Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Vampire Counts

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Why Play Vampire Counts

Vampire Counts are a fairly effective force. They're fun to play, but they have several gimmicks that have to be accounted for to play at their best. First, note that there are no shooting options in this army, effectively eliminating an entire phase. Any ranged options in this army are purely magical. Second, you have no need to worry about the psychology of your units because they don't have any. You will be paying a lot of attention to the enemy's psychology because that's crucial to winning. Never forget to take a fear test or your troops lose any advantage they have. Third, magic is your bread and butter, your meat and drink, your bolter and chainsword. You are going to be heavily reliant on magic to refresh your units and get the most advantageous fights. If you're not utterly dominating the magic phase, you're doing it wrong. There are other things, but we'll get to them as they crop up.

Note: I am by no means a tactical genius and I haven't played this army extensively. Please feel free to correct any mistakes in the tactical use of units.

Unit Analysis

Lords & Heroes

Named Characters

Note: Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can pretty easily emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, a few named characters do have abilities and war gear combos unique to them, so if you absolutely need to have them, go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth.

Lords

• Vlad Von Carstein: The man that started it all. Look at this monster. You want to field him, but you never will. Why? He's 490 points, and as strong as he is (powerful fighter than can comeback after getting killed), which is your entire lord budget in an otherwise balanced 2000 point army, and you don't have that kind of room for one model. For the points, you could load a normal Vampire Lord up on a fucking undead dragon and have points left over to spend on powers. So skip over Carstein unless you're going for the Vlad/Isabella combo.

• Count Mannfred: A superb and versatile caster with no less than 14 spells. However for optimum usage he needs to kill stuff, which he isn’t too good at for Vampire Lord aside from being fairly vulnerable.. This is the man you want fighting nothing but goblins and skavenslaves if you can possible help it. If you can manage this then this guy will generally rule both magic phases, especially if you're canny and snipe enemy wizards early on with Spirit Leech where you'll almost always have the superior LD.

• Heinrich Kemmler: Oh, you were never going to be playing this game in decent company anyway. He's a level four loremaster that is hard to kill and is ideal for filling a lord's' spot at 1500pts. If you're playing at that level, you may as well bring Krell to take advantage of their tag team abilities.

Heroes

• Mannfred the Acolyte: Much more fieldable and a solid choice since he provides Loremaster, which is what you take him for. Like his Lord Incarnation you want him fighting chaff and nothing but chaff, the weaker the better.

• Konrad von Carstein: Nothing short of Psychologically Damaging if your opponent happens to bring Monstrous Infantry. The combo of hatred, red fury and Sword of Waldenhof means he'll cut 5-6 ogres down...per combat! That being said it's all he really does well while being the uncle of all glass cannons. So be wary of using him... and be aware that Ogre players will die a little each time you field him.

• Isabella von Carstein: Statline reminiscent of a Space Marine at 90 points. Has beguile, but without any special combat equipment what's she going to do with it? Blood Chalice looks nice, but it's nothing Invocation of Nehek can't do and it only works on vampires and even then only ones in the same squad as her. Of course, there's always the fact that if she kicks it, Vlad goes fucking nuts, with Frenzy and Hatred and whatnot... except that, as we discussed earlier, you're never going to take Vlad.

Generic Characters

Note: While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

Lords

• Vampire Lord: Brilliant stat line and a ton of upgrade options. Naturally, characters are the first place spare points go in a Vampire Counts army, and this unit will likely soak up as many points as you can give. Properly kited they can stand toe to toe with chaos lords and rampage through elite units all while having excellent magical options. Remember, if your general dies very bad things happen to your army, so whatever you do, keep him in a unit at least until he is in combat: losing a game on turn one from a warmachine attack is not fun. Item selection and powers will be covered later.
• Master Necromancer: Cheap level 4 wizard that can be used to support a vampire lord who decided to take forbidden lore. You might be tempted to make him your general, and that would certainly spare points for the other great choices you have, but remember that your army would start crumbling as soon as he died. Crumbling is very, very bad, even if it is not the game over screen it was on the previous edition. This is obviously a problem with vampire lords as well, but they can survive melee combat even if they are magic-oriented, assuming they are properly kited. You can place him in a bunker behind your front-lines, but remember that all it might take is a particularly bad roll in winds of magic, bad maneuver or combat rolls to have your necromancer eating lances/swords/whatever.

To summarize: he is a very fine choice whether taken as a support caster or as a general, but if you use the latter route, know that a single mistake (or a few bad rolls) can cost you the game.

