3++ is the new black. | Kirb your enthusiasm!

Email in: Hello and list advice

2012-05-27T15:00:00.000+10:00

"Hello,

I have been reading parts of your blog for a while now, I help to run a hobby shop and its attached 40k club and your blog helps me to keep abreast of what is actually good in 40k so that if someone asks me "What does my army need next?" or "Are these any good?" I can (hopefully) give them an informed answer. I have been getting around to starting a new army, and I have decided that I will start off with the list for this one first before getting any of the figures. I have decided on Dark Eldar, as my Dad (Who owns the aforementioned shop) has an army of them so I could borrow some as I get the army together, and they are very different to the Marines which currently inundate the club.

So now for the feel of the list, I Love the look of the Venom, so I thought about doing a MSU list transported in Venoms... so Venomspam. Rather than the Ravagers, I have gone for Razorwings in my heavy support slots as I like them a lot better, which from what I have read means Reavers in fast attack with their trusty heat lances. I also want to have Lady Malys in the army, for I just love her fluff. I keep thinking I should have a CC unit to go with Malys (Incubi perhaps?) but I haven't so far. I have put together an almost 2500pt list, which I will build and then put together lists from it for my usual more casual games.

So here goes...

HQ - Lady Aurelia Malys                                                   (130 pts)

Troops -

5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol           (150 pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol           (150pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol           (150pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol           (150pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol           (150pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite with Blast Pistol           (150pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

Elites

3 Kabalite Trueborn with Blasters                                     (146pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

3 Kabalite Trueborn with Blasters                                     (146pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

3 Kabalite Trueborn with Blasters                                     (146pts)
Venom with Splinter Cannon

Heavy Support

Razorwing, Splinter Cannon, Flickerfield                             (165pts)

Razorwing, Splinter Cannon, Flickerfield                             (165pts)

Razorwing, Splinter Cannon, Flickerfield                             (165pts)

Fast Attack

6 Reaver Jetbikes, 2 Heat Lances, Arena Champion with Venomblade (171pts)

6 Reaver Jetbikes, 2 Heat Lances, Arena Champion with Venomblade (171pts)

6 Reaver Jetbikes, 2 Heat Lances, Arena Champion with Venomblade (171pts)

All comes out at 2476pts thus far.

So What do you think? Also, for smaller games of say 1000pts or 1500pts how would you break it down into still a useable list?

Thank you in advance for your time"

Venom spam is cute but a winning strategy it is not, particularly when you run Razorwings as well. Lots of Venoms works but not as an entire army, you NEED some Raiders and other ranged anti-tank in there. I'd also be highly recommending just one Razorwing - it provides you some alpha-strike capacity against infantry but still keeps your anti-tank at range up there (and points down). If you're really set on the multiple Razorwings though, just keep in mind you'll want more Raiders to compensate.

With that in mind change several Venoms into Raiders with Shock Prows - ff optional with all the Venoms you have out there. At 1850+ you really want, as a minimum, 20 dark light shots. The more of these which are short-ranged (i.e. heat lances & blasters), the more you want total.

Also, in place of Malys consider the Baron - he brings a nice pre-game bonus in winning the roll off and can add a bit of combat pew-pew though if you do this you want a unit for him to go with (i.e. large Hellion squad or Beastmaster squad) which again takes away from your anti-tank and lessens the need for Venoms. Otherwise a Haemon or two to unlock Wracks for cheap backfield scorers in Raiders or to make Wyches a more viable option helps spice up the list.

In the end the concept of Venoms is fine but the more Venoms you bring, the less you need the Razorwings and the more you need the Ravagers to compensate for the lack of anti-tank. Even then, I wouldn't run nine Venoms + three Ravagers - I'd be looking to throw in a few Raiders as well.

In terms of scaling - dropping one unit per FoC will generally see you move well from 2500 to 2000 and then picking one unit to drop between each points total whilst keeping a balance will see the list still function reasonably well (i.e. don't keep losing a Troops unit between each points level).

Email in: A little fun: making an eldar army with leftovers.

2012-05-27T07:00:00.000+10:00

"Hello Kirby,

I'm a frequent reader of your blog. Good job! I've appreciated so much the tactical advices you give. I'm a 2nd edition player who is starting to play again now. I've got an Ork army which goes well (it seems the way of playing orks hasn't changed so much over time) :P, but back in the time I had a few Eldar miniatures which I have complemented with some miniatures from a friend who quitted long time ago. The things that worked on late 2nd/ early 3rd edition may not be the best in 5th, but I'm decided to try and would be very thankful if you were so kind of helping me. These are the forces I have for now:

The Avatar

Asurmen

Fuegan

3 Wraithlords

18 Banshees plus 2 exarchs (total 20)

7 Warp Spiders plus exarch (total 8)

6 Hawks plus exarch (total 7)

12 Scouts

20 Guardian Defenders (including two graw platforms)

16 Guardian (may be converted into Assault Guardians or into Avengers, though I would prefer the former)

10 Guardian Jetbikes (two of them with shuriken cannon)

1 Vyper

3 Reapers plus exarch (total 4)

Two Prisms and One Falcon (could be easily converted into Serpents or whatever)

1 Artillery Platform with crew

I know these are a bit outdated and that I lack Psykers, Bipods and, mostly, Dragons. But is it possible to make a passable list with what I have, or with few additions? If so, what would you suggest, and how would you play it? I play mostly against Grey Knights and Orks, in a friendly environment we play between 1000 and 2000 points.

Thank you so much in advance, and go on with your good work in your blog!

Tomeu

PD: please forgive any mistakes, as I'm not a native speaker (writing from spain, in the other end of the planet!). Hope I made me understandable!
" d

Unfortunately, you don't have much there at all - the main lack is vehicles. Even with a Footdar list you're going to need to purchase extra options like Harlequins, Farseer, Wraithguard, etc. And only a few people are capable of actually making that list do anything other than suck.

In terms of making a half-way decent Mechdar list you have a good core - you'll just need some Serpents and Dragons. Prisms + Falcon = Heavy Support (5x Dire Avengers go into Falcon). Guardians can be converted as Storm Guardians for some fusion gun support in a pinch and you can use Asurmen + Fuegan as counts-as Autarchs (though grabbing a Farseer as well is going to go a long way). Add in a couple squads of Dragons and Serpents to carry the Dragons + Storm Guardians and you're set. So in reality not too many purchases - they are just the most expensive ones (Serpents).

Spare points can be thrown into smaller Dire Avenger squads with Serpents or run some Vypers in Fast Attack and the Rangers/Pathfinders can always be thrown in as cheap scoring options. There's an unfortunate amount of unused models (your Aspect Warriors) but they will hopefully be more relevant next time around.

Email in: A different 1,850pt Spacewolf list

2012-05-26T23:00:00.000+10:00

"Hi Kirby,

Long time reader (usually every day) and occasional commenter on spacewolf posts. I've played wolves since I started playing 40k with my mates in 2010 and your blog has been a good help over the years. Hoping to head to some tournaments in the future, but in Scotland we don't have many options. After trying out various ideas and nearly every unit over the years I've come up with an 1,850 point list that is different from most lists I've seen on the web. This might be because it doesn't work, but here it is followed by some of my reasoning.

HQ----

(260pts) Wolf lord

Thunderwolf mount, runic armour, storm shield, wolfclaw, saga warrior born, 1 fenrisian wolf

(100pts) Rune Priest

Living Lightning, Murderous Hurricane

Elite----

(85pts) Wolfscouts x5 (1 Melta Gun)

(85pts) Lone wolf

TDA, Stormshield, Chainfist

(425pts) Wolfguard

1 x Bolt P/CC weapon

3 x Bolt P/Melta Gun

3 x Melta Gun/Power Fist

1 x TDA Combi Melta/Wolfclaw

1 x TDA Storm Bolter/Power Weapon + Cyclone

1 x TDA Assault Cannon/Wolfclaw

Drop Pod

Fast Attack----

(155pts) Thunderwolf Cavalry

1 x Bolt P/CC weapon

1 x Storm Shield/Power Fist

Heavy Support----

(125pts) Long Fangs Pack 1

3 x Multi melta/CC Weapon

1 x (Sqd Leader) Bolt P/CC Weapon

(115pts) Long Fangs Pack 2

4 x Missile/CC Weapon

1 x (Sqd Leader) Bolt P/CC Weapon

Troops----

(155pts) Greyhunter Pack 1

7xGreyhunters (1 Melta Gun + Wolf Standard)

Rhino

(155pts) Greyhunter Pack 2

7xGreyhunters (1 Melta Gun + Wolf Standard)

Rhino

(115pts) Greyhunter Pack 3

5xGreyhunters (1 Melta Gun)

Drop Pod

(75pts) Greyhunter Pack 4

5xGreyhunters (1 Flamer)

On Foot

It might seem like a rainbow list, but I'm trying to take some unusual ideas and the quirks of the spacewolf codex and mix it together to create something that isn't a copy of the other lists out there. Before we start with any critique just want to stay I don't like playing spam very much, if it's lots of razorbacks or maxing out on missile longfangs I just kind of find it boring. Think the list is still an all comers list that is fun to play. Think everyone likes a unit that is a star for a game, in here it could be the Lone wolf, Thunder lord, scouts, or Drop Pod WG.

Briefly what I'm aiming for is to get some lethal disruption in the list (scouts and turn 1 melta drop pod), forcing the opponent to deploy very carefully, but hopefully still putting them between a rock and a hard place. The lone wolf, thunderwolves, Multi Melta long fangs and of course 2 big GH squads all want to get close to the opponent (and/or control midfield). If they don't want to leave their deployment zone and come to me I should hopefully be able to box them in. I should be hitting the enemy with melta every turn, which often isn't possible with armies and especially wolves.

So general setup and idea is below.

My footslog Greyhunters are a back field objective holder (I see you used BA scouts recently for same reason), often these rarely contribute in an attacking way in games (it's almost like they're having a picnic away from the action) which is why here they are joined by the TDA cyclone. Now I have a scoring TDA firing off 2 missiles a turn.

The rest of the Wolfguard is designed to be flexible depending on situation. The 3 Combi Melta/Power Fist join GH packs 1 and 2, and the scouts. If the Power Fist isn't needed in the scouts, can just use WG with Combi Melta.

The plain WG will join Long Fangs Pack 1 (as an extra wound).

This leaves 5 WG, 2 TDA and 3 power armour with Combi Melta.

One of the TDA joins GH Pack 3 in the other Drop Pod, giving another scoring TDA. This could add a combi-melta to the unit or an assault cannon.

So I got 2 units in Drop Pods wIth 1 TDA in each. Normally I'd drop the WG pod first turn for an alpha strike of 3 Combi-Meltas and the Assault Cannon or 4 Combi-Meltas, if there's something I really need to take out. A high prority will be anything that can do strength 10 damage which can cut my thunderwolves to pieces (read as instant death).

Also if there's a big tank park taking out a front rhino/razorback can really hamper an opponents movement.

I find that the TDA makes my unit slightly tougher to bring down, especially if I'm using my drop pod as cover. Or I can send down an empty pod for blocking.

The Rune Priest will join a big GH squad for psyker autocannon goodness.

So while a small unit harrasses him with melta turn 1, he's also got to worry about scouts coming on from turn 2 onwards with double melta and multi assault possibilities.

My 3xMulti Melta long fangs are pushing into midfield in the rhino which pops smoke. I now have a Multi-Melta bunker from turn 2. This seems like a crazy idea when I could just get a normal 4 missile longfang pack for cheaper. My thinking is that spacewolves find it hard to get Multi meltas (dreads are in elite slots, speeders are fragile and usually 1 melta), our tank busting is generally the melta gun on grey hunters, WG or scouts (or close combat later in game) We don't always want to use grey hunters in such an aggressive way, so I was looking at alternatives.

A great spacewolf unit is the Long Fangs who get heavy weapons very cheap, looking at marine tactical bunkers it costs them 200 odd pts to have 1 Multi melta in bunker. I get 3 Multi Meltas (I know only 2 can fire from hatch) plus 2 ablative wounds (Sqd Leader plus plain WG) for 143 pts. People some times compare long Fangs (or MEQ equivalent) with Predators, I feel this combines some advantages of both. The armour of the rhino is just the first level of protection for the Multi Melta Long Fangs, unlike tanks/speeders (1 melta or missile can turn them to dust). And also once you destroy the rhino their potential damage increases. If rhino is now a crater you got 3 Multi Meltas covering midfield in cover (any deaths from explosion would be Sqd Leader or WG), if it's a wreck you use it as cover 3 hiding, and 2 Multi Meltas aiming at their next target.

Also pushing into midfield is the Lone wolf, a tough nut to crack and a nut cracker on his own. And then you got the HQ thunderwolf lord (mostly attached to the TWC) using the Long Fang rhino or GH rhinos as cover. Or perhaps going down a flank is there's cover and it seems tactically advantageous to do so. Or perhaps hiding (or reserving them) to use as a brilliant counter attack unit. Kind of like drawing a line in the sand 19 inches away from them and daring the enemy to cross it. If they hit as a unit of one the 3 levels of Initiative (I5 lord wolf claw attacks, then I4 TWC rending, then I1 Power fist attacks) is deadly and cuts out wound allocation funny business, that can often make power weapon attacks less deadly in combat.

As the battle goes on I've got a drop Pod coming down later (Grey Hunter Pack 3 with a TDA), possibly where I need reinforcements or to start a new angle of attack. And a favourite is to grab an isolated objective. Capture and Control can often lead to draws cause it's hard to get to the enemies objective. Now I could have a troop unit and Drop Pod contesting which many backfield objective holders can't deal with easily. Of course if most of the enemies army is there well hopefully I've got him pushed back and other units are close by and ready to contest or finish him off.

