Warhammer Army Project/Vampire Counts

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Vampire Counts: Warhammer Army Project, 9th Edition Tactica

Created by Mathias Eliasson, this project was a homebrew attempt at giving many of the units, nations, and factions that never got Armybooks of their own (and those left behind and never got one in 8th Edition) such a thing.

It should also be noted that Eliasson is constantly updating his work, so don't expect this page to stay current forever. If anyone wishes to actually update this page and the items that need it, later on, go ahead.

Why Play Vampire Counts

The Dead March

Your opponent will be shedding bloody tears.

Vampire Counts are a fun army to play but boy are they hard to play. This army is not recommended for beginners. They lack obviously OP options that other armies have and thus aren't as subject to public shaming for playing them. They're focused on getting straight to the killing tactically, don't have to worry about demoralized troops, and their army replenishes itself fairly quickly leading to wars of attrition. They're fun to play, but they have several gimmicks that have to be accounted for to play at their best. First, note that there are no shooting options in this army, effectively eliminating an entire phase. Any ranged options in this army are purely magical. Second, while you have no need to worry about the psychology of your own units you will be paying a lot of attention to the enemy's psychology because that's crucial to victory. Never forget to take a fear test or your troops lose any advantage they have. Third, magic is your bread and butter, your meat and drink, your crossbow and hammer. You are going to be heavily reliant on magic to replenish your units and get the most advantageous fights. If you're not utterly dominating the magic phase, you're doing it wrong. There are other things to remember as well, but we'll get to them as they crop up. They, as an army, have been made more consistent on the table and less reliant on magic and generals. They are still one of the kings of tar pitting and Vampires are still one of the top combat heroes in the entire game.

As for looks and lore? Lots of ranked corpses slowly marching toward your opponent as his terrified troops struggle to fire more bullets and arrows at the hordes in a vain hope of stopping the endless tide. Shrieking spirits of the damned whirling about the battlefield consuming the warm flesh of living and adding their poor souls to their ranks. Nigh unstoppable undead beings with nightmares of feasting and world conquest, supernatural witches and tainted beings, and insane power mad mages commanding the powers of hell to do their bidding as they charge into the fray behind their minions. Absolute independence from the Ruinous Powers. If this appeals to you, you are looking at the right army. Even in small games you will be fielding dozens of zombies and skeletons as well as some more exotic dead and undead creatures; few armies can field such numbers of fodder and only one other can field fodder that is so reluctant to stay dead. Get your brush hand ready and get comfortable as you are going to need a lot of models to field these hordes.

Special rules

• Undead:

• Vampiric:

• The Red Thirst:

• The Generals of Undeath:

Vampiric Powers

Upgrades Vampire Lords and Vampires can take. The former can take 100 points, the latter 50. Vampire hero BSBs can still take this, so there's also that.

General

• Red Furry:

• Fear Incarnate:

• Supernatural Horror:

• 'Flying Horror:
• Curse of the Revenant:
• Ftransfix:
• Unbending Willpower:
• Hounour of Death:

• Master of the Black Arts: Not terrible, but not great either- it's extremely expensive, taking it prevents you from taking some other really good skills, and it doesn't guarantee you anything despite the high cost. It's nice when you turn a 1 into a 6, but so very annoying when you turn a 2 or 3 into a 1. Taking it on two vampires is a complete waste, since at that point, you're spending almost the points cost as a varghulf. That said, if you're going with a fully wizard-focused vampire lord, you'll probably want to take this on him.
• Curse of the Revenant: If you've got one killy Vamp being supported by a bunch of casting Vamps Invoking them, (invoke doesn't affect characters) then it's not bad. Still probably not one of the better options.
• Red Fury: This is THE power to make a blender lord Vamp. Your Vamp essentially becomes a whirlwind of killing, capable of decimating multiple ranks of troops. This is the number one ability killy lords will wind up taking.
• Flying Horror: Not terrible, but Hellsteed gives you that and actual combat bonus for exactly same points, and too expensive on Strigoi.
• Quickblood: The OTHER most taken killy ability. If you are going to be in combat, you want this.
• Aura of Dark Majesty: When you're gambling on Fear/Terror, abilities like Beguile or the effects of the Coven Throne, and similar abilities can all be amped up with Aura. One of the better non-blender lord abilities. Combine with the Coven Throne, Banshees, Terrorgheists, or Screaming Banner to really fuck with your opponents.
• Dark Acolyte: Good way to take a couple of hero Vamps to bolster the army while saving power dice. Note that it only works if you've successfully cast the spell, but before your opponent rolls to dispel. If you're already going with a fully caster vampire lord, and you've dropped the points on Master of the Black Arts, you might as well take this to help ensure he succeeds on Invocation.
• Forbidden Lore: See the below evaluation of the spell lores for usefulness.
• Supernatural Horror: Good to still get the edge on armies who take the Wailing Banner, Shrieking Blade, or pesky options like Phoenix Guard.
• Fear Incarnate: This is never NOT a useful thing, you will want this on killy Lords.
• Beguile: Useful in one on one challenges, which you normally don't want to be doing, but if you're up against Chaos Warriors it can be very useful.
• Master Strike: While this looks like it can be worth it if you go through the percentages, in almost all cases this is shit. Killing Blow and Heroic Killing Blow are generally only good when you have a lot of things with them all taking a chance at killing.
• Dread Knight: Not bad really, a Vampire Lord can benefit from this as they'll probably be doing that anyway but it's when you have better Vamps (like a Vampire Lord to keep your Dread Knight Vamp heroes in check) in the same unit then it can backfire on you. Taking this on your intended General is particularly risky. This will make WS 3 need 5s to hit a hero vamp, and WS 4 need 5s to hit a Vamp Lord
• Summon Creatures of the Night: If you plan on using Dire Wolves, Bat Swarms, and Fell Bats then this is good as those are expensive options point-wise, so increasing their numbers on the field is a good choice.

