Saturday, February 23, 2013

Prepping for the twin link

what i do when prepping for the twin link.
It very simple. call my friend up tell him what list i like to go have some fun with and then he tells me what he wants to bring and there's are list. No calculations on how much to spend in what section for us. This is to be a fun  time so we bring fun list . just ask the players that fased are Flaming Fairy list last year lol.

see you later  checking out.

Friday, February 22, 2013

List Review Friday #3

The list this Friday is going to be a 1500pt Tyranid List.  This is a good buddy of mine and he is newer to Tyranids and has only been playing them for a month or so.

First off I would like to give my impressions abotu ytranids as a whole.  I believe in the right hands, they can be a devastating armies for many to face.  For some (DE, Eldar, Daemons, some Tau) Nids can be lackluster and not pack enough punch.  I think Nids rely on Psychic powers to be good and if those powers go off, their opponent is in trouble.  They can constantly make troops via Tervigons and can flood the field with units.  They can put out a respectable amount of dakka in the way of Str 6 and their Venom Cannons, most of which are Twin-Linked. 

They have a couple excellent HQ choices with the Swarmlord and a Flying Hive Tyrant.  Some game changing units like the Doom of Malantai, who can single handedly win you games.  Overall, they are a solid army and have been upgraded ALOT from 5th Edition.

Alright onto the List:

HQ
Hive Tyrant, Wings, TL-Devourer, Lash Whip/Bonesword, Hive Commander- 270

EL
Doom of Malantai, Spore Pod- 130

TR
Tervigon, Catalyst- 175
Tervigon, Catalyst- 175
x10 Gaunts- 50
x10 Gaunts- 50

HVY
Trygon, Toxin Sacs- 210
Trygon, Toxin Sacs- 210
Carnifex, x2 TL-Devourers, Spore Pod- 230

TOTAL: 1500

Looking at it, I like the list on paper.  I think it has many things going for it. 

The Doom is solid and hsould be an autoinclude in every list.  Too good and game changing not to take.  The Flyrant is solid.  Has some Dakka and can help the reserves he has coem in more reliably.  The Troops are a typical Nid build and can generate at least 6 troops, unless a Tervigon goes down first turn.  The Heavies is hotly contested and I believe he has done a good job with the Trygons and the Fex.

The only contention my buddy (Devon), I will stop calling him "my buddy" has had is that he cannot kill people's really tough and durable units or their Deathstars.  So what could we change?  First lets see what Deathstars usually are.

Most Deathstars have great durability and a good amount of modelsi n the squad.  They usually have some nice rules and do CC very well or shoot rather awesomely.  Though CC monsters are usually the norm.

So his list has some nice CC ability in the Trygons and the Fex.  The Flyrant is nice as well, but usually excells at taking out weaker targets and opening some transports up with its gun.   All three of the heavy choices are AP with high strength, and the Trygons can even re-roll both To Hit and To Wound.  I have a coupel suggestions:

Drop a Trygon.
Add 9 Ymargls
The Ymargls can come in via reserve and assault.  They can deal loads of damage to Death Star units with their Rending attacks, High WS, and High Intiative.  I think they add a psychological element to the list.

Drop a Trygon
Add 2 squads of 2 Hive Guard
Hive guard have the ability to shoot things they cannot see.  They are Str 8 and can do some serious damage to vehicles or models out of LOS.  Their main weakness is their range and durability.  However, they are always hgih priority targets for opponents and will draw fire away from your big elements.  Also, it will give you the ability to pop tanks from range rather than relying on CC almost exclusively.  Plus, with two squads, you will be able to target more units and have a better chance of having one of the squads live past turn 1.

So what do you all think of this list?  Can this be competitive?  Are either of my changes better than what Devon is running now? 

Also, feel free to send me an email with your list and I will gladly throw it up here to be reviewed and offer my suggestions to it.  Send to: jiru1037@ravens.benedictine.edu

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!  I know I will enjoy winning the Twin-Linked Tournament on Sunday!

-YEE! YEE!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Twin-Linked Tournament THIS Sunday!

So at my local game store, Great Escape Game in Sacramento, CA there is a doubles tournament called The Twin-Linked Team Tournament.  It is run by fellow Sac City Punisher member, and the eldest of our group, Mr. Omegaprime.  This tournament happens every other month.  It is a comped tournament, but not as heavily as it has been in the past by a long shot.  Also, Forge World models are allowed!  Here is the Comp for the Tournament and Here are the Core Rules for the tournament itself.

