First tournament results

Hey all - spent most of yesterday at Games and Stuff in a low key tournament run by Brent from the Inner Circle.  The really cool part about this tournament is that it was intentionally low key - no painting restrictions, WYSIWIG/no proxies though.  There were quite a few people that weren't frequent players, i.e. only play in tournaments now and then etc..., so it was nice have people there with the same mindset and playing time issues I do - plus we had some excellent southwestern grub for lunch!  I did manage to take a few pictures, and will attempt to post semi-lucid batreps later.  Trying to write a big presentation up and need to get this out of my brain so I can concentrate.

Overall - this was a fun stop on the journey of learning and playing Tyranids.  I made lots of mistakes, took a list with components I really wanted to play rather than sticking to more conventional competitive lists, and paid the price for both.  In the end, I went 1W-1T-1L, to footdar, Space Wolves, and Nurgle marines respectively, finishing 15th of 18 players.

Here's the list - it is the variation of a swarmlord/stealer shock list I talked about (but didn't post) here:

2000pts
Swarmlord - 280
2x Tyrant Guard w/LW - 130
Parasite of Mortrex - 160
3x HG - 150
3x Zoans - 180
8x Ymgarl Genestealers - 184
8x Genestealers w/tox, Broodlord - 182
8x Genestealers w/tox, Broodlord - 182
8x Genestealers w/tox, Broodlord - 182
6x Raveners w/rending claws - 210
20x Gargoyles w/AG, TS - 160

This list was built with a couple concepts in mind: speed and the ability to use Swarmy's buffs effectively.  In hindsight yesterday, I was pretty disappointed with it.  After sleeping on it, I'm pretty sure the poor performance had a lot more to do with my poor play than it being a bad list.  When I did things right, it performed exactly as expected.  Coolest moments: Gargoyles and Parasite wiping out 4 TWC, and killing the untouched Nurgle daemon prince that charged my one-wound-left Swarmlord.

Models of the match:
- Broodlords: say it with me - "Initiative 7 kills."  These guys went first in every combat - and when I didn't forget - hypnotised power fists/power weapons. Hindsight talking: hypnotizing the Mark of the Wulfen dudes in the counterattacking SW squads would have been really useful.
- Zoanthropes: Psychic tests - yes; but if you wanna use the Hood, you've got to be in range, and you probably won't Hood all three of my boys.  Boom goes the dynamite.  The flexibility to obliterate both vehicles and MEQ makes these guys a winning pick, even with psychic tests - and 3++ is icing on the cake.

Most important list-building lesson: Genestealers take objectives - they really aren't built to hold them.  In a game built around objectives, you need something to hold objectives while your stealers unleash hell elsewhere.

Most important tactics lesson: I had some big-time fails on multi-charging.  This is absolutely a critical skill for a 'nid player.

The most disappointing part for me as a player: only 68 models, and I was probably the slowest player at the tournament.  Game 1 we only got through 2 turns, game 2 through 4, and game 3 only went 3.  This is mostly due to inexperience with the rules which I will only get by playing more; but I would definitely appreciate tips for speeding up play.  One of my opponents had a good point: only measure first/last models and move the between models w/o measuring.  What tips/tricks do you have for faster play?

List Evolution - the latest

Alrighty - stemming from my On Spam: The case for a flexible force post, here is the list in its current evolution.  Let me know what you think:


HQ (355pts)
Tervigon (195pts) AG, TS, Cat
The Parasite of Mortex (160pts)

Elites (480pts)
3x Hive Guard (150pts)
3x Hive Guard (150pts)
3x Zoanthrope (180pts)

Troops (660pts)
20x Genestealer (385pts) TS, Broodlord with Scything talons
3x Ripper Swarm (30pts)
Termagant Brood (50pts)
Tervigon (195pts) AG, TS, Cat

Fast Attack (160pts)
20x Gargoyle (160pts) AG, TS

Heavy Support (345pts)
3x Biovore (135pts)
Trygon (210pts) AG

Flexible? Check.  Fast?  Check.  Brings its own cover?  Check.
Can target >3 enemy units with ranged fire per turn?  Check.
Can assault at least one enemy unit by turn 2? Check.
Can assault >3 enemy units by mid-game? Check.
Redundant synapse/SITW support, both forward and rear?  Check.
Redundant FNP?  Check.  Disruption?  Check.
Solid number of troop units?  Check.
Can deal with AV14?  Medium check =p

This list is built to have both durability and redundancy where needed, and allow the tactical flexibility to shift from being the gun line to the assaulter.  Debating painting a big target on the Trygon and naming him "Hal" though.  He's gonna soak fire like the Spanish fleet at the Battle of the Downs.  Some other options are maybe splitting the stealers to 2x9 (one with BL); maybe dropping the toxin; dropping the trygon for raveners, or dropping the rippers to make the trygon a prime (bit more shooty for the GKs); or swapping him for a carnifex with bioplasma and 4x brainleeches.

In other news, the day after I finally gave in and purchased a license for Army Builder so I can get a bit more serious with my list experimentation, I finally found a site hosting data repositories for Battlescribe: the fine folks over at Warmonger here.  Both are excellent.

