So here's the latest iteration of my swarm at 2000 points. The two biggest changes are the Trygons and the Hormagaunts. On the Trygons, I couldn't justify the cost of the Prime upgrades; the extra synapse, Shadow in the Warp, and firepower were nice, but made the list more difficult to scale without giving it any new capabilities. The Hormagaunts are something entirely new. There have been a few games were I have really felt the lack of a unit that could put out a massive number of wounds, and I think I need that capability. Previously I've used devourer-armed Gaunts for that role, but they tend to only get one shot off before being neutralized, and lose effectiveness against high Toughness models. I can't help but think about how that combat against the Thunderwolves would have gone if I'd had a unit capable of forcing more saves - 3+ and 3++ have to give out eventually.
HQ:
Hive Tyrant w/ Leech Essence, Paroxysm, Scything talons, Wings, Hive Commander, TL BL devourers -270
Elites:
1 Zoanthrope in Mycetic Spore
1 Zoanthrope in Mycetic Spore
2 Hive Guard
Troops:
8 Genestealers
8 Genestealers
10 Termagants in Mycetic Spore
10 Termagants in Mycetic Spore
Tervigon w/ Stinger Salvo, Dominion, Catalyst, Toxin Sacs, Adrenal Glands
20 Hormagaunts w/ Toxin Sacs in Mycetic Spore
Heavy Support:
Trygon
Trygon
Carnifex w/ TL BL devourers x2 in Mycetic Spore
I'd still like more Synapse coverage, but the only unit it will really hinder is the Carnifex. The Hormagaunts might get Swept every now and again, but they're about as likely to die in a Sweeping Advance as they are to fall back, rally, and assault again.
.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Tournament Breakdown
Despite my win/loss ration yesterday (1-2), I'm pretty happy with the Tyranids' performance. The Vanguard Swarm did exactly what it was designed to do; drop on top of my opponent, light them up, and then finish them off in claw to hand combat. Vehicles were not a problem - a single Chimera was the only vehicle fielded against me that survived. The problem was me. In my second game, I botched my initial strike and set the swarm up to be defeated in detail, while in the third I failed to even come up with a decent plan, with predictable results. Overall I think the Vanguard Nids concept is still valid, but it was definitely a day for learning from my mistakes.
Game 1: The Cadian 35th.
This scenario was a Spearhead deployment with 5 objectives: 1 dead center, and 1 centered in each of the four table quarters. My opponent went with a combined arms approach, fielding 3 Chimera mounted infantry squads, some Stormtroopers, a Company Command Squad kitted for Morale boosting with its own Chimera, the obligatory melta Vets hitching a ride in a Vendetta, a squadron of lascannon toting Scout Sentinels, a squadron of 2 Leman Russes, another Squadron of Griffon heavy mortars, and a Manticore.
The game was a textbook Tyranid massacre, aided by some good luck. The Griffons and Manticore were destroyed by outflanking Genestealers and a Tervigon, his Chimeras were halted and wrecked by Zoanthropes and the Carnifex, while his Russes found themselves pinned between terrain and a Trygon. Most of his transports weathered my arrival on turn two, but were hamstrung by lack of supporting fire, a few stunned/shaken, and immobilized results, and terrain. The Carnifex had a field day with side armor Devourer shots and assaults. There was a brief moment when it looked like his Melta Vets and their Vendetta would be able to fight blast apart the Trygon Prime sent to devour them and hold out long enough for his reserves to show up, but they were 1 wound shy of killing it, and neither they nor their gunship survived the next turn. The Guard player conceded at the bottom of Turn 5, with only an immobilized Chimera and a single infantry platoon remaining. I lost maybe seven models.
Overall this was my least favorite game of the day. My opponent seemed genuinely affronted when I gave him first turn and then reserved everything, and his attitude went downhill from there. It made tabletop conversation ... monotonous.
Game 2: Space Wolves
And here comes the pain! For my second match, I got my first crack at Thunderwolf Cavalry. My opponent fielded a fairly straightforward list: 2 squads of Longfangs, 3 smallish squads of Grey Hunters mounted in Rhinos, and two groups of 5 Thunderwolves, each kitted for allocation and with an attendant Wolf Lord.
The scenario was a bit odd. Their were several secondary sets of objectives, but the big one was control of an 18" circle at the board's center. Deployment was standard Pitched Battle.Victory on the primary objective went to the player who could get any of his units into that circle and prevent his opponent from doing the same; failing that, it went to victory points from units destroyed either within or by units within the circle. Confused yet? So were we. The Thunderdome jokes didn't really help.
