The Big Bat Strategy

Adding a few more bats to the Winged Coven, and gearing up Lucinda and Mordrak for battle in the Old World...

 

When it comes to list building, Lucinda Vale definitely needs the Winged Horror vampiric power so she can fly with those magnificent wings. The downside to the ability is that she is unable to join a unit, making her vulnerable to missile fire. I can protect her by keeping her close to her coven of Fell Bats, but in order to avoid being targeted, the unit needs to be the same troop type (infantry) and have at least five models.

I have six bats in the unit, so if they lose only two models, they would no longer be able to screen Lucinda. That means I need to bump them up to ten so they can survive longer as a screening unit.

 

 

I have more 40mm bases on order, but I wanted to get a head start on the basing, so I put the new bats on pieces of thin styrene card, cut to the size of the 40mm base top. These were tacked on top of 40mm round bases, and all of this ensured that the models were properly spaced so I could position them and get them to rank up.

 

The temporary bases also lets me plan the layout of the bases. To match the previous bats, I've built more graveyard fencing running across the bases. I used the top portion of the Garden of Morr/ Sigmarite Mausoleum kit, and some of my Skull Forge Scenics skulls and tombstones to create a mini-diorama on each base.

 

 

To vary the height of the bats (and help with ranking them up), I extended the tree trunks on a couple of them. I repositioned the head on this guy...

 

 

...and added some branches by attaching some Woodland Scenics tree armatures and concealing the join with modeling putty.

 

 

As for Lucinda herself, I made a 25mm square version of her 40mm Age of Sigmar base. The model is pinned in place.

 

 

As for Mordrak the Vengorian Lord, when I build him, I made both a round and square base for him (magnetized so I can swap between the two), not so much with the intention of using him in a fantasy army, but simply because I never round-based my Vampire Counts for Age of Sigmar, and I wanted him to match.

Now in The Old World, Mordrak can be fielded as a Varghulf on the 50mm square, but Varghulfs are just basic monsters with no upgrades. In order to give him a bit more stature, and the option to take vampiric powers and magic items, I'll treat him as a Vampire Count on an Abyssal Terror (really, a vampire that has mutated into a giant, monstrous form).

In order to do this, however, I needed to make a 50mm x 100mm base for him. It was a lot of work to sculpt the ground texture so the ruins Mordrak is standing on can just snap seamlessly into place, and I didn't feel like recreating all of that. So, I cut the sides off the round base and built a built a base frame to hold them. The thin card base is cut to 50mm x 100mm, and I super glued a pair of 25mm bases on either end. I marked out where the round base would sit and cut out a channel for it.

 

 

I glued the base in place, and filled all the gaps with putty. The whole base was glued onto a second layer of thin styrene for a bit more stability. The gaps in the sides of the circle were filled with a strip of thicker card, glued at an angle to match the bevel of the other bases.

 

 

I let the glue and putty set overnight, and then trimmed away the excess card and sanded the sides so they would be smooth and seamless.

 

 

From there, I filled out the basing on the extensions...

 

 

...and then painted it all and added static grass and tufts:

 

 

I struggled a bit to find a battlefield roll for these two...

Mordrak–

In order to use the Abyssal Terror mount, Mordrak needed to be a Vampire Count, and I wanted to make him a "blender lord," so I didn't bother upgrading him with a Wizard level. For his magic items, I selected the Armor of Silvered Steel to give him a 3+ armor save, and the Biting Blade (represented by, well... his bite) which will give the 3 attacks from the vampire profile -2 armor piercing. The Abyssal Terror claws are also -2 armor piercing, which grants the model 7 Strength 5 attacks with -2 armor piercing. For his vampiric power, I went with Beguile, so the enemy needs to make a Leadership test before attacking, or they will only hit on a roll of 6. That all comes in at 375 points.

I could make him even more survivable by giving him the Curse of the Revenant for an additional Wound on his profile and the Healing Potion (which in his case would be a flask of blood?) to heal D3 Wounds. That would bump him up to 460 points, which is a bit high.

Lucinda–

I couldn't decide what to do with her. Having a second Vampire Count becomes pricey, and a lower level Vampire Thrall has some severe limitations– She could only be a level 1 Wizard, and since she's already locked into the 35-point Flying Horror vampiric power, she can't afford the power that grants an extra Wizard level. So she would be stuck as a not very good spell caster. If I want to kit her out for fighting, the fact that she can't join a unit means she would have to survive combat resolution on her own, and with only 4 normal attacks (if I count her wings as two hand weapons) that might be tough.

In the end, I settled on building her as a specific support role for Mordrak. I chose the vampiric powers Flying Horror and Lord of the Night, to allows her to resurrect the Fell bats. Since she could only be a level 1 Wizard, I decided to give her the Lore Familiar so she could at least choose which spell she gets (some of the spell casting values are just too high for a level 1 Wizard to pull off). I also equipped her with a Power Scroll, so at least once per game, she can add an additional dice to the casting roll. Lucinda clocks in at 208 points.

The Plan–

The strategy is to choose the spell Spirit Leech for Lucinda. Its 8+ casting value is plausible for a level 1 Wizard to cast, and I have the Power Scroll for an added boost at a clutch moment. She'll cast that on Mordrak's intended charge target, giving them -2 to their Leadership. When Mordrak charges, since he causes Terror, the unit will have to take a Leadership test at -2 or flee! If they hold, they will need to take another test (still at -2) to fight Mordrak or they'll only be able to hit him on a natural roll of 6. If he wins the combat, the enemy break test will start at -3 Leadership (-2 for Spirit Leech and -1 because he causes Terror), which will increase the chances of fleeing outright even before points are applied for combat resolution. Hopefully he'll be able to chew up some stuff.

Lucinda will hang back near the Fell Bats, who have a 360-degree line of sight and can charge any scouts or fliers that approach. The two characters and 10 Fell bats come in at 733 points (818 if I take the extra abilities for Mordrak), which is a lot, but it's fast-striking, and if Mordrak can crack a large unit he can make up his points cost, especially if I can pull this off twice in one game. Keeping them on the flank, and working their way toward the center might be the best way to proceed. I'll probably fill out the rest of the list with some solid infantry and Dire Wolves with a Necromancer as the general.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

'Til next time!