Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Vampire Counts (section)

==Unit Analysis==
===Lords & Heroes===
Before even glancing at this section, it must be understood that:

1) Your army general must be a Wizard in the Lore of Vampires on top of being the option with the highest LD (meaning only Vampires or Necromancers, either Lord or Hero, can be used) and that the turn they die every Undead unit in the army (with the exception of those with the Vampiric special rule) takes a LD test with a failure resulting in losing Wounds equal to the amount it failed by as if the unit suffered shooting damage. Any Wizard in the Lore of Vampires can take over as general from the next turn onwards or this continues until your army is just dust and bats. 

2) Your Undead options must be within range of the General in order to march. Unless they have the Vampiric rule.

3) The Lore of Vampires restores 1 Wound to the model of your choice within 12" from the Curse of Undeath lore attribute. The signature spell, Invocation of Nehek, will in almost any list you make be cast every single turn due to the fact that it resurrects D6 Wounds + wizard level to the infantry unit of your choice (other units get 1 + wizard level, with the exception of Vampiric, Ethereal, or Large Target which only get 1 Wound restored). If you pump more dice into it, you can make it into a bubble resurrecting a large chunk of your army. The most important thing to note however is that Necromancers in your army can take Master of Undead, and Vampires can take the Summon Creatures of the Night upgrade. These two abilities allow them to bring MORE models into the army than you began with.  You can also gain 2D6+3 Zombies or 2D6+3 Skeletons for a higher cast score as a new unit by casting Raise Dead. 

What these three things means together is Lore of Vampires is good, and you do best with more casters in it. It also means that when you don't have a Level 4, or more than one possible Lore of Vampires caster, you're gambling like a Tomb Kings player. 
====Named Characters====
'''Note:''' Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, many named characters, and especially in Vampire Counts, have abilities and war gear combos unique to them so if you need to have them go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth.
=====Lords=====

*'''[[Vlad von Carstein]]:''' 
The man that started it all, and one of the few special character who are completely justified in their points cost.
You want to field him, but most people never will. Why? Because he's 495 points. As strong as he is, that is your entire Lord budget in an otherwise balanced 2000 point army, and below 2500 you most likely you don't have that kind of room for just one model. He's fairly good but the price is what stops him from being great, but most players prefer a combo of a level 4 caster of some kind along with a damage option blender lord Strigoi Ghoul King or Master Vampire.  That being said, at the 2500 point level and above (ESPECIALLY above 3500) he's fucking amazing. If you're taking him, you want to bring Isabella as well although unlike her he can be good on his own.

*'''[[Mannfred von Carstein|Count Mannfred]]:''' 
There are two options for Mannfred, and you may not EVER take both. This is the first, and is a Lord level character.   He's a superb caster with one major flaw, for optimum usage he needs to kill stuff, which he isn’t too good at for Vampire Lord since he's kitted out so much for magic. This is the man you want fighting nothing but Goblins and Skaven Slaves if you can possible help it (if you're facing Ogres, you're in for a world of hurt). If you can manage to make kills then this guy will generally rule both magic phases, make sure to snipe enemy wizards early on with Spirit Leech. 
He's pricey as fuck though at 530 points (so you may not take him in games below 2125 points). He's worth it, but once again you're looking at your entire Lord allowance here.

Unlike the other named characters in this army, you can have Mannfred ride a mount. His options are Barded Nightmare, Hellsteed, and Abyssal Terror. Of those choices, only the Barded Nightmare is of any value for the most part and only to put him in a unit of Black Knights or Blood Knights. The other two will make him even more of an artillery and shooting target than he already is. 

With the New magic of the End Times rules, and the end times lords allowance, Mannfred suddenly became the best spellcaster in the game, bar NONE. 2 lores with loremaster means re-rolling all power dice, and Master of the Black arts allows him to re-roll one magic dice. Take him and Kemmler, plus mortis engine in 2000pts- Your opponent will not be able to do anything against 2 level 6 wizards when casting, who can re-roll all power dice, and gain an extra +D3 to Invocation. One corpse cart with lodestone later, and those Zombies/Skeletons/Anything later, and your army is suddenly looking much healthier.  

*'''Heinrich Kemmler:''' 
Oh, you were never going to be playing this game in decent company anyway.  He's ideal for filling a lord's' spot at 1500+ point games and If you're playing at that level, you may as well bring Krell to take advantage of their tag team abilities. 350 points? Worth it.

=====Heroes=====

*'''[[Mannfred von Carstein|Mannfred the Acolyte]]:''' 
Much more fieldable than his older self and a solid choice since he provides Loremaster in Lore of Vampires, which is what you take him for.  He's much more flimsy and you MUST have him fighting puny hordes to make effective use of him. 
Since Magic is so important to a Vampire Counts army's success, it's important to note that this version of Mannfred is almost a must if you're planning on taking a fighty Lord but can't afford enough supporting casters to reliably get the spells you'll need out of Lore of the Vampires by rolling. 200 points for all the spells in the lore (without excluding any other necromancers from getting those spells as well) is a steal! Still, if you CAN take multiple spellcasters he's probably not worth it. 
Like his Lord self he can be mounted up, on either a Barded Nightmare or Abyssal Terror. This time he should probably be left hiding in a unit unmounted unless you want to hide him in some Black Knights. 

