but at Weapon Skill 3 and Strength 2, it's not going to do much. They have 5 Wounds and Toughness 2. They Hover, and that 10" movement is generally enough to keep up with whatever you're pairing them with. Their Cloud of Horror rule is the key one - an enemy unit in base contact with a Bat Swarm has the Always Strikes Last rule - troll Elves by combining with a Corpse Cart to hit before them. They can be really useful to ensure you get your hits in first, but beware the combat resolution they'll give away, as they're really easy to wound. If you are playing Elves, definitely bring some to deny them their re-rolls to hit, even if just to keep your tarpits alive for longer.

Spirit Host - are great. 45 points each, and can be taken in units of 1-10; they can really troll your opponent if they don't know what they're doing. An Ethereal swarm with M6 and 4 Wounds, one of these can single-handedly hold up an enemy unit all game. However, they die to any static combat resolution (banners, ranks etc.) and a canny opponent will always bring a magic weapon or two to deal with your Ethereals. However, it's worth bringing a few (usually in single-model units), because they are outstanding at holding up monsters, or small units with no combat resolution, and are really cheap - if your opponent wastes a character or spell hunting them down, that's relief for your units that actually matter. A larger unit can protect a flank - but avoid enemy infantry blocks.

Hexwraiths - another troll unit! Ethereal cavalry, they're pricey at 30 points each, but potentially worth it. Fast Cavalry (so Vanguard and free reforms during movement), Ethereal and Movement 8 means you can get them where you want - though again, they won't be able to march if away from the General. They can take a champion, but no other command options, and they cause Terror. Their stats may appear mediocre at first, but they pack a real punch due to their special rules.

They have a single WS3 attack at Initiative 2, with Strength boosted to 5 from their great weapons - Soul Reapers makes these close combat attacks magical and flaming, and they ignore armour saves. Soulstriders allows them to move through unengaged units (friendly or enemy) during the remaining moves phase, so long as they end at least 1" away from another unit. Spectral Hunters is the big one - if they move through one or more unengaged enemy units in the Remaining Moves sub-phase, pick one of those units, and they take a single S5 hit per Hexwraith that passed through it, distributed as per shooting, which again are flaming, magical, and allow no armour saves! The VC FAQs boosted them further, by allowing you to cast Vanhel's Danse Macabre to move them through another enemy unit, inflicting yet more hits!

Your opponent will target them with every spell or ranged magical attack they possibly can, as otherwise these can decimate armoured units like heavy cavalry, and regenerating monsters. It can be quite hard to make use of Spectral Hunters if your opponent positions well, but Danse Macabre can help with that. Don't send them alone into big infantry blocks, as they will lose to static combat resolution. Expect your mileage to vary with Hexwraiths - one game you'll take out a pair of Hydres and a Cold One Chariot; the next they'll get splatted turn one by a Fireball. They are worth bringing regardless, as when they do well, they do really well.

Vargheists - the other half of the Crypt Horrors kit, and the opposite to them - they're a more offensively focused glass cannon, pricier at 46 points each. Vampiric and Flying, they are your fastest unit, able to move up to 20" in a turn. However, they're Frenzied and Ld7, which means you might struggle to pass those Beserk Rage tests - some players will turn them around after their movement if not intending to charge next turn (as Flyers they're Skirmishers, so you can do this) but this is a tactic I would consider not to be fair or realistic play, and on a par with conga lines. If you're not doing that, then you'll have to be careful with their positioning, follow them around with a BSB (which hinders their movement, and the alternative of a Hellsteed-riding Vampire BSB is not a good choice), or just accept they're crazed vampires that are going to end up in combats you don't want them in.

In terms of damage dealing, they have 3 WS/I 4 S5 attacks each, plus another from Frenzy, and can stomp. You can get a champion for an additional attack, which isn't a bad way to use up a spare 10 points. They are only Toughness 4, with 3 Wounds, with no saves of any kind, and being Vampiric can only heal one wound per casting of Invocation. They're a speedier warmachine hunter than Fell Bats, but are generally wasted on that role - instead, hit support units, flanks, low initiative monsters and so on - but watch out for big infantry blocks, or multi-attack models such as Witch Elves. I wouldn't recommend taking them in units of more than 3, unless you have a way of managing their Frenzy tests.

Rare Units

Varghulf - 175 point medium tier monster that nonetheless makes a good hammer. It's extremely fast with M8 and Vampiric allowing it to march (though hindering what you can heal with Invocation); this allows it to reliably operate independent of your main lines, and unlike Vargheists it doesn't have Frenzy to worry about. Leadership is a terrible 4, but as it's Vampiric it'll survive the loss of your General. It's only Toughness 5 with 4 Wounds, but has Regeneration (4++) to give it some survivability against warmachines and the like.

The Varghulf has five WS/S 5 attacks, plus Thunderstomp as a monster, and benefits from Hatred (re-rolling misses in the first round of combats) to put out a decent level of damage. Bestial Fury means for purposes of combat results, a Varghulf counts as having no flanks/rear, meaning you can take risks with its positioning. It's competing with some strong choices in Rare, but is a good, relatively cheap and reliable damage dealer. Keep it clear of things it can't Thunderstomp, as that's where a good portion of your damage comes from.

Blood Knights - the best heavy cavalry in the Warhammer world, they will eat Grail Knights or Chaos Knights for breakfast. Their stats are elite, as you'd expect for 50 points each, with WS5, BS3, S5, T4, W1, I5, A2 and Ld7. They're kitted out with heavy armour, shields and barded Nightmares (S4) for a 2+ save, and lances for an outstanding S7 on the charge (3 of those attacks each thanks to Frenzy). They are Vampiric, so can operate independently of your General - however, with Frenzy and just Ld7, you are best off with either a BSB in the unit for Leadership test re-rolls or a Vampire Lord to give you Ld10; otherwise you'll be failing Beserk Rage tests and charging chaff. Frenzy will cause you problems with overruns when you inevitably win combats, so be prepared for that.

Martial Honour means that unless a friendly character of the same or higher Ld is in the same combat, a Kastellan (champion) must issue and accept challenges; for this reason you probably want to avoid bringing one or you're potentially wasting 4 S7 attacks on a mere unit champion. If there's no Kastellan, any Blood Knight can accept a challenge (though cannot issue one) which means there's no disadvantage to not taking a champion - if someone tries to challenge out your Vampire Lord in the unit, just accept with a regular Blood Knight. A Kastellan can take a magic weapon up to 25 points, but the lance is good enough unless you want the Sword of Swift Slaying for ASF to deal with some Elves or high initiative opponents like Warriors of Chaos (though if you have a Vampire Lord in the unit they'll probably have ASF anyway). You can take a musician and standard too, and the standard can either take a magic banner up to 50 points, or the 75 point Flag of Blood Keep. The Flag of Blood Keep may seem a fortune to spend on a banner, but it gives you a 4++ against ranged attacks. This is vital as your 2+ armour save is not that good, and your unit is going to be relatively small due to its cost - you need to keep your Blood Knights alive to combat, and this will discourage your opponent from shooting you (feel free to reveal it straight away). If for some reason you're not taking that banner, Gleaming Pennant is good for re-rolling your first failed Frenzy test (if no BSB/General) or Banner of Eternal Flame to really make sure you put down those regenerating monsters.

