Small games are fun, two!

Recently read the article Small games are fun too over at Imperius Dominatus talking about smaller games being fun.  I'd have to agree.  Of course, the article was referring to games at 1000 points.  If you look back through my posts, you'll see discussion of 500 point games.  So I'd like to talk about this for a bit.

What I learned at 500 points
At 500 points, you don't have a lot of room, especially when playing CSM.  You need your HQ and you need your troop choices, and that right there will eat up a large portion of your points.  Even if you go with the minimum (1 Lord, 90, 2 CSM troops, 150, for 240), you've already used up almost half your points with no upgrades and debatable usefulness.  In all the 500 point games I've played, I've had to build for both going against SM, Tyranid, and Ork armies.  This meant having to build my small army for horde killing as well marine killing.

This isn't easy.  You can't just load up a Rhino with 7 Plague Marines and 2 Meltas and be happy (216 points; 256 if you have a Champ with PF).  Of course, you can leave off the Rhino as 500 point games are usually played on 4x4 boards, but even that is risky business.  A Daemon Prince get's expensive really quick, and 3/5 saves are good up until you get jumped by a large mass of Orks.  The shear numbers are on their side.

The point is, just like in larger games, every unit has to have a specific role.  More importantly, every role must be self sufficient because you probably won't be able to double up.  Finally, and most important, you still need to cover all the roles needed.  You need close combat, you need anti-armor, you need everything you'd normally need at larger games to one degree or another.

For me, this meant clearly defining the rules of each squad as well as making the most out of each unit.  This also meant being intelligent about deployment.  A bad deployment will hurt you.  With the small number of units you can take, every unit out of place can cost you.  One unit dead is 1/4 your fighting force, generally, and that's a big blow at any level.

In my 500 point games, I found the following worked well for my CSM.

5 Noise Marines with Sonic Blasters: 125 points.
Role: Ranged anti-troop support.  15 shots at 24" with pinning is nothing scoff at.  Even better is the 10 shots at 24" while moving.  If you can get them into a position on the board with cover, they can provide support without moving, covering a large number of objectives and putting out a large amount of fire.  125 points is also reasonable for this type of fire power, considering that 8 CSM can only put out 8 shots at 24 inches while not moving, are not fearless, put out only 1 more shot while moving but only at 12 inches, and have 1 less initiative.  So, for 5 more points, I felt like I got a lot more.  Also, since they have longer range, and are fearless, I can keep the back away from the fighting holding a point.  They'll still be useful, and will be out of close combat range.

5 CSM with AC w/PF and Flamer, Rhino w/TL Bolter and Dozer Blade: 165
This is my assault squad.  The only scary part here is the non-fearless aspect of the group.  I might drop the Dozer and the extra TL Bolter, but really, they are cheap for the added firepower and assured mobility.  If there is only place where I have bad luck, it's dangerous terrain checks.  They plague me like nothing else.  But the Chaos Lord travels with the group.  The Flamers give them the ability to help clear out hordes, and the PF help with armor killing should it be needed.  Two TL Bolters on the Rhino also means it's got more weapons to fire.  I mean, 5 more points for an extra TL bolter? Not bad.  Easier to get in then a whole new SM at 15 points.  Besides, in smaller games, you don't have as much anti-armor fire coming your way.
5 CSM with Melta: 85
Footslogging isn't always advised, but it's not bad.  Remember, you are usually playing on a 4x4 board at 500 points.  This means you don't have far to go.  The melta is there for two reasons.  The first is to provide a clear anti-armor ranged weapon.  The other reason for the unit is to provide support for the troops in the Rhino.  These marines will move in slower, of course, but not that much if they can afford to run the first turn.  The unit is also small, meaning anyone firing at them is not firing at something else.  Indeed, firing at my Melta squad is almost a waste.  Again, morale might be an issue (and it was in one game for normal CSM), but these guys generally do their job well.

1 Chaos Lord w/PF and Combi-Flamer: 125
At this level, he's pretty strong.  At 3 wounds, with a PF, and a Combi-Flamer, he's packing a punch.  Coming in with the CSM squad in the Rhino, it's a fearsome force.  Sure, he's no DP, but at a lower point value, he allows me to take more options in other areas.

