# Vampire Counts in 8e



## HiveMinder (Feb 8, 2010)

*Vampire Counts 8e Army Book Review*

So, the Vampire Counts just got a new Army Book, which means I'm going to have a new VC army. I want to start with the disclaimer that I have not played VC in previous editions of Warhammer, so all of the tactical advice that follows is theoretical. I've pored over the 7e army book, and know it back to front while I waited for them to get an update, and lucky for me.

So lets get right into it. Anything new to the army book will be preceded by an asterisk (*).

*General Overview*
After a quick browse through the book, the new VC can be summed up in one word: OPTIONS. As before vampires are customizable, but even more so than before. The characters, specials, and rare sections are rife with options. And, while not a tactical point, the entire line, save for some character/mount options, is completely available in a non-pewter form. My general insight tells me that VC are going to work best by fielding a large number of low level casters, as opposed to one or two lvl. 4 wizards, for reasons I will touch on throughout this thread.

*Special Rules*
The undead function exactly the same as they did in previous editions, causing Fear, unbreakable, unstable, and only able to march when near the general. However, a delightful change is that they can avoid crumbling to dust after the general dies as long as you still have a wizard with Lore of Vampire spells on the table. This is reason enough to field many wizards in your force.

*Magic*
The old way of Necromancy is gone and now Lore of the Vampires works just like any other spell lore. 

The signature spell is Invocation of Nehek, which got a significant upgrade from its previous version. While its range has decreased, it now affects EVERY friendly unit within 6"/12" of the caster and adds the caster's level to the number of models raised. For this reason, positioning is much more important for VCs casters.

Vanhel's Danse Macabre is back but it's a completely different spell. It allows units to reroll failed rolls To Hit in close combat, or make a normal move (not a charge). I recommend using the combat portion of this spell on Crypt Ghouls and Crypt Horrors to take full advantage of their Poisoned attacks whenever able, and the movement portion of it is probably best served to push your flanking units further forward to threaten your opponents flank.

*Hellish Vigour is a new spell, that allows a unit within 12" to reroll failed To Wound rolls. It can be boosted to affect all units within 12". The benefits of this are fairly straightforward, but it will have the most potent effect on Grave Guard and Black Knights, o take full advantage of their Killing Blow.

Gaze of Nagash is unchanged. Its your standard magic missile. Personally, there are more interesting options in the Lore of the Vampires, but if I were to use this for a purpose, I'd recommend it for a mounted vampire who can fly behind the enemy lines, and use it to blast war machine crews apart.

Raise Dead is more like the old Summon Undead Horde, as it allows you to create a zombie unit of between 5 and 15 models anywhere within 18". It can be boosted to be a skeleton unit. While summoning a new unit is great for filling gaps in your battle line, their true strength comes in summoning them along the flanks of your opponent's battle line. It's well worth boosting the spell to get skeletons. An average unit will be 10 strong, which is enough to disrupt an enemy in the flank. With skeletons, you stand a chance of enough of them surviving combat to disrupt, whereas zombies will almost certainly eat it.

Curse of Years is also back, and is unchanged except that it casts on a 12+ instead of an 8+. While this may seem like a nerf at first, I actaully think it's a blessing in disguise. A higher casting value means that your opponent will have to spend more dispel dice trying to dispel it in subsequent turns. In fact he'd have to throw 4 dice at it to have a greater than 50% chance to dispel. So, while the actual effect of Curse of Years is nice, the real benefit I see is to slow your opponents magic phase as he tries to get rid of this brutal spell.
However, to get the most out of the spell's effect, I think it goes without saying - cast it on a big unit.

*Wind of Death is the last spell in the lot. While it's name is similar to Wind of Undeath, its effect is totally different. Wind of Death is a magical vortex with a unique mechanic. Wind of Death affects the whole unit, even if it only grazes a single model, dealing D6 S3 hits per rank in the unit with no armor saves allowed. When boosted, it uses the large blast instead of the small, and it inflicts S4 hits instead of S3. This will absolutely kill deep units like Skaven players like to field. The real reason to boost this spell is for the S4 attacks, since the actual models hit by the template don't matter. This is definitely one of those spells you want to put on a flying caster. With good positioning, you can send it all the way through your opponents battle line, inflicting massive casualties. This spell can be a great scare tactic too, forcing your opponent to use most of his dispel dice to counter this will leave you free to cast IoN at your leisure with other spellcasters.

