BA Email, from Verychubbypanda

Got an email in, from Verychubbypanda...


"Hey King
  Just wanna run this list by you & get ur opinion about it. LOL thx 


BA DC JP 1500pts List
HQ
Astorath ... 220pts
Troops
2x 10men RAS w/Meltagun, Flamer, Infernus Pistol, Power Fist ... 245pts(490pts)
2x 5men Death Company w/Infernus Pistol, Thunder hammer, Power weapon, Jump packs ... 235pts(470pts)
10men Death Company in Drop pod w/2x Infernus Pistols, Power Fist, 2x Power Weapon ... 320pts

Pretty simple army, astorath joins either JP DC squad and they beat face, Drop Pod DC scares ppl into reserves (not really lol) and it has 2 suicide melta units / 4 objective taker units (fragile though). What do you recommend, hypothetically, in order to expand this to 1850/2000? Kinda want more firepower in the list that would amke good synergy with the units above, or shud i scrap the list?. Thx TKE :P

-verychubbypanda "



Hey, thanks for the email! :D


Firstly, putting more firepower into the list is complicated.  Basically - you have virtually no anti-Infantry fire in the list as is.  While you should really have enough to get around this, you only have 5-7 units, most of which pose only a medium threat to tanks, at best.


Use of Flamers on RAS is good, I like it.


Taking advantage of Astorath to have 3 screaming units of psychos descend upon wings of fire, and in a giant steel coffin, is good too...but, frankly, I see the DC Dread as being the better part of the deal here, and you don't have one.  DC aren't a bad unit - but they don't truly add much beyond the psychological factor.  While psychology is an important part of the game and cannot be discounted, this relates more to playstyle than to the army list - style over substance, essentially.


A single Drop Pod in a list designed to Deep Strike Turn two, and thereby to waste a turn or more of the foe's shooting is counter-intuitive for a reason.  ;)


While this can potentially work out pretty well, dropping down, not suffering a Mishap, and engaging several enemy units to minimise their fire on your other forces when they arrive, against forces with dedicated CC units you will be just so much paste on their Hammers.  Granted, at 1500 this is a tactic much more likely to work, with so many fewer of these rock units around.


Have you faced either Eldar faction with this list? How did that pan out?  Speaking in general terms, they have the mobility to evade a large part of your list, and potentially have Vypers to make the DC run around in circles.  I happen to feel Eldar are actually rather weak at 1500, contrary to popular belief on the subject - but they could be a tricky match-up for this build.


Thoughts for expansion, for me, start with Vanguard.  At larger points, you need something to jump in straight away and rescue those DC from being tarpitted all game.  Would that they could have a Chainfist...Also, Dreadnoughts.  Even the humble Rifleman is greatly improved by the Red Thirst - and AstroBoy makes that 3 times as likely to happen - a winning combination.  Of course, that doesn't truly fit with the rest of the army - even in a Pod.  Really, I can't see beyond 2 options for thematic firepower...Honour Guard, and shooty Termies.  Dreadnoughts are a great benefit to the list, being more resilient - but they simply don't pack enough punch, even with Frag Cannons, to do the heavy lifting this army will require.


What I really want, before ironing this out into a concrete suggested list, is a BatRep.  :p


Playing 1500 so little (I don't enjoy it) means that there may be subtle nuances of the list I'm missing, and I'd hate to rule something out incorrectly. If it's any bother to provide one, that's fine, I'll try and make time to test the list myself on Vassal - just bear in mind I still have a LOT of painting to do, and this will take a back seat to that.  :)


I hope my ruminations of the subject are of of some use so far!