*'''Krell, Lord of Undeath:''' 
He's back! Krell is a Wight King with a better statline who gets Heroic Killing Blow (in challenges) if in the same unit as Kemmler (which obviously means he'll always be in the same unit as Kemmler). He has regular Killing Blow otherwise, but the drawback is that he MUST issue a challenge whenever possible, Oh, and having a T5 W4 hero for his meager 205 point cost (not to mention his other rules) is very very good. By the way, his model is fucking ace. '''Alternate take:''' Krell is significantly more expensive then a normal Wight King and only marginally better offensively, defensively he is inferior. His special rules are fairly situational and only useful against medium to weak enemy heroes (a strength 7 lord/hero will completely ignore his armor). A mundane Wight King will almost always be a better option over Krell because they can be kitted out specifically for your needs. His model IS pretty amazing though. 
*'''[[Konrad von Carstein]]:''' 
Nothing short of psychologically damaging if your opponent happens to bring Monstrous Infantry (to him, not his models).  That being said combat is all he really does well (though he does it VERY well) while being the uncle of all glass cannons. His stats are on-par with an ordinary Hero level Vampire, and he only has Heavy Armor, so it's his special rules you want to take him for. He rings in at 160 points. 
His insanity is reflected by a special rule called "One Bat Short of a Belfry" which has you roll for his current mental state. At the start of the turn you roll a D6, with a result of 1-3 granting him Stupidity and a result of 4-6 giving him Frenzy. 
So be wary of using him... and be aware that Ogre Kingdoms players will die a little inside each time you field him.

*'''[[Isabella von Carstein]]:''' 
Now in 8th has the proper Vampire statline. As it stands, she's not a caster (being only a level 1 Wizard in Lore of Vampires) or a fighter (being that she only has the vanilla Vampire stats and her only equipment is Heavy Armor and a Hand Weapon). The most she can do is support other vampires using the invocation of Nehek and the Blood Chalice to make sure they don't die. 
Of course, there's always the fact that if she kicks it, Vlad goes nuts, with Frenzy and Hatred and whatnot. It's also possible that he'll die first (not as likely) and she will get Frenzy and Hatred, but as previously mentioned she's not really geared for fighting.  She isn't worth the 175 on her own, but put her with Vlad and they have great potential.

====Generic Characters====
'''Note:''' While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.
=====Lords=====
*'''Vampire Lord:''' 
Brilliant stat line, a metric fuckton of upgrade options, and outside of the Chaos Lord is probably the most dangerous generic combat lord in the game (he probably would have been the best since he can kill more models per round compare while the Chaos Lord is better at single combat, but there's the whole problem where your army starts crumbling if he dies unless you're at the point level to take more than one). Naturally, characters are the first place points go in a Vampire Counts army, and this motherfucker will likely soak up as many points as you can give. Properly kitted out they can stand toe to toe with Lords and go on to rampage through Special units all while having excellent magical options. Remember, if your general dies very bad things happen to your army, so whatever you do, keep him in a unit at least until he is in combat: losing a game on turn one from a fucking cannonball is not fun. Mounting these badasses up is not only an option, but depending on your goals may just be the point of taking him. All Vampires are level 1 Wizards in Lore of Vampires, Death, or Shadow and you can upgrade them up to a level 4. Item selection and powers will be covered later. 220 points at base level. 
An important thing to remember that he doesn't come with jack shit for equipment standard, so browse through all the options when making your list or you'll wind up with an ancient immortal Vampire walking into ranked Halberdiers naked with his bare hands (he'll still kick ass, but do you really want to picture it?)
They can ride Barded Nightmares, Hellsteeds, Abyssal Terrors, Zombie Dragons, or Coven Thrones. All of the choices though are just kind of...meh.

*'''Master Necromancer:''' 
For only 165 points, this is a cheap level 3 Wizard (which can be upgraded to a level 4) in either Lore of Death or Lore of Vampires (NOT Shadow) that can be used to support a fighty Vampire Lord, or to be the main caster and general should you decide to bring a slew of ordinary Vampires. If you are considering making him your general, that certainly frees points for the other great choices you have, but remember that your army will start crumbling as soon as he dies. If you assign the other Vampires to Lore of Vampires then at least one of them can take over as general, although this is not ideal. 

The Master Necromancer can be mounted on Barded Nightmares, Hellsteeds, Abyssal Terrors, and something Vampires can't ride: Corpse Carts. The main point of putting him on a Corpse Cart is making a combo out of casting Invocation of Nehek on the Corpse Cart, which ensures that Vigor Mortis activates, giving all friendly Undead units within 6" the Always Strikes First special rule, but it's not a great idea - siege machines are already pointing at him to start with, and putting him on the cart makes him that much easier to shoot down.

