Anti-Netlist tactics: Lysander Hammertime

Hello, all, and I know I haven't been posting for a while, but MBME will be back with a vengeance after a not-so-short summer vacation. We might even have some painting/conversion articles, I know the three of us have been painting like devils (Well, at least the other two...)

But anyway, today I will start a series of tactics exploring different netlists, and how best to defeat them. The first one, as the title explains, is the most feared Lysander list.

List Overview:

The list is based around Captain Darnath Lysander, as the name suggests. In addition to this rock-hard hero, usually is added a Librarian with stormshield, 2 squads of hammernators with Land Raiders, and finally some tactical marines in transports, or scouts. All in all a very difficult list to beat.

The counter:

There are several different ways to beat this type of list. The most effective way, in the words of Advice Guardsman, is:

I have seen Lysander and his squad butcher their way through 6 nob bikers, and 2 warbosses. Then 30 boyz come along. Dead Lysander.

The other option is more widely usable by many different types of power-armored armies. Send up sever expendable melta squads, blow the raiders sky-high, then blow them away with frag missiles, lascannons, whatever is necessary.

The best counter-army:

The best counter army is without a doubt Venomspam Dark Eldar. Lances can blow up the raiders by turn 1-2, and then your 100-odd splinter shots can do the rest. Since the two land raider termie squads are going to suck up a lot of points, a Lysander army will have very little to threaten your Ravagers at range, since the easiest way to counter Venomspam is to take down the Ravagers (Venomspam! 9 lances to 0 lances in 3 shots!).

Anyway, that's it for this week's Netlist beating tactics. So, feedback? Am I the next Tony Kopach, or am I just an idiot spitting out more junk with which to pollute the internet.

Chaos is for fighting...?

Hello, everyone, The Verderer here with some interesting tactics that you may have thought of...But probably not. It all comes down to this: Chaos is considered to be a "fighty" army. Khorne Berzerkers, Demon Princes, Chaos Terminators, etc. are all very fighty, and are therefore seen on a lot of gaming tables. But does it have to be that way?

The current metagame calls for lots of high-strength, low AP shots, and plenty of vehicles. As you can guess, this is not Chaos Space Marines' strength, which leads to many people assuming that they are useless, and either selling their models or proxying them as Wolves or Blood Angels. However, I believe that Chaos can keep up with the metagame. Not with Lash, not with Berzerkers, but with shooting power.

So, in a list like this, you will, of course, look straight at Obliterators. They are an obvious choice for shooty lists, seeing as they have lascannons, and, more importantly, the ever-feared plasma cannon. Two units of these are invaluable in a list like this. Why only two? You shall see...

Next up is troops. You're going to want troops who can shovel out an incredible amount of shots, at pretty long range. Solution? Noise Marines with Sonic Blasters. A unit of 7 can send out an impressive 21 shots when standing still, or 14 shots while on the move, both at 24" range. That's not even mentioning the Blastmaster, which can pin enemy units, giving you another round of firing. Very good in my book, we will want to load up on these.

Next up is HQ. Who to lead a shooty army? A Tzeentch demon prince immediately springs to mind, but the enemy is probably going to reach your line at some point, let's face it. Therefore, you will need something to counter attack with. My solution to that is simple: Chaos Lord with a Demon Weapon, perhaps with some terminators or Berzerkers for a counter attack. Cheap and effective, just the way I like it.

Now, with some points left, lets look back at the Heavy Support section. With one slot left, I see one last obvious choice: A Defiler. This beast will be able to take out entire marine units with one shot, and handle itself well in combat. And, if the battlecannon should be destroyed, you can use its secondary weapons, or use it as a wall to block enemy units.

So, piecing it all together, the list would look something like this:

Chaos lord w/ Demon Weapon, Terminator Armor

5 Terminators w/ Icon of Slaanesh, Reaper Autocannon, chainfist

8 Noise Marines w/ 7 Sonic blasters, blastmaster

8 Noise Marines w/ 7 Sonic blasters, blastmaster

8 Noise Marines w/ 7 Sonic blasters, blastmaster

8 Noise Marines w/ 7 Sonic blasters, blastmaster

Defiler w/ Havoc Launcher

2 obliterators

2 obliterators

total: 1,750 points

Pretty much, castle up! The noise marines should be in front, then the terminators behind them, and then finally the defiler and oblits. In the case of objectives, advance slowly, and keep firing, and/or Deepstrike oblits.

Well, that's all for today. Leave any questions or such as comments!

Ork tactics (Part 5 of 7): Fast Attack

Sorry for not posting more, I have recently had a pile of work to complete, but now that's over and done with, so time for more!