*Note:* I've made reference to 'giving' spells to certain casters. This can be accomplished by rolling their spells last to improve their chances of getting that spell. Since you aren't allowed to duplicate spells (except the signature spell), the caster who rolls his spells last will most likely get to choose most of his spells.

*Vampiric Powers*
There are only 14 vampiric powers in the new book, opposed to the 18 in the old book, but it doesn't feel like anything was really lost. Some of the powers got rolled into the base characteristics of vampires, other got upgraded. I'm not going to cover them all in detail, but there are a few distinctions I'd like to make.

Master of the Black Arts now lets you reroll one of the Winds of Magic dice for determining power dice. This is really useful in ensuring you have a strong magic phase more often than not. However, I would doubly recommend it if you're fielding a Black Coach, as the more power dice you generate, the faster the Black Coach can get its buffs.

Sadly, there's no more Ethereal vampiric power.

There is also no more Loremaster vampiric power. There is still one to let you choose from the battle magic lores, but without loremaster, I'm much more hesitant to do so. A lot of the reason to venture outside of the Lore of Vampires is for a specific spell combination. That's much less likely without Loremaster. However, it still has its uses.

*Dark Acolyte makes IoN harder to dispel by adding D3 to successful casting attempts. While it doesn't seem like much, a few of this upgrade on a few casters really adds up and can help ensure you get at least a few models each Magic phase.

*Quickblood looks to be a new favorite for making combat monsters. Vampires have a pretty beefy Initiative, and ASF will allow them to reroll hits in combat.

*Magic Items*

Skabscrath got a major upgrade both in points and ability. It grants Frenzy and Devastating Charge, as well as giving the bearer the Terrorgheist Death Shriek ability. It comes with the stipulation that the bearer must kill someone before the end of the game, but that shouldn't be a problem. There's no real trick to using this weapon, put it on someone, throw him into combat and watch the bodies pile up. I'd recommend giving the Aura of Dark Magesty vampiric power to anyone with this, as it gives the opponent -1 Ld, which translates into one more wound from Death Shriek.

The Rod of Flaming Death got a slight upgrade. After taking damage from the Rod, the unit will suffer further damage if it moves. This is another time where Aura of Dark Majesty comes in handy. The point is to force your opponent to run away, so they take the extra damage, and lowering their Ld is a good way to make that happen.

The Black Periapt is a great item for magical dominance, as it now lets you save up to 2 dice from one pool to another. They are no longer caster specific, but you still can't exceed the 12 dice cap, so its possible to lose your stored dice if you roll particularly well.

*The Cursed Book is back in name only. The new Cursed Book gives the bearer random access to some of the better (for VC anyway) spells from the Lore of Death and Lore of Shadows. Additionally, you spend a random amount of dice on the spells, from 1-3. While random casting will probably never make it into hardcore tournament settings, there are a few things that need to be said about this item. First and foremost, most of the spells you can cast would require 3 dice anyway, so being able to cast on 1 is great for power dice economy. Second, the only way for this to fail is by not having a valid target, otherwise you are guaranteed to cast with no miscast. You can't ask for much more than that. However, there's always a downside. You don't get to cast the boosted versions or add your wizard lvl, so if your opponent has a high lvl wizard, dispelling it shouldn't be too hard. Additionally, as mentioned before, its random, so barring lucky rolls, you may not get a spell that is particularly helpful at the time.


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## HiveMinder (Feb 8, 2010)

*Lords Choices*

*Mannfred von Carstein*
Mannfred is the penultimate Vampire wizard. And although his points cost is substantial, it's absolutely a bargain with everything you get. If you assumed that you could spend whatever you wanted on Vampiric Powers, a stock Vampire Lord would cost 551 pts, taking all the same Vampiric Powers, plus Curse of the Revenant twice to get the +2 Wounds that Mannfred gets. That's already more than Mannfred costs, plus Mannfred gets Loremaster in two lores, and a sword that adds power/dispel dice! While not the most defensive model in the army, his 5 Wounds and vampiric profile should mean that he won't die to a single round of combat, and the Lore of Vampires attribute should help restore lost wounds.

