Saturday 28 April 2012

Warhammer Fantasy 3k Vampires

Hi all,

This is a run- down of my finished list from here:

The list is 3000 points, and designed to be a generic Von Carstein army. I've already gone through the thinking behind the army on All areas, so here is just a straight run-down of the list:

Lords

Count Mannfredd Von Carstein on Barded Nightmare

Heroes

Vampire- Level 2
Vampire- Level 2
Vampire- Level 2
Wight King- shield
Wight King- shield
Wight King- shield

Core

29 Skeletons- Full Command
29 Skeletons- Full Command
40 Skeletons- Full Command, Spears, Screaming Banner
5 Dire Wolves
5 Dire Wolves
5 Dire Wolves
20 Zombies- Standard

Special

10 Black Knights- Full Command, Barding, Lance
Corpse Cart- Balefire
5 Hexwraith
2 Spirit Host
2 Spirit Host

Rare

Mortis Engine- Blasphemous Tome

And for anyone wondering:

Lords = 554pts (18.5%)
Heroes = 687 pts (22.9%)
Core = 790 pts (26.3%)
Special = 725 pts (24.1%)
Rare = 240 pts (8%)

Total = 2996pts /3000

Monday 16 May 2011

Lord of the Rings Erebor List- 750 points

Hi all,

This is my LotR Dwarf army, built using the Erebor list from Legions- no particular reason, just fits my collection.

Now, the one thing I've found with Dwarves is that they need to synergise. Filling out a list with 1 choice can be good in Tournaments, but across all the scenarios in LotR it can be limiting, so I try and keep a decent spread of models between Warriors and Rangers. A) they are cheap and B) you really don't need anything else!

Although Gimli is tempting, I don't like the idea of always playing a member of the Fellowship- it just puts me in the wrong mindset. So I've taken Balin with Durin's Axe instead. Provides plenty of flavour to the army (especially when my opponent has a Balrog)!

I also tend to split my force into 2 groups, and so I've found that having a few cheap Heroes kicking about to keep them together is useful. That gives me:

Balin- Durin's Axe
Captain- 2-handed Weapon
Captain- Shield

The rest of the list is Banners, Rangers and Warriors.

Warrior- Banner
Warrior- Banner
10 Warriors- Shield
7 Warriors- Dwarf Bow
7 Warriors- 2-handed Weapon
10 Rangers- 2-handed Weapon
9 Rangers- Bow
8 Rangers- Throwing Weapon

That's it! Not a lot I know (3 Heroes, 54 models total) but with a front line of Defence 8, it doesn't need to be! High Fight values are always welcome, and the basic plan usually consists of taking the charge on the Shield Warriors then countering with Rangers. The great Weapon Warriors are there to defend the missile-troops.

Comments, as always, are welcome

Lord of the Rings Black Ships List- 750 points

Hi all,

This is my current Evil LotR army.

This list is built up of Corsairs of Umbar and Easterlings. Why that combination?- Because this is the faction I play in War of the Ring, and it translates quite nicely into LotR. Now, I don't want any Haradrim- there aren't any in my WotR army, so none in LotR either. Basically, I don't like the models of the Haradrim infantry, and having painted 2 Mumaks for other people, I never want to see another one again. So they're out. On the other hand, the Easterling models are lovely, and Pirates are cool no matter what the game system is.

So what do I take?

Dalamyr, Fleetmaster of Umbar.

Named Heroes help define an army in LotR, so I like to take one in an army just to add a bit of flavour. Couple that with my love of Hasharin, and Dalamyr is a bit of a no-brainer. Plus, Aragorn hates his bombs!

To go with Dalamyr, every fleet needs a Captain and a couple of enforcers, so there's some minor Heroes:

Captain of Umbar- Crossbow
Bo'Sun of Umbar- Crossbow
Bo'Sun of Umbar

That's a few Banners, plenty of Might points and enough Heroes to keep the force unified- now they need followers:

10 Corsairs of Umbar- Spear
10 Corsairs of Umbar- Shield
9 Corsiars of Umbar- Bow

That's the fleet element sorted- everyone has a throwing weapon, plenty of spear defence and good fight values. Of course that's all offset by the fact that they can all be slain by an incontinent Sparrow! Luckily, the second part of my list consists of Easterlings:

Easterling Captain- Halberd
Easterling Warrior- Banner
10 Easterling Warriors- Shield
9 Easterling Warriors- Spear, Shield

And that's 749 points! 5 Heroes, 54 models in total, and a decent spread of stats and abilities. Of course there are a few weaknesses- no Cavalry, no Magic. As I paint up models for these, I'll re-structure the list to reflect it, but right now- all of this is painted and ready to use, and it makes a decent force.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

My Current Space Marine Project- 2000 Points

Hi all,

This list is to go with the Space Marine army I'm currently painting.

