Playing with the little children in all of us!

10/31/2011

Before I begin putting out the second half of my Nova Open games, I wanted to post about a new list idea that I've been working on (partially inspired by Darkwynn's 2000 point army). I had been thinking about how to manipulate the Kill Point portion of Nova Open, as well as having a good, solid way to perform in the other two mission goals (objectives and table quarters). What I came up with was a Land Raider list. It makes me smile a little bit in its hilarity, but I certainly wouldn't like facing it. That's for sure. lol! Got to love these rock armies. ;)

Anyway, the list features a full four Land Raiders; two Crusaders and two "normal" ones. The normal ones are for the two Crusader squads and are primarily used for home objectives. Then there are two Assault Terminator squads blazing full speed ahead for the slaughter. The Typhoons are really an after-thought, providing a little long range firepower to the list.

The army is pretty simple to play. Charge forward under the cover of fire, using your PotMS TL-Lascannons to shake/stun as necessary. Your Land Raiders/Typhoons pop some transports hopefully, otherwise, use the Multi-Meltas to do the job. Those Terminators bust up your opponent's line and clog up their objectives.

Plenty of positives for this army. First, you really don't have a good target. Do you ignore the Assault Terminators and try to kill the Troops? If you do that, the Assault Terminators close in for the kill very quickly. Do you shoot the Assault Terminators and leave the Troops to capture their objectives? The Terminators are durable to survive a good deal of shooting, so that isn't a good option either. What about the Typhoons? Usually a good option too, but that also means that you're using fewer weapons on the Land Raiders. Plus, they are very likely hiding behind the LR's for cover. Until your opponent is in melta range, they aren't likely to bring down your Land Raiders, much less four of them.

Obviously, there are cons to the list. Very rock based. I only have two troops, which means I'll only ever capture two objectives...ever. They are also 5-man units, so they are susceptible to ganking if someone manages to pop their Land Raiders from long range (or from outflanking). Being so reliant on the AV14, if your opponent has sufficient melta, you'll be having a very bad day. While this list is pretty mobile, due to lack of units, you still are "reactive" in nature. All it takes is a couple lucky rolls to put this list out of wack.

BT Drop Pod lists would wreck this list, as would massed Dark Eldar lance fire (couldn't afford Blessed Hull). Beyond that, the normal melta counter doesn't work against the home troops as they are too far away (Wolf Scouts could though) and the Assault Terminators are redundant so taking both down would be difficult. Its definitely a casual list.

Nevertheless, its super fun. Got to play it tonight against a local and he simply couldn't do anything against it. I went into the game not knowing what this person would be playing, but I did tell him I was playing Black Templars. The fun list was too much for the poor guy. lol! He even took a relatively competitive Grey Knights list against me (some efficiency issues, but nothing huge). To be honest, I was relatively amused the list played as well as it did. Its a list that I'd normally just pooh-pooh right away, but its simplicity and mass AV14 served it well. My opponent was cool about the loss though, taking it in stride. His mouth dropped when I showed him my Nova Open list, however. Needless to say, he preferred playing this one. lol! :D

HQ:
* Emperor's Champion Lysanthir w/ Black Sword, Bolt Pistol, Armor of Faith, Frag Grenades, and the Vow: "Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds" [140]

Elites:
* 5 Assault Terminators w/ 3 pairs Lightning Claws, 2 Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields & Furious Charge. Mounted in Land Raider Crusader w/ Smoke Launchers and Searchlights. [484]
* 5 Assault Terminators w/ 3 pairs Lightning Claws, 2 Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields & Furious Charge. Mounted in Land Raider Crusader w/ Smoke Launchers and Searchlights. [484]

Troops:
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 4 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons & 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon. [90]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 4 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons & 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon. [90]

Fast Attack:
* Land Speeder w/ Heavy Bolter and Typhoon Missile Launchers. [70]
* Land Speeder w/ Heavy Bolter and Typhoon Missile Launchers. [70]
* Land Speeder w/ Heavy Bolter and Typhoon Missile Launchers. [70]

Heavy Support:
* Land Raider w/ Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter, 2 Twin-Linked Lascannons, and Searchlights. [251]
* Land Raider w/ Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter, 2 Twin-Linked Lascannons, and Searchlights. [251]

Total Points: [2000]

9 Comments

Carcharodon Carcarias

10/30/2011 10:10:20 pm

How's this list, or any of your lists gonna stand up against the Necrons, you had a chance to chew this over yet? The DDP list I guess still works the same, can't kill what isn't there etc,etc.

From what I've seen I'm expecting a lot of Necron armies to suddenly appear (sorry) in the next few months...

Alexander Millar

10/31/2011 04:22:17 am

Can you do this? I thought both LRC and LR count as Heavy Support choices... seems like this would break the Force Org.

