2000pts league list

 So I have decided to take part in a league at the local club. The league is a 2000 point, Arcs of Omen detachment list playing 5 games over a 2 month period. With the recent release of the new guard codex (let's not talk about the impending release of 10th!) I thought that it was a perfect opportunity to crack out the guard and get some games in. 

As with most things like this, the more you play a list the better idea you have of how it will work and so I embarked upon this journey with no games played and no knowledge of whether this list will work or not. Having played a couple 9f game before writing this post, I can safely say it does work but mistakes were definitely made. 

I'll post the list first then talk about the mistakes and changes I would make.

Arks of Omen Detachment - Astra Militarum 9CP,

Compulsory Type: Troops

Regimental Doctrine: Born Soldiers

+ HQ +

Platoon Command Squad: Relic: Finial of the Nemrodesh 1st, WT: Old Grudges: Ogryn Bodyguard:Ripper Gun, Slabshield, Platoon Commander: Warlord, Veteran w/ Master-Vox, Veteran w/ Medi-pack, Veteran w/ Regimental Standard, Veteran w/ plasma gun

Platoon Command Squad: Platoon Commander, Veteran w/ Master-Vox, Veteran w/ Heavy Flamer, Veteran w/ Flamer, Veteran w/ Grenade launcher

Primaris Psyker: 3. Psychic Barrier, 4. Nightshroud,

+ Troops +

Cadian Shock Troops: Sergeant w/ Drum-fed Autogun, Trooper w/ Flamer, Trooper w/ Grenade launcher

Cadian Shock Troops: Sergeant w/ Drum-fed Autogun, Trooper w/ Flamer, Trooper w/ Grenade launcher

Cadian Shock Troops: Sergeant w/ Chainsword and Bolt Pistol, Trooper w/ Flamer, Trooper w/ Grenade launcher

Death Korps of Krieg: Medi-packs, Trooper w/ Plasma Gun, Trooper w/ Meltagun, Trooper w/ Grenade launcher, Watchmaster w/ Chainsword and Plasma pistol

Infantry Squad: Guardsman W/ Plasma gun, Guardsman w/ Vox-caster, Heavy Weapon Team w/ Missile launcher

Infantry Squad: Guardsman W/ Plasma gun, Guardsman w/ Vox-caster, Heavy Weapon Team w/ Missile launcher

Infantry Squad: Guardsman W/ Grenade launcher, Guardsman w/ Vox-caster, Heavy Weapon Team w/ Mortar

Infantry Squad: Guardsman W/ Grenade launcher, Guardsman w/ Vox-caster, Heavy Weapon Team w/ Mortar

+ Elites +

Commissar

Commissar

Regimental Enginseer

Regimental Preacher: Autogun, Autopistol, and Chainsword

Regimental Preacher: Auto Pistol, Servo-stubber and Power Maul

+ Flyer +

Valkyrie: 2x Multiple Rocket Pods, Militarum Multi-laser, 2x Heavy bolter

+ Lord of War +

Hellhammer: 2x Twin heavy flamer, Knight of Piety

Militarum Tempestus Detachment:

+ HQ +

Militarum Tempestus Command Squad: WT: Drill Commander, Tempestor Prime, Scion w/ Hot-shot Volley Gun, Scion w/ Plasma gun Scion w/ Master-Vox, Scion w/ Medi-pack

+ Troops +

Tempestus Scions: Tempestor: Plasma pistol, Power sword, Scion w/ Plasma gun, Scion w/ Plasma gun, Scion w/ Hot-shot Volley Gun, Scion w/ Hot-shot Volley Gun, Scion w/ Vox-caster

Tempestus Scions; Tempestor: Plasma pistol, Power sword, Scion w/ Meltagun , Scion w/ Meltagun, Scion w/ Grenade launcher , Scion w/ Grenade launcher, Scion w/ Vox-caster

The list on the whole, in the two games I have played so far, has performed pretty much as I expected, although in the first game against Imperial Knights I was thoroughly thrashed without being able to actually do much in return. In the second game things worked a lot better for me and the elements performed a lot more how I had anticipated.

