Had a chance to get a game in yesterday with Cameron. Great game as always video battle report is linked at the end of the post.
Some Flavor Text.
In Preparation for the Festival of Swords Chapter Master Neuva Cartage and elements of the 1st company of Brotherhood of Fios staged their wargame with their geneseed brothers the Black Templars. Twas to be a training exercise on both sides in preparation for the games of the Festival. A suitable abandon city was found and both the Marshal of the Templars and the Brother hood took their positions on the field. It was to be a test of strength and as such only units fully destroyed would count towards the winner. The Black templar prepared their march in traditional battle line postion. Master Cartage in stead refused his right and anchor his defense around the building on the left. The Marshal and the Chapter Master Saluted and then in unison proclaimed FOR DORN! as their forces advanced on each other.
Battle Report 2 Imperial fists vs Black Templar
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Update Work in Progress
Working on my Preheresy-during the Siege of Terra era Imperial Fists
Work in Progress picture just did him up tonight his helm is from the empire knights in Fantasy with a lot of cuting and file work to make it look like the Mk3 style of armor. The over all goal is to have a fully field able highly kitbashed heresy era army assembled and painted for adepticon 2012. 2011 time frame is too tight, with the nids being work on at the same time so I'd rather get this army 100% right for the 2012 championships.
Work in Progress picture just did him up tonight his helm is from the empire knights in Fantasy with a lot of cuting and file work to make it look like the Mk3 style of armor. The over all goal is to have a fully field able highly kitbashed heresy era army assembled and painted for adepticon 2012. 2011 time frame is too tight, with the nids being work on at the same time so I'd rather get this army 100% right for the 2012 championships.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Prepare for Battle....REPORT!
Deep in the heart of the now destroyed city of Turban, lurks the main resistance of the upstart heretics forces. Believing in his arrogance and greed that Imperial soldiers could be squandered to fight his own personal war, Commander Cam de Brown had been told by Regional Command that the planet of Narithirian was complaint and was under no circumstances to be pillaged for supplies. De Brown had other intentions and rapidly descended his forces on the unsuspecting city of Turban. Imperial distress calls state that De Brown had launch his invasion of the planet capital to secure certain artifacts of unknown and unholy origin. Turbans citizenry were unprepared for an attack by disloyal imperial forces, they put up little defense but did manage to get an astropathic message sent before the high chamber was breached. This message was picked up by Librarian Vandet Ordos and he directed the Brotherhood of Fios' strikecruiser towards Narithirain to deliver imperial justice. Only a complete annihilation of Cam de Brown's forces would cleanse this planet, FOR CARTHAGE,FOR DORN, AND FOR THE FATHER OF ALL ON EARTH! The brotherhood chanted their ancient battle cry as they descended for the fight.
Imperial Guard Vs Space Marines 1500pts watch the show
BATTLE REPORT LINK
Imperial Guard Vs Space Marines 1500pts watch the show
BATTLE REPORT LINK
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Rancor's back with more ideas on C;SM
Codex Space Marines my codex of choice I've been playing marines since I came into this game 10 years ago. The current version of the codex has captured my imagination since it was released and despite the evolution of the game in the forms of the Space Wolves, and Blood Angels I am still a huge fan of what Codex marines offers even at a tournament level.
I been playing around with some builds lately focusing on making combat tactics the focus of the list. In a game that focuses on getting the charge off, combat tactics has the ability to deny the charge. Many armies are built around the charge, the ability to auto fail the moral check and regroup the following term is a game changer and a way that we can keep codex marines relevant without having to run a Vulkan List.
This has lead to some fairly interesting changes in my thoughts on tactical squads design. Played a game the other day against a codex marine list that built his tactical squads like this, 8bolters, Special weapon, srgt with Combimelta and Pw. The real change here in design to the typical is not taking the heavy weapon. This kinda threw me until I saw how much freedom it gave the squad, instead of limiting the rocket launcher to a bolt pistol or having to combat squad or have the entire team stay still, instead he used this squad like an advancing cohort of a roman legion.
It gave him a clear focus for his tactical squad as opposed to trying to have it fill multiple roles but doing all of them poorly. Seeing this it made me see if such a build would work in my army. From table top experience I would say it will increase the efficiency of my overall build
List to Ponder 1850
Terminator Libby storm bolter, Force weapon, Null zone and Avenger
10 Man Termy Squad 2xCml and 1xCF
Dread with MM CCW/HF
in drop pod with Locator beacon
Dread with Assault Cannon CCW/HF
in drop pod with Locator beacon
10 man tactical with Missle, Melta and Combimelta in a drop pod
10man tactical with melta and PF and bolter srgt in a rhino
10 man tactical with flamer and combimelta in a rhino
5 man scout squad with CCw/Bps Srgt with Combimelta and melta bomb
Pred with AC and Hb sponsons
Pred with AC and HB sponsons.
Thought, opinions, and a video to come.
I been playing around with some builds lately focusing on making combat tactics the focus of the list. In a game that focuses on getting the charge off, combat tactics has the ability to deny the charge. Many armies are built around the charge, the ability to auto fail the moral check and regroup the following term is a game changer and a way that we can keep codex marines relevant without having to run a Vulkan List.
This has lead to some fairly interesting changes in my thoughts on tactical squads design. Played a game the other day against a codex marine list that built his tactical squads like this, 8bolters, Special weapon, srgt with Combimelta and Pw. The real change here in design to the typical is not taking the heavy weapon. This kinda threw me until I saw how much freedom it gave the squad, instead of limiting the rocket launcher to a bolt pistol or having to combat squad or have the entire team stay still, instead he used this squad like an advancing cohort of a roman legion.
It gave him a clear focus for his tactical squad as opposed to trying to have it fill multiple roles but doing all of them poorly. Seeing this it made me see if such a build would work in my army. From table top experience I would say it will increase the efficiency of my overall build
List to Ponder 1850
Terminator Libby storm bolter, Force weapon, Null zone and Avenger
10 Man Termy Squad 2xCml and 1xCF
Dread with MM CCW/HF
in drop pod with Locator beacon
Dread with Assault Cannon CCW/HF
in drop pod with Locator beacon
10 man tactical with Missle, Melta and Combimelta in a drop pod
10man tactical with melta and PF and bolter srgt in a rhino
10 man tactical with flamer and combimelta in a rhino
5 man scout squad with CCw/Bps Srgt with Combimelta and melta bomb
Pred with AC and Hb sponsons
Pred with AC and HB sponsons.
Thought, opinions, and a video to come.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
a New amazing show and a new amazing forum.
Change is a part of life and sometimes what changes is for the best. Deep Strike Radio a fantastic pod cast that started a few weeks ago is launching a forum, The Custodes. Its a fantastic community with a lot experienced and knowledgable gamers. The forums themselves have been up on a limited beta for the last 3 days. I'm one of the Moderators of the forum so come and check us out. We want your ideas your knowledge and you to show off your hobby skills. Advance in the community is based on the quality not the quantity of your post. So bring it to win. And check out deep strike radio. Great show that takes a more fluff oriented take to the game itself and some excellent list building advice as well. They recently completed a full and very exciting review of the Dark Eldar codex. Check them out at www.deepstrikeradio.com and come to the start of what will be on of the greatest hobby forums on the planet the custodes. at www.thecustodes.com
