The Evolution Contines: "Improving" the Nova Open Gunline

Hello everyone!  Its time to get back into the saddle with the Black Templars.

You'll have to forgive me for the lack of posts lately, as is the case with everyone, real life comes first.  First off, I'm going to finish up the Nova Open battle reports this week.  They are pretty much done, so I just have to finish them up and I'll be simply releasing them in short succession with each other.  Likely all in the same day (looking to do this on Thanksgiving), so we can get them done and out as I promised.  I also have a planned post discussing the merits of our Crusader squads, primarily drawn from the comments in this post, but also from the thoughts from the B&C Forum.

As some of you have noticed, there has been a growing trickle of rumors starting to come out regarding the Black Templars.  Up to this point, the only real solid pieces of news that I had was that Phil Kelly was the codex writer and the time slot for release was supposed to mid-summer or shortly thereafter.  Yesterday, however, I gleaned some new information from certain individuals due to my "standing in the BT community".  However, I am not allowed to disclose any of it.  I cannot even comment on how much info I got or what it references.  Which makes me sad face, because I really want to share it.  :(  Such is life.  The fact that I even got any info at all should give you an indication of where we are in the stage of things.

*Warning:  Long blog post ahead!*

_
Anyway, enough of that stuff, let's get back to the subject of this article:  Getting more mileage out of my Nova Open gunline list.  Nikephoros posted a thought intriguing article on 3++ regarding the matter of over-tuning lists and/or making knee-jerk decisions based on one's performance at a particular event.  Anyway, this article struck a chord with me, as I find myself doing this one more than one occasion.  So I sat down and thought about it a little bit:  am I doing it to my detriment?  In the end, I decided that I was, to a certain extent.

My experiences with the Nova Open terrain gave me a jaded view of what I was going to see in the future at tournaments.  It took what was successful for me in dozens of games against a wide variety of tournament-tuned lists (with very few losses) and tossed a wrench into my game plan.  It took me almost all of Day One to adapt, which is my fault, but I came back in Day Two with a vengeance.  Were the lists that much worse on Day Two?  Not at all.  The difference was I was prepared and had created a new game plan for my army, using the terrain to my advantage.  I was using a list that I was intimately familiar with, which happened to be sub-par in the environment, and did very well considering the obstacles I was faced with.  I didn't need to make list changes.

Now, were all my thoughts and musing in my Looking to the Future post pointless then?  Hardly.  They are still as valid today as they were on Oct 7th.  However, I risk moving too far into the point of no return, the land of over-optimization.  As Nikephoros puts it, I need to find the "Razor's-edge" in my list.  So when I examined my Gunline list, I saw opportunities based on what I experienced at Nova.  I already commented on them in the LthF post (linked above).  But what I didn't do was give my list credit at what it was good at:  taking out vehicles.  Even though I couldn't see anything and those that I could usually had cover, I still was able to kill vehicles very well.  So the point is, I need to take what I was good at and try to improve what it wasn't good at without bunking the archetype or losing my focus.  It does me no good to make changes to my list if I simply screw up what my list does best. 

I know that having more troops means better mobility, durability, and ability to capture objectives.  But in my list, does it fit?  What would I drop to get more of them so I can fulfill MSU?  Can I truly improve my list by adding more expensive Crusader Squads?  The short answer is no.  It would be a detrimental change.  I know that my Crusader squads need to be fixed at the very least, as their weaponry simply does not fit what I needed to use them for my games.  The BT gunline is becoming very successful around the world, and therefore, extremely popular.  Thus, the more I and others use this type of list, the quicker our opponents are at neutralizing the troops.  Our opponents aren't dumb; they'll learn too after being pounded game after game.  This means the Crusader squads are simply sitting in the Razorbacks most of the game, where they aren't using their heavy weapons.  Wasted points.

Thus, one would argue that a Rhino is a better investment of points.  It would save us ~40 points each, for a total of ~160, which could be used for other needs in the list.  But what does work with the Crusader squads is their Razorback.  A person can claim that they are an inefficient use of points and are marginal in their impact on the games, but in my experience (even at Nova), these have far outplayed vehicles such as my Predators.  Are they easy to neutralize?  Yes.  However, what they give you as far as weaponry is worth the cost.  Their twin-linked Lascannon has been invaluable to me in my games, primarily as a suppression tool (and occasionally killing things).  So is change necessary?  Why change something that isn't broken?

So how am I going to address the problem of my troops squads?  I've already decided that I cannot do MSU with this type of list, as there simply is not the points available without affecting the list's effectiveness.  I need to work with what I have and make it better.  My troops will be primarily staying in the Razorbacks as they are now, but when they get out, I want them to DO something.  I want them to be a threat to my opponent, as without that threat, they are able to concentrate on other parts of my list.  A problem with my previous list was that it didn't have melta, so high AV targets were difficult to take down, especially in Nova Open with the terrain features as they were.  So I'm thinking that a meltagun in each unit is a must.  This will give me close-ranged AT, which will allow me to have a presence in mid-field should I need to take it.

Another fault of my previous list was the lack of a close combat presence.  Will adding a power weapon give this to me?  No, not really.  But its enough to give my opponent pause.  Which will be even more of a factor if I add "Accept Any Challenge" back into the list.  I do enjoy my anti-psyker vow, as it has been remarkably effective for me, but one of my biggest flaws in my list has been the inability to mount a counter-assault.  Will the change in vow be a positive one?  Playtesting will tell.

There is another thing that I think needs to change:  my ability to kill infantry.  Its not because it was ineffective, but I simply need more of it in the list.  Once I demeched my opponents at Nova, I had no way of reliably killing groups of MEQ (or anything for that matter).  My firepower capabilities remain strong with my Terminators, Razorbacks, and Land Speeders.  But what I really need is an "Oomph" unit.  Something that scares my opponent.  Something that makes them fear getting close, but will also be able to move forward to clear out objectives if needed.  That unit just might be the Power of the Machine Spirit Vindicators.  A scary unit in its own right, adding PotMS only makes it more effective.  They eat tons of fire, which will lessen the pressure on the rest of my list, but are durable enough to take it.  Unfortunately, I can only afford two, but it should give me the redundancy I need to be effective.  I can also use them defensively, which fits with my list well.  If my playtesting shows that AAC is unnecessary, then "Abhor the Witch" will synergize well with this unit.

The list features relatively minor changes to the core of the list, which is important.  As Nikephoros noted, we need to create a tuned list, but balance that by not going too far in that direction by hurting what is effective in the list.  Anyway, here is the updated Gunline list.


HQ:
* 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, 4 Power Fists, 1 Chain Fist, and Tank-Hunters. [270]
* Sword Brethren Terminators: 5 Terminators w/ 2 Cyclone Missile Launchers, 5 Storm Bolters, 4 Power Fists, 1 Chain Fist, and Tank-Hunters. [270]

Troops:
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Meltagun & 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons. [190]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Meltagun & 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ 1 Bolt Pistol and Close Combat Weapon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons. [200]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Meltagun & 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ 1 Bolt Pistol and Close Combat Weapon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons. [200]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Meltagun & 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Weapon; 1 Neophyte w/ 1 Bolt Pistol and Close Combat Weapon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons. [200]

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]

Heavy Support:
* Vindicator w/ Demolisher Cannon, Storm Bolter, Power of the Machine Spirit, and Extra Armor. [160]
* Vindicator w/ Demolisher Cannon, Storm Bolter, Power of the Machine Spirit, and Extra Armor. [160]

Total Points: [2000]