Shadowspawn said:
My thought is, Dire Wolves, Bats, Ghouls, Crypt Horrors, Zombies, Vargheists and Vargulfs would be a good start to a list themed towards a Strigoi Lord.
"Strigoi List" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as "Ghoul List" in my head, so I just need some clarification there. I'd say you could run a strigoi list of 2500 points or so with just one big block of 30 to 40 ghouls, or maybe a couple smaller ghoul blocks if you want to be able to fit some in a watchtower. That's enough ghouls in the army that it would pass muster as "Strigoi" in my head, depending on the rest of the list.
"Ghoul List", to me, implies more ghouls then that. Like, using ghouls and ghoulish units as the primary thrust of your force. Crypt horrors to the exclusion of vargheists. Two big blocks of 30 or more ghouls. And when you take it that far, you start running into issues.
As for a strigoi list....
First, keep in mind that Vargheists aren't defined as being a strigoi-aligned unit, canonically, they're VonCarstein. I know, I know, few VonCarstein players would claim them, and from the look and fundamental concept of them they seem more like a strigoi unit. The point is that if you're willing to include Vargheists in a Strigoi list then on some level you're wiling to allow a certain amount of re-fluffing.
Also, I will persist in defending Wights as an acceptable choice in Strigoi armies. Not 100%, like ghouls or crypt horrors or terrorgheists, but an acceptable choice on par with necomancers and zombies. Remember, Wights are pre-animated. It took some magical skill to bind their spirits to their bodies at the time of burial, but after that any old vampire can roll around and rouse them simply with their innate necromantic presence. It's harder for necromancers, but for a vampire, wights theoretically shouldn't be that much harder to muster once found than zombies.
The question is finding them in the first place, and conveniently for Strigoi, their favored hidey holes are barrows, catacombs, crypts, and caves near graveyards. In particular, Strigoi have an ancient & regal self image, seeing themselves as the heirs to the rightful rulers of Lahmia unjustly persecuted by their cowardly rivals. As such, Strigoi also prefer lairs with some degree of regal or noble trappings. And barrows, catacombs, and crypts of ancient nobility are exactly the kinds of places where a Strigoi would encounter Wights. Further, the elite regimented nature of the Wights would play into the delusional vampire's regal self-image, making them ideal bodyguards.
Again, I'm not arguing that wights are 'as good' a fit as crypt horrors, or even vargheists really, just that the image of the Strigoi isn't purely the 'bestial'. It's ruined nobility, the regal
reduced to the bestial. It's that juxtaposition that brings out their true nature, imo.
Anyway, that's a long tangent.
Back to Strigoi armies - armies that featuring:
Prominent choices: Strigoi Ghoul Kings, ghouls, zombies (including bestial zombies), varghulfs, terrorgheists, and maybe vargheists
Possibly, if less prominently: necromancers, wights, maybe corpsemasters (the graveyard connection), maybe even a few ethereals, maybe hero level vampires representing recently turned strigoi who have not yet fully degenerated
If you view the theme as broadly as above, then it's certainly viable. Just remember to keep an eye on your banner count for B&G missions. If your only banner carrying units are regular zombies, be sure to take enough of them not to lose those games without playing. Make sure you've got some hammers, anvils, tar pits, casters,
chaff, warmachine hunters, and maybe some support options.
