The Vampire General - Ghouls

The third core choice under scrutiny is the rockstar is vampire counts core infantry in 8th, the ghoul. It's hard to consider any other core when you compare them to this poisoned madman. Though they lack any kind of armour, they can dish out the hurt. They can also be raised up, making up for that lack of armour. Let's sit down with our insane cannibal and get to know him better.

Ghouls - taste like chicken
Essentially devolved cannibalistic humans, ghouls have been shifted about quite a bit down the editions. From ranked unit, to skirmishers, back to ranked again, it's been a windy road. In 8th, they have become the new hotness for vampire counts core, though their star has been much in the ascendancy since the release of the last vampire counts book. Now classed as undead they no longer flee at the first harsh word, and are able to be raised, which is excellent. They cause fear and are unbreakable, but suffer from crumble like any other undead unit. So, why ghouls? Let's see the stats:

M WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  LD
4   3    0   3  4   1  3  2   5

Ghouls have poisoned attacks, and no equipment options. Also, no access to command apart from the ghast champion. As you can see, the ghoul is above average in a couple of areas. Toughness 4 makes up somewhat for the lack of armour. It's the two poisoned attacks that tickle my fancy though which is good, as they only have strength 3. This gives ghouls the ability to really smack high toughness enemy units right in the gob. With a standard 5 model wide unit, you have 16 attacks with the ghast. Not bad. Go horde on that, and you're looking at 41 potential attacks. This is the same as a horde of spear armed skeletons, but you're swapping the armour for poison. It takes an extra rank of spears to get to 41 attacks, so the unit will cost more (skeletons with spears are 9 points, ghouls 8)

Bunker
Ghouls operate well with a character. Any vampire slumming it with the ghouls would do well to take the Summon Ghouls vampire power. I don't tend to use them to hide necromancers, as skeletons are more survivable with light armour and a shield. Ghouls need to be going into combat.

Banners & Buffs
A great match-up is with the bsb. Gasp! Yes, the grave guard are not the only unit the bsb hangs out with. This gives them a standard, makes crumble less awful, and, sometimes the Drakenhof banner can really mess up someone's day. I've seen my regenerating ghoul unit take down a fantastic amount of enemy units. Just watch those flaming attacks.

Good old shadow magic is a good one to help these guys. The Enfeebling Foe or The Withering will help their naked asses stay alive a little longer


Support
Ghouls are a good team-up with grave guard. If you can hold the enemy in place with the grave guard, the ghouls are just the thing for a flank attack. If you intend to use them this way, 20 is probably plenty, but my ghouls units are usually 30. This is about as classic a hammer and anvil as you'll see.

Ghouls don't do well in protracted combats unsupported. Watch for dwarves, chaos warriors and dwarves of chaos. That said, get a corpse cart giving them asf, vampire summoning more ghouls or Vanhels giving them re-rolls will all help tremendously. Anyone out there who plays vampire counts knows that there are few undead who can do it without some manner of magical help.

Ghouls are great for dishing out stinky hurt, something I was unused to with my core, but they melt away fast due to having no save so don't let them get bogged down. In 8th, it's an unusual vampire army that has no ghouls in it.

The Vampire General - Skeletons

The second in the series of my wee journey through the denizens of the vampire counts army. Next up, my old friend the skeleton warrior. I love these guys like the silent and emaciated brothers I never had, but 8th has treated them roughly. Let's look at how our bony servant has done under the new rules.

Skeletons - loyal to the end
Not as rubbish as zombies, skeletons are still poor quality troops. Low weapon skill and initiative make them poor fighters, but they do have average strength and toughness. They cannot be raised past their starting numbers unless you take Lord of the Dead on one of your vampires.Their main strengths are they cause fear and are unbreakable, which are quite tasty. They also have some reasonable equipment options.  However, the undead break test rule does mean they dissolve away quicker than good intentions. Here's the stats for our faithful minion:

M WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  LD
4   2    2   3  3   1  1  2   3

So, how do we field skeletons in 8th? As always with this edition, all infantry core are going to be compared to ghouls, especially as ghouls and skeletons cost the same points, 8. Skeletons are by no means the combat fiends ghouls are, but they do have access to full command (which I would always include) and have more equipment options. There are a number of ways to configure them.

Spears
Spear armed skeletons get three ranks of attack, in a horde four. That's a potential 41 attacks with a champion from a horde of skeleton spearmen. 41 attacks from skeletons, propably needing 4+ to hit, will get you an average 20 hits. After that, taking as our example the Empire greatswords, once again, you have S3 v T3, so 10 wounds. Chances are, after the greatswords 4+ save, you get 5 casualties. Not epic, but okay. They also come with light armour and shields so that's a 5+ save. Not bad, but against our greatswords, useless. I think whatever way you field skeletons, if they are to be a combat unit you need at least 30, and 50 - 60 would not be unreasonable. A skeleton spear unit would be a good anvil unit.

