Anvil of War

I'm back, but I've moved!

2018-05-30T16:15:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! Just a quick moment to let you know I have moved and started the hobby again (for about a year now). Join me at my new blog, Rage Against the Meta

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Little bit of Painting!

2012-09-29T19:47:00.001-04:00

Hello Ladies and Germs,

I have been attempting for a long time now to find a paint "style" that I really like. While painting my Night Spinner it hit me, cell-shading style. It is a little rough now but with practice I will get to where I want.

I like this style because it is only a couple of layers and vibrant colors. The cartoonish look to it will make it pop out more, and have a unique style. Simple NMM approach, and the shadows will be black with a dark grey mid tone. Look for more as I progress more in this adventure!

Building a Scalable List

2012-09-18T09:28:00.000-04:00

How many times have you rolled into your LFG with a list that you have been dying to play only to find out that getting into a game requires you to shave of 250 or even 500 points off of it? How about that RTT that is only 1750 after you have been playing 2000 point list for the past couple months and you know the ins and outs of. How do you deal with this? Cut a squad out, drop all your cool gadgets and war gear, or shave squads down to where they barley are able to function?

Here is a little trick I have found to make it work. It follows a formula for getting the most out of your points and never having to cut out the stuff you don’t want to or need to.

1. Find a core function for the list.

2. Compliment the list with additions that support the core.

3. Don’t create lynch pins in your list; I explain this one later on.

Now let’s look at how to accomplish this. Every army has a base that has to be fielded you can easily draw the parallels to whatever army you choose to play. One HQ and Two troops… Easy enough though for most games at 1500pnts you should have three, approximately one troop for every 500 points you are building towards. Most HQs at this level should be some type of force multiplier, They should buff a unit they are with or add something special to your whole army. This allows you to capitalize on the basics that are associated with your core and buff them at the same time. In turn this makes your list more effective in the long run. Armies that have weak troops will need to compensate with more of them to overcome their weaknesses.

Sixth Edition leans very heavily towards objective based games and has moved away from the kill point denial lists associated with Fifth Edition. So to cover the spread of having more Objective based missions its essential to put more boots on the ground. A typical list of mine will be based around three troop type selections. Recently I have shifted to large blocks of infantry models to help with the attrition battle associated with a lot of guns on the field. At the same time troops should be able to deal with anything on the board and when I say anything I mean anything, from 30 Boyz to the AV 14 of a Landraider. Why you might ask. If you play competitively you never should never list tailor to a specific build, be this just my humble opinion, because that is going to be the time that you run into what we call meta breaker lists.

What is a Meta breaker list? Most of the time these are the lists that you look at and say “Why did you bring that?”. Another way to look at it is if you’re anticipating a lot of infantry you build your list around killing infantry, high volume shooting most of the time with low strengths. And everyone assumes that at the next event there will be tons of infantry that they will have to deal with so they all build similar lists to what you have built. Here is where the Meta Breaker comes into play. To counter large blocks of infantry I decided to bring 2 God Hammers and 3 Crusader Landraiders… Your army has nothing that will pen AV 14 because you brought 20 heavy bolters… Who’s going to win this match up? Now what are your chances that you will even face that list… 1 in about 1000, that’s why it is considered a meta-breaker.

Balance is the key to winning, more times than not. Having the tools to do the job is what’s important. Can you have specialized units? Yes of course you can but always have another tool in your belt just in case a vindicator decides to drop a large blast on their heads.

Complementing the core is much easier than you think. These units usually add an extra amount of fire power or fill a gap that hasn’t been filled with redundant units inside your core list. This is where you would take extra scoring units if you want, multiple heavy support units or a hit and run style element. Your core should be right around 700 to 1000 points. If you were looking at a 1500 point list you would have 800 to 500 points to place relevant support elements into it. This is where you put in your fun stuff. The 1500 point mark is something most people just build right past but none the less should not be ignored, if you play a lot of team games it makes for a manageable game when you have four 1500 points list instead of four 2000 points list on the table.

The next level should be 1750. With an established 1500 point list this 250 points should consist of elements that bolster the main 1500 point list. Adding an extra troop unit here is optional as for the most part at this level you will be seeing three to four troop units if not more. If your troops have a higher durability than most then the addition of another troop unit might not be beneficial. The big thing about this area is that a lot of RTTs get run at this level so it’s nice to know exactly what you need to add to your 1500 pnt list that doesn’t change how you play the original list. Repeating the process for your 1850 and 2000 points lists. Each one should just build onto your 1500 point list. That way you always know how 1500 points of your army should work, and the “play stuff” can be expendable for the most part.

Lynch pins, what are they? Ever have all your anti-tank weapons get killed off and your still looking at 6 tanks on the field? Or how about having 8 melta guns staring at 60 Boyz and not a flamer in sight. Yeah those become your lynch pins. When only one unit has the proper tools to deal with one specific kind of threat, this will more than likely cause you to lose a game. Should every unit be a Swiss Army knife? No it’s just not possible for every unit to be everything, if that was the case this would be a very boring game. What I'm talking about here is making sure that you have multiple levels of overlapping units that can deal with all different types of problems. Melta bombs on a Tactical squad gives it the ability to just destroy a dread that decided to wade in to tie them up. Flamer/ Melta combos are still some of the best over all performers out there. Melta can punch a vehicle, the unit that just got blown out now cant assault next turn bust them with a flamer or heavy flamer in the following round of shooting. My suggestion here is just be smart about your special weapon and heavy weapon selections so that you’re not facing 10 tanks with 2 Las cannons.

Like I said simple, build a core, compliment it and don't create lynch pins... Good lists make for great games and that is the way it should be.

Neophyte Cornor #2: Imperial Guard

2012-09-14T00:41:00.000-04:00

Hello ladies and germs!

As some of you may know it is a goal of mine to make a good starting point for much of you out there. So time for our next brief codex break down of the mighty Imperial Guard!

Let's talk about a book that can really do anything that you build it to do. Loads of cheap infantry, either all blobbed up into giant squads or giving each one of them a nice Chimera to ride around in. There are plenty of options of Vehciles to take, you'll spend too much time deciding what your favorite vehicles are! You have your mighty Leman Russes, that will make the spearhead for all of your armored assaults. To the vast amount of artillery to weaken your opponent from the start of the game. Flying Valkyries or Vendettas zooming across the table, taking your storm troopers where ever they need to get, and supporting ground forces. The options are endless, but where to begin!?


2 Basic Infantry Squads

Hobby: There are so many of these guys, and so many other models out there that you can use to convert your very own Guard army. The painting can be a simple camo design, to a color that matches your allied Space Marine chapter, or even Chaos! Painting lots of guys can seem daunting at first, but after you get the first couple of them down you will have no problem getting the rest of your ranks to match! Also having an army that has access to such good looking tanks will make painting so much more rewarding, and you can learn a large fundamental of basic painting from these guys.

Tactics: With the changes in sixth edition, gun line styled armies received a massive boost to the games entire aspect. If Guard excels in anything it is shooting mass amounts of weapons at any opponent. You can run massive squads of men, supported by heavy weapon platforms, Officers barking orders to help you make that key tactical strike.With of course being supported by heavy armour, or even artillery the choice is really up to you. Most people stay within shooting with these guys, but it is possible to make an assault army out of them, though not the best, still good for a nice afternoon drinking game. The choice is really up to you, they are a very strong army and will make for a more challenging time mastering their codex.

That's it for this weeks Neophyte's Corner, stay tuned for next weeks installment!

~Deryk

2000pt Sisters on Sisters Nova GT Pick-up

2012-09-11T10:07:00.001-04:00

So Im going to try and recall as much as possible seeing as its been almost 2 weeks since this game happened. Just to say I have been looking forward to this match up for the longest time frgsinwntr’s Sisters looked great as always and I knew I was going to have an uphill battle when I saw his list.

Frgsinwntr Please feel free to comment/Correct this at any point and time.