Blood Knights are hard to use due to Frenzy and Vampiric (only healing one wound per casting of Invocation) but when used correctly are one of the most devastating units in the game. They will smash anything that is heavily armoured or high Toughness; cavalry, monsters, monstrous cavalry and so on. Be particularly careful against armies or units that might strike before or at the same time as you, as every loss hurts - this is one of the occasions when Lore of Shadows would be advisable over LoV, as Miasma will lower your opponent's Initiative. Similarly, Nightshroud will give anyone in base contact ASL, helping you to hit first; Bat Swarms fill this role too. I usually field them in units of 4-5 with standard and musician, and a blender Vampire Lord, which is around 750 points... you can field more if you want to base your entire approach around them, loading up a couple of hero vamps too, and with Dire Wolves as redirectors and Hexwraiths for chaff clearance - but a Blood Knight in the 2nd rank is wasted points, only able to make 1 attack.

Cairn Wraiths - the same ones as in the Heroes section, but taken as a unit of 3-10; they're also cheaper at 50 points each, and can take a Banshee as a champion, which is a 25 point upgrade. Their role is different if taken as a unit - they're not a throwaway drop so a magic missile in the face is going to be costly. They will still lose to static combat resolution (ranked infantry) but are a more reliable threat against cavalry, monsters and so on. They also work quite well as area denial, and you can pin enemies on the other side of terrain. They're not bad, but compete with some very strong options in the Rare section, and have the same vulnerabilities of other Ethereals whilst no longer being a cheap choice.

Black Coach - 195 point chariot that grows stronger as the game progresses. The coach itself is S5, T6 and has 4 Wounds; it's drawn by two Nightmares and crewed by a Cairn Wraith. It has a 3+ armour save and 4++ ward to make it actually really quite hard to kill, causes Terror, and is Vampiric - while as a chariot it can't march, it means it doesn't crumble should your General die; this plus its ability below makes it a late-game specialist.

Evocation of Death is its special rule - at the beginning of your magic phase, roll a D6 for each power dice in your pool, and for each 6 you roll the Black Coach grows more powerful - these is cumulative as the game goes on. If you've "siphoned" one dice, you get +1 Impact Hits, 2 gives +1S to the Cairn Wraith and Nightmares, 3 gives all your attacks (mount, crew, impact hits) Killing Blow and Flaming Attacks, 4 gets you Magic Resistance (2) and Strider, 5 gives you Ethereal, and 6 you gain Fly! In Storm of Magic games, this thing is amazing - bring a convoy of them! Otherwise, generally stick to just one, as siphoned dice are randomly split rather than shared between them.

This is a really dangerous chariot, and by turn 5 or so it should be flying around the place smashing weakened units to bits. It won't ever solo infantry blocks, but it will scare your opponent, and they will prioritise taking it down early on. Like any chariot, it's most effective when charging, but once you've siphoned a couple of dice the Cairn Wraith and Nightmares are actually quite dangerous on their own, and the coach itself is hard to damage. It is well worth taking one; it is one of a small number of units you have available that you can confidently use independent of your General's 12" march range.

Terrorgheist - 225 flying monster, the Terrorgheist is M6, WS3, BS0, S5, T6, W6, I3, A4, Ld4, causes Terror and is unsurprisingly a Large Target given its massive 150 x 100 mm base. It is most definitely not a dragon - it's less skilled, less, strong, and has less attacks. It also lacks a scaly skin save, and its only defence is Regeneration (6+) which isn't doing much for you. Two upgrades are available - Rancid Maw for 15 points given you Poisoned Attacks (decent), and 10 points for Infested, which means that when you die each unit in base contact (friend or foe) takes 3D6 S2 hits - okay if you might be sending it into weak hordes but not a great use of point - particularly if you have a Strigoi on top, who won't appreciate this at all.

The reason you take this is its Death Shriek, which is like a Banshee's Ghostly Howl dialled up to 11. This is a special shooting attack that targets a single unit even if the Terrorgheist has charged, marched or is in combat. Its range is 8" and you need line of sight (not hard given how big the gheist is); if in combat it has to be targeted against a unit in base contact. If not in combat you may choose to target a unit in close combat. Roll 2D6 and add the number of Wounds the Terrorgheist has left. For each point that this exceeds the target unit's Leadership, they suffer a wound with no armour saves allowed. This is a magical attack, and wounds are distributed as from shooting.

Quite clearly this attack works best if your Terrorgheist is in good health. Similarly obviously, your opponent is going to target the Terrorgheist with shooting/magic to take its wounds down as quickly as possible. As a Large Target, Invocation will only heal one wound per casting - if the Terrorgheist is even in range of that spell, so you will struggle to heal it up. A common way of dealing with this is to take them in pairs for target saturation. Getting them behind enemy lines will avoid BS shooting, though won't help with warmachines - bring lots of Fell Bats along as a fluffy accompaniment to deal with any your opponent has. Manoeuvring the thing is no easy feat either given its base size, so a canny opponent will limit where you can place it.

In terms of targets, you want to be after high value, low Ld targets - particularly those that rely on an armour save to stay alive; monsters, heavy cavalry, heavy infantry and so on. Against Dwarves, forget it - your Terrorgheists will be shot to bits first turn. The Terrorgheist is not a dragon, so it will not shred units in combat - the Thunderstomp will do most your damage (so avoid anything you can't stomp) plus your Death Shriek. Being in combat will stop you being shot/magic missiled, but it limits what you can target - screaming Skaven Slaves down is a waste of a Terrorgheist. Overall, the Terrorgheist is a useful choice that your opponents will fear - but if they're canny they will focus fire it into irrelevance, so have a plan for using it. In a way, it's the opposite to your Black Coach - starting the game strong and getting progressively weaker.

Mortis Engine - the alternative build from the Coven Throne kit, the Mortis Engine is a support vehicle playing a very different role, and is one of your strongest choices. It's a typically pricey 220 points chariot, drawn by the same Spirit Host (M8 - no marching as a chariot but you can keep up with your front lines, Spectral Steeds - so no dangerous terrain tests and you can charge through impassable terrain, and 2D6 WS/S3 magical (FAQed) attacks at Initiative 1), ridden by a Corpsemaster (practically irrelevant as far as combat is concerned; also only has Ld5), but at least accompanied by a Banshee Swarm (another near-useless 3 S3 magical (also FAQed) attacks, but at least you get a Ghostly Howl attack - see the Banshee entry). It's quite clear that even with S5 Impact Hits, this is not combat orientated. It's reasonably durable with Toughness 5 and 5 Wounds, a 5+ armour save, and Regeneration (4+) - however, flaming cannonballs and the likes will smash it to bits, so give your opponent a few things to aim at.

The Reliquary is the key special rule - at the start of each, roll 2D6 and add the current turn number - this is the range of the Mortis Engine's aura. All enemy units within this take D6 magical (FAQed) hits (distributed as shooting) with the Strength equal to the current turn number. Place a marker next to all friendly Undead units within this aura - they improve their Regeneration save by 1, to a maximum of 4+; if they have no Regeneration they gain a 6+ regen. If you have multiple Mortis Engines, this is stackable (FAQed)! Finally, if you rolled a double on your 2D6 then the Mortis Engine takes a wound with no saves allowed. When the ME suffers its last wound, every unit within 12 inches plus the current turn number (friend or foe) suffers 2D6 hits (distributed as shooting) with the Strength equal to the current turn number.

This rule is great on several levels. First, it helps to protect your troops - Crypt Horrors become extra-tough, Ghouls gain an actual save, you can switch to spears on your Skeleton Warriors and still get a 6++. The damage the Mortis Engine puts out will cause your opponent to try and focus fire it down ASAP - you can use that to your advantage as a "distraction Carnifex" to prevent other units being targeted; Invocation can be used to heal it up - while as a Large Target you can only heal 1 wound per casting, it should be close to at least one (and probably more) casters. The detonation when it dies can be used to really intimidate your opponent late-game by being more reckless with it, charging right into the middle of their remaining units. You will likely want to position your Mortis Engine similar to how you would a corpse cart - centre of your forces, just behind the front line, so its aura covers the maximum number of units, but keeping it out of combat (until late game).

