Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

Discuss your tactics for the 7th Ed army book here, together with tactics for other races.

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Gildor777
Posts: 169
Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:04 am

Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

#1 Post by Gildor777 »

Alright, I am having a really hard internal debate about what to take against VC at 1000 pts. I know he will have something along the lines of 2 X 5 Black Knights, a unit of dogs, 2 X 13 Ghouls and 2 Vamps (a level 2 and a level 1 BSB). I am not sure what items/bloodlines they have. My army aside from the mage has 10 LSG, 2 RBT, 18 Spears w/ War Banner, 11 Swordmasters w/ Lion St. and 6 Phoenix Guard. Now, as for the L2 Mage, would you take:

Option 1: Ring of Fury, Silver Wand
Option 2: Annulian Crystal
Option 3: Staff of Sorcery
Option 4: Something else

I have generally been using the Ring/Wand combo, but wondered if anyone has thoughts (or even math?) that would say which option is best. Hoping to get drain magic off on 3 dice, but I can try to do that with any combo. Thoughts?
Fwum
Posts: 74
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2008 1:04 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

#2 Post by Fwum »

I would probably go for option 2, the Annulian Crystal is great at lower points and especially against VC . This gives both of you 4 dice in his magic phase, meaning nearly a complete shutdown of his magic. I wouldn't give the mage Lv 2, given that your opponent also have 4 dd to counter with. As a rule I try to take as little magic as possible when under 1500 points, as it rarely makes its points back. Even with option 1 you would struggle to actually get something of (but I must admit it would be a lot funnier to play that just a defensive Lv 1). The points saved could go into a couple more PG, 6 of them is not very effective and they need some sort of static combat bonuses to win combats.
Gildor777
Posts: 169
Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:04 am

Re: Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

#3 Post by Gildor777 »

The problem with making the mage a level 1 is that I am trying to get drain magic off on 2 dice against his 4 dd. At least as a level 2 I have a better chance of getting it to go. The PG are not going to be going head to head with anything. They will probably sit back with the LSG and bolt throwers to slow down a unit of knights, or try to flank once the spear block or SM get into combat.

I am leaning towards the Crystal, but the thought of making him waste at least 1 dd on the ring every turn makes it more likely that I can get drain magic off. It leaves my own dd a bit weak, but it increases the chance of getting the main spell I need casted.
Fwum
Posts: 74
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2008 1:04 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

#4 Post by Fwum »

Even with the ring he will have 3 dd left for your drain magic, dispelling it more often than not. If it do get through it's great, but if dispelled he will have a 2 dice advantage. A Lv 1 with the crystal is a lot more reliable giving you a stable defence all the game, and also cheaper. Still, with the ring you still have the chance that he fails to dispel it and you get a free Fury of Khaine, and that might be worth the points. I think it all boils down to how much of a risk you are willing to take, where the crystal is in my opinion the safest option.
Gildor777
Posts: 169
Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:04 am

Re: Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

#5 Post by Gildor777 »

So with the leftover 45 points...I am thinking maybe a Blademaster with Tal. of Loec to try to off a Vamp. and an extra SM plus a Mus. for the spears? Or am I better off just adding 3 PG (making the unit 9).
Seawhisper
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:40 am

Re: Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

#6 Post by Seawhisper »

What about a Lvl 1 with JoD and a scroll? That lets you open the phase with two dice at Shield of Sapphery to try to pull some DD and then still have two to throw at Drain. Saves you the points on the Lvl 2, since you only have the PD for two spells and one is going to be Drain anyway.
Fwum
Posts: 74
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2008 1:04 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

#7 Post by Fwum »

Gildor777 wrote:So with the leftover 45 points...I am thinking maybe a Blademaster with Tal. of Loec to try to off a Vamp. and an extra SM plus a Mus. for the spears? Or am I better off just adding 3 PG (making the unit 9).
I would go for the Blademaster with ToL, cause it rocks. Should kill one of those vamps dead without any problem, and he won't expect it. Musicians is a great addition to any unit, and with their low cost should almost always be taken if not for a very good reason. I would also recommend swapping the PG to something else, 6 of them won't be very effective in my experience (maybe a chariot?).
Gildor777
Posts: 169
Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:04 am

Re: Mage items vs. VC at 1000pts

#8 Post by Gildor777 »

I ended up taking the level 1 with crystal, and won the game 20-0. His two units of knights only had 3+ saves, so after I got rid of those, he was in serious trouble. I took 2 extra PG, an extra SM (to make the unit 12) and a mus. on the spears.

The PG actually did exactly what I wanted. They held up a unit of knights for 2 turns because of not breaking due to fear. They actually killed 2 knights in the process, leaving the last one open to an RBT volley after running down them down. The list worked really well, but he did not bring uber-magic. The vamps were not a big problem, I killed one with combat res. (the unit fighting against spears) and the other got hacked down by a couple SMs.
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