As my friend has kindly shipped me all his orks more or less, I have been entertaining ways to use them and also kind of poking at the army in the general way.
A few things. First, this codex is extremely typical of GW's new direction. The codex is meant to play as it "should" with less regard (but not NO regard) to whether that happens to be uber powerful or not.
Their obvious focus was to make the hordes more common in games of 40K. Hordes aren't. While the Blob squad is the well known break with that, lets face it, even Tyranids don't tend to horde that much, nor do Chaos Daemons and Sisters of Battle don't do it that often either. Are there exceptions? Obviously. But am I wrong? No.
So one of the most interesting things I noticed BEFORE this codex was just how massively effective Meganobz were. With that in mind I notice that the Ork codex allows you to ball up 100 orks, of which 10 are Nobz, and roll them like a bowling ball at someones army! Now having seen the carnage 10 Meganobz can do, this idea has REAL appeal because the ablative wounds of the bowling ball make the MegaArmour unnecessary, really. Plus you can make their little buddies into Ard Boyz which makes a BIG difference in the power of that bowling ball!
I was very enamoured of this and tried it out just as a what if. I rolled it across the field to the 22 inch mark on round one. Because of 4+ armor and cover, I lost just 8 orks from the unit, most of it from exploding trukks I used to cover my approach sicne only the things right in frotn could see us and they were mostly gunning for vehicles.
In round 2 I rolled the bowling ball forward again to the 30 inch mark (2" on the run) and moved another trukk and my only Battle Wagon up for cover. Here again, lost about 16 orks and the enemy started scattering except the land Raider which held its ground trying to kill the Battle Wagon.
So when I finally hit the enemy with it, in round 3 on a WAAAAAAAAGH, I engulfed the Chaos Space Marines front lines with so many Klaw attacks that at the end of it, there were two dead predators that just couldn't escape, a dead Chaos Space Marine unit, a dead Abaddon and dead Chaos Land Raider plus the orks had the AA gun!!! Wowa. WS 5 to the unit (from the Warlord) and like 45 Klaw attacks was more than enough. At this point the game was essentially over but there were the usual civilities of allowing him his bottom of the third turn to turn it around.
I was expecting pretty good results, but that is just toooooooo many orks to deal with and if you have a way to block lines of sight (and Trukks + BatWagons + Buggies does do a nice job of at least obscuring it) the unit is just like a bowling ball thrown flawlessly at the poor unfortunate wooden pins.
Now certain tournaments will not allow more than one Formation and so at most you'll get one bowling ball and it really is a lot of points. But is that not the most orky thing you can imagine? And the fact that its near impossible for the Nobz to get hit until its far too late is simply awesome. The unit loses none of its essential killing power; and the rest of the army is mostly in charge of advancing and cutting off escape.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
My New Dark Eldar!
Okay well I have had time to modify my plans given the new information in the codex, along with some notes as to why and whats changed. Enjoy.
Updated now that the new Dex is out.
240pts Court of the Archon (6 Sslyth, 3 Medusae, 1 Ur-Ghul)
75pts Raider (Night Shield, Enhanced Aethersails)
The Ur-Ghul gives this hard hitting unit Fear. The unit now pumps out 3 more STR 5 attacks than it did before (34), possibly without significant return blows if Fear works and with the Archons Armor of Misery, iot might well do so. The Medusae STR 4 AP 3 Eyeburst template is no joke either and more reliable than before, overall. Being in a Raider at point blank range by round 1, the templates could prove devastating if the battlefield situation doesnt call for disembarking.
265pts BeastMasters (3 Beast Masters with Agonizers, 4 Clawed Fiends, 2 Razorwing Flocks)
The Beasts run up the field like they are shot from a cannon and Beast Masters have 3 Agonizer attacks on the charge, which means they can conceivably take out a WraithKnight over time with a bit of luck. Clawed Fiends lost a wound in the new Dex, and with it they went down 5 points (a fair exchange). Their high STR makes them important for pounding hulls and xenos alike into the ground and now that they have Rage I don't have to play wound shenanigan games with them. They are hitting with a whopping 6 attacks on the charge each AND you also don't have to worry about majority toughness issues anymore. This unit got way better for the way I used them.