*'''Strigoi Ghoul King:''' 
A Strigoi may not look like much, having a slightly inferior statline to a Vampire Lord for 260 points, not being able to take magical armor, being stuck as a level 1 caster in Lore of Vampires. What it gets for these tradeoffs is Hatred, the ability to reroll ALL failed To Hit rolls instead of just the very first, Poisoned Attacks, Regeneration 5+, as well as the 100 points of Vampire upgrades and 100 points of magic items (sans armor) that Vampire Lords get. It can also be mounted on a Terrorgheist. 
Giving him a magic weapon isn't necessary seeing as he already has 5 Poisoned Attacks and S5 is not as much of a boon as you'd think.  If you're paying to swap his poisoned attacks for extra attacks or strength as he loses those Poisoned Attacks (as they do not apply to magic weapons, and it's stated in the core rulebook a character with a magic weapon MUST use it). 
No matter how you're planning to use him, just make sure you have a plan for your casters since this guy is almost pure combat at mastery level 1.

=====Heroes=====
Leadership is almost meaningless to Vampires as they cannot be broken. It is, however, what stops your army from falling apart if/when your general dies. If you have the points, adding a few basic heroes to your list to bump the leadership in a few key units can still be a worthwhile investment for the wounds they prevent when crumbling comes around. Something that can take Lore of Vampires can also take over as general. 

*'''Vampire:''' 
105 points. Cheaper Vampire Lord and almost identical other than having inferior stats, half the allowance of magic items and Vampire upgrades, and can be a maximum of level 2 Wizard in Death, Shadow, or Vampires. Like the Lord equivalent they don't come with any equipment standard, so if you put all your points in magic don't send them into combat or they're going to get slaughtered. Can be upgraded to BSB, and gets Vampire upgrades regardless of that fact. Can ride Barded Nightmares, Hellsteeds, and Coven Thrones. The last option is great for supporting a killy Lord, or maybe even helping Mannfred get some kills. 7 LD.

*'''Wight King:''' 
85 points.  Pretty much the same statline as a Vampire, with the S and T swapped around and an extra Wound being the notable changes. Can be upgraded to BSB. Can mount up on a Skeletal Steed with barding as an option and take a lance if you want him with Black Knights, otherwise stick him in a unit of Grave Guard with the Banner of the Barrows for an incredibly cheesy unit that will melt all variety of faces. Gets Killing Blow. Can take 50 points worth of magic items if he's NOT taking a <big>magic banner</big>. Oh, and like Krell this guy has a fucking beautiful model.
Taking this character over the Vampire makes you lose the Vampire Power options, despite this he's still 20 points cheaper and has 2 more points of Leadership, so if that downside doesn't matter then go for it, and at 9 LD he's very good at preventing crumbling in his unit. 

*'''Necromancer:''' 
As above, 8th makes Necromancers more viable (65 points for a level 1 Wizard in Lore of Vampires or Death that that can be bumped up to level 2 is good). Same basic deal as Vampire Lord VS Vampire, look to Master Necromancer as the baseline. Use them to keep your armies at good strength, but don't expect too much from them. You get what you paid for. Necro's are good for supporting large units of infantry with a little extra LD and some magical support if they end up away from the General, and if they're in LoV can take over as general if shit hits the fan. Mount options are Nightmare and Corpse Cart. 

*'''Cairn Wraith:''' 
60 points. Ethereal, Terror, Undead. Has a special ability called Chill Grasp, allowing it to trade in it's 3 Attacks for one Attack that automatically wounds if it hits and ignores armour. Only S3 and great weapon, T3, and 2 Wounds with a low as fuck 2 Initiative. Can't be upgraded in any way.
Sadly not a great choice. Spirit hosts are cheaper for simple tarpits and the Cairn Wraiths unit from the Rare section are more cost-effective for cavalry/monster killing. Both are also more resistant to magic by virtue of having more wounds. Finally, Wight Kings are better at simply killing normal stuff by virtue of their Killing Blow and awesome (for points) stats. It's possible to use them to nail characters, but chances are good that whatever you're aiming to kill has a magic attack which renders the Cairn Wraith's only defense moot, and at 5 LD, don't expect him to prevent anything from crumbling (in fact, he's more susceptible to it truth be told). On the other hand, they are heroes, so as of the End Times Archaon you can make some truly game breaking lists with them. Add in an allied Prince from Aestyrion with the Banner of the World Dragon for that 2+ save vs anything that could hurt them to begin with, and Poof- you just win- no ifs, buts or maybes.

