Crucible 3

This weekend is the first GT of the year in Florida, to be held in Orlando. I am bringing a top secret army which I won't reveal until tomorrow. Last year I was the only player going into the final round whom had won all their games. I then suffered an extremely hard fought minor loss in the final versus a mirror army. This year the first round I'll be playing the same person I lost to last year since I issued a challenge which was accepted.

I'll be posting updates over the weekend following each round this weekend. A lot of people have asked me what I'm bringing this year... They'll just have to wait and see like everyone else.

What level of cheese is okay for tournaments

The title is a literal question.

The Las Vegas Open had one super cheesy army reaching the final eight that caught my eye... It was an Imperial Guard army with the Inquisition featuring nine Thudd guns and three Sabre platforms on top of a Skyshield with a Lord Commissar protected by a blob with the man Coteaz (you don't want to risk getting seized on, right?) and another Inquisitor sporting everyone's favorite grenades—psykotropic and rad. If you decide to charge the blob then good luck... They will first shower you with their psykotropic grenades—just hope you don't step on your dick on the way in to greet them... they are always ready to say hello in a big way. There was also three Vendettas carrying cheap scoring units for extra killing power and the late game objective grabs - not quite as reliable as Necrons but these scoring units can always paratroop if push comes to shove. This was a really nasty list thanks to our good friends at Forge World and the Inquisition (may the Emperor always bless them). Oh and by the way the second Inquisitor had some servo skulls on hand so don't even think about scouting up on the blob.

Here is the army list:

Imperial Guard (Primary Detachment)

Lord Commissar

Infantry Platoon -

Platoon Command Squad (embarked in Vendetta)
• 10x Guardsmen (embarked in Vendetta)
• 9x Infantry w. Autocannon, Sergeant - Power Axe
• 9x Infantry w. Autocannon, Sergeant - Power Axe
• 9x Infantry w. Autocannon, Sergeant - Power Axe
• 9x Infantry w. Autocannon, Sergeant - Power Axe
• 3x Sabre Platform (TL Lascannon)

10x Veterans w/ 1x Flamer (embarked in Vendetta)

Vendetta w/ 3x TL Lascannon
Vendetta w/ 3x TL Lascannon
Vendetta w/ 3x TL Lascannon

3x Thud Gun (9x Crew)
3x Thud Gun (9x Crew)
3x Thud Gun (9x Crew)

Inquisition (Allied Detachment)

Torquemada Coteaz (Warlord)
Inquisitor w. Rad Grenades, Psychotroke Grenades, Level 1 Psyker, 3x Servo Skull

Fortifications

Skyshield Landing Platform

The Las Vegas Open is 1750 points and actually quite restricted so this list could easily have been improved upon with the addition of double FOC, Lords of War and Stronghold Assault. For example add an Aegis Defense Line and Void Shields to protect the blob (they are kind of fragile) plus more intercepting is always a good thing... Let's teach those Tau how to do it right ! Mix in some Basilisks and Manticores to rain more death down upon the enemy with all those Thudd guns because you can never have enough pie plates... The Emperor loves some pie too ! If you do it right there might even be enough points left for Death Cult assassins so you have a counter assault unit to take out any enemy unit that actually makes into combat with the blob.

Funny enough this army was beat in melee by a super uber dark eldar BeaStar combining for the proverbial one two punch with a Wraithknight. The Wraithknight was down to its last 1-2 wounds and went in first to absorb the Overwatch so the BeaStar could nail the coffin.

Fun times in the competitive world of 40k !

CHAOS BLOOD ANGEL RANT

I saw this elsewhere on the Internet and it made me laugh so I thought I'd post it here...

