Monday, March 1, 2010

Army List Challenge: March 2010

Did you ever play Dawn of War: Dark Crusade? If so, then this month's army list challenge should interest you...

One of the missions in Dark Crusade is to engage and explore a necron's under-ground tomb; plant a bomb; and get out alive. And that is the essence of this month's army list challenge!

Overview of the Challenge:
One of you HQ units (preferably accompanied by a large contingent of friends) must traverse the game board (to the opposite edge - considered to be about 48 inches from his or her starting point) to plant a bomb at the heart of a necron's tomb (marked by an objective or similar). For the mission to be a success, your HQ must also go back the way he or she came and escape. The bomb is considered planted when your HQ unit is within 3 inches of the nominated, marked location on the game board at the start of one of your turns.

The game is a non-standard mission. It has no last turn. It ends whenever your HQ is dead, or the bomb is planted and your HQ reaches your side of the board again. Of course, if you're teleporting in, you get a head start as you could teleport near to the objective ... but you'll still have to walk back to the other side of the board (a further 48 inches) ... and teleporting inside a tunnel complex might be tricky: winding up inside a wall is not a way any terminator would want to go.

Rules.
(1) Design a 1750 points army list from any codex to take on this mission.
(2) Post your army lists as a comment to this posting and suggest why they're well suited to this mission. Especially: say why your army is suited to fighting in close-quarters / tight tunnels, under-ground in necron territory and what your plan is for getting the HQ in and out. You can take vehicles, but they don't totally occupy the width of the tunnels in the necron's tomb :) i.e. A vehicle can be got around by a single file of necron warriors at all times. And of course, who says that necrons come from the front? The nightbringer can walk through walls afterall...
(3) Entries close at 01:00 GMT on March 14th.
(4) On that same day, I'll open a poll for Warpstone Flux readers to judge which army list they consider to be the "most effective army list that also best articulates the theme" (whatever readers interpret that to mean) out of all entrants.
(5) Winner will be tallied and announced on Mar 21st. (and entered in to the hall of fame!).
(6) One entry per person please.

Good luck!

6 comments:

  1. Imperial Guard 1750pts Tomb Raid

    Commissar Yarrick

    Veteran Squad – Sgt PW/plasma pistol, 3xPlasma guns, Grenadiers
    Chimera (ML/HF)

    Veteran Squad – Sgt PW/plasma pistol, 3xPlasma guns, Grenadiers
    Chimera (ML/HF)

    10 Ogryn

    10 Rough Riders

    Banewolf

    Deathstrike Tunneling Torpedo Launcher

    Deathstrike Tunneling Torpedo Launcher

    Deathstrike Tunneling Torpedo Launcher

    The cunning plan:

    Yarrick with Ogryns for a huge, tough fearless escort.

    Army except for Deathstrikes advances down the tunnels together.

    Banewolf and Rough Riders use their extra reach to take out clusters of crons from outside rapidfire range. Move+fleet+cav charge or 12" move+template.

    Assuming by nature of tunnels, long-range fire is unlikely. Vet plasma and volume of fire from ripperguns should tear up anything that gets close, and chimera HF for targets of opportunity.

    If the enemy survives that, the Ogryn+Yarrick should be able to handle things up close.

    Meanwhile - one Deathstrike starts on the board and begins countdown. Either enemy fails to mass sufficiently to stop column, or Deathstrike blasts concentration.

    Other two start in Reserve, and begin countdowns after they arrive, to allow for spacing out of the cover/armor/WBB ignoring blasts and keep the defenders worried. While given the scenario I wouldn't expect to see them, S10 AP1 also allows for something that could better deal with Monoliths should they come into play after all. Best case would have one blast cripple the initial defense, second one hit defenders around objective before column gets there, and third hit defenders trying to block exit after bomb planted.

    On the way out, if the Ogryn are depleted and a Chimera is still operating, Yarrick joins a vet squad and gets a ride.

    In a unit Yarrick should be pretty safe outside of CC, and most Necrons won't be a threat there. Even when his meatshields get removed, EW, Iron Will and his force field make him one of the toughest SOBs in the game. If nothing else, using a character with his own version of We'll Be Back should be very fun when fighting Necrons!

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  2. Autarch on Jetbike with Mandiblaster, Laser Lance and Fusion Gun: 140 points
    5 Shining Spears: Exarch with Starlance, Skilled Rider and Withdraw: 237 points
    --> my bomb squad. Able to move 18" each turn and packing enough punch to wipe out most Necron units in one round. Can reach a point 48 inches away in 2-3 rounds and get out again in 2 turns of turbo-boosting if necessary. Skilled Rider makes them get round corners and through tunnels without killing themselves.

    Farseer: Jetbike, Runes of Witnessing, Spirit Stones, Doom and Fortune: 170 points
    --> enhances the bomb squad, rides with some guardians (as he would be unable to hit and run as per Eldar Codex Exarch rules).

    7 Jetbikes: 2 Shuriken Cannons, Warlock with Destructor: 207 points

    7 Jetbikes: 2 Shuriken Cannons, Warlock with Destructor: 207 points

    3 Jetbikes: Shuriken Cannon: 76 points
    --> 3 units of Outriders to scout out the tunnels ahead of the bomb squad.

    9 Warp Spiders: Exarch with Powerblades and 2 Deathspinners, Withdraw: 240 points

    9 Warp Spiders: Exarch with Powerblades and 2 Deathspinners, Withdraw: 240 points
    --> can jump through walls and thus hit and run Necron units. Should actually be able to engage and stall lone units of Warriors or Immortals, due to their 20 S6 shots and higher Ini in hand-to-hand.

