Balanced VC list 8th edition

[Mikael.K]

A pretty straight forward list I´d say. Lord is good at casting spells and slaughtering RnF. A little worried about KB though. The vampire is a caster/fighter thing thats great for support. The BSB is there to stay alive and should prove tough to kill. Necros are the new scroll caddys and are effective in repairing units and gives access to yet another vanhels for a cheap price.

2x3 fell bats since dire wolves are not very good anymore. I have a spare 25pts left so I could switch the varghulf for the nice and improved black coach . Thoughts?


Characters
Vampire Lord
- Level 3 Wizard
- Glittering scale armour
- Crown of the Damned
- Sword of Strife
- Fobbidden Lore (Lore of the Vampires)
- Summon Ghouls
- Infinite Hatred
Total 430pts

Vampire
- Sword of Battle
- The Flayed Hauberk
- Forbidden Lore (Lore of the Beast)
Total 180pts

Wight King
- Battle Standard Bearer
- Talisman Of Preservation
Total 145pts

Necromancer
- 2 spells (invocation/vanhels)
- Dispel Scroll
Total 95pts

Core
29 Skeleton Warriors
- Fullcommand
- Warbanner
Total 277pst

25 Ghouls
- Ghast
Total 208pts

25 Ghouls
- Ghast
Total 208pts

Special
24 Grave Guard
- Full Command
- Great Weapons
- Banner of the Barrows
Total 387pts

3 Fell Bats: 60pts

3 Fell Bats: 60pts

Rare
Varghulf
Total 175pts

Army Total 2225pts

 

[TMS]

Hi,

I think your list looks pretty good when considering what the 8th edition will be throwing at us. Remember to keep your number of fortitude points in mind during the battle though, if you happen to roll that particular scenario.

I'm partial towards the Coach myself, although I see definitive value in both those rare choices.

Have you had a chance to play with this list in the new edition yet? Please let us know of your experiences if you have.

 

[Larro]

Very solid list. I'd say the only thing missing is a MotDA, which may be more useful on your Thrall than Beasts (though I'm guessing your plan is to buff your Vamp and units). Otherwise, besides the Coach over the Vharg, not a whole lot I'd change if you're going for the combo-Lord.

- Larry

 

[Larro]

Oh and I second the notion of keeping us updated with how the list performs!

- Larry

 

[Mikael.K]

Thank you guys for the input . I have actually tried a similar list once. The mission was dawn attack and I got a draw vs my brothers empire. Those mortars really hurt.

I will try the list with both the varghulf and the coach and see what I like best. Master of the dark arts got nerfed since only the vampire that has the power may use the dice (they still count towards the max PD limit). Imo the forbidden lore is a much better chouice and the signature spell in the beast lore is just fantastic.

What really screws the coach over is that in your opponents turn he can force us to use the evocation of death before he actually throws any dice (the player who´s turn it is get to decide the order of things). That means that it will only suck dice in our turns. Harsh, but that is what the rulebook says.

 

[Shadoweyed]

What really screws the coach over is that in your opponents turn he can force us to use the evocation of death before he actually throws any dice (the player who´s turn it is get to decide the order of things). That means that it will only suck dice in our turns. Harsh, but that is what the rulebook says.

Are you sure, is it the Vampire book or the BRB? In the Vamp book the opening sentence is "At the start of every Magic Phase..." and the Errata just changed it to ignore the Wizards within 6" part of the effect.

If it is in the BRB, could you give the page for reference?

-Shadoweyed

 

[Mikael.K]

Page 10 "Sequencing". Although this is still under debate on how that works. Might be FAQ´d. We will not be playing like that so I can happily suck any dice .

 

[Evil Dead]

Doesn't the vampire get vampire lore without having to buy forbidden lore?

 

[Shadoweyed]

Doesn't the vampire get vampire lore without having to buy forbidden lore?

The vampire gets to roll his spells from the Lore of Vampires, forbidden lore grants him all the spells from the lore and still allows other vampires to roll on the lore.

-Shadoweyed

 

[Mikael.K]

Thinking about running the lord with the lore of shadows and the hero vamp with the lore of vampires. Any thoughts on that?

Also thinking about giving the BSB the sword of kings + gem of blood combo.

 

[VvC]

Don't think you can give BSB Magical Weapons o_o

 

[Ghurt]

Hi Mikael! I play a very similar list, and I have been doing very good with it. Its fast and Varghulfs can take care of units alone with a bit of Summon Undead horde and healing going around. Sadly my opponents never let my Coach suck dice, but it doesnt really need them. And if they forget about it and roll Winds of Magic then you get happy!