Von Carstein:

• Walking Death:
• Aura of Dark Majesty:
• wolf Form:
• Call Winds:
• Wolf Lord:
• Summon Creatures of the Night:

Necrarch

• Master of the Black Arts:

Artefacts of Death

• Skabscrath: This is kind of an odd choice. The likelihood of the dying at the end of the game is actually pretty low but the only characters who can take it are the Strigoi Ghoul King, the Vampire Lord, and the Master Necromancer. Due to the SGK losing his Poisoned Attacks, and the Necromancer generally being something you want to keep out of close combat, that leaves the Vampire Lord as the best choice who is probably the General of your army. Needless to say having the General be armed with a sword that means you will always try to overrun, will charge into combat without thinking any time you can, and eat points that could go into survivability are BAD things. On the other hand it can improve a killy Vamp Lord in the situation you do have a twin lord as a caster a fair amount, but in any situation, you're taking a high-risk high-reward choice.
• Nightshroud: VERY useful no matter where you want to put it. If you need help justifying the points, remember that it also takes the place of the Bat Swarm on the flank. Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon with Quickblood and Sword of Striking buttfucks the enemy. Master Necromancer in a Skelly bunker may make it literally impossible for your opponent to deplete your forces before you wipe his out to the last.
• Banner of Barrows: If you are going to take a unit of more then 15 Grave guard (and why wouldn't you?) and/or you have a Wight King in there, you will want this banner as the +1 to hit makes your relatively low WS (for elite infantry) far more destructive.
• The Screaming Banner: If you want to troll, take this banner. It will make low LD armies suffer, and give you a small chance to drive away even high LD armies. The flag gets better with Terror though, as then even enemies who take options like the Shrieking Blade or those pesky Phoenix Guard still have to take the test. For the ultimate cheese special, take a horde of Grave Guard with this flag then put a Wight King BSB carrying Banner of Barrows into the same Unit along with a Vampire Lord with Aura of Dark Majesty, Supernatural Horror, and Fear Incarnate for utter carnage as a failed test means they'll be hitting on 2+.
• Black Periapt: Not a must-have item but it can be great for a dedicated spellcaster option if you get a bad magic phase or if you're facing an army where you have spells you NEED to dispel.
• Staff of Damnation: A fantastic item, best used for Ghouls or more powerful options in the offensive category.
• The Cursed Book: This item is a gamble where you can't really lose. The only thing that's wrong with it is your primary spell is Invocation and in almost all possible circumstances you want to cast it AT LEAST once per turn, and this book can take that away. But that being said, you can pull off these spells (all of which are good) for what's probably less than their casting value without risk of any miscast.
• Book of Arkhan: VERY good item. Even if you make all attempts to cast that spell using all your capable LoV casters you can still at least count on whipping out one more attempt. Also can be taken by the Strigoi Ghoul King, making it fan-fucking-tastic in low-magic lists.
• Rod of Flaming Death: Pretty good item even for it's price and very good for controlling the movement phase. If your enemy DOES move (possibly due to taking a Fear test!) then you have the chance to disintegrate the whole group. This can actually be taken by a Wight King, freeing up points on your casters.

Army Units

Special Characters

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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. 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 am 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 it on her own, but put her with Vlad and they have great potential.

Generic Characters

• Von Carstein Vampire Lord:

• Von Carstein Vampire:

• Necrarch Vampire Lord:

• Necrarch Vampire:

• Lahmian Vampire lady:

• Lahmian Vampire:

• Blood Dragon Vampire lord:

• Blood Dragon Vampire:

• Strigoi Vampire lord: 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.

• Strigoi Vampire:

• 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.

• Liche Lord:

• 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 the BSB. 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.

• 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 a 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.

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!
• 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.
• Hellsteed: A 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. 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.
• Barrow Chariot:
• 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 and it flies so it's not exactly bad, but it's just beaten out by the next two usually.
• Terrogheist:
• 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. 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.

• 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.
  • 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.

Core Units

• Skeletorn 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.
  • That being said, Skeleton Warriors are by no means bad. They have an option for a full command unit, 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.

• 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 it's stats would only worsen it in the abstract.
  • So why in ever take them? Because they are only three points. In addition, the Vampire Counts magic phase is full of buffs, 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.

• 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.

• Sylvanian Peasant Levy:

• 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.

• 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.

• Bat swarms: 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.

Special Units

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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. 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.

• Corpes 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 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.

• 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, and that low Initiative will let even humans with pointy sticks get a jab in before they move. 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.

• 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?

Rare Units

• 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, 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.

• Lahmian Handmaidens:

• 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.

• 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.
  • 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).

• 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 back 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 Wraiths: 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.

• Tomb Banshee:

• Mourngul:

• Terrorgheist: 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.

• Zombie Dragon:

• Necrofex Colossus:

External Links

The Project's website