200 rep Joker Crew

I have been working away, building my Joker crew, and so far it has really been enjoyable.

We are looking to get our first few games started in April and as such my thoughts have been straying back to crew lists. My first thoughts were largely based on the models in my possession at the time. Things have moved on.

We are intending to start with a couple of 200 rep games so therefore my first Joker crew will need to be constructed accordingly. This limit will also place a $500 maximum spend on crew assembly. So how do I build a Crew that can take down The Batman?

I have been contemplating lists that range from higher numbers of low cost models v's lower numbers of expensive characters.

First things first - I have to take a leader and for me, this will be The Joker. He costs 90 points. I feel it will be important to understand the implications of fielding him and then play complimentary models to maximise effectiveness. This lesson was forged when playing Warhammer 40k, my Dark Angels. I played Belial as my leader and it was an effort to really understand how to build an army around him. However once achieved .... well it was worthwhile.

So - what do I know about the Joker?

First off, he has Special Traits that benefit Henchmen, not Sidekicks and Free Agents.

He confers Trickster onto all Henchmen and as such they can reorder their Action Counters when they activate. This is a unique ability and should be great as I learn the game. It will bring a lot of flexibility and help me get out of early errors.

He also Inspires Henchmen within 10cm so that they get an extra Action Counter and can take the total Action Counters above the normal maximum.

The Joker also reduces the game length by one turn, so a six turn game becomes 5. It will be important to gather VP's early before the clock ticks away.

Decision 1 - Max out on Trickster and Inspire so leave the Sidekicks & Free Agents at home for the smaller games - Total 90 rep spent.

Overall the Joker appears to be fairly slow but comes with decent ranged attacks. He has an awesome 'one shot' gun that really does look like it can do damage and also has medium range exploding teeth (of all things). These are template weapons with a 10cm diameter. This ranged ability is complemented by Night Vision which allows the Joker to see in the dark and is not reliant on the 2xD3 Lampposts which give a 10cm disk of light. He will provide long range threat, provided he has Line of Sight. He will need a little help to spread the threat to other areas of the board.

The only real ranged help available to the Joker Crew in a 200 rep crew is Triston. He costs 26 rep and £300.  He comes with a medium range Shotgun that does 2 Blood damage. I think that this will compliment the Joker nicely and also put some real threat into the well lit areas of the board.

I have $200 left to spend and an extra ammo clip might just be the thing for that expenditure.

Decision 2 - take Triston and the extra ammo. - Total 116 rep and $500 spent (84 rep remaining)

The Joker's 'hand to hand' abilities are less impressive and so he will need some muscle to help him when things inevitably come together. Although he does come with Luck forcing the opponent to reroll all successful Hits. (I like it) Bunching up will also help to spread the Inspire effect to Henchmen within 10cm.

Alternatives

This is where the thinking cap has to come out. Do I go for cheap clowns with a view to scuttling around the board gathering objectives or do I go for more punch?

Option 1 - 84 rep

Ringmaster - 32 (Chain)
Contra Auguste - 21 (Bat)
Clown shield - 16
Clown knife - 15

This squeezes every last point out of those available and gets a six man crew on the table top. Maybe the thinking here could be that Contra-Auguste stays close to The Joker and the others scatter up the board. A potential issue with this tactic is that he has Mental Disorder - Obsessive meaning that once he strikes an opponent he goes after him until he is taken out! Not very flexible, if very scary :-)

The Ringmaster has a 360 degree weapon which would be good in a crowd, but will I really need that against a Batman crew? Also it can damage friendly models so I would not want him close to the Joker in a defensive capacity. Much better attacking on his own maybe with Triston in support.

Another option is that I could take another couple of Clowns in lieu of the Ringmaster?

The cheap prisoners are also looking pretty good with this mindset - but I don't have the models for them yet and I have just spotted Turk with 2 pistols as well. Nice.

Option 2 - 82 rep

Master of Ceremonies - 36 (Axe)
August - 25 (Axe)
Contra Auguste - 21 (Bat)

This is more compact and comes with a couple of Axes for punch. They are 2 Blood damage weapons and when combined with Handy (reroll failed to Hit dice) then they look impressive.

