Weekly Finds #67

Building Backdrop by Jakob Rune Nielsen from miniaTEXTures - A WiP that has me thinking of relatively cheap ways to add lots of terrain to the table. Particularly terrain that blocks line of sight. This is something that tournament organisers and game store owners should take a look at. Especially, since most tables have maybe one or two piece of terrain that offer skimmers and flyers any form of cover.

Weekly Finds #38

Despite it being a relatively lazy week in real life, I haven't been keeping my eyes open for articles. So this week there really isn't all that much to show...

How To: Breaking Bubble-wrap by Kirby from The Pinktastic Blog - A somewhat complex concept is simplified with the use of pictures. This article could benefit from a follow up which shows a few other examples to help reinforce the points being made. For those curious, here is the article on tank shocking that Kirby mentioned without providing a link bad Kirby.

Weekly Finds #29

Another slow week with only three articles... but this week has a greater focus on competitive play.

Rhino Tactica by Stelek from Yes The Truth Hurts - This is the sort of tactical guide the interwebz needs. Trust Stelek to know what to do and how to explain it. Always nice to see that the things you do on the table top are consider good by the competitive elite.

Weekly Finds #25

It is almost Easter, and I've already begun to enjoy the delicious taste of Bakers Delight hot cross buns. Also on clinical placement at the moment which is cutting into my hobby time. But I'm still going to play some games tonight...

Stupid Human Tricks (Part 1) by Danny Internets from Bald & Screaming - Danny has been missing in action for awhile now... too long to be honest. But he has returned to us with an offering. Much like in this article, he is aiming to educate players of all levels of skill. The next post in the series should be good...

Weekly Finds #18

First week of University has come and gone. I've found out my clinical placement schedule so far it looks good and once again there is a bunch of retards running the show we have to do a poster as an assessment. Ducking idiots. This week covers a range of topics...

Black Templar Information by Marshal2 Crusader from The Bolter and Chainsword - M2C is always throwing up useful posts for Black Templars when it comes to background details. Sadly of course the sub-forum has fallen in terms of quality of posters... alot of idiots are letting their thoughts known on topics like Black Horde and Assault Marines.

Tutorial: Re-Posing a Terminator by The LeadHead from The LeadHead - Came across this tutorial thanks to Ron and his new blog Black Dot Barrel Studios. Although I'm quite happy with the poses that can be produced using the existing miniatures, this post may be helpful for others.

Top Tip: All you're Bases are belong... by b.smoove from A Gentleman's One - There are some great bits of information all over A Gentleman's One. One example is his tip on scoring your bases to increase surface area. It is also yet another post that helps reinforce the importance of pinning your miniatures. Another post on the topic of pinning can be found on Ron's new blog.

Spacecurves' Tactics Class: Flame Deflection by Spacecurves from Bell of Lost Souls - Another great post by Spacecurves. I even learnt something from the comments in regards to positioning flamer marine into second rank to achieve the same results.

Showcase: Darkwynn's Kabal of the Orange Blossom by Bigred from Bell of Lost Souls - Added this here so that it is easy to find pictures of Darkwynn's Venoms. They look great except for the spikes which are facing the wrong direction. I also like the imagery of flowers on the hull... reminds me of Brandon Palmer's stunning Eldar with anime imagery. Also, on the topic of venoms, here is Stelek's Venomspam list...

Tutorial: Working with Crackle Medium by Roman from Massive Voodoo - I've never heard of crackle medium. So when this post popped up I had to find out what it is about. Turns out there is stuff that actually produces a cracked effect as it dries. So the pictures it looks like a great tool to have handy. Especially, when it comes to creating unique bases or weathering. Dried mud comes to mind...

Multi-assault question. The rules say what? by TheGraveMind from the back 40k - A rule post that looks at the workings of multi-charging. The discussions throw light onto how there is alot of misinterpretation of how this works resulting from the misunderstanding of beginning of combat and beginning of the assault phase...

How to Guide: Ogryn Ripper Guns Tutorial by MWC from Miniature Wargame Conversion - As pointed out in the comments for the identical post on 3++ this may look like an easy conversion, but it isn't. Especially, since MWC is drilling out his own barrels instead of using plastic tubes

Back to Basics: Assembling and Basing Dark Eldar Mandrakes by RealGenius from The Painting Corps - A basic guide on preparing Dark Eldar Mandrakes with a focus on basing them. I like the suggestion to apply the basing material before glueing the mandrakes down. Avoid the sinking effect that sometimes happen. It isn't a hassle for Space Marines due to their armoured boots. But on miniatures like Dark Eldar, Imperial Guard and even Sisters of Battle, this is a great suggestion. And if you don't already use toothpicks I highly recommend them. They are great for apply glue, including super glues.

Also a shout out for Gareth's BlogDex. For those who haven't already found out about it, this is a great addition to the online community with loads of potential.

Terribad Destroyer Wing

Althought this list represents what a true Destroyer Wing is with the inclusion of Destroyers for Fast Attack... it has Monolith. Thus, it is terribad and will be looked down upon as if it is pox ridden...

In addition to my nightmare shroud build, and experiments with a fun wraith wing I’ve been revisiting the tried and true destroyer wing which I feel has been bumped up a few notches with the move to razorback spam everywhere on the table. In this article I’d like to present the good and the bad so you can adapt the idea to your own Necron army. Necrons are far from dead, well actually they are, you know what I mean…

Definitions. By definition a destroyer wing does what the Necrons do best- shooting and survivability. As a core it maxes out on destroyers (15 in total) with the rest of the army being built around this core concept. A destroyer based army is attractive because it puts a number of T5 models on the table with WBB, fires three S6 shots a model at a range of 36” plus 12” of jetbike like movement. S6 is the “sweet spot” for Necrons throwing a number of wounds on infantry, monstrous creatures, and most importantly penetrating hits on all those razorbacks flooding the table. Remember all 15 of those Destroyers are stuck in 3 squads... this means your killing 3 Razorbacks/Rhinos/Chimeras/Trukks a turn. Sure it is 3 reliable kills, but it is far from crippling. Added to the core of destroyers is a lord, group of immortals, warriors, and a monolith. At 1750 points the list looks something like this: a Lord, 8 Immortals, 15 Destroyers, 20 Warriors and a Monolith.

