The Dark Star GT

11/25/2011

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! :)

February 11th is the date of The Dark Star GT in Mounts View, MN. Naturally, I will be attending with the Black Templars. I do live in Minnesota after all. Why I haven't before? Good question. Probably because I didn't know about it or else I would have. That isn't the case this year. I'm hoping to have a full GT schedule this year, with a goal of at least 3 Grand Tournaments. Considering Nova Open is for SURE happening unless something terrible comes up and because I already paid the $60 to register for the Dark Star event, that is two tournaments covered. Just have to find another close one. I'm thinking either Bugeater GT or Indy Open, with a preference on the latter.

Anyway, some basics about the Dark Star event. 1850 point armies, 80 players, and no painting required. Obviously, I'll be going for the Best General (battle and sportsmanship points). But that doesn't mean I won't also go for Overall Champion. But the scores for this weighted heavily in painting, in addition to the already high sportsmanship points. So my chances in this section? Maybe not so amazing. But we'll see. I've got lots of time to prepare and paint my army for this tournament. Best part? Most of it was already finished for Nova Open, so there isn't much left to do.

Anyway, because I have a feeling we'll have a new BT codex by the time Nova Open comes around, I want to get my Tony K "Hybrid" list (one at the top) some tournament play. Obviously, it won't be able to be fielded in its entirety, as there is only 1850 points to work with. So something has to go. The decision on what that was going to be was much more difficult that I thought, but I came up with this in the end.

HQ:
* Castellan w/ Lightning Claw, Storm Shield, and Frag Grenades. [106]
* Emperor's Champion w/ Black Sword, Bolt Pistol, Armor of Faith, and the Vow: "Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds." [140]

Elites:
* Sword Brethren Terminators: 5 Terminators w/ 2 Cyclone Missile Launchers, 5 Storm Bolters, 5 Power Fists, and Tank-Hunters. [265]
* Sword Brethren Terminators: 5 Terminators w/ 2 Cyclone Missile Launchers, 5 Storm Bolters, 5 Power Fists, and Tank-Hunters. [265]

Troops:
* Crusader Squad: 7 Initiates w/ 5 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Meltagun, 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon & Frag Grenades; 2 Neophtyes w/ 2 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons & Frag Grenades. Mounted in a Rhino w/ Smoke Launchers and Searchlights. [215]
* Crusader Squad: 7 Initiates w/ 5 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Meltagun, 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon & Frag Grenades; 2 Neophtyes w/ 2 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons & Frag Grenades. Mounted in a Rhino w/ Smoke Launchers and Searchlights. [215]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Flamer, and 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ TL-Lascannons, Power of the Machine Spirit, and Searchlights. [217]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Flamer, and 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ TL-Lascannons, Power of the Machine Spirit, and Searchlights. [217]

Fast Attack:
* Land Speeder Squadron: 1 Land Speeder w/ 1 Heavy Bolter and 1 Typhoon Missile Launcher. [70]
* Land Speeder Squadron: 1 Land Speeder w/ 1 Heavy Bolter and 1 Typhoon Missile Launcher. [70]
* Land Speeder Squadron: 1 Land Speeder w/ 1 Heavy Bolter and 1 Typhoon Missile Launcher. [70]

Total Points: [1850]

So I wanted to keep the core of the "Hybrid" 2k list intact as much as possible. As you'll notice, I dropped the 10-man Crusader squad from the list to make the points limit. Then I used the remaining points my Razorbacks. The key change is that these Razorbacks now have Power of the Machine Spirit. This means my opponent will no longer be able to simply shake/stun my vehicles to prevent them from firing. And it also means they are essentially "fast", so if I need to stay mobile, I have that opportunity. In addition, I refitted those two Crusader squads a little bit to give them decent ability in close combat, should it be necessary to put them there.

