Dark Eldar w/Webway Portal

So I'm still tweaking and toying with my DE. Some people thought the spam list was a personal list I was planning on running. Now while I like it I also like toys so here is a newer and I think improved version of my Baron list:

-HQ-

Baron-105

Happy Halloween!

This is all you get today :) I'm busy with silly stuff today!

Check back tomorrow, I should have my last tyranid article up!

Sneaky Nids w/Lictors!

Well some people on Dakkadakka have been asking if you can make a competitive list without multiple Tervigons and Hive Guard. I've been toying with the idea of a Tyranid reserve force for a while and my buddy Shep played one a few tournies ago and enjoyed it. So here is what I'm thinking of:

-HQ-

Hive Tyrant-285
Wings, Dual TL-Devs, Hive Commander, Leech Essence, Paroxysm

YOUR Hobby and THE Hobby-Running Events

So I've recently been in disagreement with a fairly local (San Diego) group that is going to be running a local GT in February. Now the primary point of contention when it started was simply the missions. They had massively improved everything else over last year and even though the soft scoring was something like 60% of the available points it was clearly laid out and that's fine. Upon commenting upon the scenarios and giving feedback on possible ways to improve them it eventually led to the then resigned scenario developer saying not so nice things about me personally and informing me to go enjoy Adepticon and Ard Boyz and leave them their tournament.

That drama got me thinking about some things and I only post it so that the rest of this makes sense in context.

Just for Shep!

Fine Shep, here is your silly Genestealers and the Parasite. And since the list might even work at the Invitational I think I'm gonna play test it at a tourney next weekend.

Sprue Posse Invitational-Blood Angels List #1

So more information can be found here about the event in general and what this post pertains to. That way I don’t have to do a repeat at the beginning of every article J

http://hulksmash-homeplace.blogspot.com/2010/10/sprue-posse-invitational.html

I've already posted my first Ork, Nid, and Space Wolves list so it's time for a BA one. This is a hybrid list that I've got built and have been tweaking bit by bit but that has gotten very limited table time (as in almost none).

Sprue Posse Invitational-Tyranids List #1

So again the details can be found here:

http://hulksmash-homeplace.blogspot.com/2010/10/sprue-posse-invitational.html

This is a possible Tyranid list I'm thinking of running but I'm not 100% sold on it just yet. It's basically a giant hammer but I think it's got the power to land the hit.

-HQ-

Tryanid Prime-110
Bone Sword, Lash Whip, Deathspitter, Toxin Sacs

Tyranid Prime-105
Dual Bone Sword, Deathspitter, Toxin Sacs

Sprue Posse Invitational-Ork List #1

So more information can be found here about the event in general and what this post pertains to. That way I don't have to do a repeat at the beginning of every article J

http://hulksmash-homeplace.blogspot.com/2010/10/sprue-posse-invitational.html

So I'm going to jump right into it. Here is an Ork list I'm considering. If you've ever read Whiskey&40k it'll look a little familiar.

-HQ-

Big Mek-85
KFF

Sprue Posse Invitational

So I qualified for the Sprue Posse Invitational who's information can be found here:

http://www.chaoswins.com/

This is different for these guys because it's 2,000pts but that's cool because it's pretty much my standard point value due to most events using it. The winner of this receives an invite for the Nova Invitational this year that has a pretty decent prize attached to it (actual cash money!). So now I find myself in the situation of caring about my placement and wanting to win in an event. That hasn't happened since I got my golden ticket to Vegas and I've kinda screwed around with every major event since. Generally taking my Daemon army J

Something I Think TO’s Should Know

Let me just start by saying that I'm not bashing tournaments that aren't pure BP's and that I personally think all armies must be painted to play. I'm a hobbyist but a big part of my hobby is playing in tournaments and there are a few things I think it might be good for starting and/or veteran TO's to keep in mind when preparing to run a tournament.

Dark Eldar: The Army #4 (Heavy Support)

Well we're onto the newest and craziest section of the force org chart. This section has 3 new units out of a total number of 5 units. Just like the other sections there is a lot of room for choice in this section. Unlike the other sections this one is likely be almost always be filled. So let's get this party started.

Tyranids-Speed is Good!