Now, I've got a Battle Company + of unpainted Marine models kicking about. That means it's about time to put paint to plastic, and get at least a few of these guys table-ready. It also means that this list is less about effectiveness, and more about painting 2000 points of table-ready models that I can throw-down for pick-up games- once I start playing them, I'll be able to paint up new units to play with in the future.

So- what models do I want to paint?

Space Marine Captain on Bike
Ironclad Dreadnought
Terminators
Jump-Pack Librarian

OK- so that gives me a few units to work with, and also gives me pointers as to what else I need to paint. The Librarian will need an escort, so I'll need a 10 man Assault Squad. The Captain allows Bikes as Troops, so a big unit of Bikers can come out to play- 8 Bikers with Attack Bike. The Ironclad will need a Drop Pod, and the Terminators will need a transport- so 1 Land Raider.

At this point, the list is also low on Troops choices (just the Bikers) and it would make sense to paint up at least a few of the Tactical Marines languishing in my Carry Case- so 2 units in Rhino will also go in. Looking at that selection, I'm also going to call the Captain Kor'Sarro Khan (the benefit of personalising my Chapter) and put him on Moon'Drakken. That gives the following:

Kor'Sarro Khan on Moon Drakken
Librarian with Jump Pack
5 Assault Terminator- 3 Lightning Claws, 2 Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield
Ironclad Dreadnought- 2 Heavy Flamers, Assault Grenades, 2 Hunter Killer
Drop Pod
10 Tactical Marines- Missile Launcher, Flamer, Power Sword
Rhino
10 Tactical Marines- Multi-melta, Meltagun, Power Fist
Rhino
8 Bikers- Power Fist, Attack Bike
10 Assault Marines- Flamer, Power Fist
Land Raider

That's a total of 1945 points. Throw in a Multi-melta Attack Bike (because I like them) and throw 5 points on Meltabombs for the Librarian, and it's done! 2K on the nose.

Plan wise- well, every now and again I'll reserve everything and Outflank, sometimes I'll refuse flank; really, this is a flat-out standard Marine army. It is not amazing in any 1 area, but it can cope with many situations- the greatest risk to it is coming up against an optimised list in the hands of an experienced opponent. Then again, that's the fun of it too :)

Comments, as always, are welcome.

Monday 9 May 2011

1500 points Grey Knights Planetstrike- Defender

Hi all,

This is the second companion list for this article, designed to demonstrate a few options for Grey Knights defending in Planetstrike scenarios. I'll assume that the Knights are setting up 3 objectives, all within 18" of each other, in the centre of the battlefield, then rings of difficult/dangerous terrain moving outwards. Also, No-Man's land between 24" and 36" from the centre of the board (optimum range for the Grey Knights to react.

So, what are the 666th Chapter bringing to the party if they have to stand around and watch the enemy appear? For a start, 3 Lascannons on Interception platforms. most of the Grey Knights units can't take anti-tank, so these will be invaluable. In addition, we know there are 3 Stratagem points to spend, so the Grey Knights also have Force Pylons to take advantage of any Deep-Strike mishaps, and Escape Hatch in case the enemy get too close.

On to the army itself- we need 2 Troops and a HQ, we can take lots of Heavy Support, and Interceptor Squads are our friend. Let's have a look at what comes out of that-

Librarian: Sanctuary, Summoning, Psybolt Ammo

10 Strike Squad: 2 Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo
10 Strike Squad: 2 Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo

5 Interceptor: Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo
5 Interceptor: Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo
5 Interceptor: Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo

That's 1125 points, leaving 375 and plenty of Heavy Support slots.

Nemesis Dreadknight: Heavy Incinerator
Nemesis Dreadknight: Heavy Incinerator

Another 320 points down, and not many places to spend the extra. Although an Inquisitor is available, 1 of them probably won't be much cop, so the extra is probably better spent on a few extra Interceptors to flesh out the squads:

2 Interceptors

Bringing us to the grand total of 1498 points.

The Plan- set up a unit of Interceptors in each of the objective fortresses. Have the 2 Strike Squads deploy with the 2 smaller Interceptor units, and the Librarian deploy in the 7 man. The 2 Dreadknights deploy in the centre point of the 3 objectives. If the enemy is going to win, they will have to wade thorough difficult and dangerous terrain (thanks to the Warpquake power which you are casting every turn), or Deep Strike and lose 2/3 of their units to mishaps (thanks to the Warpquake power which you are casting every turn.) All the while, all that lovely Grey Knight shooting will be poring down on them. If a unit gets into trouble, it can either use the Escape Hatch, or the Librarians Summoning- the Grey Knights greatest strength is mobile firepower, may as well play to your advantages :)

Comments, as always, are welcome.

1500 points Grey Knights Planetstrike- Attacker

Hi all,

OK, this list is designed to go with this article, to link up with some of the ideas in there.

