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Monday, April 30, 2012

Mech is dead - long live infantry


Some crazy rumors are circulating on the Internet. If they are even close to true it sounds like in regards to vehicles with the exception of fliers that in some ways 6th edition will be a throw back to 4th edition. To me the interesting thing if all this pans out to be true vehicles will actually still be good but you'll want to either keep your squads behind them or beside them. Cover is supposedly taking a big hit so the rhino chassis will still be good at screening units - they will just need to be outside of them.

This is just speculation so don't think I'm trying to say this is definitely the way it will be. GW has started keeping a tight lid on their stuff and I've never been much on rumors. Like I said this is just my speculation on what I've read on the Internet. 6th edition could be released as early as June and to me that is very exciting indeed. I'm really looking forward to it. People can go crazy again.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

40k State of Mind - What is and What is not


So you've got your top tier Internet list - it is totally tweaked and it is rolling everyone. You are a big scary monster - NOM NOM NOM !!! Good for you bro, I'm sure you've got lots of cool stories to tell.

I've been playing this game for a long time. My two all time favorite armies were 3rd edition Blood Angels and Emperor's Children - they were both top tier at the time. Emperor's Children to me were a lot like Grey Knights are now... I could never settle on one army list because they were so many great choices. Some of you veterans may remember the Siren Prince - a scary monster you could not shoot or assault. Some of you veterans might remember the old Doom Siren - that same monster always hit first in assault and it hit very very hard... Armies such as Tau had no defense. If you play 40k long enough you'll come to realize this is just the way it is. We can either whine about it or we can develop counter tactics. Top tier armies are the EZ WIN. I prefer a bit of a challenge now. We all like to whine but me, I like to win so I tend to focus on the counter tactics as whining doesn't win competitive games... It really doesn't.

I've always been an advocate of more boots on the ground. Armor is very strong in 5th edition but it can be beat. I have come to realize that the new Necrons are THE race that eats armor for breakfast. It is what it is and I think anyone who really understands this game knows what I'm saying. It is a big change to the meta - love it or hate it. If I was a mech kind of guy I could tell you why mech is still the king but I'm not that kind of guy. Everything changes. Only change is constant.

So like I said you've got your top tier army totally tweaked and you don't have any bubble gum. Good for you ! I was once just like you. I'd like to think I've moved onto a different level. I love to beat top tier armies with lesser races - that's what I'm all about now. Some people say I've posted fake batreps and that I choose to play easy games that favor me. The tournament season is in full swing now and I've got my sights aimed high. Maybe I'll have to eat some crow. I'm okay with that because I am prepared. It is what it is.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

40k Wrecking Crew forums Down Time for Annual Maintenance


Aceboards are currently conducting their annual server maintenance. The 40k Wrecking Crew forums will soon be live and running again.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Unit Analysis - Canoptek Wraiths


When I first read the new Necron codex the first thing that struck me as being very powerful was the Canoptek Wraiths. They no longer have We'll Be Back or Reanimation Protocol as it is referred to now but that is the only downside and their many inherent advantages heavily outweigh that one loss. To me they are the best unit in the codex - I like them so much I'm redesigning my army into a Wraithwing. They are obviously very good in close combat and I think their new rules make them currently one of the best melee units in the game. I prefer assault to shooting so I tend to keep up on these kinds of things.

Canoptek Wraiths are very fast and ignore terrain - that combination throws a lot of people off... As a result they can make mistakes which you can then capitalize on in a big way. For example I was recently playing a game versus Imperial Guard and my opponent deployed a squad of veterans on the second level of a ruin thinking they were safe up there... Nob bikers and Thunderwolves could never touch them. I moved up my Wraiths ignoring terrain tests and easily reached the guardsmen during the second turn wiping them out on the charge.

Whip coils are also very powerful which I knew since I also play Tyranids - I'm a big fan of the lash whip... If you play it right Wraiths are always essentially striking first in melee which negates I2 - it's a huge advantage coupled with lots of S6 rending attacks. I have fought WolfStar to a stand still over the course of a game which says a lot - they are really just that good. Push come to shove I'd have no problem charging them into a squad of assault terminators.

It's important to note whip coils only work against enemy models in base contact and the Nemesis force halberd means a Grey Knight in base contact with a Wraith armed with a whip coil will strike at I3 - before any of the Wraiths - this is the type of situation where the 3++ invulnerable save is pure gold.

Wraiths' one major weakness is T4... They are prone to instant death so you have to be smart and not unnecessarily throw them in harm's way. Their 3++ invulnerable save is about as good as it gets but still you should protect them as for example a salvo from missile launchers coupled with some poor saves could easily deplete a squad.

One of the nice things about Necrons is if you make a mistake it's not the end of your world as is often the case with dark eldar and Tyranids. Necrons are resilient which is one of the reasons why I like them so much... It can and does alleviate stress.

Currently I'm running two full squads of Wraiths and one squad of ScArabs... This seems to be the right balance to me for a Wraithwing army. Who would have ever thought there would be an army where fielding three Fast Attack slots is so powerful ? I like to deep strike one squad of Wraiths and either bring the other unit in from normal reserve or start them deployed on the table. I've found that it is hard for most opponents to deal with two units. Combine this with a ScArab horde and you can punish mechanized armies. There are a few bad matchups such as dark eldar but this can be mitigated through good deployment and using ScArabs to cover a lot of the tabletop.

Wraiths have two wounds apiece so you can field semi complex multi-wound units which pays off over the course of a game as you start to lose a couple of models in each unit. I am a big fan of the particle caster as the S6 AP5 shooting attack can damage light armor and it's relatively easy to target side armor versus enemy transports (e.g., Chimeras). The Transdimensional Beamer is also kind of interesting as it is good at picking off T3 enemy models such as Vect or an IG heavy weapons team - I'm not sure but I think it's classed as a heavy weapon which if this is the case then it's not really worth taking since you'll rarely ever get to fire it.

