Vampire Count Battle Standard.

[Quothcraft]

So, Iv been thinking about my armies BSB. Obviously the normal thing to do is throw it into a big chunky unit and send that down the middle.

But Iv been thinking, how man points is it worth spending on your BSB to keep them safe?
My initial idea is to take a Vampire, give it Flying Horror and Armour of Destiny.
Giving them a +4 Ward save, heavy armour (can you take a shield with a BS?) and the abilty to get where hes needed/stay away from impending charges.
Also would save him from those nasty spells like Wall of Fire that decimates the front line.

Was also thinking, if I put him just behind the front line and have zombies infront and to the flanks, he will be safe because no undead unit will flee (from being Unbreakable) giving him a solid flesh shield on all sides.


Just a random thought I had, Im not exspecting people to rais me onto their sholders and worship me as a herald of a BSB saving tactic, but Id love to hear some feed back on what you guys think an what tactics you use.

[Disk Rider]

I have a feeling that the wight king is really the man for the job of holding a battle standard more then the vampire who costs more and is a little less resilliant.

It has some uses (reigning in frenzy on troops seems like the number one) but it is nowhere near as vital to have a BSB for undead as it is in other armies, so I wouldnt be wanting to invest quite as many points into him and especially not the armour of destiny which is going to be on my general.

[Petrocco]

The vampire can also be a good choice because he is also a wizard. Never forget that having an extra invocation every round can really help you out! And since they have the option for heavy armour now, they are not as squishy as they used to be. I think that you would want him in the front lines so he can help you win combats with his extra attacks, be it a wight king or a vampire. Oh and since invocation is now a bubble and not a dirrect augment spell, the "in house" invocation will ensure the unit is always within range of at least one.

[MadLarkin]

I don't see the point in not having your BSB in combat. We don't take break tests, and negating 1 unstable wound per combat phase is not worth the points of the BSB, let alone whoever you have carrying it.

To me the point of a bsb in a vampire army is to get two magic standards into one unit, to provide a unit that normally does not have access to a banner to carry one (magical or otherwise) control vargheist/blood knights frenzy, or simply to provide +1 combat res.

Without crown of the damned we no longer have to worry about stupidity, and the other leadership tests we would take don't come up very often (facing a beguiling vampire or any similar rules, or swift reforms).

That being said, I always look at is as an upgrade to a hero, not the point of the hero (unlike other armies where a battle standard is so necessary you'll grab an extra hero just to get one).

The best way to protect it is the wight king, you could even give him a ward save if you want but its usually unnecessary as he won't receive much more attention than normal if he's carrying a mundane banner as the VC just don't benefit from them too much.

I would only take it on a vampire if I didn't have a wight king already in my list, or if I wanted my banner to be mobile, like if you are going to be flying solo to support vargheists and bats and such. In that case I think protection is a must because a vampire on his own is a nice source of VP's. Shield of ptolos with heavy armor gives him a 4+ AS in combat (possibly with parry) and a 1+ outside of combat. Helps with small arms but not with war machines. Armor of destiny would probably be the best option, with some mundane weapons and a shield. I would take a hellsteed over flying horror as they provide both an extra attack and an extra pip of armor for a cheaper price while allowing you to take more vampire powers

[Padea]

Greetings

The BSB I use is a wight king, with heavy armor, enchanted shield and talisman of preservation
High T and good amount of W. 3/4+, reducing unstable wound and plus one to combat res. All this for 160 points.
Not bad if you ask me, and usually I have him with my GGs then he benefits from barrows aswell that makes him even better in combat/challenges etc.
I have been challenged by quite some combat oriented heros/lords from my friends and they have had quite some trouble with this guy time to time. I just "tank" with him and hope to get a 6s to wound

Works like a charm for me.
Additional to the BSB I use lvl4 necromancer lord and a lvl2 necromancer.

Jim

[Terrainosaur]

The main use of a VC BSB that I've seen is a Wight King in a Grave Guard or Black Knight unit, to add another magical standard and slow them crumbling.