Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Right. So I am totally new at fantasy (not 40k or table top games in general) and I really could use a pair of skilled eyes and a sharp tongue to give my choices a once over for functionality, friendliness, and fun. I've tried my best to look at other lists for such advice as the # of models in units, but at the end of the day I really need experienced players to see if my list is at all workable before I call in favors for the up in coming birthday. My strategy is really general because of the whole "I think this unit should be for this" mentality but essentially the army revolves on flank charges from the Knights, and Varghulf when combined with the staying power of skeletons and raised zombies to break my opponent's army with automatic routes from loosing combat. The ghouls, and the grave guard are there for those units that are a little too tough for skeletons to handle. The wolves are there for the screen. As for the Lord and hero selection, I wanted to support my troops as best as possible without too much reliance on characters to get the job done. 10/11 power dice seems like a lot too me, but I'm new and don't have an inkling of what kind of armies that are out there. Anyways, I really want to thank all of those who read and take the time to write. Your efforts are greatly appreciated

LORDS

Vampire Lord: 435 (Goes with Skeletons with Hand Weapons)
Extra Magic Level
POWERS: Master of the Black Arts, Lord of the Dead, Know all spells
EQUIPMENT: Helm of Commandment, Crown of the Damned, Black Periapt, Hand Weapon

HEROES

VAMPIRE: 210 (Goes with Ghouls)
POWERS: Dark Acolyte, Lord of the Dead
EQUIPMENT: The Flayed Hauberk, Sword of Battle, Battle Standard Bearer

Necromancer: 190 (Goes with Ghouls)
MOUNT: Corpse Cart w/ Unholy Lodestone
EQUIPMENT: Book of Arkhan, Hand weapon

Total: 835


CORE

13 Skeletons: 120 (Corpse Cart Joins here, but it depends on how many spaces the cart uses up)
COMMAND: Standard Bearer, Champion
MAGIC BANNER: NA
EQUIPMENT: Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armor

14 Skeletons: 152 (Vampire Lord Joins here)
COMMAND: Standard Bearer, Champion
MAGIC BANNER: Banner of Hellfire
EQUIPMENT: Spears, Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armor

17 Ghouls: 144 (Vampire Joins here)
COMMAND: Crypt Ghoul
EQUIPMENT: Hand Weapon

5 Dire Wolves: 40
COMMAND: NA

5 Dire Wolves: 40
COMMAND: NA

Total: 496

SPECIAL

6 Black Knights: 201
COMMAND: Standard Bearer, Hell Knight
MAGIC BANNER: Banner of the Dead Legion
EQUIPMENT: Lance, Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armor, Steed

18 Grave Guard: 293
COMMAND: Standard Bearer, Seneschal
MAGIC BANNER: Royal banner of the Strigos
EQUIPMENT: Great Weapons, Hand Weapon, Heavy Armor

Total: 494

RARE

Varghulf: 175
EQUIPMENT: Hand Weapon

Total: 175

Grand Total: 2000

POWER DICE: 10/11
DISPEL DICE: 6/5

I actually have a friend who runs a very similar list to this one, with a few variations in size with the blocks of skeletons, I think he does 15 each.

I can tell you from experience that this is a pretty good list, since my friend wins a lot of games with it and whatnot, but that may be because we have a lot of new players in our group.

I personally think its a good list and you should definitely go with what you think is good or with what models you like to paint and assemble.

Thanks, I appreciate the response. Its good to know that the ideas bubbling around in the old noodle aren't entirely off base from those who actually know what they are doing. I do have some questions though about some of my choices and was wondering if anyone could fill me in on what I should expect.

Battle Standard bearer
I actually choose this for my vampire because I had an extra 25 points that I did not know what do with and figured that the ghouls could greatly benifit from having a +1 combat from the get go. Looking at the rules for Battle standard for the undead I somewhat question its usefulness as it really only seems to prevent 1 extra wound if I loose combat. Is this worth paying 25 points for?

Magic Banner for the Grave Guard
I notice that most undead players actually have banner of the Burrows instead of Royal banner of the Strigois and I wanted to know if I should try to find 10 points to make the change. to do this I would probably replace the sword of battle from the Vampire hero to a biting blade. Just wanted to know the Pros and Cons of doing this.