Why did I choose to keep the Razorback squads? Because I tend to field more shooting than is probably necessary in the event that I face some serious mechanization. I would rather have more anti-tank weapons than I need, than having too few. Especially with how many IG players are already registered for the tournament. In addition to the AT abilities of the list, I also have plenty of anti-infantry. I get this from my Terminators, Typhoons, close combat, and the two Flamer units.

Thus, I have plenty of AT and AI. I can deal with units in both the shooting and assault phase. Most importantly, there is lots of mobility in my list. The only ones that are "slow" are the Terminators, but they can move and shoot every turn so they'll be where I need them.

Anyway, I have to get my ducks in a row and start getting some actual GOOD painting done if I'm going to score well at this tournament. :D

10 Comments

Algesan link

11/25/2011 12:20:02 am

The thing I'm worried about with NOVA for this year is the release rumors I heard a back in January, which correctly predicted Grey Knights, Sisters & Necrons. They also predicted 6th Edition with the Summer Olympics (late July to early August). Given the newer rumors that our Templars are going to be released in a similar time frame, possibly as part of the intro battle box (the other rumor is that it will be Sisters in the box instead), I really don't like the idea that suddenly, with less two months, people are going to be having to slam together new armies for a new codex and new edition.

Especially with some of the rumors that 6th Edition will be a bit more of an overhaul with some major changes to 40k. I'd much prefer to hear everyone on the GT level state that there will be a sixty or ninety day "hold" after their release on any new codices and/or edition instead of making people scramble at the last minute to change up lists.

OTOH, that is why, even though I really want to run Templars at NOVA, I'm going to have a backup Necron list. I don't want to have to scurry to buy, build and paint new minis because of a last minute rules change by GW. Been there, done that,have the painted & half painted Dreadnaughts to prove it. I'd have the extra Speeders too except I decided to be anal about magnetizing.

Lucion

11/25/2011 03:05:17 am

is there going to be much change to this tournament in terms of the terrain like at nova?

Devjon link

11/25/2011 07:07:33 am

I would change the two squads in Razorbacks to be more suited to objective holding. You've got the same problem that I saw with you Heavy Mech list and your All-Comers list, the only way for you to hold your home objectives is to put a Crusader Squad there when it would have a greater impact moving forward. The problem still existed slightly with your 2,000 point version, but you could have just let your Razorbacks sit still and fire away. Now, however, with PotMS you want to be moving forward, getting side-shots, and Tank-Shocking Infantry so that you can get the most out of the unit.

Unfortunately, there aren't very many ways that I can see to fix this. What I think would be my preferred choice is to drop maybe a couple of Initiates and set-up the two squads with Flamers to instead have Missile Launchers and extra Neophyte bodies. That way they can sit on objectives while their transports move forward and they have the extra bodies to be even more durable. Should your opponent bring something that you fear will easily kill those squads, you can sit them in the Transport for safety.

Marshal Pyriel

11/25/2011 05:56:24 pm

bear in mind that theres a small chance we get a codex by then. if i had to guess, i'd say its february/march.

while this is guesswork, its based on facts; Tau and BT are the last "wargear oldstyle" codices, and we havent seen marine releases lately, so good chance BT are the next codex. necrons got released in november, so i'd say 4 months from november till BT are released. february/march. we aint even sure what rules we're gonna have in that NOVA :P

carcharodon carcarias

11/25/2011 07:09:07 pm

Why aren't you playing the DDP list?

As for a BT Codex on the horizon, GW tournament rules states that armies are selected from 'the most recently published version of their chosen Codex, or White Dwarf Official Update'. I guess you can argue that if you've only had a week to learn your rules, so has your opponent so no advantage gained.

11/25/2011 10:21:45 pm

@Carcharodon: Don't ask me. First thing that hits me when I see this kind of list is: "You know, if I drop one of the Razorbacks w/ PotMS, I can put all my troops into Drop Pods. Then where do I spend the other 228 points in Transports?"

