So, I've been hearing this over and over... I'm not sure, but I DO think they have taken a serious hit since the new edition hit. Not being able to Assault out of Reserve in general is bad, and of course having an entire new class of target that is completely immune to HtH is pretty bad as well... Random Charge length can be annoying, but overall I actually like that. It HAS killed off the 5th edition standby of the "Power Blob" the IG could field. Casualties being taken closest (or directed by placed shots) leads to some interesting situations that could well allow you to kill so many targets that you are no longer IN combat... Or you lose wounds done because you can only kill the close things... Of course the inability to assault from non "Assault" (or open topped) Vehicles is pretty bad... Especially because this prevents you from Assaulting if you have to get out of a wrecked or destroyed Vehicle...
This and the no assaults from Reserve are particularly difficult to justify. The stated reason is that the designers have is that they did not want the players to be hit by things that they could not react to before getting hit... All well and good, except then you get things like the Heldrake that CAN simply fly on, hit you with the Vector Strike then hit you again or another unit altogether with it's Flamer of Doom... The first happens before ANY reaction is possible, including Interceptor fire, the second after, but by then it is too late usually and frankly how many Fliers get killed by Interceptor fire? Most of my armies will have the Quad gun, or an Icarus Las Cannon... If they're lucky and have access to the Forgeworld stuff or are allowed to proxy in stuff then the Hyperion Missile turrets or Mortis DNs perhaps...
Kind of lost track of where I was here... "Assault" to me I guess I apply my own more modern definitions to. So, I would include short ranged "shock" shooting as part of an Assault strategy. Sternguard or IG Stormtroopers dropping in onto a target and smacking it with Plasma and Melta at point blank range to me is every bit as much "Assault" as the Death Company jump packing into HtH... More suicidal I think as you are not "safely in HtH and will likely take heavy casualties or get wiped out by the return fire, but My Sternguard never failed to get me First Blood when I played them regularly... Yes, in my best iteration of that list was in the 1850+ point range and included CPT Tycho's Fleshtearer doppelganger, Sternguard, Medic in Terminator Armor and the Vanguard Vets following the Drop Pod's beacon in to deal with anyone silly enough to be close to the CPT and the boys... Sometimes they even survived. And I usually won the fight, and the battle because First Blood, Line Breaker and Kill the Warlord were all pretty good odd wise for that setup... NOT long term holding the line, unless I happen to kill them all of course :-)...
Off to work out I guess, I am finding that I think a lot better when I am on the move...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
1000 points of Fleshtearers, take 2 (Now with pics :-))
Mkay, got in a 1500 point game last night against Bradly's Grey Knights... He had a really good list, not quite as Meched up as his previous ones, but... The only real weakness I could see is the lack of real long ranged firepower, specifically AT firepower... But the HtH silliness and the melta guns everywhere on the Henchmen squads is solid if a bit fragile outside of their Chimeras... Weight of fire is a concern as well as he can throw out a LOT of fire in the 24" range bracket... Still, my thrown together list did fairly well, mostly due to the Medics (Sanguinary Priests) allowing my insane number of FnP rolls to keep my lads on the field... I made something like the first dozen before failing one, and overall made something like 20+ in the course of the game. So, I think the Medics are keepers...
Gabriel Seth was also on the field... Did well, but his 2 big HtH rounds were destroying an Interceptor SGT in a Challenge and then wiping out a Henchman Squad single handed on the Charge... He ran with a tooled out Honor Guard, so the Medic there helped a lot, but I think overall I would have done better with Death Company. The Furioso I used in place of the DC DN did well, but the DC DN has Fleet and twice I rolled a bad Charge distance and failed the Charge... And died as a result. The DC DN in Assault would have wiped the Terminators and Coteaz easily I think...