Replacing The Master of Ceremonies with Asker at 38 rep would max out the 200 rep limit and add a short range hand gun / meat knife with 1 blood. He has a rather nice Distract ability (reduces an enemy Defense by 1 within 10cm. He is Fast so could be used to grab objectives and then support others later in the fight. He is also Bloodthirsty so gains an action if damaged.

Yes indeed - a lot to think about and I would welcome any thoughts.

Happy hunting.

Getting the best out of Belial

I have been reviewing the lessons from our game at the weekend and it seems to me that: -

a) Belial is my chosen character and I should stick with him for the story line
b) I need to spread the effect of the Preferred Enemy Chaos so I will need more Inner Circle characters

So first things first - lets review the rules for Belial against Nurgle and then work out how to make the most of them.

Shooting
I had been playing Belial with a pair of 'Lightening Claws' and this means that we lose some of his shooting prowess. I switched just before the start of the last game but did not get the advantage due to my tactics.

Belial is BS 5 which is a good start. He comes with a storm bolter R24", S4, AP5, Assault 2. He is a member of the Inner Circle and therefore has Preferred Enemy Chaos and therefore rerolls any '1's' on both 'To Hit' and 'To Wound'. He also has Vengeful Strike meaning that his shots are twin- linked when he arrives from Deep Strike and he has Marked for Retribution granting Precision to his shots i.e. all shots that are 5+ 'To Hit' are resolved on a model of Belial's choosing.

So he hits on a 2+ and can reroll any '1's' and he is also twin-linked on the first round arriving from deep strike. That should be 2 hits with a 33% chance that he achieves 'Precision'

Nurgle are 'T5' so Belial will need 5+ 'To Wound' but has re-rolls on any '1's' due to being a member of the Inner Circle.

Belial could therefore target a specific model perhaps with a Heavy or Special weapon. There is good potential to take out high points in the first round of shooting.

The downside is that the Storm Bolter is an Assault weapon not Melee so we will lose an attack in hand to hand.

Deep Strike
That is a good start but he must be coming in by Deep Strike to maximise the benefit so lets review the implications of that. He has some good special rules here. Tactical Precision means that he does not scatter when coming in by deep strike!! This takes all the chance out of the manoeuvre. He can land exactly where required and force the enemy to turn and face him.

He also has Deathwing Assault. So no need to roll for Reserves. Belial gets to choose to come in on turn 1 or 2 and that is when he will arrive. This rule applies to all models in Terminator armour so several units can arrive together but only his unit has Tactical Precision.

However Belial is also fitted with a Teleport Homer so units can arrive to his position (first model within 6"). The Teleport Homer must be on the table at the start of the turn. So if Belial arrived in turn 1 then any units arriving from Reserve in subsequent turns could be placed with a model within 6" of him. This can include Dreadnoughts etc etc.

Surviving in the open
Belial has the 2+ save granted by the Terminator armour and also comes with an Iron Halo which grants a 4+ invulnerable save. He also has 3 wounds.

In truth, he needs to be surrounded by a big group of Terminators to make the tactic viable. This is a group of up to 10 Terminators and they will come with the Split Fire and Vengeful Strike rules so that in the first turn of Deep Strike they can fire at more than one target and benefit from the twin-linked advantage. So a twin-linked Assault Cannon and a twin-linked Cyclone Missile Launcher (one for every 5 models) The Assault Cannon R24", S6, Heavy 4, Rending - Ouch! and the Cyclone Missile Launcher can go Frag or more likely Krak R48" S8, AP3, Heavy 2. And remember this will be twin-linked and likely against rear armour - double ouch!!

Hand to Hand
Belial has a WS of 6, S4, I5 with 3 attack's as standard. There is a good chance that he will be striking first. His weapon of choice is the Sword of Silence which is AP3, has Fleshbane (wounds on a 2+) and is Master Crafted so re-roll any 'to Hit' rolls of '1'. He also has the Inner Circle which allows re-rolls of both failed 'To Hit' and 'To Wound' of '1'.

So he likely to be rolling 3 dice looking for 3+ 'To Hit' (so 66% chance To Hit) with re-rolls of any '1's'. There should be 2 hits really. He will wound on a 2+ and re-roll any '1's' so that should be 2 wounds but there is likely to a 66% chance to save if fighting marines. He is likely to be in a 'Challenge' so the real pain needs to come from the supporting unit of Terminators.

