Drama-Free Dark Eldar List Ideas for LVO

Howdy, folks! Just wanted to talk a little about what's going on in my 40k life, barring the fun drama our hobby has been experiencing of late :)

I've sadly grown bored with my Grey Knights/Tau list, and recently decided to bring my Dark Eldar to a tournament. I won all three games handily (no "hard counter" lists in attendance) and got me thinking about what I could do to make Dark Eldar playable in 6th edition. This of course coincides with my (soon-to-be) attendance at the LVO, land of Forgeworld and people who don't like 2++ Rerollable saves (but really, who does?)

1500 Point RTT Tournament Report - Dark Eldar are back!

Don't worry - this is an old picture of my army, not the one I brought!

Hey, what's up folks! This past weekend I went to a local RTT, and was at first quite disinterested in the notion of bringing my out-of-date Grey Knights + Tau Allies to another tournament. Still, it was the only army I had painted, and I wanted to get out of the house to play some games. So, I printed out my list with 3x Dreadknights and some Broadsides, got everything all packed up the night before, and went to bed early.

However, in the morning, a magical thought occurred to me: I could play Dark Eldar. I hadn't played Dark Eldar yet this edition, and have wanted to for a while, though they have some serious problems when trying to deal with Flyers and Wave Serpents. Still, the idea excited me enough that I wrote a list out with Army Builder, and decided that if I included a Farseer to the list, I could at least Guide and Prescience two Ravagers to shoot at Flyers/Serpents.

With this shaky conviction, I set about the arduous task of digging out models who hadn't seen the light of day for months - possibly even years. Still, I must say, they've been my favorite army for forever - love the play style, aesthetics, and (dare I say?) even the fluff!

I was suddenly extremely excited to head down to the tournament!

Here's my list:

More fun with lists: Marines + Marines + Inquisition 1750

Or, you know, win a GT

Alright, more fun with the new Inquisition book! Last time I posted a list I talked about the awesomeness of scouting Bikes up with the Liber Hereticus relic on a Malleus Inquisitor. While this obviously makes bikes a little better, I have since decided that Bikes aren't really very awesome. Sure, they have good elements to them, but aren't quite what I'm looking for. Not quite resilient enough for their points, or as hard-hitting as I would like. Also, for a guy who enjoys the combat phase, these guys just kind of make it unenjoyable with their lackluster performance.

So, I've played around with a few new lists, and tried to discover what I could replace the Bikes with. The answer is that I like the Chapter Master on a Bike just a little too much to part with him, hence only giving me about 260 points to play around with.

Codex: Inquisition and How it Affects my List-Building

What's up what's up folks! I'm back, after a long period of time in which I've kind of just stayed quiet. I had a bummer of a Feast of Blades, and didn't want to spread negative energy - they're my friends and run a great tournament, despite my dislike of the mission format/terrain rules.

Instead of talking about that, I wanted to discuss the new hotness, and how it will affect what I'm currently attempting to accomplish in my 40k list building. Namely, make a competitive Marine list which will consistently be able to defeat the current TauDar/Screamer-Star ridiculousness.

Feast of Blades Invitational List and Predictions

Feast in India!

Sup folks! I think I already discusssed the Feast a little bit ago, though I figured I'd give everyone the chance to read my list and plot my destruction before the event itself. I also wanted to throw a few predictions out there, so that I can fall short and rage-quit the hobby (just kidding, I reserve the right to quietly-fade-into-the-background-quit).

Some Marines Thoughts and List Theory

 Howdy folks! Yesterday I played with a Marine army against a friend's Daemon army he's preparing to take to Feast and figured I'd share a few thoughts I've had about the new Marines.

I won't lie - I've struggled with trying to find a list that will do well in a tournament setting, with a ton of Deathstars out there that the Marines struggle to deal with. Further, Marines struggle to actually be mobile when it matters - Tau going first will kill most/all of their Rhinos, while armies who Marines don't care about being super mobile against (i.e. Daemons) won't care much about the Rhinos.

