Finally some games....

So it's been about a week since my last update.  Mainly that is because there wasn't anything to update, until now.  My regular opponent, Shawn, asked if I wanted to enter a local tournament with him on Dec 17, and with my new goal of improving my game in mind, I agreed.

The tournament is going to be a 2000 point tournament, and my desired list was 2500, so I went to the underempire.net forums for some advice.  Great site by the way, with a phenominal article about competitive list building.  I recommend the reading for any skaven player.  After reading the article I came to 2 decisions.  I didn't have enough models on the table, and I am not strong enough with my big hitters.  I will address the second point first.

My big hitters were Stormvermin and Rat Ogres.  There were two reasons for this.  First, I think Stormvermin are great for thier cost, and second I really want Rat Ogres to work.  I tend to do this at times, take a unit that most people think is weak and find a use for it.  While a noble goal, sometimes I try the wrong peg in the wrong whole.  I think Rat Ogres have a place, but not as hammers I suspect.

Now after reading the forums, I decided to take my favorite model out of mothballs.  Early in the life of the Skaven book a friend converted a beautiful Hell Pit Abomination, so I supplanted the Rat Ogres with him, here on called Precious.

Shawn and I played a series of games this weekend, aimed at getting practice with our intended lists.

My 2000 point list looks like this.

Grey Seer
Talisman of Preservation
Staff of Sorcery

Chieftain
BSB
Enchanted Shield
Talisman of Endurance

Warlock Engineer
Level 1
Skavenbrew

40 Clanrats w/ Shields
Full Command

40 Clanrats w/ Shields
Full Command

50 Skavenslaves
Musician

30 Stormvermin w/ Shields
Full Command
Banner of the Under Empire

6 Gutter Runners
Poisoned Attacks
Slings

6 Gutter Runners
Poisoned Attacks
Slings

Hell Pit Abomination

Warp Lighting Cannon

Warp Lighting Cannon

I took this list against Shawn's Deamons.  Shawn doesn't run a beat your face in list, he has the old Deamonettes and loves the models, so his lists tend ot focus on Slaanesh.  Initially he was running a Level 2 Deamon Prince and a Level 2 Herald of Tzeentch with winged horror, for 2 mobile spell casters.

In Game 1, we got battle for the pass.  The last time Shawn's Deamons and my Skaven played this scenarios he clobbered me, so I knew this would be a good test.  Now, you may notice the 2 units of Gutter Runners in this list, well they proved thier worth by turn 3, 18" Poisoned Multi-Shots (2) took out the Deamon Prince.  108 points to 400ish.  I scouted them behind his lines 12" away from the DP.  Shawn moved first, I marched after and shot 12 shots at him, doing 2 wounds.  Turn 2 Shawn got the DP in combat with the stormvermin (more on them later) which broke ran taking BSB and WE with them, and the DP followed into the board edge, and because I had howling warpgate up, he had to stop (cannot leave long board edge unless you fly, and howling warpgate prevents that).  The Gutter Runners then moved range and did the remaining wound killing the DP and Shawn's General.  Definitly a win.  I won the game turn 5, as Shawn had nothing left, and I had Precious, a Death Frenzied Slave unit, both Clanrat units, a WLC, and my Grey Seer, left on the table.

Game 2 was Blood and Glory.  Shawn had 5 pionts, 2 for his General, 1 for his Bloodletter Standard, 1 for his Deamonette Standard, and 1 in his unit of 6 Seekers.  Bottom of turn 1, I killed his general with a WLC doing 6 wounds, and Prceious killing the Seekers outright.  I win, as Shawn is down to 2 Break Points.

Between Game 2 and 3, Shawn and I have some conversations about his list.  The units in question are his Herald of Tzeentch and the 6 seekers.  In any game that revolves around banners, they are an easy target.  The herald of Tzeetch has nowhere to hide as there are no other Tzeentch units on the table.  Taking my advice, he drops both units, and 2 Nurgling swarms (nasty buggers those), and adds a herald of Slaanesh to the Deamonettes (ASF I6, hurts) and 15 Plaguebearers with Full Command.  Game 3 goes in Shawns favor as I make a deployment mistake which makes me misuse one of my units.

Ok so the Game 3 mistake and on Stormvermin.  I designed this list for the stormvermin to get ot the flank of my enemy.  To do this I will tie up a unit with clanrats or slaves.  In game 3 the Stormvermin were in the center of my line (because I made a mistake and put them there).  This forced me to use them in a way I didn't design them for, and guess what they failed.  In game 1, I had them on the extreme flank, and Shawn used his superior movement and the terrain on the table to isolate them, and again they died.  So I need to work on opening deployment for them.

I think I did a good job prioritising my targets, and keeping Precious alive (which was a concern with a Tzeentchian mage on the table).  I hope to get a few more games in before the Tourney.

