Rise of the Tyranids

I am thinking about selling my Tyranid army on e-bay for several months now, but I just have never gotten around to it. I have not played the army in about 3 years. The reason why I quit was that I was winning a lot of games with the Godzilla list including the KublaCon 5-game RTT up in San Francisco. I ended up winning so much that I was getting hammered on my soft scores like comp and sports, so I was winning all of my games, but I was not winning the tournaments. Also it was just a little too easy to win, and by that time the whole Godzilla craze was sweeping the nation and so I just hung it up.


 
With the new codex hitting the ground, I am thinking of blowing the dust off of them to play one last time before they get sold.


 
Here is my models that I have for my 4^th edition Tyranids:

2 Hive Tyrants with magnetized upgrades

3 Tyrant Guards

3 Zoanthropes

1 Lictor

32 Hormagants

16 Hormagants w/Toxin Sacks and Adrenal Gland

32 Termagants w/Spinefists

16 Termagants w/Devourerer

28 Genestealers

Ripper Swarms

16 Gargoyles

5 Tyranid Shrikes

3 Biovores

6 Carnifexes


 
So I have to make an army out of that. I was tempted to buy a Mawloc or some other pieces, but since they are going on e-bay, I see no point in buying anything more.

I made a few armies out of it, and I was not happy with them, so I still might bring my Eldar.

Broadside Bash II

I am thinking about playing my Tyranids for the Broadside Bash. I am thinking about a little bug horde, but I can't make a list I am happy with yet. 


The problem is that I am not happy with the amount of anti-tank the army has in case I am up against a Mech Army.

Broadside Bash!

Well, it is time to get ready for the Broadside Bash. It will be my first chance to try to qualify for Vegas. I do not like my chances though with soft scores for Comp and Sportsmanship. I will bring a comp-friendly list and you will see how I will get killed on comp.

I thought about not posting my list, but what the heck, I will put it out there.

Here it is, 2000 points of Eldar:

HQ

Avatar

Farseer, Singing Spear, Spirit Stones, Stone of Warding, Doom, Guide, Fortune

Elite

6 Harliquins w/2 Fusion Pistols, 6 kisses

Shadowseer W/Kiss

Troupe Leader w/Power Weapon

Troops

10 Guardians w/Bright Lance

10 Guardians w/Bright Lance

10 Guardians w/Bright Lance

Warlock w/Conceal, Singing Spear

3 Jetbikes w/Shuriken Cannon

Warlock w/Singing Spear, Destructor

Fast Attack

7 Warp Spiders

Warp Spider Exarch w/2 Death Spinners, Power Blades, Withdrawl

7 Warp Spiders

Warp Spider Exarch w/2 Death Spinners, Power Blades, Withdrawl

Heavy Support

Wraithlord w/Brightlance, Missile Launcher, 2 Flamers

Wraithlord w/Brightlance, Missile Launcher, 2 Flamers

3 War Walkers w/Scatter Lasers

Since it is a comp tournament I am dropping Eldrad to try to be a bit more comp friendly.

I got the idea for this army after I played in the Wild West Shootout. I was messaging Darth Diggler who is a very good player from the Chicago area who I played a couple of years ago at the 'Ard Boyz finals in Baltimore. He was telling me that he was running a list like mine, so I added some of the elements that he was using, and then putting my own twist on it.

If you remember my WWSO list, I added a Falcon and some Fire Dragons for added anti-tank to go with the Guardian's Brightlances. In this list I added the Wraithlords in the anti-tank role. Since they take up the heavy support slots that I was using for the massed War Walkers I added the Warp Spiders to make up for some of the lost firepower.

I first used the Warp Spiders in last year's 'Ard Boyz http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/250049.page. I really like the way they worked. They have a lot of mobility and are able to get into combat when you need it and they can put down a ton of strength 6 shooting at BS 4. There are some downsides to them though, and that has to do with their 12" range for shooting.

My first warhammer fantasy game!

Don't worry, I have not sold out from 40k.

I played my first game of fantasy today in about 5 years. With today's game I think I have played about 10 games total (I tied thanks for asking).

Since 40k is my bag, what it illustrated to me is the difference between a newbie and a veteran player. As a newbie in fantasy I have no idea what anything does. I was playing against skaven and I have a general understanding of the blocks of infantry and the rules and stats and stuff, but there are so many pieces of wargear and special weapons unique to them, and I was lost.


 
Not only that, but there are a lot of nuances that you do not even realize when playing these games. For example, I have no idea what, can kill what. When I charge a block of infantry with my knights I really have no idea who will win. I hope to win, but I really have no clue.


 
Compare this to my 40k knowledge: I know all of the other 40k armies. I have owned most of them, and once in a while I will know my opponents army better than they will. Not only that, but before I attack something I know exactly if I can win or not. I know if I have to shoot it up some before I can win in assault, or if I do not have a prayer of winning. Have you ever had an opponent charge you and you are thinking, why are they charging me? They have no hope of winning. Not only do you slaughter then in assault, but it saves you the time and hassle of chasing after them and wasting time killing them. They do that because they have no idea if they can win or not.


 
One day I will write up all of the differences between the new, the journeyman, and the veteran player.

Back from the dead!

Howdy folks, long time no see!

I have been gone for the holidays and now I am back.

To show you how far I have gone into deep cover I have not read anything about the new Tyranid codex, or have purchased it. Since I am looking to sell my Tyranids because I want to get down to only 5 40k armies, this might be the time to do it, although maybe I will have second thoughts after reading the codex. It is a fully painted army after all.

I have also done something I thought I would never do, and that is sign up for a fantasy league. Even though I own 3 fantasy armies, I have played a total of maybe 10 games about 5 years ago. Don't worry, that is all I will have to say about that.