Sunday, November 14, 2010
1850 Tournament Yesterday.
The Heroic 28's put on an event at Area 51 in grapevine Yesterday that a lot of the crew up from Austin, Texas including BigRed and BushidoPanda of BOlS fame. The event was a 4 round Rogue Trader style tourney that used the nova style missions, the fixed objective 5 objects, the modified kill points, and the modified Vps and table quarters in various combinations It was an interesting tournament and I have say it was a lot of fun. I went 2-2 with my first game being a very tight lose, my second game being a tight win, my third game I was able to get a major victory which shot me up to table 8. On table 8 my opponent and I had a very good game, but I screwed up a few things early on namely my deployment which hurt me through out the game leading to a major lose. Not a bad day, the list I used was C:SM
List
Libby Null Zone and Avenger
10 Tactical termies 1xCF 2xCml,
2 drop poding Dreads 1 MM DCCWSB 1 Assault Cannon and DCCWSB with Locator beacons on the pods,
10man tactical melta RL and combimelta in a droppod,
2 1o man tacticals in rhinos 1 with PF Melta Rl, the other Flamer RL srgt combimelta,
2x Landspeeder storms with MMs
2 Dakka Preds(AC,and HBs)
The list preformed exceedingly well, combat tactics is an incredible tool in the space marine tool toy box. Tactical termies preformed exceedingly well in all but the final game as my ability to roll 2+ armor saves ended. Having to do it again the storms under preformed. My ideas with them worked however their impact on the overall game was minimal amazingly no one chose my storms as their kill points. I think two tweaks to this list would be to eliminate the storms and replace them with Upgrading the libby to Terminator armor with a Storm shield, giving extra armor to both dreads, and taking a normal landspeeder with a Multimelta. That set up is stronger overall the storms were interesting but not having the points for their normal scout units made them greatly under preform. More to come
List
Libby Null Zone and Avenger
10 Tactical termies 1xCF 2xCml,
2 drop poding Dreads 1 MM DCCWSB 1 Assault Cannon and DCCWSB with Locator beacons on the pods,
10man tactical melta RL and combimelta in a droppod,
2 1o man tacticals in rhinos 1 with PF Melta Rl, the other Flamer RL srgt combimelta,
2x Landspeeder storms with MMs
2 Dakka Preds(AC,and HBs)
The list preformed exceedingly well, combat tactics is an incredible tool in the space marine tool toy box. Tactical termies preformed exceedingly well in all but the final game as my ability to roll 2+ armor saves ended. Having to do it again the storms under preformed. My ideas with them worked however their impact on the overall game was minimal amazingly no one chose my storms as their kill points. I think two tweaks to this list would be to eliminate the storms and replace them with Upgrading the libby to Terminator armor with a Storm shield, giving extra armor to both dreads, and taking a normal landspeeder with a Multimelta. That set up is stronger overall the storms were interesting but not having the points for their normal scout units made them greatly under preform. More to come
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Combat Patrol Adepticon 2011
Well I am making my plans for my Adepticon combat patrol army and am leaning towards taking my nids. Because I am really liking how the army looks above everything else at the moment. The army plays extremely fun at low points and I can have potentially a bunch of stuff on the table.
Potentially list one is a tribute to the great mind that is Russ Waklin of the D6 Generation who has long ascribed to a theory of list design he calls Back, Dakk, and Hack. Essentially you want something that can disrupt your opponents backfield, You need to be able to shoot, and you need to be able to Close combat.
The Lists
3xWarriors with DeathSpitters Scything talons
1xHive Guard
8xGenestealers
13xHormaguants with Toxin Sacs and Adrenal Glands
The list provides shooting both anti tank and antiinfantry in the form of the Warriors and the Hive guard. the stealers can either infiltrate or outflank disrupting the opponents back field they also provide some additional Close combat strength. The Hormaguants wound everything on a 4+ and are int 6 on the charge providing even more close combat strength.
Potentially list one is a tribute to the great mind that is Russ Waklin of the D6 Generation who has long ascribed to a theory of list design he calls Back, Dakk, and Hack. Essentially you want something that can disrupt your opponents backfield, You need to be able to shoot, and you need to be able to Close combat.
The Lists
3xWarriors with DeathSpitters Scything talons
1xHive Guard
8xGenestealers
13xHormaguants with Toxin Sacs and Adrenal Glands
The list provides shooting both anti tank and antiinfantry in the form of the Warriors and the Hive guard. the stealers can either infiltrate or outflank disrupting the opponents back field they also provide some additional Close combat strength. The Hormaguants wound everything on a 4+ and are int 6 on the charge providing even more close combat strength.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Assault as a can opener
I want to dispel a popular myth, the best way to kill a vehicle in 40k is shooting. Lets look at this you need to be able to see it and it needs to not have smoke up, you need to be able to roll to hit it, you'll likely be against its hardest armor facing. Then you have to get a penetrating roll. Typically your anti shooting is only 1 shot per unit, 2 if your lucky. Melta is an excellent choice for this operation, however look at the ranges you require to get the full benefit of the majority of melta weapons, you either have to 12"in for a multimelta or 6"in for a melta gun. That puts you into assault range, or rapid fire range of your opponent.
An a perfect world your shooting will blow up or disable the enemies armor, however anyone that plays regularly realizes that only in the nebulous world of numbers does that always hold true. In reality you will miss your shots, you will fail to penetrate, and someone will make 100% of their cover saves.
Assaulting a vehicle changes the game first and foremost you always hit a vehicle on rear armor. Which is typcially the weakest armor it has. The mighty Leman Russ and its many variants still only have a max rear armor of 11. Much better then the 14 front and 13 sides you'd normally have to deal with while shooting. Also many units are either equipped with or can purchase grenades. Meaning if you have Krak grenades you now have a str6 attack on rear armor on a standard marine or even a marine scout. You will hit depending on how far your opponent moved, sometimes you need 4's sometimes you need 6's but sometimes you autohit. But this also means you are throwing more dice at the problem then typically if you are shooting at the vehicle as not all soldiers carry antitank weapons usable in the shooting phase.
The dangers of assaulting the vehicle are if you explode the vehicle you expose yourself to damage and you are never looked in combat with a vehicle so yes you can be shot. However if your opponent doesn't move or can't move his vehicle out of base to base, during his assault phase you are considered to be in combat with the vehicle and get to hit it again.
When assaulting a vehicle try and position your charge in such a way as to use the vehicle as cover, you may get a wrecked result, meaning the vehicle stays put and is essentially los blocking terrain. Also you can set up some nasty multi-charges by declaring on a vehicle and sweeping into other units so long as you position yourself properly. For better or worse 40k has become a can opener game, make sure you aren't leaving tools in your tool box to open that can, sometimes it just takes a fist.
An a perfect world your shooting will blow up or disable the enemies armor, however anyone that plays regularly realizes that only in the nebulous world of numbers does that always hold true. In reality you will miss your shots, you will fail to penetrate, and someone will make 100% of their cover saves.
Assaulting a vehicle changes the game first and foremost you always hit a vehicle on rear armor. Which is typcially the weakest armor it has. The mighty Leman Russ and its many variants still only have a max rear armor of 11. Much better then the 14 front and 13 sides you'd normally have to deal with while shooting. Also many units are either equipped with or can purchase grenades. Meaning if you have Krak grenades you now have a str6 attack on rear armor on a standard marine or even a marine scout. You will hit depending on how far your opponent moved, sometimes you need 4's sometimes you need 6's but sometimes you autohit. But this also means you are throwing more dice at the problem then typically if you are shooting at the vehicle as not all soldiers carry antitank weapons usable in the shooting phase.
The dangers of assaulting the vehicle are if you explode the vehicle you expose yourself to damage and you are never looked in combat with a vehicle so yes you can be shot. However if your opponent doesn't move or can't move his vehicle out of base to base, during his assault phase you are considered to be in combat with the vehicle and get to hit it again.
