Editing Warhammer Army Project/Vampire Counts (section)

==Tactica==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">There are many ways to field VCs. Any of the old house builds are still viable in some ways; huge blocks of undying fodder and big monsters are a general idea. Led by a vampire; and/or his necromancer allies. Click expand to see more.
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'''Von Carsteins''' are the main focus, leading undead armies and using their magic to keep them up to steam-roll whatever they come across, and this is the idea behind Vampire Counts in general, but it does have many variations. The Von Carstein's powers lend to Fear-based debuffs and synergy with your animals, especially Dire Wolves. Armies led by them can also take Peasant units, which make for better-ranged units, and be better cheap holders than zombies (get to use that  Von Carstein lord's 10 ld).

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'''Blood Dragons''' are the least magical by vampire standards. At 2500 you can have a combat-kitted lord that's a level 4 caster on a zombie dragon. All combat vampires on steeds, add blood and black knights to your heart's content and take preferred core. Wolves will keep up with the army, while zombies and skeletons will give you the angles to get your knights into flanks. For added silliness, add hexwraiths to turn one charge into the biggest non-magical unit and watch it burn! 

'''Other Thoughts on Blood Dragons''': Vargheists are your friend if you like blitzkrieg tactics. The Hellsteed is often overlooked (although it's not challenging to kitbash a model out of a Pegasus Knight and an appropriately vampiric head), but a Vampire hero with a lance and his magical allowance spent on defensive items (looking at you, 4+ ward save and 2+ armor save. Enchanted Shield + Talisman of Pres is my go-to setup) go very well with a Vargheist escort. Vargheists provide the kind of blitzkrieg you need to neutralize unpleasant tricks your opponent might have, like heavy chariots (Stegadons, for example) and caster bunkers on the first or second turn of the game. You probably shouldn't rush them into enemy lines if you can help it, but sometimes it's vital to do so in order to retain control of the course of the game. If you're antsy about their Frenzy rule, take a 5-strong unit of Dire Wolves. Run the wolves in front of the Vargheists to screen them, so they don't charge anything you don't want them to. Keep in mind that the Vargheists, being flyers, are also skirmishers, which means they can freely reform at any time. They're more straightforward to get into the combat you want them to be in than blood knights. It is extremely satisfying to kill or tarpit a kitted out combat lord riding a monster with a well-placed charge of Vargheists + flying Hero early in the game (Add Beguile and Quickblood for extra amusement. Don't take Dread Knight for this setup, or else your Vargheists will get to stand around uselessly. Might be obvious, but bears mentioning).

'''Blood Dragons'''-style armies rely very heavily on combat resolution. Vampiric units are hugely expensive but also very effective. Pick your battles carefully because a failed combat resolution can be very unpleasant, and an overwhelmingly successful combat resolution can cause your opponent's army to rout. Being able to read how combat is going to resolve is an essential skill to learn for these armies. Against units that are Immune to Psychology or have very sturdy morale (like Lizardmen), you have to adopt tactics based on inflicting the most considerable possible amount of casualties rather than tarpitting.

For Vampire-heavy armies in general, you want 4+ ward saves on your Vampire Lord and at least one Hero (who should also be a level 2 caster). The amount of damage this ward saves will prevent is sickening, especially combined with 1+ and 2+ armor saves. You can sometimes get by with a Banner of the Blood Keep on some Blood Knights and adjacent Vampire characters, but usually, you want the 4+ heavy armor or the 4+ talisman. Yes, they're expensive, but having your Vampires die on you is way more inconvenient than losing a bit of killing power (which your Vampires already have in spades with their statline and Quickblood. Incidentally, you should also be taking Quickblood on every combat Vampire period). All the ward save has to do is keep them from losing that last wound until you can cast more Lore of the Vampires' spells or trigger The Hunger and heal them back to full Wounds again. In my experience, it's very effective at doing this and has quite literally decided several of my games in my favor by very slim margins. Anecdotal, I know, but give it a shot.

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'''Lahmians''' are the [[Gish]] heavy build with Laminan's also having not as strong dualist powers as Blood Dragons but still have access to magic. Still an all vampire list with a coven throne instead of a dragon and black coaches replacing blood knights. Add giant bricks of zombies and skeletons and push forward. Support with shadow magic from the non-lord vampires and at least 2 with LoV. See ogres reduced to T2 and be dragged down by drastically inferior infantry, watch dwarves kill themselves when a coven throne charges them, or as you chariot with killing blow and impact hits run through cavalry that can't touch them because of ethereal. If Neferata is your general, Handmaiden becomes special, Foot slogging vampires.