Oh, and here's the Raven:
So, here's my second take at 1000 points:
Gabriel Seth
Death Company (5, 2 Power Axes)
DC DN
Assault Squad (10, Melta, Flamer, PW on SGT)
Storm Raven (TL Las Cannon, TL Melta)
Medics (1 Termi, 1 Jump Pack)
Have to juggle the points a bit... I WANT the H Flamer on the DN, so the Medic riding with Seth might well go away or lose the Terminator Armor... I tried the "Typhoon" Missile Launcher on the Raven, but was pretty disappointed with it, especially given the extra points I paid for it... Might be that I simply did not face a flier, but AP 1 and Melta is HUGE, and a free swap, so there we go... Might bring in an Attack Bike in place of the Medic in the Raven... Would LOVE to have a Chaplain, and may well swap a Reclusiarch for Seth... Hmmm... Then the DC might get Jump Packs... Probably not though :-) Bloody expensive...
Gabriel Seth was also on the field... Did well, but his 2 big HtH rounds were destroying an Interceptor SGT in a Challenge and then wiping out a Henchman Squad single handed on the Charge... He ran with a tooled out Honor Guard, so the Medic there helped a lot, but I think overall I would have done better with Death Company. The Furioso I used in place of the DC DN did well, but the DC DN has Fleet and twice I rolled a bad Charge distance and failed the Charge... And died as a result. The DC DN in Assault would have wiped the Terminators and Coteaz easily I think...
Oh, and here's the Raven:
So, here's my second take at 1000 points:
Gabriel Seth
Death Company (5, 2 Power Axes)
DC DN
Assault Squad (10, Melta, Flamer, PW on SGT)
Storm Raven (TL Las Cannon, TL Melta)
Medics (1 Termi, 1 Jump Pack)
Have to juggle the points a bit... I WANT the H Flamer on the DN, so the Medic riding with Seth might well go away or lose the Terminator Armor... I tried the "Typhoon" Missile Launcher on the Raven, but was pretty disappointed with it, especially given the extra points I paid for it... Might be that I simply did not face a flier, but AP 1 and Melta is HUGE, and a free swap, so there we go... Might bring in an Attack Bike in place of the Medic in the Raven... Would LOVE to have a Chaplain, and may well swap a Reclusiarch for Seth... Hmmm... Then the DC might get Jump Packs... Probably not though :-) Bloody expensive...
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Fleshtearers for the next league...
Looking like a team league, but I am looking at playing at least some of the games with the 1500 or 1850 lists... Last time I played CPT Tycho and the Sternguard All Stars. Pretty effective, and VERY "Fleshtearer" with the win or die nature of the army... Not sure I want to do the same thing again, especially with FT Sternguard NOT being scoring. Was different with the Crimson Fists, especially with Pedro Cantor being able to ride in the Drop Pod with a full 10 man squad.
So, Gabriel Seth... Thinking of running him with an Honor Guard squad, loaded out with a variety of weapons, power, melta, etc. and having them ride in the Storm Raven... Really liking how that thing turned out, will have to get some pictures... The DC DN or a Furioso rides in there as well... A few full Assault Squads, some Sanguinary Priests (Medics to me...), and? Dunno, guessing a Vindicator, maybe a Predator or two...
Leads to a rule question, does Gabriel's "Ferocious Instincts" mean that anyone rolling one's against his unit in HtH takes the Str 4, or does it only work when he is on his own/in a challenge? As I read it, I'd say it is only him, but the Necron codex has a similar character, and it goes the other way as I understand it...
So, Gabriel Seth... Thinking of running him with an Honor Guard squad, loaded out with a variety of weapons, power, melta, etc. and having them ride in the Storm Raven... Really liking how that thing turned out, will have to get some pictures... The DC DN or a Furioso rides in there as well... A few full Assault Squads, some Sanguinary Priests (Medics to me...), and? Dunno, guessing a Vindicator, maybe a Predator or two...
Leads to a rule question, does Gabriel's "Ferocious Instincts" mean that anyone rolling one's against his unit in HtH takes the Str 4, or does it only work when he is on his own/in a challenge? As I read it, I'd say it is only him, but the Necron codex has a similar character, and it goes the other way as I understand it...
Monday, March 4, 2013
1000 points of Fleshtearers
Well, not sure this will work well... Looking at the Partner League starting up, so here's my rough draft:
Librarian (Jump Pack, Blood Lance and ?)
