Miniature Market Shipment Arrival

This arrived while I was out. Luckily someone was home at the time to accept the shipment. Inside is the remainder of my Dark Eldar army. After snapping this photo, out came my X-Acto knife and I began slicing up the tape. Inside was quite a surprise...

This does not look like the can of Chaos Black spray paint I asked for. With trepidation I continued unpacking the rest of my order.

After sifting through the copious volume of Styrofoam peanuts I dug out my order. Looked like everything was there, so I double checked everything.

Everything seems to be present and accounted for. 2 Raiders, 2 Ravagers, 2 Kabalite Warriors, and a Venom. So despite the one foul up I think everything came through okay. In the end this ordering experience was not up to par with the War Store (I was really clear that I wanted spray paint, not a paint pot) but the price is right. This one gets 4/5 stars. I'm pretty miffed about the botched paint, but at least they didn't charge me for spraypaint and then send a paint pot.

Blasters? Blasters!

Well, I found another way to make blasters (aside from barrel swaps on Shredders). I am going to flagrantly steal this idea from Synaps3 (second picture down). I have no need for foot Dark Lances in my army, so I'll just hack off the barrel and make them into "Blasters". That gives me four more Blasters to field, and ups my total Blaster count to 12 (when I use all of them). All told, that's an army with 25 darklight weapons, and a very short lived enemy parking lot. Swarms? 10 Splinter Cannons. Still not Venom Spam, but that's about as close as I'm willing to get to the concept.

Tomorrow's the big day, as my package from the Miniature Market is supposed to arrive. So far their customer service (as far as I can tell) is on par with the War Store. It's really the packing around the shipment that'll tell the final story. If things are busted, that's a big thumbs down. Not that I'm wanting to find anything amiss, but if I do find anything I'll have to very carefully consider my purchases in the future. This crap is expensive, and I don't want anything busted.

Heck, no matter what I'm going to consider my purchases carefully from now on. 5% is a big difference in price when you're ordering hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise, and in that category the Miniature Market has the War Store beat hands down.

We'll see what arises tomorrow, and as per Demitra's request I'll post pictures of the packages both when they arrive and as I unpack them. Pending my approval they may be getting my business again come a few months from now.

Wat Teh Interwebz Sez

Well, a few posts ago I threw up a list that eliminated my Incubi in favor of more Trueborn with Blasters. Let me reassure you, this isn't going to happen (any time soon). The Incubi are safe in their current position running alongside the unit of Blasterborn. As I said before, I love Incubi, and I want them in my army. I want to figure out how to use them. I want to see if I can get these guys to perform, and I believe that when utilized with surgical precision they can be devastating as they're a small elite unit that will tear other small elite units to shreds. They have a high initiative, two attacks each, and they all carry Strength 4 Klaives (which are power weapons). Honor Guard? Goodbye. Sternguard Vetarans? Toast.  Plague Marines? A tall order, but on the charge I see them doing their fair share of damage.

It's all a matter (as the rest of 40k is) of lining up the right matchups for them. As long as they get the jump on their opponents (and they will as long as they have their ride) they should do fine. If they get stuck in with a tarpit unit or a walker they're toast. If they get their Venom taken out it'll be tough to keep them from getting charged, especially by Assault Marines and their ilk. What I'm getting at is that they need to be handled like the glass cannons the entirety of the Dark Eldar army is.

Come 6th edition this may all change, but today I put together a truly optimized (according to the forums and blogosphere) list so you can see what the difference is.

HQ
Baron Sathonyx- 105 pts.

ELITES
3 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 3 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 146 pts.
3 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 3 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 146 pts.
3 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 3 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 146 pts.

TROOPS
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.

FAST ATTACK
4 Beastmasters; 9 Khymerae; 3 Razorwing Flocks- 201 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager w/ Flickerfield, Shock Prow- 120 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield, Shock Prow- 120 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.

TOTAL
1,849 pts.

