Mounts, 8th Edition and Vampire Counts

Skeletal Steed (Blue): These bony ponies let our Wight Kings ride in style.
Granting ethereal movement and not being slowed by barding, a Skeletal Steed
adds both armor and mobility to your Wight Kings. An obvious choice if you are
fielding Black Knights, it also is a way to make solo Wight Kings that ignore terrain
and can easily move from unit to unit. Remember, if your Wight King joins a unit
without the Spectral Steeds special rule, he cant move as an ethereal and his
movement is reduced to 7 by his barding, at least until he leaves the unit.
Nightmare (Green): Ideal mount for your necromancers and vampires.
Nightmares are generally good all-around and grant both Movement 7 and +2
armor save to their riders. Necromancers only get +1 armor save, but gain
Movement 8 and Toughness 4. The Nightmare has a decent WS3 Strength 4 attack,
which is respectable for a mount. Though mounting your Vampire Lords and
Vampires on Barded Nightmares might seem ideal, it really depends on your play
style. If using Black Knights to deliver them into combat, then absolutely. But if you
are using Black Knights as a support unit or need your Vampire Lords march bubble
and combat ability to remain with your infantry units, then mounting them isnt
necessarily ideal. Still, if you are comfortable with using characters on unusual base
sizes, Barded Nightmares are an easy way to boost your blenders movement and
armor saves. Master Necromancers and Necromancers can forgo mounts, unless
you need them keeping up with the other cavalry in your army.
Hellsteed (Blue): An excellent choice when you want your vampire to fly.
Hellsteeds grant a point of armor, a strength 4 attack and flying for the same cost
as Flying Horror. The tradeoff is your vampire becomes cavalry (but without the
barding) and cant easily hop from unit to unit with flying (like they can with their
power). Unless you run multiple cavalry units, getting full use of the Hellsteeds
movement requires being extra careful as your vampire cant easily move among or
get Look Out Sir! from your army.
With a Hellsteed, your vampire inevitably ends up charging from or moving out of a
unit and into the open. If timed right, youll surprise your opponent by charging over
chaff or further than they thought and wipe out a key component of their army
unexpectedly. But if used poorly, a Hellsteed ensures your vampires demise as they
stick their neck out and get it shot off by cannons or any number of other threats.
Still, what your vampire loses in security, they gain in mobility. A Hellsteed provides
a whole bag of movement, charging and pursuing tricks. If you play a cavalry heavy
army, there is little reason to not use Hellsteeds. If you run an infantry army or your
tactics have vampires avoiding the frontline, then Hellsteeds are YELLOW because
of the additional risk they put your vampire in.
Abyssal Terror (Yellow): With how deadly cannons are to monster-riding
characters, its difficult to recommend this beast. Although an Abyssal Terror does
have flying and causes terror, there are far better options for those elsewhere in our
army. With a Toughness of 5 and only 4 Wounds, Abyssal Terrors are fairly vulnerable
to magic and shooting. Likewise, having only a Strength of 5 and 3 Attacks, an
Abyssal Terror is hard pressed to cause any real damage. Abyssal Terrors can be

