Thursday, June 23, 2011

BATTLE REPORT: Garden vs Duke


One of our prep games for the upcoming 1850pt Bay Area Open GT event we plan to attend July30th & 31st. General Oadius and I try not to metagame each other and play hard mean games to test the limits of each other's lists. This game was Spearhead, Annihilation.

Dark Eldar win the roll and deploy first, Blood Angels drop Mephiston in a strategic location on the opposite side of the board, with the rest of their forces in Reserve...



Monday, June 20, 2011

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT - Dante and Mephiston in the Garden of Baal


Ok, so General Oadius talks a lot of shit and you've seen some of my battle reports, but what lists am I fielding now?

My favorite and the most recent incarnation of my competitive tournament list is something I call "Garden", it's short for - Dante and Mephiston in the Garden of Baal. It's shock value is really quite something but so far it's proven a nearly all comers, all scenarios list. I hope you hate it and don't understand how I could possibly win with it....

Commander Dante - 225

Brother Calistarius, Mephiston the Lord of Death - 250

Sanguinary Guard with Banner
5x Infernus Pistol and 1x Power Fist - 290

10 Assault Marines in Rhino
1 x Melta Gun 1x Melta Bomb - 220

Lemartes - 150
10 Death Company
1x Power Fist 1x Power Weapon 1xBolter - 240

Death Company Dreadnought "Nayef" - 125

Predator with Auto Cannon and Las Cannon Sponsons - 135

Storm Raven with TL Multi-Melta and TL Assault Cannon
Extra Armor - 215

Yeah I rock like 32 models....

Mephiston likes to deploy hidden as far forward as possible. Sometimes when I get first turn and have defensive objectives I'll give him the Assault marine Rhino to jump into and move forward 12" and pop smoke. He likes to kill things that won't kill him back and he likes to keep his psychic hood in range to spoil the enemies psykers day. The trick to Mephiston is to keep him hidden from the Low AP guns and out of combat with force weapon squads. Against the GK he will kill vehicles and dreadnoughts and take his chances just like every other multi wound model in the game. At least he has a psychic hood and strikes at INI7 base...

The Predator likes to deploy if he can hide behind something during 1st turn enemy alpha strike. He can usually bring all 4 shots into play with only the 6" he's allowed as a fast vehicle. Remember the enemy will be moving forward trying to get an angle on you if you deployed right. If not deployed, he is perfectly happy coming in as a reserve and shooting things up or contesting an objective, tank shocking, ramming or blocking. In an annihilation mission the predator can keep his armor 13 facing front and do serious damage to one tank or transport per turn.

If I got first turn and I'm not too worried about you seizing then I'll go ahead and put the Stormraven on the board as far forward as possible....Inside is the Dreadnought, Lemartes and his fallen flock. This is obviously the bulk of the army and despite the Stormraven's size it is usually quite capable of deploying it's payload and staying alive, quite a few turns. After everything disembarks, the Stormraven likes to move 6" and shoot everything it has at some poor unsuspecting unit or tank. That's a Twin Linked Multi-Melta, a Twin Linked Assault Cannon and 4 Blood Strike missiles all at once. Even if you do shoot down the Storm Raven straight off and the Death company come mindlessly raging at you along with the Dreadnought you can't just shoot them off the board in one phase. They are of course all fearless and feel no pain, the dreadnought ignores shaken and stuns and is fleet. If you focus everything you have on the Death Company then Mephiston will thank you kindly.

The Assault Marines are usually held in reserve and may be split into combat squads. Sometimes they have a rhino sometimes they don't. I like to try and place objectives within walking distance of my board edge. These 10 models are not expected to kill anything, nor are they allowed to die.

Dante and the Sanguinary Guard. They are almost always reserved and deepstriking. I like to roll Red Thirst for the Guard. Dante lowers the enemy HQ by 1 WS, 1 INI, 1 Wound, 1 LDRSHIP at the start of the game. Dante does not scatter....So Dante likes to come down on your flanks or your rearguard and destroy your favorite unit with 6 melta pistols that get as close as they want. If you assault them you have to deal with his DeathMask, his 5 attacks at INI6 and his Master Crafted Power weapon, their 3 attacks at INI 4 with Master Crafted Weapons and the power fist, only to find out that they are HIT and RUN with 3D6" for movement that only fails on a 6... then they come back to shoot you and assault you, rinse and repeat until you've lost half of your army. I don't blame you though...Lemartes and company, a DC Dread, a Stormraven and Mephiston are in the middle of the board coming right for you...you can't afford to deal with the oldest space marine in the Imperium and his Ultra, Ultra, Ultra, Ultra elite Honour Guard armed to the teeth.

