Corpse Cart as a mount?

[TeflonTron]

It seems that the Corpse Cart is popular with the new rules for it and I have always liked the model. I need a home for my Master Necromancer and it boils down to a mob of Zombies or the Cart. Does anyone have a preference? I'd prefer the Cart as it seems more in tune with how a Necromancer would roll, but I see a future of cannons, spells and archery due to true line of sight.

How are people looking after their non-combat casters? I need him to keep right behind my central block of 50 Skeletons and combat Lord, for reference, so that he can hopefully cover 2-3 units with each IoN, and I can see the fact that chariots cannot march being a problem as not every Vanhel's will go off without a hitch.

 

[TMS]

As you already covered, despite how cool it is to have your boss Necromancer on top of his own personal pimp cart, he *will* have a hard time with the enemy's ranged attacks. The most usual way to look after any character that doesn't want to get direct attention from the enemy is to put him in a smaller unit that you place behind your main-line troops. Zombies are especially good for this as he'll easily bump them up to considerable size while he's doing his IoN business on other units. If anything particularly nasty approaches from the side the Necromancer could simply jump ship and move into another unit or safe place while the bolstered Zombie mass stalls the enemy.

 

[Vampire Ron]

Zombies every time for me. Putting your characters on good monsters is bad enough but putting them on crap monsters... No thanks. The marching thing, along with the cannon magnet thing, are enough to put me off.

 

[TeflonTron]

Yeah, those are all of my concerns as well; so at least we all think alike! I'm just not a fan of bunkers, deathstars and the like, to be honest, but sometimes there is not much that can be done about that. I do like the idea of a Necromancer riding on a Pimp Cart with spinners whilst sipping from his cup though. I guess he'll just have to walk like Huggy Bear instead.

 

[Darkos]

I have to say, by painful experience, that put your caster in anything that isn't a unit is not a good idea. With new LOS rules, you can´t hide anything efectively, and any humble warmachine can shoot you across full table.

Also, rules for riding carts states that any template weapons (including cannons) automatically hits both cart and rider. And get a Str 10/D6 wounds on our Necro is a bad thing (cart still gets a chance, with Regen 4+ and 4 wounds.)

This is exactly what happens to me last game vs Dwarves. First cannon shot of the entire game blow up my Master Necromancer and his cart, despite he was behind a forest and two infantry blocks.

 

[Grish]

You can always model something up for your necromancer. Like having the zombies holding him up on a throne or platform, or even riding on the back of a large zombie in a basket. Just because he's 'walkign' doesnt' mean you can't make him look bad ass.

 

[eggsPR]

While I wouldn't put a Master Necromancer on a Corpse Cart... I would put a hero Necromancer on it in a heartbeat. For reasons stated below...

1) Edit... my bad... no regen.

2) Makes my opponent think twice about trying to shoot a cannon at my terrorgheist

3) With Corpse Cart directly behind everything, 1 ION casting from him would affect max units

4) Corpse Cart will count toward hero points (which I'm never close to limit in this edition), thus freeing up more Special points for Vargheists/Horrors/GG/Hex/Black Knights)

5) Corpse Cart has higher chance of getting wounded (yes that's right, I WANT it to get wounded) then a small/cheap ION casting affects the Cart Cart, granting the Vigor Mortis rule.

Anyway that's my thoughts... I'm throwing a hero necro on it this weekend to try it out.

 

[Grish]

You bring up a very good point, in that its only dangerous to put something on the corpse cart if it's the most valuable target. If you have other high value targets in your list anyways, I don't see it as much of an issue.

 

[TeflonTron]

The Hero lvl Necromancer on the Corpse Cart is a solid compromise. If he is on the Cart and equipped with a Rod Of Flaming Death he can see over intervening friendly units to use it, right?

Would a lvl 2 Necromancer on a Corpse Cart with the Rod be too expensive do you guys think?

 

[fjhamming]

Well.. you can get by this by providing your opponent a harder choice to pick his target with his cannons. Also you could take stuff that takes out cannons if you know it's one of your mayor vulnerabilities. Third you should take 6 crypt horrors to hide any mounted character behind. (As crypt horrors can eat cannon shells.)

 

[Darkos]

How the necro gets regeneration from the cart?
Special rules don´t transfer between mounts and riders (except for Fear/Terror, stupidity and the like...)

 

[VonDookie]

How the necro gets regeneration from the cart?
Special rules don´t transfer between mounts and riders (except for Fear/Terror, stupidity and the like...)

That was my thought too - he wouldn't get regen from the cart.. just like a vamp doesn't get a ward save from the throne...

The other big problem from putting a necro on a cart - aside from all of the other negatives that have previously been posted, is that the cart only moves 4" in your remaining moves sub-phase.

A necro riding his pimp cart, behind the big blocks, casting ION - awesome idea.. but in reality, the troops typically run too fast (if they're marching) for his pimp cart to catch up... A necro is better off running with the pack imo.

 

[maxtoreador]

I don't know, having a Hero lvl necro on the cart with a small unit of zombies running off to the side as a secondary annoyance force in a high point/large table game might have its value. Since they're outside the 12" march bubble then both units are moving at 4" a turn (before Vanhel's anyway.)

 

[Sception]

5) Corpse Cart has higher chance of getting wounded (yes that's right, I WANT it to get wounded) then a small/cheap ION casting affects the Cart Cart, granting the Vigor Mortis rule.

The corpse cart only has to be targeted by a successfully cast necromantic spell, not affected by it. Invocation sets it off regardless of whether its missing any wounds.

 

[eggsPR]

5) Corpse Cart has higher chance of getting wounded (yes that's right, I WANT it to get wounded) then a small/cheap ION casting affects the Cart Cart, granting the Vigor Mortis rule.

The corpse cart only has to be targeted by a successfully cast necromantic spell, not affected by it. Invocation sets it off regardless of whether its missing any wounds.

THAT I did not know... very interesting and thanks, I was thinking the thing had to take wounds!!

 

[chuz]

Personally, I use the corpse cart as a mount gladly! Of course, it depends which army I'm facing. Against dwarves or elves, just forget the cart. But if there aren't too many ranged weapons, in my experience, the cart is rarely a target. The enemy prefers to shoot nastier units, like vargheists, varghulfs or terrorgheists.

During my last battle (first one with the new rules for VC), I even dared to put my general (a master necro) on a cart, and he survived without too many problems against the empire.

EDIT: I must say I had protected him with that talisman of preservation (4+ ward save).

 

[Vortaine]

Yeah, but then you are eating up the hero allocation if you take a corpse cart for a necromancer or a master necromancer. I've been thrifty with my heroes lately, but I'm not really fond of turning modestly priced wizards and doubling or tripling their cost for no real benefit that could otherwise be achieved by taking the cart in special and keeping it close.

 

[SoulSeeker]

How do you guys reconcile the speed of the cart with the rest of your army? Are you crawling forward with everything at 4 inches?

 

[Azhgore]

book of arkhan can work. just throw 1 dice at it and 2/3 times u get to move the cart another 8" to keep up. its always a good spell to have handy after everyone gets stuck in and the cart doesnt need the speed boost any more too.