So this is experimental, but any comments are appreciated. Do you and others think it works as a concept? Maybe not enough troops for some people, not mobile enough or not enough armour, not able to deal with lots of transports? Is it a one trick pony so that if the plan starts to fail it will just be taken apart piece by piece. Or is it different enough that people might underestimate the threats which all require different ways to counteract them.

Maybe some will play test the list for fun (possibly having success) and provide feedback. I'm lucky if I can play 1 game a week of 40k and I came up with the list while cycling around europe for charity for 8 months (shameless plug www.cycle4africa.co.uk)

--- feel free to delete the last bit Kirby, but I did cycle 9,000km through 20 countries on my own to help children in Tanzania get food, education and shelter so it's for a very good cause :)

Thanks for reading (you may have to shorten for posting sorry)

and good luck with the next 3++ tournament

gary (sunsnowzero)"

Overall there's a lot of options here though a few things could use addressing. The major thing here is lack of ranged firepower - I'm all for not using massed Missile Fangs or RBacks but there needs to be more ranged suppression coming down field. Also, the way you've set up both your Long Fangs makes them prime targets for different armies and without any redundancy there, they will be targeted pretty early.

With this in mind I'd be looking to expand the shooting presence. Something as simple as a Rifledread, couple of Typhoons or RBacks and doubling the MM Long Fangs is going to make your army more reliable and durable in terms of firepower provided. To do this I'd be looking to drop the Lone Wolf and trim the TWC - the Wolf Lord is all the killing power you really need - what you want for the TWC bodyguard is extra wounds and some S10 so one-three strong with one Thunder Hammer works fine. With these points buy one of the aforementioned firepower units and then grab another MM Fang unit in a Rhino (I'd be running with two MMs). This effectively doubles your ranged output and your 24" melta threat as well though you may need to trim a few upgrades here and there to make it fit (depending upon which ranged unit you go with to support your Long Fangs).

And kudos on the charity work - never a bad thing to plug such :).

Email in: Love the blog!

2012-05-26T15:00:00.000+10:00

"Kirby,

I’ve been incorporating much of the advice that I read on your blog into my builds, and my game has been improving steadily. While I am still a novice 40k player, I am definitely getting better. Keep on keeping on!

With my current build, I have room left for one more unit. I run a Mephiston that I use as an all-rounder (anti-infantry, anti-mech, whatever the situation, he’s a beast). However, what I would ideally like is to have a bit of duality with another assault unit that can handle basic, non-terminator MEQ as well as vehicles up to AV14 (a mini Meph, if you will). Here are a couple options that I’m looking at:

Option (1)
Honor Guard
-4x Power Weapons
-4x Meltaguns
Chapter Banner
JP
--295 pts
Probably the best of the options for anti-mech with 4 meltaguns. I like that they have an 18 inch melta range, and a 24 inch str8 ap1 range, while still having the 1str 1ini bonus for charging, ensuring that MEQ and up get slaughtered. Downsides are that there are no ablative wounds, and losing even 1 to torrent fire means their effectiveness degrades very quickly.

Option (2)
Sanguinary Guard
-3x Infernus pistols
-1x Priest w/JP
--305 pts
These are basically impervious to small arms fire, forcing the opponent to target them with anti-mech weapons (thereby protecting my tanks by proxy). Downside is that you have to be extremely close to get the melta off (15 and 18 inches). Tougher than the Honor Guard, but still no ablative wounds.

Option (3)
10x Assault Marines
1x Priest w/JP
1x Fist
2x Meltaguns
--310 pts
The standard. Not as tough as Sanguinary, but more ablative wounds than both. Half the melta power of the Honor Guard, but more range than the Sanguinary. Effective against MEQ due to the high volume of attacks on the charge. More troops means slightly harder to hide behind/in cover. The middle of the road choice, imo, though ironically, the most expensive.

Noticeably absent from this list are Terminators. While I like terminators, the above three have mobility, which I think is a huge asset to a Blood Angels army. I’ve also tried using a Furioso to fill this role, but I find that a standard Furioso with fists and a Magna is too slow on the field and can’t get to where he needs to be all the time, and a librarian Furioso can’t take the melta/magna options, and is thusly not as effective at mech killing (at least in my experience).

Thoughts? Am I spending too many points on this for what I expect it to do?"

Well it really depends what list they are going into. Is this a mech list you are trying to add a non-mech combat element to or looking to expand part of the Jumper list? If it's a mech list I'd keep Mephiston as he works very well with lots of vehicle hulls to hide behind and work around and when supported by the army, he is very hard to get a handle on for your opponent.

If it's a non-mech list I'd be looking at either the Sanguinary Guard or ASM options. Honor Guard are nice but have a huge target painted on them and as you pointed out yourself, lose effectiveness quickly when shot at. What the rest of your list entails will dictate whether you want the SGuard or ASM. If you've got nothing which is really capable of smacking things in combat (i.e. mass ASM), then grab a unit of Sanguinary Guard (but throw in a PFist) just for that extra beater unit. If you already have such a unit (i.e. Vanguard Vets) add in the extra ASM for more scoring, a lightening of the load across your other ASM units and more torrenting options.

Guest Article: Some more Mathammer - the Basics

2012-05-26T07:00:00.001+10:00

Hello 3++ community, T2-Keks here with some math :P

I have been enjoying 3++ and other blogs for some time and read a lot that helped me improve my play and get new, interesting views on stuff. When I was about to talk to my local gaming group about Mathhammer, I looked up the various Mathhammer articles here on 3++. I liked them but I thought they aimed more towards people already knowing how to do the Mathhammer. An introduction that explains how it’s done is missing. So I wrote one up for my group. Since I took quiet some insights from 3++ I now try to give something back by contributing. So I translated my article and sent it to Kirby (original version in German can be found on our group’s blog: bockige-wuerfel.de). Pictures are done by our artist Timo!

First steps in Mathhammer are to look at average outcomes of situations.

You use the knowledge that each pip on a dice comes up equally likely. Then you check how many pips lead to success or failure on a given test. The quotient of number of possible successes to the total number of possible outcomes is the probability to be successful in that test.

A model with BS4 hits its target on a 3,4,5,6. Thus 4/6 possibilities are considered successes. 4/6 = 0.67 aka 67%.

Now if you want to chain partial results together to get a certain event, you calculate the probability for each roll of any die to be successful and then multiply these probabilities with one another to get the overall probability of that event to happen.

For example the chance to kill of a S4 shot fired with BS4 at a target with T4 and a 3+ save is calculated as follows:

To hit: 4/6 pips are successful

To wound: 3/6 pips

Fail the armor save: 2/6 pips

4/6*3/6*2/6 = 0.11 aka 11% is the chance of this to happen.

Graphical this means that you draw a tree that branches at every step between success and failure and has probabilities assigned to every branch. To calculate the probability of an event you follow a branch and multiply all probabilities you come across.

The three ways to fail (don’t hit, don’t wound, target saves successfully) each have their own chance to occur. If you add them together you get the total chance to fail: 89%. In sum with the chance to succeed (11%) you end up with 100%. That is important. All possibilities combined must give you a 100% chance. If you end up with more or less you are certain to have made a mistake. But getting a sum of 100% does not guarantee that you didn’t make a mistake ;)

If you include events that only occur under certain circumstances into such chains (like the reroll if the to-hit-test for twin-linked weapons), you have to carefully watch out to make the correct branches.

The example from above, this time with a twin-linked gun, looks as follows:

The roll to hit is just repeated if it failed initially. Two ways lead to a successful elimination of the target. Their chances are added up to get the total probability of a successful kill.

When interpreting this result one could say “A space marine has an 11% chance to shoot another marine with his boltgun.” (tree1). That is correct but formulating it this way easily leads to mistakes. If you put it like this: “One S4 shot fired with BS4 at a target with T4 and a 3+ save will, on average, net 0.11 dead targets.”, you are on the safer side. This statement can be scaled up correctly: After 18 shots fired one can expect two dead marines (18 fired, 12 hit, 6 wound, 2 failed armor saves). But 18 shots fired won’t get you a 200%-chance to kill a marine. 18*11% = 200% is wrong. More on that later may follow in a later post.

In a nutshell:

- check for every dice how many pips are failures and successes on a given test

- formulate quotient of “number of possible successes”/”number of overall possibilities”

- multiply these quotients along a branch of the tree to get the chance of success

- if there are multiple ways to succeed calculate them all and add up their individual chances to get the overall probability to be successful

- these results are averages not guarantees

That’s it for now. Let me know what you think about this article and ask any questions you like in the comments. If there is interest for more math I’ll do more J

Evaluating Bad Units: Assault Cannon Razorbacks

2012-05-25T23:00:00.000+10:00

Welcome to the second wonderful installment of our little series here. This time around we're going to talk about a more unusual choice in the list of sub-par options: the Razorback with twin-linked Assault Cannon.

"But that's not a bad unit!" some of you are undoubtedly rising from your chairs to shout. And you're right- when fielded by Blood Angels, where it benefits from aggressive mobility, or Grey Knights, where it gets upgraded stats, immunity to suppression and support from other mid-range forces, it's quite good. But when Space Marines or Space Wolves field them, it is decidedly underwhelming.

However, let's follow our usual pattern and talk about things in a more organized manner here first. Keep in mind that, for the purposes of this article, we are ONLY talking about the versions available in the vanilla Space Marine and Space Wolves books, not the other variants. We'll discuss the hows and whys of those at the very end of this whole mess.

The Good

In a lot of ways, the TLAC Razorback showcases the strengths of a dedicated transport in 5th Edition. It is reasonably survivable thanks to the AV11 standard and the vehicle damage table; it brings a fairly effective gun to the table (which we'll talk about more in a moment); and it comes paired with whatever unit you can cram inside it, which has a number of possibilities. It's a nice little generalist tank, able to punch through even the heaviest armor in the game (except Wave Serpents) and putting out enough shots with high-enough strength to scare most anything.

The TLAC is, in fact, a quite effective little shooting weapon; BS4 and rerolls to hit give it unmatched accuracy and S6 lets it wound virtually everything around quite consistently. Add in Rending on top of that and you have a weapon that can pour out significant damage very consistently. In fact, its only real downsides are the mediocre AP4 (which Rending helps compensate for) and range of 24" (but most Marines want to be moving into midfield anyways.) Realistically, the only downside to the weapon is the cost- 75pts for an AV11 hull isn't great, but considering how many roles it fills that's hardly an unfair cost and you can still bring them in abundance in most lists if you care to. What's not to like?

The Bad

A couple of things. First, the aforementioned fragility- even the vehicle damage table only gives you so much protection and when you start spending large chunks of points on things that are no more survivable than a normal Rhino, you have to consider what you're getting. One glancing hit can render the tank useless for the rest of the game- either an Immobilize before it moves into range or a Weapon Destroyed at any time. Oh, sure, you aren't COMPLETELY worthless from either of those, but when 4/6 of the damage table from a penetrating hit renders you useless, things are definitely starting to be a bit less impressive.

That range we talked about above is also a big factor. 24" is a number many people are familiar with from fighting GK or other armies- it means that most of the time you will not get any shots at the enemy during your first turn, since you can only move 6" and still shoot. GK can get around this with driving full speed and unloading troops to do the damage early on; Tyranids bypass it by simply being so tough it's hard to cut them down before they're in range (and by Onslaught.) SM/SW don't have these options- more often than not, T1 your expensive tank just doesn't get to participate in the battle.

Now we get to the third point- the effectiveness of the gun once you manage to get in range. Let me preface this by saying the TLAC is not a bad weapon, but it does have a critical weak point: it's not that great against AV11. AV10, AV12, heck, even AV13 and 14 to a degree? It's pretty golden. On the low end of the scale with AV10, its large number of shots and strength make it into an Autocannon of sorts, using rate of fire to compensate for a middling chance to actually go through. Against AV12 the guaranteed penetration on a Rend stacks up fairly reasonably with other guns- to be honest, AV12 just isn't that easy to break, especially with those S7/8 guns that predominate in many armies, so the Assault Cannon isn't in a bad spot comparatively. AV13+ tends to be rarer (although not so much with Necrons now) so you won't have to expect to face down a dozen of them the way you will with other tanks. But AV11 is in that perfect breakpoint of "you'll often see a lot of it" and "but my numbers don't work out that well." Just like with AV12, you need to roll a 6 to penetrate- Rending doesn't do a damn thing for you. But with 6-10 AV11 hulls on the field, you tend to have a lot more work cut out for you against such targets, and that's bad news for the Assault Cannon.

The anti-infantry firepower is also not a ringing endorsement. While the TLAC does force a good number of saves on most targets, tougher targets (MEQs, Terminators, FNP) will be able to shrug these hits off with little effect and larger beasties (like Tyranids) will similarly laugh off anything except a Rend- and Rending is notoriously unreliable. So you have the ability to do some torrent shooting against infantry, but both codices (SM from Dakka Preds/Typhoons and SW from Frag Missiles and assaults) have plenty of ability to deal with infantry models without the need for such a tool. In short, the anti-infantry the TLAC brings to the table is unneeded.

The Competition

Now we come to the next critical factor: the other options. Or, more accurately, option, since there is really only one, the ubiquitous Lascannon/twin-linked Plasmagun Razorback. Virtually all of the TLAC's weaknesses this chassis bypasses; it has an excellent long-range shot, capable of killing both tanks and other targets. It has two weapons and the aforementioned ranges, making it less vulnerable to being glanced into uselessness via Damaged results. Its guns are perfect against not just heavy infantry (a common problem target for many enemies) but also, if it fires both, superior against AV11 and AV13 as well, giving you a variety of good options not really found elsewhere in the codices. And, of course, it is vastly superior against point-blank targets that you will often encounter when driving into midfield carrying a scoring unit.

