I won a poll result! For the second time ever, I've won a poll at WARPSTONE FLUX! In this case I'm actually joint winner ... but what pleases me greatly is that I seem to have capped the first and last polls of 2009 with wins...
Yeah me!
FUTURE METAGAME THOUGHTS
With the influx of codex Tyranids and the rumours (they are just rumours) of the Tyranids going even more horde focussed ... some people out there are suggesting (Goatboy for example) that beyond the Mech/Melta lists lies the return of the horde.
His reasons for this are fairly suggestive. Firstly that deploying looks of troops FOC gets you more bodies on the field and more options to take and hold objectives. GW are metagaming troops to smaller and smaller points, meaning that you can field a whole bucket load of troops for little worry. While this 'lacks' the punch of elites or Heavy support ... you'll be doubling the number of models on the board.
As Joseph Stalin said "Quantity is it's own quality."
PLAYING WITH GUARD
The Imperial Guard are actually getting interesting in forcing some tricky choices. Guardsmen are a bare 5pts each. And a Sergeant is the best 5pts going, with 4 S3 attacks on the charge. That's enough to make any space marine blush... Currently I'm struggling to justify anything in the ELITES section (except Marbo) on the basis that:
1 Ratling = 2 Guardsmen
1 Ogyrn = 8 Guardsmen
1 Stormtrooper = over 3 Guardsmen
On the other side ... I'm struggling to justify anything but the mighty Chug...
1 Leman Russ = 3 Chimeras
1 kitted Leman Russ Exterminator = 4 Chimeras
1 kitted Vendetta = 3 Chimeras
5 Ogyrns = 4 Chimeras?
Even Vets and other troop options look a little pointless...
WINNING LIST
So what could win the game in a hordes future?
What took my fancy was talking about my (joint) winning army list I concocted for the Warpstones most recent challenge... its a little 'left field'...
- Primaris Psyker - 70
- Primaris Psyker - 70
- Plt #1 HQ, 2melta, 2GL - 60
- 6 Squads with melta plus Commissar with 2 powerswords - 415
- 7 Chimeras - 385
- Plt #2 HQ, 2melta, 2GL - 60
- 6 Squads with melta plus commissar with powersword- 405
- 7 Chimeras - 385
Yes, that is 14 Chugs. Yes that is 14 Heavy Flamers, or 42 S6 Multilaser shots a turn (or even another 42 heavy bolter shots if you were inclined). Yes, that is 132 bodies armed with melta and with commissar stubborn tarpit options...
And that got me thinking ... what wouldn't struggle against this list? The abundance of Multilasers would put paid to bikes, jetbikes, rhinos and assault marines, not forgetting Carnifex/Greater deamons and the like. The huge number of melta shots could potentially kill a lot of armour, or wipe out whole deathguard squads at a turn. Every squad is scoring, and every transport doesn't sacrifice a killpoint.
You also have the open options (through 'Combined Squads') of either two sixty man stubborn squad, you can FRFSRF over 144 lasgun shots at 12" (on top of the 6 meltagun and 7 laspistol). Alternatively, you can split the squads anyway you see fit (pregame, depending on the opponent) and you still have the chugs for transport...
On the killpoint side, you can reduce your army to a paltry 6 or have as many as 14 scoring units (16 killponts). The Psykers can play havoc against Ork anti armour (Night Shroud) and can pump out 2d6 S6 shots to go with the command squad meltas and grenades.
Against other horde armies, you can either play block and field with the chimeras, or even advance and vent the buggers with 14 Heavy flamers...
The only options I would consider on the boundaries of this would be mortars and rough riders ... two of the best value for money anti hiding and anti deep striking units.
The options are actually pretty daunting. So what do you think ... is Horde Guard the way forwards?
