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Hey Guys!

I'm participating in a character battle event at my local GW at the start of February.

The rules are as such...

200 Points max to pick a single model HQ. No named characters, no flyers, no vehicles.

The game will be a double elimination tournament played on a 2'x2' board with no terrain. Each model starts in an opposing corner with the winner of a dice off choosing to go first or second.

I'm debating on what to bring.

Here are my options so far. Please critique and share what you would bring!!!

Option #1 - Iron Hands Chapter Master w/Artificer Armour, Bike, Storm Shield and Power Axe

2+/3++ with FnP 6+ and It Will No Die 5+... Orbital Bombardment, Very Mobile with the Bike, T5 prevents most instant death issues. The goal is to fire off the OB, then get in close and go to town with the axe.

Option #2 - Tau Crisis Commander w/Plasma Rifle X2, Shield Generator, Stimulant Injector, Iridium Battlesuit, Onager Guantlet, Puretide Engram Neurochip

2+/4++, Jump Shoot Jump, S6 AP2 weaponry, FnP 5+, S10 AP1 close combat attacks. The goal is to dance around and fire tons of plasma weaponry while avoiding combat and staying alive.

Option #3 - Necron Overlord w/Sempiternal Weave, Phase Shifter, Phylactery, Mindshackle Scarabs, Tesseract Labyrinth and Staff of Light.

2+/3++, If killed can come back with d3 wounds. The goal is to get in close as quick as possible and hope the Scarabs and Tesseract do their things.

What else would you pick? Do these look good?

IH Captain, Shield eternal, bike, thunder hammer.

or

IH Captain, Shield eternal, power fist, jump pack, arti armour.

or

IH Captain, shield eternal, thunder hammer, jump pack, grav/plas pistol.

So you don't think having the option of the Orbital Bombardment is worth it? The Shield Eternal is just so expensive, but I guess it would work on an Iron Hands Captain.

I would go with either #1 or #2. #1 is my favorite out of the 3

If you have the points, swap the Onager Gauntlet for Vectored Retro thrusters. You don't want to be in combat, especially as you'll only have one attack.

Perhaps consider taking a Fusion blaster. IDing most other guys you'll come up against.

I mean, you might hit with the donkey punch, but honestly I'd rather be kiting at 18" with the fusion blaster, or 24 with dual plas.

Necron OL w/ 2+/3++/RO/WS/MSS/
90+15+10+15+30= 160 pts, add a philactory, and you are in business, if the dice go your way, you will beat any HQ in the game.

No Overlord should EVER leave home without his trust warscythe

I hate to say it but I think the Overlord would probably be the best, but it won't make you any friends. It would just be plain annoying as it probably won't die and just make everybody hit themselves. I would be annoyed to fight it.

Personally I would run a Khorne Lord on a Juggernaut with sigil of corruption, Axe of Blind Fury, VotLW, gift of mutation, and combat familiar to round it off. He could probably toast anybody on the charge with a S5 HoW, 8-13 S7 AP2 attacks and 2 S4 attacks for icing.
As far as hitting power all of those other combat units don't have enough to kill an enemy without being stuck in combat for a loooong time.

What about a Necron Destroyer Lord for the added toughness and ability to get into combat quicker. I think if you ignore the Phylactery, the points should work out.

No invuln, but a 2+. Is that a dealbreaker?


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Toughness is 6.

Destroyer lord with mss and 2+ and res orb wins it... thats within points right? (I only ever run overlords so don't know the base cost off the top of my head)


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As kriswall says t6 is a biggy for this...

That is within points... 190, but no other upgrades available to bring it to 200

Tervigon, crushing claws, adrenal glands... that 1 model hq will quickly become far more than 1 model... that legal?

The only rules are 200 points, nothing named, flying or in a vehicle. The Tervigon is actually a pretty solid choice. Force them to deal with lots of smaller 'nids.

I don't think T6 or a 2+ will matter. Everybody will probably be bringing S7 or higher AP2 weapons.