Stormboyz:

Sort of like a poor man's assault marine, stormboyz strike hard, strike fast, and then die. At 12 points per model, they aren't cheap. They do have the potential for a first turn assault, but there is a 1/6 chance of that. You can still get the shock and awe effect from including boss Zagstruk, but that means that your rather expensive unit suddenly becomes a death unit, and Zagstruk himself is 85 points, which is way to expensive for my pocket!

On the tabletop: The most commonly used method I have seen for this unit is to include Zagstruk , and then suicide on top of a manticore, or some other scary anti-infantry tank, but that inevitably means that your 150+ point unit is being wasted on a tank that is not nearly that expensive.

No, what I see is, don't take Zagstruk, and just take a unit of 10 oth them nilla, and use the opportunistically. See that little devastator squad parked in the enemy's backfield? Use a well-timed Waagh!, a lucky roll for extra move, and you can kill that unit, and then, if you choose to include a nob with a powerklaw, you can take out that Manticore, and hopefully not die.



Warbuggies:

These guys are no less deadly than they ever have been, but, sadly, have been rendered superfluous due to the new Deffkoptas. Even so, there are some things that Warbuggies can do that Deffkoptas cannot. For one, they can be upgraded to Skorchas, which, as everyone knows, are good, because orks having to roll to hit= points not being earned back.

On the tabletop: You are going to want to upgrade them to Skorchas, no question. Not even the mighty Deffkopta can take the dreaded Skorcha. I would say, a unit of 3 Skorchas should be sufficient for burning non-marines out of cover.


Warbikers (giant pics, ftw)

One of the better options in the Ork codex. Though not as durable or hard-hitting as nob bikers, they are probably a better option for 1500 and under point games, as they are about half the price of a biker nob.

On the tabletop: A cheap, fast-moving, hard-hitting unit is always great, but with a 4+ cover save at all times? Invaluable. Use them as your spear point, to slam into the enemy line before all others. And, remember, you can have an army of them if you take Wazdakka!
Deffkoptas:

Definitely on of the best units in the Ork codex, Deffkoptas bring the firepower where you need it most, quickly and efficiently. Being jetbikes, they can completely ignore terrain for purposes of movement. Add this to the fact that they come with twin-linked big shootas, and are only 35 points base, you can see why they are so popular.

On the Tabletop: Deffkoptas are the most mobile unit in the ork codex, and they are also very useful. If I were playing them, I would take a unit of 3 of them with twin-linked shootas and buzzsaws. That way, though they are very expensive, they can also take on tanks and armored infantry.

Ork tactics (Part 3 of 7): Elites

Hello, there again. You might have noticed that there are now going to be 7 parts of this tactics series. That is because I looked at the Ork codex recently, and it had a few more Heavy support choices than I originally thought, so i decided to divide it into two articles, because if I write a long article, it turns boring at about the 5th unit. You also may have noticed that I skipped Nobz in this article. That is because I have already written a tactics article for them If you want to read it, you can search in the search box above right.
Meganobz:

What could possibly be better than Terminators? The answer is: Orks in Terminator armor! Well technically, it's Mega armor, but that's pretty much terminator armor that comes with a twin-linked shoota, and a powerklaw. And no invulnerable save. but still, pretty cool. They're slow and purposeful, so put them in a Battlewagon or, if you're feeling particularly saucy, a trukk.

On the Tabletop: In small games, I have seen three of these guys slaughter 6 Lictors (It was a kill team mission). No joke. In larger games, however, these guys seem to take the short end of the stick, or, rather, the demolisher rounds. At 40 points a very killable pop, they are very pricey, and if their ride gets crippled early on, that's a big chunk of your points moving at the rate of about 4 inches per turn. If you must take them, get them a Battlewagon, to survive longer, or a trukk, which, if id doesn't die, will take them into easy turn 2 assault range.


Burna Boyz:

Probably the most versatile unit in the Ork codex, armed with a flamer that doubles as a power weapon, they are a bargain at a mere 15 points per model. Taking unit of 12 Burnas in a trukk is a very good idea, and I have seen it win many a game.

On the Tabletop: At first glance, you may be tempted to throw this unit toward the nearest Tactical squad/Termagant brood and have at it, but, believe it or not, there is a more subtle way of using them. Hold them behind your battline and, when the inevitable 1s start falling, use them to fill in any gaps in the line, and watch as they either chop up those pesky Sanguinary Guard, or burn any little alien critters that try and have a go!Tankbustas:

Tankbustas are probably one of the most useful, and most overlooked, units in the Ork codex. Seeing as they come with rokkit launchas and dumbed-down meltabombs as standard, you would think that they got more of a look than they do. Alas, it is not to be. Though a standard Tankbusta is good, their upgrades are pretty good as well. Bomb squigs, as well as being amusing, are simply very good at what they do, which is being a suicide unit. Don't want to have to get into combat with that Dreadnought? A squig will be happy to blow it up for you.