So I have settled on a list, it is slightly varied from the well-rounded one last posted.

2500 Pts - Skaven Roster

Grey Seer (1#, 335 pts)
   1 Grey Seer, 335 pts (Hand Weapon)
      1 Warpstone Tokens
      1 Staff of Sorcery
      1 Warpstone Tokens
      1 Talisman of Preservation

Warlord (2#, 223 pts)
   1 Warlord, 223 pts (General; Hand Weapon; Shield)
      1 War-Litter
      1 Warlock-Augmented Weapon
      1 Armour of Destiny

Chieftain (1#, 117 pts)
   1 Chieftain (Battle Standard Bearer), 117 pts (Hand Weapon;
    Heavy Armour; Shield; Battle Standard Bearer)
      1 Talisman of Endurance
      1 Poisoned Attacks

Assassin (1#, 153 pts)
   1 Assassin, 153 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
    Throwing Star; Extra Attack; Poisoned Attacks; Scouts)
      1 Sword of Swift Slaying
      1 Tail Weapon

Clanrats (27#, 141.5 pts)
   26 Clanrats, 141.5 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
     Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
      1 Clawleader (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)

Clanrats (27#, 155 pts)
   26 Clanrats, 155 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
     Hand Weapon; Spear; Light Armour; Shield)
      1 Clawleader (Hand Weapon; Spear; Light Armour; Shield)

Stormvermin (24#, 242 pts)
   23 Stormvermin, 242 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
     Hand Weapon; Halberd; Heavy Armour; Shield)
      1 Fangleader (Hand Weapon; Halberd; Heavy Armour;
       Shield)
      1 Banner of the Under-Empire

Night Runners (17#, 180 pts)
   15 Night Runners, 180 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
     Throwing Star; Extra Attack)
      1 Nightleader (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
       Throwing Star; Extra Attack)
      1 Warp-Grinder Weapon Team (Warp-Grinder; Hand Weapon;
       Heavy Armour)

Skavenslaves (45#, 92 pts)
   45 Skavenslaves, 92 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon)

Skavenslaves (45#, 92 pts)
   45 Skavenslaves, 92 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon)

Warplock Jezzails (10#, 210 pts)
   9 Warplock Jezzails, 210 pts (Hand Weapon; Warplock Jezzail)
      1 Sharpshooter (Hand Weapon; Warplock Jezzail)

Rat Ogres (10#, 287 pts)
   5 Rat Ogres, 287 pts (Beserk Rage; Causes Fear; Frenzy;
    Stomp)
      4 Packmaster (Hand Weapon; Whip; Light Armour)
      1 Master-Bred Rat Ogre (Beserk Rage; Causes Fear; Frenzy)

Gutter Runners (10#, 182 pts)
   9 Gutter Runners, 182 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
    Throwing Star; Poisoned Attacks; Scouts; Skirmishers)
      1 Deathrunner (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
       Throwing Star; Extra Attack; Poisoned Attacks)

Warp-Lightning Cannon (1#, 90 pts)
   1 Warp-Lightning Cannon, 90 pts
      1 Engineer & Crew

Composition Report:
Points of Lords: 558 (0 - 625)
Points of Heroes: 270 (0 - 625)
Points of Core: 902.5 (625 - Unlimited)
Points of Special: 679 (0 - 1250)
Points of Rare: 90 (0 - 625)

Total Roster Cost: 2499.5

Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com

I own most of this and I'm aquiring alot of it in the very near future.  Next up assembly, and scheduling some games.

List Choices

Ok, so I have narrowed down my list options to 2 lists.

Both have there own theme, though one is much more obvious then the other.  The first one offers a bit more balance.  By balance I mean has a decent showing in all phases of the turn.  It also does not use any special chracters, which means it will be more accepted in competitive play.  It's draw back is that it does not use the units that I am most interested in.  The list is also, purposefully not a win at all costs lists.  I want to become a better general, not the best list writer.  So without futher ado, the first list followed by commentary on unit choices.

Warlord Queaker
Warlord (223pts)
-Warlitter
-Warlock-Augmented Weapon
-Armor of Destiny
-Shield

Grey Seer Tretch
Grey Seer (335pts)
-Staff of Sorcery
-Talisman of Preservation
-Warpstone Token

Chieftain Reek
-Chieftain (102pts)
-BSB
-Warpstone Armor
-Shield

Assassin Sqeelch
-Assassin (170pts)
-Weeping Blade
-Portents of Verminous Doom
Reek's Guard
30 Clan Rats (170pts)
-Full Command
-Shields
-Spears

Tretch's Guard
30 Clan Rats (155pts)
-Full Command
-Shields

Queaker's Guard
26 Stormvermin (273pts)
-Full Command
-Champion has Poisoned Attacks
-Banner of the Under Empire
-Shields