This small force at 500 has the following:

• 2 Power Fists
• 1 Melta
• 3 Anti-Armor weapons
• Long Ranged anti-troop support
• Mobility
• Template weapons for Hordes
• 3 Scoring Units
• Small Unit sizes for easier cover 

 At 500 points, that's not bad.  Each unit is vital, but none are essential.  This sort of goes against what I said earlier, about each unit not having a backup.  In a way, it's true: each unit has a backup, but not the same type of backup.  If the Melta is destroyed, I don't ranged anti-armor.  If the Flamer squad goes down, I don't have a close combat squad and I've lost a template weapon.  In larger games, I could double up on these units, but in smaller games, I have to find a way to double up in different ways on each of my units goals.

In some ways, larger games can get easier.  You can throw more and more on the table.  You can take all the wicked combos with ease.  With smaller games, you have less to work with.  You can't just throw those same combos on the table without suffering.  Each unit needs to be able to fill multiple roles.  And you have to fill those multiple roles while still giving you a solid model count in case a squad get's torn through early because of failed armor saves.

Army List - 1500 - CSM Nurgle

Tomorrow I'm playing against a new SM army my friend picked up. We are playing at 1500 points. I have no idea what toys he's bringing, but I saw the army, and it's rolling armor and other typical SM fare. So I've had to build a list with that in mind. I'm throwing my Nurgle force at it with the high hopes that it will hold out.

HQ: DP MoN WT - No surprise here. My DP has always proven reliable. Sure, he tends to die, but usually not before he does his job and takes out what he needs to. Tomorrow he's there to clean up dying units as well as the IC killer.

3 Squads of 6 w/PF, 2 w/Melta x2; 1 w/Plasma x2 - I find my PM's do well in small squads. Even at only 6 strong, they pack a mean punch. It get's more special weapons on the table, gives me more scoring units, and they don't miss out on much even if they did have a seventh. The plasma unit is there to hold the rear. They sit on the objective in the back and keep a watch over a section of their board. Depending on the setup and the board we play on, I might put them in reserve and have them come on late to hold the rear objective.

2 Squads of 2 Obliterators - I'm hoping we are playing on the city board Cosmos has. These guys will setup nicely at the top of the buildings there and have free range. They are Oblits. What more is there to say?

Bile Cannon - Vindicator with DP - What can I say, I love my Bile Cannon. It's pretty, it's sweet, it's everything neat. And it blasts big holes in things. I expect to get one round of fire out of him before he quickly becomes threatened by tank killers. I plan on Rhinos providing cover to the sides for the first turn. Again, really depends on mission and deployment. He's also there to attract a lot of the high strength fire I know is coming at me. This will keep the fire off the Oblits for a round or two. If he get's left alone, he'll provide a world of hurt.

5 Chosen w/Rhino, 4xMelta, 1xFlamer - Yeah, I know, flamer in a melta squad. Well, I had 6 points sitting around. Since this squad is going to be in close to whatever they have to deal with considering the meltas, and this gives me the ability to lay in with a lot of wounds. They will be held in reserve and come in late hopefully to push something off that is causing problems. This is the first time I've used the Chosen. Here's to hoping they work out well!

So, let's tally up what we have here.

• 3 Scoring Units
• 8 Power Weapons/Fists with the Oblits
• 15 AP1/2 capable models inc/Vindicator
• 6 Templates inc/Flamer
• 12 KP's

The Oblits and in some ways the Vindicator is there to give me range. The Plasma Marines are there as well to provide backup and support. Everything else is close range. This is important considering what my opponent my bring. He's fond of using a drop pod to get his Dreadnought or Stern Guard in close to cause havoc giving him time to get everything else into position. If he doesn't bring it on tomorrow, it will make my life a bit easier. If he does, however, I'm keeping everything deployed closely. This means when the DP does drop, I can handle it quickly and efficiently. I can't let whatever he drops stall my advance.

However, knowing that he has a new fancy Rhino filled army to play with, I imagine he's going to want to use them. With that in mind, I have a feeling I know what he'll do. Split a Tac squad into combat squads. Move in while his ML sits back and fires on my armor with the rest of the squad in cover. They will likely be sitting on an objective.

Anyways, the goal with my army overall is simple enough. Provide enough options that he will have to split his fire. Everything in the army is a potential tank killer. Everything is a tough nut to crack or simply not on the board at the start to die. There is also a lot to shoot at. 3 Rhinos, a DP, 2 squads of Oblits, and a Vindy make for a large number of options. And really, they all can hurt. He knows the danger of the Oblits though, so I imagine he'll work hard to take them out. I can't blame him. Hopefully they get in a couple of rounds of fire before being taken down.