On the tabletop: As with all orks, tankbustas have the quantity, and the quality, but not the accuracy. The best thing you can use Tankbustas for is to use their high strength, low AP weapons to bring down Monstrous Creatures, and transport vehicles. People tend to ignore Tankbustas for some reason, so you will almost certainly be able ot bag 2 or 3 targets before they get obliterated.

Lootas:

A truly wonderful unit, I have seen plenty of winning armies that include 45 lootas. They lend much needed long-ranged fire support to the rest of your army, which, being orks, will tend to be more close-ranged. In a unit of 15, ther D3 shots means that on average, you will be firing 180 shots per game! That's a lot of dead tanks.

On the Tabletop: The best thing you can do with lootas is to treat them like a Space Marine devastator squad; Find the highest point on the table, with the greatest fire lanes, and fire away! Be careful, however, that you target tanks as a priority, seeing as lootas are about the only unit in the ork codex that can reliably destroy armor 12 and under tanks.

Kommandos:

The oddball unit of the Ork codex, Kommandos don't seem to have a point. They aren't particularly good at tank killing, they aren't particularly good at killing infantry, and they aren't troops. Sure, the fluff is cool, but they just don't seem to have a point.

On the Tabletop: If you must take them, the very least you must do is to giv ethem a Nob with a power klaw, a burna, and hold them in reserve to outflank. Then, you head straight for the most important unit in the backfield, say a Manticore that has been bugging you, and give it a ride to orky hell, courtesy of the power klaw.

Ork tactics (Part 2 of 6): Ork HQ

Hello again, folks! Today, for part two of the ork tactics series, we will look at the Ork non-special HQ.Warboss:

The Warboss is probably one of the most versatile choices in the game. Not very often taken, they are still a little gem of an HQ. The most popular configuration for a Warboss, when taken, is generally in Mega armor, making him a lot harder to kill, and if you want to splurge, you could also get him a Cybork body, to save him from those nasty Sergeants with powerfists, or power weapons squads.

On the tabletop: Usually, they are used as close combat support, and with their ability to make a single Nobz or Meganobz squad troops, a popular tactic is to have a Warboss in mega armor with a unit of 5 or so Meganobz just slaughter their way to an enemy objective, and dare them to try and take it from them.

Big Mek:

Probably the most commonly seen Ork HQ, these guys are very versatile as well. Their versatility, however, lies in their ability to be defensive, making them the polar opposite of the more offensive Warboss.

A popular configuration for the Big Mek is to give him an expensive Shokk Attack gun which, as well as being entertaining as heck, is also very effective at taking out large units, due to the 5" blast. This seems obvious, but it bears repeating, seeing as people now tend to focus on destroying vehicles. Another thing you can do is to give him a Kustom Force Field, and then put him in the middle of your Battlewagon wall, to help protect against all those melta/lance weapons that seem to be everywhere nowadays.


Weirdboy:

Not a very good choice, overall, simply for his unpredictability. Upgrading him to a Warphead lets you control him a little, but they are simply too unpredictable. They have some close combat ability, and they aren't super expensive, but still...

On the tabletop: Again, I personally wouldn't take one, but if you are willing to take a bit of a risk, then some of the powers he has access to are pretty useful. Nothing puts an enemy in his place like 30 shoota boyz teleporting behind their prize unit.

Ork tactics (Part 1 of 6): Special HQ

Hello, everybody, and welcome to my first post in about 2 weeks. This is the first part of a series on Orks, which I will write over the following weeks. Orks have always been a competitive army, and extremely fun, to play. Here I will focus on their Special Character core.



Ghazghkull Thraka:

Ghazghkull is arguably one of the best HQ in the game. On the charge, he is nearly unstoppable, with 7 Strength 10 attacks. My brother regularly takes him, and he has never failed to impress. On the outside, he looks good, right?

Well, he has one special rule that makes him invaluable for Ork armies: Ghazghkull's Waaagh! This is a version of the normal Waaagh!, declared in the shooting phase, etc. What is different about it is that, instead of rolling for your fleet of foot, every unit with the Waaagh! special rule moves 6" automatically. As if that weren't enough already, Gazghkull's 2+ armor save becomes Invulnerable while on a Waaagh! making him truly unkillable. Add this to eternal warrior, furious charge, and a Big Shoota, and a points cost of only 225, he is truly a force to be reckoned with!

Using him on the table top: It has been found that the most effective way of deploying him is in a Battlewagon, to make up for his Slow and Purposeful, with a unit of Meganobz. Use this unit to utterly tear apart that pesky 500 point Deathstar unit, with your own, better Deathstar unit.

