Guess It's time I put up a full bio. I'll try not to bore you guys. I also won't say anything about my personal life like the other guys.
I've been playing 40k about 6 years, although I didn't really get good until about 2 years ago. I started with Space Marines, but I have since also started Wood Elves, Space Orks, Witch Hunters (and technically Dark Angels, but I don't play them much)
I enjoy storylines and games the most, though converting and scratch building is fun for me, if not frustrating sometimes (my dog ate my looted devilfish). If there's one thing to say about my strategy, its that I prefer blandness. I know most Space Marine players would rather hit you with their big, flashy Vanguard Veterans and Thunderfire Cannons, but for me its all built around my core of Tactical Marines and Dreadnoughts. My lists for other armies are similar (Though I get a bit flashy with my Orks because they're fun like that).
I think I'm the unofficial leader of this group, mostly because I made this blog and we play at my house when not at my local hobby shop, but if anything I'm the least interesting one out of all of us, so I'm looking forward to everyone else posting their opinions and such.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
John
Sooo apparently we have a blog? But I refuse to use the word blog as it seems like a creature that lives on the bottom of a riverbed (zero punctuation).
Enough lollygagging about what about me? I am the old fart of the group but have not played the longest so around 5 years. I have a love hate relationship with this hobby it sucks up my money but I have fun with friends. I play two armies Tyranids and The Empire. Both swarm armies, the more dudes the better. I am not the most dedicated of players but i try. I hate building and painting...I lack fine motor skills; but playing is quite fun. I have been told to put more effort into my lists but as of right now i don't have the time. In another post I will talk about my armies and the general lists i use. Oh I forgot i have started to play magic as well, I'm pretty terrible but yeah I play....and DnD....but not wow
I also have played and want to play again really old board games so yeah.. personal interest thing oh and I like military history....a lot if you people of the internets want to have a debate on it feel free to yell at me. Christ I'm long winded and terrible at grammar.
Enough lollygagging about what about me? I am the old fart of the group but have not played the longest so around 5 years. I have a love hate relationship with this hobby it sucks up my money but I have fun with friends. I play two armies Tyranids and The Empire. Both swarm armies, the more dudes the better. I am not the most dedicated of players but i try. I hate building and painting...I lack fine motor skills; but playing is quite fun. I have been told to put more effort into my lists but as of right now i don't have the time. In another post I will talk about my armies and the general lists i use. Oh I forgot i have started to play magic as well, I'm pretty terrible but yeah I play....and DnD....but not wow
I also have played and want to play again really old board games so yeah.. personal interest thing oh and I like military history....a lot if you people of the internets want to have a debate on it feel free to yell at me. Christ I'm long winded and terrible at grammar.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Tanks, Tanks, Tanks
Bobby - If you couldn't tell by the title, this post is about tanks and strategies with them.
I love tanks. 5th edition made them so much more durable, and in my opinion nothing tops Imperial tanks. There's nothing I love more than watching my Land Raider drive full-speed into my enemy's line to disgorge space marines while my predators and vindicators pound away at their troops.
Offensively: Offensively, tanks are (in my opinion) often overestimated. They usually pack the biggest guns on the battlefield, but when you've only got a couple shots, its important to make them count. While that sounds obvious, the point a lot of people miss about it is placement. So many people worry about their precious tanks being wrecked and focus too hard on defending them, and then have to waste all those high-powered weapons against useless targets. While this isn't a problem for armies like Eldar or Guard with lots of long-ranged and barrage weapons, my Space Marine tanks don't have anything past 48" for weaponry. So my two cents is that if you're torn between placing your tank where its going to be very safe, and where it will be more exposed but will have a better shot at the targets its weaponry will be most effective against, its almost always better to place it in the second position. Tanks aren't scoring units - let them smash and get smashed
Defensively: That being said, don't go nuts with your tanks and let them get shot up before they get to fire a single shot off. Also, while they lack little power offensively, transports come into their element when using tanks on the defense. Some vehicles just lack the armor to be use defensively (Dark Eldar Raiders and Ork Trukks for example) but my 11/11/10 Rhinos have saved my soldiers countless times from small-arms fire. Yes, transports are typically meant to carry troops forward into the fray, but if your enemy is flinging their whole force at you, consider holding back and using your transports as rolling bunkers. When used correctly, that 35 point rhino can save your 200 point Tactical squad for useless casulties. Above all, any kind of tank's defense will rely on its placement. Just as you need to make sure you vehicles can make the most of their weapons, so too do you need to place tanks to maximize their survivability. Make the most of cover, your units, or even enemy units to ensure your tanks will live long enough to do their job, which is usually making sure your enemies dont live long enough to do theirs.
With all of that strategy, here's a sample 1,500 Point Armored List I use frequently with my Marines.