As you can see it's pretty much nothing but spam. Blasters and Splinter Cannons permeate the landscape, and the Baron hangs out with the Beastmasters. Sure he keeps the beasts from charging 12", and the beasts prevent him from moving as Jump Infantry, but they're still fleet, and the Baron confers Stealth, offensive grenades, and defensive grenades to his unit (plus the all important +1 to see who chooses their deployment zone, so essentially he also confers a +1 to go first). That's right, 2 & 5 attack models with grenades. They've also got a 3+ cover save, and a 4+ invulnerable save on most of the unit, perfect for soaking up those Meltagun and Missile Launcher shots.

The thing about this list is that it's boring. There's no variety in your units, thay all serve the same role on the battlefield. Dark Lance APCs and tanks, Splinter Cannon whatever crawls out, and mop up with Blasters. Wash, rinse, repeat.

But isn't spam effective? Yep. It's very powerful. This list is quite capable of taking on any enemy it encounters and coming out on top. Hordes? you've got volume of both shots and attacks. Elite armies? Let me introduce you to my Dark Lances and my Blasters. Lots of Metal Bawkses? I've got can openers galore. There is literally no army this list cannot best with proper use.

The problem remains- I have used spammy armies and they're boring. B-O-R-I-N-G. I used to run an Iron Warriors army with a bare bones Chaos Lord, 6 squads of 5 Chaos Space Marines with Heavy Bolters, 3 squads of 3 Obliterators, and 4 Defilers. Ah, for the good ol' days of Iron Warriors! This army tabled people. In a hurry. If you lasted past turn 3 you either were firmly entrenched, or you had a LOT of models in your army. The games I played with this army were short, brutal, and systematic. There was no real challenge. That's where I break away from spam. When you just take the "best" thing over and over you take away the tactics in the game. It becomes a shooting gallery where the only challenge is determining what you should splatter first. There's no fun there.

That's why I avoid spammy lists. I have experience with them, and while they win tournaments, there's just no real effort involved. The thinking is removed from an (arguably) already less tactical game. That's why I like HordesMachine. Spam does not work. I've tried.
If you do not run a multi-faceted force you'll get overrun in one area or another. I'm getting off topic now, so back to 40k.

In the end, while I will build redundancy into my armies (it's just silly not to), I won't ever spam. Why even bother playing a game with no chance of losing? I used to think that slaughtering your opponent was the only true way to win, but perhaps with age comes wisdom. Or maybe just temperance. In the end it's about the challenge, and the fun, not the degree of victory.

Not to say I don't have more fun in games I win...

Nomads Completed

Well, I'm stumped on my pre-calculus homework, and my "tutor" won't be out of class for a while, so here are my latest Infinity miniatures! I enjoyed painting them up, especially the Reverend Moira (on the right). this officially brings me to three fully painted Infinity forces, and a break from painting these lovely minis.

Until my Dark Eldar arrive on Monday (or I get un-stuck from this stupid equation), my attention will shift to my remaining Anima: Tactics minis. I have a fair number of Church figures needing a coat of paint, and I figure I should put a dent in them. They have, after all, been sitting in storage for nearly two years now...

True Optimization

Let me get this out of the way up front. I love Incubi. I love their concept, I love their miniatures, and I even love their close combat "oomph". That having been said, I do have to think about the competitive side of the game, and how Dark Eldar really want to play a game of keep away with their opponents. Incubi fly in the face of this concept. They want to rush in and crush things. That just doesn't fit into the Dark Eldar metagame. This list will probably never see the light of day (I'd need a miracle- finding two more Blasters) but it's fun to dream. Of course, I could just see if anybody would trade away any Shredders that I could convert using the two Blast Pistols I'll have lying around...

The following is a 1,850 point list I slapped together in an attempt to cram two more Blasters into my list. I also wanted a Shattershard, as they're amazing against multi-wound targets. Pass a Toughness test or just be zapped into oblivion. Brilliant! I still maintain two Raiders in my force, as well as three Ravagers to keep my Darklight weapon count up. The addition of Grisly Trophies will hopefully help keep my Leadership 7 warriors in line with their 6" re-roll bubble. This list is a lot more stable by "interwebz" standards, but I think I probably ought to get a few games under my belt before I do anything too radical.