Mad Dok Grotsnik:

At first glance, the Mad Dok is a little hard to justify, being, basically, a painboy with an extra wound, an extra pip of toughness, another attack, WS 5, and a price tag of 160 points. He comes with the usual, slugga, 'urty srynge, dok's tools, and the rest, but when you look at his special rules, he is revealed.

He has a modified version of Rage, except for the fact that you can't control it by having him out of line of sight of the enemy. However, he can be joined to any unit, and for 5 points per model, he can give them Cybork bodies, which I would not recommend, as it is way too expensive.

Using him in a game: If I were to ever take Grotsnik, it would be with a 19 strong mob of Ork Boyz in a Battlewagon. Seeing as he is a little bit of a loose cannon, I would simply let him and his unit loose in the middle of the enemy's battle line, and watch as he runs over everyone, for 19 Ork Boyz with Feel No Pain is not to be scoffed at! However, with this in mind, I would probably not choose to take him, simply because there are better options out there.


Wazdakka Gutsmek:

Wazdakka Gutsmek, The Biker of the Aporkalypse, or in other words, complete awesome. Without doubt one of the best characters in the Ork army list, he is able to turbo-boost, and still fire 4 Strength 8 shots making him a rather amazing tank killer. Add this to the fact that he has toughness 6, is on a bike, and has a Powerklaw, he is amazing for only 180 points.

His main power, however, is to make all Warbiker Mobz troops. This means that you could potentially have an army of super fast troops, supported by a couple of looted wagons, some boyz in trukks, and warbuggies. This sort of an army would hit really, really hard, and be super mobile, just how Orks like it!

On the Tabletop: In a battle, though he has 4 attacks, and a Powerklaw, I would highly advise against throwing him in combat, simply because he is better just simply shooting things! Putting him with a small unit of 5 or so warbikers ensures that he will not be sniped by a railgun or some such thing.


Old Zogwort:

Probably one of the most hilarious units in the Ork codex, Old Zogwort is a Psyker, rolling on the Ork Psychic powers chart, and he is a Warphead, meaning he can re-roll the result. He is also better in combat, getting an additional D6 attacks at Initiative 4, and all attacks are poisoned that wound on 2+.

You still might think, "Wait a moment now, this isn't good enough for 145 points! You're almost as stupid as your name, Verderer!", and you would be excused for saying that. What makes Zogwort all that is that the can turn enemy characters in to squigs, sort of like a weak version of Gift of Chaos. This may not be the best power ever, but is certainly good for a few laughs.

On the Tabletop: Despite all I have said about Zogwort, he is not the best option in the Ork codex, at a few too many points for what he does. If you were to use him, I would probably put him in a Battlewagon with 19 Shoota Boyz. As with all Ork psykers, he is way to unpredictable, and I like my troops to be very dependable, aka entire army fearless.

Imperial Guard Veterans

Hey, folks!
It's been a while since I posted anything, and I apologize for that.
Anyway, I figure I'll try to get back into posting more commonly with an extra-long article about the best of the worst. The Imperial Guard Veterans.
In the Imperial Guard 4th edition codex, when everything died a lot and sucked horribly, there was one unit that the guard player could always count on. That unit was the Hardened Veterans. This unit stood out in the terrible 4th edition codex because not only did the Hardened Veterans have a BS of 4, but they could have up to 3 special weapons, as well as a single heavy weapon. Now, unless you are pretty darn new to 40k, you should know that 3 special weapons is no joke. That can be a very excellent amount of firepower if used correctly. Now, I can honestly say that every single guard player I knew had a squad of these boys for the extra meltas, plasma guns or flamers. However, there were several drawbacks that prevented this unit from being completely amazing. The first, is that veterans were (understandably) in the elites section. The second, and most painful drawback, is that a player could only have a single squad of Hardened Veterans. With this, the Imperial Guard codex continued to be terrible for a long while.
In May of 2009, when the 5th edition codex came out, Imperial Guard players noticed that Veterans were now a troops choice, and there was no 0-1 limit. In addition to this, Games Workshop decided not to nerf the Veterans unit in any way, but reduce the cost of each model instead. With this, veterans basically took over the Troops portion of the Imperial Guard force organization slot. After over a year, people still mostly ignore platoons of infantry and penal legions.
Now, lets go into the unit and the upgrades it can take...

-They can all take shotguns (I wouldn't. First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire! is too magical to waste.)
-One can have a vox for 5 pts (That would be a no as well. Vox casters used to be great. Now they suck. 'Nuff said.)
-Up to 3 can have special weapons (This means flamers, grenade launchers, snipers, meltaguns and plasma guns. Always spam out on special weapons. This is the most valuable part of the veteran squad.)
-Can have a heavy weapon team (Mortar, missle launcher, lascannon, heavy bolter or autocannon. Not as mandatory as the special weapons, but it can boost your firepower a bit.)
-Squad can have carapace armor for 30 pts (Too expensive. Maybe if you need to fill up points.)
-Squad can have camo-cloaks and snare mines for 30 pts (Again, too expensive. Your guardmen will die, and this won't help that much.)
-Squad can have meltabombs and a single demolition charge for 30 pts (Still expensive, but possibly worth it. If you have 30 extra points, get this.)