Feast of Blades here I come!

Howdy folks! Once again, I have had the fortune to travel to the Feast of Blades to compete in one of the major events in these United States. I'll be missing a class, which will force me to write a 10-page paper I would otherwise have avoided, but I see the Feast as worth it.

Why is it worth going, you ask? Well for me, I think I'll always try to go, barring real life complications. I'll discuss that and more in a minute, after the break!

I also feel like this is the proper time to discuss my overall results for GTs in the past year, as this marks a year from my first 6th edition event.

Perhaps I'll even let you know what list I've submitted!

NOVA Battle Reports - Grey Knights/Tau Rock the Open and Invitational (pictures too!)

Howdy, folks! I went to the Nova a couple weekends back, in order to compete in both the Open and Invitational. I took pictures in the order I played my games, which means that this report will actually be a bit convoluted, as the Invitational games were spread out around the Open games.
My list was kind of a hodge-podge thing, taking as many points of Tau Allies as I had in my Primary Grey Knights. I'll tell you more about it after the brea

Nova Open/Invitational List and Thoughts

Howdy folks. By the time you read this, it will already be Thursday, and the Invitational will be imminent (we begin at 5:45 pm). I will be flying out of Denver, CO at 6:45 am, which means waking up sometime in the 3 am range. Nevertheless, it will be a great trip. Ironically, most people who would normally read this won't see it until they're back, as they'll also be at the Nova!

But, I promised a list. Here it is:

NOVA Open/Invitational Here I Come!

Hey y'all. Not much to say, other than the fact that I've (finally) shelled the requisite money out for both a plane ticket and registration fees for the NOVA! A couple details after jumping.

Bugeater GT 2013 Tournament Report w/ Pictures!

Howdy, folks! Long one here for you today, as I delve into the six games that I played last weekend at the Bugeater GT in Omaha, Nebraska! I took my Grey Knights once again, with the goal of winning the tournament, but also to explore the strengths and weaknesses of Storm Ravens. You can see my post detailing exactly why I decided to test this instead of taking IG allies right here.

That said, I still very much wanted to win the tournament, and have actually come close a couple other times. Those times are chronicled elsewhere on this blog, and I'll link you to them after the jump.

The Storm Raven Experiment at Bugeater GT Edit: Pictures up!

Well folks, it's about time for me to head on down to the 3rd Annual Bugeater GT in Omaha, Nebraska. I'll be taking my Grey Knights, though without allies of any kind. Despite the rumors I spread about taking IG as allies (I still think that my list is pretty good), I'll instead be taking something that makes my current list a little um, different, looking.

To be clear, I had already re-painted a few IG squads in anticipation of Bugeater - I wasn't lying about taking them.

Read on for info on the list I'll be taking, general Storm Raven thoughts, and an intriguing email that made me change my mind...

Dark Eldar in 6th: Not What "General Knowledge" Suggests

My Dark Eldar, who are sitting on a shelf right now.

Today let's talk about something everyone seems to 'know' but has no real solution to: namely, that Dark Eldar suck in 6th, and don't belong in a competitive setting as anything other than a "spoiler army."

I'm actually of the opinion that Dark Eldar have been *buffed* in many ways this edition, with the exception of one fatal weakness: Fliers. With the advent of the new Eldar book coming out in the next couple days, we might just see a return to power for the DEldar. :)

Adepticon 2013 Fantasy Championships GT Report (with pictures!)

Howdy, folks! Today we travel to a strange alternate universe, where models come on square bases, and there is an entire phase specifically devoted to Psyker powers. This land, called Warhammer Fantasy, is actually quite fun to mess around with, and I've had a Dark Elf army for quite some time now, though I've admittedly only really dabbled in the game, as my first love is 40k.

The short version of the long story for me at Adepticon is that I had wanted to play in the 40k Team Tournament, but was unable to for various reasons (mostly, tickets sold out ridiculously fast), and instead was faced with the option of either playing nothing on Saturday/Sunday, or dragging my Fantasy army over to Chicago.

