Infantry Tactics........
As I play with a majority Skeleton Army, I for one have experienced the joys (and frusration!) that these shambling troops can bring. So often I have seen my lovely ranks of Skellies disintergrate (especially against those damn Brettonians!) However, handled correctly, Skeletons can be a very rewarding troop type...
My main piece of advice is to buy BIG. Skeletons benefit greatly from the rank bonus rule, and added to the fact that they cause fear, a large group (say thirty with command group of Wight, Banner Bearer and Musician) will see off most enemy infantry easily, as the enemy has to take a break test once beaten in combat by a unit they fear when outnumbered.
The choice of your command group is vital. It pays to take a WightLord to lead the Unit, and arm him with good magic items. This is because your ordinary rank and file Skellies usually don't kill many enemy and are there mainly for the rank bonuses and to force enemy leadership tests. A heavily armed Wight should cut through enemy rank and file to boost that combat score. An added word of caution when facing an enemy with access to potent anti Undead spells (the Banishment spell is particularly nasty, and as for those Brettonians!!) Make sure that you arm your Wight preferably with an anti magic item. Otherwise kiss goodbye to your main regiment!! An another particularly good idea is to buy a Mummy Tomb King and equip him with a Tomb King Crown. This means all Undead forces within 12" get to use his WS instead of their own!! It makes hitting something with Skeletons a damn sight easier and is a particularly nasty trick to play. Just keep your Tomb King out of Hand to Hand as it doesn't work if he is fighting and give him plenty of protection from Magic, especially fire magic!!
I usually take a Standard bearer with either a Hell Banner or a Banner of Sorcery (get to store Winds of Magic very tasty!), along with a Musician (which ain't that important but I like the model!)
I always use Vanhel's Danse Maccabre to move my Skellies into combat, otherwise they present a nice target for enemy Warmachines..... I tend to place them in the centre of my line and pelt forward immediately with cavalry and chariots on each side (not exactly refined but who cares!) Well, I am one to learn by mistakes and having played a lot of Warhammer and experimented a fair bit over the summer, I have completely done a u turn on armour for Skeleton Infantry. This stems from fighting Dwarves all the time! Basically forget armour it will save a hell of a lot of points and you can always bring them back you know, especially when you have Banner of sorcery to ensure you get a reasonable sized Wind of magic hand... One thing worth mentioning here is that in the 5th edition rules, Necromancers get to CHOOSE their spells. Instead of the normal draw and discard method. Needless to say this is Mana from Nagash himself, no longer do we have to keep redrawing in order to get Vanhel's!!!!!!
On their own, Skeleton Horsemen are not that great a unit. But give them light armour and shields, equip them with lances and stick them in a unit led by a WightLord or preferably VampireLord on horseback along with the Army Battle Standard bearer carrying the Doomrider Banner (hit automatically when charging) and you have THE quick moving strike force all Undead Generals crave. This unit will run straight through most infantry and a considerable amount of cavalry. GLORY BE THE NEW MOUNTED WIGHTS HAVE ARRIVED!!!! Heavy cavalry, +3 save, +1S when charging and d3 wounds from WightBlades..yum, I was also told that they can use the Doomrider banner, but I have yet to confirm it so don't take it as gospel. Anyway, anice alternative would be the Banner of Wrath...Now, where are those Reiksguard???
Zombies can be used in much the same way as Skeletons, they have pretty much the same attributes. They also benefit from being cheaper than Skeletons points wise.
However, I don't take them as the models cost £5 for a blister pack of four. Why pay that when you get 8 boxed Skellies for the same price? The Skeletons may be plastic, but as we all know
building up your rank and file quickly and cheaply is a priority. They also cannot be used as missile troops as they have no BS score! Can't offer you any advice here, but they tend to act in the same way as Skeletons.
Quite frankly, Ghouls are a complete waste of time and money for an Undead General. You can only get them in blister packs and they are pathetic in combat anyway. They have very poor stats and a quite stupid rule about not pursuing the enemy and rather stopping to feast on corpses!! Their only possible redeeming feature is their ability to march move, which no other Undead Infantry can do. But even so, when you can draw Vanhel's for your Skeletons or Zombies in order to speed their progress up, who needs Ghouls? Leave them where they belong, on the shelf!!
These troops are an absolute must for any Undead commander. They are the real muscle in the force. The only real drawback is the appaling movement speed but give your Necromancer the Staff of Damnation (essential to Undead) and that problem goes out of the window!! I usually use them to anchor a flank as they will quiet happily plod along and will be very hard to destroy...
Scare seven shades out of the enemy..Wraiths!
I love Wraiths, they are are immune to all ordinary weapon attacks and they cause terror, even if only within 8" of an enemy unit, lovely! You can put them into large units, but I prefer them to fight independently in front of them main force. I move them forward with Vanhel's or the Staff of Damnation so they can hopefully scare off enemy units before my main strike force arrives!! I have just fought a battle in which a single Wraith of mine scared off a unit of High Elf Phoenix Guards and a unit of Swordmen of Hoeth! Unlucky dice rolls by the High Elves maybe but it proves it can work!
That is about it for my Infantry tactics...check out some other pearls of wisdom on my main Warhammer site...
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