Editing Warhammer/Tactics/6th Edition/Vampire Counts (section)

==Units Analysis==

=== Named Characters ===

'''Mannfred von Carstein''' - and look, if you're here from Total War or End Times or Age of Sigmar you're already queuing up the memes and I'm not here for it, all right? This is Mannfred like he used to be, as God and Jervis Johnson intended: suave, sexy, still has hair. He's a brooding Gothic overlord who hasn't decided to teabag the entire world and wonder why he got his balls ripped off. 

He's also a bloody good spellcaster: a level 4 wizard who casts one spell without needing to throw dice at it, generates more dice for himself as he kills things (and with a Vampire Lord statline, albeit with -1 WS/BS, that's good for one or two extras per turn in the midgame), packs a 3+ ward save with no drawbacks and has some of the best whole-army support powers his Bloodline can offer. Takes up three character slots, costs as much as three characters, but absolutely does three characters' worth of work. 

As a bonus, he's not classified as a Vampire Lord, so in a 3000+ point game you can absolutely bring him and a regular Lord on a Zombie Dragon and just let them go to town, safe in the knowledge that they won't break the army when they inevitably get shot off the back.

You're going to want a unit of Dire Wolves or Black Knights to hide him in though, because he has to ride a horse and he'll often be standing still in the early game to get Call Winds going, which makes him an obvious target.

'''Zacharias the Everliving'''

On the one hand, he's a powerhouse spellcaster: free Dispel Scroll every turn, level 4 wizard with all the Necromancy spells automatically, all the rest of it.

On the other hand, he costs just over 1000 points, eats all your character slots in a 2000 point game, and he's on a Zombie Dragon. The Zombie Dragon is a flying deathtrap for a Vampire Lord: it makes them into a Large Target, it attracts every cannonball, flying rock, oversized crossbow bolt and entire Skaven army around, and it virtually guarantees that you'll either spend half the game trying to hide it and wasting its potential or you'll take a risk and lose your (extremely expensive) General the moment you try and do something.

'''Vlad and Isabella von Carstein'''

Annual 2002.

=== Lords & Heroes ===

* '''Vampire Lord 0-1:''' Hands down one of the scariest characters in the game, making even a heavily armoured Chaos Lord pause for thought. Weighing in at 285 points and paying 50 points for a (mandatory!) extra wizard level, this fellow is not cheap. A level 3 spellcaster with an extra point of WS/BS/W/I/A over a standard Count, they will cost you an extra hero slot. In games of 3k+ they are very worth running, but can be difficult to include in a smaller game with the competition for hero slots in this army. On the other hand, being able to cast spells with four dice, being level 3 wizard, is very useful. If you are playing Necrarch, level 4 even better.

* '''Vampire Count:''' Probably the most widely used Lord choice for VC in 2k games- this entry has superb combat stats with the option for a great weapon or lance for Von Carsteins and Blood Dragons, elevating them to S7, the magic number for smacking chariots around. In an army that otherwise struggles to deal with well protected threats, this guy will be the lynchpin of your army and it is well worth spending the points on magical items to amplify his impact on the game. A Ward save is a must. In larger games, a Count makes a great choice of secondary Lord: slap them on a Winged Nightmare and let them go to town.

* '''Master Necromancer:''' Let's get one thing straight: if you take one of these instead of a Vampire Lord you're in the wrong army book. That said: they're a modestly priced level 4 wizard and make great partners for Vampire Counts in 3000 point games, since they can wantonly throw five dice at spells and not worry as much about miscasting. Give them a Power Familiar and they're totally self sufficient.

* '''Vampire Thrall:''' A great damage amplifier to any unit s/he joins with combat stats that would make an Elector Count blush. Unable to use a magic (unless a Necrarch) this is a pure combat character and will preform well alongside both infantry and cavalry. VC/BD bloodlines have access to GW's which will boost their already impression St5 to high enough to instant kill chariots. Also a potential BSB, although perhaps best avoided on the bloodlines that cannot take the heavy armour that said BSB will need (namely, a consideration for von Carsteins and Blood Dragons, less so for the others (and impossible for Strigoi). Von Carsteins have a notorious power build which swings a great weapon, charges 18" with Wolf Form, and sports a 1+ armour save with the Flayed Hauberk: it's absolutely brutal and will go through skirmishers, war engines, chariots and other nuisances like butter. The Asp Bow is an interesting consideration for Lahmians as well - their BS gives them 50/50 odds of sniping a unit champion or wizard over a turn or three, and the lower stats and weapon options for them makes a character not on the front line more reasonable.