My opponent won the roll, and elected to go first. He picked the side with the most terrain, and turn two saw his Long Fangs and Thunderwolves holding position, while his Grey Hunters had all driven up into the circle and popped smoke. My reserve rolls were quite good; everything but the Hive Guard and Trygon Prime came in. Unfortunately I was too smart for my own good. In stead of trying to deliver a hammer blow to one of those Thunderwolf squads, I split up; the Zoanthropes futilely tried to crack the Rhinos so the Trygon could start mulching Grey Hunters next turn, and failed to do more than stun them. The Hive Tyrant rolled boxcars trying to hit the Thunderwolves with Paroxysm, and the follow up shooting from her devourers and the Carnifex didn't hurt them enough. I managed to do alot of damage without really impeding his ability to hurt me. The next turn saw a good third of my swarm annihilated in assault, and the situation went downhill from there. On the final turn he only had one unit of Grey Hunters left within the victory circle, but my surviving devourer gaunts were too far away to get more than a few shots off, and there were too few Genestealers left to win the assault and take it for themselves. Ultimately I took a decent chunk out of his list, but was almost tabled in return - Turn 6 ended with only a few gaunts and Hive Guard left on the table.
This was my favorite game of the day: a new army style, a great opponent, and an instructive beating. In retrospect I should have concentrated on the secondary objectives, which were a pair of Capture and Control type markers that ended up on the left side of the board. I could have simply refused to enter the circle, contested it on the final turn, and held the two secondary objectives. If I had concentrated on one flank instead of splitting up, it might have gone differently. As it was, I tried to pull off a plan I should have known was too complex to work.
Game 3: Tyranids
I'll be honest; I hate Tyranid vs. Tyranid matchups. Setup was Kill Points and Dawn of War. He brought a conventional swarm basis - Prime HQ, Hive Guard, Doom of Malan'tai, 2 Tervigons with gaunts, and a Trygon, but added in a brood of 2 Screamer Killers, an outflanking brood of Genestealers with Broodlord, and a unit of lashwhip/bonesword warriors. I spent too much time trying to position for the arrival of the Doom of Malan'tai and making sure those Warriors stayed out of assault. My initial plan was to castle in the table quarter furthest from his Warriors, take a few early kill points, then play defensively for the rest of the game. Thing was, I couldn't get the castle set up. Only four units made it in that turn (after the Tyrant mishapped back into reserve - for the first, but not the last, time), and they weren't up to performing the assassination run on the Tervigon in that quarter that I'd been planning. As a result he had time to spawn and bring in reserves, and my castle turned into a no man's land awash in Genestealer ichor and Termagant pulp.
At this point I realized I had no fallback plan at all, and started sniping Kill Points where I could get them. There were quite a few to be had, but I couldn't collect them without offering up more of my own, and I ended up nearly tabled again, with the final tally being about 16 Kill Points to 12.
Overall it was a good day. I got to play some excellent opponents, see some great looking armies, and test my grasp of the game. I was a little surprised at how few Marine armies were fielded; most of the major variants were about, but there was a refreshingly large number of Xenos players.
More thoughts on listbuilding to (hopefully) follow.
Game 1: The Cadian 35th.
This scenario was a Spearhead deployment with 5 objectives: 1 dead center, and 1 centered in each of the four table quarters. My opponent went with a combined arms approach, fielding 3 Chimera mounted infantry squads, some Stormtroopers, a Company Command Squad kitted for Morale boosting with its own Chimera, the obligatory melta Vets hitching a ride in a Vendetta, a squadron of lascannon toting Scout Sentinels, a squadron of 2 Leman Russes, another Squadron of Griffon heavy mortars, and a Manticore.
The game was a textbook Tyranid massacre, aided by some good luck. The Griffons and Manticore were destroyed by outflanking Genestealers and a Tervigon, his Chimeras were halted and wrecked by Zoanthropes and the Carnifex, while his Russes found themselves pinned between terrain and a Trygon. Most of his transports weathered my arrival on turn two, but were hamstrung by lack of supporting fire, a few stunned/shaken, and immobilized results, and terrain. The Carnifex had a field day with side armor Devourer shots and assaults. There was a brief moment when it looked like his Melta Vets and their Vendetta would be able to fight blast apart the Trygon Prime sent to devour them and hold out long enough for his reserves to show up, but they were 1 wound shy of killing it, and neither they nor their gunship survived the next turn. The Guard player conceded at the bottom of Turn 5, with only an immobilized Chimera and a single infantry platoon remaining. I lost maybe seven models.
Overall this was my least favorite game of the day. My opponent seemed genuinely affronted when I gave him first turn and then reserved everything, and his attitude went downhill from there. It made tabletop conversation ... monotonous.