Here is a list of the major advantages for Canoptek Wraiths (in no particular order):

— Jump Infantry (fast and immune to JotWW)
— 3 base attacks per model
— S6 rending
— Always strike first in melee
— 2 wounds apiece and can be semi complex
— Ignore terrain
— 3++ invulnerable save

That's seven major advantages which is a lot for just one unit. They have decent shooting as well which makes the Wraiths more versatile and less dependent on support from other Necron units. That's why I'm redesigning my current army into a Wraithwing - I think it's just that good.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Necron Melee


It's funny but after having played Necrons for a few weeks now I find Necrons to be better at melee than shooting. Here are my own personal picks for the top Necron melee units (in no particular order):

— Canoptek ScArabs
— Canoptek Spyders
— Canoptek Wraiths
— Destroyer Lord



You'll note I didn't include Lychguard - sure they can be awesome but on the other hand they are not fearless and can break then are easily swept being only I2 like almost every other unit in the codex. They are really expensive for the points and are slow. I'd like to be able to make them work for my army but I just don't see it happening. I have used Lychguard several times - sometimes they did very well but sometimes they had no real impact at all. To make them mobile you've either got to attach a Veiltek or invest in a Night Scythe... Both will cost you more points. I really don't like the Night Scythe - mostly due to the fact that if it's wrecked or destroyed the embarked unit goes right back into reserve which is the worst thing that could happen to a dedicated melee unit. The Night Scythe is also fragile in my opinion and I don't think we will see a lot of competitive armies using them to ferry Lychguard across the table. I think the Cryptek could be better utilized in the army elsewhere providing Night Fight for a turn or letting you reroll a dice each turn. If they were fearless it would be a totally different story. Oh well it is what it is.


I also did not include the C'tan... Again another awesome unit but again too slow and too easy to target. They are very expensive for the points. I have used one once and the C'tan kicked ass in close combat but it was versus an army with not much long ranged shooting so I could slog it relatively safely across the table. Versus any army with dedicated long range firepower that could be a major problem.

So I'm not necessarily saying Lychguard or C'tan are bad choices but neither works for me the way I want to play my Necrons. If they work well for you then more power to you. Let me know why they work for you.

Three of the units I've listed as good choices above are fast and they are all fearless as well. If you want to play a Necron melee oriented army I believe these are our best choices. ScArabs are great versus ANY armor and can quickly tarpit a lot of enemy units all the while applying the NOM NOM. The trick is quickly building them up to a high number of bases and releasing them at the right moment. Based upon my experience a horde of 24 ScArabs is more than twice as good as 15. I run a unit of 9 bases with two squads of three Canoptek Spyders... Let's do the math as it's quite simple:

Turn 1:   9 + 6 = 15
Turn 2: 15 + 6 = 21
Turn 3: 21 + 6 = 27

Turn 3 is the right moment to send them forward if you can wait that long to let your farm reach critical mass. Remember that you can start moving them forward during the first three turns - simply keep the tail end within the minimum distance from your Spyders so you can keep crapping out more of the little metallic beasts and they are easy to hide for the cover saves.

So far I have found 24 bases to be the right number. If you are investing less points they won't be nearly as effective... There are some armies that really don't have a good answer to ScArabs and I think they will be the demise of Imperial Guard.


Canoptek Spyders are really cheap for the points - only 50 points for a S6 T6 3W monstrous creature with an excellent armor save... It doesn't get any better than that in my opinion. I have found in melee they tend to be more of a tarpit versus tough enemy dedicated melee units such as Thunderwolves or assault terminators. Always remember that their main purpose is to crap out more ScArabs. Versus softer enemy units they will chew their way right through them. Don't forget to run the Spyders so you can extend your line of ScArabs. Spyders can also be used to provide cover to other units.


So now we come to Canoptek Wraiths. As much as I love ScArabs and Spyders this is probably my favorite unit in the new codex. I think they are much more potent now in the new codex. Wraiths have many advantages in melee over other enemy units - it's hard to cover them all so for the time being I'll simply say they are made of pure gold and soon cover them in more depth in a follow up article.


The last Necron melee unit is the Destroyer Lord which I've already covered in another recent article. Sure the Destroyer Lord does not have access to a Royal Court but if you're goal is to design a competitive Necron melee army you can easily get around this particular short coming. I run mine with the weave (2+ armor save), Res Orb, Mind Shackle ScArabs and a Tachyon Arrow. He is expensive but he is also another true beast designed as such.


Conclusion
I have presented the Necron units I think are the best in melee and provided some tips how to best utilize them.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

five games with Necrons


I have started playing my Necron army now and played in a local tournament yesterday (1000 points). I used this as an opportunity to test my Wraithwing concept. My games and results were as follows:

1) Dark Eldar - Draw
2) Imperial Guard - Win
3) Tau - Loss
4) Grey Knights - Win

The mission was always the same each round - Killpoints and Pitched Battle. The loss versus Tau was just bad luck - I deep struck my Destroyer Lord attached to Wraiths and they decided to wait until the last turn to show up - they mishapped by a hair on the table edge and were both destroyed. My opponent didn't kill any of my units and my 30 scarabs had just made contact with the Tau but the game only went four turns... Tau slowly moving backwards the whole game. Oh well what can you do? It was a disheartening moment - 40k can be that way sometimes.

After the tourney I got to play another 1000 point game versus my buddy's Tyranid army - lots and lots of gaunts... Scarabs ended up out NOM NOM the bugs which was hilarious in a weird way - they are simply golden in melee versus units that can't mass scale insta gib them.

Here was my list:

Destroyer Lord
—Res Orb
—Tachyon Arrow
—Weave
—Mindshackle Scarab

6x Wraith
—4x Whip Coil

5x Warrior
5x Warrior

6x Scarab

3x Spyder
3x Spyder

I have always favored melee over shooting - this is my kind of army !! It's kind of funny because supposedly Necrons are a shooty army.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Tyranids win Kingdom-Con GT


Here is the 1750 point Tyranid army list that won the recent Kingdom-Con GT held in northern California (same mission format as BeakyCon):

Headquarters
Tervigon - Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands, Catalyst
Tervigon - Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands, Catalyst

Troops
16x Termagants
16x Termagants
15x Termagants
9x Genestealers + Broodlord - Toxin Sacs
9x Genestealers + Broodlord - Toxin Sacs

Heavy Support
Trygon - Adrenal Glands
Trygon - Adrenal Glands

Elites
2x Hive Guard
2x Hive Guard
2x Hive Guard

I like the army:

— Lots of scoring units with two genestealer broods *
— Looks to be enough shooting
— Strong in melee

* I am currently running two broods of genestealers with the exact same build

The amount of synapse seems a bit thin but then again this is a 1750 point list and I think it would scale up well to 2k. This army drew with a Purifier spam army - They don't use victory points as a tie breaker if there is a draw on objectives.