Uriah

Battle Conclave Crusader (x1) DCA(8) in a Rhino

St. Celestine

Seraphim(x10) Double Hand Flamers(x2) VSS(Eviscerator)

(4x)BSS(x10) Melta guns (x2)VSS W combi Flamer in Rhinos

Dominion(x5) Squad Melta gun(x2) Combi Melta Immolator w TWL MM

Exorcists(x3)

My list consisted of;

Uriah

Battle Conclave Crusader (x4) DCA(4) in a Rhino

Seraphim Squad(x5) Hand Flamers(x1)Inferno Pistols(x1)

(2x)Penitence Engines x3

Retributors(5) Heavy Bolters(x4) VSS w Stormbolter

(2)Repentia (x9)

ADL w Quad-gun

(3)BSS(x10) Mult Melta(x1)Stormbolter(x1) VSS Stormbolter In Rhinos(DB HK SBx2)

To preface this report I told Frgsinwntr exactly how the match was going to go and in what Turn I was going to lose. Without further a due

Mission – NOVA Open game 7 Objectives – Kill Pnts - Table Quarters

Deployment Vanguard

Frgsinwntr deployed in standard style to associated with Trip Exorcists, Seraphim forward with BC sitting beside the Doms to allow them to get out in front and behind cover with their scout move.

To counters this I placed My Rhinos behind LOS blocking terrain with the Repentia on the line with the gun and Rets back along the Line. I Place both PE Squadrons and 1 Repentia Squad in reserve to allow them a chance/ counter assault element. The Seraphim were placed into deep-strike also. I knew the HKs had range against his Exorcists and I wanted to force him to move towards me.

Turn 1 - wasn’t real effective for either side Frgsinwntr brought forward his Doms, BCC,and two BSS shifting them right and the Seraphim and St Celestine proceeded toward the Objective on the left lower sider of the board. The Quad gun was able glance a couple times and I was able to stop one of the BSS Rhinos with a Hunter Killer.

Turn 2 - was a lot different Frgsinwntr as to take out my Quad gun and BCC hopped out behind a line of sight blocking piece of terrain with his rhino running straight toward my Retributors. He was dead set on trying to tank shock them off the board. The dominions were still hanging out behind a piece of LOS block terrain the Exorcist didn’t fire really well. During my turn all the Reserves came in (which I didn’t want just for the fact the he still had 3 exorcists still fully functional. I attempted to keep them out of LOS so I could try and get them into something. The seraphim were able to make a No Guts No Glory strike and I was able to stun lock 1 of his Exorcist to not being able fire next turn the other. The imminent tank shock was diffused by the Retributors.

Turn 3 - for Frgsinwntr was a matter of shooting over 600pnts worth of fire support into the seraphim to take them off the field flaming my 1 squad of Repentia and a BSS making a mad dash towards the battle. He also started to pull his Left flank Exorcists back to try and avoid my Repentia from charring into them. The dominion squad pulls from behind the Building to light up my BCC and his moves out from around the side of the building. And his other BSS was able to move into position beside the objective. During my half of the turn I was able to crest a hill that gave me a clear LOS to the side arch of one of his Exorcists and the Hunter Killer paid off by penning and blowing it up. I attempted to blow the other rhino up but had to use the PEs to break the BSS squad out. I was able to catch the BCC in the open and flat footed whittling them down to just 3 DCA and Uriah. My mobile BSS squad started making its way to the objective on the far side of the talbe that the Repentia had secured.Things weren’t looking too bad but I knew it was a matter of time before the PEs started to go down like bricks against the exorcists.

Turn 4 - With a couple SOF saves for the PEs I was able to weather the Missiles, 1 being destroyed and one immobilized. Frgsinwntr then decided to test them in CC his BSS walked away with the VSS being the only thing alive. He then attempted to box my 2^nd Squad of PEs in with his rhino and Immolator and was able to kill of 1 of them with the TWL MM shot. Uriah was gunned down by the Seraphim and the Dominions assaulted into the Retributors.

At this point in the game is when I began to make a multitude of tactical errors and at the time I didn’t see them but looking back I know what I would have done differently if I had the chance. I took one of my BSS squads and tank shocked into the BSS… Death or Glory with a melta gun made quick work of it. Pinning the girls as there were blown from there transport. Bad position on my part hemmed in PEs and I wasn’t able to get around the vehicle road block to assist the BSS squad

Turn 5 – Frgsinwntr turned his guns on the PEs who once gain were able to make some crazies saves and he started shooting my Repentia on the left hand side. He used the Seraphim to do a hit run move off of my Retributors positioning himself to contest my back field objective. With concentrated fire he was able to really start putting a beating on these girls . With no center threat I knew that my objective was lost and the best I could do was contest as many as I could so at I heavy flamered his Rhino and Immolator… I thought I could destroy the Immolator and get the assault off of the Rhino… Well I managed to glance the rhino to death and left the immolator with 1 HP…. Really. I started a tactical withdrawal back toward my closest objective hoping to get back to maybe salvage it. My 1 squad of PE’s broke apart as I charge the Rhino onto of the hill in his deployment zone… Needless to say that didn’t stick around very long as it exploded and left me contesting that objective. And the Repentia finally came out of the ruins and started heading towards the exorcist.

Turn - 6 – Frgsinwntr pulled his exorcist forward to try and support the BSS on the right hand side of the table and immobilized the one at center board on a Dangerous terrain test. This gave me a slight chance now to be able to do a last ditch charge if I could clear the wrecked rhino… well let’s just say I was able to roll two 1’s from my dangerous terrain tests from both my PE’s and they became immobilized on the Rhino wreck I was able to get off the assault on Exorcist that had pulled forward and the BSS after taking a beating from the PE Melta bombed her back into the stone age. Meanwhile I lost a BSS to massive amounts of fire and the seraphim made short work of the other BSS.

The game ended at the bottom of 6 – Frgsinwntr 3 Me 1

Post game… Well I told Frgsinwntr that I would lose it in 5 or 6. The ladies did great they were out gunned and the Str 8 ap1 stuff is more than they could handle. I surprised that I had PE’s even left by the end of the game 3 immobilized ones but 3 none the less. I knew for me to do anything I need to keep the Exorcist busy with threats or stun lock them till the Repentia could make it. I just waited too long to start striking. Highlight of the game for me was the BSS squad cresting the hill and tagging the Exorcist in the side. Bad PE placement and Gun placement could have changed the game. The dice gods didn’t shine on me this time but Im sure next year there will be a Re Match… Frgsinwntr It was a honor to play you and I look forward to doing it again sometime!

Tyranids in 6th part 5 of 7, Units

2012-09-10T12:51:00.000-04:00

In this installment I am just going to list the units in order and my take how they perform in 6^th.

Hive Tyrant

Okay lots to say here, still a Close Combat beast and know if you spend the points on wings he just might get there. No more debate on what “grounded” means. Two psychic powers that are best used to roll on biomancy to make him more survivable. Really only one downside to this beatstick, cost, well over 200 pts no matter if you give him wings or a tyrant guard. If you haven’t tried one give it a go. With wings one of the few sources of skyfire. Close to 300 if you get really spendy and make him a torrent of fire machine with two twin linked devourers. One note, if you buy the new plastic kit it’s great but doen’t include any devourers or deathspitters. Vector strike is kinda meh with him. Better to shoot 6 twin linked str6 shots from a Devourer.

Swarmlord

Only level 2 psycher in the codex. Pricey since you’ll want to give him some tyrant guard for protection, his 3 up just isn’t going to cut it. I haven’t played with him in 6^th yet but I suspect it’s about the same as 5^th. Nobody is going to get near this guy so he makes a bubble around himself few will dare to tread. He is an ammo magnet and will attract a lot of low AP shooting. Build a list around him if you plan on using him. He is the only way to give raveners Furious Charge.

Tervigon

These only got better. If you purchase the extra psychic powers you’ll get 3 rolls on book powers. Their codex powers aren’t shabby either. In lower point games having one or two of these scoring is pretty great. They can be a very resilient troop or with some biomancy a terrifying one in close combat. With only one of the book missions being kill points, go ahead and spawn away until you double out. 6^th missions are heavily weighted toward scoring and no matter how you slice it tervigons help with that.

Tyranid Prime

Still a very cost effective HQ choice with some very serious Close Combat potential. One of the only Independent characters in the codex so bury one in a unit of gants and go forward.

The Parasite of Mortrex

Nobody ran him in 5^th and it has not changed in 6^th. If your looking for an independent character to escort some gargoyles, this is your unit. Pretty much fluff only IMO.

Elites

Hive Guard

If the Vendetta is the NO1 most undercosted unit in the game then these guys should be the most appropriate. 50pts each is perfect. They were great in last edition and nothing has changed. Not needing LOS and granting cover very rarely a great stat line. All tyranid lists should have some of these and a strong argument could be made for 9.

Lictor brood

Bad then bad now, if they ever gain the ability to assault on arrival great, otherwise they cost way to much and compete for a slot with better choices.

