X-Wing: Some more observations

Let's do this.

After a good amount of X-Wing games under my belt, I'm feeling pretty good about my game overall.  Having piloted both Imperial and Rebel ships, I still think Imperial is my favorite.  Don't get me wrong, I love how some Rebel ships play off each other and start the synergy train.  One of my favorite lists to pilot is the Holy Trinity or Three Amigos; Wedge, Luke and Biggs.  That list just has a lot of flavor on top of the fun, which is always nice when throwing down on some games.

Tonight, I played 2 games vs. some friends of mine, and I really think my Soontir Fel is cursed.  He has a nasty habit of just dying from pretty unseen circumstances and it's probably my fault in the first place.  The best thing to do with Interceptors is to do your damage and get out, but no, after some miscalculation on my part, Fel makes a hard right turn into a clusterfuck of guys and loses out on his action.  I'll tell you one thing:  This is what gets Fel killed the most.  Any Interceptor without action is as good as dead.  Unless you roll like a god (which I did NOT), the chances of you getting focused down is pretty high.  Anyways, in the first game ;Fel takes 2 damage from Concussion Missiles and then manages to clip a asteroid and explode.  In the second game, my opponent rolls 3 hits from long range, I roll 5 evade from range 3 + Stealth Device and roll straight blanks.  I don't know what kind of nonsense is that, but the last two games have been pretty bad for Fel.

Despite the bad rolls, I still think Fel is my favorite pilot in the game.  His ability to remain combat effective after boosting and barrel rolling due to Push the Limit is amazing.  I just love how much flexibility he has with the ability to stay super defensive with Evade + 2x Focus, or maneuver into a position where he can deal damage without return fire.  For this reason, I kept him and changed the rest of my list.

Here's what I'm currently packing for Imperials:

A lot of elite pilots up in hurr.

100 points

Soontir Fel + PTL + Stealth Device
Howlrunner
Mauler Mithel + Veteran Instincts
Backstabber
Winged Gundark

I'm really liking this mini-Howl list with 4 named Ties led by Soontir Fel.  If I need all the damage that I can get, I fly the ships as close together as possible so everyone gets the benefit from Howlrunner.  Otherwise, Fel goes on a flanking mission and attacks whatever he can get once he hard turns in.  With his superior agility and PTL for extra focus, he can change direction and charge into the fray ASAP.

In the first game I played tonight, my friend Chad was caught off-guard with the damage potential coming in from these elite pilots.  Being a 100 point list, he had the Initiative and this game me a better chance at out-maneuvering him.  Since I had higher Pilot Skill on most of my guys, I was able to secure some fast kills, downing both an A-Wing and B-Wing in good time while tragically losing one of my ships due to all blank evades.  I swear something is wrong with my greens!  In the second game I played vs. Norm, in the opening volley from his Luke and Wedge, 6 hits translated into 5 blanks on evade for me, losing both Gundark and Backstabber in before they even got to fire.  I think it's time I look into new dice... or something.

Anyway, the list is pretty simple.  Fly tight and focus big ships like the Falcon with everyone, or pounce forward with the group of 4 ties flying in good formation while flanking with Fel.  This gives me a total of 15 hull points to play with instead of 9, 11 attack dice with Howlrunner re-roll at ranges 2-3, and 16 at range 1, with two pilots shooting at PS9.  At least I know with this, I have a much better chance at killing Falcon lists because of the increased firepower.

X-Wing: Let's try another list

In Vader we trust.

Alright, this is proving a little more difficult than I thought.  There are quite a few options when dropping Carnor Jax from the list because I don't think he's worth it.  Having 3 more hull points and another ship to damage is a very good thing.  The key to making a successful list at this point is to make feint importance and make it so every model on the table is a threat somehow.  Whether this is Soontit Fel by himself, or his wingman Turr Phennir flying hard flank, or the two named Ties coming straight in, it's all good.

Here's what the list currently looks like:

100 points

Soontir Fel

Push the Limit

Stealth Device

Targeting Computer

Royal Guard TIE

 

Turr Phennir

Veteran Instincts

Stealth Device

Targeting Computer

Royal Guard TIE

 

"Mauler Mithel"

Veteran Instincts

 

"Backstabber"

The Elite 4.

With this list, I'm going for more hull points and more potential damage in the ways of Mauler Mithel and Backstabber.  This puts the list's pilot skills up to 9/9/9/6 and increases the total hull points to 12 from 9.  I'm planning to take Soonit Fel and Turr Phennir in every single Imperial list I make from here on, but everything else is adjustable.  I know, this doesn't really leave many options, but I really like the fluff and look of the 181st Saber Squadron.  Nevermind, I take that back:  I bought a Slave 1 last night so I'll be making some lists with that in the near future.

Here's the tricky part with the above list:  I can drop Targeting Computer from Turr and get Howlrunner to run with my list.  Likewise, I can drop Mauler Mithel completely and replace it with Howlrunner.  The problem with running Howl in my list is that she really works better with more ships.  What really sucks is that if I take Howlrunner in my lists, I'm begging myself to fly in formation just so I can utilize her special ability to shoot better.  With Tie Interceptors, this doesn't work well because standard Tie Fighters can't really keep pace with them.  With Targeting Computer as an option, they also don't benefit too much from Howl's re-roll.  With that said, Howl's also a giant target on the battlefield.  I feel that if I want to take her, I'll want to take her with protection and thus, increase her points cost.  That's something I want to avoid as I'd rather have regular Tie Fighters that can do good damage by themselves.

It's all good, the above is the list I'm going to run for a few games and see what happens.

X-Wing: Elite Aces Post-game

Looks about right.

I played a game today against a pretty tanky list with my Imperial Aces list.  For those of you who haven't seen it before, the list looks like this:

The Aces of the Empire.

100 points

Soontir Fel
Push the Limit
Stealth Device
Targeting Computer
Royal Guard TIE
 
Carnor Jax
Push the Limit
Stealth Device
Targeting Computer
Royal Guard TIE
 
Turr Phennir
Veteran Instincts
Stealth Device
Targeting Computer
Royal Guard TIE

The list I faced off against tonight was pretty scary: 2x Y-Wings with Ion Cannon Turret, a B-Wing with Ion Cannon and the Rebel ace, Wedge Antilles.  Looking across the table, I immediately knew it was going to suck because of the 360 turrets, the Ion Cannons and the 29 vs. 9 hull points disparity.  I immediately regretted bring the list I did, but I was determined to make it work.

When the game started off, things went in my direction in a hurry.  I 5-advanced up into his Y-Wings because Wedge was taking it really slow and steady in the far left flank.  My opponent, James, played Wedge smart and kept him in the back and waited for my Interceptors to engage.  Because Wedge was so far away, I simply B-lined into his advancing Y-Wings and B-Wing and opened fire with crazy amounts of dice.  Dice were hot for me on the attack and I immediately stripped all the shields on his B-Wing and severely crippled one of his Y-Wings.

Here's when I noticed a problem with this list.  The combination of 360 degree Target Lock, 360 degree Ion Turrets, and asteroids being on the board, made defense miserable.  Despite having my Stealth Device, Wedge was able to sneak in a few shots to disable Stealth on two of my ships as the game dragged.  The 360 TL + Ion Cannons managed to score hits on both Turr and Fel on very important turns.  Although I rolled hot on the attack in the beginning, the brunt of the damage was soaked up by the tanky Rebel ships.  My attempts to kill Wedge was poor because of all the disables coming from the Ion Cannons, and eventually the health disparity was too great for me.  Although I managed to down a Y-Wing and B-Wing, and put Wedge at 1 HP, James came back swinging with hot dice towards the end to seal the deal.

Some things I learned:

• I would like to say I should have ignored the Y-Wings and B-Wing and just went straight for Wedge in the beginning, even if it meant having one round of combat of being shot at.  This doesn't sound appetizing to me at all though.
• 360 Target Lock + Ion Cannons on tanky ships makes my life a living hell on Interceptors.  My ships rely on their maneuverability and ability to get out of firing arcs but against this 360 combo, he simply doesn't care.
• Carnor Jax added nothing to my list except for his shooting prowess.  The Target Locks completely ignored Jax's ability and made him a points sink.
• Getting hit by the Ion Cannon sucks when you're flying an Interceptor.  Just one hit and you're flying straight white 1, completely negating the primary strength of the Interceptor which is unparrelled agility.  Soontir Fel died to Wedge when he was unable to shake off the stress token generated from the previous round because he took an Ion Cannon shot to the face.  That was game changing and caused the death of my beloved team leader.
• I'm determined to make Interceptors work, but maybe not in a list with 3.  The reason why is because in their current state, I see a huge weakness towards double Millennium Falcons and lists like this in general.  How do you mitigate a damage difference of 20 when 360 TL + turrets negate the one thing that Interceptors have going for them?  I think overall, I will be playing with more ships.