A Case for the Necron Destroyer Lord ?



I know... I know !! This guy has no invulnerable save - right ? Well actually no that is wrong. If he has a res orb he basically has a 4++ save whenever he loses his last wound... feeling lucky punk ? Heh! And of course he is not going to ever run like a little girl.

I have been running mine with the following options:

  • Sempiternal Weave
  • Mindshackle Scarabs
  • Res Orb
  • Tachyon Arrow

He is expensive kitted as such but he is also a beast. I run him with an escort of six Wraiths and its working very well indeed. Their speed means I usually get the charge off and can position the Lord where I need him most and avoid those nasty little things like enemy power fists. The Destroyer Lord is very smashy and I love it when he drops landraiders with his Tachyon Arrow. The best part is jump infantry is immune to Jaws of the World Wolf.  :  )

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

BeakyCon - 5th edition vs. 6th edition


No wait this is not another batrep! Shoot everybody knows that 6th edition will curb stomp 5th edition. Hee !!

But seriously folks here is how we currently plan to handle 6th edition:

—If 6th edition is released by the end of July then we will use the new rules. If this should happen then you will have a period of time to change which army you want to bring to the GT. We will need to know by the middle of August which army you've decided to switch over to for the GT.

—If 6th edition is released after July then we will still use the current edition.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

My prediction for Adepticon - Beware hte Mirror Match


Every year it is the same...

The first year I attended Adepticon followed the release of the 4th edition Tyranid codex and there was so so many Big Bug armies there - I'm not lying if I said they accounted for anywhere from 40-60 percent of the total armies. The year following the release of the 5th edition Space Wolf codex saw lots and lots of Space Wolf armies in Chicago - same thing with the 5th edition Imperial Guard codex. TriFalcon-Eldrad-Avatar-Harlequin spam was the big army the last year for 4th edition... They had an invitational tournament that year and I'd say eldar accounted for at least 70 percent of the armies in that event.

It is a constant that whatever is the flavor of the year will be the most popular army. There is something about Grey Knights though that I predict will throw the proverbial monkey wrench into the works... Psykout Grenades - they are the bane of Grey Knights and ironically enough it's kind of fitting in my opinion. When the fourth turn rolls around it's hard to avoid melee any longer as you're usually fighting for objectives... on the other hand SW versus SW is not such a big deal as they all swing at the same initiative for the most part (excluding characters and power fists). This year you have to factor in the psykout grenade and I've seen Strike squads maul Paladins - it can and does happen. Unless you've played lots of matches versus other Grey Knight armies with your own Grey Knight army this little piece of wargear can throw you for a big loop. In my mind most people who'll be bringing Grey Knights won't be properly prepared for the mirror matches - those that are will profit at the tables.

Sure psykotropic and rad grenades are just as deadly if not more so but you can't take them in every squad like the psykout grenade. Smart players will wisely avoid those units like the plague! It is what it is.

It seems like the two big Internet meta lists for Grey Knights are Draigowing and Purifier spam. I give the nod to the former for a better overall performance as little five man squads of Purifiers aren't really all that scary versus other armies that have significant dedicated melee units. If it were me playing my Draigowing versus a Purifier Spam army most likely I'd reserve my psyflemen and bring them in firing at the opponent's psyflemen. You cripple a couple and suddenly the game can swing. Versus a Vindicare assassin it's easy - simply outrange him with your psyflemen and keep popping him until he fails a save... And all it takes is one failed save then you push forward. The Coteaz henchmen list is fairly popular but I can't see those fragile units going toe to toe with Grey Knights. Sure there are the much feared Death Cult assassins and rightly so but a smart player will cripple their transport first and foremost then mow them down with stormbolters. There is also the Mordrak list but it's not as popular as the other three.

So I'm thinking this year probably some people relatively unknown on the Internet will win the big events at Adepticon simply because they are better prepared for the mirror matches and I think it's going to be quite interesting indeed.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

REVIEW: Canoptek Wraiths from puppetswar


I received my order of nine Wraiths last week... wow I am really impressed with this company !!! The delivery time was less than two weeks after I placed my order which I think is pretty good seeing that the company is based in Europe. The models both look awesome and are very easy to assemble. The resin is very good with not much flash or trim.


Some of the bits are fragile like the whip coils so be careful when removing them from the sprues. There are no particle casters so you'll have to either get some from the Lychguard kit or get a bit creative. I am really loving these models !!




Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Fred Fortman's Tyranids vs. Greg Swanson's Grey Knights


This batrep was written by Greg Swanson from Chicago. I met Greg back at the last Waaaaagh GT in Tennessee several summers ago. He takes his Grey Knight army up against Fred Fortman's Tyranids in this battle report. Fred is also from the Chicago area and is a great tournament player with lots of big wins throughout his long 40k career as a veteran player. Greg is also a great player as well.  :  )

Greg's Grey Knight Army
HQ
Mordrak
3x Ghost Knights  - halberds

Librarian:
—Sanctuary
—Shrouding
—Might of Titans
—Warp Rift
—Teleport Homer

ELITES
6x Purifiers:
—3x halberd
—2x psycannon
Justicar - daemonhammer
Rhino

TROOPS
5x Terminator
—4x halberds
—daemonhammer
—psycannon

Strike Squad (10x)
—2x psycannon

FAST ATTACK
10x Interceptors
—2x psycannon
Justicar - daemonhammer

Stormraven:
—TLLC
—TLMM

ELITE
Venerable Psyfleman Dreadnaught


Fred's Tyranid Army
HQ
Swarmlord
2x Tyrant Guard

TROOPS
Tervigon

10x Termagant
—Devourer

20x Hormagaunt
—Toxin Sacs

20x Hormagaunt
—Toxin Sacs

17x Genestealer

16x Genestealer

ELITE
Doom of Malantai
Mycetic Spore

3x Hive Guard

3x Hive Guard


We were playing the old corner deployment zone. The three victory conditions were:

• Kill the highest point HQ
• Have the most units within 6" of the center of the table
• Capture & Control


Fred won the roll to go first and put his C&C objective all the way in the very back corner of his deployment zone.

