List Building

2012 Resolutions

Posted by Plarzoid on January 20, 2012
Posted in: IABN, List Building, Model Discussion, Theorycraft. Tagged: , , . 16 comments

The New Year is a great excuse to analyze the past, digest it and then to plan for the future.  That’s what I’ve been doing recently.

Snotling Pump Wagon!

2011

Looking back at 2011, I got quite a few commissions done.  I helped make some very cool Gatorgents for a friend, and I scratch built some Snotling Wagons.  I also painted two 35-pt armies, and won a painting competition with one of them.  I’ve done some fun conversions, like my Voltaic Stormclad, and I’ve written loads of tutorials.  I also became a PG last year, and migrated to this new website.

All in all, last year was pretty great!

2012

Looking forward at 2012, there are several things I want to do.  One of them is focus on a few factions, rather than all of them.  I have too many models, across too many factions, and I need to put several of them away in a closet and leave them there until next year.

When I made this decision not too long ago, the immediate followup question was: “Well, then what factions go in the closet and which ones stay?”

One faction was an obvious choice:

First attempt at Sorscha, 2009

Khador

Having painted and played Khador for a while (due to the Butcher1 Theme Force), I’ve fallen back in love with the fur-lined Northerners.  They were my first faction, and some of the first PP models I ever painted.

I hadn’t touched Khador for about a year when I started working on the Khador Theme force, and I gotta say – I miss ’em.

The list I’m currently working on is the one I devised as an expansion based upon the 2-player starter set.  In fact, I just finished assembling all the models just the other night.  Since I’ve magnetized my plastic chassis, and I’m re-painting half the army anyway, I’m going to also replicate the Butcher1 Theme force I’ve enjoyed for these past few months.  This *will* include a Plastic Kodiak conversion, which I’m already working on.

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Points: 35/35

Kommander Sorscha (*5pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
Man-o-war Shocktroopers (Max Unit) (9pts)
Winter Guard Mortar Crew (2 Models) (3pts)
Greylord Ternion (3 Models) (4pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)
* Destroyer (9pts)
Widowmakers (4 Models) (4pts)
Widowmaker Marksman (2pts)

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Heart of Darkness

Points: 35/35
Tiers: 4

The Butcher of Khardov (*6pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
* Kodiak (8pts)
* War dog (1pts)
Man-o-war Demolition Corps (Min Unit) (6pts)
Man-o-war Shocktroopers (Min Unit) (5pts)
Manhunter (2pts)
Manhunter (2pts)
Yuri the Axe (3pts)

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This past week, I’ve been rapidly working on assembling all the models for the Sorscha1 list. Remember, I have to start from scratch because the Pink Khador army will be going to auction for charity (eventually – I’m working on a few extras to throw in, as well as working on contacting a charity to take the donation).

I’m very excited to try this list out!  I just have no idea what sort of scheme I’ll do them in…  Yellow?  Classic Red?

35pts of Angry Beards!

Legion of Everblight

In order to stay balanced and up on Hordes vs Warmachine, I’m returning to my beloved Legion of Aquablight.  Like Khador, I’m going to focus on the Battlebox ‘caster, Lylyth1.  She’s always been one of my favorite ‘casters, and I’ve developed what I think is a fairly fun list based upon the Legion Battlebox.

The Legion of Aquablight!, 2010

The list focuses on Lylyth, and her ability to make everything hit more accurately. It’s also a tad beast heavy, but in a very fun way.  While I’m getting that list done, there’s a good theme list that only needs a few extra models in order to be complete.