When assaulting a vehicle try and position your charge in such a way as to use the vehicle as cover, you may get a wrecked result, meaning the vehicle stays put and is essentially los blocking terrain. Also you can set up some nasty multi-charges by declaring on a vehicle and sweeping into other units so long as you position yourself properly. For better or worse 40k has become a can opener game, make sure you aren't leaving tools in your tool box to open that can, sometimes it just takes a fist.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Battle 1850 Shrike vs IG Tourney prep
Hi Gang Rancor709 here with a battle report from Monday night Gaming at Area 51 in Grapevine Texas. Getting prepped and tweaking my list for the upcoming Tourney on Nov 13th. So it was me vs Mike's Mech Guard with Execution tank 2xVendettas, and 1 two man Russ squadron and 1 single Vindicator with Tank ace and a bunch of Chimeras with and a hell hound. I was running my Shrike foot 10th company list with Shrike Termy Libby SS Null zone and Gate, 10 man TH/SS termies with 3lcs, 6 man sternguard with 2xMl and combimelta, 2x5man Scouts with Ccw Bp Srgts with PF, Combimeltas and meltabombs, 2x5man Sniper Scouts camo claoks ML, and Srgt with Sniper rilfes. 10 man Tacitcal squad with Lascannon and Flamer srgt with a combimelta. 2 landspeeder storms 1 with HF 1 with MM and a 10man assault squad with a Pw.
Okay so we roll up mission and its Annihilation and then deployment and its dawn of war. Mike wins the roll to go first. Mike deploys nothing allowing everything to roll on turn 1. I infiltrate my two sniper scout teams both in cover on in my back field on opposite sides of the table. 1 outflank shrike the two ccw scouts squads each in a storm, I deep strike the assault squad, Hold the tactical squad in reserve. My sternguard I have coming on turn 1
Turn1-m
Mike rolls on in a line across his back field. with his hellhound zipping forward on my right to eat my scouts squad. I really dislike hellhounds, but I play a lot of scouts. Thankfully It was really dark none of Mikes vehicles can see my scouts especially the hellhound. I have to say when he rolled low for his vision I was relieved.
Turn 1 J
My sternguard come on and run into a building so they can lay down missle fire next turn. My far left scouts try and see a chimera but can't the srgt was drinking again. My scouts on the far left roll to see the chimera they don't. The scouts on the right think they see a hellhound in the distance. They do but only 2 snipers and my Srgt can see the others didn't make out the hellhound in the early morning light. I roll and get 2 hits, I get a rend, and then I roll a 1 so I get a strength 10 hit on armor 12. So needless to say...
Turn2-M
With the dawn comes the voices of big guns. Mikes shooting was devastating the hellhound ate the right scouts. My sternguard sqaud eat the combined fire of all but 2 of his chimeras and and vanquisher cannon. My far left scouts squad lose 1 dude. It had truly been a red dawn.
Turn 2-J
I roll my reserves and get deepstriking assault squad and MM Storm with its surprise in side squad. The outflank on my left on his table side and I drop my Assault squad on the right . No misshap but I scattered 8 further back then I wanted. My scouts jump out of their ride ready to fight. Seeing the back armor of a chimera and a Vanquisher ace tank that didn't move last turn. And I screwed up, I knew it as soon as I did it too.
I shoot the storm at the rear of the vanquisher tank and fail to hit. I instead of trying to pop the chimera and then multicharging, go and shoot the vanquisher with the combimelta, and I blow the damn thing up. And lost a scout in the explosion. So they are hanging in the wind.
Turn3-M
mike Flys a Vendate over to blow up the storm. rearranges his forces to kill my assault squad and turns the chimera to eat the scouts behind them. His guns open up and my 10 man assault squad is magically reduced to my srgt and a lone assault marine. He fires into my snipers in the nest and kills all but the srgt who breaks. And he turns his vengeful guns on my scouts that blew up his tank ace and they die.
Turn 3J
I was feeling good about myself at this point I figured the rest of my army would come in and make up some ground. reserves Shrike comes in with his marry band of awesome, The other storm comes in the tactical squad seeing the bloodshed decide to hang back a turn. My lone sniper rallys and hangs out in terrain. I get to put shrike and friends where I want thanks to rolling a 6. They come in an inch away form his hellhound and the chimera on his right. My assault squad runs forward to attack his command chimera. My other band of scouts come in on the left. and I make another mistake, instead of remember this is a killpoints game I and going with my standard plan of kill transport and then eat squad inside with scouts which is what that unit is designed to do. I instead disembark my scouts run them and have them charge the executioner tank. they Promptly do nothing to the damn thing. Yup at that point I was not happy with myself. My assault squad stunned the chimera. and Shrike and friends killed the chimera and the hellhound in the insueing explosion shrike takes a wound and he loses 4 vets from his chimera but they stand firm.
Turn 4 M
Mike forgets to move his chimera that I assaulted. He moves his executioner away from the scouts he kills both storms this turn, He also kills my 5 ccw scout squad. he shoots at my termies killing a Th/ss.
Turn 4 J
I got overly fancy I detached shrike from the squad and set him up to charge the left over squad that was in the rhino, I run my conga line of doom toward s the chimera that was again was stunned by the assault squad again. I charge both the assault squad and the Libby with the termies into the chimera wrecking it. Shrike attacks his squad in the chimera crater and forces them to break and below half strength
Turn 5 M
I felt like the eyes of Texas were upon me...and so were all of mikes Guns. What seemed like two hundred shoots later. I had Shrike The libby and 2 Thunderhammer termies left. and my hanging out Sniper scout srgt in the building out of line of sight.
Turn 5 J
This turn I move shrike into another bit of cover. I assault with my libby and two remaining Thunderhammers his commander unit. I kill all but the commander who breaks and runs.
we roll to continue and I roll a 1 a common occurrence that night. In the finally tally. It was Mike with 7kp and me with 6kP. It was a great hard fought game that really showed I have to play flawlessly with this list which having played similar lists in the past I know. its doubly so against guard. Looking forward to the tourney and hopefully facing off with Mike again soon so I can him the business.
Okay so we roll up mission and its Annihilation and then deployment and its dawn of war. Mike wins the roll to go first. Mike deploys nothing allowing everything to roll on turn 1. I infiltrate my two sniper scout teams both in cover on in my back field on opposite sides of the table. 1 outflank shrike the two ccw scouts squads each in a storm, I deep strike the assault squad, Hold the tactical squad in reserve. My sternguard I have coming on turn 1
Turn1-m
Mike rolls on in a line across his back field. with his hellhound zipping forward on my right to eat my scouts squad. I really dislike hellhounds, but I play a lot of scouts. Thankfully It was really dark none of Mikes vehicles can see my scouts especially the hellhound. I have to say when he rolled low for his vision I was relieved.
Turn 1 J
My sternguard come on and run into a building so they can lay down missle fire next turn. My far left scouts try and see a chimera but can't the srgt was drinking again. My scouts on the far left roll to see the chimera they don't. The scouts on the right think they see a hellhound in the distance. They do but only 2 snipers and my Srgt can see the others didn't make out the hellhound in the early morning light. I roll and get 2 hits, I get a rend, and then I roll a 1 so I get a strength 10 hit on armor 12. So needless to say...
Turn2-M
With the dawn comes the voices of big guns. Mikes shooting was devastating the hellhound ate the right scouts. My sternguard sqaud eat the combined fire of all but 2 of his chimeras and and vanquisher cannon. My far left scouts squad lose 1 dude. It had truly been a red dawn.
Turn 2-J
I roll my reserves and get deepstriking assault squad and MM Storm with its surprise in side squad. The outflank on my left on his table side and I drop my Assault squad on the right . No misshap but I scattered 8 further back then I wanted. My scouts jump out of their ride ready to fight. Seeing the back armor of a chimera and a Vanquisher ace tank that didn't move last turn. And I screwed up, I knew it as soon as I did it too.
I shoot the storm at the rear of the vanquisher tank and fail to hit. I instead of trying to pop the chimera and then multicharging, go and shoot the vanquisher with the combimelta, and I blow the damn thing up. And lost a scout in the explosion. So they are hanging in the wind.
