The Best Army In 40K...and a word from my heart.

On Facebook I recently asked my friends to supply questions for a Q and A post on my other blog. While most of the questions were close to the topic of that blog, there was one question asked by friend and regular GT winner Matt Root which stuck out from the bunch.

He asked…What is the best Warhammer 40K army? I respond with the following 1850 list.

Coteaz

Inquisitor (Psy lvl 1)

4 x 3 Acolyte

2 x 12 Acolyte

2 x Storm Raven (Melta/Lascannon)

3 x Imperial Knight (Paladin or Errant depending on the meta)

I think that the Imperial Knights are really good, especially when you have multiple divination sources also on the table. I think this list overcomes a lot of the issues had by other Imperial Knight lists; lack of scoring units and vulnerability to flyers.

Coteaz and the other Inquisitor deploy in the 12 man units of Acolytes, in order to give them plenty of ‘Look Out Sir’ opportunities, and try and stay out of LOS from enemy units while each spotting a Knight to give it benefits from their psychic storehouse. You can allocate your Knights as Paladin’s and Errants as needed depending on what your local tournament meta looks like.

Two of the three man units of Acolytes deploy in reserves and will hug cover to grab objectives near our own table edge. The other two small units of Acolytes naturally hang out in the Storm Ravens, ready to hop out on objectives in the late game. The Storm Ravens are configured in order to deal lethal damage to other flyers. Their Mindstrike Missiles are also key in handling the other psychic based armies currently seeing play.

I feel this list gives a tactically minded player who is capable of planning movement several turns ahead all the tools they need to overcome any opposing army…or maybe not. I have no idea what makes up a competitive list. In fact, I can’t even remember if allies of convenience can target each other with psychic powers. Other than one game as ringer at the Renegade GT, it has been eleven months since I have played any Warhammer 40K.

 

Last Spring I was coming off of my best string of tournament performances I had ever had. With 3^rd overall at two GT’s, 6-1 at another, and Best Sportsman at Bugeater I was not only at the top of my game but having more fun than ever. Going to gaming stores was less about getting ready for tournaments and more about seeing friends and building up the community.

Last May I graduated from college and began preparing for a year of ministry abroad traveling to eleven countries in the developing world over eleven months with only what I could carry in a backpack. Not only would I be using all three of my degrees but I would also be fully living out my faith and social justice values.

As part of my preparation it became clear in my heart that I needed to give up table top gaming. I already was selling all of my other possessions as part of my fundraising, so it would be out of place that I would hold onto this while casting off the rest of my life. Plus not playing freed up time for me to both get an additional job and spend a greater amount of time preparing mentally and spiritually for what was to come during my year abroad. I played in one final tournament on my birthday; placing third with a silly list that was made up of models borrowed from seven of the gamers who had became my friends thanks to the gaming community.

Then it was over. I had joined the uncounted ranks of former Warhammer players. 

Teaching at a school in El Salvador this March.

Honestly though, I am glad I quit cold turkey. On one hand it was, and will always be, worth it by virtue of making my present life of teaching orphans in El Salvador, working with gang members in Honduras, and speaking messages of freedom in Albania possible; on the other hand, in a less immediate sense, it is a full expression of a truth which hides just beneath the surface and is never fully talked about in our community.

The Warhammer community does a lot of good; Foodhammer, Toys For Tots drives, and numerous events to support members of our gaming family who have faced tragedy. Even the Nova Open has/is becoming a charitable endeavor. Our community is full of bright minds, incalculable skills, and bold hearts which seek a more just world. What if the time, talents, and vast financial resources of our community, rather than being invested in the games we both enjoy and challenge ourselves with were instead applied directly toward curing the ills of the world. What if those events which bring out the best of our community became the focus of our community?

This is not a call for everyone to abandon table top wargaming, I cannot make that decision for everyone, that is for you to discern. I would though challenge you to ask the questions which were in the back of my mind as I rolled dice and sought glory on a miniature battlefield. I encourage you to address with your gamer buddies the elephants in the room.

How do we justify spending the sums we do on models in a world where innocent children are dying every day from starvation? How do we account for the hours spent building and testing lists when that same degree of research and strategy could bring great strides in tangible plans to stop the rampant human trafficking that enslaves a greater number of human beings than were captive at the height of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade? What if the devotion and consistency we applied to reading 40K blogs and listening to Warhammer podcasts was applied to further educating ourselves and generating true civil discourse over these and other issues which challenge our society and world?