Fred deploys the Swarmlord in the middle of the board behind a big LOS blocking terrain piece in the middle of the table. Hive guard units are on either side. The Tervigon is on my left towards my smaller area of my triangle. Devilgants are behind the Swarmlord. Finally the Hormagaunts were in a line along his deployment zone and another group a little farther back. The Doom was in reserve along with one outflanking genestealer brood. The other large genestealer brood infiltrated.

I placed my objective in the middle of my deployment zone because of all the outflanking genestealers and the need to get to the middle of the table.

I placed my Strike Squad next to a piece of terrain opposite his right flank with the Tervigon and gaunts. I placed the GKT and dreadnaught behind the terrain. The interceptors were placed to the right of the terrain. Mordrak and the Librarian embarked in the Stormraven deployed a little farther back out of range from Fred's Hive Guard range over to my right. The Purifiers embark in their rhino behind the Interceptors.

The Interceptors and the psyfleman were scoring (roll of 4 for the Grand Strategy).

I am thinking this is going to be an uphill battle. It will be very tough to claim the center of the table without everything wiped out. Also it will be hard to kill the Swarmlord and get a scoring unit over to his C&C objective. Oh well maybe I can kill off enough Tyranids and send the Interceptors over there.

Fred places his infiltrating genestealers 18" away form my Strike Squad (in terrain).

I fail to seize the initiative.


Tyranids - Turn 1
Everything moves forward. The Tervigon poops out ten gants but rolls doubles and is done. The gaunts head for Fred's objective. Everything except the Hive Guard runs forward. The Hive Guard kill one Strike and one Interceptor. The Tervigon gives the genestealers FNP... Great - genestealers in cover with FNP. There will be lots of charges the next turn.

Grey Knights - Turn 1
I am at a quandary. The way Fred has set up it's forcing me into the little leg of my triangle. Either I can fall back and shoot and hope for bad fleet rolls or I can move forward and take the fight to them. I decide to do a little of both. Both the Strikes and Interceptors cast Warp Quake anticipating Doom coming in the next turn. The Strikes fall back and shoot at the infiltrating genestealers. The Interceptors move forward 12" towards the leftmost gaunts and shoot them. Everyone else backs up and begins to blast genestealers. Mordrak gets out with his Ghost Knights and the Librarian - they target genestealers as well. The Stormraven knowing it will soon be a burning wreck targets the Swarmlord with all the missiles, multi-melta and the lascannon. I do two wounds to the Swarmlord and one to a Tyrant Guard. The Interceptors kill a few Hormagaunts. Everyone else unloads on the genestealers and I kill maybe like seven after all is said and done. The Interceptors charge the Hormagaunts killing most of them after No Retreat saves - there are three left. This was my first big mistake - I should have shot more at them. If I could have wiped them out and the Interceptors could have got away. Now I have to move in and will be in range of the Swarmlord next turn.


Tyranids - Turn 2
Here comes all the Tyranids! The genestealers come on in my right table edge and move forward. The Doom drops down on my right between the Interceptor combat and the rest of my army. It is out of range for Leech Essence due to fear of mishap. The other genestealers move forward to hopefully get a charge off on the Strikes. Hormagaunts surge forward followed by the Swarmlord moving to get a charge in the Interceptors. The Tervigon and devilgaunts move forward. The spawned gants go sit on Fred's home objective. I cast the Shrouding. The Hive Guard combine to blow up the Stormraven. Doom shoots at the GKT but does nothing. The devilgaunts drop a terminator. Everything else fleets. I then cast Sanctuary. The genestealers assault the Strikes losing maybe two to dangerous terrain. Swarmy goes and talks to the Interceptors. The Swarmlord puts a hurt on the Interceptors killing six of them but they finish off the gaunts. I am able to down the injured Tyrant Guard and put another wound on the Swarmlord... And of course I pass my leadership test. The genestealers swing after the Strikes so I am able to cut the genestealers down to manageable numbers but I'm still take a beating. I think the genestealers are left at about five models and there are four Strikes left.

Grey Knights - Turn 2
The GKT and Ghost Knights turn around to try and shoot the outflanking genestealers who of course are in cover.... The dreadnought gets ready to go in and help out the Strikes. The Interceptors prepare to meet the Emperor. The Ghost Knights, GKT and the two psycannons from the Purifiers shoot down around four genestealers. The dreadnaught and the Strikes finish off the other genestealers leaving me without a DCCW and two more Strikes. The Interceptors are finished off.


Grey Knights - Turn 3
Here comes all the Tyranids again. The devilgants finish off the Strikes, Hive Guard finish off the dreadnaught and destroy the Purifiers' rhino. Doom drops a template on the Purfiers but nothing happens. Everyone else moves forward and fleets - however due to difficult terrain and sanctuary there are no charges.

Grey Knights - Turn 3
It is looking bleak. I have lost both the Strikes and the Interceptors along with the Stormraven, dreadnaught and the rhino. Well Mordrak usually winds up laying in a pile of his comrades' bodies so why should this be any different? I have the Swarmlord, 13 genestealers, a bunch of Hormagaunts, the Doom and whatever the Hell else coming straight at me.

I move forward I am able to multi-charge the Swarmlord, Doom and Hormagaunts with the Librarian, GKT and themPurifiers. Mordrak and his Ghost Knights charge the genestealers. Thus ensues a huge combat - I lose the Librarian, two GKT and three of the Purifiers. However I kill 14 gaunts, one Tyrant Guard and put another wound on old Swarmy (by the way the Swarmlord rolled abysmally killing>>^> only one Grey Knight). The Swarmlord, Doom and the gaunts all die to No Retreat saves. The Ghost Knights kill about seven genestealers take some casualties. I am left with one Ghost Knight and a wounded Mordrak. They passes morale with five genestealers left.


Tyranids - Turn 4
Well that was quite a blow to Fred but he still has all of his shooting left. The devilgants polish off the Purifiers while the Hive Guard finish off the GKT. I kill all but one of the genestealers, lose the last Ghost Knight and take another wound on Mordrak.

Grey Knights - Turn 4
Modrak kills the last genestealer and makes his peace with the Emperor.


Tyranids - Turn 5
Mordrak dies in a hail of deadly Tyranid firepower.


Conclusion
It was an uphill game from the beginning and I made a couple of tactical mistakes. I should have shot more at the gaunts and that might have freed up the Interceptors. I also set up poorly and was in combat too early. Oh well it was a great game.


