Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Tried and true Draigo cent star coupled with a strong contingent of flyers. Basic philosophy is, if you bring an invisible deathstar, and the opponent doesn't have a hard counter to it, there going to try and ignore it by pouring there firepower into your other elements. What if those other elements are also unusually hard to interact with? Sure this list puts out great dakka, but the "thing" it's trying to do most is waste the opponents points. Tiggy synergizing with flyers was just the icing pushing me in this direction. Terminators arriving turn 1 via NSF rules also gives the feeble scouts some tabling insurance in case we go second against a potent turn 1 army. Low on infantry, yes, low on ObSec, yes - very high on rate of fire, strength of fire, durability, mobility, and hopefully, non-interactivity.


Nemesis Strike Force

HQ – Librarian (Level 3 Divination)

Troops – 5x Terminator Squad w/ Incinerator

Lord of War – Kaldor Draigo

Combined Arms Detachment

HQ –Chief Librarian Tigurius (Telepathy)

Troops – 5x Scout Squad w/ Heavy Bolter
Troops – 5x Scout Squad w/ Heavy Bolter
Troops – 5x Scout Squad w/ Heavy Bolter

Fast Attack – Stormtalon Gunship w/ TL-Assault Cannon & Skyhammer Missiles
Fast Attack – Stormtalon Gunship w/ TL-Assault Cannon & Skyhammer Missiles
Fast Attack – Stormhawk Interceptor w/ TL-Assault Cannons, Las-Talon & Skyhammer Missiles

Heavy Support – Fire Raptor Gunship w/ TL-Avenger Bolt Cannon & 2x Quad Heavy Bolters

Heavy Support – 4x Centurion Devastators w/ Omniscope, Hurricane Bolters & Grav Cannons

I see two very hard counters to this list. One is bad luck: if you don't roll invisibility, you are screwed. The other is the bane of all psychic deathstars, the Culexus.

The idea of having lots of flyers on top of an invisible deathstar is nice, but you need more reliability. With this list, a bad roll can cost you the game, even before the game actually begins. While weaker in many ways with respect to Tiggy, Sevrin Loth guaranteed you have Inivisibility, at least.

Completely agree with that analysis. The list started with Sevrin of course, but Tiggy allowing re-rolls on reserves is what sealed it in his favor, along with re-rolling for powers, he does have a 70% of getting invis. So yes, you are setting yourself up for a bad day a small amount of the time, but often, you'll get what you need and I think be well positioned against most things.

I know Tiggy has 70% to get invis (actually it's 75%), rerolling psychic tests is amazing, but almost auto-losing a game every 4 is unacceptable if you aim for competitiveness. Rerolling reserves is quite useful with all those flyers, but you can't use that for Terminators, and the same job is done by a 70 point fortification that gives you cover on top of that (very useful to protect the centurions if you don't get first turn), and that CAN be used for Terminators. Drop a unit of scouts and remove heavy bolters from the other 2, and you get the points for Loth + ADL with comms relay. Have a unit of scouts within 2", and you can go to ground for a 2+ cover (EDIT: scratch that, Red Scorpions cannot GtG) until the flyers come in (consider also that, with the Death From the Skies rules, if the enemy has no flyers your Reserves come in on a 2+). Or, scrounge 25 points from somewhere else, and get an Imperial Bastion instead of ADL (with comms relay, of course). Greater protection for centurions on turn 1, and you even have a few heavy bolters to boot (remember that if you modify the model or build it from scratch, you can, LEGALLY, place all 4 of them on one facing).

Also, Loth is pretty good in a deathstar, not only for the guaranteed invisibility, but also because of the 2+ invulnerable save. This ensures that even if something hits you (on snap shots), it will not do any damage. Yes, it costs a warp charge, but you only really need to cast invisibility (psychic shriek is nice but not needed). Oh, he is Fearless too, has a better weapon than Tiggy, and 1 more Attack. Yes, he only has 2 Wounds, but if he gets wounded at all you are doing it wrong.

(also, yellow and grey looks cooler than smurfy blue )

All very good points, and you don't need to sell me on Sevrin, he is amazing. Couple things though, my local LGS doesn't allow death from the skies rules, and also, the terminators don't need reserve manipulation, they automatically come in turn 1 via nemesis strike force rules. But I'm going to work up a version of the same list with Sevrin instead. Try them both out.

Maybe lose the 3rd scout squad and augment the other 2 scout squads?

Considering you're going to be having to make a lot of 4+ saves...

Give scout sergeants combi-weapons.

Sevrin list could look something like this:


Nemesis Strike Force

HQ – Librarian (Level 2 Divination)
Troops – 5x Terminator Squad w/ Incinerator
Lord of War – Kaldor Draigo

Combined Arms Detachment

HQ –Magister Sevrin Loth (Telepathy)
Troops – 5x Scout Squad
Troops – 5x Scout Squad
Fast Attack – Stormtalon Gunship w/ TL-Assault Cannon & Skyhammer Missiles
Fast Attack – Stormtalon Gunship w/ TL-Assault Cannon & Skyhammer Missiles
Fast Attack – Stormhawk Interceptor w/ TL-Assault Cannons, Las-Talon & Skyhammer Missiles
Heavy Support – Fire Raptor Gunship w/ TL-Avenger Bolt Cannon & 2x Quad Heavy Bolters
Heavy Support – 4x Centurion Devastators w/ Omniscope, Hurricane Bolters & Grav Cannons
Fortification - Imperial Bastion w/ Comms Relay

You can use the Bastion to hide your squads from a turn 1 tabling.

Too bad you don't use DftS rules, they would just benefit you (reserve manipulation and a possibility for flyers to turn 90° at any point of their movement, plus Storm Talons could have become part of an attack pattern).

Terminators don't arrive automatically, though: the rules for Nemesis Strike Force allow them to Deep Strike on turn 1, but it's still a 3+ Reserve roll. You just get to do it from turn 1 instead of turn 2. Comms relay makes it much more reliable, but you still have to roll.

I think the last list is better than the original one, it seems much more reliable. All you lost is a ML on the Libby, if I am not mistaken, and some scouts (which are a tax anyway), but you got a bastion (and potentially more heavy bolters than you had before), which helps you greatly.

Yeah I agree, thanks for the clarification on the NSF.