Do I need another Hero
Looking at my army list when compared to other VC armies, I notice that most have 1 lord and 3 hero's capable of producing power and dispel dice. If I were to remove 1 Black Knight, the battle standard bearer ability, change sword of battle for a biting blade (10) I would have 59 points left over to buy a necromancer ( I could have 26 more points (85 pts total) if I got rid of 2 grave guard but the hero would have to have a mount to make up for the extra missing space. Is this worth it? Is there another option I should spend the points on? Or is my original list more balanced?

Corpse cart in a unit
tried reading the description in army book and the rules for mounted monsters in the rule book and I am still somewhat confused. If I put a corpse cart in a unit how many spaces does the cart take up? and the unit strength of the cart is 4 right? Also do I get "look out sir" checks because the cart is a mount for my necromancer rather than a stand alone unit?

I'm sorry if these questions are really easy to answer, or they are ambiguous, or they are a matter of taste. Like I said before this is my first fantasy army and I'm not entirely confident or knowledgeable about my choices. I appreciate all comments, they really are a big help to me.

I think that this army is pretty good in general. I do have a few points for this army.
BATTLE STANDARD BEARER:
You have a vampire with a battle standard and magic items. A vampire cannot take magic items and a battle standard, however he can still take vampiric powers.
CORPSE CART:
I don't think you should take unholy lodestone for your corpse cart, I think balefire is much better. You have 6 dispel dice, and some armies out there are magic heavy, and balefire will help your dispelling. I'm not sure about the look out sir question, you're best off asking a staff member at your local store or something.
SKELETONS:
Your skeleton units look a bit small, I'd put it around 15-20. The skeleton unit doesn't need the Banner of Hellfire, it's not that great.
GRAVE GUARD:
Also you should join your general to the Grave Guard unit, they're much better than skeletons.
Grave Guard are great units to join your general to, and if you do you can keep the standard of Strigos. I reckon Hatred is much better than +1 to hit. Also, it'll have even more of an impact because your Vampire Lord's in the unit. You could make it a unit of 20 Grave Guard to get that extra rank bonus.

I do think you should take another hero, perhaps another vampire? Give him Master of the Black Arts and he can really help with the raising and invocating.
You don't necessarily need the dire wolves, they just give your opponent VP's. Screening might work if you position them well. One last thing, where are your musicians? Those things rock. You can win combat with that musician, then he's outnumbered by a fear-causing unit and needs double-1's.
I think you're gonna have a hard time to fit all this into your army, but in that case you could drop the necromancer on the corpse cart.

The BSB provides for the CR +1 AND you take 1 fewer crumbling wounds (this is instead of the re-roll most armies get).

Hatred is generally better than +1 to hit, statistically. It also affects mounts. However, it is only in the first round and it forces pursuit/overrun.

Most people take 4 vamps because vamps are awesome. Seriously, S5 T4 lvl2. The sword of might is one of the better basic magic weapons, though. S6 is good. The -1 AS weapon isn't a bad points filler as it is a magic weapon and makes a -3 AS modifier on vamps.

According to the most recent FAQ, the model counts for the spaces it occupies (models it displaces)- so the cart counts as two wide and 3 deep. You would still get a Look Out roll as long as there were 5 RnF minis in the unit.

The vamp can take magic items + a battle standard, providing that the banner is not magical.

Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate the suggestions for the list. As it stands I will keept the Battle Standard bearer because I don't think a naked necromancer will add enough casting prowress then what I would be giving up. In terms of the Barrow or Strigoi banner, I have to ask if it is common for Grave Guard to be stuck in more than one round of combat. If it it is rare I am happy to stick to what I have, but if its a little more common then probably the Barrows banner is what I want. Thanks again for the help.

I don't think you should keep the BSB, because +1 CR isn't that essential unless you're getting a magic banner, in which case I would recommend Flag of the Blood Keep, that thing is awesome. Taking another Vampire will depend on what you want for your magic phase. If your army is based on casting the stronger spells like Vanhels, Gaze and Curse of Years then you're better off taking another Vampire to aid that. But if you're trying to just get raises and invocatings off then you are good as it is.