Upcoming OC / SoCal Tournaments

I haven't had the chance to play in any tournaments over the past two months, but fortunately June and July are full of events.

June 25 - 1,750 pt. tournament at Pair-A-Dice Games in Vista, CA

July 9 - 2,299 pt. tournament at the LA Battle Bunker

July 16 - 1,850 pt. tournament at The Realm in Brea, CA

July 2, 16, 30 - 2,500 pt. doubles league at the LA Battle Bunker

July 23 - 1,500 pt. Sprue Posse RTT at Aero Hobbies in Santa Monica

Of course August 13 is 'Ard Boyz (isn't it??) and early September brings the SoCal Slaughter GT, which I plan on attending.

Now I gotta start working out some army lists. 

Also, please don't forget to check out http://www.thediceabide.com for some Dark Eldar tactica and other great articles!

Quick Update - Haemonculi Coven Army

You just have to love those new Dark Eldar models, eh?  I'm planning on ordering 5 Venoms and converting my 3 Vyper based Venoms to look more like the new constructs.  With Venom based lists being the new hype (as long as you don't play against IG), I figured I might as well up my Venom count in my standard list from 5 to 8. 

Pics Taken from http://natfka.blogspot.com/

You also have to love the new Grotesque, Wrack, Haemonculi and Talos models coming out soon.  It really has me thinking about switching over to a more Coven-themed army.  I don't know that I could ever get rid of my precious Ravagers, but something along these lines might be nice...

Haemonculi - 50+
Haemonculi - 50+

10 Grotesques - 350+
10 Grotesques - 350+

3 Wracks in Raider with FF - 100
3 Wracks in Raider with FF - 100
3 Wracks in Raider with FF - 100
3 Wracks in Raider with FF - 100
3 Wracks in Raider with FF - 100
3 Wracks in Raider with FF - 100

3 Ravagers with FF - 345

Comes out to 1745 which gives me plenty of room to upgrade the Grotesques and Haemonculi, and even some of the Wrack squads if I see fit. 

As a final note, I just wanted to remind you all that I'm posting more regularly on http://www.thediceabide.com so check it out and leave me some comments!

The Dice Abide... dot com?? !!

 I'm excited to announce the formation of a new web-site, http://www.thediceabide.com

The name may have been inspired by this blog, but my buddy Adam B deserves the credit for putting this site together.  In addition to my posts here, I'll be one of the main contributors on thediceabide.com along with some of my long-time gaming buddies. 

Stay tuned for further updates!

Dark Eldar for 'Ard Boyz v.2

Well 'Ard Boyz is still a few months away, but I'm tossing around potential lists that I'd like to try out.  Last time I posted a spammy Dark Lance army, but here's a more serious variant based off what has worked for me in the past:

HQ
Haemonculi (Crucible of Malediction) - 65
Baron - 105

ELITES
3 Trueborn (3 Blaster) - 156
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]
3 Trueborn (3 Blaster) - 156
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]
3 Trueborn (3 Blaster) - 156
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]

TROOPS
5 Warriors (Syrabite, Blaster) – 145
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]
5 Warriors (Syrabite, Blaster) – 145
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]
5 Warriors (Syrabite, Blaster) – 150
Raider (Flickerfields, Night Shields) – [80]
10 Wracks (Acothyst, 2 Liquifiers) – 210
Raider (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – [80]
10 Wracks (Acothyst, 2 Liquifiers) – 210
Raider (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – [80]
13 Warriors (Dark Lance, Blaster) - 157

FAST ATTACK

5 Scourges (2 Haywire Launcher) - 130

5 Scourges (2 Haywire Launcher) - 130

5 Scourges (2 Haywire Launcher) - 130

HEAVY SUPPORT
1 Ravager (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – 125
1 Ravager (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – 125
1 Ravager (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – 125

Total: 2,420

Still have 80 points to play with!  3 Trueborn with blaster = 81 points. Damn!  Maybe I can upgrade one of those Scourge squads to a big Reaver squad.  Oh well, the details can be sorted out later, but this is a very good starting point.