Why are these factors different for GK and BA, who can use the Assault Cannon effectively? Well, Blood Angels are a highly aggressive army and have the Fast status on all their tanks. The former means they will often want to be jumping in the enemy's face and the latter means they will usually be able to manage to get to a shooting position on turn 1- and if not they can Flat Out with Smoke and be completely assured of a good shot, as no deployment should leave you more than 18" out of position unless you really screwed up. Space Marines don't really want to be getting into fistfights and Space Wolves, while they are fine in melee, can't effectively bring the TLAC to bear as quickly as is needed- having 200+pts of your army doing nothing for a turn can spell the end of a game in many cases. If we compare Grey Knights and how they use the TLAC, they have not only Fortitude (which is a pretty ridiculous power) but also the ultra-cheap upgrade option of Psybolt Ammo, which turns the main gun into a Psycannon in practice, if not in name. This upgrade doubles the number of penetrating hits you'll average against AV11, giving you a critical boost against your most common foe.

So as you can see, even when a unit is statistically all but identical, a variety of other factors can make very important differences to the uses it sees and how competitive it ends up being. The SM and SW variants, while stastically not really all that different than their BA and GK counterparts, suffer from poor synergy with their respective armies and competitions from other, more effective units that fill the same role. The TLAC Razorback is not bad in and of itself, but its lackluster performance compared to other alternatives and poor fit with some armies leave it usually unable to keep pace, metaphorically speaking, with your other choices.

Email in: 1850 Dark Eldar List for Tournament in June

2012-05-25T15:00:00.000+10:00

"Hi Will,

Great blog yada yada yada...

This A-hole (I mean - a real jerk) wants me to go to Event Horizon in June (Just kidding - you know I love you man). I'm tossing up between two lists at the moment:

List 1 - Webway Hybrid (1850 pts)

Haemonculus (WWP)
2 x 6 Harlequins (2 fusion pistols, 6 kisses)
4 x 5 Kabalite Warriors (blaster) in Raider (FF, SP)
2 x 3 Wracks in Venom (extra splinter cannon)
3 Beastmasters (5 Khymerae, 4 Razorwing Flocks)
2 x 5 Scourges (2 haywire blasters)
3 x Ravager

Plan is for the Haemonculus to zip up with a warrior squad and deploy WWP in games where I need to be aggressive or have more deployment options. Harlequins and beasts will be in reserve and come in through portal unless I need a screen or want to come in off my table edge. In defensive games I may start them on the board to act as a counter assault. Scourges will suppress vehicles to give me some more control. Warriors will try to destroy tanks, and if that fails, their raiders can always be glorified battering rams. Wracks will camp backfield and venoms will shoot infantry from afar. Ravagers do what they do best.

List 2 - Mech with Wyches (1847 pts)

2 x Haemonculus (liquifier gun)
2 x 4 Kabalite Trueborn (2 splinter cannons) in Raider (FF)
2 x 5 Kabalite Warriors (blaster) in Raider (FF, SP)
2 x 3 Wracks in Venom (extra splinter cannon)
2 x 9 Wyches (hekatrix, venom blade, shardnet & impaler, haywire grenades) in Raider (FF, SP)
2 x 5 Scourges (2 haywire blasters)
3 x Ravager

Haemonculi start with wyches to give them a pain token and either ride off with them for some liquifier fun or join another squad. Wyches will then tarpit scary units or kill weaker ones, with some haywires for dreads or backup AT. Haemonculi would stay onboard so the wyches have fleet. Trueborn will move where needed to provide AI and snatch tokens or an extra lance shot from their raiders. Warriors, wracks, scourges and ravagers as per above list.

So there they are. Any comments or preferences between the lists would be appreciated. Additional considerations are that List 1 would probably be more fun but List 2 would be easier for me to assemble and paint since I have/will have most of the units in time. I think getting my army ready in time will be my main challenge! I obviously also need to get some playtesting in to improve my 40k-fu. Blocking and providing cover to my own units and movement in general is where I expect I need the most help.

Thanks,
Damien"

The second list is miles better IMO though I would be running the Trueborn with Dark Lances or Blasters over splinter fire - look to potentially add some extra Venoms elsewhere (for Warriors or Trueborn) to compensate for loss of anti-infantry. Otherwise that list is looking very solid.

For the Hybrid WWP, you really need Duke I feel in such a list to get the most out of your vehicles - i.e. if needed you can deep-strike them and since they have long effective ranges, you don't have to do so too dangerously. Otherwise adding in some Shadowseers for the Harlequins is going to make them better delivery systems for the WWP which only having one of is going tobe restrictive enough as it is.

Since the WWP list needs several changes I'd be looking at the mech list even though it's more painting before the tournament.

Warmachine Knowledge Request - Circle, Cygnar & Trollbloods

2012-05-25T07:00:00.000+10:00

Several friends of mine are looking to start Warmachine, each with a different faction. Each of them asked for help yet there's only so much I can give since I am also learning and not intmately familiar with the factions outside of the one I am currently playing. So, through me, they are asking you for help =D! The armies the are looking at (obviously) are Circle, Cygnar and Trollbloods.

General information about the army and what the general good units/casters and stay away from units/casters would be appreciated. Basics in terms of playstyle, etc. as well wouldn't go amiss ^^. Here's a bit of brief information from each player in terms of likes/dislikes.

Circle -

Huge fan of the wolds - particularly the Guardian so being able to use those would be great. Shifting Stones seem like an obvious shoo-in as well as the Warpwolf plastic kit but what else and are the Wolds viable?

Cygnar -

Has been told eHaley/Caine/Stryker are good - about all I know :P. Like the Storm Lancers, Long Gunners & Jacks in general but otherwise advice on all-rounder lists would be appreciated. Are mercanaries really super necessary?

Trollbloods -

I will be starting off my foray into Warmahordes with Trollbloods. The models are cool and they seem to have very few bad unit choices. With my first purchase I’m looking to get 35 points – I will be getting the warpack starter box but beyond that I’m not really sure what I should buy to compliment it. Note that I haven’t played any games and am still working my way through the rulebook. Here’s what I’ve come up with.

War Party Tier 2 List (35 points):

Madrak Ironhide (+6)
Dire Troll Mauler (9)
Troll Axer (6)
Troll Impaler (5)
2 x Kriel Warriors (max) w/ Standard & Piper (2x8-2)
Krielstone Bearer & Scribes (min) w/ Stone Scribe Elder (4)
Fell Caller Hero (3)

It’s based on synergy. The Mauler can increase the strength of Ironhide or himself, the Axer can boost the Mauler’s speed and the Impaler can increase his own or Ironhide’s throw range. Warriors look awesome for their point cost and with buffs from the KSB and Fell Caller will be pretty formidable units.

Any comment or advice from yourself or the community would be appreciated. I welcome suggestions for the use of other units/warbeasts too.

---------------------------------------------------

So 3++ community - help out the new guys please!

Army Comparison: Warriors of Chaos vs. Daemons of Chaos

2012-05-24T23:00:00.005+10:00

Battlereporter

This Fantasy Battles Army Comparison pits the forces of the Chaos Gods against each other in a battle royale. Each of these armies fared rather well in 7^th Edition, where Daemons were widely considered one of the top tier armies. In 8^th the Daemons have fallen from the top of the pedestal but are still considered quite strong. The Warriors have had a rougher transition to 8^th Edition, as the units that were considered powerful or weak respectively are almost completely reversed. This change took a while for players to understand, but it appears that Warriors of Chaos are also quite competitive.

Warriors of Chaos’ Advantages

The Warriors chief strength in this edition are their infantry. The heavily armored warriors are as hard as any infantry in the game, while the Marauders may not be tough to kill, but on a point for point basis, few units in the game can match them for offensive potential. Add into the mix the possibility of a Chosen unit that can easily be configured to become a near unstoppable deathstar, and you have some of the strongest infantry contingents available. Unless you count throwing axes, the WoC don’t have any shooting to speak of. They will primarily close out games in bloody close combat.

Unfortunately, there is no much to support this infantry with. The Chaos Knights, in 7^th Edition on of the most powerful units on the battlefield, are relegated to nearly unplayable thanks to Steadfast. Being unable to break ranked infantry and costing a ton of points means that their practical applications are far and few between. Chaos chariots are fine items, but rather expensive, nothing to be especially excited about. Chosen are fine choices, but they basically do what the Core infantry already does, but slight better and for slightly more points. The most compelling reason to take Chosen is crafting a deathstar, but that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

In the Rares, the Warriors have two lines. The Hellcannon packs a huge punch and packs serious firepower. Hellcannons do enough damage that they are usually priority number one for the opposing army. Alternatively, you can bring Warshrines, which are essential for the Chosen, but not terribly bad with normal Warriors. Warshrines are definitely an “all in” infantry approach, and could lead to blowout games one way or the other.

Magic was such a huge part of Warriors in 7^th Edition. A Tzeentch sorcerer lord could generate more power dice than almost anybody, and Gateway was the most powerful spell in the edition. Now, Gateway is merely average among powerful spells in each Lore, and the Sorcerer Lord doesn’t generate enough extra dice to dominate the magic phase. A further knock, Sorcerer Lords are the fightiest wizard in the game, and you pay points for that. What that means is, you are forced to waste points on a trait you aren’t going to take a great advantage of. Lastly, if you want to take a rulebook Lore, you have to play unmarked, which means that you lose access to several of Tzeentch based buffs that give the Lord a chance during the magic phase. That said, Gateway might not be quite as powerful as Purple Sun, or Dwellers, but it is still quite a threat.

It kinda sounds like I listed the disadvantages of Warriors, and to an extent that is true. While their cavalry got the shaft, and their wizards are no longer the kings of the battlefield, their infantry are so much stronger than most opposition that it makes up for these disadvantages.

Daemonic Advantages

Foremost, the Daemons have a very strong magic phase that the Warriors have to be jealous of. Pink Horrors are a rock solid core unit that also doubles as a wizard. Tzeentch magic, thanks to Master of Sorcery, means that the Daemons don’t have to even bring a Level 4 to dominate the phase. Master of Sorcery grants Loremaster to the Herald of Tzeentch, so with two Heralds you can construct an array of spell choices that give you “must-dispel” threats against nearly any opponent. This also gives access to Lore of Life which…

…makes Bloodletters absolutely insane. A large unit of Bloodletters lead by a Herald for Hatred and buffed with Life spells, or with opponents debuffed from Shadow means they can beat nearly anyone in close combat. The Bloodletters high strength and high weapon skill plus Hatred mean that they should be able to beat down on Warriors in close combat. Only units of truly cheap hordes can really stand up to them in close combat.

Daemons don’t have terrific cavalry, as Juggernauts are insanely expensive and Fleshhounds suffer from the same nerf as Chaos Knights. However, Flamers of Tzeentch are golden. They are expensive, but they have absolutely withering firepower. That and a 4++ ward save means they can outshoot even the shootiest enemy units. Plus being Skirmishers, they are hard to pin down in close combat. They are probably the best flank protectors available. They chew up and spit out units like fast cavalry or war eagles.

The characters are extreme. The Tzeentch Heralds are super powerful casters who can dominate the magic phase from the Hero choice slot. Khorne Heralds are among the fighiest characters at the Hero level. Not too many Lord level fighy character can hand a Herald of Khorne, so on a point for point basis they are nearly unbeatable.

Results

This match clearly advantages the Daemons. Their choppy infantry is cheaper than the Warriors and has high enough strength to make the armor advantage rather inconsequential. Additionally, the Daemon magic phase has more potential to dominate the game than does the Warriors’. The Warrior’s main trump card is the ability of the Hellcannons to inflict enough casualties to the Bloodletters to make the inevitable infantry combat winnable. The Daemons lack of long range threats outside of Magic means that the Hellcannon should be able to do their thing, and could have a strong influence on the outcome.

Additionally, the Warriors can bring more close combat potential to the field than the Daemons. Multiple large warrior units, alongside multiple large Marauder units put the Daemons who will have at most two units of Bloodletters in a quandry: without significant magic support, the ‘Letters will lose through attrition eventually.

The bottom line is these armies facing each other will come down to how effective the Daemons magic is vs. the Hellcannon’s ability to wither the Bloodletters. Whichever side asserts their dominance in these respective areas should be able to parlay that into a win. That said, my conclusion is that Daemons have a far easier time enacting their gameplan than the Warriors will with theirs.

Comments, questions, polemic, vitriol?

Email in: 2000 pt. Tyranid list for review

2012-05-24T16:24:00.000+10:00

"Hey Kirby and team!

