New Army for the New Year!

Hello it's been awhile! My eBay store has almost sold out of its yearly haul, but there are a few random Eldar and dark Eldar items still up for sale.  Check out the link on the right if you're looking for some good deals!

Since my last post I went and started writing articles for Bell of Lost Souls.  I've only written 2 so far, but will write more as I get some more free time.  They were on The Art of Mental Training and touched on the psychological / mental components of gaming.  They may not appeal to a wide audience, but I think there are some who appreciate them.  I will repost them here for my own reference after the new year.

I've also started a new army.  Things got a little stagnant with my Eldar and Dark Eldar.  I played Dark Eldar almost exclusively during 5th, and Eldar since the new Codex came out.  It was time for a change!  So I made a pretty big change and started up ..... TYRANIDS!!!

Here is the army I've been running lately:  

Hive Tyrant: twin-linked devourer with brainleech worms; twin-linked devourer with brainleech worms; wings; electroshock grubs 240
Hive Tyrant: twin-linked devourer with brainleech worms; twin-linked devourer with brainleech worms; wings; electroshock grubs 240

3 Ripper Swarms: Deep Strike 45
3 Ripper Swarms: Deep Strike 45

Malanthrope 85

Dimachareon 200

Tyrannocyte 75

Barbed Hierodule 565

Hive Tyrant: twin-linked devourer with brainleech worms; twin-linked devourer with brainleech worms; wings; electroshock grubs 240

1 Mucolid Spore Cluster 15

Void Shield Generator: 2× additional projected void shield 100

1,850 points

This army packs a pretty nasty punch.  I've tried variations with 4 or 5 Flyrants, and those are pretty nasty too.  I'll post some battle report summaries as they come in.  This army is such a far detachment from Eldar and Dark Eldar - I think it'll be a nice counterbalance for them.

Null Deployment Dark Eldar - How to do it!

Tired of getting blasted off the table before fighting back? Try Null Deployment!

Dark Eldar up on eBay!

Tons of new Dark Eldar up on eBay today.  Check out my eBay page:  http://www.ebay.com/sch/hobby-sherpa/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= 

Eldar items up on eBay!!!

I finally added some new stuff up on eBay!  Check out all my auctions here.

What I've added:

• A HUGE Eldar Army
• 2 New on Sprue Wave Serpents
• 20 New on Sprue Dire Avengers
• 25 Plastic Wraithguard
• A Painted Falcon
• An unassembled / incomplete Fire Prism
• A Forgeworld Avatar body

Dark Eldar List Idea: 10 Venoms + 4 Flyers + Beasts

I wrote this list based on the assumption that you can include a Court of the Archon without an Archon, it just takes up an HQ slot.  RaW is a bit hazy here I think, so hopefully we get some clarity on whether this is actually allowed or not.  If it's not I would drop a Venom in favor of an Archon with a Blaster.

I'm not sure how well this would do in a tournament setting, as those Venoms are pretty fragile and don't do anything against vehicles.  However this could be a great "spoiler" army.  With some playtesting and fine-tuning, this could turn into a pretty nasty list.

List after the jump!

Dark Eldar Vehicles vs Template Weapons - A Strategy & Solution

One common complaint that I have heard regarding Dark Eldar is their susceptibility to template weapons.  Dark Eldar's primary Troop is the Warrior - mounted in a Venom or Raider (when was the last time you saw a foot mounted Warrior Squad?).  By flaming an open topped vehicle and hitting the occupants, our opponents are getting a chance to both glance our flimsy vehicles and fry the guys inside.

Dark Eldar Game 2 - Summary and Unit Analysis (Kabalite Raiding Party)

Played two more games with my Dark Eldar against my friend Chris' Space Wolf deathstar - which features a super unit of Thunderwolf Calvary with various supports.