A lot to think about.  New list in the works, I'll post it tomorrow.

X-Wing: The Holy Trinity

I didn't know Steve Perry flew for the Rebels?

X-Wing pretty much exploded in my club with almost everyone showing great interest.  I was going to sell the Rebel stuff that I got in my starter boxes, but after this amount of hype, I think I'll keep the stuff for demo purposes and lending stuff out.  Besides, I've got a Rebel list in mind that I plan on running.  You guys have already seen what kind of Imperial stuff I've been fielding, I think it's time to show you what I got for the good guys.

As you've probably guessed by now, it's going to be a pretty solid list based on Wedge, Biggs and Luke.  Sure, it's quite thematic, but at the same list the list can be brutal to play against in the hands of a skilled player.

100 points

Wedge Antilles
R2 Astromech
Push the Limit
Shield Upgrade

Luke Skywalker
R2-D2
Draw Their Fire
Shield Upgrade

Biggs Darklighter
R5 Astromech

The premise here is very simple:  The three amigos fly in a relatively tight formation and engage targets as one.  Biggs hangs out slightly in the back but within RB1 and takes most of the fire.  Hopefully, he will always be within RB2-3 of the enemy and will fly close enough to hamper their movement while maintain close formation with Wedge.  If he gets killed, well, that's what he's there to do.  If he takes crits, Luke eats it for him because he has Draw Their Fire.  I bought both Wedge and Luke the Shield Upgrades, they will last longer than Biggs on the battlefield.  Why did I decide to put R2D2 and Shield upgrade on Luke instead of Biggs?  Well, Luke is a higher skilled pilot and costs more.  When you take into account that Luke is much more likely to stay alive on the field and rack up the remaining kills, Biggs is a worth sacrifice.

Wedge is the primary damage dealer here and I gave him a very offensive loadout.  You can bet your ass that people will be gunning for Wedge when he starts firing because PTL + Target Lock with -1 Agility freaking hurts.  With the R2 unit, he'll be able to shake off stress while keeping his guns locked on targets of opportunity.  The key to this list is to fly close and as tight as you can formation wise while keeping your targets clear.  You need to make room to make the best out of your shots, but you also need to stay within proximity so you can play off all the synergy.  This actually makes this list incredibly hard to pilot, but very durable and deadly when played well.  Even though I don't mind losing Biggs, he's still an X-Wing after all and the damage that he puts out is respectable.  Once again, the reason why I didn't put anything on him is because he essentially adds 5+ free hull points to Wedge and Luke, and they're going to be the ones making the shots that matter.  Between the three of them, you're looking at 17 total hull points that are recoverable thanks to R2D2.

Slow and steady wins the race.

X-Wing Review

Hold on tight, prepare to read.

There are 5 things that makes X-Wing one of the best miniatures games I've ever played.

Simple and Clean

X-Wing has one of the smoothest rulesets I've ever played in a minis game.  There's only a few phases in the game and generic special rules that you have to follow and that's pretty much it.  Movement is completely dictated by visual aids and helped along with pre-determined measurement sticks.  Everything that you want to do is printed out, provided and helped along on the tabletop so you clearly see what's going on at all times.  I find this to be the future of miniatures gaming in general.  Warmachine has battle tokens to symbolize exactly how many Focus a Warcaster has, and if he casts something, you place the corresponding spell token down on the table.  Warhammer recently came out with magic spell cards that you can put near a unit being afflicted by a spell.  Anything that helps the player visually is extremely important in speeding up gameplay as well as keeping the game itself organized.  X-Wing takes it one step further in that you don't need a ruler to play the game.  You simply pull out a flight stick and move the distance in your speed dial, or measure with a range stick how many dice you can throw in attack.  It's simple, clean and effective.

The game itself is easy to setup and plays fast.  You can play most games no matter how grueling in under an hour.  Part of this is because there's no ruler to calculate every single inch or half inch, and everything is in front of your face so it's impossible to forget.  This is extremely attractive for the modern gamer because you can build a list, put your models on the table and get to playing right away.  It plays smoother, faster, and you can fit more games in the same time you would another minis game.  To make things even easier, you don't even need to paint the minis because they come pre-painted.  I checked out some of the minis in person recently and they're pretty damn good for the price you pay for it.  You can always re-paint them if you don't like how they look after all.  X-Wing, in this regard, is more than just a miniatures game, it's the Steam-equivalent of what miniatures game should be in the modern era.  I don't need to construct or paint anything, I can simply open up the box of minis and put them straight onto the table.

Personality and Depth

When I say the game is simple to play, I don't mean it's shallow.  One of the biggest concerns that I have with any game going in is the skill cap.  If I'm going to be invest time, effort, and most importantly, money into a hobby, I want it to be worth my time.  As a hardcore gamer, the hobby side of things is already taken care of so I'm thankful the minis I put on the table won't look like ass.  With that out of the way, I can focus on the core gameplay mechanics and rip it apart from top to bottom.  Out of the five games I've played so far, there is a huge amount of depth lying underneath the easy to learn ruleset.  This, my friends, is how you know you got a winner.

One of my favorite games ever created is Pokemon.  On the surface level, it's easy enough that even a child can understand it:  Fire burns grass and water puts out fire.  A lot of people stop right here and that's perfectly fine.  If they want a game that they can go around and collect Pokemon with their friends, good for them.  However, if they really want to dig into the game and find out the inner workings of it, they'll find something so alien and unfathomable that it'll be like playing something completely different.  Now enter the world of competitive battling:  Tiers, EVs, IVs, natures, breeding, and specific movesets that shapes and molds an entirely different metagame.  To me, this is where the game really begins.

X-Wing is no different in that regard.  Despite having a remarkably simple ruleset, there's a near infinite level of possibility and customization.  We all know there's several different kinds of ships that's used to shoot down other ships.  What we need to realize is that there's several ranks to these spacecraft with different pilot skills, different ships have different maneuverability, unique pilots have their own special rules, modifications, weapon upgrades, elite pilot skills, the list goes on.  All of these elements come with built-in or added points costs, so list design is very thought-provoking and fun.  In a standard tournament point range of 100 points, you can do virtually anything you want with the options presented to you.  This is where the game truly becomes challenging as you're customizing your playing experience based on your personal preferences.  No other minis game in the last decade presents itself this way in my honest opinion.  This game truly exemplifies the meaning of "easy to learn, hard to master."

Action and Reaction

I'm not going to lie when I say this, but I'm pretty done with the my-turn-your-turn ideology of gameplay.  It's an awful system to begin with and one of the reasons why games like that don't sing to me the way they used to.  As an competitive RTS player at heart, I enjoy live action where you can make important decisions in real time.  Since you can't really do it in a miniatures game, you have an action/reaction system instead.  When your opponent does something to you, I want to be able to answer back instead of just pulling models off the table.  This is just a method of gaming that I like and I understand that it is not the same for everybody.  Infinity has a similar system via AROs and honestly, that's the only thing I like about that game.  In short, there's nothing more insulting than watching your opponent total you without being able to do anything in response.  That's one of the reasons why I've shied away from Warmachine and one of the reasons why I think Seize the Initiative is the worst thing to happen to 40K.  Sure, you can do the same thing to your opponent, but that's no way to enjoy a game.

One of the best gameplay features from X-Wing is how it incorporates Pilot Skill into how players act and react in a game.  When the round starts, pilots with the lowest skill moves first, followed by the pilots with higher skill.  Whether or not this shows the rookie's inexperience and eagerness for battle is up to your imagination.  The fact is, this happens to the entire board and both players activate their pilots in corresponding order.  Because the action phase happens immediately after a single pilot makes his move, the higher skilled pilots can react to how aggressive the lesser skilled pilots are and adjust their actions accordingly.  If a lower pilot overextends, a higher skilled pilot might want to kill him right away.  Should the pilot who moved first anticipate this, he might want to Evade during his action phase.  When it comes down to the combat phase, the pilots with the highest pilot skill shoots first before going down the skill tree.  This not only portrays the experience of the pilot, but it helps maintain the fluidity of active gameplay.  Regardless of how you look at it, both players are constantly moving their ships around during the movement phase.  This makes the game much more enjoyable for both players because they're both actively playing the game.

Prediction and Bluffing

Going back to Pokemon, one of the most difficult things to master in that game is prediction.  Prediction is a skill that only experience or instinct can leverage and once mastered, will give you an edge over your opponent.  If I predict my opponent will switch out his Pokemon right now, I'll be able to setup this ability that'll allow me to sweep his team.  Does he go for it?  Only experience will tell him what to expect, and sometimes he will guess wrong and it'll mean his downfall.  This is a chance that every competitive player has to take, but he'll be able to make more educated guesses the more he plays the game.  At the end of the day, prediction adds another layer of strategy where lesser game systems don't provide it at all.