Game 2: Space Wolves
And here comes the pain! For my second match, I got my first crack at Thunderwolf Cavalry. My opponent fielded a fairly straightforward list: 2 squads of Longfangs, 3 smallish squads of Grey Hunters mounted in Rhinos, and two groups of 5 Thunderwolves, each kitted for allocation and with an attendant Wolf Lord.
The scenario was a bit odd. Their were several secondary sets of objectives, but the big one was control of an 18" circle at the board's center. Deployment was standard Pitched Battle.Victory on the primary objective went to the player who could get any of his units into that circle and prevent his opponent from doing the same; failing that, it went to victory points from units destroyed either within or by units within the circle. Confused yet? So were we. The Thunderdome jokes didn't really help.
My opponent won the roll, and elected to go first. He picked the side with the most terrain, and turn two saw his Long Fangs and Thunderwolves holding position, while his Grey Hunters had all driven up into the circle and popped smoke. My reserve rolls were quite good; everything but the Hive Guard and Trygon Prime came in. Unfortunately I was too smart for my own good. In stead of trying to deliver a hammer blow to one of those Thunderwolf squads, I split up; the Zoanthropes futilely tried to crack the Rhinos so the Trygon could start mulching Grey Hunters next turn, and failed to do more than stun them. The Hive Tyrant rolled boxcars trying to hit the Thunderwolves with Paroxysm, and the follow up shooting from her devourers and the Carnifex didn't hurt them enough. I managed to do alot of damage without really impeding his ability to hurt me. The next turn saw a good third of my swarm annihilated in assault, and the situation went downhill from there. On the final turn he only had one unit of Grey Hunters left within the victory circle, but my surviving devourer gaunts were too far away to get more than a few shots off, and there were too few Genestealers left to win the assault and take it for themselves. Ultimately I took a decent chunk out of his list, but was almost tabled in return - Turn 6 ended with only a few gaunts and Hive Guard left on the table.
This was my favorite game of the day: a new army style, a great opponent, and an instructive beating. In retrospect I should have concentrated on the secondary objectives, which were a pair of Capture and Control type markers that ended up on the left side of the board. I could have simply refused to enter the circle, contested it on the final turn, and held the two secondary objectives. If I had concentrated on one flank instead of splitting up, it might have gone differently. As it was, I tried to pull off a plan I should have known was too complex to work.
Game 3: Tyranids
I'll be honest; I hate Tyranid vs. Tyranid matchups. Setup was Kill Points and Dawn of War. He brought a conventional swarm basis - Prime HQ, Hive Guard, Doom of Malan'tai, 2 Tervigons with gaunts, and a Trygon, but added in a brood of 2 Screamer Killers, an outflanking brood of Genestealers with Broodlord, and a unit of lashwhip/bonesword warriors. I spent too much time trying to position for the arrival of the Doom of Malan'tai and making sure those Warriors stayed out of assault. My initial plan was to castle in the table quarter furthest from his Warriors, take a few early kill points, then play defensively for the rest of the game. Thing was, I couldn't get the castle set up. Only four units made it in that turn (after the Tyrant mishapped back into reserve - for the first, but not the last, time), and they weren't up to performing the assassination run on the Tervigon in that quarter that I'd been planning. As a result he had time to spawn and bring in reserves, and my castle turned into a no man's land awash in Genestealer ichor and Termagant pulp.
At this point I realized I had no fallback plan at all, and started sniping Kill Points where I could get them. There were quite a few to be had, but I couldn't collect them without offering up more of my own, and I ended up nearly tabled again, with the final tally being about 16 Kill Points to 12.
Overall it was a good day. I got to play some excellent opponents, see some great looking armies, and test my grasp of the game. I was a little surprised at how few Marine armies were fielded; most of the major variants were about, but there was a refreshingly large number of Xenos players.
More thoughts on listbuilding to (hopefully) follow.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Battles of the Maelstrom
Just got back from Battles of the Maelstrom at Legions Games. Went 1-2, so not as well as I was hoping, but had some decent games and a good time. Top 3 were Dark Eldar, Tau, and Tyranids, in that order. My own matchups were Imperial Guard, Space Wolves, and the Tyranid player who took 3rd overall. Bit disappointing on the win/loss ratio, but any day you make a Guard player ragequit a tournament counts as an (im)moral victory.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
All for the low, low cost of your soul... Daemons at 2000
So I've been thinking a bit more about what my Daemons should look like once they get up to speed. There's still some room for improvement, but here's my current take.