Here is one of the lists I've been saving up for when my Tyranid series was completed but I just couldn't wait. This army is fast, durable, and puts the pressure on early. It incorporates some ideas I stole from Janthkin on Dakkadakka in my tactica thread there. So on to the list!

Dark Eldar: The Army #3 (Fast Attack)

Well after an article on troops and on pre-game shenanigans we're going to move onto the least used portion of force org from the previous codex: Fast Attack


There are 4 units in the Fast Attack section which include Scourges, Beast Masters, Reavers, and Hellions. This is twice the number of units that were previously found in this entry and all of them can be used effectively unlike before. So let's get started:

Spam...It's Disgusting!-Dark Eldar

Well I've been cruising around the internet and haven't seen it yet so I decided I'd post it up here. Now people on various sites have talked about the units in the list seperately but I haven't seen anyone post up an actual honest to god nasty list. This is for all of you spammers out there, hope you like it!

Frankenstein’s Lab-A Haemonculi Coven Army

So this army is going to combine a few things that I like but I will tell you right off the bat it's going to lack a little bit of anti-tank. I've been thinking of ways that I would run a themed Haemonculi list and this is one of the better ideas I've hashed out.

Can Tyranids Compete? Part 3

So we're just going to jump right into this. The previous parts of this article can be found here:

Part 1: http://hulksmash-homeplace.blogspot.com/2010/10/can-tyranids-compete-part-1.html

Part 2: http://hulksmash-homeplace.blogspot.com/2010/10/can-tyranids-compete-part-2.html

Here is my second list I've been tinkering with. It's much faster than the previous list but is doesn't hit quite as hard as it lacks the large Prime/Carnifex hammer unit. The other list is a crushing force where this one is dependent on proper use of your units to keep the enemy off balance faster so that you can pick him apart. It also has more shooting than the previous list by quite a large margin. Well enough of that, let's get to the list and then discuss the merits of both lists, important notes on some of the units in the lists, and how I feel they stack up.

Waagghh of the Grand Loota! [Part 2]

Well I'm taking another break from painting so here are a few more of my units for the Orks I'm building. These are the nobz of 4 out of 5 of my Boyz units. Painting this will probably take a back seat to everything else I have on my plate but I like to share some of the extra stuff I'm working on. Plus I really love the concept behind this army and sharing that concept makes me smile. So here we go!

Who Needs Mech? All Jump BA’s

Well I was reading the Battle Reports section of DakkaDakka because sometimes there are some people that use a trick or an idea that I haven't seen before and I noticed an all jumper BA army. Now it wasn't really something I'd go gaga over but it got me thinking about how I would run such an army and so I sat down with my laptop while the newest and god awful Lost Boys movie was on. Now I have to explain why that movie was on. See sometimes a joke can go too far and it winds up on your Blockbuster que. Then you forget about it until it shows up one day and that morbid curiosity of how bad can it be comes over you even though the answer 99% of the time is bloody awful. Well now that that's cleared up we can move onto the list.

Dark Eldar-The Baron and the Beasts

So I really, really like the Baron, Hellions, and Beasts. So in all honesty noticing that my DE lists tend to get the most attention outside of my Tyranid articles I decided to post another list I've been thinking about. It's kinda of a combination of my previous lists. So here it goes:

Waagghh of the Grand Loota! [Part 1]

So I've been painting a commission most of today and didn't have a lot of time to type up a new post and since I'm polishing off the third part of the Tyranid article I figured I'd post some actual hobby content. So here are some of the pictures with little blurbs to make sure people see where I'm going with it.

My Ork army is based on the idea that they've been attacking Imperial Worlds for years and stealing everything that isn't bolted down. They take particular delight in stealing from Space Marines they've killed. The Grand Loota is my Big Mek who is in charge of the expedition and responsible for the constant upgrades for his troops.

Imperial Guard Assault Army

So I've been bored and trying to throw together a way to play IG that I enjoy. If you read my other IG army list you'll know of my love for our large, slow brethren and this list is going to include them too. This list is even more close combat centric than the last one but I think it's pretty well rounded for what is out there nowadays on the tournament scene. Here we go:

Tweaking a Net List to Fit You

So this is a small follow up to my previous article "How I Build an Army List". I wanted to touch lightly on "Net Lists" and tweaking them to fit you as a player based on your personal play style. I realize the few people who read my blog so far probably already know how to do this but I'd like to have the information in case someone newer to the scene out there drops by.


