1000 Points Vampire Counts Cavalry Army

While my interest in this list will likely fade before I can actually start painting it, I wanted to talk about it in an article. What prompted my interest in this list was the discussion Chuck and I had during episode 8 about the Vampire Count book. I personally felt the book was the better of the two released in 2012 as it felt like it had more potential when it comes to themes and play-styles. I have also had a strong desire to create a cavalry army, though which book I would use for the army has changed throughout the year.

1000 Point Vampire Counts Cavalry Army 

Hero
Vampire with Barded Nightmare, Aura of Dark Majesty, Fear Incarnate, and magic items [~215 pts]

Core
Dire Wolves (6) [48 pts]
Dire Wolves (6) [48 pts]
Dire Wolves (6) [48 pts]
Dire Wolves (6) [48 pts]
Dire Wolves (6) with Doom Wolf [58 pts]

Special
Black Knights (5) with Barding, Lances, Musician, Champion and Standard [150 pts]
Black Knights (5) with Barding, Lances, Musician, Champion and Standard [150 pts]

Rare
Blood Knights (4) with Standard and Screaming Banner [235 pts]

Total Points: ~1000 points
Model Count: 45
Fortitude: 5

When it comes to deploying the army, it should have more drops than most armies at 1000 points, though I am sure rats and greenskins could have me beat at times. I would always begin with a few of the dire wolf units before switching over to the various flavors of knights. When placing the knights, I would look to either create a solid spearhead with them or place them such that if they jointly charge the same unit, one of them will hit a flank.

Generally speaking, I want the wolves to be chaff first, flankers second and warmachine hunters last. I expect them to die quickly, but that is preferable to black or blood knights being chewed up in the early turns. If any of them do survive into the later turns, I would look for them to grab objectives or hide in the enemy’s deployment zone for bonus points.

The blood knights are the hammer of the army. The combo of Screaming Banner, Aura of Dark Majesty, and Fear Incarnate should help them in close combat with units that can be influenced by fear. It could also be a huge detriment for the army if it gets matched up against an army that has ItP. Either way, the knights are tough and have a solid punch which is only better when I park the army’s general in the unit.

The black knights are an interesting unit as I am not certain how to best use them on the battlefield. My initial thoughts are that they would flank the blood knights and either support them on the charge or break-off and engage other units. Another option that I am considering is having one unit, supported by a pair of dire wolf units, sit on the opposite end of the deployment zone and provides a distraction for my opponent.

When it comes to magic, the army is clearly designed to not accomplish much during the phase. Since the lord is the only caster, he will be required to take the Lore of Vampires, which is fine. I will always roll for a spell, but unless I get Vanhel’s Dance or Hellish Vigour, I will swap it for invocation. Even when I do get dance or vigour, I will need to consider whether or not to swap them for invocation based on the opposition. Regardless of the spell, using it will need to be a desperate measure as the only way it will likely get off is by casting it with 4-6 dice.

Looking across various forums, I have not seen any similar lists, though I am sure they do exist if I search harder. Overall, I think the army would be fun to play with and against. The blood knights are tough but the small size of the unit means that they will not be able to weather much damage. The same could be said of the black knights. In the end, the list does have my interest, but whether it will continue to do so will be a matter of time.