Essentially each player is allowed to bring 1,000 points from one army, no allies.  Teams do not split a FOC but get 0-2 in each slot besides HQ.  No doubling of units is allowed (no x2 Helldrakes or the like) and each teammate must have 1 HQ and 2 Troops.

My buddy Big Ray and I our doing our Eldars together once again.  This year we will win the whole thing as we got second place overall last year and lost by 1 point... yes only 1 point.  Close tournament, but very very fun. 

I enjoy the missions, even though so go extreme one way or the other and the players there are very fun to play against.  I know some of the games don't feel like we are playing 40k, but just hanging out with friends and rolling some dice.

So onto the lists that we're bringing:

My Dark Eldar 1000 points

HQ
The Baron- 105

TR
x5 Wyches, haywires, Venom- 125
x5 Warriors, Blaster, Venom- 125
x10 Warriors, Cannon- 100

FST
x5 Beastmaster, x1 Clawed Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock- 250

HVY
Voidraven, Flickerfield, Nightshields, x3 Shatterfield Missiles- 195

FORT
Aegis Defense Line, Quad Gun- 100



Big Ray's Eldar

HQ
Farseer, Runes, Doom, Fortune, Guide, Spear, Stones- 168

TROOPS
x10 Wraithguard, Conceal, Spear- 399
x7 Bikes, Warlock, Embolden, x2 Cannons- 205

FAST
x5 Warp Spiders- 110

HEAVY
Nightspinner- 115


Alot of choices were made out of Comp issues, but also because of the armies we see at the Twin-Linked.  I would love for Big Ray to grab some Hornets or something from the FW Eldar selections.  For fun, I am tempted to grab a Tantalus just so I can put Jabba the Hut on it and laugh as it gets blown up first turn!

We wanted Eldrad and the Baron but can't have so many points in Special Characters and we decided the Baron is more useful than Eldrad will be for the Beasts.  I would liek to have Eldrad for doubling Doom or Fortune, but just couldnt do it.

I think our lists have some nice synergy and cover all of the bases needed for the tournament.  5 Troops, 3 of which are fairly durable.  Plenty of AT, AI, and the Voidraven and Quad Gun for Anti-Air. 

So what does my vast followers of 10 think of our lists?  You think we have a chance?  I have heard some players from Placerville, CA are coming down and gauranteeing victor at the tournament.  It will be a sad day for them when they come down and lose. 

Tomorrow is List Review Friday, so if you have any lists you'd like me to review, send em in!

-YEE! YEE!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

MadF's BAO Waaaaagh!



well like SCP Yeeman i have been biz y in a new position at work and getting ready for the little grot soon to be here and trying to get ready for BAO all at once ack.

Well today i will get a real chan's to try out my list against SCP Yeeman ,and some friends to see how it will hold up. So far though it held off Big tex in a game.
so here is the basics of the list.

HQ: war boss in mega armor , boss pole , and Cyborg
HQ: big mech wish shock attack gun

Elite: Lootas 7# and 2 mech boyz
Elite: Lootas 7# and 2 mech boyz

Troop: Mega nobs 5# with truck , red paint
Troop: grots #10 and a grot sargent ( runt herder )
Troop: shoota boyz 30 # with  3 rockets , nob , claw , bose pole
Troop: shoota boyz 30 # with  3 big shootas , nob , claw , bose pole

Heavy: Battle wagon with 4 big shootas , Kannon, red paint , grot riger
Heavy: Battle wagon with 4 big shootas , Kannon, red paint , grot riger
Heavy: Flakk Trukk 2#

Fortification: Aegis defense line , Quad gun

the week points on this list not many troops , the speed of troop movement to get across the board. you will be giving up first blood most of the time with the trukks . then to handle armor 14  is left up to the claws.

good points is there is a load of shots to remove what troops will be in there way. theirs decent air cover witch can be used to shoot deep strikers . and relay decent rang.

will let you know how it performs after to day.

Friday, February 15, 2013

List Review Friday! #2

Been busy with work and getting my papers signed for my teaching contract this week, so it has been hectic.  Even now,  I sit at work typing this blog.  I was going to post about the new "All Tournament FAQ" that Frontline Gaming has posted on their website, but I will hold off on that until they try and justify some of the things they are doing to 40k.