Next 40k event I have my sights on is the Broadside Bash in LA. I need to work on my list, and I still have a lot of Eldar I need to finish. I thought I would bring the Eldar for a few reasons. The first is that I know them well, they are my best chance at qualifying for Vegas, and it seems like we are getting back to 3^rd edition where it is the rise of the MEQs, and it makes since to bring a non-MEQ because you do not want to follow the crowd, but also when the meta-game shifts to killing MEQs, you don't want to be playing one.

Killing Seer Councils

I have been busy and have gotten behind, so it is time to catch up!



E-mail in! (I have always wanted to say that)

Magilla Gorilla wrote:

I have been following your batreps on Dakka for awhile, but I have never seen you having to deal with a mounted Seer Council. Mounted Seer Councils are the range where I play and there are no less than 2 Seer Council Eldar players at every local tourney the FLGS has....So, the question is this? How would you deal with them?



You are right! In all of the batreps I have posted, I have never posted a batrep with a Seer Council. There is one big reason why I have never done it is because I have never faced one.

The Seer Council has had a lot of popularity in the UK for a while now, and it seems like only in the last year that it has made its appearance on these shores. Since it is rearing its ugly head more and more, it would behoove people to learn how to take them out.

Now there are 2 kinds of Seer Councils, Jetbikes or Wave Serpents as mobility.

Jetbikes have a stat boost from the bikes as well as turbo-boosting, and serpents can fly across the table in one turn and they are both formidable.



The Seer council gets a ton of its durability from Fortune. Without it the Jetbikes have the same stats as Thousand Sons: Toughness 4, 3+ save. 4+ Inv save, and the walking variety just has a 4+ inv save. But what make them a pain is the re-roll. So whenever you catch them without Fortune, you must unleash hell upon them. There are a few ways to get them to drop the fortune.

#1. First strike!

If they start on the board and go second, they will not have Fortune up for the first turn and if you can get some fire on them, hit them with everything that you have. If they choose to be kept in reserve then the first turn that they come on the board they will not have fortune up either, then shoot them with as much as you can (though most of the time they will have turbo boosted, so they have a 3+ cover save so you need volume of fire).

#2. Cancel Fortune with Wargear

This will be harder that most people think because the Seer Council normally has a Warlock with Embolden in it meaning that they can re-roll failed Leadership Tests, so things like Shadow in the Warp and Stones of Warding will not help much, and not only that, there are so many races that do not have access to anti-psychic wargear. But there are a few codexes that have access to wargear like Psychic Hoods. Although the Hoods have less than 50% chance to shut it down, when you can stop it, all you need is one round to hit them with everything that you have. If you are a Marine Player you should also have Null Field to also cancel Fortune. You can also purchase an Inquisitor with a Null Rod will ignore Fortune, which is nice.

Remember, any round that they do not have Fortune up that is when they are vulnerable and hit them with everything that you have. You may not be able to stop them, but you will reduce them to more manageable numbers.

#3. Luck!

If they roll an 11 or 12 on three dice taking out the highest with a re-roll on their psychic test it will not go off. If you manage to do this, then the Dice Gods smile upon you and you must go out and by a lottery ticket because you have a better chance at winning that then having Fortune not go off do to a failed psychic check.



General Tactics

If they are in a Wave Serpent they will have to get close to assault. So what will happen is that they will cast Fortune on the Wave Serpent and fly across the board with Star Engines and get into your face. Since they are moving over 18" they get a 4+ obscured save, and with a re-roll for fortune, good luck taking that down, but if you can, try to destroy it, because a walking Seer Council is not much of a threat. If they do fly that close to your lines, and you have units near them (and you should have since they are planning on assaulting you), then you should have units close enough to assault the Wave Serpent. Now you are not planning on taking down the Wave Serpent, but all you want to do is block the back hatch. Since they only have one exit port, you can block it and they can't get out and assault, so that will buy you some time.



What can't Seer councils kill?

Elite infantry. If you have some throw it at them. Since they lack power weapons, they can't kill things with good saves. That means Terminators, Plague Marines, etc. Anything that has a good save they get tarpitted with. It they get in a fight with Marines they will have trouble killing them, because a 3+ save is your friend. Be careful of what you attack them with though, because a high toughness does not matter to them, only saves.



What kills Seer Councils?

A lots of firepower will take them down, especially if you can get it strength 6 and above. Lootas should be blasting them every chance they get. War Walkers with scatter lasers and even rapid fired bolters will help in a pinch. Remember that nothing really kills them, but you want to reduce them to a reasonable number so when they assault you they don't do much damage. Also try to keep your army together. They want to assault where they can't be counter attacked by large numbers, but when you hit them, you will need to throw a lot of units at them. Note: This is only good if you have a good save. If you have a poor save then they will kill a lot and you will have to take massive leadership checks on your army. If you have a bad save you want to spread out so they will slaughter a unit and them you can shoot them some more.


Here is a good example of a Seer Council in action. Lazarus's army at the Necro last year. When I saw it I thought it was a very formidible army, and wondered how I would beat it. Read his batreps and see what they can do. Yriel+Eldrad is a tough nut to crack.

Blood of Kittens Word Association

I do a project over at the Blood of Kittens blog were several of us write a quick column about various 40k topics.

The authors that contribute to it is Miggidy Mack from the Dice Like Thunder podcast, JWolf from BoLS and his own blog, and Nathan Fluger who is a
player from the Seattle area.

We get one word and have to write about it. Here are the topics and posts so far:

Eldrad

Balanced Lists

Comp Score

Thunder Wolf Cavalry