Emergency Rations
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician

Sqeelch's Rats
20 Night Runners (148pts)
-Nightleader

Sqeelch's Secret Weapon
-Warpgrinder (60pts)

Sqeelch's Elite
10 Gutter Runners (182pts)
-Poison Attacks
-Death Runner

Clan Marksmen
10 Warplock Jezzails(210)
-Sharpshoot Team

The Brutes
6 Rat Ogres (279pts)
4 Packamsters
-Master Bred Rat Ogre

Engineer Grall's Death Ray
1 Warplightning Cannon (90pts)

Ok so I plan to use the 50 slaves and clanrats to tarpit as needed.  The night runners (with attached Warpgrinder) and gutter runners are on warmachine and line disruption duty.  The Jezzails and Cannon are to take out the scariest thing on the field (high armor or high toughness).  The Stormvermin are my anvil unit, and the Rat Ogres my flanker.

List two has the pros of strong theme and uses my favorite units and models.  It's cons are it is not as balanced, it has a special character, and it may not be tactically as sound.  Also I only one 3 units in the entire list so it requires alot more purchases.  But here it is:

Lord Skrolk (470pts)

Chieftain Retch
Chieftain (152pts)
-BSB
-Sacred Banner of the Horned Rat
-Shield

Plague Priest Pustuul
Plague Priest (351pts)
-Level 2
-Plague Censer
-Talisman of ------- (5+ WS, can't remeber name)
-Poisoned Attacks
-Plague Furnace

Retch's Devotee's
42 Plague Monks (349pts)
-Full Command
-Plague Banner

Retch's Guard
25 Stormvermin (240pts)
-Full Command
-Storm Banner

Test Subjects
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician

Emergency Rations
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician

Believers in the Great Pox
16 Plague Censer Bearers (269pts)
-Plague Chanter

Bringers of the Holy Illness
16 Plague Censer Bearers (269pts)
-Plague Chanter

Deliverer of the Great Rot
1 Plagueclaw Catapult (100pts)

Flinger of Goo
1 Plagueclaw Catapult (100pts)

Skrolk goes into the PM unit, wich will deploy with 2 models to each side of the Furnace giving a frontage of 7.  The slaves and PM tarpit, the Censer Bearers flank and eat stuff, and the Stormvermin provide a -1 leadership bonus to all enemy units in 12", messing with som ebrea tests hopefully.

So which would you choose?

The beginning of the end...

Ok that might be a bit much, but it fits the purpose of this blog.  I have been inspired by another blog that I found.  Company of the Damned found here.

So a litle about me and the reason I am starting this.  I have a fairly regular gaming group, but we seem to flounder a bit when it comes to doing anything other than playing random pick-up games.  I have been playing Warhammer, 40k, and LOTR/WOTR for about 6 years, and I have decided that I want to hone my hobby skills.  Like I said I was inspired by the Company of the Damned blog, so I am going to chronicle my trek to become a more complete hobbyist.

First up, I need to hone my gaming skills.  Used to be that I was a pretty descent player.  I ran High Elves before ASF, and was pretty descent.  On three different occasions I was contending for top army in the store.  Then came a day that will live in infamy.  I stopped having fun.  There was something about the army and it's tactics that I just didn't like.  It took a few conversations but ultimately it came down to this, I couldn't deal with the small size.  My play style and HE just wern't a good fit.  I loved the theme, and imagery of the army, but on the table I was just not feeling them.

So a change was born, I re-examined my army choices and I desided on Skaven (again before the new book).  They were footsloggers, a horde, disposeable, and not afraid to run from a fight.  Exactly the opposite of my HE which were cav, damn expensive, small, and couldn't afford to run away.  I became descent with the Skaven, and felt reborn when I didn't care if a unit died or not.  Then the new book came out, and I think I got lazy.  Fights that used to be a struggle became easier once Skaven were given a beefy army list to use.  In conjunction with that I started playing less due to life.

Now I want to be competetive again, so I'm going to write an army list and train my skills in using it.  No more "let's try this" shenanigans util I feel like I know my list inside and out.  It's emabarassing to me now that I don't know my own rules.  I need that fixed.

Second, I want to paint an army I can be proud of.  Confession time, I paid someone else to paint my HE (back when I thought I had money).  I have 3000 points of Skaven painted, but I litterally painted it in 7 days (Last minute decision to enter a tournament).  You can imagine what they look like.  So one I settle on a point value, I'm thinking 2500, I will paint the entire thing. And this time in more than 7 days.

And lastly, I'm going to go to a tournament (don't know which one yet), and I will be competitive.  I don't expect to win, but I don't want to be at the bottom either.  My major tournament experience was with my High Elves at the last GW run Balitore GT.  I didn't win a game until the last round, and niether had my opponent.  (A lot of things go into that story, but that story will wait.)

So until next time...