Warhammer Fantasy Battle: Vampire Counts

Tips and Tactics

Nasty (non Vampire) characters and combos

Vampire Lords / Vampire Count / Master Necromancer / Vampire Thrall / Wight Lord / Wraith / Necromancer / Skeletons / Zombies / Ghouls / Bat Swarms / Dire Wolves / Grave Guard / Black Knights / Spirit Hosts / Fell Bats / Banshees / Black Coach / Sylvanian Levy / Swains / Skeleton Bowmen / Charnel Guard / Strigany

Overall Tactics / Magic Spell Discussion /
Bloodline Powers (Blood Dragon / Von Carstein / Strigoi / Necrarch / Lahmia) /
Magic Items (Weapons / Armour / Arcane Items / Enchanted Items / Banners)

Vampire Lords (see below for full discussion of Bloodline Powers)
These are the most powerful character in your army, and probably the game (barring Greater Daemons and some Chaos characters). Therefore you must equip them as such. Really there are only two paths to choose from with vampires - magic or close combat. Necrarchs definitely come in the former, Blood Dragons and Strigoi are firmly in the latter and Von Carsteins and Lamia can be tailored for either. Regardless of which you choose ALWAYS take the magic level upgrade, you never know when you may need the dice and spells.

NOTE: Never forget that only Von Carsteins and Blood Dragons can take armour, and that only Strigoi come with a ward save, also remember to give you Lord some protection.

Necrarchs can easily become the most powerful wizards in the game, 75 points of your 100 allowance spent on Nehekhara's Noble Blood, Forbidden Lore and Spell Familiar will make you a level 4 wizard with all 6 spells, the remaining 25 points can be spent on dispels/power scrolls or additional powers (Master of the Black Arts - watch your opponents face as you increase the range of Hellish Vigour, Invocation or Vanhel's Danse Macabre!). Give the vampire a barded nightmare and suddenly he also has a 5+ save. Basically, Necrarch vampires are not at all designed for close combat, do not try to redress the balance by kitting them out wrong - simply tool up as a very good wizard. However, always remember that as a Necrarch you only lose 2 WS, so you still have multiple attacks, high S and T etc so you can take to close combat if needed, just don't make it your priority.

Blood Dragons and Strigoi are my favourite vampires because they are so close combat orientated, and as a result can massacre anything in hand to hand. A Blood Dragon with either a lance or great weapon and the power Strength of Steel hits with strength 8 on the turn he attacks, making mincemeat of chariots, dragons etc. Heart Piercing combined with Red Fury and Sword of Battle gives you 7 attacks at S5 (with WS10 you will probably always hit on a 3+) and you can reroll misses, against units with heavy armour this is utterly lethal (-2 save modifier, so no save from the armour). If it is ever down to a choice between Sword of Battle (+1 attack) or Sword of Striking (+1 to hit) ALWAYS take the sword of battle, as it is 5 points cheaper and statistically 6 attacks hitting on 3+ is better than 5 attacks hitting on 2+. Another good point, Blood Dragon platemail is a 4+ save not 5+, so with a barded nightmare and shield the save becomes 1+! Strigoi are also very good as their 100 points allowance is only to be spent on bloodline powers. Infinite Hatred, Iron Sinews and Massive Monstrosity will give you 6 attacks at S6 (rerollable) and 5 wounds. Also, never forget that you get a 5+ ward save. Substituting Massive Monstrosity with Bat Form would be quite nasty (20" charge range)

Finally Von Carsteins and Lahmia are neither really close combat or magic orientated, though can be altered to either. Lahmia may have -1 WS, though this still means that a Lord has WS7, she also has +2 initiative giving her I10 (take that High Elves!) Also her Seduction, transfix etc power can make her quite nasty. However, do not forget that you cannot take mundane weapons and armour, so don't leave out a ward of some form. Lahmia have the advantage that everyone can take the Quickblood power gaining a 5+ Ward save. Lahmia can be used as wizards, though they are better as lightning fast fighters with magical abilities, rather than trying to make them wizards who can fight. Von Carsteins are excellent leaders, as taking Aura of Dark Majesty or Walking Death can easily turn the tide of the battle for you. Unlike Lahmia that cannot take weapons and such, a Von Carstein can and therefore has access to lances, great weapons and additional hand weapons. As mentioned above, do not forget that you have no armour, take a ward. Vampire Lords can get away with the Crown of the Damned as they have Ld10 and are unlikely to fail their Stupidity test.

Concerning mounts - there are advantages and disadvantages. A Zombie Dragon or Winged Nightmare gives you a massive movement and charge distance and lots of extra attacks to tear apart units and characters. However in most battles, this Lord will be your general and you do not want him getting away from the rest of the army, as he is more vulnerable and will prevent the rest of the army moving so fast, also they cause terror and you may end up with everyone running away and you sitting in the open waiting for cannonballs, rocks etc. If in a battle where you can field a multiple Lord charcter (i.e. a pair of Counts, or a Lord and a Count) and have a Dragon or Winged Nightmare then get stuck in, but otherwise use with caution. Nightmares are an entirely different matter, my Blood Dragon always rides a barded nightmare and advances with my Black Knights. He is well protected and also has a big hard unit with him as a bodyguard.

So; use Blood Dragons and Strigoi to lead your charges and swing close combat, Necrarchs to dominate the magic phase, Lahmia to beguile enemy characters and powerful units and Von Carsteins to lead the army and boost its abilities.

