For the Tournament :-)

Well, gearing up for the Tournament next weekend… I think I've narrowed my choice down to one of two lists:

 

Belial (TH/SS or LC)

4 Deathwing Squads, 2 TH/SS, 1 LC and Cyclone Missile Launcher in each. One squad w/Apothecary

DN (TLAC or Plasma/ML)

Land Speeder Typhoon (MM/TML)

Ravenwing Squadron (Attack bike w/MM, 2 Melta)

 

 

Belial (TH/SS)

3 Deathwing Squads each w/ 2 TH/SS, LC, CML, etc…

3 DNs (TLACx2, Plasma/ML, ?)

3 Land Speeder Typhoons (Multi Melta, TML)

 

Well, the first one has 4 troops, the Ravenwing scout, flank and have teleport homers allowing me to deep strike in with no deviation. And the Deathwing have their "Deathwing Assault" rule allowing me to bring up to half of them in on turn one like the Drop Pod Assault, but I "May" bring up to half, I do NOT have to bring them in early. So, mobile(ish) and more troops allowing me to set up in cover and hold a bit longer…

 

Second one is more spamish, LOTS of heavy weapons (21 so far, plus whatever the last DN brings) each turn… So, I think it can take on pretty much whatever I face… Sadly I do actually have pretty much all of it ready to roll, either way really. This second list I think really wins more by killing lots of things than by playing for the objectives, etc… But still it might be the better one for a tournament… I could also change out one of the DNs for a Whirlwind and random upgrades all around…

 

I'll have to look at the Escalation scenarios a bit more to see which one looks like it works better…

Let’s try this again :-)

Bloody magnets are REALLY powerful… Trying to get too fancy I think with some of them since they are resisting my efforts to have the same pole face outward on either side of the bodies, especially some of the truly ancient lead RT Termis… There is a very real size difference there, but with my Consecrators it just feels right to use the ancient metals.

The lads did well at 1250 points, fielded:

Belial (TH/SS)

4 Deathwing squads each with a Cyclone Missile launcher, 2 TH/SS, 1 LC, one squad with the Medic

2 Typhoon Speeders with MM/TML

 

So, a crapton of Str 8 low(ish) AP shots… 14, 12 missiles and 2 Multi Melta… Not bad, especially at 1250 points. Not the most mobile, especially when I roll 1's and 2's for moving through difficult terrain and fail to assault almost every turn with one squad, but I could Deep Strike if I need to. I do REALLY prefer to do so in concert with a beacon like on the Ravenwing, but still, "Who Dares Wins". One of the things I'm really looking at for next year's Adepticon is whether they keep the allied beacons usable by all of the people on that side. Scouting bikes and attack bikes with built in beacons could be a huge advantage for some of the weird missions, especially with me fielding a bunch of Fearless Terminators who can very reliably just appear more or less anywhere on the field. Especially if my partner can back my play with heavy weapons and/or dedicated assault troops. Blood Angels, Wolves and the Dark Angles will all make excellent "team players" in the context of this type of tournament.

 

1250 Level

Ah :-) Finally… Well, the dice were not friendly as my Deathwing died to a BA list last night… Dedicated Assault Terminators with Lightning Claws and a CPT with Thunderhammer getting a grand total of 2 hits and one kill over the course of 3-4 turns of HtH? Yes, the list was solid and the plan was sound, just was not a good night to be a Consecrator Deathwing member apparently…



Anyway up to 1250 and I'm thrilled…



So:

Belial (Bezaliel for my chapter) probably TH/SS or Claws 130

Deathwing "Command" Squad: Apothecary, CML, 2 TH/SS, LC 270

(might swap out the CML for the Standard if I just want to sell out for an assault squad)

Deathwing Squad: CML, mix of weapons 235

Deathwing Squad: CML, Mix o' weapons 235

Mortis class DN (2 x TLAC) 125

Land Raider Crusader (+ storm bolter) 255



Nothing at all subtle here, Land Raider rolls forward with Bezaliel and his squad loaded out with HtH weapons covered by the other two squads and the DN… The Ravenwing might do the same job, but I REALLY like the DNs…



The other major option would just be 4 Deathwing squads, one of the w/ Apothecary option, all with the CML and 2 Typhoon class speeders (breaking out some of the ancient metal ones I have)… I do not think I could deal well with another Terminator based force, but Marines are in trouble with 12 Str 8 AP 3 missiles each turn… Horde forces? Well, against the IG, I'd just be saturating the heavy weapon teams with fire for the first few turns, hoping for even average rolls on the cover saves for him since each missile kills the entire team it hits (more than double the T value). Then more or less choose one blob and just pour all of my fire into it until it goes away or reaches me. Since I am also able to fire on the move, I'll likely be backing up as I fire… Orks? Um, yes… Just choose the nearest blob, fire like we're voting in Chicago… Early, often and targeted…



Power and Internet blipping in and out here, so I'll post as it comes back :-)

It’s a few weeks out, but…

Local Tourney coming up in a few weeks… We run leagues in the store with a tournament at the end of an 8 week league, so this is the end of our "escalation league"… I've been doing fairly well with my Consecrators "Deathwing" force so far, but we're only at the 1000 point level, I have very little experience at the Tournament's level of 1500 points… So, is a second HQ even worth it at the 1500 point level? I considered running something fairly "standard" at least more "old school DW" like this:

Belial (TH/SS or LC)

Librarian (TDA, Combi melta?)