These are the elephants in the room at every tournament hall. It may only be now that I am abroad that I physically look into the eyes of the starving and hold the cold fingers of those who could have their lives saved by our community, but I have known for a long time the cost my (our) actions and choices. Maybe you play these games to, “Get a break from the real world,” but to deny that each hobby room contains the resources necessary to change lives is to disregard the empiric fact that if we choose to continue to use our discretionary income in this way then we sentence other human beings to death. To refuse to accept our connection to these issues to use the same defense that has been used by the bystanders who allowed the greatest dehumanizations and violent acts of our world to occur. That is not flagrant hyperbole, that is the true that is before my eyes each day.

Working with the homeless and sick in Guatemala in February.

If you read this and change nothing, keep on playing and enjoying the game that I loved and I look back on with the fondest of nostalgias, then I am sorry. Despite the pain that would place in my heart, I cannot judge, I continued to play and spend and invest my time even though I knew these truths. If this leads something to change, or a conversation to happen in your gamer group though, I would love to hear about it.

If you are interested in contacting me or following my journeys in the developing world, my personal blog at anthonyguidotti.theworldrace.org is the best way of doing so. To those in the community who have supported me and my mission thus far either in prayers, financially, or in another way, I am eternally grateful. To my 40K friends in Minnesota and across the country, this is not the end of our time together, and I look forward to seeing you all once I return.

Anthony “Turn 7 Wargaming” Guidotti

Sofia, Bulgaria

5/12/2014

anthonyguidotti@gmail.com

Developing sustainable agriculture at an orphanage in Honduras in January.

 

PS: To those of Christian faith reading this, I encourage you to read the first part of Colossians 3. This scripture has came up time and time again for me as I debate these issues and the way in which I am called to live my life. That said, I don’t think the points I make here rely on Christian beliefs, but rather are truths that are universal to our global human family.

Bugeater GT List: Nidzilla Tyranids Return!

On top of graduating from college the last few weeks have been filled with a revolving door of armies all vying to be my army for Bugeater. Chaos Daemons, Blood Angels, Chaos Space Marines, Dark Angels, my Orks hit the table in a serious list for the first time in ages, and I even started an Imperial Guard army out of unbuilt models I had sitting around. The only thing I didn’t dust off was my DE. In the end though, after much pushing by defending Bugeater Champion Matt Root, I was back with the bugs. Nidzilla is back!

Hive Tyrant (Wings/2 Twin-Linked Devourers)

Hive Tyrant (Wings/2 Twin-Linked Devourers)

Doom of Malan'Tai (Mycetic Spore)

10 Termagants

10 Termagants

Tervigon (Catalyst/Onslaught/Toxin Sacs)

Tervigon (Catalyst)

3 Biovores

2 Carnifex (2 Twin-Linked Devourers Each)

Trygon (Toxin Sacs)

The meta has changed a ton in the eight months since this army last saw the table. Back then Flyrants couldn't use skyfire, utilizing blobs was only something you heard about in obscure corners of the internet, and a shocking four armies have had a new codex printed. Heldrakes were not even a thing yet. A lot has changed, and this list represents some of those changes.

Blood Angels List: Three Land Raiders and a Blob (and a RTT Report)

I have always like land raider redeemers. The idea of AV 14 bringing a payload of S6 AP3 flamers is far too awesome to not like. I decided to start playing Blood Angels at the tail of 5th strictly because they could bring more redeemers than anyone else. I tested my old list out right when 6th drop, and after it did not perform I put them in a box for eight months, taking them out to play in an 1850 point tournament with only 90 minute rounds because I knew I would be able to play fast. Chaos was giving me much to focus on so I forgot them again. After being disappointed by the abundance of bad matchups for daemons I decided to start looking at the old raiders again. Something was missing though. with changes to FNP in the new edition the assault marines were not cutting it for me. I have always wanted to play with an Al'Rahem outflanking IG blob...and finally the opportunity had presented itself.

