Dark Eldar List I think I am happy with.

So I wanted to try the new version of Army Builder and I am actually very happy with it. Here is the HTML list of what comes out of the new format along with the tournament view.

1850 Pts - Dark Eldar Roster - Nick Rose "Darkwynn" Dark Eldar 1850 Kabal of the Orange Blossom



Total Roster Cost: 1849



Archon- Kakashi Hosokawa (1#, 170 pts)

1 Archon, 170 pts = (base cost 60 + Huskblade 35 + Soul-trap 10 + Phantasm Grenade Launcher 25) + Combat Drugs 10 + Shadow Field 30



Haemonclulus Yokoi Shonon (1#, 80 pts)

1 Haemonculus, 80 pts = (base cost 50 + Venom Blade 5 + Liquifier Gun x1 10) + Shattershard 15



Elite: Hekatrix Bloodbrides (10#, 242 pts)

8 Hekatrix Bloodbrides, 134 pts = 8 * 13 (base cost 13) + Hydra Gauntlets x3 30

1 Syren, 43 pts = (base cost 23 + Agoniser 20)

1 Raider, 65 pts = (base cost 60) + Enhanced Aethersails 5



Incubi - Kaskashi Bodyguard and Saumrai (8#, 219 pts)

7 Incubi, 154 pts = 7 * 22

1 Raider, 65 pts = (base cost 60) + Enhanced Aethersails 5



Kabalite Trueborn- Elite Bushido (5#, 173 pts)

4 Kabalite Trueborn, 108 pts = 4 * 12 (base cost 12) + Blaster x4 60

1 Venom, 65 pts = (base cost 55 + -10) + Splinter Cannon x2 20



Kabalite Warriors- Bushido (6#, 120 pts)

5 Kabalite Warriors, 60 pts = 5 * 9 (base cost 9) + Blaster x1 15

1 Raider, 60 pts



Kabalite Warriors- Bushido (6#, 120 pts)

5 Kabalite Warriors, 60 pts = 5 * 9 (base cost 9) + Blaster x1 15

1 Raider, 60 pts



Kabalite Warriors- Bushido (6#, 130 pts)

5 Kabalite Warriors, 60 pts = 5 * 9 (base cost 9) + Blaster x1 15

1 Venom, 70 pts = (base cost 55 + -10) + Splinter Cannon x2 20 + Grisly Trophies 5



Kabalite Warriors- Bushido (6#, 125 pts)

5 Kabalite Warriors, 60 pts = 5 * 9 (base cost 9) + Blaster x1 15

1 Venom, 65 pts = (base cost 55 + -10) + Splinter Cannon x2 20



Scourges - Kazoku of the Blossom (5#, 130 pts)

5 Scourges, 130 pts = 5 * 22 (base cost 22) + Haywire Blaster x2 20



Scourges - Kazoku of the Blossom (5#, 130 pts)

5 Scourges, 130 pts = 5 * 22 (base cost 22) + Haywire Blaster x2 20



Heavy Support: Ravager (1#, 105 pts)

1 Ravager, 105 pts



Heavy Support: Ravager (1#, 105 pts)

1 Ravager, 105 pts



Validation Report:

b-2. Apocalypse Allies: Trusted Allies only; 1. Dark Eldar Army: Kabal; c-1. File Version: 1.11a For Bug Reports/www.ab40k.org; IA Ammunition: Use Improved Bombs, Use Advanced Bombs, Use Special Ammunition; b-1. Roster Options: Apocalypse, Generic Unit, Imperial Armour, Special Characters; a-1. Scenario: Normal Mission

Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules



Composition Report:

~[#c_Form_]: 0 (- - 0)

~[#c_Other_]: 13 (- - 0)

~[#c_Legend_]: 0 (- - 0)



Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com

Mathammer- Correction for the masses

I have been stuck in this snow storm in Georgia, since Christmas eve and I was able to drive around 6pm yesterday night back to Texas. During my 22 hour drive and being awake 36 hours, I had a eureka moment or delusional episode, I don't know yet. When people are figuring out math for certain units to do XYZ they are doing it wrong almost 95% of the time and they are way off.

I had flashbacks of my North Korea Ex Special forces Business statistics teacher screaming at us when messing around with Bernoulli's theorem and dice and how to figure out results correctly or probability correctly.

Lets take the classic example of twin- linked assault cannons vs twin linked Lascannons. Everyone will say Assault cannon is just as good as a Lascannon to penetrate armor.


Let's Break down the normal formula we are going to use Space marines as an example with razorbacks shooting Landraiders AV 14

BS= Ballistic skill in percentage format such as BS 4 = .66 bs 3= .50 and so on

BS Twin linked
(4/6)+(1-(4/6)(4/6)= .878 time to hit for one shot.

To pen results
.16

(1/6)(2/6)= .05% for a damage result

.878 x .05 = 0.04 or 4% chance for a pen result for one assault cannon shot

Twin linked lascannon
BS
.878(2/6) = 29% for a damage result

Now this part would be correct if we were only rolling one single die at a time and that was the only thing we were doing. You can't just add 4% 4 times together to get a result of 16% chance. The reason is because we are rolling dice and even if we add enough shots together we can never go pass 100% chance because no matter what there is still a chance of failing even though it would be very slim. You take the 4% for the assault cannon and take it to the 4th power because that is how many shots it has and you have your correct result and add each power to the 4%.

Your results should be
to the first power = .04
second power = .0016
third power = 0.000064
forth power = 0.00000256
Total result should be around = .0416656 or 4.2% chance


So every time you shot that Assault cannon at an Av 14 or really anything above AV 13 your only going to get a 4.2% chance of doing anything to it and you wonder sometimes why the assault cannon is not performing the way its supposed to for you.

New Terrain for Wargames con

Its here! Enough pieces for 80 tables and it will be a great supplement to our current terrain.

I have loads of work to do after Christmas putting this stuff together but should be great.

General list and concepts

I have been throwing some ideas and list around for Dark Eldar and Blood Angels and just wanted to throw it out there to see what others think. These list are all around 1850.