Marshal Laeroth (Admin) link

10/31/2011 06:32:55 am

@ Carcarias

To be honest, I've only really sparingly looked over the Necrons rules. I know the units they are getting and the basics of them, but I'll wait for the analysis until I get the codex on the 5th. That way I can be certain of what I'm saying. :)

@ Alexander

You can because the LRC are taken as Dedicated Transports for the Assault Terminators, thus don't take up a slot. Much like a Rhino wouldn't for a Crusader squad. It is also the reason why you can take them for your Terminators and fill up your Heavy Support slots with Predators, Vindicators, or whatever. :)

Lucion

10/31/2011 09:35:05 am

Amazing!

I am so glad to see you creating lists which break the mould, and add in aload of spice to the game - even if its a casual list. Its a hell of fun casual list featuring big stuff.

Sure takes the emphasis off the mass TLLC razor backs.
I can see what you mean with in that for LRs to work, they need to be mass in a list.

I'll definitely be making this one.

10/31/2011 11:41:58 am

@ Marshal Laeroth

Fair enough. I checked the codex it only mentions treating them differently for Victory Points and holding objects, not Force Organization.

Devjon link

10/31/2011 02:58:01 pm

@ Alexander Millar

Did you check the Assault Terminator's Dedicated Transport options? It's listed there, so you can take it (one per unit) as a dedicated transport, or you can take it as a Heavy Support option.

++++++

I'm not entirely sure what I think about this list, but it does have some credibility. Even though you only have two Objective Holders, you can deny your opponent from holding objectives with the Assault Terminators who should easily clear 1-2. The main problem I can see is if your opponent moves to claim the three other objectives and when you go to knock him off of a couple he focuses on killing one of your squads and then goes to contest one of your objectives. In that scenario he would probably win 2-1 unless either your other Assault Terminator unit hit another objective or you prevented him from contesting either of yours. Still not a great situation to be in though.

And against Grey Knights, with four Land Raiders, it's no surprise that you won. They have very few options of dealing with Land Raiders outside of basically Assault Cannons and they don't have many options besides Close Combat to deal with Terminators (and except against Halberds you're striking first with enough power attacks to wipe out most of their squads, any attacks that they have left will be, for a large amount, absorbed by the TH/SS Terminators). Mostly, armies should have enough Anti-Tank to handle the Land Raiders. Grey Knights don't so much.

11/1/2011 09:50:51 am

@ Lucion

Heh. As I said before, the list was partially inspired by what Darkwynn did with his list. You couldn't really tell that by looking at both lists, but I'm all about foreclosure.

Still, it was a fun list to play with for sure. Was a refreshing change from the standard fare that I normally use. It wouldn't become a GT tournament list as it has too many counters, but its something I wouldn't mind taking to a local tournament. Sometimes you have to bust out the casual lists and play for fun. :)

@ Devjon

The two troop issue was one I didn't really expand much in the article, because I wanted to keep the post somewhat short. However, I did spend a good deal of time trying to rectify that issue. I briefly considered taking some mid-field MM Bunkers, but it didn't really fit imo. There wasn't an easy way to fit in another troop squad without sacrificing firepower, something the list is running a tiny bit low on.

Still, the objective thing isn't as terrible as it sounds, though it is still a very valid point. It is the risk of having only a couple of troops. My plan is to drop off my terminators and then split off my LRCs to the other objectives if its necessary. That way the terminators can do their thing in close combat, but the LRCs can back track. I also have the Typhoons, but I don't anticipate them lasting very long in most games.

I don't think most lists will be able to kill all the Land Raiders. Neutralize them, possibly. The main AV14 busting power is melta, and that requires at least a 12" range (MM). That could mean that my LRCs are dead, but it'll still be difficult for my opponent to down the LRs from a distance away, especially when you consider intervening terrain features. But anything is possible, as is the risk with rock lists like this. lol! ;)

Algesan link

11/3/2011 02:46:30 am

ROFLMAO!

"Today children, we are going to have a lesson in the application of statistical chance..."

Having faced several lists with Land Raiders, they are tricky. Yes, one S9 equivalent hit has a 1/18 chance of killing one. Which is why multiple LR-x lists don't fly because a few lucky shots and a big chunk of your points are gone. OTOH, these suckers are tough. If you get some lucky rolls, <boom>, if you don't, you have AV14 in your face with whatever is in it beating on you. My list has the *potential* to stop all four cold immediately, but that is only the potential.

BTW, I think we will see a return of the LR list in 6th edition. Simplest fix is one I expect. Two Structure Points so you have to "kill" it twice to destroy it.

Speaking of Necron lists, I'll let you know how they go, because unless there are changes from the rumors when I lay my hands on a codex, I'll be fielding Necrons as my second army.

11/17/2011 01:02:16 am

Structure points would be awesome.

Playing with the little children in all of us!

Leave a Reply.

Laeroth's Blog

Archives