Librarian
5 Terminators (5 Thunder Hammer and Storm Shields)
~Land Raider Redeemer (Melta)
5 ASM
~Land Raider Redeemer (Melta)
5 ASM
~Land Raider Redeemer (Melta)
Vindicator (Dozer)

Company Command Squad (Astropath)
Infantry Platoon
~Al'Rahem Platoon Command Squad (Chimera/Vox/2 Melta)
~Infantry Squad (Axe/Vox)
~Infantry Squad (Axe)
~Infantry Squad (Axe)
~Infantry

 Find out how this list is supposed to work after the jump:

Ork List: And Not A Assault Was Given That Day

Woah. Nothing says crazy post Adepticon meta shifts like a random list to end the week. On the way back from the Gt we started talking about some of the things that we do and don't see in orks after seeing both the successes and failings of our nob biker/60 boy teammate. I have for a while been thinking about how to create a full ork shooting list, and used this opportunity to build such a list. Taking suggestions from my other team mates and a friend who won Bugeater last year with Orks we came up with this concoction at 1850.

Warboss (Squig/Armor/Cybork/Klaw/Slugga/Bike)
15 Lootas
15 Lootas
15 Lootas
11 Gretchin (Runtherd)
30 Shoota Boyz
30 Shoota Boyz
30 Shoota Boyz
Dakkajet (Extra Gun)
Dakkajet (Extra Gun)
Dakkajet (Extra Gun)
Skyshield

My thoughts after the jump...

New Chaos Daemon Codex List & Analysis: Part 3 (Chaos Space Marine Allies)

After the nonsense that was fine tuning the Chaos Space Marine/Daemon list of the last few months, I really feel like just having a good time. I enjoyed my list, it played how I liked and allowed me to come from behind to win in many circumstances. Honestly though, it wasn't fun for many of my opponents. At the GT last weekend my round two opponent only had two models left after my second turn (vendetta and a wolf priest) and my third round opponent only had three models left after my third turn (three ork flyers).  I quickly realized it was not a list to bring to friendly games, and if the new codex wasn't just released I would bring it to local tournaments either. While I had fun, if I bring a list to a tournament where we both are having fun, then it will be more enjoyable for the both of us. On top of this, 6th edition is way too rock-paper-scissors right now to rely on a list. A bad draw on the wrong mission makes any amount of mathhammer and playtests void. All we can rely on the "competitive" 40K is skill. I like to think I have some of that, and learning more with every game I play, but since the list matter less now than it ever has I think it is a great time to start having fun in the hobby. This was my teams philosophy when we finally built our list for the Adepticon team tournament. we thought about adding wraiths to our necron players list, but then we said it would be more fun to have a second C'Tan. Yes, it is going to be that much fun.

Speaking of fun, I tested out the daemon list with the Al'Rahem blob, and it was a good time. I spent the night after playing it dreaming of whether I would go for a nurgle-look blob or if I would pick up some dreamforge eisenkern models for a more clean look. I kept looking through the book and reading other's thoughts though and kep fitting new things in, things that pushed the guard out. Sometimes my nidzilla genes act up and I get a lust for flying monstrous creatures. I made a list that had nine juggernauts and four khorne heralds on juggernauts, I couldn't contain the coolness of it. Plus, with the number of conversions I already need to do before Adepticon, building and painting a guard blob is probably a bad idea. So without further build, here is my fun daemon list;

CSM/Daemon List For Dark Star GT and a RTT Report

I have been painting up a storm getting ready for the Dark Star GT which is this weekend. Last year’s Dark Star marked my first venture into Grand Tournament gaming, and with my 5^th edition Tyranids finished tied for 13^th in generalship (though fell to 44^th after factoring in my lack registration points due to signing up through the waitlist and getting second to last in painting). I really feel I can place well this year, A) Because my list might be a bit cheesy (due to the White Dwarf daemons still being legal), B) I have greatly improved as a player this year, and C) my army is fully converted and is already at a three color minimum (with a more forgiving paint rubric than last year). This means I have three days to finish my bases and do enough highlighting to get those points too. I even have a fancy new display board (made from a large portrait from I got at a thrift shop) to help my score in that department. My list, the last hoorah of Tzeentch daemons spam, is similar to what I played at the Indy Open;

Typhus

25 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

6 Havocs (4 Lascannon)

The Masque

9 Flamers of Tzeentch

5 Horrors of Tzeentch

9 Screamers of Tzeentch

Soul Grinder (Phlegm)

Aegis Defense Line (Comms Relay)

It is hard to get motivated to paint some of these models which I don’t plan to use anymore (specifically the Masque and screamers), but all in all I am glad to get some of these models done, especially the zombies, as even before any of their green layers they are looking pretty sick. I had a chance to bring this army to a three round RTT that had 19 players at it, most of which were preparing for the Dark Star.

