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Hey guys I am considering starting a Vampire Counts army for fantasy I already play dark elves however I have always loved the undead and vampires so Vampire Counts seem to fit me perfectly so heres what I am considering for my first 500 points (dont own the book yet this is made primarly from what I can remember from my friends Vampire Counts Book)
Hero
Necromancer Oliver Ishlaid 125 points
Level 2
Ruby Ring Of Ruin
Lore of Vampires
General

Core
40x Zombies 130 points
Banner

30x Zombies 100 points
Standard

20x Zombies 70 points
Banner

Special
Spirit Host 45 points

Plan is: Necromancer goes in the 20 man unit (will always take Invocation) and raises zombie units up to size. Use the Ruby Ring to cause a bit of damage especially as Magic Missles are harsh at 500 points and I doubt most armies can field big units at this points level. My ideal combo of spells would be invo and gace of nagash as that means this list can earn its points back at range

It's tough to win a game with nothing but WS1 S3 attacks.
I'd go
level 2 necromancer, rod of flaming death
30 zombies, banner and musician
2x20 zombies
3 Vargheists

The rod is better than the fireball ring. Slightly less range, but does a world of hurt if the unit wants to move. Zombie blocks are a little smaller, but the host has been upgraded to a real hitter.

Good luck with 500 point games, they always seem to be more about luck of the list match up and less about what you do with the list.

-Matt

You have 0 hitting power in this list and way more core than you need.
VCs always want to take as close to minimum core as we can, our core simply isn't useful for anything other than slowing the enemy down.
Reduce the zombies to 2 units of roughly 20 and 30 or 1 unit of 50 then get something like crypt horrors to add some offensive power.

I'll agree with Matt. Your relying on zombies to much. They're a great tarpit but not a real hard hitter. You also don't want to be too reliant on magic. The more you do the more you might blow yourself up.

The biggest worry about your list is the lack of a hard hitter and potential for self destruction. I'd do a dispell scroll and a unit that could do some damage. Lose the spirit host at 500 points and bring it back at 1k. Varghiests are great. So are the large ghouls (thier name escapes me at 3 am). Grave guard could be decent, but they're better at 1k.

I found most of the damage magic wise at 500 points comes from a level one of fire and ruby ring of fire. Since you can't do that. Expect it and find a way to deal with it.

Agree w/everyone generally. I'd recommend some Black Knights or Crypt Horrors for your "hammer." Maybe some units of 5 dire wolves to drop during deployment and redirect. I love wraiths and hexwraiths, but you'll probably need to wait til you play a bigger game. If you can fit a Terrogheist in, I'd go for it!