Assault Squad (10, 2 Melta, Infernus Pistol, PW on SGT)
Assault Squad (10, Metla, Flamer, Flame pistol and Melta bomb on SGT)
Attack Bike (MM)
Stormraven (TLLC, TML)
Furioso DN (HF, DN CCW)
Not thinking it will win a LOT of battles on it's own, but I have an answer for first blood on the MM Attack bike and Jump Troopers... The Raven can take it's shots at 2 Fliers/turn and they are the Str 9, 4 Str 8 shots. Done messing around, I do not want to glance, I want penetrating hits and destroyed results. AP 1/2 on high Str shots seems to be the way...
The Troops can Combat Squad, Deep Strike if needed, move fast and probably hold if needed... I am concerned that it has no medics for FnP, might have to drop the TML on the Raven and maybe the Attack bike for one...
Librarian (Jump Pack, Blood Lance and ?)
Assault Squad (10, 2 Melta, Infernus Pistol, PW on SGT)
Assault Squad (10, Metla, Flamer, Flame pistol and Melta bomb on SGT)
Attack Bike (MM)
Stormraven (TLLC, TML)
Furioso DN (HF, DN CCW)
Not thinking it will win a LOT of battles on it's own, but I have an answer for first blood on the MM Attack bike and Jump Troopers... The Raven can take it's shots at 2 Fliers/turn and they are the Str 9, 4 Str 8 shots. Done messing around, I do not want to glance, I want penetrating hits and destroyed results. AP 1/2 on high Str shots seems to be the way...
The Troops can Combat Squad, Deep Strike if needed, move fast and probably hold if needed... I am concerned that it has no medics for FnP, might have to drop the TML on the Raven and maybe the Attack bike for one...
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Old Stuff Day 2013, Ancient Wolves...
Well, here's something from the REALLY ancient times...
Shame I do not feel the Wolves can compete these days... Would like to take the old girl out for a spin, but I think the time of Land Raider Dominance is past... Built this back in 88 or 89 I think from the White Dwarf templates... Have since converted the other MK I Land Raider to the Spartan Class like this one, but the Black one has magnetized weapons for swapping...
Not great pictures, but the new phone does have a MUCH nicer one...
Shame I do not feel the Wolves can compete these days... Would like to take the old girl out for a spin, but I think the time of Land Raider Dominance is past... Built this back in 88 or 89 I think from the White Dwarf templates... Have since converted the other MK I Land Raider to the Spartan Class like this one, but the Black one has magnetized weapons for swapping...
Not great pictures, but the new phone does have a MUCH nicer one...
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
With the stroke of a pen, could the 6th edition be "fixed"?
Mkay, thinking about the few fixes I think that would make the game actually a LOT more playable. Not saying any of this will ever happen, and it would likely break something else down the line if applied. Still, here goes...
As of right now, the biggest single issue I see is that Fliers are simply unmatched and unevenly applied across the armies... Some armies get loads of them, and those that get the ability to field LOTS of them seem to have the ones... Well, let's call them "less balanced in the current environment"... Broken, but wanting to stay away from a "complaining" tone... Specifically, some armies have NO access to either Fliers or AAA of any sort. That is JUST counting the GW published things, with the exception of the Tyranids I know every army has SOMETHING they could field as AA or has actual Fliers... Tyranids have Flying MC's, but REALLY not the same IMO. Strange to think that the Hive Mind would not have come up with an effective way to deal with Fighters and Bombers, but what would I know...
So:
1) Hitting Fliers on 6's (snap fire only) is simply too much of an advantage for Fliers when it is not matched with an equal disadvantage... Well, let's be honest here, there is NO disadvantage to fliers engaging ground targets... IE: Fliers can only hit ground targets on a 6 unless they go to a more vulnerable "low altitude/hover" mode, in which case ground fire becomes more effective... Something on the order of halving the BS or simply steal the "Mortis" rule and say anything that stood still gets "Skyfire" that turn... Most things hitting on 5's doesn't seem like TOO much an advantage, every HW having Skyfire might well be too much as most HW's only fire well when standing still...