Vampire Count
Virtually everything said above about Vampire Lords also apples here as Counts and Lords have the same allowance for Powers and Items. Just remember that counts have 1 less in many stats. In a standard battle, Counts are a better buy as they have most of the power of a Lord, but still leave you with a spare hero slot. If you want a Zombie Dragon though, you can only use one with a Lord, so you will need to give up a Lord choice and 2 Hero choices to field one.

Master Necromancer
These are the most powerful magic users you have access to, with the possible exception of a tooled up Necrarch Lord. However, unlike the Necrarchs they do not have any innate skills in close combat, so tool them up for magic and nothing else. All necromancers must be heavily protected, as without buying Armour of Bone, their best armour save is 5+ (barded nightmare). Usually I mount my Master Necromancers on barded nightmares and deploy them on their own, or on foot in the middle of a skeleton unit (not Grave Guard as they are trying to get into close combat - not good for the necromancer) as he can replenish the unit as it suffers loses, and he is well out the way from combat and missile fire.

I would never mount a necromancer on a Winged Nightmare or Zombie Dragon as they just cannot hold their own in close combat, and they would make a very large and expensive target for your opponent.

Vampire Thrall
Vampire Thralls are some of the best Heroes in the game. The Dark elf Assassins are probably the only other Heroes that can match them for sheer close combat ability.

Blood Dragons and Strigoi should be tooled up for close combat with Sword of Battle + Master Strike/Heart Piercing (4 attacks with Killing Blow or re-roll misses) or Iron Sinews and Infinite Hatred (4 attacks S6 and re-roll all misses). These combos can make a good character lethal, especially in challenges and against elite infantry.

Lahmia should be given powers to help any Countess's or Ladies in the army, so more powers that stop the enemy attacking you.

Necrarchs are useful as they can be given arcane items such as Staff of Damnation, Dispel Scrolls, Power Familiar or Book of Arkhan. In a battle of less than 2000 points give your opponent a really nasty shock by taking a Necrarch thrall with Nehekhara's Noble Blood and 2 Necromancers. Your general will be quite a bit more difficult to kill than usual, and can deal back some damage in hand to hand.

Von Carsteins are also best used in a supporting role. A wolf form thrall in a unit of Dire Wolves would be a nasty surprise for anyone, especially if you used a Doom Wolf model to represent the vampire, combined with the Flayed Hauberk and 2 hand weapons, Heavy Armour, Shield and Sword of Battle this is a very nasty combination. If in a normal infantry or cavalry unit, then the access to armour and good weaponry allows the vampire to help tip the balance in combat.

Wight Lord
Excellent as either lone characters to hunt enemy characters (people hate killing blow, either with or without the Sword of Kings) or as champions for Grave Guard or Skeletons. I prefer not to use them as Black Knight champions unless I have more regiments of knights than I do mounted vampires.

Wraith
I would never consider putting one of these on a nightmare unless I had enough to field a couple, in which case a very fast, etheareal terror causing unit could be a lot of fun. Normally these are deployed in a unit skeletons to add a little bit more to them. Wraiths are not terribly powerful in close combat, but they are excellent for challenging characters with no magic weapons. They are quite good when fielded on their own, but are well supported as they can prevent march moves and can start to flank the opposing army, but they will die if they are attacked by a regiment (the CR would be lethal). They best weapon by far is terror, I have seen an entire unit of Brettonian knights complete with general and battle standard bearer turn tail and flee straight off the battlefield because of terror.

Necromancer
As with Master Necromancers, keep these well protected and be under no illusion about their combat abilities - in 6th edition standard magic users don't have any! Always upgrade them to level 2, and take at least 1 dispel scroll per 2 necromancers if not more.

Skeletons
Skeletons should form the backbone (pardon the pun) of your army. Unlike Ghouls and Dire Wolves you can get a Standard, Musician and a rank bonus, unlike Bats you can have multiple units and unlike Zombies you can actually get to strike first! A good solid regiment of 30 with spears makes a very good defensive unit, especially when arrayed in ranks of 6 or 7 so that 12 or 14 can fight. Always try to take a standard if points allow it, a champion and musician are also useful but not essential. Normally I would say that it is never a good idea to take light armour, and that you are better off spending the points on more skeletons, however, with the new rules about shields in close combat (additional +1 save) your basic hand weapon skeletons have a 4+ save in close combat if given light armour (as well as a 5+ save vs missiles). This is rather good for basic skeletons as most regiments have a maximum str of 5 (either halberds, 2 handed weapons or basic str). which has only a -2 save, leaving your skelletons with a 6+ save, and against basic strength 3 models they get a 4+ save, which means that 50% of your skeletons that are hit and wounded will survive, combined with the additional models generated from Invocation of Nehek, your basic skeleton unit will have incredible staying power against other regiments. I wouldn't try this tactic with spear armed skeletons as they lose the +1 save in close combat due to wielding spears not hand weapons.

Try and use at least three quite large (25+) units of skeletons as the core of your army and then bolster them constantly with Invocation of Nehek. A bad point is that if your general dies, then the units will be quickly destroyed as they have only Ld 3.