I'm a big fan of the blog, and really enjoy the content you post up. I've wanted to send in an army list for review for a while, and finally have a good opportunity! To celebrate the twilight days of 40k 5th Edition, I'm planning to attend the NOVA-style Brother's Grimm GT (which will also be my first two-day Gran Tournament). Despite my bitterness towards the current Tyranid codex, they're my first army and probably my favorite. Also the most painted, which helps a lot too! I was thinking of bringing the following list:

280 - Swarmlord
130 - 2x Tyrant Guard
185 – Tervigon, Catalyst, Cluster Spines, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands
100 - 2x Hive Guard
100 - 2x Hive Guard
161 - 7x Ymgarl Genestealers
65 - 13x Termagants
185 - Tervigon, Catalyst, Cluster Spines, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands
98 – 7x Genestealers
98 – 7x Genestealers
175 – 5x Raveners, Rending Claws
210 - Trygon, Adrenal Glands
210 - Trygon, Adrenal Glands
1997

It's hard to make anything truly competitive with the 'Nid codex, but this is the best I can do with the models I own. It's served me well locally, and can generally put up a good fight against most armies but struggles against some match ups (mech Dark Eldar being my biggest fear). The Trygons, Raveners and Swarmlord move straight up the board, and try to force bad target priority (with Tervigons throwing around FNP to further confuse things). The Swarmlord is my big counter to enemy deathstars and the sort, as well as just being a boss... I've never found myself wishing I had saved points and opted for a cheaper Tyrant instead. Genestealers outflank, and Ymgarls do their thing -- the hope is that an overwhelming amount of targets on Turns 2/3 will overwhelm the enemy and get me into combat. The Tervigons hand out FNP and try to hold down the midfield, while spawning gaunts for screens and holding objectives. The Hive Guard hang out in the midfield as well, gunning for transports or stuff that they can insta-kill. It's not particularly clever or original, your typical 'Nid close combat brick... but it has a lot of teeth and claws which is cool haha. It's done pretty well for a footslogging close combat army at least!

The Raveners are my biggest concern... conventional internet wisdom says that they suck, but I think they may add something here. Target priority isn't as easy, since they attract the same sort of firepower that the Swarmlord and Trygons do. With cover and FNP, anything that isn't insta-killing them will struggle to thin them out quickly. The speed is important for me too, to cross no man's land faster or give me a chance to get backfield and tie up fire support. On the other hand, my previous version of this list didn't have Raveners -- I used the extra points to make both Tervigons troops, and beef up all my Genestealers (added a Ymgarl stealer and two Broodlords, I think). I'm not sure how useful such small/wimpy Genestealer squads will be, but at the end of the day they're still Genestealers!

Any thoughts, comments, or ideas would be much appreciated... I have no delusions of grandeur, but I'm eager to get a bunch of good games in and represent the bugs!

Thanks!

-Brian (sionnach19)"

There are three things I'd want to fix with this list - Genestealer squad size/lack of Toxin Sacs, Tervigon not scoring & too few Hive Guard. The changes? Make each Genestealer squad 10 strong minimum with Toxin Sacs, make both Tervigons scoring (so 7 more Termagants) and make both Hive Guard squads three strong. This makes your anti-transport much more effective, the Genestealers more effective and scoring MCs - what's not to love?

Now shaving points... the Raveners are a good bet to go. They are a good unit even though they cry against missiles but they are the only fast unit you have - you really want two or three squads here or none at all. This gives you just about enough points to buff both of the Genestealers to 10x strong and give them Toxin Sacs and turn your 13x Termagants into 2x10x Termagants (you're one point over at this point since you had three spare before). This means to get to where you want the list to be with Hive Guard you need to shave 101 points and the only way this happens is if you lose the Swarmlord to a normal Tyrant - I would personally do this but since you like the Swarmlord so much it's fine to leave him in and simply take the less effective anti-tank on the chin.

Or run one larger squad of Genestealers (14 with toxin) and use the spare points to buff up your Hive Guard to three strong each. If you really want to keep the Swarmlord I think this ends up being the best option though if you don't want to buy more Hive Guard models, keeping them as 2x10x works as well.

How-To: Quick and Easy Purity Seals

2012-05-24T07:00:00.000+10:00

MBG here with a little follow up on my Lightning Effect tutorial. Today I have quick how-to on Purity Seals that is also really easy to do.

I did this tutorial using the same Grey Knight Purifiers that I've been painting up lately, as well. So I definitely wanted something quick and easy that could be repeated like 200 times.

After talking with Kenny from Next Level Painting I got a idea of something that looks good, and is fast.

Again, all you need is a fine detail brush, a few different paints, one Micron 000 paint pen, and a semi-steady hand.

Step One

Neatly coat the entire purity seal area with a white base-coat. Again I used Ceramite White, because it coats well over dark colors.

You can see I also painted the "book details" as well with this same method- minus the red seal on top!

I coated the seal area on top of the papers with white, so the final red color ends up brighter than if it was over the darker steel color.

Step Two

"Dot" the top of the purity seal with Mephiston Red, taking care not to fill in any of the "Skull" stamped detail inside the seal itself.

Make sure you shake up your paint before you use it so you get a nice consistent coat for this step.

Oh and don't forget the underside of the seal that's touching the armor as well.

Step Three

I hit the entire area with a "purity wash", taking care not to get any on the flats of the armor. After the first wash dried I checked out all the work, and gave any areas that didn't turn out well, a second wash.

For larger surface areas, this is a must regardless. Then let it dry, the wash shades the white amazingly well. No additional highlights are needed.

To make this awesome wash, I used equal parts of Devlin Mud, and Badab Black (now Agrax Earthshade, and Nuln Oil respectively), and mixed that with two parts of Gyphonne Sepia (now Sepherim Sepia).

You can darken the wash to taste, as I would recommend adding Devlin over the black.

Step Four

I used a 000 Micron Art Pen to add details to the seal. It's pretty much scribbling, but every now and then you have space for a capital letter that looks like the start of a paragraph.

On the backpack and shoulder tabards you have way more space to work, so make it look good! Just remember to give the pen enough time to dry before touching the lettering.

Step Five

All that is left to do is, after matte coating the whole model, is to go back and give the purity seal a coat of gloss varnish. I haven't finished this particular model yet, so I can't show you that effect on this model.

But check the Draigo on the left that I've already glossed.

So that's it. This is what I think is a quick and easy method for purity seals, armor tabards, and book details on Grey Knights. Which could come in handy if you are painting up say 40 Purifiers.... :D

I finished up my final Purifier Test model last night (with a white helmet even) so it's full speed ahead now on Project Purifiers!

If you liked this post, be sure to checkout my other series of step by step articles here: Hobby Basics and How-To's - MBG

Army Comparison: Orks vs. Tyranids

2012-05-23T23:00:00.001+10:00

Continuing the request for Army Comparisons (yes, I'll be getting to some of the other popular ones as well) we have Orks vs Tyranids. Both of them are nominally horde armies (but don't really play that way because hordes are kinda awful in 5E) with a good combination of shooting and assault potential. Orks can bring Battlewagons and other armor to the table, while Tyranids will usually be leaning heavily on their T6 critters to even the field for them. Neither side has a clear advantage over the other's primary strategy, so in most cases it ends up being a pretty brutal slugfest no matter who ends up winning- which, from a fluff view, is hardly inappropriate.

This is an interesting matchup in a lot of ways because two very similar armies (melee-focused hordes) going head to head really highlights the differences between the two of them. Both of them have some fairly divergent builds, but in 5th Edition I think there are pretty clear superior versions (albeit with some variation), so those are the ones I'm going to focus on.

Ork Advantages and Strategies

The "main" Ork list is going to look pretty familiar: 3-4 Battlewagons with Deffrollas, 1-2 Big Meks, Lootas in the back, and Buggies or Koptas flanking the main force. This army is relatively fast and resilient and can put out non-insignificant firepower; moreover, it has solutions to many kinds of enemy armies and brings high AVs with cover saves wherever it goes. Given how quickly it can deliver a major assault force to the enemy's face (thanks to open-topped vehicles), it does not take a particularly large number of passed cover saves to see a LOT of Boyz swarming into the middle of an army and wreaking havoc.

The sheer efficiency of mobs of Boyz is one of the strong points of the list- 3-4 attacks on the charge, Fearless, and a hidden Klaw in every squad are all pretty scary stuff and few other armies in the game can match up to that 6pts/model price. While they may suffer a little when receiving rather than delivering charges, not a lot of units in the game want to try and chew through that many bodies in succession, especially not when they are eating up Klaw attacks every turn to boot. Many of the other options in the Ork codex also come in at bargain-discount prices- Rokkit Buggies are some of the cheapest vehicles in the game, Battlewagons cost basically nothing for the AV14 and S10 hits you get, and the Killa Force Field not only fills your HQ slot on the cheap but also brings an incredibly important tool.

Backed up with the excellent torrent shooting of Lootas to disembark the enemy from their metal boxes and Rokkits/Deffrollas as backup plans against various targets and you have a reasonable-enough anti-armor contingent to handle things. Like many melee armies the shooting component is largely only there to enable the melee units- Stunned and Immobilized units are usually quite enough- but when facing a foot army these tools can be used to force the enemy to fight on your terms or cut away problematic targets so the rest of your forces are free to engage as they please. In the Tyranid matchup especially your big guns will find their use in bringing down enemy AT shooting and breaching Gaunt screens to hit the jucier MC targets within.

Orks, being the mechanized list, also have the advantage in mobility- while Tyranids are hardly static, they simply don't have the option to Tank Shock, move 13"+ in one turn, etc, that mech builds can bring to the table. This is also useful in creating terrain on the table when the vehicles are eliminated; Tyranids HATE having to cross through terrain when making assaults, and in this fight getting the right assaults at the right time is absolutely key. Preventing them from striking before you (and thus cutting down the number of attacks you can make) is very key to winning this fight.

Overall the Ork plan is not significantly different than it usually is (get close, krump faces), but Tyranids can bypass several of your usual defenses and bring expendable units that they can sacrifice to make sure that charges go in their favor. Because of this the Ork army will relatively often have to play the defensive role in this matchup, using Lootas, Rokkits, etc, to wear down their MCs in preparation for a game-winning assault. You have superior threat range in most cases (48" off Lootas, 22+d6" charge range from a Battlewagon), so play to the positioning game and try to force them into positions where you can crush them decisively. Shoota Boyz over Sluggas is very useful here- being able to spray shots into their lines gives you an excellent attrition tool and pairs well with the rest of what you will be doing.

Tyranid Advantages and Strategies

Hive Guard. If one unit defines the entirety of this matchup, it is Hive Guard. This isn't surprising, as Tyranid players should be quite used to having their Hive Guard win (or lose) the game for them, but the ability to shrug off the Orks' all-important 4+ cover save is extremely key. Hive Guard will cut down their vehicles, ID any Nobz they happen to bring and just generally ruin the day of any Ork unit they happen to look at. This is good, because many of the other tools they bring can be extremely hazardous to your army, so it is imperative that you find ways to counter them.

Unlike many armies, you aren't particularly scared by the thought of Orks unloading into your lines T2 or T3; in fact, you can only hope that they rush into such an aggressive set of charges, because with a proper deployment your Gaunt screens will prevent them from doing any kind of meaningful damage to you with such an assault and your countercharges can easily break the back of their army in punishment for such rashness. The Orks may bring more sheer combat ability to the table but you, counterintuitively, have the advantage of winning the attrition war thanks to Tervigons and other MCs. Only his Klaws and Lootas represent any threat to such models, so if you can deal with such threats (by pinning them out of range of the MC with multicharges, backfield assaulters, etc) you should be able to win the fights easily and No Retreat! casualties on both sides will ensure that whoever starts to win a fight will quickly finish it as well.

Making good charges is absolutely essential to coming out ahead in this battle, as will careful positioning of your units. Deffrollas make it possible for the Orks to breach your lines, but if you deploy in a sufficiently-tight formation you can make it so that he has no place to disembark his models to- your Gaunts will only move the 1" minimum away from his tank, remember, in most cases leaving no room for his Boyz to disembark inside your defensive ring. Casualty removal will likewise be key in such situations- you may, in face, need to "double wrap" your lines with two units of Termagants to ensure that his opening up with Shootas/etc does not allow him to break through your Termagants and get multi-charges. You MUST avoid multi-charges on MCs and Gaunts at all costs- No Retreat! is a double-edged sword in this matchup, and if you let him take advantage of it it WILL lose you the game.

Many of the MCs also bring some pretty effective anti-infantry guns to the table, from Devourers to Cluster Spines to the various templates. Combined with the fairly-reasonable shooting you can get in abundance from your smaller bugs, this allows you to leverage another major strength of Tyranids- shooting followed by assault tactics, and Orks (being Fearless for the most part) don't have a lot of ways to spoil your plan when you do this.

Since the Orks will outgun you in a pure shooting war (thanks to starting inside tanks and having access to cheap long-range firepower), you're going to have to be on the offensive most of the time. Superior resilience (from expendable units, T6, FNP, or several of these things at once) and initiative values make this a viable plan, but at the same time it requires careful maneuvering to first disembark the enemy and then set up appropriate charges without being forced to cross difficult ground, which can easily spell the end of an assault. Orks' universal T4 and the many bodies shielding their "real" damage-dealers mean that an ill-timed assault can be disastrous, but contrawise a well-executed one can annihilate the enemy with virtually no casualties on your side.

Overall, the Tyranid strategy is going to be one of attrition; where the Orks will start strong and decline over the course of a game, the presence of 2-4 Tervigons means you should be able to continue bulking out your forces over a number of turns, giving you the forces to trade tit-for-tat with them time and time again without seriously degrading your capacity to score objectives, etc. The Ork player will try to outmaneuver you, but given that you plan to be advancing as a singular, unstoppable mass of models this may not be particularly effective against your army. Keep everything together, take advantage of your aura buffs and debuffs and you should be able to put a real hurt on him.

Non-Issues

Now, I only really talked about one type of matchup (Mech Orks vs Nidzilla) in the above section, for a couple reasons. For one, discussing the combinatorials of how six or seven different builds stack up with each other is... well, to be frank, a waste of my time and yours as well. As I said, each of these codices really has one standout build- not LITERALLY the only way to go, but one that is significantly stronger, all around, than the others. But let's take a moment and see how some of the "alternative" builds stack up here as examples of what I mean.