Now enter X-Wing, where the entirety of the Planning Phase is based on prediction, anticipation, and guesstimation.  Every single move you make on the battlefield before your pilots even start turning is made with a movement dial placed face down.  Each type of ship has its own movement dial and thus, every ship's ability to maneuver is different.  An X-Wing will not be able to pull off the same maneuvers as an Tie Fighter and that's something both players will have to learn.  The best example I can give here is that: You have two Tie Fighters closing in on your tail and you're down to your last hull point.  Your ship is already turning soft left, so do you want to hard bank right to try to throw them off?  Maybe if you fly straight ahead you can gain some distance between them.  What if you preform a Koiogran Turn right now and go out guns blazing?  Now imagine the same situation with different pilot skills on the table where movement actually happens in ascending order.

The morale of the story is:  The X-Wing decided to bank hard right and the Imperial player predicted he would.  Not only did they go in the right direction, but they closed the distance and ended up with +1 attack dice for being in range 1.  Hmm.. gg wp.

Fun and Immersive

Probably the biggest draw that any game has going for it is simply; how fun it is to play.  This is incredibly subjective and normally compounded over several different things.  For me, I think the game is awesome.  The ruleset is easy to learn, but the game itself is hard to master.  Prediction is one of the key driving forces to how movement is dictated and it can either be a boon or fatal flaw.  I love skirmish style games and having the ability to play multiple games in the span of a single WHFB game is very appealing.  The buy in cost is also fantastic, although I do hope that FFG put out more stock (stuff literally flies off the shelves, I wonder why).  This is the only game I've played in a while that I can literally go from box to table in a span of a few minutes.  I love the fact I can play with regular pilots as well as the more famous pilots that we see in the movies e.g. Vader and Luke.  I love the customization options and the ability to customize my ships with the pilots that I like, and have them behave exactly how I want.  Most of all, I love the alternating gameplay where both players are immersed in the fantasy that is flying around the galaxy with starfighers.  As a hardcore gamer, this is the perfect game for me.

My friend and I talked about how this game translates the fantasy onto the tabletop, and I think it's near flawless.  A lot of the unique pilots have skills that fits them very well in their each unique way.  This gives them personality, character and the desire for players to make them want to succeed on the table.  I just love how Imperial pilots are more about the individual skill of the pilot themselves and how synergistic the Rebel pilots are with each other.  Sure, a Tie Swarm will look pretty epic, but so is Biggs' heroic sacrifice so Wedge ends up killing everyone.

The best way to describe it is:  If you took a photostory of a game of X-Wing being played and played it back without hands, rulers or dice, it would look like a scene from Star Wars.  In that respect, I think this game nailed it.

Got some games in of X-Wing

This game is godly.

Today, I went up to Dice House to play some X-Wing games with my friend Norm.  Having only played 3 games of X-Wing before today, I honestly didn't know what to expect.  The first few games I played was pretty standard for newer players.  You know, just beginner games with the starter kit where you're flying around aimlessly trying to figure out the rules and wishing we had more models to play with.  Today was my first real flight piloting the Tie Interceptor and the additional mechanics that came with the game.

I won't type out the battle reports entirely because frankly, I was having too much fun to remember all the finer details.  What I will do is highlight some of the stuff I learned from the games I played today so hopefully, you guys will get pumped and give the game a try.  I shit you not:  This the best minis game I have played in a very long time, and I don't say that ever.  In fact, I don't even like Star Wars, I'm only playing this game because of incredible solid game mechanics.

• In the first game that I played, I took a list featuring Soontir Fel, Turr Phennir, Mauler Mithel and Dark Curse.  I would of picked Backstabber instead, but I didn't have the Tie Exp pack and I didn't mind playing with Dark Curse.  After all, she's pretty impossible to hit due to her special rule as long as you play in the proper range bands.
• Speaking of range bands, maneuverability and positioning is everything in this game.  I guess this is just something that comes instinctively having played Dark Eldar for over a decade.  This game, to keep things simple, is all about doing damage while not taking damage in return.  That's all it is at the end of the day.  You have to make use of every one of your ships' movement capabilities as well as their special rules so you can find the most opportune combat scenarios.
• I'll give you guys an example of a combat scenario that came up today:  My opponent was hot on my tail with two X-Wings and I needed to do something next round or die.  Out of all the manuevers I could of done, I predicted my opponent would declare a turn to catch my already wounded Tie Fighter.  Instead of playing the turning war, I flew straight ahead as fast as I could to reach the safety of range band 3.  Being further away gave me an extra defense die to roll against my opponent's 3 attacks.  I ended up not needing it because I simply flew straight while my opponent's planes banked left, and I barrel rolled out of their firing arc.  That's something I'll talk about later.
• The point I was trying to make was that sometimes, it's better to just run away and into the safety of space.  This is especially handy if you have something like Stealth Device, which already gives you +1 defense die to roll but shorts out the second you take damage.  Whenever you're able to roll more dice, you should take it unless you know you will take a crap ton of damage in return.  Looking at all my combat scenarios today, I had to play to the strengths and weaknesses of my ships.  In the first list I ran, I had a total of 12 hull points to play with.  My opponent, who ran a list with Wedge, Biggs and Dutch, had 18 total hull points (including Shield) before modifications.  You should know that you shouldn't try trading hits at this point and you should be relying of damage mitigation over attrition.

One of the lists I used today.

• Tie Fighters and Tie Interceptors are extremely maneuverable:  There were so many times today that I was able to maneuver my planes in a way that I can get shots on him without any retaliatory attack.  Whether this meant Boosting with my Interceptors out of their firing arc, or Barrel Rolling my way on their flank, it was just a joy to play.  One of the biggest boons for Tie Interceptors is their ability to fly green on a hard 2.  This allowed me to shake stress while maintaining a strong pursuit on my target X-Wing.  Boost, is also huge for me:  Being able to add that extra range allows me to not only dodge shots coming back, but gives me another die to roll for attack if I go from RB2 to 1.  Boosting and rolling in the correct situations also allowed me to change my opponent's shots from range 1 to 2, or 3 to no shot at all.  It's just amazing.
• Prediction and being able to read your opponent's movement is a strong skill.  There were a few times today where was able to lead some shots and keep up my pursue by imagining where my opponents' ship will go.  There was another time where my opponent did something I completely didn't expect (I was expecting a K-Turn) and got the better of me on the maneuver.  Thankfully, I pre-selected a safer maneuver to execute on my turn so I was able to stay on target.  There's only one other game I know that has strategy attached to prediction, and that's Pokemon:  One of the best designed games of all time, something that this game shows a lot of.  More on that later.
• Like I said, I played two games today.  Both of them against the same list with Wedge, Biggs and Dutch.  I'm not quite sure what their upgrades were, but I think Wedge had Marksmanship, Biggs had the R2 unit that gave him an extra point in defense after his action, and Dutch had a turret Ion Cannon.  The main experience that I have to share for Imperial players is:  Kill Wedge because he's the primary damage dealer of the lot.  Biggs can take a lot of damage for Wedge, but not if you can ignore Biggs entirely.  I'm talking about getting out of firing arcs, intentionally touching Biggs, or anything that makes it so Biggs is not a valid target.  No matter what, Wedge has to die.  With PS9, Target Lock and the ability to subtract one of your defense die when making attacks, the guy puts out ridiculous amounts of damage.  Thankfully, Wedge went down pretty hard in both games, taking the crit that makes him PS0 in the initial firefights.
• Thank you Norm for being such a cool dude.  I learned a lot from today's games and I look forward to flying with or against you in the future!  Also, thank you for teaching me first hand why it sucks getting hit by the Ion Cannon.  Having to fly straight 1 for the turn sucks so hard on a squint.

What more can I say?  This game is amazing.  It has something which I find absolutely vital in all good games: Easy to learn, hard to master.  The more I play it, the more I discover the hidden mechanics that make all good games great.  It has near limitless complexity underneath the disguise of a simple game.  At first, you're flying around with X-Wings and Tie Fighters, but once you tack on more ships, unique pilots, Elite Skills and Modifications, the entire game changes.

Like I said previously, this game reminded me a lot about Pokemon, one of the games that I hold in the highest realm of game design.  To me, that game is near flawless:  It's simple enough that a child can understand the simple, all-too-familiar concepts of water beating fire, but so complex that on a competitive level, correct stats, EVs and specific movesets mean almost everything.  Not to mention Pokemon and X-Wing both have prediction mechanics, a unique and challenging aspect of gameplay that only the most advanced players can truly appreciate.