Zombies
Until recently I would have to be desperate to field zombies in my army. However, I am now beginning to see uses for them. At 6 points they are the cheapest unit in your army, allowing to use them to bulk it out, though they cost 2-3 times more than other WS2, S3 troops such as Gobbos and Skavenslaves and have no armour. Te Braindead rule is very annoying as it means that if you charge you will still strike last, the only way to strike first is to use Hellish Vigour or the Staff of Damnation. Braindead is actually a very useful rule, it means that you are not concerned about charging and can use your zombies to act as bait for the enemy, tying up the unit until you can flank or rear charge it. If you field the maximum number of 40 in your unit and occasionally bolster it with Invocation, then the enemy are going to be stuck with no way out. They either have to sit it out and eventually destroy the unit, or waste other units by charging the zombies simply to kill them. Most units can only muster a max of 3 attacks per model (+4/5 if led by a good character) so even if all hit and all wound, it will probably only kill around 15 zombies, you still have a rank bonus, probably the outnumber bonus and a standard. If you lose another 10-15 due to combat resolution so what, the enemy is stuck and you can charge it withe units that are left and right of your zombies, negating the enemy rank bonus and gaining flank/rear charge bonus's for yourself.

Ghouls
Even though I wouldn't touch Ghouls in 5th edition, in 6th edition they are a hell of a lot better. While their points cost has risen (from 6 to 8) and they have lost the ability to claim rank bonus's (they are now skirmishers), they have gained +1 WS (meaning it will take a WS7+ opponent to make them hit on 5+), +1 Ld, the ability to benefit from the battle standard (re-roll failed break tests), they can take a champion (+1 attack is always useful), as skirmishers they are subject to a -1 to hit modifier (very good when combined with their toughness of 4) and most importantly of all - all attacks are now counted as poison attacks (wounds auto on a natural hit roll of 6). These new abilities are in addition to fact that they can march without needing the general and that they cause fear. As they can march, have a decent toughness and are skirmishers, a long line as a screen in front of your army can prove to be a very big annoyance for your opponent who must shoot at T4, -1 to hit models before he can attack the main bulk of your army, and there is always the possiblilty that some will flee before being attacked due to failing a fear test. Do not forget though that ghouls are only immune to fear, not any other psychology, they can still break and be affected by Terror, if you stray them too far from the General and Battle Standard be prepared that they may run away after a bad turns shooting or hand to hand. Additionally, because they are Alive! remember that they may be able to march on their own, but you cannot use Vanhel's on them, nor can you use Hellish Vigour to help them in HtH.

The poison attack is the one reason that I now rate ghouls and it is because it has 2 major advantages 1; high toughness (7+) opponents can now be wounded and 2; all other opponents are now easier to kill as 1 in 6 hits will auto wound, meaning that overall the unit will cause more wounds. A unit of ghouls 7 wide (this will allow all of them to strike against a unit 5 wide as the end two will be corner to corner) with a Ghast in the front rank will be able to strike with 15 attacks! The advantage of losing the rank bonus is that the above tactic (7 wide) can be employed without worrying about losing the rank bonus as you don't have it anyway, this can be a real headache for an opponent who knows that no matter which side charges, when the skirmishing ghouls are ranked up he will probably be attacked with at least 15 poisoned attacks. Poisoned attacks are also a good way of keeping high toughness characters pinned or running as a lot of players are scared of facing characters off against units with with either killing blow or poisoned attacks.

I field my ghouls in units of 12 (including a ghast) and so far they have more than paid for themselves in each battle.

Bat Swarms
Bat swarms have one major disadvantage - you may only have a single swarm, and that swarm may only have 5 bases. This is a problem as being flyers each base only has a unit strength of 1, therefore you need a full complement of all 5 bases to count for flank and rear attack bonus's. Another, though minor, disdavantage is that they only have S and T of 2 meaning most troops will wound them on a 2+ or 3+ and they need 5+ or 6+ to wound them back.

However, on the plus side they move rapidly (10" fly) they are immune to psychology (even though they are alive), they cause fear, have 5 wounds and 5 attacks and are skirmishers like ghouls. A full swarm of 5 bases flanking someones army is quite worrying, especially if they are supported by Fell Bats, or are screening Black Knights or other fast moving troops. Alternatively, the swarm can use its superior speed to advance ahead of the army and provide a solid screen (even with T2, they are still -1 to hit and still have 5 wounds per base, thats 25 wounds for a full swarm). Also, as with ghouls, their ability to cause fear may even have a few weaker units running away before engaging the mainforce.

Dire Wolves
I love these models despite their problems. As fast cavalry they can freely reform and therefore can rapidly move and change formation to surprise your opponent, and with a move of 9" (18" when near the general) they can be counted on to pop up where they are least expected. When combined with a charge down the battlefield of Bats (swarm or Fell), Black Knights and any characters on Winged Nightmares or Zombie Dragons, your opponent has a lot to worry about (especially when Vanhels comes into play and suddenly your Dire Wolves move another 8" for 26" in total!)

Unfortunately, being fast cavalry they cannot claim any rank bonus, though as with ghouls this can be to your advantage as you can afford to attack in a long line to cause maximum damage without worrying about the loss of rank bonus. Their +1 S when charging means that even T7 opponents can be wounded and as with Ghouls, a WS of 3 means that most opponents will be hit on a 4+. Also, being classed as cavalry means that each model has a unit strength of two, so 3 is enough to count for a flank or rear attack, and a unit of 10 has a unit strength of 20. This means that even though you don't have ranks or a standard, you can gain the +1 for outnumbering quite easily, and that means most opponents will auto break (models automatically flee from a unit that they fear if beaten by them in HtH and if the feared unit has a higher unit strength), and with a pursue distance of 3D6" they should catch most units fleeing from them.

Their major downfall is a lack of a save (even 6+ for thick fur would be good) and their T of 3. This means that you will have to be careful how they are deployed and moved or they will be whittled down by missiles. However, even with the lack of standard and rank bonus, and their T3 and no save, Dire Wolves are an excellent flanking or secondary attack unit.