HQ:
Skarbrand the Exiled One
Herald of Tzeentch w/ Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch, Master of Sorcery, Chariot
Herald of Tzeentch w/ Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch, Master of Sorcery, Chariot
Elites:
6 Fiends of Slaanesh
Troops:
10 Daemonettes
10 Daemonettes
10 Daemonettes
5 Plaguebearers
5 Plaguebearers
5 Pink Horrors w/ Bolt of Tzeentch & the Changeling
Fast Attack:
10 Seekers of Slaanesh
Heavy Support:
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch
The list might not be entirely marked as Slaaneshi, but won't be mistaken for anything else once the conversions are finished. 6 Bolts feels a little light, and having no ranged answer to a Land Raider is worrying, but Soul Grinders do not seem like a good investment. BS 3 and 1 shot? I don't think so - my Tyrannofex at least gets two, has twice the range, and is still lucky to actually destroy anything.
Skarbrand needs some explanation. While a handy combat beatstick, his melee reroll aura also affects enemies, which is a real liability when you're striking on initiative 4 and already hitting on threes. Happily the Slaaneshi combat units should be swinging at initiative 5 & 6, are hitting most things on 4s, and have a boatload of rending attacks - the Daemonettes alone get 40 on the charge. The rerolls take them from denting most units to crippling them before they can swing. Skarbrand's aura still works both ways, but means there are significantly less enemy models that get to benefit from it. And hey, since there's an entire codex that already gets melee rerolls against Daemons, who's really counting?
The Daemonettes also have defensive grenades, which means I can afford to let them receive a charge within the aura and still have some possibility of the unit surviving the return blows. They'll die to bolter fire like its their job, but that's true of 90% of the Daemons codex.
Thoughts?
HQ:
Skarbrand the Exiled One
Herald of Tzeentch w/ Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch, Master of Sorcery, Chariot
Herald of Tzeentch w/ Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch, Master of Sorcery, Chariot
Elites:
6 Fiends of Slaanesh
Troops:
10 Daemonettes
10 Daemonettes
10 Daemonettes
5 Plaguebearers
5 Plaguebearers
5 Pink Horrors w/ Bolt of Tzeentch & the Changeling
Fast Attack:
10 Seekers of Slaanesh
Heavy Support:
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch
The list might not be entirely marked as Slaaneshi, but won't be mistaken for anything else once the conversions are finished. 6 Bolts feels a little light, and having no ranged answer to a Land Raider is worrying, but Soul Grinders do not seem like a good investment. BS 3 and 1 shot? I don't think so - my Tyrannofex at least gets two, has twice the range, and is still lucky to actually destroy anything.
Skarbrand needs some explanation. While a handy combat beatstick, his melee reroll aura also affects enemies, which is a real liability when you're striking on initiative 4 and already hitting on threes. Happily the Slaaneshi combat units should be swinging at initiative 5 & 6, are hitting most things on 4s, and have a boatload of rending attacks - the Daemonettes alone get 40 on the charge. The rerolls take them from denting most units to crippling them before they can swing. Skarbrand's aura still works both ways, but means there are significantly less enemy models that get to benefit from it. And hey, since there's an entire codex that already gets melee rerolls against Daemons, who's really counting?
The Daemonettes also have defensive grenades, which means I can afford to let them receive a charge within the aura and still have some possibility of the unit surviving the return blows. They'll die to bolter fire like its their job, but that's true of 90% of the Daemons codex.
Thoughts?
Update Time!
Not too much new on the gaming front. Managed to test out the list I posted below, and it performed above expectations, nearly tabling my opponent by turn 5. Still, that was something of a fluke - Dawn of War deployment, me going second, and my entire army arriving on turn 2 really magnified the swarm's strength. I'd like some more playtesting before this weekend, but don't think I"m likely to get it.
In the Escalation League, my Slaaneshi Daemons managed to fight another cabal of Dark Eldar to a draw. The real fun came in the second round of the evening - a grudge match against Khornate daemons. Despite the presence of a Bloodthirster, the forces of Slaanesh emerged victorious, banishing their hated rivals back to the Warp and claiming another world for the Lord of Excess. Next week the points increase to 750, and I think it'll be time to bring in another Daemon Prince and some Seekers...
In the Escalation League, my Slaaneshi Daemons managed to fight another cabal of Dark Eldar to a draw. The real fun came in the second round of the evening - a grudge match against Khornate daemons. Despite the presence of a Bloodthirster, the forces of Slaanesh emerged victorious, banishing their hated rivals back to the Warp and claiming another world for the Lord of Excess. Next week the points increase to 750, and I think it'll be time to bring in another Daemon Prince and some Seekers...