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Points: 35/35

Lylyth, Herald of Everblight (*6pts)
* Carnivean (11pts)
* Shredder (2pts)
* Shredder (2pts)
* Shredder (2pts)
* Shredder (2pts)
* Harrier (2pts)
* Stinger (2pts)
Blighted Nyss Striders (6 Models) (6pts)
* Officer & Musician (3pts)
Annyssa Ryvaal, Talon of Everblight (4pts)
Blighted Nyss Shepherd (1pts)
Strider Deathstalker (2pts)
The Forsaken (2pts)

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Winds of Change

Points: 35/35
Tiers: 4

Absylonia, Terror of Everblight (*5pts)
* Shredder (2pts)
* Shredder (2pts)
* Stinger (2pts)
* Proteus (10pts)
* Ravagore (9pts)
* Typhon (11pts)
The Forsaken (2pts)
The Forsaken (2pts)

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Luckily, I already have the Legion Battlebox painted.  However, I would like to try a different armor scheme on the Alternate Lylyth Sculpt (since I’m still not sold on the gold), and I’ll certainly be getting a Plastic Legion Heavy kit for a Scythean and Proteus, so there’s still a fair bit to paint for this army.  Alternatively, I’ve been debating switching up the color scheme and doing something with orange blight – it’s a pretty cool effect.

Protectorate of Menoth

The third army I’d like to work on is something from the Protectorate of Menoth.  Every Menoth player I talk to enjoys the faction, and I’ve always stayed away because it’s usually been popular wherever I am.  I no longer care what everyone else is playing, I want a piece of the fiery action!

Studio Alt Scheme

I have two lists that I’m tossing around in my head.  One is based off the 2-Player Starter Set, and another is a theme force:[wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]

Points: 35/35

High Exemplar Kreoss (*5pts)
* Crusader (6pts)
* Vanquisher (8pts)
Choir of Menoth (Min Unit) (2pts)
Exemplar Cinerators (Max Unit) (8pts)
Exemplar Errants (Max Unit) (8pts)
* Officer & Standard Bearer (2pts)
Exemplar Errant Seneschal (2pts)
The Covenant of Menoth (2pts)
Vassal of Menoth (2pts)

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Defenders of the Temple

Points: 35/35
Tiers: 3

Feora, Protector of the Flame (*6pts)
* Reckoner (8pts)
* Vanquisher (8pts)
Choir of Menoth (Min Unit) (2pts)
Daughters of the Flame (6 Models) (5pts)
Flameguard Cleansers (Min Unit) (5pts)
* Flameguard Cleanser Officer (2pts)
Temple Flameguard (Min Unit) (4pts)
Temple Flameguard (Min Unit) (4pts)
* Officer & Standard (Free)
Nicia, Tear of Vengeance (3pts)

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I have a pretty clear goal for my Protectorate paint scheme.  For Exemplar models, I’m going to take the classic colors and invert their placement.  This will mean white cloth and dark red armor (with white accents).  For Flameguard models, I’m going to mute the tones a bit, and skew more towards the studio scheme pictured above.  It’s a very warm, ember-like look, and I really, really like it.  I’m pretty excited, and I’m hoping to get a test model done soon.

So those are the factions I’m focused on.  Cryx, Skorne and Cygnar are all going into the closet for 2012.  Don’t fret, though.  I have big plans for those factions for next year.  Like, Battle Engine big…

Painting Goals

As I stated earlier, in 2011 I painted two 35pt armies. I’d like to get three 35pt armies finished and painted this year.  I’m going to aim for one from each of the factions, and anything beyond that is a bonus.  Since I’m also focused on Battleboxes, those lists will obviously be easier to complete than the non-battlebox ones.  I’m likely to hold off on painting Khador for the slow-grow league I’ll be running in a few months.  Instead, I’ll start with either Protectorate or Legion, or a Battlebox.  Probably a Battlebox for some variety…

Completely unrelated to Warmachine, I’m hoping to have my first Malifaux Crew finished, and I’d like to learn how to play.  Many local guys have tried and enjoyed the game, and the card-flip mechanic seems interesting.  There’s a tournament mid-February, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to make it, and be fully painted by the time I’m done.

Is that... Is that a fanny pack?

Gaming Goals

I don’t consider myself a competitive gamer – I often play because someone wants to learn, or I have to because there’s one odd guy out on game night, and I feel bad he doesn’t get to play a game.  I’d like to be more comfortable with my armies, and I’d like to be more confident with my play style.

For instance: my Butcher1 army and my Morghoul1 army are easy for me to play now.  I have them down fairly well.  I know I’m doing well with those, because I know most of my model’s stats without looking at the cards.  That tells me I’ve played them enough that I’m very familiar with how stuff works.  That said, I still flub the order of operations with my Skorne, and I still have maneuvering issues with the Khador.