25 KP
11 Vehicles
6 Troops
13 Dark Lance
13 Blaster
10 Splinter Cannons
6 Haywire Launchers
Night Shields and Flickerfields on everything

• Ld 9 on my Troops!  Having leadership 8 has cost me dearly in the past.  In the last tournament I attended, I failed my leadership test with a roll of a 9 in a tightly contested game- essentially costing me the game and a chance to play for first place.  Last week I failed a leadership test that would have given me a win over my friends Eldar army - only to settle for the tie instead.
• I opted to include the Haywire Blasters in order to give myself a little extra anti-vehicle.  I fully expect to see tons of AV12 this year, so hopefully I can slow them down a bit until my blasters get in range.
• Baron is there to help get the first turn.  My army isn't close combat oriented, so Vect doesn't quite have a place.  However, Baron still gives me a better than average chance at going first.
• The foot squad is there to sit on an objective and be annoying.  With a 3+ cover save from Baron, and FNP from the Haemonculi, they should be a seriously annoying unit to dislodge.
• I'm running night shields and flickerfields on everything.  I know there are some who don't think both upgrades are worth it, but combined they have a huge annoyance factor.  Stuff with a range of 48" will still ruin my day, but small arms bolter fire, mulit-meltas, and the like will have their effectiveness minimized.
  

Down Time!

Well it's that time of the semester again where things have started to pick up.  Unfortunately when school picks up, 40k goes on the back-burner.  I can't promise many updates in the following weeks, but come mid-May, I suspect things will pick up again.  I hope to attend the Slaughter in Space along with another RTT in May.  I'm pretty much set on my list, it's just a matter of if I can get my painting done in time.

Until next time, happy gaming everyone! 

Another Day, Another Tournament!

Well it's that time again!  Gearing up for another 1,850 RTT over at The Realm.  I'm going to be bringing a slightly altered Dark Eldar list that I've tested a few times.  It lacks the CC punch as my previous list, but (hopefully) makes up for it with 6 Troop choices.  I've also spent a good amount of points on vehicle upgrades.  Despite what the majority of the Internet says, I believe that Night Shields AND Flickerfields are very worthwhile upgrades, and should make an appearance in well-rounded lists. 

1,850 List for The Realm RTT

HQ
Haemonculi (Stinger pistol) - 55

ELITES
3 Trueborn (3 Blaster) - 156
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]
3 Trueborn (3 Blaster) - 156
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]
3 Trueborn (3 Blaster) - 156
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]

TROOPS
5 Warriors (Blaster) – 135
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]
5 Warriors (Blaster) – 135
Venom (+Splinter Cannon, Night Shields) – [75]
5 Warriors (Blaster) – 130
Raider (Flickerfields) – [70]
5 Warriors (Blaster) – 130
Raider (Flickerfields) – [70]
10 Wracks (Acothyst, 2 Liquifiers) – 210
Raider (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – [80]
10 Wracks (Acothyst, 2 Liquifiers) – 210
Raider (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – [80]

HEAVY SUPPORT
1 Ravager (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – 125
1 Ravager (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – 125
1 Ravager (Night Shields, Flickerfields) – 125

Total: 1,848
13 Dark Lances
13 Blasters
10 Splinter Cannons
22 Kill Points

MSU Dark Eldar at 1,250?

I'm planning on attending an RTT down at Pair-a-Dice Games in Vista, CA on March 26.  The last RTT I attended there was fun, but had some really wacky missions.  Missions in which all force organization slots could control objectives.  I also know that in the event of a tie, they go to KP's to determine the winner and at the end of the tournament, the individual with the best record and most KP's wins.

This RTT seems to follow the same format, but the point level has been decreased from 1,500 to 1,250.  The plus side is that it'll be easier to get 4 games in, the downside is that I haven't played a 1,250 point game since second edition.

Based on my last experience there I expect to see quite a few Marine armies, with a few Xenos scattered here and there.  As I mentioned, I haven't played a 1,250 game yet, nor have I really utilized the Fast Attack slot, so this army is still in its early stages.

1,250 Bare Bones Max Firepower Dark Eldar:

Haemonculi (hex rifle) - 65

4 Trueborn (4 blasters) in Venom (+SC)- 173
4 Trueborn (4 blasters) in Venom (+SC)- 173

5 Warriors (1 blaster) in Venom (+SC) - 125
5 Warriors (1 blaster) in Venom (+SC) - 125
3 Wracks in Raider - 90
3 Wracks in Raider - 90

3 Reavers (blaster, arena champion) - 91

Ravager - 105
Ravager - 105
Ravager - 105

Total: 1,247
17 KP
11 Dark Lances
11 Blasters
8 Splinter Cannons

This army is very fragile and gives up a ton of kill points, so the obvious goal is to win the objective game outright by contesting /controlling with my multitude of units, and wrack up as many KP's as possible.  I'm very nervous about not having vehicle upgrades, but it's something I want to try out anyway.