X-Wing: Imperial List

Fel's on the left.  Look at that sex machine.

I'm not gonna lie, but I'm pretty excited about this game in a big way.  Over the last couple of days, I've been doing some serious research into the game system, strategy, lists and watching tournament videos.  It's safe to say that as a hardcore gamer, I always do my research before jumping into anything.  With that said, I think it's time to explore some list building of my own.

The list I plan on running is pretty straight forward.  In fact, it's only 3 ships.  As a Dark Eldar player, I'm used to playing with paper airplanes so it was only natural that I gravitate towards Tie Interceptors.  Being a die-hard fighter junkie, I absolutely love the thought of aerial duels in space.  As for the fluff and background, I just can't go out of my way to say that I'm a huge fan of Star Wars in general.

Regardless, I only really care about the game mechanics.  I love customization, I love miniatures, and I love dogfighting.  Time to show my list off and why I think it'll be pretty decent.

100 points

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor 27
Push the Limit 3
Targeting Computer 2
Stealth Device 3
Royal Guard TIE 0
 
Carnor Jax — TIE Interceptor 26
Push the Limit 3
Targeting Computer 2
Stealth Device 3
Royal Guard TIE 0
 
Turr Phennir — TIE Interceptor 25
Veteran Instincts 1
Targeting Computer 2
Stealth Device 3
Royal Guard TIE 0

First, let's go over the pilots and why I've chosen them for my fist list.

Soontir Fel will be my captain in this list because the guy's just so damn sexy.  The main damage dealers here is Fel and Jax because they're the ones that have incredibly strong synergy with Push the Limit and Targeting Computer.  Being elite pilots, they are all capable of taking the Royal Guard Tie upgrade.  This allows them to equip two Modifications to their aircraft as opposed to the usual one.  On top of the mandatory Stealth Device that should belong on any hotshot Tie Interceptor, you now get the ability to take Targeting Computer.  This unlocks the Target Lock ability for your pilots and gives you remarkable killing potential with Push the Limit.

Alright, so how does this work with someone like Soontir Fel.  Well, if you look at his unique ability, he gets a free focus whenever receives a stress token.  This means if he pulls a K-Turn or something intense, he'll get a focus where he otherwise wouldn't be able to issue an action.  To make things really interesting, he can chain with Push the Limit and get some crazy mileage out of it.  On his Action phase, he can choose to Evade, trigger Push the Limit for a Focus, and once he receives the stress token, he gets another Focus.  This gives him 2x Focus and 1x Evade on the turn he wants to be defensive, all for the price of a single stress token.  Now try shooting this guy with 4x Aglity rolls (Stealth) with this combination.  Due to the superior maneuverability of the Tie Interceptor, you will be able to keep pace with Rebel vessels while still find ways to shake off stress.

Now comes the fun part:  On the offensive, Soontir Fel can really tear it up thanks to the Royal Guard Tie + Targeting Computer upgrade.  He can do crazy stuff like Barrel Roll out of LoS of his opponent after they've moved thanks to his Pilot Skill of 9, Push the Limit to Target Lock on him, and then gain a Focus to utilize in his Combat step.  Once combat starts, he can re-roll his misses and then turn all his focus into hits, all while going first due to his high PS while remaining safe from retaliatory action.  At RB1 (range band), he's absolutely godlike thanks to Carnor Jax's special rule.

Jax is basically the same as Fel, but he's not as lethal with all things considered.  It's his fantastic ability that keeps all three of these pilots as crazy threat.  PTL in combination with RGT + Targeting Computer allows you to light up the combat phase.  You're essentially looking at a guaranteed 4 hits for the price of a single stress token, all of which ignores enemy evade and focus tokens as long as you ride their ass.  That's a ton of damage right there.

Lastly, we have Turr Phennir.  I wouldn't say he's the black sheep of the ace and wingman, but he's equally deadly with some movement shenanigans.  Since he's probably the only guy who can move during his combat phase, he can do some crazy stuff.  Right now, I have him with Veteran Instincts for PS9 and Targeting Computer.  This allows him to Target Lock for his Action and make his shots before his opponent.  Once that's done, he'll simply Barrel Roll or Drive out of the way and there you go.  The added free movement is pretty gigantic while maintaining his ability to do damage.

Well, there you have it folks.  My stuff comes in today and I'm more than excited to get these guys on the table.  I can't wait for Imperial Aces to come out later this year so I can field this list with the actual cards.  For now, I'm just going to have to print them out and play with it.  For now, I'm probably going to have to sub either Turr or Jax for 2x named Ties such as Backstabber and Night Beast.  How do you think the list will perform with Fel, Jax, Backstabber and Night Beast?

Dark Elves and X-Wing

I guess this is a Sorc?

Yes, you read that correctly.  Last night, I put in a purchase for X-Wing because that's the latest hype in my area I'm dying to play a dogfighting game.  I've decided to go with Empire and I'm pretty excited to put the smack down on some Rebel scum.

Tonight, I played a game vs. VC.  It was not a standard list but it did have a giant horde unit of Ghouls, but lacked the Blenderbus and Terrorgheists.  What it did have was a giant unit of Grave Guard with Barrows and a Blenderlord on foot.

Here was his list in a nutshell:
Lv.4 Blenderlord on foot
Big horde unit of GG with Barrows
Big horde unit of Ghouls
A lot of Wolves chaff, I think 4x5
A unit of Zombies for bunkering
2x Death Wizards in zombine bunker
2x units of Vargheists
2x units of Hexwraiths

The list he fought was my Dark Elves, Hellebron list:

2499
9 drops

LORDS:
Crone Hellebron = 310

Lv.4 Supreme Sorc, Scroll, Gem = 250
Life

HEROES:
Master BSB, 1+ RR, SoMight = 155

CORE:
30x Witch Elves, FC, Razor Standard = 405
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110

SPECIAL:
24x Executioners, FC, Discipline = 333
28x Executioners, FC = 366
3x RBT = 210

RARE:
5x Warlocks = 125
5x Warlocks = 125

I'll write up a proper BR in Battle Chronicler sometime this week, but for now, know that I'm really excited about playing some X-Wing.  Hmm... I'm also thinking about trying Light Magic for my next list.  Not sure how that's going to play out, but it'll give me some WM protection.  Will it work with Hellebron? Probably not.

Stay tuned to find out what my Empire X-Wing list will look like!

Dark Elves: Taking the Cauldron

At least she's lovin' it..

Sure, why not?  Let's go ahead and make a list with the Cauldron in mind.  I bet it won't be too bad, but it does drop the total number of drops I can put down for more killing power.  Reading from the actual rules of the Cauldron of Blood itself, it seems like the thing allows all units within 6" of it to gain re-roll wounds if they have the MP rule.

Strength of Khaine specifically says: "Friendly models with the MP special rule in UNITS within 6" of the Cauldron of Blood re-roll all failed To Wound rolls."  With that in mind, it's still hard to justify the obscene points of the Death Hag tax on top of this thing.  She's 100 points with Cry of War and honestly, that's about the most expensive thing ever for a 2W T3 model with no saves of any kind.  Sure, she gets 5+ ward on top of the damn thing, but I honestly think her price should be 60 base with the Cauldron itself supplying her with a 4+ Ward.  That's how I would of priced it anyway.

No matter, here's the list I've been brainstorming:

2498

9 drops

LORDS:

Lv.4 Supreme Sorc, Scroll = 245

Life

HEROES:

Master BSB, 1+ RR, SoMight = 155

Death Hag, Cauldron, Cry = 290

CORE:

30x Witch Elves, FC, Razor Standard = 405

5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110

5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110

SPECIAL:

26x Executioners, FC, SoDisc = 357

28x Executioners, FC = 366

3x RBT = 210

RARE:

5x Warlocks = 125

5x Warlocks = 125

Everything looks pretty standard here to be honest.  You have the two units of 7x4 Executioners and the unit with less will have the SS and BSB to fill the ranks.  Black Riders and Warlocks will do their usual thing, with the big difference coming from the magic lore that I chose to go with.  I think Life's ability to Lifebloom the Cauldron, add Regen to the unit of Executioners the SS is in, and +T to the Cauldron's unit is pretty huge.  Regrowth can actually heal a few things here and there considering the list is made out of all infantry.  If I get Dwellers Below, that's a pretty nice spell especially since it can work well with the Warlocks' Soulblight.