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Tournament Planning
So it looks like Legion games is running an 1850 point tournament in two weeks. Since my home doesn't have a tournament scene to speak of and I finally have some free time and energy, I'll be making the trek back there to get my competitive fix. The Vanguard list and my use of it has come a long way since the last time I was there in March, and I'm excited (as well as a bit nervous) about pitting it against some more dangerous prey.
Here's what I'm thinking of taking - should clock in at 1849 points.
HQ:
Hive Tyrant w/ lashwhip & bonesword, Leech Essence, Paroxysm, Wings, Hive Commander, TL BL devourers
Elites:
1 Zoanthrope in Mycetic Spore
1 Zoanthrope in Mycetic Spore
2 Hive Guard
Troops:
8 Genestealers
8 Genestealers
Tervigon w/ Stinger Salvo, Dominion, Catalyst, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs
10 Termagants w/ devourers in Mycetic Spore
Heavy Support:
Trygon Prime
Trygon Prime
Carnifex w/ TL BL devourers x2 in Mycetic Spore w/ TL deathspitters
As always, everything starts in reserve unless the terrain/objectives make it advantageous for individual units to deploy/infiltrate. I don't have quite the numbers I'd like, but do have close combat ability, enough synapse to keep my units under control and make psyker heavy armies nervous, enough midstrength shooting to dent swarms and light vehicles, and the ability to choose my ground. The extra shooting also allows a bit more flexibility, allowing me to either go for the throat or stand back and shoot before going for the kill.
I'm not entirely sold on the Hive Guard, but I need at least one AT weapon that doesn't rely on deepstriking at point blank range or a psychic test. If I'm lucky, I can use the Trygon tunnels to give them some rear/side shots. At worst, they walk on from my deployment zone and shoot down the inevitable attempts at Tank Shocking me off a home objective.
Thoughts? Comments? Glaring weaknesses I've missed?
Here's what I'm thinking of taking - should clock in at 1849 points.
HQ:
Hive Tyrant w/ lashwhip & bonesword, Leech Essence, Paroxysm, Wings, Hive Commander, TL BL devourers
Elites:
1 Zoanthrope in Mycetic Spore
1 Zoanthrope in Mycetic Spore
2 Hive Guard
Troops:
8 Genestealers
8 Genestealers
Tervigon w/ Stinger Salvo, Dominion, Catalyst, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs
10 Termagants w/ devourers in Mycetic Spore
Heavy Support:
Trygon Prime
Trygon Prime
Carnifex w/ TL BL devourers x2 in Mycetic Spore w/ TL deathspitters
As always, everything starts in reserve unless the terrain/objectives make it advantageous for individual units to deploy/infiltrate. I don't have quite the numbers I'd like, but do have close combat ability, enough synapse to keep my units under control and make psyker heavy armies nervous, enough midstrength shooting to dent swarms and light vehicles, and the ability to choose my ground. The extra shooting also allows a bit more flexibility, allowing me to either go for the throat or stand back and shoot before going for the kill.
I'm not entirely sold on the Hive Guard, but I need at least one AT weapon that doesn't rely on deepstriking at point blank range or a psychic test. If I'm lucky, I can use the Trygon tunnels to give them some rear/side shots. At worst, they walk on from my deployment zone and shoot down the inevitable attempts at Tank Shocking me off a home objective.
Thoughts? Comments? Glaring weaknesses I've missed?
Thursday, June 2, 2011
From the Warp...
Taking a brief break from my Tyranids to reap some souls for the Chaos Gods. The local gaming store started up an escalation league this evening, and it seemed the perfect opportunity to break out the side project I've been modeling for the last few months - Slaaneshi Daemons. Got in two 500 pt games against Dark Eldar and Space Marines, and both went surprisingly well. I caught a lucky break against the Eldar when my Plaguebearers, Daemon Prince, and Herald managed to wipe out a full unit of Wyches via Sweeping Advance after a bad leadership test. The Marines were almost wiped out, inflicting only nominal casualties, but heroically held my troops off the objectives and forced a draw.
Most Valuable Unit award for the evening has to go to my Plaguebearers. They killed very little, but made great mobile cover for the Daemonettes and absorbed a sickening amount of damage, at various points tanking a charging Wyche squad, an annoyed Captain and his friends, and wading through small arms fire like it was a light breeze.
Hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures of the next round of games, as well as a few more from the next few planets the Tyranids devour.
Most Valuable Unit award for the evening has to go to my Plaguebearers. They killed very little, but made great mobile cover for the Daemonettes and absorbed a sickening amount of damage, at various points tanking a charging Wyche squad, an annoyed Captain and his friends, and wading through small arms fire like it was a light breeze.
Hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures of the next round of games, as well as a few more from the next few planets the Tyranids devour.
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