Basically, take the above Ork army and remove the advantages of mobility, durability, and flexibility and you have Green Tide. You know what Tyranids aren't afraid of? A bunch of bodies spread out across half the field, that's what. While it may have way more mans to deal with, Green Tide is largely incapable of bringing them to bear effectively and is very, very vulnerable to being picked apart piecemeal as it struggles to get its more distant mobs into range of an enemy that is chewing its forward elements apart. Tyranids can quite reasonably shoot down any minior vehicle elements early on, use Catalyst to protect one or another squad from the worst of the damage and then multicharge its entire army into one (or two, depending on how sassy it feels) mobs of Boyz, walloping them with casualties and then doubling up thanks to No Retreat! With any surviving Boyz likely blocking easy charges and the potential to consolidate behind screens if the enemy is wiped out, Green Tide's only real plan is to throw more meat into the grinder in hopes of clogging it up, which is not exactly a highbrow or effective plan.

Reserve Tyranids, on the other hand, suffer from the exact opposite problem: as a horde army that relies on overwhelming the enemy, they... don't bring all that many bodies and pretty much nothing they do can be classed as "overwhelming." Zoanthropes are okay for breaking some tanks, but the Orks retain their 4+ cover in this case and you're generally paying 50% more than you would for Hive Guard (due to needing a Spore), so you almost always take some major hits in the AT department. Moreover, Buggies will be a serious pain and can slap down Zoanthropes with annoying efficiency, not to mention punishing the Tyrant, Trygons, etc. Devilgaunts, Ymgarl, and other staples of the reserve list can likewise annoy, but not seriously disrupt the Ork army, as they just don't have the sort of large-scale firepower that is needed to really cripple it. (Remember, even 20 Devilgaunts will only kill ~8 Orks before dying to the return shooting and assault, even assuming they are out of their transport.)

There are few armies in the game better-suited to ruining the ubiquitous Kan Wall than Tyranids, when it comes down to it. Hive Guard can punch holes in their AV11 with ease and backup assaults from monstrous creatures can likewise cause devastating damage before the Kans get to swing- not to mention only being hit on 5s, etc. And while the Boyz advancing behind the wall are often just as scary to many armies, as we've already discussed above Tyranids have little to fear from such a force, naturally equipped as they are to deal with most infantry targets quite efficiently. Bar a ridiculous string of 1s and 2s on the damage table, Tyranids should wipe a Kan Wall off the table quite effectively.

Stealer Shock armies gained a lot of popularity during 4th Edition and have continued to see play in 5E despite lacking any particularly good ways to deal with most types of armies. Against Orks they will struggle to deal with the vehicles that should be roaming around the field in abundance, but also suffer by their very nature as anti-MEQ specialists when fighting mobs of Boyz. While causing 6-12 wounds (including some Rends) may be fairly threatening to many armies, Orks can soak such casualties with relative ease and Genestealers are far, far too fragile to shrug off the torrent of attacks that will be delivered in return. Against a foot-based Ork army they can use their superior speed and deployment options to try and get the pounce on them, using the usual Tyranid plan of concentrated force and multicharges to take advantage of No Retreat! to maximize damage, but a mechanized Ork list (or one that runs any other kinds of vehicles, including Trukks, Kans, etc) will give them a very bad time.

Nob Bikerz are so long past their expiration date at this point it's rather sad, especially since they were once considered supremely overpowered and nigh-unbeatable. (Of course, this was just as dumb as most of the internet's other suppositions about 40K, but...) In the modern day they are rare but still seen occasionally, either as part of a broader force or by someone still latched onto the strategies of half a decade ago. Hive Guard alone can cut such an army to ribbons in short order, ignoring their FNP, multiple wounds, and various cover saves and leaving them only with a desperate roll of their 5+ invulnerable in hopes to survive. Combined with Gaunt screens to stall early assaults and combined Gaunt/MC assaults to drag the Warboss or other threats down the army makes an even sadder performance than Kan Wall, if that's even possible.

Overall

If we stick to the "real" matchup of Battlewagons vs Nidzilla we have a fairly hard-fought battle, but probably one that the Orks edge out in (if only slightly.) Excellent mobility from mech combined with good assault potential and backfield shooting that can be hard for the short-ranged Tyranids to deal with mean that the bugs start on the back foot from turn 1. It's quite possible for them to turn the match around with some good movement and terrain, especially BLOS pieces that can limit where the all-too-static Lootas can expect to deploy, will play a large part in how things throw down. However, at the end of the day the Orks, properly built, bring a lot of the right tools to the field and 'Nids are simply too reliant on getting those side shots followed by favorable charges.

New 40k Flyers

2012-05-23T15:00:00.000+10:00

So that summer of flyers we've been hearing about for summers upon summers? It's finally here, just before the drop of 6th edition and it's a whopping two new models... The rules will be a White Dwarf release for the Space Marine Stormtalon and the Ork Bomma and Necrons will get their Scythe kit for Night & Doom Scythes (this is all we care about).

Here are some shoddy pictures - release date is early June.

Event Horizon Missions

2012-05-23T07:00:00.005+10:00

Event Horizon – Missions 2012

In Event Horizon 2011, we used four basic mission types – 5 Objectives, Modified Kill Points (win by 3 or more), Table Quarters, and Victory Points – in a tier system to determine the winner.

Following feedback from players, I have taken a slight twist to the system in 2012 to create more variety between games while maintaining consistency across the playing field. We still have Objectives, Modified Kill Points, Table Quarters, and Victory Points, with the following changes,

It is no longer 5 objectives for objective games.
Objectives are still fixed to maintain consistency across the playing field but there are games with 2 objectives, 3 objectives, and 5 objectives, to create different game play and strategy.
Modified KP has the margin reduced to win by 2KP or more.
After 18 months of play testing, we have concluded that it was too easy to defend/draw a 3KP margin game. Using ‘win by 2KP’ margin will mitigate some lucky dice results while encouraging players to attack and defend in the KP mission.
Tiers have been reduced to Primary and Secondary with VP as final decider.
This create a bigger focus on the primary mission, while still giving players with bad match-up an alternative to victory via drawing the primary and winning the secondary mission.
As a result of the change in tier system, there will be games without one of the three key missions. Objectives, KP, or Quarters will not appear as a tier mission in two of the six games.
This change should reduce the chance of ‘gaming’ the tier system and put more emphasis in playing the missions. Players can no longer rely on one key mission to carry them through the tournament.

Our aim is to bring freshness and variety in the game while maintaining the competitiveness of Event Horizon.

1. Games

Mission special rules for all games includes,

· Seize the initiative (Rulebook P.92)

· Infiltrate, Reserves, Deep strike, Outflank/Scout (Rulebook P.94)

1.1. Games 1

· DEPLOYMENT: Pitch Battle (Rulebook P.93)

· Primary: 5 Objectives

Big Win [20] – control 3 more Objectives than your opponent (e.g. 3-0, 4-1, 5-0)

Win [15] – control more Objectives than your opponent

Draw [10] – control the same number of Objectives as your opponent

Lose [5] – control fewer objectives than your opponent

Major Defeat [0] – control 3 less Objectives than your opponent (e.g. 0-3, 1-4, 0-5)

· Secondary: Modified Kill Points

Win [10] – Win by 2 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 2-0, 3-1, 4-2)

Draw [5] – Within 1 KP as your opponent (e.g. 0-1, 2-1, 1-2)

Lose [0] – Lose by 2 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 0-2, 1-3, 2-4)

· Tertiary: VP

1.2. Games 2

· DEPLOYMENT: Dawn of War (Rulebook P.93)

· Primary: Modified Kill Points

Big Win [20] – Win by 5 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 5-0, 6-1)

Win [15] – Win by 2 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 2-0, 3-1, 4-2)

Draw [10] – Within 1 KP as your opponent (e.g. 0-1, 2-1, 1-2)

Lose [5] – Lose by 2 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 0-2, 1-3, 2-4)

Major Defeat [0] – Lose by 5 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 0-5, 1-6)

· Secondary: 3 Objectives

Win [10] – control more Objectives than your opponent

Draw [5] – control the same number of Objectives as your opponent

Lose [0] – control fewer objectives than your opponent

· Tertiary: VP

1.3. Games 3

· DEPLOYMENT: Spearhead (Rulebook P.93)

· Primary: Table Quarters

Big Win [20] – control 2 more Quarters than your opponent (e.g. 2-0, 3-1, 4-0)

Win [15] – control more Quarters than your opponent

Draw [10] – control the same number of Quarters as your opponent

Lose [5] – control fewer Quarters than your opponent

Major Defeat [0] – control 3 less Quarters than your opponent (e.g. 0-2, 1-3, 0-4)

· Secondary: Modified Kill Points

Win [10] – Win by 2 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 2-0, 3-1, 4-2)

Draw [5] – Within 1 KP as your opponent (e.g. 0-1, 2-1, 1-2)

Lose [0] – Lose by 2 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 0-2, 1-3, 2-4)

· Tertiary: VP

1.4. Games 4

· DEPLOYMENT: Dawn of War (Rulebook P.93)

· Primary: Table Quarters

Big Win [20] – control 2 more Quarters than your opponent (e.g. 2-0, 3-1, 4-0)

Win [15] – control more Quarters than your opponent

Draw [10] – control the same number of Quarters as your opponent

Lose [5] – control fewer Quarters than your opponent

Major Defeat [0] – control 3 less Quarters than your opponent (e.g. 0-2, 1-3, 0-4)

· Secondary: 5 Objectives

Win [10] – control more Objectives than your opponent

Draw [5] – control the same number of Objectives as your opponent

Lose [0] – control fewer objectives than your opponent

· Tertiary: VP

1.5. Games 5

· DEPLOYMENT: Spearhead (Rulebook P.93)

· Primary: 2 Objectives – not in deployment quarter

Big Win [20] – control 2 Objectives

Win [15] – control more Objectives than your opponent

Draw [10] – control the same number of Objectives as your opponent

Lose [5] – control fewer objectives than your opponent

Major Defeat [0] – control 2 less Objectives than your opponent (0-2)

· Secondary: Table Quarters

Win [10] – control more Quarters than your opponent

Draw [5] – control the same number of Quarters as your opponent

Lose [0] – control fewer Quarters than your opponent

· Tertiary: VP

1.6. Games 6

· DEPLOYMENT: Pitch Battle (Rulebook P.93)

· Primary: Modified Kill Points

Big Win [20] – Win by 5 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 5-0, 6-1)

Win [15] – Win by 2 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 2-0, 3-1, 4-2)

Draw [10] – Within 1 KP as your opponent (e.g. 0-1, 2-1, 1-2)

Lose [5] – Lose by 2 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 0-2, 1-3, 2-4)

Major Defeat [0] – Lose by 5 KP or more than your opponent (e.g. 0-5, 1-6)

· Secondary: Table Quarters

Win [10] – control more Quarters than your opponent

Draw [5] – control the same number of Quarters as your opponent

Lose [0] – control fewer Quarters than your opponent

· Tertiary: VP

The Big 4 Problems of 40k 5th Edition

2012-05-22T23:00:00.000+10:00

The more and more I look at the problems in 40k, the more and more I realize that most problems with the core game are a subset of a a few overarching major issues.

There are a lot of smaller issues in the game that can be changed without interaction to these rules, but those are the exception, not the rule. More on that in a minute. For now, remember that there are only two kinds of problem: complex problems, and isolated problems. (Notice “simple problems” are not on that list.)
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The Big Four:

1.) Vehicles. This problem is the one everyone immediately thinks of when they spot problems in 5^th. Tanks are too good, especially transports.

I posted this on a forum thread, which I think sums up my thoughts nicely:
“What's interesting about vehicles is that the two kinds (must-take and never-take) suspiciously correspond to how expensive the vehicle is. Cheap, spammable vehicles are awesome, expensive ones aren't, no matter HOW much firepower they bring. A good rule of thumb seems to be that if it's over 150 points, it's almost certainly bad. Hell, I'd say over 130 is pushing it.

That even applies to transports, the must-take unit of 5th ed. if there ever was one. Things like Rhinos, Razorbacks, Chimeras and even Raiders on the more expensive end are all really obvious choices. But now we have a more expensive transport, the Ghost Ark, and it doesn't seem to be seeing a lot of play. That's because it's expensive, and even though it puts out okay firepower, can really protect the troops inside while they all fire out, and has cool special rules, it just costs a lot.

So why is that? I mean, you'd expect something that has a ton of utility to cost a lot, right?

It has to do with the vehicle damage chart, or, more broadly, the way vehicles take damage. The damage chart is very forgiving on light, cheap vehicles, like most transports. It's okay if a Razorback suffers any of the first four results, because it's wasn't ever a huge part of the armies firepower, and the loss of it's offensive output isn't felt that hard. If it's immobilized, that's okay, it can still contribute by protecting it's contents and shooting. Even if it's destroyed, that's alright, because it was so cheap and still provided value by insulating the troops inside. It's alright if it takes damage, because it's cheap, and therefore a relatively small part of the army.

Compare to a heavy tank, like a Vindicator, or the king of heavy blasters, the Leman Russ. ANY result has a big effect on tanks like these. Their guns are powerful enough that the loss of them firing is keenly felt, immobilized can ruin their day, (especially fixed weapon tanks) and destroyed results are a big deal- a significant portion of the army has been lost. They're expense and firepower mean that even though they're using the same damage chart, the same results have a much more devastating effect on expensive thanks than light ones.

