Here's the proof.
Sunday, 4 January 2015
I have an army! Visual Proof!
So I finished painting up my 500 point list. I've also been drawn to face off against the hideous rat-men Skaven in my first game! I'm not sure if I'd still come to the same list had I known, but this looks like it could still work!
Here's the proof.
Here's the proof.
First round, deciding on a list.
So the first round of the escalation league fast approaches, and I need an army list!
With my decision to play Vampire Counts for the league settled on, I had to work around a few restrictions, especially for the first round of the league. These were -
The army's strength lies in its ability to muster huge numbers of rank and file troops to 'tarpit' or hold up the opposition, while it uses it's incredibly strong magic and tough as nails characters to hit the enemy where it hurts. Sadly, if/when these characters die, the entire army starts to crumble to dust, but thats the price you pay for cheap troops!
I knew I needed strong magic, so a level 2 necromancer was my first port of call. 'Naked' he comes in at 100 points. It's a fifth of my allowance but really worthwhile. All the lore of vampires spells are pretty useful, and the signature spell lets him ressurect fallen skeletons or zombies. With an upgrade he could even add more to the regiment, but thats for another day!
Secondly, I wanted a vampire as my general. Why play the Vampire Counts army and not take one? They're incredible in combat and will go toe to toe with any other general (chaos warlords can be an issue, but you just hope for good luck on the dice!), or blitz through units of troops. Considering they can get wounds back by rolling a 6 when they wound, they can be pretty resiliant too. A vampire hero with heavy armour and an extra hand weapon on foot was a shade more than the necromancer, but not much.
That left me with a load of points left to fill with core. A block of 24 skellies with command for the vampire to bunker in seemed good to me. Skellies are deceptive when it comes to combat. They aren't the best at fighting, but the sheer number of dice means you always get a few hits through. Add on a large rank bonus, light armour and a shield as standard (with it's amazing parry save) and the ability to regen them through the magic phase and you have a unit that isn't going anywhere. I then took a unit of 20 zombies with a standard for my Necromancer to bunker in. Protecting him is fairly important, and a bit hunk of zombie meat does the job brilliantly!
With 80 points left over I looked at my options. I felt like I needed something a bit faster than my sluggish ground troops. Fell bats were an option, but they don't have a great statline in my opinion. Good enough to go and tie up war machines if you really need them, but they're no Wood Elf eagles, that's for sure! After a bit more reading the answer was obvious...... dire wolves. They can't fly, but they do move 9" a turn, that's 18" with a march, and they get a vanguard move! Again, not the best of statlines, but at forty points for five it meant I could take two packs of five. Perfect for protecting flanks, redirecting charges and harassing things. Great!
So, that's the list so far. I'll be looking to update it to 750 points for February's game, so let me know in the comments what you think of it so far. Would you have built it differently?
Now.... time to get the brushes out and paint the lot!
With my decision to play Vampire Counts for the league settled on, I had to work around a few restrictions, especially for the first round of the league. These were -
- 500 Points
- No Lord Choices
- Must be 50% Core Unit Choices
- Maximum of 1 Special Unit Choice
- No Rare Choice
- Maximum lvl 2 Mage
The army's strength lies in its ability to muster huge numbers of rank and file troops to 'tarpit' or hold up the opposition, while it uses it's incredibly strong magic and tough as nails characters to hit the enemy where it hurts. Sadly, if/when these characters die, the entire army starts to crumble to dust, but thats the price you pay for cheap troops!
I knew I needed strong magic, so a level 2 necromancer was my first port of call. 'Naked' he comes in at 100 points. It's a fifth of my allowance but really worthwhile. All the lore of vampires spells are pretty useful, and the signature spell lets him ressurect fallen skeletons or zombies. With an upgrade he could even add more to the regiment, but thats for another day!
Secondly, I wanted a vampire as my general. Why play the Vampire Counts army and not take one? They're incredible in combat and will go toe to toe with any other general (chaos warlords can be an issue, but you just hope for good luck on the dice!), or blitz through units of troops. Considering they can get wounds back by rolling a 6 when they wound, they can be pretty resiliant too. A vampire hero with heavy armour and an extra hand weapon on foot was a shade more than the necromancer, but not much.
That left me with a load of points left to fill with core. A block of 24 skellies with command for the vampire to bunker in seemed good to me. Skellies are deceptive when it comes to combat. They aren't the best at fighting, but the sheer number of dice means you always get a few hits through. Add on a large rank bonus, light armour and a shield as standard (with it's amazing parry save) and the ability to regen them through the magic phase and you have a unit that isn't going anywhere. I then took a unit of 20 zombies with a standard for my Necromancer to bunker in. Protecting him is fairly important, and a bit hunk of zombie meat does the job brilliantly!
With 80 points left over I looked at my options. I felt like I needed something a bit faster than my sluggish ground troops. Fell bats were an option, but they don't have a great statline in my opinion. Good enough to go and tie up war machines if you really need them, but they're no Wood Elf eagles, that's for sure! After a bit more reading the answer was obvious...... dire wolves. They can't fly, but they do move 9" a turn, that's 18" with a march, and they get a vanguard move! Again, not the best of statlines, but at forty points for five it meant I could take two packs of five. Perfect for protecting flanks, redirecting charges and harassing things. Great!
So, that's the list so far. I'll be looking to update it to 750 points for February's game, so let me know in the comments what you think of it so far. Would you have built it differently?
Now.... time to get the brushes out and paint the lot!
Choices....choices.
Having played a few games with my Wood Elves and Daemons armies, I realised I could use either of them to play in this campaign. The elves are a great shooty and mobile force, with the daemons providing a solid, hard hitting option with lots of flavour if thats what I wanted. However, I've been a little bored of painting them recently. Add that to the fact that both forces are quite expensive points-wise and I started to re-think things.
I've always wanted a proper undead army since I had a few of the models when I was a lot younger, but could never afford a proper horde size force. Well, now I can within reason!
The Escalation League is the perfect framework within which to build a brand new army....... and I'm a sucker for new things and new toys. I was going to play undead for the league, that was clear now. The choice though..... Vampires or Tomb Kings? I'd like to say that I looked at it carefully and considered all my options, but that would be a lie. After seeing all the great models, it had to be Vampire Counts. Egypt is cool and all, but I'll take Transylvania (Sylvania, sorry!) any day thanks.
Now, time to write out a 500 point list to take on all comers!
I've always wanted a proper undead army since I had a few of the models when I was a lot younger, but could never afford a proper horde size force. Well, now I can within reason!
The Escalation League is the perfect framework within which to build a brand new army....... and I'm a sucker for new things and new toys. I was going to play undead for the league, that was clear now. The choice though..... Vampires or Tomb Kings? I'd like to say that I looked at it carefully and considered all my options, but that would be a lie. After seeing all the great models, it had to be Vampire Counts. Egypt is cool and all, but I'll take Transylvania (Sylvania, sorry!) any day thanks.
Now, time to write out a 500 point list to take on all comers!
Beginning your new life, or unlife as it were.
This blog will detail my attempt at playing Warhammer Fantasy in the Wargames Workshop Escalation Campaign for 2015.
Starting at 500 points and increasing by 250 each month, with a series of structured games, it looks set to be a great way to spend the year painting, modelling and gaming with some good people.
Stay tuned for more.
Starting at 500 points and increasing by 250 each month, with a series of structured games, it looks set to be a great way to spend the year painting, modelling and gaming with some good people.
Stay tuned for more.
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