1850
Its Raining....

Astorath
10 Assault marines with two melta guns Powerfist
10 Assault marines with two melta guns Powerfist
10 Assault marines with two melta guns Powerfist
10 Assault marines with two melta guns Powerfist
10 Assault marines with two melta guns Powerfist
Chaplin with Jump pack melta bomb
Chaplin with jump pack melta bomb
Sanguinary priest with Jump pack and powersword
Sanguinary priest with jump pack and powersword

Idea is to hold in reserve every time unless your playing Horde list. You drop on a right flank and you hit hard and keep on going. You should get a majority of your guys in with descent of angels and they should be able to drop super close together.

Blood Angels
Raven Rush
Librarian with unleashed rage and Shield
Storm Raven with EA
5 terminator assault terminators with three TH/SS
Fursio Dreadnought with Blood Talons
Storm raven with EA
8 Death company Power weapon and Powerfist
Death Company Dreadnought with Talons
Chaplin
10 man scout squad with sniper rifles
10 man scout squad with sniper rifles
Baal Predator with AC, Heavy bolters and Dozerblade
Baal Predator with AC, heavy bolters and Dozerblades



Dark Eldar

Urien
9 Hetrix BloodBrides with three Shardnets and Agnoizer
Raider with
Archon with Agonizer, Shadowfield, Combat drugs and Phantasm Launcher
8 Incubi with Raider
10 Wracks with Acothyst with venom blade and two luqifer guns
Raider
10 Wracks with Acothyst with venom blade and two luqifer guns
Raider
10 Wracks with Acothyst with venom blade and two luqifer guns
Raider
6 Reavers with two Heat lances
Ravenger
Ravenger
Ravenger

Dark Eldar Footdar

Duke
Haemonculu with Hex Rifle
20 warriors with two splinter cannons
10 warriors with Dark Lance
10 warriors with Dark Lance
10 warriors with Dark Lance
10 warriors with Dark Lance
Talos with Haywire blaster
Talos with Haywire blaster
Talos with Haywire blaster
6 reavers with two heat lances
6 reavers with two heat lances
6 reavers with two heat lances
8 Incubi
8 Incubi

Could drop one Talos for a Parasite and buy Inchor Injectors on the other two Talos.


Hellions Riding Dirty
Baron
15 Hellions with Stunclaw
15 Hellions with Stun Claw
Haemoncului WWB
Haemoncului WWB
Harlequins x 6 with Kiss's and Shadowseer
20 warriors with two splinter cannons

6 Reavers with two heat lances
6 reavers with two heat lances

Talos with Haywire blaster
Talos with Haywire blaster
Ravenger

I have 76 points left over and I don't know what to put or what to change to swizzle the list around.

Thoughts on some Dark Eldar list

I have been going through the codex working on some list that I would like to play at the 1850 point level. When I am building some of these list my first thoughts; are it needs to deal with Guard and Space wolves in a tournament setting everything else from there will be covered naturally by the codex. That being said here are some list.

1850 Webway Portal


Duke
Harlequinns x6 with Kiss and shadowseer
Haemonculus with webway
Haemonculus with webway
10 wyches with two shard neds and hetrix with agnoizer
10 wyches with two shard neds and hetrix with agnoizer
20 warriors with two splinter cannons
Talos with haywire blaster
Talos with Haywire blaster
Talos With Haywire blaster or just a parasite with spirit vortex

6 reavers with two heat lances
6 reavers with two heat lances

Beast Master unit with
5 Khaymere
1 clawed fiend
6 Razorflocks

I might have to do a little bit of math to drop 9 points but I can drop a Wyche or something to make the point levels.

Idea of the list though would be to deploy first or second it doesn't matter. Hold everything in reserve expect for Harelquinns with Two Haemonculus. First turn they move 6 inches and drop two webway portals in the middle of the table. They should be protected with the Shadowseer Veil of Tears ability. once from there Talos just come out and lock done certain threats from either IG or Space wolves and get into combat as fast as they can. 20 man warriors squad coming out with the Duke should wreck shop and kill a whole tactical squad if it can catch them out in the open. The Reavers should be able to go after certain units that need to die with precision coming out of the webway. Beast Master unit will be the HTH counter unit which should get rid of most things. I like this list because it doesn't mater if I go first or second and hedges out some of the risk that I need to worry about going against IG. The one thing I don't like about it though is I am unsure how well it will play against Guard and coming in piece meal. Talos can be strong but they can also be slow so its kind of a toss up.

Second list

Taking the leafblower concept to the Dark Eldar

This is list is more of a practice of list building and thought around the army.

1850 list
Ancient Haemonculus
huskblade, soul trap, Shattershard

Trueborn x4 with 4 blasters
Venom with Splinter cannon

Trueborn x4 with 4 blasters
Venom with Splinter cannon

Trueborn x4 with 4 blasters
Venom with Splinter cannon

Wracks x10 with two Liquifer gun
raider
Wracks x10 with two Liquifer gun
raider
Wracks x10 with two Liquifer gun
raider
Wracks x9 with Liquifer gun
Raider

Ravger
Ravger
Ravger

Optional:
6 reavers with two heat lances
or
take off soul trap and go with
5 Incubi in Venom.

The list is going back to point and click and putting as many weapons in the list as possible:

Count is
12 Blasters
13 dark Lances
36 or 48 Poison shots

80 Wracks HTH attacks with FNP

The list will give you some options but will be very fragile to Guard players. Depending on Deployment and how things go you could loose a majority of your units in the first turn but there are a lot of variabiles that come into that when playing Guard. Against other list such as Tyranids, Tau, Necrons, Daemons, Marines, Wolves , Blood angels they will have a tough time breaking down this list. Though, I can see Mech Spam Eldar giving this army a problem also.