HQ
Haemonculus w/ Shattershard, Liqifier Gun; Haemonculus w/ Liquifier Gun- 135 pts.

ELITES
3 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 3 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 146 pts.
3 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 3 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 146 pts.

TROOPS
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon, Grisly Trophies- 130 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon, Grisly Trophies- 130 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster, Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield, Grisly Trophies- 190 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster, Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield, Grisly Trophies- 190 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Haywire Grenades, Shardnet & Impaler; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 218 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Haywire Grenades, Shardnet & Impaler; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 218 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.

TOTAL
1,848 pts.

I made an alarming discovery today. Dark Lances have a range of only 36"! I could have sworn they were a 48" range weapon, which will make this army a touch tougher to play. The "reduced" range (in my mind) will make it that much harder to nuke Demitra's Missile Launcher Devastators. I'll just have to rush them and attempt to nuke them as soon as possible. They will, of course, be firmly entrenched in some building to gain a 4+ cover save (really hoping that the 6th edition rumors of cover saves being dropped to 5+ are true). This aggressive movement will put my glorified paper airplanes directly in harm's way (lots o' Meltaguns), and will potentially strand my insidious warriors right in front of a whole bunch of Space Marines with swords and anger management issues. This is not where I want to be.

So, what do I do? Well, I see two real options. Option one is sending my Raiders to put as much of a hurting on the Devastators as possible, and accepting that I'm going to lose several (if not all three) in the exchange of fire. This is a lot of very mobile firepower to saccrifice in order to cut of some fire support. The alternative is just rushing them with my Wyches and attempting to tear them apart in close combat. Their Combat Drugs, 4+ Dodge save, and Feel No Pain (granted by their Haemonculus handlers) will make them a tall order for a dedicated ranged support squad to handle. I'm guessing the real answer lies somewhere in between. One thing's for sure, if I'm going to play in tournaments again I'm going to have to learn to deal with Missile Launcher spam. Especially when fighting Space Wolves, as their Long Fang packs will be a real nightmare to deal with.

Tomorrow will be (partially) dedicated to finishing up my Nomads, as I managed to get the Reverend Moira and Interventor Hacker primed (just as my last can of Rust-Oleum primer quit on me). Monday should see the delivery of my remaining Dark Eldar, and I guess I could squeeze in a trip to my local Games Workshop to look for Shredders...

Venom # 4 Completed!

I can feel the completion of my Dark Eldar army growing closer. One more Venom fully painted, and the remainder of my miniatures on the way, soon I'll have a photo of my fully painted army. The "white whale" of many gamers, I couldn't be more proud of this impending victory. Might I be celebrating a bit too early? That's entirely possible, but I don't think so. I'm on a roll, and I don't see it ending any time soon. The remainder of my painting log is over to the right, and while it looks imposing, as long as I attack it one mini at a time I don't see the project becoming overwhelming. What's my next mini? I'm thinking I'll just finish off my Venoms.

Tomorrow I'll probably attack the last two Infinity minis I have. Their bases are textured and ready to go, so all they need now is primer and paint. I look forward to having yet another fully painted Infinity force. From here on out I'll just grab the occasional mini as they strike my fancy. Those Yu Jing ninjas are looking pretty good, but they'll have to wait behind the barrier that is my Dark Eldar.

Nearing The End Of The Road?

Today was a special day. I placed the order I had been waiting to place this last week- the last of the minis I'll need to finish my 2,000 points of Dark Eldar are in the mail. Of course, I won't be stopping here, I still need 2 more Venoms full of Wracks and a Beastmaster unit (while I'm at it I might as well convert up a Baron Sathonyx), but first, Battlefoam. Once I'm done with painting the incoming minis I'll be investing in a bag to transport these fragile little suckers around in.

It'll be a real test of discipline not to simply throw everything together once it arrives. I'm a big fan of putting models together, and with all those nifty keen sets lying around I'll have to be on my best behavior not to put them all together and slap some spraypaint on them. That'll mess up my whole "build one then paint it" plan, which is how I can power through all these minis.

