Death on Swift Wings

Here's an Eldar list that I've drawn up recently to adapt to my local meta of deep-striking several 'bomb' units that are capable of wrecking entire lines. The idea is that this army really has no 'line' to attack and should always be on the move. When the opportunity arises, unload enough firepower into targets to make sure that they don't get back up.

Farseer (Guide, Fortune, Spirit Stones, Runes of Warding - 140)
Autarch (70)
Fire Dragon x5 (80)
- Wave Serpent (TL-Scatter Laser, Spirit Stones, Star Engines - 140)
Dire Avenger x5 (60)
- Wave Serpent (TL-Bright Lance, Spirit Stones, Star Engines, Shuriken Cannon - 170)

Dire Avenger x5 (60)

- Wave Serpent (TL-Bright Lance, Spirit Stones, Star Engines, Shuriken Cannon - 170)

Vyper x3 (Starcannons, Shuriken Cannons - 240)

Vyper x2 (Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannons - 140)

Vyper x2 (Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannons - 140)

Fire Prism (Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields, Shuriken Cannon - 170)

Fire Prism (Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields, Shuriken Cannon - 170)

Total: 1750

If I'm facing an army that depends high on an alpha strike (Drop Pods, Tzeentch Daemons, IG Gunlines, Deep-striking armies), then my forces will be placed in Reserves in order to deny them the hit and then I'll use the Autarch's reserve bonus to come in and hopefully cripple their forces. The Vypers, while expensive and fragile, are the back bone of my shooting. By moving the Wave Serpents flat-out and then using the Star Engines in the shooting phase, I plan on screening as many Vyper Squadrons as possible in order to negate their fragility. The Farseer will put Guide a squadron and watch as the torrents of dice just bog down their targets. Fire Prisms will be the principle anti-tank roles in the army with the Fire dragons and Wave Serpents able to pick up the roles if need be.

List Theory - Unbalanced Lists

When most people build lists, they go for a very mixed and balanced approach. However, most codexes have the potential to throw enough bodies or armor at your opponent to frustrate him beyond belief. I am, of course, talking about the Unbalanced List.

The Unbalanced List is not necessary an overpowered or broken one, simply one that aims to maximize a certain strength in order to completely minimize or make ineffective the impact of a balanced list.

By removing one or more elements entirely from your list and using those points to further enhance another element, you create the unbalanced list. Examples are the Imperial Guard Armored Company (a couple infantry squads, command squad - all in Chimeras, and then more Leman Russes than you can shake a stick at.), the Ork Horde, Nidzilla, Elfzilla, IG Infantry spam, Dreadnought/Kan spam, and so on so forth.

The idea is to completely overwhelm your opponent's ability to nullify your strong point (Kill their templates, anti-armor weapons or fast movers) and then just clean up everything else. The beautiful thing is that even it takes you two or three turns to wipe out your opponent's anti-armor (and you lose one or two pieces in the process), you still have enough armor on the board to be a credible threat that they might not even be able to deal with effectively.

What are your thoughts on the Unbalanced List?

Squirrel_Fish

Misty Mountain North Tournament

Hey folks,

Misty Mountain North, one of the bigger game stores in the Twin Cities area, is hosting a 40k Tournament on August 8th. I'll be there along with at least one of my friends, who will probably be playing his 'nids.

Anyways, we're supposed to bring a 2000 point list to this shindig - something that I'm not accustomed to at all. Using every single Eldar model at my disposal and tooling up all of them, I managed to barely come up to that total.

• Farseer w/ Doom, Fortune, Spirit Stones, Jetbike, Singing Spear and Runes of Warding (173)
• Warlock x3 w/ Jetbikes, Destructor x2, Embolden & Singing Spear (163)
• Autarch w/ Mandiblasters, Power Weapon, Fusion Gun & Warp Jump Generator (125)
• Dire Avenger x10 w/ Exarch, Dual Shuripult, Bladestorm (152)
• Wave Serpent w/ TL Bright Lance, Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones, Star Engines, Vectored Engines (190)
• Guardians x10 w/ Scatter Laser, Spiritseer Warlock w/ Embolden (131)
• Pathfinder x5 (120)
• Fire Dragon x6 w/ Exarch, Dragon's Breath Flamer, Crack Shot (113)
• Warp Spider x9 w/ Exarch, Dual Death Spinner, Power Blades, Withdraw (240)
• Falcon w/ Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, Holofields, Spirit Stones, Star Engines, Vectored Engines (220)
• Wraithlord w/ Bright Lance, Eldar Missile Launcher, Flamer x2 (155)
• Dark Reaper x5 w/ Exarch, Tempest Launcher & Crack Shot (217)