THIS IS THE CHAOS BLOOD ANGEL RANT... SOME PEOPLE SAY CHAOS SPACE MARINES ARE THE WORST EVER. YOU CANNOT REASON OR DISCUSS IT WITH THESE PEOPLE... THEY ARE RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT AND YOU ARE DEAD WRONG. IT DOESNT MATTER THAT YOU CAN TAKE DAEMONS AGAIN AS AN ALLY—THEY WILL ALWAYS IGNORE THAT IF YOU BRING IT UP. NURGLE IS OFF THE CHAINS SO THEY SAY "BUT NURGLE DOES NOT COUNT—EVERYBODY IS RUNNING NURGLE THAT PLAYS CHAOS"... LIKE WTF WHAT ABOUT TZEENTCH AND SCREAMERSTAR ?!?!? SO YOU BRING UP KHORNE LAND RAIDERS ROLLING AROUND BLOWING UP ALL KINDS OF SHEET SHUTTING DOWN TAU OVERWATCH AND THEY ARE LIKE "OH WOW DUDE AV14 IS SO BROKEN NOW"... THESE ARE SOME OF THE SAME PEOPLE PLAYING TAU AND ELDAR. LET ME TELL YOU THE WATER IS FINE SO HOP ON IN OR GO HOME !!!

NOW LETS TALK ABOUT BLOOD ANGELS... WHY DOES THE LORD OF DEATH HAVE AN AP3 MELEE WEAPON ??? WHY DOES DANTE THE CHAPTER MASTER STRIKE AT INITIATIVE 1 ??? DANTE USED TO STRIKE AT INITIATIVE 7 ON THE CHARGE !!! I AM JUST THROWING THIS OUT THERE... BLOOD ANGELS APPARENTLY WERE NOT PART OF THE MASTER PLAN FOR THE NEW EDITION SO THEY GOT THE PROVERBIAL SHAFT... IT HAPPENS I KNOW . OH WELL. SOMETHING IS WRONG AND IM NOT TALKING ABOUT DENMARK.

Drop Pod Space Marines tournament results

I attended a four round local tournament yesterday (1500 points) and fielded the following Crimson Fists drop pod army:

Pedro Kantor

5x tactical Marine - plasma gun
Sergeant - combi-plasma gun
Drop Pod #1

5x tactical Marine - plasma gun
Sergeant - combi-plasma gun
Drop Pod #2

6x tactical Marine - plasma gun
Sergeant - combi-plasma gun
Drop Pod #3

4x Sternguard - 3x combi-grav & heavy flamer
Sergeant - 2x grav pistol
Drop Pod #4

4x Sternguard - 3x combi-meltagun & heavy flamer
Sergeant - combi-meltagun
Drop Pod #5

4x Sternguard - plasma gun
Sergeant
Drop Pod #6

4x Devastator - 4x missile launcher
Sergeant
Drop Pod #7

I decided to run pure Crimson Fists (Imperial Fists Chapter Tactics) since allies were not allowed and I wanted to max out on scoring units. Pedro Kantor adds some really nice perks to the army such as Preferred Enemy-Orks and makes Sternguard count as scoring, plus a +1A bubble if within 12" of Pedro. I still much prefer Ultramarines but thought this list was better suited for 1500 points and as it turned out two of my opponents were running Orks... Heh !

Each mission had two objectives—you totaled the victory points from the two to determine the winner plus there was bonus points for First Blood (or Last Blood), Slay the Warlord and Line Breaker. I made a mental error thinking that the first objective was the primary win condition and the second objective a tie breaker in case there was a draw on the primary... Oh well, that's how we learn. : (

I have only played two games so far going into this tournament so I was bound to make a few mistakes. I was looking forward to playing some different armies and gain more tactical insight into fielding a pure drop pod army... To this end I was very successful.