Deathleaper

I have a love hate with this one, if somehow you think you have an elite slot to spare, you could do worse. But mostly meh. He has about 7 thousand special rules so be aware of that if you plan on using him. If he was an HQ he might ……might see more use. He’s a character now and at WS9 can put the pain down on other characters but only a save of 5up, but Initiative 6 and rending on 5 or 6…….still kinda Meh

Venomthrope

With cover for MCs being easier to get, these just don’t cut it for the points or slot.

Zoanthropes

Being able to roll for two powers for each one makes these guys very useful to groom you list with matchup. He has heavy vehicles, keep codex powers, no vehicles roll for some book ones. Roll for each Zoan individually in the brood. No restrictions right now on a 3 Zoan brood having one take codex powers and the other two book powers. One change in this edition is that you could walk them vice using a Mycetic Spore for them now.

The Doom of Manan'Tai

For his points this guy is great, if you like reliability, he's not for you. He either manhandles your opponent or dies to str8 shooting right away. Requires a Mycetic Spore to get close enough to be effective. No change in this edition.

Pyrovore

Nothing to see here

Ymgarl Genesteelers

Pricey but with their ability to assault on arrival they can be pretty awesome. I think you should choose your assaults carefully so overwatch doesn’t make them ineffective. Great for assaulting vehicles who cannot overwatch.

Troops

Tyranid Warriors

The instant death to doubling out mechanic didn’t change so these are still pretty bad.

Genesteelers

Well if you like to use them to outflank, well quit, since they cannot assault out of outflank. IMO they are a hard sell in this edition with cover reduced and overwatch. I can see a case for smaller units with a Broodlord. But at BS0 the broodlords potential is limited too.

Termagants

This with Tervigons really is the most common troop since the new codex came out. They are just good enough to get the job done for their points. They aren’t great at anything on their own but at 5pts don’t expect much. In numbers with a tervigon close. They can wreck face. It is really easy to be out of the tervigons buffing range in this edition so plan your charges appropriately. You’ll often have to string them back and run vice shoot with tervigons to ensure they are getting buffs in assault.

20 Termagants with devourers in a Mycetic spore is one way to move a scoring unit into your opponents deployment zone.

Hormagaunt

If there was a Horvigon option out there you’d probably use these. There isn’t so you don’t. It’s not that they are bad it just that they aren’t good enough.

Ripper swarm

If you use them great. IMO just about as useless as the Pyrovore

Fast

Tyranid Shrikes

Same instant death problems of their warrior brethren. So just not worth it, can be a very pricey CC monstrosity.

Raveners

Beasts are great and truly fast, 6 of these guys with rending can kill quite a bit. If they get there. Suffer from the same Instant death problems as shrikes and warrior. But by being much faster you might be able to hide them until they can charge.

Sky slasher

Flying ripper swarm, no thank you.

Gargoyles

Great for their points with all or no improvements. If you expect them to handle vehicles at all they need Adrenal Glands. They will need a synapse escort if not they can quickly get out of synapse and become a lot less useful.

Harpy

Great if you need hard to hit anti infantry, but you shouldn’t your tyranids. Just costs to much and little to no anti flyer ability.

Spore mine cluster

Not a horrible way to spend a few points but a lot less useful than just getting more gants instead IMO.

Heavy

Carnifex brood

Some people love them, I am not one of them. For every argument on what they bring with torrent or some resilience in number I just cannot justify the cost of them. Way overpriced. With the new Smash USR their str9 isn’t so great either.

Old One Eye

Fun game sure, otherwise never.

Biovore

With the ability to snipe with barrage and 3 for 135 points I can see some utility from these guys. Tyranids don’t need more anti infantry but 48” range anti infantry, yes that we can use.

Trygon (prime)

I haven’t used them much and the prime is a character now, I don’t think these guys changed much in this edition, they wrecked stuff before even better now. Still lots of points.

Mawloc

No change really, wasn’t great then isn’t now. To many points.

Tyrannofex

Lots of points for vendetta bait. Still gonna give them a go soon in an RTT. With some Preferred enemy from a Hive Tyrant perhaps. Hard to justify the points.

So that’s my take, opinions vary feel free to share yours with comments below.

Updated FAQ First Thoughts!

2012-09-07T16:14:00.000-04:00

Hello once again Ladies and Germs!

Did you hear the news today? The updated FAQs were released and they amended some big debates! Here are just a couple that I skimmed through and thought were pretty key.

1) Flying Monstrous Creatures are couted as gliding when they fail their grounding test. No surprise here, just a clarification that makes them a little easier to take out. Although it was fun to cause multiple grounding checks and cause more wounds, because they were bouncing all over the place!

2) If your transport vehicle counts as shaken or stunned, the troops inside count the same even if they disembark! Not to terrible, makes mech a little weaker which means we may see even less vehicles on the table.

3) Incubi's weapons are AP 2 in hand to hand now, not really taken back on this one. Incubi are and have been badasses of assault, give them AP 2 and welcome back to list Incubi. Personally I don't think Dark Eldar really needed it, we already place out enough shots to make those Termis roll plenty of ones!

4) Flying Monstrous Creatures can now skyfire, this made me say "They couldn't already?" Tyranids just received a little bit better anti-air touch.

5) Re-writes on a lot of "Characters" Nobs and Paladins were changed to make the allocation abuse not as friendly for them. Not a big change, but from what little we saw of these two, we should see even less.

That's all that really stuck out to me, as I read more and get more games in I will post more thoughts. Look forward to a Dark Eldar in 6th article coming out soon, that is if I survive Tough Mudder!

~Deryk

This Just In:New FAQs

2012-09-07T14:27:00.002-04:00

This just in

Well new FAQs came out today and there’s a lot to consume. All in all it looks like a lot of work went into these FAQs and I am happy they came out right after The NOVA open vice right before.

Highlight for Tyranids

Flying Monstrous Creatures, upon failing a grounding test you are no longer swooping you are gliding, its official and probably should have been anticipated. So you lost hard to hit but at least you won’t keep taking a STR 9 no armor save wound on failed grounding tests. You can Swoop in your next movement phase.

Flying Monstrous Creatures now have the same Skyfire option Flyers do, no downside to this. Just make sure at the beginning of your shooting phase you are clear if you plan on using Skyfire since that’s when its supposed to be declared.

Nothing that Auto hits can Auto hit a Swooping FMC.

Boneswords, no AP value just ignores armor, it's official and expected.

The next part is kinda funny, the following units are now characters, Trygon Prime, Doom of Malan’Tai, Deathleaper and Old One Eye. Have fun with that.

Make My Vehicles Worth Something!!!

2012-09-07T09:28:00.001-04:00

Just a little bit about me, I graduated with a BS in Digital Entertainment and Game Design and I’m the lead simulation designer for a major corporation that deals with serious gaming and I have 2 incredible kids that are the center of my world I believe strongly that they will both enjoy 40k as much as I do. I have been playing on the Competitive GT circuit for a little over 2 years now and love every minute of it. You guys might have seen me around the boards on Dakka an 11th company names Spidey0804, yeah I’m one of the select few SOB players out there. As for playing 40k its one of my many passions and has been for over 2 decades. I love the painting and hobby side just as much as the tactics that are associated with it.

Let me begin by saying that once again the Nova Team did a great job! The amount of players that came and the sheer amount of logistics is somewhat mind blowing to comprehend. With that I will also say that there is nothing that is going to keep me from going back in 2013. The level of professionalism that Nova represents is why I know it has been so successful. Everyone I saw had huge smiles on their faces; you could always hear laughter coming from all over the hall. Personally I feel that associating with so many people that have a common interest always leaves me wishing that there was a Nova every month!

With that said I’m going to move onto some of the things that I think are somewhat problematic with the Nova format. I know that 6^th Edition is brand new and that all and all this was the first Major GT that was associated with setting the Meta for it. With a sampling of numerous attendees there was a general consensus that Table Quarters has moved on for this edition to be a valid way to score. With the ability of a couple lists that were able to accomplish a horde infantry style, the scoring options have unintentionally compted this style of play.

Please just follow me on this before you go getting your knickers in a bind. FYI I’m a game designer on a full time basis and I have been playing this game since Rouge Trader so I’m not trying to just be a hater. Most games systems are based off of the mentality of Rock VS Paper VS Scissors. Which if you look at the original RT that was true for the most part, every army has its strengths and weakness, be it do-to the fact that there are now 16 Codices this Matrix has become somewhat more complicated however for the most part I feel that Games Workshop does its absolute best to try and maintain the balance.