This will be increased if he is on the Charge and there is also the potential to take Deathwing Company Banner which grants +1A to all models within 6".  The bigger the unit of Terminators, the better value this would become.

Note - Nurgle come with blight grenades which takes away an attack.

Spreading the Inner Circle influence
I have been looking at how I can bring more characters to spread the effect of Inner Circle.

Of the HQ choices available neither the Chaplain or the Techmarine benefit for this rule. The choices are therefore: -
a) Librarian at 65 points
b) Company Master at 90 points
c) Interrogator-Chaplain at 110 points

So I can get 2 Librarian's for 130 points and spread Inner Circle to units making them Fearless and granting Preferred Enemy Chaos so that all rolls of '1' on 'To Hit' and 'To Wound' can be re-rolled. A unit of Devastators would really like this a lot.

Summary
After all this analysis I think the tactics are becoming clear.

Deep Strike is a clear option and probably unique in its practicality to the Dark Angels. I will need to look at the composition of the Terminator squad, size, weapon choices etc but the Codex is really encouraging this approach. Any advice or thoughts are welcome.

The Librarian looks to be the best and cheapest way to spread the Preferred Enemy Chaos effect. I have not played them in the past so more research required here to understand the practical implications and again all thoughts / tips welcome.

We can rebuild him ....

Belial had suffered horribly at the hands of the zombies. He was barely alive when the medics finally got him. Typhus had sensed the Dark Angels reinforcements and abandoned the battle at the end of turn five. Good thing too or Belial may not have pulled through.

The medics had spent days working on him. Bionics had been built into his flesh.

'We can rebuild him'

But at what cost?

Gone the boyish, blonde good looks. Bionics replaced the damaged, blinded left eye. The mouth remained distorted and the new tabard disguised extensive damage to the left hand side of the body but.... he was back....and Typhus would pay in blood!!

Dark Angel force 1500points

Well the dust has settled and I thought I would load a picture of the brave souls who represented on Sunday.

It is a small force in terms of numbers and quite attacking minded.

I know that I should have taken a shooting army. I should have sat tight and forced the Nurgle hoard to come to me, maybe keeping a counter punch option for the hand to hand that would happen from turn 3. However I was actually quite pleased with the way the army played. I was unlucky that the Venerable Dread and the Razorback got immobilised. I will have to invest in some extra armour!!

I think the main thing for me to learn is to pick the right unit for the terminators to engage and then use the Landraider and Vindicator together to keep the rest of the army at bay. Wipe the first unit and then move on to the next. I attacked two units in my enthusiasm. I should have concentrated on wiping the Obliterators first.

I think I would also revisit the second HQ choice and the Venerable Dread. Maybe this is where the devastators come in with lots of plasma cannons.

I will say that I like the power axes very much, they proved themselves!

I will also need a plan to handle the flyer.

Now where is that rule book ...... ? I think I will need some more models to paint ;-)

What an Epic day

Well now, the plague arrived and was well met by the Dark Angels but sadly the day was not ours....

I fielded an unusual army.....

- Belial with 5 terminators in the crusader, a couple of lightening claws and the Deathwing banner
- Interrogator Chaplain with 5 man command squad including 2 power axes in a Razorback with lascannons
- Vindicator
- Venerable Dreadnought with autocannon
- Two Landspeeders, one with heavy bolter and assault cannon and one with multi melts
- Tactical squad of 5 with a meltagun

The idea was that the Nurgle horde were making a surgical strike to take out the Dark Angel leadership at the start of the campaign.

The surprise of the day.......

A flyer, I could only hit it by rolling a six!! It proved itself - well and truly.

The game started on the right hand side with me throwing Belial and terminators down the throat of 30 Zombies and 2 Obliterators. They were supposed to be supported by the Chaplain but the Razorback got immobilised crossing terrain. It was heroic indeed. The Crusader did lots of damage and the Terminators assaulted. But the armour saves just kept on coming and there were sooooo many zombies. They just clawed there way through slowly.... turn by turn .....

The Vindicator did its job on the left and causing major threat but its many penetrating hits just did not do the damage required (awful dice)

Things were getting very interesting by the close of turn 2 and then the Darktemplar teleported Typhus. He rolled 2 dice, double 5 so 10 inch scatter unless he could roll a hit and ..... he did. Typhus arrived in exactly the right spot! I poured on the firepower and then I sent the Chaplain in to greet him.