I’d also like to compete in a tournament.

I think that’s enough rambling and theory-craft for now.  I have Typhon to finish up for the Clash of the Titans, as well as a min unit of half finished Skorne Swordsmen.  I’m going to wrap those up this weekend, and then see if I can’t pound out a battlebox before Templecon.

What Battlebox you’d like to see painted?  Trolls, Circle, Protectorate or Cryx?

What are your gaming & hobby related goals for 2012?

How-to Tuesday: Tournament Preparation

Posted by Plarzoid on January 10, 2012
Posted in: How-To Tuesday, IABN, List Building, Tutorial. Tagged: , , , , . 4 comments

Several of my local players are gearing up for their first tournament, or convention (Templecon!), and in a few cases, both.  As I’ve been talking with them, it seems the list construction article a few weeks ago really helped, but they’ve had some follow-up questions.  Primary among them:  How do I prepare for a tournament?

Practice

Play as many games with your tournament lists as you can.  Ask local players to bring specific lists you want to try your lists against (magic heavy, infantry heavy, heavy armor, shooty, melee, Hordes vs Warmachine, etc).

Play under the time limit you’ll be playing under during the tournament.  Two of my locals started all of two months ago, and they’re headed to Templecon for a tournament.  Right now, it takes all evening for one 35pt game.  You need to know your army left and right, up and down so you can do your activations as fast as possible.  At 35 pts, you have 7 minutes a turn, or if you get Chess Clocks, you have 38 minutes for your half of the game.

Practice your deployment, and your first turn.  Know how you’ll deploy, and know your first turn’s order of activations.  If you need to, take your time and plan it out – writing your steps down.  Then, use the cheat sheet to do it a few more times.  See if you can do it without the instructions.  Take them anyway, and have them on hand if you need to.

Do the same with your feat turn if it’s something intricate like Hexeris, Amon or Rhyas with Swordsmen with UA.

Knowledge

If you read the List Building article, hopefully your two lists are tailored to approach opposite types of armies (or perhaps one is anti-Warmachine, and the other anti-Hordes).  You’ll want to know what sort of things will decide which list to put on the table.  Remember, all you get to decide which of your lists you will bring is a quick look at your opponent’s two lists.

Memorize your model’s stats as best as you can.  I can rattle off a Khador heavy’s statline, but that’s primarily from playing Khador for years.  The faster you can respond to your opponent, the better.  The more confident you seem, the more confident you’ll feel and you’ll put your opponent on defense.

If you play lots of games with your armies, you’ll have a good general knowledge of other faction’s models and abilities.  Always remember that you can ask for one of your opponent’s cards at any time.  Take your time before the round starts to read their cards, and look at the models on the table that the card goes with.  Try to remember one or two key things about the unit so you can make decisions quicker:  “High Def, low armor – apply AOEs”; “Slow, High Armor so ignore and outmaneuver”; “Stealth, so run to tie up in melee”, etc.

Good Practices at Tournaments

At large tournaments and conventions, there are a few things you might not think twice about, but are considered bad form or even cheating.

If your opponent didn’t see it, it failed.  This goes for hit rolls, damage rolls and measurements.  Get your opponent to see and acknowledge everything you do.  If they didn’t see the roll, you failed to hit.  If they didn’t see the roll, you failed to damage.  If they didn’t see the measurement, you failed the charge.

Don’t, under any circumstance, bend your tape measure.  Here’s why.  It’s entirely possible to accidently give yourself several inches of movement.  Always measure and move in straight lines.  It’s how the rules are written.

If you have to ask for a Judge, be sure to stop the clock if there is one.  Also, don’t leave the table.  Raise your hand, find the judge, and try to get their attention (unless they’re in the middle of helping another table).

Sportsmanship

Always shake hands before the game, and wish your opponent luck.

At the end, shake their hand and congratulate them on a battle well fought, win or lose.

Always answer questions as quickly, precisely, and truthfully as possible.  Pause the clock (or flip it to your side of the clock) if you don’t have the answer on hand, and need to look it up.