*'''Tomb Banshee:''' 
95 points. Ethereal , Terror, Undead. Crap stats and two Wounds. Can use Ghostly Howl, which targets an enemy unit and is used in the shooting phase and can be used in close combat.  8" range, needs LOS. Roll 2D6+2, for each point you beat the enemy's LD score they take one Wound with no armor saves against it (although they DO count as magic attacks so there's still Ward Saves and immunity to that). 
Generally not the best investment for points. Any competitive army will have at least 9 Leadership in important units, most will have 10, so the hysterical woman is unlikely to earn her points back (she will on average deal less than 0.5 casualties per turn in those cases). She can take out a low LD unit very quickly however (seeing 10 Skaven Slaves drop dead bleeding from the ears from one single attack can be fucking hilarious). As a result, she's best used to wipe out ranks of anvils and let you wash over everything that was supposed to flank charge you, though thanks to the range of the scream she's not very good at that, and at LD 5 has the same problem as the Cairn Wraith.

=====Mounts=====
*'''Skeletal steed:''' 
The Black Knights basic mount, ignores terrain as they are treated as Ethereal for movement and does not get the -1M for barding if you take it. Think about that for a moment, you can charge units on the '''other side of buildings''' if you can see them. Never take a dangerous terrain test with these guys again! This 12 point mount is only available to a Wight King. Can be barded for 8 additional points (Do this).

*'''Barded Nightmare:''' 
Simple undead horse, best in a squad of Blood Knights, and never put Black Knights unless there's no terrain, as they'll lose their Ethereal movement. Ordinary in all regards. ''other than being S4 WS3 horses''. This mount is available to Vampires, including Mannfred the Acolyte (16 points), Vampire Lords including Count Mannfred (24 points) and Master Necromancers (20 points). Only non-barded option is available to Necromancers for 15 points.

*'''Hellsteed:''' 
A 30 point flying Barded Nightmare, and overall a better horse. Not too expensive and still a great investment if you like running with Fell Bats or other silliness (can't join a unit of Fell Bats as even flying characters cannot join flying units). Still, if used right it can be a scary model that's great for picking off warmachines or other small units, since arrows don't tend to have the killing power needed for a Vampire (although those war machines you're hunting tend to!). Available to Vampires, Master Necromancers, and Vampire Lords, including Count Mannfred.

*'''Abyssal Terror:''' 
Not great by any standard of a monster. Can be given Poison Attacks or Armour Piercing, has Thunderstomp (which doesn't get the upgrade abilities sadly). Fairly cheap (120 points) and it flies so it's not exactly bad, but it's just beaten out by the next two usually. Available to both versions of Mannfred, Vampire Lords, and Master Necromancers.

*'''Coven Throne:''' 
Hot motherfucking damn (also damnably hot if you know what I mean), this thing has a good number of abilities. The Battle of Wills is a fun way to mess with your opponent as before anything rolls To Hit against it or whoever is riding it in melee OR shooting rolls a D6 and add it to their LD (unless something doesn't have to roll To Hit anyway), then the Coven Throne rolls LD plus D6. You subtract the enemy's LD from the Coven's and the result is the effect caused. 0 or less means nothing happens. 1-2 and the enemy fights at -1WS and -1BS. 3-5 and they reroll To Hits that succeed. 6 or more, the unit '''TURNS ON ITSELF''' causing one melee attack per model against the whole unit, with War Machine crews taking one S3 hit for each crewman left against their Toughness and whatever is affected doesn't get to shoot or attack in any other way this turn. All this is available to Vampires and Vampires Lords for 230 points.

A mixed bag honestly, absolutely fucking awful against any army with high leadership and siege weapons (so mostly Dwarfs with their army wide LD 9 or Elves) or usually just any army with a lot of cannons as they'll pass eventually.  The only thing worthwhile to put on it is a Vampire Lord, but then you're at 450 points naked AND you just made your general a much bigger cannonball magnet which might lose you the game, and lesser vampires don't have a high enough leadership to consistently use The Battle of Wills effectively (and it costs a shitload of points).

On the other hand, excellent in combat, you get 2D6 attacks from the ghosts hauling this thing around, the ghost horses grant it Ethereal movement so there's no troubles from terrain, a 5+ Armor Save, a 4+ Ward Save, four S5 ASF attacks from the Handmaidens, D6 S5 impact hits, and it has one of the most glorious models Games Workshop ever released.

*''' Zombie Dragon:''' 
Exactly what you think it is. It's got beefy stats, can be healed massively thanks to lore attribute plus Invocation, his Pestilential Breath attack causes -3 to armour as well as causing a S2 hit and it adds that extra "fuck you" to Ogres in the form of terror. Has Swarm of Flies (ew!) which causes -1 to To Hit rolls in melee. Also, it only costs 245 points! For a dragon! Available only to Vampire Lords.
A great time if your Vampire has the same stat line as the mount its on. Can really wreck heavy cavalries day as well as rank and file, though it will die to cannons or Heroic Killing Blow. Still a wonderful kick ass model and is our only dragon, but like most fun things, it's a magnet for artillery and mass shooting.

===Core Units===

*'''Zombies:''' 
Zombies are pathetic. The lore goes to silly lengths to tell you how living opponents fear engaging zombies and being torn apart, and on the game they are a bloody joke. They couldn't kill a sickly blind crippled mentally disabled orphaned Skaven Slave in a fair fight. 
It has M4, WS1, S3, T3, 1I, and fucking 2 LD. It is literally so bad, that decreasing its stats would only worsen it in the abstract. 

