Need advice/help on death army

[marxmon]

Hi there.

So I've searched this week for good synergy's for an death army. Since I'm new I really need some help here before
I will buy all models and then come to the conclusion to play something else (Too expensive haha).
I really hope people can give me here some tips/advice on adjusting my army.

The first thing I want to do is to build an 1000 point army:

Unit	Model Count	Unit	Point
1	1	Wight king with tomb and infernal banner	120
1	1	Necromancer	120
1	5	Black Knight	120
1	5	Grave guard	160
1	30	Skeleton Warrior with spear	240
1	10	Skeleton Warrior with sword and shield	80
1	10	Skeleton Warrior with sword and shield	80
		Legion of death war battalion	60
		Total	980

A
After some playtesting I want to expand it to a 1500 point army like this:

1	1	Vampire lord on zombie dragon, general, Ruler of the night, Tomb blade.	440
1	1	Wight king with tomb and infernal banner	120
1	1	Necromancer	120
1	5	Black Knight	120
1	5	Grave guard with wight blade	160
1	40	Skeleton Warrior with spear	320
1	10	Skeleton Warrior with sword and shield	80
1	10	Skeleton Warrior with sword and shield	80
		Legion of death war battalion	60
		Total	1500

And then my final 2000 point army:

1	1	Vampire lord on zombie dragon, general, Ruler of the night, Tomb blade.	440
1	1	Wight king with tomb and banner	120
1	1	Necromancer	120
1	5	Black Knight	120
1	5	Grave guard with great wight blade.	160
1	40	Skeleton Warrior with spear	320
1	10	Skeleton Warrior with swords	80
1	10	Skeleton Warrior with  swords	80
1	2	Morghast Archai	240
1	3	Spirit Hosts	120
1	3	Spirit Hosts	120
		Legion of death war battalion	60
		Total	1980

My goals with the army is to play with friends, join campaign's and if possible do some competitive play in tournaments.
Looking forward to your reactions

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

[Solaris]

That looks very solid, no complaints. For 160 points you get 10 Grave Guard, not 5.

[marxmon]

Thanks mate  will edit

[marxmon]

So guys.

I really like the zombie idea however the models seem kinda lame...

Im thinking about adding mannfred, a corpse car and such for more synergy but then again i dont know what i should replace for a better result.

Few questions;

- Does summoning and the necromancer have a huge benefit?

- should i replace units for things like mannfred?

- any posssibility of placing zombies in the army? Or would this be a loss in strenght?

- should the wight king be on a horse or?

- And do the experienced players have some tips or advice with strategys on an army like this?

Any advice what i could replace or leave it like this?

[Darth Alec]

 

33 minutes ago, marxmon said:

So guys.

I really like the zombie idea however the models seem kinda lame...

Im thinking about adding mannfred, a corpse car and such for more synergy but then again i dont know what i should replace for a better result.

Few questions;

- Does summoning and the necromancer have a huge benefit?

- should i replace units for things like mannfred?

- any posssibility of placing zombies in the army? Or would this be a loss in strenght?

- should the wight king be on a horse or?

- And do the experienced players have some tips or advice with strategys on an army like this?

Any advice what i could replace or leave it like this?

Zombie models are lame, yeah. pre-2000 plastics. No bueno. If you want to use them though, you should either fill out your battleline with them (3x10 units), or go BIG with 30/40 model units. Combined with the banner, necromancer and corpse cart these guys are a real danger. Don't use the corpse cart unless you have at least 2 large units though, not enough buffing for 1 unit. Adding zombies means shuffling around with points, but there's no reason you couldn't go with 1 block of skellies, 1 block of zombies and 1 small zombie unit (to merge later).

 

Necromancer is good all-round. Summoning is good, but situational. Not everyone bothers. Mystic Shield and Vanhels is reason enough for the necro.

Wight King on horse... Mostly a preference thing. It's a clear upgrade with extra move and attacks, but he's on a larger base. And he's not going to be moving a lot with the Infernal Banner. If you can manage a good conversion, go for it! But not really necessary.