• Strigoi Ghoul King: Whereas the Vampire Lord is the ideal mix of magic and might and the Master Necromancer is the magic focused user, the Strigoi Ghoul King is the punch-sport champ... or at least that is what he was supposed to be. His infinite hatred seems fun until you realize a vampire lord with Quickblood does the exact same thing, except against high elves (and even then he forces them to attack simultaneously). He also has shitty defense: he can't take the Nightshround, or any other armor for that matter, and you simply can't rely solely on a 5+ (or even 4+ with the mortis engine) regeneration save. Poisoned attacks are good and synergize with the hatred, shame that if you take a magic weapon you lose that poison. Oh, his WS is also lower than that of a vampire lord, which might seem like little until you take into account that WS 7 means you would be hit on a 4+ instead of a 3+ by most combat lords. No cavalry mount available either, so you can't have him join those black knights or blood knights. You could mount him on a terrorgheist if you want to spam them... and have your army crumble from a cannon ball on turn 1. Sadly, this clan is a strictly fluffy choice.

Heroes

• Vampire: Cheaper Vampire Lord. The biggest problem here is the much more limited number of powers you can take, forcing you to choose wisely. Remember that neither this unit nor the Lord equivalent come with any equipment standard, so if you put all your points in magic don't send them into combat or they're going to get slaughtered.

• Wight King: Originally a poor choice because it used up a hero slot and wasn't a vampire, new force organisation rules give Wight Kings a place in your army; right at the front. There are few foes that can test a Vampire's WS of 6, and Wight Blade and toughness 5 makes the Wight King a more effective warrior than a standard Vampire. Stick him in a unit of Grave Guard with the Drakenhof Banner for an incredibly cheesy unit that will never die.

• Necromancer: As above, new organisation rules make Necromancers more viable. 65 points for a level 1 wizard isn't bad. Use them to keep your armies at good strength, but don't expect too much from them. You get what you paid for.

• Cairn Wraith: Sadly not a good choice. Spirit hosts are cheaper for simple tarpits and the Cairn Wraiths unit is more cost-effective for cavalry/monster killing. Both are also more resistant to magic by virtue of having more wounds. Wight kings

• Tomb Banshee: A joke. Any competitive army will have at least 9 leadership in important units, most will have 10, so the hysterical woman is unlikely to earn her points back. Useless in melee too.

Core Units

• Zombie Horde: Zombies are pathetic, fortunately vampire magic phase is full of buffs, get some rerolls and that zombie unit can hold a bit longer. You might think to use them as a tar pit but combat res screws vc's.. So why take them? The answer is they are very easy to raise back up and are cheap as chips. For 3 points a model(Giving you a total 70 points for a 20-strong horde plus standard bearer and musician) you get a cheap caster bunker that has a very small chance of been killed unless its charged. In addition, remember to keep a few models off the table since assuming you have raise dead because you'll be summoning a lot of these buggers for various reasons. They are incredibly versatile and fully expendable road block/charge redirecter you can raise them behind enamy front line to charge small chaff units like bow men or achers or warmachines.

• Skeleton Warriors: Better than zombies in every way. More durable due to having light armour and a shield. The armour makes them more effective tar pits than zombies because they're likely to stay in the game longer, but as before best taken in large units to maximise the usefulness of Invocation of Nehek.

• Ghouls: Ghouls eschew protection for automatic wounds on a six, which means of your three standard core units they're the ones most likely to get kills. They tie with skeleton warriors, depending on what you want out of your army; skeletons are more durable, while ghouls have more attacks and poison. Take them in a horde for a wall of attacks that your enemy will devote ridiculous amounts of firepower to take down before they can get into combat.

• Dire Wolves: They now count towards your minimum core requirements, meaning they are now a very fast moving alternative to the other core choices. As with most units of this type, use them for flanking if you want them.

Special Units

• Corpse Cart: Best used for its passive abilities. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's capable of holding its own in combat. Can be ridden by Necromancers.

