Crack's Call!!!! (and update on hobby life)

Yo!

LOOOOOONG time no post. Life has caught up with me. Big news is that as of 9 October I will be living in Melbourne, and the Pittsburgh Penguins 2014/2015 season will start with a win over the Ducks and a fight between Getzlaf and Downie (finger's crossed - gotta keep the animosity going).

So off to the land of obsessive comp, slabs, and sunshine to rejoin my brothers in nerdom Shirts Off Warhammer Inc.

Call to Arms has been and gone.

I took a Daemon list to see how it would go. Over all it went well coming 6th and putting me over the projected threshold for Masters qualification (that I wont be able to attend). 2 big wins (20-0, 19-0), 2 small losses to Dark Elf avoidance lists (9-11, 8-12) and 1 small loss to usual bell Skaven (9-11). It was interesting to enter an event with a list I had had maybe 2 games with beforehand. It's the little things like knowing what a beast of Nurgle can do vs what etc etc that really swing it. I could have Drawn/won the game vs Greg's list if I was a bit more familiar with the art of DOC castling. Vs Jeff's Dark Elves (who won the event) I had him on the ropes for a comfortable win, but - not knowing the limitations of the list - a few simple mistakes and it swings the other way. Loss vs Skaven was time related. We only got in 4 rounds, and I knew this early on so push waaaay harder and faster than I probably needed to to get a result...and it ended up costing me with a bottom turn 4 big points swing against me. (rolling 4 1's to wound/kill the BSB didn't help either!)

Salamanders

Are all but finished...well as finished as they can be given my very limited time! I can field the following list all painted:

Vulkan

Command squad: Apocothary, 4 combi meltas - droppod

Ironclad: Hflamer, melta - droppod

Dreadnaught: Hflamer, multimelta

5 Tac Marines: combimelta, flamer - Razorback: stormbolter, Tlinked lascannon

5 Tac Marines: combimelta, flamer - Razorback: stormbolter, Tlinked lascannon

5 Tac Marines: Combimelta, melta - Razorback: stormbolter, Tlinked lascannon

5 Tac Marines: Combimelta, melta -  droppod

5 scouts: Combimelta, meltabombs, Bolters - Landspeeder Storm: Multimelta

Landspeeder Typhoon

Landspeeder Typhoon

3 Centurions: 3xGravcannons, 3xmissile launchers

1850

I have grand designs to up the number of Droppods and stuff to be more "meta", but as a starter list I'm happy (and it is themed!).

I'll do an army parade post next week once I have time to think.

Cracks Call

Is next weekend! 2000pts in Masterton. A bit of fun and something different. I have taken the following list:

Annointed of Asuryan: Frost Phoenix, Armour of Caledor

Dragon Mage lvl2: Dragon Armour, Enchanted Shield, Golden Crown, Ring of Fury, Warriorbane

15 Archers: Musician, Standard Bearer

13 Archers: Musician, Standard Bearer

5 Reavers: Spears and bows

5 Reavers: Spears and bows

5 Shadow Warriors

Frost Phoenix

Frost Phoenix

2000pts on the dot.

Annointed and one of his pet Phoenix

Dragon Mage will Pwn you

The totally not racist KKK Shadow Warriors

So the world's most unsubtle list of all time. I wanted to submit something that was a bit out of left field and not what I would usually use.

Fluffy?

There has been a bit of twitter chatter about fluffy lists. For me a list needs to:

• be competitive
• offer a challenge to your opponent
• have a clear direction
• cover any weakness as a result of the direction chosen

So to me a "Fluffy list" still needs to do the above. A non functioning list of "soft" choices isn't fluffy - it's bad list writing. 

My Pro tip for 2000pt list design is that it is almost the perfect points value to play at in that you have JUST ENOUGH points to get the toys in, but NOT QUITE ENOUGH to take them all and round the list off = lists have glaring weakness and either do 1 thing really well, or lots of things not quite so well as the could/should to be effective. I personally take the 1st approach. I went "how many monsters can I fit in given the armies available to me" (because monsters are fun) and then tried to flesh it out.

My list has some severe weaknesses regarding the scenarios, and some hard counters. Fluffy to me is looking to provide a functioning list without resorting to the "usual"...at 2000pts I could have easily gone lvl4 death book of hoeth, Frostie, RBTS, BOWD BSB, silverhelm bus and token infantry bunker for watchtower. Filth - but the usual filth with few to no weaknesses. My list is tough and I've never seen someone monstermash to this extent because the list is usually rounded off with better counters, more magic, and other compromises that give the list an all comers approach. 

Anywho looking over the other lists that are been taken I see plenty of red flags (poison cauldron Witch Elf horde, Dwarf artillery snoozefest parks, super scream list, double warplightning cannon bell and stormbanner skaven to name a few) so it should be interesting. 

I'll remember to take lots of photos and stuff for a battle report