190pts 4 Grotesques (Liquifier Gun, Aberration w Agonizer)
75pts Raider (Night Shield, Enhanced Aethersails)
These guys took a step back, losing their easy to gain Furious Charge and their Master Haemonculous Upgrade. What was once a STR 7 beast on the charge is now STR 5, POSSIBLY STR 6 in round 3 if Urien is with them. That hurt since a big reason for me taking them was their ability to annihilate enemy hulls, sometimes several at once. but okay fine. Still not bad at it. However what they gave us is Poisoned Instant Death Weapons. Well... when you're str 6 on the charge, you're re-rolling to wounds. And if their unit is smaller than the enemies unit numerically, they get to Rampage which is just silly. because you of course realize that the enemy hulls will most likely never outnumber us. In the end analysis, I think we came out ahead on hull bashing from that perspective. But Dreadnoughts are now going to be a major issue. At STR 5, we can be locked up indefinitely by a Dreadnought. Not so excited about that. Ironically, we now can kill a WraithKnight easier than a Dreadnought. Fortunately, Dark Eldar probably won't prompt more people to want to play Dreadnoughts.
125pts 10 Kabalite Warriors (Splinter Cannon, Shredder, Sybarite w Phantasm Grenade Launcher)
75pts Raider (Enhanced Aethersails, Splinter Wracks)
125pts 10 Kabalite Warriors (Splinter Cannon, Shredder, Sybarite w Phantasm Grenade Launcher)
75pts Raider (Enhanced Aethersails, Splinter Wracks)
This is experimental because I've not used Kabalite warriors, ever. I am forced by the Codex, for now, to use Kabalites as my troops. If I have to have them, may as well make them do damage. So I have given them three weapons to hammer the enemy with at close range. The Shredder is a fairly good and probably underrated weapon. The Phantasm Grenade Launcher (and its brother the Torment Grenade Launcher) are interesting weapons when the Archon is around with his Armor of Misery. What's more fun is that if someone has a character that they are using to tank wounds that has fearless or ATSKNF, they cant have wounds allocated to them. I thought "How dumb, that means the weapon is nigh pointless against Marines other than the SouldFright" but then after thinking about it, I realized that the Soulfright could not only be damaging at times but it gets through the Techpriest whose tanking, for example, or the Wolf Guard that joined the IG blob or what have you. Also, Daemons arent actually Fearless, nor are Zealots. So they won't be spared. The more I thought about it the more I thought it might actually be worth taking. Regardless, the Shredder and the Cannon will do damage as will their rifles so I expect some marginal production for the Kabalites against breakthroughs; and some scoring we hope.
130pts 5 Kabalite Trueborn (4 Blasters, Dracon w/ Haywire Grenade)
65pts Venom (Additional Splinter Cannon)
Someone has to pop the transports early. Kabalite Trueborn are on the job. Not much to say here: 5 chances to get er done. The Trueborn lost access to Haywire Grenades which to my way of thinking was a pretty big deal. No longer are they able to run up, then next round shoot AND/or charge to kill tanks in melee. Now it's just more shooting and throwing a grenade. Not as assured anymore. So I am considering Dark Lances for the unit and changing them to a red herring for the backfield but I want to see if it is necessary, since Dark lances, already a suspect weapon at times, got more expensive to get. unfathomable really. I note a very large number of changes that have reduced our anti-tank capability. I really do think this is a ripple effect of Knight players perhaps not liking how quickly the behemoths can go down with some luck. Thats beside the point right now though. We will stay with blasters for now.
135pts Archon (Huskblade, Armor of Misery, Shadowfield, Plasma Grenades, Haywire Grenade)
So much I want to do with him but he gets expensive fast. He will wallop people with this version and he does a lot for the force's LD manipulation. Shadowfields got way better, not ending til the turn is over even if you fail a save. STR 6 will make that irrelevant as it did before so... There's that. One hopes we will have enough to keep the enemy busy until he can do his grisly work.
140pts Urien Rakarth (Casket of Flensing, Ichor Gauntlet+Close Combat Weapon, Clone Field)
.
Less Expensive, does less and... He's okay I guess.Clone Field no longer makes him the challenge monster he was (but he dropped 50 points so...) He gained a lot in shooting, as his casket is now solidly STR 3 ap3. Not game changing, but at least you can kind of know when to use it, as compared to agonizing (see what I did there?) if you should or shouldn't use it because the variable str always made you unsure.