While he has the option to do so, I'd never put him on an abyssal terror. This just makes him a target for cannons. If you want to mount him, I'd opt for the Hellsteed, as it too can fly, but has the benefit of being cavalry, which will fit nicely in a unit of Black Knights or Blood Knights. However, since he'll most likely be your army's general, taking him on foot is good too, since more of the army will benefit from his casting if he remains with the main battle line. The main reason to put him on a nightmare is to fly him up the flank and try to send Wind of Death or the Purple Sun across your opponents battle line. It's great and abolutely devastating if it works, but leaves a very pricey model out in the open with very little to protect him.

*Vlad von Carstein*
Vlad is the most solid special Lord in the VC army. While not as much of a bargain as Mannfred, he's probably far more survivable. His 4+ Hungerer roll and 2+ resurrection work out to about 40 pts, which is pretty good. Also, if Isabella dies (and you SHOULD be using Isabella if your taking Vlad), he gains Frenzy and Hatred. Overall, he's a fantastic Lord choice, he's a decent Wizard, he's decent in combat, and with his T5, 5+/4++ saves, and a 4+ Hungerer roll, he's hard to kill.

** Heinrich Kemmler*
While I know Heinrich was in previous editions of VC books, he was not in the last one, so I'm treating him as a new model. He is second in casting might only to Vlad, but he is possibly more useful depending on the army you want to run. Kemmler is the only model in the game capable of raising Grave Guard, but he must do so through combat - not exactly the best place for a Wizard to be. To this end, he has the Cloak of Mists and Shadows, allowing him to become Ethereal. It can also let him Fly, useful for if he has to relocate during the game, but I think becoming Ethereal will see far more play. He automatically has the Master of the Dead rule, so he can raise skeletons above their starting value.

His Skull staff gives him +1 to dispel, which is always handy, but it also forces the enemy to reveal all magic items and who has them within 12". Unfortunately, 12" is usually too late to do anything about, but it gives you a good idea of what you're up against before it smacks you in the face. If you play in an area where full army list disclosure includes magic item rundowns, then this magic item is far less useful.

Like Vlad, Kemmler has a partner character in Krell. However, not directly beneficial to Kemmler, Krell will keep any magic item wielding characters away from Kemmler because of his forced challanges. To this end, I recommend steering clear of any combats involving multiple character units.

*Vampire Lord*
Stock vampire lords offer a myriad of choices, and can be tailored just about any way you want. Due to vampiric powers, they can be customized even more than most other characters. They gained the Hungerer rule in this edition, which is nice, but will hardly be reliable. Additionally, many of the old vampiric powers got rolled into the base build of the vampires. A basic vampire can now wear armor, offering some great options for well defended casters. They also have stock options for mounts, including the new Coven Throne. Personally, I wouldn't make a powerful caster out of these guys, as Kemmler and Mannfred have much better ability for better points economy, but there things to be said for the customizibility of these guys. The options are too numerous to get into here, but this thread has some great concoctions in it. One thing I will say, is that besides Mannfred, the only way to get the extremely useful Master of the Black arts power is through a Vampire Lord.

** Master Necromancer*
This is another solid choice, who is both cheaper than most other lord lvl wizards with 4 Toughness. Necromancers have the ability to take Master of the Undead, allowing them to raise skeleton units beyond their starting size - something vampires can't do. Because of this, and their relatively cheap points cost, they are probably better at filling caster spots than vampires are. Also interesting to note, Master Necromancers are capable of getting a 4+ armor save if they are mounted on a barded Nightmare and wearing the Nightshroud, another thing most other casters can't muster.

** Strigoi Ghoul King*
Strigoi Ghoul Kings are wonderful characters who are pretty nice to use even stock with no upgrades. They have 5 Poisoned Attacks with rerolls to hit and a 5+ Regen. Combined with a vampire profile, and a few choice vampiric powers like Red Fury, make this combat monster even more deadly. If that's not enough killing power for you, he can ride a terrorgheist into battle! Although for army composition reasons, I prefer to run the terrorgheist by itself, it makes a great mount for the slaughtering ghoul king. The only problem with the Ghoul King is that it's hard to find magic items that suit him. He can't wear armor, and if you give him a magic weapon, he loses the benefits of his poisoned attacks. He actually makes for a good dispel scroll caddie, since he is a wizard, but generally is not your go-to caster.


