Editing Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Vampire Counts (section)

==Units==
===Generic Lords===
*'''Vampire Lord''': Like most of VC, the army is held together by a few strong units with the rest being expendable support. The Vampire Lord is a strong melee fighter, able to blow through most infantry, and a caster of the Lore of Vampires. He is expensive in MP and paints a big target on his back to get shot down. Bloodline Lords largely make him obsolete.

*'''Master Necromancer''': If you were to look up the word "Redundant" in a dictionary you'd find a picture of this dude's face. As a caster lord he's rather pointless because literally, EVERY lord in the Vampire roster comes with the Lore of Vampires, which is about all he brings to the table. I mean I guess he's cheap compared to a vampire but the bonus you get with them more than makeup for the price increase. Worse yet he has to compete with the ''hero'' version of the Necromancer, who literally does the exact same thing this dude does but for cheaper and you can have more than one of them in an army if you want. The Master Necromancer either needs a serious buff/rework to give us a reason to pick him over any Vampire or even the hero version, or he needs to just be removed from the game because honestly, I don't think anyone will miss him.

*'''Strigoi Ghoul King (DLC)''': Your single entity hunter compared to the infantry muncher that is a Vampire Lord. Is buck naked for defense except for having Regeneration in addition to the Hunger. Has Poison attacks in addition to high AP, plus an ability to give a burst of even more AP for himself and allies, making him the prime hunter of armored single entities. Its magic setup is a mix of Vampire and Death to help in his leader and hunter role, including a unique spell to summon crypt Ghouls/Horrors for a poisonous goon squad. Can be mounted on a Terrorgheist which improves his survivability, mobility. However, he is also made obsolete by bloodline lords, so buyer beware.

===Bloodline Lords===
The super-special lords that are unlocked via Blood Kisses in campaign. You can pretty much ignore the generic lords, because in both campaign and MP there's no reason to take them over these guys.

*'''Lahmian Vampire Lord''': Focused on debuffing and being hard to hurt in melee. She is a mixed caster of Shadow and Vampire. Her role is using her high speed to jump on enemies and use Seduction to slow them down as they take punishment. In line with the Lahmians' subversive nature, she gives large bonuses to hero action success rates in campaign.

*'''Von Carstein Vampire Lord''': A mixed caster of Vampire and Beast, with the ability to summon a Varghulf instead of a Manticore. His Storm of the Night will grant you an edge in the air superiority matchups. Does essentially everything a generic Vampire Lord does but better.

*'''Blood Dragon Vampire Lord''': Around one of the best melee characters in-game with all the stats that matter (attack, defense, AP damage, magic, and a monstrous mount option). The "weakest" of the Bloodlines in terms of magic (which means he just has the pure Lore of Vampires instead of a mixed lore, and no access to Arcane Conduit, so take "weak" with a MASSIVE grain of salt.) His magic skill tree may actually be better than normal since you can get access to later spells with fewer points invested.

*'''Necrarch Vampire Lord''': Your caster vampire. Not as good in melee as a normal Vampire Lord, but more focused casting, getting a mix of Death/Vampire/Beast's buff and debuff spells. Very good at keeping your magic tanks full enough to sustain you. Spell selections are not the best and the Von Carstein Lords work better as a caster. Raised Dead benefits are good though.

*'''Strigoi Vampire Lord''': Essentially an upgraded Ghoul King, granting greater melee attack and defense. Their AP burst ability only affects themselves, and they get another way to give them a burst of HP. Same issues as a normal Ghoul King, but still better overall.

===Heroes===
*'''Wight King''': Your standard melee hero and right-hand wight. Overall killy and tough. High melee defense and armour make him exceptionally tanky, and seating him on a barded nightmare makes him a very mobile threat. He works best as a mage hunter or single-entity tarpit for anything nasty with a low model count.

*'''Necromancer''': Your main source of additional undead, magic support and staying power so that your forces don't crumble. Can be put on one of the three Corpse Cart mounts for additional boons. Competent caster but keep him away from melee. Recommend to put them in valuable provinces to boost income and have your lord cast instead. In multiplayer, they're good for sitting on a corpse cart as a stealth lore of vampire caster against factions that like to goon/magic missile your lord to death.

*'''Vampire''': A strong fighter caster hybrid like the lord version. Takes up Shadow and Death, lores not fully covered by other units. Generally speaking, a bit of a glass cannon, although her massive regeneration buffs make her much more durable than equivalent heroes from the elven factions. They also have access to zombie pegassi, so their mobility is exceptional, even for a VC hero. Doomstacks very well with Isabella.

*'''Banshee''': A terror causing Ghost goon with High AP. She defiantly needs to stay away from magic, but good at gooning. they kinda suck in actual fights, use them on the campaign map as assassins and saboteurs.
**Has received buffs to their leadership, HP, Md, MA, APWD, Charge Bonus, and they inflict frostbite, although they lost 20% physical resistance as of IE.