2) Not every army has Fliers. Given, but it is sticking out like a very sore thumb right now with some armies having a LOT of them, and others getting none or perhaps one or two overpriced pieces of junk. Not very conducive to seeing a variety of armies on the table. And having entire armies relegated to "well, they make decent Allies" status is pretty much unacceptable to the player base who have collected large armies... Not even touching on the Game Stores who have stock of things relegated to "well, that's useless crap"... Of the armies I play some are OK... I have Blood Angels (Fleshtearers), GK, Marines (Crimson Fists), and IG (Praetorians) all of whom have either good/decent fliers and AA support. My DA (Consecrators) I would also add to this list with the addition of the FW Mortis DN rules. The Flak missiles are craptastic at best and NOT worth another 10 points on top of the 15 for the Launcher. So, leaves my Wolves and Eldar as being completely hosed when it comes to facing Fliers. Right now, playing Wolves seem foolish as I have no answer for the Necron or Chaos armies I am seeing commonly. The Eldar are just so far behind the current "curve" that they are pretty much impossible to compete with. 2 full editions behind after so many major changes is simply impossible to keep up. Just thinking that they have served enough penance for the stupidly overpowered 2nd/3rd ed codexes... So here is where I think the "stroke of the pen" as it were would even things out... Just like the Land Raider Crusader went to all Marine forces from Black Templar only, why would ALL Marine armies not have access to the Storm Raven and Storm Talon? Simple thing and mind boggling that it was NOT done initially or even in the $30 FAQ they just released. I know it is REALLY only the Wolves at this point who have NO fliers... Frustrating as they have a bloody "Fighter Ace" chart they can buy a roll on... With the Eldar, pull a Necron Codex on them. Simply make the Fast Skimmers into Fliers with Hover mode... Yeah, it would be insanely overpowered... Just like the Necron Codex :-)... Pretty much goes without saying that ALL missile launchers should get Flak missiles as a free upgrade... Craptastic, but as a free upgrade, would at least not be so bad...
3) Useless things... For me one of the most frustrating things is something like the Land Raider Redeemer. Looks neat on paper until you realize that the rules make it completely useless. Now, not just the LRR, but pretty much any sponson mounted flamer... Baal Predator and Leman Russ come to mind, there may be more... So, by the rules essentially only one of the 2 will ever fire... My thought was to make it a Torrent weapon. Hell, the IG have this in their Hellhound, so it's not like there aren't a billion examples of this sort of thing out there. Yes, it might be powerful putting down 2 flamer templates 12" out and maybe hitting for a whole bunch of wounds... OTOH, 250 points for limited transport and a bunch of useless weapons? At the least they should be given split fire so they CAN shoot at multiple targets... So essentially, go through and find the useless "stuff" and make a few minor tweaks and changes to make them all at least useful... Some things like Wolf Blood Claws may well be beyond saving, so...
Yeah a bit of time on my hands :-) Working out, etc...
As of right now, the biggest single issue I see is that Fliers are simply unmatched and unevenly applied across the armies... Some armies get loads of them, and those that get the ability to field LOTS of them seem to have the ones... Well, let's call them "less balanced in the current environment"... Broken, but wanting to stay away from a "complaining" tone... Specifically, some armies have NO access to either Fliers or AAA of any sort. That is JUST counting the GW published things, with the exception of the Tyranids I know every army has SOMETHING they could field as AA or has actual Fliers... Tyranids have Flying MC's, but REALLY not the same IMO. Strange to think that the Hive Mind would not have come up with an effective way to deal with Fighters and Bombers, but what would I know...
So:
1) Hitting Fliers on 6's (snap fire only) is simply too much of an advantage for Fliers when it is not matched with an equal disadvantage... Well, let's be honest here, there is NO disadvantage to fliers engaging ground targets... IE: Fliers can only hit ground targets on a 6 unless they go to a more vulnerable "low altitude/hover" mode, in which case ground fire becomes more effective... Something on the order of halving the BS or simply steal the "Mortis" rule and say anything that stood still gets "Skyfire" that turn... Most things hitting on 5's doesn't seem like TOO much an advantage, every HW having Skyfire might well be too much as most HW's only fire well when standing still...