The first game was versus Orks. Four pods coming down the first turn did a lot of damage to wit my opponent could never really recovered. This was then followed up by the three remaining drop pods coming in the second turn which was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

The second game was versus a solid daemon army featuring a Lord of Change, daemonettes (x2), Horrors (x2), a big block of Flesh Hounds, Tzneetch Herald attached to Screamers and a Soul a Grinder with the torrent flamer... So all in all a very solid daemon list. My plan was play to the mission, focusing on killing enemy scoring units and holding more objectives. We were only able to play three turns and I won on the secondary objective holding my opponent's Emperor's Will objective marker. I was able to destroy both squads of Horrors and take one daemonette squad down to a single model. I used the drop pods to screen out the Flesh Hounds which kept them at bay a couple turns. It was a tough game but focusing on the objectives won it for me.

I was on the top table going into the third game versus Imperial Guard. This is the game where not understanding how the scoring for objectives actually worked hurt me. It was a very close game decided by one point at the end. My opponent had a blob behind an Aegis Defense Line with two Basilisks and a Manticore parked back there, two Vendettas and a Valkyrie plus some veteran squads and a platoon command squad to ride in the flyers. The first objective was the Relic while the second was Big Guns Never Tire (BGNT). Towards the end of the game I had some really bad luck with Pedro failing four Look Out Sirs and then failing his fourth Iron Halo save from a Basilisk round direct hit. I also lost all five Devastators (in cover) from one Basilisk round plus it destroyed their drop pod—they were sitting on an uncontested BGNT objective marker too... Ouch! I took the Relic easily enough and could have taken one of the BGNT objective markers for the win but a tactical squad darting out for a secondary objective marker came up a couple inches short. The Sternguard were absolutely brilliant... They brought the blob down to five or less models to contest a BGNT objective marker and destroyed one of the two Basilisks as well. Like I said it was a very close game. It only went four turns and I think if there had been a fifth turn I could have won.

The final game was versus Orks again... Two Weird Boyz, two 30 man squads of Shootah Boyz, three dakkajets, three squads of Lootaz and an Aegis Defense Line with a comms relay... So only two scoring units... But unfortunately for me one of the two objectives was The Scouring so actually five Ork scoring units. I really thought I had the advantage going into the game but made a couple of silly mistakes. For example I used two of the Sternguard squads to check his Lootaz (hiding behind a big piece of impassable terrain and untargetable by the dakkajets... I should have used them to hold the objectives in my deployment zone as they would have hands down beat the two teleporting Shootah Boyz squads. My opponent rolled for 'ere We Go for both Weird Boyz to start the second turn, which lead to a couple of very long protracted combats that lasted the entire game (four turns again). I also left my Devastators out to dry... I have found Devs to be an excellent unit but they didn't do anything productive the last two games.

So 2-2 the first time out... Not bad and I learned a lot. That's what it's all about.

Space Marine Drop Pod Army Redux (2k)

Had a brain storming session with Ben Mohile and came up with this new list:

Marneus Calgar

Chief Librarian Tigurius

Chapter Champion
4x Honour Guard
Drop Pod #1

Command Squad
4x Storm Shield + Grav-Gun
Apothecary
Drop Pod #2

5x Tactical Marine - Plasma Gun
Sergeant:
Combi-Plasmagun
Drop Pod #3


5x Tactical Marine - Plasma Gun
Sergeant:
Combi-Plasmagun
Drop Pod #4

5x Tactical Marine - Plasma Gun
Sergeant:
Combi-Plasmagun
Drop Pod #5

4x Devastator:
4x Missile Launcher + Flakk Missiles
Sergeant
Drop Pod #6

Stormraven Gunship:
Twin linked Assault Cannon + Twin linked Multi-Melta



Rune Priest

9x Grey Hunter - Wolf Standard + Plasma gun + Plasma Pistol + Power Axe
Drop Pod #7

Drop Pod Space Marine Combinations

I've said it several times:

• I spent over a month designing the original army list
• You always make an immediate change after your first game to adjust
• Ultramarines with Space Wolf allies is one of the best combinations

Drop Pod Space Marine (DPSM) armies are inherently aggressive and are one of the best alpha strike armies. By designing your army list to be MSU (many small units) you can have both an alpha strike and a beta strike. Most armies cannot hide from DPSM... The first turn can be brutal. Most players now have zero or very limited experience versus DPSM as they went out of vogue over two editions ago. Some have said it's a glass hammer but that's not true if you design a fundamentally sound list. Proper placement of objectives allows you to take quickly take control of the dominant area on the table.

