2000 Vc Vs Woc, Putting Fear to use!

[Veritas]

I got the chance to try out the list I originally posted up here. Not the strongest of opponents, but still a fun game.

[495] Vlad von Carstein

[175] Isabella von Carstein
[190] Vampiress - heavy armor, shield, Nightshroud, Biting Blade, Fear Incarnate, Beguile
[95] Banshee
[60] Wraith

[200] 34 Skeleton Warriors - full command, spears
[205] 30 Skeleton Warriors - full command, The Screaming Banner
[50] 5 Dire Wolves - doom wolf
[50] 5 Dire Wolves - doom wolf

[375] 25 Grave Guard - full command, great weapons, Banner of the Barrows
[105] Corpse Cart - Balefire

He used (from memory):

Chaos Lord - choppy, Mark of Tzeentch
Sorcerer - Lvl 2, Mark of Tzeentch, Third Eye of Tzeentch, Spell Familiar
28 Warriors - shield, full command, Banner of Rage, Mark of Tzeentch
20 Warriors - halberd, shield, full command, Mark of Tzeentch
10 Marauder Horsemen - flails, light armor, musician
Chariot - Mark of Tzeentch
10 Chosen - shields, full command, other stuff

Scenario: Battleline

Deployment:


Turn 1: Vampire Counts


Vanguards and shuffley forward movements ensued. I rolled stupid low for the winds of magic, so simply cast Curse of Years on the warrior horde, killing three. How uneventful!


Turn 1: Warriors of Chaos


The Chariot made a long charge into the Wolves as I expected, only just wiping them out through rez crumble. The Marauders swept in, holding to hold me up (little did he know that that's where I wanted to hold the line anyway). He cast Pandemonium and incinerated a couple Skeletons with Flickering Fire. In close combat, the Marauders astoundingly lost half their number, while the skeletons lost an equal number. Still, with a pile of ranks to back it up, the Marauders fled, with the disciplined undead Spearmen holding their location.


Turn 2: Vampire Counts


The Dire Wolves forced the Horsemen to flee even further, setting them out of the game for a little longer. Once more, an eventful turn, although Pandemonium was dispelled.


Turn 2: Warriors of Chaos


Here they come! The Chariot maneuvered for an upcoming flank charge, while the Warrior block on the right predictably cut down the dogs, but again only through combat crumble. Spells were fairly unimportant.


Turn 3: Vampire Counts


The Banshee detached from her unit to intercept the Chariot, while the Spearmen to the right reformed to accept the Warriors' charge. A couple of Invocations of Nehek brought all units back to full strength and poofed the Corpse Cart into giving me ASF for all units. Bring it on! The howling scream of the Banshee took three wounds off the Chariot, letting me be much more confident about it.


Turn 3: Warriors of Chaos


Oh...well many of the charges failed. Still, on the right flank the Warriors made it (and rolled p-poorly, though I still lost the combat). All that matters is that they were being held up.


Turn 4: Vampire Counts


There's a big reason I didn't charge (well, two) this turn: That forest was a Venom Thicket, and I wanted to force him to cross it and take the tests. The other reason is that it's always better to take a charge as undead...resurrecting them comes a lot faster when yours is the following turn! The Banshee kept up on the Chariot, finally killing it off with another nasty scream. I poofed my spells to prep for the charge again, and it was on!


Turn 4: Warriors of Chaos


Okay, here they come for realz! So, with the epic combination of powers and items, both the Chosen and Warrior Horde failed their Fear tests! Then, just for giggles, the Marauder Horsemen failed theirs too. On the right they plowed through Skeletons, but those plucky Skellies held on, with only 10 models left.

For the main event...wow! The warriors were hitting the Grave Guard on 5's, and since the Vampires slaughtered a bucket of Chosen, the three that got to attack back all missed because of being Beguiled by all the beauty in front of them. All told, both Chaos units had to test on snake eyes, which they of course failed. The Warriors weren't able to disengage quick enough and were cut down! The Chosen, on the other hand, boxed their roll and gtfo of there. Amusingly, the Grave Guard lost six to the Venom Thicket (more than he lost on the charge, d'oh!)


Turn 5: Vampire Counts


The Vampires continued their pursuit of the Chosen, having them flee out of range. The Banshee turned to make a mess of the rest of his units near my lines. I could have brought around the Grave Guard to cause more damage, but I was just like egh...


Turn 5: Warriors of Chaos


The Chosen quelled their fear and rallied, while his other remaining units moved to engage.


Turn 6: Vampire Counts


Vlad and his pals easily dispatched the Chosen, while the Banshee froze the hearts of the Marauder Horsemen.


Turn 6: Warriors of Chaos


To eek out a few more points, the Warriors charged the Corpse Cart to wipe it out, which they promptly did. The end!


Result: 1780 VP - 405 VP ; Vampire Counts win!



Sure, I know I spent a lot of points to make the fear work, but...
- it made hitting my units incredibly difficult for Chaos, which is huge.
- it made hitting them very easy, even for Skeletons. The Grave Guard hitting on 2's was awesome though...
- it made them lose horrifically, winning the game.

Basically, I really liked how it worked out. All undead armies should have Fear combos at least close to this, though naturally TK get jack squat NOTHING to help with Fear. The Mask doesn't actually help...

Opinions, thoughts, or tips?

[Krael]

great strat, great excecution, great write up!
Trying to pull this into use, I can't help but note you brought 25 GG 5 wide. Should I take from this that is an option for TK as well, or are our characters too lacking do you reckon?

and the skellies, astounding how long they hold things up. that possible with our healing at half speed?

[Veritas]

I used the GG 5-wide with no characters because they will nearly always hit on a 3+ or 2+ by themselves (especially with the fearbomb skellies) because of a 45 point item. Their high strength and KB can take out enemies nicely.

TG, on the other hand, need a 100+ point character that can be singled out and destroyed before the TG even make their attacks.

I'll never use TG, but I'll always use GG.

No, it's not possible with our half healing. People don't care if you heal up 4-8 skeletons. People care if you get a 5+ ward AND heal, or KB AND heal, or double tap AND heal. Don't care = don't dispel, care = dispel.

Plus, the VC sig spell is to res dudes, and in a fashion that's far more effective.