*'''Krell''' (Kemmler Only): A Wight King with better base stats but, as a summon, cannot equip any items at all and will degrade over time (unless you fill his dedicated line in Kemmler's skill tree). Use him as a quick stop-gaps in your flanks or to wreck havoc in the middle of a blob, but don't expect him to last long.
**As of IE, he no longer degrades over time

===Melee Infantry===

*'''Zombies''': Dirt-cheap fodder to tie up your enemy, and you better hope that they do that job right, because they have the lowest stats of any unit in the game to the point where Betonnian Peasant Mobs would defeat them if it wasn't for their Fear passive. They got two things going for them, large unit size and hitpoint pool. Skeleton Warriors do their job better for only marginally more money and can even hope to kill some weaker enemies, so it's best to skip them.
:MP tier: S. Most competitive builds utilize zombies in some way, either as a super cost efficient frontline/tar-pit, or as a summon to block charges/tangle up ranged units.
**Has gained 10 leadership and a bit more HP as of IE.
**'''The Tithe (RoR)''': Zombies with slightly worse stats who replace Expandable with Meat Shields and have 30 more models.
:MP tier: A. For the cost, some prefer the extra unit of zombies but they still perform well as tar-pit.

*'''Skeleton Warriors''': Spooky scary skeletons with Swords and shields. A more numerous variant of Empire Swordsmen basically. Doesn't hit as hard, but are undead and comes with 160 models in one regiment. Comes with a shield for good measure.
:MP tier: B. 3x the costs of zombies for slightly more staying power. Useful against missile heavy builds thanks to its shields. It trades fairly against other chaff. Can become free upkeep with a tech.
**'''The Konigstein Stalkers (RoR):''' Has mostly the same stats as above except for having better armor and having Poisoned which makes them a step up compared to normal skellies.
:MP tier: C. For the price you might as well get Grave Guard, unless you're doing some weird poison centric list.

*'''Skeleton Spearmen''': Basically identical to normal Skeleton Warriors except that they come with Spears and actually are the only infantry unit you have with a Bonus vs. Large. Not that this matters though, their performance is too bad against anything stronger than Mounted Yeomen. Honestly, I prefer these in campaign to zombies or warriors, at least they have slightly better MD and bonus vs large but personal preference and matchup will decide which you use most of. If you need a line of chaff, take Spearmen over Warriors or Zombies. Can become free upkeep with a tech.
:MP tier: B. Slightly sturdier skeletons with anti-large.

*'''Crypt Ghouls''': Cheap stalk skirmishers that work well against other low-level infantry. They have high damage + poisoned attacks, but their low armor and low armor piercing makes them unsuitable against units that can reliably fight back. Use them to rear charge low-tier melee infantry and surprise archers and war machine crews. Don't pit them against superior opponents like Chaos Warriors unless you're pinning them for cavalry or a Wind of Death cast.
:MP tier: C. Has interesting capabilities, but is in an odd place price wise.
**'''The Feasters in the Dusk (RoR)''': Same as above, but with frenzy and a slightly higher pricetag.
:MP tier: C. Basically a sneaky/killy/slower version of bats/dire pack. Slightly more survivable.

*'''Grave Guard''': Spookier, scarier Skeletons. A straight, if a bit expensive upgrade from Skeleton Warriors and your go to choice for your main line in the late game. Their bonus vs. Infantry combined with decent armour and a shield make them formidable opponents that have little trouble with handling most other standard infantry.
:MP tier: A. If you're looking for a sturdier frontline, this is it. Fares well against most low-armor infantry, can hold the line for quite some time.
**'''The Sternsmen (RoR)''': Beefed-up Grave Guard with additional Regeneration and Charge Defence Against All. Put them as the core of your force the moment you get them.
:MP tier: S. Worth every penny. With support they'll usually last the whole fight.

*'''Grave Guard with Greatweapons''': It's in the name. Your dedicated can openers for dealing with armored infantry and anything in between. Lack luster source of armor piercing, having worse stats than the shielded version. Honestly you have many better sources of AP, they aren't very good in campaign, vargeists and hexwraiths/cairn wraiths are usually better.
:MP tier: A. Vulnerable to missiles and a bit pricey, but allows your frontline to grind down most enemy forces. Can provide good support against armored monsters/cav, just don't use them to soak up a charge.
**Has gained Magical Attacks and attacks faster in IE.