Blasphemous Tome is a 20 point upgrade that you really should be taking, always. All wizards (friend or foe) within 12" gain +2 to their casting rolls when casting spells from the Lore of Vampires. However, if any wizard (even if non-LoV) miscasts within 12" of one, they must roll twice on the Miscast table, and their opponent chooses which result applies. This is one of the buffs that makes you amongst the very top tier for magic in WFB, and with LoV's relatively low casting values, you shouldn't miscast too often. It can also scare any opposing wizards away from you. This really benefits those who take multiple low-level Necromancers to spam Invocation, and also fits well with an infantry General, maybe bunkered in some GW Grave Guard just ahead of the Mortis Engine.

Other "fluffy" non-army book units

While these aren't "official" Vampire Counts army book units, with Games Workshop having ditched Warhammer Fantasy Battles, there's more leeway for players to decide what is appropriate to field or not. I've listed a few units from the Monstrous Arcanum expansion here (none from Storm of Magic were right) that I feel would be appropriate additions to a Vampire Counts army. Of course, you will need to agree their use with your opponent first; I suggest all of them would count as Rare choices. Frustratingly, neither the Mourngul or Necrofex Colossus have the Undead special rule that they really should do so (having just Unbreakable and Unstable instead) - I'd suggest asking your opponent if you can use that rule on them - this allows you to heal them through the Lore of Vampires and benefit from buffs like the Mortis Engine's Regeneration one, but also means they crumble if your General dies, can't march outside the General's 12" bubble, and suffer further damage from the Lore of Light. I assume the only reason they didn't have the Undead rule is that they weren't in the VC book, and it seems appropriate that they should do so.

Mourngul (Monstrous Arcanum) - essentially a particularly massive, magic-infused Ghoul, so more than fitting for your army. It clocks in at a whopping 270 points, and struggles to justify that. It's a Monster with M6, WS5, BS0, S5, T5, I3, A4, and Ld8. As well as Unbreakable and Unstable, it causes Terror, has Obstacle Strider so can jump straight over any walls your opponent is hiding behind, and has an additional Chomp Attack that benefits from Killing Blow (Chomp Attacks are an additional attack that has a +1 to hit against models with the Large Target rule).

Haunter of the Dark gives it a 5++ ward against shooting attacks, Magic Missiles and Direct Damage Spells. It also specifies that the Mourngul is deliberately not a Large Target (it's a "thing of shadows and icy fogs") - if your opponent has let you use the Undead rule for the Mourngul this would allow Invocation to heal more than just a single wound per casting; I'd suggest for the purpose of Invocation that it be treated as a Large Target - so only one wound can be healed per casting.

Killing Cold means enemies in base contact have Always Strikes Last, as useful as it is on Bat Swarms and the Nightshroud; it fails to specify enemy models or units, so you probably have to assume the lesser of the two and that it just refers to models. Also, the Mourngul is immune to "any descriptively cold-based power or effect such as a Thundertusk's Icy Breath or a Yhetee's Aura of Frost". Have fun arguing those scenarios out with your opponent. Finally, Carnophage allows the Mourngul to regain a wound for each wound it inflicts in combat (it can't exceed its starting value) - really helpful for keeping it alive, even if your opponent won't let you heal it with Invocation. There's nothing that prevents this from applying to your Thunderstomp attacks.

All-in-all, it's a mediocre monster that doesn't put out a great deal of damage, lacks protection, and whose special rules aren't enough to justify its cost. But it's an amazing model, really fitting for your army, and watching it eat and heal while stomping and chomping your opponent's prize infantry can be great fun. In the even you're not playing it as Undead, scoot it up a flank into your opponent's vulnerable backline, munching on warmachines, missile units and so on.

Necrofex Colossus (Monstrous Arcanum) - the biggest and baddest of necromantic creations, this comes in two varieties - the Corpse Giant, and the massive Nightmare Colossus. Neither had a model (though see here on the forums for an outstanding scratch-built one), and both have a whole host of additional rules. They are basically a mass of "bits" in a vaguely humanoid shape, the body fashioned from things like a house... a ship..., with bodies and souls stitched into it to create a massive walking monster. It is very much Vampire Counts, particularly if your army is based around a Master Necromancer.

The Corpse Giant has M6, WS3, BS0, S7, T6, W6, I2, Ld8 and costs 275 points. The Nightmare Colossus is 500 points and M8, WS4, BS0, S8, T7, W10, I1 and Ld10. Both unsurprisingly cause Terror, are Large Targets, Unstable and Unbreakable, Enchanted Attacks (Magical Attacks), and have special attacks a bit like a regular Giant. The Nightmare Colossus also has Largest of Monsters (it can Thunderstomp anything but models with this rule) and Colossal Beast (can only be wounded by attacks of S4 or higher, and regardless of Strength never better than a 3+. If it is subject to a spell or effect that would kill it outright, it instead suffers D6 wounds. Its Thunderstomp also inflicts 2D6 wounds).

Vortex of Death applies to both, and is actually a whole host of special rules: Regeneration (4+) except for against Flaming and Magical Attacks, +1 to casting rolls for LoV/Lore of Death spells for any wizard (friend or foe) within 12", -1 for those casting Lore of Life/Light within the same radius, and Undead Vulnerabilities - it suffers extra damage from any spell/attack that specifies additional damage to Undead models.

Either can choose from one of three different special attacks at the start of each combat phase: Batter and Slash (D6+1 attacks against one enemy unit in base contact), Impale (pick a model in base contact - this suffers a single attack with the Heroic Killing Blow special rule), or Screams of the Damned (targets a single enemy unit in base contact; roll D6+2 and add the Necrofex Colossus's Leadership - your opponent rolls a D6 and adds their highest Ld from that unit. You subtract their score from yours and whatever is remaining is the number of wounds you inflict on them, with no armour saves allowed. However, Unbreakable or Immune to Psychology units are immune to this attack). This gives you a decent range of attacks to pick from - Batter and Slash is probably your standard, Impale isn't reliable enough although it may scare off any some characters. Screams of the Damned is outstanding against low Ld units particularly for the Nightmare Colossus, but weaker for the Corpse Giant and against armies like Dwarves. Much of your damage will come from your Thunderstomp - the Corpse Giant should try to stick to infantry that it can stomp.

Four upgrades exist, and you can take any number of them - Scythes and Barbs for 10 points allows you to re-roll the dice for your Thunderstomp and Batter and Slash results; this is amazing for that cost and should always be taken. Corpse Killer at 20 points is less effective, inflicting D6 S2 hits on each enemy unit in base contact at Initiative 1 - but can discourage hordes of cheap troops; it's nothing amazing but if you have the points spare then get it. Vampire Blood is a pricier 30 points and boosts your regen up to 3+, but you must always charge an enemy unit (your choice of which) if you can. This is too big a risk for such an expensive model - you want it in the right combats, not charging poisoned Witch Elves. Finally, there's Dark Soul that allows you to purchase wizard levels (!!) for 35 points each for either Lore of Death or Lore of Vampires. The Vortex of Death will still affect you; however for each miscast you permanently lose 1 Toughness in addition to the other miscast effects. Risky as it'll get targeted by every ranged weapon/spell that can reach it, but a Toughness 7, 10 Wound monster throwing spells around to heal itself, and then smashing out 3D6 re-rollable S8 attacks in combat against anything is as awesome as it sounds.