Deathwing "Command Squad" (CML, 2 TH/SS, LC, Apoth)

Deathwing squad (as above)

DN (PC/ML)

Land Raider Crusader

Land Raider

Land Speeder Typhoon

 

But my concerns are that the Librarian is really expensive for a 2 wound "might be useful" model, only 2 "Troops" squads and the Land Raiders are not all THAT hard for a lot of forces to take down when push comes to shove… Still might win a few by virtue of being so compact and tightly focused, just more likely to be destroyed for the same reason I think… That and the LRC I "have" is actually a MK I Land Raider I am converting to a Spartan class LR with magnetized weapons… I SHOULD be able to get it done by then, but…

 

My other initial thought was just Terminator Saturation:

Belial (TH/SS)

4 squads of Deathwing, one w/Apoth, all with: CML, 2 TH/SS, LC, etc…

DN (Gunboat, TLAC or PC and ML)

Ravenwing Attack Squadron (2 Melta, Attack bike w/MM)

Land Speeder Typhoon

 

I've been REALLY liking the Deathwing Assault combined with the Ravenwing's teleport homers allowing me to simply place the deep strikers exactly where I want them (Also a BA player, the Drop pods w/ beacons are HUGE for my DoA lists)… It's surprised a fair number of people locally and allowed me to put my people in the best possible defensive positioning to take and hold objectives… Then just hold until time runs out really… Down sides being: Only 2 vehicles and Terminators are not THAT hard to kill, especially with the new DE 5^th ed "star cannon" (Yes, I remember that far back when the Eldar came out in 3^rd ed with the Star Cannons that just wiped Marine armies off the tables using them…) or just massed AT firepower… Up sides being: 4 troops that are not easy to kill, all fearless so, no worries about running away or IG PBS silliness, fair amount of long range firepower, etc…

Higher Point Levels…

OK, time to start thinking about what the Deathwing can bring at a 1500 point level… And what I can actually have assembled (at least) by the 19^th for the Tourney at the Gopher… Not sure whether to sell out and go with 2 Deathwing squads mounted in Land Raiders or the other way and bring what my old friend Taleni would call "more"… Taleni Pahulu was another SGT in my old company, Samoan… Used to joke that his tribe had "only 5 numbers, but they were a very happy tribe… Their numbers were zero, one, two, three, and more"… My Deathwing are annoyingly difficult to dig out when they hunker down in cover on an objective. Does kind of go against my normal "Attack like you're voting in Chicago… Early and Often" mode… Dropping the 20+ Terminators out there, all of them (except Belial himself) being "Troops" backed by Ravenwing for scouting bikes and teleport homers, and of course meltas… Well, that might be difficult for most armies to face…

More toys being built…

Mkay, so building more of the lads… Experimenting with the rare earth magnets and various weapon and arm load outs… With the Dark Angels, I can field a good mix of Assault weapons (Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield and Lightning Claws) along with the more "traditional" Storm Bolter/Power Fist and even one of the heavy weapons… The Cyclone just got useful, but to be honest I was going to be using one anyway. Assault Cannons are OK, and they'll probably always be the weapon I break out by default since they were the first ones I used in the old days, but they really require me to roll a LOT of 6's to really hurt Marines or vehicles… The Cyclone, average or even a bit below works fine…

 

Anyway, with the DA, I can field the Cyclone on a Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield Terminator for the 3++ save, "I don't care" class weapons in HtH and shooting out to 48" range… Now, I call them "I Don't Care" class because overall it doesn't really matter what you're hitting, barring odd cases like an Eldar Seer Council, 2++ saves, or other Terminator class armor… Well, it all goes splat. Still trying to find the best mix of weapons with the Deathwing, but it is fun to play it, even if… Well, actually especially because it is NOT the most "competitive" build I can field. It surprises a lot of folks, and it is really just rock solid. Not subtle at all. But fun…

 

Also breaking out another thing I found in the basement of doom… An ancient MK I Land Raider, in pretty rough shape, but one of the 2 I picked up in the first box set WAY back in the late 80's… 2 Land Raiders came to a box for $20, and 3 Rhinos for the same price… I'll be combining it with a wrecked MK I Rhino for another Spartan Class Land Raider, but this one I'll be using the magnets on the weapon mounts to allow the swapping of the options… Should be interesting when I finally get it back out on the table… Just hope I can make this one look as nice as the other one from way back then…

Second Stage of the League

Mkay, made it through the first stage of the League (the 750 point level) with one win and a draw… Now we're up to the 1000 point level. So, I can bring more than the 2 squads and Belial out to play… I've also got to remember to just play the mission. Wound up with a draw because I broke cover with the one squad to engage and destroy a Rhino full of basic Chaos Marines. Well, that I ignored my rule of "Missile Launchers shall ONLY fire krak missiles"… With the updated rules for the Cyclone, I can get the 2 shots/turn, and while I was able to cover 7 of them with frag templates and do 5 wounds, I went away with NO kills. Compared to the potential just kill 2/turn, I would have wiped the squad much quicker had both squads maintained fire discipline and just shot from the objectives…

 

Anyway, more magnets picked up, more Thunder Hammers and Shields ordered, so I plan on making more swappable Deathwing models… So, next week, I'll be running something along these lines:

Belial (TH/SS)     130

Deathwing "Command Squad": Cyclone, Apothecary, mix of TH/SS, LC, SB/PF     265

Deathwing Squad: Cyclone, mix of weapons    235

Ravenwing Squadron: 2 Plasma Guns, Attack bike with MM, PF on SGT 225

Dreadnaught (Plasma/Missile or TLAC/Missile) 135

 

Might work out better…