*'''Cairn Wraiths''': High phys resist and high armor piercing damage makes them your "go to" infantry for dealing with heavy armor infantry like black orks who will eat grave guards for breakfast. They're completely terrible in every other way, trade terribly vs chaff units, and evaporate the moment anything that deals magic damage looks at them funny. Much better in campaign than multiplayer, the AI often doesn't counter then correctly, but hexwraiths may be a straight upgrade to these in many ways.
:MP tier: B. Good mobile tarpit, can chip away at most armored foes. Don't expect high damage output, and if the enemy has any magic damage (as is common in MP) be prepared to watch them dissolve.
**Has gained more health, leadership, and frostbite attacks in IE, but they've lost 20% physical resistance and they no longer have splash attacks... not that they were ever useful against hordes anyway.

===Cavalry & Beasts===
*'''Dire Wolves''': CA sure love their Wolf units. The archetypical wolf pack which all the others are modeled after. High speed, strider, vanguard deployment and a decent charge bonus makes them a very flexible and reliable backline harrasser unit, at least against backlines that don't like being harassed, anything above the level of Empire Crossbowmen or Skavenslaves eats them for breakfast if left unsupervised. Can be a force to reckoned with if handled properly, but if you don't like microing around a lot, you're better off going for real cavalry later in the campaign.
:MP Tier: B. In a slow faction with no ranged threats, a fast vanguard threat is invaluable for backline harassment. Useful for chasing off routing units as well.
**'''The Direpack (RoR)''': Same as above but with additional anti-large. It's not significant, but can make a difference when assaulting low-tier cavalry.
:MP Tier: C. Anti-large is nice, but lack of AP and high price tag make this a more situational pick.

*'''Fell Bats''': Dire Wolves, but flying! Fell Bats don't really kill anything on their own, but their high mass means that anything they catch will be occupied with them for quite some time. Can be irritating as fuck when used right, but don't get attached to any one unit of them, because they lose against everything. one of those rare early game units that remain useful all game long in campaign.
:MP tier: A. Flying tar-pit. Surprisingly survivable in melee due to high MD, fantastic price for how much disruption they cause, a must take against certain factions.
**Fell Bats got quite the upgrade with IE; higher leadership, higher MA, faster attacks, higher weapon damage, more mass, and vanguard deployment. They're 50 gold more expensive in MP, but in campaign these guys have gotten even better.

*'''Black Knights''': Now we're getting into the good stuff. Standard Black Knights have the interesting distinction that they are the only proper cavalry in the game that focuses on dealing damage against infantry. Decent armour, melee defense and a bonus against footsoldiers mean that they will execute this job very well, and to make the package complete, they are also very nimble.
**They have been buffed across the board and have Magical Attacks in IE, BUT they are considerably more expensive in MP, costing 25% more.
:MP tier: B. A heavily armored dire wolves. Good for backline harassment, and flank/rear charges. Not a lot of killing power for head on engagements, but is sturdy enough to tangle up more expensive enemy cav/monsters due to it's high armor/mass.

*'''Black Knights (Lances and Barding)''': Have extra armor with a much higher charge bonus because of the lance. Naturally in-between the high damage potential but expensive Blood Knights and the cheapness of Black Knights.
:MP tier: C. Charge damage is potent, but lack of AP and shield as well as higher price tag make this unit tricky to use efficiently.
**Haven't received as many buffs as their regular brothers, they have gained magical attacks and are only marginally more expensive compared to the 25% price jump of regular black knights.
**'''Verek's Reavers (RoR)''': Same as above, but with Regeneration, thus giving this RoR extra survivability.
:MP tier: B. Regen is nice.

*'''Hexwraiths''': Mounted Cairn Wraiths with a blistering 94 speed, flaming attacks, and vanguard. Like all ghosts, they are very offensive with High ap damage and Terror but crumble quickly with their only defense being a 75% Physical Resistance. Useful at cutting up knights without magic attacks. Keep in mind that being ghosts means hexwraiths have almost no charge mass, so use them as elite unit hunters, not shock cavalry. Easier to use in campaign vs the AI.
:MP tier: Situational A. In most situations this unit would be B tier, due to price and prevalence of magic in MP, as well as middling killing power. However Hexwraiths are actually a surprisingly effective elite cav hunter, and can even defeat dedicated anti-large cav like demigryphs!
**Similar to other Ethereal units, they've lost physical resistance, but now inflict frostbite, have more health, and deal 100% AP damage.

*'''Blood Knights''': Widely considered to be one of the best Cav units in the game in terms of cost efficiency. It already has meaty stats with a massive charge bonus and anti large, making it a perfect anti cav/monster tool, but add on top of that Frenzy and it will maul anything it charges. They are also great for the self sustain in The Hunger. The best part about them by far is the ability to bring back dead models so while they will lose one on one to Grail Knights and Demigryphs, you can always bring back casualties. Their only big weakness is their lack of AP.
:MP tier: A. Only reason they aren't S tier is lack of AP. Has a home in many competitive lists.
**Higher leadership, base weapon and AP weapon damage, having the new buffed The Hunger so they're even tankier in a fight, but they've suffered the same 25% price hike that Black Knights have in MP.