I will probably play this list at least once so I can get the feel of the Cauldron.  On paper, it looks like a huge points sink, but I got to take the thing at least once just so I can tell you I told you so.  I'll probably start the thing on the board 7x wide in the unit of Witches so I'll have 2 Witches on each side of the Cauldron.  Hopefully with some good spells, I can make the thing work for the better.  Should I run into any trouble, the Cauldron itself will leave the unit and support whatever I need it to while throwing out its Fury of Khaine bound Frenzy spell.

Dark Elves: Working on a new list

Hmm.. what next?

Let's see what we got here.  Here's the latest workshop of units on the battlefield.

2500
10 drops

LORDS:
Lv.4 Supreme Sorc, Scroll, Gem = 250
Shadow

HEROES:
Master BSB, 1+ RR, SoMight = 155

CORE:
33x Witch Elves, FC, Razor Standard = 438
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110

SPECIAL:
28x Executioners, FC, SoDisc = 381
28x Executioners, FC = 366
4x RBT = 280

RARE:
5x Warlocks = 125
5x Warlocks = 125
Kharibdyss = 160

Right here is 3x big infantry blocks, something that I'm very used to playing because all my High Elves list look this way.  I took out the Shades, dropped the second Kharibdyss and added a whole unit of Executioners.  What I could do now to further edit the list would be take out the last Kharibdyss and a few Witches for a unit of 10x Shades with GW.

This list now has 89 walking bodies on the battlefield and comes out to 2500 points exactly.  That by itself is something I'm very proud about.  To turn this list into a 2400 list, I would cut 3x Witch Elves and a single RBT for a smooth transition.

While the Kharibdyss were fun for a while, they just ate cannon after cannon or multiple shots from RBTs.  I don't think they did much in close combat either, doing some damage and then eating shit right after.  Speaking of which, I don't think they ever got to stomp anything either because they died after they swung lol.  Yeah... It's time to drop them and give another unit of 7x4 Executioners a go.

Quick blurb:
So I had a short game yesterday where I took Shadow vs. Daemons. Magic for me was 0356.
Against MSU with Plague Drones and Screamers, getting all sorts of skirmisher/hard cover overlay that made shooting against them useless. There were Beasts of Nurgle and Juggers too.

Midway through the game, I thought to myself, man, if I had Dark magic right now, I would be completely screwed. A few instances I threw small Miasma out on Juggers to keep their movement threatened, but didn't draw DD (as expected). Constant attempts at Pit on his unit of Beasts drew the DD I needed to throw Withering and Miasma on a Drone unit so they can get torn up by Shades/Warlocks. Mindrazor on the back of his head made charging Witches with anything a risky proposition, and I didn't even need to Razor at all. Just the thought of it being there made him use a couple more turns maneuvering around the battlefield.

Against an army of MSU Juggers, Drones, Beasts and Screamers in a tournament, I don't think I would of had a chance if I had Dark. Just some addition observations.

Exploring Dark Elves list building

Damn Morathi, lookin' fine.

After playing a good amount of games now, I think I got a pretty good feel of the new Dark Elves book.  I'm pretty happy my lists have evolved and I think it's time to finalize it here.  Here's what I'm currently building towards and why I feel it's the right direction to go to for Dark Elves in general.  I know, that's a pretty bold claim, but I'm a pretty bold guy and I have no problem telling it like it is.

First, the list without Hellebron.

2500
11 drops

LORDS:
Lv.4 Supreme Sorc, Scroll, DBG = 250
Shadow

HEROES:
Master BSB, 1+ RR, SoMight = 155

CORE:
31x Witch Elves, FC, Razor Standard = 416
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110

SPECIAL:
32x Executioners, FC, SoDisc = 429
10x Shades, GW = 180
4x RBT = 280

RARE:
5x Warlocks = 125
5x Warlocks = 125
Kharibdyss = 160
Kharibdyss = 160

For me, this list is exactly what I would field if the Blood Queen is out of the picture.  It's an extremely balanced list with a good amount of magic, shooting, chaff, monsters, and melee prowess.  Although the Witch Elves are not hitting as hard without Hellebrone, their power is still nothing to scoff at because they single-handily rip through other core-equivalents in the game.  Sure, Saurus and Nurgle Warriors will give them trouble, but if you roll into Mindrazor, watch out.  Everyone starts fearing a high volume of attacks a lot more than durability, especially when you have I6 ASF and solid WS.

Let's face it:  Crone Hellebron is expensive.  What she offers is very unique in the fact that she can single handily plow through knights, monsters, lords and armor, but she's pretty expensive for what she brings to the battlefield.  Some tournaments out there don't allow SCs and others penalize comp because they fear the illusion that she's too powerful.  Offensively, yes, she's a god damn beast.  When you have 10 possible S10 attacks at WS7 I9 ASF Poison Re-roll 1s to wound, things get really really real.  What keeps her in check is your utter tunnel vision at keeping her alive so she can apply the killing blow.  After all, she's completely naked in terms of protection with T3 3W and no saves of any kind.  This kinda means you have to commit to Lore of Life, keep moving her around constantly in a unit, or relocate into a house if you need to keep her alive.  In short, the girl's a lot of work, just like any classy broad.

Alright, let's say you don't want to play SCs and would rather roll with a straight up DE list.  I think the list that I've experimented with over the last week has reached the pinnacle of optimization for my playstyle.  It's very balanced and effective in all stages of the game.  The only real weakness that stands out to me is that it doesn't have staying power, but that's something unique about Dark Elves a whole.  Maybe with DE entering the tournament scene, more HE players will take High Magic?  That waits to be seen.  Whatever the case, I'll tell you one thing:  DE absolutely needs shooting to be effective.  You need to be able to deal with enemy chaff because a lot of your power units have Frenzy, and cannot be misdirected because you're too fragile to drag ass around the battlefield.  If you don't have enough shooting, you will lose the movement war, and if you lose the movement war with Dark Elves, you lose, period.

I have a ton of accurate and powerful shooting:  Plowing through the air with 4x RBTs (24x S4 AP rounds or 4x S6 no AS D3 wounds shots), 2x Black Riders packing Repeaters, and 10x Shades Scouting in with BS5 Repeaters.  My magic is solid because I have Warlocks to channel and support with Soulblight, as well as hunt down flanking chaff with Doombolt.  Shadow is a super strong lore to have on a Lv.4, and she only really needs a scroll if you think about it.  Tome is useless outside of Dark Magic, Sac Dagger is too chancy for my tastes and other options are fairly cost ineffective.  At this point, you might as well go with something that's tested and true, and can potentially save your otherwise vulnerable units from a kill spell that's just outside average dispel range.

In terms of melee, I have 2 units that I'm very happy with:  One can deliver an enormous amount of Poisoned attacks and the other one just chops heads.  If the need calls for it and I have Mindrazor, guess where that spell is getting thrown?  Not just that, I have two K-Beasts hanging out on the sides of my Executioner's unit to counter-charge anyone wanting to get in on the action.  With their leadership debuff and 5 S7 Poisoned attacks, I can deal out some serious damage to high-armored targets that would otherwise tank the Witches with good rolls.  For me, the K-Beasts are my guard dogs.  Not in the fact that they lunge forward and kill whatever I need, but as reserve units that will bail my units out of trouble.  As you've probably seen in my battle reports, never send these guys out of general range.  Their low leadership just can't handle the volatile nature of the battlefield.  In the case of armored targets, not so much for Executioners because no one in the right mind would want to charge into Executioners that's S6 re-roll 1s to wound.  I don't care if I lose a couple, just as long as the target unit is dead or broken.  This is where I think Stubborn can cause some problems for either of these units as you're then forced into a game of attrition.  In case anyone failed to notice, Dark Elves suck at attrition.

Well, there you have it.  The only thing that I would change is probably drop 4x Executioners for a Ring of Hotek on the SS.  It doubles a player's chance to miscast if they throw big dice, and gives your Executioners' unit a decent 4+ ward vs. magical.  Overall, I'm pretty happy overall how the list have progressed over the last couple of days.

Deployment looks something like this..

Shades are hiding somewhere..

BR: 2500 DE vs. HE

Killin' er'body.

The list I used was:
2496
10 drops

LORDS:
Crone Hellebron = 310

Lv.4 Supreme Sorc, Scroll = 245
Life

HEROES:
Master BSB, 1+ RR, SoMight = 155

CORE:
30x Witch Elves, FC, Razor Standard = 405
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110

SPECIAL:
28x Executioners, FC, SoDisc = 381
3x RBT = 210

RARE:
5x Warlocks = 125
5x Warlocks = 125
K-Beast = 160
K-Beast = 160

Opponent was HE:
2x units of Silver Helms core
shooty BSB
Light Wizard
3x units of 21+ White Lions, FC
3x RBT
2x units of Reavers
1x Eagle
1x unit of Archers
1x unit of Shadow Warriors

I got some pictures of the game, but they're not very detailed as to what happened.

