Razorback Overload- Blood Angel Concept List

I was sent a list from GDNMW.  Check out his blog.  It's pretty sweet. Here is the list as he sent it to me and I will add some comments in regards to what might make it a bit more competitive.  The army is based on a 2,000 point list.

2000 Pts - Blood Angels LasBacks

Librarian, 100 pts
Shield of Sanguinius; Unleash Rage

3x
5 Sternguard, 180 pts
LasPlas Razorback

6x
5 Assault Marines, 155 pts
LasPlas Razorback

2x
5 Devastators, 180 pts
LasPlas Razorback


So, the idea is to inundate the enemy with AV11 with the ability to move up to 12" and still fire a lascannon at a target.  Late game objective grabs are also possible due to the razorbacks having the fast rule.  It will obviously struggle with AV 14 and hordes, but could stand a chance of crippling mech heavy armies. 

The first thing I see about the list is that the points are wrong.  The sternguard squads are 215pt instead of 180pt.  So unfortunately, this list goes past the 2,000pt threshold.  I personally would drop an RAS squad from the troop selection to free up some points to help provide a little more umph to the army.  While this detracts a little from the overall strategy of the army by taking away a razorback, I think ultimately, it will help the list out a lot.  What the list really needs it some additional firepower to really overpower the shooting phase and to also provide an answer to AV14.  So, here is my first attempt at keeping as many las/plas razorbacks on the table while making the rest of the army dangerous as well. 

HQ
Librarian- shield, unleash rage- 100pt.

Elite
5x sternguard, las/plas razorback- 215pt.
5x sternguard, las/plas razorback- 215pt.
5x sternguard, las/plas razorback- 215pt.

Troop
5x assault marines, melta, las/plas razorback-165pt.
5x assault marines, melta, las/plas razorback-165pt.
5x assault marines, melta, las/plas razorback-165pt.
5x assault marines, melta, las/plas razorback-165pt.
5x assault marines, las/plas razorback-155pt.

Heavy
5x devastators, 4x missiles, las/plas razorback- 220pt.
5x devastators, 4x missiles, las/plas razorback- 220pt.

2,000pt on the dot.

So, in losing 1 las/plas razorback, I get 8 missile launchers and 4 meltaguns.  This helps to answer the issues presented in the last incarnation of the list.  It provides an answer to AV14 through the meltas, but also via the fact that with 10 lascannons and 8 missiles should statistically do something to a land raider if needed. 

The missile launchers also double as a means for handling horde units.  Using frag missiles and laying out 8 templates coupled with twinlinked plasma fire and the rounds fired from the sternguard, horde units like ork boyz or tyranid termagaunts should be manageable. 

On top of that, the devastators have the ability to leave their razorbacks for cover allowing the razorbacks to come in and retransport units that get stranded. 

The librarian provides a cover save via shield and I am torn between using unleash rage to help make an assault squad a little fightier.  On the other hand, he could take lance and deploy with the melta-less razorback to provide a tank popping option there as well. 

I would love comments on this build and if the second incarnation is an improvement or not.  It is certainly an interesting concept forgoing a lot of what typical blood angels lists utilize.  So, let me know what you think.  Thanks for reading.

Reader Input Needed

As I have now laid out my philosophy on playing 40K, being that you can play any army you want how, you want, I am opening up the blog to list building advice.  I am not asking for people to comment and ask about which list is better.  I want to see some indepth discussion about why the army is built the way it is, how you see it being played to the best of its abilities, and any questions you may have about how to get it there. 

So I am looking for odd lists.  I want out-of-the-box ideas.  It would provide some conversation.  So, help me out.  Thanks.

I Lost, Now What?!?

In my last post I talked about playing 40k on one's own terms, not buying into the interwebs builds, but instead using trial and error to build a list that they can play well and win with and be somewhat competitive with. 

Let me pause before I go on and state that I am not saying that you can't use the lists that are widely accepted as the "best of" builds.  I would encourage you to read your desired army's codex and build your own list based on your needs, though.

So, what happens when you put together your optimal list, the super cool theme list that you have wanted to play, and you get stomped?

When this happens to me* I take some time post-game for reflection and write up a report card for my army.  You see these in many battle reports and tournament reports.  You are simply looking at how your army performed unit by unit and also as a whole. You are also evaluating whether the problems were due to an underperforming unit or due to a lack of tactical knowledge.

