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Obviously a rather drunk* list, but with 40k's thread on deathstar builds I figure I might be able to get some help. Here goes:



Now I have no experience playing with vamps and have only fought them below 2000 points. How do those item load-outs look? Caster / armored lord, ASF GW thrall, killy wight and the hof - and then barrows for the GG themselves. I'm interested to hear thoughts on how to kit the crew out, as well as the support units, but here are the rules:

- Deathstar must be 36 infantry models (32 GG + 4 characters on foot)
- Deathstar must be vast majority of the points
- I'd like to keep the amount of power dice around 10 or lose the hof (and the hof makes me queesy as is!)

Two thoughts I had was to include walking death on a vamp (but at the cost of what?), and somehow get some MR on the unit (is that possible in the new VC book?)

Some part of me still wants to take the gravestar to the table, but then most of me has no desire to play vamps beyond that ...

- Salvage

*More dangerous than actually being drunk, I'm just heavily procrastinating on reading about Marx / Weber and the origins / complications of class

um...

The list is illegal because dire wolves and corpse carts do not count towards the minimum core unit requirements.

Seriously? So you have to have 3 blocks of stuff for core? I was sure I'd seen some all-cav builds with the new book, and you certainly could do it with the old book ...

- Salvage

What you could do is take a squad of something (Ghouls?) on its own and two squads of Skellies beside the Gravestar. Which is an awesome name, by the way.

Standard VC deathstar uses 2 units of zombies and a unit of ghouls. Zombies run to quarters and ghouls grow with mastery power.

2nd WK is inferior to a vamp with Knight+Hatred. Banner of barrows is less effective than Banner of Strigois (but also doesn't require overrun).

GG deathstar is inferior to BK deathstar.

jmurph wrote:Standard VC deathstar uses 2 units of zombies and a unit of ghouls. Zombies run to quarters and ghouls grow with mastery power.

2nd WK is inferior to a vamp with Knight+Hatred. Banner of barrows is less effective than Banner of Strigois (but also doesn't require overrun).

GG deathstar is inferior to BK deathstar.

First sentence is true if using a BK deathstar.

I'd debate the second, especially for a Deathstar. You need absolute control over your Deathstar and Hatred (like Frenzy) removes some of that control.

I'd agree with your third point as well. But this thread is specifically about the "Gravestar" version. The gravestar, with Vanhels is still very, very dangerous.

To the OP, drop some of the wolves and take 3 cheap units of zombies or ghouls to act as your core. I believe you can get a decent unit for less than 90 points.

Ozymandias, King of Kings

20 Zombies 80points (+2 zombies for 8 points more)
10 Ghouls 80 Points (add Ghast for 8 points more)

You could drop 2 units of 6 Dire Wolves and 2 units of 5 Dire Wolves and get either one of these units.

That leaves you one unit to screen your Varghulf.

Cheers for the input all. Ghouls seem fairly useful in general as well, I'd probably try to get 2 min ghouls and maybe a throwaway redirecter / table quarter min zombie block.

What's a good fighty thrall build that doesn't involve a horse?

Also, if a character has hatred but the unit doesn't, do they have to overrun? He would personally, and so would hypothetically pull them along OR run out by himself? That's how frenzy in non-frenzy works anyway (with charging in my example).

Also, you talking Blood Knight or Black Knight? I've seen the former and been told to build the latter ... but I still like my wights on the ground and in plastic

- Salvage

Now with extra legalness:



Sadly the 'star decreased in size a bit in the process - dropped the nightshroud and the cursed book, neither of which I was too sure on.

I'm torn on the sword wight or a duplicate fighty thrall (or some other cheap thrall build), and I still don't know that I want the little vamp to have hatred if I'm gonna have the 'star chasing after him to keep him from running around on his own. Bummed about the loss of the dogs, though at this point the places to cut points that aren't in the 'star are the lodestones on the carts. I'm more interested in them for the ASF bounds than the +1 to summon of the -1 to enemy lore (which are both nice, but 50 points for a stronger star ....)

- Salvage

maybe you could put a cheap vamp in a ghoul/skele unit and put helm of commandment on it and remove the banner of barrows put strigoi banner on the gravestar.

that way you have good chance to hit and have hatred.
i think a thrall with great sword would be better then wight king with kings sword, more magic is always better i think ^^

I think you need to buy a minimum of 20 zombies.

Zombies have a minimum unit size of 20.

EDIT: Damn you Viking, you beat me!

Ozy: He's already using hatred on one vamp, why not let everyone join in? Plus, then he could use those bloodline points elsewhere. Just a thought.

BK= Black Knights. Frenzy is waaayyy too big a liability for a deathstar.

Standard fighty vamp on foot is Flayed Hauberk + weapons. Walking Death is a popular one (for GW). Usually this combines with Lycni for more of a missile approach.

I don't like the carts- too expensive and don't even have balefire to help protect against magic.

Not enough magic. GG will rely on danse even more than a BK DS. Since this list is relying on summons, too, it needs more magic. A lvl2 vamp running around with helm would be perfect for this. Also try to squeeze the Periapt in.

Some fliers should really be in there to slow down marching and go after WMs.

Apologies on the illegal zombies, didn't realize the min there. Thanks to JM for the suggestions, here's the next round:



Still with barrows on there for control purposes as Ozy noted. IF I really need 20 points then royal banner of hatred isn't an impossibility ... Also unsure about running it with 0 dogs. I wouldn't be averse to breaking the vargy down into 4x5 pups, which seem generally more useful than the big guy. But the big guy is less models and cooler looking

- Salvage