*'''Mournguls'''*: If you own the Vampire Coast DLC, you can now recruit Mournguls as the Vampire Counts. Function the same as they do in the Vampire Coast.

===Chariots===
*'''Corpse Cart''' (DLC): Called a Chariot but is actually a slow-moving buffing unit. They come in 3 variants; Corpse Cart, Unholy Lodestone Corpse Cart and Balefire Corpse Cart. The normal Corpse Cart gives a cheap melee buff and the Unholy Lodestone gives additional regeneration. Balefire nerfs enemy wizards' ability to cast, but that's often hard to get much value from. If you're running a mobile army, they are way too slow to keep up. You should stop using them in the campaign's late game, use a Mortis Engine instead for they fill the same role but better. 
*In IE, Balefire Corpse Carts now grant +20% fire resistance, flaming attacks and magical attacks to friendly units. They can turn a relatively weak frontline into a true killing force.

*'''Black Coach''': An unstoppable engine of destruction if you're into cycle charging. Extremely quick, deals fire, magic and AP damage at once and to top it off, also causes fear and terror. It has a bunch of passive abilities that make it much better at leaving unfavorable encounters, however, it is quite susceptible to being intercepted by other heavy cav, utterly useless against big monsters and also quite expensive. Bringing one is quite the gamble, but at least a fun one.
**Black Coaches now give a variety of AoE buffs to your dudes the more things it kills, making cycle-charging it even more valuable; Black Nimbus remains the same, while Black Scythes gives +50% AP damage and flaming attacks, and Unholy Vigour will restore vigour to your dudes, making it an extremely valuable buffing unit, but a more direct offensive one compared to the purely supportive Corpse Carts or the Mortis Engine.

*'''Mortis Engine''' (DLC): The biggest gun the counts have to offer and is downright terrifying one. Mortis Engines are basically upgraded, ethereal Corpse Carts that not only buff up your undead minions to unholy strength, but also sap the HP of the enemies frontline. They might be slow, but are scary and big targets, and them being ethereal also means that it is quite the hassle for your opponent to get rid of it.
**Now with Magic Attacks in IE!
**'''The Claw of Nagash (RoR)''': Everything that makes the Mortis Engine great, but with the addition of a Chilling Aura that slows enemies around it to make it more difficult to escape its AoE damage aura.

===Monsters===

*'''Vargheists''': They might not look like much, but are actually one of the most cost-effective monstrous infantry in the game. For a meager cost of 700 gold, you get a flying, fairly fast regiment of creatures with Frenzy and The Hunger, that also delivers a tremendous beating with 80 weapon strength, decent melee attack and AP damage. Vargheists will carry your early game armies well into the lategame. Their flight allows them to only pick encounters of your choosing and they certainly have little trouble shutting down enemy flyers that might come your way. Take multiple units and keep them cycle charging from the rear to keep them alive. 
**Vargheists have gained nearly triple their mass in IE, making it a lot easier for them to escape tarpits or barrel things over on the charge.
**'''The Devils of Swartzhafen (RoR)''': Vargheists with Terror and Vanguard, which makes them into even more useful shock troops.
*'''Crypt Horrors''': Vargheists, but with poison, and on the ground. Actually not half bad. They retain a good weapon strength and still get AP damage. If you can't win the air battle, Crypt Horrors aren't that bad of a choice, actually. 
*'''Varghulf''': This is an iffy one. On campaign, they're absurdly hard to get for a unit with such low survivability. On the other hand, they can reliably engage all infantry in the game and come out on top. Needs good micro and some attention. When they are exposed to things with bonuses against large, they just melt away. Hit and run with them for maximum effect, they do it very well. Has less mass than other giant monsters so it will lose duels against beings its size.
*'''Terrorgheist''': If a ranged unit starts attacking them, the breath attack is ready and the said unit is not immune to Terror then burn them, sometimes those two alone are enough to make the ranged unit rout. A specialized, regenerating anti large ap monster, ok vs infantry but really best used on large targets/monsters. breath is wasted on infantry, hit single entities with it.
**Terrorgheists are now healthier, have higher leadership, higher MD and MA and a hefty bit more mass, making the more durable all-round, with a modest price increase in MP.

===Campaign Only===

*'''Sylvanian Crossbowmen''': Identical to Empire Crossbowmen, providing you with much-needed ranged fire. Running out of morale makes them rout, which will affect the morale of undead units as well.
*'''Sylvanian Handgunners''': Identical to Empire Handgunners, providing you with much-needed ranged fire. Running out of morale makes them rout, which will affect the morale of undead units as well.