Click for Army List

Functionality. The army deploys and works the same regardless of the mission or your opponent. It looks to start in the center of the table with the monolith in the center, immortals plus the lord in front, destroyers ranked behind them, and finally the warriors trailing behind. With only 4 'real' threats on the board this list makes target priority very easy.

Is there such a thing as alpha-strike Necrons? I very much doubt it. And going by the definition used by Danny Internet here, it is hard to imagine the above Necron list being able to perform the requirement. This idea comes as close as it can to such a plan, and the destroyer wing likes to go and deploy first. After you set up in the center of the table, and your opponent has deployed you look for which side is weaker in terms of models and long range shots- this is the side that the destroyers and immortals shift over to attack first, which leads to target priority. Resist all temptations to shoot your destroyers at anything other than AV 11. Once your opponent is on foot, then you can switch to other targets. As for the AV 13+ tanks and vehicles, it is up to the immortals to handle that threat, if it really is a threat.

Against tanks you are looking to shake them to stop them from shooting as in facing vindicators or dakka flame baal preds, or to immobilize them as in land raider with deathstar units (more on this in a bit). Veil of darkness can help you get a bit closer as needed to try and get those glances. From there it is just going down the target priority line and adjusting it for the mission.

Second to the destroyers, the monolith is also the powerhouse in this list, but played a bit differently- it is a WBB factory over a deepstriking capstone or particle whip blaster. The ‘lith is there to WBB your destroyers as needed to get that extra 4+ chance of getting back up. Keeping the destroyers up and running is key so shifting the monolith to the weak side and always making sure your destroyers are in 18” is key. The good news about this is that most of the Internet community has dismissed monoliths and popular wisdom states to just ignore it- which is good advice, your opponent should be shooting at the destroyers, which means the monolith is free to help with WBB. Ignoring the Monolith is always good. It is not worth wasting resources in an attempt to take it out, it presents a very small threat to a well built list. Finally there is the hidden gem of the list- solar pulse. In a dawn of war deployment or nightfight turn pop off the pulse for a free round of shooting, in games without it, start off attaching the lord to a group of destroyers to pop the pulse and protect them from any return fire, depending on how your army shifts over.

Weaknesses. Every list of course has its weaknesses but this list has a crap ton of them. Firstly, it has very little in dealing with Land Raiders or other high AV threats. Secondly, it has two fragile scoring squads that are also very important to ensure the army doesn't fall apart from Phasing Out. Thirdly, it is hoping that your opponent doesn't have a good shooting turn which sees a good portion of your Destroyers wiped out... Some can be countered with a good list, others with solid tactics, but some just can’t be fixed, and the outdated Necron codex is one of them. Here are some things to watch out for…

With only two warrior groups (I’d like at least three, but the points are needed elsewhere) they are a tempting target. Target them in 66% of the standard missions and the Necrons can’t win. Focus on the Necron mobility and anti-tank first and then take out the Warriors in the later turns. If the mission places a high importance on scoring then your target priority may change. Based on your opponent’s army you have to ask yourself if you can deploy them or if it is better to keep them in reserve. Be aware that the monolith might also have to portal them through to keep the numbers up, and be aware of where your lord is to he can potentially VOD himself and a group of warriors out if needed.

You also have to be keenly aware of any deathstar units your opponent may have coming your way. Without a C’Tan or tomb spyders to speed bump them you may have to shift your target priority early to immobilize the DS deliver system, like a land raider, speed bump with the immortals, or just plain old spray and pray shooting sign of a bad list as this one falls into the R/P/S of 4th Edition everything and then dumping the particle whip into them. Unfortunately the same goes to any remotely dedicated assault unit that might be running your way. Like what nearly every codex has to offer in some form or another... imagine what will happen against Dark Eldar and Blood Angels with their insane mobility. Deep Striking Space Marines can drop in ontop of the Necrons, weather a turn of shooting and then get stuck in. Imagine what a Dante Wing could do with some Vanguard Veterans with Feel No Pain and shields for Invulnerable Save... the Devastators in the back field would play havoc with the Necron Target Priority.

Now back to the tomb world, time to start awakening those destroyers and warriors, soon the harvests will begin again…

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Destroyer Wing Revisited

Wraith Wing

The second list by Fritz. Once again it has serious issues that a competent general will be able to exploit to their advantage... take out the mobility and anti-tank.

While we are talking about “wing” based Necron armies another variant is the wraith wing which still packs some punch but is a bit harder to use on the table given a lower model count and the vulnerability of the wraiths themselves.

A wraith wing list is built around a core of fast moving wraiths backed by Necron destroyer lords and heavy destroyers. Here is the list and how it plays out:

The List

To sum it up there is are 2 Destroyer Lords, Warriors, Wraiths, Heavy Destroyers and Spyders... there is some anti-tank but as Fritz points out this has some serious weaknesses.

The main issue of the list is that wraiths occupy the same slot as destroyers and this list needs to crack open transports so the wraiths can get at the guys inside plus there are all the other reasons you want to kill mech- this leaves single shot heavy destroyers for the task, at least you can get those heavy destroyers on the table. While they aren’t bad per se, the problem is that you only get a single shot, and the models come in units of only three. It means at best your killing two, maybe three, transports a turn from shooting... Imperial Guard and Razorspam players are able to dominate the shooting phase. This is a problem my Black Templars face... but to a lesser extent.

The two lords each get attached to a wraith unit for some added punch and to take a few wounds on the way in if needed. Wargear is up to you, but solar pulse on one is 100% mandatory- not so much for night fight this time, but more so to protect you from shots on the way in.

