Post: #1

Vampire Lord - lvl 4 (vamps), HA, Sh, Talisman of Preservation, Ogre Blade, The Other Trickster's Shard, Red Fury, Quickblood, Dread Knight, Summon Creature of the Night = 534

Vampire - lvl 1 (Death), BSB, HA, Sh, Dragon Helm, Book of Arkhan, Seed of Rebirth, Warrior Bane = 186

Necromancer - lvl 2 (vamps), The Cursed Book, Master of the Dead = 155


30 Skeletons - LA, Sh, FC, Banner of Eternal Flame = 190
30 Skeletons - LA, Sh, FC = 180
34 Zombies - S + M = 112
20 Zombies - S + M = 70
5 Dire Wolves = 40
5 Dire Wolves = 40

8 Crypt Horrors - C = 314
2 Bat Swarms = 70
Spirit Host = 45
Spirit Host = 45
2 Fell Bats = 32
2 Fell Bats = 32

Mortis Engine - Blasphemous Tome = 240
Terrorgheist = 225

Total = 524 + 341 + 632 + 538 + 465 = 2500


So, I put a vampire in each of the skelly blocks, the little zombies get the necro who follows behind, and the engine goes between the big zombies and horrors. I'm not sure if the Cursed Book is worth it over a Dispel Scroll but I definitely want Master of the dead in there. The initial plan is to invoc spam to bump the zombies and skellies up. After that we'll see how it goes.

I have tried the mortis engine once and it was very good. The damage aura near the end of the game, should it survive that long, can be quite devastating to the opposing army.

Edit: Feb 13 ... removed Dawnstone from BSB and replaced it with the Book of Arkhan. He also now uses the Lore of Death so I can combine him and the lord Ld 10 for some sniping.

Edit: Feb 14 ... removed Sword of Striking from BSB and replaced it with the Seed of Rebirth and the Warrior Bane. He should now have a 5+ regen save when his unit is within the Mortis Engine's Radius.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Post: #2

I don't know what I would change in your list out of my own opinion, to tell you the truth. Everything you have serves a purpose. A dispel scroll would be nice to have on a tournament scene, but the cursed book has been getting some pretty rave reviews around here, and it certainly is more fun than a moldy old scroll.

Post: #3

See above

Post: #4

Where's the punch?

I mean, the Lord is gonna rock in CC, the terrorgheist will take out big things, but where are the hammers (ghouls, BKs, GG... u know stuff that breaks stuff in combat) amongst all the anvils and tarpits? Your horrors should do quite well, though.

Think about replacing all the skellies with ghouls... ghouls with a 6+ regen from the engine?? Now that's punchy

Post: #5

I like your list for a lot, here are a few questions/comments:

Do you find your magic phase is powerful enough? I've used a similar character set-up and have been unable to push through spells, even when I simply throw dice at 3-4 Invocations in a row. Right now I'm struggling to find room for the Black Periapt as I'm hoping the dice advantage will swing things in my favor. I suppose the Blasphemous Tome on the Mortis Engine is helpful, but I envision that during the course of the tournament the whole "roll twice on the miscast table" will really bite you in the ***.

I'm wondering if the Dawnstone is the best choice on the Vampire Hero. It depends on what your facing, but with only a 3+ armor save, would it not be the safer choice to take Talisman of Endurance?

Crypt Horrors are really nice. I've had them survive through many, many rounds of close combat against nasty foes. The biggest drawback on them is the I2. Pit of Shades really ruined my day in a few games. Shadow is definitely a popular choice on the tournament scene, so watch out!

It's a tough call on scrounging the points for the Wraith. On the one hand, having Summon Creatures of the Night makes your opponent have to deal with you increasing units beyond the starting level on BOTH the Necromancer and the Vampire Lord. I'd maybe look into finding a few more points to make it a Banshee. That way it will serve a secondary function if you don't need it as a tar pit.

