Thursday 10 May 2012

Thinking about Throne of Skulls - Reader input wanted

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what army I want to take to the July Throne of Skulls. Since my first Tournament over two years ago I haven't deviated from taking Wolves to a tournament and they have all been pretty samey, Rune Priests, Grey Hunters, Long Fangs, Rhinos. Its getting a bit boring if I'm honest.

So I have been thinking about two other options, the first being Grey Knights
so pros and cons
Pros
  •  I have the majority of the models that I need for the list - some purchases would be required but it would be a lot cheaper than starting a whole new force
  • They are one of the if not THE most competitive forces in the game at the moment and while it is considered a more friendly tournament I still want to try my best to win all my games (also I have a reputation to keep up as the worse thing about 40K :-) )
  • They excel against the armies that I often struggle the most against which are nids and daemons
  • They are in essence marines so I have experience in playing at least similar armies
  • There are a lot of options for armies out of the codex and the vast majority of them are competitive
Cons
  • They are marines so are they really the different army that I crave. I have always been driven by my love of the fluff as I have said many times on here but with the rumours of 6th and Chaos Legions I certainly plan on doing a Word Bearers force so that would take me to three Power Armour lists 
  •  There will more than likely be more Grey Knight forces than any other which makes it more difficult to win a prize and certainly more difficult to win the whole thing.
  • The list I plan on taking with the models I have in order to keep the cost low would be considered cheesy as ****
Heres the list for your perusal

Coteaz
Xenos Inquisitor - Rad and Psykotroke Grenades

1 Ven Psyfleman
1 Vindicaire
6 Purifiers 4 Halberds, 2 Psycannons 1 Rhino

4 3 man acolyte squads in Psybacks
1 5 man Death Cult Assasin Squad in a Psyback

3 Psyflemans

Its certainly a nasty list
16 Twin linked strength 8 shots
15 Twin linked strength 6 shots
2 Psycannons and plenty of heavy hitting from the death cult and Purifier squads

So the other thought is Necrons
Now I have no experience with the army, I still haven't played them or used them so it makes it difficult. I do know from reading blogs that they are a army that while good are hard to master. I also no from my own experiences of winter TOS and reading the break down of armies at the Spring one that there wasn't many Necron armies

So Pros
  • They are brand new army for me, it will a completely different mindset and a challenge to get ready for it in time
  • They will be fun to paint and model. The Airbrush will take much of the arduous task of undercoating them away and there are a lot of modelling opportunities with them.
  • They are still a good army, a lot of people are having successes with them in tournaments
Cons
  • I have no Necron models and it would be a fairly large investment of time and money to get them ready
  • It would require some serious practise games in the coming weeks
  • It might be difficult to get in the mindset of a new army
The list I have been thinking about starting with and then modifying as I look into the play style comes courtesy of Venerable Brother on the Sons of Sanguinius Blog and can be found here.

It consists of

Overlord - Warscythe, Mindshackle Scarabs, Command Barge - Gauss Cannon
Overlord - Warscythe, Mindshackle Scarabs, Command Barge - Gauss Cannon
Royal Court - 1 x Pulse
Royal Courts - 1 x Pulse and 1 x Veil
10 x Immortals, Gauss
5 x Warriors
5 x Warriors
5 x Warriors
5 x Warriors
8 x Scarabs
8 x Scarabs
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge

My big worry with this list is lack of heavy and consistent Anti tank, I've read over the codex entries a number of times and although I know other than Scarabs necrons can pop transports I just find it difficult to see. It is 5 AV 13 vehicles which is never nice to face at 1500 points.

My main thing is thinking would I mind facing this list with my Wolves, I wouldn't like it because I don't know enough about it but seeing those Warriors out in the open I'm not sure if I would dread it. Perhaps that is just the mindset I am in after all this time playing Marines that sit in their metal pill boxes and try and make it through the early turns.

I am really unsure on what to do readers and fellow bloggers, something new or something old? Would love your advice.

5 comments:

  1. I want to tell you to go with 'Crons as it'll give you a break from Marines without being too much of a departure from the decent stats you're used to with the SW. You'll get less opponents giving you the *sigh*rifle eye roll and you'll get a break from Marines, especially considering you'll likely be picking up Chaos. Also, ToS being on the friendly side, it'd be a good chance to stretch your legs with them (though that doesn't guarantee winning I guess).
    On the other hand all the common sense says go GK, you know the army, at least from facing it if not from playing it. The shooting it'll put out is solid and you don't need a £££'s investment.

    Those dread's are going to bring out the haters though! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Graham Sanders10 May 2012 at 14:04

    Anything but loyalist Marines, Mick!

    Apart from anything else, playing a non-Marine army will give you a completely different perspective and experience of playing 40k. Using different armies is always fun, as it makes you approach and play the game in a fresh way. It's like starting a whole new game system!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Necrons for a change. If you're worried about anti-tank then roll with Tesla. All the Tesla. Despite being AP- it still wrecks everything short of Land Raiders by being able to get into side arcs and make shite out of it. And it's always funny to watch people freak out when they can't shoot for at least 1 turn thanks to Pulses.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I would actually suggest Space Wolves again... but on a totally different theme. You have already reserved yourself to the fact that you are prepared to spend some money so I say build a new Space Wolves force which plays to TOTALLY different strengths than you are used to.

    This means you get to adopt different tactics and model new stuff like you crave, but stick with a core of rules you know and also allows you to expand your existing army collection for the future.

    Just my 2cent.

    ReplyDelete
  5. GK will definitely be a very strong buil, but how about trying out a few different units with your space wolves, eq. thunderwolf cav, a predator, landspeeders etc. 

    I just think there's little point going GK if you are going to buy choas soon.

    For the necrons try to add for harbringers of destruction.  One of the big benefits of double overlords is that you can put a crypek from each court into each squad for 2 lance shots per unit.  I suggest starting by looking mindshackle scarabs, 1 warrior unit, reduce the immortals to 9, and maybe 1 scarab from each unit.  These changes would save enough for 4 more harbringers of destruction.

    I'd also suggest tesla rather than gauss on the immortals.  Gauss is better when you have an overlord making them relentless,

    Rathstar

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