I played my second game of 6th edition, trying out a Jumper list this time. My jumper list was mostly built for 1.5k maybe up to 1750, but I stretched it (using some proxies and wasted points). It was again using Nova format and pitted against DE again. In the past this match up has favored me, but we'll see how it goes...
I win the roll to go first, there is no night fighting Turn 1 and my JP Reclusiarch was my scoring warlord. I jump my lead to squads forward, and shift my second two squads to my right. I know the beasts will hit me first turn, so the most I can do is set up for a counter attack. Speeders and Devs take out one ravager, and immobilize and shake the other.
He moves the beast pack up, going for the right most squad, not the one I expected but not unquestionable. His shooting kills the right devs, and all but the two flamers from the lead squad. The beasts try and assault the squad behind them, but fail the assault range.
Vanguard come in and assault a raider, since they scattered away from the immobilized ravager. Two full squads and the last two guys from the lead squad move up on the beasts, while the Reclusiarch squad moves behind them to his back corner. 6 flamers later half of the beast squad is dead, along with baron, and they lose assault and flee of the table.
His next turn of shooting takes out the larger squad with the librarian and the vanguard squad. One guy left of the squad and the priest. On my turn the two guys with flamers from the first squad and the one guy from the other squad huddle on the objective. The priest jumps up and is ready to assault where needed, the last lead squad sets up to assault troops/raider. devs on the far left shoot down the raider so that squad goes for the troops. They fail their assault through the raider so priest goes into the squad instead of the ravager.
My Honor guard drop in and shoot plasma into one of the venoms and the true born jump out into terrain. the Reclusiarch squad jumps up and assaults a venom blowing it up and most of the squad inside. His razorwing comes in and between the venoms and the missiles wipes out the chaplain's squad. The last large squad moves up and rolls double 1s to assault 3 guys, and so is left in the open to get killed. The remaining plasma guy from the honor guard blows up another venom, while the typhoons take out the next.
My typhoons go down to blasters, as I take down all of his troop's transports, with only a few guys left. I call it game as he has the mobility to win secondary even if we tie on primary. A much closer game, very bloody and brutal. It also pointed out some more things about 6th for me.
I'm not a huge fan of the new wound allocation rules, the squads that had shenanigans were basically all made characters so they still have it. Close combat is a way too tedious for my tastes, figuring out closest to closest in combat is arbitrary and frustrating at times.
Jump packs going from one terrain to another takes way to many rolls, for each terrain see if they take a wound, then armor save and maybe FNP.
Which leads me to FNP, I don't think I can rely on FNP any more as it is now 5+, I miss the 4+. I don't care if I almost always get 5+, I'd much rather have a 4+ where I can have some say in the situation. Besides, most things that ignore armor are usually S8+
2d6 charge range seems awesome if you have a reroll or roll high, but failing 7" charger after rerolls, or rolling double 1s really suck.
So Jump pack troops are still good, but maybe not as survivable. Meltaguns aren't really needed as much, now that you can easily assault vehicles to death. Maybe it is just because I faced against DE, but I feel infantry just getting taken off the table in a single round of shooting. How is everyone else keeping infantry alive?
Oh and Focus fire vs look out sir, how do they work? I couldn't find anything about it.
I'm with you all the way on FNP. It used to be something I felt I could count on. I laughed at small arms fire and the only things I really feared was mass ap1-2 and str8+ weapons. Now I still fear the ap1-2 and str8+ weapons, but gone are the days when I laugh at small arms fire.
ReplyDeleteI'm also with you on wound allocation in assault. In shooting the base mechanic is fine, but then you add in Look Out Sir and it just gets stupid. Last night I watched a guy roll 15 dice to save against 8 wounds and the unit didn't even have FNP. If it had it could have easily been more! Just dumb and tedious!
I also think that assaulting as an army wide strategy is no longer viable. That's all my BA were built to do and with all of the negative changes to the assault mechanics they just don't seem able to compete. (tabled in almost every game I've used them in.) I'm actually shelving them for now and focusing on my Eldar instead since I don't have the money currently to overhaul the army.
Off the top of my head I can't say FF vs LOS! specifically, but you can LOS! against Precision Shots, so I can't see not being able to do it against much of anything else.
ReplyDeleteWell the wording for FF says something like only models with said Cover save can be allocated wounds, and so I don't know if LOS overrides that or is still considered allocating.
DeleteGlad to see a batrep with BA. My BA are all jump packs and I'm still scratching my head on how to best use them. Right now I'm thinking they'll be used as allies. Potentially they are great counter assault units that can advance behind tanks. I was actually really pumped about them when 6e first dropped until I found out that JPs have to be used in the movement or assault phase but not both in the same turn.
ReplyDeleteI feel like FNP was the linch pin for BA foot lists...now it appears to be a "nice when it works, but don't depend on it" and with FC losing the initiative bonus, I think BA foot lists will have to be redefined and I would guess will move to hybrid lists.
Ya, I'm looking at how to make a decent hybrid list, so the jumpers advance behind my tanks. also helps that my tanks are less likely to get assaulted.
DeleteYou can always look out sir to another model within 6". I am suprised you didn't crack more vehicles on your turn 1 of shooting. But your list doesn't have long range shooting. If you go first against DE you have a good chance to cripple the army. I think with 3 drop pods you could really have a tough list. Either that or ally guard for some cheap long range shooting.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you are getting in some games.
Ya, I think a droppod would have been a good choice on at least one unit. The army doesn't need a whole lot of shooting, just enough to help on key targets. Sadly I'm not looking to buy new models or really ally that much so IG is out. Knowing he was going second, he deployed very defensively behind ruins, safe in the fact that I would be coming to him.
DeleteWonder where he learned that. LOL. But in 6th I believe you really need 1st turn medium to long range to start knocking hull points. Even preds would work.
ReplyDeleteOh I can't imagine. haha. Well I have three missile units, and a plasma squad (which should have been in a droppod, and will in future games) So I think I have enough ranged fire power. He only had 1 venom left at the end of the game, the problem being I had lost more than I had anticipated because of 5+ FNP and getting used to that.
DeleteYeah it was really good fight. Failing the charge with the beast pack really sucked, thats 3 failed charges is a row now even with re rolls. Also the charge distance was only 8" at most each time : ( However the farseer was well worth it, I like to see lots of perils. Plus he only get better when your oppenent has more psykers to test : )
ReplyDeleteI'm a BA player myself and looking for a good Hybrid list.
ReplyDeleteCurrently I'm leaning on 4x 5 ASM w/ JP oder 2x 10 ASM w/ JP and pair them w/ Land Speeders and Predators (60" Lascannon! (12" Movement - 48" Shot!) and also add in the occ. DC (which became awesome, but still are very expensive) w/ JP ... though I might want to play them w/ Bolter instead of Boltpistol / CCW; as far as I recall them, they are relentless, though they can fire away and still charge happily and even have the ability to deny the charge to an enemy. W/ +2A on the charge they even out the loss for 2 CCW.
I'm trying to include a Stormraven oder maybe exchange the two preds for 2 Stormravens... really depends. Also Sanguinary Guards are beasts and maybe should be considered.
However I can't say for sure, these are just my current feelings to my BAs