Live by Wil Wheaton’s motto:  Don’t be a dick.

Logistics

Before the game starts, run over all the terrain on the board and agree beforehand what it all is (forest, obstructions, water, linear obstacles, etc), and what it gives (cover, concealment, etc). Make sure that the Trophy Specialists you hired have indeed supplied you with the proper amounts for the winners.

During the roll-off for who goes first, remember that whoever wins gets to choose who goes first and who goes second.  As of the latest SR2012 Beta, the loser of the die roll-off gets to choose what side of the board they deploy on.  Usually this is pre-determined as you walk up to the table, but remember it’s your right to switch sides if you loose the roll-off.

Bring a tray for transporting models.  I use an old cookie sheet, but there are some nice ones out and about.  Packing and unpacking your entire army each game is too time consuming.

I like to roll the column when I roll damage on a warnourn.  I usually use an off-color die, or a die with numerals rather than pips (dots).  If you do this, let your opponent know, so they don’t think you’re rolling an extra die for no reason.

That’s all I have for you right now.

How-to Tuesday: List Building Basics

Posted by Plarzoid on December 20, 2011
Posted in: How-To Tuesday, IABN, List Building, Theorycraft, Tutorial. Tagged: . 4 comments

iBodger, FTW!

I certainly don’t claim to be a tactical genius, but I usually make my opponents at least work for their win.  The more I’m playing games, the more I’m reading about what makes a good list and what elements you need to be sure to include.

I’m not talking about auto-includes, I’m talking about making sure your army is well rounded enough to handle most of the stuff you could see across the board while remaining synergistic and goal oriented.  Of course, now that I have an Android phone (thanks Mom & Dad!) and access to iBodger, I’ve started taking a tougher and more thorough look at what lists I can field.

Purpose

Every model in your army should have a clear purpose.  Whether it’s infantry clearing, handling hardened targets, harassing flanks or supporting another model, you the player should have in your head a very clear role for each model in your list.  Otherwise, what is it doing on the table?  Sure, all the models look pretty, but when you’re playing to win, you want to be sure everything on your side is helping you do that.

That's a Euro AC outlet plug on an ethernet cable. Fun!

Do It Yourself

Don’t use lists you find online.  When you try to play an army someone else has put together, you’re doing double the work, and often get bad results.  You won’t know precisely why they chose each model in their list – what each model’s purpose was.  You need to determine that.

I’m not saying don’t every try a ‘net list, but take them all with a grain of salt.  Learn why they chose a particular model or unit, and try out that unit in a similar role.  Take the list’s ideas and implement them in your own way.

List Specifics

Whenever I’m thinking up a list, there are several questions floating around getting caught in the cobwebs of my head.  Before I’m satisfied with a list all of them need to have answers.  They don’t have to be good answers, but so long as they’ve all been addressed, I’m OK going into battle commanding the force.

  • How will I handle High Armor?  (Khador Devastator @ ARM 25)
  • How will I handle High Defense? (DEF 19+)
  • How will I handle Stealth? (Shadowpack, ugh)
  • How will I handle Tough? (Trolls have a 5+ Invul?  lolwut?)
  • How will I handle Incorporeal models? (Blackbanes, ugh)
  • How will I handle Rough Terrain? (Baldur1’s Feat)
  • How will I handle loads of infantry?  (Irusk2)
  • How will I handle a Beast/’jack heavy force?  (Karchev)

Solutions

Sometimes, the faction itself offers many solutions to these questions.  Legion, for instance, has Eyeless Sight, which handles Stealth, and most Legion beasts have Pathfinder or flight and thus ignore terrain.  Other times, one question is huge while another nearly drops off the radar.  An example of this is when I’m pondering Khador – they’re slow so Rough Terrain is a huge problem.  However, their warjacks all hit so hard, that I really don’t tend to care about enemy armor.

Every faction has access to something that answers those questions.  Not all of those answers reside on a model’s card.  Going back to Khador, often my answer to rough terrain is deployment.  I’ll try to opt to go second, and I’ll deploy such that I don’t have to maneuver much to hit the enemy lines.  Another example might be how my Butcher1 T4 force handles Stealth.  (LOL)  Since it has next to no ranged weapons, but is incredibly fast, I simply don’t let Stealth affect the game much.

