Vampire Counts - Dusty Skeletons

I think I really like 8th ed. The more I play, the more I think this. It's a much more flowing game. Magic can have a big impact, but I think it balances out. The new rules for moving, charging, terrain, fleeing and so on are all big improvements in my opinion. I do wish there were more detailed rules for buildings, but it's not a big gripe.

But that's not what this post is about. There is one thing that 8th has backed me into a corner over, and I'm not crazy about. My skeletons are getting dusty.

Bear with me here.

As I have mentioned before, I'm quite the lover of theme and narrative in my games. I play vampire counts. For me this means trudging hordes of ragged skeletons and stinking zombies silently bearing down on the terrified enemy. With the new edition, and, to be honest, the most recent vampire counts book, it's all about ghouls. I have been sucked into this too. When you compare the stat line of a ghoul vs a humble skeleton (with whatever weapon configuration) you come to the conclusion that the ghoul is the man if you want to hurt people in combat. Two poison attacks and toughness four? Sign me up. My ghouls have performed great, actively winning combats. I'm not used to my core winning combats as a vampire counts player.

But for all my joy at my naked madmen tearing up the enemy, I miss my skeletons. I've racked my brain trying to come up with a unit of bonemen that compares (though the extra command options are worth consideration), but to no avail. This is one situation where my desire to win games is competing with my preferences for the theme of my army. Also, having two core units (at least) that are effectively redundant is not good. It troubles one.

I haven't abandoned my search for the effective skeleton warrior, but for now, it's all about the cannibals.