Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Cry Havoc
List Building

Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war

- attributed to the dramaturge Shakespire (fl. M2)

The first thing a player does when choosing an army, collecting a second army, or re-tooling their current army is build a list. Each player has their own ideas on how to successfully build an army list. The method I used to build my Space Wolves is the same method that I espouse to those that ask my assistance with their armies. Deathwolf's tenants of list building are as follows:

  1. Collect What You Like. Warhammer is your hobby. That being said it takes a lot of time/work to assemble and paint your army. By choosing the models that you like you can make the process more enjoyable. Furthermore, playing with models that you enjoy will ensure that the game is still fun even when you're not winning. Let's face it, no one wins all the time. Sometimes we make a mistake or our dice are cursed and victory slips through our fingers. During games like that it's nice to have an army that you enjoy playing because even though you lost, you can still enjoyed the game.
  2. Know Your Army. Learning how to play your army and knowing the limits of your units is incredibly important. Even "good" units aren't necessarily good at everything. For example, Walkers kill Thunderwolves. Surprisingly, it took me several months and numerous lost games to learn that lesson. I now rely on Long Fangs and Grey Hunters to take down Dreadnoughts and Defilers. By learning the strengths and weaknesses of the units available in your codex you can select a balanced army that contains the tools necessary to achieve victory.
  3. Make Sure You Have Anti-Armor. Tanks and transports are everywhere. In order to have a chance you need to take weaponry that can handle units with an AV. One lascannon isn't anti-armor. You need to be able to reliably handle the enemy armor that you commonly face. Of course the flip side to this point is facing a horde army. Meltaguns and lascannon generally aren't much use against Tyranids or Orks. You need to have enough anti-armor weaponry to deal with enemy vehicles but not so much that your army won't be able to handle a foot army.
  4. Play to Your Strengths. Each of us has a way that we enjoy playing the game. Some people will turn any list they build from any codex into a gun line, while others like to rush forward and get stuck in close combat. There are many different styles of play. Identify your style and build your list towards it. For example, I like the Imperial Guard valkyrie model. When the kit was released I bought three of them and made a 1000 point Imperial Guard list. Here was the catch, I'm not a big shooting phase type of player. I consistently misplayed my short-lived Imperial Guard army because it didn't conform to the style of play that I generally prefer. By creating a list that plays to your strengths you ensure that both you and your army are working in conjunction rather than at cross purposes.
As I said before, those are my basic tenets of list building. I know other people approach the subject differently and we could all benefit from your ideas. Please post your thoughts and comments.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The End of Tarus IV

The campaign for Tarus IV has ended.  With the loss of the southern drop-site and no further inroads to the capital, Imperial commanders made one last ditch effort.

Take volunteers to drop into the heavily defended capital and destroy or disable as many shield generators as possible, with this done they can bomb the capital from orbit and re-take whats left and rebuild.

Without hesitation company commanders from the Angels Sanguine and Black Templar's stepped forward with Harald Deathwolf's great company to take up the task of dropping their forces into the city.  Oaths of the moment were taken and their forces made way to the launch bays.

The order was given as well for the ground troops:

+++ Tactical withdraw to dropsite omega ETR 5 hours, FAILURE TO WITHDRAW WILL BE MET WITH EXTERMINATION +++

The front lines receded to the northern drop site as imperial troops were evacuated off the planet from orbital landers and transports. During the retreat many units were felled by the chain axes of Khorne and fast moving artillery units of the Blood Pact assisted the world eaters in their frenzied attacks.




Meanwhile at the the Angels of Death were fast approaching the capital city from orbit:


Even Harald Deathwolf made a special appearance:

The forces of the renegade thousand suns guarding the outposts were overwhelmed but with great cost to the Imperial forces.  They knew this could be a one way trip.  Out of the 70 marines that dropped into the capital less than 20 of their brethren made it back, wounded or otherwise.

The heavily damaged thunderhawk was able to escape with:
Harald Deathwolf
Arjac Rockfist
1 Wolf-guard
1 Black Templar's Chaplin
1 Disabled Dreadnought flown in by storm-raven.
Several Black Templar's (who abandoned their jet-bikes)
+++A more complete list to follow+++


At the dropsite the combined forces of the world eaters and blood pact were able to disable a scout titan awaiting its orbital lander and Kharn himself lead his world-eaters through an lightly defended gate, 
***
Kharn and his boys roll up to the gate in an unmarked APC rhino
Private Jenkins: Uhh *voice cracks* excuse me sir i can't let you onto the base without proper identification.
Kharn: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD...
Private Jenkins: one moment while i check the roster here....
Kharn: *primes his plasma pistol*
Private Jenkins: lets see here, nope I'm not seeing a *BLAM!*
 ***
taking the defenders completely by surprise: 



After the dust settled the imperial forces successfully disabled all 3 generators protecting the capital city however the dropsite evacuation turned from tactical withdraw to rout to massacre in short order.

Orders were given to consign the loyalist forces to the emperors peace as an bombardment began to fall....