Even if your answer is “I can’t do anything about X.”, then at least you go into the battle knowing.  If you can’t handle Stealth, you can maybe position your models so the Stealth models spend most of the game trying to get into combat.  Or, if you can’t handle rough terrain, perhaps you turtle up and make the enemy come to you.

Synergy

Having a counter to tough models is one thing, but you can’t be all defense.  You have to think offensively also.  The models you take with you to a battle have to act together and become that clichéd “whole greater than the sum of the parts”.  This is where support models come into play.  Beast Handlers, Whelps, a Choir or Vassal, they don’t do much of anything to help you answer the questions above, but they sure make your opponent have to answer them.

Sometimes, a good offense is a perfectly valid answer to those defensive questions.  Take a Morghoul1 army for example.  By turn 3, you should have applied a Titan liberally to the enemy caster’s face.  If you’re so fast, or so brutal that you can keep the enemy on their heels and off balance, then their strengths won’t have time to find your weaknesses.

Examples

I’m going to go over a Legion list I’m eager to try out, and I’ll check how it does against what I’ve talked about so far.  Here’s the list:

Points: 35/35

My Legion of Aquablight!

Lylyth, Herald of Everblight (*6pts)
* Shredder (2pts)
* Shredder (2pts)
* Carnivean (11pts)
* Ravagore (10pts)
Blighted Nyss Striders (6pts)
* Officer & Musician (3pts)
Annyssa Ryvaal (4pts)
Blighted Nyss Shepherd (1pts)
Strider Deathstalker (2pts)

High Armor?  The Carnivean hits like a freight train, and the Ravagore has enough oomph to finish off anything the Carnivean has trouble with.  So long as I deploy them far enough apart and staggered (front to back), they should be free to help eachother as needed.  Also, the Strider’s can CRA for one massive shot, or single shot and whittle down something with 1-2 damage per shot.

High Defense? Lylyth’s feat gives all friendly models an additional die on attack rolls.  So when beasts boost to hit, they;re rolling 4 dice.  They army shouldn’t have a problem hitting things.

Stealth?  Uh, it’s Legion.  The few models that don’t have Eyeless Sight are pretty fast, and have either Light Cav, or Reform, so I can close to shoot, then back out.

Tough? This one’s a problem.  I don’t have a bunch of models on the table, so I don’t have quantity of shots in my favor.  Tough will put a damper on my killyness, so I’ll have to focus fire on a part of the army, wipe it out and then pick the next part.  Or, go for the ‘caster kill early and keep the opponent on the defensive.  Something to look out for.

Incorporeal? Lylyth’s bow is magical, that’s about it.  I could run a heavy or shredder nearby, shoot it with Lylyth, and then Eruption of Spines into the enemy model.  At 50 pts, I really want to add Hex Hunters + Bayal, so they would be a great counter for Incorp with their magical weapons and Hex Bolts.  At 35pts though, another weakness to work around.

Difficult Terrain? Again, being Legion helps here, since most models have Pathfinder.  Even the Shredders get it when they go Rabid.  Terrain will really help me with this army, it’s definitely an asset.

Infantry? Carnivean’s spray, Ravagore’s AOE, Striders can shoot 8 targets, and Lylyth’s Eruption of Spines all help clear out infantry.

‘Jackwall? The Carnivean and Ravagore both have two open fists, they’re perfect for 2-handed throwing ‘jacks or beasts into the opposing warcaster who will be knocked down, about to eat Lylyth and Striders to the face.

Synergy? IMO, Lylyth is a support caster.  She helps her army do the work.  The two shredders can easily tear apart a lightly armored or parasited target, and the Carnivean’s spray and Ravagore’s AOE love a parasited unit.  The Striders can control an entire flank on their own – most people are scared of them because they have CRA, Stealth and Reform, so they hit hard and are hard to catch.  The die to AOEs though.  Anyssa is perfect for the opposite flank, harassing or picking off solos.  If she’s lucky enough to get into the enemy’s backfield, she can easily pick off support models or even a caster if possible.  With poison on her bow, she’s perfect for picking of anything that’s alive.  The Shepherd helps me run the beasts hot, and mitigates Lylyth’s small 10″ Control Area.

