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So I don't know where the undead bug came from, but it seems to have bitten me, and it won't go away. I'm drawn to the idea of an entire skeleton/spectral army, and while I do completely understand that other units can have a better competitive feel or synergy, it's not what I'm going for. To that end, I AM looking for some criticism of the list to make it more effective, but would appreciate it if the ideas remained within the theme.

Lords:570

Heinrich Kemmler
350

Master Necromancer
Lore of Vampires
Black Periapt
220

Heroes:455

Necromancer
Lore of Vampires
Dispel Scroll
90

Krell, Lord of Undeath
205

Wight King
BSB
Enchanted Shield
Talisman of Preservation
160

Core:610

Skeleton Warriors x 30
Full Command
180

Skeleton Warriors x 30
Full Command
180

Skeleton Warriors x 39
Full Command
The Screaming Banner
250

Special: 765

Grave Guard x 35
Full Command
Banner of the Barrows
465

Hexwraits x 5
150

Hexwraiths x 5
150

ARMY TOTAL: 2400

Still reading up on my vampire rules, but as far as I can tell, there are a couple of key things to note. First off, losing the general is bad, mkay? Second, losing the general and not having another vampire caster is very bad too, mkay? Also, being able to raise the dead is important. So much so, that I'm probably going to want to do it as often as possible. This means I'll need power dice, hence the 3 casters for channels, and the saving of dice item.

Beyond that, I see grave guard as being awesome for having killing blow, and that's what I'll be shooting for, so I didn't see the need for extra points for GW's. Correct me if this is not the case? Hexwraiths seemed to be pretty nasty, what being fast cavalry that can "fly" through units and do damage, whilst being immune to a vast majority of the world from ethereal.

Skeleton Warriors just seemed the go-to. Lots of bodies, better than average...hmmm, well lots of bodies at least, and easy to paint given the color scheme I'm planning.

As for the lords\heroes, they are the ones that sort of started the appeal of this army\list in the first place, so I'd really prefer to keep them if at all possible.

Nah, GW on the Grave Guard is a standard for most folks. I ran mine with shields and was... underwhelmed by the affects. So you're S4 with KB... or you're S6 with KB... I'll go with S6. Things that will run into them will probably lower that armour save to negligible anyway, so just take the GWs.

Skeletons are pretty weak, I always ran them when I had VC and they were just a place for people to shoot and kill. The problem with Skeletons is that you can't raise them fast enough to matter. Combat res and losses will see them dwindle quickly, where Zombies are raised at a 2D6 rate, makes it easier to keep up. But I know what you're going for here with theme...

Hexwraiths are pretty solid, but since you're going for the 'wight' feel maybe do Black Knights and mount the Wight king?

I have to agree on the great weapons. Your low initiative shows you getting punched first anyways. And most relatant units you want to fight with your elite GG will just eat your armor anyway. I would go for s6 and just kill some people.

If your worried about them getting tied up by weal units you can always use you skeleton blocks to help with that and you can use your chaff to dwindle them.

Have you considered terrorgeist? They are pretty saucy and the model is sorta skeletony with the bones showing and all.

@Matt1785, I can understand the reasoning behind the GW, and it would be nice to wound easier. I like the GW look better on them as well. I'll work that into a new list.

As for the skeletons being lackluster, yeah I don't really expect them to kill a lot, and do understand they are raised at a lesser rate. I was sort of counting on that fact, and assumed that with three casting chances at Invok and at least 1 raise dead every turn, I would have a consistent supply of cheap fodder that's a bit more survivable; they're basically my spear elves in terms of defense, hitting power, just lower weaponskill. I only intend to have them hold up a unit and maybe wittle them down a bit until hexwraiths or the grave guard can come in and mop up. Are my expectations too high?

I did have an initial list with black knights and a mounted wight king, and am still debating to go with it. I like the idea very much.

@Icelord, I can definitely see I3 being average at best, but will the 4+ armour and 6++ parry really never come into play?

I have considered the terrorgeist, and reeeeeally do want to include one. I also wanted to throw in a mortis engine, as it embodies (fairly well actually) the kind of image I want the army to have. I've tried to think of a better way to put it, but I'm going for the whole Dead Men of Dunharrow look for the entire army. Opinions on the mortis engine? Seems rather nice with the +2 to cast, and also very finicky and susceptible to blowing up.

4+ armor is ok, but I dont expect much armor to be useful on them.

I figure as most of your units are just there to hold people us (skellies etc) that you are going to use the GG to fight an opponents elite units. Most elit units are s4 minimun and most are s5+. I prefer agression over defense on my elites. If you are fighting weak enemy units anyways then the killing blow is wasted on them anyways.