So why ever take them?  Because they are only three points.  In addition, the Vampire Counts magic phase is full of buffs, so get yourself some rerolls and that Zombie unit can hold a bit longer. Thanks to the The Newly Dead rule, they recover an extra D6 Wounds worth of models per casting of Invocation (meaning 2D6 Zombies) and can increase their unit size beyond what you started the game with; this means you can, with luck, turn a 20-strong horde into a 60-strong horde in just 2 turns of magic.  They can also make excellent caster bunkers for your Necromancers to hide in so they never get shot to death or challenged. Can be taken in units of 20+.

*'''Skeleton Warriors:''' 
More durable than Zombies, a pinch better at killing and less likely to crumble, they cost five points a model, and should only be taken in large units to maximize the usefulness of Invocation of Nehek.  Skellies are good but the Zombie tar pit works way better than any unit in the army for the role, since the Invocation of Nehek only heals back D6 Wounds+caster level (compared to the 2D6+caster level that Zombies get) and unless it's a Master Necromancer they cannot be pushed past their starting size. Can be taken in units of 10+.

That being said, Skeleton Warriors are by no means bad.  They have an option for a full command unit, a Champion that can take challenges your Vampire Lord doesn't want, a musicican for swift reforms and a standard bearer for a +1 combat res score for extra survivability, and they come with shields, light armour and a hand weapon giving them a neat 6+ parry save in close combat. You can exchange their hand weapons for spears, sacrificing the 6+ parry save, but it lets you attack in 3 ranks. Since skeletons still suck, they aren't going to hit much, not with weapon skill 2.  Generally Skeletons are a better carrier unit for your foot slogging killy Vampire Lord. 

*'''Crypt Ghouls:''' 
The most expensive core option available at 10 points. 3 WS, compared to the 2 WS of Skellies and 1 WS of Zombies. Toughness of 4, exceeding both other options by one point. Highest (still terrible) Initiative of 3. Two Attacks per Ghoul, and the highest Leadership score of the core options at 5 (meaning Ghouls have a low chance to crumble in comparison to Zombies which can all vanish off the board with their 2 LD). Poison Attacks are default, but Ghouls cannot have a musician or standard bearer.  Less likely to die like the skeletons, but much harder to get more of, and still a good bunker for a footslogging Vampire Lord. Can be taken in units of 10+.

*'''Dire Wolves:''' 
A very fast moving alternative to the other core choices. They ring in at 8 points per model, with a cavalry-speed Movement of 9 (compared to the M4 of the rest of the core). They have a LD of only 3, meaning they'll crumble as fast as Skeleton Warriors. They have one point higher WS and I so combat will have more kills, but otherwise share a stat line with Skeleton Warriors. They have the Slavering Charge (+1S on the charge) and Vanguard (after both armies deploy everything, but before the first turn, they may make one normal move). As a unit of the War Beast type, they also come with Swiftstride which allows them to roll a 3D6 and discard the lowest number than add the resulting sum to their M score while on the charge, while fleeing, or while pursuing. Can be taken in units of 5 to 20.

===Special Units===
*'''Corpse Cart:''' 
A 90 point Chariot. The thing itself is a 5+ Armor Save option with 4 Wounds, but don't let that trick you, just as useful as zombies in combat with 2d6 WS1 S3 attacks from the Zombies hitched to it as beasts of burden, as well as an attack from the rider who is a WS3 S3 I2 Corpsemaster.  It has Regeneration, which may keep it alive for a pinch as long as nothing with Flaming Attacks goes after it. it is best placed between hoards of fodder to keep them up to strength and adding to combat res against other tar pits, not that you want any of your tar pits in slap fights like that.

Far more important, it has Vigour Mortis; if any Lore of Vampires augment spell is used on it then all Undead units within 6" of the Corpse Cart including itself get ASF until the next Magic Phase, which is un-fucking believably awesome, AND the rulebook specifically states Zombies lose ASL and get ASF as  so they can actually do more than just tarpit something all game if you horde them up. Of the 2 upgrades Bale fire (15 points) used to be the best as it stacked and could totally cripple enemy casters, now it is merely useful in that it makes dispels a bit easier. The load stone is a solid choice as it makes your summoning more consistent but it costs twice as much as Balefire.

*'''Grave Guard:''' 
Coming in at 11 points, these supercharged Skeleton Warriors boast Heavy Armor and Shields standard, have Killing Blow, can swap their Shields for Great Weapons for one point a piece ((do this for killing, S'n'B for anvil)), and can take a Magic Standard. Their statline is superior to weak skellies as well. With a toughness of four, and heavy armour. They are a lot more resilient then Skeletons and just as easy to raise. Stuff a Wight King into this unit and take them in hordes for a hard-hitting anvil force. These skellies are a nightmare for any high T non-monstrous troops. Can be taken in units of 10+.