Warriors are there for “scoring” and three are taken over the standard two for variants lists like this since there is no counter assault or speedbump unit. Let’s now look at deployment:

Standard Wraith Wing Deployment…

Ok, let’s start with the back of the table and work our way up. Warriors are spread out on the table- one on the left, once center, and one on the right. Being spread out means your opponent has to divide their forces up to get to your warriors. The tomb spyders go in-between each group and poop out a single swarm for wounds and then get into cover. This way when one warrior group falls to shooting, etc. the spyder is the bridge to WBB those warriors over to another group. Be prepared to shift warriors on the flanks and the spyders over if your opponent looks to hit the center warrior group.

Ahead of them are the heavy destroyers. They start in the center of the table so they have range to everything and operate as a “pack” so you can get WBB rolls when a unit goes down. Their job is to crack open the tanks for the wraiths to assault. The final layer is the wraiths who also start front and center and then flank the weak side. They too also operate as a pack with the lords, with the non-lord wraith group piling in on one of the assaults to make sure combat it won. The idea is to kill a unit or two in the assault, and then zip away to the other side of the table as opposed to wading through combat after combat like they are terminators or something- which they are not. The wraiths and lords are a surgical strike, looking to hit and run, keep your opponent busy moving and shooting trying to react to them so your warriors can slip in RE mission objectives.

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Wraith Wing

There is little to say as the obvious problems with this list have been pointed out... anti-tank has been sacrificed to play a themed list.

Nightmare Build

The first of the three builds that Fritz has put up on his blog. All three are very different to the sort of lists that Stelek has shown and this may help explain why Fritz made the suggestion of reserving Warriors while Stelek uses the same deployment every single time. Keep in mind Stelek does use alot of hyperbole...

So this is a build that I used to use extensively in 4th edition and now adapted for 5th edition play- the nightmare build. Making extensive use of flayed ones, pariahs, and tomb spyders backed by the golden one it is all about synergy and fun. Note the word fun and the inclusion of a C'Tan. I don’t think I have to point out that this is a fun/themed list to give you some variety in your Necron games, and not a “competitive” list. Props to Fritz for making the differentiation, this isn't the only great thing about the article, with another to follow soon. The goal of this army is to scare your opponent with non-competitive list and make them run away crying like little children. Nothing is funnier than seeing Space Marines consistently run away turn after turn.

Pariahs’ are the lost child of the Necron codex. ‘Cron players so want to do something with their souless ability but struggle based on the over the top point cost, 0-1 limitation, and the fact that they aren’t Necrons. This theme builds on them and gives you a reason to put them down on the table. So here is the list at 1750 points…

The List

To sum it up there is a C'Tan, Lord, Pariah, Flayed Ones, Warriors and Spyders... there is a complete absence of long range anti-tank in this list. 

Deployment…

Regardless of the mission the army needs to stick together and work as a core unit- think of a Roman legion formation marching and fighting as one giant block. Tomb spyders are in the front with a second rank of flayed ones, pariahs, and the C’Tan. Behind them is the lord and your two warrior groups.

If you are familiar with Necrons right away you are asking yourself what is in the list to pop all those spamy razorbacks that are going to be coming your way.

Nothing! But hear me out…

In the best of cases you have ranks of destroyers and maybe even a heavy destroyer group mixed in. With this build we just don’t have the points for them, and to take a single group of min destroyers isn’t going to do anything so we just aren’t going to bother trying to stop the opponent from crashing out ranks- but remember the idea of sticking together. The second thing that Fritz has done that deserves props... the inclusion of something to illustrate what he is talking about.

You want to deploy where you can enter and be in terrain. In the front ranks the spyders will begin pooping out scarabs swarms that get into cover and now you have a T6 unit with a 3+ cover save. Position them so a “net” is cast around the rest of your units granting them a 4+ cover save.

At the start of the game your warriors and pariahs move to the front to get the 24” range of shooting so maybe you can get lucky at immobilizing a vehicle. With shooting for the first few turns you can even go to ground for the 3+ cover save- keeping units alive is important for now. Keeping the P’s up is key so be ready to attach the lord and pop off solar pulse to cut down on a round of shooting if needed.

As those legions of razorbacks come forward why would they with superior shooting? they will hit your wall of tomb spyders with two options. Crash through and tank shock or stop just before and rapid fire. If they crash through you are fearless or LD 10 and if they get out and rapid fire you take it with the T6 or WBB rolls. By now the interwebz should understand the importance of staying inside steel coffins. If they move up to then assault next turn through your ranks, then you assault the transports first and swarm for the emergency disembark. Hold the line and take the crash. A bunch of 5 man squads that have jumped out of Razorbacks charging into Necrons... way to assume the other guy is a complete idiot. Plus there are all those other equally good lists.

Now when those marines get out for whatever reason they are in the pariah bubble- LD 7 as you hit them with the C’Tan powers, visage of the flayed ones, and the shroud of the lord. Mob those units and pile in the assault. Once you are in the assault, you are then protected from shooting so you want to encourage that as soon as possible… and a good opponent will know this and will avoid combat. Especially, with the C'Tan in your list.

Wraith wing, destroyer wing, and the nightmare build can all give you some new fun and different games while we wait for that new ‘dex, especially if you are playing the battle mission books and variant missions.

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Nightmare Build

Destroyer Wing - Alone in the Dark

This is the newer version of Stelek's Destroyer Wing that has more of a close combat punch...

So, what is the one thing I want in a Necron army that I can’t find?

A decent CC unit to protect myself from enemy assaults.

Something you can put out in midfield to both speed bump an enemy army and push them back out of your half of the board.

Well, carefully crafted, you *can* do this.

You still need to be extremely careful, but at least you can suck it up and hurt people instead of wondering where you can run to.

This is a very carefully crafted army.

No, it won't work at lower levels.

It will work at higher levels (add destroyers, hurr).

At any rate, let's get to it:

2000 Pts - Necrons Roster - Necrons - Alone in the Dark

Notes: Rather than depend on craptastic units to destroy, defend, or otherwise annoy the enemy-give them a solid target to deal with.