That's kind of intuitive. I mean, if you could automatically apply a "vehicle shaken" effect to a single vehicle every turn, you'd always pick the Leman Russ Executioner (with plasma sponsons!), and you'd never pick a Chimera. Same damage result, extremely different values.

So it's tricky, because the problem boils down to: light tanks are too good, but heavy tanks aren't good enough.”

User __Thatguy__ pointed out something else that may account for vehicle over-survivability, the fact that a cover save adds a fourth layer of protection to vehicles, while everything else in the game caps out at three. (With the exception of FNP and Reanimation Protocols.)

(Also, there's a lot going on in that thread. If you're interested, I'd recommend checking it out.)

There's also the issue of transports, which are only partially fixed by changing vehicle survivability. Even just making transports easier to kill, and heavy tanks harder, does not balance the fact that transports provide a great movement bonus and awesome survivability for a very small points cost. There's simply no downside to having a squad in a vehicle instead of on foot. There needs to be upsides/downsides, but it sort of stops being a vehicle problem at that point, and instead gets into another large problem area:

2.) Psychology. “Psychology” is the all-encompassing term for morale and leadership in 40k (not the stuff that Kirby specialises in). It means leadership checks, morale, how combat resolution works, how fleeing and regrouping function, etc.

I don't think a lot of people see this area as particularly “broken”, because it sort of functions pretty well. It's quite random, but it works pretty well on small squads, and failing the tests is outside the norm in most cases anyway.

The interesting thing about the psychology systems in 40k, especially the fleeing/regrouping mechanic, is that it seems to be designed mostly to work with units that are either fearless or have And They Shall Know No Fear (ATSKNF). Actually, the morale system works really well with ATSKNF, it's random but not overly crippling, and it causes tactical issues but it doesn't screw the player. Besides the weird “escort you off the board” thing, it's a fine system.

But for everyone else, it's extremely punishing. Armies that have no equivalent rule get the fun of being sweeping advanced, and never being able to regroup when under half strength. Foot heavy weapons take a big hit, as they're guaranteed to be out for at least a turn, if not two if they have to move up again. (No ATSKNF means you count as moving when you regroup.)

It's also extremely punishing to elite units. Even leadership 10 fails 1/12 of the time, frequently enough to screw you. If you have to retreat... then regroup... then move next turn, your elite unit is set back hugely. If it's a melee unit, a failed morale test early on can mean that it won't be participating until 2-3 turns later than normal. That's an incredible penalty.

Pinning is also a pretty bad mechanic, that follows the same pattern of unlikely-but-really-screws-you. That one most people don't even, notice, though, because so few units can actually make you test for it.

It's odd, because psychology mechanics can be a ton of fun- just not when they're extremely harsh. Why there isn't a median state between normal and pinned called “suppressed” confuses me... But this isn't the place for fixes, not at the moment, I'm just making a list of problems. Though having a suppressed state could help with the transport problem, and maybe help out a bit with the next one, which is:

3.) Weaponry. There are two kinds of weapons in 40k: “anti-light infantry” (LI) and “anti-everything”. That's because of the way that strength and AP interact in 40k: as a general rule, as strength goes up, AP goes down. That means you have the low-end weapons, like bolters, which are good against light infantry but not particularly effective against anything else. Pick your armies basic gun and it's likely to be this, good at slaughtering guardsmen and gaunts, but fairly ineffective against anything harder.

But then you have your anti-everything guns: a meltagun is good against tanks, and it's good against even the most elite infantry, and it's good against monstrous creatures, and incidentally, it's better than the bolt gun against infantry in most cases. It's anti-everything.

There are guns here and there that don't fit the mold, and obviously anti-everything doesn't in most cases actually include everything (though when it doesn't, the exception is usually only land raiders). But it's still a big issue, and once you start looking for it, you see it everywhere.

Look at the heavy bolter, or any of the anti-infantry machine gun weapons: they just aren't good. And certainly never good enough to take over one of the other swap options. Even the biggest machine gun in the game, the punisher cannon, is a joke: being S5 and heavy 20 aren't enough to make these weapons worthwhile. And that's because they're not doing anything that you don't have in abundance already, because you have to bring some anti-light infantry weapons anyway, and your anti-everything weapons also deal with it just fine. The only weapon of this type that I can think of that I would classify as decent is the splinter cannon, and even then only on Venoms, and even then only because you get two of them and they have 6 shots each. Still, if you could free swap to a dark lance, would you ever take them?

These weapons are necessarily useless because of the way the core rules function. You can't give them enough overwhelming firepower that they actually become effective against elite infantry (read: MEQs) because they then become overly-devastating to light infantry. And if you're just going to raise strength or change AP, you might as well just remove the option to take them and just have everyone take the already existing anti-everything weaponry.

There are potential ways to fix this problem, but they require some deep fundamental game changes, specifically changes in the way weapons interact with:

4.) Cover. Cover is the thing that most dramatically needs to change. It's oddities are one of the first thing new players point out when they start learning the game, (How come cover doesn't help my marines against most guns?) and it's something that nags at veterans. (Gee, it would be nice if AP 4, 5, or 6 actually meant you'd be taking anything other than a 4+ save.)

A universal switch to 5+ cover doesn't solve the issue of cover. The same things that kill infantry still kill infantry, they just do it a little better. Tanks die faster, but the difference between 4+ and 5+ isn't enormous, and it doesn't fix the fundamental problems with armor or transports. In addition, it makes shooting more dominant in an already shooting-dominated game.

Cover is also extremely difficult to fix, because it's so universal to every unit. There isn't really a good way for both infantry and vehicles to have the same kind of benefit from cover, for instance. One is either going to end up too good, or they're both going to suck.

I also include LOS in this category, and LOS does need some work. I think it's obvious to everyone that we need better rules for area terrain, specifically forests and rubble. These do not play nice with tanks or monstrous creatures when it comes to determining cover saves. There should also be more ways to block line of sight (though not much more, just a little) than putting down enormous impassible structures. Especially for armies that either lack vehicles, or who have vehicles that can't act as sight-blocking walls. True LOS is fun, but it needs to be tempered with better rules for blocking and terrain.

Of course, changing cover has an effect on Vehicles! So here we are, with a bunch of interrelated problems.
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Remember at the start, when I said “there are only two kinds of problem: complex problems, and isolated problems”? That's what we've got here. That's what a rule set is, a bunch of mechanical interactions that together produce something (a simulation of high-fantasy-sword-n-sorcery-war-in-space battles). People often think that you can fix an edition by, say, making cover universally 5+ instead of 4+, but that just isn't the case, because altering cover alters more than just cover.

So this looks like a mess, doesn't it? I mean, how do you attack this? Is it just a Gordian Knot, only solvable by a hacking sword?

I don't think so. The trick to to attack in the right order, and make sure that your changes don't disrupt the game you know that it becomes something else completely. You can lose control of your work if you're too zealous, solving old problems and creating a host of new ones. It takes patience, a lot of playtesting, and a lot of revision before you have something great.

I think this problem is a lot like losing weight, or any other goal that you really wish you could do in a day but just can't. You can liposuction the fat out, but you're just going to gain it again unless you make some lifestyle changes. You can try less healthy ways and develop an eating disorder, but that brings about a whole new set of serious consequences.

It's a pain, but you have to make small changes. Eat a little healthier, just changing a bit of each meal. Exercise, just a little at first. Ramp up slowly. If you throw yourself completely into it, you'll probably fail, because you don't really know what you're doing and you'll end up hating it. You can't move a mountain by pushing it, but you can if you just carry one rock at a time. Small steps matter, and make something big.

So that's what we'll do. We'll keep an eye on the big fixes, and work towards them with small ones. This project isn't going to suddenly have a ruleset that's great, it'll have the one you know, that slowly evolves over time and sheds it's issues. (At least that's the goal.)

Psychology is the first problem to attack here. It's the least interconnected of the Big Four problems, simple changes to it can have big beneficial effects across the system, and it's really the least likely to backfire and be awful if we make a mistake.

My next post will be on some planned and potential changes to the psychology system. If you don't want to wait to talk about it, why don't you go ahead and talk about it anyway in the forum?

Email in: Benefits of Wargaming?

2012-05-22T15:00:00.000+10:00

"Hi Kirby,

Always enjoy reading your blog and you always make things mesh nicely, so I just wanted to suggest a slightly different article on a subject that i've been thinking about for a while that you may or may not consider writing about?

Basically I was just wondering how you think warhammer (and wargames in general) might apply to the real world outside the confines of our gaming clubs etc.?

There's a clear real-world application of the Hobby side in improving manual dexterity etc, I actually had interviews for dentistry at university a few months ago and i took a few warhammer models as examples of my manual dexterity and the interviewers got really excited over them in every university i went too! So improving manual dexterity is an obvious advantage to warhammer and painting scale miniatures, but I was wondering whether you could see/ think of any other situations and scenarios where wargames and miniature painting might help us somehow?

just a thought you might play around with :)
anyway thanks for your time,

Pedr"

Certainly - though it depends how deeply you get into the game. From a very casual perspective where you play maybe once a week or are more focused on the painting side, you'll probably be less immeresed in the gaming aspect of wargames and get less out of it in that perspective (nothing wrong with this). If you look at it from a competitive stand point and how many of the good players approach the game, it's basically a complex problem they are attempting to solve within set constraints whilst needing to be flexible themselves. This is great for real-life work as problem solving is part of a lot jobs yet there are constraints in which that problem needs to be solved and the more flexible/creative you are, themore likely you'll come up with a good and innovative solution which is good for whatever organisation you are working for.

The basis of many games as well is logic - playing it regularly is going to improve that and some games will do this more than others.

Otherwise, the ability to see a project through and certain planning skills are obviously going to come through (assuming you can follow it!) in terms of painting and modelling, etc. Obviously the dexterity you pointed out would also be skills you developed as well as the social side of wargaming - which after all is the basis of games; playing with others.

Anyone else have any skills they think wargaming develops?

Eldar Codex Review - Part 28: Warp Hunters

2012-05-22T07:00:00.001+10:00

CMON

This was requested so it's going into the review as well :P.

The Review -

First things first, the Warp Hunter is IA only so unless that is allowed at tournaments, it's not part and parcel of the standard Eldar army. It's got the standard heavy tank lay-out as well - AV12 side and front with rear AV10, BS3, fast, tank and skimmer with two weapon systems - one heavy & one twin-linked catapult. The defining feature is it's big old gun - D-cannon on steroids with special rules - which of course brings comparisons to the Fire Prism.

At 36" it's a lot shorter ranged than the Fire Prism but fits in with the general theme of the Eldar army but outside of anything AV10/11, it's the weakest platform around for Eldar so loses a bit of durability there. Beyond that, well the gun is pretty lethal against infantry with always wounding on 2's, instant death on 6's and an AP2 (which is actually good because the D-Cannon is a barrage blast). This is exemplified by having a template option which can be fired like a hellhound up to 6" away from the Hunter - aka more reliable infantry death.

Against tanks though, not so flash. The ranged option is a blast without any twin-linking so it's not going to be hitting too often and whilst it may seem like haywires on crack with double the penetration chance, doing no damage 33% of the time is pretty lacklusture. AP2 is also a bummer here as it means, well nothing. In the end the D-cannon is okay against heavy tanks as it bypasses their armor but against light tanks, aka the ones you see all the time, too inefficient. The template option removes the innaccuracy aspect but again needs to be quite close to come into play.

The usual upgrades are available to the Warp Hunter and the usual caveats apply. In the end though, the Warp Hunter is another one-gun tank which can poke infantry pretty well but is inefficient against vehicles.

Potential Uses -

In terms of Fire Prism or Warp Hunter, the Warp Hunter does have the edge in being able to ignore cover so that low AP comes into play. There's a lack of reliability when shooting at range though due to it being a single blast (and again, the tiny decrease in survivability) though obviously when the Hunter gets close the template can take over and kill things dead quite well. The Fire Prisms are better the more you take though and this brings their anti-tank and anti-infantry potential way up as you can start shooting from multiple angles, gain access to twin-linking, potential large blasts, get a profile which is quite scary against tanks if it hits, etc.

So which one? Both are good though I'd have to give the tiny nod to Fire Prisms in terms of the extra options they bring but, Warp Hunters are much better at working alone if their buddy dies or cannot operate that turn, etc. If they can get within template range as well, shooting up a tank means the contents aren't going to survive long so if you're able to protect the Warp Hunter and use them independetly, they will shine much brighter than the Prism. This is how they should be used which forces them forward quite a bit so screening to ensure they at least have a cover save is important.

Potential Changes -

AP1 assuming the bonus against vehicles stays or the ranged D-cannon shot should be more effective against tanks (i.e. non-blast or something). Otherwise having the D-Cannon always inflict a shaken result + whatever potential damage result on any vehicles hit would give it some actual suppression value until its anti-infantry capabilities can come into play. A minor decrease in points cost would also be beneficial but I'd say drop the Fire Prism more as the Warp Hunter has more potential and the same deal with one-gun tanks - a potential change in rules or how this is interacted with the individual model against weapon destroyed results.

Conclusion -

The Warp Hunter is quite a nice vehicle in terms of being able to drop infantry and it can do so reliably with its template funciton - something Eldar can struggle with when they are only running mass S6. The issue is of course the range and the fact that the anti-tank capabilities of the Warp Hunter aren't too flash and are basically inefficient - much like the Fire Prism. If the Warp Hunter is included in the next incarnation of the Eldar codex, ensuring each one has a dominate role with alternate firing modes allowing for some duality within each individual unit would see both get tabletop time in differing lists. Otherwise, one is always going to be the superior and end up being seen all the time.

