- Aug 15, 2007
- 4,834
Since we're here, how about the first "How to beat" thread :D
So this thread is about the really big guys that can really cause problems to an undead army, since they usually have high toughness and saves, which are very difficult to get though.
First up: the War Altar
There is no army that suffers against the War Altar like the undead. This overgrown chariot comes with an Arch Lector on top, and makes him Unbreakable and has a 4+ save, as well as casting any spell it likes from the dastardly Lore of Light (And in doing so, won't cancel a Prayer cast by the Lector). This means that the chief way that undead break units - auto-breaking due to fear - will not work. Oh and it gets MR2. So how do we beat an Arch Lector on a War Altar?
Well the most obvious way is to take down the War Altar- a single S7 wound, if it gets through the ward save, will instantly destroy the War Altar, and leave the Arch Lector on his own to be run off and killed. But getting an S7 hit from a Vampire Counts army is difficult, the only people who can get that strong are Vampires with Lances or Great Weapons, but if they get into combat with the War Altar, then a challenge will be issued and invariably the Lector will reveal Van Horstman's Speculum, which will switch a whole load of stats and make it impossible to destroy the Altar.
So really, you only have a few choices:
1) Swamp and pray. If you get a large unit of Skeletons and Zombies into its flank, eventually you'll cut through the Arch Lector Ward Save and bring him down, but for every wound you do you'll need to make about 50 attacks. Plus he can heal his wounds. It's not going to work, sadly.
2) Two S7 characters at a time. So maybe a mounted Count and a Thrall, the Count with a lance and the Thrall on foot with a Great Weapon: make sure they're in units, charge 'em in. He'll offer a challenge. The key here is to refuse the challenge! This will actually result in your Count being sent to the back ranks, but your Thrall will still be there, and hopefully he'll be able to wipe out the Altar.
3) Wights! Probably the safest bet, especially if you can get a flank charge. Again, decline any challenge- having 4+ attacks from the unit is far better than 2 from a champion; if you have the Banner of the Barrows you'll hit the Arch Lector on 3+ and killing blow will take him down sooner or later.
Just watch out for the prayer Soulfire and the Flare Light spell which will utterly smash your Wights. But if you need to sacrifice half the unit to take him down, it is definitely worth it.
The key is getting a decent charge on the fella. The best way is with Ghouls. Only a small unit is required. Place them in front of him and if he charges he will either kill them or break them; you might even get lucky and do a wound or two in return with your poison. Alternatively, he might not charge in which case you can charge him, though you may just end up locked in combat for a turn, which isn't so bad as your Wights can manevure themselves to where they need to be. But either way, he's full of hatred so he must over-run: if you can make him do so into a forest or a wall, and certainly into your Wights' charge arc, you'll be laughing.
Any other advice? :)
So this thread is about the really big guys that can really cause problems to an undead army, since they usually have high toughness and saves, which are very difficult to get though.
First up: the War Altar
There is no army that suffers against the War Altar like the undead. This overgrown chariot comes with an Arch Lector on top, and makes him Unbreakable and has a 4+ save, as well as casting any spell it likes from the dastardly Lore of Light (And in doing so, won't cancel a Prayer cast by the Lector). This means that the chief way that undead break units - auto-breaking due to fear - will not work. Oh and it gets MR2. So how do we beat an Arch Lector on a War Altar?
Well the most obvious way is to take down the War Altar- a single S7 wound, if it gets through the ward save, will instantly destroy the War Altar, and leave the Arch Lector on his own to be run off and killed. But getting an S7 hit from a Vampire Counts army is difficult, the only people who can get that strong are Vampires with Lances or Great Weapons, but if they get into combat with the War Altar, then a challenge will be issued and invariably the Lector will reveal Van Horstman's Speculum, which will switch a whole load of stats and make it impossible to destroy the Altar.
So really, you only have a few choices:
1) Swamp and pray. If you get a large unit of Skeletons and Zombies into its flank, eventually you'll cut through the Arch Lector Ward Save and bring him down, but for every wound you do you'll need to make about 50 attacks. Plus he can heal his wounds. It's not going to work, sadly.
2) Two S7 characters at a time. So maybe a mounted Count and a Thrall, the Count with a lance and the Thrall on foot with a Great Weapon: make sure they're in units, charge 'em in. He'll offer a challenge. The key here is to refuse the challenge! This will actually result in your Count being sent to the back ranks, but your Thrall will still be there, and hopefully he'll be able to wipe out the Altar.
3) Wights! Probably the safest bet, especially if you can get a flank charge. Again, decline any challenge- having 4+ attacks from the unit is far better than 2 from a champion; if you have the Banner of the Barrows you'll hit the Arch Lector on 3+ and killing blow will take him down sooner or later.
Just watch out for the prayer Soulfire and the Flare Light spell which will utterly smash your Wights. But if you need to sacrifice half the unit to take him down, it is definitely worth it.
The key is getting a decent charge on the fella. The best way is with Ghouls. Only a small unit is required. Place them in front of him and if he charges he will either kill them or break them; you might even get lucky and do a wound or two in return with your poison. Alternatively, he might not charge in which case you can charge him, though you may just end up locked in combat for a turn, which isn't so bad as your Wights can manevure themselves to where they need to be. But either way, he's full of hatred so he must over-run: if you can make him do so into a forest or a wall, and certainly into your Wights' charge arc, you'll be laughing.
Any other advice? :)