Now, I'm hoping this list will serve me well as a core 1500 point all-comers list that I can build on. It has things to handle the different types of lists I face (Orc, Tyranid, and SM).

I'll bring my camcorder along to get a video of the battle and hopefully put together a nice looking battle report.

Obliterators v.s. Land Raiders

So, Obliterators are pretty awesome heavy choices for CSM. 75 points, 6 weapon options, and you can have 3 to a squad, or as few as 1. They have 2 wounds, 2+/5+ saves, and can deep strike in. All together awesome.

With a toughness of 4. That's the big downer, here. So, you essentially find a place for them to sit, in cover, while pestering the board with your lascannon fire. I mean, not bad, not bad at all.

But at 225 for 3 of them, is it really worth it? A Land Raider is cheaper, though you have a much more limited choice in weaponry, but still you get 2 TL lascannons a TL heavy bolter, and a TL bolter for the same price. At 14 armor all around. And let's face it, the chance of taking out the LR is lower than taking out the obliterators. Granted, it's easier to hide the obliterators then the LR. Oh, and a single melta attack can spell good night to that expensive LR. The obliterators also look less threatening. They do!

Which makes me wonder. So often for Nurgle armies I see 3 Oblit squads, or 2 Oblit squads and a Vindicator.

As a side note, I love Vindicators. I love the models and the look of them on the battle field, so I have a soft spot for them. Anyways, back to the point:

Why not instead of 2 Oblit squads, go with a Land Raider and an Oblit squad? Maybe throw in a Vindicator as well. Throw in a small 5-man squad into the LR if you want it scoring, but it's not needed. With those three titans on the field, you'll be paying lots of points, but honestly, I'd throw down with 2 DPs and Plague Marines to fill in the rest. Besides, with the Vindicator you can cover one side of the LR, and a Rhino covers another side, potentially providing ample cover if you play it right. Besides, the LR provides more cover for your Oblits or DP, too.

This gives your opponent even more to think about. With 3 Oblit squads, it's kinda easy to say "I'm firing at the oblits." With a Vindicator, it takes a bit more thinking. With a LR, you have the real potential to cause some concern. Does he focus fire and risk doing no damage? Does he go after the Oblits first hoping to get through 3 models (assuming instant death here).

I'm gonna have to try this out.

500 pt 3-way

My two friends and I met up yesterday with the intent to play a quick and easy 3 way game at 500 points. 500 point games are fast and easy, and make it easier to get in a 3-way rather than sitting one person out and waiting. I changed up my last 500 point list.

500 pt
HQ
Chaos Lord, Combi-Flamer/PF - 125 pts

Troops
CSMx5 - AC w/PF, Flamer, Rhino w/TLBolter - 165 pts
CSMx5 - Melta - 85 pts
Noise Marinesx5 w/Sonic Blastersx5 - 125 pts

My opponents were Codex SM and Tyranids. I had to deal with both high numbers and armor (Dreadnoughts and Razorbacks). I got to set up first, and decided to take a corner, set up my Noise Marines on a high, well defended hill. The board, btw, was only 4x4. Anyways, my Noise Marines would be able to completely cover the objective from their vantage point without moving and be able to take cover as needed. My Flamer squad and Lord were put into the Rhino, and my melta squad started behind the Rhino.

I was able to take out the Dreadnought by turn 3, which was actually really lucky all things considered. It was my first shot with the melta, and Destroyed it with ease. The next turn I took out the Razor back which had cover, but failed it's cover save. My melta squad really did well, even on foot!

My rhino lasted until turn 4, so turn 5 I had to disembark. However, by that point, I was able to split up my squad and HQ and get both sides of the Tyranids in front. Through some skillful positioning, I was able to flame and large number of gaunts and still attack the Hive Tyrant. Though my squad failed their morale check to assault, my Lord got into close combat easily enough. He suffered one wound from the Hive Tyrant, and turned around and was able to easily deliver the final wound needed to bring down the beast.

The Space Marines, having been whittled down to 5 models, actually pulled off the win at turn 5. He needed several lucky things to take place. First, he killed off my contesting Melta unit with 2 kills (having the Tyranids killing off 2 earlier). From there he was able to take my flamer unit down to 3 and they failed their morale check and started to fall back. But by then, he was the only unit with the objective. He just now needed the game to end, which it did with a roll of 2.