The army is decent. It's got OK staying power and a couple of solid combat units. What you lack is speed and reach. The only unit that can really harass your opponent is the zombie dragon. Everything else is either too weak, or too slow to dictate the flow of battle. You can always get to an objective and stand on it, but you can't really prevent yourself being ganged up on by a bunch of units. You'll want to use the smaller units to control the battlefield. Force him to charge and destroy them before he can get to your "power units". Always hit first with the Grave Guard (never let them be charged). Use the Zombie Dragon to threaten more than to attack with, he has enormous reach.

 

As for Mannfred... Never forget, never forgive. #MannfredTheBetrayer

 

 

#NeverMannfred

 

 

 

 

[marxmon]

Thanks for your big reaction.

So do the zombies give me a huge benefit? And how to solve the weak and slow part of the army without replacing everything?

And from your reaction: mannfred is a must have? Thanks!

And last thing what is your advice wight king with banner or wifht king with steed but not a banner

[Nico]

Mannfred is a solid option, I wouldn't say he's a no-brainer post-General's Handbook.

The VLoZD is a better choice that Mannfred if you are going with a single Deathstar unit which you are piling buffs onto e.g. 40+ Skeletons with Vanhels, 9/12 Spirit Hosts, 9/12 Crypt Horrors or Crypt Flayers.

 

[Solaris]

Wight King with banner for sure, he is great as a support character but not nearly as great as a combat character.

[marxmon]

 

2000 Point Army

1	1	Vampire lord on zombie dragon, general, Ruler of the night, Tomb blade.	440
1	1	Wight king on a steed with tomb and banner	120
1	1	Necromancer	120
1	5	Black Knight	120
1	10	Grave guard with great wight blade.	160
1	40	Skeleton Warrior with spear	320
1	10	Skeleton Warrior with swords	80
1	10	Skeleton Warrior with  swords	80
1	2	Morghast Archai	240
1	3	Spirit Hosts	120
1	3	Spirit Hosts	120
		Legion of death war battalion	60
		Total	1980

So how to make the army bit more effective / faster or more deadly ?=p Just want to be sure before buying   Tried to do research on the internet, however its warhammer is so big for new players.

Im considering:
- Removing legion of death for an other war battalion if this current setting is to slow / weak.
- Bring in more spirit hosts and replace VLOZD for arkhan of neferata..
- Replace the vampire lord for manfredd or for a cheaper unit so I can add more graveguards. Since skeletons are kinda fragile ( but then again need them for my battalion )
 

[Malakithe]

My current lists have the VLoZD as general and Arkhan as magic support....the mortarch models are awesome. 

[Solaris]

That list looks strong enough already. You have 5 hard-hitting units in the Skeletons with spears, Grave Guard, Morghasts, Spirit Hosts and VLoZD. Consider putting the Spirit Hosts into one unit of 6 instead of 2 units of 3 - that way, you can buff them all with the command ability of the VLoZD and get a bunch of extra mortal wounds.

It's not slow either. Your slowest unit (Spirit Hosts) have a 6" move, and everything else moves 8" (+d6" if you run) per turn or more. That's really fast! You will have no issues moving out quickly for the objectives.

Replacing the VLoZD with a Mortarch is not a bad idea. Both Neferata and Mannfred would be good fits for your list.

[marxmon]

Okay thanks all. So the neferata and mannfred are a better choice then vlozd

[Solaris]

21 minutes ago, marxmon said:

Okay thanks all. So the neferata and mannfred are a better choice then vlozd

I wouldn't say better. They are different choices, that will make your list play in different ways. Mannfred, if we disregard that you'd have to make changes to the rest of your list since he costs 20 points more, is the most offensive option. He has a similar command ability to the VLoZD, but in a 15" bubble to all allies around him. The VLoZD is the middle option - he has an offensive command ability for one unit, and allows you to take Ruler of the Night, providing both offense and defense. Neferata is the defensive option, with a 15" area debuff for all enemies. Which one you like better is up to you, really.

[Hans]

I run a similar list at 1k.

wightking

necromancer

banshee

blackknight

graveguard - 20

skeleton warrior - 10x3

i would suggest wightking and necromancer tone mounted, so u get them where u want them to be. Should situation call for.

i used skeleton to protect necromancer maninly, and to hold objective. Graveguard with +1  attack, vanhel and coupled with damned terrain is very good offence.

I have not build this list up for 2k. Am playing a soulblight list for now.