8th Ed. List vs Vampire Counts without Lore of Light

[Raymond Caleatry]

I am looking to put together a 2000 point list against VCs but the catch is that my opponent doesn't like the anti-undead nature of the lore of light, so I have said that I will not use it for this battle. My opponent tends to like to bring lots of monstrous creatures, and i suspect a corpse cart and/or a black coach will be in attendance.

Lords (475)

Slann - Death
- The Focused Rumination
- Focus of Mystery
- The Becalming Cogitation
- Cupped Hands
- Dragonbane Gem
- Bane Head
- Standard of Discipline

Heroes (498)
Skink Priest
- Ancient Stegadon with EoTG
Saurus Scar-Veteran
- Cold One
- Warrior Bane
- Dawnstone

Core (602)
Saurus Warriors x36 with full command and spears
2x Skink Skirmishers x 10

Special (420)
Temple Guard x 20 with full command + Venom of the Firefly Frog

I am trying out three new things with this list.
1) Using an Ancient Steg, because VC does not tend to have much cannon.
2) Death, because combined with the bane head i may be able to take out his general. And it may be good against all his monsters.
3) Cowboy Scar-Vet because the concept is good, and i have been out manoeuvred in previous games, and it could hold a flank.

Any hints and tips for a new player?

Ray

 

[Lizardmatt]

As a vampire player, I'm never happy to see lore of fire.
It can sweep away the ethereals really quickly and put down mortis engines and crypt horrors pretty effectively.
The T6 terrorghiests don't like the poison of the skinks.

With a skink priest or two to draw LoS from, it's pretty effective.

-Matt

 

[Razzat]

Drop the saurus to 30 and add in an extra unit of 10 skinks if you can.

Poison ruins Terrorgheists. If you dont have enough chaff that can cause wounds (skink skirmishers) to fudge these guys you may struggle.

Take a dispell scroll too, whenever I play VC my sole aim is to shut down the magic phase and nuke avoid vamps at all costs.

Death is good, bane head his main caster and nuke him with siprit leech! 2 wounds and it all over

EOTG is ace against vamps, the buble damage thing hits hard and a 5 up ward is amazing.

My priority plans would be -

Nuke terrorghesists with skinks and a few magic missiles.
Shut down the magic as best you can, especially when he tries to replenish units.
Bane head the best caster
Spirit leech other chars.
Tarpit the Vamp with either skinks or saurus. DONT EVER RUN A STEG AT A VAMP.

I know thats all very obvious but it amazing how easily you can forget all this

 

[Raymond Caleatry]

Lizardmatt, what do you think of the Engine of the Gods as a vampire player. Does it cause you problems. At over 350 points, the model is very pricey, and i wonder if i should get rid of it for something else. I have taken it because of ethereal units.

Ray

 

[Raymond Caleatry]

Razzat, to get a dispel scroll i would need to get rid of my cowboy scar-vet, as the EotG is quite a large points sink. Would you suggest i do that, and get another unit of skinks with the left over points?

Also, what about salamanders? I have 2 on order, so i may be able to take them.

Ray

 

[rychek]

Salamanders are somewhat less effective against vampire armies due to their immunity to psychology. However, they are still useful.

 

[Lizardmatt]

Engine of the Gods is a beast. D6 S5 hits with no save over an area will clear out support units and beat down those knight buses.

When I'm running my vampires, I'll try and get the knights in on the charge against the ancient, since they (with the help of the vampire) can kill it on the charge. If that's not possible, I'll try and separate it from the general and whack it with screams. If that's not possible, I'll try and tank it with zombies, and just hit other parts of his army.

The problem is, with a limited marching bubble, I don't get a lot of options to adjust mid game.
Deploying an ancient on the table is problem #1. Keep it out of combat from charging lances, screen it from the terrorghiests, and it will pay off in spades.

-Matt

 

[FlowinEnno]

Maybe Cube of Darkness would be a good idea. With a bit of luck you can cost him a whole magic phase.