By Algrim Whitefang

Here is my Game 1 List:

Archon (Shadowfield, WWP, Power Sword, Haywire Grenades) - 155
Court of the Archon (3 Sslyth, 2 Medusae) in Raider (Night Shields) - 195
3 Incubi in Venom - 125
Ravager - 105
6x5 Kabalite Trueborn (4 Blasters) in Venoms - 1,080
5 Scourges with Haywire - 120
5 Hellions - 65

Game 2 with Dark Eldar Tonight - Kabalite Raiding Partay

I will be playing my second game with Dark Eldar tonight.  Probably against Space Wolves / Crimson Fists again, but there's a chance I will see Necrons.

Dark Eldar Raider by arkurion

I think I'm going to try out the Kabalite Raiding Party to test out "Trueborn Spam"

Archon (Shadowfield, WWP, Power Sword, Haywire Grenades) - 155
Court of the Archon (3 Sslyth, 2 Medusae) in Raider (Night Shields) - 195
3 Incubi in Venom - 125
Ravager - 105
6x5 Kabalite Trueborn (4 Blasters) in Venoms - 1,080
5 Scourges with Haywire - 120
5 Hellions - 65

1850 points gets me 24 Blasters, 14 Splinter Cannons, 4 Disintegrators, 4 Haywire Launchers

After realizing that this formation allows you to spam Trueborn, I got pretty excited.  In my 5th edition Dark Eldar army, the Trueborn were almost always the MVP's - here's hoping they can regain some of their previous glory!

New Dark Eldar eBay Auctions Soon!

This weekend I am going to be working on getting some Dark Eldar items up on eBay.  First up are some Hellions and Warriors and MUCH more to follow!

Dark Eldar Harlequin Army

So I must be kind of special when the first image that comes up under Dark Eldar Army is that of my old 3rd/5th edition army?  Haha, am I famous yet?! While that army has been sold off, I am working on painting and assembling my new Dark Eldar army... however I'm still trying to determine what I want to have in it.

My Eldar army is my current go-to competitive army, and I don't see my Dark Eldar taking their place anytime soon.  So the question becomes, if I want to build a Dark Eldar army based on casual gaming, but can still hang with some competitive lists, what should I do?

First Game with new Dark Eldar + Unit Synopsis

Not Vect... just a regular Archon in the new Codex.

Last night I played my first game with the new Dark Eldar.  I played against a Space Wolf Thunderwolf army with a super-deathstar armed to the teeth with Thunder Hammers, Runic Armor and Stormshields.  They were supported by Imperial Fists (Librarian on Bike, 2 units of Centurions in Drop Pods, and 5 Tactical Marines). Not exactly a walk in the park. Did I mention that he rolled invisibility?

Here was my list:

Haemonculi w/ WWP, Flesh Gauntlet, Armor of Misery - 150

6x5 Warriors in Venoms - 630

9 Grotesques - 315

3x5 Scourges with 4 Haywires - 360

2 Voidravens - 400 

Collections vs Armies & My Current 10k Dark Eldar Collection

I have long been a proponent of having Warhammer 40k "collections" as opposed to armies.  Whereas armies focus on what's good and hip in the current Codex or meta, a collector focuses on slowly but surely acquiring a good variety of models for their specific Codex or faction.  When the new Eldar Codex dropped, I was already in possession of close to 20,000 points worth of models.  I had Force Organization charts maxed out and could field just about anything I wanted.  As such, when the new Codex dropped I found that I really didn't need anything new (other than some shiny Wraithknights) to bring my army up to speed.

Not my army, but a picture of the infamous Dark Moon Kabal - probably the largest Dark Eldar army out there. Check out more at darkmoonkabal.blogspot.com

Early Dark Eldar List Thinktake: Dual WWP's

This army is based off a Sslyth & Grotesque bomb.  They land behind enemy lines, or in areas of importance taking out hard to reach units.  This army is VERY different from anything else that I've run, but I'm excited to give it a try.