Just to throw some quick concepts up and what I have noticed is that in an 1850 point level or smaller the Hellions are almost too expensive. If you take the Baron and 15 Hellions your spending 360 points on that unit. Now that unit is great don't get me wrong but you could spend those points more wisely in a Beast Master unit or in other areas where you might get a better bonus or another unit can serve a better function in your army. If you are going to do the Hellions your not taking much else so you need to either commit to that unit or go with something else. If you want to serve as a troop killer or MC killer your better spending those points on 20 warriors with two splinter cannons. You would get 30 shots at 24 Inches and if something came in range to rapid fire you would get 48 poison shots which is better then what the Hellions can do but Hellions bring that cross function in melee with the Hellglavies. If you want to take a unit instead of Hellions that can purely do Melee the Beast Master unit sitting at 250 points is a cheaper option that is more effective. It would still have 10 poison shots but the 5 khaymera , 6 razorflocks and one clawed fiend can put a lot of damage out and still take a beating.

These are just some thoughts and sorry if it seems like a ramble.

Darkwynn's thoughts on the Dark Eldar unit by unit break down.

I have been looking through for combos and there are some nasty ones that you would have to watch out for. FNP is super important to the army as once units start getting FNP they turn into MEQ saves which will allow them to stay around. That being said I walked through the codex messing around with point cost of each unit and different builds and this is what I found out.

HQ's worth anything:

Ancient Hamonculus with Husk blade, Soul trap, Shattershard
He can run out make any MC or IC take a toughness test with the shattershard or die with no saves of any kind allowed. Then if he kills one he turns into STR 6 on the charge with furious charge. So he will have a power weapon that inflicts instant death at INT 6. Yes please can I have another!

Hamonculus with Anmis Vitae and venom blade will be cheap Pain batteries

Hamonculus with shatter shard or a liquefier gun and a web way portal will be common also.

Duke: Allows you two rolls on combat drugs and low orbit raid to deep strike. He will be in a lot of combat drug heavy armies.

Baron: one of the other strong characters, +1 to go first and stealth to a unit is huge. Also makes Hellions troops which is great

Archon I think will be okay but for the cost of the other characters I just don't see him getting played a lot. If you do you are more than likely going to take a Huskblade, Soul trap, Shadow field, and combat drugs which makes him 145 points.

For HQ's in general I think it will be common to see one Special character or Archon followed by 1-3 Hamonculus to spread out pain tokens.

For Vect, I think he is too expensive and will suck. For me to seize the initiative I have to go second, and if I lose I have set myself up to get boned. We won't see any Vect builds at the top. Becuase in a 5-7 game format your going to fail that seize roll and depending on what your playing you could get crippled pretty quick. Too much of a risk to Hedge against.

Elites:
Incubi are awesome but do you really need more death and killing at 22 points? You take them bear bone without the Klavix upgrade.

Grotesque, I think they will suck in more ways than one on the table top. Too expensive and with the bulky rule makes them kind of hard to field unless you’re going to web way portal and if that is the case you have to worry about rampage. Let’s just leave these at home.

Wracks are awesome, bunch of poison attacks and can be made troops. Liquefier guns are great also because of d6 AP which means you have a good chance of making most things die. Plenty of weapon options for the upgrade character also. Oh they also start with a pain token which is great too.

Mandrakes I still like but I need to play test them I think they are the ultimate harassing unit but you need to get a pain token on them fast or they are going to die and become useless. They suck in combat also really but they look super cool.

Harlequins ... they are harlies nothing different. You can give them pain tokens but you would only give them one for FNP. You will see people with shadow seer in front giving cover to the rest of the army.

Trueborn are great too I think you will see a lot of common builds with them such as 4 blasters in Venom.

Bloodbrides are great also but I don't think you will be seeing them mainly because they are not troops and they can only come in ten man size units which mean people will want to put them in raiders.

Troops:

Warriors are okay. Dirt cheap loads of poison weapons and they can get Dark lances.

Wyches are awesome as always, I think you should take Shard nets every time with them as if you charge some MC or other tough units taking two attacks is huge. The Hetrix has to have an Agnoizer otherwise she won't kill anything and they will be in combat the whole time. Once the Wyches have FNP though they will be close to a 2+/3+ save in game system terms. Either you take them in a raider of 10 but problem is you can't get a Hamonculus with them to get FNP or run them in 15 man squads for Web way portals.

Fast attack:

Hellions are awesome and super all around great unit. 16 points, with the Baron above they will have a 3+ stealth save and then you give them FNP they are going to take a long time to kill. Along with the STR 4 with two attacks base is great. They have 2 poison shots a piece at 18 inch range which means they will kill most MC in large numbers. With Jump infantry they also have fleet which means you can get them where you need them pretty reliable. Stun claws are awesome but get ready for your opponent to yell and cuss at you when you take their IC out of combat with them on their hit and run move then next turn you leave him there only to shoot him with 8 blasters so he dies. Also, FC with combat drugs they can get up to STR 6 which means they can break down vehicles pretty well at that point esp. with the Baron who will be STR 7 on the charge.

Scourges they are a disappointment to me in a lot of ways. 22 points for that model is too expensive. You want to take them for the anti tank but then they just get more expensive and you have to take them in a ten man unit to get some decent anti tank. Your best bet is to take Haywire blasters so you can shoot at a vehicle in hopes to shake it or you can get other weapons but at 260 points for the unit, I rather take a Trueborn squad. They have hamstringed this unit pretty heavy.

Beastmasters here is another unit that can be really nasty. you can 5 beastmasters with 5 khymerae each which is a total 30 models that will have a 4+ INVUL and FNP that moves like beast so they will have great movement to keep with the rest of the army and they can put out a lot of attacks in close combat. I think Clawed fiends are meh but Razorwing flocks can be awesome with 6 attacks on the charge with rending. You take a full size unit and you have 60 rending attacks

Full unit of khymerae is 348 points
Razorwing unit is 210

Reavers, I am just going to say great on paper but they suck for everything else. If you are going to use them for Anti tank you need to take 9 so you can get three heat lances in there which is 234 points and they will die afterwards. It’s cool they can turbo boost 36 inches but once they get assaulted they are going to die pretty bad. You can run a 9 man group by themselves and wait for the land raider to come up close but I don't think these guys are really worth it.