In addition, the concept of tournaments crossed my mind (again) today. It seems that they all center around the 1,850 point mark, and I have no current army list at that point value. Thus tonight's activity of putting together what I'd field at this point level. It,s a somewhat stripped down version of my 2,000 point list, slightly reigned in in the Elites department (with the inability to afford as many Incubi as normal, I squeezed more into a single unit). The Haemonculi now run around with the Wyches, giving them the Pain Token instead of the Incubi. It'll make the Wyches a more capable close combat unit, resigning the Incubi to the "mop up" role they're designed for. As usual, a fair number of Venoms, lots of Darklight, six Troops choices, and mobility out the wazoo.

HQ
2 Haemonculi w/ Liquifier Guns- 120 pts.

ELITES
5 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 175 pts.
4 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 173 pts.

TROOPS
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster & Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster & Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Haywire Grenades, Shardnet & Impaler; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 208 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Haywire Grenades, Shardnet & Impaler; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 208 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.

TOTAL
1,849 points

Yeah, another army list, but next time I'll have another Venom (and probably the last two Nomads minis I have to paint up) for you to see.

Things I Do When I Should Be Studying

Yep, more painting progress today. I just finished Dullcote-ing my Nomads. The force is still two minis short (I'm waiting on an Interventor Hacker and a Reverend Moira I ordered with a gift certificate I had laying around from Christmas) but as you can see it's mostly finished. I decided to go for a camouflaged color scheme, broken up by the Nomad red and black colors. Yeah, I was going to paint them black and purple, but at the last minute (literally as I was pulling my paints out of their storage box) I called an audible. I think I did them justice.

Now I just need to get another game in. Both this force and my Aleph minis are sitting, unused in my display cabinet. This is a challenge to my only Infinity opponent who reads this blog: get those buildings assembled. Your Haqqislam force is going down.

Now to finish those last ten math problems before I spend all day tomorrow memorizing biology notes.

Dark Eldar Archon Completed

Well, as promised, here's my second Archon. She's going to be used to represent an Archon with Ghost Plate Armor, an agoniser, a splinter pistol, and a Shadowfield. I'm glad I could lay hands on this mini, as she's my favorite of the original Dark Eldar minis.

Now on to my Wyches with Shardnets and Impalers.

Edit:

Looks like I finished my Wyches, too. If you're wondering where I got these poses from, I just took some leftover Wyches from my Venoms and glued them to a couple of bases I had laying around. It doesn't show very well in this picture, but the Wych on the left is standing on a Craftworld Eldar helmet from the Warhammer 40k basing kit.

Considering Dark Eldar and Price Constraints

Random sexy Dark Eldar Wych wallpaper. You're welcome

HQ
2 Haemonculi w/ Liquifier Guns- 120 pts.

ELITES
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 173 pts.

TROOPS
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster & Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster & Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Haywire Grenades, Shardnet & Impaler; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 218 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Haywire Grenades, Shardnet & Impaler; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 218 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.

TOTAL
2,000 points on the button.

Bitin' the dust.

Notice anything different? That's right, the Wracks are gone. I dropped them in favor of a pair of units of Blaster armed Kabalite Warriors in Venoms. The reasoning behind this is, as usual, twofold. One, the Kabalites have more killing potential. They can engage armored targets and reliably crack them open, or they can lay down a salvo of 20 Poisoned (4+) shots and a Strength 8 AP 2 shot when within 12" of a target. Of course, this is only under ideal conditions, and against an unsupported squad (it would be foolish to commit to attacking, say, the heart of an enemy force with these guys), but hey, that's a lot of potential. They're generally just superior to Wracks in that they don't have to commit to an assault in order to do their thing, while still being cheap enough to not sting too much if they get nuked.

The other reason? they're cheaper ($) than Wracks. Even less than my bargain basement conversions. One box of Kabalites can (with some conversion) be turned into two squads of Blaster Warriors. This is much cheaper than a box of flagellants and a box of ghouls getting spliced together. Of course, I'll probably come around and convert up some wracks in the future, but for now they're hitting the cutting room floor.

This changes the feel of my army from an aggressive, in-your-face army into a force centered around evasion with the deathblow coming in hand-to-hand combat. Interesting how changing up two squads can alter the gameplan of the rest of the army.