So what makes this relevant too equating this back to the issue at hand? There are 3 types of categories of builds if you truly want to just look at the system on a generic base. These are as follow; The Infantry horde build; the Hybrid build- consisting of a mix of infantry units and vehicles; and the Mech build-this is also incorporating the builds of flyer spam or razorback spam so and so forth a SMU mentality for the most part. In order also is the viably for one style to trump another , Hordes should for the most part be able to walk over Hybrid list, Hybrids have the means for the most part to put a sever hurt on mechanized list and mechanized list should be able to dispense of Hordes, in the most basic sense.

In this edition Vehicles have become severely hampered by the new rules that do not allow them to score/or deny unless the mission states otherwise. This was also interpreted as they did not count for scoring in a quarter’s mission unless they were in one of those missions where they were allowed too. Also they were denied the ability to count as scoring in objectives even when they did fall into their respected category as being viable scorers/denial units. So how did this effectively break the tirade of Rock VS Paper VS Scissors you ask?

With a reduction of heavy hitting vehicles or the associating points that would be required to take them some vehicle armies were essentially coming to the table anywhere from 500 to 1000 pnts down on all of the missions were table quarters was in play. In essence handy capping a disproportionate amount of players that wanted to bring vehicle style lists to an event, let alone some units require you to purchase certain types of vehicles just to use them. The flip side of the coin here is being that a 50 man squad only needs to have 1 model alive in it to count as half value. With the way the new rules are LOS to a model has become even more of a nitpick issue and if a player is able to hide that 1 model behind a large piece of sight blocking terrain they have the ability to make another player dump additional assets into the quarter that could have been used else wear. Is there a solution to this problem?

Yes after giving this some thought since table quarters is really no longer supportive of the 6^th Edition rule set my personal solution is to not score them as such. Vehicles count as their full value for the tabulation of quarter’s missions simple enough, we did it in 5^th that way so why not bring it back? In the matter of Vehicles becoming scoring/denial this would still hold true to the 6^th edition rules on the missions Big Guns and Scourge the vehicle becomes a scoring/denial unit as long as it is not a fly per the 6^th edition rules. This in turn would allow players that want to run an “air force” style list to still know that they still have risk involved but you won’t be nullified on the mission. This should bring “balance” and I say that loosely back the Nova Format.

Once again I want to say that I had and incredible time and anyone that can make this event should. Thank you again MBV and the Nova staff for another incredible year! See you next year!

Tyranids in 6th part 4 of 7, Challenges

2012-09-07T09:09:00.004-04:00

Have at You!!!!!

One of the huge changes to 6^th is the challenge mechanic. To begin with the following units can make/receive challenges from the Tyranid codex. Broodlord, Hive Tyrant, Tervigon, Parasite of Mortrex and Tyranid Prime.

The Highlights

The first thing you should know is that single model units must accept challenges, that’s the Hive Tyrant and Tervigon.

If you opponent doesn’t challenge you can challenge him, even if its his turn.

Challenges continue until one side breaks or one of the two models in the challenge die.

For every 5 models locked into combat with a challenge (and therefore watching the challenge) their character gets one re roll (can be to hit, wound, or saves) this would mean that Feel No Pain could not be re rolled since that USR specifically says it is not a save. Unless you have the Parasite or a Tyranid Prime in a Challenge you will not benefit from this rule but your opponent likely will.

There are no clear rules on what happens if a different unit assaults the bystanders in a challenge so you may want to work that out with your opponent ahead of time, I lean toward allowing the additional assault to happen, meaning you and they get to swing while the challenge also continues.

When is it favorable to challenge?

Well if you assault into combat and don’t want to kill the entire unit its possible to use this mechanic to kill a character and stay in combat, this works best against fearless opponent.

When the rest of the unit has the ability to kill you. If your character is assaulted by TH/SS terminators challenge their Seargant, its silly for the marine player to accept, but he may.

When you really need to kill that one character in a unit, lets say the only character is their warlord and you need that VP, well challenge him if you can beat him, if not he will likely challenge you.

When is it not favorable to challenge/accept a challenge?

Unfortunately you often won’t have a choice since as I already meantioned most Tyranid characters are Single model units and must accept but one scenario that comes to mind: When your unit would likely do more damage to the opponent than the character, this could be say with a Broodlord and a large unit of genesteelers verses a unit of marines.

In the end Tyranids characters (even Tevigons with some Biomancy help) are really very good in close combat, so when you can get the most out of the challenge mechanic.

Incoming! Dealing with Flying Monstrous Creatures

2012-09-04T16:25:00.000-04:00

Hello Ladies and Germs!

I recently had the opportunity to run into a couple of Flying Monstrous Creatures, and I am going to share what I have done to stop theses pest. If they are swooping around the battlefield your guns on the ground are going to have a tough time dealing with these, needing 6's to hit them. However you can get over this with twin-linked weapons or mass amounts of shots. You are just looking for one hit, when you get that hit they must take a grounding check, on a 1 or a 2 they take an automatic strength 9 hit. Odds are you will cause one wound plus the chance of your other wound going through.

Easy enough right? He is grounded so I fire at normal ballistic skill now? Well this is were the rules debates come down, good old Games Workshop didn't make it clear on what you need to hit them when they are "grounded". A stupid argument, I know, however nobody wants to watch their badass monster get shot up so easily. The way we have been playing what we call the "Bouncing Ball" its where you still need 6's to hit them, but they always have the chance to cause an auto wound on them. With most only being 4 wounds eventually you will take it out.

Another way that I have been doing, is when you ground one of these puppies get them into assault with a unit with hit and run. Do what you can to survive the combat for 2 rounds then at the end of your opponent's phase get out of there. Line up all your guns and open fire and make that Flying pest wish it had never been called upon. The rules state your opponent must declare whether the flyer is Gliding or Swooping in their movement phase. Since he was grounded with your ground forces during the previous movement phase, he is gliding.

Now keep in mind there are other units on the table for you to be shooting at, so don't waste all of your fire on that flyer. Otherwise you are going to have some late game cleaning up to do and that's what most players want you to do. If you go first and your opponent deploys the flyer on the table, IT IS IN GLIDE MODE! Fire all of your high strength low ap weapons into it first and when the smoke clears find out what is left!

That's it for this rant, and this picture sums up everything else I have to say about these guys.

~What else can you think of to deal with Flying Monstrous Creatures? Share below!

Nova Open Games Overview

2012-09-03T12:12:00.002-04:00

Hello ladies and germs!

Back from an exciting weekend, of slaughter, laughter and just plain fun! First and foremost I want to send a thank you to Mike Brent for making all this possible! I did not manage to take any pictures because it is just to difficult to do with so much going on and a limited time.

Game one I played against a Space Wolf and Space Marine list, it was pretty much on bike squad sitting at 1385! Talk about a death star, but with the mass anti-infantry I made quick work of this list.

Game two, I played against none other than Tony Kopach! This game was very close, he had mass infantry on the table with Wolves and Guard. I was working these guys in, but at the end he just got too close and my army could not take anymore beating. It was a very close game and I am pretty sure I had him worried for a little bit!

Game three, was against a Space Marine and Guard list, lots of auto cannons on the table turn one and he went first. I knew this was going to be a tough game, but with proper deployment I made him come to me and still had maximum firepower left. It was a struggle but I managed to hold him back and take an solid victory! The best moment of the tournament was in this game, I intercepted a Vendetta, and wrecked it causing it to fly into a predator blowing that one up as well! Fire Dragon Exarch for the win!

Game four was against another Space Wolf player, he had long fangs with Njal and a 5 man Grey Hunter pack and 3 Thunderwolves on the table, with Grimnar and 3 squads in drop pods. This game was a prime example of what a strong Alpha strike can truly do, I went first and after my shooting phase all he had left on the table was Njal, a Long Fang and a Thunderwolf! It was a quick mop up of objectives quaters and the rest of his army to ensure a PERFECT GAME!

Game five, the first game in the finals, I made it to the 3-1 bracket. I get paired up against Daemons, I have never personally played against Daemons before, but I did not let that show! This was a back and forth game, all the way to Turn 7! At the end of Turn 7 my war walker killed the final Plague Bearer to let the guardian claim the final objective!

Game six, Grey Knights and Guard, another foot guard list with grey knights in razorbacks with Heavy Psy-bolters. I did what I didn't do against Kopach and was doing very well keeping him out of my deployment zone and killing units one at a time. But after only getting 8 hours of sleep in 48 hours it finally caught up to me. It was bottom of four, but I thought it was Top of five, and well made all the moves I should have to try and hold the win, but it wasn't and he killed off my Farseer and secured the win by 39 Victory Points!