Raiders same thing but Aether sails is cool for the 2d6 extra movement
Venom- Awesome for MSU units and you take the splinter cannon upgrade. That way you can put 12 shots of poison on anyone all the time.

Heavy support:

Ravagers same thing but moving 12 and firing everything is great plus they could deep strike and fire everything. Don't bother buying Disintegrator cannons they are useless.

Talos can be cool but I am worried about all the long fangs out there. I think it’s great to put a haywire blaster on the Talos instead. It keeps it cheap and you can shoot it at certain tanks to shake them and if you get lucky you can always immobilize or destroy it.

Cronos Parasite engine... These are a must have either you take one or two but having the ability to flip out two pain tokens a turn is crucial to scale the army quickly. I think keeping them at 100 points is the way to go so you have the large template and the flamer. That way you’re able to pass out two pain tokens out if the Cronos is in the ideal position.

Razorwing haven't' messed with but seems great
Voidraven haven't messed with but seems great. I would take the razorwing before I take the Voidraven as the Voidraven is too expensive.

Dark Eldar: No more Raider spam!

After looking at the Dark Eldar codex I think it is safe to say that Raider Spam armies are not going to work like they used because of point cost not with the raider but with the units will be using the raiders. There are some great units in the new book which is a huge improvement from the previous one. I am also glad they made Mandrakes and Hellions awesome. Wyches , I think got scaled back power wise a little bit with their special weapons choices and really you see a push from Phil Kelly to have more bodies on the field. The Pain token idea is a new concept for GW and it will make Dark Eldar tough as the army starts to ramp up they will only get stronger and having Wracks and other units in the list just for Pain Batteries is rough for a lot of armies.

That being said before the book came out I thought Dark Eldar were not going to shake up any of the meta game and IG and Spacewolves were still going to be on the top. Now that might be the case but working out some of these list I see them shaking up the metagame a little bit. Razorbackspam will be dead by mass hellion squads and mobile infantry. IG will have a hard time with killing DE with stealth and FNP throughout the army. There are ways where Dark Eldar can start their whole army with FNP and have 80 guys on turn one 6 inches from IG which will be really tough for any army out there to actually handle.

That being said here is a list going through the book that I worked out with a couple of buddies.

1850 Points
Baron Sathonyx
Haemonculusx 2 Venom blade, anitmas vitae
Hellions x 20 Stunclaw with upgrade
Hellions x 20 stunclaw with upgrade
Cronos parasite engine Spirit probe,sirit vortex
Cronos parasite engine Spirit probe,sirit vortex
Wracks x10 10 man squad with two luqifier guns wrack sarg upgrade
Raider for the Wracks aethersails
Wyches x9 + hetrix Blaster
Raider For Wyches
Wyches x9 + hetrix Blaster
Raider For Wyches
Wyches x9 + hetrix Blaster
Raider For Wyches

Stunclaws are a neat concept as you can take IC's with you when you hit and run. Next turn you’re still in close combat with your opponent‘s IC, which means they can't shoot at you. Hit and run again and you can Dark lance the HQ and if he isn't Eternal warrior you can instant kill him or if he is Eternal warrior just shoot the mass amount of poision weapons you have and kill him by thousand cuts. Parasites I think are going to be important for any army just to have the ability to pass out pain tokens. I want to try them out but I don't know how they will work out as you need to start killing something with them turn 1 or 2 to start passing out pain tokens otherwise they lose their effectiveness and you might as well get something else in there.

Central Texas Wargaming come join us at www.Centexwar.com

Hello everyone,

This new forum is designed to foster community growth in Central Texas by being a central location for gamers to communicate and coordinate with their local peers. The goal for this site is also to provide tools for store owners and gamers to help develop growth in the community around events, tactics, and general discussions.

We have a lot of ideas and development around the new forum which we will be promoting heavily to surrounding areas such as Austin, Dallas, Killeen, Houston and other areas around Central Texas.

Please Enjoy and if you have any suggestions or concerns please bring them up!


Come on and join us!

1850 Darkwynn's Blood Angel list for Adepticon

I have been play testing intensively for Adepticon already tweaking and working around a 1850 list trying to make Blood Angels work. I wanted to get away from the Guard feel and try not to relay so much on mechanized units. Main reason being point cost and really the Space marine units not strong enough compared to other codexs when you are comparing vehicles vs vehicles. Which brings me to the list I think I am going to play at Adepticon and across the country this year.

Blood Angels 1850.

Astroth the Grim
Librarian Sanguine sword might of heroes, Epistolary Jump pack.
Sanguniary Guard two IP , PF, Chapter Banner
Sanguinary priest 1 with power armour
Sanguniary priest 1 with Jump pack and power sword
10 man Assault squad with powerfist and two melta guns
10 man tactical squad with lascannon and flamer
10 man scout squad with power weapon. Haven't decided on 4 sniper rifles and a heavy bolter or just camo cloaks and bolt pistols.
2 5 man devastor squads with 4 missile launchers
2 attack bikes with Multi meltas
2 attack bikes with Multi meltas.

The big thing around this list is I have been fun playing it and it forces me to use more tactics around the game such as using terrain, threading assaults and intermixing units.

Let me know what you guys think, I know its different from a lot of other things and some people might understand how the list is used or works but it seems to hold very strong against mech in a lot of ways.

