Post by Arguleon Veq on Jul 17, 2008 8:28:39 GMT -5
With the fairly new Undead army still on its destructive rampage I thought we should try and write an article on how to combat one of the toughest armies out there right now.
I think we should start with looking at what makes a competative Vamp Counts force before we can begin to discuss ways of combating it.
What Makes a Powerul Vampire Counts Army?
The powerbuilds for the new Vampire Counts are without a doubt currently based around a VERY powerful magic phase. A Vamp Counts force without at least 10 Power Dice just doesn't really cut it. Unfortunatly for us, this is easily achieved with every character [pretty much] in the list being a caster.
These lists will more often than not include Ghouls as their Core choices, although you will still find some with Skelentons packing Shields and Light Armour. These units will often start at around 15 models as they can easily be rasied above this during the game.
Ethereal moving Black Knights are also often a big player in powerbuilds. T4 Cav that can move through terrain is very dangerous. Often they won't be packing any command but if they do they tend to go the whole way and take a +1 to Hit Banner or the Hatred Banner. Coupled with S6 attacks this is very dangerous.
Wraiths are possibly the biggest threats in these forces. Ethereal fast moving skirmishers that cause Terror and have 3 S5 Attacks each and then 2 wounds on top of that. Their vulnerability to magic seems the obvious weakness untill you consider that almost all Vamp Count lists will be packing at least 7 Dispel Dice.
Corpse Carts are quite a common sight, their bound spell can really mess up your charges.
Varghulfs are often included and you will sometimes see Bloodknights. Screens such as Dire Wolves sometimes make an appearance and Gravegaurd are common too. The other choices tend not to feature as often and so we won't really worry about those.
Characters;
The Vampire Count is the key to this army and as a result will often be very well defended. You will most likely face a magic build that can put out 5 Powerdice. They are usually defended by a 4+ Ward or a decent save coupled with a 5+ Ward. They are VERY hard to kill and can still fight their way out of most tough spots even if they aren't built for combat. The Helm of Commandment often makes an appearence letting the Lord stay out of harms way whilst you get stuck against WS7 Skellies/Ghouls. There is also the combat build mounted with a Dreadlance, Red Fury, 4+ Ward etc. This guy can beat a unit on his own and is almost impossible to kill. Often joined with a unit of Black Knights.
Thralls are very versatile, you can make them Level 2 whilst still decent in combat. They can pump out 3 powerdice and still take some great bound items. They can be combat monsters.
Wight Kings are sometimes taken to carry the Battlestandard and Necromancers some times show up on a Corpse Cart to ensure the Vamp Counts player gets Vanhals Danse when they want it.
Shutting Down the Magic Phase!
At the end of the day shutting down the Vampires magic phase is where the game is won and lost. How do you stop 14+ Power Dice though?
Scrolls are not the answer, perhaps one in your list to stop that all important Danse but I would advise against going scroll heavy. The Vampire magic phase is all about spamming Invocation of Nehek to replenish their ranks. This will often be on a 3+. A scroll is wasted on that sort of spell and thats what you will have to deal with. It is usually cast on 1 dice to avoid miscasts and so can be countered with 1 dice. This is the reason you will want Dice rather than Scrolls to stop the Vampire Magic phase. If you must take a scroll I would advise scrolls that destroy an enemy spell, if you can take Invocation away from the Lord you may well win the game righ there.
Obvioulsy you won't be able to match them dice for dice but when you consider that at least 1/3 of their spells will fail if cast on 1 dice. 14 Power Dice become 9 Casts, If you have 6 Dispell Dice, you should stop 3. Orcs and Goblins can take around 10 Dispel Dice at 2,000 points, other armies dont have that luxury. Items that strip the Vampires of a Power Dice and give you an extra Dispel are great here.
Items that can stop the enemy magic phase completely for a turn are obviously great as this can ruin a Vampire Counts army but they are rare and expensive.
Items that make Miscats/increase Miscats chances are probably not the best choice as most Vamp Counts spells are only going to be using 1 Dice.
+1 to Dispel Items work wonders against them, as do items that increase the casting value of their spells [or decrease their rolls to cast them anyway]. This will make beating Invocation on 1 dice much easier.