Yes, it's a fire magnet, but the Necrofex Colossus is a good choice with yet another boost to your magic, tough and damage dealing, and with some excellent upgrades. Whatever size you take it in, it should impress.

Fimir Warriors (Monstrous Arcanum) - Monstrous Arcanum lists them as having "Kinship" with the Vampire Counts, which comes as somewhat of a surprise, since they're more normally considered to be aligned to Chaos. While they were abandoned by the dark gods and thus mainly do their own thing, I've not read anything that suggests that they have a particular kinship with the undead, so I won't profile them here. If you disagree, feel free to raise the topic, and if I'm persuaded I'll write some more about how/why to fit them in.

Last Edit: Sept 24, 2018 10:51:29 GMT by sedge

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Vampire Counts Tactics Jun 22, 2018 15:44:42 GMT KevinC and jukei like this

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Post by sedge on Jun 22, 2018 15:44:42 GMT

Magic Items and Upgrades

Vampiric Powers

These are Vampire only upgrades - your Vampire Lord and Strigoi Ghoul King can take 100 points of them, Vampire Heroes 50 points. There are no restrictions on duplication. These are what sets vampires apart from (and above) other characters in WFB, so make good use of them.

Master of the Black Arts - 75 points to re-roll one of the dice for determining the strength of the Winds of Magic. Overpriced for what it is, and you have better ways to boost your magic phases. You could use it on a magic heavy Necrarch themed Vampire Lord, but you're wasting combat potential.

Curse of the Revenant - 55 points for an extra wound. Again, not worth it - it's a waste of combat potential. It could've been good on a Strigoi if 5 points cheaper, but given it prevents you getting Red Fury... nope. The only time it's maybe worth considering is in conjuction with Skabscrath, to improve the power of your Death Shriek. It still reduces your combat potential, but particularly on a Strigoi Ghoul King on Terrorgheist, does give you a lethal pair of shrieks.

Red Fury - 50 points for the hands-down best Vampiric Power out there; for each unsaved wound you cause in combat you immediately make another attack (these additional attacks cannot generate more attacks). If an attack automatically kills an enemy (e.g. with Killing Blow) you get additional attacks equal to the number of wounds that model had remaining. This is the basis for the blender Lord, but really any combat-orientated Vampire should take this, whether Lord or Hero, or designed for challenges.

Flying Horror - 30 points to fly. Take a Hellsteed instead, or better yet, don't fly.

Quickblood - the second best skill for a combat Vampire, 30 points for Always Strikes First. Useful primarily for getting re-rolls to hit against anything that doesn't have ASF and has equal or lower Initiative (so most things except for Elves). This helps to ensure you get your hits in, getting you more wounds and kills, and therefore more attacks via Red Fury. Strigoi Ghoul Kings shouldn't bother as their special hatred rule gives them re-rolls anyway.

Aura of Dark Majesty - all enemy units within 6" of one or more vampires with this rule suffer -1 to their Leadership, cumulative with any other modifiers. A useful power that synergises well with your army-wide Fear and other Leadership tricks such as the Coven Throne, or other powers such as Beguile, Supernatural Horror or Fear Incarnate. At 25 points it's sadly too expensive to take alongside RF+QB.

Dark Acolyte - for 25 points you add D3 to the casting total whenever you successfully cast Invocation of Nehek. You need to have successfully met the casting value already, which reduces its usefulness. It's kind of okay on hero level Vampires, but you're rarely likely to be taking those. There are better skills available.

Forbidden Lore - you can generate spells from any of the Warhammer rulebook lores, except for Life. 25 points, and not worth it - Lore of Vampires is your best lore. I'll cover a little on the Forbidden Lores in the Magic Lores section below.

Supernatural Horror - for 25 points you cause Terror. Useful when facing other Fear causing units as you still cause Fear to them. However, it's another power that prevents you getting that valuable RF+QB combination, so of questionable worth. Bear in mind that combining AoDM with this won't generally help with Terror tests as you'll probably be outside of 6" when charging.

Fear Incarnate - a very useful power. At 20 points it can be combined with RF+QB and means that Fear tests causes by the Vampire (or their unit) that have been passed, have to be re-rolled. If in a BSB's bubble, they cancel each other out. A very good way of helping to reduce your opponent to WS1, so your Vampire and their bunker can maximise the number of hits they inflict, whilst restricting what they take in return. AoDM combines very well with this.

Beguile - at the beginning of each combat round, but after challenges, pick a model in base contact with the Vampire - they take a Ld test with a -3 modifier. If failed they have to re-roll successful to hit rolls. Excellent in challenges, but even if you're not in a challenge, good placement can help you to neutralise an enemy character. Combines well with AoDM.

Master Strike - 15 points for the option to exchange all your attacks for a single Heroic Killing Blow one. You have the WS and potential re-rolls to hit that you'll almost certainly hit... but then there's only a 1 in 6 of actually getting that HKB effect, and still ward saves (if applicable) to deal with (unless loaded up with the Other Trickster's Shard). Just not worth it, unless facing some colossal monsters in Storm of Magic. Vampires are there to blend with Red Fury.

Dread Knight - for 10 points you gain +2 WS, but must always issue/answer challenges if possible, unless in a unit with Krell or a Vampiric character with a higher Leadership. Okay if you're building for challenges, but most the time you aren't, in which case the extra WS is unnecessary.

Summon Creatures of the Night - 10 points to allow you to use Invocation of Nehek to increase units of Dire Wolves, Bat Swarms and Fell Bats above their starting size. An excellent use of spare points or for a caster vamp, when going heavy on those units.

Army Book Magic Items

Magic Weapons

Skabscrath - 75 point option, so straight off that's on Lords only, and means you can't get even a 5++ ward. You get Devastating Charge, Frenzy, Flaming Attacks, and the Terrorgheist's Death Shriek. If the bearer has somehow failed to kill an enemy model in combat by the end of the game, they're removed as a casualty (this is highly unlikely). The only times I've seen it used are in a "Shriek List" on a Strigoi Ghoul King (who would only take the Dragonbane Gem for protection anyway) mounted on a Terrorgheist, with at least one more Terrorgheist from your rare points. Not worth it on a regular Vampire Lord, and definitely not on a Master Necromancer.

Magic Armour

Nightshroud - you must always take this. 45 points to add +1 to your armour save, and cause enemy models in base contact to have Always Strikes Last and lose any strength bonuses from normal or magical weapons. Necromancers can take this too - sadly Strigois can't. Great on a Vampire Lord (essential if on Zombie Dragon with its massive base size), and just as good keeping a Master Necromancer safe. If for some reason it's not on either, give it to a Wight King instead. Just make sure you take it.

Magic Standards

Banner of the Barrows - pricey at 50 points but worth it on any large unit of Grave Guard (and they should be taken in large units), or Black Knights if you don't have any GG or are going big on the cavalry. All Grave Guard/Black Knights/Wight Kings/Krell (but not mounts) in the same unit get +1 to hit in combat. With your relatively low WS and Attacks, this is crucial to getting as many hits in as possible. This fits neatly within GG/BK's magic banner allowance - it's preferable to take it on the unit rather than a Wight King BSB, as it's harder for your opponent to eliminate that way.