New Chaos Daemon Codex List & Analysis: Part 2 (Imperial Guard Allies)

Unfortunately the opponent who I had planned to film the battle report with and I did not have time to finish our game, so there will not be a video this week. I will give you a quick summary of the two games I have played and then give a list which is very different from what I have previously suggested; an allied Al'Rahem blob. But first, I will actually provide the conclusions I have came to thus far.

1) The problem is not the horrors, seekers, or heralds. These are working like a charm. The problem is that the rest of the list does not synergize in a way which protects their weaknesses. One of the big reasons for this is that the Great Unclean One, despite his great point cost, is too slow to do anything of note even when deep striking off of an icon and thus is not even targeted by my opponents.

2) My ally is not an efficient use of points. Yes the heldrake is great, but I am paying a huge tax to get it in the list. These are points that are putting me "behind the eight ball."

What I need is an efficient ally who can at a minimum match what I can do with my heldrake and havocs. Enter the traitor imperial guard:

Herald of Slaanesh (Greater Reward/Ex. Loci/Psyker Level 1/Steed)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Locus/Psyker Level 3)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Reward/Psyker Level 3)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Reward/Psyker Level 3)
17 Horrors
10 Plaguebearers
20 Seekers (Heartseeker)

CCS (Astropath/Chimera/3 Meltagun/Vox)
Infantry Platoon 
~1 Squad (Meltagun)
~2 Squad (Meltagun/Power Axe)
~1 Squad (Meltagun/Power Axe/Vox)
~PCS (Al'Rahem/Chimera/3 Meltagun/Vox) 
~1 Special Weapons Squad (3 Flamers)
~Commissar
Vendetta

New Chaos Daemon Codex List & Analysis: Part 1

Three of the top five most read posts on this blog are from my Chaos Space Marine “List Building and Analysis” series. As such it only makes sense that I do the same with Chaos Daemons. I am on a strict timetable as I need to come up with a new list and build and paint the conversions by Adepticon, so look for these posts to be coming in rapid succession!

The new codex means some proxies meet the tabletop.

Knowing I would be at the Indy Open, I preordered a copy of the new codex in Indianapolis.  This meant that while I was painting all night Friday, and on the ten hour drive home, the four of us who made the trip from Minnesota got to make ourselves familiar with the book and start working out some combos. As such not all of the ideas in this post are my own. Extra credit goes to Hulksmash who I have been bouncing ideas off of.

My original plan was to keep the CSM as my primary detachment and just ally the daemons so that I could keep using two heldrakes, but the fact that I cannot put four heralds in a single unit for an allied detachment put that plan to the kibosh. I decided to make a list that included most of the units I wished to try out (excluding Beasts of Nurgle, which as cool as they are happen to be far too pricy).

Check the list out after the jump!

RTT Report: Blood Angels w/ Dark Angels Allies Take On 90 Minute Rounds!

A few Saturdays ago I played in a ‘silly’ RTT at Village Games in Anoka, Minnesota. Why was the even silly? First, being Super Bowl Sunday, only five of us showed up. Second, we found out a few days before the event each round would only be an hour and a half despite the points limit being 1850. Third, though we didn't know this ahead of time, the missions, while from the rulebook, were hilariously described, with us all laughing together as we tried figuring out what we needed to do. With this in mind those of us considering going made a “gentleman’s agreement” to not only bring an army that could play five turns in that amount of time, but also to not bring any daemons. It is worth noting that every game did go at least five turns.

Everyone suspected that I would dust off the old Nidzilla to fill the ‘low model count roll’, but I have been aching to have a reason to bring out my unfinished blood angels, anchored by three land raiders. I spent a while playing with the numbers since I have not used my Angels since the end of 5^th edition, and made a silly list that looked like fun, and hopefully could show that assault angels – of all varieties – could be effective. I introduce…THE ANGELS OF DEATH!