40k: Interview - Top GT Tread Heads - Part 4

40k: Interview - Top GT Tread Heads - Part 4







We are picking back up with the interview between IG heavy hitters Rob Baer, Paul Murphy, Nick Rose and Jon Wolf. We hope you've been reading from the start and look forward to your questions and comments.
Rob Baer - MBG says: I love blowing up tervigons
Rob Baer - MBG says:
Rob Baer - MBG says: I dont think MC nids can make it though to the second line.
Nicholas says: You don't run into MC nids much anymore, they don't work in 5th. At least not in America.
Jon says: Also reserving your short range meltavets is not a terrible choice against a list like that
Rob Baer - MBG says: the trick is to move up 6" and still fire the guys in side, OR dump them out
Jon says: empty boxes to wall them off, guys behind giving them melta/plasma love. Plasma is very worth having again, with nids and BA.
Paul says: Nick.. It does seem like the rest of the world has some whacked out opinions on how to build a list. Is that just because the play environment is so different over there?
Nicholas says: Ya, and people are more precise with their movements. America plays fast and loose, Europeans are a lot tighter in their game and the metagame is very different
Jon says: They play 3 hour games and they play to draw. So assault those bastards.
Nicholas says: only in the ETC not in the ESC that was designed to help with the language barrier
Paul says: People playing for draws from the start annoy the crap out of me but that is my inner blood angel talking.
Rob Baer - MBG says: yep
Nicholas says: That is what the ETC is designed for though its going to happen in the singles it happend some what but not as much or on purpose at least
Paul says: How so?
Nicholas says: People in singles only did it when they knew they were loosing and withdrew everything or push back where they would not loose and were conservative. Americans play big or go home and in the ETC they never took the bait I waited and tried to bait so many people.
Paul says: Trying to hold on to points after your initial plan for the win has failed isn't so bad, I don't guess.
Nicholas says: and they never did it or went for it. I played the Czech republic guy who was awesome to play against but he came to the table and said i am here to draw and he never went for the bait at all.
Jon says: To be fair, you were on their radar
Nicholas says: 5 times and they said I am here to do my job and that is it. Jon, ya, that is true. My experience was different from everyone else. Others on the team had a lot different experience.
Paul says: I suppose taking one for the team is honorable.. still.. not how I prefer to play.. I am a knuckle dragging american.
Nicholas says: Greg sparks and I were designed to Chew glass that whole week though and we chewed it with pride
Paul says: Ok. We have mostly talked about BA and a little nids Do the same strats that work for BAs work for Wolves?
Nicholas says: Wolves are very different
Paul says: I mean.. they do have 15 MLs that can shoot 6 targets a turn
Nicholas says: You need to take out the long fangs first then you can have room to move around the table.
Paul says: So what are you using for that?
Nicholas says: Hydras are great for it. Then multi laser out the other squad and hit it with a psyker battle squad to buy yourself time.
Rob Baer - MBG says: I love hydras
Paul says: I think we can all agree that hydras are a must have right?
Nicholas says: Yes
Rob Baer - MBG says: You know when they break, they are near the edge to begin with
Jon says: I don't play Hydras buy they are awesome.
Rob Baer - MBG says: ...
Nicholas says: Hydras should be in every list at lest two in a squadron
Rob Baer - MBG says: I love the 30 shot squad for 255 points
Paul says: Two is plenty
Nicholas says: Ya, only problem with hydras they have to stay still to do most of their damage
Rob Baer - MBG says: Agreed
Jon says: Two without the stubbers, I think. Just stock.
Ok readers – that is going to wrap up the interview excerpts for now. The conversation goes on from here and gets quite detailed. Check back next week for more! Thank you very much for following along this far and we hope you are enjoying it. - tpm

Daemon list as a thought on the way back from ETC

BloodThrister 250 Unholy might 20 points (270)
Hearld of Slannesh Chariot Pavene 85 pts

Fiendsx5 150
Fiendsx5 150
Fiendsx5 150

Plague Bearers x5 75 pts
Plague Bearers x5 75 pts
Plague Bearers x5 75 pts
Plague Bearers x5 75 pts

Seekers x 15 255pts
Seekers x 15 255pts

Soul Grinder

247 rending attacks...


Just something I am thinking about playing for the rest of the year. Scales pretty good as you just add soul grinders, princes or a hearld of Tzeentch.

That being said I am going to put a write a detail post on BOLS about the ETC. Great trip and a lot of fun. Made new friends and learned a lot. I am sure people are going to go crazy when I write the next article for bols.

Team America World Police!

European Championship Team America
“The American Roster”


The European Championship is coming up right around the corner and America is sending a team to represent our great country. We will do battle with 50 other countries to battle out to the top. That being said these are the people that are going to represent America (http://teamamerica40k.com/page2.html).


Name:
Ben Mohlie


Past 40k Accomplishments::
3rd place Adepticon Gladiator 09, Best Hybrid Army Adepticon '09. 3rd place team Adepticon '10, and Best Team Sportsman. And most notably, managing the challenges of getting Team America halfway around the world and back.

Where you live and your profession
I am a scientist at a research and development company in Cambridge, MA.

What army you are going to play
Space Marines

Why you wanted to be on Team America
I learned about the existence of the ETC almost exactly a year ago. I immediately knew America needed to participate in this event and prove that the best 40 players in the world live in the USA. There has never been an American team, or any team from outside of Europe.

I began by contacting players I knew were amongst the best in the country, and eventually found six that were willing to make the time and financial commitment to go. I also knew it was important to award some of the spots competitively, so the last two positions on the team were awarded at Adepticon based on the results of the individual tournaments there. It has been a long and difficult process, but I have no doubt every member of Team America is one of the best players in the Nation. Interest in the team, and the event itself have exploded since then, and I am confident there will be an American team at the ETC from now on.

By attending this year, we will turn the European Team Championship, into the World Team Championship. Twenty five countries are currently signed up, and this will be the first year any country from outside of Europe has attended. The organizers of this event have created something wonderful and important for the game of 40k. The format of the tournament is very well thought out and sophisticated, and whatever country wins can truly claim to be the best in the world. Team America is excited to participate and represent the USA!


Name
Greg Sparks

Where do I live?
Perrysburg, OH (Toledo) - which is way too close to Detroit. Someone needs to pave over that city.

What is my profession?
Senior Process Engineer (aka: Jack of all Trades Master of None) - Okay well maybe a master of a few things.
As of now - I'm having to do a lot of work to cater to hippies. Technical speak - reviewing and setting up our facilities to be in compliance with the various environmental regulations that are being released over the next few years. Plus a periodic, major plant expansion here and there.

What will I be playing?
As far as what army I'll be playing, I'm sticking with a favorite of mine - Eldar. It's just some random uncompetitive build. Nothing to see here.

Why do I want to be on Team America?
This is an unique experience where I can 1) represent this great country of ours, 2) have a fun trip with a great group of players/friends, and 3) meet & beat some Euros.

