7th Ed. How do you fight vampiers

[Kyrogar]

I am having a tough time dealing with vampire counts. It is truly the only army I have the toughest time against. I don't run a slann list I run an old blood on carnisaur. How do you get past that out numbering fear? How do you get passed the helm of Command it kills me? I am debating dusting off my slann and using him from now on.

 

[kroxigor01]

A Slann would help immensly. Chuck a bane head and give him metal and the enemy Lord (who invariably has a very good armour save) is constantly in fear of being fried alive (fried undead? ). This would solve the Helm of Commandment problem, as the enemy vampire can't afford to come close enough to us it.

Plaque of Dominion is a good trick to pull (remember that hero vampires only have LD7 ).

Apart from that I would suggest getting lots of scar vets on cold ones to make their units immune to fear.

 

[Kyrogar]

A Slann would help immensly. Chuck a bane head and give him metal and the enemy Lord (who invariably has a very good armour save) is constantly in fear of being fried alive (fried undead? ). This would solve the Helm of Commandment problem, as the enemy vampire can't afford to come close enough to us it.

Plaque of Dominion is a good trick to pull (remember that hero vampires only have LD7 ).

Apart from that I would suggest getting lots of scar vets on cold ones to make their units immune to fear.

fear and outnumbering pisses me off sooooooo much. I had player say I should not talk cause we have fear causers. We hardly can outnumber other races.

 

[Azactoth]

-Put a Saurus hero with coldone in your saurus units... It makes unit immun to fear (units lead by fear/terror causers count as immun to fear/terror... and protect saurus hero with 0+ As or Ward save...
-Use skink screens to redirect wight units wich generally commanded by vampire's Ws... If able Ignore this unit...
- Use Slann with Temple Guards (Imm.Psy. and Stuborn)

 

[Eagleblaze]

I'd love to either use, or hear how using Chakax to challenge and tear those vamps apart goes for people.

Unfortuntly if you have a TG and Slann then he has to be with them, but otherwise, a super character killer would be awesome for tearing down vamps.

-Eagle-

 

[WheelR]

Since when do VC players sacrifice vampires for challenges? They got Champs for that...

 

[Alesh]

Slann with a Bane Head won't work against a bunkered Lord. Chances are he'll have no save whatsoever. You want to get as many things in yout army as possible that cause fear or are immune to it.

Temple Guard
Kroxigors
Sallies
Razordons
Stegadons
Carnosaurs
Cold Ones

are all good choices. As someone mentioned, put Saurus heroes and cold ones and stick them in your Saurus blocks. Automatically immune to fear.

Engines of the Gods are good. Slann are good with Lore of Light or Fire. Having a problem with the Helm of Commandment? Take the Lore of Metal. Law of Gold and it's done.

VC can be tough, but they can also be pretty simple to beat if you know what you're doing. Focus on eliminating their characters, first the heroes, working your way up to the Lord (unless the Lord is somehow vulnerable, then kill him first!) Without their heroes/magic, VC are nothing.

 

[Eagleblaze]

Since when do VC players sacrifice vampires for challenges? They got Champs for that...

They wont be hiding every single vamp so you knock off one or even two and that will seriously hamper their ressurection abilities.

Oh and a champ can only die once, no bringing them back.....then what do you hide behind?

 

[WheelR]

The VC re-raise rule is.. when a Skeleton is re-raised.. the champion always gets back first. For a VC it is crucial to bring Champions.. since they will come back as easy as a normal model.

 

[Eagleblaze]

The VC re-raise rule is.. when a Skeleton is re-raised.. the champion always gets back first. For a VC it is crucial to bring Champions.. since they will come back as easy as a normal model.

Is it?

Now I'm torn...do I tell my VC opponent (usually play the same people)....or do I leave him to keep doing it like this.....knowledge is a terrible thing.....

 

[kroxigor01]

Slann with a Bane Head won't work against a bunkered Lord. Chances are he'll have no save whatsoever. You want to get as many things in yout army as possible that cause fear or are immune to it.

Most Vampire players in my region whack on Dread Knight even if they are planning on playing defensively. For XX points the Vampire suddenly has a 2+ save (that has the unfortunate side effect of making him wounded on 2+ by RoBI) and S7 on the charge.

Even if the Vampire player hasn't tooled his lord with armour, it is highly likely that at least one of his Vampires will have Dread Knight or The Flayed Hauberk. If so, you've suddenly got a free kill with one cast of RoBI combined with the Bane Head.

Further more, even with just a Nightmare and Cadaverous Cuirass a Lord will be wounded on a 4+ (too much of a risk for the VC player to allow through).

 

[WheelR]

The VC re-raise rule is.. when a Skeleton is re-raised.. the champion always gets back first. For a VC it is crucial to bring Champions.. since they will come back as easy as a normal model.

Is it?

Now I'm torn...do I tell my VC opponent (usually play the same people)....or do I leave him to keep doing it like this.....knowledge is a terrible thing.....

If he didn't read his own army book it is a shame on him. But the rule says you have to return him first then the other command units so i guess you should tell him so.. in case he gets to play a tournament or something. It makes it a little harder to kill his vamps perhaps.. but VC wasn't easy anyways. In the end when you play against some other VC that did read his rulebook.. you come prepared.