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## HiveMinder (Feb 8, 2010)

*Heroes Choices*

*Mannfred the Acolyte*
Where Lord level Mannfred is a no brainer for a special character caster, Mannfred the Acolyte isn't really anything to write home about. Yes, he stilll has Loremaster for Lore of Vampires and his power/dispel dice generating sword - both of which are nice. But he only has 4 Toughness and a 5+ armor save to protect him and his 2 Wounds. Basically it boils down to this. If you want to even be able to reap the benefits of his sword, you have to throw him against basic infantry. Just about any character out there can flay Acolyte Mannfred easily in combat. His saving grace is the barded nightmaire, at least bumping his armor to a 3+.

I may be being a little harsh on Mannfred, but in his Hero form, he really takes a careful hand to use him properly, or he'll end up getting slaughtered.


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## HiveMinder (Feb 8, 2010)

*Core Choices*

*Zombies*
Zombies have had a few tweaks from the last book. They lost the Shambling Horde rule and gained the Always Strike Last rule. They gained +1 S and +1 T, and their increased effect from IoN is D6 instead of a static 4. They have also dropped a point, making them even better at their job, which is to act as a tar pit unit. No one throws zombies into combat expecting a win, they're there to keep the enemy busy while the real threat sets up for a flank charge. The +1 T and reduced cost are the biggest contributing factors for this. And the +1 S means you may take a few models out in the process.

*Skeleton Warriors*
Skeletons remain the 'basic' troops of the VC army. They are unchanged from the previous book, save for the points reduction and having spears is a free upgrade. I personally never find spears to be worthwhile. 

*Crypt Ghouls*
Crypt Ghouls have also seen no change from the previous book, with a slight points cost increase. This is more than okay though, as it brings them into line with other units. In previous editions, crypt ghouls were just far and away the best units to bring. It's still more beneficial from a combat standpoint to bring 1 crypt ghoul opposed to 2 skeletons, but it's important to consider that, unlike Skeletons and Zombies, there is no way to increase a unit of ghouls beyond its starting size anymore. Basically it comes down to this. Ghouls are your offensive unit, Skeletons are your defensive unit.

*Dire Wolves*
Dire Wolves probably got the most significant change in the new book. Their new Slavering Charge gives them +1 S on the charge, and they have the Vanguard rule. However, the most important change is that now they DO count towards your core points requirement. This opens up a whole new avenue to VC, the fast vampire army. VC have enough fast things, but the problem always was that you had to bring the slow footslogging core troops. Now you can fill your Core with Dire Wolves, and make the whole army speed across the battlefield.


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## HiveMinder (Feb 8, 2010)

*Special Choices*

*Corpse Cart*
Corpse Carts have moved from Core to Special, which isn't really a big deal, since they didn't count toward minimum Core requirement anyway, which basically meant they were cutting into your Special points anyway. The Corpse cart has become a chariot instead of a monster, which makes WAY more sense. This means its picked up D6 S4 Impact Hits. It's also gained a Wound, an attack from the Corpsemaster, and the Strength of its random attacks has gone up by 1, all for costing only 15 more points. 

In addition, its Miasma of Deathly Vigour has been replaced with an awful pun, Vigour Mortis. The new rule is actually slightly better, as it is not a bound spell, but rather an effect if the corpse cart is targeted by a spell. This makes keeping your corpse carts close to your wizards even more important. I woudn't recommend using Corpse Carts as mounts for necromancers, as then they are coming out of your Hero/Lords points instead of Specials, which is a much larger chunk of the pie.

Balefire is unchanged, but costs 10 pts less. Unholy Lodestone has gotten an upgrade of sorts. Instead of granting an extra wound from IoN, it instead lets you reroll the D6 for each affected unit, hopefully helping you get maximum effectiveness from IoN with each casting.

*Grave Guard*
Grave Guard are essentially the same. However, it's important to realize that they have lost their magical weapons. Regardless, the are still your go-to elite infantry unit, and make a fine bodyguard for any infantry character, particularly Heinrich Kemmler and Krell. Even though Black Knights can take the Banner of the Barrows too, I'd recommend taking it on this unit, due to its effecting Krell and Kemmler's ability to raise Grave Guard. And of course, lets not forget about using Hellish Vigour allow rerolling wounds, and thus scoring more killing blows.