I think Space Marines are entering a new golden age with a wide variety of viable builds. The cost points wise for most Space Marine units dropped drastically and overall are better compared to the previous edition. Let's take a look at some of the other potent combinations. Some players believe that a pure Space Wolf army is the strongest build but I think they have some inherent limits since their codex is out of date now. Space Wolves are definitely one of the top allied choices with the Rune Priest and Grey Hunters. The Rune Priest obviously brings a lot to the table with his anti psychic ability (rune staff) and amazing psychic powers (Jaws of the World Wolf and Living Lightning). I used to really hate on JotWW but with the proliferation of monstrous creatures (Riptides, Wraith Knights, Daemon Princes and to a lesser extent Greater Daemons) this psychic power is almost mandatory.

Two other Chapters viable for DPSM are as follows:

• Crimson Fists (Pedro Kantor makes Sternguard scoring plus Bolter Drill)
• Salamanders (they also can buff Sternguard with twin linked combi-meltas)

So these are your main go to Chapters. Another viable Chapter are White Scars with their amazing biker units but this is not a pure DPSM army and I've actually discussed this hybrid build when the codex was first released.

Drop Pod Space Marines vs. Triptide Tau (2k)

I made some changes to my original list based on my previous game versus Tyranids. Here's the new list:

Primary Detachment Ultramarines

Marneus Calgar /Warlord (Storm of Fire)
• Terminator Armor

4x Honour Guard: (attached to Marneus Calgar)
4x Power Axe, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Chapter Champion:
• Thunder Hammer, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Drop Pod (#1)

Chief Librarian Tigurius (Misfortune, Prescience, Precognition)

4x Sternguard Veteran:
3x Combi-Grav Gun, Bolt Pistol
Heavy Flamer, Bolt Pistol
Veteran Sergeant:
• Melta Bombs, Grav Pistol, Grav Pistol
Drop Pod (#2)

Techmarine:
• Combi-Plasmagun, Servo Arm, Melta Bombs

5x Tactical Marine: (attached to Tigurius)
4x Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Plasma Gun
Sergeant:
• Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol
Drop Pod (#3)

5x Tactical Marine: (attached to Techmarine)
4x Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol
Sergeant:
• Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol
Drop Pod (#4)

4x Devastator: (HS)
4x Missile Launcher + Flakk Missiles, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Sergeant:
• Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Signum
Drop Pod (#5)

Allied Detachment Space Wolves
Rune Priest (Jaws of the World Wolf, Living Lightning)
• Runic Armor

8x Grey Hunter: (attached to Rune Priest)
Wolf Standard, Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
Plasma Pistol, Bolter, Chainsword
Power Axe, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
4x Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
Drop Pod (#6)

8x Grey Hunter:
Wolf Standard, Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
Plasma Pistol, Bolter, Chainsword
Power Axe, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
4x Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
Drop Pod (#7)

I dropped one Techmarine and one squad of Sternguard so I could add a second squad of Grey Hunters. I have four scoring units now, which is just what I needed.

Here is my opponent's army to the best of my recollection:

Ethereal

Buff Commander (lots of bells and whistles plus missile pod and fusion gun) /Warlord (Move through Cover & Stealth Ruins)
8x Marker Drone (attached to Buff Commander)

15x Fire Warrior
15x Fire Warrior
14x Kroot & Kroot Hound
14x Kroot & Kroot Hound

Hammerhead w. Commander Longstrike (HS)

Riptide - Ion Accelerator, Stim Injector, Early Warning Override
Riptide - Ion Accelerator, Stim Injector, Early Warning Override
Riptide - Ion Accelerator, Stim Injector, Early Warning Override

3x Broadside - 3x High Yield Missile Pod, 3x Velocity Tracker (HS)

Aegis Defense Line - Quadgun


Mission Big Guns Never Tire
There are three objective markers placed in a triangular pattern around the center of the table—this makes it hard for Tau scoring units to reach them without first exposing themselves and Kroot can't outflank on top of them.

