2000 pt DE - Hell Rides A Skyboard

[Yeahbuddy42]

I'm a fan of the underdog, so unconventional armies are sort of my thing.
I'll try and explain why I chose each unit and the purpose I intend them to have.
Criticism and any helpful thoughts are very much appreciated. On to the list:

HQ / TROOPS:

I wanted a fast army without the use of Raiders if possible. So naturally ( In my opinion ),
my best option would be Hellions.
I have the Baron attached to a 9 man group with a stunclaw to grab an enemy hero and
pummel him elsewhere. Then 4 groups of 10 Hellions to hold objectives and harass
troops and assault.

Baron Sathonyx
(8) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ stunclaw

(9) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ Agoniser

(9) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ Agoniser

(9) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ Agoniser

(9) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ Agoniser

ELITES:

Something seems fun about the Harlequins and they are going to be my hard hitting
Terminator destroying squads (Or whatever else the opponent fields as their tough
close combat choice)
*Rules* I wonder about the Shadowseer's Veil of Tears being able to be coupled with
the Venom's Night shields..... Possible? 2D6X2 Minus 6 inches?

(4) Harlequins all w/ Harlequin's Kiss
(1) Shadowseer w/ Harlequin's Kiss
(1) Venom w/ Nightshields

(4) Harlequins all w/ Harlequin's Kiss
(1) Troupe Master w/ Power Weapon
(1) Venom

FAST ATTACK:

I chose scourges with Dark Lances for a little Anti-Tank Support and I really like scourges.
I was wondering if Heat Lances or Haywire blasters might be a better choice, but just haven't
had a chance to try them?

(10) Scourges w/ 4 X Dark Lances

HEAVY SUPPORT

I'd really like to use something else as Anti-Tank, but just couldn't think of anything that would
field 9 more dark lances for the points. I'm definitely open to suggestions about the whole
army, but especially this slot, or any other slot that could offer up some anti-tank instead of
a large flying target.

(3) Ravagers w/ Flickerfields

Thanks for reading. Can't wait for some responses.

[thecactusman17]

This pissed me off: you can't take the Venoms with the Harlequins. It needs to be in their unit options in order to be taken. Pretty crappy for a transport that was originally designed as a Harlequins unit : (

[DrLove42]

cactusman is right...quins can't take venoms...or any transport

My opinion very good list, just my few points;

Drop 1 lance from the scourges for a haywire blaster
For alternate AT why not try talos/cronos? MC hurt vehicles once you get close, and a cronos would add more firepower AND help get a few FNP tokens across your vulnerable skyboarders

Also in my experience Harlequins tend to be rubbish. Witha fast moving skyboarding element to draw fire they might be more survivable...but without power weapons (rending is unreliable) they will struggle against anything T4 with an armour save. Throw them at terminators and they will die. For the same role Incubi are much better, and they can take a venom! Failing that make sure one of the quins in each squad is carrying a fusion blaster...the AT you squeeze in to 2000pts the better...

As for Nightshields and Veil of Tears they're 2 different roles. VoT affects spotting distance, NS affect weapon range.

[Tynskel]

also, squad abilities do not translate over to their transports, unless specifically noted. (like infiltrators and scouts, for example).

[Yeahbuddy42]

Huh... that does suck about the Harlequins and the inability to take a venom for transport.

Looking at it again, I think you are right about the Incubi DrLove42. With a 3+ save, power weapons, and venom transports they should do much better against tough enemy models.

I am worried about taking a Talos or Cronos as pertaining to their lack of speed. I worry that my Hellions will reach combat and have to wait 2 (maybe 3) turns for these MCs to arrive. Don't get me wrong, I would much rather field both of these units than the regular Ravagers that are in every army, but lack of speed without somehow attaching jet-packs to them (:D) is a concern for me. Suggestions... Comments?

Maybe I could drop the Heavy Support all together and try a different slot to make up some more AT.

I'll get to work on a revision of the list.