It was a great game, despite losing. The Emperor's Children were also really effective. 24" Heavy 3 gave them 15 shots a round. Very, very effective against the Tyranids and Space Marines. Whenever they fired, something was going to die.

Despite losing, I feel I played well. My troops all did exactly what they were supposed to do, and I don't think I could have done anything differently to really change the outcome too much.

500 pt Tourney AAR

Okay, so here is my after action report for the 500 pt friendly tourney my 3 friends and I did. I ended up with a simple 500 pt list:

• Daemon Prince with Wings and Warptime
• 5 CSM w/Champ w/PW and Melta
• 5 CSM w/Champ w/PF and Flamer, melta bomb (extra points!)
  
• Dreadnought w/x2 CCW, TL Bolter and Heavy Flamer

A very small list for sure, but did pretty well all things considered. I went 1 and 1. I beat the Space Marine player, and lost to the Orc player. Now, to be fair, the Orc and Tyranid players both brought 2 lists, one anti-horde and the other anti-SM. Both myself and the SM player bought one list, and after the tourney, we explained that next time, it's one list for everyone.

The terrain was heavy city terrain on a 4x4 table.

Both rounds were also Dawn of War for everyone due to randomness being consistent. I played two objective games. against the SM, the critical part was deploying first and strategically. The SM player deployed far back in a building. This proved to be a problem as it hindered his mobility. My DP took out his HQ a 5-man tac. squad, and being able to fly around was great for mobility. He was able to jump up and assault the HQ and squad on round two. strategic placement of troops also allowed them to stay close to objectives without getting fired at. The Dreadnought didn't do too much, other then a bit of damag to a Sternguard unit. But he was a big deterrent from the SM's leaving their building without him going down.

The orcs consisted of 1 Copta, and 2 squads of boys, nobs, and that HQ that gives the squad Feel No Pain. In the end, it was just numbers that killed me. A minor part of forgetting the objective of the game (objectives, not killing!). However, this list was custom designed to kill SM's, so I'm not worried too much. Even still, the first 3 turns looked like it was in my favor. However, when my 5 man CSM squad died all in one shot by failing all 5 of their armor saves, it was clear that the chaos gods were not in my favor.

All in all, a good night of gaming. We'd have pictures, but frankly, I didn't get many. The "recharged according to my wife" camera was low on batteries. Awesome! After the games, we went across the street for beer and burgers, and a good time all around.

Saturday Mini Tournament - 500 pts

So, this Saturday, three friends and I are meeting up to do a little mini tournament. Our goal is to play several 500 pt games that evening. Force Composition is restricted to 1 HQ, 2+ Troop choices, and 1 Heavy, Elite, or Fast Attack choice (that is 1 of them, not one each). The attempt here is troop heavy combat that are fighting in city terrain. 500 points isn't much to work with, so I'm going for quantity.

Here is the list:

500 Pts - Chaos Marines Roster

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (5#, 120 pts)
4 Chaos Space Marines @ 120 pts (Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; Bolter; Flamer x1; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)
1 Aspiring Champion (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist; Bolter; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (6#, 125 pts)
5 Chaos Space Marines @ 125 pts (Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; Bolter; Flamer x1; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)
1 Aspiring Champion (Bolt Pistol; Power Weapon; Bolter; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)

These are my front line troops. Their the assault types, and what I plan on using as front line fighters. Pretty simple here. Flamers are picked because we are using city terrain, and 2 out of the 3 armies I'll be facing are horde (Orc and Tyranid), so will be using cover.

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (6#, 100 pts)
6 Chaos Space Marines @ 100 pts (Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; Bolter; Meltagun x1; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)

This is my ranged/tank killer choice. At this point level, I don't imagine I'll be seeing much armor, but I'd rather have it just in case. Besides, it's instant death to anything it hits.

HQ: Daemon Prince (1#, 155 pts)
1 Daemon Prince @ 155 pts (Close Combat Weapon; Fearless; Wings; Warptime x1)

This was a difficult choice, in truth. He's in here because of the mobility he offers, as well as the insane power he provides. 5 attacks on an assault, Warptime, and MC weapons: he's my my killer unit. His job is to get in and destroy the opposing "big scary unit" that I'm bound to face.

The prize for winning is pretty big: free dinner later that night!