I'm sorry to be hitting you with a big ol' salvo of army lists recently, but I may be putting in a big order soon, and I need to feel out what it is I want to get before I commit.

Oh, my out of production female Archon came in the mail today. My next post should have her all painted up and ready for display!

More Fun With Dark Eldar Army Lists: More Warriors

Haemonculus cosplay. Nice.

I've been fiddling around with my "army construction software" again, and came up with another list. This one adds more Venoms, completely does away with Wyches, and adds the shock unit of Beastmasters. The Beastmasters are fairly quick to cross the board due to Fleet and a 12" charge. Twenty four more Splinter Cannon shots is nothing to sneeze at either. I like this list for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I managed to squeeze in a Shattershard. Again, this is a very effective weapon against well armored or multi-wound targets, as it simply deletes anything that fails a Toughness test. Hooray!

Of course, this configuration will have to wait for a while- I need to finish this list first, but this army will see the table eventually.

HQ
Haemonculus w/ Liquifier Gun, Shattershard; Haemonculus w/ Liquifier Gun- 135 pts.

ELITE
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 173 pts.

TROOPS
5 Wracks w/ Liquifier Gun; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Wracks w/ Liquifier Gun; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster, Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster, Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.

FAST ATTACK
4 Beastmasters; 10 Khymerae- 168 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.

A solid list, with both anti-infantry as well as anti-armor capabilities. I like it a lot.

Funny How A Single Bad Ruling Can Mothball an Army...

These guys are sad pandas.

Maybe I'm just a bit testy today, but G. W. made an epically bad ruling. From the newest Chaos Space Marine FAQ:

Q: Does Warptime allow the psyker to pick and choose which To Hit and To Wound dice he will re-roll? (p88)
A: No. He can decide after each To Hit or To Wound roll but he must re-roll all dice or no dice.

Wow, this sucks. My Daemon Princes were the only way I had to break up assaults, and now they've gone and nerfed an already poorly written army. It's a good thing I don't use Slaanesh, because they made another bad call. Again from the Chaos Marine FAQ:

Q: Is Lash of Submission a Psychic Shooting Attack and must it roll To Hit? (p88)
A: Yes to both questions. Note that if it misses, it will have no effect.

There is no mention, or indication, of this psychic power having anything to do with shooting. Another unneeded nerf to an army that needs all the help it can get.

Well, that seals it. My Plague Marines are on ice until the next Chaos Marine Codex. Some will say that Plague Marines are tough enough without the old Warptime. I disagree wholeheartedly. There were already few enough viable units in the Codex, and now we're forced to take nothing but sub-par HQ choices. Literally forced. You must have an HQ choice. Were my Daemon Princes awesome in assault? Yes. Did they need to be toned down? Not at all.

Now that I have no viable leader for my army, and I can't use my Great Unclean One as my general, there's just no reason to run the army. What was at best an uphill battle has become an insurmountable challenge.

Now, a good general should be able to overcome such setbacks, right? Well, yes, but I never claimed to be an amazing tactician. I occasionally win games of 40k, but certainly not consistently. What was, admittedly, a bit of a crutch for us Chaos Marine players has been yanked out from under us. What was Plague Marines' only way to win close combats has been lost. Sure, they can grind, but any shock unit will table a squad easily. Yes, I'm on a rant now, but this is the worst ruling I have seen in a very long time. This is on par with Sanguinary Priests losing the ability to confer Feel no Pain. There's just no reason to field Daemon Princes any more.

It's a shame, I liked that army too...

Time to see if they fouled up any rulings for my Dark Eldar. At least they'll appear somewhere on the power curve, rather than an "also ran".

1,500 Point Dark Eldar Army List- Ultimate Destination

As I stated in my previous post, my first army list is just a rough mock-up of where I want my army to go. Once I have the mext three purchases down, I'll be ready to field the 1,500 point army I want to. As noted, the previous army lacks a Raider for the Kabalite Warriors. I've fixed that in this army list, dropping a squad of Incubi and a Haemonculus in favor of more Wych Weapons and a pair of Raiders. My desired army list is:

HQ
Haemonculus w/ Liquifier Gun, Venom Blade; Haemonculus w/ Liquifier Gun, Venom Blade, Shattershard- 145 pts.