Onto the lists.  I figure I would spoil everyone again and post two lists up and will probably make this a regular thing by reviewing two lists instead of one every week.

The first list is my brothers Space Marine list he is bringing to the Bay Area Open.  He has playtested it with around a dozen games and may do some final tweaks, but other than that, it is pretty much finalized.  So here it is:

HQ
Sevrin Loth- 205
(Forgeworld character, can take 6... yes 6 powers from Biomancy, Telepathy, or Fire.  he knows all of the Codex:Space Marine powers.  he has many other cool rules as well.  He is a BEAST.)

EL
Siege Dread, Heavy Flamer, an AP3 Flmaer (forget the name right now!) Drop Pod- 150

TR
x5 Scouts, Cloaks- 90
x10 Tactical Marines, Flamer, Missile Launcher, Power Weapon- 185
x10 Tactical Marines, Meltagun, Missile Launcher, Power Weapon, Rhino- 225
x10 Tactical Marines, Meltagun, Missile Launcher, Power Weapon, Rhino- 225

FST
Storm Talon, Cyclones- 155
Storm Talon, Cyclones- 155

HVY
Thunderfire Cannon- 100
Land Raider Crusader, Multi-Melta- 260

Basic plan is to have Loth join the Tac Squad without the Rhino in the Crusader.  He drives around enfeebling people and casting Endurance on his own squad.  Loth is Beast and be a bitch to take down.  He has his own personal Psychic power that make his save (2+) Invulnerable.  Pretty damn good.  Combine that with Iron Arm and Endurance, and he is near indestructible. 

All of the bases are mroe or less covered.  Some Anti-Flier with the Storm Talons, but they are not resilient at all.  Some pretty good AI firepower with the TFC, Siege Dread, and Crusader.  AT isn't all that present and relies on the Storm Talons if heavy lifting is envolved.  4 troops is decent but should be at 5 or at least 40 MEQ bodies.  Loth is a catchall and can pretty much do anythign that he would need.

I dont like the lack of troops.  I wish there was more MEQ bodies.  i also dont like the one Crusader.  It is begging to be one shot melta gunned.  if there was two, it'd be much much better as the melta would have to be split instead of all centered on the Crusader.  The army seems small and elitish without having an elite unit.  Its a decent list and my brother is comfortable with all of the units. 

I give this list a 7.5/10

The second list is the list that I will be bringing to the Bay Area Open.  It is finalized, it has ran through literally all of the competition it has come across.  It has not lost a game yet when playing in the BAO format.  I have played 20+ games with the list and very comfortable with it and its ability to take anything on.

HQ
The Baron

TR
x5 Wyches, Haywires, Venom- 125
x5 Warriors, Shredder, Venom- 115
x5 Warriors, Blaster, Venom- 125
x10 Warriors, Cannon, Raider w/ Racks- 170

FST
x5 Beast Masters, x1 Clawed Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Razorwing Flock- 250

HVY
Ravager, Nightshields- 115
Voidraven Bomber, Flickerfield, x3 Shatterfield Missiles- 185
Voidraven Bomber, Flickerfield, x3 Shatterfield Missiles- 185

Allies
Farseer, Bikes, Runes, Stones, Eldritch Storm, Doom- 165
x10 Guardians, Scatter Laser- 95
Night Spinner- 115

The Baron and the Farseer go with the Beasts.  This gives them LD10, 4+ or 5+ Deny the Witch, Grenades, Hit and Run, and Stealth.  It also gives me a mobile Doom so I can move up the field and have a greater chance to hit targets with Doom.  The Beasts make a very nice Rock for the list and benefit nicely from Doom with the Flocks having an increased chance to Rend.  This unit has only been completely destroyed a handful of times and a couple were due to horrendous rolling hwile others were due to my lack of knowledge of certain units (Pathfinders and Markerlights).

I have 5 troops, 4 of which are highly mobile and each plays a certain role.  Wyches are there for any DSing Dreads or hard to kill backfield tanks or big uglies like Landraiders.  The Shredder is there because of Daemons and they will be bunched up nicely for the Str. 6 blast and has an average multiuse ability.  They usually sit back and claim an objective closer to my deployment.  The Blaster Squad does what it does.  The Gunboat escorts my Beasts up and unleashes it fury on people.  With the rerolls from the Rack and then the rerolls from Doom make this unit devastating.  The Guardians sit on an objective and shoot at things with the Laser.  Its even better when the objective has Skyfire or reroll 1s when shooting.  They put out a pretty nice amount dakka for DSing units liek Daemons or Podders.