Total: 1999

This is by no means an optimum list - it's what I have and I'm gonna have to make the best of it (being a poor college student and all). I can see some ups and downs - I have enough contingency in both anti-horde, volume of fire and anti-tank to be able to bear the loss of one (maybe two) units and make it out okay. As I look at what I've put together, shooting is going to be my strong suit - but against IG or Tau I will have to get in their face with my more mobile elements.

If I had some handy, I'd totally throw another troops choice in - I guess I'm just gonna have to be really efficient with how I take/contest objectives.

The Autarch will be attached to the Warp Spiders and they (along with my Seer Council) will be problem solvers - they'll fly back and forth and cover my lines from assaulters by putting enough shots into a Doomed unit to kill them twice over or they (along with the grav tanks) will fly forward and hammer away at units.

I'm actually rather happy with the presence of the Dark Reapers. In 5th edition they haven't been very powerful due to the onset of mechanized armies and cover saves abound. However, I feel that there's enough high-strength long range shooting pop a few transports turn 1 or 2 and then pound away at power armored dudes.

Things that I will have to watch out for:

• Drop Pod lists - Following Fritz's example, I will keep everything in reserve in order to hopefully nullify any advantages that the first strike will give them.
• Nidzilla - I can barely kill 4 TMC's as it is, 7 or 8 will probably make me cry like a little girl.
• Dual Lash + Oblit Spam - The only thing I've got going for me is Runes of Warding and hopefully enough shots to kill Daemon Princes/Sorcerors in one turn.
• Nob Bikers - If the metagame has truly taken them out of the picture, I won't have to worry. But once again, hopefully I have enough high strength shots and volume of fire to take them out before they take me out.
• Horde Lists - I've sacrificed a bit of volume of fire in exchange for some Bright Lances, so I'll have to be very careful about where my flamer templates are on the board.
• AV14 spam (Tri Monolith, Land Raider Spam, Leman Russ Spam etc) - Hopefully, get up close with the Seer Council and all my fusion guns while blasting away with Bright Lances.

As always, C&C welcome.

Bacon and 40k

Or, as my friend insists on calling it, the “BaCON”. Unfortunately, there were only four of us there to play. We made the bacon explosion, what I can easily describe as a delicious orgy of bacon and barbeque. Two games of 40k were played and here’s a battle report of the game that I played, trying out my Vulkan list. Unfortunately for me, I forgot to take pictures throughout the entire game. L

Salamanders vs. Chaos Space Marines 1500 points

Salamanders:

Vulkan
Tactical Squad w/ Powerfist, Combi-Melta, Flamer and Multi-Melta & Rhino
Tactical Squad w/ Powerfist, Combi-Melta, Flamer and Multi-Melta & Rhino
Tactical Squad w/ Powerfist, Combi-Melta, Flamer and Multi-Melta & Rhino
Sternguard x5 w/ Combi-Melta x3, Combi-Flamer x1, Powerfist & Razorback
Assault Terminators w/ TH/SS x5
Land Raider Redeemer w/ Extra Armor

Chaos Marines (not exactly sure on the exacts)

Typhus
Chaos Sorcerer w/ Lash
Plague Marines w/ Rhino
Khorne Berserkers, Skull Champion w/ Power Weapon
Noise Marines w/ Doom Siren, Power Weapon
Defiler w/ 2 DCCW

The mission was Seize Ground with 3 objectives. Deployment was table quarters.

I won the roll-off to place two objectives and placed one objective within my table quarter behind wall that blocked LOS to it. My opponent placed his objective in his table quarter near a building. The last objective was placed near the center of the table, slightly towards my corner.