What are my past 40K Accomplishments?
Oh - where do I begin. I would say my top three 40K accomplishments include 1) The fact that I'm still playing this game after almost 20 years, 2) Finishing 900+ hours of sculpting, converting and painting my Chaos force over approximately 3 1/2 years (btw - I never want to do that again), and 3) Getting +16 combat resolution against Dakka Detachment One's blood crushers.


Name
Mike Mutscheller

Where do I live?
Victory Town USA

What is my profession?
Contractor/Project Manager - just to keep it simple, I run multi-million projects for a large construction company.

What will I be playing?
Chaos Space Marines

Why do I want to be on Team America?
Because Greg is making me.

What are my past 40K Accomplishments?
2007 US GW Tournament Circuit Winner. Almost fulfilling my indentured servitude to Greg. Does anyone want to take my place in Greg's AdeptiCon Team? If you are reading this, I'm locked in a basement. Send aid to 555.............






We had a special Interview for the one and only John Willingham… the following was captured below in his own words.

The following was interviewed in front of a live audience, many of which later described the interview as breath taking.

Interviewer: Your Name?
JW: Jon "The Man" Willingham
I: Who gave you the title... the man?
JW: First of all its pronounced "The Man" and second of all its Dr. "The Man" to you. Titles are not given, they are taken.

I: Were are you from.
JW: I was forged in the shadows of Detroit... the very bowels of Ohio, most know it as Toledo.

I: What is it you do when not playing 40k?
JW: Can I say being God-Like?
I: No..
JW: Then being God-Like. I also work for a Fall Protection company, but thats only part time to my first profession.

I: What army will you being using in the European Team Championships?
JW: Well it won't be called that once I'm done with it...
I: The army or the tournament?
JW: Both...
I: But which army?
JW: GERMAN SPY!!!!
I: ...
JW: Mostly Space Wolves.

I: What distinguishes you as a player worthy to represent America?
JW: One time, I tabled a newb by turn 4.
I: That doesn't really count as...
JW: Blindfolded.
I: Oh!
JW: Additionally I'm awesome. To add to that resume: I placed first in the 2008 and 2058 (yeah I know) Adepticon Championships. I got 3rd in the same tournament this year. Won the Adepticon Team Tournament in 2009 single handedly... but also along with my team. I once tied the Mike Mutscheller. I have night vision. Scatter dice always point to me, which counts as a hit. I one time won a game of Battle Fleet Gothic, with a fantasy army. Deamon players ask me which half I prefer. A sisters army need only roll less than me to activate an act of faith. I prefer all enemies. I've never needed to re-roll to hit or wound. I can preemptively steal my own initiative. My army lists have won Pulitzers. On a final note, I'm awesome.



Name
Wyatt "Paintraina" Traina



Where do I live?
Cambridge, MA

What is my profession?
Dental Student. Workin on collectin teef ta but a new shoota.

What will I be playing?
Footie Orks

Why do I want to be on Team America?
Because Ben convinced me that I wanted to go. Plus I want to be part of the first group of Americans to win this.

What are my past 40K Accomplishments?
Best Hybrid Army Adepticon '09. 8th place Gladiator Adepticon '10. 3rd place team Adepticon '10, and Best Team Sportsman. Best Overall Boston Brawl '10. Best Sportsman Da Boyz GT '09. Gold sci-fi single mini Boston Brawl '10.




What is your name - Shaun Kemp

What army will you be playing - Tyranids, because that was what was left.

And your Club Affiliation - DaBoyz

What do you do for a living - Allstate Insurance Sales. Also a part owner in my local hobby shop - Boldo's Armory in upstate New York.

Your reason for attending - I was lucky enough to be one of the few players that Ben actually knew when he was putting this together.

What are some of your past Warhammer accomplishments - I know I won 3 overall GT's (Baltimore, Chicago and Canada back when they had them) along with some best General, Best Army and Sportsman awards. How I won that last category, I'll never know. I also have an army domination coin somewhere - Woot!!! I was also able to participate on a winning team at a small local tournament called Adepticon. Sorry I don't have all the exact details. I can't refer to my trophy's which are set up as a shrine to worship like Muetschler nor have I taken the time to list my victories in a detailed spreadsheet format like Sparks.

What do you think will be some of the hardest challenges you'll face -

1) With different national languages and accents, communication might be a little difficult. Although I believe the handshake is known universally (as well as the middle finger).
2) Keep myself from staring at Ben's wife's "Assets" as she brings me my warm beer.
3) Putting up with Paul Miglino for over 16 hours of straight travel time - each way no less.

What do you hope will be some of your greatest accomplishments -

1) Bringing home the Gold.
2) Taking Jon Willingham over to Amsterdam and finally have him turned into a man.
3) Putting up with Paul Miglino for over 16 hours of straight travel time - each way no less.

Do you know that you have picked on almost every member of your team with this interview?

Why, who have I missed?

Wyatt Traina and Nick Rose.

Well Wyatt is easy. He's just Wyatt - nothing more needs to be said. Nick on the other hand, I don't really know too well. For all I know, he could be the only other valuable player on the team. Besides, from what little I've heard about him, I don't want to go and offend his "delicate sensibilities". This is being posted on BOLS after all.

On a serious note: I consider it a priviledge to be on the team and truly think very highly of my fellow teammates.




Name
Paul Miglino

Where do I live?
Deptford, NJ (Originally from Philadelphia, PA)

What is my profession?
I manage an equity trading desk for an Investment Advisory Firm.

What will I be playing?
Blood Angels

What is your Club Affiliation?
Wrecking Crew

Why do I want to be on Team America?
It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to play with and against the very best. Not to mention the rare chance to play overseas, in a hobby you love and sacrificed so much for, and all the while pushing around tin soldiers.

What are my past 40K Accomplishments?
Adepticon Gladiator 2010 (3rd Place)
Baltimore Games Day in 2009 (Best General)
Las Vegas 2008 40K GT (6th Place)
Currently ranked 4th Overall in the country according to the HQ Ranking system.
Won numerous local rogue trader events and have finished consecutive years in the top standings on the 40K Circuit.



