This March saw the release of the 7th Edition Vampire counts. Being an avid fan of anything Vampire counts, I was looking forward to seeing what new things were coming out as I'd heard many strange rumours. The end of bloodlines as we know it was a shock to me, but looking at it now, it's no big deal because I can still make a Lahmian style list if I feel like it and I still have the girls anyway. Every vampire now has the ability to cast magic and knows invocation of nehek off by heart, (as they should have). The necromancers are just the fix it blokes whose job is to make sure the dead can still walk or hammer a bit of timber onto a leg, etc.
New models and characters have made the list interesting as well. A vampire who can barely contain his human form his lust for blood having taken over from his desire to hide his true beast. A cart filled with corpses that inspires the dead to attack first, or messes with the magic of the enemy. Zombies are the flavor of the month as well, players are going to need many boxes of these blokes to ensure they can keep raising them, and raise them they will with the new spell raise the dead used in conjuction with the Invocation of nehek.
The potential is there to have a list with at least 11 power dice to use in the magic phase also, which can be a scary proposition to face, especially as casting Necromancer spells like Invocation of nehek, Raise dead or Van Hel's Danse Macabre can be cast on a 4+ through to a 7+ and cast more than once with the same character.
One of the things I've noticed in the list is the Black coach has been downgraded. Evocation of death no longer means for each wound it causes it takes that wound on itself. It simply means that now it can roll any magic users power dice and if it rolls a 6, can then roll on a table that can give the coach the ability to fly, hate, have scythed wheels or be ethereal. Not a psychological tool used to scare opponents when you're placing it on the table when getting your models out, but somewhere, somehow it'll come in handy, just haven't found where yet.
I've been surprised by all the different people coming in to buy the Vampire Counts as well. It seems they've generated a cult following of sorts and the new models are going to create a few more converts as well. The amount of choices you have in your force has left me gasping for breath. The options are almost limitless, do I go a full magic army, a full combat army, a bit of both? The combinations of magic items, or vampiric powers as well as what magic to take to aid you in your conquest is amazing.
I spoke briefly about the new looking models before. The new skeletons have a tattered look to them, making them look more like they've been lying around half buried in a field for eons. The same with the grave guard which are now plastic. Ancient looking heroes that have come back to cause more havoc than they ever did in life. The mystery to me is why they made Ghouls in a unit however. They're supposed to wander around at the head of an army biting and tearing into all and sundry. Yet now they're in a unit. A unit that desperately needs to strike first to prevent it from being destroyed seeing as it has no armor saves. The ability to be able to raise EVERYTHING, or at least heal them, has made the entire army more flexible.
Well, I'd best stop rattling on about the Vampires. If you're able to grab a game against them to see for yourself how they've become an unstopable horde. Or even better, why not look at them as a new army for yourself?
New models and characters have made the list interesting as well. A vampire who can barely contain his human form his lust for blood having taken over from his desire to hide his true beast. A cart filled with corpses that inspires the dead to attack first, or messes with the magic of the enemy. Zombies are the flavor of the month as well, players are going to need many boxes of these blokes to ensure they can keep raising them, and raise them they will with the new spell raise the dead used in conjuction with the Invocation of nehek.
The potential is there to have a list with at least 11 power dice to use in the magic phase also, which can be a scary proposition to face, especially as casting Necromancer spells like Invocation of nehek, Raise dead or Van Hel's Danse Macabre can be cast on a 4+ through to a 7+ and cast more than once with the same character.
One of the things I've noticed in the list is the Black coach has been downgraded. Evocation of death no longer means for each wound it causes it takes that wound on itself. It simply means that now it can roll any magic users power dice and if it rolls a 6, can then roll on a table that can give the coach the ability to fly, hate, have scythed wheels or be ethereal. Not a psychological tool used to scare opponents when you're placing it on the table when getting your models out, but somewhere, somehow it'll come in handy, just haven't found where yet.
I've been surprised by all the different people coming in to buy the Vampire Counts as well. It seems they've generated a cult following of sorts and the new models are going to create a few more converts as well. The amount of choices you have in your force has left me gasping for breath. The options are almost limitless, do I go a full magic army, a full combat army, a bit of both? The combinations of magic items, or vampiric powers as well as what magic to take to aid you in your conquest is amazing.
I spoke briefly about the new looking models before. The new skeletons have a tattered look to them, making them look more like they've been lying around half buried in a field for eons. The same with the grave guard which are now plastic. Ancient looking heroes that have come back to cause more havoc than they ever did in life. The mystery to me is why they made Ghouls in a unit however. They're supposed to wander around at the head of an army biting and tearing into all and sundry. Yet now they're in a unit. A unit that desperately needs to strike first to prevent it from being destroyed seeing as it has no armor saves. The ability to be able to raise EVERYTHING, or at least heal them, has made the entire army more flexible.
Well, I'd best stop rattling on about the Vampires. If you're able to grab a game against them to see for yourself how they've become an unstopable horde. Or even better, why not look at them as a new army for yourself?
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