Post: #6

I started with ghouls and they were meh at best. I don't consider lots of S 3 attacks (even with poison) as punchy. The best that could be said about them is that they got the lord into combat. That's another thing, I found that the units were just combat lord delivery systems so if that is the case then why not use skeletons (who have armor and a shield save). I do hear see that the army lacks punch but I don't consider ghouls a punch element (despite the fact that I have nearly a hundred of the older metal ones). I consider ghouls to be a bit of a liability ... to little hitting power for their cost and to easy to deal with.

To add punch through something like BKs or GG I would have to revamp the entire army to find the points. I really like the Mortis Engine and Terrorgheist and Crypt Horrors so I really don't know where to get the points from. The army really functions old school ... pin with big blocks and use the lord and such to break units one at a time. This plan has worked pretty well so far. I have so much chaff that I can pick the fights I want.

The BSB is a bit of a conundrum. I want a BSB in the army ... it works well with ethereals and big monsters and such. I also want the entry Invoc. But his items and role are still suspect. He has only 2 wounds and is quite vulnerable ... of course I've only lost him to KB attacks which his re-rollable AS does nothing for. He doesn't hit overly hard either or add much other than another Invoc to the magic phase. So, what to do with him? Wight King BSB?

I'm really liking the Crypt Horrors. They are very tough and I get 3-5 wounds back per Invoc (not counting the BSB). Their low S is a bit of a downer but they can out grind units (with magical support) all on their own. I'm not to worried about Pit ... I can at least get the models back.

As for the magic phase ... I have found it to be a bit to random. Without bonus dice I'm prey to the fickle dice gods. Because my casting strategy is simple ... raise ... I have no difficulty getting spells off that are useful. I would like a more reliable phase though but really do not want to invest in MotBA or the Periapt since doing so ... again ... changes the army significantly.

The mortis engine has proved to be quite useful. Its bonus to cast and regen abilities are good but the damage aura is quite nice as well. I haven't had a problem with the miscast aura. I did miscast my first 2 spells when I used it for the first time but no one exploded (more luck than anything else though). I suppose I could drop the Tome but the extra +2 to cast is very useful.

Post: #7

I'm not sure what you mean when you talk about BSB like that, do you think the BSB increases the number of wounds you get back with Invocation?

Post: #8

No, he doesn't help invok at all. What he does is allow ethereals to hold up units for a greater period of time. And he can prevent crumble damage ... only by a wound but for a single model that one wound often means more.

Post: #9

I do like the overall look of the list, but I think you'd benefit a lot if you are somehow able to squeeze Red Fury in on your BSB. Maybe ditch a Skeleton and a Spirit Host, or do you feel that leaves you with too little chaff?

Alternately, I think that a WK BSB and a Wraith could do well instead of the Vampire BSB. Throw a Great Weapon on the Wight, and they'll pack roughly the same punch as the Vampire, while also giving you the option to run the Wraith solo if need be. It will of course hamper the raising a bit, but with a lvl 2 and 4 around, I guess you have decent magic anyway.

I strongly recommend keeping lvl 4 on the Lord; with +6 to cast, you can still throw 2 dice at the 12+ spells with a good chance of casting them, whereas you'd likely be looking at 3 dice (and more miscasts) if you downgrade him to lvl 3. I also find that Summon Creatures of the Night is an INSANELY strong ability on a caster lord. If you get the spell through, your opponent is looking at +10 Wolves, +6 Bats and a Bat Swarm, on top of what you'd raise otherwise. That's a huge dispel priority for your opponent, especially in the early turns, allowing you to get more offensive spells through.

I would probably drop the Dread Knight ability, since it kinda sucks getting your RFKMFH (Red Fury Killing Machine From Hell) stuck in a challenge instead of removing ranks.

Post: #10

I've made changes to the list above. I was able to beat a TK army that had previously tabled a previous incarnation so that was good. I'm building the army but progress has been slow. Comments and suggestions are welcome.