Using Inks and Washes
St. George, Utah
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Let me preface this might be very rambling. I am hyper bored at work!
Out of the 3 codices I own (Dark Angels, Chaos Marines, Eldar), I'm having the hardest time coming up with a Kill Team list I like with Eldar. It's a shame because I have a hankering to get some more models to get my Eldar force really underway. Right now it's literally 10 dire avengers, a farseer and a wave serpent.
Couple things when compared to Marines from a strategy perspective:
- No dedicated transports. Wave Serpents wouldn't be all that great in Kill Team compared to a Rhino anyway, to be totally honest. Giant point cost, would only be able to fire at one single solitary guy. It's definitely going to kill that guy, but still. No point really dwelling on it because can't bring one anyway.
- No army-wide weapons that can handle light vehicles. Every last marine has Krak grenades and because they all count as an individual unit model, each can throw one. Eldar have the better Blast grenade with their Plasma nades, but that doesn't exactly help against vehicles. Means unless the unit is already dedicated anti-vehicle, you have to bring a special weapon to handle them, or bring a Haywire weapons specialist AND hope he manages to assault a tank before dying. Not ideal.
- It's kind of hard to determine your specialists seeing as the only guy in any given squad who can take wargear options are your leaders. You'd need to take two different squads and upgrade both leaders to Exarch in order to make ONE guy with wargear options a specailist. Still leaves two other dudes, and it means you spent bare minimum 20 more points on upgrading statlines before you even get to the weapons.
- On the plus side, every guy is super mobile, and each guy being his own unit means you can really work some magic with Battle Focus.
I realize they are squishier but we've always known that so I don't think it's really worth cringing over.
So, unit by unit breakdown:
TROOPS
Dire Avengers: Bread and butter in normal games, but I'm not sure how to really utilize them in Kill Team. You're looking at 75 points for 5 guys + one upgraded to Exarch, so I guess it's fairly inexpensive as far as bringing a worthwhile Leader goes. Plus, every last guy having Counter-Attack is probably going to see some use. I am just not sold, though, because normally they can outshoot as a unit. One on one, I'm not sure they can, so their squishier frames compared to Chaos Space Marines (same point cost per model!) is a tremendous liability without a whole ton of tactical advantage.
Guardians: It's not even worth discussing defenders. As each unit is their own entity, that means the heavy weapons platform couldn't function without some house-ruling. Even then, you'd only be able to bring one max even if you maxed out the whole squad with guys. If you house-rule it so the Artillery gun just floats around til a guy picks it up, I suppose a Starcannon would be solid.
Storm Guardians I think have a place in Kill Team. They are a lot more killy AND mobile than many other sub-10 point units in other books. Because of Fleet and Battle Focus, keeping them in cover so they don't get gibbed every shot by Boltgun fire shouldn't be impossible. Even at just S3, they should be pretty solid in melee from sheer numbers alone, and it's not like Shuriken Pistols are THAT much worse than Shuriken Catapults. Losing a shot to gain an attack in assault I think is significantly more viable in Kill Team. Plus, you can bring two guys with flamers/fusion guns and an additional two guys with power swords. I think I'd rather just go 20 of them and spend the 20 points left over on fusion guns, but it's worth thinking about if I splashed a different second squad into the kill team.
Windrider Jetbike Squad: If only they weren't so cost prohibitive IRL. A 10 man squad with the 3 dudes rocking Shuriken Cannons would be such a great Kill Team. Unfortunately, it's also $135 bucks for 10 bikers (3 packs of 3 + another dude), and another $25 for 3 of the Shuriken Cannon biker bits. Ugh. Still, cost aside, it'd be pretty hard to handle for a lot of armies. You could simply eldar jetbike turboboost away from anyone running Hordes, your 3 shuriken cannon guys work as your 3 specailists, and each dude is basically a space marine with a better gun and more mobility. If I had the money to drop on it all at once, I'd think about it. I could also, you know, buy a freakin' Imperial Knight.
Rangers: Every last guy having infiltrate and Scout is pretty cool for Kill Team, not gonna lie. They are also significantly better than Space Marine Scouts at everything but shrugging off wounds. 3+ cover saves in any ruins helps mitigate that somewhat, though, and seeing as you've got both infiltrate AND move through cover on EVERY LAST DUDE, that shouldn't be too hard. Having a few dudes with Strength X is pretty useful against a lot of Chaos builds, whether they are utilizing Nurgle Spawn or Nurgle Bikers.