With that last loss, it knocked me out of the finals, so all and all I went 4-2, I did what I wanted to. Have a winning record, and hey I was the closest Dark Eldar to the top table!

I will have some thoughts later on the road, but just read my games and ask me questions!

Thanks!~

Nova Open!

2012-08-31T06:22:00.000-04:00

Hey Ladies and Germs,
On the road to the Nova open, plenty of energy drinks and energetic music to get me pumped for the long weekend! My first time here, I am super excited and ready to chew bubble gum and kick ass. Hope I don't run out of gum!
Thoughts before the event, my list is tweaked to the max amount of fire power I could muster. Nervousness of seeing other list, because well we don't have a good sight of meta. That's what bringing the strongest all comers list I could forge, was the right choice.
Now what you have been waiting for, my list!

Romper Stomper!
HQ:
Baron
Farseer, ROW, ROWi, Guide, Doom, Fortune, Jet Bike, Spear, Spirit Stones
Elites:
Fire Dragons x5, Exarch, Tank Hunters, Crack Shot
Troops:
5x 5 Warrior Squads, Blaster
Venom, Splinter Cannon, Grisley Trophies
3x Guardian Jet Bike Squad
Fast Attack
3x Beastmasters, 5 Khymera, 4 Razorwing Flocks
Heavy Support
2x Ravagers
Razorwing Jetfighter, Flickerfield, 2 Monoscythe Missles, 2 Shatterfield Missiles
3x War Walkers, 2 Scatter Lasers
Fortification:
Aeigis Defence Line, Quad-Cannon
There it is folks! Hope to see some of you here, wish me luck!

Tyranids in 6th Part 3 of 7, Missions/Deployment

2012-08-29T12:32:00.000-04:00

So I am not going to go into a lot of detail on deployment, each type of deployment has a 24" No Man's Land. As a Tyranid player your plan for deployment has to start at list building. You need to have a plan for getting into you opponent deployment. It can take the form of Flying Monstrous Creatures, Jump Infantry, Outflanking Deepstriking units, Fleet units Foot Slogging and running or combinations. Have a plan! I have certainly felt the effect of not crossing the battlefield fast enough, don't let it happen to you. Also remember if you're placing terrain using the alternating method, this is your first deployment phase. Use terrain to give yourself cover during deployment and while moving across the board and use terrain to block your opponents firelanes.

Missions

Mission Special Rules

Night Fighting

Really helps Tyranid players, especially if it goes off early in the game by giving us some better cover while we move into position to get at the enemy, really doesn’t hurt us since most of our weapons cannot shoot over 36 inches anyway.

Reserves,

The new mechanic of 3,3,auto is much more reliable than before, coupled with limiting the number of units that can be placed in reserve I think the overall mechanic helps Tyranid players. We really don’t have any good all reserve builds IMO (I would be happy to be proved wrong so GO FOR IT). IF you play against someone who uses a lot of reserves and you have been bubblewrapping important units to protect them its unlikely you will have to bubble wrap past turn 3.

Mysterious objectives.

This mechanic is in every book mission that has objectives. There is only really one that helps Tyranid players, Scatterfield, any bonus to cover saves is appreciated. Important to note here that while Sabotaged effects all units in range, the beneficial effect of objectives only effects the scoring unit with a model closest to the objective. Skyfire Nexus would be great for Tyranids but few of our scoring units would really benefit from this. Since most anti-tank is wrapped up in Elites and they cannot score in any of the missions so they cannot benefit from objectives.

Mysterious terrain.

If you play with it great, have at it, I don’t so I can’t speak to it. Interesting though that it is not listed as a special rule in any of the book missions. I am not saying they couldn’t be fun, I just have no experience with the game mechanic.

Secondary Objectives

Slay the Warlord

Pretty self explanatory. You kill his 1VP, he kills yours he gets 1VP. So know where his warlord is and protect yours when you can.

First Blood

The first unit that is destroyed gives up a VP. No matter how they were destroyed. If your opponent goes first and loses a unit on Deep Strike (destroyed) then you Get a VP. Since this is the only VP that both players cannot earn plan your early targets accordingly and protect you soft units accordingly. This Victory Condition can heavily favor the player who goes first.

Linebreaker.

At the end of the game have one of your scoring/denial units in you opponents Deployment Zone you get a VP, just one no matter units there are. Most units you will field as a Tyranid player will count for this(only spore mines, ripper swarms and skyslasher swarms don’t count) Not so true for your opponent. Vehicles themselves don’t count (except in Scouring and Big Guns Never Tire) and units embarked in vehicles don’t count.

Missions.

Crusade

This is a D3+2 mission where each objective is worth 3VP each to the player controlling it at the end of the game. So if you control more objectives than your opponent Secondary missions don’t matter as much they do however help to break VP ties.

Purge the Alien

Kill points, simple enough. This is the only true kill point mission in the Book missions. So if you play Tervigons spawn away unless it's this mission then think about it. In this one Secondary Objectives can matter a lot since both Slay the Warlord and Fist Blood are basically worth 2VPs each.

Big Guns Never Tire

Really the same as Crusade except that Heavy Support units can score, but be aware they also give up a VP if destroyed. Know which one of your opponents units are Heavy Support.

The Scouring

This one is kind of like Crusade except Fast Attack units also score and give up VPs is destroyed. This is also the mission with objectives that are worth Variable Values. One 4, two 3, two 2 and one 1. This is my least favorite book mission. I have only played it once and the 4 ended up being an objective in board center which was great, but I have seen games where one player has 4-3-3 in his deployment and his opponent got 2-2-1 in his. Didn’t really like seeing that.

The Emperors will

Not much to say here, with only two objectives of equal value the secondary objectives are very important in this mission.

The Relic

Commonly being call “40k Blood Bowel” around the internet. No objectives and a relic in board center. Secondary objectives can be very important in this mission as well. The relic is worth 3VP to the player controlling it at the end of the game. The relic is essentially a moveable objective. Only scoring units can pick it up (seize it) and the end of the movement phase if your unit moves into base to base with the relic you can pick it up. Important things to note. The relic can only move 6” at a time and a unit with the relic cannot run. You can move it from one model to another at the end of movement phase while being in BTB or from one unit to another. A unit with the relic can enter a vehicle but it still can only move 6" a phase. So if a unit with the relic can turbo boost they could move 6" during movement and 6" during shooting. Unfortunately there are no Tyranid units who can take advantage of this.

Overall I think things got a bit better for the tyranid player with regards to missions in this edtion. I have always felt that tyranids can do very well in objective based games. While flyers are/can be a big problem for Tyranid players, they cannot really score/deny objectives. Even in Big Guns Never Tire and The Scouring the could not easily get their hull within 3" of an objective to score/deny it. They can on those missions however contribute to linebreaker.

Tyranids in 6th Part 2 of 7, Psykers

2012-08-23T10:42:00.000-04:00

Lots of stuff changed in this edition with regards to Psykers. Really the rulebook only has about nine pages on the subject and five of them are the new disciplines, so read them. Here’s an overview.

Psychic Defense

For starters all units (save buildings/fortifications IMO) have a chance to nullify psychic abilities targeting them with Deny the Witch. Additionally if the unit contains a Psycher then the chance to Deny the Witch is improved. This is a double edged sword for the Hive Mind since while it provides us some psychic defense we didn’t have before (outside of SITW) it also provides that defense for our enemies. Shadow in the Warp has remained unchanged, since they FAQd it to affect units in transports I would expect it to affect units in buildings as well.

HQ, Elite & Troops oh my

Codex Tyranid has the potential to have more Psykers than any other army with Psykers available as HQs, Elites and Troops. Only the Swarmlord is a Psyker level 2 but hey you cannot have everything. Hive Tyrants, Swarmlord, Tervigons, Zoanthopes, Doom of Malan’Tai, and Broodlords are all Psykers. If you want to have a very Psyker heavy army codex Tyranid is the book for you.