140pts Razorwing Jetfighter (4 Monoscythe Missiles, 2 Dark Lances)
Purely taken as anti-air and I'll be frank, it feels like a pretty limp wristed measure at that. Two shots usually don't take flyers down. That's just math for ya' but hey the sun shines on a dogs butt once in a while. No flyer will fail to kill IT. Its anti-infantry weapons are okay and anti-TEQ is probably their strong suit but its just so limited in where it can be placed on the field, assuming you don't dedicate considerable effort to first killing the anti air. I didn't even bother upgrading it other than the Dark Lances. It'll be a crushing weight of fire when it comes in...if it survives coming in. Big if. It's worth 140 points to try though and at least it allows me not to totally concede the skies ot my enemy. Flying Daemon princes and the like are a SERIOUS problem and even if I take one out with Disintegrator cannon fire, or dare to dream kill two of the big boys, well...
120pts 5 Scourges (4 x Haywire Blasters)
Reliable anti-Imperial Knight Hull Points is a good thing. Nothing works better than haywire blasters at it and Imperial Knights are a thing. So getting behind their shields is important and Scourges can do it and kind of force the question of where that shield is going to go. Between the Scourges to the rear and Trueborn to the front, one hopes we can nuke a Knight. Scourges are also just fine at starting the fun on transports in turn one on the approach. A lot of good things to say about Scourges, compared to the last Codex, and I think you'll see many more of them swooping in.
Points: 1985
Kill Points: 15
Models: 60
Updated now that the new Dex is out.
240pts Court of the Archon (6 Sslyth, 3 Medusae, 1 Ur-Ghul)
75pts Raider (Night Shield, Enhanced Aethersails)
The Ur-Ghul gives this hard hitting unit Fear. The unit now pumps out 3 more STR 5 attacks than it did before (34), possibly without significant return blows if Fear works and with the Archons Armor of Misery, iot might well do so. The Medusae STR 4 AP 3 Eyeburst template is no joke either and more reliable than before, overall. Being in a Raider at point blank range by round 1, the templates could prove devastating if the battlefield situation doesnt call for disembarking.
265pts BeastMasters (3 Beast Masters with Agonizers, 4 Clawed Fiends, 2 Razorwing Flocks)
The Beasts run up the field like they are shot from a cannon and Beast Masters have 3 Agonizer attacks on the charge, which means they can conceivably take out a WraithKnight over time with a bit of luck. Clawed Fiends lost a wound in the new Dex, and with it they went down 5 points (a fair exchange). Their high STR makes them important for pounding hulls and xenos alike into the ground and now that they have Rage I don't have to play wound shenanigan games with them. They are hitting with a whopping 6 attacks on the charge each AND you also don't have to worry about majority toughness issues anymore. This unit got way better for the way I used them.
190pts 4 Grotesques (Liquifier Gun, Aberration w Agonizer)
75pts Raider (Night Shield, Enhanced Aethersails)
These guys took a step back, losing their easy to gain Furious Charge and their Master Haemonculous Upgrade. What was once a STR 7 beast on the charge is now STR 5, POSSIBLY STR 6 in round 3 if Urien is with them. That hurt since a big reason for me taking them was their ability to annihilate enemy hulls, sometimes several at once. but okay fine. Still not bad at it. However what they gave us is Poisoned Instant Death Weapons. Well... when you're str 6 on the charge, you're re-rolling to wounds. And if their unit is smaller than the enemies unit numerically, they get to Rampage which is just silly. because you of course realize that the enemy hulls will most likely never outnumber us. In the end analysis, I think we came out ahead on hull bashing from that perspective. But Dreadnoughts are now going to be a major issue. At STR 5, we can be locked up indefinitely by a Dreadnought. Not so excited about that. Ironically, we now can kill a WraithKnight easier than a Dreadnought. Fortunately, Dark Eldar probably won't prompt more people to want to play Dreadnoughts.
