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Hey there all
I’m pretty convinced on beginning a Strigoi themed VC army. Unfortunately I’m fairly new to warhammer and was hoping that one of you more able VC players might be able to help me construct me a 500 (possibly could stretch too 750 but only if it’s essential as I said I’m new!) point army list which is correct fluff wise but also is slightly competitive Also I heard dire wolves are a no go when it comes to Strigoi armies is this true? Because I was hoping on including a doom wolf (If It’s possible not sure it would be competitive enough with just 500 points to spare.)
Any help would be much appreciated!

Well, I have last Editions' (but not this editions') VC books, so I can tell you what was in their back-of-book list and amongst their bloodline powers (Strigoi Vampires didn't take any magic items, though I'm sure no-one would fault you if all you took was a Talisman of Endurance or something non-Armor, non-Weapon, and non-Equipment (like a book). Nabbed the book because I didn't want to lose all the interesting bits in it.

Lords:

Vampire Lord, Vampire Count. Count, to my understanding, is gone now, so that leaves Lord. Not too hard a choice then, really, but I don't think one will fit at 500-750 points.

Heroes:

Vampire Thralls. So, regular Vampires are your only choice.

Core Units:

Ghouls. Standard Strigoi unit, standard VC core unit anyways. Blocks 20+ big are the norm, I believe, but other VC players could help better.

0-1 Bat Swarms. Do they have a 20" movement, or 10"? If 20", they could arguably be used to snipe a War Machine early in the game. Catch being there's often few War Machines at 500-750, and besides War Machines their 8-12 S2 attacks tend not to do diddly (4-6 hits, 1-2 wounds, charge bonus, thus win by about 1-2 points on average).

0-1 Unit of Charnel Guard. Back-of-book only upgraded Ghouls, so no-go unfortunately. WS4, S4, I4, Ld7 Ghouls would be awesome.

Strigany. See: Another back-of-book only unit, though this one was "alive" (as in didn't crumble). Wasn't too impressive, though, so not too much a loss besides character-wise.


Special:

Skeletons (they'd be core for you, so no loss there. Just remember you'd want more / equal Ghoul to Skeleton units, so most you'd probably fit is Ghoul block & Skellie block and cheapo hero at 500pts).

Dire Wolves (they do exist for Strigoi, and being much cheaper than Skeletons you can justify fitting more small units of 'em with your Ghouls).

Fell Bats. Aren't too useful either, in regard to bats. Three of 'em is six attacks at +1 strength, so essentially charging a T3 WS3-6 War Machine nets... 1-2 wounds, again. T3 helps negate wounds back, but barely. Again, could be taken to War Machine hunt, but at this point level they'd be more a thematic choice than competitive.

0-1 Spirit Hosts. If you take any, you have to take at least three bases of 'em, which is a bit costly at 500pts. Furthermore, they're basically just sitting there so as to let the enemy wail on 'em (only versus Skirmishers do they really shine, since it's not the static 4 v 0 killing a base a turn). Their "Skirmisher" means pretty little, unless Skaven are shooting at them (since they're one of the few with magical shooting that rolls to hit). Yes, 12 S3 attacks that can't be struck back against w/o a magic weapon hero is nice, but crumble limits the effectiveness.

Though I guess at this point level, Spirit Hosts could really shine with the overall limits to magic (At 500pts, a Level 2 Wizard takes up practically all anyones' hero points, and many armies have Lords that would have to go naked to fit in alongside, and that'd also mean 50% of the army was based in two nigh-naked characters). Don't know their point cost, though, so can't really say how helpful they'd be. Just that at smaller points, the enemy not chucking tons of magic at them could help.


Rare Units:

Banshees. Yeah, I don't think you'll be buying a unit of these / Cairn Wraiths at 500pts.

Dogs of War. Don't exist no-more, so bugger that.


As for vampiric powers? Not sure which of these still exist, but Strigoi had:

One for Regen
One for an extra wound
One for Fly
One for Infinite Hatred
One for +1 Strength
One for summoning Ghouls

They also had 5+ / 6+ ward save potential by default, so again feel free to buy a Talisman of Endurance / Talisman of Protection for a Count if you want to forego most powers in turn for the lord not popping.

Strigoi are basically the decendents of vampires that have been forced into a life off the grid... So they are generally less trained in both magic and martial prowess, which they make up for with beastial power and cunning... They are generally found with ghoul courts and beastial followers, so I think wolves are a good fit...
I would say:
vampire w/ raise ghouls+fill with upgrades
20 ghouls
unit of 10 dire wolves
unit of 5 dire bats
that is a small force of around 500... You should also probably get another unit of ghouls and a unit of zombies for raising purposes. To get to 1000 I would just add a vargulf, another chunk of ghouls and another hero... Hope it helps!