The Screaming Banner - a budget 25 points alternative to the Banner of the Barrows, or a nasty combo with it. Enemy units taking a Fear test while in combat with a unit carrying this must roll and extra dice for the test and discard the one with the lowest result. A good way of ensuring your opponent fails those Fear tests, which in turn helps you inflict hits and reduce the number of hits you take. If you've got the BotB on your Grave Guard, you can give this to your Black Knights. Alternatively, if you want to be really mean, give this to a Wight King BSB, plonk them in a horde of Grave Guard with Banner of the Barrows, and add a Vampire Lord with Aura of Dark Majesty (-1 LD), Supernatural Horror (Terror, so still cause Fear in anything that has Fear), and Fear Incarnate (re-roll successful Fear tests) to really ensure you're hitting on 2+.

Arcane Items

Black Periapt - a pricey 55 points, it allows you to store up to 2 unused power dice for your next dispel phase, and up to 2 unused dispel dice for your next casting phase. Useful if you're going magic strong, and can be taken on a Necromancer alongside a 4++. Really useful when facing an opponent who hasn't gone magic-heavy as you should have plenty of dispel dice spare - this is particularly mean against Dwarves, as unless they have an Anvil of Doom you're pretty much guaranteed those extra two dice for casting phases.

Staff of Damnation - a 40 point Bound Spell (Power Level 4), which is an Augment - if cast, all friendly Undead units (including mounts) within 6" gain an additional attack. For your heavy hitters like Grave Guard and Black Knights, this is amazing. For Zombies and Skeleton Warriors, it's not so special. This only isn't seen more because it competes with several other strong Arcane Items (including the obligatory Dispel Scroll) and that it doesn't give you your Lore Attribute. But if you have the allowance spare and a Grave Guard block, it's well worth taking on some form of Necromancer or Vampire that's nearby.

The Cursed Book - poor. For 35 points you may choose to sacrifice D3 dice from the power pool at the start of your magic phase, then roll a D6 to consult a chart to find out which spell you're casting. Assuming there is a viable target, it's automatically cast at the minimum casting value, with no dice required. Your opponent can still try to dispel. If you don't have whatever number of dice the D3 roll comes up with (unlikely) you lose what dice you have and nothing is cast.

This is beyond terrible. The spells range from 18 - 48" ranges, and are a mix of Shadow/Death/Heavens augments and hexes... so there's no guarantee you'll have a good target in range. In the event you roll a useful one, your opponent will probably be able to dispel it with ease, and frankly the number of dice you sacrificed is around what you'd have needed to cast many of these spells. If you're so desperate for Shadow or Death, take it as your lore on a caster. Otherwise, stick to focusing on your much more useful and reliable Lore of Vampires. If you do take this for some reason, check out the FAQs, as if you already have one of these spells cast on a unit and then cast it again, the effects are doubled - cool in a "highly unlikely to ever happen" kind of way.

Book of Arkhan - another bound spell, this time it's Vanhel's Danse Macabre (Power Level 3), and costs 25 points. Very useful, as this is the second best spell in LoV and one you want to be casting a lot, both to close on your enemy, out-manoeuvre them, and to boost your combat prowess. It's only the basic level of the spell cast (targets one unit within 12", not all units), but is still worth it should you have some spare points on a caster.

Enchanted Items

Rod of Flaming Death - yet another bound spell, as a 40 point Enchanted Item, you can actually take this one on a Wight King - though you probably shouldn't as they want to be in combat, and this is a Magic Missile. It's Power Level 3, with a range of 18" and inflicts D6 S4 Flaming hits. If the target takes one or more unsaved wounds from the spell, they must immediately take a Panic test. Additionally, if the target moves for any reason the next turn, each model immediately takes a S4 Flaming (FAQed) hit, and then the spell's effects end. If it doesn't move, then the spell ends at the start of your next magic phase. This is really good, and can immobilise a key infantry block, whether elites or a tarpit - those 60 Night Goblins will be down to 20 if they risk moving, and elven elites will suffer similarly. Just make sure you pick a unit that's likely to suffer a wound or two from the initial D6 hits, or you'll have wasted this spell. Your only problem with the Rod is finding the points allowance on a character to take this, as a Hero level Necromancer or Vampire won't be able to take any decent protection or Arcane Item alongside this.

BRB Magic Items

I'm not going to list every item; instead I'll highlight a few under each category.

Magic Weapons

You should only be taking BRB magic weapons for Vampire Lords/Vampires/Wight Kings. For the vampire varieties, you're S5 already so there's no great need to invest heavily to boost this, plus as you're generally of the "blender" variety it's light to medium troops you'll be shredding. The Sword of Might is a solid choice, though Ogre Blade is good if you want to spend more on offence; Giant Blade is too expensive - you need to spend on defence. Budget options are Biting Blade or Sword of Striking but if you're going cheap, a mundane lance will do if mounted. For Wight Kings, if you're not taking a great weapon or lance, you want to boost your mediocre S4 - so Sword of Might or Ogre Blade, though the Obsidian Blade (no armour saves) is decent if you want to be sneaky, albeit at the expense of your entire allowance.

Magic Armour

Unless you are mounted, Vampire Counts characters tend to have poor armour saves (all that rusted iron and verdigrised bronze has an effect). If you need a ward save and the Talisman of Preservation is gone already, then the Armour of Destiny is your obvious choice; the lesser ward saves like Armour of Fortune are okay, but not for your General who needs a 4++. The Enchanted Shield (particularly) and Dragonhelm are solid ways to boost your save. Armour of Silvered Steel is too pricey for what it offers you. Charmed Shield is popular for shrugging off cannonballs for mounted characters flying solo. The Helm of Discord, while expensive, could actually combine with some of your Leadership tricks and Vampiric powers to try to neutralise a character - but is more of a fun gimmick than solid choice. Same applies to Glittering Scales - yes it works well with your high armour save and Fear tests, but it's not as reliable as having a solid armour save.

Talismans

Ward saves are, as ever, key. The Talisman of Preservation should be on your General 95% of the time; if it's not, another caster should have it. Talisman of Endurance is a budget version, but don't go budget on your General. The magic resistance Obsidian talismans work well on key units like a Grave Guard block to keep them safe from spells; you can also use these on units with a wizard in to give them a ward against miscasts if you're going cheap on a regular ward save. Dawnstone is okay for re-rollable armour saves, but most your characters can't get that precious 1+ and struggle even for a 2+ unless mounted. Dragonbane Gem should always feature on a Strigoi.

Magic Standards

Your army book standards are your best choices. There are a couple of decent ones from the BRB, but none are really strong options - Razor Standard give the Armour Piercing is good should you have Grave Guard with hand weapon/shield but otherwise isn't generally needed on GW GG or Black Knights. Banner of Swiftness is good to get a tarpit or horde into the right place and probably the best of the bunch for you, and the Banner of Eternal Flame can help you deal with Regeneration.

Arcane Items

Vampire Counts have some excellent Arcane Items already from their army book, and the only one that is on a level with those is the evergreen Dispel Scroll, which every army should have (unless fighting Dwarves). Scroll of Shielding is decent too, but really you should be taking army book items.

Enchanted Items

The Other Trickster's Shard is your best option from this list - great for combat characters, particularly when mounted on something with a large base size (if on a Zombie Dragon/Terrorgheist you really, really should take it); just don't take it if other models in your unit might have a ward save (e.g. parry save or Flag of the Blood Keep). The Potions of Strength/Toughness can help a Strigoi... but TOTS is usually more useful for them. The Ruby Ring of Ruin could add a ranged threat, but the Rod of Flaming Death is better, and otherwise spend your power dice on Lore of Vampires. Ironcurse Icon is a cheap addition for a solo mounted Lord for the one time it saves your Dragon/Terrorgheist/Coven Throne from swallowing a cannonball.