So another big win for Tyranids versus a solid Grey Knight army - it can be done.

Nick Navanti at the Colonial GT • Tyranids vs. Draigowing (1850)


I've known Nick for quite some time and I believe I'm the only member of the 40k Wrecking Crew to have actually won a game versus this young genius from New Jersey. I avidly follow his blog which you can find here over on my blog roll (The Brown Paintbrush). Nick won one of the NOVA events last summer (Grey Knights) and has been playing Tyranids for a long time - as least as far back as 4th edition. As the title says this batrep features Nick's Tyranids versus Draigowing.

I brought my Tyranids to the Colonial GT this past weekend in New Jersey, which was a fantastic event... I highly reccomend you guys check it out. My friends and I ended up taking the entire top five spots.

Note that Nick ended up in 5th place overall. The top four armies were as follows:

• Dark Eldar
• Grey Knights
• Sisters of Battle
• Necrons

Here's the list I brought:

HQ
Tyrant Guard- lash whips

Elites
2x Hive Guard
2x Hive Guard
8x Ymgarl Genetealers


Troops
10x termagant
10x termagant
Tervigon - adrenal glands, toxin sacs, cluster spines, catalyst
Tervigon - adrenal glands, toxin sacs, cluster spines, catalyst


Heavy Support
Trygon - adrenal glands
Trygon - adrenal glands
Trygon - adrenal glands


It's my standard 1850 point list which I've played easilly 100+ times. I know this army better than my Grey Knights and my Daemons combined, which I'm sure is a direct correlation to the list's success.

Round 1 I got paired up against a Draigowing list in a kill point mission.

Here is the abbreviated GK list:

Draigo
Librarian - lots of psychic powers + 3x servo skull

10x Paladins
—4x psycannons
—2x daemonhammer
—warding stave
—4x halberd
—3x sword
—Brotherhood Banner
(all diversified for complex wound allocation)

Paladin - daemonhammer
Paladin - halberd

3x Venerable Psyfleman

There was a lot of area terrain all over the board.

Looking at his list and the fact that it was kill points and spearhead for deployment I figured there was no reason for me to win. I won the roll to go first and took it. I deployed in my standard fashion with all of my monsters behind a gaunt wall ready to run right at him... The Ymgarls were put in a terrain piece where they could multi-assault two of the Venerables deads or the solo Paladins if they came up.

The mission had special rules making the first three turns of the game Night Fight so his dreadnaughts were deployed far up the board with the Paladins. The 2 solo Paladins were deep striking.

On my turn 1 I felt that I had two options:

• Run away, hope to snipe off the solo Paladins and hope the Yrmgarl genestealers kill the dreads and barely win on kill points...
• Or run at him nd make a game out of it


After considering my options and realizing that regardless of how bad I lost I would get 7 kill points at most I figured I should at least play for the win. So everything ran at him, I FNP the Swarmlord and a Trygon then immobilized a Venerable with my Hive Guard.

My plan for this game was simple:

• Multi-assault the Paladins with all three Trygons and the Swarmlord (plus the gaunts or genestealers to tie up the hammers and halberds)...
• Or try to kill the other 5 kill points in his army and not die

Either option was not going to be easy.


On his turn 1 he walked back a little ( I was really hoping he would take the bait and charge at me) and shot one Trygon down to three wounds (without FNP).

On my turn 2 my Ymgarls failed to show up... so I pressed forward with the gaunt wall. I FNP the Trygon with three wounds left (making it unappealing to shoot but still appealing for the kill point) and the Swarmlord. My guns mostly bounced off the dreads thanks to Night Fight. I did manage to paroxize the paladins with swarmlord., bringing them down to WS1 and BS1.

On his turn 2 a solo Paladin with the hammer showed up and deepstruck near his big block of Paladins. It was very close to where the Ymgarls would show up, although my opponent didn't know that at the time. He walked his big Paladin unit into the center of his deployment zone and put every model in a forest.  He continued to shoot the FNP Trygon but it survived with one wound left.

On my turn 3 my Ymgarls showed up and multi-assaulted the solo Paladin and a dreadnaught, killing the Paladin (worst possible moment to trade kill points). I also spawn gauts with a Tervigon. The gaunts walk up and so does a healthy Trygon and the Swarmlord. They all charge a dreadnaught that was about 6" in fron of his Paladin deathstar. I actually failed to kill the dread though... damn Venerable!

My plan was to use the consolidation to move the Trygon and Swarmlord back using the gaunts in front to screen.

Since I failed to kill the dread I had to consolidate the unengaged gaunts and since when I moved them they were strung out in a conga line! His Paladins could still assault around them but he would need a total of 12" on two different difficult terrain rolls.

Here's where I think my opponent made a fatal mistake. He charged the Paladins into the Ymgarls slaughtering them all. However, if he multi-assaulted the Ymgarls and the gaunts (a very easy task) he could have made the whole combat a multi-assault in which my monsters would lose by about 10 and then get pulled into combat with the Paladins where they would quickly meet their fate to double Hammer Hand and auto activating force weapons.

But as it was he assaulted the Ymgarls and killed them, he also shot away the Trygon with one wound left, and I finished off the dread from the previous turn, consolidating torwards his other dread.

His last solo Paladin also showed up behind my army. I assume he didn't think I would turn around and split my army to deal with it but against Draigowing every single kill point matters so I was more than happy to kill the Paladin even if it meant placing my Trygon out of position. I didn't realize that that Paladin had a halberd and would strike before my trygon though, thankfully he failed to wound and my Trygon killed it.

My Swarmlord and Trygon walked away from the Paladins and charged another dreadnaught, killing it as well. They then consolidated even further from the Paladins. The gaunts that I spawned got right in front of the Paladins, hopefully keeping them from moving anywhere useful.

Going into his bottom of turn 4 I'm up 4 kill points to 2.

On his turn 4 he said he wanted to disengage Draigo form the Paladins (so the Paladins could shoot something while Draigo killed the gaunts, but he ended his movement phase in coherency with the Paladins. I allowed him to fix this in the assault phase and charge the gaunts anyway, killling them. The last dread and Paladins shot a Tervigon and left it with only one wound.

On my turn 5 the Tervigon FNP itself and ran away - 6" back plus 6" run getting out of range and and out of sight. My Hive Guard then failed to kill the last dread.