Where is the Res Orb, you ask? It’s nowhere really, it's on a Lord in case you really really need it, but most of the time you won’t and it will just be used to save your Lords. I've learned from playing my Necrons, that I don't *need* it very much. People who are stupid and shoot my Warriors in cover figure out quickly my Warriors don't do much and to shoot other things instead.

The bold was added by me to emphasis the point that you should focus your fire power on Necron Mobility and anti-tank... so shot the crap out of Destroyers and Heavy Destroyers. With them dead it is just a matter of Phasing Out the army... and yes still ignore Monoliths because as we know they suck thanks to costing a crap tonne while offering very little (read: none) anti-tank support. 

Like the Destroyers. They do most of the damage. I'd rather have more, but bringing along 2 Lords and a Pariah unit is expensive.

Will some units just walk through the unit? Of course. Black Templar Termies with Furious Charge and Lightning Claws comes to mind. Nasty stuff. Be jealous biatches. That's what the Scarab Swarms are there for.

So, why Pariahs? Well, I was spending about the same amount of points on Immortals, which are great speed bumps against most units but aren’t so awesome against anyone that swings a blade.

Pariahs get two things you don't normally get-they get 2D6 armor penetration, and they make the Lords fearless.

They do need cover saves though, and that's what the Scarab Swarms are for. In a pinch, you can attach one (or both!) Lords to the Swarm unit and go hunt down IG tanks, who hate this unit with a passion. As subpar as those Lords are, they can still beat up many units in CC.

Anyway, you zoom the Swarms in front of your Pariahs and engage annoying units with them, and the Lords. If there's a target that you can kill and get into cover after killing it, you should. Even if it looks questionable, do it anyway. If you face a nasty CC character, suicide a Lord onto him. Worst that happens is you lose the Lord but you kill all of that guys buddies, and he runs away. Are you likely to catch anyone? Not particularly, but hey at least you have 4 units that can stop combat squads from laughing your army away.

I'd say however that this army is a fraction of it's potential, and works best at 2500 points when you can:

Max out all 5 Destroyer units, the Pariahs, the Scarabs, and give the 'other' Lord a Nightmare Shroud (combine with Soulless for fleeing enemy units) and a Phase Shifter. That's exactly 2500 points, btw.

And that's the best Necrons can do, is 'scare' people with Pariahs. Doesn't work on everyone, but those it does work on don't like them one bit. Make sure you get the charge by sacrificing the Scarabs, and take hits on your Lords whenever possible to conserve your strength, and things will work better than usual.

Way better than the normal way, which is usually 'back in the case, boys!'. lol

- Stelek from YTTH in Necrons: Rebuilt (and Alone)

Destroyer Wing

This is considered the most competitive Necron theme with the use of multiple Destroyer bodies in the HQ, FA and HS slots...

So I've been asked ALOT how to make an effective Necron list in 5th. By ALOT, I mean I've gotten a dozen emails in the last couple months on making an effective Necron list.

I've been experimenting alot with the current Necron 'dex. Yes, the new Necrons are different but for now, this is what you've got to live with.

A bit on tactics below--it should be apparent how you run this list, but I'll break it down as it appears there are alot of irritated Necron players out there. lol

2000 Pts - Necrons Roster - Necrons 5th Edition

Allright, so...how does this list work?

Well, it's a shooty army as that's what Necrons do. I've tried to maximize that while still retaining other options.

Essentially you place your army 'core' in the center of your deployment zone, and place your 'wings' on either side of it. Future post will illustrate what Stelek means.

So what's the core?

The Spyders, your Lord, and the Swarms.

Each wing is made up of 1 unit each of warriors, immortals, destroyers, and heavy destroyers.

You'll want to keep each unit near the Spyders so you can keep going

The Warriors, Immortals, and Destroyers are your primary anti-infantry. The heavy destroyers are your primary anti-tank, but of course you can focus the Immortals and Destroyers at light vehicles to try and attrition them away.

You can survive several turns of close combat with this list, by pretending to sacrifice warrior and immortal units to incoming assault units. With the Spyders nearby, you can "We'll Be Back" entire squads wiped out to sweeping advances and have them teleport freely to another squad of the same type in range.

At any rate, the Spyders and Lord are together (and that 2nd spyder has a PPC for a reason). Each spyder generates it's own scarab swarms and takes wounds separately (they have different weapons). The Lord is infantry, so with just 1 swarm base you get cover for the Spyder unit. The GW FAQ is pretty poorly written in this regard, but at least you can get some kind of cover save, right? ;) Here is the FAQ for those curious. Anyways, let's say you get shot at by 6 lascannons (unlikely) on turn 2. You've generated two swarms.

You put wounds on the lord and the scarabs (who get cover saves) with the swarms taking the hits first of course. You usually want to fire off the Solar Pulse your first turn, simply to prevent the other guy from unloading on your core and possibly breaking your army build. It's still a risk, but even on turn one...most players won't shoot your defensive unit, they'll want to shoot your offensive units which are the destroyers and heavy destroyers. Call it a fail safe.

Once you've had 2 or 3 turns to generate swarms, you should probably stop if none of them are dead. Mostly so you don't lose any Spyders. Note, against Railheads and Markerlights...better spread the unit out or you're going to get alot of swarms insta-killed. lol

Note: This really should say 'Spyder' as each unit of Spyders is a single entity.

This 'core' isn't a great counterattack unit by any means, but it's dangerous enough to beat alot of enemy units and that is a good thing for you.

The normal swarm unit is your other failsafe. Against many armies, it will buy you one extra turn of shooting by blocking movement of assault troops or tying something up you don't want near you. Remember you have two Fearless units in your army, the Spyders and the Swarms. Use them wisely, if you cannot stop an assault with them you are probably going down.

This army can win games, and it can handle most army variants. You really need to concentrate your firepower where it's needed though, and use your multiple lines of assault defense wisely.

EDIT: I had a comment about how to 'layer' the units.

Warriors in front. They are, frankly, bait. Let the other guy aim for phase out. You aim for shooting repeatedly with your shooting units while he's not killing them.