Vampire Lord
Lvl 3
Sword of Strife
Cadaverous Cuirass
Talisman of Preservation
Infinate Hatred
Dark Acolyte (Lvl4)
Forbidden Lore ( Necromantic)

Wight King
Bsb, GW,
Armour of Destiny

Vampire
Helm of Commandment
Scroll of Sheilding/Channeling staff - Whatever you prefer
Master of Black Arts - To use by hero only, most often an invocation. Not very often you roll 11 or 12 PD.

30 Ghouls
Ghast

30 Ghouls
Ghast

10 Skeletons - Helm Vamp goes here
Standard

21 Grave Guard - Deployed 7*3
FC, Great Weapons
Banner of Hellfire - To Kill Hydras/Treeman and annoying regen stuff.

Black Coach

2*Varghulf

30 Ghouls is enough and the summon ghoul power doesnt add enough to the casting roll to make it worth it I think. I also like having the lord immune to KB because its a lot of that going around here in Vasteras.

 

[commissar500]

Like the list, am thinking of running a list with 3 FL vamps (vamps, light and beasts)

Reading page 47 of the vamp book it says "at the start of every magic phase the black coach can absorb magical energy. roll the dice in the POWER DICE POOL you cannot roll dice till their are dice in the pool right?, if anyone trys to say otherwise punch their teeth out and throw them off the parapet for your ghouls to eat :devil2:

 

[Ghurt]

Well its in the rulebook, page 10, Sequencing, no matter how much wishful thinking, until it gets FAQ, I will play it like this.

I dont see what your skeletons will do other than getting killed and draining your power pool with invocations, needing to be cast at them.

 

[Mikael.K]

Ghurt, I must say that your list is a lot better. Tried my list today vs O&G in the breaking point scenario. I lost the game in 2 rounds. A couple of things really...

1. Hybrid lords doesnt seem to work very well. 6 S5 attacks vs anything with T4 wont do very much. I will either go for a pure fighter or a super caster. Probably I will go with a caster lord. Hero level vamps, not worth it IMO. Necros and WK´s for the win!

2. Skeletons need to be around 40-50 and even then they wont kill anythings. Just takes a bit longer for them to die. Unfortunately you need them for the above mentioned scenario unless you want to auto-lose those games.

3. Ghouls are a lot better but need to be around 30-40 strong to work.

4. Fell bats? Just go with dire wolves, they do whatever job a lot cheaper.

5. Grave guard are ace, but even better with the helm. I really think its needed if you want to inflict a lot of casualties. Another reason to go with the caster lord.

6. Varghulf, well, take two or none at all. Any of the rare choices would have been better in this game.

 

[Devo]

I dunno, Mikael. I think you have the tools you need to win.

I would suggest a few changes, though. First, I second the advice to replace the bats with wolves. Bats just take up so much space now! I run two units of 6 wolves, deployed 3x2. Very manueverable and very fast, specially when used in conjunction with the Varghulf. I usually send one unit warmachine hunting, and keep the other held back to divert people from my flanks. They'll only buy one turn, but that could be enough!

I really like the Sword of Kings / Gem of Blood combo on wight kings. It's worked well for me in the past. Another combo I've been looking to try out, though, is The Other Tricksters Shard, Dragonhelm (who's name I may have wrong), and the Golden Sword. That gives you 3 attacks at Init 10 and forces a re-roll of a successful ward save in case you get your killing blow. He's got a 3+ armor save, too!

Then, during the fight, pick your battles as best you can. Get your BSB to go up against nasty characters and let your lord focus on rank-and-file.

 

[RedDuke]

Another combo I've been looking to try out, though, is The Other Tricksters Shard, Dragonhelm (who's name I may have wrong), and the Golden Sword. That gives you 3 attacks at Init 10 and forces a re-roll of a successful ward save in case you get your killing blow. He's got a 3+ armor save, too!

Good idea the shard, but remember you lose the kb ability with magic weapons. Try the other trickster shard with the nightshroud and the opal amulet: your wk will attack first with kb making reroll ward saves, deny +2 strength from lances etc, get a 5+ as and a 4+ ws on the first wound. If you think that armor save is useless if less than 4+, then take the additional hand weapon for 1 more attack!

 

[Mikael.K]

Well, my BSB got killed in one round of combat by a black orc warboss with the shagas sword and his pet wyvern. It´s hard to survive against that many high strength attacks. Hero vampires should be support only, just like Ghurts list. 3 attacks is not enough for almost 200pts. In this edition, you really need a combat monster or good troops to get those kills.

I´ll write a new list when I get the time. Will look into something like Ghurts list with some tweaks so that it fits my playstyle.

 

[mindninja]

Don't think you can give BSB Magical Weapons o_o

You can give the BSB magical weapons but only if he is not carrying a magical banner