Sword and Shield
This gets the skeletons the all-important 6+ ward save. As great weapons are the new black, this is a good choice, as they skellies 5+ save will be about as useful as pouring a bottle of spring water into a volcano. Again, go large on the unit. A horde will get 31 attacks (presuming a champion is there), so our greatswords will be taking 3 casualties on average. Sucky, but the ward save the skeletons get will keep them on their feet longer. Just watch those flanks. Another good anvil. Frankly, skeletons don't do hammer.

Bunker
A small unit of skeletons can provide a nice bunker to shield a necromancer of vampire, and provide that super fabulous 'Look out Sir!' roll. I just love the image of a skeleton flinging himself across his beloved vampire master screaming that. More likely the skeleton would find himself picked up and flung at the oncoming projectile. The reason sword and shield skeletons would provide a better bunker than ghouls is again, the save. Though, granted, ghouls have better toughness.

Banners & Buffs
Skeletons do also have access to magic banners, which can tailor them a little more. There are 13 banners available for 25 points or less, so a good spread from magic resistance 1 to flaming attacks. They can also be buffed by spells (lore of death or shadows works well to weaken opponent units) or items. The corpse cart can give them always strikes first, and Vanhels can give them 8 inches movement, including charging or always strikes first and re-rolls to hit. The Helm of Commandment can sort out that bothersome low weapon skill.

Skeletons are one of my favourite units, but again, the ghouls, even without a save or access to standards or musicians, generally beat them to my list. I do think there is room for them in 8th, but it depends on your tactics and play style. They seem best suited to an anvil role, so personally it would be a big old block (50+) of sword and shield lads.

The Vampire General - Zombies

8th edition has changed things more wildly than I think most of us expected. Changes like not needing to measure ranges has seen the demise (literally) of the ridden monster for anyone who doesn't want their lord smashed off the back of his pulped dragon. Steadfast has meant units are now a good chunk bigger than before (way to sell those minis, gw) but I like this rule all the same. Infantry is king, followed by queen magic and prince artillery.

I happen to think 8th ed is the best edition of fantasy in a long time. We need a few army books under our belts to see if this bears out, but orcs and goblins looks to be a good start. What does all this mean for the forces of the undead? Here's my two cents, as the vampire general puts his feet up, takes a sip from a mug of hot blood (for blood see tea), and ruminates over 8th.


Zombies - the old men of warhammer
Zombies are, without a doubt, totally rubbish at fighting. Totally. Rubbish. Think of a ninety year old man armed with a wet hankie. Who has a cold, and who has lost the hankie. That rubbish. With WS1, S2 and T2, the zombie couldn't win an argument. Which is also no surprise, as his LD is 2. Here's the stats:

M WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  LD
4   1    0   2  2   1  1  1   2

Special Rules
Shambling Horde. A unit fleeing from zombies takes d6 S2 hits for every rank of 5 zombies.
The Newly Dead: No characters can join the unit, Invocation of Nehek raises D6+4 zombies.

Impressive, no? No. So, seeing as our pathetic bag of skin isn't a combat monster in the same way Darth Vader wasn't big on sand people, what the hell use is he? The answer is, it depends. Let's have a look.

The Horde
Perfect you say. A horde of zombies, what could be better. You can take, say, 60 zombies for 240pts. Add a musician and standard. That's 252pts. It's not THAT cheap, considering how pants these guys are. The psychological value of 60 zombies is significant, for sure. Player will not want to tie up elite units fighting these pussbags for the game. But they are not as big an obstacle as once they were. Steadfast might be great for the living, but it means nowt to zombies, who happily crumble despite outnumbering the opponent if they lose combat. And they will lose combat.

In 7th ed, zombies were the ultimate tarpit. Who cares that they never got a hit in, 30 zombies could tie up a unit for the whole game. Now, with step-up, supporting attacks and steadfast, not so much. Say our 60 zombies charge 25 greatswords with full command, no magic banner. That's 280pts, only 28pts more than the 60 zombies. The greatswords strike last, so our undead pals hit first. WS1 v WS4 means 5+ to hit. If the front rank of the greatswords is 5 wide, 21 zombies can attack. We're looking at 7 hits on average. So to wound. S2 v T3. That's 2 or 3 hits. Let's round up to 3. The greatswords have a 4+ save, so again, being generous, we're talking 2 casualties. Not great from 21 attack, but as we said, zombies ain't paid to kill stuff. Now it's the greatswords turn to avenge Hans and Helmut. They need to check for fear, but with LD8, they have a good chance of passing. Assuming they have 11 attacks at WS4, that's 3+ to hit. That's 8 hits, rounding up. S5 with greatweapons against T2, that's 2+, that's 7 wounds. 7 dead zombies. The greatswords CR is 11. The zombies is 7. They beat the zombies by 4, so 4 more crumble. That's 49 zombies left. That'll keep the greatswords busy. Now would be the time to hit them with a flank charge. Against single attack elites, zombies not bad. Try that against say, ogres. A unit of 6 bulls (260pts) can dish out 19 attack, plus stomp, plus bull charge if they get the charge in. You could lose your 60 zombies in 2-3 turns.

