Undead only?

[Hazimel]

Originally Posted by megakill

Actually I think that unded archers are one of the best range units in the game

Sorry for repeating myself, but undead archers are not good alone.

They rock only if you can make a combo, like Max Undead Commander + boost X 2 attack of archer.

[Namel]

Originally Posted by megakill

Actually I think that unded archers are one of the best range units in the game

They are good if you have way to get more. Their damage is great but once something decides to shoot them back they die very fast. In my game there has been only couple places selling them and not enough in either place. Might try them again now that I am using cursed ghosts. I pretty much have to sacrifice them at times since they tend to go over leadership limit in middle of battle. And since skelly archers got really low hp I think sacrifice would be very effective.

[Coin-coin le Canapin]

Originally Posted by Namel

I found vampires and tested them a bit. I wasn't very impressed. They only regain lives when in bat form. And if I understood it right they only resurrect ones that died in battle while ghosts go above what they had in start.

They can raise only the dead troops which died in the actual round, on bat OR vampire form, that doesn't matter. So, if two or more enemies hit the vampires, you'll lost a lot of them, because they're quite weak and they won't retaliate more than once.
Units with the "no retaliation" skill are a pain for them.

[Archlord_James]

Originally Posted by Namel

They are good if you have way to get more. Their damage is great but once something decides to shoot them back they die very fast. In my game there has been only couple places selling them and not enough in either place. Might try them again now that I am using cursed ghosts. I pretty much have to sacrifice them at times since they tend to go over leadership limit in middle of battle. And since skelly archers got really low hp I think sacrifice would be very effective.

to keep enemies from shooting your skelly archers use the distortion spell, target. All units are forced to attack the unit u designate. At level 3 it costs only 12 mana, lasts 4 turns, and works and creatures level 1 - 4. Unfortunate level 5 ranged such as cyclops can still attack them so you have to find a way to eliminate them first.

[Sandsai]

Originally Posted by Psychward

I've been trying this out the last few days... , the Black Knights don't have any special skills (Circle Attack, or even Running would be nice...

Evidently you haven't even tried the Black Knights because they in fact do have the ability Running. Not to mention their armorer ability and physical resistance along with their ability to get a bonus to damage and chance to crit up to a max bonus of +15 to damage and +15% to crit when hit. Furthermore, if you have undead they give +1 morale bonus to all undead units. All in all, the best tanking unit out there. And they are undead meaning you don't have to worry about the annoying Hypnotize spell being used against you or doom. So, I would have to disagree with your assessment of the Black Knight.

[vicheron]

People shouldn't underestimate the Bone Dragon. Their damage is weak but their Poison Cloud ability is very powerful. They're also fast and durable.

You can use the Reaper's Time Back ability to resurrect Skeleton Archers.

Necromancers are just great, and it's not just their initiative and their area damage. Their Plague ability reduces the attack, defense, and hit points of all living creatures by 15%. Their Raise Undead ability works on any dead stack. I often use it to raise dead enemy stacks.

[kadrzys]

and they're quite tough though

[Gatts]

Someone said that that Vamps can be damaged hardly when more units attack them :
Well, you just move your vamps in the most nearest hexagon to attract all attacks - but you leave him one move point and press WAIT - if you defence is nice - no matter ho much damage you get - you can re-suck it back.

I play with UNDEAD in majority (at least 3 of five, mostly 4 of five) and I am totally happy about that.
Not that it is the best army overall - but it is the best army for lazy players (as I am) with huge megalomancy and egocentrism (you need to win no matter what)... luckily I am no perfectionist

Why this is so great for lazy players? - Instead of opening magic book and shoot crazy spells like sheep, ressurect, god armor... you only use you normal attack instead of ressurection (steal life)

I don't use necromancer, so I have only Hand-to-hand army (+ abilities) what is handy - you don't need to create crazy strategies how to preserve your shooters (who are always targeted by enemy magick/shooters/abilities)
This army is imune agains mind spells

Using the Zombie Girl you get +1 INIT, +1 Speed (quite handy) + Undead Commander (additional INIT)

your whole army becomes TANK and Storming army.
Hugest problem : no fire resistance
Hugest problem #2: fighting other undead army sucks : no live stealing possible

using Ghosts correctly (both types) can help you through 50% of the game (ends be usefull in undead country) why? You can raise up to 150% of your max Leadership each fight (yes, above 100% you lose control, still they will not attack you, but randomly attack the enemy) So at the end of the combat move some of the ghosts to the backup slot (leave yourself 80~90%)

You want use undead army but you are afraid the UNDEAD LANDs? : put some undead away and hire black/red dragons... or thorn kings... or treants... (dragons because they do huge area fire damage - hiting the most weaker point of undead - they are mobs and are fire vulnerable)

But in Hell is the undead army the best choice (even if I take in account that hell heroes use armageddon spell)