Deployment Vanguard Strike

No Night Fight first turn.

Grey Hunters

Here are a few of my Space Wolves for my drop pod army...

Drop Pod Space Marines vs. Tyranids

I had my first game (2k, double FOC and allies) this afternoon with my drop pod Space Marines versus Tyranids.

Here is my army list:

Primary Detachment: Ultramarines

Marneus Calgar /Warlord
• Terminator Armor

Chief Librarian Tigurius (Prescience, Precognition, Scryer's Gaze)

4x Honour Guard:
4x Power Axe, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Chapter Champion:
• Thunder Hammer, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Drop Pod (#1)

4x Sternguard Veteran:
3x Combi-Grav Gun, Bolt Pistol
Heavy Flamer, Bolt Pistol
Veteran Sergeant:
• Melta Bombs, Grav Pistol, Grav Pistol
Drop Pod (#2)

4x Sternguard Veteran:
3x Combi-Meltagun, Bolt Pistol
Heavy Flamer, Bolt Pistol
Veteran Sergeant:
• Melta Bombs, Combi-Meltagun, Bolt Pistol
Drop Pod (#3)

Techmarine:
• Servo-Harness, Combi-Plasma Gun

5x Tactical Marine:
4x Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Plasma Gun
Sergeant:
• Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol
Drop Pod (#4)

Techmarine:
• Combi-Plasmagun, Servo Arm, Melta Bombs

5x Tactical Marine:
4x Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol
Sergeant:
• Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol
Drop Pod (#5)

4x [b]Devastator:
4x Missile Launcher + Flakk Missiles, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
Sergeant:
• Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Signum
Drop Pod (#6)

Allied Detachment: Space Wolves

Rune Priest

7x Grey Hunter:
Wolf Standard, Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
Plasma Gun, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
Plasma Pistol, Bolter, Chainsword
Power Axe, Bolter, Bolt Pistol
3x Bolter, Bolt, Pistol, Chainsword
Drop Pod (#7)


The Tyranid army had the following units:

3x Flyrant:
3x twin linked Devourers w. Brain Leech ammo
Hive Commander

2x Venomthrope

Zoanthrope

Tervigon (outflanking)
30x termagant
? x termagant
? x termagant
? x termagant

Exocrine

2x Tyrannofex:
Torrent Flamer

3x Biovore

Bastion


NOTE:
This is not a full batrep (sorry no pictures) - it's simply some of the game highlights and thoughts on the two armies.

Mission: Crusade (3 objectives)
Deployment: Hammer and Anvil

No Night Fight

I had two objective markers in my deployment zone, Tyranids had one in theirs. Space Marines got the first turn. So I had a big advantage since I had two objective markers in my deployment zone plus I got to go first.

I played aggressively with my army in the beginning then began to drop back to my deployment zone to hold objectives. Here is my kill tally:

3x Flyrant
2x Tyrannofex
Tervigon
Majority of the termagants


Tyranids
I wasn't very impressed with the Bastion... It creates a very static army and it has lots of problems taking objectives outside its deployment zone. You have an extended cover save bubble where lots of your army goes and it does not encourage aggressive play... Eldar and Tau will have a field day and you can only hide so much.

I don't think the Flyrant is good enough to warrant more than one—it's quite fragile now without Biomancy. Each Flyrant is a huge chunk of points that could go towards more broods. The Tervigon I'm not really liking all that much either anymore... It just can't do what it did with all the nerfs now—very expensive for scoring unit.