Blood Angels

Mephiston

Chaplain (Meltabombs)

Sanguinary Priest

5 Terminators (5 TH+SS)

~Land Raider Redeemer (Multi-Melta)

5 Assault Marines

~ Land Raider Godhammer

10 Death Company

~Land Raider Redeemer (Multi-Melta)

Dark Angels

Librarian

5 Scouts (Camo Cloaks)

5 Tactical Marines

The essence of the list is three hard hitting assault units in durable vehicles which are also offensively potent. Mephiston, who should be improved by biomancy, deploys with the priest behind the empty Godhammer (as the ASM are in reserve with the other troops). On my first turn they split up, with Mephiston rocking the Godhammer, and the priest joining the terminators and divination librarian in a redeemer. The chaplain naturally rides with the death company. Lets break it down…Mephiston before biomancy will have 6 S6 AP3 attacks on the charge that have the force ability, the Terminators are S9 on the charge and should be durable with a 2+/3++ and FNP, and the death company who will have 55 WS5 S5 attacks on the charge that reroll all to hits and to wound on the charge. The list hits hard, plus the land raiders, sporting either two twin-linked lascannons or two S6 AP3 flamers with assault cannons, are nothing to forget about. The natural weak spot is the scoring units, which are only five marines strong in each. This hopefully can be mitigated by threat vectors and reserves.

I really like the list which has no spam (minus one dedicated transport) and lots of unique was of killing. But how did I do? Check it out after the jump!

Humorous Challenge & Serious Dark Eldar List

Vect: He will run train on your harpies.

A rivalry several days in the making...

I have been thinking a lot about what army I will be playing post Adepticon, knowing that I will most likely be getting burnt out of Chaos Space Marines. I posted an horde Ork and a mostly foot Dark Eldar list to a Minnesota community wargaming group and a skilled, yet admittedly cocky player, believed that my list was poor (which it might be). I wrote a response, but there was something about how he said it that made me want to throw down, so I issued a challenge...

...which was turned down.

I responded that only way I knew how...with an over the top video challenge...On 2/20/13 "American Dream" Turn 7 Wargaming laid down a challenge to a cocky youth who needed to be put in his place. After Twitch (known in some circles as Emo Joe) refused to put his money were his mouth is the "International Superstar" Turn 7 Wargaming had no choice but to make a video to capture his thoughts and let a small portion of his fan base speak their mind. It's a rivalry two days in the making!

More on the lists after the jump!

Defilers, Maulerfiends, and Soul Grinders...Oh My!

A friend who was leaving the hobby invited me over to his place to look through some CSM models to see if there was anything I would be interested in. I already had my early 2013 GT list set for the most part, but figured it was worth a gander. There was some good looking stuff, including conversions that would fit with my army, but I really didn't have the cash to afford models I don't need. Then I saw it...the Forgeworld Nurgle Plague Hulk.

The pictures on the Forgeworld site don't do it justice (partially the bland coloring used on the rotting flesh), this model is superb. My friend also posed it well and modified it so that it would fit on an oval base, making the model sturdier.

So I bought it. The price was low enough that I felt I could fit this monstrosity into my budget. The question was, what would it be used as? I saw three options; a defiler, a maulerfiend, or a soul grinder.

Blood Angels List - Assault Is Not Dead

Last Spring I took a short break from Tyranids and picked up Blood Angels for a change of pace. I typically had two Land Raider Redeemers and on Land Raider Godhammer in each list. The army was my first foray into power armor and was a refreshing change. They even appeared at two tournaments, finishing 2-1 at both. Blood Angels have not gotten much talk though since sixth came out. I have been playing around with this list since this summer, but with last week’s 11^th Company discussion of the army and Hulksmash’s similar yet independently developed list I think it is time for me to post my version of the BA Air Assault.

Librarian (Epistolary)

Chaplain

Sanguinary Priest

5 Terminators (5 TH/SS)

11 Death Company

Death Company Dreadnought (Blood Talons)

Death Company Dreadnought (Blood Talons)

10 Tactical Marines (Lascannon)

10 Tactical Marines (Lascannon)

Stormraven (TL Lascannon/TL Multi-Melta)

Stormraven (TL Lascannon/TL Multi-Melta)

Bastion (Comms Relay)

1850 Points

Chaos Space Marine Analysis and List Building: Part Four

This series of posts has been composed a few paragraphs at a time over the last week as I have begun the journey of learning a new book, and play style, as I move away from tyranids this next tournament season. Rather than changing previous ideas or reworking this post I have left it as is. I feel that is shows the process I use while creating and testing lists as well as providing insight behind why I am and will continue to make the list building choices I have been. This is part four of four interconnected posts.