The Ravager and Voidravens are my primary AT and damage dealers.  Voidravens are very very mutlipurpose.  AT, AI, and Anti-Flier can easily be achieved by these planes. 

The Night Spinner is my ace in the whole.  It does so much and more.  parking lots?  Cool, eat my Spinner.  Hordes?  Cool, eat my Spinner.  The thing is awesome and I cannot stress this enough.  Combine it with Doom and drop this on any Infantry unit.  Reroll all non-6s so you can maximise the number of Rends and just kill an entire unit.  The bonus benefit of moving through Difficult and Dangerous Terrain and this tank can do something with actually doing any damage.

Overall my list is weird on its face,  Lookign at it, it doesn't appear to be anything special.  I am counting on that, that way it can catch people off guard.  I dont know lots of people who run Beasts so that could be a shock and awe for some people in the early rounds.  Not so much in the later rounds and more experienced people. 

Dark Eldar aren't an army that is seen alot in tournaments and can play spoiler for many people.  Usually people have the notion of "DE sucks and Eldar are even worse.  I'm not worried about it."  Or people say, "No one plays DE so I am not worried about pulling the 3 people at BAO that will play them."  So when people do play me they will get a rude awakening.

The strengths of the list are that is a Take All Comers.  I have something for everything but nothing is over the top.  I dont have a lot of Anti-Flier, or AI, or AT.  I have Average to above average on all of it I believe.  There are certain builds and armies that I fear with the list.  Tau is one.  They can outshoot me, outgun me, and take away all of my Cover Saves.  Tetras are beautiful and are great for their price.  Necron fliers can be very annoying but I have practiced against them a bunch but they can definately cause problems if they take out my Bombers quickly as I will have nothign to combat them directly with.

Overall if I saw my list I would give it a 6/10.  But, with me at the helm and knowing how it plays it is definately a 10/10!  Ha... Confidence there a little bit.  In all seriousness though, I like my list, I believe it is solid and I think combined with my Generalship will cause some havoc.

I will be mad if I go any worse than 5-2 at the BAO.  I will predict that 5-2 will be my record.  Hopefully giving me Best Dark Eldar Player.  Doug, Rob Pace, and any other DE Player...  Come get some!!!!

This coming weekend I will review the BAO and Tournament FAQ they posted. 

-YEE! YEE!

Friday, February 8, 2013

List Review Friday!

So I am going to start a new segment for my blog.  Every Friday I will throw up a list and offer my review on it.  Most of the lists I will throw up will either be a friends or possibly the new Inet list everyone thinks is the most awesome.  Being as this is the first one, I will review TWO lists. 

The first list is a buddy of mien who plans on attending the Bay Area Open and is going to play Eldar with DE allies.  Here is his list:

HQ
Eldrad- 210

TR
x10 Guardians, x2 Fusions, Serpent w/ TL-Scatter Laser, Cannon- 217
x10 Guardians, x2 Fusions, Serpent w/ TL-Scatter Laser, Cannon- 217
x10 Wraithguard, Conceal- 396

HVY
Night Spinner- 115
Night Spinner- 115

Allies
The Baron- 105

x5 Warriors, Blaster, Venom- 125
x5 Warriors, Blaster, Venom- 125

Ravager, Nightshields- 115

Total 1740 (He is unsure what to do for now with the 10 points)

Looking at the list, it doesnt seem like anything special.  Eldrad, 5 Troops, and some barrage weapons.

Digging deeper I see there is more than meets the eye I believe.  For one, the Baron will be with te Wraithguard, creating a nice unit that can hold midfield and threaten anything that is put on the board.  The Guardians could act as a support for the Wraithguard, bustign tanks with their Fusion Guns or finishing off units the Guard or Spinners could not.

My buddy loves War Walkers and I was surprised not to see them make his list.  But again, lookign at it, there is basically a squad of War Walkers.  The two Serpents make a pseudo walker squad.  Together they put out 14 Str 6 shots, 8 of which are Twin Linked.  These can be used to take down fliers or light transports.  They make for a very decpetive flier defense that people may over look.