125pts 10 Kabalite Warriors (Splinter Cannon, Shredder, Sybarite w Phantasm Grenade Launcher)
75pts Raider (Enhanced Aethersails, Splinter Wracks)
125pts 10 Kabalite Warriors (Splinter Cannon, Shredder, Sybarite w Phantasm Grenade Launcher)
75pts Raider (Enhanced Aethersails, Splinter Wracks)
This is experimental because I've not used Kabalite warriors, ever. I am forced by the Codex, for now, to use Kabalites as my troops. If I have to have them, may as well make them do damage. So I have given them three weapons to hammer the enemy with at close range. The Shredder is a fairly good and probably underrated weapon. The Phantasm Grenade Launcher (and its brother the Torment Grenade Launcher) are interesting weapons when the Archon is around with his Armor of Misery. What's more fun is that if someone has a character that they are using to tank wounds that has fearless or ATSKNF, they cant have wounds allocated to them. I thought "How dumb, that means the weapon is nigh pointless against Marines other than the SouldFright" but then after thinking about it, I realized that the Soulfright could not only be damaging at times but it gets through the Techpriest whose tanking, for example, or the Wolf Guard that joined the IG blob or what have you. Also, Daemons arent actually Fearless, nor are Zealots. So they won't be spared. The more I thought about it the more I thought it might actually be worth taking. Regardless, the Shredder and the Cannon will do damage as will their rifles so I expect some marginal production for the Kabalites against breakthroughs; and some scoring we hope.
130pts 5 Kabalite Trueborn (4 Blasters, Dracon w/ Haywire Grenade)
65pts Venom (Additional Splinter Cannon)
Someone has to pop the transports early. Kabalite Trueborn are on the job. Not much to say here: 5 chances to get er done. The Trueborn lost access to Haywire Grenades which to my way of thinking was a pretty big deal. No longer are they able to run up, then next round shoot AND/or charge to kill tanks in melee. Now it's just more shooting and throwing a grenade. Not as assured anymore. So I am considering Dark Lances for the unit and changing them to a red herring for the backfield but I want to see if it is necessary, since Dark lances, already a suspect weapon at times, got more expensive to get. unfathomable really. I note a very large number of changes that have reduced our anti-tank capability. I really do think this is a ripple effect of Knight players perhaps not liking how quickly the behemoths can go down with some luck. Thats beside the point right now though. We will stay with blasters for now.
135pts Archon (Huskblade, Armor of Misery, Shadowfield, Plasma Grenades, Haywire Grenade)
So much I want to do with him but he gets expensive fast. He will wallop people with this version and he does a lot for the force's LD manipulation. Shadowfields got way better, not ending til the turn is over even if you fail a save. STR 6 will make that irrelevant as it did before so... There's that. One hopes we will have enough to keep the enemy busy until he can do his grisly work.
140pts Urien Rakarth (Casket of Flensing, Ichor Gauntlet+Close Combat Weapon, Clone Field)
.
Less Expensive, does less and... He's okay I guess.Clone Field no longer makes him the challenge monster he was (but he dropped 50 points so...) He gained a lot in shooting, as his casket is now solidly STR 3 ap3. Not game changing, but at least you can kind of know when to use it, as compared to agonizing (see what I did there?) if you should or shouldn't use it because the variable str always made you unsure.
140pts Razorwing Jetfighter (4 Monoscythe Missiles, 2 Dark Lances)
Purely taken as anti-air and I'll be frank, it feels like a pretty limp wristed measure at that. Two shots usually don't take flyers down. That's just math for ya' but hey the sun shines on a dogs butt once in a while. No flyer will fail to kill IT. Its anti-infantry weapons are okay and anti-TEQ is probably their strong suit but its just so limited in where it can be placed on the field, assuming you don't dedicate considerable effort to first killing the anti air. I didn't even bother upgrading it other than the Dark Lances. It'll be a crushing weight of fire when it comes in...if it survives coming in. Big if. It's worth 140 points to try though and at least it allows me not to totally concede the skies ot my enemy. Flying Daemon princes and the like are a SERIOUS problem and even if I take one out with Disintegrator cannon fire, or dare to dream kill two of the big boys, well...
120pts 5 Scourges (4 x Haywire Blasters)
Reliable anti-Imperial Knight Hull Points is a good thing. Nothing works better than haywire blasters at it and Imperial Knights are a thing. So getting behind their shields is important and Scourges can do it and kind of force the question of where that shield is going to go. Between the Scourges to the rear and Trueborn to the front, one hopes we can nuke a Knight. Scourges are also just fine at starting the fun on transports in turn one on the approach. A lot of good things to say about Scourges, compared to the last Codex, and I think you'll see many more of them swooping in.
Points: 1985
Kill Points: 15
Models: 60
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