ELITES
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.

TROOPS
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster, Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster, Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
10 Wyches w/ 1 Hydra Gauntlets, 1 Shardnet & Impaler; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 200 pts.
10 Wyches w/ 1 Hydra Gauntlets, 1 Shardnet & Impaler; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 200 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115

TOTAL
1,491 points
This version of the army loses twelve Splinter Cannon shots, but it gains a lot of mobility and two Dark Lance shots. The assault capability suffers a bit, but there is the addition of a Shattershard. This is one of the best anti-character weapons out there, as if the model fails a Toughness test they are simply removed from play. No saves, no Feel No Pain, nothing.

I'm a bigger fan of this configuration, but it calls for three more vehicles, which is a while away.

1,500 Point Practice Dark Eldar List

The wheels have been turning in my head, and they have cranked out something wonderful. I have enough miniatures to field a 1,500 point Dark Eldar army (well, almost). All I need is one more Ravager and I'll have the following army ready for play:

HQ
3 Haemonculi w/ Liquifier Guns- 180 pts.

ELITES
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.

TROOPS
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster, Splinter Cannon- 115 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster, Splinter Cannon- 115 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Hydra Gauntlets; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 200 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Hydra Gauntlets; Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 200 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.
Ravager w/ Flickerfield- 115 pts.

Not optimized by a long shot (those Warriors need Raiders) but enough to get a taste of just about everything in my planned army. I guess we'll see if I can get a game in once I get my next Ravager.

Until then, I can plot and scheme.

Dark Eldar Update: Two More Venoms Complete!

The Venoms I recieved from Demitra are now fully painted and ready for Dullcote. I'm down to needing six more vehicles: two Venoms, two Raiders, and two Ravagers. That, combined with the ten Grotesques firmly places a light at the end of the painting tunnel.

Once that's done, I'll be looking to get a game in. I'll challenge Demitra at some point, I don't know if he can put together a coherent 2,000 point Blood Angel army. I'm scared to death of all of his Devastators, those Missile Launchers will tear my Armor 10 vehicles to pieces. I also don't have a lot of line of sight obstructing terrain for my 4' x 6' board, leaving me twisting in the wind. It'll be ugly to be sure, so I'll need to expand my 4' x 4' board by a couple of feet. The addition of some urban terrain will help cut down on fire lanes, and make the game more interesting.

The inability to transport my army is a bit of a bummer, but eventually I'll be able to save up for a Battlefoam bag and be able to transport my minis to my (maybe?) FLGW. I sensed a bit of hostility in the store since the last time I was there I was just killing time, but maybe once I bring in a fully assembled and painted army worth more than a few hundred bucks, they'll warm up to me.

Maybe.

Dark Eldar- Now With More Spam!

Well, I've been going over my Dark Eldar list in my head, and I've decided that maybe, just maybe, it could use a touch more darklight. While this list may not quite count as spam, it does add a few more Blasters, as well as two more Wyches into the mix. The additional anti-armor / anti-monstrous-creature capability may just outweigh the Harmonculus and four Incubi I'll lose. Note that I'll still have eight Incubi, so I'm not scrapping them, but from all I've read Dark Eldar really don't want to get into a straight-up fight with their enemies. They want to lay down harrassing fire and sweep in on objectives late in the game. Even better, they want to simply table their foes. Blasters have the advantage over Incubi in that they'll nuke three Space Marines (assuming one misses or fails to wound) per turn. Incubi can potentially dish out more damage, but they don't inflict Instant Death on their targets like the Blasters do. Each have their own roles on the battlefield, but each have their own drawbacks. If the Trueborn get de-Venomed they're in trouble. If the Incubi assault and get swarmed, they're going to get (rather quickly) eliminated.

Well, I've rambled enough. On with the army list!

HQ
2 Haemonculi w/ Liquifier Guns- 120 pts.

ELITES
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Incubi; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 153 pts.
4 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4 Blasters; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 173 pts.