HQ - Chaplain w/ Melta Bombs
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Heavy Bolter, Flamer
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Meltagun, Missile Launcher
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Lascannon
^DT - Razorback
Elite - 5 Assault Terminators w/ Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields
^DT - Land Raider Redeemer
HS - Predator Destructor w/ Heavy Bolter Sponsons
HS - Vindicator
HS - Whirlwind
--Hey guys, it's Jack, just adding some extra stuff to the above info. Definitely don't go all suicidal tanks on your opponent when you play a game- those were points and are not worth throwing away. However, like Bobby said, sticking them in nowhere land won't help either. Being strategic with tanks is the best way (like everything else in Warhammer) to do well. That being said, I usually don't have to worry all that much about tank strategy seeing as most of my standard lists have 3+ tanks in them, and most of my weapons are 48+ inches for range, so a lot of the issues range wise that Bobby has are nonexistent for Guard players. Again, don't be stupid- if you have a Basilisk (120in max range) and a Leman Russ Battle Tank (24in max range) and you decide to place the Basilisk so that it's directly in front of a squad of Boyz and you put your Leman Russ out on the corner of the map behind a building, have fun losing those 400 points. Just be aware of your max and min ranges on the weapons you have, and be smart when picking turns. If you win the dice roll for first turn/deployment, it may be in your best interest to go second so as to strategize the best place for tanks. Other times, the board may just be easy enough for you to gauge an adequate place for each tank regardless of the positioning of your opponent's models. Just remember- be smart, and don't throw away those points. Sure, 9 Basilisk Earthshaker Cannons SOUNDS like fun and deadly, but in the end you can only shoot from between 24in and 120in, and you've effectively killed about 1000 points that could have gone to more strategically smart units. They're just tanks- take it from a me, who, if I worked for the Imperium, would have been sacked long ago for my massive losses on the field in terms of artillery. Those Leman Russ factories are loving me right now
I love tanks. 5th edition made them so much more durable, and in my opinion nothing tops Imperial tanks. There's nothing I love more than watching my Land Raider drive full-speed into my enemy's line to disgorge space marines while my predators and vindicators pound away at their troops.
Offensively: Offensively, tanks are (in my opinion) often overestimated. They usually pack the biggest guns on the battlefield, but when you've only got a couple shots, its important to make them count. While that sounds obvious, the point a lot of people miss about it is placement. So many people worry about their precious tanks being wrecked and focus too hard on defending them, and then have to waste all those high-powered weapons against useless targets. While this isn't a problem for armies like Eldar or Guard with lots of long-ranged and barrage weapons, my Space Marine tanks don't have anything past 48" for weaponry. So my two cents is that if you're torn between placing your tank where its going to be very safe, and where it will be more exposed but will have a better shot at the targets its weaponry will be most effective against, its almost always better to place it in the second position. Tanks aren't scoring units - let them smash and get smashed
Defensively: That being said, don't go nuts with your tanks and let them get shot up before they get to fire a single shot off. Also, while they lack little power offensively, transports come into their element when using tanks on the defense. Some vehicles just lack the armor to be use defensively (Dark Eldar Raiders and Ork Trukks for example) but my 11/11/10 Rhinos have saved my soldiers countless times from small-arms fire. Yes, transports are typically meant to carry troops forward into the fray, but if your enemy is flinging their whole force at you, consider holding back and using your transports as rolling bunkers. When used correctly, that 35 point rhino can save your 200 point Tactical squad for useless casulties. Above all, any kind of tank's defense will rely on its placement. Just as you need to make sure you vehicles can make the most of their weapons, so too do you need to place tanks to maximize their survivability. Make the most of cover, your units, or even enemy units to ensure your tanks will live long enough to do their job, which is usually making sure your enemies dont live long enough to do theirs.
With all of that strategy, here's a sample 1,500 Point Armored List I use frequently with my Marines.
HQ - Chaplain w/ Melta Bombs
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Heavy Bolter, Flamer
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Meltagun, Missile Launcher
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Lascannon
^DT - Razorback
Elite - 5 Assault Terminators w/ Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields
^DT - Land Raider Redeemer
HS - Predator Destructor w/ Heavy Bolter Sponsons
HS - Vindicator
HS - Whirlwind
--Hey guys, it's Jack, just adding some extra stuff to the above info. Definitely don't go all suicidal tanks on your opponent when you play a game- those were points and are not worth throwing away. However, like Bobby said, sticking them in nowhere land won't help either. Being strategic with tanks is the best way (like everything else in Warhammer) to do well. That being said, I usually don't have to worry all that much about tank strategy seeing as most of my standard lists have 3+ tanks in them, and most of my weapons are 48+ inches for range, so a lot of the issues range wise that Bobby has are nonexistent for Guard players. Again, don't be stupid- if you have a Basilisk (120in max range) and a Leman Russ Battle Tank (24in max range) and you decide to place the Basilisk so that it's directly in front of a squad of Boyz and you put your Leman Russ out on the corner of the map behind a building, have fun losing those 400 points. Just be aware of your max and min ranges on the weapons you have, and be smart when picking turns. If you win the dice roll for first turn/deployment, it may be in your best interest to go second so as to strategize the best place for tanks. Other times, the board may just be easy enough for you to gauge an adequate place for each tank regardless of the positioning of your opponent's models. Just remember- be smart, and don't throw away those points. Sure, 9 Basilisk Earthshaker Cannons SOUNDS like fun and deadly, but in the end you can only shoot from between 24in and 120in, and you've effectively killed about 1000 points that could have gone to more strategically smart units. They're just tanks- take it from a me, who, if I worked for the Imperium, would have been sacked long ago for my massive losses on the field in terms of artillery. Those Leman Russ factories are loving me right now
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