Sunday, September 29, 2013

Asurmen Death Star




























So I've been messing around some more with army builds to try out.  The shinny thing that has captured my attention lately is Asurmen.  Not a big fan of the model but I think as a beat stick he is fairly good.  I want to run him with a bunch of psychic support to really make him shine.  I have been tossing around running him with 5 spirit seers or 4 warlocks and a farseer.  Going to try out the farseer/warlock path first.  The army list is as follows:

HQ:
Asurmen
Farseer - spear
4 Warlocks

Troops:
3 x 10 Avengers in serpents with holo lasers
2 x 6 Rangers
3 Jet Bikes

Heavy:
Falcon - starcannon, holo
Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1850

Going back to using 30 avengers.  With marines back on the scene I think they become all the better as my go to eldar troop choice.  The rangers are there to block scout moves if facing bikes.  Otherwise they either camp my board edge objective or outflank to grab objectives late game.  Also plan to (hope to) combine horrify with their sniper rifles.  The 3 jet bikes are there to get line breaker late game and will spend a game reserved/hiding as best possible.  The wraith knight I have been waffling on with the advent of grav guns. However, the model is a great center piece to my army and I think he still brings a lot to the table.  Just need to be mindful of 30 inch grav gun ranges when placing him.

What I'm really excited about is running a jacked up Asurmen death star.  Asurmen by himself is pretty good, however when pimped out with runes of battle powers I think he will really shine.  4 rolls on the battle runes table.  Really gunning for horrify and renew.  Being able to heal his lost wounds will put him over the top.  Also horrify combined with his remove from play sword should come in handy.  The warlocks are a natural fit for Asurmen as they also provide an answer to potential assaults with AV 12/13 walkers.  Also he gives the warlocks counter attack.  I will be happy with the 3 primaris powers on the farseer.  2 guides to twin link the wraith knight and falcon.  I think the psychic shriek will be deadly when combined with horrify.

The way I envision the army being deployed is the two ranger squads mid field to block scouting bikes.  The wave serpents will deploy in a line.  The falcon and wraith knight will deploy behind the wave serpents. Ultimately the army is designed to brace against an oncoming army.  The tanks dish out pain turn one.  Turn 2 the infantry jump out to bladestorm away.  I've found the avengers do a good job withstanding an assault. Between snap shots and counter attack they usually hold their own.  If they break, initiative 5 usually means they won't get swept.  Turn three I'm in a position to counter assault with Asurmen and the wraith knight.

Also with the way the army works in tight formation, having d3 Eldar warlord powers can really add some significant punch.  Being able to re-roll 1's on turn two is clutch when my entire army unloads its guns.  If I need to re position a 2+ cover save is nice to have on a turn.  Re-rolling ones on armour saves goes a long way as well.

On paper I think it works but I need to get some games under my belt with the list.  If I really like the way Asurmen plays I think I may try and kit bash a plastic version.  Think you could make a cool looking model using high elf and avenger bits.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Project Alaitoc




































Been awhile since my last post.  Have not been in the hobby much with work and enjoying the summer.   Winter is coming so I figure I should have more time for the hobby.  In the mean time I've been struggling to come up with my Eldar army.  When the codex fist dropped I was all over the power lists.  When I first started reading the rules all I saw was wave serpents and wraithknights.  With marines out and the almighty grav gun I'm not so sure wriathknights are as optimal anymore.  Still a strong choice but not the beast he was prior to September.

With that in mind I decided to stop focusing on the best list I can build to a list I want to build.  Alaitoc.  I want lots of rangers and scorpions.  Throw in some war walkers and avenger wave serpents  The goal is to build a unique army I can call my own but still can hold its own.  Off the top of my head I'm thinking of a list like this:

HQ:
Farseer - singing spear

Elite:
10 Scorpions- exarch, power claw

Troops:
10 Storm Guardians - 2 fusion guns, wave serpent, holo, lasers
2 x 10 Avengers - wave serpent, holo, lasers
2 x 5 Rangers
5 Jet Bikes

Fast:
5 Spiders

Heavy:
Fire Prism
Night Spinner
3 War Walkers - star, lasers


I think this would be a fun themed list to build and play.  Lots of character with the Scorpion Exarch.  Will it shine probably not.  Could it sucker punch someone who does not see it coming: yes.  At any rate not sure what my Eldar army will look like when its done.  I do know that I want to make sure I build a list that is not cookie cutter.