new nids slightly improved

so iv been watching loads of battle reports and played against them 3 times now with my eldar and here are my findings

from the battle reports what iv said is in the previos blog  the core nid list looks like this

HQ
flyrants
devs
x2

Elites
venomthropes (2)

Troops
gaunts x30
tervigon

FA
crone

HS
exocrines
t.fex

the main tactic now is stay out of range if possible  the t.fex with FNP is very hard to kill even with re-rolling successfull saves which makes him a great choice for nid players and a key unit to support by hiding venomthropes behind him and some synapse.

the exocrines are a priority unit with ap2 large blast or 6 shots theyll be moving/shooting or moving running to get into position. i found that if they stack up they can down a large target or annoy light tanks.

as synapse is so vital now start to them down fast!!  the army does crumble quite quickly the bigger creatures can survive at ldship8  but the lower dugs at ldship5 have a really hard time.

i have seen a nids list similar to the above beat tau riptide list  the ap2  once in range is devastating.

Nids new and unimproved

firstly this was goingto be a one off when the codex came out but im quite late!!  so itll be a small series going thru

initial codex review
games vs new nids
new formations

so the codex its self isnt that bad really gw made quite a few blunders as they normally do first major blunder was taking biomancy away from nids that was pretty stupid.

the next blunder was not giving them eternal warrior in synapse again lol

the next was making synapse far to important with no realy way to then protect those units (ie no biomancy)  bcoz once a synapse creatures dies the army starts to crumble

pyschic powers  arent that bad really but not great their is no real stat modifier at all for T  BUT the gem is catalyst  FNP on psyker + a unit so combo it with shroding its looking better AND pychic scream its a 4/5 in the table but still its their lol :D

but all is not lost!!!!!
their are some new gribblies and some re-writes that really shine

first up is the venomthrope gives shrouded to units within 6"  thats a 5+ cover to fearless units in the open or a massive 2/3+ in some kind of cover makes even the worst bugs more durable.

next is the crone str8 vector strike and haywire missiles mmmmm nom nom :D

the mawloc is now str6 ap2  ignore cover and 2 goes at terror from the deep before mishap add that to a lictor who can help them snipe out key targets its a juicy lil combo

exocrines are the bomb diggity with 40k mainly about the shooting game nids really need 2 step up and this bad boi does just that ap2  6 shots at 24" on the move or +1 BS standing still and a large blast they are deffinately a pain !!!

so a basic list for new nids has mainly stayed the same
HQ
flyrant
wings
double devourers

add hive commander if u will be running lots of outflanking units

elites
a unit of 2/3 venom thropes for the shrouding bubble

now u can choose lictors for the mawloc combo
or hive guard
or zoanbhropes for more pyschic powers

troops
its still all about  tervigons and gaunts

warriors are usefull for back field objectives and the living artillery foramtion but thats it!
stealers are still crap

FA
here the main choice is harpy or crone  id deff take crone all the time
other options are gargoyles for skybligh formation

HS
here is where its all happening for nids main choices are
mawlocs
exocrines
t. fex
dakka fexes

alpha strike dark eldar v1

iv been watching loads of battle reports lately with an elder dark elder alpha strike list, which cud b quite useful vs tau eldar taudar. Eldau guard and neurons as these armies can still bring the hurt as well.

Dark eldar have always been the first in alpha striking armies venoms with lots of splinter canons and dark lances means they'll tear thru most armies pretty quickly but they won't win the war of attrition. The best way to get the alpha strike is baron and vect but that's 345 before any thing else is added but what u do get is +1 to table sides then a +4 to steal the initiative so u have better odds of  gettin the best deployment zone then take first turn is a 50/50 gamble so set up slightly defensively

U can take just baron or vect for either and they'll work fine to save points.  But what I like is the addition of eldar.  As their battle brothers I can beef up the output of the ravagers while having the elders durable tanks to hide behind and add their fire power to take down  flyers or light vehicles

For a list I'd be looking at something like this
Hq
Baron
Heamonculus

Troops
Wracks x3
Venom
Splinter canon
Night shields

X2 units

Fa
Beasts
Birds x6
Dogs x10

Hs
Ravager
Night shield
Flicker field

X3 units

Allies
Hq
Fraser
Bike
Mantle of the laughing god

Elites
Fire dragons x5
Serpent
Holo fields
Scatter laser
Shuriken canon

Troops
Avengers x5
Serpent
Holo fields
Scatter laser
Shurikan canon
X2 units

Fa
Crimson hunter
Exarch

Hs
Wraith knight


Tactics
I haven't finished this list yet  or worked out the points but I'll skim it down to 1500 if possible.  The wave serpents will be out front and partially hidden to improve their cover save the dark eldar will be behind hiding to make them harder to hit.  The wraith knight will start behind cover then move up and be used as a fire magnet to keep the vehicles alive the beasts will do the same with
2 fast units moving up I should be able to keep my vehicle alive.  Then each part of the army will have it own roles

beasts wraithknight are fire magnets
serpents take out light vehicles av10-12
ravagers and wriathknight go for high av and lords of war
venoms  take out wraithknights nids etc
 the fire dragons will also go for high av and lords of war

possible alterations
at this point im not really sure what id change  id like to add some bikes but well see how the beasts play first.  ill do a v2 when i have both codex's with me.

current eldar list

so iv finally got an elder list I can play at 1500pts


HQ
spirit seer


Troops
wraithguard
wave serpent
holofield
scatter laser


dire avengers x5
wave serpent
holo fields
scatter laser
shuriken canon
x3


bikes x3


fa
crimson hunter


HS
fire prism
holo fields


fire prism
holo fields


so iv tried out the list n I think to improve the effectiveness of both the prisms I cud use a far seer on bike and the crimson hunter cud be an exarch.


I also have a wraithknight as well  that I can swop in instead of the prisms

I would also like a few more FA units so I can take more objectives but well see


I now have all the army built as well as my dark eldar so once I have a case ill look at making an allies list

bin sensible !!!

usually I by things throughout the year paint them up and repeat.  this year i'm doing it different I'm buying all my stuff during the winter months then ill prep it when it starts to get warmer ready for it all to be painted in summer autumn.


for my dark eldar iv plugged a few of the gaps that they have currently had  by adding eldar with  2 wave serpents and a crimson hunter these can be used to snipe the guard tanks more successfully and do more damage the flyer is also better than the dark eldar 1 so that's y its in


im also  having a 3 wave serpent list with wraithknight as a primary force for dark eldar allies OR tau allies


the final list of models is to re do a deamons army pure tzeentch

dark eldar beasts

so half my death star has arrived  the beasts an here they are !!!

I still need some hellions to be handlers as well as 1 to convert up to be the baron then the death star is fully complete!!

for those who haven't used the beasts yet their an amazingly versatile unit very fast lots of  wounds and attacks and the baron gives them grenades and stealth!!

I mainly use them for board control run into the middle then charge nething that comes close or
use it turn 3/4 to play aggressive and tackle troop units with them that are pouring out of the blown up vehicles

their will be problems VS units that ignore cover and tau lol but on the whole a very gd unit

new case and the new force assembled!!!

so its after pay day and look what I got!!!  the vortex grenade case!! and the force as it amassing so far!!

1 heamonculus
10 wracks
10 warriors
10 wyches
4 venoms
1 raider
3 ravagers
2 flyers
12 bikes