Thanks guys :)

[somerandomdude]

The biggest weakness of the Hellions is their lack of durability (outside of the Baron's squad with Stealth). Getting a pain token is very important for them. Some people like to include a few Haemonculi that start attached then leave, but that seems expensive to me. I personally prefer the Duke to bump the chance for a pain token to about 31%. Beyond that, the Cronos is a Hellions best friend. Move forward, throw it's blast out at a unit (most likely a unit the Hellions are about to charge) and then hand a token over to them. Rinse and repeat as needed, and you can get a lot of tokens going for the Hellions. It's not that hard for the Cronos to keep up, really. The second turn he'll be a couple inches behind before movement (depending on his run roll) and as long as he's within 12" of the Hellions at the shooting phase (easy) he'll be fine. Also, with the Hellion models, you'll be able to generate cover for them easily.

As for the discussion about which to use to take out tough units, I'm afraid everyone has it wrong. How are your power-weapon wielding, no invulnerable save Incubi going to stand a chance against Assault Terminators? Regular Terminators maybe, but not Assault Terminators. Wyches work fantastically for several reasons:

1) Invulnerable save in combat.
2) Not the focus of your assault (the Hellions are) so their cover save would be enough to keep them alive, unless your opponent focuses on them which is a win for you.
3) Shardnets make it tougher for the opponent to get damage through.
4) Significantly cheaper (both versions) allowing you to get multiple squads.
5) They have combat drugs, so they'll benefit from the same role that the Hellions get.
6) They come with assault grenades, which means they have a better chance of surviving against enemies in cover (3+ only goes so far, ask any marine player what he would do if he didn't have Frag grenades).
7) If necessary, you can give them Haywire Grenades to do some possible tank damage.
8) You can get a Raider for each squad, giving you a mobile Dark Lance and all sorts of special wargear options (Shock Prows, TGLs, etc.).

They're not designed to kill Terminators (although the volume of attacks can help), they're designed to keep the Terminators in place while the Hellions kill everything else.

I also prefer Jetbikes for Fast Attack, especially if you decide to go with Heat Lances. Their speed, the combat drugs (notice a theme?) and they're ability to move away in the assault phase makes them great as melta teams. For Scourges I like Haywire Blasters more than anything. They have a 12" move + 24" range, which means they can lockdown anything that's going to be threatening you. Scourges unfortunately don't stand much of a chance up close in my experience, and while the Dark Lance is cheaper for them (and you could get more) you are paying a premium for the jump packs and the Ghostplate armor, both of which are unnecessary for backline Dark Lances. Also, two squads of 5 Scourges is better than one squad of 10, because you can split fire to multiple targets.

[Yeahbuddy42]

Okay, so I took some advice and did a little tweaking for a brand new list. I'm really happy with this one and I hope to receive some more feedback :)

HQ / TROOPS:

Baron Sathonyx
(8) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ Stunclaw

(9) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ Agoniser

(9) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ Agoniser

(9) Hellions
(1) Helliarch w/ Agoniser

ELITES:

I went for the bloodbrides (instead of Harlequins as suggested) and I'm very happy with what I see on paper. Also put in some Trueborn for anti-tank support. Shock prow on the Raider because I plan on just slamming it into the unit the brides are going to attempt to take on.

(8) Hekatrix Bloodbrides w/ 2X Hydra gauntlet, Shardnet, 4X Haywire Grenades,
(1) Syren w/ Agoniser
- Raider w/ shock prow

(4) Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4X Blasters
- Venom

FAST ATTACK:

Opted for some Reavers as per suggestion. And dropped the Scourge unit to a 5 man squad.

(6) Reaver Jetbikes w/ 2X Heat Lances
(6) Reaver Jetbikes w/ 2X Heat Lances
(5) Scourges w/ 2X Haywire Blasters

HEAVY SUPPORT:

Put in 2 Cronos for adding pain tokens.

Cronos Parasite Engine w/ Spirit Probe, Spirit Vortex
Cronos Parasite Engine w/ Spirit Probe, Spirit Vortex
Talos Pain Engine w/ Chainflails, Twin-linked Haywire Blasters

1999 points

Let me know what you think of this one.

[somerandomdude]

You have to give the entire squad Haywire Grenades if you take them.

Also, the Spirit Probe (HtH upgrade) for the Cronos is nice, but unnecessary. You can drop those in favor of the remaining grenades and the extra Splinter Cannon for the Venom. If you find 5 points somewhere, you should take a TGL on your Raider as well. Tank Shocking at -1 is very handy.

Otherwise looks pretty fun overall. I personally don't like Taloi outside of a WWP/all foot list, but if it works out for you then that's fine.