Revisiting Tyranids

So Tyranids have been out for a year now and people have got in a lot of games with them.  I've heard many things from many different people, but one thing's for sure:  A lot of players don't like the current book.  To make a long story short, they find the book stale, some thing's don't make sense, it's overcrowded and limited in competitive options.

This is not going to be another one of those posts complaining about Tyranids, but it'll be a post to talk about why I think Tyranids are actually fun.  Call me a loyalist bastard all you want (considering I have like 4 MEQ armies), but Tyranids is still pretty fun to play.  Let me rephrase; Tyranids is a blast to play in a semi-competitive to non-competitive environment.  At the top tier competitive levels, Tyranids just isn't there.  Now I know this depends from region to region, but there's a lot of competitive options from other books that causes a lot of issue for the options that Tyranids like to field competitively.  Big scary bugs are indeed pretty scary, but you can only get so many of them on the field before things get melta'd or plasma'd to death.  Compared to the Nidzilla of last edition, the combat effectiveness vs. cost just isn't there anymore.

I've been playing with my 2K Swarmlord list on Vassal lately and I have yet to lose a game.  Sure, I'm not playing against the most competitive lists vs. the most competitive people, but that's exactly what I'm talking about.  Tyranids might not be the best army competitively, but they're definitely not out of the game.  Check out my list:

Uncharted Seas

Big surprise here huh.
Yeah.. so I ordered my Firestorm Armada stuff and it got all messed up by the distributer.  Not only is half the stuff I ordered out of stock, but the other half didn't ship.  The only thing that they shipped was a Battleship, and I can't really play a game of Firestorm with just a BB right?

No worries, I did a lot of research on Uncharted Seas after I placed my FA order and I'm quite pleased with what I saw.  With my FA order being canceled, I decided to pick up a Thaniras Elves fleet instead.  According to most of the players I've spoken to on the forums during my quest for knowledge, it appears that US has more going for it tactically.  Now don't get me wrong, both are really awesome games and I'm definitely going to get both, but I'll start with US first.  Here's what I find interesting about Uncharted Seas:

• Line of sight matters.  This means that blocking line of sight also matters and adds a layer of strategic depth.
• Faction specific cards plays to each races' specialties and playstyles.
• There's actually collision in this game; ramming, boarding and trapping your opponents' ships in are all valid strategies.
• There's subs under the water and dragons in the air; all with their own mechanics.  And I thought FA was 3-Dimensional.
• Lastly, some ships have special rules that adds a little uniqueness on top of each ship's well designed stat lines.  Sharpshooters, for example, can pick off enemy crew.

FA Fleet Analysis

This post will highlight and analyze the pros and cons of each faction of Firestorm Armada.  There's currently 6 factions for FA and all of them play very differently.  I'll use some bullet points for each of these factions and talk about their strengths and weaknesses.  For anyone thinking about getting into FA, this article is for you!

Aquan Prime

• Their fighting style is like a pack of piranha.  Everything moves fast and like group up together to take advantage of their high PD.
• Aquans have weapons on all arcs and torpedoes that shoot in all directions.  This means they can charge into the heart of the enemy fleet and explode in all directions.
• Most of Aquan Prime's heavier ships are equipped with powerful mines.  This adds another layer of tactics for them as mines can do solid damage and provide area denial.
• AP ships generally have above average DR.  This allows him to take more small arms fire and allow them to drop mines comfortably.
• The damage output for each ship is really low compared to the other fleets.  AP really need to utilize their mines and stay together to get any real damage done.
• Aquans are also really vulnerable to anything that reduces crew.  Boarding assaults, decompression or ship fires are deadly for them.

My next 2K DE list

I know it's been a while guys and I apologize for my tardiness.  There's a lot of game systems that I play now and all of them need my attention!  Check out this army list that I came up with today.