Turn3-M
mike Flys a Vendate over to blow up the storm. rearranges his forces to kill my assault squad and turns the chimera to eat the scouts behind them. His guns open up and my 10 man assault squad is magically reduced to my srgt and a lone assault marine. He fires into my snipers in the nest and kills all but the srgt who breaks. And he turns his vengeful guns on my scouts that blew up his tank ace and they die.
Turn 3J
I was feeling good about myself at this point I figured the rest of my army would come in and make up some ground. reserves Shrike comes in with his marry band of awesome, The other storm comes in the tactical squad seeing the bloodshed decide to hang back a turn. My lone sniper rallys and hangs out in terrain. I get to put shrike and friends where I want thanks to rolling a 6. They come in an inch away form his hellhound and the chimera on his right. My assault squad runs forward to attack his command chimera. My other band of scouts come in on the left. and I make another mistake, instead of remember this is a killpoints game I and going with my standard plan of kill transport and then eat squad inside with scouts which is what that unit is designed to do. I instead disembark my scouts run them and have them charge the executioner tank. they Promptly do nothing to the damn thing. Yup at that point I was not happy with myself. My assault squad stunned the chimera. and Shrike and friends killed the chimera and the hellhound in the insueing explosion shrike takes a wound and he loses 4 vets from his chimera but they stand firm.
Turn 4 M
Mike forgets to move his chimera that I assaulted. He moves his executioner away from the scouts he kills both storms this turn, He also kills my 5 ccw scout squad. he shoots at my termies killing a Th/ss.
Turn 4 J
I got overly fancy I detached shrike from the squad and set him up to charge the left over squad that was in the rhino, I run my conga line of doom toward s the chimera that was again was stunned by the assault squad again. I charge both the assault squad and the Libby with the termies into the chimera wrecking it. Shrike attacks his squad in the chimera crater and forces them to break and below half strength
Turn 5 M
I felt like the eyes of Texas were upon me...and so were all of mikes Guns. What seemed like two hundred shoots later. I had Shrike The libby and 2 Thunderhammer termies left. and my hanging out Sniper scout srgt in the building out of line of sight.
Turn 5 J
This turn I move shrike into another bit of cover. I assault with my libby and two remaining Thunderhammers his commander unit. I kill all but the commander who breaks and runs.
we roll to continue and I roll a 1 a common occurrence that night. In the finally tally. It was Mike with 7kp and me with 6kP. It was a great hard fought game that really showed I have to play flawlessly with this list which having played similar lists in the past I know. its doubly so against guard. Looking forward to the tourney and hopefully facing off with Mike again soon so I can him the business.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Adepticon Is booked
The 709 is heading to adepticon this April. Looking forward to my first adepticon planning on making it a casual style trip, with the focus on fellowship with the other members of the freebootaz forum. Taking in a class and doing 2 solid days of Combat Patrol as its my favorite brand of 40k. Quick dirty and fun. Hoping to see you all their.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Table is smaller than it used to be...
Evening all, Rancor709 here with some deep thoughts on the game. The table has shrunk in 5th edition, the space between armies is smaller and the gaps can be closed more quickly. How has this happened, well the first and obvious choice is the mechanization of so many armies namely marines and the infamous imperial guard. The sutler shift has occurred through the deployments in the game itself and the run rule. Along with the ability of many units to outflank.
Run shrunk the game because for the first time infantry could move a total of 12" if dice are lucky without the aid of a vehicle. Combine run with a fleet unit and you have the potential for basic infantry to charge 18" jump infantry potential 24" charge. If you roll pitched battle and both you and your opponent line up on the 12" starting line you have a turn 1 charge.
Outflanking, the ability of a unit to come in along the short board edges out of reserves has really shrunk the game table. No longer is the battle field 48" wide the ability to outflank means anywhere along that edge I can bring my forces to bare on a unit. Outflanking units ably pressure and help force deployment of your opponent.
The board has shrunk so what does this mean, this means that 24" range is not a handy cap for many armies. The speed with which the gap can be closed means range won't always protect you. It also begs the questions in the meta, have we come to the point that infantry heavy is going to be the new counter for heavy mech forces, and forces tailored to crush mech. If you are vehicle heavy you simply don't have the points to be infantry heavy. More testing is needed but I am bringing a foot heavy Shrike list to the tourney we are having at Area 51 in Grapevine inviting the boys from Bell of Lost Souls up for a Texas, style challenge using modified NOVA format. I give you the list
1850 pts
Shrike
Libby Termy Armor Storm shield-Avenger and Null Zone
10-Assault termies 7Th/Ss 3xLCs
6Man Sternguard 2xMissile launcher srgt with Combimelta
10 Man Tactical Squad Lascannon Flamer and Srgt with combimelta
2x5man scout squads CCw&bps Srgts with PFs, Combimeltas and meltabombs
2x5man Scouts squads Sniper Rifles Missile Launchers and Srgts with Sniper Rifles
LandSpeeder storm Heavy Flamer
Landspeeder Storm Multimelta
10 Assault Squad with Jump packs Srgt with PW.
Run shrunk the game because for the first time infantry could move a total of 12" if dice are lucky without the aid of a vehicle. Combine run with a fleet unit and you have the potential for basic infantry to charge 18" jump infantry potential 24" charge. If you roll pitched battle and both you and your opponent line up on the 12" starting line you have a turn 1 charge.
Outflanking, the ability of a unit to come in along the short board edges out of reserves has really shrunk the game table. No longer is the battle field 48" wide the ability to outflank means anywhere along that edge I can bring my forces to bare on a unit. Outflanking units ably pressure and help force deployment of your opponent.
The board has shrunk so what does this mean, this means that 24" range is not a handy cap for many armies. The speed with which the gap can be closed means range won't always protect you. It also begs the questions in the meta, have we come to the point that infantry heavy is going to be the new counter for heavy mech forces, and forces tailored to crush mech. If you are vehicle heavy you simply don't have the points to be infantry heavy. More testing is needed but I am bringing a foot heavy Shrike list to the tourney we are having at Area 51 in Grapevine inviting the boys from Bell of Lost Souls up for a Texas, style challenge using modified NOVA format. I give you the list
1850 pts
Shrike
Libby Termy Armor Storm shield-Avenger and Null Zone
10-Assault termies 7Th/Ss 3xLCs
6Man Sternguard 2xMissile launcher srgt with Combimelta
10 Man Tactical Squad Lascannon Flamer and Srgt with combimelta
2x5man scout squads CCw&bps Srgts with PFs, Combimeltas and meltabombs
2x5man Scouts squads Sniper Rifles Missile Launchers and Srgts with Sniper Rifles
LandSpeeder storm Heavy Flamer
Landspeeder Storm Multimelta
10 Assault Squad with Jump packs Srgt with PW.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
The Hive mind cometh
Hey gang, got a new army that I am starting up and after much deliberation I am coming to the call of the Hive mind. The nids as a concept both in modeling and in the lore of 40k have always caught my eye. Still my most lasting memory of 40k imagery is the picture in the old 4th edition Marine codex of Imperial fists standing before an overwhelming horde of Nids. And so I am joining the hive mind. The goal is have a fully functional and painted nid force of 2000pts for next years Wargames con.
Prepare for Hive Fleet Dendrobate
The color scheme I'm stealing from nature as the regular nid fleets don't appeal to me. Having my army which make use of toxin sacs quite a bit fit the poison dart theme well. More to come as the hive fleet propagates.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
1850 Lists, lets talk
Okay gang Rancor here preparing for a major event going down in North Texas at Area 51 Games and Collectibles in Grapevine, Texas. The local 40k group is going to be running an 1850pt event and if I'm still in the area on November 13th. I'm going and I'm bring Codex Space Marines. The question is what list am I going to bring. Its using a modified Nova Format so it rewards armies that are compact on VP's, hard hitting and versatile. So what do I bring, I could go razorspam but I personally hate that army so no go. I could go with a varient of what I took to bolscon subtracting some points to get it to the necessary points. Or I could bring the Shrike style armies I've been playing around with. I could go with my Sicarius build, or I could go basic.
