Yeah I had a great time playing Al and Brian... It was a very competitive game but also a lot of fun. In no way a disappointment at all.

G

Apparently half the stores didn't show up for the Battle of the Stores. Dunno who won.

I heard that Rhubarb came in dead last place.

G

This is the final standings I was told:

1st) Skul N Bonz
2nd) Coliseum of Comics
3rd) Darkside Comics
4th) Rhubarb Games

Still not posted officially yet.

G

Sweet!

Yep, them's the places. Sounds like people had a lot of fun, no drama, so this'll is likely a staple event now. Still sad I can't participate...

Do you think Rhubarb could have placed higher if you had been there? What army would you have brung?

G

Steve you would have played at skull and bones right?

I alrady committed the weekend with Big Al's club. If I had been in Florida this weekend I would have played for Coliseum of Comics, the fluff Nazis.

G

Ah thats too bad, they prolly wouldve came in first with DEM DEMONS

I dunno if I would have made a difference. I'd have just been happy to participate. I prolly would have used my new Space Wolves list.

So you faced a guy with an all-biker army too, huh? His Command Squad had LCs and shields, eh? Interesting...

I told you this is a great build... Khan on bike, four veterans with stormshields and lightning claws plus the apothecary. The unit is fairly resilient to small arms fire with FNP plus T5. Brian runs a Chaplain on a bike joined to the command squad and the Khan for his 1850 point list... furious charge plus reroll hits when they charge. My Heralds and Crushers held up very well, taking the charge. Like I said when the game ended I had both Heralds left and one Crusher. Both Heralds still had two wounds apiece and the Crusher was down to his last wound. Khan had two bikers left. I think I would have had the advantage if we could have played another turn but we had to rush through the last turn we played. I also had three Bloodletters in the mix as well which was pretty cool. It was a really exciting game and very fun to play.

G

Interesting. Not very different from my unit, which is a regular Captain, four vets with shields, the apothecary, and two power fists. S5 PW attacks with all re-rolls can definitely hurt. I generally haven't used a Chaplain before, but I do have the model and it's what I'd add if I was going up to 2000 points. They've gone toe-to-toe with Bloodcrushers and Thirsters before, and come out alive, so they're definitely nice, though obviously the TWC in my Wolves list far outstrip their abilities. :P

Thunderwolves are better but they also cost more. They beauty of the SM list is you can take lots of bikes... As you are obviously well aware.

G

Oh, yeah. Well, actually, the cost isn't much different. Five-man biker squad, all storm shields, two fists and a standard bearer, 345 points. Four Thunderwolves, all storm shields, one thunder hammer, one melta-bomber, and one Wulfen, 360 points. The real difference shows up between the ICs. Twinked out biker Captain is 215 points, twinked out Wolf Lord is 295 (but arguably way, way better). Biker Chaplain tops out at 150 points with bike, digital weapons, and melta-bombs, compared to a Battle Leader at 215 (and I think they could go toe-to-toe with each other).

Humorously enough, my body count is almost the same between the two armies. 39 bikers (plus four land speeders) versus 41 Marines (plus four Rhinos and a Vindicator).

The bikes can shoot but that's beside the point. With the points you save on HQ I would say the bikers are the better choice. Could be wrong though.

G

Ehh, it depends. The two armies function very differently from each other. The Thunderwolf unit can take on ANYTHING in combat with little to no fear, while the biker Command Squad needs to soften up the target and be selective. However, the biker army is WAY faster, and doesn't suffer from the vulnerability of destroyable transports. Obviously its shooting power, especially its anti-tank, is significantly higher, and it can draw on Combat Tactics to help me ensure I only fight assaults at my choosing. But, conversely, the Grey Hunters are so good at combat they generally don't need to worry about it.

Bikers are very fast and dance around the enemy, making them chase dust clouds. The Wolves are very in-your-face.

If I had to pick one or another I would probably go with the SM biker list and run some landspeeders.

I think the lightning claws overall are better than two power fists. If it were me I'd run all lightning claws plus one power fist. Two power fists cannot generate as many attacks that ignore armor saves so they will tear through an enemy unit faster.

I also favor Khan over a generic captain... You can choose which squads you want to outflank, Khan confers furious charge which makes the lightning claws more potent, plus you can use hit & run to charge back in again.

G

LCs are definitely good against infantry, but leaves them vulnerable to MCs and they can't do anything against tanks. If I stick a Chaplain with them, the fists can at least re-roll their hits, and they'll wound most things on 2+. I think they'd be about even, with the LCs maybe coming out a little better overall, making the unit good for slaughtering infantry.

As for Khan vs. a Captain, I weighed the options a bunch. Khan gives Outflank, which can be useful, but I think I can do just fine without it. He gives Furious Charge, which is definitely nice, and Hit and Run which can be useful (though I've had few situations where I would have needed it). A Captain, on the other hand, can have a 2+/3+ save, and I can give him a relic blade, which I feel is much stronger than Khan's Moonfang. So, I've picked the Captain for better survivability and offensive power over the squad buffs.

I would probably give the chaplain a power fist. It's kind of a toss up between khan and a generic captain but with power fists I don't think the relic blade is mandatory. Hit & Run could be very useful. A SM biker army is very tempting. I've thought about it for a long time. What armies give you the most problems?

G