So how did the list fare through the theorymachine?  Decently well.  It’ll have a rough time against Trolls or other Tough armies, and it’ll suffer when going against large swathes of Incorporeal models, but otherwise it’s fairly solid.  If this were one of my two lists in a tournament, I’d probably tailor my second one to handle tough and incorporeal, so when going against Cryx or Trolls, I’d be able to negate their unique abilities.

What is your list building process?

What list are you looking to try out soon?

How could I improve my list building process?

 

Expanding on the 2-Player Set

Posted by Plarzoid on October 31, 2011
Posted in: IABN, List Building, Model Discussion, Theorycraft, Unboxing. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

Not long ago, I briefly discussed the awesome, new 2-player starter set.  Being a faction-a-holic, and Press Ganger, my mind is constantly running over battleboxes, small lists and how to expand on each faction’s battlebox.

This obsession with listography was greatly accelerated when I traded in my Blackberry for an Android and had access to iBodger.  Oh boy, did that make things fun.

Anyway, I’ve been wracking my mind about how to best make use of the 2-player starter set.  The Man-O-War Shocktroopers are a staple Khador unit, but the Cinerators are another story.  Recently, Gentleben of Bell of Lost Souls went over his suggestions for expanding the Protectorate side of the set.  His suggestions are all top notch, and almost exactly what I would suggest.  His army looks fantastic too, so be sure to check it out.

For the Khador side, we start with an even 20 points.  My first thought is to move a warjack off Sorscha somehow.  She likes having all her focus for upkeeps, Boundless Charge, and Wind Rush faux-J-charge shenanigans, so having more than one ‘jack on her can leave her starved for focus.  The Destroyer would be the better ‘jack to put on a marshal since it rarely needs to boost a roll, whereas the Juggernaut loves being fully loaded (and should therefore be on a warcaster since that’s the only way to give a Khador ‘jack 3 focus).

Khador has two ‘jack marshals and by far the best one is the Koldun Lord.  It carries Power Booster, so it can give it’s ‘jack (effectively) two focus a turn.  In addition, it has a spray and Ice Cage, which reduces the DEF of a target enemy model (which means the Destroyer is more accurate).  All that for 2 points and $10?  Yes. Please.

Next, I would add in the classic Khador Warcaster Attachment, the War Dog.  With Tough, Counter Charge and Guard Dog, this little 1 pt wonder should be in every Khador list that allows it.  Especially when he turns Sorscha’s DEF 16 into an 18 if she’s caught in melee.  You can also use him to clear off a nearby enemy model engaging your warcaster with a charge, so you don’t have to chance a free strike when you move your warcaster.  Often my opponent will run something into melee with my warcaster, trying to tie them up, and the War Dog can come chew on their ankles, letting my warcaster get away.

Next, Widowmakers.  These snipers auto-plink for one damage, so they completely ignore Shield-Wall or other such ARM increasing effects.  They are perfect for picking off solos, support models, or any type of infantry, really.  With four to the unit, you can use them to open up a charge lane, or LOS from one of your important models to one of your opponent’s.  They aren’t terribly well equipped, defensively, but they will do alright if you can park them in some woods or on a hill.

At this point, I have 8 points left.  I feel this list could go two different ways, depending on what you want out of it.  If you wanted to go ‘jack heavy, I’d add in a Kodiak.  It runs amazingly well on zero focus, and on her feat turn, it’s phenomenal.  If you’d rather go infantry heavy, go with a full Winterguard Infantry with UA.  That’s a dozen more bodies on the field with the ability to shoot CRAs, sprays or just charge in and tie stuff up.  It’s also the beginning of the dreaded Winterguard Deathstar, which I won’t go into right now.

