1000 pts, Games Day Chicago

[Sovereign]

<edit:> New army list, five posts down.</edit>

Ahoy! I've been lurking these forums for a while now, and so far it's been quite helpful. After some fun (and not so fun) conversion work I've decided to take a break and finalize the army list I'll take to Games Day Chicago. While I've fought against Vampire Counts a few times before (both with Skaven and with Warriors of Chaos), since my family moved I haven't found anyone to play Warhammer with and as such I have never actually fielded my budding VC force in battle. So.... a few pointers would be much appreciated.

Here's the list I have so far: (1000 points exactly)

CHARACTERS:

• Mannfred the Acolyte w/ Book of Arkhan
• Wight King w/ Sword of Kings

CORE:

• 20x Skeleton Warriors w/ spears and full command*
• 10x Crypt Ghouls (no Ghast)
• Corpse Cart

SPECIAL:

• 10x Grave Guard w/ HW-Shield and full command*

RARE:

• 3x Cairn Wraith w/ Tomb Banshee*

*The number at the front is the total number of models in the unit, counting command but not any characters that may or may not accompany them.

The idea was to keep the list compact enough to (hopefully) be able to stay within range of both the Corpse Cart and the General (Mannfred)'s guidance, with the Book of Arkhan for keeping the force together or getting the heavies into combat. I was thinking of keeping the Wight King in the Grave Guard (surprise surprise) and putting Mannfred either in the Skeletons or leaving him slightly behind the battle line similar to where the Corpse Cart will be. From the battle reports I've read, I'll be trying to keep the Corpse Cart and Cairn Wraiths to a support role rather than trusting them to "tank" like the Chaos elites I miss so much (ah, the days when Chosen Chaos Knights were a core choice...)- Cairn Wraiths in particular are very vulnerable to combat resolution and won't be going anywhere by themselves.

The other models I have finished (or close to it) are a batch of 20 zombies, 6 fell bats, a few extra skeletons with spears from last years speed painting (perhaps a dozen or so, they give those things out like candy at Games Day...), and what could feasibly be a Wight King BSB. I'm currently converting a unit of plastic Chaos Knights into Blood Knights as well, but I can't take both them and the Wraiths. Theoretically I could have another 10 Grave Guard done too...

Anyway, suggestions on the list or on playing the army would be much appreciated, as would any ideas on what to get next. I have the Empire Wizards box and a High Elf Dragon to convert for VC at some point, but I have no illusions on getting those done properly before Games Day.

Thanks in advance!

 

[123birds]

I personaly wouldn't field a wight king at this low. You will need the extra magic and dispel punch in your army. Also, Mannfred is good, but should never be in combat, due to his 7+ armor save. The Skeletons look good, I would just drop the spears but its a prefference thing and i would try to get the ghouls up to 18 and put them in 3 ranks of 6. I would also probably just drop the wighs, as against normal infantry you will probably be outnumber (1) outranked by 2 (3) and they will probably kill 1-2 of your front rank (5). meaning that you will mostly crumble. With the spare points get the vampire and ghouls i mentioned above, and get some dire wolves if you can afford them.

 

[Sovereign]

So, -1 Wight King, +1 Vampire, and either fill out the Grave Guard or drop them entirely. Gotcha. As for the Ghouls, I only have 10 of them- my collection is pretty bare on anything that could reasonably "count as" Ghouls either. I'll probably pick up another battalion and some stuff to convert Black Knights from at Games Day to help fix that, but until then I can't get any new models.

Given that the Grave Guard need some filling out... would it be prudent to drop the Cairn Wraiths (being not even US 5) for another two ranks of Grave Guard and 55 points of magic standards (War Banner and Banner of the Dead Legion spring to mind)? My intuition tells me yes, but I've never really fielded a "moderate" elite infantry block before- there's a pretty wide gap between Chosen Chaos Warriors and Plague Monks, after all.

I'm also considering dropping the Ghouls for my unit of 20 Zombies, but given that the rest of the army leans toward "small and hard-hitting" that feels a bit awkward. It would also mean that I don't have any models to use with Raise Dead- not really a problem for Mannfred, but if I'm dropping the Wight King for another Vampire it could get a little annoying, and certainly reduces flexibility once the battle starts.

Oh, as for the spears... I like spears. I'm not quite sure why, but all of my mainstay infantry blocks (of which I have painted quite a few) have them and they've served me well. The spare 20 points isn't going to do me a lot of good anyway, and when fighting other light infantry they really help- against heavy infantry I can still go HW + shield, so I don't lose anything like I would if I put great weapons on the Grave Guard.