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'''Necrarchs''' Reclaimed their collective thunder. Gaining many powers to boost their magic, getting two additional lores To field a Necrarch army, you'll want just as many Necromancers as you have Vampires, and it is both fluffy and very crunchy to include Mannfred (after all, who better to learn the ways of Vampiric magic from than the mad scientists of Sylvania?). If not in a 3000pts game, A Lord on Zombie Dragon would be perfectly fine if you wanted to call him Zachariah, but you're not Lahmian, so give Coven Thrones a miss. Instead, use the bits and bobs in that kit to build a Mortis Engine. You'll also want lots of Zombies, Skeletons, at least one Corpse Cart, and even a Black Coach wouldn't go amiss, what with all the power dice you'll be throwing around. Go for physical Undead (Black Knights, Grave Guard, Vargheists/ghulfs, Horrors)over other stuff like Spirit Hosts and Hexwraiths. Then you should take as many casting items and Powers as you can cram in and drink your opponent's tears and blood when they kill your General, only to find that those who crumbled stand back up again as your exactly four bajillions other Wizards wave their hands and yell "I never liked him anyway."
*including Helman Ghorst makes a great maintainer of your armies, Summoning more bodies with Necromancy and ignoring the max Skeleton limit without being a lord.

'''Magic Build Advice''': If you're taking Kemmler or a very magic-heavy Lord, consider taking a dirt cheap level 1 Necromancer with an MR 3 talisman to join the same unit as your Lord. Your Necromancer's sole function is to prevent enemy magic and miscast explosions for your Lord and his bunker (though the extra die of channeling is a nice perk). If you have the hundred-odd points to spare, this is a very effective way of ensuring your Lord's continued survival. Yes, I'm a huge fan of Ward saves. They work exceptionally well, and in this case, a 4+ (or higher, if you have a secondary Ward save from something else) Ward for your entire bunker + Lord and Hero will keep you alive. The theme of the Vampire Counts is 'lose your general, lose the game,' so taking extra precautions to keep your General alive will always pay off. Yes, crumbling isn't Game Over, but you lose a considerable amount of point investment and tactical options when you lose your General. Speaking of ward saves, if any of your Lords or Heroes have a free Talisman slot, also consider a Dragonsbane Gem. 5 points for a situational 2+ ward save is an incredible value because it means that only 1 in 6 flaming attacks that would otherwise wound your character actually get through. 

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Vampire Heroes  and Generals
You will want at least two characters that have the Lore of vampires in any game over 1000 points; this not only doubles your chance to channel but also gives you much-needed redundancy in the army. A common tactic is to use zombies as a bunker for the general (if set up as a caster). They are easily hoarded and resurrected at 2D6+wizard level, add an iron-curse icon and an obsidian trinket, and for 20 points, the unit becomes far more durable. If your General is set up for combat, put him in with a unit of black knights, grave guard, or blood knights and either equip for hero bashing (high initiative/str/lots of rerolls) or hoard murdering (lots of attacks).

Remember: never skimp on your hordes as they tarpit harder than most armies can handle. A block of Board 'n' Sword skeletons can hold most units in place for a few turns (read: forever) while causing moderate damage. With an lvl4 wizard in support, the attacking unit will have to kill an average of 7 more skeletons per turn, and the bones will reduce the enemy's numbers in a meaningful way.

'''Tactical tips'''
*Other than the requirements to field an army, you will want at least one more wizard with Lore of Vampires for when your General eats a cannonball/miscasts horribly and dies so that you only have to survive one round of crumbling. It can be a cheap necromancer in a zombie bunker or a combat vampire in a unit of black nights, as long as there is one on the field. This is not foolproof, but it does make it easier to prevent death by crumbling.
*if you have the points drop a naked necromancer into any hoards, you have not already planned to put a hero/lord into. This is mainly for more cast of IoN at minimum cast value. On average, it will take 3-4 successful casts at average resurrection rates to pay for the Necromancer's cost. The real value is that it lets you spam IoN on 1 or 2 dice. Your opponent can either let you rebuild your losses or risk running out of dispel dice and letting something nasty through. You also can end up with a shit load of channeling dice to a role in big games. This works well in blocks of zombies since the only time you stop adding models to the unit is when you run out of models.
*when deploying your army, you want to set up nice and wide, big blocks of troops in the middle with clear marching lanes to get into combat as soon as possible. Your General should be in command range of as many non-vampire units as possible to allow for marches. Vampire units (vargulf/ghiest, blood knights, etc.)should be in place to flank charge, hunt war machines, and general reap havoc across their lines. Remember, it does not matter if you don't get the first turn most of the time correct placement of troops is more important with this slow army than getting into shooting range.
*If you are going to deploy a vampire lord on a dragon, try equipping him with a shimmering scale for a total of -2 to be hit in CQC as WS3 troops cannot actually hit the Lord and hit the dragon on 6+ (this tactic needs to be confirmed). It doesn't work. Natural rolls of 6 always hit, according to the rulebook.

