I finally got a chance to play some more small points games with Jason this weekend. We've moved up from Kill Team to normal games, but moved up to 500/750pts. We fit in a quick 500pt game that he won, but upon review in the after-action talk, I totally forgot to roll for Red Thirst and adding +1 attacks to everyone for having two CC-weapons. Suffice it to say, I couldn't kill much when I was rolling 1 attack per guy, two for the Sgt against WS 4 T4. Basically we just rolled looking for 4+'s all game and it was quite boring. We regrouped for a 750pt game last night with a firmer grasp on my rules, lol. Army lists are captioned in the pics and pretty much sums everything up, no real need to get into a long winded description. I rolled no red thirst for either assault squad and then that glorious 1 landed when I rolled for the Vanguard! That helped since it's hard wounding Necron, plus at one point I did lose combat, but being fearless kept me in and I saved my No Retreat! wound, so all was well. He got first turn, deployed first and then I went, not stealing the initiative. From the pictures, my guys are at the bottom, nearest the 10-Warriors by the huge P painted on the gaming board.
(Click for larger images)
Basically Jason is going through the same learning curve I did when I started playing Necrons. Mass of fire works, but basically Warriors are meat shields and he needs a bigger punch. He's interested in the Destroyers and we might move up to 1000pts where they start becoming viable for the points. He's mostly been fine just learning the ropes and having fun and not being overly competitive. This is also a good test bed for me and my units. The 500pt game saw 5-man teams with a special IC and RZBs with a weapon. For the points, it just wasn't worth it. He can still glance the crap off my RZBs and just one result can remove a 35pt weapon (unless I go LC/PG option). Plus if they are immobilized they can't repair themselves. And 5-men weren't impressive, except as I said in the first game, I did screw up and wasn't giving them +1 attacks for CC weapons, so that skews the results. But with my 10-man units (1 being an IC), they were devastating. The Rhinos were still glanced and lost a gun, but it's just a bolter, and I can still fire out with my Meltas or Blood Lance if my Libbies carry it plus cover myself with a 5+ from said Libby. Plus the rare chance I can still repair an immobilized result in addition to everything I already mentioned just makes them more versatile I think. The melta guns/Blood Lance plus some Sgts with Melta Bombs should be enough for anti-tank (sans a full mech Guard list).
Oh, other note is that this was the first time I ever fielded Vanguard and a Sgt with a power fist. VVs are nice, being able to pick and choose who to attack plus only 1d6 scatter makes them actually viable. The fist was invaluable only because rolling 4+ to hit and then 4+ to wound is a chore and usually leaves lots of guys standing. I only seeing this being good against weak CC units because I never had a fear of getting wiped out before I got to use it. I can weaken them with my 4 normal guys, then fewer Necron attack back with 0 power weapons, then I get my fist. Against a fist full of CC dice or a couple power/rending weapons, I rather strike first and kill as many as I can. Plus I only get 2 attacks after the first assault, since I don't have dual-fists. Not sure if a Lightning Claw would be better to just get the chance to reroll my wounds at higher I than going last, but getting almost guaranteed wounds. Food for thought.
Finally, I'm basing my tanks as you can tell from the pics. One is just primed with a single coat of Mechrite Red and the other has a layer of Red Gore on it which is pretty noticeable. I've ordered more paint brushes and will be going to town on these guys as soon as they show up plus churn out some more dudes so stay tuned.
2 comments:
A Vanguard Vet should get 3 attacks on the charge with a power fist, only 2 attacks in a static combat.
Don't forget that extra attack on the charge too, it makes a big difference.
And good luck with the list. I think the idea of starting small and building up your army is great. It is something I am mostly incapable of, lol.
I was doing the VV correctly this time around with 2 base. It was the first game at 500pts I forgot about the bonus attacks. But yeah, the 5-man VV hit a 10-man Warrior squad on turn 2 and didn't clear them from the board until turn 5. The charge worked well with FC and all that, but in static combat only 2 power weapon strikes is pretty lack luster. He lost each combat round, but held with leadership each time. One round he even killed one and I killed none, so I had to roll for No Retreat! and then he finally failed and I swept him.
I hope to ram up my learning by starting small, and mastering individual units first, like learning what an assault unit can and can't handle. Then moving up to add support units, AV units, etc, instead of consistently overwhelming myself with lots of units I'm not sure how to use effectively. Plus it's less scary for a newbie like my friend who is only doing it because I'm giving him models to use and has no interest in buying/building an army of his own.
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