Post: #1

So, I got a game (technically 2nd) under the new book, and it was rather interesting, however unfortunate we were in not being able to finish.

It was a 1500 point match against my friend's steadily growing Ogre Kingdoms army.

My List
Lord
Master Necromancer - 320

• Level 4 (Lore of the Vampires)
• Master of the Dead
• Black Periapt
• Talisman of Preservation
  

Heroes
Necromancer - 125

• Level 2 (Lore of the Vampires)
• Dispel Scroll
  

Necromancer - 125

• Level 2 (Lore of the Vampires)
• Book of Arkhan
  

Core
50 Zombie Horde- 160

• Standard
• Musician
  

30 Skeleton Warriors - 180

• Full Command
• Spears
  

15 Skeleton Warriors - 120

• Full Command
• Lichebone Pennant
  

Special
Corpse Cart - 120

• Unholy Lodestone
  

3 Vargheists - 148

• Vargoyle
  

Rare
4 Cairn Wraiths

And then his list will have to be somewhat abbreviated as I didn't actually go over it and I'm not familiar enough with the points costs to tell if it's quite right.

Heroes
Butcher

• Level 2 (Lore of the Great Maw)
• Dispel Scroll
  

Bruiser

• Battle Standard
• Sword of Striking
  

Core
6 Ogre Bulls

• Full Command
  

6 Ogre Bulls

• Full Command
  

6 Ironguts

• Full Command
  

Special
3 Mournfang Cavalry

• Ironfists
• Full Command
  

4 Leadbelchers

Rare
Ironblaster

Anyway, that kinda looks right. Well, he won the roll-off and had me deploy first, so I started forming a center around the Corpse Cart and Skeleton bunker, with the Vargheists and Wraiths on my far left flank, opposite the Mournfang. He formed a battle line with the Ironblaster in the center behind his Ironguts, Mournfang on my left flank, Leadbelchers, the right.

I manage to win the first turn despite his +1 and shuffle forward with normal movement, Wraiths march up the flank to oppose the Mournfang and the Vargheists shoot off to try and come around the line and flank the Ironblaster. I manage to get a 12" Invocation off with the Master and get some decent summoning rolls thanks to the Cart (Yay boxcars for the Zombies!).

He tramples forward and bubbles Toothcracker (+1 Toughness) which I unfortunately fail to dispel, but I do prevent the Spinemarrow afterwards with dice to spare for the Periapt.

I move the Spearmen towars the Leadbelchers, aim the Vargheists at the Ironblaster, continue to chase the Mournfang around, and do some battle line shifting before some more raising (Yay Zombie boxcars!).

He slams the Ironguts and a unit of Bulls into the Zombie Horde, traipses around to avoid the Wraiths some more, and pops a shot off at the Vargeists and kills one. The Leadbelchers fire and knock over a few Skeletons. The Zombies take a beating and lose around 30 after all is said and done.

I fail a charge from my bunker into the Irongut flank, but get the Spearmen into the Leadbelchers. I raise some models all around (more boxcars on the Zombies... that Lodestone is awesome). I get both Hellish Vigor and Vanhel's Danse on the Zombies, along with the Vigor Mortis of the Cart. Then it was time for the throwdown... The Zombies hit first, and killed an Ogre... and a half. But! Only because there was another Toothcracker up (forgot the scroll in my Necro's pocket...). They beat up on Zombies some more, I'm down to about 20-25. The Skeletons fail to wound, but run down the Leadbelchers anyway.

He gets trapped by the Wraith's movement and will have to take the charge next turn, The Ironblaster decides to fire again instead of charge, the Ogres fail to get into the bunker, and more Zombie mashing was had.Down to about a dozen Zombies.