Magic Lores

Lore of Vampires

Unless you've done something ridiculous (given your General the Wizarding Hat, for example) you have to have this lore on at least one character. As well as having it on your General, you should also have it on at least one more support caster (and potentially several) to address crumbling. This is no bad thing - the lore is (obviously) tailor made for your army, and has some really strong spells, and an excellent lore attribute. When selecting spells, you want Invocation on as many casters as possible, with Danse Macabre and Curse of Years being the other two you should always try to take.

The Curse of Undeath (Lore Attribute) - when a spell from this lore is successfully cast, the wizard who did so, or another friendly model within 12" can regain a lost wound. The FAQs specifies that this can heal characters other than the caster, and mounts too (great for keeping Zombie Dragon, Terrorgheist, Coven Throne or Corpse Cart mounts going). This attribute is great for keeping your vital casters alive, particularly Vampires who will be in the thick of combats. If you have a Mortis Engine, use this attribute early on to prevent it exploding in the middle of your lines. Remember that this effect is resolved before any miscast effect, which can potentially save your skin if you were down to just a single wound.

Invocation of Nehek (Signature Spell) - an augment with three levels that targets all friendly Undead units within 6/12/18" and has a casting value of 6+/12+/18+. Target units gain D6 + the caster's wizard level in wounds (roll separately for each unit). Vampiric/Large Target/Ethereal units can only gain 1 wound per casting; see also the section on "Resurrecting Fallen Warriors" near the top (main point: characters and mounts can't be healed from this).

This is your absolute must-take spell. Every LoV caster should take this - about the only exception is if they're off flying solo on a big monster, so out of range of other units. This spell is one of the defining features of your army - no matter how much you try to knock 'em down, they keep coming back at you. It makes up for the wounds your tarpits lose when they get thrashed in combat, and keeps your expensive elites like Grave Guard or Black Knights going. Fielding multiple cheap Level 1 Necromancers spamming this spell (as well as your Level 4 General, of course) is a reliable way of keeping your lines strong, and frustrating your opponent.

Vanhel's Danse Macabre - another augment that either targets a single of your units within 12" for 6+, or all of your units within 12" for 12+. The units re-roll failed hits in combat until your next magic phase, and if unengaged can make a move of up to 8" in the same way as a normal move made in the Remaining Moves sub-phase.

This is another must-take spell - even if you've got the Book of Arkhan on a caster already, try to get this again. Movement is vital to winning games of WFB, and your army is slow. This makes up for it, and makes you one of the fastest around. It also closes the gap, so there's less shuffling around getting shot - your units need to be in combat as you've got no ranged threat.

Fun combos include Hexwraiths (moving them through a unit to inflict more hits), and to turn a tarpit into a decent combat unit pair the re-rolls to hit with Hellish Vigour's re-rolls to wound... oh, and a Corpse Cart's Always Strikes First. Even Zombies look dangerous with all that, Black Knights or Vargheists are insane. If you've got a Mortis Engine nearby, your Level 4 should be able to cast the boosted version on just two dice.

Hellish Vigour - yet another augment that either targets a single unit within 12" for 8+ to cast, or all units within 12" for 16+. They re-roll failed to wound rolls in combat until your next magic phase. The effect is great, particularly when combined with a Corpse Cart's ASF buff and/or Danse Macabre. However, the casting value is high, particularly for the area effect version, which makes it less attractive than Danse Macabre, which should be your first choice for combat buffs. It's still useful even if just for the basic version to swing a key combat with one of your damage dealing units.

Gaze of Nagash - a magic missile that causes 2D6 S4 hits, with a 24" range for 9+ to cast, or a massive 48" range for 12+ to cast. It's not a bad spell, and gives you a ranged threat against lightly armoured targets or solo heroes, but it just doesn't match the utility of the "big three" LoV spells - it's the second weakest spell in the lore.

Raise Dead - a special type of spell with a range of 18" that summons a new unit into play - either 2D6+3 Zombies for 9+ to cast or the same amount of Skeleton Warriors for 14+ to cast. This summoned unit can't be placed in combat, has no command ground, and the front rank must have at least 5 models (no conga lines). The target point doesn't even need to be in your forward arc, or have line of sight.

This is an extremely useful spell, and I'd recommend it as the fourth one to take on a Level 4. If your General doesn't get it, give it to a backup caster. You can use it to get flank charges, but more useful roles are to redirect opponents, or to threaten warmachines and other ranged units. Plonk a unit of zombies just in front of a cannon, and it can either try grapeshotting them (thus leaving your more dangerous targets safe) or be charged next turn and likely never be used again. You probably shouldn't bother summoning the Skeleton Warriors unless you have nothing else to do with the dice, as the Zombies do the job.

Curse of Years - a remains in play hex with a range of 18" that casts on a 12+. When cast, roll a D6 for each model in the target unit. On a D6 they take a wound, with no armour saves allowed. At the end of the next magic phase (i.e. your opponent's!), roll again - they lose a wound on a 5+ this turn, and so on up to a max of 2+.

This spell is insanely good. Your opponent simply cannot ignore it if cast, and will have to waste their power dice next turn trying to dispel it (for that reason it's less useful against Dwarves as they generally won't use power dice for anything else unless they brought an Anvil along). As a hex, you can even cast it into combat! This is great for wiping out "deathstar" units or heavily-armoured targets like Warriors of Chaos that you might otherwise struggle against. This is your third "must have" spell, and is really cheap for what it does.

Wind of Death - remains in play vortex spell, needing a 15+ to cast for the small template, or 25+ for the large one. You place it next to your caster, pick a direction, and the distance moved is an artillery dice multiplied by 3 - a misfire means you centre it over your caster and it moves a random direction (so if you cast it, there's a 1 in 6 chance that'll happen). Any unit passed over by the template takes D6 S3 hits for each rank of models in the unit, with no armour saves allowed.

Yes, it can deal with massive hordes, some deathstars, and low-armour units like Elves well. However, the risk of it instead hitting you is too high, the casting value is too high as well, and Curse of Years is your better choice. I consider this the worst spell in the lore.

Other Lores

I'm not going to profile these spell by spell, as you'll find hundreds of discussions of each of the BRB lores across the web. I'll look at them overall as how useful they are to Vampire Counts - but the question you'll really have to ask yourself throughout is "what am I not taking more Lore of Vampires?" Generally, you shouldn't be taking these lores unless to deal with a particular opponent, or unless you have a particular plan in mind for them (e.g. the Vampire/Blood Knights example in Shadow).

Lore of Shadow - Vampire Lord/Vampires only. Vampire Counts are one of the few armies to field enough characters to take account of the Lore Attribute. Shadow has some useful spells - Miasma to help you get the edge in movement and also to help Blood Knights hit first against Chaos Warriors. The Withering can help your tarpits actually wound things, and the Enfeebling Foe can neuter key enemy units. Pit of Shades is always useful, pairing well with Miasma. Sadly, Mindrazor is next to useless, as your units have terrible Leadership. If you're up against a high Initiative foe, then a Vampire in a unit of Blood Knights with just Miasma can be useful; stick the Nightshroud on too if up against ASF elves. Beyond that, I wouldn't recommend it.

Lore of Death - Necromancers and Vampires (both levels) can take this. Only a Vampire Lord really has the Leadership to make use of the signature spell, Spirit Leech. The character sniping spells are very short-ranged, and your characters aren't so mobile, and generally want to be bunkered. Similarly, Purple Sun is a big risk on a primary caster, and if it backfires will swallow your low Initiative army. Aspect of the Dreadknight isn't so good, as you've got army-wide Fear already. Doom and Darkness is the one spell that stands out, potentially working well with some of your Leadership tricks and ensuring your opponent fails their Fear tests. Again, another lore I wouldn't recommend.