This next week a prep league for a GT in my area (and adepticon too) will start up, and after not being able to answer Grey Knights and select Imperial Guard build with my Tyranids I have spent the last few weeks seeing if building up (and converting) a Chaos Space Marine army would be a viable choice for Adepticon. This decision was not fully about simply being competitive and winning, as there are a lot of things that this book gives me to try and convert on top of allowing me to paint in a grimy gory style I have wanted to try, but being at least as good with Nidzilla seems a reasonable standard. I now believe I have found a list that meets both of these requirements.

  

The List

Typhus

33 Cultists

10 Cultists

10 Cultists

10 Cultists

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

6 Havocs (4 Lascannon)

6 Havocs (4 Lascannon)

6 Havocs (4 Lascannon)

Masque

9 Flamers of Tzeentch

5 Plaguebearers of Nurgle

Aegis Defense Line (Quad Gun)

The only small change after two games was dropping three cultists for an extra guy in the last havoc squad. It is a pretty simple list. Mass lascannons give me a big presence in terms of ranged firepower and by turn two most games I have three units with flame templates that ignore the armor of most everything, plus a Herald that allows me to move my opponents units into the right position to be hit by said templates. It also has five scoring units that all have FNP and are fearless.

More after the jump...

Chaos Space Marine Analysis and List Building: Part Three

This series of posts has been composed a few paragraphs at a time over the last week as I have begun the journey of learning a new book, and play style, as I move away from tyranids this next tournament season. Rather than changing previous ideas or reworking this post I have left it as is. I feel that is shows the process I use while creating and testing lists as well as providing insight behind why I am and will continue to make the list building choices I have been. This is part three of four interconnected posts.

So after I made two Chaos Space Marine lists in part two, I started playing theory hammer in my head, and decided I value the high rate of fire of the autocannons over the potential utility of the terminators. Ideally the 16 S7 shots would be able to work toward replacing the 24 S6 shots that I normally get out of my Carnifex units. I tested the second list (with the small shift in dropping the Icon of Wrath for the 4^th autocannon in the second havoc squad) against a Tyranid list with two flying combat hive tyrants, two trygon primes, doom of malan’tai, five hive guard, one genestealer squad with a broodlord, and a lot of hormagaunts.

We rolled up the relic and vanguard strike with night fight in effect. I went first and killed one hive guard with all my shooting (nearly all of his army was in cover, and both Tyrants were either out of line of site or out of my range). He had iron arm on both tyrants, with his warlord being T9 all but one turn of the game. I moved my zombie horde forward as well as my biker gang, leaving them on the middle line behind my aegis. His shooting did very little, and he progressed toward the middle.

Chaos Space Marine Analysis and List Building: Part Two

This series of posts has been composed a few paragraphs at a time over the last week as I have begun the journey of learning a new book, and play style, as I move away from tyranids this next tournament season. Rather than changing previous ideas or reworking this post I have left it as is. I feel that is shows the process I use while creating and testing lists as well as providing insight behind why I am and will continue to make the list building choices I have been. This is part two of four interconnected posts.

I got a third game it trying out a few new units. I played against Tyranids and it went quite badly. My biker unit had only passed three 3+ saves by the time they all died, and between both Heldrake's I only got to shoot once because he was rocking the Quad-Gun so well. I also received my non-preferred wave on the daemons. Neither Maulerfiend got into combat either before being wrecked. In other words, it was pretty rough. 

Here are my thoughts on some of the units I tried out;

Pyrovores at a GT? My Midwest Massacre List

I clearly should not ever say what I will post when, as my life of being a college senior who is both triple majoring and working full time is not conducive to being able to set a firm writing schedule. But you don’t care about my lovely life; you want to know why anyone in their right mind would bring pyrovores to a GT.

The answer is simple. Pyrovores fill several holes in my current list.

Oh, that isn’t a good enough answer? Lets look at what 45 points gets you. S4 and T4 is a bit low for that cost, but 2W and a 4+ isn’t bad. The key here is that each pyrovore is a walking heavy flamer, plus its close combat attacks ignore armor (thought at I1 and 1A you don’t want to be fighting man to man. My concept is that my list is prepared to engage targets and finish them, against hordes my big expensive beasts get stuck in. Dropping 3 pyrovores in a mycetic spore will do a huge number to anything not in power armor. Using them in this way also gives me two units for line breaker and lets me put   accurate pressure deep behind enemy lines.

Chaos Daemon/Chaos Space Marine List: Can't Beat Em? Join Em!

Note - I have not read today's FAQ release. Thus there could be errors in this article.