I fail a second charge into the combat from the Skeletons, get the Vargheists in, and swing around the Skeletons, slowly. Casting I Danse the Zombies, give them some Vigor, and raise a might 18" Invocation. I roll 4 dice, and get Irresistible Force! Then my opponent revealed he had a Scroll that he was saving just for the moment...
Anyway, I hit everything in the army, get a third Vargheist up (who ran down the Ironblaster), roll a 2 on my Bunker, re-roll into a 6, then for the Spearmen a 3, re-rolling into a 6, and finally my Zombies, a 6 & 2, which became another boxcars. He was speechless as my army grew by almost 40 models with his Dispel Scroll being used as a tissue by his Butcher. Then the miscast ended up a 6 (Small Blast and lose D6 dice). the Necromancer makes his save and loses 7 Skeletons... with a net gain of 3 still. Around the time the store was closing, but he did manage to finish the Zombies.

I may not have won the fight from there, but it was pretty epic.

Post: #2

you are pretty lucky with re rolls gettinf box cars. Do you really think you may not have won? seemed like you were better off at the end.

Post: #3

I did get lucky with the raising. I must admit, I had a lot of fun putting models back on the table.

The reason I feel like the game was a toss up, was because I had only finished off the Leadbelchers and Ironblaster. The board position wasn't really in my favor, and I hadn't done much damage. I only had the Vargheists as something that was hard hitting (and the Wraiths, but they would be occupied for a while).

It's very strange getting used to the magic in this book, you really have to change your mentality and how you prioritize spells.

In retrospect, I may have traded the Necromancers for a Hero Vampire for the punch. I shouldn't have had the Zombies in a Horde, I really needed to cut down his attacks rather than try to maximize mine.

Post: #4

been thinking that myself. Zombies should be large units of regular ranks that way should be able to counter steadfast.

Post: #5

interesting list. For me I don't think id ever win without at least one fighty character to bring up CR. Do you find the wraiths and vargheists enough of a hammer?

Post: #6

(01-29-2012 02:06 PM)Drathys Wrote:  interesting list. For me I don't think id ever win without at least one fighty character to bring up CR. Do you find the wraiths and vargheists enough of a hammer?

Actually, I very, very rarely use combat characters, I just love taking over the Magic Phase too much .

At higher points I can have my cake and eat it too, but that'll have to be at least 2,000, and likely closer to 2,500.

To answer your question though, I have been using them to take out enemy support units and not concern myself terribly much with combat resolution. The overarching strategy/play style is to eliminate support units and simply grind down enemy rank and file (or even specials, really) with Core units that are consistently being resurrected. At that point, then my Wraiths/Vargheists can carry out mop up duty on any ongoing combats.

I must admit, its a risky strategy, but I really enjoy the feel of massed Skeletons/Zombies slowly dragging down superior foes until they are coming back faster than they are being knocked down.

It's a mixture of luck and maneuvering, and know where you can reliably push an enemy unit past its effective damage output vs your magical support.

I like it purely from an aesthetic and cinematic point of view, and find it quite rewarding. However, with the new book, I'm looking at trying as many new things as I can. Loving all the new options .

Post: #7

Intrested about the vargheists myself, a unit of 6 would have been a real threat. Any problems with frenzy?

Post: #8

I really enjoy the maneuverability they add to the army. I find that, after their first march, they tend to be facing where I want them to as it is. So, so far no troubles with Frenzy. I've thought about using a unit of 6, but really, I'm more tempted to use two units of 3.

I think they're the perfect flanking unit against rank and file:

• They have a higher Weapon Skill than most Core
• They have a higher Initiative than many Core
• They wound most Core on 2+
• They ignore most Core's armor (or reduce to a 6+)
• Being in the Flank/Rear, they ignore Parry saves
  

They're resilient enough that a half dozen attacks or so won't do much more than kill one of them, and they'll add somewhere between 8-12 to your combat resolution (with charging in a flank + low-average Wounds).

I see a unit of 6-8 being almost overkill for their role. I can see, however, that you could have them comfortably charge units in the front if need be. I just see them as a support charger rather than a line-breaker.