Grave Guard
These are excellent! 12 points buys you a S and T 4 model, that causes fear, has heavy armour, is immune to psychology, has the killing blow ability and can carry a magic standard. Grave Guard are your elite footmen and can easily turn the tide of a battle for you. Always take a standard and crypt keeper, and halberds are very useful as they give you S5, shields can be good if you are either facing lots of archers, or are only armed with handweapons (3+ save in close combat). As a magic standard, either Banner of the Barrows, Banner of Doom (if facing lots of strong missiles) or War Banner are all very good. A unit of these should hold your centre and act as a bodyguard for your general if he is on foot. When flanked to either side by skeletons or zombies so that the enemy can only attack the front, Grave Guard can easily fend off most attackers. As mentioned with the ghouls poison attack, characters will usually steer clear of Grave Guard because of the killing blow ability, which when combined with Banner of the Barrows (3+ to hit) and Hellish Vigour (strike first, reroll misses) becomes exceptional powerful. Because characters will tend to avoid this unit, you can can pretty much use it as you please without much retaliation from powerful characters. Due to their excellent value and options, Grave Guard are one of my favourite units for Vampire Counts.

Black Knights
Mounted Grave Guard! All the points that were said about Grave Guard, and killing blow, magic standards etc still stands. Additionally, Black Knights have higher movement (7"/8"), better save (2+ or 3+) and can get higher strength (S6 with lance). I always use a unit of these led by either a vampire count or a vampire thrall and very little can stand up to them. As with Dire Wolves, you have a unit strength of 2 per model and if you have 10 plus a character that will give you a unit strength of 22, most regimental boxed sets are only 20 and many people don't increase this amount, so most basic unit will turn tail and run if you beat them (which you should) and most will flee 2D6" compared to your 3D6", allowing to catch and destroy them. Something nasty to do with these is to have a large unit of Black Knights in the centre backed by a unit of Grave Guard. Packs of Dire Wolves are on either flank. The Wolves run foward and start to circle while the Knights wait for the right moment and then charge into the centre of the enemies front. Side charges into the front from the Dire Wolves soon throws the whole enemy attack into disarray and while the faster units charge around, the Grave Guard can mop up anything still lingering, or any units that flee and then regroup. Overall, Black Knights are another excellent unit for the Vampire Counts.

Spirit Hosts
These occupy the same space as Ghouls - not much use in 5th edition, but very good now. As they are Ethereal, they can easily hold up many 'normal' units i.e. anything without a hero and a magic weapon. A unit strength of 3 per base means that only 2 bases are required to count for a flank or rear charge and with 4 attacks and 4 wounds each they can keep going while dishing out damage in return. With their high move of 6", they march 12" and pursue 3D6", enough to catch most things and to act as a very good screen for your army (they are entirely immune to shortbows, longbows, bows, crossbows, repeater crossbows, pistols, handguns, rocklobbers, repeater bolt throwers etc but are still the closest target and block lines of sight), get the full five bases and string them out in front of your most important units. Unfortunately, their bad points are familiar - only allowed a single unit, limited number of models in the unit (5), low T and no save, but being immune to all normal equipment and the fact they move so fast and cause fear means they are excellent for their points cost.

Fell Bats
The fastest thing in the army without taking characters on Dragons or Winged Nightmares. With 2 wounds and 2 attacks each added to a 20" charge range these are very quite at harassing flankers, artillery, lone characters and small units. Due to the fact that once again their have a low toughness, no save and a low unit strength (1 per model as they are flyers) try to keep them in units of 5+ as missile fire will have less of a dent on them. Once again, they are a unit that causes fear and pursues 3D6", and even though you are unlikely to outnumber your opponent, with 2 attacks each and being skirmishers (rank up how you want when fighting) you should be able to cause enough wounds to counter the enemies bonus's (if any, as only units will get standards, rank bonus's etc). Don't hang back too much with them, as they are the fastest unit you have and that ability should be exploited as much as possible.

Banshees
These are very much an unknown quantity. Being Ethereal, they have high movement and are immune to most missile fire etc. However, they don't have the sheer staying power of Spirit Hosts, yet because of their Ghostly Howl, they must get close to the enemy (within 8"). This means that if you are in range of a unit to attack it, then unless they are dwarves, they are in range to charge you, and unless they fail their fear check with only 2 attacks and 2 wounds for a single model you are wiped out (they may not be able to hurt you, but most units have a standard, +3 rank bonus and will outnumber you for a total resolution of 5, even if you wound twice, that is still 5:2 and being undead the Banshee suffers 3 wounds, taking her down to -1). If supported by other undead units that can tie up targets for the Banshee, then potentially she is very nasty as the Howl automatically causes wounds (no roll to wound required) and ignores armour. Even Ld 10 troops can suffer up to 4 wounds, enough to kill most character and big monsters. NEVER forget though that anything immune to psychology is also immune to the Howl (don't try it on Grail Knights!). NOTE: If you use the Lore of Death instead of the Lore of Necromancy, then the level 6 spell (Doom and Darkness, -3 LD) can be quite useful to cast on the target of a Banshee's attack.

Black Coach
When I first saw the new rules for the Black Coach, my reaction was completely the opposite to when I saw Ghouls and Spirit Hosts. Instead of the really excellent Invocation of Death from 5th edition there is this piddly little rule, it still costs more than twice as much as other chariots, you can still only have one etc. Then I looked a bit closer at the rules, and in some ways the Black Coach is now better than before, 1; it is unit strength 5 and therefore can be used to negate rank bonus while gaing the flank/rear charge bonus, 2; it has a 5+ ward save, 3; it has more wounds and a higher toughness than other chariots and 4; it can regenerate wounds. Suddenly it doesn't seem as bad, Ok, so you can still only field a single one in an army, but that single Coach is probably enough to break the back of your opponents army if used correctly.