Great squad for splashing in should you find yourself with 60 points to spare and would rather nab a few of them than max out whatever other squad you're looking into.
ELITES
Howling Banshees: Power sword on every last unit in a game type where you can't have 2+ armor? Yes please. Only 2 points more a gal than a dire avenger. Significantly deadlier in close combat, but are way less defensive in nature lacking both the range of gun, number of shots and Counter-Attack. Still, every last banshee with a power weapon is pretty rude in Kill Team. The banshee mask on top of it gives you a pretty solid chance of killing any Space Marine you make it into close combat with. It's not like Banshees are overly expensive either. Double plus, your minimum run is a 4. I think Banshees have a solid place in Kill Team. Give one of them Fleshbane from Dirty Fighter to laugh at your 2+ to wound AP3 weapon. Maybe give another Rage, give a third Infiltrate? Lots of options in the Specialist department even though you don't have wargear options.
Striking Scorpions: Infiltrate and Move Through Cover and Stealth, with a 3+ armor save. Probably the most durable unit you can field a decent number of, and they are all over the place. Slightly less killy than Banshees in Assault. Not sure the Exarch is worth upgrading if you do take one, as all his worthwhile wargear options are ludicrously expensive and chances are he'll be the Leader anyway so you probably don't want to go too super crazy. I think bringing 5 of them is at the right price point to combine alongside othersquads, but that 17 per extra dude means going more than that will leave you with some wonky totals. I like my nice round even 200 point lists, what can I say.
Fire Dragons: I love Fire Dragons in regular 40k, but they can hop out of a transport and unload on some people. In Kill Team, it's 22 points for a T3 guy who has to run himself to get to where he's going. Fleet and the ability to fire post-run helps, but I'm thinking these guys are a little on the risky side. If you run into any Orks or Tyranids players, you'll be simply drowned in model count. I think if you do run Fire Dragons, you just run them stock and don't even take the exarch. If you do, I'd probably swap his fusion gun for the heavy flamer and hide him out of line of sight, and also give him Iron Resolve for Ld10. In case your forces break, having an Ld10 leader unit is pretty nice.
Harlequins: Bad unit is bad. I cannot fathom how you'd make these guys viable. They are more expensive per guy than Scorpions, who are just straight better. Terrible unit in 6E all around.
Wraithguard and Wraithblades: Well, you're going to be bringing exactly 6 of these guys. The base cost of the squad is 160 either way, and there are no options you can afford outside of bringing a 6th dude. You'll struggle on a lot of the mission types, have terrible/no range, but on the plus side are incredibly difficult to hurt and whatever you do shoot at/assault (depending on guard or blade variety) is going to be a smoking crater in the ground. I think it'd be a fun list to bring, and I love the models, AND I could do it fairly cheaply through discount sites so it's a contender despite the fact I don't think it'd be terribly top tier. Probably pretty solid against Marines, doubt it'd be effective against Orks.
FAST ATTACK
Swooping Hawks: A unit can be great in regular 40k and not so great in Kill Team. This is a good example. Can't deep strike, can't skyleap. Their utility is gone. Only thing they've got going for them is Haywire grenades. I just don't see them getting their points back in Kill Team, though the speed and utility of jump troops is still there. Can't imagine why you'd use them over Warp Spiders, though.
Warp Spiders: Speaking of, I think they are great for Kill Team. Not going to break a whole lot of armor saves, but when you're never shooting at 2+ stuff, you can manage. Also great at shreding light mechs. The mobility these guys offer now that every last one is his own unit is pretty tremendous, though it does open up more catastrophic failures with your guys disappearing into the Warp. I feel like it's worth the gamble.
Shining Spears: Default having Outflank is great, as it's the only way to deploy in reserves in Kill Team. Shining Spears will definitely kill things dead in both range and Melee, and have the added bonus of not cousting you Super Heavy prices to field a couple of them. I think running just 3 of them with the Exarch with a Star Lance can compliment other squads very well. Just make sure to bring another exarch so the Shining Spear one can be a specialist. I'd probably go with FNP to make him more durable, or possibly Stealth to stack with his Skilled Rider.