You can put the Immortals behind them, their job is to provide mobile small unit killing capability or just more attrition shots.

Then the Destroyers and Heavy Destroyers behind them.

Don't be afraid to run your Necron Warriors your first turn, just do your best to get them cover saves to make them survivable.

- Stelek from YTTH in My Necrons

Reap the Whirlwind

This is Stelek's latest Chaos Space Marine list using the failtastic 4th Edition Codex. His comments are below along with my own thoughts in the usual purple italics...

Howdy,

Here we go, first up--Chaos Space Marines.

Outdated, outmoded, and sad panda faces all around.

Right? Wrong. Wrong?

Chaos has a few gems within it's dessicated husk still, you just have to discover them. ;)

Now does it need to be revolutionary? No, it need only be evolutionary.

What are some of the main issues Chaos has?

Well, they lack fire support.

Troops that fail for various reasons.

Having to sacrifice troops to destroy Rhinos. The joys of not enough mid- and long-range fire power. Even Orks have better mid- and long-range fire power...

Lack of anti-infantry or anti-tank at range. I r smrt... I typed the above without reading that.

Decent CC units they can throw away but hide until it's time to send them out.

So, good armies have lots of heavy fire support, sufficient melta (or something similar), enough anti-infantry in shooting and assault phases...and often as not, lots of vehicles.

So let's talk turkey. Let's talk about the title of the army. After the list.

2000 Pts - Chaos Marines Roster - Reap the Whirlwind

Notes: Here we go. ;)

There are also two Cavalry, while more expensive than I'd like and vulnerable to heavy weapons fire despite how Chaos SHOULD be--their entire role is to draw fire, just like Demon Princes do. Unlike Demon Princes, they can hide when needed. For the curious I plan on collecting this army with the focus on a Slaanesh cult with the Black Legion and Iron Warriors as support. So the two 'Lords' would use these for 'legs' with the appropriate torso. An alternative to the boobies would be use the lower portion of Raveners which would work out cheaper.

With the numerous other targets to deal with, your low number of troops is backed up by 3 melta units, 3 preds that can pop tanks or fire at infantry, and you have a lot of blast templates. The Chosen and Predators would be Iron Warriors and Black Legion...

Thirteen blast templates of them. 4 are dedicated to killing infantry, the Rhino Havocs for the NM. Think of them as mini-whirlwinds.

The Predators are primarily anti-tank, but when you face infantry...at least they can put down a S5 blast too. Since I plan on having Iron Warriors I will also convert some Obliterators from Terminators for those days I wanna be SUPER CHEESY and run the Dual Lash and Obliterators combo.

The Sorcerors should sit with the Noise Marines, and then advance to join the single Chosen unit without a Rhino, which should be infiltrated forward. That single squad would be the Black Legion portion.

Why? To distract people. And give them a springboard forward for your 2nd turn, anyone sitting in midfield won't like dual Warptime Sorceror Cavalry waiting to pounce. Don't forget to use Warptime every single turn you are even remotely in CC range. Nobody likes 6 WS5 S4 I6 attacks with re-rolls to hit and to wound. 5 when not charging.

The infiltrated Chosen unit is designed to give you a melta attack wherever you tank shock it.

The others are designed to either infiltrate forward, or outflank. Personally I'd just infiltrate them unless someone has deployed really poorly and is vulnerable to an outflank. Assuming you infiltrate them, park their empty Rhinos in the back. You can always mount them up if you want and drive them forward instead, but once the Sorcerors arrive only dedicated CC units are going to step forward to say hello to your Chosen. Vehicles and infantry aren't safe around them, and with good CC units backing them up you can push non-troops into midfield and use your range to your advantage. If you face a infantry horde, you should probably mount the 2 Chosen units so you can run up and flame the shit out of somebody. ;)

Again, mini-whirlwinds is the key here. Having 6 of them, which also gives you tank shock, movement blocking, and Predator/Sorceror screening capability, is a good thing.

The Noise Marines will probably start the game disembarked and firing at enemy transports, but they can start in their Rhinos if you want.

What this army has is plenty of melta, plenty of anti-tank and anti-infantry fire, lots of vehicles, and a much stronger mid-to-late game than Chaos normally has.

Deny area with the Chosen. Bombard the enemy with templates and direct fire.

It's not a huge amount of firepower on the face of it, but what you do have is very survivable--those Predators should always have cover, generally 3+. The Noise Marines too, giving you 4 hits on 4+ cover or 5 bodies to torrent before the Blastmaster falls.

And last, with all the blasts--especially the Blastmaster ones, which can hit a vehicle and people standing next to it and pierce Marine armor, you can really shock people with how many wounds you put out on disembarked troops.

Having a range of 48" on everything in the army really helps you stand off, as well, you really need to lol.

This army 'feels' like my Black Templars in many ways with the mini/max squads and the 6+ Rhino chassis... it just plays very differently due to the long-range fire power.

Well, that's that. Enjoy.

- Stelek in Chaos Space Marines: Rebuilt [Reap The Whirlwind] from 13th of September, 2010 

Dante Wing

For some time now I've been planning on creating a Death Company themed Sanguinary Guard list. The list in my head combines Honour Guard and Sanguinary Guard with Missile Launcher Devastators. And it turns out my idea isn't a looney thought...

Well, emails just keeping coming in.

How do I do a Sang Guard list?

Waaaah help me.

I'm the internet and dumb.

Is John's list the best?  By the way, thanks to 3+ Save for letting me totally steal that pic of Sanguinary Guard. [editor's note - if yer gonna steal pics from me, at least attribute them right. stj]

How about SandWyrms?  I couldn't find a pic to steal.  =/

Help us, the 7th layer of Hell is hot this time of year and we want NippleWing!

Yeah yeah. I'll help you.

Really? Yes, really. Yay!

So let's explore.

First, you need Dante.

Hey, 225 points gone.

Now let's bring 4 Sanguinary Guard units.