1992
22 kp

HQ:
Asdrubael Vect = 240

TROOP:
9x Wyches (Raider NS, Hekatrix/Agnoizer/BP) = 205
5x Warrior (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130
5x Warrior (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130
5x Warrior (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130
5x Warrior (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130
5x Warrior (Raider NS, Blaster) = 130

ELITE:
4x Trueborn (Venom NS/SC, 4x Blaster) = 183
4x Trueborn (Venom NS/SC, 4x Blaster) = 183
3x Trueborn (Venom NS/SC, 3x Blaster) = 156

HEAVY:
Ravager (NS/FF) = 125
Ravager (NS/FF) = 125
Ravager (NS/FF) = 125

15 Opening volley lances with 48" threat
16 Blasters with 24" threat range, 1 Blast Pistol
32 Total Lance weapons
36 Splinter Cannon shots

A grumble about 5th Ed. 40K

After playing Privateer Press' Warmachine and Spartan Games' Firestorm Armada, I can't help but look at GW games and question the game system.  As most of you dudes know, I'm a hobby veteran.  I've been playing 40K and WHFB for about 10 years now.  I've seen the progression of editions like the changing of seasons and that's never going to change.  Unlike newer gamers who's only played the newest edition, I have something to compare to and to relate to.  Maybe I'm getting worn out by GW games and that's why other game designs are peaking my interest, or maybe because they just have a better system.

I'll tell you one thing though:  I'm a little put off by 40K 5th Edition.  I'm put off to a point where I'm starting to think of houserule ideas to bring the feel of realism back to 40K.  As a competitive player, I never do that.  I used to view houseruling as a sub-standard version of the game.  When someone asks you for advice or asks you what kind of strategies you employ, you answer them with what you would do "normally".  Normally refers to what everyone else is playing, not some private version that you made up.

My biggest gripe with 40K 5th Edition is when the rules of the book breaks my "immersion".  A huge part of successful game design is making you feel like you're in the game.  Whenever I'm playing Blizzard games, I feel actively engaged and immersed in the universe I'm playing in.  For computer games, this is the smooth gameplay, the graphics, the sound and the environment.  Visually, the game must make sense.  This is where 5th Ed. breaks apart for me a little bit.  Check out these examples:

How to read FA ship stats

There's 6 distinct factions for Firestorm Armada and each one has its own unique playstyle.  Unlike GW-style games, there's no special rules that makes each and every unit play differently.  Stuff like Lance weapons, Melta weapons or Holofields doesn't exist in FA.  What's unique about the game system is that each ship's stats (including weapons) is what separates it from other another of its class.

This is probably best done through example:

Check out these two Cruisers.  One is from the Sorylian Collective and the other is from Aquan Prime.  Before we talk about each individual stat, let's look at what each stat stands for.

Dark Eldar FAQ and more!

Let's look at some Dark Eldar ones first!  Then we'll move onto some Space Marine stuff.  Here are the ones that caught my eye:
Feel free to tag along with the FAQs.

Page 55 – Asdrubael Vect, Obsidian Orbs
Change “Each wound caused[...]” to “Each unsaved
wound caused[...]”

Slight nerf, but nothing too huge since it's AP3 and BS8.

Page 62 – Webway Portal
In the third sentence, change “in base contact with the
bearer when he activates the portal.” to “in base contact
with the bearer, and not within 2" of an enemy model or
another webway portal, when he activates the portal.”

Which means you can't stack WWPs and form barriers or LoS blockers anymore.  Not like that was a brilliant strategy to begin with, but now it's definitely not possible.

Page 48 – Baron Sathonyx, Bones of the Seer
Change “chooses deployment zone” to “goes first”.

I always assumed this was it.. but this made it more clear, thank you.

Q: What does Drazharʼs Ancient Incubus warsuit do? (p52)
A: It gives Drazhar his armour save.

Probably the dumbest question someone can possibly ask.  What the hell do you think the warsuit gives?  Flowers?  Wow.