 

[Eagleblaze]

He spilled coffee on his rulebook the day after he bought it....thoug he lives by the pricniple of "If i can read half the pages I aint getting a new one...."

.....ruined my Chakax idea............alas, I shall still try........just for the fun of using him........

I think the general notion is don't get bogged down by them, if you find your units get stuck in static combat, then that's bad news for you.....

 

[Kyrogar]

The VC re-raise rule is.. when a Skeleton is re-raised.. the champion always gets back first. For a VC it is crucial to bring Champions.. since they will come back as easy as a normal model.

Is it?

Now I'm torn...do I tell my VC opponent (usually play the same people)....or do I leave him to keep doing it like this.....knowledge is a terrible thing.....

I always go with (What would the old ones do?). I am building my Slann List it pains me to put my Carni on the wall the main bane I will put on these vamp players is the Disciple of Becalming rolls of sixes are ignored and the cupped hands.

 

[WheelR]

Perhaps a Cube of Darkness on a wandering skink.. Shutting down a magic phase on a 4+ is worth trying i'd say..

 

[Kyrogar]

I am jump starting this thread again cause I have decided to not put my my Old blood and Carni away. Yet how can I use him against VC more effectively. I always get a mental block when I play against VC but against everything else I am golden. Thanks in advance.

 

[lupercal]

BoR charge his lord and challenge an Oldblood with that can probally put the hurt on his lord and even if you lose combat you retreat with 3d6 instead of 2 so will proballly get away just make sure to have some saurus to rally around so he doesn't table you

 

[slannfrog]

I am jump starting this thread again cause I have decided to not put my my Old blood and Carni away. Yet how can I use him against VC more effectively. I always get a mental block when I play against VC but against everything else I am golden. Thanks in advance.

Kyrogar: I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM. So far I've played 12 games with my Oldblood list and won them all excepted for one. Guess who I lost too...VC. A very close game, it came down to the bottom of turn six which changed my sold victory to a minor lose. After that game I thought the same thing, "Maybe I should just go and use the Slann after all." I pondered about it for a while and decided not too. Why? The Carnosaur is to cool and the slann list just isn't my playing style. Besides, how many people on this forum don't field the slann? And each slann list looks the same down to the same equipment. IMO, that seems quite boring.
I'm the type of player that builds one list to fight all, a "universal list." There will be times were I'll twick it here and there but that goes with any list. Nevertheless, to combat VC I have the carnosaur for combat which any smart VC player will stay the hell away from, a lvl2 priest on the EOTG with the diadem of power & d scroll (always save two dice no matter what), a lvl2 priest with plaque of tepok & d scroll, and a scar-vet BSB on coldone (BSB + coldblooded is very helpful and the coldone keeps his unit from autobreaking from fear). All together, if you save 2 dice with diadem, you'll have 7 dispell and 2 scrolls. That is better then most armies and you'll shut down A LOT of his magic.
*And don't bother dispelling his "always strikes first" from the corpse carts.

Hope it helps.
I think its really cool you're sticking with the carnosaur.

 

[DonkeyHotep]

Two things that do it for me against vampires, or vampiers as you say, skinks and kroxigors. The units are threatening to vamps because the krox can get lucky and thwack a vampire, and then run away, bringing them closer to a saurus line if they pursue, which they often don't. Salamanders are decent even against skeletons, and skirmishers can chunk tons of pew pew at ghouls etc. to keep the numbers down. I like to put a forest down in the middle and put about 10 chameleons into it and make them pay a toll for being near it.

Few of their units can defeat a full block of saurus when saurus are receiving, but it's much easier to win when the saurus aren't charging. Having a scar veteran around can be hugely helpful to the fights, and they can murder vamps that aren't lords.

Generally, just don't get owned by their magic, pew them down in numbers (as they have no pews that aren't magic) and wait for the long game, if you can start bringing their numbers down you can push for a game where they can't win, rather then one that you can't lose. Random detachments of skinks work wonders, and terradons are not helpful, since they have no siege, and crossfire never happens. Further, the rocks are burst damage, rather then consistent dart spam, so the goal is to out-endure them.

 

[Cuachicqueh]

When you do in get incombat with them, ignore "always strike first" but TRY TRY TRY to keep them from ressurecting units that you have hurt badly, once they unit is gone, its gone for good. Yeah Vamps are nasty, but they are not invincible. You just gotta know how to sucker a vampire player, stick a unit of skinks with their flank exposed to a unit of Bloodknights, they will charge, sure they will probably whipe the skinks out but now he is exposed in the open, you should have a counter charge of Krox or Saurus ready. Often times people see a flank and they charge without thinking it through all the time. You kinda have to play mind games in warhammer, make your opponent think you care about a unit, give it to him drag him in, and make him pay. Arne't bloodknights forced to charge cause of Frenzy? Thats even better, cause if they can charge they must, making them EXTREMELY easy to counter. Stick a unit of 10 cohorts in front of them, angle them and watch the VC players eye go wide when he sees his precious knights parked with flanks exposed to krox or saurus.