Collabortive List Building

SeerK here.  Well we are three weeks away from the Michigan GT. I have been trying to hammer out a list

. I ran a guardian wall in a tournament a couple weeks ago and it did pretty well.......until I met up with Spellduckwrong and his Mechdar in round 3. Turns out a wall of 100 guardians does not fair well against Wave Serpents and shuriken weaponry. It was a very bloody fight to say the least.

Yesterday was an experiment day with a new list concept, which although on paper it appeared good, once again fell victim to Mechdar. On a side note we will not refer to Mech lists as “Serpent Spam”. This is mostly because a proper Mechdar list is balanced. It is not a “I am cramming as many Wave Serpents as I can into it” list. It is a well balanced list that is Mechanized.

That said it would seem that Eldar are the Meta in the tournament scene now. Every player I talk to and every podcast I listen to is talking about how to kill Wave Serpents. Truth be told I have been breaking it down and building my new list to kill mech. After my second GT experiment was wiped from existence by Spellduckwrong yesterday we sat down and made a collaborative list. We have been doing this quit a bit at the shop. Dreadbread has been doing some very non standard Tau lists that have been confusing people and doing very well.

So I wanted to talk a bit about building a list as a collaborative effort. Building a list by yourself is what most of us usually do. We make unit choices based on past experience and what we are trying to achieve in the mission we are playing. Alternatively we try to build a list that is an “all comers” type when we are going to tournaments. We may have the benefit of the missions before hand for big events to build our list around them. Smaller events you have to build to try and be a jack of all missions.

We all have had bad games and bad experiences against armies or with units within and outside our codex. The prejudices caused by these experiences can color how we build a list. If we build a list as a group in a collaborative effort we can overcome these unit and army prejudices. Getting another viewpoint allows you to see how the unit integrates into the army and its battle field role. It allows you to view it from a different angle. Having friends with different armies help build a list gives you insight on what its like to face said unit also allows you to see how opponents may try and deal with said unit. This allows you to counter the most common tactics to counter your unit or army.

Essentially a collaborative effort broadens our view and can give insight that you may not have thought of on your own. This is very important when building a list to take to a tournament. Not a big tournament player? Want to play but don't know what to expect? This is where collaborative list building also comes in.

All parts of the country have different metas, that is what armies and list builds are popular and most common. Right now for example Eldar Wave Serpent heavy lists and Daemon Flying Circus lists are popular with tournament players at the moment. Having an experienced tournament player or at least a player who goes to lots of tournaments can help you build a better list. You can build to the meta that is in that particular area or venue. You can build to break the meta.

More experienced players also can just give you good advice. Even if you have a good list games still come down to Generalship and dice. Math is a big portion of the game or at least probability. You can only math hammer so much. I do not put much stock in pure math hammer. The numbers may work on paper, but it does not mean you will win any games.

So be social and run your lists by your fellow gamers at the shop. I bet you will learn something and gain some insight on your own army. Next time Spellduckwrong and I will hopefully have our first Aspects of Khaine article up. We are tag teaming Khaines finest for 6^th edition.

I would also like to announce that after the Michigan GT this month , the 28^th and 29^th, UCON will be coming up November 22,23 and 24^th. We are getting the events planned. The Craftworld open 1850 RTT will be returning this year. PG_Hick has a nice Warmachine Tournament set up. We are trying to get a “Whos The Boss” tourney going as well. I have Firestorm Armada and Flames of War in the schedule also. I am trying to add Battletech as we speak. It should be a fun weekend so check out the convention at UCON's website. Convention Preregistration starts tomorrow and you must reserve your room at the Marriot by November 2nd.  you can do that at the Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti Marriot on Eaglecrest Website.  I hope to see you all there.  Missions for the tournaments will be coming in October.

Until next time.......

Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!