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'''Other Strategems and List-Building Analysis''':
Vampire Lords on Zombie Dragons are the best possible use of a combined Night Shroud and The Other Trickster's Shard. Their huge bases mean that the combination of Strength loss, Always Strikes Last, and forcing rerolls of successful Ward saves means that it's very difficult to go toe to toe with them for just about anyone in the game (Breath Weapon, Thunderstomp, and 10-15 high strength attacks is a lot of damage). Expect your opponents to target the Zombie Dragon with everything they've got. Consider an MR 3 talisman on your Lord to give your zombie dragon that 4+ ward save. Remember, MR works against all magic, and all magical weapons (even the cheap 5 point generic ones) can be defended against using MR. So your Zombie Dragon will have a 4+ ward save against the vast majority of Lords and Heroes, in addition to angry mages. (The above is not valid, magic resist only works against damage caused by spells, not magic items). Yes, your Lord won't have perma-Strength 7 and be a zomgwtf death machine. He'll also outlive just about every other model on the table, which is more important considering how many points you're investing in him. Quick blood, Beguile, and Red Fury is my typical setup for Vampire Powers on such a character, reasoning that Quickblood's rerolls and Red Fury plus Strength 5 (7 with a lance on the charge) will provide all the offensive might you need to be effective. Beguile doesn't always work, but when it does, it can be decisive for that extra bit of "fuck you, roll that 6 again", especially against giant monsters that have low Leadership. For smaller games, chop Red Fury and the lance (this should put you under 2,500 point games) before any magic items. Keeping your Zombie Dragon alive retains way more damage output and overall effectiveness than Red Fury provides otherwise. Wizard level 1 is all you need for this setup unless you're playing a game at 3,000 points. Take Invocation and several supporting casters.

Vampires that focus on manipulating moral /can/ be very effective. Taking Fear Incarnate and Aura of Dark Majesty on a Vampire and using it in conjunction with a Terror-causing unit or Hero is great unless your opponent is Immune to Psychology. It's a fun gimmick against things like the Empire and Bretonnia, but it's wasted if your enemies are immune. A lot of things are, sadly.

If you haven't caught on by now, your army is very top-heavy. The majority of your points will be invested in just a few models. Your entire strategy revolves around utilizing these models and keeping them alive. Used correctly, they will win the game. Used poorly, they'll get killed, and then you're out half of your firepower. Herohammer, in other words, is still your bread and butter.

Crypt ghouls have a MUCH higher offensive capacity than any other core unit you can field. Personally, I never leave home without a 20-strong block of them and a corpse cart. Corpse carts are excellent force multipliers, and you can inflict absolutely sick amounts of Wounds in close combat with a good Dance Macabre and Always Strikes First on a horde of Crypt Ghouls with adjacent Cart. Opponents who're expecting Vampire Count's infantry to suck in close combat will be obliterated by their carelessness against Crypt Ghouls. In addition, even though Crypt Ghouls don't have an armor save, their Toughness 4 means that they're actually approximately 15% less likely to die than zombies and skeletons against stronger attackers. Yes, they're twice as expensive as skeletons and can't be raised over the unit cap by Invocation. But you can't put a price on your opponent conceding the game after you annihilate his primary block of infantry in one overwhelming phase of combat.

Take a Level 4 Wizard Lord in any game you can't afford a Zombie Dragon if you're serious about building a 'Take All-Comers' list. Master Necromancers under 1,500, Kemmler between 1,500 and 2,000, Master Necromancer and Vampire Lord on steed (or just more Kemmler) for 2,001 to 2,400, and Zombie Dragon for 2450 and up are your best choices. Are they the only choices? No, obviously. But in each of those point ranges, Vampire Counts is an entirely different beast due to various list-building options that become available or obsolete. Finding the lists that work for your style of play can be difficult, given that every 500 points or so, the demands your army is placed under are radically altered. 