Moving all over the place.

• The Witches were deployed in the beginning with their backs turned, so they don't need to Frenzy check.  After the first turn, they SR'd to turn around and move into the forest after the Warlocks.
• Flanks went hard on the sides with Dark Riders and a unit of Warlocks.  They shot at stuff, only managing to kill a few Reavers on the right.  Combined fire from the RBTs dropped the Reavers on the left.
• My magic was absolute ass, rolling 1345 with Life, and defaulting to 0 for the Regen.  With that in mind, everyone got into the Executioners unit and went for the house ASAP.  Kharis went around the house to stay within range and hopefully dodge some bolts.  I ended magic by throwing Throne on myself with IF and stopping the miscast.

His army advances, I pick off what I can.

• Magic is weak for me but for him, I let him have Speed of Light on the Silver Helms.  Nothing else happens as my opponent fails to get Timewarp.
• Riders moved up on the left side to shoot at the Eagle, but only managed to put a wound on it.  Combined fire from 2x RBTs at short range didn't kill a single Silver Helm and he charged it into my Warlocks in the trees.  Combat saw the Warlocks lose and flee 1" away from the board edge.  He fails to restrain and this Silver Helms goes diving into my Witches.
• His entire army center moved up.  I managed to clean up his far right RBT with good charge rolls, but next round he shoots and kills my loan Dark Rider and panics the Warlocks off the board lol.
• His remaining Reavers that were on the right moved up to threaten my RBT, but one of my Kharis jumped on him and that was the end of it.  Both beasts are now hanging out on the right side of the house.
• On his turn, his Eagle runs into my Riders but dies to ASF and good rolls.  I jump onto his RBT from there.

Combat is joined and the Blood Queen feasts.

• I get my Executioners out of the house on my turn and got off Regen after he stopped Shield of Thorns.  My Kharis move into flanking locations to anticipate the charge and that's it for my movement.
• The Silver Helms lose big on my turn and he flees like a coward.  His next unit of Silver Helms charge into the flank of my Witches while I rally my Warlocks.  Combat doesn't do anything as both units stay.
• His shooting drops to rest of my Riders while my RBT shoots down a few White Lions after some sad rolls.
• Magic has him throw a bunch of dice without IF at big Pha's, but I scroll that in a heartbeat.
• On his turn, his charges come in hard with a flank on my Executioners unit, and another charge from the front with two units of White Lions.  He fails Fear on his flanking unit of White Lions at -3 from Cry of War, even with the BSB re-roll.  Hellebron lays into the unit in the front and kills 7 White Lions.  Attacks go off everywhere but Frenzied Executioners dominate the opposition.  I think it was something like 26 White Lions dead from both units and a Champion slain by the BSB in a challenge.  Hellebron takes a wound from the attacks back and after good Regen rolls, my Sorc also takes one.  He rolls his break, the left unit breaks, the right unit decides to stay.

Chasing down the cowards.

• On this turn, the game pretty much ends.  White Lions get shot some more, Hellebron kills the rest of the unit of White Lions by herself, the Khari beasts charged in with nothing to eat because the Blood Queen's a psycho.
• Combat runs down the Silver Helms on the flank of the Witches thanks to the Warlocks charging, and I'm hot on his heels with what seems like an unstoppable army.  I threw dice and got Regen on them again with IF, and dispelled the miscast via throne.  He calls the game here.

Post-Game Thoughts:

• It's always a risky game to play with Hellebron, especially since I have everything in that unit of Executioners.  What if he had rolled a crazy kill spell or Fiery and lit my dudes on fire?  I hate putting everything in one unit, but with my spell selection being balls, I had no other choice.  I needed the Regen to keep Hellebrone alive and the only way I was going to do that is stay in the same unit.
• I think I could of kept the Witches a little closer frankly, they were in a great position by the trees and getting hard and then soft cover, but what if they lost combat?  I guess I looked across the battlefield and didn't think I was going to lose combat to White Lions.  I had high hopes that Hatred and Murderous Prowess would rip through a unit by themselves.
• Silencing those Warmachines and keeping my own up was pretty well-done by me.  I killed his chaff and reduced his units down to something I can coordinate attacks at more readily.  It sucks that one of my Warlock units paniced off the board, but what can you do.

Blood Queen Hellebron

I am Death Incarnate.

It was only a matter of time before I let her loose.

2496
10 drops

LORDS:
Crone Hellebron = 310

Lv.4 Supreme Sorc, Scroll = 245
Life

HEROES:
Master BSB, 1+ RR, SoMight = 155

CORE:
30x Witch Elves, FC, Razor Standard = 405
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110
5x Black Riders, Shield, RXB, Mus = 110

SPECIAL:
28x Executioners, FC, SoDisc = 381
3x RBT = 210

RARE:
5x Warlocks = 125
5x Warlocks = 125
K-Beast = 160
K-Beast = 160

Everything pretty much looks the same here except for 1 less RBT and a few less Executioners.  The idea here is that Hellebron hangs out with the Witch Elves and I shoot enough targets/win the chaff war that she can just go forward and kill what she wants.  Ideally, she starts on the board with her unit deployed backwards so she doesn't need to break formation from Frenzy.  After all, even with Ld.10, her unit now tests at -3 Ld. because of the Witchbrew.  I'm thinking with the Supreme Sorc hiding in the Executioners' unit, I'll keep throwing stuff like Regen on her unit and +T on the crazy girls' unit.

Warlocks and Black Riders will be Fast Cav harasser units, as well as inflicting Soulblight onto a unit so I can Dwellers them for greater effect.  Life is chosen primarily because I wanted to keep Hellebron alive and maybe heal a few K-Beasts while I'm at it.  I don't like having only 3x RBT, but that's the price you pay when you take someone as killy as the Blood Queen herself.  With 7 attacks base + D3 more, WS7 I9 ASF S10 Poison with re-roll 1s to wound, she's pretty much death incarnate.  I'm not really counting on her Cry of War to happen every game, but sometimes it turns out pretty good.

Story time:
I played a game earlier where my opponent charged me with his unit of Prince, BSB, and 3 Helms into my Witches unit in the flank due to a lucky overrun roll. I then threw 4+ Regen on my Witches unit and the Blood Queen Hellebron makes way to the flank to intercept the Prince's attack. They fail their Fear check from Cry of War even with the re-roll, and then Hellebron threw out her attacks. 5 on the Prince, 3 on the BSB and 1 into the Silverhelm Champ (rolled a 4 for +D3 attacks). ASF cancels by and with Hatred, S10 and re-roll 1s, I kill all of the High Elf royalty. Attacks back resulted in 1 wound done to Hellebron, which I heal back next turn from my Life mage. Then I proceeded to 6-dice Dwellers and kill 19/24 White Lions.  Khaine was pleased.

I do think this list has potential.  This list is just pure death for an armored list and no one wants to charge into KB central or Hellebron's unit.  Especially when you have 2 K-Beasts hanging out in tow.  The trick in using Hellebron I think, is how to keep her alive the entire game.  Having +8 to dispel on the Witches is nice and it'll pretty much stop any attempt to nuke them aside from IF, but Hellebron herself is quite vulnerable.  At T3, 3W with no saves of any kind, making this list work will be a challenge.  I'm definitely up for it.

Dark Elves: Unit Review

What did the horse say?

Competitive unit review of the new Dark Elves book.  This review will focus on how Dark Elves will preform from an external balance point of view.

LORDS and HEROES

Malekith - 2/5
Just way too expensive for what he does.  The guy is 510 points and is basically a lesser version of Teclis and a lesser version of Tyrion mixed into one character.  This lack of focus and the fact his primary abilities are kind of gimmicky makes him a poor choice overall.  Oh, you can also take him on a his dragon for an absurd amount of points if you really want to.

Mortahi - 3/5
Not the greatest character, but for her points, she's not bad at all.  She's basically a Supreme Sorc that has more lore flexibility and can fight on her Dark Peggy.  The fact she's packing some powerful weaponry, an innate 4+ ward and MR2 (2++ vs. magic missiles), and she has everything built in nicely for her cost, I say she's a solid choice.  If you want to go the flying route, I know I would rather have Mortahi over a standard Supreme Sorc because of her extra special rules.  At 375, if you're going for the peggy spellcaster, there's no better option.