*Black Knights*
Similar to the Grave Guard, the Black Knights have lost their magical attacks. Additionally, lances have become optional equipment, allowing you to field slightly cheaper units if need be. The cost of barding is slightly cheaper also, making them a bit more economical.

** Crypt Horrors*
One of the new units to be added to the undead hordes, these fill a hole in the VC roster, monstrous infantry. These guys are quite literally Crypt Ghouls on steroids. They boast 5 Toughness and a 5+ Regen save, making them one of the heartiest monstrous infantry in the game. Besides being tough, they can put the hurt on pretty much anything thanks to their 3 Poisoned attacks each. And they only cost a bit more than your average ogre! To get the most out of these guys, keep them in range of IoN, since a lvl. 2 Wizard casting it can revive one whole Horror per casting. These guys do wonders at guarding a flank, but may still have trouble with a heavy cavalry charge.

*Fell Bats*
Fell Bats are unchanged from the previous book, save for a modest points reduction. I personally don't find any use for Fell Bats. There are many other Special choices I would go for instead. 

*Bat Swarms*
Here's another unit that transitioned from Core to Specials. They also got a substantial upgrade. They gained +1 Attack and +1 Wound, and their Cloud of Horror rule now causes enemy units in base contact to have ASL. While the step up rules generally make ASL pretty useless against units, it makes a huge difference when fighting HE or if the unit in question has a character in it. If the character has ASL, challanging him with one of your characters will give you a significant edge.

*Spirit Hosts*
Spirit Hosts, oh how I love thee. The Ethereal staple unit hasn't changed much. They cost about 1/3 less than they used to for the same stat line. Additionally, the minimum unit size was reduced to 1. Against units this is a very poor choice, as one spirit host will not made back the combat resolution, however, single model spirit hosts have their use. They're fantastic monster blockers. Unless a monster somehow gains magical attacks, u can rest assured that a single spirit host can neutralize a monster indefinitely. Meanwhile, larger blocks of spirit hosts can chew through most other units at their leisure. 

** Hexwraiths*
Ethereal, Terror causing fast cavalry with great weapons! There's no part of that sentence I don't like. In addition, they deal S5 hits that ignore armor when they move through an enemy unit. This makes them perfect for the role of assaulting units deep into enemy territory. They can pass right through the main battle line and go for the important, well guarded objectives. Hexwraiths win my "Most Likely to be Targeted by Vanhel's". I don't think I need to explain why these guys having a second 8" move is incredibly useful.

** Vargheists*
As if getting monstrous infantry in the form of Crypt Horrors wasn't enough, VC stepped it up another notch and has _flying_ monstrous infantry. Like the Hexwraiths, these guys are great for surgical strikes against well entrenched targets. Thanks to being vampiric, they are able to move 20" a turn, getting them across the board quickly. Their Frenzy could trip them up a bit, since they only have an average Ld. Also, they're nowhere near as tough as the Crypt Horrors, only T4 with no saves. And using IoN isn't much of an option since being Vampiric means they only ever get 1 wound back per casting. Therefore, these guys above all others require careful positioning and skill to use effectively. I recommend screening them with a unit of Dire Wolves until you can fly them into position. Having the screen not only gives them a modicum of protection from missile fire, but it keeps the frenzy tests to a minimum until they can get into prime position. The reason I recommend Dire Wolves is because of their Vanguard move. That way your Vargheists aren't footslogging it the first turn.


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## HiveMinder (Feb 8, 2010)

*Rare Choices*

*Varghulf*
I believe the Varghulf is the least changed model from one book to another. The only change he got was a +2 Initiative buff. However, with so many other rare options now, the Varghulf could be easily eclipsed by other choices. He makes for an excellent flank blocker due to his Bestial Fury rule.

*Blood Knights*
The Blood Knights haven't changed much. They got a slight pts drop and gained +1 Initiative. Additionally, the Flag of Blood Keep has become an unique unit upgrade for the knights. With such a hard hitting unit, 3 S7 hits a piece on the charge, the Flag of Blood Keep is your best bet, since they will surely be drawing a lot of fire.