* '''Wight Lord:''' 20 points cheaper than a Thrall and significantly less fighty than a Thrall. If points are tight or you want to make a characterful hero-slayer they are worth considering - Gem of Blood and Sword of Kings may be combined to make a decent (if expensive) character hunter. A very good consideration for BSB if taking Bloodline that does not let their heroes wear armour, and a potentially good source of Killing Blow in a unit with the Banner of the Barrows. VON ANON ADDS: one thing people overlook here is the Leadership value of 9, compared to the Thrall's 7. If you want your unit to stick around after your General dies, and if you want to restrain from pursuing defeated enemies so you can hold position and control the field, Wight Lords are very very good at doing that.

* '''Wraith:''' An interesting and characterful slot, which is both ethereal and causes terror and can even be mounted to join a unit of cavalry- but already competing for hero slots with killier Thralls and more useful Necromancers these are rare to see on the tabletop. There is a build which makes use of the '''Cursed Book''' mounted on a horse and flank charging/combo charging with a unit like Grave Guard, which can cause a lot of potential problems for fighty characters to deal with. Another possibility is to take Obsidian Amulet which makes your wraith extremely tough and also gives MR to unit he is with (and he MUST be inside an unit or die [lul]). Don't overlook that they cause terror, which can really help put Ogre heroes and Maneaters in their place, and they can make for an excellent speedbump - within 12" of the Battle Standard they can hold up a line of Knights for a turn or two while you bring in a proper unit to support them. All in all, a niche pick with a lot of potential.

* '''Necromancer:''' The question is not 'should I take a Necromancer' but 'can I justify using my Hero slots on anything else?' Access to a fantastic lore of magic and a catalogue of strong magical items plus generating dice for your Lord means you're bound to take at least one. Aside from Gaze of Nagash none of your spells require line of sight so these grubby minions of the night are often found picnicking in lonely forests, cowering in buildings, or surrounded by a summoned bunker of zombies.

=== Core Units ===
* '''Skeletons:''' Since before recorded history began, Vampire Counts players have debated the relative merits of Skeletons vs. Zombies and the answer in this author's opinion is simple (SKELETONS!)- do you want to build a tarpit or a medium combat threat? Skeletons have similar stats to Goblins, except for the incredibly impactful 'Fear' special rule. If you want to build a pure tarpit, zombies are for you, but skeletons with light armour and shields come in at 10 points a model and can soak up a reasonable amount of punishment while also being able to be raised from the dead. Led by a Vampire Count/Lord a good sized unit of these have been known to win combats against ironbreakers led by dwarf lords in this author's experience. You only ever need to win a combat by one as long as you run enough of these guys. 25 strong with light armour/shields/full command will cost you 275 points, but is well worth it. Also of note that the Lore of Necromancy allows skeletons to be raised beyond their initial starting value. Which does make their use even great, even if starting with a smaller unit.

* '''Zombies:''' Coming in at 6 points a model and always striking last with no save- these are your tarpit. While they may never win combats (without supporting cavalry/monstrous intervention) these guys will always fight to the last due to being undead. Many players operate blocks of 10-15 in their starting list to fill core slots with a view to raising more models into the unit to use as a spell caster bunker or a tarpit. When casting invocation of nehek they are THE CORRECT choice of new unit to raise: you're more likely to get a new unit as you get +1 model per die, and they give away fewer Victory Points when they're inevitably flattened one round later. Using Vanhels to get these newly raised guys into position in an opponent's rear or flank is a very valid and game winning tactic.

* '''Ghouls:''' 8 points a model for a fear causing skirmisher with 2 poisoned attacks at T4 who is also alive and thus can flee from charges? With a min unit size of 5?? These are just amazing, don't leave home without 10 or 20. Great for wizard hunting, dealing with archers or war machines who will struggle to deal with them and for supporting large combats- point for point one of the best units in the game. A valid build is that of the ghouls rush - as many 10 model units as you can cram in, usually led by a Strigoi Lord. It is a fast and flexible way to get around most opponent's preconceived notions of Vampire Counts.