upgraded with Poisonous Attacks and Armour Piercing, which helps, but still its not
enough. What the Abyssal Terror does have is its Thunderstomp and a smaller base
than other ridden monsters, making it harder to hit with cannonballs. Abyssal
Terrors arent useless, but they put your Vampire Lord unnecessarily at risk and offer
no real protection in return.
Terrorgheist (Yellow): The only mount option for Strigoi Ghoul Kings. On their own
Ghoul Kings and Terrogiests are good, but together, not so much. Both are pricey
and lack protection against cannons. When they get hit, it hurts twice as bad and is
an easy way to lose all those eggs in one basket. That said, combining the Strigois
fighting capability with a Terrogiests scream and thunderstomp is devastating for
an unprepared opponent and once they are in combat, a mounted Ghoul King is
fairly hard to kill. If you have target saturation or monstrous infantry screens and
can get these two into combat quickly, they can be game changing and are GREEN.
Otherwise, there are better ways to spend your character points.
Zombie Dragon (Green): The Zombie Dragon suffers from the same problem as
the Ghoul King on a Terrorgiest. Its a big target and you are putting a powerful lord
and mount together, begging your opponent to eradicate it. You have to play very
tactically to keep this big bird and its rider alive when the artillery starts raining
down. Once in combat though, there nothing that compares to the raw power of a
Vampire Lord on a Zombie Dragon. With its Scaly Skin, a Strength, Toughness and
Wounds of 6, Thunderstomp and a breath weapon with -3 to Armor Saves, the
Zombie Dragon is formidable. But the Zombie Dragons real secret weapon is
Swarm of Flies. Making all enemy in base contact -1 to their To Hit rolls, not only
does this protect the dragon and its rider, but the Zombie Dragon is fairly effective
at supporting our units in combo charges too. Give your Vampire Lord riding the
dragon Nightshroud and/or Other Tricksters Shard and with its large base, enemy
units are marginalized even further. With some creativity and smart game play, a
Vampire Lord on a Zombie Dragon can wreck your opponent.
Corpse Cart (Red): Although fluffy, youd think taking a mediocre unit, sticking
your necromancer on it and paying for their ride with character points was bad
enough. But then forcing them to stay outside of the warm, safe masses of rotten
undead bodies and they cant even march to keep up? Even worse! Dont do this
unless you are trying to get your necromancers killed!

Coven Throne (Green): Beautiful and complex (much like its handmaidens), the
Coven Throne holds a lot of power for the risk-taking general. Often compared to
the Mortis Engine, the Coven Throne is an entirely different beast. Where the Mortis

Engine is a Chariot/Warmachine that synergizes with and supports your army, the
Coven Throne is a weaponized mount for the Vampire riding on it. Best used as a
support unit in aggressive armies, the Coven Throne grants the vampire riding it
ethereal movement, D6 Strength 5 impact hits, 4 Strength 5 Attacks with Always
Strike First (from the Handmaidens) and 2D6 Strength 3 Attacks (from the Spirit
Horde). The Coven Throne has a 4+ Ward Save (for itself, not the rider) which
synergizes with any Magic Resistance the rider has. Since the Coven Throne grants
+1 Armor Save, your vampire can easily get a 2+ save without compromising much
offensively. The Scrying Pool works well with Lore of Vampires (backing up spells like
Van Hels Danse Macabre or Hellish Vigor) or gets you by if you use another lore and
still want your vampire rerolling in combat.
The Coven Thrones claim to fame is Battle of Wills. Affecting any unit attacking the
Coven Throne (with either range or close combat), most often enemy will suffer -1
to WS and BS or perhaps have to re-roll successful To Hits. Although unreliable,
some planning can help maximize Battle of Wills effect. Always position your Coven
Throne to maintain Leadership 10 and engage enemy units with a lower Leadership.
Flanking with the Throne, while keeping it within range of your general is the easiest
way to do this. Then support the Coven Throne with a well-placed Doom & Darkness
and Aura of Dark Majesty. If played right, you can make Battle of Wills at least
consistently weakening your enemy units while occasionally causing swathes of
destruction as the unit turns on itself. These tactics also mean the Coven Throne is
ideal for weakening and breaking Steadfast and Stubborn units.
Finally, whether you mount a Vampire or Vampire Lord on a Coven Throne depends
on how much risk you want to take and how quickly you can get your Coven Throne
into combat. A Vampire Lord has Leadership 10, more magic items and vampire
powers and a better Toughness and Wounds. A Vampire though has nearly as much
hitting power, risks far less of your points and can take a Battle-Standard. Since the
Coven Throne is vulnerable to Unstable, a Battle-Standard helps protect it from
crumbling and taking the throne on a hero doesnt waste your points for your Lords.