On his turn 5 he failed to kill my Hive Guard who were in cover and had FNP.

The game ended there 4-3 with me up by one kill point - a minor win for the Nids with no bonus points.  I'm very pleased about the result for such a terrible match up given the mission.

Well played indeed. Here are some of Nick's thoughts on Tyranids:

Tyranids are a fine army, their only real problem is that they pretty much auto lose to dark eldar. Another problem is that there are a lot of terrible choices in the book - lictors, pyrovores, rippers etc... There are only a handful of good units, and the army relies on them to carry it.

The thing I enjoy about Tyranids is that they are a tactical army much more than a beat stick. They rely more heavily on unit synergies than any other army in 40k and require patience and understanding to work. I'd put the current Tyranid book around the same place in power level as vanilla Marines, Chaos Space Marines, eldar, daemons, Tau, Sisters of Battle, Dark Angels and orks. To beat any of the other armies (Blood Angels, Imperial Guard, dark eldar, Space Wolves, Black Templars and Grey Knights) you have to play better than your opponent.

Another requirement for Tyranids is to completely and utterly understand how the assualt phase works and the intricacies of the movements and placements within this phase. Tyranids are an assault army without grenades and must rely on well placed assaults and multi-charges to win the battle. If you don't know this section of the rules thoroughly and know how to utilize these rules properly you will lose.

Tyranids are actually my favorite army to play, because they are actually incredibly versatile and can deal with almost all situations in different ways. I would certainly have no issues with bringing them to any GT if it wasn't for dark eldar, which admitedly is pretty much an auto loss. In fact I still bring them to GTs a lot of the time and they perform quite well.

Long story short they are a difficult army to play and are incredibly rewarding, but to win with them takes a lot of practice and mastery of not only the rules but also of the unit synergies.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Upcoming Guest Tyranid Batreps


I have recently read two awesome Tyranid batreps. One is by Nick Navanti who won one of the NOVA tournaments last year and has been playing Tyranids for a long time. Nick's batrep is from the recent Conflict GT and features a battle versus Draigowing. The other batrep is from Greg Swanson and as a twist he played his Grey Knights versus Fred Fortman's Tyranids. Both of the Tyranid armies feature the Swarmlord.

I feel like Tyranids are doing a bit better this year... Maybe that is just me though since I am obviously biased towards the Hive Mind. Anyways keep an eye peeled here an you'll see both batreps soon.

WolfStar + RazorFang ver. 2.0 (2k)



Here is the latest list based upon the good feedback.


HQ
Wolf Lord (285)
  • Storm Shield
  • Thunder Hammer
  • Runic Armour
  • Wolf Tail Talisman
  • Wolftooth Necklace
  • Thunderwolf Mount
  • Saga of the Bear

1x Fenrisian Wolf

Wolf Guard Battle Leader (205)
  • Storm Shield
  • Runic Armour
  • Wolftooth Necklace
  • Thunderwolf Mount
  • Wolf Claw

1x Fenrisian Wolf

Rune Priest (100)
  • Jaws of the World Wolf
  • Living Lightning



Fast Attack
3x Thunderwolf Cavalry (270)
  • Mark of the Wulfen + Storm Shield
  • Storm Shield
  • Power Fist + Storm Shield



TROOPS
5x Grey Hunter (135)
  • Plasma gun
  • Plasma Pistol 15

Rhino

5x Grey Hunter (175)
  • Mark of the Wulfen
  • Meltagun

Razorback
  • Dozer Blade
  • Twin-Linked Lascannon


5x Grey Hunter (175)
  • Mark of the Wulfen
  • Meltagun

Razorback
  • Dozer Blade
  • Twin-Linked Lascannon


5x Grey Hunter (175)
  • Mark of the Wulfen
  • Meltagun

Razorback
  • Dozer Blade
  • Twin-Linked Lascannon



ELITES
3x Wolf Guard (129)
Plasma Pistol + Power Fist
Combi-Meltagun + Power Fist
Bolt Pistol + Power Fist


HEAVY SUPPORT
5x Long Fang (170)
  • 2x Lascannon
  • 3x Missile Launcher


5x Long Fang (170)
  • 2x Lascannon
  • 3x Missile Launcher

WolfStar + RazorFang (2k) now w. Psychic Support

HQ
Wolf Lord (285)
  •         Runic Armor
  •         Thunderhammer
  •         Storm Shield
  •         Wolf Tail Talisman
  •         Wolftooth Necklace
  •         Thunderwolf Mount
  •         Saga of the Bear

1x Fenrisian Wolf

Wolf Lord (265)
  •         Runic Armor
  •         Wolf Claw
  •         Storm Shield
  •         Wolf Tail Talisman
  •         Wolftooth Necklace
  •         Thunderwolf Mount
  •         Saga of the Warrior Born

Rune Priest (100)
-        Living Lightning & Jaws of the World Wolf


Fast Attack
3x Thunderwolf Cavalry (270)
  •         Mark of the Wulfen + Storm Shield
  •         Power Fist + Storm Shield
  •         Storm Shield


Troops
5x Grey Hunter (160)
  •         Mark of the Wulfen
  •         Wolf Standard
  •         Plasma gun
  •         Plasma Pistol
R Rhino

5x Grey Hunter (185)
  •         Mark of the Wulfen
  •         Wolf Standard
  •         Meltagun

Razorback: Dozer Blade + Twin-Linked Lascannon

5x Grey Hunter (185)
  •         Mark of the Wulfen
  •         Wolf Standard
  •         Meltagun

Razorback: Dozer Blade + Twin-Linked Lascannon


Elite
3x Wolf Guard Pack (124)
  •         2x Combi-Meltagun + Power Fist
  •         Bolt Pistol + Power Fist


Heavy Support
5x Long Fang (210)
  •         2x Lascannon
  •         3x Missile Launcher

Razorback

5x Long Fang (210)
  •         2x Lascannon
  •         3x Missile Launcher

Razorback

Monday, April 09, 2012

WolfStar + RazorFang (2k)



Okay here is the first shot at a list (2k):

Wolf Lord (285)
Storm Shield + Thunder Hammer + Runic Armour + Wolf Tail Talisman + Wolftooth Necklace + Thunderwolf Mount + Saga of the Bear
1x Fenrisian Wolf

