New Vampires 2500 list.

[Rammstein]

Hello folks been a lurker here for a while whilst trying to pull my finger out and get my VC army started. I've made a 2.5k list and I won't lie, the majority of this list has come from me reading this forum and seeing what seems to work. I have played a game so far with this list and there is a couple of things I'm either not happy with or I didn't use correctly.

The main thing I am not too sure about is the Hero Vampire, I've set him up as a Hybrid fighter and support caster probably using Shadow Magic to debuff whatever the Ghouls are fighting. For 200 points he is really bugging me and I just can't seem to think of anything else that would fit in the list, maybe a Sword of Kings wielding Wight with the other tricksters shard?

Anyway it would be great if you guys could give me some pointers on this list.


2500 Pts - Vampire Counts Roster

Vampire Lord
The Cadaverous Cuirass
Talisman of Preservation
Helm of Commandment
Master of the Black Arts
Dark Acolyte
Summon Ghouls

Vampire
Sword of Might
The Flayed Hauberk
Talisman of the Lycni
Forbidden Lore
Summon Ghouls

Necromancer
Black Periapt
Ironcurse Amulet
Vanhel's Danse Macabre

Wight King BSB
Hvy Arm, Shield
Drakenhof Banner

19 x Skeleton Warriors (5x4 Bunker)
Full Command

28x Crypt Ghouls (7x4 Formation)
Ghast

40x Crypt Ghouls (Either Horde or 7 wide)

30 x Grave Guard (5x6 Formation)
Full Command
Banner of the Barrows

Black Coach

Varghulf


Many Thanks

 

[Count Lasombra]

DU HAST!...sorry,had to get that out >)
The list looks good,the support vamp is plenty decent and will give you a much larger spell selection.I'd consider giving one of your vamps lord of the dead insted of summon ghouls since you are running both.

 

[Rammstein]

I'll give the Hero Vamp a whirl and see how he does, It just seemed quite a lot of points to throw into a hero character.

I've got a game coming up tonight and I've had a few extra list ideas floating around my head. I'm interested in how a Grave Guard unit will perform without the aid of the Drakenhoff Banner. By losing a ghoul here and there I can take a Combat orientated Wight King and a unit of 40 Grave Guard. My question is, can the extra 10 Grave Guard compensate for the loss of a 4+ regen save? It just seems to be a lot easier to get flaming attacks nowadays which will totally screw that banner over.

Here's the alternative list I was thinking of :-

2500 Pts - Vampire Counts Roster

Vampire Lord
The Cadaverous Cuirass
Talisman of Preservation
Helm of Commandment
Master of the Black Arts
Dark Acolyte
Summon Ghouls

Vampire
Sword of Might
The Flayed Hauberk
Talisman of the Lycni
Forbidden Lore
Summon Ghouls

Necromancer
Black Periapt
Ironcurse Amulet
Vanhel's Danse Macabre

Wight King BSB
Hvy Arm, Shield, Sword of Kings, Other Tricksters Shard, Dragon Helm

19 x Skeleton Warriors (5x4 Bunker)
Full Command

30x Crypt Ghouls (7x4 Formation)
Ghast

30x Crypt Ghouls (7x4 Formation)
Ghast

40 x Grave Guard (5x6 Formation)
Full Command
Banner of the Barrows

Black Coach

Varghulf

What do you guys think?

 

[Skarsnik the Lord]

The list looks fine, but I'd definitely make the combat units go in horde formation so they can seriously kill something. Great weapons for Grave Guards are a must for me, as if they don't have them, the Grave Guards are just expensive Skeletons. o_o The Drakenhof Banner is very good but I'm not sure is it a must... I have to test it sometimes. If you want to change something, I'd recommend taking more Ghouls - 30 isn't going to last for long.

By the way, nice account name, one of my favorite bands.

- Cheers, Skarsnik.

 

[Luvadin]

Regarding your ghoul formation, you can check this thread, it is quite interesting. An essential and very graphic result is:

I, for a moment, thought that if I fielded them 7x5 or so, I might have less problems as for casualties suffered, but then I realized that I would be hitting with 2 ranks of 7 ghouls and, if facing a horde, they would be hitting me 3x9. All in all, it did not compensate, because I would be avoiding 3 attacks without going horde but losing 19 of mine. Quite striking, right?

On the other hand, considering that Drakenhoff is very expensive, that WK are not immortal if they are your enemy's target and that flaming attacks are not that strange, I'd use the Flaming Banner, which would give you some spare points to make your ghouls tougher.

I'd also consider using CW instead of the Varghulf, as he can be very vulnerable to warmachines and CR. I myself would not risk, but the truth is the model is awesome and that if played well, it can show to be very useful. However, I would personally not assume this risk, as I think it can be very hit or miss and in turn 1 your Varghulf can be left full of holes by a cannon.

 

[Rammstein]

@Ludavin, thanks that's an interesting topic it has definitely given me some food for thought.

My game last night was a loss but I put it down to bad luck and a slight oversight by myself rather than any flaws with the list.

We played Meeting Engagement (the one with diagonal deployment zones?) and all my characters barring the Necromancer ending up in reserve along with my Grave Guard. My opponent then seized the initiative and went first catching my Varghulf flat footed with some Chaos Knights. The oversight was that he was fielding two units of Knights but one unit was being proxie'd by some Marauder Horsemen. Come turn two I had forgot they were Knights and ignored them thinking they were not too much of a problem, you can imagine what happened next.

As for my List the Grave Guard are just soooooo awesome. They Took a block of Warriors on with two Exalted inside (including the BSB) and broke them in one round of combat, having more ranks was the killer here as he had no steadfast.

The turn after I got brave and charged them into a unit of warriors I knew had a flaming banner, luckily for me I only lost around 4 Grave Guard through a combination of WS7 from the Helm and toughness 4, this unit of warriors was also sent packing.

I didn't really get to test the Varghulf so he will be staying in the list for now.

I'm still not happy with the Hero Vampire, I took forbidden lore on him but didn't cast a single spell as my power dice were spent on trying to get VHD through, I think I'm going to resort back to the Vampiric Lore with him to help my Lord roll VHD at the start of the game, this save a few points too.

I will give the list some more consideration and hopefully get some more games in soon.

 

[Mikael.K]

Most things has been said already, but a couple of words on the hero vampire. I give mine the lore of light due to the great augment spells in there. The lore is especially strong vs DoC and DE, both of which as tough for us to handle. I´ve used mine in melee aswell, but found him quite vulnerable (any smart opponent will put as many attacks on him as they can). I also give my vamp some really nice and cheap support items.

Forbidden lore is obvious. Black periapt is a useful item that helps offset the black coach´s dice sucking abilities. The dragonbane gem is nice to have so the vampire can challenge characters with flaming attacks (not very uncommon with deamons) and so can spare your GG from losing regen. Use those magic missiles to get rid of support troops at the start of the game. I use VHD mainly in combat anyway. Summon undead horde and wind of undeath can also be used at the very start of the game. The magic missiles are great to lura out some dispel dice aswell!

40 GG should manage without the drakenhoff banner. A level 4 fighter lord with blood drinker will keep them going aswell. Give them great weapons and field them in horde formation and watch them go!