Still, no matter how hard you try, you will not shut down the enemy phase totally. You must go;
Vampire Hunting;
As I mentioned earlier, the Vampire Count is very hard to kill and will often be hidden and kept safe. Thralls on the other hand are not so durable. T4 with 2 Wounds is not great and taking the Thralls out will seriously weaken their magic phase AND disjoint the army as it should stop some units from marching [allowing you to get some all important flank charges in and to isolate units].
You will often be able to get 3 models in base contact with a Thrall, at S4, WS4 they will take a wound from him. Always remember to allocate attacks on him. I have found Chariots work well at this. Especially if supporting another unit on the charge as the Impact Hits crush Skellies/Ghouls, helping you win the combat and so hold for another turn the crew and steeds attack the Thrall. In the next turn of combat the Thrall will no doubt strike first but this won't limit the amount of Attacks going back on him as he shouldn't kill the chariot in 1 turn and he cant attack the crew or steeds.
An Orc Boar Chariot with extra crew should kill a Thrall on the charge.
A White Lion Chariot should kill the Thrall.
A Tuskgor Chariot should do it, Chaos Chariots also have a good chance.
Even other Chariots should do 1 wound on the charge and stand a good chance of finishing it in the next round. The bonus in Chariots when facing Undead is that they wont be facing any serious firepower that can destroy them early.
Monsters are also a great choice for this job. Things such as Tomb Scorpions/Stegadons etc anything that can't be challenged. A lone Ogre Maneater is also a great choice, even if he doesn't kill the Thrall in a turn he will most likely survive and hold, plus any army can take one!.
Be careful in taking sacrificial characters to do this job. Many just cant manage it and will be killed or chased away, make sure that you are not in contact with the unit Champion so you cant be challenged and forced to fight it. 3 S6 Attacks will not do the job. Your looking at needing 5 S5 or 4 S6 Attacks to get the job done in one turn.
Cannons, always remember to target them at the Vampires in units if you are shooting the unit. There is always the chance of them failing a Look Out Sir test.
Killing blow is obvioulsy handy for this so if you have a unit that has it, use it on the Vamps!.
I think we should start with looking at what makes a competative Vamp Counts force before we can begin to discuss ways of combating it.
What Makes a Powerul Vampire Counts Army?
The powerbuilds for the new Vampire Counts are without a doubt currently based around a VERY powerful magic phase. A Vamp Counts force without at least 10 Power Dice just doesn't really cut it. Unfortunatly for us, this is easily achieved with every character [pretty much] in the list being a caster.
These lists will more often than not include Ghouls as their Core choices, although you will still find some with Skelentons packing Shields and Light Armour. These units will often start at around 15 models as they can easily be rasied above this during the game.
Ethereal moving Black Knights are also often a big player in powerbuilds. T4 Cav that can move through terrain is very dangerous. Often they won't be packing any command but if they do they tend to go the whole way and take a +1 to Hit Banner or the Hatred Banner. Coupled with S6 attacks this is very dangerous.
Wraiths are possibly the biggest threats in these forces. Ethereal fast moving skirmishers that cause Terror and have 3 S5 Attacks each and then 2 wounds on top of that. Their vulnerability to magic seems the obvious weakness untill you consider that almost all Vamp Count lists will be packing at least 7 Dispel Dice.
Corpse Carts are quite a common sight, their bound spell can really mess up your charges.
Varghulfs are often included and you will sometimes see Bloodknights. Screens such as Dire Wolves sometimes make an appearance and Gravegaurd are common too. The other choices tend not to feature as often and so we won't really worry about those.
Characters;
The Vampire Count is the key to this army and as a result will often be very well defended. You will most likely face a magic build that can put out 5 Powerdice. They are usually defended by a 4+ Ward or a decent save coupled with a 5+ Ward. They are VERY hard to kill and can still fight their way out of most tough spots even if they aren't built for combat. The Helm of Commandment often makes an appearence letting the Lord stay out of harms way whilst you get stuck against WS7 Skellies/Ghouls. There is also the combat build mounted with a Dreadlance, Red Fury, 4+ Ward etc. This guy can beat a unit on his own and is almost impossible to kill. Often joined with a unit of Black Knights.