GW may say that but GTs don't hold to it, in fact they reject WD "Chapter Approved" stuff. Otherwise, I'd be fielding the Durandal Dreadnought. So it is just as likely for a tournament (especially a bigger one) to state that they will be locking down the codices and, in this case, the edition they are using for tournament play.

You could make that argument, but different people have different priorities in life and one person's "week" could be another person's "month", so you really need some kind of longer period to adjust. Especially if there are radical changes. Look at the Necrons: I could field one of several lists (more, if GW had released half the models) and would probably do okay with them, but none of them would be a tuned list.

Seriously, if I'm going to spend $500+ to go play in a tournament, I want to put my best foot forward, even if all I do is fall on my face.

11/26/2011 08:01:36 am

I've heard all kinds of things about when our next Codex comes out. I've heard end of the summer, I've heard that we're next. I've heard before 6th, after 6th, at the same time as 6th. I've heard Matt Ward is doing it, I've heard Phil Kelley is doing it (both multiple times and from multiple sources). More than that I've heard almost no rumors as to what's in it, compared to many Tau rumors and Chaos rumors, which suggests that those codices will come out first, but GW seems to prefer a Marine/Non-Marine pattern, which would make the next Codex a marine one and I don't think it'll be Dark Angels.

So I'm just going to wait and not try to make predictions on so little information, especially when it is so unreliable.

Marshal Laeroth (Admin) link

11/27/2011 05:14:47 pm

@ carcharodon carcarias

The main reason I'm not building the DDP for this GT in February is simply lack of time and money by that date. I'd have to build and paint another 2 Crusader squads of marines, plus the two Command squads on top of the 11 Drop Pods. By February, I'm not sure I can pull it off financially. Especially if me and the lady move. Nova Open isn't out of the question, but that will be entirely based on the information flowing my way (i.e. don't want to invest into something that will get changed in only a couple short months).

The advantage of what you and a couple other guys did, was build the DDP this Fall, so you get a good 9 months of play out of it. If I had the army now, it would DEFINITELY be going to Dark Star.

@ Devjon

I had the same thought about my smaller two Crusader squads. In fact, I had to go back and re-edit this article a couple of times because I wasn't sure how I wanted to go about outfitting them. Basically, did I want them to be able to support my forward troops but leave my home objectives potentially vulnerable (current setup)? Or did I want them to contribute, but be unable to help my other two CC-units (2k "Hybrid" setup)? The main issue is that I don't want to get put into a position like I was in at Nova Open, where they simply sat in the Razorbacks all game because they would have gotten killed. When they jump out, I need them to make an immediate impact. Not sure how I'm going to make that happen yet. Nor do I have to use the PotMS, but there really wasn't a better use of the extra points.

@ Algesan

I would normally agree with your sediment regarding the BT and the release schedule, but Nova Open is scheduled on August 30th. That will give us at least a month to prepare if the codex is dropped in the summer, as traditionally, GW doesn't do late summer releases. Its typically March-May, with most releases happening in April.

Besides, I'm a Templar. And I'm very good at analyzing codices, especially MEQ ones. ;)

11/27/2011 05:20:41 pm

@ Lucion

As far as I know, they are not running the tournament Nova-style, though there has been a push for it. The terrain sounds as if its going to be themed, because they are advertising the tournament by touting their board making skills. 5 games over 2 days.

@ Marshal Pyriel

I think Feb/March might still be a little early for our release. It's definitely happening this year, but I believe it will be no earlier than March, most likely April/May.

11/29/2011 12:47:47 pm

Well, part of it depends on what 6th Edition does since the release dates seem to be coinciding in the rumors. It might be that 6th will mess with everyone enough that it won't matter if we have a new codex.

OTOH, even with that and a month of lead time plus no sudden changes that will make me have to slap paint on a bunch of different minis for NOVA, I'd almost dread seeing rules debates only one month after a new edition hits the street. UGH!

Consider that even GW allowed 'Ard Boyz lists to use C:WH despite being in the middle of the release of the WD SoB crapdex.

The Dark Star GT

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