Why 4? Because they cost so damn much, that's why. They are like super minions.

Plus you need the bodies.

Now something I keep seeing in the Sanguinary Guard lists, is the same thing over and over again.

Drop down, and use the Sanguinary Guard to blow open vehicles then assault the guys inside. With 4-6 squads of only five guys with no invulnerable save that is a bad tactic. You kill a couple of cheap Rhinos or Chimera and then get torrented to death by all the autocannons and heavy bolters.

Well, you can't assault the turn you drop--and you are going to drop on turn 2 at the earliest.

Normally, for a small elite force, that's good news.

Limits the shooting at you, you see.

Well, in 40k--I'm not impressed with the alpha strike capability of such a list.

Ooooh I lost some Rhinos. Color me scarified.

What color is that anyway? Yellow? lol

Normally you buy one power fist and a couple inferno pistols for each squad.

Then you buy some Land Speeders with multimeltas.

Well, that's great.

Don't the Sanguinary Guard reliably arrive on turn 2, and the Speeders not?

Are you trying to make it so on turn 3--if you haven't received your reserves, you can't pop tanks reliably without exposing your troops to death? This is why I thought of Missile Launcher Devastators... i r so smrt! Plus they will be in the backfield. Forcing my opponent to decide whether to use weapons like Autocannons, Missile Launchers and Lascannons on the immediate threat of S8 shots or the next turn threat of 25 Sanguinary Guard in their battle line.

Do they not have invulnerable saves?  Oh snapple, they don't.  Just a 2+, which is nice--but won't save them from concentrated fire of any real magnitude.

2 or 3 Speeders just isn't enough 'extra' stuff to add to your reserves pool to make it likely they will arrive.

What if you don't NEED to rely on unreliable reserve rolls, and can instead provide precision strikes where you need them?

Impossible!

No, it's not.

In fact, I don't think you need anything other than the IMMINENT threat to make people think twice before deploying like you aren't a threat.  What's that mean?  Simple--a couple of RELIABLE and devastating anti-tank units is better than a handful of unreliable units.

Also, do you *really* need huge amounts of FNP/FC bubbleage?  I certainly don't think so.

Missiles bounce--but on a 1, you die anyway.
Las, plasma, melta...all of it goes right through, and you die.
Against heavy bolters, shuriken cannons, multilasers, and autocannons--you have a 2+.

In short, you want to play an army where basic infantry fire can torrent you, but with a 2+ save--it's not going to be terribly effective.  Look it's one thing to use 5-6 units to drop 5 Terminators.  It's another thing entirely to drop 20+ Sanguinary Guard.  Seriously.

Wouldn't it also be nice to dump all the extraneous, and pickup some decent fire support?

Then instead of hiding in reserve, you can start on the table--and scare the shit out of people as you have a valid assault force coming their way, and have threats in reserve.

Really?  Oh yes, really.

Let's explore a list then:

I'll take Dante.

Now if I bring along a squad that has jump packs--not only am I bringing a unit in from reserves reliably, but I can put it anywhere I want to?

So let's take an honor guard.  Give it 3 meltaguns + 1 Flamer.  Why? Yeah why? Well, why not? Because they don't look as hard core as Honour Guard running around with power weapons. Just look at the Honour Guard miniatures from Forge World.

What else would I give it?  BOLTERS. Why Bolters?  Well, firing Meltaguns into Gants isn't terribly effective, but if you are landing and don't have a better target because you play someone who knows how to defend against the deep strike you threaten I'd link to a tutorial on how to bubble-wrap, but I can't think of any on the interwebz at the moment, you might as well bolter them.  Yes, I'll take 8 bolter shots +1 flamer on Gants and IG over 3 melta + 1 flamer + 1 pistol shot.  Why?  If they are out in the open, you have the POTENTIAL to kill more of them.

Why a bolter on the flamer guy?  Simple--sometimes, you deep strike out of range and having a flamer-tard 9" away from the enemy sucks.  So, bring a bolter "just in case".

Oh and give one of the meltagun guys a meltabomb.  Split the squad up a bit more.  You can, if you want, give only ONE of the other meltagun guys a bolter, creating 5 differently equipped guys.  Personally I wouldn't bother.  Anyway, Dante is going to go with this squad.  But...they won't scatter!  Right, and sometimes you'll be landing behind a Russ, and the bolter has MORE potential damage than a flamer does.

This is the first threat to heavy armored vehicles.

Anyway, let's go get 5 Sanguinary Guard squads, but rather than giving them ANY upgrades--we will give them NO upgrades.

Really?  Yes, really.  Would power fists be nice?  Of course.  Why are you charging into MC's and Dreads with guys without an invulnerable save?  Right, so it's not necessary.  If you are charging into CC with a transport vehicle and think 3 power fist attacks will be amazing, well it isn't.  lol

Why 5?  Well, 20 guys kinda scares me.  25, definitely does.  I've seen so-called 'competitive' jump lists with less. Like St John's with his three Sanguinary Guard squads...

So, we have one threat--now we need another.

But it needs to be reliable--and it needs to force the other guy to make decisions at deployment, ESPECIALLY if he's going first OR SECOND.  It's bad news either way--I'll explain later.

So let's pick up a Sternguard Squad.  Give it 2 meltaguns, a combi-melta, and a combi-flamer.  See where we're going yet?  Well, buy a Drop Pod for it.  This is the other reliable unit.  It has triple melta, bolters, and a flamer.  Hmmm.  It's a theme.  Note that single Drop Pods ALWAYS show up on your turn 1.  No stopping it.  Something else--these guys bolters are nasty.  Deployed a screen to prevent units getting to you?  Some cover busting bolter fire will shred it nicely. Other than my Devastators I plan on going all Angelic Jump Packs. So the Sternguard are out unless I use them for Missile Launcher or Lascannon support... alternatively I go with two Land Speeders with MM and HF.

What else do we want?  Well, going with the 'outside the box' thinking, since we are not going to be in reserve but are instead going to charge across the battlefield...we want some fire support.  The cheapest and most potentially useful for this list (meaning it can bust vehicles, MC's, and strip hordes of their numbers) would be missile devastators.

