Kings of War/Tactics/Undead Armies

Why Play Undead Armies

Maybe you're an asshole. Maybe your mother didn't give you enough hugs. Maybe you watched too many Bruce Campbell movies.

Whatever the reason, you decided that rather than making friends the hard way, using spare or discarded people parts is the best way to get Sally to go to the prom with you... not that she has choice, mind, she's going. Breathing or not.

Did we mention the zombies are cheap and one of the best range Mantic makes?

Army Special Rules

• Evil Dead: All units in this army have Lifeleech (1) unless otherwise noted.

• Undead Giant Rats (or are they Dogs?): Units with this upgrade increase their Lifeleech ability to Lifeleech (2). Which is ridiculously good, by the way.

Unit Analysis

Hero

• Cursed Pharaoh: This guy is a beast. Hits in melee on a 3+ with Crushing Strength (2) base. He also comes with Individual, Inspiring, Lifeleech (1), Regeneration (5+), and Surge (6) with a defence of 6+. He's got everything you could want on an undead hero; hard to hurt, self-healing, has Surge, and deals damage with almost every attack. Highly recommended. Try to give him wings and witness explosions.

• Lady Ilona: A very expensive, but very powerful, living legend. Lady Ilona has a high speed, hits in melee on a 3+, a defence of 6+, and has better than average attacks for a hero. She comes base with Crushing Strength (3), Heal (3), Individual, Inspiring, Lifeleech (2), Lightning Bolt (3), and Surge (3), giving you a solid selection of spells, a source of Inspiring, and the ability to wound almost anything with reliability. In addition, her special rule makes all heroes who attack her receive a -1 penalty to hit her. The issue is her points cost, which is the second highest in the army. Only recommended for narrative or high point games.

• Liche King: An upgraded Necromancer, costing nearly twice as many points. He comes with Surge (12), 4 points better than the Necromancer, and can buy Bane-Chant (3), Heal (6), and Lightning Bolt (5). You can also mount him on a horse if you so desire. You're not really getting much better for the points and are better off just buying two Necromancers instead of a single Liche King.
  • ...which could be argued, though. You get inspiring as well, and Heal (6) is bonkers.

• Lykanis: A hero werewolf. Crushing Strength (2), Inspiring for werewolves, Lifeleech (1), and Nimble on a decent stat line. They're pretty expensive, but they do get extra attacks for flanks and rears since they lack Individual. Take one in a werewolf heavy army.

• Mhorgoth the Faceless: Your other living legend hero unit in the core rule book. Another expensive, but powerful, hero. He has a slew of abilites; Bane Chant (4), Fireball (15), Fly, Heal (6), Individual, Lifeleech (1), Lightning Bolt (6), Regeneration (5+), Surge (12), and Very Inspiring. He also allows you to upgrade a single non-hero unit in the army to his personal guard, giving them Regeneration (5+). So yeah, he's got a lot to offer, but like Lady Ilona his price means you're only taking him in a narrative game or a very high point game.

• Mortibris the Necromancer (Destiny of Kings): Your new living legend hero in the Destiny of Kings campaign book. He's cheaper than Mhorgoth and comes with a similar selection of spells; Bane Chant (2), Heal (5), Individual, Inspiring, Lifeleech (1), Lightning Bolt (4), Regeneration (5+), Stealthy, and Surge (10). He can also buy the Hero of Renown upgrade, allowing his Inspiring to inspire allied units as well as core army ones. He also gives all non-allied friendly units within 6" the Stealthy rule. Solid choice, but like the other living legends you're probably only paying these prices for narrative games or very large games.

• Necromancer: Your budget hero. Like a lot of undead heroes, he comes standard with Surge (8). You can buy three spell upgrades or mount him on a horse. The spell upgrades are pretty weak, being Bane-Chant (2), Heal (3), and Lightning Bolt (3). He's better as a cheap source of Surge instead of as a general offensive caster.

• Revenant King: A hero somewhere between a Necromancer and a Vampire Lord. Comes with Surge (6) and Inspiring. These guys are kind of in a weird spot points-wise. For 15 points more you could take both a Necromancer and an Undead Army Standard Bearer, so you're saving a few points to take a hero that fills both roles. It also lacks Shambling, meaning you won't have as much trouble keeping up with your hordes with the king. A solid choice if you're planning to use it as a dual Necromancer/Standard Bearer that walks behind an infantry block and casts Surge while providing an Inspiring bubble.

• Revenant King on Undead Wyrm: The large cavalry version of the Revenant King. Adds Thunderous Charge (2), 1 point of speed, and 3 attacks for 50 points. Not a good deal at all. Something to consider, the Revenant King on Undead Worm is NOT an individual, so you can net yourself some nice flank/rear attacks if you play it smart.

• Undead Army Standard Bearer: Your cheap Inspiring hero. This walking corpse has Shambling itself, which you need to remember when moving it around the field, but otherwise it's your cheap source of Inspiring. Love it and take it, hell, take two of three.

