Themed armies.

Warning: This post will meander and may not even come to a conclusion!

I had my first game with the new Eldar codex on Thursday and lost to a Necron list. I can't remember the exact list but it was Imotekh/Immortals/Night Scythes/Annihilator barges. It was a bad mission for me, bad deployment, I went second and I forgot a bunch of things including the fact that War Walkers have a 5+ invulnerable save now!

However, I've rejigged my list since and it's now much tougher. I dropped some stuff that was better in the old codex such as my Wraithlords and Dire Avengers but I've ended up with a much better but incredibly bland list. There is no theme to it, just a bunch of units thrown together.

I play an Alaitoc themed army, so that is the best place to look for inspiration. So what would an Alaitoc army normally consist of?:

Autarch/Avatar/Farseer/Pheonix Lords
Rangers/Pathfinders
Striking Scorpions
War Walkers
Harlequins
Warp Spiders
Jetbikes
Crimson Hunters/Vypers (I think so anyway)

These are all units that infiltrate, outflank, sneak around or use tricks to stay alive. Of course, all Eldar craftworlds have Wave Serpents, Falcons, Guardians and all the other units in the codex too, but that is to fill out not define its personality.

The thing that strikes me is how fragile the troops will be, especially with Heldrakes flying around crisping everything up. So I was thinking I could bring some Wave Serpents to pick up endangered rangers - but they can't have dedicated transports. Guardians can however...but if I take Guardians then I have this irrepressible urge to take the avatar to keep an eye on them.

And Harlequins - now there is a conundrum. They are fairly killy, although which numpty decided veil of tears should be a pyschic power?! Rending/I6/WS5/fusion guns are as good as ever, if a little expensive points wise in comparison to other units now. If I field them I will need something to support them.

I'm going to be bashing together some lists to try some combinations out until I find an army that suits my play style and has a theme I can relate to. Hopefully without losing too often in the process!

Summer Skirmish 2012

Mods vs Rockers -
the ORIGINAL Summer Skirmish!

Tim King of the Scottish ETC team has just announced that the Summer Skirmish is officially back this year, and will be held on the weekend of 28-29 July 2012. As usual, the tournament will be held at the excellent Maelstrom Games venue in Mansfield. Tickets and more info can be found here.

For those not in the know, the Summer Skirmish is a 12 (or 13) game 'fun' tournament held over two days. Each 40-minute game is a slightly modified Combat Patrol featuring 500pt armies, which are selected from the usual codexes but with some restrictions to try and balance things up (though that didn't stop my Nids getting tabled in 8 minutes by the then-brand-new Grey Knights. Ahem). Specifically, the restrictions are:

- Only one Troop choice is compulsory. Troops 2-6 are optional.
- You may have one HQ choice, but no more than one.
- You may select one choice each from Elite, Fast attack and Heavy Support but no more.
- Vehicle Squadrons are permitted this year.
- No unit may exceed 21 models at any point (in selection or during the game (inc. attaching characters)).

- No model can have more than 2 Wounds.
- Tyranids and Necrons may select models with 3 wounds or less.
- No special characters.
- No 2+ saves.
- No vehicles with a total Armour value greater than 34.

The other thing that will make this event special is that this tournament should be played using... fanfare please... Warhammer 40,000 Sixth Edition! Now I can't think of a better way to learn a new ruleset than to play fast 'n' furious games with your mates in a fun-but-competitive environment.

That's it for now, hopefully see you there. Let us know here at Claws & Fists if you're thinking of going, and what lists you might be taking!