* Looking back over my Warhammer career, I spent the first year to year-and-a-half losing. It was, at points, soul crushing, but I added to the army.  I modified my tactics and I became fairly adept at running my Dark Elf army ultimately coming in 2nd overall in a 100 man tournament.  My dread heavy list has taken on about a dozen variations before it became what it is currently.  It may move on to other things later. 

Generally, I take a look at the non-negotiables first.  For instance, in my dread heavy list, I have to have a Master of the Forge.  There is no way around it.  If I want more than 3 dreads, he has to fit.  So, he is a non-negotiable. His equipment isn't though.  Currently I am running with a bolter.  That's it.  I try to keep him out of fights and occasionally pop him out to repair a dread or vehicle. 

My dreads are fairly non-negotiable, but I found that the army suffers in the assault phase without some sort of elite assault unit.  Thus, one dread has bitten it and been replaced by a hammernator squad. 

I even monkeyed around with the armament of my dreads.  I started out with TL Las/Missile Launcher venerable dreads.  They were operating at about a D or F.  They were terrible, so I decided to throw down 3 Riflemen and 3 ironclads.  The Rifleman were performing at an A or B, so they got locked in.  The ironclads were nice, but their range made them easily avoided performing at a C to D.  I added pods.  That bumped them up to a B or C, but the range issue still rankled me.  Thus, I turned the ironclads into regular dreads in pods with multi-meltas.  I continue to change a portion of my army in isolation to see if I could get the whole concept to work better. This helps to keep the overall theme while adjusting the army to work better and more competitively.

Objective evaluation and playtesting pay dividends in creating an army that works and that is fun to play.  The adage holds true, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." 

So, don't throw out a concept because the first game, or 5 games or 10 games don't work.  Evaluate.  Tweak.  Be flexible.  I think this would prevent a lot of people from just copying the most used lists out honestly. 

There you have it.  Get the army you want, play it the way you want, and make it work the way you want.  It takes some time and will at times be frustrating, but it helps you to create an army that is really and truly your's.

Playing 40k My Way

For a long time, I have been a fairly big blog reader.  I enjoyed immersing myself in all things 40k.  I like reading the tactical musings of players who are far better at playing this game than me.  I like reading battle reports and seeing how certain armies are played and played against. 

However, a few months ago, I kind of hit a wall.  I began to realize that many bloggers out there were basically perpetuating a hair washing mentality of 40k, ie. lather, rinse, repeat.  Tactics and army building posts became a case of, "You're doing it wrong. You should do it my way," or "Your list looks interesting, just get rid of units A, B, C, D, and E and insert my A, my B, my C, my D, and my E."  It got to the point where I really began to get exhausted. Between this and a fairly stringent commission painting schedule, I kind of fell out of playing 40k.

So, a few months back, due to the increased demands or real life, work, and family I got rid all of the tactical blogs that I followed.  I just don't read them anymore and you know what?  I feel better about the hobby. I have gotten back my desire to convert, paint, and play.

This has led me to wonder if the direction the blogosphere has taken us is indeed good for the hobby.  If we really want to encourage the hobby, shouldn't we encourage people to try out crazy ideas? To take risks? To try to apply their ideas and tactical knowledge to situations and learn from them. 

So, I am tooting my own horn.  In my many years of WFB and 40k, I have prided myself in the fact that I find out what is fun and what works for me and then over the experience of multiple games, refine it to the finished product that works best for me.  That is what I did in WFB with my Dark Elves.  That is what I have done with my dread heavy army.  Of course, now it has taken on a Vulkan theme, but it did so because I wanted it to.  It made the list work when it hadn't before. 

I would encourage those of you reading to try out your ideas.  Take less popular units and models.  Try out weird ideas.  Take fluffier lists if you want.  Use them, learn them, and get better, not because you read up on some sight, but because you earned the knowledge you possess about your army through many games won and lost. 

To wrap up I want to ask, is anyone else out there tired of the same-old, same-old going on in the 40k community?  Can there be a wave of free thinking, fluff accepting individuals who are still competitive and willing to put in the time and effort to develop lists that reflect their personalities, tastes, and styles while still knowing and playing tight, well played games? 

I play 40k my way.