Heroes

Mannfred the Acolyte (GREEN): Mannfred the Acolyte is relatively cheap and a
very strong caster. However, he lacks any good saves and the extra wounds of his
Lord version and unlike that version, Acolyte Manny cant easily make use of his
Sword of Unholy Power. You can mount him on a Barded Nightmare for a better
armor save, but with two Wounds he is too fragile to risk in combat. His best feature
is having Loremaster with Lore of Vampires. Combined with other Lore of Vampire
casters, Manny gives you extra copies of those valuable spells. Add in Mortis Engine
with Blasphemous Tome, and he is essentially a Level 4 Wizard. His Lord version is
better, but Mannfred the Acolyte is very powerful as a support caster in the right
armies.
Krell, Lord of Undeath (RED): Krell, Lord of Undeath is just not worth his cost. For
half the points, you can take a normal Wight King that is nearly as effective. Its a
shame, since Krell has such a beautiful model and interesting backstory. But even
with +1 to WS, W and I, Terror, Multiple Wounds (D3) and gaining Heroic Killing Blow
if Heinrich is in the same unit, Krell is still too many points. Just take a Wight King,
give him a Great Weapon and Armour of Destiny and call it a day. For slightly more
than Krells points, you could take two Wight Kings and a Wraith and have a more
powerful and versatile frontline. Unfortunately Krell, Lord of Undeath is anything
but.
Konrad von Carstein (GREEN): Konrad is a mixed bag, as fragile as he is insane.
With his hatred, 5/6 Attacks and Multiple Wound (2) sword, he tears through Ogres,
Trolls and other multiple Wound models. Unfortunately, he only has heavy armour,
Toughness 4 and 2 Wounds and half the time he is subject to Stupidity. Konrad
requires proper management to use effectively, so keep him in range of your
General and Battle Standard Bearer to get him into combat reliably and then aim
him at the models he slays the best.
Isabella von Carstein (YELLOW): Like other Vampire heroes, Isabella is fragile.
She has two interesting perks though that easily get overlooked. Foremost, when
shes in the same unit as Vlad they both get Always Strike First! This is great, giving
both models re-rolls to hit. Even though neither has Red Fury, between the two of
them they have enough attacks to make it hurt. Isabellas chalice is decent too,
giving a steady source of healing to a character in her unit. If you can keep her safe
from harm, the Vampire Lord fighting in the front line can continuously recover an
automatic wound at the start of your magic phase. This works even better with
Vlad, since hes so difficult to kill, allowing him to take even further risks.
Necromancer (PURPLE): Necromancers may be scrawny, withered outcasts with
no friends, but they are so useful! With access to both Lore of Vampires and Lore of
Death, plus 50 points of magic items, Necromancers excel at supporting our units
from outside of combat. Vampire Counts depend on spells and Arcane Items more
than any other army, and the Necromancer gives you a cheap, easy way to get
more of both. Typical Arcane Items youll see Necromancers with: Dispel Scroll, Book
of Arkhan, Cursed Book, Forbidden Rod, Powerstone, and Scroll of Shielding. Even
Enchanted Items like Rod of Flaming Death and Ruby Ring of Ruin go well on a