So that's the whole thing mates.. I know this list would scare you to field. You'd think about all those models you have in your pretty little gunline lists and say to yourself "Vulkan this" or "terminators that" or some such dribble. Or you'd say "Gazghull Thraka and all his boyz" or something inwardly comforting like that but you'd be wrong.

Doubters are welcome to come to Reno Nevada and play me, we can do a battle report of me tabling you...I mean of the game. Comments are welcome but will probably be ignored from sheer narcissism, oh well. TILL NEXT TIME....PLAY WELL, ROLL BETTER!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

1850pt Dark Eldar: Duke and Prophet Lists


Requested - and something I am working with at the moment anyways - Duke vs Prophet 1850pt GT Lists:

1850 Pts - Dark Eldar Roster - Prophet
1 Archon, 145 pts (Plasma Grenades; Agoniser; Combat Drugs; Phantasm Grenade Launcher; Shadow Field)

1 Haemonculus, 130 pts (Shattershard)
1 Haemonculus (Animus Vitae; Liquifier Gun x1)

5 Incubi, 175 pts
1 Raider (Enhanced Aethersails)

4 Kabalite Trueborn, 173 pts (Blaster x4)
1 Venom (Splinter Cannon x1)

4 Kabalite Trueborn, 173 pts (Blaster x4)
1 Venom (Splinter Cannon x1)

5 Wracks, 125 pts (Liquifier Gun x1)
1 Venom (Splinter Cannon x1)

5 Wracks, 125 pts (Liquifier Gun x1)
1 Venom (Splinter Cannon x1)

8 Wyches, 228 pts (Shardnet & Impaler x1; Haywire Grenades)
1 Hekatrix (Haywire Grenades; Agoniser)
1 Raider (Shock Prow; Enhanced Aethersails; Flickerfield)

8 Wyches, 228 pts (Shardnet & Impaler x1; Haywire Grenades)
1 Hekatrix (Haywire Grenades; Agoniser)
1 Raider (Shock Prow; Enhanced Aethersails; Flickerfield)

1 Ravager, 115 pts (Flickerfield)
1 Ravager, 115 pts (Flickerfield)
1 Ravager, 115 pts (Flickerfield)

((Total Roster Cost: 1847))

1850 Pts - Dark Eldar Roster - ware is my Hat

1 Duke Sliscus, 150 pts

1 Haemonculus, 125 pts (Shattershard)
1 Haemonculus (Liquifier Gun x1)

4 Kabalite Trueborn, 173 pts (Blaster x4)
1 Venom (Splinter Cannon x1)

4 Kabalite Trueborn, 173 pts (Blaster x4)
1 Venom (Splinter Cannon x1)

4 Kabalite Trueborn, 178 pts (Blaster x4)
1 Raider (Flickerfield)

5 Wracks, 125 pts (Liquifier Gun x1)
1 Venom (Splinter Cannon x1)

5 Wracks, 125 pts (Liquifier Gun x1)
1 Venom (Splinter Cannon x1)

8 Wyches, 228 pts (Shardnet & Impaler x1; Haywire Grenades)
1 Hekatrix (Haywire Grenades; Agoniser)
1 Raider (Shock Prow; Enhanced Aethersails; Flickerfield)

8 Wyches, 228 pts (Shardnet & Impaler x1; Haywire Grenades)
1 Hekatrix (Haywire Grenades; Agoniser)
1 Raider (Shock Prow; Enhanced Aethersails; Flickerfield)

1 Ravager, 115 pts (Flickerfield)
1 Ravager, 115 pts (Flickerfield)
1 Ravager, 115 pts (Flickerfield)

((Total Roster Cost: 1850))

The Duke is Prophet's Boss, and you should all take care and remember that! Tell me what You think!



Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Oadius Astartes 203 - Prep for the Grand Tournament


War plans for the Bay Area Open GT Event July 30th/31st are shaping up nicely.  With the 2k Contest of Champions the week before at Great Escape Games, Sacramento and then Capitol Punishment GT on September 11th the Wolfbrothers 40kNation Chapter is in for a Warhammer 40k Action Packed summer!

Surely you know by now, General Oadius is in a constant state of war-readiness and preparation. Many of you green Wolfbrothers have made the necessary sacrifices and put in the hard work to move your generalship to the next level. The General is pleased with the rate of progress we have made lately, but WAR is a different story, and we are Not Ready Yet.