With this in mind I'd probably make the Warp Hunter the anti-infantry option with the flamer template (add the simple suppression bonus in) with the Fire Prism having the more dedicated anti-tank role (i.e. focused shot is two S9 AP2 shots, no blast; combined fire for two S10 AP1 shots, twin-linked, no blast & keep the large blast as is).

The Deathclock and Sportsmanship

2012-05-21T23:00:00.000+10:00

Now I know that many of you are expecting another article about the Old Witch of Khador but I thought I would throw something a bit random.

Deathclock is a timed turn variant for SteamRoller 2012 (the official competitive ruleset for Warmachine/Hordes), which has been gaining popularity in both local and national metas. Deathclock is the same as using a chessclock to keep track of time. At the end of each turn you hit the button and it swaps over to your opponents time; this is an advantage over regular timed turns since it keeps you from having to worry about how long things like your feat turn is going to go and if your opponent has to make tough checks or out of activation movements during your time.

I personally enjoy it because it validates casters like Epic Butcher and Epic Madrak who suffered for having to take two turns in one effectively when they use their feat. Also you are forced to play aggressively because if you run out of time you lose the game.

So, I'm sure you are asking "Well Sam now that I've heard you talk about Deathclock what inspired this little piece?" And I guess you do deserve an answer for that. In an attempt to help the game grow I run tournaments every other month at the LGS and we had one yesterday with deathclock. During the last round we had a match where one player had his Warlock and three Warbeasts and his opponent with his Caster and 2 Warjacks. The Hordes player had 11 seconds on the clock when his turn started and elected to have all of his models stand still and forfeit their actions. His turn took a total of 4 seconds. The Warmachine player had a total of 2 seconds left when his turn started and lost the game due to clocking out.

Now as the TO I was called over to see if what he did was a legal move or not since it would affect the outcome of the event. I was forced to rule that it was technically a legal move since I was unfamiliar with the rules for this scenario even though I personally felt it was cheap. After I got home I did some research and posted following on the Facebook page we use to set up Warmachine events and gatherings:

"So at my event yesterday the definition of "meaningful turns" was called into question. I made a call that I am not comfortable with but I will not redact since it would change standings at my event.

For future events "meaningful activations" will be defined as something that will help you win the game either on scenario or by caster kill. For example if you have pCaine with two longgunners and your opponent has 2 juggernauts and butcher having the longgunners charge into melee is in no way "meaningful", especially if you are only doing it to stall time. Also having your entire army forfeit action when they are in range of attacking the enemy to win on time is not allowed either.

The point of the Deathclock variant is that it forces you to engage and to win the game. As PG_Hacksaw said "Deathclock is all about encouraging a real win." I find this to be precisely in line with Page 5; which we all know is a guide to sportsmanship for this game.

Should this come up again it will result in a warning or depending on the situation an automatic loss. If it happens several times I will ask the person in question to leave my event and I may consider asking that they do not return to any future events."

On the PP forum boards one of the Infernals (volunteers who clarify and correct rulings) stated that while there is nothing saying if such would be legal or not it is up the TO since it ultimately comes down to sportsmanship and respect for the other player.

Ultimately I just wanted to let you guys know whats going on with the game and to bring up something that I felt should be said so that you are forewarned should this come up with you.

Email in: Eldar

2012-05-21T15:00:00.000+10:00

"Hi,

Love the blog and loving your Eldar Codex reviews. In fact they have inspired me to start an Eldart Army. So on that could you give me your opinion on the list I have put together.

Farseer - Singing Spear, Guide and Doom - 103
8 Fire Dragons - Exarch, Firepike, Crack Shot, Tank Hunters - 168
Wave Serpent - T/L Scatter Lasers - 115
7 Fire Dragons - Exarch, Firepike, Crack Shot, Tank Hunters - 152
Wave Serpent - T/L Scatter Lasers - 115
7 Fire Dragons - Exarch, Firepike, Crack Shot, Tank Hunters - 152
Wave Serpent - T/L Scatter Lasers - 115
5 Dire Avengers - 60
Wave Serpent - T/L Scatter Lasers - 115
5 Dire Avengers - 60
Wave Serpent - T/L Scatter Lasers - 115
5 Dire Avengers - 60
Wave Serpent - T/L Scatter Lasers - 115
5 Dire Avengers - 60
Wave Serpent - T/L Scatter Lasers - 115
Warp Hunter - 125
Warp Hunter - 125
Warp Hunter - 125

= 1995

General plan is for the Warp Hunters to take out the highest priority target, be that either transports, deathstars or stuff that can take Serpents out, they can also decimate hordes with their Aether rift.

The Dragons then ride up and finish off the occupants of said transports or help with the destruction of death stars.

The tonne of strength 6 fire the vehicles can put out will also help out against transports, monstrous creatures, light vehicles and hordes.

Dire Avenger are to sit in the Wave Serpents and claim objectives.

Any opinions, criticisms, advice you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Ewan "

Looks pretty solid within the constrains of the Eldar book and assuming IA is allowed. The one thing I'd change is dropping a Dragon from each squad to get underslung Shuriken Cannons on each of your vehicles - look to maybe get Spirit Stones on the Dragon Serpents as well.

This increases your firepower by quite a bit when you need it in a pinch without taking too much away and ensures the Dragon Serpents can always move to put the Dragons in a more advantageous spot.

3++ and 6: How It is Gonna Be

2012-05-21T07:00:00.000+10:00

So it's probably no news to any of you that the new edition of the game is rolling up on us pretty quick here, and a lot of folks are nervous. Rumors are flying around, everything is changing, dogs and cats are living together; it's mass hysteria.

So what should we be expecting to see out of the new edition? What are we here at 3++ gonna do about it? Should there be panicking involved? Will competitive play be ended forever? And what about Roger, the mysterious man from Lorelei's past? What is his significance?

Relax, brah; we've got you covered. The sky isn't falling and even if it is, it just means that those stupid clouds won't ruin your day anymore.

OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING
Let's start with the changes to the new edition and rumors thereof. I can say with confidence that GW is probably not going to completely overhaul the game system they have created- they have been quite successful with it so far and, as a fair-sized business, huge, sweeping changes are anathema to them. Moreover, it works; whatever complaints there may be about 5th Edition, it is the most functional version of the game to date and the most balanced as well. Even if GW may have differing view of what is good for the game and which directions they want it to take, their sales numbers should provide ample incentive for them to not rock the boat too much- even in a period of major economic downturns GW has grown its business significantly with 5E.

"But the rumors say..." The rumors, my friends, are bullshit, plain and simple. There are a small number of reliable sources of information on these internets, ones that have in the past predicted things accurately and have a proven track record. These sources (such as Tasty on BoK and Harry on Warseer, to name a few) have given us only very limited information so far and tidbits that could be taken a variety of different ways. The vast majority of other rumors- such as changes to the turn order, specific stats and abilities of "upcoming" units, inclusions of new unit types, etc, etc- are utterly unsupported and are in all likelihood the usual sort of garbage we see before every new release.

Seriously, does anyone else remember the brouhaha that preceded the releases of each of the codices in 5E? When Tyranid Warriors were supposed to be T5 and come in every FoC slot? When Necrons were supposed to get Feel No Pain instead of WBB? This same sort of baseless speculation has preceded every single change in the rules that has ever occurred. And that's all it is- speculation. None of the sources for these rumors have any credibility with regards to this sort of thing and have absolutely zero supporting evidence. Faeit, BoLS, etc, are simply reposting anything and everything that any person on the internet pulls out of their ass without regard for the plausibility of it. Even my own "rumors" about the Tau, which were self-contradictory, ridiculous, and contained an implicit message of falseness were passed around for a day or so (and very well made the front page on several other sites) because there is absolutely zero skepticism exercised by anyone in this hobby, apparently.

So chill out about the rumors; even the potentially-true ones are going to be just facets of a larger change to the edition and to the codices. If someone had said "in 5E, everyone gets 4+ cover against shooting" before the edition was released, what do you think the reaction would have been? OMG SHOOTING IS DEAD THIS GAME SUCKS I CANT USE MY ARMY ANYMORE FUCK U GW!!! Which, to anyone playing 5E today is a pretty hilarious statement. Any edition's rules have to be taken as part of a larger picture of how things fit together, so without that picture available to us it's pretty to go googley-eyed with terror about something we heard from a guy on a site once.

What Does It All Mean?
That isn't to say that nothing will change, however. In fact, it's safe to say that, based on past edition switches, a LOT of stuff is going to change, even if the basic rules remain the same. Small alterations can have pretty huge effects on things, so anyone who is looking to play even somewhat competitively will probably have to alter their armies quite a bit if they want to keep up with the new version of the game.

This is the source of a lot of complaints, but realistically it is inevitable; you CAN'T make any kind of meaningful alterations to the rules without changing the viability of units- that's simply the nature of the beast. Nor should GW be expected to pander to existing players by jumping through hoops to try and make every unit exactly as viable as it was before (as though that would even be possible.) The relative value of many, many things is going to shift and entire army types may become invalidated- or maybe they won't, it's largely impossible to know. For some armies, this is not going to be a problem- Grey Knights basically only have one "plan" no matter how you look at things, so they may stay more or less the same (even if the effectiveness of the army changes), but other codices have more varied options and may change entirely.

Or they might not change much at all. We can expect that GW will not drastically devalue vehicles in the new edition, because it's pretty clear that selling transports has been a very good move for them and they have made pains to make buying these vehicles easier (like the new transport + unit combos available), so it is a safe assumption to say that we won't see 4E-style damage tables or the like. Whether this means mech will still be a dominant- or even competitive- choice is up in the air, though. Perhaps we'll see what many people are hoping for, a leaning away from the mostly-mech environment of the current game. Perhaps the way mech functions will fundamentally change (like ability to more easily assault from non-Assault vehicles or more severe consequences for passengers, both of which would change the relative merits of what units go inside transports and the merits of non-transport tanks.) It might be that not very much shifts at all about the rules for tanks but the game's other rules change in ways we can't predict, like missions or cover or terrain.

In short, there is no use fretting about things. Follow the rumors if you want, but don't expect them to pan out or mean anything at this point. You might want to limit your investment into new/existing armies at this point until we can see what will happen, but that's more of a personal decision than anything.

Man With a Plan
So what will 3++ be doing about things? Well, it's started happening already, but you're going to see a slacking off of articles from Kirby and myself as we come up on things- there's plenty still to be said about a lot of fundamental skills of the game that will apply pretty much no matter what goes down with 6E, but many other articles will be relegated to the back burner as the expected lifespan of them shrinks down to a few months here. We don't intend to stop writing about anything and will do our best to keep the content relevant, but some articles will just find themselves as unlikely to get a slot in the near future.

Once we get ahold of the new edition's rules for reals- be it a leak, prelease from GW, or the official drop- you can expect there to be plenty of discussion articles on the site for several weeks as we evaluate things. As I've said in the past, evaluating a new book is not an instantaneous process; I don't doubt that you'll see lots of reviews of 6E a couple days or a week after it comes out, but most of them are going to be somewhere between misleading and worthless as the authors have completely missed important parts of the game. (If you want examples, check any of the "reviews" of codices right after they come out, or dig up some of the "guides to 5E" from back in the day when that was the new kid in town.)

As those early weeks slide by and we get a stronger feel for the new edition as well as do the appropriate testing we'll put up some of our less-speculative advice on the game as well as starting to work on specific information for the various armies. We'll work to try and point out the most relevant shifts in the game- and metagame, as applicable- for everyone. Also high on the list will be talking about all of the codices all over again, as many of them may have shifted significantly during the transition and might require entirely new approaches (or might be essentially unchanged.) Expect to see a series of updates to the codex reviews in the couple of months following the release as well as articles on how builds have changed, new builds that exist, etc.

Once the initial tremors of the new edition have passed over, things will largely be returning to normal around here; tactics and strategy will still be part of the game. List-writing will still be a part of the game and there will be plenty of stupid people spouting bad advice that will need to be at least a minimal voice speaking against. I don't doubt the internet will still have rules questions, emails for advice, people needing help with matchups, and all of the other things that 3++ has done in the past.

What If Everything is Ruined?
It won't be. Worst case scenario where GW royally fucks up and breaks everything so that the game is no fun anymore? We go back to playing 5th Edition and GW quickly realizes that everyone hates their new game and puts out some kind of emergency fix to it a lathe trial assault rules for 3.5E way back when.

But seriously, calm down; the chances of that happening are not high and, even as terrible as things may seem edition, I have a solid belief that the new edition of the game will be at least reasonably interesting, playable, and balanced. GW has a track record of 7/8 actual codices released during 5E that are good and playable, so there's no reason to expect that their whole design team would go derpy in time for the most important release of the past several years. Even the Tyranid book was not awful, just flawed in ways that only are really obvious in higher-level play. They've done pretty well so far, just give them a chance and stop acting like everything is ruined forever.

Email in: Dark Eldar Baron Led List

2012-05-20T20:03:00.000+10:00

"Hi Kirby,

Have spent the last year using a variation of your Blood Skies BA list
with pretty good success (so thanks) but have decided to start a Dark
Eldar army for s change.

I'm hoping for it to be pretty competitive but there are so many cool
models I'd like to use (I'm aware that it probably isn't possible tp use
them all) - the Baron, Incubi, Hellions, Beastmasters, Reavers and
Razorwing Jetfighter.