Now a there are quite a few people out there on the forums who are hung up on how horrible the idea of "Net Lists" are and how they are destroying our hobby. Personally I think it's silly to assume that with the amount of information out there and how easy it is to get now that good ideas won't spread at the speed of light. I've found that the internet can sometimes provide the kernel of an idea for an army or a new slant on something I'm looking at running. . Not to say there isn't a lot of piss poor advice out there (maybe even mine!) but there is a lot of good info out there too. The trick is how to adjust what you see online and like into something that fits you.

Blood Angels w/Stormravens!

So I've seen a serious lack of Stormravens out there on the tournament scene. And I've never seen more than 1 fielded at a time. I have to ask is it because there isn't an official model or is it because people truly don't believe it's competitive. Or is it a combination of not having a model making people not want to playtest it to see if it's competitive? Well I've got two very simple conversions based on a Valk (I mean really, really simple) and I was thinking about a list that could use them. So this is what I came up with:

Dark Eldar Almost Full Force Org!

So I was thinking of a true MSU army for Dark Eldar and how I could make an effective one. I've been enamoured of the Beast Master unit lately as well and here is the list I came up with:

Can Tyranids Compete? Part 2

So this is obviously a continuation of my topic found here: http://hulksmash-homeplace.blogspot.com/2010/10/can-tyranids-compete-part-1.html


This part will cover my thoughts on how to build a competitive Tyranid army; how it works; why it can hang with the big dogs. First here are some of the types of armies you might see at the top tables or being run by some of the community at the "National" level:

Imperial Guard w/OGRYNS!!!!! (Updated cause I misread a rule)

This is just to give people something to read tomorrow before I publish the Tyranid Article that's about 80% done at this point. Hope you enjoy it!

I've been looking at making IG play more aggressively and fit my style. This is probably going to hurt what little "street-cred" I've gained so far in the community but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the giant, slightly dimwitted, but very tough redheaded stepchild of the Imperial Guard. That's right Ogryns! So I've designed a list that I think can make excellent use of them. Please note I'm not stating that this is a super tough army to pick up and run with but it does fit the criteria for the way I like to build my lists. Here we go:

How I build an Army List

Well I figured I should put this out before I put out the second part of my Tyranid article. That way I don't have to make that article incredibly long by including my overall though process instead of just the units, tactics, and reasoning.

So I was having a recent conversation with Shep via PM on Dark Eldar army building and it got me thinking further about how I build my army from the get go. I started by explaining that I build my lists by considering how each unit will function and what their role will be against each of the following:

1. Horde Orks (Kan Heavy)
2. Nids (Horde or MC Heavy)
3. IG (Mech w/10-14 AV12+)
4. Space Wolves (Razorspam/Loganwing/My list)
5. Mech Orks (26 Vehicles)
6. Wound Allocation Death Stars (Crushers, Council, TWC, Nobz)

These are generally the threats I take into account while building my list. This is how I create my toolbox. For deathstars you need a unit that can either out deathstar them, destroy or limit them at range, or marginalize them. You need enough ranged or combat anti-tank to neutralize mech heavy armies. You need the ability to eliminate walkers either in combat or from shooting. You need the speed to contest enemy objectives and to catch fast enemy units. All of these things need to be taken into account when building a proper 5^th edition list. Some people out there will tell you that planning for "Deathstars" is pointless since a competitive list won't take them. They'll say the same thing about horde Orks, Nids, Kanwalls, and multiple MC's. This is a trap that a lot of people fall into building a maximized list. They ignore that for the first 2 rounds of a GT you have a decent chance of pulling things like this because the truly nasty lists haven't settled out yet so if you don't plan for them or consider how your army will handle them then you could find yourself pulling an early loss or draw.