Basically most of my battles looked like:
Whoaau! We start again first... look at those puny black dragons...haha, only 25 of them ..
Dark Commander : "Hey red vamps - don't screw it, transform and be nice living target...hush hush!"
Vamps: " oki doki sir.."
Dark Com: "it's siryessir soldier!!!"
Vamps: "Sir, yes sir!"
DC: "fine, now move"
--- rest of the army awaits when vamp bats are getting all the damage from dragons, shamans, shooters or casters ---
Bone Dragon :" Hrrr... Bah! they managed to kill 20% of our bats... hay boss, it is not much... what about increasing our ranks by sacrificing some of the damn vamps... huh?"
me: " fine... there you go"
-- sacrifice : damaged red vamp bats, 1 bone dragon risen --
Vamp bats suck blood from black dragons with nasty sound of spilled and swallowed blood...
-- new round --
Vamps attack treants (now they have 100% units back again and battle is going to end soon, it is second round anyway)
Bone Dragons fly in the middle of the crowd and poison them - the weaker units die.
last 3 balck dragons try to kill my 19 (sorry, 20) bone dragons... do puny damage and die from counter attack
blue vamp bats finish one of the weaker enemies
Blue Vamps: " Hay commander, don't be a wuss pink sissy and get to kill some o em!.. See? even the damn living emerald dragons fly to finish them and give some mana to our master!:
Dark Commander : " Shut up asshole or you will end before war court and I will persue our master that necromancers are better than you looser blue bats"
Emerald Dragon : " Master, Master, pleaase take my offer of mana... here, mana for free, even more mana... liky likye... just don't let me sleep with that darn bone dragons in the same tent again... "
me: " shut up emerald wuss - you can't be ressurected, nor repeplenished by sacrificy... you walk on thin ice... you know I am to lazy to reload the game if you diy... and gimme more mana, buster!"
Combat won... loses : 0 , gainings : 1 bone dragon

[kadrzys]

I enjoyed your post very much so you're using vampires, ancient vampires, bone dragons and emerald green dragons? what about fifth unit?

and the most important thing, did this army well through Haas Labyrinth? coz my current setting sucks against hero dragons using only 5lvl units :/

[Gatts]

Originally Posted by kadrzys

I enjoyed your post very much so you're using vampires, ancient vampires, bone dragons and emerald green dragons? what about fifth unit?

and the most important thing, did this army well through Haas Labyrinth? coz my current setting sucks against hero dragons using only 5lvl units :/

My fifth unit is Dark Commander (aka Black Knight)
slow unit but his morale bonus to my undead units is the bonus I like.

Yep - this was my final combination - I had red vamps, red bats, blue vamps, bone dragons, dark knights - but as I am lazy to pay attention, I used to transform accidentally red vamps into red bats - both units of red bats gone FRENZY (bad thing) - so in the labyrinth I changed the red vamps with green dragons.

Note : the change was not because I had critical problems - because there is always at least one stack in enemy army that I used for blood sucking, the reason I removed red vamps was to avoid accidents (see above) and I find that green dragons came handy - I could use sacrifice more often in one combat (it saves time - when you make level and your leadership rises - you don't need to return and buy new units - you replenish them with sacrifice used on one or other vamps)

Note on sacrifice:
sacrifice does not impact the blood sucking "mas" unit number:
example:
you start battle with 140 red bats
you use sacrifice on blue bats (kill cca 10), blue bats hit living unit and replesnish the lost 10 units easily, but you gand +5 red bats (now you have 140)
BUT (not it comes) if your red bats are hit and killed - you will replenish by STEAL LIFE skill only up to 140, not 145 as I would await)
Also as I mentioned - sacrifice can't be used on replenishing green dragons - so you rather buy out all of them into your back up slot - and replenish them from this back up slot (but don't tell them that there are enough for replenishment - because these lazy green bums would not care of dying, bah.)

NOTE 2: this combination is not the best if you want go for 0-loss policy as the final battle is followed by armageddon (weakness of undead) and many dragons... Still I have tactics that could work - keep one stack of red bats (or red vamps - if you are not lucky enough to get red bats) - plase them on the best possible hexagon of the battlefield (actually I believe any is good, but if your defence is not so nice as mine - 25, you may consider moving to margin line of the field - so fewer enemies may attack you).
Cased gloth's armor (as the armageddon goes first), and cast some protective spells on them (sad that KB is missing fire resistance spell ), using some luck and the ultimate blood sucking skill - you may end w/o loses.
Did I mention I had equipped two dragon slayer swords (lucky me - by this I could replenish more vamps than I lost in normal battle - but the armageddon was the BLEH of the last battle) - w/o high defence/attack the blood sucking ability is not so great (as you may lose more units - the fewer units deliver less damage - you won't be able to replenish back to original number of your vamps)
That's why warrior goes better for this tactic than mage ... (palladin is nor best, nor worst - surprise surprise)