The Pre-Game Swap

So this is the biggest change/boost to the game mechanic for Tyranids. Before deployment you have the ability to swap out Codex powers for Rulebook powers (albeit randomly). This give you a lot of options. Spent some points on a Tervigon with three psychic powers well you can keep the book ones or choose to swap them all for ones randomly generated in the rulebook. Now in that instance it might sound kind of silly since Tervigon powers are good and you may really want to keep them. A better example might be, you have three Zoanthropes in a Mycetic Spore and it turns out the army you are facing is an all foot Orc Horde. Just take one Zoanthrope at a time and choose Telepathy, roll the dice, if you don’t like the result you get choose the Primaris Power which would be much better for you in this situation (Terrify could also be useful here). Repeat this for each Zoanthrope you want to swap powers for and they just went from pretty useless in this situation to potentially awesome. What you need to take from this is that the mechanic of swapping powers pre-deployment gives Tyranids flexibility they never had before. Only one unit has some strange interactions with this game mechanic. Broodlords have two psychic powers but if they swap and roll a shooting attack they are BS0 so they cannot shoot due to the Zero Level Characteristic rule so be aware of that.

Rulebook Psychic Disiplines.

There are 5 Psychic disciplines and Biomancy, Telekinesis and Telepathy are available to Tyrandids. Here are the highlights of the disciplines with regards to Tyranids.

Biomany

Primaris Power, Smite, It’s AP2 and that doesn’t suck for a power you can choose to have.

Iron arm, plus D3 Strenght and Toughness plus Eternal Warrior, yes please, just keep in mind it can only be used on the Psycher. (no casting it onto the Doom of Malan’Tai)

Enfeeble, nice way to make those pesky terminators or any other high toughness model more manageable, be aware of opponents with this since it could make you high toughness multi wound models susceptible to being doubled out.

Endurance, think of this one as FNP plus, relentless does nothing for us but It will not die is great, 24 inch range is better than Catalyst as well.

Life Leech, better version of Leech Essence but you have to roll to hit.

Warp Speed, plus D3 attacks and Initiative for Psyker only. Could make for some nice Jaws of the World Wolf defense and make the Psyker much more powerful in Assaults.

Haemorrhage, if a unit is low toughness or has been hit with Enfeeble this could be useful.

Divination, can’t use it

Pyromancy, can’t use it (just like Pyrovores, well we choose not to use those)

Telekinesis

Assail, Not great Primaris power with AP1 but not entirely useless (strikedown too)

Crush, way to variable, to many dice involved to rely on this.

Gate of Infinity, great way to move slow units around, Still hasn’t been FAQd as to using this power to leave combat so check with Tournament Organizer or Opponent beforehand.

Objuration Mechanicum, could be really useful to nerf units that rely on 6s to get stuff done, like rending units or Necrons.

Shockwave, haven’t tried it at all yet seems a bit weak.

Vortex of Doom, Only the Swarmlord can use it but it would give him a nasty shooting attack.

Telepathy

Psychic Shriek, Great Primaris power that’s an Infantry shredder with no cover or armor.

Dominate, great way to annoy an opponent much like Fear the Darkess

Puppet Master, best used against vehicles, Now you can pretend to be a Necron and use one of you opponents units against them.

Terrify, This one has it’s moments, unfortunately does little to units with ATSKNF it’s also one of those powers you want to be aware of being used against you.

Invisibility, Swarmlord only great ability if you run the Swarmlord it’s definitely worth considering.

Hallucination, Swarmlord only, another great one that is worth trying for if you’re using the Swarmlord.

So there are a lot of things to consider with Tyranids and Psykers. Be aware though that if you build a heavy psychic dependent Tyranid force that you may face some very touch matchups from the Armies/allies that have good to great psychic defenses, Namely Eldar Farseers, Space Wolf Runepriests and Grey Knight units with the Aegis.

Next time round I will be posting about missions.

Tyranids in 6th Part 1 of 7

2012-08-20T13:25:00.000-04:00

Okay so this is the first of what will be a series of Tyranid articles based on my experience so far in 6^th edition. The topics I will cover initially will be Rulebook changes, Psykers , Missions, Challenges, Units, Matchup thoughts and finally list(s) that I have been using.

So here’s the first installment 6^th Rulebook big changes and the Tyranid.

The new edition while not a completely different game than the previous (many game mechanics are unchanged) it’s different enough that lots of what worked in 5^th simply won’t cut it in 6^th. Many of those changes aren’t as obvious as others. Many of the changes that really impact the way some armies play are hidden in the many pages of USR. Here are some that impacted the Hive Mind.

Fearless

Fearless wounds, the fact that fearless units can lose combat without the double whammy of fearless wounds cannot be overstated. Not only does this make large units of expendable/cheap Tyranids likeTemagants are the ultimate tarpit to tie things that shoot really well (let’s face it most things shoot better than Tyranids). It also means that we don’t have to worry about putting an expensive Monstrous Creature into the same combat as those Termagants. A few things to remember while you use this change to its limits. You are allowed to charge a unit you cannot hurt, say charging a Soulgrinder with Termagants, but you cannot use the Our Weapons are Useless rule to auto fail and fallback while you are fearless (so if you want to do this get your synapse away from the combat). Additionally the Psykic power Terrify removes fearless, so if you opponent has that power be aware of it. Lastly fearless units cannot go to ground. Funny that MCs don’t have that restriction anymore so if you have a non fearless MC out of synapse you have that option.

Smash

Awesome new rule, our MCs lost 2d6 armor pen, big whoop, Smash is better. First of all this is the rule that makes all units with this USR AP2 in CC unless it would be AP1(no idea what is AP1 in CC) it also allows you to half you attacks (rounding up) to attack at double strength (max 10) and if you do this verses a vehicle or building you can reroll your armor penetration rolls. Really in the end that makes this way more reliable to destroy heavy armor with MCs and gives us a way to double out high toughness models. If you manage to catch a unit not in cover you are just about the only thing that gets AP2 in CC at normal initiative.

Hammer of Wrath

If you were considering using Gargoyles before well they just got better. Getting a bonus attack at I10 step is a free bonus jump infantry didn’t get before. There are many discussions going (read needs some FAQing) as to this attack. Is it resolved at I10 if the unit assaults into terrain? Seems like most agree yes. Does a unit benefit from wargear, like in Tyranid case say shrikes with boneswords? Seems like most agree No since it clearly says AP-. Does a unit benefit from Toxin Sacs? No clue how the community is addressing this one if at all, I say yes since its still STR unmodified Str and AP- it just gets the poison rule. Of course this interpretation opens the door for other armies arguments.

Precision Shot

This is another bonus ability that really doesn’t affect Tyranids negatively. While it gives Tyranid characters an ability to snipe specific models (get rid of that special weapon or attempt to get rid of an IC) it doesn’t hurt Tyranids since most of our Characters are single models anyway. There are a number of situations/units that you have to be aware of if your opponent using this rule against you. If you use Tyranid Primes or The Parasite of Mortrex in you lists be aware they can be sniped with precision shots, now as ICs they get Look out Sirs so use it. The other unit to be worried about being precision shot at is Hive Tyrants with Tyrant guard and Broodlords, other than those we rarely have an special equipment models in Tyranid units.

Deny the Witch

While this gave some units an ability to shut down Tyranid offensive abilities, it still helped out Tyranids a lot. Nothing like watching a Tervigon disappear to JOTWW. Now at least in addition to the 33% chance of passing your Initiative test you also get a 5up Deny the witch. JOTWW still sucks for low initiative Tyranids but at least we have an additional chance to shut it down.

Cover

This one is dicey, yes cover went from a 4 to a 5 in many cases. That hurt but the ability to easily get cover for Monstrous Creatures more than made up for it. Given the number of ruins I commonly see in my area and on Batreps I think overall cover got better for Tyranids with one exception. If you ran genesteeler spam then you are probably going to have to rethink your list with the changes to cover and a few other rules in 6^th.

Poison

The poison mechanic is fixed so that high Strength poison verses low toughness target is no longer covered in Nerf.

Charge Distances

Lots of chatter since 6^th came out lamenting this one. In the end of the day on average you get the same if not better charges off (fleet units too even if they cannot run and charge) after all when was the last time you charged an opponent and they weren’t in cover anyway. So it was variable in the last edition in most cases anyway. Something to keep in mind, it is really really easy for termagants to charge out of buffing or even synapse range of a Tervigon.

Wound Allocation

So while tyanids still cannot use these Shenanigans neither can most of our opponents. Of course the new flavor of shenanigan in 6^th is Look out Sir.

Feel No Pain

So it went from a 4 to a 5, okay yep that’s not great. However being able to take it no matter what shot/assaulted you is a good tradeoff and since it is specifically states that it is not a saving throw then nothing that causes wounds and has a “no saves” special rule can stop a Tyranid from using Feel no Pain. On the flip side if you use Boneswords be aware that Feel no Pain works against them. Instant Death also still doesn't allow Feel No Pain.