So, my 35 pt Khador 2-Player Starter Expansion looks like this:

Kommander Sorscha (*5pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
* Kodiak (8pts)
* War dog (1pts)
Man-o-war Shocktroopers (Leader and 4 Grunts) (9pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)
* Destroyer (9pts)
Kommander Sorscha (*5pts)
* Juggernaut (7pts)
* War dog (1pts)
Man-o-war Shocktroopers (Leader and 4 Grunts) (9pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Winter Guard Infantry (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* Winter Guard Infantry Officer & Standard (2pts)
Koldun Lord (2pts)
* Destroyer (9pts)

 

Personally, I highly suggest the ‘jack heavy option.  You’ll get great use out of the Kodiak model (since it works very well on it’s own, or Marshalled for that matter), whereas the Winterguard need another 5 points of support models to really shine, and are fully optimized only with one of the ‘casters with access to Iron Flesh.  You also rarely need Shocktroopers and Winterguard – they’re both primarily there to tie stuff up long enough for you to assasinate the opposing warcaster. In addition, it’s more expensive to go with the Infantry, and it means you have another dozen models to paint.

The general M.O. of a Sorscha1 army is to capitalize on the feat, much like a Kreoss1 army.  With that in mind, both of these lists are heavy on ranged firepower, and should be able to handle most other lists out there.  Other models to think about include:

  • Winterguard Mortar, with it’s 20″ POW 16 for 3pts
  • Spriggan, because of Reach and it’s targeting flare that can expose Stealth models
  • Gun Carriage, because who doesn’t love a horse-drawn tank?

From here on out, I’m going to highlight questions directed at you, the readers in orange.  Please share your thoughts or responses to them in the comments below!

What do you think of the lists?

How would you expand on the 2-player set?

Master Plan Part Deux

Posted by Plarzoid on March 25, 2011
Posted in: Commission Work, IABN, List Building. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

Xerxis is only half the equation.  The 50 pt tournament is a 2-list, Divide and Conquer type event.  So I need a second list.  I’m a pretty bad player already, so adding more warlocks is not a good idea.  Plus, I like Skorne’s beasts, so pMorghoul is a good choice.  Since I have a slow grow type list progression for Xerxis, I won’t do one for Morghoul.  Instead, I have a basic 50 pt list.

Master Tormentor Morghoul (*7pts)
* Cyclops Brute (5pts)
* Cyclops Savage (5pts)
* Cyclops Savage (5pts)
* Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
* Titan Gladiator (8pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
* Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (3pts)
Venators Reivers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
* Venators Reiver Officer & Standard (2pts)

Here’s a run down of the list…

The Brute gives no knockdown to Morghoul, eliminating the easiest way to get around Morghoul’s high DEF.  Shield Guard is also a great ability.  Two Savages to act as early game missiles – Rush + Enrage + Abuse = awesome. A pair of heavy beasts round out the herd.  They both slam, and they both make things dead.
The Cetrati and Vorkesh are a screen while stuff makes it up the field.  Morghoul doesn’t do anything for infantry, so having an extra body and immunity to spells is worth it.  Late game, they are a screen for Morghoul should the Brute get taken out somehow.
The Venators are there to give me a ranged element.  With the minifeat, they can reach pretty far across the field when they need to.  Since I have the Cetrati, I don’t need a tarpit – so swordsmen are out.
This list I’m not quite as excited about, but we’ll see how it does.
About miniatures…

Speaking of Morghoul and beasts, the second cyclops now looks like the first.  All they need is undercloth (tan) and sash (green).  Morghoul’s next on the list, and I’m hoping to have him done by the end of this weekend.  I’ll have the Cyclopses… Cyclopsi?  Cyclopicles?  (bicyclopses?)  Whatever they’re called, I’ll have them all done tonight!  Pictures, I promise!


In other news, I’ve started a new commission! Out of the blue, I was contacted by the same client that had the Chaos Dwarf Centaurs built.  This time, I’m making four Snotling Pump Wagons!  The stock model looks like this:





I’ll be building them from scratch, and I’m pretty excited!  In case it’s hard to tell, these things are basically a railroad hand cart turned battering ram built by goblin gremlins.  We’re not going to just stop there though – oh no.  These things will have flappas – wings that let them jump over obstacles.  They’ll have buckets of rotten vegtables for ammunition, and they’ll each have a unique way to move really fast – rockets, twice as many wheels, wind sails and the like!  Looks like lots of fun!