As everyone has likely seen, Games Workshop posted the new Vampire Counts book and models this weekend for preorder. Now, what some people fail to see is that many of these units also have their statline and special rules (names, not descriptions) posted on Games Workshop's website too. This allows the Warhammer Fantasy savvy people to perform a little bit of an early analysis. Now, these assessments are of course incomplete since they lack any point costs. Point cost can cause a model with an amazing statline and seemingly great special rules to never be used.
So what I want to do here is to piece together the evidence and present the best picture possible for as many of the new Vampire Count units as possible. I will be ignoring characters since too many variables exist with them such as Magic Items, variable special rules, etc. So definitely no special characters and likely only a cursory glance, if any, at normal characters.
***New Units***
Coven Throne
Posted Stats:
Thoughts:
The first thing to note about the Coven Throne is that this is used as a chariot-type mount for your Vampire Lord. Whether this means it can only be used as a mount or taken like other chariots without a character remains to be seen. The Spectral Steeds will give this Chariot pretty unprecedented maneuverability. Rumor suggests the Pallid Handmaidens get ASF and the Spirit Horde does not.
The stats are fairly typical of a Chariot and the sheer number of attacks this thing can dish out seems pretty remarkable.
The Battle of Wills means that the before any combat the attacking unit and the coven throne roll off against leadership and if the coven throne wins then the enemy unit is hampered with negative modifiers or possibly attacks itself.
Scrying Pool sounds like a cool bonus to hit or wound but as it is supposedly a bound spell, this makes it highly unlikely to go off when you really need it.
On another note the model has received great praise. Personally, I think it's a little over the top. I like many components but when combined it's just too much. Not to mention the extreme difficulty this will present in trying to cart this bad boy (girl?) around.
Overall assessment for this is pretty positive unless it's cost is prohibitively high. I really can't see this costing less than 150 points though so be prepared for a massive point sink to include this.
Mortis Engine
Posted Stats:
Thoughts:
Again, rumors point to this being a chariot type. However, unlike the Coven Throne the Mortis Engine is supposedly only a Rare Choice. While the Throne has some seductive vampire types on board the engine possesses a necromancer type and a cloud of banshees.
Again, stats are pretty indicative of the Chariot type.Nothing special but nothing to scoff at either. It is a bit curious that the Mortis Engine does not share the Ward save that the Throne possesses but this is hardly the first time that has happened between shared chassis (Screaming bell and Plague Furnace anyone?). Of course a regeneration save is almost as good as a ward save, I just find it odd that one has regen and the other a ward.
Rumors indicate that the mortis engine's banshee swarm will allow it to make a ghostly howl attack as per the normal banshees. This adds to the utility granted by it's other ability, Reliquary.
Reliquary buffs nearby undead units. Supposedly it grants regen (6+) to nearby units and the area grows as the game advances. Also the enemy takes hits if they are within range. That being said, if the mortis engine is removed from play it supposedly explodes quite fantastically.
I have the same reservations about this model as I do the Coven Throne, although this one has less going on so it's not quite as over the top. Still, it looks to be a pain to move.
Point wise I think we are looking at 200+ points. If I had to guess I'd say around 250 to be exact.
Vargheist
Posted Stats:
Thoughts:
Monstrous Infantry for Vampire Counts is here! Oh snap! The Vargheists are truly unique monstrous infantry since they posses the fly ability. As vampires they can march move giving the Vampire Counts the most maneuverable MI in the game.
Stats are actually fairly impressive with essentially the same stats as a Rat Ogre except with Flying, Undead, and Vampiric and an additional point of Weapon Skill. The WS, S, I, A of these things combined with their flying means they will be serious threats on the board.
I really don't care for these models. The wings seem goofy and incapable of allowing actual flight. They just seem uninspiring to me.
For points I'd expect these things to be pretty costly. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 55-60 points minimum, any lower and they become auto-includes.
Crypt Horrors
Posted Stats:
Thoughts:
I had really hoped to see some sort of Frankenstein Monster for the rumored 2nd Monstrous Infantry that Vampire Counts were getting. no luck. Instead they only received large ghouls. That being said, these seems like pretty a pretty solid choice. Regen 5+, Poison Attacks, and T5? Yes, please.
Stats they are weaker than many other MI choices but have poison to offset their apparent "weakness". Additionally these are the monstrous infantry you throw at your aopponent if you just don't want them to die. Possessing T5, W3, and Regeneration 5+ is amazing. Throw in a Mortis Engine nearby and you are looking at a 4+ Regen save.
I actually think these are slightly better than the vargheists but only because they look like scaled up Games Workshop ghouls. That being said, I'm pretty, "meh" about them.
Point-wise these should be around 45ish points if I had to guess a number. They are more survivable than most MI and only a slight drawback of I2 and relatively low strength of 4 for MI.
Hexwraiths
Posted Stats:
Thoughts:
The Hexwraiths, probably my favorite new unit for Vampire Counts, add an interesting dynamic completely unseen from Warhammer Fantasy. Usually Fast Cavalry are known to be extremely fast and nimble but fragile and with little ability to cause great amounts of damage. They were often used as bait, to take on skirmishers, or attack war machines. Hexwraiths present a much more, "in your face" approach.Stat-wise they look pretty unimpressive. S3, I2 with only one attack means they ordinarily wouldn't cause much damage. However when you unlock what the rumors and the postings on GWs own website indicate about their special rules, they are simply vicious.
First, while they are undead and can't march, being Fast Cavalry they still receive a free reform. Free Reform plus spectral steeds ignoring terrain = amazing mobility. Next, fast cavalry is usually fairly fragile and while I have no idea what type of armor save (if any) these models have, being ethereal is great protection on it's own. Only magic and magic items can hurt them. Next, they can perform a hit and run attack of sorts by moving through an enemy unit. This causes S5 hits. Finally being meanand nasty wraiths wielding incredibly wicked looking scythes, all attacks are rumored to be flaming, magical, and ignore armor. Whether this applies to just the special "move-through" attack or even normal attacks has yet to be revealed.
The models are, in my opinion, fantastic. The Spectral Steeds are nothing to write home about, but the riders look superb. The wychfire clinging to the robes and the scythes adds a nice degree of menace and I've always been a fan of wraiths in general. That aside, I'm considering finding enough bits to equip at least a unit of Plague bearer censors with those scythes!
Points, I'd place them around 35-40. They can be devastating if used properly but require a little finesse given their rules. Personally, I'd include these in every list just for fun.
Overall Thoughts:
It looks like the new Vampire Counts book will be completely different from the older books. The new units seem incredibly mobile, strengthening one of the glaring weaknesses of the Vampire Counts. They also received even more ways to buff their units. Having a corpse cart (rumored to be a special choice now) and a mortis engine nearby will make a unit of zombies fairly reliable in combat.
Wildcards:
So while I've added a number of thoughts above, much has yet to be learned of the new Vampire Counts. At this juncture we lack point costs, specific rule text, and the biggest wildcard - magic.
Magic will make or break Vampire Counts. I've heard everything from magic will be easier to cast but can no longer grow units beyond starting strength to magic will be harder to cast but will be far more devastating (hard to think given the current state of VC magic). Also what magic items will make the transition. I've seen a couple lists and honestly, I'm not liking what I'm seeing. Banner of the Barrows looks to remain untouched which is BS. That's one item that made Vampire Counts into the BS book it was before.
These two models are awesome. I plan to buy both just for painting. I do like the Isabella figure and will likely buy her as well in future to go along with my Vlad.
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