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 Kriswall wrote:
The only rules are 200 points, nothing named, flying or in a vehicle. The Tervigon is actually a pretty solid choice. Force them to deal with lots of smaller 'nids.

Don't bring a Tervigon, that's just blatant exploitation.

Artificer Armour/Sempiternal Weave and similar are probably useless then. Spend the points on invuln saves.

What about a Tervigon? Could be a little luck dependent, but lots of Termagants with poison could be really nasty. Plus, you still keep the option for strength 10 attacks.

I'm pretty sure the Tervigon could beat all 3 of those options. Termagants drag down the Overlord (and can prevent him from getting back up). Termagants tarpit the Crisis Suit on turn 2, then the Tervigon smashes him to death. The Tervigon actually beats the Chapter Master with no help at all.

Almost nothing could actually charge the Tervigon - who else has bubble wrap in a 1v1?

Better yet, you can still roll 3 times on Biomancy (if you want). 5-6 smash attacks or Toughness 9 or FnP and IWND.

Tervigon + Toxin Sacs + 3 psychic powers = 200 points

Thats 205pts. Its why i suggested crushing claws instead. But you could have 2powers sacs and glands for 200pts.

herpguy wrote:
I don't think T6 or a 2+ will matter. Everybody will probably be bringing S7 or higher AP2 weapons.


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 Kriswall wrote:
The only rules are 200 points, nothing named, flying or in a vehicle. The Tervigon is actually a pretty solid choice. Force them to deal with lots of smaller 'nids.

Don't bring a Tervigon, that's just blatant exploitation.

I see nothing wrong with a terv. If anything get mad at the organizer who didn't familiarize himself with the nids.

Here's an idea: Eldar Autarch/Farseer on a Jetbike with the Uldanorethi Longrifle and Mantle of the Laughing God. (I think you should have points to spare so feel free to add more stuff.)

Stealth + Shrouded + Jink saves + Rerolling failed cover saves should mean the single last thing on earth you'd have to worry about is Orbital Bombardments and Tau commanders with markerlight drones. No one is ever going to get into assault with you unless they are running basically a carbon copy of your dude due to the 36" turbo boost and 2d6 jetbike move you can make in the assault phase.

The longrifle gives you an Ap3 S-X 120" range sniper weapon so you could theoretically flit about on the outskirts of the map out of range of everyone until you whittled them down to death. S-X is also pretty handy if someone decides to do something like bring a Nurgle Biker Chaos Lord or figures out some other way to bring an HQ guy with crazy toughness. You've still got the Shuriken Catapults on the front of the bike if you need rate of fire rather than hoping for one solid hit. Either way, you are wounding on a 6 on your damage rolls save it be for invuln/cover saves on your opponent.

Autarch gives you more gun options to try to round out your arsenal, or because you're on a bike, you can use a Laser Lance and utilize the Hit and Run ability given by the Mantle of the Laughing God for when you're facing an HQ that's as shooty as you are. Farseer gives you some powers that could totally shatter your opponents in Eldritch Storm and Mindwar. I think you also gain access to Telepathy as Eldar so you could take Psychic Shreik and hope for one of those totally OP rolls that causes a bajillion wounds.

Poly Ranger wrote:Thats 205pts. Its why i suggested crushing claws instead. But you could have 2powers sacs and glands for 200pts.

Nope, my Tervigon loadout is exactly 200. 160 base + 10 for toxin + 30 for two extra powers.

SRSFACE wrote:Here's an idea: Eldar Autarch/Farseer on a Jetbike with the Uldanorethi Longrifle and Mantle of the Laughing God. (I think you should have points to spare so feel free to add more stuff.)

Would be great, but it's played on a 2'x2' board. Anything that can move 12" a turn can easily catch him in 2 turns. (So can the Tervigon, with her gants) You have Hit and Run, but T4 with a 3+ save isn't going to stay alive for more than a round or two of combat.