    6 Fire Dragons: Exarch with Firepike and Crack Shot, Wave Serpent with Shuriken Catapults and Spirit Stones: 231 points

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  3. Tyranid Subterranean Assault
    Planting the "Living" metal virus bomb

    Tyranid Prime 100
    Dual Boneswords
    Regeneration

    Zoanthropes x3 180

    Warriors x6 210
    Scything talons, Rending claws, Toxin sacs(4+ poison)

    Hormagaunts x15 120
    Toxin sacs

    Hormagaunts x15 120
    Toxin sacs

    Raveners x5 200
    Scything talons, Rending claws, Spinefists

    Raveners x5 200
    Scything talons, Rending claws, Spinefists

    Mawloc 170

    Trygon 200

    Tyrannofex 250
    Acid spray, cluster spines, Desiccator larvae thorax swarm

    Needing to disable the Necrons that lie underneath while the planet-top is stripped of biomass, a Nercrometal virus is to be release within the tombs. An Alpha Warrior is sent leading a swift pack to deliver this viral spore.

    The two units of raveners can swiftly engages and tie up necron warriors early on either by pure speed or tunneling through the ground.
    Mean while the Tyrannofex and zoanthrope escort the warriors and Alpha Warrior through the tunnels. The zoanthrope supplying high AP blasts at the crowded Necrons while the Tyrannofex puts three templates out that should fill most of the tunnel.

    After turn one the Mawloc dives under the ground to pop up ahead of the main force, devouring entire units whole, thus denying We'll be back. Those few survivors are severed from the rest of their down comrades making recovery that less likely.

    The Trygon and hormagaunts are all held in reserves. The trygon coming in via deepstrike either before or after the placing of the bomb, thus to break up the defenses and clear the path for the warriors. The hormagaunts will come in from the trygon tunnel, and further tying up necron units, making it easier for the warriors to escape.
    If the hormagaunts come in before the trygon, they will work their way down the path, making sure the warriors are not overwhelmed by attacking the Necrons from behind as they try to trap the Alpha warrior.

    Little fighting is needed as no Biomass will be harvested from the skirmish. Once the highly oxidizing viral enzyme has been release, the Necrons will be too busy counter-acting it. All the while the Hive Fleet takes what they need and move one quickly before retaliation and more biomass is lost.

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  4. Wow -- three very solid entries already! These lists look great and I think we might be in for a tight vote again in a few weeks :)

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  5. IG Mechanized Assault: "The Screaming Iron Enema"

    This list is focused on close-range AP2/AP3 killing and moral breaking with 2 HQ bomb-carriers for Redundancy.

    HQ
    70 Primaris Psyker
    70 Primaris Psyker

    Elites
    165 Psyker Battle Squad (9 + Overseer) w/Chimera (ML/HF)
    165 Psyker Battle Squad (9 + Overseer) w/Chimera (ML/HF)

    Troops
    170 Veteran Squad w/3 x Plasma, Chimera (ML/HF)
    170 Veteran Squad w/3 x Plasma, Chimera (ML/HF)
    170 Veteran Squad w/3 x Plasma, Chimera (ML/HF)

    Fast Attack
    130 Bane Wolf w/Hull Heavy Flamer
    130 Bane Wolf w/Hull Heavy Flamer
    150 2 Armored Sentinels w/Plasma Cannons

    Heavy Support
    180 Leman Russ Demolisher w/Hull Lascannon
    180 Leman Russ Demolisher w/Hull Lascannon

    Total: 1750

    The intitial penetration into the tomb will be spearheaded by the fast Bane Wolves and the Armored Sentinels. Who should be able to chemically melt or tarpit any Necron Warriors they encounter.

    Next will come 2 of the Plasma-Vet Chimeras, followed by the Psyker Battle Squad Chimeras. The Primaris Psykers will ride with these. As each new threat in the tomb is encountered, the strike force need only cause 25% casualties before weakening their resolve with the Psychic Battle Squad and sending them on their way. This should leave a large proportion of the enemy dead too far away from their kin to "get back up".

    The Demolishers and the last Plasma Vet Chimera will stay back near the tomb's entrance, to guard against any Destroyers or other nasties that are summoned to reinforce the tomb. Once the inner sactum is cleared and the bomb(s) planted, these will exit with the survivors and roll off the board together with them.

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  6. Epic of Logan Grimnar, Verses 243-421
    (Space Wolves)

    HQ:
    --Logan Grimnar (who else?)

    Elites:
    --2 Dreadnoughts with Assault Cannons
    --5 Wolf Scouts with 1 heavy bolter

    Troops:
    --4 Wolf Guard Terminators w/ Wolf Claws
    Arjac Rockfist
    Land Raider Crusader
    --10 Blood Claws
    Rhino
    --10 Grey Hunters w/ 2 Meltaguns
    Rhino
    --10 Grey Hunters w/ 2 Flamers
    Rhino

    List Total:
    1750 Points



    The first wave would obviously be the disposable Blood Claws, so they could satiate their thirst for battle and weaken any enemy resistance. The scouts would infiltrate past areas of resistance to strike suddenly from the rear. The Grey Hunters would be close on the heels of the Blood Claws, each squad focusing on their specialization of target. Flamers would corral hordes, the meltaguns would destroy heavy emplacements or armor.

    After the initial clash, Grimnar and his bodyguards would enter via the land raider, space permitting. If the corridors prove too narrow, the dreadnoughts advance single-file to clear the way with their assault cannons and DCCWs. Grimnar and his faithful Champion (Rockfist) charge into any remaining pockets of resistance, utterly shattering them and advancing. The LRC waits to pick up the team after the planting of the bomb is complete, and makes a quick exfil.

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