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Hey guys, I'm a new player - learned about 40k back in 3rd, but never really got into it till I started watching Youtube battle reports for 8th. With that said, I feel like I have a decent grasp of the rules and strategy, so I'd like to present my fluffy Ulthwe Black Guardian force, the Vereb ke'Raeghsa, or Lords of Destiny. This is 2000 points of mono-Craftworld Ulthwe, with the goal of being both fluffy and not immediately tabled by turn 2 (hopefully.) Dunno what the local meta here looks like, but I've played with a few friends and they typically also run fluffy-ish lists, so I haven't had any experience going against competitive soup lists. The idea is guardian bomb, though my lack of objective campers may hamper me a bit. Obviously, I'm delivering most likely Eldrad and a 20man blob of Guardians via webway - should be enough to shred most MEQs between the Black Guardian strat + Doom from Eldrad. The fire dragons/prisms/Crimson Hunters handle armor/TEQs/monsters etc., while the Wraithfighter is just great support for both jinxing its targets/guardian bomb targets, and just wrecking things. The support platform was just the cheapest way to fill out the spearhead.

Mobility-wise, the Wave Serpents sole goal in life is to drop Fire Dragons near whatever set of armor/dread/monster is closest and kill it, while the 2nd guardian blob will be slower and cover my midline, maybe objective camp. Obviously the rangers are there to fill out the battalion and also objective camp. Fire Prisms are cool and also mathematically capable of destroying 1 Leman Russ a turn with the strat if needed, so they seemed like a good choice. Overall, the core of the force is the guardian squad, but with buffs they shouldn't be quite as easy to kill as one might think, and then everything else wrecks stuff the guardians can't touch. Of course, if I roll poorly with the guardian bomb, or they close to CC turn 1 or 2 then I turn into a pink mist and die, so it'll be a fun game of getting within 12" so I can actually shoot things, but trying to stay out of charge range so my poor elfies don't autodie.

Ulthwe Footdar / Vereb ke'Raeghsa - 2000/2000 pts; 8 CP

++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Aeldari - Craftworlds) [60 PL, 1030pts] ++

+ HQ [18 PL, 332pts] +

Autarch / Arilus Vatherduin [4 PL, 77pts]: Forceshield [6pts], Shimmerplume of Achillrial, Shuriken Pistol, Star Glaive [6pts], Ulthwe: Fate Reader, Warlord

Eldrad Ulthran [8 PL, 150pts]: 2. Doom, 4. Executioner, 5. Will of Asuryan

Farseer / Dia Quelthalan [6 PL, 105pts]: 1. Guide, 3. Fortune, Shuriken Pistol, Singing Spear [5pts]

+ Troops [21 PL, 410pts] +

Guardian Defenders / The Eye Defiant [9 PL, 175pts]
. 20x Guardian Defenders
. 1x Guardian Heavy Weapons Platform: Shuriken Cannon

Guardian Defenders / Memory of Vatherduin [9 PL, 175pts]
. 20x Guardian Defenders
. 1x Guardian Heavy Weapons Platform: Shuriken Cannon

Rangers / Void Watchers [3 PL, 60pts]
. 5x Ranger

+ Elites [12 PL, 144pts] +

Fire Dragons / Shrine of Mes ti'Teset [12 PL, 144pts]
. 5x Fire Dragons: 5x Fusion Gun
. 1x Fire Dragon Exarch: Dragon's Breath Flamer

+ Dedicated Transport [9 PL, 144pts] +

Wave Serpent / Cirollo Falan [9 PL, 144pts]: Shuriken Cannon, Twin Shuriken Cannon, Vectored Engines

++ Spearhead Detachment +1CP (Aeldari - Craftworlds) [23 PL, 410pts] ++

+ HQ [2 PL, 35pts] +

Warlock / Quentra Lotharion [2 PL, 35pts]: 1. Conceal/Reveal, Shuriken Pistol, Witchblade

+ Heavy Support [21 PL, 375pts] +

Fire Prism / Vaul's Sight [9 PL, 160pts]: Twin Shuriken Catapult

Fire Prism / Vaul's Fury [9 PL, 160pts]: Twin Shuriken Catapult

Support Weapons / Se-curo ja Versakhan [3 PL, 55pts]
. 1x Support Weapon [3 PL, 55pts]: Shadow Weaver