• Vampire Lord: Your basic infantry combat hero. This hero is kind of all over the place. Comes standard with Crushing Strength (2), 8 attacks, and a 3+ on melee, but it also has a small selection of spells. Vampire Lords on foot suffer from the same issues as all combat infantry lords: lords cost way too much for what you get. If you want a budget caster, take a Necromancer. If you want a combat hero, take one on a giant monster...
  • ...but then again, there's really not many units in the entire game that can wreck this guy. Without a giant monster you'll get that crucial free pivot at the start of turn, and this guy can be anywhere, anytime. He's really, really hard to kill, even on foot.

• Vampire on Undead Dragon: A Vampire Lord on a big fire-breathing dragon. Comes with Breath Attack (10), Crushing Strength (3), Fly, Inspiring, Lifeleech (2), and Surge (3), with options to buy Heal (2) and Lightning Bolt (3). It has the same number of attacks in melee as it does with the breath attack, so either option is viable depending on the situation, although with a melee of 3+ and Crushing Strength (3) you will on average do much more damage in melee. That being said, it is more expensive than Lady Ilona and generally not a better choice unless you really need that Fly.

• Vampire on Undead Pegasus: For 25 points you can upgrade your Vampire Lord to ride a flying horse. They lose 1 point of defence doing so, but gain Fly and a speed of 10. Not a bad trade off if you need a flying hero.

Infantry

• Ghouls:

Similar to Zombies but not dead

 They are cheap as chips and troops of them are good for chaff, especially as they don't shamble, so you can project them ahead of your main line.  You could use horde of them but shambling units have way better nerve.  

• Mummies: Crushing Strength (2) and Regeneration (5+) on a decent stat line. Your opponent will target these guys mercilessly, but they are hard-hitting and will heal back lost wounds in melee and movement quickly. They do have low nerve, but unless they are targeted very heavily this won't be as big a problem as it appears. These guys are what you want to use your troop slots on.

• Revenants: The more elite infantry formation. They're a point better in melee and defense than Skeleton Warriors. They can also switch out their shields to gain Crushing Strength (1) at a cost of 1 point of defense. In general you're going to be better served by Skeleton Warriors as the price bump doesn't add a lot, while Mummies are a much better elite infantry unit.

• Skeleton Archers: The cheaper ranged skeleton unit. They have the same range as Skeleton Crossbowmen, but don't have Piercing (1). They can also move and shoot, unlike their more expensive brethren, which is huge. If you take them, don't bother with a Casket of the Damned as you don't want them in melee. Do remember though that you can shoot and then have a someone cast Surge on them to move them forward.

• Skeleton Spearmen: Phalanx formation skeletons for you. Slight point bump to cancel out Thunderous Charge. You'll have to judge your local meta as to whether you need this or not.

• Skeleton Warriors: Your basic infantry formation. You don't have Zombies (or Husks anymore, like they did in the beta list) in this list, so this is your spam melee unit. They're good for a tarpit horde when that's what you need and not terribly expensive on that front. Srsly? Is this up to date? Y2016.

• Soul Reaver Infantry:

• Wraiths: This is where you'll achieve the most hideous Surge *ickery. Survive a turn with Def 6+ (keep them Inspired because of that low nerve), fly to the attacker's rear, and surge them in contact. Or just keep them at flanks threatening casters and war machines with 20" charge (even though they can't At the Double). Or whatever nastiness suits you. High manouverability is key, and this is your source for it. The points cost equals the soul of your first born son, though. Which is fitting. I'll take that deal.

• Zombies: Basic, basic. They'll survive against shield walls and spearmen regiments long enough for you to get something to help them, and they cost practically nothing. A horde will do nicely with a bucketload of attacks, but regiments hold their own for a turn or two as well. Try to match them against strong hitters (high amounts of CS) instead of many attacks, since their Def 3+ can't handle anything anyways.

Large Infantry

• Werewolves:

• Wights:

• Zombie Trolls:

Cavalry

• Revenant Cavalry: Your cheap skeleton cavalry. These are your screener cavalry, although they cannot march with their Shambling holding them back. Thankfully you're playing an army loaded with heroes who can Surge them into your foes. Set them up on the flank and Surge them into your opponent's lines while they cry that your spells are too cheesy.

• Soul Reaver Cavalry: Vampires mounted on cavalry. They are significantly more expensive then Revenant Cavalry, but gain more attacks and point each in Crushing Strength and Lifeleech while losing Shambling. Unfortunately they can be wavered at the standard cavalry values, meaning you're likely not going to get much use from them if your opponent targets them specifically. They're much too expensive to be used as screeners, so if you use them deploy them as elite heavy hitters.

Large Cavalry

None.

Monsters

None.

War Engines

• Balefire Catapult: The undead war engine and your only non-hero choice for those extra regiment slots since undead don't have any monsters. It hits on a 5+, like your standard war engines, and cannot move and shoot. It does have Shambling though, so you can Surge it around and still fire with the damn thing. If it does hit, you get Blast (D6+2) and Piercing (2), so with some luck it might pay for itself. It does make a good DISTRACTION CARNIFEX even if it doesn't hit anything since a movable shooting platform seems to scare the shit out of most players.

Tactics

Use necromancers to surge shambling hordes into the enemy. Stab them in the face* and eat their brains.

*Face optional.  Location and results may vary.