Next week marks our official 6 week countdown to the Bay Area Open GT. We have at least 4 of our best generals lined up to attend this event. I wouldn't be surprised to get down to the Bay with 6 or more Reno-dogs. We approach this tournament with the same gusto as all the others. We want to WIN.  Our preparation as a Warhammer 40k club for these events has paid off greatly in the past and General Oadius and I will have only More focus and More ruthlessness as the GT date approaches. 

Six weeks is not a long time really. Specially as we shift our focus as a club from the CoC missions back to the pure, raw book missions. No additional victory conditions, no bonus objectives, no composition scoring or rules,  no sportsmanship, no paint, no nonsense. Seven games in two days is a Big Deal. There will be no room for fooling around. TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES per game. At 1850 with no comp limitations, this is the real deal in all ways - pure Grand Tournament with GT players, GT armies, and GT pace. Contest of Champions and Great Escape Games are amazing, but we really are talking about the Next Level here.



These articles are about preparing your brain - building your list, practicing correctly and economically to truly get ready for that Next level as FEW of us have actually performed or experienced before. Firstly, please take a few moments and at least browse these forums - the tactics, the rules, the tournament and battle report sections: Warseer, Heresy, BoLS, Librarium Online, 40kForums, and DakkaDakka. Become familiar and accustomed to reading these Forums, these are your enemies Wolfbrothers.  The players, the lists they post, the battle and tournament reports are the Armies and tactics and strategies you will encounter and be forced to overcome, or lose.

Hopefully our harsh words and disrespectful treatment on the battlefield has been enough to prepare your brain and attitude. Putting some time into those Forums and associated resources should inform you or scare you enough to have done the rest. We cant drink the water for you.

First Quiz - what do YOU think your list built around a Wolfpriest and Blood Claws, and two squads of long fangs are going to do to this list?

Well blah blah blah, Generalship and Gaming the mission right? Sure - but does your list even have the tools, the bodies, the necessary elements to really challenge MVB's Henchmen list? Well maybe, but if that list didn't get your brain to the right place, all I have left is pictures of STDs...



(Not STDs)

How To Win - the Bay Area Open is Book missions, standard deployments, and a super fast GT level pace. So back to the basics there: Capture & Control, Seize Ground, Annihilation. There are "bracket points" to be earned, but have no effect on winning that particular round. Pitched Battle, Spearhead, Dawn of War. The order of the missions/deployment is set for the first 6 battles. This is great info as the battlefield is shaped and informed greatly. Do you have a "List" yet? Do you have a basic strategy to win with that list in these circumstances? No table quarters or extra objectives for enemy HQs, no shenanigans.  You should be able to quickly and simply express your WIN Strategy for each of these missions.

Kill Stuff - Your army needs to have all the tools to kill everything. I don't plan to rely on the Archon, Incubi, or their Raider to contest the enemy objective on every C&C match up. In TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES per game, you wont have anytime to conjure up solutions of any type. You will need to execute your strategy to win That mission against That match up immediately and with each tabletop move of any kind. Three full squads of Grey Hunters will not be enough, they aren't even capable of bringing the Amount of Guns necessary to kill all the stuff necessary to kill for a win. This requires deep thought and a great deal of play testing to learn and know. Did you even look at those Forums yet? If you did, have you noticed a single performing GT list that doesn't stack up against the linked GK build? You cant just ignore 12 chimeras and hope your Thunder Wolf Powerfist goes on a rampage. You need to be able to kill:

 - Armor: Lots and Lots of AV10, 11, and 12. Out of 7 lists, what is your guess as to how many will drop 9 or more of these boxes on the board? Not to mention Av13 and 14. Your plan of death starts now, long before deployment. Deployment is like step 5. Plan to stop or kill 2 land raiders, 6 predators, and 12 chimeras.

- Monstrous Creatures and Walkers (and Mephiston): Maybe different tools, tactics, or strategy are necessary for your list. My Dark Eldar kill all of these things the same way, generally. How does your list do it. Three or Six Psyflemen dreads, Twelve Monstrous creatures bearing down on your objectives. Who goes in front of who and what jumps out where. Your preparation here will win or lose games.

- Awesome HQs and Deathstar units: They will be there. Remember the General doesn't buy into pure spam and many players don't. Deathstars murder entire planets. There are common Deathstar archetypes out there, some score objectives, some give up very little in Kill points. Your solution to these problems has to be ready in advance. Response is faster and better then reaction.

