After Action Report on Game With the New Rules

[Scourged]

So I had myself a game last night to play with all the new rules.  I, by no means, ran with a competitive list. It was a brigade of all infantry, save for two spawn and a squad of bikes. I was playing against two mates, one with Catachan and the other with Salamanders. We came into it just to have fun and let me try out the new toys (and for my buddy to get some reps in with his Sallies). Here are some take aways:

 

JP Lord Headhunter with the relic gun was delightful. And as soon as my opponents realized what he could do, killing him was priority #1 for the Catachan player. I like. 

 

I could not crack any vehicles while shooting all game - nothing but 5s and 6s for armor saves. But when one finally got shot up (thanks Oblits!) and I Sabotaged it... he rolled a 2. 

 

Having Renascent Infiltration as a tool is amazing. I went with the Chain Havoc idea, but had some Berzerkers around in case they had a better opening (who didn't end up needing it). It's so nice.

 

Conceal is Conceal - invincible Obliterators are just as good as advertised. 

 

And though unrelated... rerolling three 1s into three more 1s is just soul crushing. 

 

But the biggest benefit was the psychological warfare. Every time my opponents' turn came up, they spent far more time analyzing their decisions. They had to spend more time considering which units to position toward and target, which units to prioritize. Sure, over time, people will learn the tricks and adapt. But the adaptability and flexibility our lists can offer force the opponent to take pause, and can create weaknesses in their strategy that we can then move to exploit. That is what I enjoyed most.

 

***

 

I did have another idea, though. I feel like Faceless Commander has some potential with a Master of Possession, namely in conjunction with Oblits. He can drop right behind them after they drop, then attempt to buff them. Play the positioning game and then he acts as another layer of protection with Conceal. Prepare him by using Chaos Familiar to swap out a spell for Prescience and there's even more utility. Or use some of the above with Possessed, were you so inclined. 

 

I don't know that it's much help for our other secondary HQs, though. I mean, maybe a Dark Apostle - pop the reroll hits or 5++ aura and he could sneak in with a buff. Or use it to set up a turn 3 buff. But doing so means he leaves his disciples behind (unless you RI them, which... meh). 

 

I couldn't think of a Warpsmith having a good use for this. Maybe you all could think of one, but anything he could do a generic Lord could do better. 

 

The Champ and the Executioner could use it, sure. But... meh. Maybe a decent way to get that wound reroll aura but I think we're better off trying to shoot with our lists anyway. 

[Brom MKIV]

Thanks for the feedback. Did you get to snipe anything?

 

I'll be taking the new toys out for a spin tomorrow. 

 

Honestly I like the concept of faceless commander. But I think its too far down the list of choices and doing combo's with it takes work and has risks. For me its something I won't use in the near future but might dip into down the road. 

[ChazSexington]

 

So I had myself a game last night to play with all the new rules.  I, by no means, ran with a competitive list. It was a brigade of all infantry, save for two spawn and a squad of bikes. I was playing against two mates, one with Catachan and the other with Salamanders. We came into it just to have fun and let me try out the new toys (and for my buddy to get some reps in with his Sallies). Here are some take aways:

 

JP Lord Headhunter with the relic gun was delightful. And as soon as my opponents realized what he could do, killing him was priority #1 for the Catachan player. I like. 

 

I could not crack any vehicles while shooting all game - nothing but 5s and 6s for armor saves. But when one finally got shot up (thanks Oblits!) and I Sabotaged it... he rolled a 2. 

 

Having Renascent Infiltration as a tool is amazing. I went with the Chain Havoc idea, but had some Berzerkers around in case they had a better opening (who didn't end up needing it). It's so nice.

 

Conceal is Conceal - invincible Obliterators are just as good as advertised. 

 

And though unrelated... rerolling three 1s into three more 1s is just soul crushing. 

 

But the biggest benefit was the psychological warfare. Every time my opponents' turn came up, they spent far more time analyzing their decisions. They had to spend more time considering which units to position toward and target, which units to prioritize. Sure, over time, people will learn the tricks and adapt. But the adaptability and flexibility our lists can offer force the opponent to take pause, and can create weaknesses in their strategy that we can then move to exploit. That is what I enjoyed most.

 

***

 

I did have another idea, though. I feel like Faceless Commander has some potential with a Master of Possession, namely in conjunction with Oblits. He can drop right behind them after they drop, then attempt to buff them. Play the positioning game and then he acts as another layer of protection with Conceal. Prepare him by using Chaos Familiar to swap out a spell for Prescience and there's even more utility. Or use some of the above with Possessed, were you so inclined. 

 

I don't know that it's much help for our other secondary HQs, though. I mean, maybe a Dark Apostle - pop the reroll hits or 5++ aura and he could sneak in with a buff. Or use it to set up a turn 3 buff. But doing so means he leaves his disciples behind (unless you RI them, which... meh). 

 

I couldn't think of a Warpsmith having a good use for this. Maybe you all could think of one, but anything he could do a generic Lord could do better. 

 

The Champ and the Executioner could use it, sure. But... meh. Maybe a decent way to get that wound reroll aura but I think we're better off trying to shoot with our lists anyway. 

 

 

Excellent post!

 

What I've highlighted is what I think is key. Keeping your opponent guessing and looking for openings, and even if you don't use Renascent Infiltration, your opponent is then moving his models with that in mind, which should grant you more board control as the opponent's army should be hemmed in or in less than ideal positions. Forcing your opponent into making moves he wouldn't otherwise do is very Alpha Legion-y. I see it like GSC and DE use Vect - it's the threat of it that's the real benefit. 

 

The more I look at the new rules, the more I like them. They've struck pretty much a perfect balance between fluff and crunch, so now all we need is some love in CA. With CSMs going down to 11pt (as of German leaks from CA), that's a lot of more points in my army I can exploit. 

 

While I would've loved a Warband builder similar to the Eldar Craftworld builder, the rules we got are a B+/A, with points only deducted for the lack of a real sniper. Grand verdict is a B for the supplement, and I can't wait to pick mine up with my new Sorcerer (now I have 4!) at the club on Thursday.