The Army
1850 Pts - Space Marines Roster
HQ: Space Marine Librarian
1 Space Marine Librarian (Unit Type: Infantry; ...in Power Armour;Psyker; Null Zone; Smite)
1 ...in Power Armour Bolt Pistol; Force Weapon)
Elite: Dreadnought
1 Dreadnought Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Dreadnought CCW; Multi-Melta; Storm Bolter)
Elite: Dreadnought
1 Dreadnought Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Dreadnought CCW; Storm Bolter; Assault Cannon)
Elite: Sternguard Veteran Squad
4 Sternguard Veteran Squad @ Bolter x2; Combi-Meltagun x2
1 SergeantBolt Pistol; Combi-Meltagun x1
1 Rhino
Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 225 pts)
9 Tactical Squad Plasmagun; Missile Launcher
1 Sergeant Combi-Meltagun x1
1 Rhino
Troops: Tactical Squad
9 Tactical Squad Bolter x7; Flamer; Missile Launcher
1 Sergeant Bolt Pistol; Power Weapon x1Combat Tactics)
1 Rhino
Troops: Tactical Squad
9 Tactical Squad Meltagun; Lascannon;
1 Sergeant Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1
1 Rhino
Troops: Scout Squad
7 Scout Squad Bolt Pistol x7; Combat Blade x7;
1 Sergeant Melta Bombs; Combi-Meltagun x1; Power Fist x1;
Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron
1 Land Speeder Squadron Heavy Bolter x1; Typhoon Missile Launcher x1;
Fast Attack: Assault Squad
9 Assault Squad jump Pack; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Chainsword x9; And T
1 Sergeant Jump Pack; Power Armour; Melta Bombs; Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1;
Heavy Support: Predator (1#, )
1 Predator @ Autocannon; Heavy Bolter (each side))
Heavy Support: Predator (1#,)
1 Predator @ Autocannon; Heavy Bolter (each side))
Yes I know gasp in horror at the lack of Thunder Hammer Terminators Let me tell you some things about Thunderhammer terminators, their time is rapidly coming to close. I am personally board with the unit honestly and find that they simply scream kill my ride and don't worry about me. Which is why when I run them I tend to either gate them or some other tricky deployment method, shrike anyone?
List general concepts and ideas.
Essentially this is a mech list that while utilizes a counter assault unit and an outflanking unit. The sternguard are here because they are excellent all rounders and fun. The dreads are used as walking distractions and counter assault units for softer targets. This list utilizes combat squads and combat tactics. Each of the tactical squads has a dedicated roll that work in union with one another. Its a simple but tactically rich list. Again at this points its getting some play test atm, and I'm still leaning towards taking my Shrike list. More to come on that list build at 1850.
The Army
1850 Pts - Space Marines Roster
HQ: Space Marine Librarian
1 Space Marine Librarian (Unit Type: Infantry; ...in Power Armour;Psyker; Null Zone; Smite)
1 ...in Power Armour Bolt Pistol; Force Weapon)
Elite: Dreadnought
1 Dreadnought Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Dreadnought CCW; Multi-Melta; Storm Bolter)
Elite: Dreadnought
1 Dreadnought Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Dreadnought CCW; Storm Bolter; Assault Cannon)
Elite: Sternguard Veteran Squad
4 Sternguard Veteran Squad @ Bolter x2; Combi-Meltagun x2
1 SergeantBolt Pistol; Combi-Meltagun x1
1 Rhino
Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 225 pts)
9 Tactical Squad Plasmagun; Missile Launcher
1 Sergeant Combi-Meltagun x1
1 Rhino
Troops: Tactical Squad
9 Tactical Squad Bolter x7; Flamer; Missile Launcher
1 Sergeant Bolt Pistol; Power Weapon x1Combat Tactics)
1 Rhino
Troops: Tactical Squad
9 Tactical Squad Meltagun; Lascannon;
1 Sergeant Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1
1 Rhino
Troops: Scout Squad
7 Scout Squad Bolt Pistol x7; Combat Blade x7;
1 Sergeant Melta Bombs; Combi-Meltagun x1; Power Fist x1;
Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron
1 Land Speeder Squadron Heavy Bolter x1; Typhoon Missile Launcher x1;
Fast Attack: Assault Squad
9 Assault Squad jump Pack; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Chainsword x9; And T
1 Sergeant Jump Pack; Power Armour; Melta Bombs; Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1;
Heavy Support: Predator (1#, )
1 Predator @ Autocannon; Heavy Bolter (each side))
Heavy Support: Predator (1#,)
1 Predator @ Autocannon; Heavy Bolter (each side))
Yes I know gasp in horror at the lack of Thunder Hammer Terminators Let me tell you some things about Thunderhammer terminators, their time is rapidly coming to close. I am personally board with the unit honestly and find that they simply scream kill my ride and don't worry about me. Which is why when I run them I tend to either gate them or some other tricky deployment method, shrike anyone?
List general concepts and ideas.
Essentially this is a mech list that while utilizes a counter assault unit and an outflanking unit. The sternguard are here because they are excellent all rounders and fun. The dreads are used as walking distractions and counter assault units for softer targets. This list utilizes combat squads and combat tactics. Each of the tactical squads has a dedicated roll that work in union with one another. Its a simple but tactically rich list. Again at this points its getting some play test atm, and I'm still leaning towards taking my Shrike list. More to come on that list build at 1850.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
1500pts of Lysander fun
All right gang. Have a list I've been testing and having some fun with locally. The list is basically a combination of two of my favorite synergies in the game. Lysander and shooting Terminators combine with rapid moving Storm riding Scouts. The Theme is essentially learn from the master, up and coming scouts being used to lure the enemy into the arms of the First company.
The List
Lysander
7-Th/Ss Termies
10 Tactical Terminators 2xCML and 1xCF
5 Man Scout with Camo cloaks Ml and Sniper rifles
5 Man Scout with Camo Cloaks ML and Sniper Rifles
5 man scout squad with ccw&bp Srgt. With PF Combimelta and Meltabomb
5 man Scout Squad with ccw&bp Srgt with PF Combimelta and meltabomb
Landspeeder Storm with Heavy Flamer
Landspeeder Storm with Multimelta
The list Analysis
Lysander-King of the beasts in the Space marine codex, a Closecombat nightmare for most armies, highly survivable and giving rerolls to the stormbolters. He gives them some additional punch in combat and survivablity as well.
TH/SS Termies- In this list they function as a fire magent and provide the tactical termies a 4+ cover save as they advance up the board towards the enemy. If this unit doesn't die to man it will hit you and do something. This is a focus threat they'll take shoots as they advance but that's there job.
Tactical terminators- Let the nerd rage begin lol. There is nothing wrong with tactical terminators especially with lysander providing the rerolls. This unit takes a lot of damage, can be combat squaded depending on mission and opponent. Also Its 4 ML shots a turn. They provide a lot of wounds to get lysander into combat and so something all the way their.
Landspeeder Storms and Their Ccw scouts- These 2 units I have been using for the last year. They are amazing in terms of flexibility and are exercises in the power of rolling 4's. If you can roll 4's well and in numbers, play scouts. The key to this unit is the Srgt, they are built to open the tin cans so popular these days and have them and the scouts eat the contents. Typically best to work the two scouts unit in unison if possible. I will either outflank both units, or I will deploy them and scout move up so that a turn 1 charge is possible. Stranding your opponents death star before it gets of the line is priceless. This unit consistently earns its points and more.