Dark Eldar:

Archon w/ WWP, Shadowfield, Huskblade - 160

9 Sslyth, 1 Llaheamon - 235

Haemonculi w/ WWP, Flesh Gauntlet, Armor of Misery - 150

6x5 Warriors in Venoms - 630

9 Grotesques - 315

3x5 Scourges with 4 Haywires - 360

Total: 1,850

Sslyth & Grotesques deepstrike down via WWP

Scourges deepstrike or start in hiding take out key armored targets that Sslyth and Grotesques cannot hurt

Venoms start on the board - try to hide until reinforcements arrive

Another Version of this army swaps the Archon & Court for a Succubus with WWP, Archite Glaive and 20 Hellions

Dark Eldar First Impressions

During 5th edition, Dark Eldar were my primary army.  I picked up two huge lots of Dark Eldar on eBay when they were terribly unpopular and created an army around the old 3rd edition Codex. While not exactly flavorful, the army was able to spam Dark Lances like no other and was pretty effective on the table top.

Once the new Codex dropped my army expanded a bit.  My initial core force was made up of a blob of Warriors, Wracks / Incubi in Venoms, Wyches in Raiders, Trueborn and Ravagers.  Over time the army shifted to be a bit more spammy, but I loved the lore of the Codex and the variety of options I could bring.

My trusty old Dark Eldar army - I brought a similar army to Games Workshop's Throne of Skulls and won "Best Dark Eldar" back in 2011.

Sanctus Reach / Stormclaw up on eBay

I recently put some Orks from Sanctus Reach up on eBay.  You can check them out here.

eBay Updates

3 Tyranid Armies and a Tau Army are currently up for sale!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321481635051

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221513381924

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221513391343

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221513396441

Next Comic Quest / Hobby Sherpa Tournament: August 16

Facebook Comic Quest GamesWorkshop Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/665003020255367/

Our next event is going to be a team tournament! Each person will enter the event individually and be paired with 3 different teammates throughout the day. The first pairing will be random, and each subsequent pairing will be based on scoring, where the highest scoring team will be split and paired with the lowest scoring team, the second highest with the second lowest and so on. The tournament winner will be determined by overall individual record with victory points as a tiebreaker.
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Individual Army Construction Guidelines:
*750 points per player
*Players may construct their army using a single combined arms detachment in order to benefit from "Objective Secured" Troops or use Modified Unbound
*1 Army List / Source Book (this means no allies)
*No fortifications, Super Heavies (except Imperial Knights), or Forgeworld
*Since we are using unbound, models must be WYSIWYG or an appropriate conversion. No proxies!
*Any psychic powers / abilities that benefit one players army apply to their army only
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Schedule of Events:
*Please plan on bringing a lunch or eating before the event - due to time constraints I do not have a lunch built into the schedule (although I do have two 15-minute breaks).
11:00 - 11:30 Check in and Setup
11:30 - 2:00 Round 1
2:15 - 4:45 Round 2
5:00 - 7:30 Round 3
7:30 - 8:00 Cleanup
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We will (most likely) be playing Missions 3, 4 and 5 from the Bay Area Open.
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If there are 8 or more participants there will be a $5 entry fee with the prize support divided among 1st and 2nd place.

Pro-Painted Tyranids came and went!

I posted some pro-painted Tyranids the other day, and the majority of them are already sold!  There are a few left.  Also put up some misc. Space Marines, Tau, and Sanctus Reach Orks. 

If you missed out on the first batch of Tyranids, stay tuned!  I have 3 awesome armies that will be making their way to eBay sooner than later.

In the meantime, check out what I have for sale: http://www.ebay.com/sch/hobby-sherpa/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

1500 py Warhammer 40k Tournament at Comic Quest in Lake Forest

Comic Quest & Hobby Sherpa 1,500 Point Tournament

11:30 – 1:45 Round 1

1:45 – 2:15 Lunch

2:15 – 4:30 Round 2

4:30 – 6:45 Round 3

6:45 – 7:00 Cleanup

Missions:

*Each scenario is built using two book missions played simultaneously with all 3 book bonus points. This results in 10 possible points per scenario.

For any Maelstrom mission, if you roll for a tactical objective that you cannot achieve you may re-roll the objective.

