Wednesday 14 April 2010

BA Sternguard List

So, I've been busy,working, holding a brush and staring into space for a lengthy spell, or arguing with fools (sigh) so none of the stuff I said I planned to do before the end of last week got done.

That means my Part Two of the HQ BA Review is still 3 lines on Tycho, which is still a lot more than he would have had in the last Codex...



That aside, I have 2 really quick posts.  This first is a Sternguard based BA Mech army.  There's no real science behind it, but I will do an analysis at some stage, possibly when I do the Elites reviews, hopefully sooner.  The second post will be literally a couple of things I'm moaning about, and trying to generate some sort of brainwave by forcing myself to not gloss over it.  lol

Anyway, Sternies...

For this list, we are all about the shooty goodness, so we go with Tycho, to get the extra Sternguard ammo, and the Melta.  Rights of Blood...er...Battle also go well with the resilience you want for the list, without Combat Tactics to buff it.

Tycho (Captain) - 175

Now, we need Sternies, and a Transport.  Ideally, a Razor, to sit behind our advance wave and shoot over them.  This is where we rue the lack of 10-point AssCan turrets... :(
Note, a Rhino is a waste, as it encourages a unit like this to Bunker, and also it minimises their firepower.  As they aren't Troops, don't be afraid to let them die.  I'm open to arguments to the contrary, fyi.  ;)

5 Sternguard; w/ Razorback [Heavy Bolters], 5 Combi-Meltas - 205

Three of these...now for said Rhinos...

Assault Squad; w/ Rhino, 2 Meltaguns. - 225

Three of these....(It's a 2k list, btw! lol)  Takes our total thus far to (225x3) + (205x3) + 175 = 1465.  Not bad, for a 1500, though not great either.  Let's go on.  So far, we have a fair whack of shooting, but pretty much spread out anti-tank, and short ranged.  We have 6 11/11/10 (or 11/11/11/10, if you're Stelek... :p ) chassis' roaring forward - so let's get another 2 in there, and get some anti-infantry in the process - oh, and some FnP, in case forced out of our Mech, also providing us greater Flexibility and Duality.

Honour Guard; w/ 3 Meltaguns, Blood Chalice, 2 Flamers, Razorback [Heavy Bolters] - 210

Two of these...but that forces us to take another HQ...Yeah, a Libby.  Duh, lol.

Librarian; w/ Blood Lance, Shield of Sanguinius - 100

So, we've added on 510 more points - oh.  Takes us to 1975.  So, 25 to spend...well, Melta Bombs, Dozer Blades, Cinammon...add according to taste, at this stage.  There we have a quick Sternguard, very shooty up close, decently shooty at range, but lacking ranged anti-armour punch, BA list.  Dropping the Honour Guard for Riflemen (3!), AC/LC Preds, or Typhoons for better reach vs enemy Transports - but if you get close you will win the war of attrition without them (and with HG).  More mobile enemies a serious threat though.

7 comments:

Kris said...

lesson 1 why tycho sucks - his rites of usemyleadership are not optional. So deathleaper screws your army even more. PBS hits him and your entire army is LD2. awesome huh?

Vengeance rounds + FNP = funsies though

Chumbalaya said...

Man, I sure do miss Null Zone right about now.

I like the list TKE. I'm not sold on Tcyho's necessity and I think TLHF would be better on the Razors though. Drop Tycho and 3 combis for a Libby and TLHF turrets.

Some range wouldn't be too terrible either, but zooming up 18" in smoke and coming out strong turn 2 is an option.

Anonymous said...

I don't know enough about C:BA to make these comments with real sincerity, but I would be a bit concerned about the lack of any ranged anti-armour. First turn shooting will be just 5 T-L heavy bolters. I know you sort of mentioned this in the article, but you didn't suggest anything. Would a couple of preds instead of one of the sternies (I know that takes away from the 'sternie' element of the list).

The fast element sort of compensates for this a bit, and I know you have a sh*t ton of melta on your opponents doorstep for turn 2, but I think it could be a little hit/miss?

Against somebody that could reliably pop transports at distance I think you may struggle a bit.

Am I missing something???

TheKing Elessar said...

Wait, waht? "Dropping the Honour Guard for Riflemen (3!), AC/LC Preds, or Typhoons for better reach vs enemy Transports" - there's suggestions for more range. lol

You are right though - the list struggles at that, perhaps necessarily so. It would best be used as a way to rub it into people's heads that they truly need to have that kind of ranged busting capacity in their own list. Ork players who don't like lootas, for example.

Admittedly, with going first 18" and using Smokes, you get a lot of turn 2 leeway to either sit in midfield and pop shots off like Lampard, or drive forwards and get up close and personal. Football (it's not Soccer, FFS!!!!) reference cos I figured you'd get it quicker. lol

Anonymous said...

Apologies I thought that was a... 'you could do this for range.. but it would be wrong!'

Ranged tank-busting is where I totally fail! So I'm a massive hypocrite to be honest!

Anonymous said...

p.s. nice comment about Lampard, but I can't help but think most people won't get it! Maybe that is a bit naive of me??

And would you say a meltagun is truly a 'midfield gun?? I would say more of a edge of the 18 yard box!

TheKing Elessar said...

lol they probably won't.

As regards the MG - yes, largely because most enemies also close with you. The trick is being far enough away that you avoid their Melta, but getting close enough to deliver your own next turn. Easier with Fast Vehicles, ofc.

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