Camo scouts- Yup some buddy has to daisy pick, 1 will hopefully get a 2+ save thanks to Lysanders bolster defenses. the other a 3 plus. they help bust open armor 12 and try and pin space wolves and monstrous creatures. Their scouts they do their job or they don't. either way you pray that your opponent doesn't have heavy flamers.
Overall: The list combines the speed and agility of the scouts with the staying power and threat of Terminators and Lysander. The Scouts in storms can eliminate or lessen the major threats to the termies after that you just roll. Its a very fun list to play. Try it out and comments concerns and drunkin ramblings welcome.
The List
Lysander
7-Th/Ss Termies
10 Tactical Terminators 2xCML and 1xCF
5 Man Scout with Camo cloaks Ml and Sniper rifles
5 Man Scout with Camo Cloaks ML and Sniper Rifles
5 man scout squad with ccw&bp Srgt. With PF Combimelta and Meltabomb
5 man Scout Squad with ccw&bp Srgt with PF Combimelta and meltabomb
Landspeeder Storm with Heavy Flamer
Landspeeder Storm with Multimelta
The list Analysis
Lysander-King of the beasts in the Space marine codex, a Closecombat nightmare for most armies, highly survivable and giving rerolls to the stormbolters. He gives them some additional punch in combat and survivablity as well.
TH/SS Termies- In this list they function as a fire magent and provide the tactical termies a 4+ cover save as they advance up the board towards the enemy. If this unit doesn't die to man it will hit you and do something. This is a focus threat they'll take shoots as they advance but that's there job.
Tactical terminators- Let the nerd rage begin lol. There is nothing wrong with tactical terminators especially with lysander providing the rerolls. This unit takes a lot of damage, can be combat squaded depending on mission and opponent. Also Its 4 ML shots a turn. They provide a lot of wounds to get lysander into combat and so something all the way their.
Landspeeder Storms and Their Ccw scouts- These 2 units I have been using for the last year. They are amazing in terms of flexibility and are exercises in the power of rolling 4's. If you can roll 4's well and in numbers, play scouts. The key to this unit is the Srgt, they are built to open the tin cans so popular these days and have them and the scouts eat the contents. Typically best to work the two scouts unit in unison if possible. I will either outflank both units, or I will deploy them and scout move up so that a turn 1 charge is possible. Stranding your opponents death star before it gets of the line is priceless. This unit consistently earns its points and more.
Camo scouts- Yup some buddy has to daisy pick, 1 will hopefully get a 2+ save thanks to Lysanders bolster defenses. the other a 3 plus. they help bust open armor 12 and try and pin space wolves and monstrous creatures. Their scouts they do their job or they don't. either way you pray that your opponent doesn't have heavy flamers.
Overall: The list combines the speed and agility of the scouts with the staying power and threat of Terminators and Lysander. The Scouts in storms can eliminate or lessen the major threats to the termies after that you just roll. Its a very fun list to play. Try it out and comments concerns and drunkin ramblings welcome.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Scouts and why I love them.
I love scouts, I love the models and I love their rules. The units are capable of deploying ahead of your force, reserving and outflanking in to take advantage of your opponent. Not to mention the physchology of your enemy when he see's scouts is to take them less seriously. They talk about their reduced WS and their lower save oh and how much outflanking sucks. These are common arguments against scouts. Valid to a point till you start looking at the scout differently. Scouts work synergistic-ally that is to say in order to their job right they need help from other units in your list working together.
Advantages of the Scouts,
Scouts are fast. Lets look at them they have move thru cover so they can move rapidly while still getting a cover save. They for the most part are infantry and thus move 6" and can assault six. They can deploy via infiltrate or they can outflank and they get a full movement before the start of the game. Not to mention two excellent fast attack options in the Landspeeder storm and the scout bikers. The storm brings the scouts insane movement potential as the storm also has scout, and thus can deliver a turn 1 charge, or it can be held in reserve full of goodies that outflank in as well. Scout bikers can also be devastatingly fast as they can turbo-boost on their scout move and also turn 1 charge or outflank into the back field. Scout armies rely on this speed as a weapon to choose where and when we strike.
Scouts hit WS4 enemies just as hard as WS4 tactical marines in fact kitted properly they have more attacks base. This is where scouts are under utilized namely close combat. Scouts with bp and ccw get two attacks base and 3 attacks on the charge. This means a unit of 10 scouts on the charge is generating 32 attacks on the charge assuming the srgt has bp and ccw or PW. Compare to standard tact squad that can at most generate 22 attacks on the charge. You as the scout are still hitting your opponent on 4's and wounding him on 4's.
Scouts have access to poison weapons, i.e. the sniper rifle and the hellfire shell in the heavy bolters. Scouts can eat MC's better then most things. Add to this the ability to force pinning checks and you have a key weapon. Taking scouts also opens up Telion so you can pick off a sang priest or two. Combine these weapons with the power of the Camo cloak and you have a nice unit that hurt pretty much anything it fires at.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Shooty Terminators feelings thoughts and Emotional outburts
Hey gang I've been thinking, A dangerous past-time I know... about units I've discounted in favor of others and I think I may have missed something. Namely shooty terminators seem to have been taken off the game board by a perception that the assault terminator is just better. This and some discussions with Ciaphas Cain about the Imperial Fist list he came up with made me think. And as you can tell from my boota blog I like to try different things from time to time. And so my eye now heads over to the misunderstood Shooty Termies.
Arguments against shooty, they have only a 5+ invul compared to the 3+ ss variant. This is true, I contend that if you are relying on invul saves on your terminators wither 3+ or 5+ is less of a concern when dealing with ranged attacks. Their are few high volume of shots low ap weapons in the game, theirs plasma and some rarely taken psychic powers. But typically you are making saves from shooting on your terminator armor only not the invul. In this case both have the same save a 2+.
So with that why Shooty termies, the answer I give is flexibilty. No other unit in the marine codex has the combination of deployment, firepower, protection and range that shooty terminators do. Assault terminator are a focused unit they can do only 1 thing they do it extremely well but they are not flexible. The shooty terminators provide flexbilty. Two key items for shooty terminators the Chainfist upgrade and the Cyclone missile launcher. Why I believe these two are key is the chainfist is a meltabomb on steroids, This turns every termy equiped withit into a landraider busting machine, on the charge each chainfist is 3 attack that all resolve the roll for armor pen at str 8 + 2d6. Also each termy save the Srgt has a powerfist, I love PFs attack wise TH terminator and shooty terminator are virtually the same, save the dropping of int.
And now the most obvious advantage that shooty termies have over assault terminators they can shoot. I love the stormbolter, 2 shots str 4 range 24" and if you take a Cyclone missile launcher you still get to fire your stormbolter as well. Why I like the Cyclone is anytime you can take a missile launcher take it, 2 shots that can either be small blasts or str8 ap3 death is golden. Not to mention when mounted on a terminator the unit can move fire the rockets and then charge, love relentless. I find the key advantage the missile launcher has over the assault cannon is simply the range, and the variable round. Fewer shots but I like the options the extra range provides.
Some tactical thought
Shooty terminators are a great backfield counter strike force, in this method you can deploy them towards your rear objective and use them to take out enemy units that have broken your lines the combination of firepower and pf attacks can be an excellent counter charge.
Shooty terminators can deepstrike in late and finish off units, or get side rear armor on vehicles.
SHooty terminators can actually do something if their ride is destroyed or their libby teleport is broken.
I'm not saying their a better unit then assault terminators, I'm just saying don't discount them. thoughts feelings emotional outburts?
Arguments against shooty, they have only a 5+ invul compared to the 3+ ss variant. This is true, I contend that if you are relying on invul saves on your terminators wither 3+ or 5+ is less of a concern when dealing with ranged attacks. Their are few high volume of shots low ap weapons in the game, theirs plasma and some rarely taken psychic powers. But typically you are making saves from shooting on your terminator armor only not the invul. In this case both have the same save a 2+.