So without further ado (drum roll please) - 2k:

- Baron - 105.
- 2 Haemunculi - 100 (to go with the Incubi).
- 2x 5 Incubi in Raider with shock prow for 175 each.
- 3x 5 Warriors in Venom - 100 each.
- 12 Hellions - 192.
- 2x 3 Wracks in Raider.
- 2x 6 Reavers with 2 Heat Lances - 156 each.
- Beastmaster with 3 Masters, 4 Razorwing Flocks and 5 Khymerae - 156.
- 3x Raiders - 105 each.

Now this comes to 2010 points so my first question would be which to
drop - either a Khymera or a Hellion?

Following on from this, whilst I like the list, I can't help but feel
anti-tank needs to be improved - would it be better to drop a
Warrior/Venom squad (suppose I could drop a Wrack squad instead) and
give the remaining 2 warrior/venoms the baster/blast pistol combo? With
the 20 points left over what would be better - Flickerfields on the
Incubi Raiders/Upgrading the Venoms to have the 2nd Splinter cannon/Have
an extra Incubi/Simply replace the Khymera/Hellion lost from earlier?
The obviously drops the scoring units a bit bit would I still have
enough?

This should give 21 lance shots and still have a fair amount of
anti-infantry.

Still can't find the points for the Jetfighter but oh well.

I think the list should perform pretty well although that is a
ridiculous amount of kill points.

Any comments much appreciated.

Cheers Kirby (and keep up the good work - its helping alot of us).

Stuart"

Anti-tank is indeed an issue, 20+ lance shots is really the minimum you want at 2000 for Dark Eldar - the more the better obviously and you need to balance this between ranged and short-ranged firepower (i.e. Dark Lances vs Blasters). The list is a good basis but we need to get those extra shots in so I'd be looking to drop the Incubi squads in place of Trueborn with either three-four blasters or two Dark Lances and with spare points add Blasters to each Warrior squad. This also allows you to run only one Haemon and you could fit in the Razorwing with some spare points to shore up your anti-infantry since you're running a few more Raiders than usual.

Extra points can be dropped into more Hellion bodies, shock prows (you really want these tbh) and flickerfields. And make sure Venoms have the 2nd cannon - there's really no point in taking Venoms without out.

This does lose you the Incubi as models used but does net you the Razorwing in replacement. To use Incubi I really think you need to run all six of your Troops with anti-tank capacity + their transport to shore up for the lost anti-tank potential in Elites so dropping them gives the list a lot more options and versatility.

Email in: Tau and expensive units

2012-05-19T23:59:00.000+10:00

"Hi, I read that some Tau players don't play Tau anymore because they think that the units in the codex are so much more expensive (regarding points) than the 5th edition codexies. Because of this unbalance it's not fun to play Tau they think. Do you agree, are Tau units that expensive compared to 5th edition codexies?

Thanks!
Martin "

In short - yes, Tau are over-costed and showing their age. Are they not fun to play? Hell no. I will admit, I stopped playing my Tau in 5th mainly because they got repetitive for me and as 5th edition and tournaments have evolved (i.e. NOVA), their issues with midfield and holding objectives have become more paramount.

With your regular BRB missions though, Tau can still be quite a force with a lot of shooting potential. There are a lot of units you wouldn't really consider because of their price or lack of usefulness but there are an array of units which are good and relatively speaking, costed appropriately, which put together can make pretty solid lists.

Email in: Dealing with monstrous creatures

2012-05-19T16:38:00.000+10:00

"Kirby:

Hey, been reading your blog through and through for a week or so, due
to boredom at work, and now I figured I'd pose a question. (also,
nice blog by the way. It's a fun read through and through)

So my gaming group isn't what you'd call competitive, but i'd still
like to win on occasion. We generally end up playing four player
1000-point-each games, with SM focusing on landspeeders and shooty,
Eldar focusing on losing every game worse than i do, me playing orks
(I know) footslogging tons of boys (I KNOW) and thus not really doing
that well, and the tyranid player with a half dozen MCs in a thousand
point army.

The tyranids are the crux of the issue here. I can't figure out how
to kill monstrous creatures quickly. Typically he's got two
venomthrops tossing out cover to his tervigon and trygon prime, a
number of warriors and hive guards, and a bunch of little runts to run
around tying up orks in (admittedly short) melees.

What options do orks have for frying lots of monstrous creatures? I
typically run at 1000 points the following:

105 Warboss (PK, Cybork, bosspole)
108 Big Mek (Shokk, Cybork, ammo runt)
175 20x Shoota (PK Nobb + BP, Rokkit, Big Shoota)
116 11x Slugga (joined by warboss, PK Nob + BP, Rokkit)
55 Truck for slugga/warboss (Red, reinforced ram, boarding plank, Rokkit)
240 Nob Squad (6 Nobs, Cybork, Painboy, KombiRokkit, KombiSkorcha, Big
Choppa, PK, BP, Waagh Banner)
40 Truck for Nobs
150 10xLoota (all lootas, no meks)
11 points left for messing around, usually 'eavy armor on the warboss/mek.

Obviously this is sub-par but ork trucks are hardly mech and I don't
own any (finished) battle wagons. I sometimes swap out lootas for
more shootas, or nobs for killa kans. On top of this I've got 12
bikes built, 10 burnas, some meks, a KFF mek, another similar nob
squad, another two trucks, and a ton of various types of
slugga/shootas with associated heavy weapons and PK nobs, as well as 3
killa kans (Big Shoota, Grotzooka, and Skorcha) and an all-DCCW deff
dread.

So I have some options but those MCs seem basically immortal and tend
to slice my warboss and nobs up without blinking. Any ideas?

David"

Orks can struggle against MCs without mass mech (see MVBs Ork list) but one of their biggest issues can simply be Trukk spam - they can't kill them all and you can tank shock those little buggers wherever you want. Battlewagons do the same but with AV14 front as long as you don't expose the side AV12 to Hive Guard, well you're pretty sweet.

With what you have though, well unfortunately you don't really have much. Lootas can be good to put wounds on MCs but are unreliable. Mega-armored Nobz are a huge pain for any MCs not named Hive Tyrant (who can ID them all) but you don't have any of them and aren't always a great balanced army unit (though small units can be included rather well).

If you're able to get your hands on some of those cheaply, they can be a good solution against the Nids as they have trouble breaking W2/2+ armor regularly. Otherwise it's really about tactics - make sure you focus fire on specific units. Look to drop the Venomthropes or Hive Guard early with your Lootas and send as many PKs into one MC as possible - if you get bogged down you'll lose pretty heftly with MCs supported by their little guys.

The Old Witch of Khador

2012-05-19T07:00:00.000+10:00

Sorry this took so long to get out guys.

By request I am going to be doing todays piece on The Old Witch and Scrapjack. This is going to be a two or three part piece depending on how prolific I feel like being.

I love the Old Witch for a great many reasons. She is an extremely interesting caster due to both play style and how that play style interacts within her faction.

Now I'm going to assume that you, the reader, is aware of what the Old Witch has on her card and her spell card and I'm going to review what I consider the more important abilities and how to use them effectivly.

Old Witch's card:

Augery: Models in the Old Witch's battlegroup ignore clouds and forests when determining line of sight. This makes it very hard to hide from her since this means that you can arc through a forest or if your enemy is using clouds it won't matter. Keep in mind this doesn't mean you ignore the concelmeant bonus that your opponents get from clouds or forests.

Cull Soul: You get soul cookies for enemies that die within two inches of the Old Wttch that turn into focus the next turn. Don't count on it but if you can get it to work it's pretty awesome.

Great Power: This gives you a free upkeep on a caster with 4 upkeeps. Awesome sauce!

Prowl: She gets stealth when she is in a cloud effect, or something that gives concealment. Keep in mind this means a wall won't trigger this.

Spell Card

Avatar of Slaughter: this can be cast on either the Old Witch or Scrapjack to let them get a +2 on melee and they get to advance after killing something and make another attack. Think Overtake + Cleave. This alone lets you deal with most infantry in the game, the exception is Kayazy with Iron Flesh and Winter Guard but we can get to that later.

Gallows: It's a range 10 Pow 13 that pulls the enemy D6 closer upon being hit. This is a major spell as it allows you to affect your opponent's battle plans by pulling their beasts/jacks into charge or shooting range of your models. You can also use this to keep enemy models away/off of control points in scenerios or to pull them out of Control Range of their Warcaster/Warlock.

Iron Flesh: Do I really need to explain the pure awesome sauce of Iron Flesh?

Murder of Crows: This is a 5 inch AOE that is a cloud effect and forces models who enter or end their activation in it to take a pow 8. Stops charges and stops enemies from putting infantry on control points and gives the Old Witch stealth in a pinch.

Unseen Path: Place either the Old Witch within 2 inches of Scrapjack or vice versa. The key thing is you cannot advance after being placed so you don't want to try and use Avatar of Slaughter to wreck things. I find this to be key for when you want to place Scrapjack in a dangerous place so he can arc and not lose him.

Weald Secrets: Model/Unit gains pathfinder and Camoflauge. The first part is key since this lets the Behemoth charge over walls and through forests with no worries. Also amazing on Kayazy.

FEAT: Now here is one of the most powerful feats in game. While in the Old Witch's control area you cannot run, charge or make special attacks. This stops things like slams and tramples as well as attacks like Combo Strike on the Slayer. In additon enemy models who end their movement in her control area suffer an unboostable POW 14. This means that everytime your opponent moves his models, regardless of it's for changing facing, overtake, side step, etc.

ScrapJack

Statline: Scrappy has the statline of a Cryxian arc node. High def, decent arm for a light.

Weapons: He has claws!! The key thing about these are that they have reach and are MAT 5, POW 12's. Now with Avatar of Slaughter up he can get to MAT 7 which means that he is perfectly capable of ripping through most single-wound infantry in the game.

Stuff: He is an Arc Node. This is the most massive and key thing on his card. You can throw out your buffs from the safety of the back board or arc Gallows at the enemy and pull him back to the Old Witch.

He also has Prowl via the Old Witch.

Tactia: Now there are two things to keep in mind with the Old Witch when you are coming up with your plan for the turn. You need to keep both Scrappy and the Old Witch safe and you want to try and force the enemy into a position that you want them in.

The former is very easy to achieve. Having Gorman in your list so that he can trigger Prowl whenever you need it is probably the easiest way to do it. The next is casting Unseen Path at the end of every turn to keep Scrappy back where he can't die.

Now as for controlling the enemy and putting them in a postion you want them to be you can do that in many ways. Gallows, Iron Flesh and Murder of Crows are going to be the key ones in order to do this.

With Gallows you can force the enemy out of formation and feed their pieces to your Great Bears or Behemoth. It's also key during scenerio play for pulling things off of control points.

Iron Flesh is an interesting form of denial but it's kinda amusing when you think of it. You are, ultimatly, denying your enemy a position because your Iron Fleshed Kayazy are in the way of the enemy and harrassing their lines.

Murder of Crows is an amazing spell and should almost always be out if you can afford it. It's both a cloud effect so it blocks LOS and triggers Prowl in a pinch but it also stops low arm infantry. You can place this in front of your army to stop LOS or you can place it over your jacks to kill any infantry that may attempt to charge.

Well unfortunatly that's all we have time for today. I hope that you have found this interesting here guys.

Biomorph Forum Launch

2012-05-19T02:49:00.000+10:00

Kirby gets so excited, doesn't he? =P

But yes, it is true: Project Biomorph has it's own website and forum! You can find it over at projectbiomorph.com. Please register an account and get to posting!

Also, remember that there are no project obligations except for those you choose. You do not need to submit a certain amount to be part of biomorph, you do not need to involve yourself deeply in any projects. Even if you post once and disappear, you've still contributed and I'm still glad you came by. I'll be putting up some posts in the various subforums later today to get the ball rolling. But in truth, I'm even late to that party: there are several good threads going on in the General Discussion section right now. This is only the first stage of the project. Right now, we're gathering opinions and locating problem spots, figuring out the kind of language we want to use, and getting to know each other. It's a great time to get involved.

And a note about 6th- I've said (and Kirby) that if 6th edition doesn't suck we won't push forward the project. I'm starting to think we will anyway. I've received a flood of supportive emails from people thanking me for creating the project, and expressing their desire for a continuation of 5th. A lot of people are dedicated to the project, and I'm not going to abandon anyone or anything as long as people are still willing to work with me. I want to thank the community again, and there's a reason for that. (Well, besides the fact that I'm incredibly grateful.) This project lives or dies on it's community. You can be the most talented designer in the world, but if you don't have anyone to play your games with, if you can't test and learn, you won't be putting out good products. I realize that means that whatever the community gives, I will have to give even more- motivation has to be kept high, which means I have to work a lot.

But that's okay, because I find it incredibly rewarding. I hope that I can make you guys feel the same way. It would be incredibly easy for me to shut myself away in my tower of design, doling out only the barest information to my testers. But that sucks. That's not fun for anyone, and there's no reason this can't be fun. The community is involved in every step of the way: they give me ideas, they discuss changes, they help me write gud. Now, we have direction, we have intelligence, and we have skills. Let's put them to use.

You can also contact me at sirbiscuit@gmail.com. You already know that, because holy hell, a lot of you have. I'm sorry that I haven't responded to most of you- it's a personal goal that I will by the end of the day. A deadly task, to be sure. You can still email me, but your best option if you want to become involved is to sign up for the forum- you can start working instantly, and I'll most likely redirect you to the forum anyway, but if you have anything personal to tell me, you can do it there.

A final note, yes, I get the hate mail too. I'm not sure why this project seems to personally offend some of you. It makes me sad. =( I'm not going to stop, though, and there's no amount of threatening to not read my blog that will stop me. If you don't like this project, just don't visit the forum and don't read the posts on it, it's as simple as that. Though I sill wish you would- you may find something you actually like. =)