Deployment

While this is a phase and not a rule I think Tyranids benefitted somewhat from the changes. No more walking on turn 1. No more full reserve opponents (some exceptions). Lets face it our full reserve lists were kind of lacking anyway. There is another part of deployment that is really more important than your units in my opinion. If you are playing in a tournament with fixed terrain you cannot do this but if not……..deploy terrain in such a way no matter which method you use you get as much benefit from it as possible. Terrain you place should help you to achieve your goals (say cover for MCs) and hinder you opponents ability to achieve his (say he brings a bastion, he may not like it but if the terrain density allows it put a nice piece of LOS blocking terrain 3 inches in front of it).

The next few are things that really didn’t help tyranids but are best to be aware of.

Furious charge

No initiative bonus, so no Termagants boosted by a tervigon swinging first at marines out of cover. For the most part if you were taking Adrenal glands on MCs before now with Smash use those points for Toxin Sacs.

Outflank

Not being able to assault from outflank really really hurts outflanking genesteelers. Now I didn’t really expect this unit to win me the game or anything but it really affected my opponent's deployment. Have to come on the board edge and having to stand there and say “come at me bro” stinks for a unit with no shooting ability whatsoever.

Instant Death

Well sadly this mechanic and its effect on our T4 multi wound units did not change. Sad Face.

Look Out Sir

Wound allocation through wargear move over, we have a new shenanigan. The mechanic is really not complicated to read it be familiar with how it works (and doesn’t work) because it’s very annoying especially in large groups of characters, looking at you Nobs and Paladins.

That’s all for now, more to follow

Dealing with Pesky Flyers!

2012-08-06T22:03:00.000-04:00

Hello again ladies and germs,

Now don't take my title as the solution to deal with them, but more of a couple of guidelines to follow when playing against them. Let's breakdown what we know about flyers, their armor is not greater than 12. Which means we don't have to use all of our high strength weapons on it, mass fire is king for getting as many 6's as possible. Flyers don't start on the table, they have to be placed in reserves, so something I picked up on today's game (two Vendettas and a Valkyrie). They have to move in a straight line on the table, so if you can set a good bait for them to come in and snatch it, you can make their 90 degree tun a inconvenience for them.

He had his Vendetta's luckily come in turn 2 on both sides, which gave me a bit of a problem to set up a trap. Luckily I noticed a flaw and drew most of my army back closer to my table edge, forcing him to take a turn to turn away from me, or he would have went back into reserve. This had me thinking, if you really can disrupt their movement you can take them out for a turn or even two! Shooting them without Skyfire or other flyers, isn't recommend unless you have plenty of twin-linked weapons or high volumes of high strength shots.

That is my two cents, on flyers. I will be adding Quad gun, with Fire Dragons Exarch shooting it, a Razorwing and possibly adding guide to the Farseer in my list. Just so if there is any more than 4 flyers I can be prepared.

-Deryk

The Boulevard of Nova

2012-08-05T23:42:00.000-04:00

Hey there ladies and germs! I'm here to give my two thoughts about what I am thinking of 6th edition and running in the Nova.

Okay so I have played a couple of games in 6th and I love it! I was a little bit skeptical about the whole allies ordeal, however with the addition of Eldar's Psykic defense I feel Dark Eldar has more of an edge. I am not here to argue if I can fortune or guide my guys, because well I don't think so. (Sure would be nice though!) Hull points are my new favorite thing in the game now, it makes vehicles look like chumps now, however with Venoms only having 2 they die even quicker than ever before.

So what do we do about all of our good list that we have been running for so long? The key is getting off your alpha strike, to well give you the upper hand from the get go. So that means we need a better chance of going first, well we already know who to look at, Baron is added into the list. Now we need something for him to go in, Hellions are troops lots of them are awesome but in the new edition harder to keep alive. Next, you could add them to Scourges, that's right those gorgeous looking models can hit the tables, with their Haywire Blasters. Or the cream of the crop, Beastmaster Squads! With Beast moving 12 inches now, they won't hinder each other, Baron adds Grenades and Stealth. More importantly, he is an Independent Character so you can place him at the front of the squad have him absorb lots of shots with look out sir and Shadowfield, POW allocate the wounds accordingly and you will have a squad that will hit turn two no problem! Add in 4 Beastmasters, 7 Khymera, and 4 Razorwings.

Next we have to add troops, I simply went with 6 squads of Warriors with Blasters, in a Venom with Dual Splinter Cannons. I am seeing less mech from a lot of different armies, so why not add in more shots and just in case some blasters for a strong alpha strike. With Doom running around on the table, whatever deathstar they have coming towards you will soon be Swiss Cheese. Oh yeah I forgot to mention, 5 Guardian Jetbikes one with a Shurieken Cannon with a decked out Farseer running around the table, tanking and dooming. Handy for the Relic mission, due to 12 inch movement per turn and hiding.

Heavy Support? Well now we are Dark Eldar, 3 Ravagers, NAKED. That's right, no flicker fields or Nightshields, with Jink and pre-measuring out there, there is no need for these point sinks. Also add in my new favorite unit in my army, 3 war walkers with dual Scatter Lasers! If there are a lot of transports on the table start them on the table and glance them to death. If you don't really need them, out flank them and refuse flank, and watch your opponent break a sweat!

After playing a few games with said list, I can tell I have one flaw. No dedicated Flyer answer, back to the drawing board. I have really been thinking of putting an Aeigis Line with a Quad-cannon in my list, of course with a Fire Dragon Exarch. He shoots at BS: 5, twin-linked, with tank hunters and crack shot (No cover saves!) It runs it at a hefty cost as well, but it would be one dead flyer a turn! Also freeing up room for a Razorwing, being able to shoot at flyers would help dominate the turn 2 or three change up when reserves come in. It would also bring back some Anti-Infantry to the list to dominate!

Still working on it, and I am going to be painting all this in the next month! So look for more frequent post about tactics and what not!

-Deryk

Introducing our new writer, Gritts!

2012-06-26T11:41:00.000-04:00

Introducing Gritts,

Ok so I am the new guy here at AOW so I will give you a bit about my 40k experience to date. I really didn’t start playing regularly unit 5^th edition, I played a lot of Tyranids in 5^th and despite their shortcomings I still really enjoy playing them (unless I am playing against Derycks Dark Eldar). I also jumped on the Grey Knight bandwagon at the end of 5^th and feel no shame in that after having played so many games with the Tyranids. My local meta is the same as Deryck’s, that is the Tidewater area of Southern Virginia. I like to paint my models and I feel my finished models (still have plenty that are not quite there) have a pretty good table top presence. I plan on posting Batreps/rules discussions/painting articles on the Blog throughout 6^th edition. The pictures included in this post were painted by me over the last two years and in that time I feel I have learned quite a bit, having said that, criticism is always welcome.

This one gets a lot of use as a GK Librarian.

These are some Wyches I converted into DCA.

I have used these two as Jakero Weaponsmiths, I really didn't care for the GW monkeys.

Tervigon WIP.

Winged Hive Tyrant I did before GW made the plastic kit

Couple of Zoanthropes and a Mycetic Spore I made.

Three Big MCs I did over about a 18 month period, in person you can see the progression my painting went through in that first year of painting models again.

A New Page for Dark Eldar

2012-03-06T12:09:00.001-05:00

Hey folks,
It has been a while since I have posted last, I know and I apologize. I have a fancy new phone that will let me blog on the go! (I'm actually at work right now) So I have been trying to figure out ways to beat the Grey Knight Psydread wall. After thinking for it for months I came to a realization that the most viable way is via Deep Strike.

Wait a second.... isn't there a special character who let's your entire army deep strike, and get out to lay waste with all of their blasters? That's right I am talking about the Duke. I usually run a Baron list with lots of blaster and Venoms, it works well against all armies except Guard and Grey Knights. Guard is becoming an easier match up, however I can't seem to crack the Grey Knights. The tactic is to run both the Baron and the Duke, utilize the Barons +1 to see who goes first, and he let's Hellions reroll everything! Use the Duke to choose my drugs and to deep strike or not to deep strike. If I win the roll off to go first I will opt to go second, based on how my opponent deploys and terrain, I can utilize a great deployment, or just reserve everything. Now it is a huge hit or miss with deep strike, some say you are just piece mealing yourself. Yes this is true, but if done right you can essentially take away 2 turns of their shooting, while gaining an extra one. Plus you get great board control, place half of your army on one side, make your opponient go to the threat, then place the other behind him and get him in a flank of lance and poisioned weapons. I still need to play test this but I think with the list fire power and unpredictability, it should place Dark Eldar back on the top! -Deryk

Incoming Transmission...

