Vulture


 * Vulture, Resurrectionists, Totem (Nicodem)**

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=__Overview__= The Vulture is the totem of the gentleman undertaker Nicodem. They aid Nicodem by flying around the battlefield and increasing the effective range of his spells, as well as his ability to gain remote Corpse Counters. Unlike most totems, the Vulture's //Numerous// ability means that two of these models can be taken in a Nicodem crew.

=__Mobility__= With both a walk and charge of 10, and with the abilities //Flight// and //Perch//, the Vulture is extremely mobile and can cover most of the battlefield in one turn. It is best to find something high to perch them on so that they cannot be easily targeted.

=__Offense__= The Vulture is not very effective as an offensive melee model. Its best offensive use is for casting spells at the enemy.

=__Resilience__= With low wounds, an average Df and no other defensive abilities, the Vulture can die easily if he is left in harm's way.

=__Magical Extension__= With a miserable cast of 2 and no suit, the Vulture cannot cast most of Nicodem's spells without using a Soulstone. //The Fog//, although a low cast, requires both a Mask and Crow. //Rigor Mortis// is too high, and //Reanimator// needs a second Crow. This makes the most practical spell //Decay//, though this requires a 12 of Crows or higher. The more effective way of getting Nicodem's spells cast is by using the //Eyes and Ears// ability. This takes a (1) action but allows Nicodem to cast through the Vulture at a -3 to his cast (making him a 4 of Crows cast through the Vulture).

=__Tips and Tricks__= Vultures are best used as far away from the enemy as possible, only keeping in range for spells. The main tip for using the Vultures is blasting //Decay// into combat from the edges of the battlefield. This can be done effectively by perching on terrain within 10 inches of the combat (the range of //Decay//). You must avoid being in melee or //Decay// cannot be cast. With a good perch you can use //Eyes and Ears// to have Nicodem cast one //Decay// and //Magical Extension// to cast another. Soulstone if you need to go for higher damage and to pick up the Blasts. One of the best uses of the Vulture's //Decay// can be when the enemy has gotten into melee range with Nicodem and shut down his //Decay//, but your Vulture can still cast.

If you have two Vultures you can position one on each side, but it's not likely you will be able to make use of //Eyes and Ears// effectively from both, so you have to take your chances with flips. Often a second Vulture is good only as a backup, when they finally get annoyed and kill the first one. Remember that they are living, so if one does die, it becomes a Corpse Counter Nicodem can use. If that Corpse Counter is out of range of Nicodem, the other Vulture can fly over and use its //Bring Back// ability to pick it up. In fact, this ability is good for grabbing any Corpse Counters that are out of range of Nicodem. This tends to primarily happen only in Strategies where it is necessary to get all the way across the board. As Nicodem tends to have a hard time with such Strategies, it is generally in these games where you will find them useful.

It is possible to use a Vulture to deliver Killjoy, even in combination with a Nurse to reactivate it and send it almost across the entire board on the first turn. This isn't really an ideal way to play with them, though it can be fun and give your opponent quite a surprise.

Another trick with the Vulture is in combination with Mortimer's //Fresh Meat// ability. This ability can target a friendly model, so if a Vulture moves up to a nice perch 10 inches away, Mortimer can target the Vulture with //Fresh Meat// and give the rest of your Undead (and Nicodem) an extra bit of early movement when the enemy is still out of range of //Fresh Meat//.

In general, it is good to be aware that this 2 SS cost Totem just isn't as good as the Grave Spirit for a cost of one. Taking two at 4 SS cost is really cutting into your points, and you will find the second one not all that useful. However, against certain enemies they can be quite useful.

=__Playing Against Vulture__= The Vulture itself isn't very threatening, and distracting yourself with killing it can be a mistake when there are much more important things to deal with. If you really must kill it, use range or a fast moving, cheap model to tie it up.

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