Typhus was imperious!! Although a certain power axed individual clung on to take a couple of wounds from him.

In the middle I harried the plague marines with the Landspeeders and vindicator but could not really push home any real damage. My Venerable Dread become immobilised just as it was about to join the fray. So many 'what ifs' in this game.

In truth the Dark Templar got it exactly right. He sucked me in with the zombies. I should have left them alone but the obliterators had me worried. What a star Typhus proved to be and he got stronger as the game went on.

Overall the game was true joy. I thing of beauty. It ebbed and flowed, which is all you ask. It had surprises and was tactically really interesting.

Congratulations to the Dark Templar on a very well judged game!! Well done sir. Until the next time. I just know that under that pile of Zombie bodies Beldial still clings to life and can be returned to duty.....

Guard Sighted

The reports had been coming in all day. Imperial Guard units sighted. This was unexpected. Belial had  had not called for reinforcements and there was no expectation that reinforcements would be needed. Could this be a Nurgle trick. Only a single image was available and this was blurred....

Belial knew he would need more intelligence........

Command Squad

Well I have been looking at the Dark Angel command squad. You can take one for every Independent Character in the army. They are basically Veterans but have the advantage of being fearless. They are 105 points v's 100 pts for the Veterans and the weapons upgrades are different. The command squad may also take the Company Banner which allows units within 12" to reroll Morale and Pinning tests. This costs 10 pts. (Interesting when combined with the Rites of Battle rule allowing all units to use Belial's leadership of 10 for Morale, Pinning or Leadership test)

I think that it will be good to take a command squad, the issue will be to plan its use and equip them accordingly....

The 'shooting' option does not give good range options. 2 x Meltaguns at +10 pts per model looks the best, It is also possible to take plasma pistols at +15 pts per model but the whole 'gets hot' special rule is a bit of a turn off. I have been the wrong side of it too often. To be considered though for its AP2, S7.

The other option is to go full out 'hand to hand' and make use of the power weapons. I can include 2 at a cost of +15 pts. So all the squad would go pistols and chain swords with the upgrade of 2 models to power weapons. In the latest rules there are still decisions to be made, power swords v' power axes. Power weapons have also acquired an AP value and some special rules.

The standard position is power sword S of user (4 in my case) and AP3 (good against marines) where as the power axe is S+1 (5 in my case) and an AP of 2 (good against terminators) but 'unwieldy', goes at Initiative step 1.

So I need to decide which power weapon to take, is it worth taking plasma pistols, if so do I split them up and go power weapon + bolt pistol or put them together and go power weapon + plasma pistol. And what happens if I put a standard bearer in the group. How many attacks does he get in hand to hand.

I have some reading to do....

All thoughts / advice welcome.

PS - I have had an email from Forgeworld, It confirms that the Venerable One has been dispatched and is in the post.....

Lighting the fires

Encountering (and wiping out!! and OK I had a few more models than I should have and it was a barren table ....) a Nurgle scouting team could only mean one thing, more would follow....

Belial knew that flames alone would would not be sufficient to lay low the Nurgle scum. He eyed up the options available and was drawn to Demolisher Cannon mounted on the great Vindicator. He knew that this would vaporise all before it, a smile creased his face as a plan hatched.......

Strength 10, AP 2 and Ord. 1 Large Blast. Now that could deal with T5 Nurgle, even in terminator armour. Even if it misses the 2D6 scatter is reduced by the BS of 4 so nearly bound to hit something and instant vaporisation!!! The range of 24" may be an issue but lets face it the Nurgle scum have to come to the Dark Angels so let them and they will die.

And for those following I can confirm that Belial is in fact a good looking, blonde gent!!

Bring on the Death and Disease for we have made our preparations.

Belial to lead us forth

Having done a bit of reading I really like the idea of taking Belial to lead my Dark Angel force. It will also sit well with my aim of expanding the force until I have a full Deathwing army.

My own version of him is coming along nicely. I have gone for the lightening claws option so it will be good to see him in action shredding his way through rotting Nurgle flesh. And just to get him used to the idea, I have tainted his base slightly... ;-)