Turn 1 Chaos: My opponent starts off by moving his two rhinos; the one carrying Plague Marines drives towards his objective and the one carrying Noise Marines drives towards the wall blocking LOS. His Defiler makes its way to my left flank in order to get a clear shot with its battlecannon. His Land Raider drives into LOS of my Land Raider Redeemer and takes a shot with a TL-Lascannon, penetrating and immobilizing my Land Raider. Defiler shoots its battlecannon at my Razorback, gets a direct hit and glances, shaking it.

Turn 1 Salamanders: One of the Rhinos moves up my left to support the Razorback, one comes up the right to support the Land Raider and the last sticks back to take the objective later in the game. Razorback and the Rhino on the right pop smoke, while my Redeemer unloads its assault cannon at the enemy Land Raider. All four shots hit, but only one manages to Rend getting a glancing hit and immobilizing the Land Raider.

Turn 2 Chaos: His rhinos continue on the way they were going, the Plague Marine rhino parking on the objective and the Noise Marine Rhino hugs the wall. Defiler continues to move up my left flank. The Land Raider takes a shot at my right Rhino, but I make my cover save. Defiler shoots his battlecannon at my Razorback again, but scatters off and doesn’t do anything.

Turn 2 Salamanders: Both my Razorback and my left Rhino move away from the Defiler, trying to bait it in closer. The Rhino on the right pulls back out of LOS of the Land Raider. The Redeemer lets rip with the assault cannon again, but fails to do anything.

Turn 3 Chaos: Defiler continues moving forward, while his Rhinos sit where they are. Defiler shoots his Battlecannon at my rhino waiting to take my objective, immobilizing it. Land Raider shoots his Lascannons at my Land Raider, penetrating and destroying my assault cannon.

Turn 3 Salamanders: Left Rhino drives up towards the defiler and pops smoke. Razorback moves forward a touch in order to get within Melta range of the Defiler next turn. The right Rhino moves up the field and disembarks, trying to bait his Khorne Berserkers out of the Land Raider and away from the objective. My Land Raider pops smoke.

Turn 4 Chaos: Noise Marines and the Sorcerer get out of their Rhino, while the Khorne Berserkers and Typhus get out of the Land Raider. Both squads move forward to get into position for the ensuing slaughter. The Defiler shoots its battlecannon at the Tactical Squad’s rhino but smoke saves me. Typhus and the Berserkers charge into the other tactical squad and slaughter 4 Tactical Marines, while I kill 2 Berserkers. ‘Miraculously’ I make my leadership test, staying in combat.

Turn 4 Salamanders: The Razorback inches forward while the left Rhino disembarks its crew. The right Rhino makes a small retreat. The left tactical squad fires its Combi-melta at the Defiler, immobilizing it. I surprisingly only lose two marines in my assault with the berserkers, while killing one of them in return. I pass my Morale check again.

Turn 5 Chaos: The Noise Marines and Sorcerer disembark from their Rhino and move into a better firing position. The Defiler then fires its battle-cannon at my objective Rhino, immobilizing it. The Sorcerer uses Lash to whip my guys into a teardrop formation, followed swiftly by sonic blasters and the Doom Siren. Two marines are left standing but are cut down in the following assault. The berserkers kill two marines and the last one flees for his life, successfully breaking away.

Turn 5 Salamanders: After that last round, I needed to do something to at least contest the objective in the middle for at least the tie. Luckily, I had a couple ideas. The Razorback drives up to 6 inches away and the Sternguard get out. The left Rhino moved up to block off LOS from the Noise Marines. The right Rhino tank-shocks 9 inches pushing the Berserkers away from the objective and coming within 3 inches to contest. My back tactical squad disembarks from their Rhino and moves up to the objective, while the retreating marine helps consolidate it. My Vulkan and my assault terminators disembark from my immobile land raider and move 6 inches and prepare to assault. Sternguard let rip with their Combi-Melta’s, destroying the battlecannon on the Defiler. Vulkan lets loose with his heavy flamer, killing 2 berserkers. Vulkan and the Terminators charge, Vulkan killing three Berserkers, Typhus killing two terminators, the Berserkers killing nothing and the Terminators kill Typhus. The remaining Berserkers pass their No Retreat saves.

We roll to see if the game goes on and it ends on turn 5 with a draw!