Now, for the final part of this article, I will go over my favorite layout for the Veteran Squad.
I always take mine like this, atleast 3 squads:

10 man Veteran Squad, 3 have meltaguns, 2 form an autocannon team. In a chimera transport with a multilaser and a heavy bolter- 165 pts

With this layout, you can sit back and blast the enemy with 8 medium strength shots per turn. Between the multilaser, the heavy bolter and the autocannon shooting from the hatch, you will be able to water down heavy infantry squads, decimate light infantry, and even destroy light transports. The best part, when the enemy begins to close in, you can roll up the chimera and blast them with your 3 meltaguns. Those 3 meltaguns will easily blow up any tank, and easily finish off a squad if it had already been weakened.
There you have it! A cheap, amazingly versatile gunboat basically.
Hope you enjoyed this article, I will be posting more from the IG and Eldar codex soon, hopefully.
Happy hunting!

Chaos Space marine psyker tactics (part 2)

For the last article in the Chaos Psychic Power tactics series, we will look at the 3 special characters in the Chaos army list that can use psychic powers. First, on Chaos spacial characters in general. They are generally pretty good in all size of games (Well, except for Abaddon the Despoiler, but I have heard that he is utterly beast in 'Ard Boyz size games, and Arhiman, which we will discuss later). So, here they are:


Typhus, Herald of Nurgle

Apart from having an amazing name, and a cool model, Typhus is rather awesome in game terms. He has the Manreaper, a weapon that is both a Nurgle Daemon weapon (Poisoned wounding on 4+) and a force Weapon, meaning that he will be able to kill most anything. He also has the psychic powers Nurgle's Rot and Wind of Chaos, one of which he can use, and then still use his force weapon in the Assault phase. He also does not have to take Psychic tests when using these two powers, making him even more worth his 225 points. So, how to use him. There are two things you can do with him: You can deepstrike him, with some other Chaos terminators with the Mark of Nurgle right next to a horde, and then use Nurgle's Rot to full effect. Then you have to tough out a round of shooting and assault, which shouldn't be hard, with 4 wounds, toughness 5 and feel no pain. The other way you can use him is to put him and 4 Nurgle terminators into a land raider, and then just run them towards the enemy as fast as possible. I know this sounds risky with all the meltaguns that are going around nowadays, but with a little luck, you can get into combat before the enemy has a chance to shoot.


Ahriman, Exile of the Thousand Sons

Possibly a little weaker in combat then Typhus, Ahriman is still a solid choice. The same statline as a Chaos Sorcerer, but with a bolt pistol that fires inferno bolts, and can use up to 3 psychic powers per turn. He also has all of the Chaos Psychic powers, except for Lash of Submission and Nurgle's Rot. This means that, in a game, he will be able to use 15-21 psychic powers. Of course, this means a lot of psychic tests. I have seen Ahriman's head explode countless times, and even more when facing Eldar with Runes of Warding. He's also 250 points, but arguably a little weaker than Typhus. I don't know if I would take him, although a gamer I know takes him regularly, so I guess it depends on the person.



Huron Blackheart

Arguably the most popular of the three, Huron is also the most versatile. Although his main function is not that of a Psyker, he is technically one, because he has a familiar, who allows him to use the Warptime power. He has a chaos lord's statline, but a rather cool array of weapons, with a power weapon, and a power fist with a built-in Heavy Flamer, making him very nice against hordes. Add this to warptime, and you have a problem on your hands, especially as he is only 170 points.

Chaos Space marine psyker tactics (part 1)

So, for the second installment in the Chaos psychic tactics, we will look at the first 2 of the 5 models in the Chaos army that can use them.


Chaos Sorcerer:

A very nice unit, I usually lead my army with one. They are base 100 points, have a formidable statline, and have a good amount of Psychic powers to choose from. Some of the upgrades available are:

Terminator Armor: Pretty good option.
Daemonic mount: Only if you have a supporting unit with them.
Bike: Good.
Jump Pack: If you have raptors, why not?
Mark of Slaanesh: Definitely a good option, and only 5 points!
Mark of Tzeentch: Expensive, but gives him more protection, and doubles his psychic power output.
Mark of Nurgle: Very annoying to the enemy, also allows you to take Nurgle's rot, an extremely good power.
Plasma pistol: No way.
Meltabombs: If you have 5 points, why not?
Personal icon: Only if you have deepstrikers.
Familiar: Useful, and only 5 points.