Ah thank you very much for that list Minsc very kind of you! One other thing though all other Strigoi lists I’ve read they keep saying the bloodline power called “Iron Sinews” is a must, if possible could someone pretty please tell me where to find it in the new VC book and if it would be available to me at just 500pts.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok thank you so much Kiwidru so here’s the list using your advice completely hah

Vampire - 145
Summon Ghouls,
Infinite Hatred,
Talisman of Protection ,
Enchanted Shield
20 Ghouls – 160
10 Dire wolves – 90
1 Doom Wolf
5 Fell Bats – 100
= 495

Just wondering though, firstly should I be giving my vampire the “Infinite Hatred” power or should I be going for a different power i.e. that Iron Sinews bloodline ability if it still exists. And secondly Minsc suggested that fell bats wouldn’t be a great idea for a small 500 points army is there a better alternative? I’m hoping to join those games were you just bring your army along and ally with other peoples armies to make a team of up to I guess 2000/3000 points so I imagine there could be war machines involved.

Kiwidru wrote:Strigoi are basically the decendents of vampires that have been forced into a life off the grid... So they are generally less trained in both magic and martial prowess, which they make up for with beastial power and cunning... They are generally found with ghoul courts and beastial followers, so I think wolves are a good fit...
I would say:
vampire w/ raise ghouls+fill with upgrades
20 ghouls
unit of 10 dire wolves
unit of 5 dire bats
that is a small force of around 500... You should also probably get another unit of ghouls and a unit of zombies for raising purposes. To get to 1000 I would just add a vargulf, another chunk of ghouls and another hero... Hope it helps!

Just 20 Ghouls seems odd to me, but as you said it's 500pts here. 20 could technically be seen as a large number at this point stage (since you can restore them via invocation, and with your Caster Hero you can essentially cast this about... 2-3 times reliably a turn / average, which should give you at least a handful back a turn after dispel).

Checking the GW's book today, BTW, I find that Spirit Hosts really aren't worth it at 500pts. Their point cost means you're going to be limited to three bases (any more would take you over the Special maximum), and 40% of your army in that unit seems a bit (alright, very) risky in the off chance someone decided to deck out with a cheapo-bound lord and a L2 Wizard.

GrimGreg wrote:Ah thank you very much for that list Minsc very kind of you! One other thing though all other Strigoi lists I’ve read they keep saying the bloodline power called “Iron Sinews” is a must, if possible could someone pretty please tell me where to find it in the new VC book and if it would be available to me at just 500pts.

In the 6th Edition Book, it was the +1 Strength one. No idea if it exists in the new book, and if it does the point level. However, since the summon-related bloodlines appear to be 15pts apiece, and there's no 10pt powers (I briefly skimmed the book before a battle), you'll probably get only that.

GrimGreg wrote:Vampire - 145

Summon Ghouls,
Infinite Hatred,
Talisman of Protection ,
Enchanted Shield
20 Ghouls – 160
10 Dire wolves – 90
1 Doom Wolf
5 Fell Bats – 100
= 495

Ah sorry Minsc I seem to have added up the points of my vampire wrongly, he actually comes to 130 points which leaves him 5 points over which I guess still leaves us with the same problem. So what does this “Seed of Rebirth” do? I can’t seem to find it in the new book. Finally if we cannot replace the current powers with the new seed of rebirth which of his two current items should I keep the talisman or the shield? Also my Stigoi is a proud owner of a shield, it might not be very “Stigoish” but if you look at my gallery images I think he pulls it off well

GrimGreg wrote:Ah sorry Minsc I seem to have added up the points of my vampire wrongly, he actually comes to 130 points which leaves him 5 points over which I guess still leaves us with the same problem. So what does this “Seed of Rebirth” do? I can’t seem to find it in the new book. Finally if we cannot replace the current powers with the new seed of rebirth which of his two current items should I keep the talisman or the shield? Also my Stigoi is a proud owner of a shield, it might not be very “Stigoish” but if you look at my gallery images I think he pulls it off well

It is in the talisman section of the common magic item list in the BRB. It gives regen (6+) at a decent cost.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also your Vampire count is very good looking

and he isn't giving you bad advice... But it isn't the absolute truth either.
Admittadly, I havnt used dire bats in 8th, but they fill an anti-skirmisher/warmachine role well, where the opponent will have similarly skilled units. Having 10 wounds means you will be at a great advantage vs non dwarf machine crews, and will force the opponent to allocate a hero to kill them before you get close enough to raise the dedders back... It should also be noted that with vanhel's first turn charges are quite common... And no price can really be put on silencing your opponents biggest gun. Having the dogs at their size is good for rank denying purposes, so the bats fill a secondary role of taking out annoying akirmishers/fast cav/chariots before they can flank/charge in and do their thing...
Also it should be noted that 500 is pretty small, about half of the smallest games I've seen played... A great start, but not much room for variety... The only way you won't dominate the magic phase is if they bring a Mage, in which case your vamp with shield would more than a match to hunt him down and finish it the old army way: first one to die loses.
That is a solid themed list, and with the correct direction can be very competative. Also make sure you have another 20 ghouls as they will get to 40 in most games... And some zombies if you want to make more units (one of the vc major advantages!!)


Edit: and now that i see your sweet vamp has wings I definatly suggest the bats as in higher games you can have a supporting unit if you give him the fly upgrade!!

Can I just say thank you very much guys for all your help! Think you’ve all given me more than enough information to win some of these beginners’ games I’ve got coming. Also Kiwidru I love that idea of having my vamp with a fell bat retinue flying above the battlefield but as you said probably need to wait till I get a few more points till I make this a reality...dayuum