The Hellhammer worked perfectly, picking up whole squads of Marines at once, except when I needed it to in turn 4, but that was down to my opponents saving throws rather then the big guns performance. 

The Valkyrie also worked well, enabling me to get some much needed mobility, although it is proving to be quite vulnerable and not as resilient as I had hoped for. Even with the -1 to hit, being only t7 and 14 wounds it has proven easy for my opponents to take out.

So, what are the actual "mistakes" I made with this list. I say mistakes but there really hasn't been anything so far that hasn't performed in someway or another, I just think that I could rejig things a little and get some better results or better abilities that would just nudge the overall power of the list up slightly. I'll go top to bottom on the list, as I don't really think there are any more important changes than others. 

The first thing on the list is the command squad Ogryn bodyguard. He currently has a shield and ripper gun, which I would swap of a maul. This would reduce the firepower of the squad but significantly increase the combat power. The squad shouldn't really be shooting at much anyway but may and has been used to counter change things, where a maul would be a lot more useful.

In all Cadian squads I would probably switch out the flamers for another special weapon, probably a plasma gun but maybe a couple of meltas for some variation. The flamers don't take advantage of either special rule, born soldiers or shock troops but another special weapon would be able to use the born soldiers rules.

I would also look at replacing the DKoK with a Cadian squad. So far they have not really loved up to their hype or their extra expense. As such I would probably replace them with a Cadian squad.

Drop a commissar. With the born soldiers giving out a leadership bubble the need for the commissars bubble is less. Also squads tend to either survive fine or be wiped out, so the need for the summary execution rule is also reduced.

The weapon load out of the preachers would also be ammended. At present I have one with the basic load out and one with an upgraded load out, with a maul and stubber. I would switch both units to the basic load out, as the extras are not needed.

The Valkyrie may loose it's heavy bolters. This is sort of linked to the next change, as I would look to add extra sponsons to the Hellhammer and thus wouldn't need the Valkyrie bolters. Also the platform is proving quite fragile and doesn't turn up until then 2 at least, so the amount of times the bolters can fire is limited 

As mention above I would add a second pair of sponsons to the Hellhammer, this one with the twin bolters, adding some extra ranged firepower and punch with the additional lascannons. I would also drop the Knight of Piety upgrade either entirely or for the veteran Commandeer upgrade. This is because the tech priest can confer a 5++ anyway and I don't think mortal woulds are going to be a big deal. With the veteran Commandeer upgrade I would probably take the Trophy hunters or elite sharpshooter traits, although heirloom weaponry would also be good 

Lastly I would drop all the vox-casters from the Militarym Tempestus squads. This would give me an extra hotshot lasgun in each squad and I would add a grenade launcher to the command squad. It doesn't sound like much but it adds more chances to roll those prescious 6's.

So there you have it, just a few simple changes, nothing to dramatic. Most of these changes are just little tweaks to the list rather than a complete rebuild, which I do t think is needed. As a list I think the basics are in place, against the Knights list I had no hope, as I'll go in to in a separate post but against the wolves I think I had a good chance and everything worked well. I shall see what happens against sisters and eldar in the next couple of weeks and then there is just the match against the Orks to arrange!

Field ordnance battery

 One of the new guard units, the field ordnance battery, was high on my hit list for new models as soon as I saw it, only the new rough riders were higher. As with most of these models they have multiple options when it come to building them and for these you have the choice of the lascannon, gun or missiles. For this particular build I went for the lascannons, or rather heavy lascannons, as these will be going in to my Dagr Ormr forces as a separate unit, as opposed to the gun and missiles which will both be in the Hjaltland LI list together. The latter two options will be built using other parts, namely the Zinge industries mandrill static platforms but I'll come on to that later. 