*'''Black Knights:''' 
Same statline as Grave Guard at 21 points, but on Skeletal Steeds which grant them an 8M and Spectral Steeds which lets them count as Ethereal for Movement and they don't get a penalty for Barding. Said Barding comes at 3 points per model, and for another 2 points they can take lances. Like their footplodding counterparts they can take a Magic Standard. They are one of two heavy Cavalry units in the army. They are a DAMN good unit capable of moving over terrain like it wasn't even there and letting loose with a flurry of S4 (or higher, depending on weapon choice) Killing Blow attacks. All while possibly having a 2+ armor save. Delicious.  Just don't put anybody in with them that doesn't have a spectral steed or they get much slower, and you want them to be constantly charging. Can be taken in units of 5+.

*'''Hexwraiths:''' 
New option for 8th edition, they are 30 points each and have a statline like weaker Black Knights. They come with Great Weapons standard, and have a metric fuckload of special rules. One of these provides a very interesting advantage: they're Ethereal, as in all the time! They also have the Soulstriders special rule, which allows them to move through unengaged enemy Units (both friendly and enemy) during the "Remaining Moves" sub-phase (although they can't end within 1" of a unit). As a result they will attract a TON of magic during your opponents turn as he desperately tries to fry them before they reach him and they don't have any protection against that other than you trying to dispel, so beware.  They have Fast Cavalry as well, which grant them Vanguard (get to make a 12" Move before the game starts) and a Free Reform unless it charges. They lose most of this if they are joined by a character without Ethereal+Fast Cavalry. You should leave the Hexes to do their thing alone. Non-ethereal characters cannot join Ethereal units, even if the character were to temporarily become ethereal for some reason. None of your ethereal characters are cavalry so putting a character in a unit of hexwraiths will cost you movement and the fast cavalry rule. In other words, these guys don't mix with characters well (or most characters at all). Can be taken in units of 5 to 10.

*'''Vargheists:''' 
The first of three designated hammers, representing the jack of all trades which has the speed of the Terrorgheist without being as flimsy.
46 point Monstrous Infantry with Fly (when charging roll 3d6 and discard the lowest value and add it to the Movement score and get to also do that to Flee, get to Move 10" anyway regardless of their lower M score, and can March a whopping 20"), and Frenzy. M6, WS4, S5, T4, W3, I4, 3 Attacks, and a Leadership score of 7. They are Vampiric, so they cannot crumble. 
They compete with Empire Outriders and High Elf Swordmasters for the title of premier glass cannons; these guys do pack considerable punch at break-neck speed.  They can hunt War Machines if they must, but they really work better hitting flanks and hunting enemy support troops. Don’t ever think they'll last against even mediocre infantry unsupported though as that T4 is all they have keeping them alive despite their 3 Wounds.
Be careful though, because they are Flyers they're also Skirmishers.  Keep this in mind when you send them out into the juicy flanks as they cannot disrupt enemy Units. Can be taken in units of 3+.

*'''Crypt Horrors:''' 
The other Monstrous Infantry unit, little more than super Ghouls. 38 points a pop so big units are hard to field, Unit size 3+. Like Ghouls they have Poisoned Attacks, but also Regeneration 5+. Stats are M6, WS3, S4, T5, W3, I2, A3, LD5. This unit is an anvil with a bite, pure and simple, but crumbling and a limited offensive capability does force you to take Units of at least 6. A unit of 18 in a horde does have good punch however and is very hard to get rid of, but will be expensive (684 points, 694 with the upgrade to champion) for a unit that ultimately works best in a points denial role. Work best with a Mortis Engine (if the thing doesn't get blown up) and Invocation spam from a caster using them as a bunker. Don't skip them over, but they aren't something to drool over either.  

Alternative Take- While Crypt horrors may not be the most offensively powerful unit on this list, they can be made into one of the most powerful units in the game with some magical buffs. Unlike Grave Guard, they are monstrous infantry, and therefore gain all of the additional attacks of the rear ranks. With three attacks each, at S4 and poisoned, they can make a Very mean hammer. Buff them with the right spells however (Staff of Damnation, i'm looking at you) and the effect can be multiplied hugely. Further, they have neither the Vampiric or the Large Target or Ethereal rules, so they can be quickly and easily healed back up to strength by the Invocation (1 + wizard level because they're monstrous infantry, not regular infantry [still better than just 1 though]). This is not always viable, but for those gamblers looking for a death star unit, look no further. Buff them effectively with the lore of Beasts, and they will SHRED everything.  Can be taken in units of 3+.

*'''Bat Swarm:''' 
35 points each, but they have 5 Wounds and 5 Attacks. They are a Swarm, meaning they are Skirmishers, they are Unbreakable, and are Unstable (like the rest of your army). They have a M of only 1, WS3, S2, T2, I4, and LD 3 and coupled with being Unstable most likely will be the first thing to crumble after Zombies. 
Their special abilities are Hover (permanent 10" movement and swiftstride for charging) and Cloud of Horror which grants Always Strikes Last to any enemy in base contact with them, which is awesome considering most of your army has terrible Initiative. Can be taken in units of 2+.