++ Air Wing Detachment +1CP (Aeldari - Craftworlds) [28 PL, 560pts] ++

+ Flyer [28 PL, 560pts] +

Crimson Hunter Exarch / Cele Farad [9 PL, 175pts]: Two Bright Lances

Crimson Hunter Exarch / Starbright [9 PL, 175pts]: Two Bright Lances

Hemlock Wraithfighter / Cinanestial [10 PL, 210pts]: 4. Protect/Jinx,

++ Total: [111 PL, 2000pts] ++

Bump, C&C appreciated!

It's pretty difficult to read things pasted directly from battlescribe. Lots of unnecessary info, weird characters, and weird spacing so it looks like a solid wall of text. Here's some stuff I think you could use, though I may have missed a bit:

- A banshee mask or mandiblasters on the autarch. They're free, so no reason not to take one! Also a pistol. Shuriken is free, fusion is 9 pts.
- A second warlock with protect. Conceal is nice, but your other guardian blob will be defenseless. Protect helps in close combat ifnyoubdo get charged, and also has a nice synergy with guardian shield for a 3+ invulnerable.
- second weapon platforms in your guardian squads. Not simply for the the cannon, but to use as tanking models. With protect that's a 2+ save, 2 wound model to soak up hits and keep your guardians alive longer.
- the fire dragon exarch doesn't really need a Flamer. If you're specifically sending the unit after vehicles and monsters then he's ill-suited. The best he could hope to do is roast a couple models bubble-wrapping something. He would likely be more effective taking a melta with the rest of the unit and helping them focus something down.

Well. with the spring FAQ out and point increases for both farseers and 'locks, lets see what sort of changes we'll have to make!

I dropped nearly all the anti-tank to take advantage of the sweet sweet increase in CP for battalions, letting me rock out with a total of 14 CP (11 after Webway strike)!

Now, this may be a problem, but let's take a look at the list:

FACTION: Ulthwe CWE

+Air Wing Detachment+
2x Crimson Hunter Exarchs w/ twin brightlance
1x Hemlock Wraithfighter

+Battalion 1+
++HQ++
Warlord: Autarch with Swooping Hawk Wings w/ Banshee Mask, Shimmerplume Relic, Fusion Pistol
Elrad w/Doom, Executioner, Will of Asuryan
Farseer Skyrunner w/Singing Spear, Guide, Fortune

++Troops++
11x Guardian Defenders w/Shuricannon Platform
6x Rangers
5x Rangers

++Transport++
2x Wave Serpent w/Star Engines, Vectored Engines, Shuricannon

+Battalion 2+
++HQ++
1x Warlock Skyrunner w/Singing Spear, Protect/Jinx
1x Warlock Skyrunner w/Singing Spear, Conceal/Reveal

++Troops++
20x Guardian Defenders w/2x Shuricannon Platforms
11x Guardian Defenders w/Shuricannon Platform
5x Rangers

So, the changes really got me thinking. First off, going from footslogging HQs to bikes/wings. The point difference now is barely there, so of course I went to swapping in my hqs to more mobile variants. Second, antitank is relegated to a back row - honestly, I don't see this being a problem. With 3 units of rangers, I can camp objectives in cover all game long. I still deliver a webway guardian bomb+eldrad on turn 2 (assuming beta rules), and turn 1 my other two guardian squads are nice and secure in jinking wave serpents (which are all shuricannon loadouts so I can advance +2d6, get my jink, and still dakka!) We all know how survivable wave serpents are, add jinking and psychic goodness and I've got a great chance to advancing to whatever objectives my opponent has seized and unloading delicious shooty dakka goodness right in their face. My Autarch now has the mobility to keep up with advancing wave serpents for that yummy re-roll 1 to-hit bubble.

Did I mention the 11 CP? Yowza! The battalion buff is really paying off. My previous list kept me to a single use of black guardians, fire and fade, guardian shield, lightning fast reactions... but now I can more or less spam them, giving me the flexibility to respond defensively or offensively without feeling like I have to be frugal.

As always, C&C appreciated!