For these two guns I have takes some inspiration from the British WW2 era light guns, namely the QF 25 pound gun

Not the best example, dull paint and flat tyre but only one that was colour and not watermarked everywhere!

I have also gone for more subdued colours on the crew to make them stand out from the gun itself. 

The crews are very visible against the guns.

I've tried to create little mini dioramas behind the guns.

Gun era both looking at targeting screen, as they should.

Possibly my favourite of all the crew is the crouching gunner covering his ears on the right.

The guns need finishing off, with some transfers adding to the guns and crew and then they all need a coat of varnish to seal them up. I plan on using the quickshade for this, but need to figure out how to actually do it. 

As for the other two guns, or rather four guns over two units, I have decided to get the Zinge industries bases for them, rather than some.more boxes of the Field ordnance batteries. I will get these bases for the simple reason that the army is supposed to be a mobile infantry army optimised for jungle or rainforest warfare, where vehicles or wheeled access is very limited. That's where these bases come in, they have the right look for air dropped weapon systems and fit to story that these guns are underslung on Valkyrie and Vendetta aircraft and dropped in place when needed to provide close support. 

I will need to find some crew and mounting brackets for the guns but I have plenty of spare heavy weapons crews and I'm sure I can create a plasticard or green stuff mount for the guns. I'm not sure when I'll actually get around to sorting these guys out though, I'm currently trying to sort out my first born marines and get them all painted, just I time for them to be removed from the codex.

Dagr Ormr play style

Despite all the changes to the Dagr Ormr list, the army still functions if a very similar way, a sort of hammer and anvil approach, with the scions being the hammer to the guard units anvil. 

This is the list as it stands;

Militarum Tempestus Command Squad: Hot-shot Volley Gun, Plasma, Master-Vox, Medi-pack

Militarum Tempestus Command Squad: Flamer, Master-Vox, Medi-pack, Regimental Standard, Ogryn Bodyguard

Militarum Tempestus Command Squad: Plasma gun, Hot-shot Volley Gun, Master-Vox

Tempestus Scions: 2x Hot-shot Volley Gun, 2x Plasma gun, Vox-caster (X2)

Tempestus Scions: 2x Grenade launcher, 2x Meltagun, Vox-caster (X2)

Tempestus Scions: 2x Hot-shot Volley Gun, 2x Flamer, Vox-caster

Tempestus Scions: 2x Grenade launcher, 2x Flamer, Vox-caster

Platoon Command Squad, Platoon Commander, Medi-pack, Regimental Standard, Heavy flamer, Flamer

Platoon Command Squad: Heavy bolter, Heavy flamer, Grenade launcher

Primaris Psyker

Cadian Shock Troops: 2x Meltagun (X2)

Infantry Squad: Grenade launcher, Heavy bolter (X2)

Commissar

Ratlings

Regimental Preacher

Field Ordnance Battery: Heavy Lascannon

Heavy Weapons Squad: Mortar (X2)

There's a lot of different units to keep in mind here but it operates very simply. To start with there is the main firebase and castle that will form up on the home objectives which consists of the two mortar squads and the FoB lascannons, the two infantry squads with heavy bolters and the command squad with heavy bolters. As you can see there are a lot of heavy weapons here, all with the objective of putting out as much firepower as possible every turn. Also somewhere near by will be the ratings, positioned somewhere to give the maximum view for their sniper rifles. They are more of a distraction unit than anything else these days, as there is only 5 now, although they do have the capacity to do some decent damage over the course of a game.

There is also a second element to this anvil, a more mobile section, comprised of the other command squad and the two Cadian squads, who are now armed with a melta and grenade launcher, as per the new FAQ. These units will act as a mobile reserve and counter units, to deal with any enemy that get to close to the firebase, either by deep strike, transport or just running up the table. They are not necessarily there to kill the enemy, more act as a roadblock for the heavy weapons to have time to unload on to the enemy units. 