I think that the best combo you can take is as follows:

Chaos sorcerer w/ Mark of Slaanesh, Lash of Submission, Meltabombs - 130 points.

Cheaper than most psykers, and with a Force Weapon and Initiative 6, I have used one of these to annihilate characters with impunity.
Daemon Prince

Arguably the best HQ choice in the Chaos codex, the Daemon Prince comes at 110 points base, with a completely beast statline, and the option to become a psyker. Some of the options:

Wings: Take these, you must have them.
Mark of Khorne: Extra attack, but keeps you from taking psychic powers
Mark of Slaanesh: Very cheap, and enhances the Prince very well. also can take Lash of Submission.
Mark of Nurgle: Slightly more expensive, but makes him all but immune to small-arms fire.
Mark of Tzeentch: About on par with the Mark of Nurgle, and also allows you to use and take two psychic powers per turn.

Here is the optimised Daemon Prince, as I see it.

Daemon prince with Wings, mark of Slaanesh, lash of submission: 155 points.

For the same points as an Eldar Avatar, you get a unit that can happily assault and enemy on turn one, by using Lash of Submission to pull them closer, and then using that 18" assault range to fly the rest of the way, and slaughter whatever is stupid enough to stand up to it. Known as the Lash Prince, an army list based around two of these monsters will go far in a tournament

Chaos Space marine Psychic powers tactics

For today's article, we will look at the Psychic powers available to the scions of the Ruinous Powers, and how best to use them in a game. To start off with, Psychic powers. Usually very powerful on the tabletop, if a little unpredictable. Many armies also have wargear that can negate the effectiveness of Psychic powers, such as Psychic Hoods, runic weapons, etc. But, if you look past all these caveats, they are quite useful, Chaos Space Marine ones more so than usual. Let's take a look:

Doombolt:

Cheap, and usually effective, Doombolt is a good option for Tzeentchians who have need of a second power, or if you know you will be going up against marines. There are, however, better powers out there, which explains why Doombolt is so rarely taken.

Warptime:

An excellent power for a mere 20-25 points. It's an especially good power for Daemon Princes, but useful for everyone. It allows you to reroll all failed rolls to hit and wound for the entire turn. A very tasty power for CC oriented character.

Gift of Chaos:

The most hilarious psychic power in the game, it has a chance of turning your enemy's most powerful character into a Chaos Spawn. This will hardly ever work, but there are several approaches to using this power. the first one is to use it again and again against the enemy's most powerful character, until you succeed in killing him. Alternatively, you can cast this on a model in a low-toughness, cheap unit, such as imperial Guardsmen, or Gretchin, and the Spawn will most likely slaughter the entire unit, or at least hold it up for a turn or two. It is a bit pricey at 30 points, but worth every one.

Wind of Chaos:

Pretty much a powered-up flamer, the Wind of Chaos can be useful. With a taemplate range, always wounding on a 4+, and allowing no armor saves or cover saves, it is a great marine-killer. In fact, I have seen this power wipe out entire marine/terminator squads in one shot. The one thing which keeps it from being more popular is the hefty 30 point price tag.

Lash of Submission:

Lash is widely considered to be the best psychic power in the game. I, personally, will not go into battle without at least one lash-wielder. It allows you to move an enemy unit 2d6 inches in whatever direction you want, potentially shoving a dangerous unit away from your army, bringing a unit into assault range, or bringing them into a tight mass, ready to be obliterated by a Vindicator or, well, Obliterator plasma cannons. All this for a mere 20 points.

Nurgle's Rot:

Another beautifully cheap and useful power, Nurgle's rot is the bane of all horde armies. Every model within 6" suffering a S3 hit? Can break the back of any horde with ease. For only 15 points, a total bargain.

Bolt of Change:

Last, but not least, comes the ever-popular Bolt of Change. Commonly seen on Thousand Son aspiring Sorcerers, this is a great transport killing power. With a moderately long range, high strength and AP 1, it will punch right thorough Rhinos, Chimeras, Trukks, you name it! A little on the high end of affordable for 25 points, still worth taking.

The next article will be on the Special Character psykers available to the forces of Chaos.

Chaos Chosen Tactics

Today I will be exploring a rather unusual chaos unit, the Chosen. At face value, they don't look really great, for 3 points more than a basic Chaos marine, you get infiltrate, and an extra point of LD. But when you look at their options, you see their magic. 5 special weapons? Look that up in the dictionary, and you will see "See entry on EPIC WIN." Anyway, Upgrades:

Special Weapons: Definitely take a lot of these.

Heavy weapons: Ahhh, probably not.

Icons: Useful, definitely useful.

Meltabombs: 5 points a pop, so why not?

Combi-Weapons: Same price as Special weapons, and worse, so probably not.

Aspiring Champion: I don't think so. For 10 points, extra attack? No.