I was very impressed with the Exocrine though... I could easily see taking two. The Biovores are really good too with their long reach. Tyrannofexen were okay but there's a lot of low AP weapons in the game... I would play them very defensively.

Space Marines
I think the list is good but needs more scoring units. I'll probably drop one squad of Sternguard and a Techmarine for another squad of tactical Marines or Grey Hunters and five scouts with camo cloaks (small foot print). Ultramarines are really good for drop podding with their doctrines, plus the buffs from Marneus and Tigurius. The Devastators did great. Marneus with the Honor Guard were awesome in melee... Nothing could stop them. My favorite part of the game was a tactical squad coming in the second turn and blowing a Flyrant out of the air.


Conclusion
It turned out to be a narrow win for the Hive Mind but the Marines were in it right down to the very end (6 turns)... So and all a very good showing considering this was my first game (obviously I made a few mistakes and that's part of learning how to play a new army) with them versus a very good opponent. I think with the changes listed above will help make the army more competitive.

Why is the time machine stuck in reverse ?

Before   and   After

Imagine a ruleset that allows you to do almost anything.  Now imagine having to stuff hundreds of people into a version of it they will all like...

Knights are Coming

Tyranid Adaptive Tactics Part 5. Face Crusher

I play tested this list last week versus Eldau... my opponent (who is a veteran player) conceded by the fourth turn.

Hive Tyrant - Wings, 2x Twin Linked Devourers, Adrenal GlandsTyranid Prime - Maw Claws of Thyrax, Flesh Hooks, Adrenal Glands
14x Genestealer & Broodlord - Toxin Sacs14x Genestealer & Broodlord - Toxin Sacs
10x Devilgant10x Devilgant
2x Zoanthrope
6x Ravener (rending claws) & Red Terror
Trygon Prime - Reaper of Obliterax, Regeneration
3x Biovore
6x Spore MineAegis Defense Line w. Comms Relay

I am patiently awaiting for the new Tyranid models I ordered to arrive so I can start playing this list more.

LVO Final Results and Stats (you might be surprised)

Before   and   After

From Torrent of Fire's front page...

MOST WINNING ARMIES

1.Eldar (62.96%)
2.Tau Empire (61.28%)
3.Chaos Daemons (58.53%)
4.Necrons (55.32%)
5.Tyranids 6e (54.76%)

Tyrannic War Vets

These are Sternguard that count as Tyrannic War Veterans... Still have to finish the heavy flamer.

Big Nurgle Daemons (by Daniel Halverson)

Super Fatty (Great Unclean One)

Real Fat (Daemon Prince #1)

Big Fatty (Daemon Prince #2)

Drop Pod Tactica 101

Before I delve into the subject matter of how to win big when going second I'll first discuss the fundamental tenants to playing a pure drop pod army. I spent over a month designing my army list and solicited advice from other tournament players whom I consider top Space Marine players. I also did a lot of research on the Internet to see what other people had to say. I think drop pod armies are stronger now with the new Space Marine codex based upon my findings.

The drop pod army is the ultimate alpha strike army and only Tau have the right tools to effectively deal with it (i.e., massive amounts of intercepting units). Versus Tau your opponent must decide whether to nova charge their Riptides for Ripple Fire or the 3++ save. If they go for Ripple Fire then alpha strike them and their Broadsides. If they opt for the 3++ save then alpha strike their troops (assuming they are on the table).


CHAPTER SPECIFIC
Here are what the experts said are the top Chapters to choose from when designing a drop pod army. They are presented alphabetically, not in a ranking of strength:

Crimson Fists
The main key here is the Chapter Master Pedro Kantor unlocks Sternguard as scoring units and they are one of the ultimate units for any drop pod army. Based upon my research it's best to field five man squads with all combi weapons and a heavy flamer. They have the option to come in during the second or third wave either crushing strong enemy units left out to dry such as Riptides and Wraithknights or torching exposed weak xenos troops—outflanking Kroot, eldar jetbikes or pulse bomb Fire Warriors. In my mind it's a one to one trade for each enemy scoring unit you eliminate in objective based missions. Tau players will be forced to decide whether they want to protect their Riptides and Broadsides or their troops... It's a really tough decision.