* '''Dire Wolves:''' 10 points a model and with M9 and S4 on the charge these are a good unit for attacking archers and war machines, with the fast cavalry rule helping their mobility and can intervene in combats at a pinch to deny rank bonuses. However with T3 and no save they cannot stand up to punishment and cannot (usually) be raised with Invocation of Nehek. If you wanted to ensure that you have no friends, you can run a bus of 20 of these led by a vampire lord and 3 thralls with wolf form (giving them M9) and just hurtle around the table at light speed killing everything. 

* '''Bat Swarm 0-1:''' A fast (10" move), flexible (move as skirmishers, because they fly) Swarm that isn't Undead and doesn't crumble when it invariably loses combat. Don't expect them to grind out combat wins like a Spirit Host can: they're disruptors which can put themselves into awkward places and align themselves at awkward angles and generally gum up a good chunk of the table. At its best in the Von Carstein forces where you can take two single bases.

=== Special Units ===
* '''Grave Guard:''' An excellant and characterful unit - heavy infantry with S/T4, access to a 3+ save in combat or halberds along with the killing blow special rule. These are pretty nifty and will be difficult for your opponent to shift, they will however be outperformed by the game's true elite infantry due to their low WS- this can be mitigated by the Banner of the Barrows, though who to give this gem of an item to is worth pondering over. 

* '''Black Knights:''' One of the stars of the list and one of the nastiest cavalry units going. S/T4 and with lances, these can pack a punch on the charge, especially when augmented with Banner of Barrows and/or Hellish Vigour. Larger units of these can simply plow through who armies, especially if led by a combat character- all for only 23 points per model or 25 with barding. Does struggle even more than normal cavalry with being easily led away, as the no marching can easily be used against them and they often pursue out of your General's reach. There's a reason the tournament armies of yesteryear usually had three units, though.

* '''Fell Bats:''' Coming in at 20 points per model and with a min unit size of 3, these are a go to choice for killing war machines or lone wizards, but will struggle against even dwarf crewed war machines. Well worth including for the low points cost, but competing with other important units in the special slots. 

* '''Spirit Hosts 0-1:''' Bloody good thing they're 0-1! Armies without magical shooting/missiles and in a game where many lords pick a GW over expensive magic weapons, these are one of the most frustrating tarpits around. However you must give high priority to using your magical defences to stop them being lit up by damage spells as only T3 W4 each and coming in at a hefty 65 points per base.

=== Rare Units ===
*'''Banshee''': the Screaming Lady of Supreme Irritation. Ethereal is the only defence that this lady has, but that said it is a very good defence in an edition low on magic weapons actually being used. Average statistics in every other way (human average at that), with only two wounds, this lady is not really a fighter, and is easily crumbled if she is caught on her own to pure static combat res (rough maths means that if she is charged by a unit with a rank and a banner, she will die even if she does her average 1 wound). (VON ANON observes that the Banshee is a walking case for the VC Battle Standard Bearer, as suddenly she's not dead and has now held up an enemy unit so you can counter-charge. Best speedbump!) What makes this lady special is the Ghostly Howl - one of the very few shooting phase abilities that VC have. The attack is not a Leadership test, do not let your opponents pull fast ones here - it's an attack which happens to involve the Leadership stat. Roll d26+2, subtract the target's Leadership, anything left over is a wound that ignores armour saves. By itself it's a novelty, but if you're running with Lahmians and/or a Lore of Death caster, you're suddenly knocking down the target's Leadership by three or four points. Don't throw it away on chaff, go after expensive cavalry or elite infantry where every wound counts. Remember also that you can scream into combat, even if the Banshee isn't involved in the fight herself - if SHE is fighting, she has to scream at her own opponents, but she can hang around behind your lines and wail away. Interesting, surprisingly cheap, requires close reading of the rules in a manner that can offend the learned opponent, but not something to build your entire battleplan around.

* '''Black Coach''': 0-1. An...interesting choice. In larger games with cannons and other S7 attacks, not the most amazing choice. In smaller games, i.e. under 2000 points when you only have one Rare slot and won't have a proper Vampire to be your fighting centrepiece AND there won't be as many threats around... it's worth a punt. 5++ keeps it moderately safe, as does the T6. Terror is also both defensive and useful for breaking smaller units. Evocation of Death is kind of meh this edition - essentially +1 wound (even going above starting value) for each wound caused. If it gets to 10 wounds it counts as a Scythed Chariot (Impact Hits d6+1) but only so long as the chariot has 10 or more wounds. It's an interesting unit, and thematic for von Carsteins and Lahmians, but ultimately kind of meh. Especially for its very high point cost, in an army where characters run expensive and you'll want to fill your slots.