*Cairn Wraiths*
Not much has changed for the Cairn Wraiths. They got an extra attack that lets them exchange their 3 attacks for one that will auto wound and ignore armor if it hits. It really only comes into play against really high Toughness models like Necrosphinxes and Steam Tanks due to the fact that they're wielding great weapons. The Tomb Banshee is a fantastic addition as well due to her Ghostly Howl. In general, this is a really solid unit as long as you keep them away from magic weapons. If you find yourself having to deal with magic weapons, attempt to issue a challenge with your banshee. She will still get to use her Ghostly Howl, and though she'll probably die if your opponent accepts with his character, she'd be resurrected with the next IoN cast.
If he only accepts with the champion, you're stuck weathering a hail of magic attacks, but hopefully you survive and kill the champion. Then this trick will work in subsequent turns.

*Black Coach*
Another of the Vampire Counts 4 chariots, this is probably the least impressive looking one, but quite possibly one of the most useful. It's Evocation of Death rule has changed to only happen during your own magic phase, but it no longer takes away power dice either. I highly recommend bringing a character with Master of the Black Arts to help speed up the otherwise slowed process of making the Black Coach a huge threat. However, if you manage to power it up completely, you have a nigh unstoppable killing machine. You'll have a flying ethereal chariot with a 2+ Ward save against magical attacks. Besides impact hits, you have 2 S5 hits and 3 S6 hits, all with Killing Blow. Don't be surprised if it draws a lot of missle fire early in the game.

** Terrorgheist*
Terrorgheists hold the distinction of being the only Monster that can be included without being a mount. In addition to flying and causing Terror, it has one of the best attacks in the game in my opinion. Death Shriek is like a more powerful version of the Banshee's Ghostly Howl. The reason its so useful is that it doesn't need to roll to hit or to wound, and it negates armor saves as well. It just causes damage. It's best used to deal with those very armored or very tough models, since toughness and armor mean absolutely nothing to it. I would recommend attacking targets away from the enemy Army General, since his generally higher Ld value will only detract from the number of Wounds the Terrorgheist can inflict with Death Shriek. However, using a Terrorghiest is not without risks. Of all the things in the VC army, the Terrorgheist is probably the one that will draw the most enemy fire, and with only a 6+ Regen to protect it, this is not a good thing. While its 6 Toughness should prove a good defense for most missile fire, cannons and stone throwers will cause a HUGE problem.

** Mortis Engine*
One of the new chariots to grace the pages of the VC, the Mortis Engine is nothing short of awesome in my book. Not only does it have the Ghostly Howl attack, but it gets 2D6 + 4 attacks in combat, causes Terror, and has a 4+ Regen save. On top of that it has a bubble effect of increasing Regen saves by 1 (particularly good with Crypt Horrors), and damaging enemy units. However, the biggest reason I love it so much is its Blasphemous Tome upgrade, which adds +2 to any wizards casting attempts with Lore of Vampires spells. For this reason, I would generally keep the Mortis Engine behind the main battle line to act as a Wizard buff. Essentially, it turns your 100 pt Lvl. 2 Necromancers into 100 pt Lvl. 4 Necromancers. Alternatively, it could turn a Lvl.4 Wizard with the Book of Azur into a super wizard who has a +7 to cast! 

After a turn or two and the battlelines start to break down is a perfect opportunity for the mortis engine to enter the fray, getting d6 Impact Hits, then a Ghostly Howl attack, then the bubble damaging effect, then 2d6+4 attacks in combat. And of course, if it finally is destroyed, a further 2d6 hits to everything within 12 inches.


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## Creon (Mar 5, 2009)

They've only been out a week, tactica on the new units may have to wait for some games to be done in the new army book.


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## HiveMinder (Feb 8, 2010)

Creon said:


> They've only been out a week, tactica on the new units may have to wait for some games to be done in the new army book.


I've altered the title to reflect more of the focus of the thread. Its more of a review of the new book, with whatever tactical tips I have come up with.


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## LukeValantine (Dec 2, 2008)

Hallelujah zombies are now something you want to use, and my regiments of spear skeletons will now actually see the table! Back in the day throwing zombies at a combat even in the flank was a recipe to loose the combat as the 6 models that could hit the zombies would most often kill 3-4 of em completely negating the advantage of them being their in the first place, but with T3 at least most base infantry won't win by nailing the flank charging zombies.


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