# Which von Carstein is the best?



## Commander Aurellius (Jun 11, 2009)

I am considering starting a Vampire Counts army and I will definately be including a von Carstein. Therefore, the problem lies in which von Carstein I should choose. I like Vlad the best as asthetics go but I was wondering which one u guys thought was best. I know they are good in different scenarios but If you could only have 1, who would it be, and more importantly, why? 
Thanks for your comments concerning this topic.

*PS* when it says Vlad returns to life on a 2+, does he return with full wounds or just 1?


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## Captain Galus (Jan 2, 2008)

Vlad returns to life ONLY if there is a unit that he can join on the table, and he comes back with only one wound. Luckily, he has the Blood Drinker, so get him into combat and he'll be at max health in no time...unless your rolls suck donkey bawlz. 

Mannfred is a goddamn monster, and will keep your army going for a long, long time. One of the best casters in the game, he can turn unsaved wounds he causes into power dice, so have him mounted in a unit of Blood Knights, charge through a unit, and have MAX POWER DICE in the next phase!

Konrad is my favorite, simply because he pretty much plays the game for you. The hardest part about using Konrad is decided which part of the table to put him on, but after that it's out of your hands. On his own, he's a carnage-seeking missile that will annihilate a unit if he gets the flank charge. The trick to using him is to set him next to a unit of doggies, having them charge so that Konrad can grab the flank or rear.


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## m3rr3k (Oct 14, 2008)

If you're talking Lords then I'd say that Vlad is the most coherently built Von Carstein, but Count Mannfred is the way to go... knowing ALL spells from Death & Vampires is insane, he has 5 wounds, 6 power dice and can take additional arcane items to further augment his abilities... Of course - between the two of them it really comes down to how your list works - Vlad can't increase the size of any of your units so you'd need your other characters to be able to support him by doing that, whereas Mannfred is pretty well rounded - obviously he doesn't have the shear killing power of Vlad...

At the hero level it becomes a tough call. Mannfred becomes much more usefull if you stick him into combat, but he doesn't wear any armor & as such is pretty fragile... Konrad can't be depended on to lead your army... nothing like your general being stupid 1/2 the time... but if you put him in a block with any other character (even a lowly necromancer...) he becomes a machine as his low leadership means his stupidity results are ignored & you only get to reap the benefits...

Isabella is quite terrible... I'm not sure why you'd ever take her except for building a themed army....


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## forestreverie (Sep 10, 2009)

Mannfred... I think more than the others Mannfred allows you to gear your army towards a certain aspect (magic), and really adds something towards this, konrad does this well for combat, but has risks with his instability...

But if you're looking for a balanced force then i think Vlad would be your man (or undead monster...)


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## Commander Aurellius (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks for all your help


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## forestreverie (Sep 10, 2009)

Commander Aurellius said:


> Thanks for all your help


Does that mean you've decided which one to go for?


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

I have to say none, the models are nice for them, but all the carsteins in my opinion are just boring (like all fantasy special characters), using the models but making up your own is allot more fun.


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## forestreverie (Sep 10, 2009)

yeah, I agree, I much prefer to give my characters exactly what I want, but still want to use the awesome models, my vampire lord is converted from the old Mannfred model, mounted with a lance and shield instead of the staff and sword.


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## jigplums (Dec 15, 2006)

manfred for the win, although i do kind of like vlad too


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

a bit of a nub question, were vlad, konrad, and mannfred brothers/cousins/fathers and sons or whatnot?


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## m3rr3k (Oct 14, 2008)

Vlad is kind of the father... He sired Mannfred & Konrad into vampirism


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## forestreverie (Sep 10, 2009)

As far as I know they are all descended from Vlad through Vampirism, and were not related by blood when they were mortals, as there is no reocrd of Vlad's life before he appeared in the Empire and married Isabella.

The Von Carstein "Family" consists of those turned by Vlad Himself, or by those already turned by Vlad (if that makes any sense?).


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## jackd334 (May 25, 2009)

*Meh*

I dont realy know the names of them :S..
But i do know i prefer strigoi :victory:


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## forestreverie (Sep 10, 2009)

Strigoi is a different bloodline.
In the old Army Book you could choose between Strigoi, Lahmian, Blood Dragon, Necrach or Von Carstein Vampires, but in the new one, you choose whichever powers you want. All the special characters are from the Von Carstein bloodline though, and we were just talking about them.
Strigoi were a pretty cool idea, but not being able to take any mundane/magic items kept me away from them


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## jackd334 (May 25, 2009)

*Ok*



forestreverie said:


> Strigoi is a different bloodline.
> In the old Army Book you could choose between Strigoi, Lahmian, Blood Dragon, Necrach or Von Carstein Vampires, but in the new one, you choose whichever powers you want. All the special characters are from the Von Carstein bloodline though, and we were just talking about them.
> Strigoi were a pretty cool idea, but not being able to take any mundane/magic items kept me away from them


Ah, i see. Sorry, im not big on my undead :S And its a shame that strigoi dont have that big a role in the book since theres the lovely new varghulf and ghouls  Ill shut up now, before i start to lead this thread off topic lol


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## forestreverie (Sep 10, 2009)

I think they've tried to let you include all the bloodlines together wheras before all Vampires were from a single bloodline.

Including the Varghulf would be one example of this, and Blood Dragons, but also the new non-bloodline specific layout.

sorry to go off-topic


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

Vlad, at least he had style....a hot wife, money, a zombie army! and a hax Ring! Plus the old people hate him already! (Read Vampire wars for refrence on old people)


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