Another good point of the Black Coach is that with it being so tough a lot of missile fire will be directed at it, especially S7+ weapons. This means that it isn't being aimed on the rest of your army. If the Coach is destroyed, well it is only 200 points of your whole army and it has drawn away a lot of fire, and if it survives; you have still drawn a lot of fire, and now get to roll for impact hits!

As you only have one, but can negate rank bonus's, the best use for this is to send it down one flank and then sweep across into the side of units. The D6 S5 impact hits, combined with Terror (and the 4 attacks of the Wraith and Nightmares) should be enough to knock out even the most powerful unit if it is already engaged. Example; engage unit of 20 Black Orcs with 20 Skeletons and then charge Black Coach into flank. The Orcs must take 2 Fear checks (2 fear causing units charge them). If they hold they take D6 S5 hits auto + 4 from the coach crew + 5 or 6 from the Skeletons, say 5 wounds are caused out of a possible 15. This destroys the front rank of Orcs and they can't strike back, the combat resolution ends with; Orcs 1 (standard), Skellies + Coach 11 (Standard, +3 ranks, outnumber, 5 wounds caused, flank attack). The Orcs auto break and run, as they are outnumbered, and only run 2D6" but the coach pursues 3D6" and probably catches and destroys the Orcs. This tactic will work with virtually any heavy unit you care to pick on.

Sylvanian Levy
It may seem at odds with the idea of an Undead army but these mortals can be very useful and are especially characterful of the idea of the Von Carstein vampires (who are basically your typical Dracula style traditional vampire). The Free Companies make excellent blocks of offensive troops as for 5 points a model you get a basic troop with 2 attacks, a unit of 20 with standard and champion is only 120 points, and has a +3 rank bonus, +1 for standard and the front rank attacks with 11 attacks, very useful for thinning out enemy infantry.

The rest of the Levy all have ranged attacks and this helps to negate the normal lack of firepower in a Vampire Counts army. Crossbowmen are excellent to hold a flank and 80 points will get you a unit of 10 (don't bother with standards etc) deploy these in a line so that all 10 can shoot each turn and you will find that few people will willingly charge head long into a massed barrage of bolts. This tactics is even better if you can field two units like this on either side, as it means your opponent will be advancing through 20 bolts a turn on either flank. Archers are used pretty much the same as Crossbowmen, and while they are only S3 instead of S4, they can move and shoot and are at -1 to hit (skirmishers), again exellent to provide massed missiles against advancing enemies. Huntsmen are quite good as snipers as they are skirmishers, scouts and carry a longbow. You can only ever have 10 of these, so use them wisely or you would have been better spending the points on normal archers.

Swains

Skeleton Bowmen
As mentioned above for the Sylvanian Levy, Bowmen can help tip the balance because they have a ranged attack. They are best used in the same way as the Levy Archers and Crossbowmen - in units of 10 to hold a flank and shoot at any advancing units. Don't forget that they only hit on a 5+ normally, so don't move them if at all possible. Despite having only BS2, as they are skeletons, they do have one advatage over the Levy; they cause fear. This means that it is quite possible that your opponent will charge down the flank through a hail of arrows and then fail an Ld check when he is in charge range - allowing you another turn of shooting at the unit.

Charnel Guard

Strigany

Overall Tactics

Magic Tactics (Lore of Death is covered in the General Tactics page)
This section is going to concentrate most on Necromancy as it is the dedicated Vampire counts magic list. However, Lore of Death can be quite useful, especially in scenarios such as that mentioned above for the Banshee (use Doom and Darkness on a unit and then attack with the Banshee Howl).

Invocation of Nehek - This little beauty is by far the best Necromancy spell. It can be used for so many things AND it's the first spell in the list enabling all of your spell casters to have it (if that's what you want). Now I recommend having at least 2 Spell Casters with the Invocation as you will probably be using it a lot. First of all it can create new units. Can be used to create a brand new unit for fighting purposes, a unit to kill War Machine crews (or suddenly appear within 8" of a Night Goblin unit drawing out any nasty Fanatics before they reach your Grave Guard) or a speed bump (small units of zombies created in front of enemy archers or Calvary), and these are just a few of the uses new regiments can do. Second of all it can heal multiple wounds things such as Vampires and Fellbats. "Whoops, that Runefang wielding Elector count hurt my General a bit.... Never fear the Invocation is here!" Lastly, it can be used to add to your existing regiments. What more can I say, in a war of attrition, Vampires will win as our regiments just keep growing and growing and growing.

Hand of Dust - Even though your are reduced to single attack (as that would bother a Necromancer), that attack can easily kill anything without a ward save (watch your opponent wave goodbye to a dragon, or general or similar)

Hellish Vigour - One of my favourite powers, in addition to being the only thing that allows Zombies strike first, this power is deadly in the hands of wights (re roll missed Killing Blows) and anything with lots of attacks (Vampire characters).

Gaze of Nagash - A fairly standard magic missile causing 2D6 S4 hits, USeful for removing skirmishers or whittling down enemy units before engaging them.