Lore of Fire (Forbidden Lore) - gives you a ranged threat if you're desperate for one. Can be okay on a Hero level character.

Lore of Beasts (Forbidden Lore) - Wildform is great for buffing your massive units so they're actually decent, and the two character boosting spells (Pann's Impenetrable Pelt and The Savage Beast of Horros) work well with your character-heavy army. Amber Spear is a good ranged threat. It's a decent choice.

Lore of Metal (Forbidden Lore) - the go-to lore for armour-heavy opponents (Warriors of Chaos, Bretonnia). Useful, but Curse of Years fills that role well.

Lore of Light (Forbidden Lore) - very un-fluffy, but strong against other Undead or Daemons - its use is situational. Light of Battle is virtually useless.

Lore of Heavens (Forbidden Lore) - has a poor lore attribute. Can help a little against ranged threats if you are particularly concerned about them.

Last Edit: Oct 9, 2022 17:18:01 GMT by sedge

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Vampire Counts Tactics Jun 22, 2018 15:44:57 GMT KevinC and knoffles like this

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Post by sedge on Jun 22, 2018 15:44:57 GMT

Army Composition

Vampire Counts have a good selection of units giving them a variety of builds, but they're not an army for castling, gunlines, evasion lists or suchlike, and expect the core of your army to be similar (you've only got four choices). Your army is not fast (until magically boosted), and has no ranged threat - your army is magic focused with multiple strong casters, and combat focused with a mix of massive tarpits and heavy hitters. You're therefore going to be trying to close with your opponent as quickly as possible, holding them in place with the tarpits and smashing them elsewhere with your hammer units, while your casters keep your army going. There are some odd lists like a "Scream list" focused on Terrorgheists, but if you want to discuss those, start a new thread in this forum.

I'd consider the following to be essentials for most builds of Vampires counts:

Primary caster - your General, a Level 4 in the Lore of Vampires; either a Vampire Lord or Master Necromancer. You need to be dominating the magic phase.
Backup caster(s) - at least one, again in the Lore of Vampires - in case your General dies, and for multiple castings of Invocation. Usually a Necromancer.
2+ Tarpits - usually Zomies or Skeleton Warriors from your core selections. I'd suggest at least one be Zombies as you can boost their size up massively. These should be large units, and 40+ models is not unusual.
2+ Damage Dealers - your tarpits are great but you need some units to win combats. Grave Guard with great weapons are the most common choice, but Black Knights, Vargheists, Blood Knights, Varghulfs, Black Coaches and so on are good.
3+ Chaff units - to redirect, hunt warmachines and small ranged units, and also to deal with your opponent's chaff. With your inability to march outside your General's 12" bubble, it's vital to get this right. Dire Wolves, Fell Bats and Spirit Hosts are the standards.

Getting Started

Vampire Counts continue to be well-served by Games Workshop for models - with the exception of a few characters/mounts and odd models like the Varghulf, they're all still available. In fact, it looks like more are coming under AoS with plastic Cairn Wraith units and the Black Coach, so potentially even more options will come further down the line. There are plenty of third-party manufacturers supplying undead models of varying quality, so it won't be a problem building an army.

At low points levels, VC are a mixed bag - you can field terrifying numbers of models with excellent static combat resolution - but it's hard to fit in a backup caster, so everything is reliant on your main caster surviving.

500 points starter army

Necromancer, Level 2, Lore of Vampires (100 points)
20 x Zombies, Musician and Standard (70 points)
20 x Skeleton Warriors, Spears, Full Command (130 points)
5 x Dire Wolves (40 points)
5 x Black Knights, Barding, Lances, Full Command (160 points)

You've got a good caster who can heal himself (Lore Attribute), two large blocks, a redirector, and a heavy cavalry unit. 51 models is more than most armies will field. Your main problem here is keeping the Necromancer alive, and making the most of his area of effect spells (Invocation primarily). If there's no ranged/flying threat, you could keep him outside a unit, behind the two infantry blocks, with the fast units on either side. More likely you'll want him in with the Zombies, and to probably keep them to the side but a little further back from the Skeleton Warriors, so they're less likely to end up in combat. To get the most of Invocation, you may want to keep the knights and wolves close until you're ready to charge.

All the choices above are in plastic kits, and only the Zombies look dated.

Battlescroll Formations

Battlescrolls are a rather obscure part of eight edition, mainly known from the End Times books; however a trio of them came out with army boxes one Christmas, and two of those were for the Undead!

They can be taken as Allies, so you can add them to non-Vampire Counts armies. The big downside is that the units chosen for it do not count towards your percentage of points for each category (Core, Special etc.) - this is bad because the Vampire Counts formations include Core units that you really want to be counting towards Core.

However, you can evade that by having an army made entirely of Battlescrolls... but they aren't ideal for that.

The Restless Dead

This one is all skeletal - 1 Wight King, 1-2 Black Knight units, 1-2 Grave Guard units, and 1-4 Skeleton Warriors units - the warriors have to have at least 20 models per unit, but that's hardly a burden. The units get all the normal upgrade options.

Obviously you'll see there's no wizard in this formation - hence the special rule Master of Undeath. That allows all units from the formation within 12" of the formation's Wight King to march even if not within 12" of the general. Also you get to pick one enemy unit or terrain piece in their deployment zone; your models within 12" suffer one less wound than normal due to Unstable/death of your general.

This is a potentially useful auxiliary to a Vampire Counts force, allowing you a flank that can operate comfortably (and speedily... for Undead) away from your General. Or if your General is highly mobile (Zombie Dragon, please) this keeps part of your main battleline mobile. The problem is you'll end up paying more on Core units than usual, but if you can handle that, this formation is worth considering.

I don't think it's feasible to field this formation alone - or even allied to another army - due to the the Generals of Undeath rule, which requires a Lore of Vampires wizard general to avoid crumbling.

Crypt Scavengers

This is the ghoul themed formation, and a strange one. You get 1 Necromancer, 1 unit of Ghouls, 1 of Crypt Horrors, and a Garden of Morr - yes, that's right, the formation includes a piece of scenery. The Ghouls need at least 20 models - that's not an issue, you shouldn't be fielding them in smaller units anyway.

The Garden of Morr is placed before deployment of units, in your half of the battlefield. All Gardens of Morr then give some hefty benefits to you. Non VC/Tomb King models within 6" of one have -1 Leadership, while VC/TK units get 6++ Regeneration. All Ghoul-themed models (Ghouls, Crypt Horrors, Varghulfs, Terrorgheists and Strigoi Ghoul Kings) within 6" can re-roll failed Regeneration tests. Finally, all Wizards within 6" who know spells from Lore of Death/Lore of Vampires roll an additional 2 dice when channelling power dice.

If you're going heavy on Crypt Horrors, this is a great formation, giving them some big buffs with the re-rolled Regeneration tests if you can anchor them near your Garden of Morr. You will want to deploy that piece of scenery somewhere in the middle so your opponent cannot avoid it. This is a surprisingly good formation, and well worth taking for an army focusing on Ghoul-type units - you were probably going to have the Ghouls, Crypt Horrors and Necromancer already.

Storm of Magic

Storm of Magic is more about doing crazy stuff that you can't have in regular games - the emphasis is very much on ridiculous fun rather than being super-competitive. This section is really just a footnote to the tactics guide, and isn't going to tell you how to win your Storm of Magic games - it's more just a few words of advice on ways of enjoying them.