Wolf Lord (275)
Storm Shield + Runic Armour + Wolf Tail Talisman + Wolftooth Necklace + Thunderwolf Mount + Wolf Claw + Saga of the Warrior Born
1x Fenrisian Wolf

Thunderwolf Cavalry (270)
Mark of the Wulfen + Storm Shield; Sorm Shield; Power Fist + Storm Shield

5x Grey Hunter (185)
Mark of the Wulfen + Wolf Standard + Meltagun
Razorback - Dozer Blade + Twin-Linked Lascannon

5x Grey Hunter (185)
Mark of the Wulfen + Wolf Standard + Meltagun
Razorback - Dozer Blade + Twin-Linked Lascannon

5x Grey Hunter (185)
Mark of the Wulfen + Wolf Standard + Meltagun
Razorback - Dozer Blade + Twin-Linked Lascannon

Wolf Guard Pack (124)
Wolf Guard - Combi-Meltagun + Power Fist
Wolf Guard - Combi-Meltagun + Power Fist
Wolf Guard - Bolt Pistol + Power Fist

5x Long Fang (245)
Lascannon x2 50 + Missile Launcher x3
Razorback - Twin-Linked Lascannon

5x Long Fang (245)
Lascannon x2 50 + Missile Launcher x3
Razorback - Twin-Linked Lascannon


9 lascannons (4x twin linked)
6x missile

Sunday, April 08, 2012

RTT Results



I got to play in an RTT yesterday over in Tampa. They used the NOVA mission format which I enjoyed - it's similar to the BeakyCon mission format except that if you win the primary objective you win the mission - if you draw on the primary then secondary is the first tie breaker and tertiary is the second tie breaker. I like the BeakyCon mission better because it really eliminates bad matchups as I'll explain below.

As it turns out all three games were versus good friends I often play so we are very familiar with each others' armies. The first game was versus Chris Winan's Imperial Guard and the primary objective was kill points. Deployment was Dawn of War. As you've probably guessed I brought my Tyranids - which I had to tweak a bit to scale down to an 1850 point list. Kill points versus shooty mech armies are a bad matchup for my Tyranids and Chris was smart, castling his army in one corner of his deployment zone making sure to keep all his armor beyond the range of my Hive Guard. You do have to win by at least a margin of three kill points to grab that objective so the NOVA system does give you a bit of a break in that regard... Still it was not enough for me though and my dice let me down on some key rolls. I suppose I could have played it very conservative and castled as well hoping that my Tyrannofex could pop enough tanks for the win or force a tie breaker on objective markers. I did manage to win the secondary (objective markers) and drew on the tertiary (table quarters)... Every little bit can count.

The second game was versus Mat Douthat's Space Wolves which features a Wolfstar lead by two Wolf Lords. We play each other a lot during the week nights and I've posted some batreps here. We are fairly even in our games and the last time I played Mat at an RTT I lost a very close game versus his Grey Knights. The primary was objective markers and NOVA uses five - one in the center of each table quarter and one in the center of the table. Deployment was Pitched Battle. Mat decided to hold his entire army in reserve at the last moment which came back to bite him as his Wolfstar did not come in from reserves until the fifth turn and his Long Fangs did not arrive until the fourth turn. So it was a fairly easy victory as my Hive Tyrant had a field day since there were no SW units that could really hurt him. I scored the primary, secondary and tertiary this game - moving back up in the rankings.

The third and final game was versus Scott Lester's Grey Knights (three Stormravens loaded for Grizzly Bears). Scott and I have played lots of games at local RTTs so I knew I would have to play smart. The primary was table quarters, secondary was objective markers and the tertiary was kill points. Deployment was Spearhead. This might sound like a bad matchup for my army and it is in many ways but my goal was to play the mission and not worry about trying to kill lots of Grey Knights. Again I faced an army that I only had one unit that could touch his armor (my Tyrannofex) - Scott was smart and kept the fliers all close together, moving flatout and casting the Shrouding with his Librarian inside the central Stormraven... It doesn't get much easier than that in my opinion.

I had to hope I'd get in one lucky shot before his Stormravens could shoot down the Tyrannofex using PotMS... He did make a mistake one turn and got too close to my Hive Guard (hiding behind a bunker... Heh) - I scored one penetrating hit then rolled a 1 on the armor penetration table... Oh well. I knew that Scott was focused on blasting my Tyranids and keeping all his infantry embarked in the Stormravens meant he could only hold a relatively small number of objective markers and at most be in three of the four table quarters. I brought in my genestealers behind cover in the table quarter beside my deployment zone hugging the board edge and going to ground for the 3++... Sometimes it is more important to make your saves than inflict wounds. I also dropped my Zoanthropes over beside the genestealers to act as a distraction and draw fire. The fifth turn rolled around and I decided to take a calculated risk moving my Prime and his Warriors along with my termagant brood out from behind cover into the adjacent table quarter (note I went second this game). I then rolled to see if the game would end and up popped a 2! A quick count showed we were tied on table quarters and a lone Broodlord stood defiantly beside an objective marker while there were no Grey Knights beside any... A close win for the Tyranids... But wait... NOVA has six fixed turns - someone earlier (not the TO) had told me it was five turns then random game length... Geez what a disappointment. I conceded the game then as I had already moved a lot of my units and didn't think it would be kosher to ask to move them back again and replay the fifth turn. It was my fault as I should have more closely read all of the mission rules... It is what it is and now I know. Hee. No big deal really.

So I ended up with one win and two losses - all three games were versus the Big Three - Imperial Guard, Space Wolves and finally Grey Knights. I know some of my detractors will say that this is proof my army is not competitive BUT stop to consider all three games were versus friends who know my army inside out - Imperial Guard (Chris) took 1st place and Grey Knights (Scott) took 2nd place. Scott even told me his army was designed to deal with my Tyranid army. So I'm not discouraged and look at it as part of the learning experience. If I had known it was six turns maybe I could have won the game versus Grey Knights - as I pointed out Scott was very intent upon killing Tyranids. Most players won't have these kind of advantages in my opinion. Sure anyone who is a smart player will figure out how to counter my army but I don't think it's necessarily that easy for people unfamiliar with my brand of Tyranids.

It was a fun day playing three games with good friends and overall a well run tournament. I like the NOVA mission format but still favor the BeakyCon method since I think it provides a more equal setting versus the various armies people are playing now. On a final note my good buddy John Lennon brought his Tyranids as well and went 2-1... Pretty cool.