Vanhels Danse Macabre - The extra 8" movement provided by this spell is excellent, you can raise models with Invocation and then charge with them using this (or try and get that raised unit close enough to the gobbos to get the damned fanatics out - I apologise for the frequent references to trying get fanatics out from units, I had a bad experience where 2 fanatics wiped out a Necromancer and 15 of my 19 Grave Guard in a couple of turns)

Curse of Years - Excellent spell! Especially if you can keep it going, I have killed 20+ Skaven in a couple of turns with this spell and just about destroyed the unit. I love this spell.

Bloodline Powers

Blood Dragons

Red Fury - Even though many people don't rate this power, I think it is very good. Blood Dragons are very powerful hand to hand fighters and this power enhances that. An additional attack can be devastating as potentially you can kill an additional rank and file troop, or if you also have Master Strike, then it potentially another chance at a Killing Blow (excellent to terrify enemy characters with). A Count or Lord with this and a lance can have either 5 or 6 S7 hits when they charge (goodbye heavy infantry and cavalry).

Blademaster - For the points this is not a good power. Blood Dragons have good toughness, armour and wounds and shouldn't be worried by an additional attack. I would rather spend the points on Red Fury to get me an extra attack rather than removing an opponents. Definitely not worth the points.

Heart Piercing - I love this power, it enhances the effectiveness of both Red Fury and Master Strike. Remember that you can re-roll misses in the first round of EVERY combat, not just the ones where you have charged.

Master Strike - Oh yes, oh yes. Killing blow for a vampire, can it get any better. This power is very useful when combined with anything that gets you an extra attack (2 hand weapons, Sword of Battle or Red Fury) or allows you to re-roll misses (Heart Piercing or Hellish Vigour)

Strength of Steel - A very useful power whether your Blood Dragon is on foot or mounted. A mounted BD with a lance and this power will +3 to his Strength on the charge, instant death to even the hardest cavalry (or chariot). While on foot carnage can be caused to those pesky dwarfs and their incredibly high armour and toughness with this power and a great weapon (why dwarfs think they need lots of armour when they already have good toughness I do not know).

Honour or Death - A little pointless because destroying a challenger is a lot of fun. However if your BD is with a unit of skeletons and is equipped with the Tomb Blade, then you probably want to turn the enemies rank and file into skeletons rather than mash their hero into the ground.


Von Carstein

Summon Bats - This is useful, but I find the less expensive summon wolves can do the same job for less. Basically the role of this ability is to take out enemy War machines from behind, disrupt march movement and engage the lone wizard lurking behind enemy lines.

Call Winds - A lifesaver against Shooty armies with lots of fast manouverable flyers (like Wood Elfs). It puts all shooting at -1 to hit and flyers are forced to use their ground movement value to move. Just make sure not to use Fellbats as they will be forced to move at a pathetic 1 inch per turn.

Walking Death - Gives the unit he joins +1 CR. This is just a great ability. Combined with War Banner your unit will have +3 CR before they even start fighting! And its cheap so can be given to Thralls to boost your regiments fighting capabilities.

Aura of Dark Majesty - My personal favourite bloodline ability, this extends the aura of your general for marching and using his Leadership from 12 to 18 inches. This means you can have a much more spread out battleline without having to cram all your units into within 12 of your general to steal that first march. And its dirt cheap!

Summon Wolves: - Summons D3 Dire Wolves. Does exactly the same things as Call Bats ( See above) but with an added bonus. If your lucky and get 3 Wolves, they can also be used to charge the rear of an enemy unit and they will negate rank bonus due to the fact each wolf has a unit str of 2!

Wolf Form - Gives the user Movement 9. Its useful if you want to join a Dire Wolf unit. It is also good to watch your opponents face when you are around 18" from a cannon or similar and then charge in a shred it before he can shoot.


Strigoi

Curse of the Revenant - With the 5+ Ward save the Strigoi already have this nearly matches the 100pts Carstein ring in power, but comes with the added advantage of being able to take one or two other powers. More valuable than the Massive Monstrosity unless you wish to take Infinite Hatred and Iron Sinews as well.

Massive Mostrosity - I like this for a Thrall that is important to my plans and so needs to survive or in the combination mentioned above for a Lord or Count. It is relatively easy for a Thrall to lose both its wounds however with this, he can lose them, have the 3rd to keep him alive and have the Invocation to restore him back to health.

Bat Form - For use if you wish to turn your Thrall into a war machine hunter. It is touch and go whether to do it this way, or get 6 fell bats. The choice really depends on what slot you have got spare, the hero or the special. Of course there is always the possibility of having them work in tandam, for a harder target.

Infinite Hatred - I rate this power very highly, when combined with Iron Sinews you can get a lot of re-rollable S6 attacks. Even without Iron Sinews, being able to re-roll misses every round is very useful.

Summon Ghouls - Really this power isn't very good, I like ghouls that are excellent compared to 5th edition ghouls, but when you only have 2-4 to work with then they are pretty dire. I would spend the points on something better.

Iron Sinews - 6 is the magic number when it comes to Strength. Most nasties are T4 and is eliminates a 4+ armour save. One of the more standardly useful powers, especially if you are looking for a combat monster.


Necrarch

Nehekhara's Noble Blood - I thought this was great when I first started using Necrarchs. However for Thralls, I now find it most valuable in <2000pts. Where you can have a general with better protection, and the extra magic die and caster has more need. Always dangerous of course because Vampires get enough attention anyway, but I can't recall losing a Thrall used in this manner yet. The other line of thinking is a Lv3 Count or level 4 Lord. Very valuable, that's an extra power dice, extra spell, extra dispel dice and makes casting the Invocation at 11+ a lot more probable.