Vyper Squadron: Instead of 3 S5 Ap4 shots like with a land speeder, you get 3 S6 Ap5 Bladestorm AND 2 twin-linked S4 AP5 bladestorm shots. Winning? I think so. Really no need to upgrade it beyond what it comes with because blast weaponry doesn't help you much in Kill Team, Scatter Lasers for the purposes of Kill Team are just +1 shot for 10 points (eww) and Bright Lances are unnecessary because you won't face AV13 or better. I can see someone possibly springing for the Eldar missile launcher, though. Still, even stock it's going to be good enough to take out any armor you're likely to see and it's got enough dakka with the range and mobility to get as close as you can to a guaranteed specialist kill every round. Cheap enough could possibly bring two.
KILL TEAM LIST IDEAS
Seems on paper your best bet is mixing and matching the various aspects to work together. Your "wargear" is taking a different squad, giving you more viable options for what to do with your specialists. Or, you just spend a ton of money and get a whole bunch of windriders. I still feel that'd be super nasty.
Idea 1:
Wraithblades.
Add an extra dude. 192 points. Give one Feel No Pain, give another Shred, and give another Infiltrate. Mostly I like this because I can do it almost in one box. Only would need to go through bits sellers for one extra model. Issues I predict: low model count means I'll really feel every failed save, but on the plus side only things I've really got to fear are specialist and heavy weapons. Hopefully the Infiltrate guy can tie up their heavy weapons dude in a turn or two before I lose too many guys. The FNP should mitigate at least his loss. If someone brings Poison 4+ as one of their specialists, though, I'm pretty boned.
Idea 2:
Howling Banshees + Vyper
9 Banshees + exarch and a Vyper is exactly 195 points. Not going to lie, I'm really digging this one. It's almost a full Banshee squad (could be if I drop the Exarch!) and a Vyper. The Vyper is there mostly to be anti-vehicle so I can focus my Banshees on doing what they do best. Screaming and shouting into combat. One specialist is getting Fleshbane because that's just too excellent with a Power Sword, especially on an I5 model that lowers enemy initiative and WS down by 1, and when normally it's only a S3 model. Brutal. Much like, so banshee, wow. I think another one I'd do something in the combat specialist tree, probably Rage or Hatred. And the last one would be Guerilla Specialist. I'm leaning toward Scout or Infiltrate, but Preferred Enemy or Move Through Cover would also be really good. I think I spend the final 5 points on a Triskele for the Exarch in case anyone gets too close to her so she can Batman them to death.
Idea 3:
So Many Scorpions.
10 of them = 170 points. Exarch gives me 20 points left over. Means I can give him a biting blade, Crushing Blow and Stalker, because why not. Means he's probably killing any poor sap that gets to close to him to try and draw line of sight. Scorpions are a lot like Banshees in their default wargear is really, really good and lends itself to specailist USRs quite well. Best part is, infiltrate, move through cover and stealth are already covered on every last guy. I think I'd likely give one dude preferred enemy, another Haywire and the third with Fleshbane. Each guy is a little harder to kill than the Banshees, but are slightly less killy and I can't fit in the Vyper without dropping a considerable number of duders.
Idea 4:
Fire and Lightning
5 Fire Dragons, 6 Rangers. One dragon is upgraded to Exarch, takes a Dragon's Breath Flamer and Iron Resolve. His goal is actually to buff a bunch of the rangers in case your squad breaks, because Ld10 = important. I figure the flamer would give him more protection than just leaving him with a fusion gun because you'd get the D3 automatic overwatch hits in case he got assaulted. For specialists, one Fire Dragon is taking Infiltrate. I think that's pretty much guaranteed. I think I'd also give another Fire Dragon, Ignores Cover. No idea what I'd do with the last specialist. None of the Dirty Fighter ones seem all that appealing (maybe poison 4+ on a third dragon so he rerolls wounds against literally anything?), Indomitable goes to waste (FNP kind of blows on T3 units, so maybe Relentless for a sniper so he can move to reposition a shot without having to snapfire?). Close Combat specialist is just a total waste on the set up, regardless of who I'd want to put it on.
I'm definitely leaning toward Idea 2.
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