Lists of the Month (Vampire)

List of the Month, Vampire.

I finally got my hand on the Vampire Counts armybook, and managed to come up with a list i find very interesting. It uses most of the new model, and is aiming for charging first and winning.

Maria José Cristerna

Lords (24.2%)

Vampire Lord
Coven Throne
lvl2 Wizard
Aura of Dark Majesty
Dread Knight
Shield/Heavy Armor
Dispel Scroll
Talisman of Preservation


Heroes (17.8%)

Vampire
Battle Standard Bearer
Coven Throne
The Cursed Book
Seed of Rebirth
Dread Knight
Aura of Dark Majesty
Shield/Heavy Armor


Core (25.0%)

55 Zombies
Musician
Standard Bearer

60 Skeleton Warriors
Champion
Musician
Standard Bearer

5 Dire Wolves

5 Dire Wolves

5 Dire Wolves


Special (9.6%)

5 Hexwraiths

1 Spirit Host

1 Spirit Host


Rare (23.4%)

3 Cairn Wraiths

1 Black Coach

1 Mortis Engine

Rick Genest

I think its the type of list you won't see too often (probably because it involve 3 models at roughly 60$ each), but i think it is still very viable and very fun to play.

The two vampire are pretty solid, with a relatively good chance that the opponent might be "cursed" when it come to hit him, and if not, i think the Vampire Lord is pretty unbeatable, and the Vampire is not too far behind. Magic Phase is interesting, mainly because a lvl2 and a lvl1 could be considered underpowered with Vampire, but i think that with the bonus from the Mortis, and the ability to cast a random spell on D3 Power dice, it could change the tide of the game. I think that book and a vampire lvl1 is gonna be a signature for just about any Vampire player that want to dominate the magic phase. First, because it gives access to some of the best spell that you wouldnt have otherwise, and second, because its an easy way to make sure a spell goes through without risking anything on a lvl1 (like a miscast or a failed casting). You could even take a chance when you have just one or two dice left, and attempt it, it's, after all, a 33% and 66% chance of success.

The army has some pretty nice speed bump too, with 3 unit of wolves, and 2 unit of Spirit Host. Carefully played, they could tie just about any unit for just long enough to allow you a flank charge with your zombies or Warriors. That is the main goal with this list ; flank charging with easy to kill units, to lose as little as possible each turn.

The Hexwraiths and Cairn Wraiths are basically just running flank, charging smaller units without character or warmachine. Because lets face it, with a list with so many etheral, you have to choose your target carefully. If you send your hexwraiths against a unit with a character or 2, that's 150 pts you just gave to your opponent. Unless you can walk through a unit, you should never target anything with a character, unless you play open list and knows he has no magic weapon.

The Black Coach slowly walks with the rest of the unit, Hoping his impact hit will turn a combat in vampire favor. Same goes for the Mortis Engine, who walks beside both zombies and Skeletons Warriors, to give them a regeneration, providing them with some defense (especially the zombies).