Cataclysm Spells & Cantrips

Vampire Counts are already magic and character heavy, but for Storm of Magic, dial that up to 11. With all the monsters running around the place, your Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon or Strigoi Ghoul King on Terrorgheist are much less likely to be hit - and when occupying an Arcane Fulcrum, are near impossible to budge. You have the best combat casters in all of Warhammer, so take full advantage of that. Gear 'em up for challenges and also for killing big gribbly monsters - don't be surprised to find your opponent's fulcrums occupied by dragon riding casters - or Emperor Dragons casting their own spells! Mannfred is useful as he'll know Cataclysm spells from Lore of Death and Lore of Vampires - Death is useful for sniping all the monsters and characters flying around the place. Shadow has the ridiculously good spell The Dance of Despair, which near-neuters your opponent's entire army.

Your two Cataclysm Spells from Lore of Vampires are Malediction of Nagash, halving the strength of nearby enemy units, and Army of Doom Keep summoning you a unit of Grave Guard with accompanying Wight King (make sure you've got the spare models).

Remember your cantrips, which are vital for gaining control of fulcrums - which you'll need to make use of the better cataclysm spells. Oh, and to win, though that's a secondary consideration.

Mythic Artefacts

They're all super-expensive and based more around fun than effectiveness. The Arabyan Puzzlebox can help you get even more spells off, but there are other more fun choices out there. The Dawnstar Sword might cost 200 points, but it doubles your attacks (Red Fury!!!) and gives you further buffs depending on your control of fulcrums; brilliant on a Vampire Lord.

Bound Monsters

Go crazy with the converting, and make a "zombie" <insert monster here>. Of course, it won't actually have the Undead rule, but who cares? The more monsters you load into your army, the less likely your regular monsters are to be targeted. Also, anything that flies, can cast, and is super tough + killy is great for occupying an Arcane Fulcrum; however, beware of the "Unbind Monster" cantrip that is really easy to cast and can see your expensive monster fly off, never to return. I had that happen to an 830 point Level 4 Emperor Magma Dragon that had just rampaged its way onto a fulcrum

Keep a dice or two spare for dispelling that.

Sorcerous Pacts

Boost your troops with an allied Daemon, Vampire Counts or Tomb Kings army. Well there's no point in the VC army, though subjugating some Tomb Kings would be fun (and somewhat appropriate for a Neferata themed army, or indeed a few based around the first Vampires) - effectively giving you an Undead Legions type army without the overpowered rules craziness from the End Times. Daemons are less "fluffy" and probably less useful to you than other races, as you already have a whole army that won't run away. You can have more fun spending your points elsewhere.

Last Edit: Aug 5, 2021 20:59:49 GMT by sedge

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Vampire Counts Tactics Aug 7, 2018 16:48:10 GMT

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Post by sedge on Aug 7, 2018 16:48:10 GMT

After stalling over this for a month and a bit, I've finally got most of it written - just the magic section, and the last bit around getting started to do. If anyone has feedback on the unit guides or magic items, then I'd welcome it.

midnightfox0083 Senior Member Posts: 347	Vampire Counts Tactics Aug 13, 2018 3:10:08 GMT via mobile Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by midnightfox0083 on Aug 13, 2018 3:10:08 GMT In the Varghulf section, you mention its LD4 and how it'll quickly follow when the General dies, but it's Vampiric.
	Last Edit: Aug 13, 2018 3:12:11 GMT by midnightfox0083

sedge God Posts: 2,962	Vampire Counts Tactics Aug 13, 2018 5:39:11 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by sedge on Aug 13, 2018 5:39:11 GMT Good spot - thanks. I've fixed that bit.

redknight Senior Member Posts: 312	Vampire Counts Tactics Aug 13, 2018 6:41:45 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by redknight on Aug 13, 2018 6:41:45 GMT Good work Sedge, your guide is very comprehensive !

knoffles God Posts: 4,428	Vampire Counts Tactics Nov 19, 2019 7:45:55 GMT via mobile Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by knoffles on Nov 19, 2019 7:45:55 GMT sedge - I just realised the opening line in this review talks about Dark Elves, I’m guessing from where you copied it over 😁.
	Battle Reports: Beastmen eefl.freeforums.net/thread/623/glorious-victories-khazbar-magnificent-beastmen Dwarf: eefl.freeforums.net/thread/625/grudgebook-karak-silvertop-dwarves BLOG: backtothehammerblog.wordpress.com/

sedge God Posts: 2,962	Vampire Counts Tactics Nov 19, 2019 12:10:25 GMT grandmasterwang and knoffles like this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by sedge on Nov 19, 2019 12:10:25 GMT Sneaky Druchii, getting everywhere I've fixed that - good spot.

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Vampire Counts Tactics Dec 19, 2020 9:13:16 GMT

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Post by caradryan on Dec 19, 2020 9:13:16 GMT

Hi. Back to play the wonderful eight edition with VC (and HE)... my greatest doubt is about the Dance Macabre: is it possible to charge/be in charged if the movement would bring a unit in contact with enemies? This was possible in seventh, as specified in the text of the spell, but these times there's no mention about and is explicitly written that it concerns just the remaining movement phase. In any case, does the Walk between worlds HE spell work the same way (text is practically the same). Thank you very much.

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Vampire Counts Tactics Dec 19, 2020 17:41:16 GMT strutsagget likes this

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Post by FvonSigmaringen on Dec 19, 2020 17:41:16 GMT

Unless specifically stated otherwise, normal rules apply. Normally, you cannot charge in the Remaining Moves sub-phase. As the spell description specifies that "if the target unit is unengaged, it can immediately make a move of up to 8" in the same way as a normal move made in the Remaining Moves sub-phase," you are not allowed to charge, and will have to stop 1" before an obstacle or enemy unit. The same applies to Walk between Worlds.

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Vampire Counts Tactics Nov 19, 2021 7:19:04 GMT grandmasterwang likes this

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Post by brigada75 on Nov 19, 2021 7:19:04 GMT

Jun 22, 2018 15:44:57 GMT sedge said:

500 points starter army

Necromancer, Level 2, Lore of Vampires (100 points)
20 x Zombies, Musician and Standard (70 points)
20 x Skeleton Warriors, Spears, Full Command (130 points)
5 x Dire Wolves (40 points)
5 x Black Knights, Barding, Lances, Full Command (160 points)

Thx for this useful guide!
A friend of mine is building a VC army and it would be very helpful to know how this 500 pts list could step up to 1000 pts.

Any help is appreciated!

sedge
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Vampire Counts Tactics Nov 21, 2021 10:21:09 GMT grandmasterwang and brigada75 like this

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Post by sedge on Nov 21, 2021 10:21:09 GMT

The simplest approach is "more of the same":

Master Necromancer, Level 4, Lore of Vampires, Dispel Scroll, Talisman of Preservation (270 points)
30 x Zombies, Musician and Standard (100 points)
35 x Skeleton Warriors, Full Command (205 points) -- Spears are optional, hand weapons/shield do a better tarpit for the parry save.
5 x Dire Wolves (40 points)
10 x Black Knights, Barding, Lances, Full Command, Banner of the Barrows (340 points)
1 Spirit Host (45 points)

This significantly grows your two "tarpit" units, gives the Black Knights much more hitting power/staying power, and gives you a Spirit Host to troll someone who doesn't have any magic weapons / magic missiles. The Necromancer is upgraded to a much more powerful level 4, which should let you dominate the magic phase. You'd need to be careful to keep him safe in the Zombie unit - if he dies, your army is gone, so keep them out of any dangerous combats.

Vampire Counts Tactics

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