So with that why Shooty termies, the answer I give is flexibilty. No other unit in the marine codex has the combination of deployment, firepower, protection and range that shooty terminators do. Assault terminator are a focused unit they can do only 1 thing they do it extremely well but they are not flexible. The shooty terminators provide flexbilty. Two key items for shooty terminators the Chainfist upgrade and the Cyclone missile launcher. Why I believe these two are key is the chainfist is a meltabomb on steroids, This turns every termy equiped withit into a landraider busting machine, on the charge each chainfist is 3 attack that all resolve the roll for armor pen at str 8 + 2d6. Also each termy save the Srgt has a powerfist, I love PFs attack wise TH terminator and shooty terminator are virtually the same, save the dropping of int.
And now the most obvious advantage that shooty termies have over assault terminators they can shoot. I love the stormbolter, 2 shots str 4 range 24" and if you take a Cyclone missile launcher you still get to fire your stormbolter as well. Why I like the Cyclone is anytime you can take a missile launcher take it, 2 shots that can either be small blasts or str8 ap3 death is golden. Not to mention when mounted on a terminator the unit can move fire the rockets and then charge, love relentless. I find the key advantage the missile launcher has over the assault cannon is simply the range, and the variable round. Fewer shots but I like the options the extra range provides.
Some tactical thought
Shooty terminators are a great backfield counter strike force, in this method you can deploy them towards your rear objective and use them to take out enemy units that have broken your lines the combination of firepower and pf attacks can be an excellent counter charge.
Shooty terminators can deepstrike in late and finish off units, or get side rear armor on vehicles.
SHooty terminators can actually do something if their ride is destroyed or their libby teleport is broken.
I'm not saying their a better unit then assault terminators, I'm just saying don't discount them. thoughts feelings emotional outburts?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Let's Talk list Design
Everyone these days has a belief method and voodoo ritual on what makes a good list or how they go about army list construction. Some have radically different ideas or lists of elements every list should have and the list goes on. I play vanilla marines, it;s my favorite codex because it has a highly fluid and flexibly structure. What I mean by that is by the inclusion or exclusion of a unit the entire army plays and functions very differently. A fleeting Shrike Lists plays and should be built differently then a steadfast Lysander build, or an attack bubble Vote for Pedro list. This diversity and flexibility makes this dex the most fun for me to use and I still believe its got some good competitive style builds for a majority of units in it.
Well my personal philosophy of list construction is to build to the maximize the strengths of your selected army and units to maximize your advantage before you hit the table. What that means in English is,if you Take say Vulkan you should be making extensive use of Flamers and MM. I also contend that everything in a dex can be useful, but may be points prohibitive to be competitive. My favorite poster child is Vanguard. This poor unit is simply too expensive compared to what it does and requires help to make the unit really viable. Exceeding what another unit can do for less points. So what does this all mean basically build a list around the interactions of the units and create a solid force that can:
1.) Kill
2.) Take objectives
3.) Delay and Disrupt the enemy
4.)Threaten the enemy.
Kill
A solid list has the ability to deal damage to the opponent, all list need some ability to do damage to all foes in order to win the game this can be done differently in different armies my preferred method is to make sure I have enough units that can kill tanks, kill Montrous Creatures and kill infantry. Current metagame is mech so weapons that kill tanks should have a high importance in your list.
Take Objectives
In 5th ed, you have to have scoring units you need something to hold an objective or control objectives once you taken them from the enemy. Scoring units are key to 2/3 of the basic missions and required to win unless you table your opponent.
Delay and Disrupt your enemy
This is a high level concept that is built into all of my lists. I want to have units that provide me options to slow down or disrupt my enemy all together. This typically comes in the form of some element of outflanking, deepstriking or other high mobility units. Quite often this role is filled with the humble rhino used as a mobile piece of terrain to block LOS and movement. If your opponent is an eggs in one basket kinda guy you need the ability to shatter the basket. Disruption can often do more to win you a game then anything else.
Threaten the Enemy
This speaks to a concept called target saturation, you want to multiple threats in your army that will hurt your opponent. These threats need to be numerous and designed in such a way that all of them are not easily countered. You need something in your list that forces poor choices on your opponent. And once your opponent has chosen his path you need to utilize the other threats to exploit the weakness inherent in the choice they make. Again a little high level but all will be made clear with examples.
Lets Look at one of my Favorite Thousand point lists
Libby with Null Zone and Smite
5man Sternguard 2x Missile Launcher Srgt with CombiMelta in a rhino
Dreadnought Multimelta DCCW and Storm Bolter Extra Armor
Dreadnought Assault Cannon DCCW and Storm Bolter Extra Armor
10 Man tactical Squad Meltagun Missile Launcher Srgt with Combi Meltagun in a rhino
5man scout squad 3xSniper Rifles Missile Launcher Srgt. with Sniper Rifle
Predator Auto Cannon and Heavy Bolter
Predator Auto Cannon and Heavy Bolter
Quick Evaluation
Can it kill, yes I have weapons that by pass FNP and armor, I have the ability to hurt MC's heavy infantry and regular infantry. I have the ability to kill tanks.
Can It take objectives, yes I have 2 base troop choices with Combat tactics I can stretch it to 3. The troops in this list are an area of slight concern but the idea is at a 1000pts I should have enough troops to get the job done.
Can it Delay and Disrupt. This is precisely what my dreads are their for. They are my disruption force they have to dealt with or it can get a bit nasty. The libby's psychic hood and nullzone power are also usefully in the disruption of my enemy's pyschic phase and reliance on invul saves. I can also depending on the game and my mood utilize my scouts as an outflanking force. Not recommended but an option non the less.
Does it threaten my enemy? Yes I have 2 dreads and two shooty Preds along with Protected Sternguard launching missile attacks. This threat core threatens my enemy both at range and as they approach my army. Again is it perfect no but it gets the job done quite a bit. More on list design philosophy and tactics to come.
Remember if you can dream it you can do it.
Well my personal philosophy of list construction is to build to the maximize the strengths of your selected army and units to maximize your advantage before you hit the table. What that means in English is,if you Take say Vulkan you should be making extensive use of Flamers and MM. I also contend that everything in a dex can be useful, but may be points prohibitive to be competitive. My favorite poster child is Vanguard. This poor unit is simply too expensive compared to what it does and requires help to make the unit really viable. Exceeding what another unit can do for less points. So what does this all mean basically build a list around the interactions of the units and create a solid force that can:
1.) Kill
2.) Take objectives
3.) Delay and Disrupt the enemy
4.)Threaten the enemy.
Kill
A solid list has the ability to deal damage to the opponent, all list need some ability to do damage to all foes in order to win the game this can be done differently in different armies my preferred method is to make sure I have enough units that can kill tanks, kill Montrous Creatures and kill infantry. Current metagame is mech so weapons that kill tanks should have a high importance in your list.
Take Objectives
In 5th ed, you have to have scoring units you need something to hold an objective or control objectives once you taken them from the enemy. Scoring units are key to 2/3 of the basic missions and required to win unless you table your opponent.
Delay and Disrupt your enemy
This is a high level concept that is built into all of my lists. I want to have units that provide me options to slow down or disrupt my enemy all together. This typically comes in the form of some element of outflanking, deepstriking or other high mobility units. Quite often this role is filled with the humble rhino used as a mobile piece of terrain to block LOS and movement. If your opponent is an eggs in one basket kinda guy you need the ability to shatter the basket. Disruption can often do more to win you a game then anything else.
Threaten the Enemy
This speaks to a concept called target saturation, you want to multiple threats in your army that will hurt your opponent. These threats need to be numerous and designed in such a way that all of them are not easily countered. You need something in your list that forces poor choices on your opponent. And once your opponent has chosen his path you need to utilize the other threats to exploit the weakness inherent in the choice they make. Again a little high level but all will be made clear with examples.
