Julian on Fighting Vampire Counts
The first thing that you need to do, is really study the rules, find out what can and can't be done with your army under those rules, and then try to build the force that you think will help you against all comers.
The restriction of 1 Magic Item per character is a big restriction, especially for the Woodelves, who can't really field a strong character, thus you'll have to either relegate your characters to secondary roles, but that's fine, because as we all know, characters are not what make a Woodelf army.
The Vampire Counts that you are concerned about are very similar to the old style of Undead, with a couple added surprises, (such as the Black Coach), Bloodline Powers, Banshees and Spirit Hosts. These armies can be built in such differing manners that it is hard to describe to you what you may or may not see, let alone face.
What the VC has that all Undead armies have, is a poor stat line for the majority of their troops, a dependance on magic, powerful characters and deadly fear and Terror.
You will not be able to destroy a Vampire Counts army in Hand to Hand, but if you are smart, they shouldn't be able to destroy you in HtH either.
A good tactic would be to play a very defensive magic game, soften up a number of key units with your archery before wading in in the final turns to try and destroy them. Getting stuck in protracted fights with the Vampire Counts forces will be sure death for you, as you can be certain that there will be massive blocks of Zombies, (now able to auto-lap to the flanks), Ghouls who never need take a break test until they are outnumbered, (not something you will be doing to an enemy unit in a hurry), and Skeletons who will be undoubtedly fielding a number of nasty magic banners such as the Doom/Hell Banner.
Your troops have an advantage in that they will have the higher initative, higher WS, (elites with their WS of 5 really shine against Undead troops - keep that in mind), and should be able to charge, (providing that you can keep a lid on van Hels Dance Macarbe and the Staff of Damnation).
Your friends against the Vampire Counts army will be Wardancers, (immune to Psych - WS 5, loads of attacks that you need), Treeman, (virtually immune to everything in the VC army bar the characters, and though Wights aren't really a problem, if they start rolling 6's to wound they are), and Dryads, who again will be able to shrug off the majority of the enemy attacks with impunity.
The advantage that you will find as opposed to normal (old) undead armies, is that they must now be led by a Vampire Lord or a Vampire Count. And with the restrictions on Magic at Cancon, (1 item and a max of 4 levels of spellcasters), recasting won't be as much of a problem as it normally would be. Vamps aren't much for their Necromantic abilities, (even the much lauded Necrachs), and Necromancers will be scarce and low level.
A level 1 Mage with the Skullstaff next to or in an Archer unit with the Banner of Sorcery is a good start, as this will help to defend against the myriad of magical attacks that are sure to come your way.
A number of archers / longbow armed elites will also be useful, but with the massed number of enemy rnf that will be at this tournament, you'll need a lot more then that. These should be used to concentrate fire on the main enemy blocks, preferably those of the Skelie variety, as these are the only rnf foot, (as well as Grave Guard) that can carry a magic standard. Don't ever bother shooting at the Black Coach - it moves under it's own power, not that of the horses, you kill both steeds, it keeps moving, (and at a Move rate of 6!!!).
Wardancer units, (I'd suggest at least 2), Treeman and Dryads should be used as your hth hitting power, and maybe a Chariot and Glade Riders, (be wary of the Glade Riders though, if you skirmish them for the great mobility that you'll want, they suffer from becoming vunerable to psychology).
Your characters will be only suited to a couple of basic roles, so define these when building your army, for example, your expensive general will now be defended (magic armour or ward), be able to shoot well (loren/hail of doom), or hit in hth (magic sword), or leadership (crown of command, horn of urgak) etc... Probably the best bet would be to give him light and a shield and stick him in a unit of archers and equip him with the Bow of Loren. It's not the best, but you're going to need to protect him. There are big bad things out there, so you'll have to hide him. Vampires, Mummy Tomb Kings, Chaos Lords, Daemon Princes, Bretonnian Characters, they'll all eat your guy alive, so protect him with rnf.
The Hail of Doom is best to give to a Wardancer Champion, with his BS of 6, he is the best option as he doesn't cost near as many points as a Hero, and you don't want to give a 1 use only item to your general. The Wardancer also has a great amount of maneuverability, beaten only by fliers or skirmishing cav, but the advantage of the Wardancer is that not only does he have the higher BS, but he also has the higher WS for when blows are traded, is immune to Psych and can use the War Dance varieties of his troop type.
You'll find that standing and shooting with this, then Shadows Coiling, then Whirling Death is great for taking out massed enemy.
But I think I've waffled too long already. I'd not be too worried about Vampire Counts if I was you, the rules for Cancon will make Khemri Tomb Kings the more dangerous of the Undead, so I'd grab WD 227 and have a squiz at them. Though the real big enemy that you'll face this year round will be Daemonic Legions - you can beat on that... They can really harness a lot of magical power, and against most armies out there that won't be able to handle it