- Terminators, Space Marines, Guard, and the equivalent: These are generally the guys with legs or something similar that you will have to murder in great number. Yes terminators too. Dark Eldar HATE terminators - my basic plan is to out maneuver them, run from them, tarpit them, but eventually I end up needing some (or a lot) of them dead. Ten terminators with stormshields and two wounds is a hard equation to solve. Don't be surprised when your opponent brings a blade to a boxing match. Prepare now, practice lots, and deploy for murder.

- Long Range standoff units: Like everything else, workout your answers now. Your list MUST be able to threaten each part of the opponents force at all times, through mobility or direct action - threaten, pressure, attack. Is your plan really to allow two or three long fang units to fire on your army for 3, 4, 5 turns while you try and win the middle? That's your opponents plan, and it just worked.

Now lets reflect back on your list or lists and what they put on the table. Can you kill anything and everything your opponents can put on the board? Practice helps your brain here, not your lists. Adjustments or entirely different decisions may be Necessary. Is two units of Long Fangs going to be enough? Can you answer my questions with certitude or are you shrugging your shoulders? We can tell when you deploy, can you?

Mobility - Your army needs to be Mobile! This is not some kind of soapbox rant about mechanized forces. Your ARMY, not every unit, REQUIRES MOBILITY to win the tournament. There is no getting around this maxim. You didn't find many lists in those forums or blogs that really plan to line up and sit and shoot each of its opponents off the board. 6ft x 4ft is not a small area, even with 250 orks or nids.  Mobility in some lists comes directly from practice. Your Guard mob or Long Fangs or Lootas might need to move, and in many games in order to get the win they will be required to move. Five turns is only a snapshot later when you realize what you should have done. Deploying Correctly, managing reserves, going for or countering the Alpha Strike, holding-taking-pushing past the middle of the board. Your Army has to move to win, and we all know that the Wrong move equals loss.

Time Management - the more I apprentice with General Oadius the more the Golden Rule of Weight of Games smashes my face. You cannot play enough games to be ready enough. TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES is NO time for fooling around, weighing solutions, or multiple layers of gamble. Many games against many opponents and many lists cannot be overlooked at any level. There is some value to the weight of games - revealing - tools and tactics and strategies to defeat the problems, obstacles, and opponents as laid out in this article. With good list decisions, tons of experience, and pre-planned solutions/tactics/strategy. TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES becomes more than enough time, and we can move on to Deployment and Range.

Army Archetypes and Match ups - the final layer before the battle. Leafblower IG, Razorspam, DE Venom/Darklight spam, Mech Eldar, GK Henchmen, Ork or Nid Hoarde, etc. You must now take the time to research those lists and how they win, and have won. How does your list and experience stack up against these archetypes. What are your general solutions to win Multiple Objectives, C&C, or Killpoints versus these types of lists. On your kitchen table or ANYWHERE, you should be working out the 1st turn and 2nd turn deployment options and audibles.  On the timeline for War we are starting to get past the proxy stage. USE PROXIES if you must. These are the battles that must be won, and the General gets very unhappy when disciples stick their head in the sand.

This is why we run hardcore PRIMER tournaments, to smash your face in as a preparation step. Stay tuned, we are going to work our way through some of these archetypes next.


Thursday, June 9, 2011

40k Twin Linked Tournament: ROUND THREE!

The Third round of the Doubles Tournament at Great Escape Games, Sacramento pitted Team ShotDownMind vs Metal Waaaagh! Blood Angels and Dark Eldar vs more Space Wolves and Orks! 
Dawn of War, Modified Killpoints.

Metal Waaagh deployed and went first....


 


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

40k Twin Linked Tournament: Round TWO!


The Second round of the Doubles Tournament at Great Escape Games, Sacramento pitted Team ShotDownMind vs Hands Off My Sac. Blood Angels and Dark Eldar vs Grey Knights! Pitched Battle, multiple objectives, No Reserves.

Grey Knights go first and setup gunline, Team Shot Down Mind charge!



40k Rules Clarifications


95 pages of Big Rule Book and 6 pages of FAQ/Errata. Occasionally we run into unclear or rare situations. Other times its back to the basics. Here are a few that needed some clarification lately:

- Independent characters Joining/Leaving Units: The Characters section starts on pg47 and there is a whole page of detail on pg48 about this very subject. Moral of the story here is that if your Character is already part of the unit at the start of the turn, the Unit itself only makes one roll for difficult terrain even if you intend to detach the character through movement that phase. Mr awesomeness doesnt get a separate roll unless he was already separate.