While this might seem like a no-brainer to most of you, I assure you, for me it was a dilemma as I hadn't played Fantasy for over a year and a half.

With that, let's jump on over to my list and the grizzly details and my inevitable 5 rounds of failure (or... lackthereof?)

Xaereth 2009 Tournament Results

Today I'm continuing with my whole "in the past" Tournament Results series, which takes up my first 'full' year of gaming - 2009.

While this might seem like a sort of 'bragging' post to some, I guess I see it as a guide for me in the future, to remember a few of the great games and tournaments I've been to. Nothing worse than forgetting good experiences, and this is my attempt to stave it off.

Don't read it unless you don't want to, though I do welcome comments, nostalgia included :)

For those interested, there's a TL;DR at the bottom, like in my 2008 post.

This year's story begins directly after winning the 'Ard Boyz Semi Finals in 2008, and selling enough of my winnings to begin my Green Chaos army, Berserkers included...

Xaereth 2008 Tournament Results

Howdy Folks. I'm actually doing this so as to keep my own records straight. I've been in this hobby "hardcore" for about 5 years now, and want to make sure I don't lose or forget my own stuff.

So, for those who actually care or want to remember the 'old days', you can see the various tournament results for the year I'm posting, along with any battle report links to them.

**please note**

I'm not trying to brag or anything, just want an easy resource for myself in later years when it's even more jumbled in my brain.

So, let's get it started for 2008. There's a TL;DR at the bottom if interested.

Board Control: Finding Value in Doing Nothing (pictures included!)

Howdy folks, Xaereth (surprisingly) here again with a few thoughts on playing the game better in this edition. Though I won't pretend to be the master (or even a master) at 6th edition, there are a few observations I've had that I wanted to pass on. Let me know if it makes sense or not :)

Now, we all hear people saying things like: "Man, such and such unit is so good! It almost always kills its points every time I play!"

While there is certainly value in pillaging an opponent's models in-game, a veteran player will tell you that there's much more to the game than simply being an efficient killer.

The truth of the matter is simple: whoever best meets the criteria stated for 'winning' in a given game actually wins the game. There's no caveat that says "whoever controls the most objectives in the game wins, unless you really skullf*** your opponent's forces while they just whimpered and took it, in which case, objectives don't actually matter and you straight-up win."

Seriously, just ask any 5th edition Eldar player.

Adepticon 2013 40k Championships Battle Reports, with pictures!

"What's this?" you ask. "Two posts in the same month?"

And to that, I respond... yes. Just barely. Don't get used to it.

(note: I started writing this shortly after Adepticon, but I'm busy enough that I only got about one report done each day. Hope it was worth the wait - took me a lot of hours!)

I recently got home from Adepticon, having played both the 40k and Fantasy Championships with very little experience in either of the respective games' editions. There was quite a bit learned, and I ended up doing pretty decent in both, though I'll make you either wait to the end or just impatiently scroll downward to find my results. 

To clarify, this post will only cover the 40k battle reports. I will hopefully get around to the fantasy ones as well, though I took far fewer pictures on those, as my battery went dead at the end of my 40k championships.

So! Let's begin with what I brought:

Does anyone still post about list design? Also, Adepticon

Well guys, only a short one today, since I'm just finally starting to poke my head in on the competitive (or any kind of) 40k scene again.

All the blogs I used to follow seem to mostly be dead, with very little talk of list design. I want to know what's been awesome lately, though I can't seem to find anything other than the occasional Goatboy chaos monster list. lol, much as I hate the guy, even Stelek stopped posting.

Wish I could post more content myself, I've been loving 6th, honestly. Grad school is a little more than a year  from completion, then maybe I'll get a job, or just enroll for another masters program (haha... but seriously).

Anyways, expect some sort of Adepticon writeup by the end of April, I'll be competing in a double-header, with the 40k Championships and the Fantasy Championships coming up, and intend to take pictures with my mostly out-of-date camera.

Seriously, link me to the blogs that have batreps and tactics/list articles, I want to see what's up!