Friday, October 18, 2013

My Jetbike Army So Far...

Well, I figured I would post up the army list I am working with currently. I would like to preface this list with the explanation that I am performing an experiment that is not necessarily tied to the jetbikes. Basically, I am trying out a new idea I had for building a list. My idea was to start with a very low variety list. A list that probably has a ton of bad matchups, but whose composition was very different than what I had been playing before. Through practice games, I will gain experience using the units in the list, as well as learning where it really falls down. Once I identify the weak points in the army, I can then begin to switch out units to fill those gaps. My hope is that I will develop a list that performs very well because it grew organically over time. So here it is:

Eldar 1850

Farseer [Runes of Warding, Singing Spear, Jetbike]
Farseer [Singing Spear, Jetbike]

Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Rangers x5

Vypers x3 [3x Star Cannons]
Vypers x3 [3x Star Cannons]
Crimson Hunter [Exarch, Pulse Laser, 2x Brightlances]

Fire Prism [Holofields]
Fire Prism [Holofields]
Fire Prism [Holofields]

This list has the basic tools required to have a chance in most games. That chance can go to the "slim" part of the spectrum pretty fast, but it's still there. The very original version of the list had a sixth squad of jetbikes instead of Rangers and a third squadron of Vypers instead of the Crimson Hunter. I made a command decision and made the switch because I knew I would need the Rangers for sitting on back objectives, and I wanted NEEDED to gain skill with the Crimson Hunter. Though, admittedly, I weep silently for the loss of utter uniformity.

I am kind of excited to be trying this list growing idea out. The mostly one-dimensional aspects of this list should make it pretty easy to isolate trouble areas and remove them. In addition, as I gain practice playing it, I will be able to more effectively use the units that remain so that I can hopefully get a solid feel for what the changes are actually doing.

What do you think?



8 comments:

  1. Well, that's pretty much how all of my lists have worked since day 1 of my Warhammer40K career. I take units that I think are cool and units that I think will work with them to make a stronger/more competent army, I then proceed to play with that list for several months refining, upgrading, swapping, and discarding units that are
    A) Useless
    B) Overly Redundant
    C) Or that don't work with my play-style
    Until I'm left with a list that can preform admirably in any situation, from a 1v1 conflict to a massive 4v4 apocalyptic battle with either none or minor adjustments for the opposing forces.
    In short, I LOVE IT,
    -A11eyCat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In the past I have just tried to make a balanced list with units I think will fill the various roles I need. The initial lists are usually either pretty solid or immediate scraps which send me back to the drawing board. I run into trouble though at the refining stage because it is hard for me to judge the effects of a unit change. I hope with this list I will be better able to grasp the changes because there is such a low variety of units, and also that I will become skilled with the units so I don't make a decision based on my lack of proficiency rather than the actual unit's deficiency.

      Delete
  2. Wow! well, it'll definitely be a fast army!!
    I can't really make a judgement as i make my lists in pretty much the opposite way as the spamming, competitive list style. (you can check out some of my battle reports if you're curious.) But I'll be tuning in to see how you make out!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's interesting because I viewed this as not competitive at the moment (though that's the goal!). I started with a more fluffy build centered around a Saim Hann list. I guess I didn't view this as spamming either, but I guess it does look that way. I just wanted the fewest amount of different units to start with so I can make educated changes.
    I absolutely would like to check out your battle reports, where are they?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Speaking with no experience but the Laughing god autarch on bike seems like a better addition than a second farseer. It also fits the Saim Hann imagery better to me. Although I don't normally like warlocks on bikes in squads, they seem like they be useful in here as well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I May experiment with the Mantled Autarch in the future. He always seemed like such a waste to me in the current 40k environment where Ignores Cover is all over the place.
    Warlocks I go back and forth on. I like what they add, but at 50ish points a pop, I start wondering if their points worth of more Jetbikes wouldn't be more useful.
    The second Farseer is there to double the amount of units that get Guided and Prescienced. The Fire Prisms and Vypers love re-rolling misses.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I always use warlocks in my squads. it more for theme than anything though for me. Its actually gotten me to experiment more with the new powers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Warlocks.... might be a Jetseer council in my future...

      Delete