- Vehicle Damage results and Combat Resolution: pg63 vs pg73 - Only damage results vs Walkers count towards combat resolution.

- Independent Characters in Close Combat: pg49 - they are treated as separate single model units - and units only take saves vs wounds cause by attacks allocated to that unit. Dont get crazy here, its not complicated. Assaults work differently then Shooting...

- Dreadnoughts (Walkers) and cover: pg56 starts the vehicle section that covers everything you need to know about Vehicles (mostly!) Walkers are a Vehicle! pg60 is Vehicle Facing and Armor Values. pg62 details Vehicles and Cover-Obscured Targets (how vehicles get a cover save.) pg72 is the sub-section on Vehicles regarding Walkers specifically (Walkers are a Vehicle!) Moving walkers is different from other vehicles in regards to terrain. Shooting at Walkers is also covered briefly on that page. I dont know what game Walkers get cover simply from walking into terrain and standing on a rock, in Warhammer 40k the Armor Facing the shooter needs to be at least 50% obscured. This is not unclear. As long as I am here, pg58 - Vehicle Weapons & Line of Sight, "...trace the line of sight from each weapons' mounting and along its barrel, to see if the shot is blocked by terrain or models." That part doesnt change any for Walkers either.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

40k Twin Linked Tournament: Round ONE!


The First round of the Doubles Tournament at Great Escape Games, Sacramento pitted Team ShotDownMind vs The Banished. Blood Angels and Dark Eldar vs Space Wolves and Orks! Spearhead, Table Quarters, No Reserves.

They won the roll off and went 2nd. Immediately, an amazing battle erupted...

Monday, June 6, 2011

Witness to a mugging...


Nakba Day 2011 marks the next phase of "what" started as the Arab-spring..... General Oadius and I make our way to the Warhammer 40k Twin Linked Doubles Tournament at Great Escape Games, Sacramento.


Saturday, June 4, 2011

Twin Linked 40k Tournament at Great Escape Games, Sacramento


1000pt Doubles here we come! Packing up the "Recon" Force now. General Oadius said he was going to sleep but that would be a first. Ive only ever played one doubles game before. The Wolfbrothers have been caught up in 1850pt battling for the last two weeks - but Oadius and I have been up to our usual scheming. Great Escape Games is expecting 20+ teams to show up.  We cant wait. The comp rules and scoring have been interesting to navigate, but we are both fielding perfect comp armies today. This has in turn given us some interesting "options" of various sorts and we think we have some lethal lists.

We will find out soon, and so will you! Bringing you the best Battle Reports on the internets, get ready for some awesome Shot Down Mind action everyone!

Want to meet my little friend...?

Friday, June 3, 2011

DEFICIT HIKE - Noob and generally poor tactics to avoid in Warhammer 40,000



I'm writing this article to go over a few of the big DO NOTS with regards to strategy and list making. Our local escalation league gives me lots of material for this article as there is bound to be a few guys who do the DO NOTS and don't know it. I'm just gonna be lazy and list them in no particuliar order....






1. DO NOT take a dreadnought that you intend to walk across the battlefield. This never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever works. Give the poor bastards a drop pod or resign them to sit in buildings and shoot(like rifle and psyfleman dreads).






2. DO NOT take a generic captain over a chaplain or reclusiarch EVER! A lot of you may read this and thing I'm wrong or try to justify your pretty little captains..I'm not, you are... it's stupid. Honour of the Chapter(fearlessness) and Liturgies of Battle(rerolls to hit or preferred enemy depending on Codex) is much better than any combination of wargear you can give a lame captain even with orbital bombardment. Space Wolves don't have captains so don't troll me. Stop the captain making crap it's noob.






3. DO NOT make a bunch of terminator HQ's unless you are a Grey Knight general. They don't have grenades people. Need I say more?






4. DO NOT take a librarian with Gate of the Infinity or the big pie plate...both of them will get you killed. It's retarded to commit suicide on the battlefield.






5. DO NOT even start a game until you have studied the table set-up and terrain.






6. DO NOT even think about deploying until you have read and understand your enemies' army list.






7. DO NOT finish any of your phases without double checking that all units performed their necessary actions. Put Simply...make sure you move everything that needs to be moved before shooting, then double check that you shot everything or ran everything you needed to before assaulting and then make damn sure that you declare ALL of your assaults at once.






