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How do!

With my Dark Angels mostly painted (still Cataphractii to go, and a pooload of basing), turns out a local gaming club are doing a “recruit peeps to Heresy” ongoing event, where we start with 500 points, and expand as people start to learn the ropes and get their forces painted.

And I’m very much game. I’ve spent a lot of money and time on my collection, and it’s most definitely time to start playing. After all, the more often we play, the greater the value we extract from prior investment.

Me being me, I think I’m just gonna field stuff I like the look and feel of to start, rather than some carefully considered tactical masterpiece force.

To begin with, I think I’m gonna go for a Praetor as HQ, two squads of 10 Taccies, and at least 5 Heavy Support Marines with Missile Launchers, but I might go Autocannon for range, rate of fire and that.

What are your thoughts on “good to learn the ropes with and not get immediately flattened” forces?

500 pts is realistically too low a points level for anything but the absolute most basic stuff. Which I guess if you're doing a slow grow league is just the ticket.

I think you've hit the bullseye though with what to take. Praetor, 20 tacs and some missile heavies clocks out at 445, leaving you with just enough left over for upgrades and gives you some good coverage for whatever you might encounter at that points level.
Of course there's always the risk that some fethface will take a contemptor at 500pts, in which case barring some very lucky rolling, you're proper fethed. But at least you'll know who to avoid playing in the future. (There is of course the exception of getting an actual, new to the game rookie who doesn't realise how dick-stompy contemptors are, but you'll have to make that judgement call.)


I would make but one recommendation for sub-1000pts games. Leave the Praetor at home and take a Paladin instead. Praetors can get surprisingly points heavy which at low levels can really hamper you. Paladins, while having a wound and attack less, have an equal WS and Ld to Praetors and get one of the best melee weapons in the game along with a couple of other very nifty rules, all for the very conservative price of 90pts.
So you get an excellent beatstick, and have more points going spare for upgrades for other units.

Autocannon, thanks to Rend, give me some chance against beardy Contemptors!

Against dreads, autocannons will certainly give you the edge and *might* just see you through if you can get line of sight to them early on. Also useful against termies as a rend pulls them down to their invuln.

Missile launchers have the advantage of krak missiles being S8, which means you'll wound easier, although anything with Sv2+ will largely negate them. That being said, S8 means any multiwound model will get insta-gibbed if it fails a save. But honestly, rend probably gives autocannons the overall edge over missile launchers.

This sounds like a really good idea. From my experience doing the same thing with earlier editions of WH40k, I'd suggest a few restrictions:

1. Maximum of 1 Elite and HS choice.
2. 1 Dread max.
3. Centurions only - no Praetors or named characters.
4. 1 reaction per turn.

Oh god I’ve been seeing their lists.

I’m 90% used they’re just mucking around, but there’s a Mechanicum of a Priest 2 x 2 Robots and 1 x 5 Thallaxi. And someone with an Armoured Spearhead of 1 HQ Sicaran and 2 Predators.

Still gonna stick to my infantry list though. Broadly speaking, I can’t see me fielding less than three, 20 strong Tactical Squads in “proper” sized games. So by starting with them as my core, I should be able to learn their limits and how best to achieve Objectives. From there I can start adding in heavier hitters.

I would assume you're looking to Stormwing it?

Haven’t really looked at the Rites of War and Legion Rules.

I’m still stuck in a proper “All Is Bland” 3rd - 5th Ed mindset, as that’s when I last played regularly.

Stormwing is part of Dark Angels Legion rules. Buffs your Bolters.

I’ll have a look

 Gert wrote:
Stormwing is part of Dark Angels Legion rules. Buffs your Bolters.

Go Stormwing for an infantry force