Can Tyranids Compete? Part 1

So I was recently surfing some of my favorite blogs and came across this: http://whiskey40k.blogspot.com/2010/10/rapid-fire-recap-battle-for-salvation.html#comments

In the comments section they started to discuss Tyranids, the lack of representation at the event, and their lack of competitiveness overall. First off let me say this isn't me arguing with anyone or calling anyone out. Mikes blog gets the mention because that's where I came across this again and it really got me thinking. I'm not sold on Nids not being competitive. I recently started a dedicated Tactics article on Dakka Dakka about the competitiveness of Nids in the current meta-game that can be found here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/319613.page

 Now that article is more of a Review of the units in the army with a few tactics and combo-builds built in. It does have some of the more solid Tyranid players I know contributing but it doesn't answer the question of if Nids are truly competitive. Mike makes a good point in his comments on his blog that Nids lack the duality you can find in some of the more popular and well represented codex's like IG, SW's, and though he doesn't mention it Dark Eldar. Another point made is on other blogs is there lack of transports or their ability to 1 + 1 that every else, other than Daemons and Necrons, can take advantage of. Tyranid Armies reliance on certain units such as Tyranofexes and Hive Guard to stop mech is also something many people point to as a major flaw in their design. Their susceptibility to what some consider to be the current #1 codex (Space Wolves if you've been living under a rock) doesn't help nor does another Phil Kelly book coming out that a lot of people in the blogosphere are saying is going to put the nail in the Nid coffin. So can Tyranids compete with all of this stacked against them? I think so personally.

Dark Eldar (Traditional)

So for the traditionalists out there that want to build an army based on warriors, incubi, and bikes here is something I think could compete. It brings a nasty 15 Dark Lances, 7 Blasters, and 6 Heat Lances for anti-tank. It has some decent combat punch and is very, very fast:

Dark Eldar List #3

So you'll have noticed by now that I have a certain core to my list that isn't changing to much. I'll be switching it up to make some lists with a different core to them soon but for right now I wanted to throw this list up. It's got the same core of Ravagers and Trueborn in it but it's more of a tuning of the last list posted.

Dark Eldar List #2

So I'm sitting here and thinking of a fun way to use the new beast master entry in the book and came up with this:
HQ-

2 Haemonculi-100

Elite-

3 Trueborn-146
3xBlasters, Venom w/Double Splinter Cannons

3 Trueborn-146
3xBlasters, Venom w/Double Splinter Cannons

3 Trueborn-146
3xBlasters, Venom w/Double Splinter Cannons

Troops-

9 Wracks-190
Liquifier, Agoniser, Raider

9 Wracks-190
Liquifier, Agoniser, Raider

10 Wyches-210
Agoniser, Plasma Grenades, Raider

10 Wyches-210
Agoniser, Plasma Grenades, Raider

Fast Attack-

Beast Masters-172
4 Beastmasters, 2 Claw Fiends, 2 Razorwing Flocks, 2 Kymera

Beast Masters-172
4 Beastmasters, 2 Claw Fiends, 2 Razorwing Flocks, 2 Kymera

Heavy Support-

Ravager-105

Ravager-105

Ravagar-105

My Daemons

So I've seen another rash of Daemon postings on DakkaDakka and Nick (Yermom) also put a series of Batreps ( http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/321717.pagefrom ) the Battle for Salvation which has also gotten my mind working. First off let's start with a picture of the army I took to the Nova Open in Virginia in August:

As you can see it's a counts-as army based on the Adeptus Mechanicus. Not a great shot but I have to say thank you to Danny Internets of http://www.baldandscreaming.com/ for the picture since I didn't bring one that day. Now back to the topic.

Dark Eldar List - The First of Many

Well I've read the codex cover to cover and my brain isn't totally shot so I remember almost everything except for some of the specialized wargear and I think this is one of the lists I'm going to run when the actual models hit shelves.

Dark Eldar: The Army #2 (Troops)

Well the first post covered pre-game modifiers. This post is going to cover the core of the book. Troops.

Now we start with 2 troops that come in that section. Wyches and Warriors. We'll start with Warriors:

Dark Eldar: The Army

So this will be my first post in a series on the Dark Eldar. Today we're focusing on some of the things a lot of people seemed to have brushed over. Bear with me, I'm getting there and it's my first time (that's what SHE said).

Let me start by saying this book is probably one of my favorite so far but to be fair that's expected when you get the "perfect storm" of creators that went into this. Phil Kelly, Jes Goodwin, and Juan Diaz (probably some others :P) are what made this codex great from the get go. Thanks guys!

I see this book as a dream come true. Why? Because it's got all the tools I'll need to take down almost any build out there and I can fit them all inside one list. Balancing your list is going to be crucial and this is where a lot of people will drop the ball and either quit the army entirely or really buckle down and get started on that learning curve.