Guest Batrep from Sam - Tyranids vs. Blood Angels (long)


Email in from Sam...

Sam sent me an email this weekend with his batrep versus a mechanized BA army. Its a great report with lots of detailed information and play-by-play action. Sam is playing a reserved Tyranid army. I will post some running comments throughout his batrep along with some thoughts on his army list and the batrep at the end.



Hello Black Bow Fly

Been following your blog for a while now, especially your entries about reserve Nids.  Being a long-time Nids player myself, I found myself gravitating to that kind of list as well, especially after acquiring some really nice Mycetic Spore models.

I played a nice game yesterday versus Blood Angels, and welcome your thoughts on it.

The game was 1750 points, one side was attacker (me), one defender.  It was pure objective-based and all 3 of them were in the defenders deployement zone! To compensate for this, all outflank and deep strike rolls for the attacker were made at a +1 bonus! (lol).  Which means that most of my army was going to arrive on a 2+ in turn 2 which is nice (and no, I didn't know the mission beforehand).  This was part of an ongoing team-campaign, so if it seems slightly biased for one side, keep in mind that other people in my team were then defenders in other games and vice versa.

You couldn't ask for better mission rules in my opinion. Being the attacker makes it a lot more fun for you (definitely).

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Your Game Mind & Mental Preparations for Tournaments


Introduction
Question - Do you do anything out of the ordinary to mentally prepare yourself going into a tournament? I once heard someone say they slept with their dice under the pillow the night before to make sure they rolled good the next day - kind of crazy but I have noticed many gamers tend to be a bit superstitious... They like to follow the same set of behavioral patterns and tend to avoid any deviation. Now of course this is obviously not the case for every gamer but you out there that do that know who you are indeed. :P


The Evening Before
I like to spend the evening alone the night before a tournament and meditate. I tend not to think much about 40k and relax. I find that typically I do best as such. It really blows my mind how much some competitive gamers will party nonstop throughout an entire tournament. If I'm at a hotel I'll probably watch a movie or read a book during the evening after dinner... But like I said some gamers don't come back until the crack of dawn and crawl into the sack for a couple hours at most for some shut eye. If I want to party that hard I'll go to Las Vegas for a vacation.


The Morning
I find that the morning of a tournament is important as well. I like to wake up a bit early, have some breakfast and then start to think about playing and psych myself up. If its a local tourney I'll have some heavy metal blasting in my car on the way over to the shop. It really gets my blood flowing and helps me loosen up. For me there is nothing quite like some rousing Arch Enemy or Anthrax at full volume. At big tourneys I know some people sleep in until the last second which is okay but I like to have that time to focus... That is when everything clicks for me. If I can go into my first game mentally prepared I'll probably do alright—the first hurdle is everything for me.


The First Game
I am not one of those guys that goes over every opponent's army list with a fine tooth comb but if something doesn't seem right I'll definitely ask some questions... I am more concerned with studying the table and reading the mission rules. It's very easy to lose a game you could have easily won if you don't closely read the mission and know all the rules.


The Second Game
It might sound funny but sometimes during a one day event at the end of the second game I want to leave (even if I've won the first two games)... I just wait awhile and then the feeling always eventually passes and I've found that's usually when I do my best. If you have won your first game then the results of the second game can place you on a top table for the final round so if this is the situation I try to focus even harder but remain relaxed as possible at the same time. It can be difficult to achieve—more especially so if you didn't get a good night's sleep and I think this is one of the reasons why we see some players inexplicably fold during the final big game... It all goes back to what I said in the beginning - you want to create a state of mind wherein you are fully in control of the situation.


The Third Game and Two Day Tournaments
I'm usually very relaxed if I've won the first two games at a one day event and ready for the final game - see my notes below about how to handle a situation where you've already lost a game or two. If I'm at a GT then I tend to treat the second evening much like I treat the first one... Get to bed early and relax. I find it's good to meditate and not think about 40k—clear your mind.

Some events require you to play four or more games over the course of one day. You really need to reserve your energy in these types of situations or else there is the unfortunate possibility you might lose your focus along the way... Once it's gone it can be quite hard to get back.


Some Tips
I like to crack jokes with my opponents such as humorously suggest the viability of spamming Flash Gitz or Mandrakes. If you are laughing you're probably having a good time... The same applies to your opponent. If you can maintain some level of humor throughout the game it can go a long way. Don't gloat if your opponent rolls some horrid dice. Try not to clam up when the first dice hit the table. There is something very unique about playing a tabletop far away from home and it's a lot better if you AND your opponent are having a good time. I've made some of my best friends playing 40k at tournaments which I think is very cool. If you travel a lot to play it seems you'll invariably end up playing some of the same people.

I really get into my games because I'm very competitive. I know there are some people who come across as very friendly but it can be kind of annoying if you feel it is just an act. My motto is "Always Be Yourself." A competitive game at a tournament can be a fun experience if both players are honest and work with each other to figure out things about the rules whenever an issue arises and they will - and its perfectly okay to ask for a judge to help out - they should be able to do that. If you are unsure about any rule make sure it's clarified immediately... Don't wait a turn or two then try to go back and resolve it — the best managers have transparent policies how they treat their employees and handle issues... I think this approach is certainly the best for gaming as well.

One of my long time mantras is never change up your army list the night before a tournament - it might seem like a great idea at the time but if it's not properly tested then you might be in for some rude surprises the next day... Sure it can be very tempting but like I said its something I always avoid. I like to play any particular army list at least 100 times before I take it to a tournament—I actually keep a running count how many times I playtest each army and also keep track of every major tweak such as swapping one unit for another. Maybe I suffer from OCD but I've noticed this practice has often lead to good results come tournament time. If something works for me I'll tend to stick with it.

I think it better once you have lost a game and are out of the running to just have fun during the rest of your games. You're probably not going to win anything anyway so it's not worth getting all worked up over how the rest of your games pan out... Try to make some new friends.


Conclusion
I've have illustrated how I like to mentally prepare for a tournament and provided lots of examples based upon my gaming and travel experiences. The main thing is try to have a good time. If you're a competitive gamer then focus on your games - don't let yourself get distracted. The more you play the better you'll become at handling all the various types of situations that commonly occur - eventually they happen to everyone and you want to manage them well. Like I said always try to be yourself.