The YTTH Litmus Test... and Tyranids

As is often the case, Stelek makes a pretty decent point, this time with his "Litmus Test" for army building skill post here.  Reposting the pertinent bits:

This isn’t about tabletop skill. This is about your army building skill, one that is sorely lacking in almost every player I meet. There are a few exceptions, some who have listened and learned from what I do here.
So let’s see who passes muster…
Can you beat this army?2000 Pts – Imperial Guard Roster
4 Company Command Squad, 160 pts (Flamer x1; Meltagun x2)
1 Company Commander
1 Astropath
1 Chimera
4 Company Command Squad, 130 pts (Flamer x1; Meltagun x2)
1 Company Commander
1 Chimera
4 Psyker Battle Squad, 115 pts
1 Overseer
1 Chimera
4 Psyker Battle Squad, 115 pts
1 Overseer
1 Chimera
4 Psyker Battle Squad, 115 pts
1 Overseer
1 Chimera
1 Infantry Platoon, 340 pts
4 Platoon Command Squad (Flamer x1; Meltagun x2)
1 Platoon Commander
1 Chimera
9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)
1 Sergeant
1 Chimera
9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)
1 Sergeant
1 Chimera
1 Infantry Platoon, 340 pts
4 Platoon Command Squad (Flamer x1; Meltagun x2)
1 Platoon Commander
1 Chimera
9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)
1 Sergeant
1 Chimera
9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)
1 Sergeant
1 Chimera
1 Infantry Platoon, 340 pts
4 Platoon Command Squad (Flamer x1; Meltagun x2)
1 Platoon Commander
1 Chimera
9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)
1 Sergeant
1 Chimera
9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)
1 Sergeant
1 Chimera
1 Scout Sentinel Squadron, 40 pts
1 Scout Sentinel (Autocannon)
1 Scout Sentinel Squadron, 40 pts
1 Scout Sentinel (Autocannon)
1 Scout Sentinel Squadron, 40 pts
1 Scout Sentinel (Autocannon)
1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery, 75 pts
1 Hydra Flak Tank
1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery, 75 pts
1 Hydra Flak Tank
1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery, 75 pts
1 Hydra Flak Tank
Total Roster Cost: 2000
Notes:
Every Chimera hull has a hull heavy flamer.
20 vehicles.
101 infantry.
Seriously, can you beat this?

From a list building standpoint, are you planning for your gribbly horde to handle something like this?  To be certain, it isn't an amazingly tuned list - but generally speaking - any fair general that can maneuver that many vehicles effectively is going to hurt you with it.  More importantly - this is the Magic white weenie deck equivalent of the 40k metagame.  Filled with cheap, efficient units in every FOC - it can and will overrun you unless you can deal with it.  This is saturation.  It has very little to do with target prioritization and everything to do with whether or not you can even stop it.  It exemplifies one of the most basic things any "all comers" list must be able to handle: volume.  At the heart of Stelek's challenge is this:  have you built your army so it can hurt enough of an army like the one above per turn to win?

What? No updates! Oh.. Very well, move along!

What in the wide, wide, world of sports is goin' on here?  Heh.  One of the best movies of all time right there.  Wow, now that I check the date, it really has been a while, and the clock is definitely ticking away towards the NOVA Open, which by the way, has a spiffy new website.  Please feel free to harass MVB about the teeny tiny font up top for the pulldowns ;)


I know we sometimes joke about having "gaming widows" but deep down I think most of us know there is some seriousness behind that joke.  I'm living proof.  I've spoken before about balance and priorities in life, and how important it is to keep them straight; that's been an issue for me in the past.  We spend a lot of time in fantasy land, playing and painting our little toy men, and playing a game that charitably takes a couple hours from setup to play to takedown.  Somewhere we manage to crowbar in countless hours of blog reading, list building, and general game-related shenanigans.  It can all get to be too much if we aren't careful.  So I'm posting about this on the off chance there are any of you out there that can apply the word "misery" to your marriage.  This is what worked for us.


The way out was a program called Retrouvaille; the first lady and I wouldn't have our marriage if it weren't for this program and our continued involvement since 2006.  A good bit of my time this month has been spent preparing for one of these weekends as we are now presenters for the program, with a regional weekend gathering coming up in the next few weeks as well.  Before you get too spooked about the religious aspect, the best article I've found on it is here.  We aren't perfect - we certainly have our issues, and my time spent on this gaming hobby still comes up as one of them.  But our marriage is solid - rather like Narsil, it's been reforged into something better and stronger than it was before.  Hopefully this reaches someone who needed it.


So that's why the lack of updates this month.  Hive fleet snowbank continues to grow; I've managed to put together my Swarmlord using boneswords from ebay listed here.  Good quality resin, minimal flash; but that's about all the progress I've made, though I have been going absolutely bonkers reading about hyv3mynd's ATC lists and preparation over on Synaps3. I absolutely love the list he's taking, a mean tyrant-centered bit of nastiness with dual stealer swarms, the obligatory tervigons, and a tfex to round it out.  I really like the Parasite list too though, but then I'm partial to Mr. Mortrex for some reason.  Best of luck this weekend to those attending the 40K American Team Championship tournament.  I'll be back soon with some in-depth work as I start crash development and prep for NOVA.  Thanks for reading.