Salamanders
Again you'll want to take the special character, Vulkan He'stan since he unlocks master crafted melta weapons. Salamander Sternguard are arguably the best of any Chapter when equipped with these weapons and you might want to field larger squads than the bare minimum to take better advantage.

Ultramarines
I personally consider this the best Chapter due to their Chapter Tactics plus their two special characters Marneus Calgar and Tigerius. Both of these special characters are awesome in their own rights so it's total win-win. Marneus let's them double down on their Chapter Tactics and Tigerius' Warlord Trait is perfect for drop podding Space Marines.


ALLIED SPACE WOLVES
Space Wolves are your best choice for an ally just as Ultramarines are the best choice for your primary detachment. Remember that Space Marines are able to ally within their own codex so you have the potential for two allies under 2000 points! You can also field two Space Wolf HQ as an ally - not that it's necessary for a competitive build - but still it's there. The two optimal units are a Rune Priest or two attached to a squad of Grey Hunters. You can either go for double JAWS versus monstrous creature heavy armies such as Triptide Tau or Prescience to buff your drop units. Space Wolves are still very strong in a drop pod army and can best utilize their base raw strengths.


Okay so we have covered which Chapters are the best so let's now delve into some of the fundamental tactics and strategies for drop pod armies.

6" Disembark
It used to be you could only disembark 2" out of a drop pod, now it's 6"... That's huge! Suppose you are up against an IG blob walled off behind an Aegis Defense Line. If possible land on top of terrain so you can disembark shooting over the defense line to effectively ignore cover. Versus Tau disembark the Marines 1" away from an enemy unit so they can't drop their Riptides' pie plates. The 6" disembark out of a drop pod is one of the best things to happen for drop pod armies. Versus Eldar drop in behind their wave serpents and smoke them firing with complete impunity into rear armor.

Honor Guard, Tigerius and Forewarning
Honor Guard got a lot cheaper (another blessing for Space Marines) plus they have artificer armor for the 2+ save. Tigerius can reliably get the Divination psychic power Forewarning blessing this squad and himself with the 4++ invulnerable save. They come stock with bolters thus making them more viable as a drop squad. They also are an excellent retinue for Marneus Calgar as intended. Every army needs some muscle too.


Okay that's all for now.

Introduction: Drop Pod Tactica • Going Second

Going first with a drop pod Space Marine army can be one of the most crippling alpha strikes in the game... Versus Eldar for example you can shoot their units with complete impunity before they can move their skimmers for the jink save or cast any psychic powers. Versus Tau for example you can blast their Riptides before they nova charge for the 3++ save. Your initial shooting phase is very powerful when you go first as your opponent cannot counter it as shown with these examples.

Going second you lose a lot of these types of advantages though so it requires a lot more thought to develop viable tactics to make them function close to the same level. Regardless a drop pod army needs a good alpha strike to beat most other armies. This series of articles will demonstrate how to maximize the drop pod army when going second... You can't count on going first most of the time and if you're lucky you'll end up going first roughly 50 percent of the time.

Going second calls for a more protracted approach to these games since you can't play with the same level of impunity.