3 units of them, minimum size, with 4 missile launchers.

Now let's take a gander at my 'Best Of' Sanguinary Guard list.

2000 Pts - The Sanguinary Guard

Notes:  So, you start everything on the board except the HG and Sternguard squad.  Unless you are facing a spammy anti-infantry army (like Eldar with tons of S6 but few S8), then start the HG on the board and put them in the middle of a Sanguinary Star.  Sternguard + HG w/Dante give opponents bad choices to make.

If they reserve to avoid the Sternguard, your jump troops start on the board and go 12" + Run D6.  Meaning, you win when his army shows up piecemeal.

If they go second, they can't hide.

If they screen, the Sternguard can poke a hole in the screen.

All the while, it takes heavy weapons to down your army.

It's all Marines, but there aren't any Speeders to drop in (maybe) and zap something (maybe).

The Sternguard and Honor Guard are reliable at cracking ANYTHING.

With re-rolls to arrive, Dante WILL show up with that HG--and being able to place it anywhere without scattering makes screening it very difficult.

While the missiles are relatively safe from small arms fire deep in your deployment zone, and your Sanguinary Guard have their 2+ to protect them--the Sternguard are easy to put into cover, and the HG have FNP, meaning EVERYTHING needs heavy or special weapons to kill it.

That's the key to making a Sanguinary Guard army.

Don't try to increase a 90% super-tough to a 93% super-tough unit.  Just add more 90% super-tough units instead.

It's very flexible, and it's very deadly.

Are the Sanguinary Guard totally reliant on the 2 melta and 3 missile units to pop open transports?

Yep.

With unique lists, come unique problems.  Trying to make Sanguinary Guard kill tanks rather than project 18" death bubbles around them on the board, is imho a mistake.  They CAN do it, but they do it so poorly, it's best if you just don't try.

Enjoy.

- Stelek in Sanguinary Guard, oh my... from 20th of September, 2010

Although I plan on building three squads of Devastators with Missile Launchers. I will also be making sure to magnetise enough arms so that I can play around with different army lists... possibly even using Sanguinary Guard models to represent 10 man Assault Squads in a similar fashion to St John's list.

Junking the Rebuild

Below is Dash of Pepper's reply to Stelek's brain storming of a 'Best Of' Ork list...

Stelek has put together an interesting list over at his Yes the Truth Hurts. I thought it was a good list to further investigate. Since I probably know Orks better than any other codex I really wanted to weigh in.

I thought his list was interesting in that it tried a couple of things that aren't typical in any of my Orks lists.

1) It uses both Nob Bikers and Battlewagons

2) It relies primarily on grots as the basic troop choice.

3) It runs Kanz but isn't a Kan Wall.

I thought I'd run down these three items and offer feedback on his strategy.

Rebuilding the Junk

Another attempt by Stelek to unlock the Ork codex. The first attempt can be found here. This is what he came up with after two previous goes at it...

Howdy,

So I had some time to really 'think' about what I fear from Orks.

Well, there isn't a whole hell of a lot with the majority of builds, but I figured what the hell can't hurt to rework ze Orks one more time, see if I could really come up with something I'd be scared of.

Well, I did. I think run properly, this list is really the Best Orks can do.

Now I'll explain why Orks have such a problem.

Everyone uses several builds.

Kans.

Battlewagons.

Lots of guns.

Problem is, they don't really stick anything into anyone's face that's scary enough to distract enemy fire from turn 3 threats.

Having a huge assault range is cute, until there's nothing to kill but some cheap transports.

Orks tend to break then.

What's worse is, Orks have only one realistic answer to several of the nasty units in the game like Thunder Hammer Termies, Honor Guard, SM Command Squads on Bikes, Seer Councils--they all hurt Orks badly.

The usual Ork response has been to bring more and more concentrated units of Nobz, mass Kans, and/or super characters, usually Ghazzy, to deal with them (or to bring more Battlewagons, ugh).

Hey, all of those things cost points--and they don't stop enemies from smashing your face in anyway. Seriously, FNP is great. A 5+ invulnerable? Marines got a 3+ invulnerable because a 4+ or 5+ just isn't good enough.

So you have to assume you'll do limited damage to such units and must instead deal with them the way everyone else does. Not by sacrificing 500 points of Nobs to torrent them to death with Power Klaw attacks, hey anyone can do that. lol You still lose most, if not all, of your unit in return. Then get blown up. Really, it's not a good trade.

So instead, you should not worry about power fists and the like. They are going to insta-kill you anyway, even with a crummy 5+ invulnerable save. Give the Space Marine player a hug if he has wasted points on Power Fists. There are very few units that should be carry them. Unless you don't get Combat Tactics like Black Templars.

What you should focus on is a simple concept: How can Orks put enough threats down on the table to force people to deal with the wrong threat, whether they want to or not? Put enough targets on the board and your opponent will eventually make the wrong priority target choice.

No, being an unbalanced army isn't going to work.

You need to maximize what abilities you DO have.

Which means, beating down horde units (easily doable) and crushing face on small units (like combat squad Marines).

No, you don't really want to fight people in CC--and you don't want to be overpoweringly good in CC that regular non-CC units won't come anywhere near you. That's bad, because unlike say TWC Dogstars...you can't go very far once your Battlewagon dies.

So let's see if we can amalgamate my Ork ideas into a reworked 'Best Of' list.

Unlike many other armies, spamming one kind of unit (Battlewagons, Nobz, Kans, etc) results in weakness for Orks. You are too reliant on inherently unreliable units.

Sure, you *can* spam lots of units...but going second, or facing an army like my Space Wolves--well, you're in serious trouble and there's really no easy way out.

So here we go:

2000 Pts - Codex: Orks Roster

Notes: So, let's see what problems we've solved.

We have a scout unit.

We have a unit that can zoom up and immediately threaten the enemy if not killed immediately (the Bikers led by the Warboss).