*'''Fell Bats:''' 
Your go-to for Warmachine hunting. Cost 16 points each and must be fielded in Units of 2 or more. Count as War Beasts meaning they get Swiftstride (roll 3d6 when charging, discard lowest and add it to their Move and do the same when fleeing) as well as Fly. Stats are M1, WS3, S3, T3, W2, I3, A2, and LD 3 (likely to crumble), which is pretty meh, but with multiple models and Fly they'll probably reach what war machines they need to get to unless your opponent spends some time shooting them, which will buy you time to get into melee so either way it's a win/win.  Can be taken in units of 2+.

*'''Spirit Host:''' 
Ah, the Spirit Host. 45 points for a single Swarm of four, and They are also Ethereal.  Sadly, as a Swarm they also die from Combat Resolution like everything else in the army. They have M6, WS3, S3, T3, I1, A4, and a Leadership of 4. 

These guys are extremely cost-effective Monster and Cavalry tarpits while they last (just make sure whatever you are facing does not have magic attacks),  and can also be used to dissuade a flank charge by something nasty than to actively hunt their targets, otherwise they may get too exposed to infantry (their bane thanks to that Combat Resolution damage) or outmanoeuvred. That said, don't mind losing a Unit to magic or infantry if you have to: after all, they cost less than 50 points. Why give a damn? Can be taken in units of 1 to 10.

===Rare Units===

*'''Varghulf:''' 
The Vargheist's meth addict big brother, and the only hammer you really want to meet anything head-on.
In comparison to the 'gheist you lose Fly and Frenzy but gain Terror, Hatred, Bestial Fury, and Regeneration.  You have 3 more points of M, 1 more point of WS, one more point of Toughness, one more Wound each, two more attacks each, but 3 points less Leadership (though it's Vampiric). It's a Monster, so it also has Thunderstomp. This monster only costs 175 points.

All in all, the Varghulf is a decent choice, as it's statline is pretty nice and it's decently killy in addition to that Regen and Terror, especially considering he lacks Frenzy so he won't jump into combat without being given the order,  he's also harder to kill, and sucks up less points than a Terrorgheist so a lucky cannonball won't eat up a large chunk of your points. 
His main detriment is that he eats up Rare points, if that doesn't bother you then go right ahead, otherwise a properly built Terrorgheist can do the job just fine (though will cost more).

*'''Blood Knights:''' 
There are a lot things to remember about the Blood Knights.  They are as expensive as a Baneblade to purchase both in-game and in real life at 50 points a model and $99 for five (coincidentally, they also have a similar effect on enemy tactics, you should also convert them instead of buying them to save money) and they are one of the top heavy cavalry units in Warhammer Fantasy.
So here's what we're looking at; Heavy Armor, Barding, Shield, Lance. They have Frenzy and Martial Honour (must always issue and accept challenges with the Kastellan (15 point unit champion that may take up to 25 points of magic weapons [stick with lance]), otherwise a generic Blood Knight will answer any challenge although as usual you can't issue one without said champion, unless a equal/higher LD character is in the unit) and are Vampiric. They can take The Flag of Blood Keep as an upgrade instead of another magic standard for 75 points, which grants them a 4+ Ward Save against Ranged Attacks. That Ward Save comes into effect once something gets through their 2+ Armor Save, namely war machines.
They come in at WS5, S5, T4, W1, I5, A2, and LD 7 overall. You can take them in Units of 4 or more.

They are a fantastically lethal addition to an army of any size, and It's a good idea to keep a loaded-up Barded Vampire/Vampire Lord within the Unit, to help them keep their minds focused and overcome the Frenzy urge to go fuck something despite being in the line of sights of a warmachine or something similarly undesirable, and Taking a 4-man unit with Banner of Eternal Flame makes them fantastic monster hunters who will reliably take down even Hydras, Sphinxes, and Hellpit Abominations on the charge.

However, don't forget that they have a big weakness - due to being Vampiric, they receive only one wound back per cast of Invocation of Nehek, which, combined with their cost and sometimes harmful Frenzy, makes them inferior to Black Knights in the eyes of many players.

*'''Black Coach:''' 
A 195 point Chariot. 
Has one crew member, a Cairn Wraith (with Chill Grasp and a Great Weapon) and two Nightmares as drivers. Causes Terror, counts as Vampiric so there's no fear of Crumble, has a 4+ Ward Save on top of the 3+ Armor Save. It has 5 Strength when trying to figure out Impact Hits (D6 bonus Attacks that automatically Hit and count as Shooting Attacks in causing damage but give you Combat Resolution like Close Combat Attacks, but you only get them on the Charge). 
The real fun part though, is the special ability "Evocation of Death", which combines fantastically if you have a lot of wizards (both with or against you), giving you (very quickly) +1 to the Impact Hits on the Charge then gaining +1 Strength to the Wraith and the Nightmares, then gaining Killing Blow and Flaming Attacks for it's Impact Hits and regular Close Combat attacks, then gaining Magic Resistance (2) and Strider (no Dangerous Terrain tests need to be taken), then becoming Ethereal, and finally gaining Fly at 6 points.  For just 195 points and a little patience, you can get one of the most amazing fucking models crunch-wise in the entire game. 