Things that I learned or am considering:

1) If I'm not playing Annihilation, split my tactical squads into combat squads so that the heavy weapons can do something.

2) I'm not sure if combi-melta's are reliable enough to replace meltaguns as dedicated anti-tank. This problem could be solved if I follow through on lesson 1.

3) Tank shock is awesome.

Any other things that I missed out on? C&C Welcome

Squirrel_Fish

Bacon and 40k

I have a couple of friends coming into town on June 19th-21st in order to celebrate a birthday party. Instead of hitting the clubs/bars and getting completely plastered, we decided to dedicate one of those days to our two favorite things in the world - Bacon and 40k.

There'll be 8 of us total, each be running 1750 point lists. The teams will be the Imperium vs everything else. The teams break down to:

Eldar (me), Orks, Tau, Chaos Marines vs. Space Marines, Space Marines, Space Marines and Imperial Guard.

This is the list I'll be using.

• Farseer w/ Runes of Warding, Spirit Stones, Doom, Fortune, Jetbike and Singing Spear (178)
• 3 Warlocks all w/ Destructor, Singing Spear, and Jetbike (163)
• Autarch w/ Warp Jump Generator, Power Weapon, Mandiblasters, Fusion Gun (125)
• 10 Dire Avengers w/ Exarch, Dual Shuriken Catapult and Bladestorm (152)
• - Wave Serpent w/ Spirit Stones, Star Engines and TL Scatter Laser (140)
• 10 Dire Avengers w/ Exarch, Dual Shuriken Catapult and Bladestorm (152)
• - Wave Serpent w/ Spirit Stones, Star Engines and TL Scatter Laser (140)
• 9 Warp Spiders w/ Exarch, Dual Death Spinner, and Powerblades (225)
• Falcon w/ Scatter Laser, Vectored Engines, Star Engines, Holofields, Spirit Stones (210)
• Wraithlord w/ Wraithsword and Eldar Missile Launcher (125)
• 3 Dark Reapers w/ Exarch, Tempest Launcher and Crack Shot (137)

Total: 1749

Now, with 7000 points per side, this'll take the entire day to play. So we'll need a good amount of nourishment in the form of delicious, delicious bacon. So we're making two Bacon Explosions.

The recipe can be found here for those curious. When the day is over, I'll update with a battle report, assuming I survive the ensuing heart attack.

Salamanders Lists 1750 - C&C?

I've been way to exhausted to get any painting done, so I figured I throw up a list or two.

List 1

Vulkan (190)

Tactical Squad w/ Flamer, Multimelta, Sergeant w/ Combi-Melta & Powerfist (205)

- Rhino (35)

Tactical Squad w/ Flamer, Multimelta, Sergeant w/ Combi-Melta & Powerfist (205)

- Rhino (35)

Tactical Squad w/ Flamer, Multimelta, Sergeant w/ Combi-Melta & Powerfist (205)

- Rhino (35)

Terminator Assault Squad w/ TH/SS x5 (200)

-Land Raider Redeemer w/ Extra Armor (255)

Vindicator w/ Siege Shield (125)

Vindicator w/ Siege Shield (125)

Vindicator w/ Siege Shield (125)

Now, what a lot of you are probably thinking: "Squirrel_Fish, you have no long range support!!" 

My response is simply "Why do I need it? They're Space Marines, they shouldn't be far off taking shots with lascannons, they should be crushing their foes beneath the soles of their boots!" Hence the three vindicators. The demolisher cannon is easily the most well-rounded weapon in the Space Marine arsenal whether it's splattering infantry or cracking open armor (10+2d6 take highest). Now, normally with blast markers, the scatter die is not your friend. But with three vindicators, one of those is bound to hit or scatter pretty close. 

Total of 7 pieces of armor on the board means that standard guns will do little to nothing until my Rhinos are popped open, and if they ignore the vindicators and land raiders, they'll regret it.

Ideally, I would drive everything up one flank. Space the three vindicators side by side, 3-4 inches apart from each other, rhinos behind the vindicators, the land raider on the flank of a Vindicator, shielding the rest of the vehicles' side armor. Once the caravan is within 24 inches, the vindicators will spread out and open fire while the Rhinos drive to where they need to and deploy tactical squads.