TROOPS
5 Wracks w/ Liquifier Gun; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
5 Wracks w/ Liquifier Gun; Venom w/ Splinter Cannon- 125 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster & Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
10 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster & Splinter Cannon; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 185 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Haywire Grenades & one pair of Hydra Gauntlets, Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 218 pts.
9 Wyches w/ Haywire Grenades & one pair of Hydra Gauntlets, Hekatrix w/ Agoniser; Raider w/ Flickerfield- 218 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
Ravager w/ Flickerfield
Ravager w/ Flickerfield
Ravager w/ Flickerfield

TOTAL
2,000 points

A bit more Darklight, a bit less hand-to-hand combat bite. I think the tradeoff is worthwhile.

As before, the Haemonculi will go with the Incubi to hand over a Pain Token. They will then be used for crowd control, as their Liquifier Guns deny Space Marines an armor save 1/3 of the time. Swarms will sweat at the sight of teardrop templates, and hopefully will spread out to avoid them, but failing that I've got a TON of Poisoned (4+) shots to keep them at bay. The endgame is not neglected, as I have Wyches to either pry off, or better yet eliminate objective squatters. All of my units fulfil multiple roles on the battlefield, so they won't ever be left wanting for targets.

Hopefully I have all my bases well (or at least better) covered with this list. The reasoning behind adding the Blaster Trueborn to my list is simple- I figured out how to turn a Blast Pistol and a Shredder into a Blaster. Combined with one more box of Kabalite Warriors, this creates a full four Blasters, just enough to fill out a squad.

Well, that's the latest iteration of my Dark Eldar. Here's hoping they work out for the best.

On Army Lists- Optimization

Optimize, Optimus. You get it.

Demitra (my font of inspiration recently) brought up (see the comment) that he would be writing a post about optimization of army lists soon. Well, ever to be one to beat somebody to the punch, I decided to give my two cents first.

I'm usually a fan of building the hardest list you can bring to the table, regardless of the system being played. I don't want to win in a walk, I want to be challenged, and to have a very real chance of losing. Just steamrolling somebody is no fun. I like to get my lists as hard as possible for just this reason. If I want you to bring the nastiest thing you can to the table, expect me to do the same. My Plague Marines are as optimized an army as one can field with this sub-optimal book (hopefully to be rectified soon by the rumored Codex: Chaos Legions, but I digress). I bring two Warptime Daemon Princes, the best infantry in the book, and as many Obliterators as I can cram in. I don't feel bad about it either. It just so happens that this is my fourth Plague Marine army (can't get enough of these nasty dudes). Did I intentionally pick Plague Marines since they're the best infantry in the book? No. I did, however, make the best damn list I could from what's available. I have three Vindicators, two Dreadnoughts, and a whole plethora of other gribblies to field. I don't, as much as I want to, because they're not the best thing to get the job done. Well, I do field the Vindicators from tome to time, as the damage they can do is just so much fun!

In HordesMachchine this approach is expected. Everything should compliment everything else. There should be synergies, and the best bang for the buck. I used to whine about the Winterguard Death Star, but not so much any more. I've learned how to cope with it, and accept it as part of the Khadoran metagame. They're an insanely good deal for insanely good troops. That's how Privateer Press rolls, and I try to optimize my Warmachine and Monsterpocalypse forces whenever I play. It's expected.

In Warhammer Fantasy, 40k, or any other G.W. game, however, this is frowned upon. They design their games to be played "casually" (A.K.A. an excuse not to extensively playtest), and declare those of us who design our armies to win games "beardy" or "cheesy". They do this as they sponsor the 'Ard Boyz events,, which epitomizes the "bring the nastiest thing you have and don't cry when you get tabled" mentallity. They're talking out of both sides of their mouth, however, as when they say their games are not meant to be played competitively they still have a Tournament Circut listing on their website. Is this supposed to be a non-competitive tournament? Is there not a winner? This just seems a bit silly to me.