Alternative Opinion: Its passive bonuses are probably limited given how much dice are generally chucked after spells. If you can bear its slowness and is able to hit it consistently with augments then the ASF ability is a huge asset against High Elves and low-initiative armies

• Grave Guard: Now an infamous staple in VC armies along with their mounted counterparts, Grave Guard are essentially stronger, tougher and generally better skeletons. They don't pack it in as easily as regular skeletons due to having better armour, higher Ld/T/S and as nifty little bonus, have killing blow! Stuff a Wight King into this unit and take them in hordes. Great weapon is the more powerful and popular points, but Sword'n Board Grave Guard are still powerful and can serve as a very respectable anvil/points denial unit. The latter choice is also slightly cheaper and benefits more from a corpse cart, if you take one.
• Black Knights: One of two heavy cavalry units in the army and the Grave Guard's mounted counterparts, as previously mentioned. DAMN good unit capable of moving over terrain like it wasn't even there and letting loose with a flurry of S4 (or higher, depending on weapon choice) killing blow attacks. All while possibly having a 2+ armor save. Delicious.
• Hexwraiths: New for 8th edition, weaker black knights with great weapons and an interesting advantage: they're ethereal! They will attract a TON of magic during your opponents turn and don't have any protection against that, so beware. Otherwise, they work exactly like Screamers of Tzeentch, allowing you to zig-zag them through unengaged units dishing out S5 flaming, magical attacks that ignore armour saves per hexwraith. Best used to ruin an expensive (preferably slow) unit's day. Just remember that in order for them to march you'll need your general nearby, so be careful with enemy reserves if you send them on their own: they'll likely die from combat resolution unless supported.
• Vargheists: Competes with Empire Outriders and Swordmasters for the title of premier glass cannons, these guys packs considerable punch at break-neck speed. They can hunt war machines if they must, but work better hitting flanks or hunting enemy support troops. Don’t ever think they'll last against even mediocre infantry unsupported though. Love them, and they will give you love in return, in the form of a raging opponent.
• Crypt Horrors: The other monstrous infantry unit, little more than super ghouls. Like ghouls, they have poisoned attacks, but also regeneration 5+. This unit is an anvil, pure and simple, but crumbling and a limited offensive capability does force you to take units of at least 6. A unit of 18 in a horde does have good punch however and is very hard to get rid of, but will be expensive for a unit that ultimately works best in a points denial role. Work best with a mortis engine, if the thing doesn't get blown up (or, more often, blows itself up).
• Bat Swarm: The joke. They will be torn apart by crappy archers with S3 stick-shooters who may well be less expensive than the bats are. They cannot fly, only hover, so they will an extra turn (or more, depending on your general's movements) time getting there comparing to the Fell Bats too. If you do manage to get them into melee, then you will suffer the embarrassment of having your war-machine hunters die to a fat dwarf hitting them with a rock, unless you spend more points in them, in which case you are spending too many points. Avoid.
• Fell Bats: The good choice. For the same points you lose two attacks but upgrade your strength to 3 (which will statistically increase the casualties you cause) and, more importantly, gain fly and T3. This means they are much more likely to reach their targets without dying to ranged fire (unless your opponent spends too much resources on them, which works to your advantage) or giving the enemy enough time to intercept them. They are also more likely to survive the following melee. Remember that due to how shooting works, you are usually better off getting a few small units rather a singly larger one, and then direct them to a single target if needed.
• Spirit Host: Ah, the spirit host. These guys are extremely cost-effective monster and cavalry tarpits (just make sure whatever you are facing does not have magic attacks: trying to attack chaos knights will not end well). They are best used to dissuade a flank charge than to actively hunt their targets, otherwise they may get too exposed to infantry (their bane) or outmaneuvered (their movement is good, but where they are going they will likely not be in the general's range). That said, don't mind losing a unit to magic or infantry if you have to: after all, they cost less than 50 points. Why give a damn?

Rare Units

• Blood Knights: There are alot things to remember about the Blood Knights: EVIL BRETONNIANS! They are as expensive as a Baneblade to purchase, and they are one of the top heavy cavalry units in Warhammer Fantasy. Chaos Knights may have more longevity in prolonged fights and Grail Knights might be better at the charge, but blood knights are far more versatile than either.The Flag of Blood Keep gives them a +4 ward save against any ranged attacks that can get through their 2+ base armor save, and you don't even need to keep them in range of the general to get a March off. Having recently had their points cost lowered and their initiative raised , they are a fantastically lethal addition to an army of any size. It's still a good idea to keep a loaded-up barded vampire lord within the unit anyways, the unit is frenzied and gets some sweet ass upgrades if the vampire joins as well, and the lord serves as a medic whenever he casts invocation he can regain the vampire and the horse he rode in on.
  • Tricks to Consider:
    • 4-man unit with flaming banner makes a fantastic monster hunter, which will reliably take down even Hydras, sphinxes and hellpits on the charge.
    • Add a Vampire on hellsteed with MR2 trinket to a unit with Flag of Blood Keep for a unit with 2+ ward against magic damage and a warmachine/wizard hunter which will be extremely hard to neutralise before you unleash him.
  • Modeling note: If you are ok with conversions, don't buy their kit. No, really. You do don't want to spend 99$/61.50£/80€ for 5 guys. Buy a box of Bretonnian Knights Errant and go wild with your imagination.