Nick “Darkwynn” Rose



Where do I live? Austin, Texas


What is my profession?
I manage a 10 million dollar Storage Business in Upstate New York and Connecticut for Dell Inc.

What will I be playing? Imperial Guard

Why do I want to be on Team America?
After qualifying at Adepticon for Team America I thought it would be a once in a life time event and you only live once right? Hoping to bring back some glory for America in the Singles Championship and the European team Championship and of course extend the reach of Bell of Lost Souls to Europe.

What are my past 40K Accomplishments? Adepticon Gladiator 2010 1st, Ard boyz 2009 1stplace, Adepticon Singles, BolsCon Head Judge, Adepticon 4th 2008, Gladiator 2009 5th place.

The Movement phase? Why does'nt anyone ever talk about it

During 4th of July week I ran into John Willingham a teammate of mine for the European Team championship. We started to discuss the warhammer 40k list that the Europeans are using and just had a great laugh. I feel confident that we are going to do very well over there but I started to think lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. I can't judge a list by its cover entirely.

I don't want to go into list strengths, building redundancy, focusing on shooting or assault phase but why doesn't anyone ever talk about the movement phase? Personally its one of the most important phases in the game and once you have a better grasp around it it can make a huge difference in a game.

For example understanding your space between say a Leman Russ Demolisher and the range of the Demolisher cannon being 24 inches to 30 inches. If I know I can maneuver my unit around that distance I can effectively take that unit out of the picture and worry about other threats. The same goes for melta guns or the distance that transports can deliver those units. The thing I am saying is you can mitigate the damage in the movement phase and understand when you are taking risk you can focus and break down your opponents list much better then just going crazy with no plan. javascript:void(0)

Everyone loves the Psyker hoods on the Librarians and I find it amusing now. I have put players into this position multiple times even with Psyker Battle squads understanding the range on their weaken resolve or even their soulstorm blast is 36 inches. Every time I target a unit or fire soul storm I always make sure that the librarian is 24 inches away and he doesn't even have a chance of stopping the power.

So I guess I wonder do people ever consider the smaller intricacies of the movement phase or do they really understand how much actually happens during that time?

Leaf blower

How I Learned to Love the Game and Hate the Leafblower
by Darkwynn

Right before Adepticon I was excited about getting a chance to see all my old friends such as Hod and Steve from the Wrecking Crew, Allen Hernandez, Chester, Alex (Redbeard), Sparks and many others. I had no idea what I was walking into...

Black Templar oh how I love thee

I have loved the Black Templar since the start of time.

Since I started Warhammer 40,000 I’ve played many armies. Starting from Eldar in the Rogue Trader days to the my latest Imperial Guard. The one army that I've always had a soft spot for are my Black Templars. I remember when they first came out and the Emperors Champion could challenge annoying powerfist sergeants and protecting himself from the other squad's members as the pair dueled to the death. They also had Sisters of Battle supporting the army that handled the range firepower. The editions have changed and so have my play styles and list over the years. Here is one of the latest versions I use for 1850 on the previous GT circuit.

1850 Pt. Army list

Emperor Champion
-Accept any challenge no matter the odds

Marshal
-Storm shield, thunder hammer, terminator honors

Terminator Assault Squad
x3 Lighting claws and 2x thunder hammers (I do switch this around at times to a 4:1 ratio)

Land Raider Crusader (transport for the Terminators)

Terminator Assault Squad
x3 Lighting claws and 2x thunder hammers (I do switch this around at times to a 4:1 ratio)

Land Raider Crusader (transport for the Terminators)

Crusader Squad
5 initiates 3 neophytes Melta gun power fist w/drop pod

Crusader Squad
5 initiates 3 neophytes Melta gun power fist w/drop pod

Crusader Squad
5 initiates 2 neophytes Melta gun power fist w/drop pod

Land Speeder with Multi Melta

Land Speeder with Multi Melta

Army Tactics
Deployment
This army has always been simple to play. It is unforgiving in a lot of ways and gives you a good all-comers list if you can understand it's weakness and know its strengths. I have two methods of deployment with the list. Usually it depends if I am going first or second. If I am going first I will deploy both my Land Raiders in the middle or on one side of the table to divide my opponent’s army. I run the Land Speeders behind the Land Raiders to provide protection till it’s time to hit key targets. The army has a problem as its sweet spot is in the range of 12 and 24 inches. Any army that has mobility can be pain in the butt for you to face and if they can stay 24 inches away there is a good chance they can win. You use the Land Raiders to cut off angles and the drop pods to box them in allowing your Terminators to come out and multiple assault bad guy units and just eat everything up with the reroll miss and reroll to wound lighting claws.

If I am going to go second I will usually reserve my whole army. Having the old edition of Drop pods combined with the reserving Land Raiders can limit the amount of damage my units can take and put them into key areas for counter assaults.

Unit Notes
The main hammer of the army is obvious the Terminators in the LRC which will have the Emperor's Champion in it sometimes or the Marshall depending what armies I am playing. The problem I have with these is you have roughly 1000 points invested into these 4 units (Terminators and LRC) and if one of these units breaks down or gets destroyed you take out a big piece of the hammer and a big portion of the army's hitting power. You have to be careful yet aggressive with these units which can be tough at times.

Emperor's Champion is a great troop killer instead of a character killer. He has no longer become a Slayer of Champions so use him to the best you can and get him in the meat grinder.

Marshall is great for the LD:10 to the whole army as I always have units break and he limits that a lot. With a Thunder Hammer he can assault bigger units such as Monstrous Creatures and tanks and has a chance of breaking them with STR:9 on the charge.

Crusader squads are cheap units to land in key areas to hit tanks, slow units down, put pressure or lead groups into the hammer.

Land Speeders are just there for some cheap mobility anti-tank which Black Templars have always lacked. Since they have lacked anti tank, I have never bothered going through the old 4th edition of las plas squads which they can do. Because if you are going to use the las plas setup in a game, why not play normal space marines?