There is decent fire support in the Lootas, Buggies, and Kans.

There are 4 craptastically bad troops units (the Grots) you usually have to kill, but who will spend the game in cover and hope you shoot don't shoot them them as Lord knows firing at guys with 3+ cover saves who cost 3 points is just stupid, and normally you roll up and assault/flamer/bolter them to death; but when you aren't able to roll up because the Orks are everywhere...well, that's bad news then as those units are suddenly going to be taking objectives. Shooting at them doesn't really help much as they have a re-rollable LD7. Not awesome by any means, but fairly reliable.

Instead of 2 Nobz units to scare Marines with, you have 2 Nobz and 2 Kans squads. If they don't have a serious CC unit around to beat your face in, they aren't going to be bravely running at you. Instead they should use delay tactics while shooting their priority targets.

You still have 2 Battlewagons with Rollas and a KFF mek aboard, and a 2nd Nob squad outfitted much like the first.

Just forget about your shitty invulnerable saves. Go with GOOD invulnerable saves. Since you don't have them, all you need to do is remember your Nob squads are not extremely powerful and are there to crunch enemy units down then hide in cover until another element of the army can bail them out. Or they die. ;)

While it's not a huge amount of shooting, it's what I call "just enough". Hell even the Nobz have a couple Rokkits, not because they reliably do anything...but because they MIGHT do something. Knowing your vehicle might get popped means you play the guys inside differently. Nobody wants small 5 man squads of Marines or 10 man squads of IG to get assaulted by freaking Nobz. lol Not even squads with minimal gear like these. They will still beat your face in. Sadly, one is a troop unit so you'll have to kill it even if you don't want to.

2 Lootas, 2 Buggy squads, 1 Deffkopta squad, and 2 Kan units isn't overwhelming firepower, but all of it is protected by 4+ cover saves. It's still 16 things that need to be shot at by heavy weapons, that's what Orks do well so might as well go with it. They are all BS of 2... so don't expect many things to die from shooting.

This is a list I fear, because frankly there are lots of targets to deal with--and they are the targets I don't want to see in an Ork army. Kans, Buggies, Lootas, Nobz, Rolla-Wagons, Deffkoptas, Biker Nobz, KFF, Biker Boss, and stupid freaking Grots everywhere.

Well, that's the list I worry about--it has the tools to deal with just about anything, and while I wager all the Ork players will come out of their Battle Fortresses to decry it, you'll just have to take my word for it: I'm scared of this, and not scared of everything else you bring.

- Stelek in Orks: Rebuilding the Junk Take 3 from 21st of August, 2010 

Dakka Orks

Surprisingly Stelek comes across civil in this post about Orks...

So, here's my take on the Orks. I've tried lots and lots of different builds for them, from horde orks to kan spam to battlewagon spam to biker spam.

I think all these builds are effective in their own way, but I really like my gunline as it tends to do more damage consistently than these other lists do. That said, the gunline even when built efficiently, needs units to protect it and it's always been a issue actually getting them into the list.

While Nob Bikers are great for absorbing fire, they also eat points like candy....effectively leaving the army without enough troops. In short, they defeat the efficiency of the list by being so inefficient. Problem is, there's nothing in the army that's a serious CC threat nor do I have any anvil type units. Just lots of glass hammers.

So my solution isn't what most players use, but that's par for the course for me. ;)

Brainstormin' Orks

This was a brain exercise by Stelek to unlock the codex as he put it. It was spread over three posts but to make it easier I will combine them with some minor editing...

As many of you know, I've been nothing but a big old negative nelly when it comes to Orks. As I have an Ork army sitting around, it'd be nice to get use out of it (well ok I have two but one is yet unbuilt lol).

Now there are some minor issues to be dealt with when considering Orks, namely:

• To get 'good' Ork Troops, you really need Wazzdakka or standard Warbosses (or Ghaz, of course) in the army.
• To make Killer Kans work best, you either need a solid screening force or you need a big mek with KFF (and preferably mounted).
• Having any Meganobz in the army really requires Mad Dok, to provide them with a 5+ invulnerable save and make them Fearless but then they don't get FNP and regular Nobz get better options (and don't need Mad Dok).

Every Ork army should if possible include:

• Maximum Lootas (max defined as each FOC slot filled up).
• At least one Deffkopta unit with buzzsaw (for first turn scout assaults).
• Gretchin for cheap scoring units/screeners.

Every Ork army should avoid if possible:

• Trukks. Primarily because they die so easily but also because they do not become terrain...

...So, here's what I've been thinking for a while now--a way to make Orks at least 'semi-competitive'. Much like the Demon list, the whole point of this exercise is to 'unlock' the Codex, as it were.

An army designed from the outset to be able to handle virtually all armies. The same exception for the Demons, applies to the Orks. All Land Raider armies are, frankly, too much for the army to handle. The best you can really hope for is a Generalship win, or a Luck win. A list win is unlikely, as you hold the window and they hold the brick. Sooner or later, that brick is going to hit your window and shatter it. Just the way it is. You have GW's shortsightedness to thank for this state of affairs.

I think it's possible to create such a list. I've got it in my head, but let's continue the discussion (nows a good time to revisit some Ork lists, if you are so inclined)...

... So, this is a list I've been playtesting, trying to make Orks work. While it's an odd collection, I note a couple others have been running a similarly themed list.

The inspiration for this came from my Eldar, who have really really bad troops--but if you bring some Guardian Jetbikes along it really changes the way the army runs...

Click here for army list

... 8 anti-tank units (3xlootas, 2xbuggies, Wazzdakka, Kannons) and anti-infantry everywhere, plus hopefully enough anti-assault elements. Kudos to all the excellent ideas, looks like I'm not alone in thinking highly of old Wazzy. Now if only he could hit something. lol

- Stelek in his Re-Envisioning Orks: Part I, Part II, Part III

As usual for anything relating to YTTH it is the discussions that you really need to read to get a better picture of things. My next Orks post will have another army list by Stelek...