Lets Look at one of my Favorite Thousand point lists
Libby with Null Zone and Smite
5man Sternguard 2x Missile Launcher Srgt with CombiMelta in a rhino
Dreadnought Multimelta DCCW and Storm Bolter Extra Armor
Dreadnought Assault Cannon DCCW and Storm Bolter Extra Armor
10 Man tactical Squad Meltagun Missile Launcher Srgt with Combi Meltagun in a rhino
5man scout squad 3xSniper Rifles Missile Launcher Srgt. with Sniper Rifle
Predator Auto Cannon and Heavy Bolter
Predator Auto Cannon and Heavy Bolter
Quick Evaluation
Can it kill, yes I have weapons that by pass FNP and armor, I have the ability to hurt MC's heavy infantry and regular infantry. I have the ability to kill tanks.
Can It take objectives, yes I have 2 base troop choices with Combat tactics I can stretch it to 3. The troops in this list are an area of slight concern but the idea is at a 1000pts I should have enough troops to get the job done.
Can it Delay and Disrupt. This is precisely what my dreads are their for. They are my disruption force they have to dealt with or it can get a bit nasty. The libby's psychic hood and nullzone power are also usefully in the disruption of my enemy's pyschic phase and reliance on invul saves. I can also depending on the game and my mood utilize my scouts as an outflanking force. Not recommended but an option non the less.
Does it threaten my enemy? Yes I have 2 dreads and two shooty Preds along with Protected Sternguard launching missile attacks. This threat core threatens my enemy both at range and as they approach my army. Again is it perfect no but it gets the job done quite a bit. More on list design philosophy and tactics to come.
Remember if you can dream it you can do it.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wargames Con some thoughts of a personal tactical nature
Hey gang back as you can see from Wargames con and going over my notes from the 40k singles. I did about what I expected, i had two big loses 2 big wins a straight draw, a minor loss and an I"m too hung over finally. In the process of going over my notes both on paper and the ones in my head, I found somethings about myself, the list I took and most importantly some simple rules of engagement.
Let us begin at the beginning because it is a very good place to start. I went with my comfort zone, Lysander. I love the man the myth the legion and in 3 of the six games the 7th doesn't count as I was destroyed like spencer at adepticon and couldn't play it, I played Lysander like a champion in the other 3 however I set him up for abject failure.
Game 1 Lysander vs the Assault cannon rodeo of the Blood Angels
Okay game 1 I in my moment of Zen like brilliance decided to do exactly what I warned myself against 100times, but all my eggs in a single basket and send it through the warp. Nothing bad will happen, famous last words. The set up libby, 8 man assault termies 7 TH/SS 1 LCs and Lysander all deployed behind my armored wall. I open the gate of infinity no issue, I then proceed to deepstrike. I roll the scatter die forward toward his line double 4's 1 man is toast. But wait it gets better 1" away from his razorback, its cool 66% chance of only mildly bad things happening...I roll my mishap its a 2. Yup all my termies lysander and my libby gone in a puff of smoke. At which point I decided to have fun. I killed some stuff, he killed more of my stuff. I end the game with 1 pt.
What did I learn? Don't put all your eggs in one basket and send it through the warp. 1 and only time I did that for the tourney. However the fear that the incident caused hampered me in later games. When it may have been more prudent to take some risk. The other point I learned which is a recurring theme is I deployed my terminators poorly. There designed to take a pounding they should have been deployed as far forward as possible and used as a net against his speedy razors. Instead I deployed cowardly and reilyed on the warp to save me. Believe in the emperors armor not the tricks of the of warp.
Game 2 wait for it Lysander vs the Lawn Equipment of the Imperial Guard
This game was interesting my combimelta alpha strike proceded to flounder resulting in a single shaken on the Demolotion plasma cannon Lehman russ. This time I did something equally fun and stupid with my libby and my terminators, instead of making the unit earn its points, I instead hold the unit back. I would blame the fact that I was starving at this point but honestly, the 2 coors before teh game are more likely culprits then low blood sugar. Had I pressed his flank with my terminators instead of playing hey just shoot them, I would have had a better result.
What we learned friends don't let friends play tactically stupid. This game was purely lost by a lack of basic game play on my part. What great is I never do that at my home store. No I wait till it matters.
Game 3 Lysander vs Vulkan Hestan and the funky bunch
This game I saw an interesting Space Marines with Vulkan build and all of a sudden my brain realized it was time to play some Warhammer 40k. Turn 1 his landraider exploded to my sternguard, His thunderfire cannon was broken his rhino was destroyed and his ironclad dreadnaught was immoblized and lost its melta arm. From here I played clean up, he had two horrific mishaps with a landspeeder and a unit of Tactical terminators both being eaten by the warp. We ended on turn 5 due to time constrants with me holding two objectives and contesting the third with my terminators ready to charge his two remaining units the next turn had we had the time. Very good game, bad luck by my opponent with two deepstrikes he should have attempted in the locations he did. But such are the vagerys of the dice.
Game 4 Lysander vs the Blood Angels 60 boots with 2 sangs and Sanguinator
This game Lysander taught the blood angels why being fearless sucks! My sternguard and hellfire rounds eat the sanguintor on turn 2. He deep struck too close to me with most of his units. So that he only got a single charge on me. Lysander ate two ten man blood raged assault squads and two sang priests. I missed full points by having my terminators gate scatter too far away from his finally jp sqaud. Great game but blood angels that don't get the charge off are target practice.
What I learned, Stubborn has its advantages when you bring terminators to mop up. Sternguard eat lots of things. Lysander is dead sexy some games!
Let's Talk about Protection
No, mind out of the gutter, I'm talking the often misunderstood and much praised and despised Extra Armor. This article will focus primary on standard vanilla marines and my thoughts overreactions and personal experience with Extra Armor. I'm a fan of extra Armor on two vehicles, Dreadnoughts with DCCW and Land raiders full of assaulty goodness. Everything else extra armor doesn't make sense to me.
Okay why extra armor on Dreads, the reason is I want the dread to keep moving, can't shoot awesome I'm gonna move and then I'm gonna run. Again this goes to directly to my belief on what dreadnoughts are, Dreads are DCCW delivery systems. The gun is their to scare you, the DCCW is what does most of the damage. Again why I take Extra armor on the raider is the raider is designed to move and deploy its contents. Giving it every advantage to do its job is key.
Why I don't advocate it on rhinos namely is the cost of the advantage relative to the unit. 15pts on a 35 point vehicle to me is to high to have a 2 result moved down to a 1. Rhinos have the advantage of being inexpensive points wise, why almost double the points with a single piece of wargear that provides little mobility. Buying two sets of extra armor means with those points plus 5 more I could just get another rhino and give the previous 2 a cover save.
So in conclusion Take Extra Armor on your dreads and your crusaders don't take it on your rhinos. Or even better tell me what you think.
Back to the Blog
Alright gang starting the blog up again. Will be importing stuff from my freebootaz blog so the world can see my crazy takes on 40k. Well not crazy, simply different. I strive to provoke thought in my readers, and if only for a minute entertain you as well. My ideas are my own and I seek to better the hobby for all by creating dialogue with the masses. Again everything you see on here is from my own play testing, game won experience. I'm of the firm belief don't knock it until you try it.
Friday, January 1, 2010
The 41st millenium and you.
Well rancor709 is starting a blog on the interweb. Why?, because we like you m.o.u.s.e...Okay enough the side track. I'm starting a blog because I want to share with you the mass denizens of the warp that we call the internet. My opinions, thoughts and tactics on my favorite game 40k and hopefully in the spirit of open communication will be able to hear from you the nameless, faceless reader of said information that I posted. I'm firmly of the opinion there are no stupid questions only stupid people not asking questions.
Signing off for now.
Rancor709
Signing off for now.
Rancor709
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