In low point games, you're mostly going to be dealing with block infantry and approximately two or three nasty units. Your Master Necromancer is by far one of the cheapest level 4 wizards available to any faction, and using him to your advantage is crucial to pick up the slack in your limited damage-dealing options at that point range. Bump it up to the 1,500-2k range, and suddenly Lord-level wizards are more common. In games where your opponent doesn't field one, a Level 4 Lord is still a considerable advantage, but you have to be prepared to have your spells contested. This means there's less room for error in the magic phase, and having a Loremaster like Kemmler is huge because you can't afford not to roll a certain spell (like Dance Macabre). Not having access to your core magical options could cost you the game almost by default if your opponent's also slinging magic around. Kemmler's +1 to dispelling is also very useful when opposing other Lord-level mages. Vampire Counts are hugely reliant on the force-multiplying power of a good Magic phase, and not being able to force multiply is suicide for your army.

Once you get into the 2,000's, you'll find that it's possible to field lots of heroes and lords within your point constraints. Given how reliant your army is on these two types of characters, this is a massive piece of good news for you. Fielding multiple Level 2 Vampire front-line casters are very, very handy. In this range, you can more comfortably field a Vampire Lord than in the previous point ranges because your supporting casters can pick up the slack if you don't have a Level 4 caster Lord to do all the heavy lifting that's required to keep your army going. Still, having a level 4 caster is never a bad idea. Nothing is more irritating than having your Invocations dispelled consistently.

In 2,500 points and up, all sorts of crazy things get introduced into the game, and the scale of battles increases considerably. There's much more flexibility in games this large, and you're not entirely as reliant on force-multiplying magic to be successful. Still, all the things I've discussed remain true. Their impact just isn't as decisive from turn to turn.

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Other thoughts: A Corpse Cart with Balefire combined with Kemmler means that you're going to be 2 points up on even a Level 4 Lord in the dispel phase. Being 4 or 5 points over a Hero-level caster means you'll dominate their magic phase every single turn as long as you use your dice wisely. Creating margins of advantage like this is an integral part of list-building because it ensures you'll be able to control the course of the game when you need to. Your core units aren't typically going to be decisive by themselves, so you need to search for that advantage in your characters and your special/rare choices. Coordinating your picks to create and capitalize on weaknesses is an essential concept of Vampire Counts list construction. 

Use flanking units to avoid bad combat resolutions. Vargheists in particular and cavalry, in general, are great at inflicting mass casualties and swinging a resolution in your favor. Build your lists around which flanking units you're using. A list that flanks with Black Knights and Dire Wolves plays very differently than one that relies on a pair of Corpse Carts and a flock of Vargheists. 

I went over this in the magic section, but I'll repeat it. Vanhel's Dance Macabre is the most crucial spell for your army list after Invocation. If you want to be sure, running Kemmler or Mannfred plus a Hero that has it (either bound or rolled or both) is the way to go. Having zero ranged options outside of the Magic phase means that you must be in combat to win. Do you always want to rush straight in without thinking? Of course not; that's absurd. However, the ability to close the gap very quickly with your whole army can be decisive if your enemy is expecting a few turns of breathing room to maneuver around your Movement 4". Conversely, not being able to close the gap when your opponent is lining up unpleasant charges with monsters or cavalry can cost you the game.

You can build the most game-breaking armies with the end times books, especially Archaon. My personal favorite is at 2500pts. Get Kemmler, a Vampire with the fear build (Aura of Dark Majesty, Fear Incarnate, and the screaming banner), and a 29 Cairn Wraith heroes. Take an allied aestyrion force, which consists of one prince, with the banner of the word dragon. As the unit is heroes, they can all just group up and boom. 32 models, of which 30 are ethereal, and all have a 2+ ward save vs. magical attacks. Even incarnates are going to struggle to hurt you. Did I mention that this was 2500pts

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In short, plan before you play. Don't end up like Ben, the unfortunate player whose list has as much depth as a typical 17-year-old girl. Ensure your army doesn't crumble before your eyes because one Necromancer decided to miscast or get into combat. HUGE HORDES OF UNDEAD is the appeal of this army, so play just that - waves and waves of zombies and skeletons, supported by truckloads of Lords and Heroes,  who can make your army bigger and bigger every turn. Please don't do a Ben and play units of 20 that are destined to fail as your sole Necromancer dies, taking the whole army with him.

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