Special Close combat weapons: Probably not, if you want a good CC unit, look at Termies. Much better value.

So, several units that I think are takeable:

Chosen unit 1: 5 Chosen w/ Meltabombs, 3 meltaguns - 145 points

Cheap, and versatile. With a lot of melta weapons, this is going to give any tank a very bad day, from range and assault. Deployment for this: I would say no deployment, hold them in reserve, and then outflank with them. If you want to, you could also get them near to the enemy lines, maybe blow up a tank or two, and hopefully distract the enemy for a turn, while the rest of your force moves up.

Chosen unit 2: 5 Chosen w/ 5 flamers - 115 points

Super cheap, and incredible against light infantry, this is a good unit to take if you know you're going up against a lot of IG, nids or orks, and it can even put a dent in marines.

Tau Empire: Putting it all together

Over the last couple of days, I have discussed the ups, downs, tactics, and upgrades that you can use for various units. Now, It's time to put my money where my mouth is, and put all of that into one, mega-uber-destructor army. So, here goes:

Shas’el commander w/ Hard-wired multi-tracker, plasma rifle, Missile pod, hard-wired drone controller with 2 shield drones. 2 Crisis bodyguards w/ Hard wired multi-trackers, plasma rifles, missile pods, targeting arrays.

3 Crisis Battlesuits, all with twin-linked flamers, drone controller, 2 gun drones

(x3) 6 Fire Warriors w/ Devilfish APC w/ Disruption Pod, Smart Missile System, Targeting Array, Multi-tracker

2 Broadside battlesuits w/ Advanced stabilization Systems, Shas'vre w/ Hard-wired drone controller, 2 gun drones

(x2) Sky Ray w/ smart missile system, multi-tracker, targeting array, disruption pod

This is a very mobile, very shooty, and overall, very scary list. Deployment for this army is very simple. On the flank with the most cover, you deploy your Broadsides. Then, have all of your tanks in the center of the battlefield, in a wall that will demolish your enemy's army. What you do with the battlesuits is up to your personal preferences, but you usually want to advance with them, along with the rest of the army. Now, one last thing, which seems obvious, but bears repeating: Stay out of assault range of enemies at all times! Once in assault, this army is finished, but with some canny maneuvering, you can stay in rage with your weapons, while staying more than 6" away from the enemy.

Tau Empire Fire Warriors

In part two of the Tau Empire tactics, we will look at the meat of any Tau force; the fire Warriors. Let's look at the basic profile. Average ballistic skill, low weapon skill, low initiative, average everything else, and a healthy 4+ save. All in all, not a bad choice for 10 points per model. But then, you look a their weaponry, and it all becomes clear. A S5 AP5, 30" range rapid fire weapon, on a basic trooper? That is nice. They will tear up anything at range, but they will most likely fold under assault from even Imperial Guardsmen. Sound harsh? Possibly, but all true. Though, if you play your cards right, there shouldn't be anyone left to fight...

The cheapness of these models means you'll have plenty of room for your big, expensive Battlesuit teams, Sky Rays, and what not. Some of the other options available are not great. If you have a gunline army, a Markerlight could be awesome, as could a team Leader with a bonding knife, or something else. Probably the best option they can take is the Devilfish APC. One of the best transports in the game, it can carry up to 12 models, and even vanilla it can kick out 5 S5 shots, although, you should probably upgrade it with a Smart Missile System. Anyway, with all of this talking, i need to give you an example. So, here is what I believe is the optimal Fire Warrior team.

6 Fire Warriors w/ Devilfish APC w/ Disruption Pod, Smart Missile System, Targeting Array, Multi-tracker - 180 points

I would suggest taking about 3 squads like this in any given 1.5K list, they can kick out some nice firepower. The Devilfish takes up the majority of the 180 points, taking up 12o of them. But still, it is a 12-11-10 vehicle that has a 4+ cover save against any shots from over 12" away (Disruption Pod), can fire, but not move, like a Fast Vehicle (Multi-Tracker), meaning it can fire 7 strength 5 shots if it moves 6" or less (Smart Missile System), and it has a healthy BS of 4 (targeting array). All in all, a pretty good unit, can take out many transport vehicles, and infantry, and if necessary, the Fire Warriors inside can disembark, and add their fire to the volley.