 

[Sovereign]

Made some changes. Not terribly happy with placement of magic standards and vampiric powers on the unnamed guy, but it was the best I could think of at this hour (which would be midnight).

Here's the new list, once again exactly 1000 points:

CHARACTERS:

• Army General- Mannfred the Acolyte w/ Book of Arkhan
• Vampire w/ Avatar of Death (great weapon?)

CORE:

• 20x Skeleton Warriors w/ spears, full command, and the Banner of Hellfire*
• 10x Crypt Ghouls (no Ghast)
• Corpse Cart

SPECIAL:

• 20x Grave Guard w/ HW-Shield, full command, and the Banner of the Dead Legion*

Offensive magic: 5 power dice, Book of Arkhan, Miasma of Deathly Vigor
Defensive magic: 4 dispel dice

*The number at the front is the total number of models in the unit, counting command but not any characters that may or may not accompany them.


The Vampire would find himself in the Grave Guard unit most likely, with Mannfred staying behind the battle line and casting. As before, the army will stay together to maximize benefits of the Corpse Cart and march whenever necessary, as well as staying in easy casting range of the vampires' spells. The Grave Guard will likely spearhead the group, with the Skeletons next to them and the Crypt Ghouls moving in to support either of them that need help.

Suggestions, thoughts? Particularly on the magic item and vampiric power selections- I have the feeling I can do a lot more with those points.

 

[Nelganis]

ok, first things first: i'll be at gamesday too so maybe i'll see you there =)

secondly, i would debate giving your grave guard the banner of the barrows to help them smash enemies but i doubt you have any extra points to spend and the banner of dead legion is a pretty good banner to help win combat.

the only other thing that i would think about is having mannfred in the army. hes a truly great character with good stats but no protection at all. its a good idea to keep him in the back of your army but just watch out since he only has 2 wounds and no save. i might recomend putting him in a bunker in order to protect him from harm.

 

[Sovereign]

Keeping that in mind... I reworked the army list again, mostly the characters. Thoughts on whether the above list or this one would do better will be appreciated quite a lot.

The list now totals 999 points.

CHARACTERS:

• Army General- Vampire w/ Avatar of Death, Dark Acolyte, and Staff of Damnation
• Wight King w/ Sword of Kings
• Necromancer w/ Invocation of Nehek, mounted on a Corpse Cart

CORE:

• 20x Skeleton Warriors w/ spears, Champion, Standard Bearer*
• 10x Crypt Ghouls w/ Champion
• Corpse Cart (ridden by Necromancer above)

SPECIAL:

• 20x Grave Guard w/ HW-Shield, full command, and the Banner of the Dead Legion*

Offensive magic: 5 power dice, Staff of Domination, Miasma of Deathly Vigor
Defensive magic: 4 dispel dice

*The number at the front is the total number of models in the unit, counting command but not any characters that may or may not accompany them.



The magic total didn't really change other than Book of Arkhan now being the Staff of Damnation, which I think should be particularly brutal considering how grouped up the army will be. I could get the Book of Arkhan back in as well if I drop the General's "Avatar of Death" power- but while that would give me a very, very painful magic phase it would make make my general just as vulnerable as Mannfred was- so I left the defenses in for now, but I'd like suggestions on which way to go with that. Combat should be a lot more deadly in this list, between the Staff of Damnation and the added Wight King, and the magic phase should be a little more stable as well.

Similar game plan to before, although I'll keep the general in the Crypt Ghouls and try to keep them behind the lines to minimize visibility- once the front lines are stuck in, I might have him stay back while the Ghouls move in to assist, depending on what the enemy still has lying around. I'm not sure whether to put the Wight King in the Grave Guard or Skeletons- on the one hand, he's a great compliment to the Grave Guard and will make them able to shred almost any non-deathstar unit at this point range, and even a serious deathstar would have to be worried with all those Killing Blows waving around. On the other hand, he could make the Skeleton unit fairly deadly by adding his weight there too, and the Grave Guard unit wouldn't be my only serious combat unit. Hrm.

Comments welcome as always- Games Day is tomorrow, hopefully I can figure out the remaining questions before then.

 

[Nelganis]

well now your general has an armor save so thats good. unfortunately, its hard to get alot of good things into a 1000 point vampire army so it will be a challenge. you made a pretty good list to be honest. my 1000 points list is alittle different but we have different playstyles so that can be expected.

all in all, i would say thats its a pretty good list and i hope you do well at gamesday. i might even see you there

good luck