2012-02-29T00:28:00.001-05:00

Beginning Transcript

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M.31.332.506778

In system translation Detected

Signal Markers Gamma, Hyperion, Io active-

Visual Identification Protocols engaging...
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Positive Identification:
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Match: correlation 93.874% probability registered ship is "Cholon", flagship of expeditionary force 223/96 (cross ref. Imperial Crusade/Horus Heresy)
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Ship Identified White Scars Insignia..."Cholon" Presumed Lost with all hands during Siege of Terra.
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Compiling Inquiries-Notifying Imperial Naval Units ...
Alert!..
Addendum: 9 other warp portals active...
Unidentified objects inbound. Alerting Fleet Dock.
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Vox Receivers activating...
Incoming Transmission-
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Cholon: "Hello, Is anyone out there?"
Cholon: "Please, We need aid..."
(Matching Vox Records to previous data...Voice is identified as Legionary Captain Sukh-an, White Scars 12th Company)
Cholon: "Please Send aid, My expeditionary Force has been disabled by Alpha Legion Confederates."
"Sustained Casualties. Company losses at 54%, auxiliary losses at 87%. No ammunition, low power."
"Emperor Preserve us."
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Vox Records Cease to Transmit
Life Signs Inactive
Power Levels Minimal
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Naval Task group inbound
Shutting down auxiliary equipment
Suspending time Lapse
returning to overwatch.
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Thought for the day: "Those who are lost will never find the path."
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Transcript ends.
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Its a bird! Its a plane! its...oh. Just Ninjaman

2012-01-06T22:00:00.004-05:00

Yeah, I'm actually still around. :o

Anyways, I've been out of the hobby for the past few months...(School+ Car = Time and Money gone.) But in a rather fortunate turn of events, recently visited my local GW, and had my interest piqued by the new releases.

You know the term, "living under a rock"?

Yeah, that was me. I took about 3 steps into Games Workshop, looked, and my jaw hit the floor...It was like a 7 year old in a chocolate factory (hmm...) i was staring at all the "new releases": Grey Knights, Ogres, and the very sexy and beefy looking necrons. I'd known about some, but i had just begun to rediscover the game after a 4 month Hiatus. In a storm of "magic" (hah) I purchased the first three things that caught my eye...GK termies, Coteaz, and The Knights' codex. I then continued my rampage by unleashing my pent up aggression at an old GK brother captain, successfully ripping him apart and creating a new Brother Captain from his Remains, by finding and painting my Vindicare, and by making all kinds of Inquisitors and their retinues. My Stormraven soon followed.

And then...then things got bad.

While rooting through packed boxes of minis, i stumbled upon a mysterious container. Containing a note of "Sold" on it, i went back and checked what i had sold a while ago: and came up with my Thunderbolt, and Elysians. Both deals had been forgotten. the buyer had dropped the sales at the last minute. So......The Boxes were soon opened, and i gazed in trepidation at my (essentially) new models. The Elysian 52nd and its Aerial Support.

Then, bad ideas rooted themselves to my mind. I opened every Guard Box in sight, and soon had a 2000 point list (almost) ready. Stormtroopers, Elysians, Veterans (Coming as I write this), Valkyries, Griffons, Sentinels and Commissars were organized into units and placed on "Standby". What was left was my former Guard Army, the Salahiem 31st. Regular Guard, Vostroyans, Leman Russes, Chimaeras, Armored Sentinels and a WW2 Tank kit made an appearance...and were soon torn apart, rebuilt, and reorganized. A German armored Car was converted into a Guard Drop troopers' Devildog.

Overall, I was content. But my poor Thunderbolt still lay unbased and unable to be played. In a moment of insanity I grabbed a drill and cut out a hole for a flying stand. It came out well :D.

I guess what I'm essentially saying is that I'm back. And with money from the holidays, reinforcements are on the way. What I'm Hoping for is a Demi-Crusade force very soon. I'll post up an order of Battle for the Icarian Reclamation Task Force (IRTF) soon. Hoping to pit them against someone during an apoc game this summer. I'll try to post pics of it as the IRTF grows in strength, aka whenever i can paint something.

Anyways, see you around. :D

Ninjaman

New Army: Black Templar

2011-12-20T16:15:00.000-05:00

Hey folks,

I know that it has been a while since I have posted, it has been a crazy few months. I know I always say that but for real this time it has. I managed to get down a few ideas for my next army, it will as I have said in the past Black Templar. However I am going to make them the Fallen Templar, the emporer's champion I will model loosely based off of Tyrell from Diablo 2. For the Initiates, they will be modeled as the following...

It is a Grey Knight model (old one) with scourages wings on the back. Neophytes will more than likely be skeleton warriors with guns, because I may use a lot of them. Still have to figure out what to use for terminators, I really like the grey knight terminators but I just don't know yet. I am sure I will figure something out sooner or later.

Paint scheme will be a dark grey and red. The angel wing will be white and the evil wing will be black. I have a good feeling about this army, now to get through a couple of army list!

Thanks

Deryk

40k Warcasting: Webisode 039.875 - Because we could

2011-10-06T17:20:00.000-04:00

Hey folks!

Just letting you know that the newest episode of the podcast is up! Click on the link and enjoy!

http://fortykwarcasting.libsyn.com/webpage

Deryk

Reaver Jet Bikes 101

2011-09-15T22:53:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!

Today I am here to talk to you about my favorite adrenalin junkie, faster than a speeding bullet bikers in the whole game! Reaver Jetbikes and how I find them useful. I am going to break it down into a few sections; Movement, Shooting, Assaults and what/how to take them. So pretty much a nice Reaver Jetbike tactic section if you will!

Movement:
These guys are fast, I mean what else in the current codices can move 36"! That is great to put them into instant threat range. Deploy them up 12" and they are at the enemies board edge turn one with a 3+ cover save none the less! Also with the ability to still damage infantry is amazing, you can start the pain before you even shoot! This will make your opponent think twice about that plan that he had to come after the rest of your army. They get a 12" movement and get to fire all their weapons, so think of all your weapons as an additional 12". Also don't forget about the Jetbike rule, they get a 6" movement in the assault phase. You only get this if you didn't do anything in movement that would prohibit movement (i.e. move flat out). Lastly what brings home the cabbage is the skilled rider rule, I can't tell you how many times I have weaved in and out of terrain saving these guy's hides and only lost a couple! So use this tactic to your advantage!

Shooting:
As I stated previously they pretty much add 12" to whatever they are shooting, so that means that they can pump out some damage! With splinter rifles built into the jetbike it's self, you either get 1 shot at 36" inches (12" move and 24" range) or 2 shots at 24" (do you need a reminder Bueller?). Jetbikes are relentless don't let anyone try to convince you other wise. Just take a squad of 6 right there and you have pretty much made an extra venom so to say. Now for the meat and potatoes of these guys, the Heat Lance. Str 6 Ap 1 Melta Lance 18". Are you serious! This is one of the best forms of melta out there! Yeah you can't really instant kill a whole lot out there, well there are other Archons out there... But hey it will blow up a land raider and a chimera all the same. You can also take a blaster for more points and less reliabilty for vehicles, hut you can get that support from the rest of your list!

Assault:
I personally have never gotten these guys into assault, but they have a good stat line to throw some punches. Factor in on the charge 3 attacks at str 3/4 depending on how well they have done in said game, your looking at some pretty scary numbers for your opponents to deal with. Toughness 4 will make them a bit more resilient but they are Dark Eldar, and we don't like boo boos. I usually just move them back 6" into terrain or out of assault or double tap range if I didn't pin the squad after they we ejected out of their vehicle.

Squad Layout:
I have seen all over the internets, so many at 3 bikes with a Heat Lance, that's good but it will be gone sooner or later. (I'm sure after people read this they will make your Reavers target priority one!) I usually take a squad of 6 with two heat lances it comes into a little bit more than 3 Blasterborn and a Venom. It gives me 2, 3 wound Heat Lances if you play your wound allocation right! And if the meta has taught us anything its that the more the merrier! Blasters are good for scouting out and killing tough units, but you should already have plenty of Dark Lances and Blasters in your list after all, you really need that AP1 in your list.

Well that is just my two cents on what I think is the best unit in the Dark Eldar Codex, by the way great looking models too!

-Deryk