Games are meant to be played to be won. In wargaming this means to bring the best toolkit available to you to the table. The reason I don't "Venom spam" and "darklight spam" my Dark Eldar is twofold. One, I got into the army for Incubi. They're in the army no matter what. The second reason is financial. Blasters are expensive- there's only one to a box, and for Trueborn this means you need four boxes of warriors just to field a single squad. If I was capable of recasting a billion blaster arms, you'd better believe there'd be a bunch of those dudes running around.

But then, aren't I being hypocritical when I say I'm not going to build the best dang Dark Eldar army I can? Shouldn't I just drop the Incubi and get as many Blasters on the table as I can?

No.

I'm still optimizing my army. I'm tailoring it around my Incubi. I have assets in my army to crack open APCs and get the contents out where I can charge them (Ravagers). I have assets to decimate infantry as they close (Splinter Cannons / Liquifiers) and anti-support assets (Wyches and Raiders). I'm bringing the best I can think of to the table. If I get my teeth kicked in by a superior list that just means one (or both) of two things:

One, I need to refine my army.
Two, I need to practice more.

Of course, I do have a sub-optimal army in my Deathwing, but hey, everybody needs a challenge some times. I just see every aspect of the hobby as a challenge. Assembly, painting, playing the game, and even list building.

In closing, I just want to say that list optimization is not a crime. It's not some horrible affront to the wargaming hobby to bring your best to the table. I build my armies to win games. I feel no shame when I whip out two Hell Pit Abominations against an opponent. There are ways to deal with monsters (flaming attacks) in the game, and people need to learn how to use them. Expect the worst possible element you can imagine across the table from you, and plan accordingly. The meta is still part of the game. It's the game within the game. Learn it, know it, live it.

Conversion Corner- Archon

Last night I finished my Dark Eldar Archon. She's converted from the plastic Dark Elf Sorceress, with the removal of both of her arms and the addition of a Wych Splinter Pistol and a Sybarite Agoniser. From what I hear this is the most economic loadout for her. I originally was going to convert her to be carrying a Huskblade (causes instant death regardless of Toughness), but there just aren't enough multi-wound models out there to warrant the extra points laid out. Plus wounding everything on a 4+ seems to be enough.

More Dark Eldar- Ravager and Venom

Well, no end of year wrap up, but more Dark Eldar. As you can see, I finished my Ravager as well as bought, assembled, and painted the first of 5 Venoms for my army. I'm feeling pretty good, as I'm chugging along at a pretty good clip on this army. Now I just need those two Venoms Demitra owes me. It'll be at least two more weeks before I can actually go out and buy more for the army, so I'm kind of at his mercy as far as my current painting jones is concerned. As I said before, I'm really quite proud of how far I've gotten on this army in under a year, especially after taking a several month hiatus from painting 40k.

What there is of this army is proudly on display in my cabinet. I'll need to move those Hordes of the Things armies into storage soon to make way for the remainder of my force.

Demitra brought up a couple of points a while ago, however. What if I don't like the way the army plays on the tabletop? Well, in that case I'll have a very pretty army to show off my painting skills. What if sixth edition drastically changes how the game functions? Well, the army has always been a mechanized fast attack army, so I'm not too worried that the approach to fielding my army will alter drastically. In fact, I really don't think it'll change at all.

Then there's my worry. What if the army isn't sufficiently optimized? What if my list writing skills suck? Well, that's a whole other kettle of fish. Incubi are a risky proposition to say the least. They're a close-combat powerhouse optimized to take out elite infantry like Space Marines. Against hordes like Tyranids, or my upcoming foe, Orks, I'm fairly well screwed. Volume of attacks is their bane, with low toughness and a 3+ armor save I don't expect them to stand up to much beyond a 10 or so strong Boyz mob.

Wyches are also a gamble. I don't have any Wych Weapons in the squads, and they're (again) low toughness models. Here all I can hope for is for them to make it into my opponent's backfield unmolested to tie up (or better yet, destroy) his ranged support assets. This is actually why they have Haywire Grenades- to off tanks and the dreaded "rifleman" dreadnoughts.

In the end, however, I have a varied army I'm rather pleased with. We'll see how it fares in the heat of battle eventually (hopefully within the next few months) and I'll make a decision as to how (or if) my army needs to be refined. Until then I'll just keep on chuggin' along.