160 base? My apologies. I had 165 base in my head. Suppose since its a dex I just use for list building my 'off the top of my head' knowledge must be out.


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SRSFACE wrote:
Here's an idea: Eldar Autarch/Farseer on a Jetbike with the Uldanorethi Longrifle and Mantle of the Laughing God. (I think you should have points to spare so feel free to add more stuff.)

Stealth + Shrouded + Jink saves + Rerolling failed cover saves should mean the single last thing on earth you'd have to worry about is Orbital Bombardments and Tau commanders with markerlight drones. No one is ever going to get into assault with you unless they are running basically a carbon copy of your dude due to the 36" turbo boost and 2d6 jetbike move you can make in the assault phase.

The longrifle gives you an Ap3 S-X 120" range sniper weapon so you could theoretically flit about on the outskirts of the map out of range of everyone until you whittled them down to death. S-X is also pretty handy if someone decides to do something like bring a Nurgle Biker Chaos Lord or figures out some other way to bring an HQ guy with crazy toughness. You've still got the Shuriken Catapults on the front of the bike if you need rate of fire rather than hoping for one solid hit. Either way, you are wounding on a 6 on your damage rolls save it be for invuln/cover saves on your opponent.

Autarch gives you more gun options to try to round out your arsenal, or because you're on a bike, you can use a Laser Lance and utilize the Hit and Run ability given by the Mantle of the Laughing God for when you're facing an HQ that's as shooty as you are. Farseer gives you some powers that could totally shatter your opponents in Eldritch Storm and Mindwar. I think you also gain access to Telepathy as Eldar so you could take Psychic Shreik and hope for one of those totally OP rolls that causes a bajillion wounds.

This is a really good idea... although it will be a VEEEEERY long game until he eventually causes the wounds he needs. The tervigon could try and swamp the board with gants to tie him up so he could engage himself... but with hit and run that helps prevent that.

 Kriswall wrote:
So you don't think having the option of the Orbital Bombardment is worth it? The Shield Eternal is just so expensive, but I guess it would work on an Iron Hands Captain.

I just don't think the oribital bombardment is going to do much, I don't think many people will bring a model that can be one shot nuked, and then the extra wound is negligible as some things or force weapons can insta death you. Captain and using the extra points for the shield eternal is the better option in my opinion.

You could go ultra risky and try an IH librarian, with a burning blade, shield eternal, and on a bike and go for luck on the psychic power but it could be very risky on only two wounds.

One you could go for, which is not as competitive as the others but stands a chance against all is a ML2 librarian with force axe, bike, stormshield, digi weapons, and armour indomitus, rolling on biomancy, or a mantis warrior rolling on divination for the reroll to hit.
The true strength is the force axe with digi weapons for the reroll to wound to get the insta-gib. Hitting last, but hopefully the t5 2++ will help against that.
Rerolls to hit, re-roll to wound, ignores armour, then insta kills.
If he doesn't kill them in one round then he is in trouble as his 2 wounds and now 3++ with only 2 attacks will not hold out for long.
As I say - not as competitive as the others but an underdog who may surprise.

Tervigon with stock powers so your guarenteed FnP.

RE: Tervigon: Just keep in mind the new codex is dropping, like, Friday or Saturday. It might make them even better and even more scary for 200 points. It also might make them a waste of a unit to bring for a tournament like this. I mean, the former is more likely than the latter but it's worth keeping in mind.

Also re:2x2 board. "Easily" getting into assault with you if they are also on a bike is a bit of an overstatement because they have to roll really high on their assault movement, most likely. Also, if there is any sort of terrain still on the board, you can use that to your advantage better than most if you're on an Eldar Jet Bike.

Also keep in mind the Farseer will be rocking 3+/4++ and potentially with rerolls. Yeah you're "only" T4 and all but I don't think you'll have to fear people bringing power fists and thunderhammers all that much because dropping to initiative 1 is too dangerous against too many other types of HQ units. Not saying there won't be people doing it. Just saying I would be shocked if it was a common problem.