Imperial Guard: Overall

Hey, folks!
All in all, Imperial Guard is likely the most powerful army in Warhammer 40,000 right now. While they aren't the cheesiest army (space wolves), their ability to fit a ton of firepower into a tiny amount of points is notable. The variety that they have is very nice, be it tanks or infantry. They have an interestingly wide variety of things that they succeed at. They have Penal Legion/Ogryns for close combat, Manticores and countless other tanks for crowd control, and then there's the multipurpose Veteran Squad. The Imperial Guard's most used troops choice is probably the Veteran Squad, as they may take up to 3 flamers, meltas, grenade launchers or plasma guns, in addition to a bunch of other toys.
The Imperial Guard also own the 'leafblower' list, which is known across the gaming community as possibly the most powerful list in warhammer 40,000 history. While taking 'leafblower' lists is highly frowned upon, (especially in competitive warhammer, oddly) it consists of: multiple vendetta gunships, a ton of chimera transports loaded with veterans, and a few artillery pieces (manticores preferrably).
While I.G. are slowly shrinking on the popularity table due to super-cheese armies like space wolves, and possibly blood angels, they are still clinging onto their title of 'best army' desperately.
Now that I've given a few funfacts about I.G., I will throw my current list up there. It really is more of a 'fun' list. While it contains slight similarity to the dreaded 'leafblower', it is VERY far from being that competitive.

1500 points-
HQ:
-Company Command Squad, 3 meltaguns, 1 flamer

Elites:
-Psyker Battle Squadron, 1 overseer, 8 psykers
-Chimera Transport, armed with multilaser and heavy flamer

Troops:
-Veteran Squad, 3 have meltaguns
-Chimera Transport, armed with multilaser and heavy flamer
-Veteran Squad, 3 have meltaguns
-Chimera Transport, armed with multilaser and heavy flamer
-Veteran Squad, 3 have meltaguns
-Chimera Transport, armed with multilaser and heavy flamer
-Penal Legion Squad
-Penal Legion Squad
-Penal Legion Squad

Fast Attack:
-Vendetta Gunship, 3 twin-linked lascannons
-Vendetta Gunship, 3 twin-linked lascannons

Heavy Support:
-Leman Russ Battle Tank, 1 heavy bolter and 1 battle cannon
-Collossus, armed with 1 heavy bolter and 1 collossus siege mortar

TOTAL: 1495 points

Tau Crisis Battlesuit Tactics

Okay, folks, today we will be discussing the elite of possibly the best ranged army in the game, the Tau Empire Crisis Battlesuits. In every Tau tournament army I have seen, it has included at least 2 squads of these guys, though I would suggest possibly 3, if you have the points. We all know that the average player will give his squads some Drones, and then the plasma rifle missile pod combo, but these are just two of the options that you can take. Let's look at weapons first. The oft-overlooked Fusion gun is cheap, but effective. The burst cannon is good, but there are better options. Taking a twin-linked flamer on them is a measly 6 points! also, If you do this, there is no need to take a multi-tracker, or a targeting array, allowing you to possibly splurge out and get some shield drones, instead of gun drones. Speaking of some of the upgrades, a combo I have seen, it is pricey pointswise, but is very much worth it, is the multi-tracker, targeting array, and then the missile pod/plasma rifle. Very pricey, but if you have the points, it's pretty good. Other than those two, Target Lock is cheap, and can be effective, you should usually include some drones to take wounds, Blacksun Filter isn't really worth it. A Bonding Knife isn't bad, and it's only 5 points, so why not? Anyway, here are the two battlesuit combos that I think are optimal. These are both assuming that you took a bodyguard of Crisis for your commander, and that they are armed with the plasma rifle/missile pod combo:

Crisis Squad 1:

3 Crisis Battlesuits, all with twin-linked flamers, drone controller, 2 gun drones - 153 points

This unit will be absolutely deadly against light infantry, such as Guardsmen, Orks, and Tyranids, and will even put a dent in Marines. It has a grand total of 12 wounds, and it isn't super expensive, either! the best way to use this, is to leave an obvious hole in your lines, and then when the enemy sends a horde to exploit it, you Deep Strike this beast right in front of it, and then flame their brains out. Once this is done, you usually want to jump behind cover.

Crisis Squad 2:

3 Crisis Battlesuits, all with Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, targeting array, hard-wired multi-tracker, hard wired drone controller, 1 gun drone - 246 points

This unit, though expensive, will absolutely devastate both infantry and tanks with too many accurate, high-strength shots. best use for this is to Deep Strike them next to a monstrous creature, take out the beastie in question, and then wade further into the fight. The other great thing about these units is that neither of them is terrible in combat, with strength 5 and 2 attacks, as well as a healthy 3+ armor save. Taking both of these in the same army, combined with a Commander with his bodyguard, some Fire Warriors in Devilfish, a couple of Broadsides, and a Sky Ray, and you have a problem on your hands.

Imperial Guard: Introduction

Hey, folks!

Over the next week or so, I will be doing a series of posts on my first army: Imperial Guard. These posts will give solid info on a few different playstyles with IG, and how to beat these playstyles. I will also make a few lists, and go into the strength and weaknesses of IG. My goal is to make 3-4 posts on them, and cover as much as I can. The first post in the series will likely be tomorrow, or later tonight.