Thralls are very versatile, you can make them Level 2 whilst still decent in combat. They can pump out 3 powerdice and still take some great bound items. They can be combat monsters.
Wight Kings are sometimes taken to carry the Battlestandard and Necromancers some times show up on a Corpse Cart to ensure the Vamp Counts player gets Vanhals Danse when they want it.
Shutting Down the Magic Phase!
At the end of the day shutting down the Vampires magic phase is where the game is won and lost. How do you stop 14+ Power Dice though?
Scrolls are not the answer, perhaps one in your list to stop that all important Danse but I would advise against going scroll heavy. The Vampire magic phase is all about spamming Invocation of Nehek to replenish their ranks. This will often be on a 3+. A scroll is wasted on that sort of spell and thats what you will have to deal with. It is usually cast on 1 dice to avoid miscasts and so can be countered with 1 dice. This is the reason you will want Dice rather than Scrolls to stop the Vampire Magic phase. If you must take a scroll I would advise scrolls that destroy an enemy spell, if you can take Invocation away from the Lord you may well win the game righ there.
Obvioulsy you won't be able to match them dice for dice but when you consider that at least 1/3 of their spells will fail if cast on 1 dice. 14 Power Dice become 9 Casts, If you have 6 Dispell Dice, you should stop 3. Orcs and Goblins can take around 10 Dispel Dice at 2,000 points, other armies dont have that luxury. Items that strip the Vampires of a Power Dice and give you an extra Dispel are great here.
Items that can stop the enemy magic phase completely for a turn are obviously great as this can ruin a Vampire Counts army but they are rare and expensive.
Items that make Miscats/increase Miscats chances are probably not the best choice as most Vamp Counts spells are only going to be using 1 Dice.
+1 to Dispel Items work wonders against them, as do items that increase the casting value of their spells [or decrease their rolls to cast them anyway]. This will make beating Invocation on 1 dice much easier.
Still, no matter how hard you try, you will not shut down the enemy phase totally. You must go;
Vampire Hunting;
As I mentioned earlier, the Vampire Count is very hard to kill and will often be hidden and kept safe. Thralls on the other hand are not so durable. T4 with 2 Wounds is not great and taking the Thralls out will seriously weaken their magic phase AND disjoint the army as it should stop some units from marching [allowing you to get some all important flank charges in and to isolate units].
You will often be able to get 3 models in base contact with a Thrall, at S4, WS4 they will take a wound from him. Always remember to allocate attacks on him. I have found Chariots work well at this. Especially if supporting another unit on the charge as the Impact Hits crush Skellies/Ghouls, helping you win the combat and so hold for another turn the crew and steeds attack the Thrall. In the next turn of combat the Thrall will no doubt strike first but this won't limit the amount of Attacks going back on him as he shouldn't kill the chariot in 1 turn and he cant attack the crew or steeds.
An Orc Boar Chariot with extra crew should kill a Thrall on the charge.
A White Lion Chariot should kill the Thrall.
A Tuskgor Chariot should do it, Chaos Chariots also have a good chance.
Even other Chariots should do 1 wound on the charge and stand a good chance of finishing it in the next round. The bonus in Chariots when facing Undead is that they wont be facing any serious firepower that can destroy them early.
Monsters are also a great choice for this job. Things such as Tomb Scorpions/Stegadons etc anything that can't be challenged. A lone Ogre Maneater is also a great choice, even if he doesn't kill the Thrall in a turn he will most likely survive and hold, plus any army can take one!.
Be careful in taking sacrificial characters to do this job. Many just cant manage it and will be killed or chased away, make sure that you are not in contact with the unit Champion so you cant be challenged and forced to fight it. 3 S6 Attacks will not do the job. Your looking at needing 5 S5 or 4 S6 Attacks to get the job done in one turn.
Cannons, always remember to target them at the Vampires in units if you are shooting the unit. There is always the chance of them failing a Look Out Sir test.
Killing blow is obvioulsy handy for this so if you have a unit that has it, use it on the Vamps!.
