Vampire Counts: Death Knight (Frost)
Vampire Counts: Frost Death Knight
"Undeath perfected; these elite wights surround themselves with deadly magic as they shred the enemy with their dual-wielded swords."
1, Introduction
Inspired by the (in)famous hero class from the Warcraft universe, this mod will let you bring an approximation of their power into Warhammer. Each Death Knight unit (only 1 individual per unit) is not only powerful enough to defeat nearly any unit in a 1v1 melee battle, they also bring some solid magic and passive abilities to the table (more on that below). This power comes with a pretty steep price tag, as well as the requirement of needing a 3rd tier building and a 4th tier building (Reliquary + Lodestone of Darkness) in order to recruit them. Because of this, they should be considered an end-game unit (though a strong economy in the mid-game could get you enough money to pick up a few, from time to time). Each Death Knight costs 4,000 (not including cost reduction effects), with an upkeep of 300 per turn. Personally, I like seeing single units stand against huge numbers and still come out on top, which is why each unit only comes with 1 of these guys.
Lets get into the unit info…
2, Unit Stat/Ability/Spell Overview
Frost Death Knights are front-line melee, best placed close to the action to make the most of their area-of-effect abilities. Their strength lies in decimating regiments of infantry. Their various abilities/spells that increase their melee strength are extremely powerful when all are active at once, though cooldown times make it likely you’ll only see it once per battle. When in need of healing, they can activate "Reaper of Souls" to keep the damage high, while recovering some lost health. "Ancient Frost-Wyrm Scale" is an ability with a TON of damage potential, but it relies on your careful placement to ensure the enemy spend significant time within it. They have a nice balance between spells/abilities that work better on single and multiple targets, which means they can take out an enemy lord/hero, or stand against an entire regiment by themselves.
3, Detailed Stats (Without Buffs)
Health: 5,008
Armor: 80
Leadership: 100
Speed: 36
Melee Attack: 300 (magical)
Melee Defense: 60
Weapon Strength: 320 (armor-piercing + Bonus vs. Large and Infantry)
Charge Bonus: 300
4, Detailed Abilities
Fear: Reduces enemy leadership to those susceptible to this effect.
Terror: Reduces enemy leadership to those susceptible to this effect.
Perfect Vigor: This unit never tires during battle.
Hide in Forest: Unit can hide from enemy sight in forests (unit also has reduced spot distance, making them more difficult to see even when outside forests).
Unbreakable: This unit never flees.
Undead: No added effects since other abilities on this list do the same thing (without stacking). Only added for lore accuracy.
Destroyer: Increases unit’s attack power; gives attacks ability to lower leadership of enemy units.
Strider: Unit ignores speed penalties.
Chilling Aura: Slows enemies around the unit.
Blizzard Aura: Reduces attack and armor penetration of nearby enemy units.
Unholy Power: Unit has reduced spell cooldowns.
Soul Eater: Adds 50% miscast chance for opponent when casting spells.
BONUS: If unit takes damage during a battle, but survives, they will heal to full at the end of the battle. Dead Death Knights do not heal; once you lose one, they’re gone. This also makes them (and only them) totally immune to any form of attrition. Bear in mind that your other units will still have to replenish to heal after a fight, and every non-DK unit will suffer normal attrition.
5, Detailed Spells
Claws of Mourkain: Gives a large increase to armor-penetration damage.
Ancient Frost-Wyrm Scale: summons a vortex of ice that slows and damages enemies caught inside.
Reaper of Souls: A large, damaging, area-effect spell that siphons health from nearby enemies.
Whirling Death: Sacrifice some armor-penetration for an increase in melee damage, can be toggled on/off.
Slayer of Kings: Provides a large buff to unit’s melee attacks.
6, Weaknesses
These guys’ biggest weakness is to charges and other knockback effects. With their stats, passives, and spells it is very possible to beat units like cavalry or monsters in a 1v1 fight, but it won’t look pretty. Best to use these guys to take out units that have little/no knockbacks, like foot infantry. Because of this, it is unwise to make them the backbone of your army. Better to ensure they’re paired with other units that can draw the enemy’s attention, so they can operate without frequent interruption.
IMPORTANT: While the AI is able to recruit these units during the campaign, they will be unable to use most of their active spells. They will use Ancient Frost-Wyrm Scale, but that’s it. This likely has to do with them having access to spells that no unit on the Vampire Count roster is supposed to have access to, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Thank you for downloading; have fun!
Other Death Knight Specs
Blood – https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2684674030
Unholy – https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2700052323
***Check out my other units***
Vampire Counts: Untamable Necro-Dragon – https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2690690946
Vampire Counts: The Black Archers – https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2687840980