• Black Coach: An extremely expensive chariot. If you take a vampire lord with the Master of the Dark Arts, you will get on average 1.5 abilities per turn (only 1 otherwise, so best taken in a magic-focused army). That means that unless you do something really stupid to get charged by turn 2, for 200 points you will have 5 attacks at S5/6 with killing blow, plus impact hits. With T6, 3+ armor and 4+ ward (and ethereal later on) and its decent offensive potential, this bad boy is unlikely to suffer significant damage unless you do something really, really idiotic like charging ranked Tzeentch warriors, while light damage can easily be healed. It takes more time to be effective than the Terrorgheist (who takes the same roles: small, expesive unit/monster hunter), but at the same time it won't die to peasant bowmen with flaming arrows: it will take on average 3(!) direct hits with cannons to take it down, and only if you don't heal it in the meantime.

• Terrorgheists: Not everyone likes them, but they remain one of our best choices especially owing to the fact that it is our most flexible unit. The nature of its scream makes it best suited to hunting monsters and lone characters as well as heavy cavalry. It's Thunderstomp also allows it to support (key word here: they will die to enough S3 attacks + combat resolution) combat against enemy infantry. It can actually do a pretty credible job at most tasks. It's weaknesses however is that its scream isn't terrible reliable especially since it requires close support from the General as well as continual healing to get the most from its abilities. This combined with their relative vulnerability in CC and their huge base size means they are tricky to actually move about. A specialist glass-canon(ish) if you feel like taking one.

• Varghulf: The vargheist's frenzon-addicted big brother. Sadly, not a better choice. For the same points the vergheists will get more easily into combat due to fly, deal more damage except against WS 4 enemies and, by virtue of numbers, are more resistant to damage (that is, it's harder to kill ALL of them, even considering the Varghulf's regeneration), and since lore of the vampires will easily heal any unit that isn't completely dead... well, you get the picture. The Varghulf is not a bad choice by any means, especially considering he lacks frenzy, so he won't jump into combat you don't want him to. He is simply not as good and, worse, steals points from your rare allowance.

• Mortis Engine: At first glance, this seems like the ultimate support unit, especially with the blasphemous tome upgrade and in support of ghouls. Then you notice that it is a chariot. With T5 and only a 5+ armor save/6+ regen, it will eat spells or high damage ranged attacks from turn 1, exploding and dealing damage to all your units. The only reliable way to take one would be to make an army lead by a lone character with as many monsters and chariots as you can, to spread enemy fire to those other targets. Of course, one would question the viability of the army itself in that case...

• Cairn Wraith: The expensive, damage-dealing alternative to the spirit hosts. They will still die to ranked infantry but, unlike the spirit hosts who function as a tarpit, these guys function as killers. 9 attacks at S5 or 3 attacks that ignore armor will put the hurt in whatever they strike. Sadly, they take rare choice points and unlike the spirit hosts you can't afford to just let them get killed by magic. It's usually better to pin enemies with spirit hosts and then flank later with another unit so, in essence, the Cairn Wraiths are to the Spirit Hosts as the Varghulfs are to the Vargheists. Oh, and never, ever upgrade one to a tomb banshee. The damage it deals to any significant target is terrible (most armies can easily have at least an L9 bubble in all important troops, and the others you can kill in melee) and it's weaker in close quarters.

Magic Items

• Magic Weapons:

• • Skabskath: An odd weapon. While its pretty unlikely you'll die from the end-of-game drawback the fact is that is that you'll be arming your general with a sword that means you'll have to overrun plus you won't be able to afford a ward save. Can be worth it on Strigo Ghoul King (Curse of the Revenant and Aura of dark Majesty on a Terrorgheist and another careful in support, but be careful

• Magic Armor:

• • Nightshroud: Additional Armor your Necromancers can use! Anyone attacking someone wearing a Nightshroud loses its Always Strikes First rule and bonuses to Strenght in BSB. Stick it on your Vampire Lord riding a Zombie Dragon and start laughing. A tip for the beardy here. High Elves have no response to this build apart from Death magic...All they can do is pray and throw themselves on your Lord's blade