Necromancer, and sometimes you can squeeze in both an Arcane and Enchanted
Item. The options are nigh endless. All of that, plus another channeling attempt, a
signature spell from Lore of Vampires or Death and boosting the Leadership of any
undead unit he joins, or stick him in a Zombie bunker and let him make some new
friends with Invocation of Nehek! Whats not to like! You can even take multiple
level 1 Necromancers all with Lore of Vampires and spam Invocation of Nehek. Add
a Mortis Engine with Blasphemous Tome, and they each can cast Invocation on a 3+
with a single dice! If there is a down side to Necromancers its in Vampire
footslogger armies. Footslogging armies need their characters in the frontline and
use their infantry units as delivery systems and tarpits, which puts the
Necromancers at risk. In these armies, spending 40 points more on a Vampire is
more effective and Necromancers are considered (BLUE) and some cases even
(GREEN) because of the resources needed to keep them safe.
Vampire (BLUE): With only Toughness 4 and 2 Wounds, Vampires are a bit delicate.
But with 4 Strength 5 Attacks, 50 points of both magic items and vampiric powers
plus magic levels, Vampires are a point efficient way to add damage output and
Wizards into your army. The trick with Vampires is to maximize their damage while
giving them enough protection to keep them safe from typical rank and file. Usually,
items like Enchanted Shield, Charmed Shield, Opal Amulet, Dragonhelm, and Seed
of Rebirth (with a couple Mortis Engines within range) are ideal for giving a Vampire
with heavy armour (and sometimes a shield) enough protection to get through a
fight or two intact. Then its all about building the Vampire for his combat role. The
most obvious is the mini-blender. Give a Vampire Red Fury and Sword of Swiftslaying
and he is nearly as deadly as a Vampire Lord. With Aura of Dark Majesty, Dread
Knight and Beguile plus Glittering Scales and a Sword of Striking or Might you have
a Vampire who makes screams stronger, is nearly impossible to hit and rarely
misses with his attacks. Give a Vampire a Great Weapon and Quickblood, plus
Armour of Destiny and he can deal damage while easily taking it himself. You can
mount a Vampire on a Barded Nightmare, give him Enchanted Shield and Heavy
Armour and have a mini-blender with a 1+ armor save. There is so many
combinations. Really, for just 40 points more than a Necromancer, Vampires give
you more movement and combat capability. Making use of these powerful heroes
just requires some creativity and in the right armies they are invaluable.
Wight King (GREEN): Wight Kings are tough as nails and affordable. They offer
good defense and make perfect body guards for the Vampires in your army. When
equipped with a good armor save and weapon, Wight Kings are effective characters
in a Vampire Counts army. Whether on foot or mounted, Wight Kings make ideal
candidates for Battle Standard Bearers or wearing Nightshroud. The only downside
of using a Wight King is you sacrifice both the spellcasting and the offensive
qualities of a Vampire hero. Wight Kings are essential in an army reliant on Grave
Guard or Black Knights with the Banner of the Barrows and they excel at keeping
your Vampire Lord safe from enemy challenges.
Undead Battle Standards (BLUE): Your battle standard can freely go on either a
Vampire or Wight King. Most of the time you wont give it a Magic Standard, as its
usually better to equip the Bearer with items instead (especially a Vampire). All in

all, Battle Standards have value for our armies. Undead still need to pass marching
tests, quick reforms and Slain General tests to not crumble if our general dies.
Additionally, the reducing of our crumble by a point can really matter. That negated
Wound could be that one keeping a model engaged and not allowing overrun. Mixed
with Invocation of Nehek and prolonged, multiple combats, a Battle Standard
quickly pays for its messily 25 points. Not to mention, where it is engaged gains an
additional +1 to combat result too. Battle Standards, whether a Vampire or Wight
King, stabilize your combats, if even a little bit and are worth using in combat
focused armies.
Cairn Wraiths (BLUE): At first, Cairn Wraiths seem a bit underwhelming. But once
you start exploring their many tactics, they become a terrifying weapon in your
arsenal. First, they are ethereal and can hide out in units (avoiding magic missiles
and their like). They can accept challenges. They can charge out and tie up targets
that cant deal with them (like monsters and monstrous cavalry). They cause Terror,
so charging with a Cairn Wraith in a unit could make an enemy break and run. They
can move out of units and position as a redirector. Then there is the wraith-wall
tactic. Take a cheap Core unit like Skeletons or Zombies, field that unit 5 wide and
then have 5 Cairn Wraiths join the unit. The unit gains a rank and standard bonus,
has all the benefits of Undead infantry and when the Cairn Wraiths make way, has
an Ethereal front rank with 15 Strength 5 attacks.
Tomb Banshees (BLUE): Tomb Banshees play a similar role to Cairn Wraiths. They
can do all the ethereal character tricks (hiding in units, charging out, redirecting)
with one major difference, they have Ghostly Howl in place of 3 Strength 5 Attacks.
With their howl they can reduce chaff, monsters and small units of armored troops
to nothing quickly and they can do it while engaged in combat. Banshees become
very good when taking two or more and used with Aura of Dark Majesty, Doom &
Darkness and/or Iceshard Blizzard. A word of caution though, Tomb Banshees cant
grind like Cairn Wraiths and dont generate combat result with their Ghostly Howl.
So use them outside of regiments carefully.