The Awakening - Thinking about this simply. If you get the Invocation off and get this power to raise the full 3 extra skeletons, it's made it's points back already. However more important than this, you can't turn down the opportunity to make more skelies or zombies. Remember the time where if you just had 1 more skelie in that small unit you raised to hold that (insert opponents elite unit here) you would have had them stuck for another turn and been able to charge them big style? Well, taking this would have done the trick. Also think of unit strength issues. Nothing worse than only raising 4 for a new unit.

Dark Acolyte - I don't like to turn down an extra power dice. Unfortunately a lot of other powers and Magic Items come before I choose this. In 3000pts I fit it in more often than not. A Thrall with this and the Book of Arkhan makes a handy combination.

Unholy Cynosure - It's a nice item. Shame about the one use and that it is restricted solely to the Vampire. Miscasts are rarely a problem (lucky me, I supposeJ ) and it's normally not worth using the points this way. I don't doubt this differs for other people, but me I don't have a place for this item.

Master of the Black Arts - I don't believe I can put it in words how valuable this power is. Most of the Necromancy spells are tightly restricted. Invocation at 24": that will put a unit right next door to the war machines on the first turn. Even Hellish Vigour and Vanhels Dance Macabre are only 18" so it's handy for them as well. Hell I know I've had times where even the Gaze of Nagash needed an extra couple of inches to make it. One of the most valuable powers without a doubt.

Forbidden Lore - Well, here's the standard power that most armies have access to through a Magic Item. However this is different in one way. You can combine this with a spell familiar giving you two extra spells for 30pts. That and in big games every Necrarch in the army can have an extra opposed to only one (using their only arcane item on it). This is very useful if combined with other items and powers correctly.

Lahmia

Seduction - A very powerful, but ultimately very expensive power. Turning a hero from the opposite side onto your side is very demoralising for your enemy, especially if that character is armed with the Blade of Instant Death. But this power costs 55 points, and, although this power is extremely dangerous if it is pulled off, I prefer to have better odds. For this reason I dont use this power at all.

Domination - The next power down is my power of choice. The best place to use it is in a challenge in combination with the Hand of Dust spell. If the character your fighting against fails the Ld test then they are hit automatically. Oh and guess what happens if your Vampiress has hand of dust cast on herself and hits, oh yes instant death (except if they have ward save).

Quickblood - A must for all the Vampires in my army. A 5+ ward save is very important for a vampire who can't take any armour. For my countess I could take the Obsidian Amulet, which gives a 4+ ward save, which is a lot better, but tend not to do this for two reasons:
1 - It only works against magic weapons
2 - I would much rather spend more points on my Ld test powers.

Innocence Lost - This is useful against armies that are immune to pschology and/or have a good Ld value (ie elves, chaos, undead), because if you can kill all the enemies around you they wont be able to hit back. Against low Ld value armies or armies with few immune to psychology, the Ld test powers are much more useful. But this is ultimately a useless power, because with an Initiative ranging from 8 for your Thrall and 10 for your Lady you are almost always going to be hitting first.

Transfix/Beguile - These two powers are useful as backup if domination/seduction fails. If the domiantion/seduction power doesnt fail, then these two powers act as an incredibly resilient barrier between the enemy and your beautiful vampire. I would rather take these two powers than a better ward save for my vampire any day.


Magic Items

Magic Weapons

Frostblade - This is one of those weapons that you never see despite actually being rather handy in a sense. Outrageously offensive it can allow you to get two outright kills on multi-wound creatures like Kroxigors, Ogres and Minotaurs whilst still carrying your other wounds over (you just have to be careful when you allocate hits). Of course you can have the Elf, Human, and Goblin characters fall to the Blade with ease but that's the sort of thing a Vampire can do itself anyway. All in all it's hard to get the right opponents to justify the points spent on the item, and the defensive gap it opens by what you can't take when you have it.

Blood Drinker - Our beloved Vampires have a couple of means to healing themselves. The other two are by magic but this is by the sheer killing power of the beast itself. Never worth it on a Thrall as it will never to able to recover more than one wound and the points would be better elsewhere. On a Count/Lord it becomes that much more better a choice, with more wounds to recover if needed. But that's the catch, if you don't need to recover the wounds. With the magic, it's selective: if you need the wounds restore them; if not then put the power dice elsewhere. For 50pts you want a weapon that is going to help reap out the carnage.

Black Axe of Krell - This is an item of carnage. Wound almost any model with this and you'll be odds on to have it dead by the end of the game even if it never engages in combat again. An exquisite weapon if facing the right opponent. With the price tag on this one it may be a hard choice to actually take it, but a step up from the Frostblade.

Sword of Unholy Power - The Magic Weapon of choice for many VC players. At a good points cost with a strong possibility of adding 2+ extra dice to your Magic Phase it is easy to guess why. An excellent choice for an army that needs as much magical power as it can get.

Tomb Blade - The legendary weapon for those that like to reap what they sow. An item that helps out with the dead raising allowing the Invocations to be used elsewhere. It's nice to have the Staff of Damnation around when using this, same for the Sword of Unholy Power. It makes every wound that much sweeter when you know you're getting something else out of it. And at 35pts it leaves plenty of points available for other things.

Asp Bow - Possibly the most useless of the selection. A single mid strength shot, albeit poisoned, and able to target characters inside a unit, is just not worth the points you pay for it. Something for a very brave Lord I guess.

Sword of the Kings - Simple, Cheap and arguably the best. 25pts to double a Wight Lords chances at a killing blow makes him a fearsome opponent for any character. Best used when the character is in a unit with the Banner of the Barrows to make sure he gets those attacks to hit, which is in doubt normally when only using WS4 against near enough any other character.