Let's pick up on the idea of a rapid-assault Alpha Strike type force, using plenty of Elites. The point of this force will be to drop onto the table, assault straight away, then mop up whatever's left.

So who's going to lead this force? Well, let's have a Grand Master and a Librarian.

Grand Master: 2 Servo-Skulls, Rad Grenades, Psybolt Ammo
Librarian: Might of Titan, Vortex of Doom, Mastery 3

That gives us some fairly good utility characters. We still need some units to go with them, and really these guys would only wander around with Terminator support:

5 Terminators: Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo
5 Terminators: Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo

That doesn't leave alot for the rest of the army. Deep Striking units are going to be the focus here, so Interceptor squads are favourite:

5 Interceptors: Incinerator, 2 Daemon Hammers, Warding Stave
5 Interceptors: Incinerator, 2 Daemon Hammers, Warding Stave
5 Interceptors: Incinerator, 2 Daemon Hammers, Warding Stave

All of which brings us up to 1490 points. 10 points to kill- give the Grand Master Meltabombs and Blind Grenades.

That's 1500 points!

So what's the plan? Well, depending on how many objectives the defender sets up, one Strategem should definitely be Gremlin Curse (unless there are no Fortresses/Bunkers, in Which case go with Dawn Assault), and Phase-Field Generator a close second. The Librarian and Grand Master are the bunker-breakers, and Hammerhand will probably come in useful. For those bunkers that can't be broken, use the Incinerators to do D6 flamer hits on the units inside.

Everything in the list can assault on the turn it comes down, and with wise selection of Landing Zone will be in range of the Servo Skulls. It's a "shock and awe" list- arrive, murder the enemy, cook supper using their slowly cremating remains.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

2000 points Grey Knights Spearhead

Hi all, 

This is the Spearhead list for this article, designed to show off some of the Grey Knight armoury. It focuses on taking out enemy armour and mobility, which are interesting challenges within the Codex. It will also use Spearhead formations, so it's probably worthwhile downloading the rules here (you will need  to register a Games Workshop account, if you haven't already.)

One of the great things about Spearhead is that nothing is compulsory, so all of the points can be spent wherever you like! For that reason, it's worth taking a long, hard look at the HQ's to decide if they really are a necessary part of the battle plan. In fact, there is only one "compulsory" choice in my mind for the Grey Knights- the Mechanised Assault Spearhead:

Land Raider- multi melta
Land Raider- multi melta
Land Raider- multi melta
5 Terminators- 2 Daemon Hammer
5 Terminators- 2 Daemon Hammer
5 Terminators- 2 Daemon Hammer

OK- that's a fair chunk of points! In fact, there's only 545 points left! However, that unit will come on turn 1 from Outflank, fire 3 Twin-linked Lascannons from moving at combat speed, a further 3 Twin-linked Lascannons from Power of the Machine Spirit and then 3 Multi-melta from being a Spearhead. All at different targets if necessary. That's 9 Targets reliably engaged into their side or rear armour. Any tanks left, can either be assaulted by the Force-Bane-Thunder Hammers of the Terminators, or any Infantry revealed are going to be assaulted. The trick will be to engage vehicles at range with the guns- pick the targets furthest away, then work inwards- your assault can work outwards!

Right, what else do the Grey Knights need? Well, looking at the Missions, 2 of them require that objectives are held- shouldn't be a problem. The other requires that scoring units (Vehicles, Walkers, Troops, Spearheads) finish the game in the enemy deployment zone. So all we really need to do is support the Mechanised Assault. To do this, those units need 2 of the following- range, durability, speed. That rules out a few things, but does leave 2 interesting options:
  1. Monstrous Spearhead, made up of Nemesis Dreadknights
  2. Skystorm Spearhead, of Storm Raven and infantry.
Personally, I don't think that the Dreadknights be will much use in this environment, due to the firepower that enemy can put out in Spearhead and the fact that they'd be the only thing starting on the board, so the Skystorm it is:

Storm Raven: Multi-melta
10 Purifier- Daemonhammer, 3 Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo

That's 2000 points on the nose! So, 2 formations, 1 is guaranteed to arrive turn 1 from outflank and (hopefully!) murder a fair portion of the enemy force, the other is your late-game objective grabber, or gap-filler if you need it. Also, if your opponent has brought a Horde unit or army, use the Purifiers to maximum effect- 3 Psycannon and Cleansing Flame will put paid to even the strongest mob (don't forget the Storm Raven's missiles either!)

The Plan- Hold everything in reserve, turn 1 the Mechanised Assault squadron comes on from the flank and puts paid to a fair whack of the enemy (engaging, potentially, 9 separate armoured units at range!) before assaulting with 15 Terminators. The Skystorm formation provides an attack of opportunity, or an objective grab when they arrive. Simple!


Comments, as always, are welcome.