Tyranid Adaptive Tactics Part 4. The Art of Discordance

A good Tyranid army reminds me of bears... If you see some little ones roaming around they might at first seem non threatening but you can be sure there's some big ones nearby... And they aren't nice at all. Following this train of thought there are already some early meta builds starting to emerge. Here is a typical example:

HQ
Tyrant - 2x Twin Linked Devourer, Wings
Tyrant - 2x Twin Linked Devourer, Wings

Elite
Zoanthrope
Zoanthrope
Venomthrope

Troops
30x Termagants
Tervigon
30x Termagants
Tervigon

Fast Attack
Hive Crone
Hive Crone

Heavy Support
Mawloc
Mawloc

If you're new to Tyranids this could be a good place to start:

•Flying circus (four FMC)
•Monster mash (eight monstrous creatures)
•Four troops with the ability to spawn more when necessary
•Zoies and Venom support and enhance the troops

The Hive Crone functions quite similar to the Heldrake, has some ranged shooting versus armor plus it can also drop into glide mode to assault weakened enemy units. Most important the Hive Crone is Ld10 so it can operate independently. While the Mawloc is rather hit or miss (no pun intended), it restricts your opponent's deployment which is strong. I think over time you'll see less Mawlocs as the meta adapts to counter it. This army list should be able to compete versus mid tier armies. While I appreciate the list I would never play it as it's too spammy for me, nor does it have that lethal melee edge I love.

Disruption

I believe that for Tyranids to be competitive versus the top meta lists such as Taudar they should play to their basic raw strengths that best counter these types of armies. Tyranids have access to a good number of broods that are both resilient and can arrive from reserve. If you have enough hardened disruption units arriving on turn 2 (hint - you should invest in a comms relay) you can overwhelm the enemy, forcing them to make tough decisions as to which broods they should first target, which prevents them from focusing on your troops.

Versus Tau you must first survive the initial firepower from intercepting units (Broadsides and Riptides), one turn of enemy shooting (which is depleted due to their intercepting), then finally make it past their supporting fire during Overwatch when you go in for the kill to assault them. That is a total of three shooting phases. It might sound like suicide but I think it's possible based upon my most recent results.

Here are my current go to broods to disrupt the enemy forces:

Hive Tyrant with wings (deep strike-swoop mode)
Tyranid Prime attached to large genestealer brood (15+) with a Broodlord (outflank)
Large Ravener brood (6+) with the Red Terror (deep strike)
Tyrgon Prime (deep strike)
Spore Mines (deep strike)

You can also infiltrate genestealer broods, which is feasible if you've got some decent line of sight blocking terrain to hole them up behind for safe keeping until the reserved broods arrive. Be wary though of Tau smart missiles.

Spore Mines are a cheap distraction unit and they will cause some damage if left unchecked, thus forcing more tough decisions for your opponent as to what to shoot. The more pressure you apply the more likely your foe is to crack!

Four to five disrupting broods should be enough. Note that every brood listed above is Ld10 and there is some synapse too... They can operate independent of each other and don't have to worry about failing instinctive behavior tests. The key is to layer these units such that they support each other so that the enemy can't focus fire one brood with complete impunity to the rest. If they all come in relatively close together this prevents that from occurring and your opponent will definitely be hard pressed.

Here is a core list I've developed that is a disruption army:

Face Crusher

Hive Tyrant - Wings, 2x Twin Linked Devourers, Adrenal Glands
Tyranid Prime - Maw Claws of Thyrax, Flesh Hooks, Adrenal Glands
14x Genestealer & Broodlord - Toxin Sacs
14x Genestealer & Broodlord - Toxin Sacs
10x Devilgant
10x Devilgant
2x Zoanthrope
6x Ravener (rending claws) & Red Terror
Trygon Prime - Reaper of Obliterax, Regeneration
3x Biovore
Aegis Defense Line w. Comms Relay

You can start with up to six of these broods held in reserve and you're counting on at least four to five arriving on turn 2 with help from the all important comms relay. The big broods are all supported by tough multi wound creatures that can soak some wounds so you'll make it through to the assault phase next turn and take some names.



Conclusions
I've provided two army lists. The first is more conventional while the second is more aggressive. They are both sound but I feel the second list has better odds of taking down the likes of Eldar and Tau.

Three Asmodeans