On Monday I posted a video of my Nidzilla army getting trashed by a Chaos Daemon flying circus. Yesterday I talked about how I would take down Daemon lists in the future. Today I practice the old phrase, “If you can’t beat them, join them!”

There is a little more than that though. A) In 5^th I played full reserve Tyranids, so I have an affinity for deep strike armies that get in your opponent’s face. B) I love converting. With my DE, all of my wracks were built from random bits I got online (Empire, Skaven, Ork, High Elves, Warriors of Chaos, etc), not to mention my tervigons which frequently draw the question of whether they are a new forgeworld unit. Converting is something I truly enjoy. I believe Daemons have more conversion potential than any other army made by GW. For this reason I firmly believe one day I will have a fully converted daemon army.

Those facts said, Daemons are also really powerful right now. Both 6^th edition and the White Dwarf update gave the Chaos Daemons a huge boost. That naturally does provide some incentive to play around with the new possibilities. Jim who is known as Jy2 on Dakka came up with a strategy called Maximum Threat Overload with his Necrons. His theory, which won him the first GT of 6^th edition, was that if you put enough fast threats on the table your opponent could not afford to take out your low quality/low volume troops due to the damage you could potentially deal if your other units where not dealt with. I wanted to try a list that does this more effectively than my bugs. Two caveats; A) I have never played chaos and could fully be off on everything I say, and B) the only Daemon lists I know is the Daemon/IG build used by Hulksmash and Jeff/Pat’s (11^th Company) flying circus lists. Any semblance to other builds people are purporting is purely coincidence. Oh and C) there may be spam ahead ;).

Tyranids and Fortifications: Two Lists

As readers may know, earlier this month I moved back to MN from California. If moving into a new place isn’t enough, I have been training for my new contract at work 60 hours each of these last two weeks. All of this means I have not had much time for writing. I have been able to play in two tournaments, placing 4^th and 5^th out of a field of 15 and 16 respectively. I have tried some new things including zoanthropes and hormagaunts which I will be writing about in the future. Today I have two sample lists involving fortifications.

I have not yet used any fortifications yet in 6^th, but I have faced them, and I recognize two that could significantly benefit Tyranids. The first is the skyshield landing pad. While the unfurled benefit of not scattering is great for players who make extensive use of deep striking, the real benefit is when the landing pad is shielded. This rule gives all models on top of the landing pad (which if the picture to the right is any indication could be my full 2000 point list) a 4+ invulnerable save against shooting attacks. Note that that is not a cover save, but an invulnerable save. This is huge from the Tyranid perspective as getting a 50% chance to shrug a wound off a T6 monster who often wouldn’t be getting an obscured save is huge. The biggest issue I have had so far this edition has been weathering shooting when I am going second, so this is huge! The downside is that many events, including the rapidly approaching Midwest Massacre, are not allowing the skyshield. If I could bring he skyshield my list would look like;

Nidzilla and Flying Tyrants in 6th: Changes To My List

Have no fear brave readers, battle reports from the Golden Throne are coming. I will be moving from CA to MN next week, and so I have blogger scheduled to automatically post one each morning while I am driving across the country. While today is not directly about Golden Throne, I will be utilizing things I learned at that event as I tweak my 1500 point list for an RTT this weekend in Pasadena.

So what was the weak point of my list? This may come as a shock...but it was the flying hive tyrant.

For all the love flying monstrous creatures are getting, I kid you not, they are not nearly as good as other fliers. I had four of my six opponents comment on how easy the flyrant took wounds. He was also underwhelming in close combat. Here is a highlight list of bad things that happened to him;

6th Edition Tyranid Flying Hive Tyrant List (And A Quick Game Against Blood Angels)

This weekend I will be playing in an RTT down in Pasadena, and I have made some changes to my 1500 point Tyranid list compared to how it looked in Stockton right after the new rule book came out. First, I want to be able to try out a flying hive tyrant. I would run two of these guys in 5^th, so it seems silly that I wouldn’t bring them out when new rules are giving them a boost. The flyrant will also give me another chance to try out the random psychic powers.

This is what happens when you don't kill the Flyrant. All your models disappear (into its belly).

 

The bad news is that adding the big bad guy himself at 1500 means I have to drop the hive guard and the prime and left me a spare 40 points laying around. I filled the loose points by adding catalyst to the HQ tervigon and giving the tyrant hive commander. Both of these actions are counter to what most Tyranid pundits are suggesting. Before I go into my reasoning, here is the full list;