Scenario 1: Crusade (4pts) and Cleanse and Control (3pts): Dawn of War Deployment. There are always 3 Crusade Objectives placed outside of either player’s deployment zone.

Scenario 2: Purge the Alien (4 pts) and Contact Lost (3 pts): Dawn of War Deployment

Scenario 3: Emperor’s Will (4 pts) and Tactical Escalation (3 pts): Dawn of War Deployment. Emperor’s Will objectives are placed in each player’s own deployment zone.

*The book Bonus Points (Slay the Warlord, First Blood, Linebreaker) are worth 1 point each.

Mission Order of Operations

1. Adjust and define terrain / cover saves with your opponent. There should be a roughly symmetrical distribution of terrain across the table.
2. Roll for psychic powers/gifts/etc.
3. Roll for deployment zones. The player that rolls higher gets to choose his or her deployment zone.
4. Place any Fortifications. No Fortification may be placed closer than 4″ to any table edge or another piece of terrain. Adjust terrain to fit any large Fortifications or remove the terrain piece if it becomes impossible to place the Fortification. Please note that the Aegis is an exception to the above rule and may be placed closer than 4″ to a table edge or another piece of terrain.
5. Place objectives. The player that chose deployment zones first places the first objective. Players then alternate placing objectives until all have been placed, following normal objective placement rules per Pg. 134 of the BRB and any modifications per the scenario they are playing.
6. Roll for Warlord trait per usual in the BRB Pg. 124. Do not use the Tactical Traits table.
7. Roll for Night Fighting.
8. Players then roll to determine first turn. The player that wins the roll can choose to go first or second. The player going first then deploys first and goes first unless the other player seizes the initiative.

Army Limitations

·         1500 points

·         Maximum of two sources to construct army

·         1 Primary / Combined Arms Detachment + 1 Allied Detachment OR Formation Dataslate (example: you may take a Tau CAD with a Tau Formation Dataslate, but may not take any allies

·         No Lords of War / Stronghold Assault

·         No Forgeworld

·         No Unbound Army lists

Rules Judgments

We use a hierarchy for determining rules issues as follows:

Main Rule Book
FAQs and Erratas
ITC FAQ
Please note, the change to the 2+ reroll save is still in effect. Ie., any save of any type of a 2+ that can be rerolled is failed on the second roll of a 1,2 or 3.
Consensus of judges present at the time. Please note, that these judgments are final.

Hobby Sherpa & Comic Quest 1500 point Tournament May 18

 

Comic Quest is Located in Lake Forest, CA by the 405/5 Freeway Interchange

23811 Bridger #100
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 951-9668
http://www.comicquest.org

Please join the Comic Quest GamesWorkshop Facebook Group for regular updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/503160629765447/

1500 point Warhammer 40k Tournament on May 18, 2014 

General Rules and Guidelines:
*The BAO FAQ will be in effect (http://www.frontlinegaming.org/community/40k-faq/

)
*Each tournament will feature 3 scenarios will be picked from the LVO/BAO Tournament Packet (http://www.frontlinegaming.org/community/bao-tournament-format/

)
*Winners are determined by W/L/D record, tiebreakers are determined by Battle Points
*Dataslates OK
*No Forgeworld, Escalation or Stronghold Assault
*Armies may consist of no more than 2 Codices / Formation Dataslates. Character Dataslates do not count towards this limit.

11:00 - 11:30 Registration & Set-Up
11:30 - 1:45 Round 1
1:45 - 2:15 Lunch
2:15 - 4:30 Round 2
4:30 - 6:45 Round 3
6:45 - 7:00 Cleanup

4/20 eBay Update

Happy Easter everyone!  I have 90 Tyranid auctions that are going to be popping up over the next few days.  Keep an eye out for them!

4/15 eBay Update

 Just posted a bunch of auctions to eBay - Eldar, Dark Eldar, Tau, Space Marines and Battlefoam.  Be sure to check them out at http://www.ebay.com/usr/hobby-sherpa