I plan on doing an article on each legion list as well as looking at those poor factions that got no love with the End Times series, and it seems only fitting to start with the first legion list, Undead.
Now to be fair, Vampire Counts has bee up and down in the power spectrum from edition to edition and army book to army book. But they have always been a threat. When you face down against a Vampire army, you know it's going to be a rough ride. From huge slabs of troops that just don't die, to a terrifying magic phase and then finally the vampires themselves, who are among the most skilled combat characters in the game!. In the hands of a skilled player, they were a truly difficult challenge. There are certainly some weaknesses within the army, and after a character or two die, the force can be crippled when deprived of magical support. In their current incarnation, as a stand alone army they are good. You don't see them winnng every tournament. In fact there are tournaments that Vampires are completely absent from.
Then there is the other half of Undead Legions. Tomb Kings. Where vampire counts have a distinctly European flavour, Tomb kings are Egyptian, through and through. And I know the creators of their army book had their heart in the right place when they wrote it, but it's just...
Bad.
Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of flavour, and some units that are both impressive and effective, but a lot of elements are a touch over costed, and then there is that one word that makes every TK player shudder and assume the feral position. Heirophant.
No matter what your Tomb King opponent had in his army, there would only ever be one model that needed to die, and you would throw everything at it until it met an unpleasant end. Then it was a matter of conserving points and surviving the collapsing remnants of his force for two turns.
So when news of the end times and the return of Nagash, all those dead, cold players cheered (without lungs, go figure)
And awaited eagerly to see whether or not their models would see new purpose.
And my word, did they get looked after. The heirophant rule disappeared, there was a handful of new, very powerful characters, the Vampire counts and Tomb kings list became rolled into one wth the exception of a few characters, and they were gifted with a brand new Lore of Undeath.
So what did this mean? Having double the units to pick from, there's certainly a lot of combos available. There are now a few "must-have" units, such as the Casket of Souls, that Vampire Count players have only ever dreamed of. The removal of Lore of Vampires/Nehekara as compulsory lores gives previously unheard of flexibility to the magic phase, even allowing Tomb Kings to field a Light Council, or vampires to abuse the lore of Shadow to their own ends. This expansion has removed much of the liabilities of undead armies, and has strengthened them to become a brutal freight train of bodies and monsters.
Nagash has been gifted with a spectacular model and rules to fit. While he isn't as scary as some other End Tomes characters in combat, he is undeniably one of the best casters the game has ever seen, easily summoning an entire army's worth of units in a game. Weighing in at 1000 points means he may not be seen on the table much in such a character heavy army, but it's nice to know you can field the big dog!
The other standout characters are three famous undead characters riding morbid monsters into battle. Manfred Von Carstein has become the most popular of the three, being given the option to sacrifice some of his ample attacks for reliable power dice. Combined with a casket, you are almost guaranteed a strong magic phase every turn, making him wildly popular for this magic dependant force.
Arkhan the Black is the second, being primarily a caster, and being pretty good at it to say the least. And Neferatta is the third, shifting focus toward combat. While these two, are good, in my mind, Manfred edges them out with versatility!
All in all, there are now many dirty tricks up the sleeves of a crafty undead player. The summoning lore alone is enough to throw the best laid plans into disarray, and that's not to mention simple things like tomb princes conveying their high weapon skill onto a 300 point unit of zombies. The possibilities are endless, and I still think that the surface has barely been scratched with combinations between the two books.
And how to beat this new undead threat? It's not easy. The dangers with fighting VC has always been getting your killer elite units bogged down punching zombies who are getting rapidly replenished, while terrorgeists scream you to death from the safety of nearby. The way to beat them is the same, it's just a bit harder now. Shutting down the magic phase has always been key, but not as simple as stopping that one spell. Almost every Vampire character is a wizard, and Tomb Kings ain't to shabby either. The trick to beating Undead legions is killing their casters, and hitting who you want with the unit you want, not being corralled into charging your prize Steam Tank into a 12-rank unit of zombies that even without magic support will still take him a whole game to grind over. Easier said than done of course. And with Lore of Undeath, charge blocking will bring you no end of frustration. But they can be beaten and offer a real challenge to a player brave enough to face them in all their might!
Now, I must apologise to you, dear reader, as this article is awfully late. I am entering my tenth straight work day and have had very little time to write or even paint for that matter! And while I am a touch behind on my painting for Border Wars, I plan to have a very productive Easter Break!
Until we talk again,
Gabriel
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