8. DO NOT argue with General Oadius.






9. DO NOT give up on Warhammer 40,000.






10. DO NOT build a list without counting your Kill Points.






Ok...I think that's enough for now. I know this isn't the most objective and constructive criticism you'll ever receive but I don't give a shit. TILL NEXT TIME...PLAY WELL, ROLL BETTER!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

On the Path... Oadius Astartes 201


We are mobilizing for war here in Reno/Sparks, and its time to take the stategery to the next level in preparation for the upcoming events we plan to attend. I can advance us to the next chapter of the Oadius Astartes for I am a true disciple. Trust me - I have already said and performed the appropriate rites and rituals. Now we move onto the stage of hard knocks recruits, and you will need to prove your mettle on whole new levels.

The game is not the same at 1k, 1500, on up to 2k and beyond. Each tier changes what combo of elements are Necessary to have a winning competitive force. Missions and tournament formats limit or warp the value and availability of some elements in various ways. There is plenty of reasons (mostly not great reasons) for composition scoring, limitations, rules and modified or super-funky mission/tournament formats. The Bay Area GT will have Zero of that funky business with no comp whatsoever and pure book missions. Two hours and Fifteen minutes per game, Four the first day and three on the second - its serious grim dark future war stuff there.

General Oadius didnt just warn you about buying that snazzy lukas the trickster model because you like it. He gave you an order Soldier! Dont do it - paint him pretty and use as an objective marker, you will get more use that way - practicing for And performing at the GT. TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES per game. Get your shit together - the General wont give you no slack leading up to this event, its Not Just A Game. If you want to line up your rhinos horribly with no cover etc, we will shoot them dead and move in for the kill. The General told you to use proxies and figure out what works, dont limit your army selections and options because you spent your $$ on pretty lukas.

Bring The Big Guns, always - Playing, building, painting the army. Writing lists and studying the Codex. You will learn what works, Bring them to the fight. Bring them all, as many as you can usually. Use proxies and play many games against many opponents. Dont skip on the third Predator because you have forced yourself to - yay pretty Furioso - give it a cool name and paint a Tally on the side for how many times it died uselessly and you wished you had more Predators. SEVEN GAMES in TWO DAYS! This wont be easy, you need to know what you are doing. The other guys will have 9 Venoms, or 30 missiles, or 6 psyflemen dreads, you Will need some of that too.

Bring Somethings to Kill Stuff With - Use proxies and play many games against many opponents. You do need a power weapon in your army. This is a hard skill to really learn on the tabletop and list building. All of the Death Company guys dont need power weapons, and Two full teams of Thunder Hammer Terminators are expensive. If you have not followed the Generals Orders building and preparing your first army to win, you are building in obstacles to the tabletop and your list building. We just dont buy into the pure spam here, we are sure you need something sharp to actually cut stuffs throat with - more often than not.

Re-roll Things, re-roll Everything! - The General told you to bring lots of good troops, and few good hqs. Two uber squads fails vs 5 semi-uber squads All with uber-buffs. Think about this for a bit before we get to the next article, you dont win games Squad vs Squad, General vs General. Another reason you use proxies and... find out what actually works in many situations. Wolf Lord with claws and saga of the warrior with runic armor and all the other fixings... is expensive - many of those points could probably be used to amplify the rest of your forces better, at least 35 of them.

3 wounds IS Better than 2 - 35 points IS another Wolf Lord instead of Wolfguard battle leader. 4+ invul is way better than a 5 up. Do the math if you need to... or play many games vs many opponents. One terminator in a longfang squad extends the life of the long fangs by 2 or 3 turns sometimes. These decisions matter greatly and will make or break you on turn 5.

Play Out Your Lists - the weight of lots of games cannot be ignored. For rookie list builders, one of two games is Not enough to make big decisions on. Its not enough to learn how to use Thunderwolf Calvary correctly or effectively. This is the only way for You to identify the Real problems and figure out Real solutions - and even better, Multiple solutions. Two Hours Fifteen Minutes per game - you wont have time to spend figuring out the Problems or Solutions there. The other guys will have put the time in here.

Deployment... Pre-Deployment - General Oadius might have a checklist for each section of each section of his army. You Must practice deployment on your own and even work out many tactics and maneuvers at home, on half of the kitchen table if necessary. Now we are way past list building and maybe even the proxies (for your army anyways.) How do you plan to murder and be murdered? Your guys are going to get shot and shit will explode. Whats your plan? The GT is going to be action packed and fast paced. You will Need to know what weaknesses need to be protected and which exploited to achieve each win each round vs each match up Long before your army hits the tabletop.

Next you will need some real strategy... get in step and prepare that brain for a long march. Until next time... MURDER.