Magic Armour

Wailing Helm - An extra +1 to your save along with the ability to cause terror isn't bad in itself but when the VC army has 5 other ways of causing terror (Zombie Dragon, Winged Nightmare, Wraith, Black Coach and Hell Banner) it makes it a hard choice to take this item and suck the points away from your magic allowance. I'd be more inclined to take a Wraith or lacking character choices, the Black Coach instead.

Armour of Bone - One for any Wizard in your army, though more often that not a plain Ward Save would probably serve you better. Best used in conjunction with a Barded Nightmare to make it that much more useful with a 3+ Armour Save opposed to just treating it as an extra wound for your character.

The Flayed Hauberk - Best for use on characters on foot as you don't waste the protection that a Nightmare offers, though if you must use it on a mounted character just remember not to waste points on the barding. Usually a shame to put on a Wight Lord as it rules out the Sword of the Kings, but a valid choice for Blood Dragon and Von Carstein (good in combination with Wolf Form) Thralls.

The Cursed Shield of Mousillon - Against the right opponent this is as good as saving a wound in every round of combat. It's a nice saviour for a Blood Dragon that is forced into accepting the challenge of a superior fighter. Not something I'd rule out for a Wight Lord when equipped with Sword of the Kings either, as it gives him a much better chance of getting that killing blow in against a strong opponent. Having Bretonnia's hardest men hating you isn't something you want to put upon yourself, so it's best not to take this against them.

Talismans

The Carstein Ring - The ultimate in defensive items in the entire game. Only the most obscurest of circumstances or poorest Generalship will lead to you losing this guy. Can't fault the item on it's worth, it's just that it leaves your Vampire as a strong fighter with average Magic, when it has the potential to give so much more support to his army.

Obsidian Amulet - The customary item to fill the hole in Wraith's defense. The Magic Resistance helps the Wraith when it's going out on it's own or can offer defense to the unit that it joins, although using the Cursed Book is the more common item taken in the latter circumstance.It's not really safe on any other character as it removes the ability to carry a full Ward Save on powerful characters and it's too expensive for the other Heroes. However, some people find themselves playing against opponents that like to take Magic Weapons. If this is the case and your Lord level character isn't on a monstrous mount, then this could be the Ward Save you want.

Crown of the Damned - The VC access to a quality Ward Save. Unfortunately, coming fully equiped with Stupidity making the item highly debateable. Sometimes being stupid will lose you the game, where as sometimes not having a 4+ Ward Save will lose you the game. Whether you take this is all dependant or how you feel about risk.

Wristbands of Black Gold - For the character that stays out of a unit. A cheaper alternative for the Terror spreading Wraith to the Amulet. Or maybe for a Von Carstein with Wolf Form. Of course it's one way of protecting the liability of a Necromancer that you don't want holding up a unit. However, this does inhibit the ability of the Necro to carry most of the quality Arcane Items that VC has in it's arsenal.

Ring of the Night - The Ward Save of choice. It's more often than not that you'll see this on a Von Carstein, Blood Dragon or Necrarch Count.

The Gem of Blood - The cheapest one of the bunch, It is a nice surprise to take once every so often to keep your opponent on his toes. It does have the negative effect of not letting you choose another Talisman and having a proper Ward Save. This is why it's more common to see this item on a Lahmian where they can choose the Quickblood bloodline power in order to get a Ward Save.

Arcane Items

Power Familiar - A useful creature to have around you, but only really for those undead armies who wish to harness the Winds of Magic to their full potential. So Necromancer or Necrarch armies should usually employ these little creatures, especially the most powerful of those magic users. However, the Power Familiar is quite expensive to buy, points that might better be spent on more offensive items or powers for the Lahmian or Von Carstein armies.

Staff Of Damnation - All magic items that increase the powers of your undead minions is most good. Those who possess this staff should be placed in the centre of their line so as to effect the most units at once. Remember the first strike and re-rolls could mean the difference between making an enemy unit flee and your own army being crushed under the might of the living. However at 40 points it is expensive to include, and is probably best given to armies that do not rely so heavily on the Invocation of Nehek (who should instead attempt to increase their magic power).

Skull Staff - The usefulness of this item cannot be understated. It has its usefulness in some few rare circumstances, but mostly cannot be used to full potential.

Warrior Familiar - Since getting your necromancer into combat is mostly a bad idea, and vampires are usually able to take care of themselves along with anyone around them, warrior familiars are really not worth their point. However, they can work as a kind of protection for a necromancer who may get caught up in fighting, because one less hit from an enemy is one less hit from an enemy (and lets face there are not many rank and file who can withstand a S5 hit; unless you roll badly that is).

Book Of Arkhan - Arkhan must have written many books, because a lot of armies use this little piece of arcane magic: and with good reason too. With no fire power to their name Vampire Counts have no need to stand around waiting for the enemy to meet them, and anything that gets them toward the enemy faster is a definate good thing. Oh and its cheap too, just remember never to roll any 1's when your using it.

Black Periapt - Much debate over this little piece of blackness. If anyone has any problems with you using the way it should be used just direct them here, and watch their mouth slowly drop open in awe. This device can be very useful if you have lots of spellcasters and need an extra dice to fire all those spells you have, just waiting in the wings. At 15 its not going to burst bank. Very useful for the Necromancer or Necrarch army, less useful for those armies who do not rely so much on magic.

Enchanted Items

Banners