You can bolster the zombies with magic. Invocation of Nehek and Vanhels will help matters. These are power dice that might be better spent elsewhere though. The Helm of Commandment can help. All the zombies will do is tie up units, they won't beat the opposition. With the changes to fear, even if they do, the enemy may not run. Ultimately, zombie hordes are a points and power dice sink.

Raising the Dead - distraction and redirection
If zombies have a role in 8th, this is it. Using raise dead to attack war machines and distract dangerous units is very useful, but remember, even 5 zombies cost you 50 victory points if they are destroyed. The Sceptre de Noirot is useful here. Redirection is where it can really pay off. Getting those frenzied or elite units off your back for a turn can mean the difference between winning and losing. Again, this all costs precious, precious power dice, but at the right moment our zombie pals can save the day by taking one for the team.

Fattening deployment
adding units of zombies to increase your deployment units is useful, but costs 80pts per unit, so not something I'm a fan of.

So, it seems zombies uses are limited, but they are not totally defunct. Most vampire counts players will plump for more ghouls, and I have to say, despite my love of the humble zombie, even though they do have access to musicians and standards, I'd be in agreement.

Tomb Kings - High Expectations

I've been waiting. The wait is over in May, I hear. The new tomb kings book is on its way. I have high expectations for this book, and I think I won't be disappointed. I'll tell you why, it's because of the new orcs & goblins book.

I've heard a lot of whinging about the new book. For the LIFE OF ME I can't see why. First off, the complaining about it being hardback. Too heavy. Give me a break. GW produce a durable (this comes with a big proviso, if one page comes loose I'll be using that book as a murder weapon, though, again, NONE of my GW books have ever come apart.) full colour book, and folks moan about the weight. Sigh.

The rules look great. From what I can see, with great lores of magic, new incredible units (arachnarok and mangler squig anyone), changes to existing ones (pump wagons, doom diver, the choppa rule etc) couples with the sheer variety of lists one can make promotes O&G to potential top tier.

We also get great new models. The savage orcs look a little angular, but still groovy. One gripe I do have is the doubling in price for orc boys. That's some hike.

All this bodes well for Tomb Kings. If the models get the treatment the vampire counts got, it'll be enough to add another new army to my projects. There is such scope for fantastic models. Come on GW, make me happy.

The Old and the New

These days, the standard of the models getting produced is getting pretty amazing. advances in moulding and plastics technologies means models can be produced that could only be imagined in the most crazed fever dream of the miniature maker in the 70's and 80's. From the wonderful Gamezone creations to the sublime plastics of Games Workshop, we're spoiled. I remember looking at the new GW skeleton warrior sprue and being amazed at the fact that you could see through some of the skulls eye sockets and lower jaws. The quality and artistry of miniature making these days is simply incredible.

And yet...

I have an long-standing love affair with the miniatures of the 1980s, specifically those produced by Citadel, in the so-called golden age of GW minis. The character of the minis of this period is hard to beat, in my opinion. Sculptors like the Perry twins, the mighty Kevin Adams, Trish & Aly Morrison, Jes Goodwin, Bob Naismith, Bob Olley, Nick Bibby (who did the fimir!) among others produced a mountain of miniature goodness.

My personal fascination is with the undead of that period, which as far as I am concerned stand up to anything made now. Every minature has a personality inferred in its design, which is not the case with rank and file for today's vampire counts armies. I have, over the years, acquired the entire Citadel line of undead from the 80's, which I am gradually hammering into an army. It does look a bit special.

This is not to say I don't buy new minis, far from it. My closets creak with the weight of new miniatures yet to be painted, but deep in nostalgiatown is where my true heart rests. I am not alone in this. One fellow that springs to mind is the excellent Thantsants, who maintains the splendid Somewhere the tea's getting cold blog. Pure old school goodness, check it out.

And so, I leave you to muse on your own favourite period, sculptor or range among the many wonderful toys available to us lucky, lucky people.

Inferno Golems - Searching for Models

I've been searching for suitable models to represent inferno golems for the chaos dwarf army I'm constructing. I think I've found the perfect machines. This is a mercenary warjack from Warmachine, and I think he looks the business. I'm torn whether to field three or six golems. The list is new to me, and I'm tempted to field six. So far I've bought two mercenary jacks. This fellow will certainly be the leader of the unit. Some runes of Hashut, maybe some themed basing, and I think they will look suitably chaos dwarfy.

Fimm Champion - Finished!

The first of my fimir finally steps from the mists! I'm pretty happy with his skin, which was what gave me the most grief. His tattoos were a little fiddly, but putting down the tattoo in a darker skin tone before adding the blue seemed to embed them better and made them look less drawn on. This one-eyed murderer is destined to be a fimm unit champion. I like his ragged cloak, it will mark him out from his fellows nicely. The resin swamp base has plenty of detail, but not so much I couldn't add a little more foliage. I painted the flora at the back of the base to mimic heather in flower, which would grow in boggy areas. I'm quite keen to try one of Bloodmoon minis bog raiders now, as they are a bit more detailed than this old fellow.

This concludes my three mini break from my to-do list. Now, back to that corpse cart...