Hellebron - 4/5
The reason why I don't rank her higher is because she has absolutely nothing defensive about her anymore.  She lost Parrying Blade and gained some useless S4 backlash in return, but the damage and toolbox has increased dramatically.  Coming in at 310 points, she packs 5 base + Super Frenzy + D3 attacks for a total of 10 possible attacks at WS7 I9 ASF Poison S10 with re-roll 1s to wound.  If that's not crazy, I don't know what is.  She comes with Warcry which is super Fear on -3 Ld., Witchbrew which makes her and unit of Witches get super Frenzy (+2 attacks), and Rune of Khaine which is what gives her +D3 extra attacks.  Hellebron also gives magic protection in her unit in an rather unique way:  All magic spells targeting her unit gets +4 to dispel, so if you have a Supreme Sorc in your army you get +8 to dispel on the unit.  Not bad per se, but I would rather see MR3 personally.

Malus Darkblade - 2.5/5
Not really that great, especially for his points cost.  The reason why is simply because more competitive options exist via the Dreadlord and their damn Sea Dragon Cloaks.  I mean, he has one, but his points cost vs. a regular Dreadlord is a little shoddy, and you know for sure the dude you build isn't going to go berserk and cut down your own guys.  Plus, aside from the 1+ AS, he doesn't have much protection.

Dreadlord/Master - 4.5/5
These guys are basically better versions of the High Elf equivs in every way.  You have ASF, the same stats, but now you have re-roll 1s to wound in CC and have the Sea Dragon Cloak.  In case you guys don't know yet, SDC gives the bearer 5+ Scaly Skin which can be stacked with armor as usual.  This means you have 1+ AS for Heavy Armor, Shield and just being mounted, otherwise you're running 2+ AS for being on foot.  This makes the Dreadlord a much better fighter than their HE counterparts in almost every combat scenario and magic item combination.  For example, you can easily run a 1+ AS with re-roll, Giant Blade and OTS on the same guy, which is not possible for a HE Prince.

Supreme Sorc/Sorceress - 4.5/5
In terms of sheer flexibility, the Dark Elves are incredibly strong now.  All of their mages can take all the book lores as well as having their own Dark Magic.  This itself unlocks a huge array of tactics and strategies that otherwise wouldn't exist.  Where the arcane item selection doesn't stand out like the Book of Hoeth, a few pieces here and there are still pretty noteworthy.  That, and the fact that Dark Magic packs its own test-or-die spell makes DE mages some of the best in the game.

High Beastmaster - 2/5
This guy is pretty much the Anointed of the DE book.  He's very gimmicky in the fact that he can ride a Manticore for free, but his points is already very expensive for someone with Light Armor and Sea Dragon Cloak.  The only way someone is going to run something that costs 300 points before upgrades is if he really likes the fluff or model.  Having +2D3 extra attacks on the Manticore sounds like a lot of fun, but it's a Manticore and it's going to die just like Griffons do to cannons and other dangerous artillery pieces on the battlefield.

Black Ark Fleetmaster - 1/5
He's basically a 3-wound master with a huge gimmick:  Kill someone or stay alive in a challenge and your unit gets Unbreakable for the rest of the turn.  OK sure, I refuse the challenge.  Now you're left out to dry (lol get it?!) with 50 points of magic items that you can spend trying to get a weapon you'll never use or a AS that doesn't matter.  Garbage.

Shadowblade - 2/5
This guy is a shadow (LOL, lovin' it) of his former self.  He can hide from unit to unit and on the turn he comes out, he's falling on you with 4 S8 attacks with +1 to wound and KB.  Too bad he's expensive, is a one-pump chump, and is sure to die after he makes his attacks.  Honestly, you're much better taking a cheaper Assassin.

Lokir Fellheart - 3/5
Not too bad actually, and the funny part is, Lokir has a better chance killing a mage in a bunker than Shadowblade is.  Lokir has something called Daring Leap that allows him to swing at any enemy character model in the same combat.  Since he's a piratelord, he also has Show No Weakness which then allows him to give the unit Unbreakable if he kills them.  With 4 attacks, S4 and re-roll wounds, he can easily kill an unarmored mage just by being in combat with them.  The 2+ AS that he sports ontop of Regen and Terror gives him quite a bit of durability as well.  A better assassin than the greatest assassin for cheaper, that's just sad.

Kouran Darkhand - 2/5
Great stats, ItP, Stubborn, Eternal Hatred, ASF, S6 alway, man, he seems great right?  No.  Not for the points, not even close.  You want fighters to stay alive so they can actually do the fighting.  In an edition where Stepping Up is an actual thing, you don't want to be a fighting character character with little to no armor.  Unless you're bringing the pain like Hellebron, you're going to be overshadowed and frankly, quite useless.

Tullaris Dreadbringer - 2.5/5
Same deal for this dude, except the fact he gets to give Executioners Frenzy.  He's still paper thin, is pretty expensive and doesn't bring anything to the table but killing a few models and dying in return.  Keep in mind that this is a game about points.  You want to maintain a good KDR where you can say with confidence:  This model killed X amount of points back and that's why he's great.  This isn't going to happen if you get hit back and you die horribly, especially when he's not packing ASF to go with that lovely 5+ KB.  The only thing I like about him is that he gives Executioners' Frenzy, which can be good and bad depending on situation.

Death Hag/Cauldron - 3/5
This is going to be a slightly longer one because it has to do with two separate entities.  For the Death Hag herself, I see her simply as a tax so you can access the Cauldron.  She's actually quite terrible herself, having no save of any kind but allowing you to give any unit you want Frenzy or activate Cry of War.  Even though she can take magic weapons, I would just keep her as cheap as possible while getting some utility out of her.  She's going to die, even if the Cauldron is there so why even bother.

The main thing about the Cauldron is that while it is decent, it's really expensive. If it was a stand alone choice, I would definitely consider taking it, but as of right now, you're subject to the Death Hag tax. If you're going to take a Death Hag, you're essentially 85+ points to something that's going to be drastically expanding your unit of Witches. From my experience, this leads down a very slippery slope. If you take the Cauldron, you want your unit of Witches to be big. You also want to give the Death Hag the BSB because you don't want to pay extra for a Master, and some gear/tools to prolong her existence. Before you know it, you're spending a crazy amount of points to get things going.  If the Cauldron gave the girl on top a 4+ Ward, some form of strong MR, or abilities like last edition, I would strongly consider it.  Even if you were allowed to re-roll wounds for all units with MP and NOT models within 6", I would strongly consider it.  At its current, the Cauldron is simply another player option, but not a must-have like other people are calling it.

Also, I'm currently playing the thing with re-roll all wounds in CC only.  Despite my powergaming roots wanting me to take it with 4x RBTs, I just can't do it anymore.

Assassin - 2.5/5
Just give the guy a Potion of Strength and extra hand weapon and call it a day.  He's not going to survive prolonged combat, and S7 should be enough to make a dent on anything.  Too bad most of his targets are going to be 300+ tooled up lords that's going to smack him in the face and end it all right there.  While the stats are insanely impressive, he's not exactly in the throw-away zone with all things considered.  If ASF canceled with ASF and then followed Initiative order, the Assassin would be stronger.  Unfortunately, going at the same time with a Chaos Lord is not going to do anything but get yourself killed with very little chance of actually killing him.  Frankly, I wish there was a backstab option that'll allow these guys to swing with no fear of retaliation for one round.  Maybe then they'll be worth something.

CORE UNITS

Dreadspears/Bleakswords/Darkshards - 2.5/5
These are your standardized Elven core infantry units.  They can either use their Spears, hack at things with swords, or shoot at things with RXBs.  The Darkshards' Repeater Crossbows now cost 12ppm so the price is a little up there.  I don't expect to see many big units of these anymore, but a few MSU units of 10 might still see use, especially when they can take the Flaming Banner.  As for the Dreadspears, I expect to see them more over the Bleakswords simply because they get more attacks that can re-roll those 1s due to Murderous Prowess.

Corsairs - 3/5
I would take these guys over the above options any day in the week.  They can sport 4+ AS due to their Sea Dragon Cloaks and you can give them 2x hand weapons so they have more attacks.  The 4+ AS is the best armor any field infantry has seen so far and that's one of the reasons why these guys are good.  At 11ppm with AHW, they will fight with Witches over who's the better core unit.  More on that later.

Dark Riders - 4.5/5
The best Fast Cav in the game currently with the option for 4+ AS without movement penalty, RXB, M9 and ASF Spears.  These guys can be anywhere they want, threaten a large array of enemies with good rolling, and are downright the most cost-effective Fast Cav Core to be seen.  The fact that they cost nothing due to Core allowance makes them absolutely superb:  More drops, provides shooting and Fast Cav status on Dark Steeds means DE heroes will be able to travel with them.

