Tactica - Undead core choice

Ok i'll bite and start a thread for helping those of you out there who are thinking about vamps.

The 3 core choices that you have to take from include skellies, ghouls and zombies.
The other core choices include, bat swarms, corpse carts and dire wolves but these do not count towards your minimum core unit numbers.

So i'll start with the 3 core and give their strengths and weaknesses as i see them.

Skellies
8pts coming with hand weapon, shield and light armour. Can buy spears for 1pt per model and take a command group for 20pts with the ability to take a magic banner for 25pts.

Strengths:

Armoured core troops with basic stats for core troops s3, t 3. Can take full command and a magic banner of which there are quite a few good ones for 25pts like adding an extra rank for combat rez so 4 ranks instead of 3 and a banner which doubles your unit strength fantastic for the autobreaking (outnumbered by fear causers) There are a few magic items in the list which can help the skellies out most notably the tomb blade, which for each unsaved wound caused by the wielder a new skellie is raised in the unit, so great for keeping them topped up. Can take spears for extra attacks.

Weaknesses:

Weapon skill a measly 2 so wont really be hitting much (unless a vamp is around giving them his ws), pretty weak and drop like flies. Armour save is only 5+ and there are plenty of high strength, armour negating or piercing weapons out there that can make a meal of them. 9pts a model with spears so i think pretty expensive.

Overall:

They are not great but good to hold a line (as are all the other core) Not bad defenders with the spears, its good that they can take a magic banner but this then makes the unit more expensive. Need to be babysat by a vamp to make them halfway decent fighters. Good for negating flanks but then again also good at giving the enemy combat rez by killing some skellies.

My marks out of 10? 5. I rank these as the bottom choice for the core selection

Zombies
4pts per model, can take a musician and standard for 12 extra points.

Strengths:
Cheap at 4 pts. A unit of 20 comes in at 80pts! Great at bogging nasty things down like dragons, war alters, steamtanks, thirsters etc (as long as there are enough to survive popping) They are easy to top up as each casting of invocation brings d6 + 4 back and you need no bloodline powers to increase them beyond their starting size. So a basic unit of 20 z's has the potential of becoming 40 z's with only 2 castings of invocation on a single 4+.

Weaknesses:
No characters can join them, no champion for challenges (to limit the amount of wounds the unit takes) they have probably the most pathetic statline of any unit in warhammer. Wont really do anything but shamble about getting in the enemies way (weakness?) and they cannot pursue.

Overall:

Great for tying up things for long periods/indefinatly. Will never win you a big combat on their own, die very easily giving away lots of combat rez. As long as you know why you are buying them and what job they are going to do on the battlefield came be a great unit to have. Of course you dont need to buy them to start with as 2 spells in the vampire lore can create units for free so if you have the magic capacity you can forgo paying their points and hope you get them on the battlefield for free. Who dosn't love zombies??

My marks out of 10? 6. I rank these as the second best core choice.

Ghouls
8 pts per model. Can take a champion for another 8pts. 2 poisoned attacks

Strengths:
Tuffness 4, ws 3 (better than skellies) 2x poisoned attacks and better ld than skells 5 instead of 3. these guys are great at taking on high toughness or unarmoured troops as the poison will cut through them. With the ability to be raised back and unbreakable they are great at this job. The number of attacks is awesome as well. Vamps can take a bloodline power called ghoulkin which allows all units of ghouls and accompanying characters to make a free march move before the game even starts which is great at putting your opponant on the back foot.

weaknesses:
Lack of command bar the champ so no banners. No armour so when hit by high strength attacks will die (but so will skellies)

Overall:
These are my favourite core choice for vamps. I would prefer higher toughness over armour anyday and their attack output with poison is fantastic. Couple this with ws 6 or 7 from a vamp and you have a unit that can start to cut into the enemy instead of holding them up. These guys are great as flankers and rear chargers and pose a real problem for characters especially unarmoured mages as rolling a 6 to hit means a wound on these fellows. Their higher toughness means they wont be giving away so much combat rez in these situations.

My score out of 10? 8. The ability to take banners and armour would give them a higher score. IMHO the best core choice for vamps.

A note on the other core choices.

Dire wolves, i like them v fast and good at what they are designed for warmachine hunting and frenzy shielding. Die horribly easy and can only be invocated 1 at a time but a unit of 5 costs 40 points and they are great for grabbing and holding table q's near the end of a game.

Corpse carts again i like them very good if used as a pair. Can increase the no of models invocated or make enemy wizards within 24" have a -1 to cast. Has regen and can be taken as a mount for a necromancer.

Bat swarms. Hmm i dont see the point of these to be honest. Flying swarm that can only fly 10", 4 wounds ws 3, st and t 2. 35pts per base. So basic unit costs 105pts and i can only see them used as a blocker. 20 zombies can do the same job better and cheaper. I guess they may be there as fluff?

Anyway thanks for sticking with me to the end.

This is my own opinion and so you may disagree but sod you cos im always right ha ha ha ha ha ha!

No animals were harmed in the making of this thread.

What you have done here is great work Andi. Its got me thinking about doing one for the Empire, it would also be good if others could do one for there armies.

Seconded. I too am thinking of doing a similar tactica for Wood Elf core choices. (Shoot, run away... but in more depth)

this is brilliant..excellent work has got me thinking what to take as core choice with my new and first(ish) fantasy army thanks!