The Night Spinners just sit back and drop Barrage/Rending templates on anyone and everything.  Where one is good, two is better.  I love these things and this particular friend of mine is the one that got me hooked the Spinner to begin with.  BAO will be runnign rampant with Guard blobs and these will reduce these blobs to ashes within a turn or two.  Sniping characters and if Doom hits the blob from Mr. Ulthan than Rending will be very commonplace.

The DE side of things help shore up the short comings of the Eldar.  The Baron help the Wraithguard more survivable with his Stealth bonus and provides the squad with a measily 2++ rerollable.  The Venoms shoot high Toughness targets (Nids, Dreadknights, etc) or shoot the Long Fangs/Devvies/Havocs.  The Ravager helps kill those targets that maybe prove difficult for the Guardians to get to or the Str 6 can't hurt.

I think flier heavy armies or The Helldrake spam will give this list trouble.  Serpents can go down with relative ease and the Helldrakes can decimate the Guard if they fart on them and cath em grouped up.  If there are only 2-3 fliers, this list can manage.  4-5 fliers it would be tough.

Overall I give this army an 8/10.  I think it has a nice core of 5 troops with excellent support from the DE and the Spinners.  Having only 8 units could prove costly, but i think al the units are capable of doing work.

Ok, so that is the first list.  Now the second list comes from Dakka.  This list won a tournament called Templecon.  Looking at the list, i have to say I am less than impressed but a tourny win is a tourny win.  You can see a thread here that describes the list.

HQ: Baron Sathonyx - 105 [DE]
HQ: Asdrubael Vect - 240 [DE]
HQ: Eldrad - 210 [EL]

Elite: 3 True Born - 2 Splinter Cannons - 56 [DE]
Elite: 3 True Born - 2 Splinter Cannons - 56 [DE]

Troop: 15 Wyches - Haywire, Hekatrix PGL - 200 [DE]
Troop: 15 Wyches - Haywire, Hekatrix PGL - 200 [DE]
Troop:20 Warriors - 2 Splinter Cannons, Sybarite - 210 [DE]
Troop: 3 Guardian Jetbikes - 66 [EL]
Troop: 3 Guardian jetbikes - 66 {EL]

FA: 5 Beast Masters - 5 Kymerra, 8 Razorwings - 240 [DE]

HS: 1 Cronos Parasite Engine - Spirit Vortex, Spirit Syphon - 100 [DE]

Aegis Defense Line - Quad Gun - 100

TOTAL POINTS: 1850

So from what I have gathered, Eldrad rolls on divination and hopes they get invisibilty or Foreboding and Prescience.  Eldrad join the Warriors behind the Defenseline to man the Quad Gun.  Vect and Baron go with the Beasts and the Wyches flank the two sides.  Jetbikes hang in reserve and the Cronos crawls upfield to distibute Pain Tokens.

First impressions... It is totally reliant on getting Inivisiblity or Foreboding.  Without those, the Beasts just crumble to shooting like always.  Also, Ledrad will be able to cast powers on the Beasts for maybe 2 turns after that their on their own.

Why Vect?  Fearless and Preferred Enemy?  How does he keep up with the Beasts?  This means you have to string the Beasts out in a long line so Vect can remain coherency.  If the Beasts make it to combat, vect wont get in for at least the first two rounds possibly three, not mention other Beasts as well.  The Beasts will stay in combat from being Fearless  but will take a beating the first two rounds.  You can feed the Beasts a unit or two so once you wipe out the rest of the army, you concentrate on the Beasts.

Walking Wyches I cant see making it past midfield.  They die to spit balls and should never make it anywhere.  Designate a Tactical Squad to each one, Rapid Fire the squad and watch them die. 

The Cronos and Trueborn are laughable First Blood and cant really contribute too much before they die. 

Any Barrage unit can kill the warriors and Eldrad along with it. 

I dont know how the army deals with fliers outside of the Quad Gun. 

Overall impressions of this is that it relies on getting Invisibility o negate fire from it first turn.  Without it, the Beasts crumble.  Helldrakes should just kill all of the Beasts.  Fliers can go basically untouched.  I dont liek this list.  I think too many factors come into play for it to be dominant.  I do think it could roll some horde armies on foot.  Some fully meched armies would give it trouble as the Wyches are needed to kill many tanks with the Beasts.  i think the Cronos is a waste and you do do more with the 100 points.

7/10 for this army.  i think it just needs to much for it to go right.  It it doesnt get the things it needs, it will crumble.

Let me know what you guys think of the lists and my impressions of them.

-YEE -YEE