*'''Terrorgheists:''' 
A 225 point Monster (so you get Thunderstomp) with M6, WS3, S5, T6, 6 Wounds, 3I, four Attacks, and a Leadership of 4 (it's not Vampiric so the death of the General may cause it to crumble, which at that point level can be painful).
It has Fly, is a Large Target, causes Terror, has Regeneration (6+), and has a special ability called "Death Shriek" which counts as a Shooting Attack that you get to make regardless of your previous actions that turn. Death Shriek has an 8" range that requires Line of Sight (oddly enough) and can target something regardless of if you or it are in Close Combat. You roll 2d6 and add the Wounds the Terrorgheist has, and for each point that the result exceeds the target Unit's Leadership they suffer 1 Wound with no Armor Save and it counts as a Magical Attack, which isn't that great against LD high armies, a Strigoi Ghoul King can help somewhat, but that makes it a cannonball magnet.  It can also be upgraded for 10 points to be Infested (ew!) with bats (wut?) that, upon death, cause 3D6 Strength 2 hits to anything in base contact with the Terrorgheist. It can also take Rancid Maw for 15 points which grant it Poisoned Attacks (not for it's Thunderstomp though). 

Its main weakness however is that it is fairly flimsy, especially if your opponent has Flaming Attacks or brought some nasty ranged options, this combined with their relative vulnerability in Close Combat and their huge base size means they are tricky to actually move about.
Not everyone likes them, but they remain one of the best choices (tied with the Black Coach) available to Vampire Counts owing to the fact that it is the army's most flexible option. It's ready for battle from the beginning unlike the Coach, allowing you to go on the offensive in a prompt manner.

*'''Mortis Engine:''' 
220 points Chariot with an Armour Save of 5+ on top of it's 5 Toughness and 5 Wounds, but this isn't a Black Coach that you want to run your enemy down with. It's purely a support unit. 
It's offensive abilities are abysmal (unless you charge it into a flank) despite it getting a lot of little bird peck attacks, but it has decent survivability. Here's where you factor in it's abilities.
The Reliquary ability gives your undead a nice regeneration boost to make them live longer/tarpit better and can hit a good amount of enemy units at decently high strength, making it one of the few good ranged units available to you, and with the amount of wounds it has you don't even need to worry about taking a hit from doubles, and even if it does get a little hurt, you can just heal it up yourself.

You can/should also upgrade it with Blasphemous Tome for 20 points, which lets all Wizards within 12" of the Mortis Engine have +2 to casting attempts from the Lore of Vampires, and if anything within 12" of the Mortis Engine miscasts (both friend and foe) then the player rolls twice on the miscast table and his opponent chooses which result applies.  Both of these mean you want it in the <strike>back</strike> front, supporting everything else making enemy wizards nervous about 4/5/6 dicing anything, and drawing lots of fire away from your actual nastiest units. That said this thing is a magic and artillery MAGNET LIKE NO OTHER.  It looks awesome, the crunch seems awesome, then you put it on the field and a Dwarf with a flaming cannonball blows it to hell before it can move.  If you want to use it effectively, you NEED some distraction units, either war machine hunters or faster melee units to take the artillery off of you, or you actually want it to get shot so that your hammers don't get shot by those same cannons.

*'''Cairn Wraith:''' 
The expensive, damage-dealing alternative to the spirit hosts. Must be fielded in units of 3 minimum, 10 maximum. The unit Champion is actually a Tomb Banshee. 50 points per model, 25 to upgrade to the Banshee. Exact same stats and abilities as their character equivalents.  All in all you are getting a bulk discount by taking them in the Rare section, as well as saving points for more Vampires, Necros, or Wights in the Hero slot. What's not to love?

They will still die to ranked infantry as they're Undead but, unlike the Spirit Hosts who function as a sacrificial tarpit/ball and chain for a Monster, these guys function as killers as well for 105 more points. 9+ attacks (Always Strikes Last, remember) at S5 or 3+ attacks that ignore armor will put the hurt in whatever they strike. That being said, they DO take Rare choice points and unlike the Spirit Hosts you can't afford to just let them get killed by a magic missile and forget about it. It's usually better to pin enemies with Spirit Hosts and then flank later with another unit so, in essence, the Cairn Wraiths are to the Spirit Hosts as the Varghulfs are to the Vargheists. 

If you really get in good, you can take advantage of the fact these little Ethereal buggers can go straight through terrain to stay in Charge distance of the enemy while staying safe from being Charged, which can tie up a lot of troops by forcing the enemy to either continue facing them or just bite the bullet and say goodbye to everyone on the side or back of the Unit.