I'm not saying there aren't downsides. I just think it'd be a pretty good all-comers HQ for this type of event.

SRSFACE wrote:
RE: Tervigon: Just keep in mind the new codex is dropping, like, Friday or Saturday. It might make them even better and even more scary for 200 points. It also might make them a waste of a unit to bring for a tournament like this. I mean, the former is more likely than the latter but it's worth keeping in mind.

Also re:2x2 board. "Easily" getting into assault with you if they are also on a bike is a bit of an overstatement because they have to roll really high on their assault movement, most likely. Also, if there is any sort of terrain still on the board, you can use that to your advantage better than most if you're on an Eldar Jet Bike.

Also keep in mind the Farseer will be rocking 3+/4++ and potentially with rerolls. Yeah you're "only" T4 and all but I don't think you'll have to fear people bringing power fists and thunderhammers all that much because dropping to initiative 1 is too dangerous against too many other types of HQ units. Not saying there won't be people doing it. Just saying I would be shocked if it was a common problem.

I'm not saying there aren't downsides. I just think it'd be a pretty good all-comers HQ for this type of event.

If the rules do not change for tervigon, then keep in mind you spawn 6 inches, can still move 6 inches, shoot and then assult. First turn assult is quite possible.

 Gitsmasher wrote:

herpguy wrote:
I don't think T6 or a 2+ will matter. Everybody will probably be bringing S7 or higher AP2 weapons.


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 Kriswall wrote:
The only rules are 200 points, nothing named, flying or in a vehicle. The Tervigon is actually a pretty solid choice. Force them to deal with lots of smaller 'nids.

Don't bring a Tervigon, that's just blatant exploitation.

I see nothing wrong with a terv. If anything get mad at the organizer who didn't familiarize himself with the nids.

It's a pretty friendly environment. If someone brings a Tervigon, everyone will most likely say "Woah... that's awesome."

The idea is to come up with the strongest, most powerful HQ you can get for 200 points. Obviously, some codexes aren't even going to be competing. Noone has mentioned any IG HQs for good reason. They can't compete with a Tervigon or a Space Marine Captain with blinged out Chapter Relics.

I'm currently leaning towards the Khorne Lord on Juggernaut because it seems like he would be able to survive long enough to get into combat, and then wreck face once he's there. On a 2'x2' board, and assuming a 60mm base versus a 25mm base, you're only starting 29.9 inches apart. 12" move for the juggernaut lowers that to 17.9 inches. Run d6 for another ~3 inches and you're only 14.9 inches away. Your opponent gets 1 round of shooting, can't back up and either assaults you or gets assaulted the following turn. I'm not sure that shooting is even going to factor in other than a wound or two.


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Oh, and there is no terrain... think to yourself a gladiatorial pit where it's just you and your opponent. There's a reason you don't see a lot of ranged weaponry in old gladiator movies!

Farseer has no where near enough punch to win this. 1 BS 5 AP 3 Shot isn't going to win the game in any reasonable amount of time against most opponents. Not to mention he would be a sitting duck vs a Tau commander with Ignore cover or any flying monstrous creature. Survivable maybe, but a winner? not a chance. An Autarch on the other hand who is rocking Shard of Anaris has a reasonable chance against almost anyone, but anyone with eternal warrior will punk his ass.

I agree as is a Tervigon would win, bubble wrapping and psyker powers will make the win.

I'd actually not go for an ultra competitive HQ, I'm assuming you have 4 HQ's per board? If you have the biggest nasty on the board, all 3 will be targeting you at first.


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Oh, scratch that....

Only 2 per fight. It's going to be double elemination.

In addition to the Khorne Lord being a solid choice, he would probably be the most fun IMO. That dude should nuke anybody he charges. One major thing about him you can't forget is that since he is cavalry he has FLEET. So you can reroll those runs and you won't have to worry about a possible 3" charge like everybody else will.