~Here has what has worked for me over the 9 years of playing Black Templar. Tell me what has worked for you guys over that time and how the Black Templar’s are performing for you (or against you foul Xenos) in 5th edition.

Is there too much Melta out there?

Darkwynn here,

So, everyone has been talking about these net lists which makes your game ten times better if you take them. They are the hyper focused lists whose sole purpose is to spam a specific unit or weapon type with the more common ones being melta-spam and troop transports of late. But what happens when you go against a player who exploits those weaknesses because you have too much of that one good thing? What do you do when you don't have the right tools for the job?

I have seen the meta game slowly moving this way a lot over the last 2 years but now it’s just gone to the extreme due to meltaguns costing 5 points. New net lists now commonly spam a good number of 20+ Melta guns. But why? So you can get up close and blow that transport away or rush up with 5 squads to kill that one Land Raider in your opponent's list only to get assaulted afterward?

Quick Melta recap:
-Range of 12 inches or 24 inches if you are using Multi-Melta
-Str 8 AP1, half range 2d6 armor pen.
Pros
- Great for killing T4 characters without Eternal Warrior
- Destroying vehicles- esp. against AV13-14
Cons
- Short range of 12 inches
- Limited situations in which it benefits
- Have to be extremely close for the double pen bonus

Now you can't deny that Melta and vehicles are great in 5th edition, but you need to notice that you have other tools in your box besides the hammer. Everyone complained and said it was silly to take plasmaguns on Command squads for instance. Plasma has double the shots and if you are going to commit that unit to kill infantry or go after certain heavy armor units, it will be much more efficient than a unit of meltaguns.

Some of the most effective units that plasma is great for killing are monstrous creatures, Eternal Warrior characters, Feel-no-pain units, Eldar Avatars, models over toughness 5 and those multi-wound models over toughness 5. To put this into perspective: if you are going to get in position to try and take down any of those types of units with melta and it doesn't go well, chances are that your melta unit is going to die next turn. Now some people will say: “Well, that is why you have so many. You can commit two units to do the job, but why do that when I can do it with one?”

A good player will notice and take in consideration your limited range and your inherent weakness that you develop in an ultra focused list. There are great ways to deal with melta, especially when a lot of people are not taking extra armor on tanks because it’s too expensive right now or they have foot slogger units.

One of the best things I enjoy in a game is to stun or shake a transport then move around it so that it can't leave or the guys are unable to get out to shoot anyone else. Then the next turn, I can shake it again and focus on killing other items while delaying that unit from getting into the game. Another is when I notice you only have one or two long range hitting weapons and I am running 5 rhinos. I would rush my rhinos up as much as I can and then pop smoke when I am 12 to 15 inches away. That way if you do come out and try to blow up my rhinos, you’re not going to be effective and when you do, I am out on the next turn to kill you. What do you do if you are playing kill points in a tournament and the player has long range fire power and mobility but the only thing your marines have is Melta guns to the max? A smart player will just blow up your transports and focus on small units while running away and winning by just killing a few units, but you couldn't do anything because you could never get weapons close enough to do their jobs.

The big thing I am saying is that people need to realize when one piece of equipment or "super unit" is overused you can end up min-maxing yourself into a very tight corner and end up with a one-trick-pony army that can't handle multiple situations. So the next time you are making a list and you already know you have 9 Melta guns, ask yourself if you really need more than that. Also, remember every person plays differently and you really need to tune that list to your play style.

~So table top generals, tell me what your thoughts and feelings are on these new net lists. Also, do people think a balanced approach is something you always need to consider or is the ultra focused list the only way to go? Finally, the million dollar question: melta, plasma, or flamers?

Thoughts on Ard boyz

Darkwynn’s Corner


Ard Boy’z Finals


So Ard boyz is coming back around and I am going to head up to Chicago after winning first at the semi-finals in Texas. I look forward going back up there to see a lot of my friends and people from across the country. Which brings me into getting prepared for the finals, I have started to do testing as I foresee the finals being about 40% guard and 30% blood Angels with 10% space wolves and other armies sprinkled among the masses. The biggest threat will be guard for sure with their low cost units and high amount of vehicles that can get close to 18-20 vehicles on the board. This is a list I thought up that I think could hold its own against an Imperial Guard player and with a little luck make quick work out of him.

Blood Angels 2500 points
HQ
Librarian
Shield of Sanguinius
Sanguine Sword
Elite
Furioso Liberian
Shield of Sanguinius
Wings of Sanguinius

Honor Guard
Flamer x3 Blood Champion
Razorback with Heavy Flamer

Troops
Assault Squad x10
Melta Gun x2
Powerfist
Rhino
Assault Squad x10
Melta Gun x2
Powerfist
Rhino
Assault Squad x10
Melta Gun x2
Powerfist
Rhino
Assault Squad x10
Melta Gun x2
Powerfist
Rhino
Assault Squad x10
Melta Gun x2
Powerfist
Rhino

Fast Attack
Baal Predator
Baal Predator
Baal Predator
Heavy
Vindicator
Predator
Autocannon with Las cannon sponsons
Predator
Autocannon with Las cannon sponsons


The idea is if I go first against Guard is to push forward pop smoke and use the Predators and Vindicators to either shake or stun key targets. After that I should be in range to either assault or start breaking down the enemy. On top of that I will have Dreadnoughts in the area who will be able to cast Shield of Sanguinius to help give nearby vehicles a 5+ cover save. Hoping with a little bit of luck I can tear through Mech Ig with multiple assaults and then just keep pushing.

Now, this is what I am worried about… Marines. How do you handle super death star units such as Thunder Calvery Wolf lords with lots of dire wolves? How do you handle Loganwing? What about some Super HQ units you see out there such as Abanadon? If I see any of these types of armies I have to secure a multiple assault and overwhelm the unit by three or four times the amount that is needed. This is my concern with a list like this as there is no hard heavy hitting unit expect for hitting like a flood of water onto a unit.

So here are my thoughts for Ard boyz, want to know what other people are thinking and what are their concerns for the big event coming up right around the corner?