The last elements of this force are the characters, the psyker, preacher and commissar. These are not fixed to one section of the other but will sort of float around to where they are needed. They may stay with one part of the anvil for the whole game or they may jump back and forth wherever they are needed, it will change from game to game but they will always aim to be where they will give the most benefit.

So that's the anvil part of the list, formed of a castle and mobile reserve. While it contains the heavy firepower, it's not the main damage dealers, that's the hammer element, the scions.

The hammer element is really 3 hammers, which can act independently or as one, depending upon the nature of the battle and enemy. All 3 elements will be dropping out of deepstrike, if possible, I need to check what the latest rules for reserves are and how much you can put into reserves before a match. 

The first element is the main strike units, consisting of the plasma\Volley gun squads and the command squad with plasma\volley and medic. This group will spearhead any assault, going to the prime targets, such as an elite unit or HQ, hoping to cause as much damage as possible in as short a time as possible.

The next section is the third command squad and the two melta\grenade launcher equipped squads. These units will be dropping in to try and eliminate or at the very least cripple any heavy armour that maybe sitting in the enemy back field or even creating up the board.

Lastly we have the main command squad and the two remaining Scion squads. These units form a sort of close assault or counter strike force, with their close ranged flamers and ogryn bodyguard. Now, as far as I know despite the addition of the ogryn the command squad can still deep strike but I could be wrong. If I am then the ogryn will move to the guard command squad and perform much the same counter strike role there. 

So the scions basically will drop in to the back field, or at least as close as they can, and cause as much damage and chaos as possibly as quickly as possible before the inevitable punch back. There are several stratagems and orders that will come in to play for the scions to increase their damage potential but they are still a bit of a glass hammer. If the dice god's don't play ball they could find themselves out in the open without any hope of survival. 

This is probably going to be the most challenging of the three armies to play as it could very quickly go completely wrong but I really like the idea of the army. I have thought about adding some vehicles, maybe taurox's to add a ground mobile element but for the moment I will leave things as they are.

Dante!

 So, despite having a different post lined up for today, I couldn't resist talking about the new Dante! I have to say straight off that I love this model, I think that it is stunning and so much better then the original and every bit the model that Dante should have. 

There are several things about the model that I like and only one that I don't. The main thing I love is how faithful it is to the original. 

New Dante

As you can see from the images above and below, there are so many similarities, from the shape of the axe, to the intricate armour panels of the chest, legs and even the toes! This is great, as I was worried that GW would try and "update" the armour and it would be horrendous.

Old Dante

However they have updated a number of areas, such as the iron halo, which looks so much better, as does the laurels. The addition of the loin cloth and flowing purity seals also look good and really fit with the model and its position as leader of Imperium Nihilus. 

Details

One of the other bits that I'm really excited about is the jump pack. This is the first time that we have seen proper jump packs for primaris intercessor type marines. I am hopeful that this will be the beginning of proper assault intercessors with jump packs. If it is I will be upgrading all of mine and possibly getting more, as my army is all about movement and speed. It was one of the areas I lost when I moved from first born to primaris marines. 

There is only one bit of this model that I don't like and that the tactical rock, or rather mountain that he's leaping from. I do t like this for two reasons, firstly I just feel that it's going to break and will be a paint to repair and secondly it makes him a big target. It's not the end of the world but I might look at shrinking it down a little on mine.

Lastly I really hope that he has rules that allow him to be fielded with any Blood Angels army, successor or original, as I would love to be able to run him as a supreme commander in my Eagle Knights army.

The leak

All this obviously started from the leak that appeared on Facebook the other day, when someone appears to have been sent the model by mistake. I'm not sure what they ordered but if it was me I wouldn't have complained, just ordered another one and kept quiet about the model. I'm looking forward to seeing what is released in the upcoming previews, we know there is likely terminators but I'm hoping for jump pack equipped marines and some.more BA specific units.