Witch Elves - 4/5
Amazing statline for Core with the exception of being Frenzy.  Frenzy can be a good thing and a bad thing, but in the case of Witches I think this is more good.  Having 3 attacks a piece with I6 ASF Poison is kind of ridiculous, especially when you can take a Razor Standard in the unit and getting that nice Armor Piercing damage.  Having innate ITP also makes these guys great monster killers, and as long as you win the chaff war vs. good opponents, you will not be led astray too much.  This is why it's absolutely pivotal Dark Elves have a strong shooting phase.  You want you units to be able to charge the units that they want and not have to worry about damage in return.  One of the best choices for Core in the meta, as the sheer number of wounds you inflict will make them dangerous to everything in the game.

SPECIAL UNITS

Cold One Knights - 3/5
At 30ppm and S6 on the charge, these guys got better I think.  The ASF really helps guarantee those S6 hits and the fact that Cold Ones now have 2A a piece makes this unit very good.  While not as precise and brutal vs. standard line infantry as Dragon Princes, COKs' access to S6 makes them more effective against a broader spectrum of enemies on the battlefield.  Fear is still there as is Stupidity, but having a unit of 5 on the flank is never a bad idea.

Black Guard - 3/5
In another time period, these guys were the king of the battlefield.  Now at 15ppm and S4 with virtually no protection, these guys can't stand toe to toe with anyone.  Remember, this game is all about points in relation to KDR to how units preform on the battlefield.  Being ItP and Stubborn is a great thing, as is re-rolling to hit with ASF and S4 re-roll 1s, but the fact that a Skaven Slave can run up and chop your ass down and remain Steadfast means that fodder will be grinding it out with DE elites.  These guys basically dropped into Sword Master status in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Shades - 4/5
Probably one of the best things to transition over from the previous book.  S5 GWs as I5 is a very welcome addition to Shades considering they've lost nothing in terms of shooting.  BS5, great coverage vs. any unit, Skirmishers who can scout and harass the enemy for days.  If they ever get in a house, these guys will make your life a living hell as no one wants to take a hail of accurate RXB shots to the face.

Cold One Chariot - 3/5
A good priced S5 T5 chariot with 3+ AS and 4W is very welcome for this army book.  Simply put, these guys make Lion Chariots look like dog crap, especially when you factor in the fact they have Scythes and RXBs as extra bonuses.  A very solid pick for cheap.

Executioners - 4.5/5
The best special unit for Dark Elves right here.  High WS, Ld.9, threatens everything in the game with Killing Blow and re-roll 1s to wound with S6 striking at I5.  At 12ppm, these guys don't get any better than this.  Sure, they fall over to a slight breeze, but their kill potential and range of damage is what keeps these guys in the game.  Smack a SoDiscipline on them and they'll hang tight by matching kills with the opponent's best units and remain equal on KDR.  The fact that DE can now take any lore in the game makes these guys even stronger, since you can buff them to godly levels via magic.

Repeater Bolt Thrower - 4/5
You need these to be a competitive army, simple as that.  I can't say the same for High Elves due to their enormous threat coverage from the Frostheart, but these are an absolute necessity for any competitive DE player.  With so many good units running around with Frenzy, or wants to be Frenzy, picking your charges and negotiating the battlefield via movement is king.  Repeater Bolt Throwers help clear the field of chaff, thus allowing you to move around freely so you can pick your combats.  Having S6 no AS D3 wounds at BS4 also puts the fear of death into popular flying Daemon Princes, who would otherwise be a nightmare to face otherwise.

Harpies - 1/5
Invalidated due to Dark Riders being so amazing.  I guess you can keep a few of these guys around to fly around and be annoying, but there's much cheaper chaff out there so you might as well take the superior Dark Riders.  Plus, you're Dark Elves and you should be shooting in every phase.

Scourgerunner Chariot - 1/5
At 150 points, I don't think so.  Good movement with Elven BS is nice, but suffering the move to hit with long-range penalties is pretty garbage.  Sure, S7 is great, but it needs to hit first and if you're not moving, you're no getting into a good position to make it happen.  I know I'm probably going to regret the day I ignore one of these and eat a bolt to the face, but I'll take my chances and so will other players.  Whenever I see one of these on the battlefield, I know my opponent could of spent points elsewhere that'll be more useful, and guaranteed to do stuff.

War Hydra - 3/5
Alright, I'm going to put these guys as a 3 for right now.  I'm particularly hard on these guys because they're in a very tricky place balance design wise.  Last edition, these guys were the most underpriced monsters in the game, packing a S5 breath for every S and ripping it up with 4+ Regen on top of it.  Now, you got to be very careful how you use Hydras on the battlefield because their play mechanics have been completely redesigned.  Since you can apply a cannonball to a Hydra and have him die instantly, you know for sure he'll be drawing warmachine fire that's otherwise meant for more.. dangerous targets.  Don't get me wrong, the Hydra can still be dangerous because he'll have a buttload of attacks, a S4 breath you can buy, and a potentially annoying regeneration ability (end of your turn, restores a wound for however many wounds lost on a 4+), but Ld. 6 and less protection will see him killed a lot sooner.  This could be a good thing in some cases, but it often results in 160+ points lost with no accomplishment.

RARE UNITS

Doomfire Warlocks - 4.5/5
One of the best things in the army book right here.  These guys have a ridiculous statline and even more ridiculous abilities.  Fast Cav M9 with WS4, ASF, 2 attacks Poison, and comes stock with a 4+ ward (except for Slaanesh).  No Mus or Standard for these guys, but who cares when you count as a Lv.2 Wizard (+1 level for each additional rank) and come with Doombolt and Soulblight.  Being a wizard means you can channel, throw big versions of the spell you're using, but being unique in the fact that when you miscast, you take D3 wounds that can be negated with your ward save.  Their speed, power and potential makes them excellent toolbox units that will see play in every DE army.  Essentially, two in every army will give you more magic missile utility, Soulblight as a toolbox spell, and more channels than you deserve.  At 125 for 5, every competitive player will have two.  And every cheese player will have a big unit with them with a Dreadlord and BSB in tow (until they get 6-dice Choir'd in a tournament and never play again).

Bloodwrack Medusa - 1/5
I'm giving these a pitiful score because they're in a very odd place in the book.  You want them because they do solid damage to low-I, armored units like Mournfangs or the Frostheart Phoenix, but their pitiful range makes them exceptionally bad for that.  Because their ability is only useful against low-I units, this makes them very specialized in their role as well.  With only T4, 3W and no saves of any kind, you can't exactly go about throwing 90 points away for little gain.  I can see what the author was going for, but the points cost is way too steep for what this Ld.2 creature brings to the battlefield.

Kharibdyss - 3.5/5
I mean, why have the Medusa when you can rock the K-Beast.  I've pretty much given up trying to spell and say the name, so I'm defaulting to K-something in all my articles going forward.  Regardless of how you say the name, 5 WS5 attacks at I4 S7 Poison is pretty good.  If you hit a single model with all of your attacks, you get a free D6 extra hits at S7.  All in all, this guy is what you want when you want to punch through heavy armor.  If your Witches or Executioners can't kill their given target and need a little more oomph, you send this dude in to scream slimy death into their face.  Abyssal Howl makes it so you have to re-roll successful leadership tests on any unit engaged touching the K-Beast.  This can be pretty good when taking the Terror test and especially helpful if your opponent is forced to break.  In that case, if either test succeeds, Howl will force a re-roll and your opponent won't be able to use his BSB.  At T5, 5W and 4+ AS for only 160 points, I think he's very worth it.  Just gotta be careful about his Ld.6.

Bloodwrack Shrine - 1/5
This is an overpriced piece of garbage with very little battlefield application.  You would think that giant mirror behind the Medusa will amplify her abilities in a BIG way, but no, the rules have to suck.  The only thing this 175 point unit does is give DE MODELS within 6" of it +1 to their leadership and -1 to enemy MODELS within 6" -1.  Sorry, but that's trash beyond belief, even if you're going for some super gimmicky fear-bomb with Cry of War.  I've never been more disappointed in such a beautiful model going to waste, oh wait, there was the Mutalith Vortex Beast.

Sisters of Slaughter - 3/5
Pretty good unit that has to be used like a swift scalpel.  This is one of those units that are very hit or miss depending on matchup.  Vs. armies that have a lot of shooting, these girls are going to die pretty horribly and not be worth the 15ppm you're spending on them.  Against armies with very little, limited or no shooting, these guys can be fantastic.  Whenever they get in combat with someone, they lose their ability to parry and rank bonuses for the purposes of combat resolution.  In addition, if they have higher WS or S than you, you automatically gain +1 to hit and wound.  I would of like this much more if they had higher S than 3, but a good sized unit of these guys can actually grind it out with Nurgle Halberds due to their 4+ Ward in close combat.  Not as reliable as Sisters of Averlorn because they're running around naked and their save only works in CC, but they can be extremely powerful on a flank since all it takes is one sister to negate all ranks.