2) Not every army has Fliers. Given, but it is sticking out like a very sore thumb right now with some armies having a LOT of them, and others getting none or perhaps one or two overpriced pieces of junk. Not very conducive to seeing a variety of armies on the table. And having entire armies relegated to "well, they make decent Allies" status is pretty much unacceptable to the player base who have collected large armies... Not even touching on the Game Stores who have stock of things relegated to "well, that's useless crap"... Of the armies I play some are OK... I have Blood Angels (Fleshtearers), GK, Marines (Crimson Fists), and IG (Praetorians) all of whom have either good/decent fliers and AA support. My DA (Consecrators) I would also add to this list with the addition of the FW Mortis DN rules. The Flak missiles are craptastic at best and NOT worth another 10 points on top of the 15 for the Launcher. So, leaves my Wolves and Eldar as being completely hosed when it comes to facing Fliers. Right now, playing Wolves seem foolish as I have no answer for the Necron or Chaos armies I am seeing commonly. The Eldar are just so far behind the current "curve" that they are pretty much impossible to compete with. 2 full editions behind after so many major changes is simply impossible to keep up. Just thinking that they have served enough penance for the stupidly overpowered 2nd/3rd ed codexes... So here is where I think the "stroke of the pen" as it were would even things out... Just like the Land Raider Crusader went to all Marine forces from Black Templar only, why would ALL Marine armies not have access to the Storm Raven and Storm Talon? Simple thing and mind boggling that it was NOT done initially or even in the $30 FAQ they just released. I know it is REALLY only the Wolves at this point who have NO fliers... Frustrating as they have a bloody "Fighter Ace" chart they can buy a roll on... With the Eldar, pull a Necron Codex on them. Simply make the Fast Skimmers into Fliers with Hover mode... Yeah, it would be insanely overpowered... Just like the Necron Codex :-)... Pretty much goes without saying that ALL missile launchers should get Flak missiles as a free upgrade... Craptastic, but as a free upgrade, would at least not be so bad...
3) Useless things... For me one of the most frustrating things is something like the Land Raider Redeemer. Looks neat on paper until you realize that the rules make it completely useless. Now, not just the LRR, but pretty much any sponson mounted flamer... Baal Predator and Leman Russ come to mind, there may be more... So, by the rules essentially only one of the 2 will ever fire... My thought was to make it a Torrent weapon. Hell, the IG have this in their Hellhound, so it's not like there aren't a billion examples of this sort of thing out there. Yes, it might be powerful putting down 2 flamer templates 12" out and maybe hitting for a whole bunch of wounds... OTOH, 250 points for limited transport and a bunch of useless weapons? At the least they should be given split fire so they CAN shoot at multiple targets... So essentially, go through and find the useless "stuff" and make a few minor tweaks and changes to make them all at least useful... Some things like Wolf Blood Claws may well be beyond saving, so...
Yeah a bit of time on my hands :-) Working out, etc...
1K for the next League... So Fleshtearers?
Looking like we're doing a simple(ish) team games league next... Each player brings 1000 points to be teamed up... Will I think at the least alleviate the table situation we are facing at the moment. Despite what is happening elsewhere (referencing Stelek's comments on http://yesthetruthhurts.com/), our local group has only grown recently to the point that on Mondays we actually have folks waiting for the first run of games to conclude before they can get a table. 7-8 tables I think is pretty much the maximum we can really have in play, so after the first 16 players are set usually we have a "second wave" showing up in the 6:30-7 range to get in another round... This should get us all playing and moving along...
Only down side I see is the caveat of you CAN bring a 2000 point force and just play that. Great if it is just the "when there are an odd number of players" thing, but someone wanting to play an "I'm here to win, whatever the cost" army will have a MUCH easier time bringing a hard to beat force at 2000 points than 1000 + partner. Example being if I bring a Sternguard Squad in a 1K list, I cannot max it out and still have a force that can still win on it's own. At 2K, the bells, whistles and maxxed out Squad still is in the 300-400 point range, so not a problem as that will be the "First Blood" hunter and probably "Warlord Assassin Team". I could even bring in an "Ally" in Pedro Cantor and make them Scoring... Other examples abound, mostly with the maximum number of say, good/broken Fliers packed into the list and then filler Troops. NOT saying I see anyone doing this locally, by and large we are more of a "fun" group than cut throat win at all cost group... Just that the possibility exists.
Guessing I will field my reconstructed "Storm Raven" (Vendetta conversion I picked up in a trade)... Just seeing WAY too many Fliers hitting the table, and with decent rolls this could provide me with a counter to a small horde (3-4) of the enemy vehicles without going that route myself. At 1K, I have much more "limited" options for AAA otherwise, so I am rather hoping NOT to be facing a lot of them across the table. So, that more or less defines 20% of my force... Full Squads of Jump Troops run me in the low 200's as well. Scouts are a possibility as well, but even they are almost 200... Not as versatile, but having camping Snipers HAS won me several games... Counting on them to actually kill shit? Not so much...
What I'd LIKE to field would be a Jump Pack equipped Death Company (Yeah, I've been playing THAT since 3rd ed... Hasn't always been "good", but now other than the "Can Never Score" thing, they are quite good), the DC DN, something in a decent HtH Character and Vanguard Vets to back up my Sternguard... At 2K, I can do this. 1K no... The Heavy Tank forces are starting to make a comeback, so the ability to drop in Melta on top of them and shoot or Assault out of Deep Strike with Melta Bombs/Fists is HUGE. I don't have a Horde/crowd control option like with the DA Banner list, but figure I can shoot well enough and selectively engage in HtH... Tyranid hordes will be a problem, but not many play them locally... And even then, play the mission, not the Army, I've beaten the Tyranid swarms with armies that should not have survived before... :-) Maybe I can do it again...
Only down side I see is the caveat of you CAN bring a 2000 point force and just play that. Great if it is just the "when there are an odd number of players" thing, but someone wanting to play an "I'm here to win, whatever the cost" army will have a MUCH easier time bringing a hard to beat force at 2000 points than 1000 + partner. Example being if I bring a Sternguard Squad in a 1K list, I cannot max it out and still have a force that can still win on it's own. At 2K, the bells, whistles and maxxed out Squad still is in the 300-400 point range, so not a problem as that will be the "First Blood" hunter and probably "Warlord Assassin Team". I could even bring in an "Ally" in Pedro Cantor and make them Scoring... Other examples abound, mostly with the maximum number of say, good/broken Fliers packed into the list and then filler Troops. NOT saying I see anyone doing this locally, by and large we are more of a "fun" group than cut throat win at all cost group... Just that the possibility exists.
Guessing I will field my reconstructed "Storm Raven" (Vendetta conversion I picked up in a trade)... Just seeing WAY too many Fliers hitting the table, and with decent rolls this could provide me with a counter to a small horde (3-4) of the enemy vehicles without going that route myself. At 1K, I have much more "limited" options for AAA otherwise, so I am rather hoping NOT to be facing a lot of them across the table. So, that more or less defines 20% of my force... Full Squads of Jump Troops run me in the low 200's as well. Scouts are a possibility as well, but even they are almost 200... Not as versatile, but having camping Snipers HAS won me several games... Counting on them to actually kill shit? Not so much...
What I'd LIKE to field would be a Jump Pack equipped Death Company (Yeah, I've been playing THAT since 3rd ed... Hasn't always been "good", but now other than the "Can Never Score" thing, they are quite good), the DC DN, something in a decent HtH Character and Vanguard Vets to back up my Sternguard... At 2K, I can do this. 1K no... The Heavy Tank forces are starting to make a comeback, so the ability to drop in Melta on top of them and shoot or Assault out of Deep Strike with Melta Bombs/Fists is HUGE. I don't have a Horde/crowd control option like with the DA Banner list, but figure I can shoot well enough and selectively engage in HtH... Tyranid hordes will be a problem, but not many play them locally... And even then, play the mission, not the Army, I've beaten the Tyranid swarms with armies that should not have survived before... :-) Maybe I can do it again...
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