In this episode Travis and Victor review Jungles of Nectavus, bring you two new Eldar Spoilers from the upcoming Unforgiven War Pack, and talk about Elites.

• The Warp Unleashed War Pack Preview
• The highlights from our June 12 GNK livestream from 401 Games is available. We’ll be streaming again at the next event on July 10th, starting at 1pm.
• Eldar spoilers from Unforgiven, featuring card images and insights from our very own Jon Yeo.

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The first pack in the Death World Cycle, Jungles of Nectavus, introduced some new themes and mechanics to the game. Two of these new concepts have been the introduction of cheaper army units that provide a boost to Elite units at the same planet and cards with the Deep Strike mechanic. With the Unforgiven War Pack just around the corner, The Tactical Squad is very happy to warp in some spoilers and share two Eldar cards that continue with the concepts mentioned above.

The first card is the Adherent Outcast. Its ability pretty much translate as elites will now be harder to kill through attacks at this planet. Most elites will in theory end up with 8 to 12 health while at a planet with this unit. However, unless this unit can be protected, most times it will probably be the first unit attacked and thus in practice the extra health will not be a factor over multiple attacks. This card with just a single Elite at a planet is not going to swing the battle in a big way, but if it is a close battle with either an Elite vs a swarm of army units or one Elite vs another, this card might be just enough to turn the balance in your favour or keep a damaged Elite unit alive long enough to get one more attack off before it dies. Some interesting units to play with this are the Fire Prism, with its ability to effectively cancel two attacks per round or the Sa’cae XV88 Broadside with the ability to gain Area Effect (2). You could even Gift Of Isha it in in a pinch to hopefully throw the math in your favour, although I think that is a pretty desperate play. Even more interesting is this card being used in a Necron deck with the [whc]Lynchguard Sentinel[whc], as they can protect this unit while they are ready. Overall, I am not completely sold on this card, I feel I would rather just take another 2 cost unit that hits harder and just hope my elites survive long enough to get their attacks off before they die.

The second spoiled

card is Concealing Darkness and is a Deep Strike event that has no regular cost and thus can only be played through Deep Strike. For a cost of 1 resource, in addition to the 1 resource to put the card in reserve, you are now able to ambush in any Eldar units at that planet until the end of the phase. This can allow you to threaten a planet win with a lesser deployed force. If the enemy ends up sending their warlord to that planet or deploys a lot of units there you can easily counter, if they don’t you can hopefully win with the few units you have at the planet and save those units in your hand for the next planet. However, with the decent command that most Eldar units have, it is tough not to play them out during the deploy phase to take advantage. This is especially true of units with the Mobile keyword or the ability to jump to another planet. Where this event becomes really useful is for units that are usually first targets for any attacks. Some examples are the [whc]Iyanden Wraithguard[whc], [whc]Starbane’s Council[whc] or the [whc]Furious Wraithblade[whc]. Being able to bring these units in on your terms allows you to get the most of the damage they are dealing. We also can’t forget about the [whc]Mighty Wraithknight[whc], being able to exhaust every enemy unit along with Warlords is something that shouldn’t be taken likely. Note that you don’t have to Ambush in your units all at once, you can pull them in one at a time, only as necessary and only when it is your turn to swing. I think this card fits nicely with how the Eldar play, they already have lots of units with Mobile or Mobile-like abilities and this card just allows them to be more versatile in what planets their units decide to fight at. Hope you enjoyed the two spoilers from the Unforgiven warpack. The Tactical Squad would like thank Fantasy Flight Games for allowing us to share these with you. Until next time.

In this episode Travis and Victor talk about the latest news out of FFG and review the huge selection of new cards released in the Legions of Death deluxe expansion. Deathworld War Pack 5 spoiler article https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/5/24/against-the-great-enemy/ BD Cosmos, Laval https://www.facebook.com/pages/BD-Cosmos/163609810320339

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While the Warhammer 40,000 universe is filled with grim grit and despair it has a distinct streak of humour, both goofy and morbid, running through it. No faction better embodies this humour than the Orks. Orks are hoards of boyz, ramshackle looted trukks, and various other strange sights, all held together solely by belief. In the Warhammer 40,000: Conquest Living Card Game these themes are carried through to create some hilarious and distinct game play. In my first Buying Guide - The Basics, I discussed the LCG format and made suggestions for initial purchases. In this article I’m going to delve into Conquest’s fungal green skinned hooligans, the Orks.

General

Orks are a motley crew to be sure. As a faction the green skins can focus on swarms of little runts or bully their opponent with giant nobz and ramshackle trukks. They focus on brutal and indirect damage, and to a lesser degree cost reduction, support manipulation, and readying. New players will enjoy Orks if they enjoy aggressive strategies, playing fast and loose, and don’t mind incuring a bit of collateral damage in the process.

The Threat Beyond (Warlord Cycle)

Orks get a lot of interesting tools in the core set but probably two of their ost important army units come in the Threat Beyond. Snakebite Thug and Evil Sunz Warbiker both provide powerful 2 cost units. They fill out the faction’s cost curve and are versatile options that can be used in any of the Ork warlords. You will also get Mork’s Great Heap which can really boost your deck depending on the strategy you’re using.

The Scourge (Warlord Cycle)

Almost every pack in the Warlord cycle included at least something decent for Orks but one of the best packs was definitely the Scourge. Starting out with Kustom Field Generator Orks get a tremendous support that works as an excellent defensive tool. The faction gains access to Attack Squig Herd and Iron Guard Recruits which are utilitarian units for combat and with Dakka Dakka Dakka! which helps players control swarms of opposing units in addition to being a double shield card.

Zogwort’s Curse (Warlord Cycle)

The last War Pack I would recommend a new player to consider grabbing for Orks in general is Zogwort’s Curse. Not only does this War Pack come with an Ork Warlord that opens up new play style opportunities but it comes with several great Astra Militarum cards you can supplement your decks with. Tallarn Raiders is another cheap but strong unit that can be used for both combat and command. Staging Ground provides a tool for mid combat tricks, being especially powerful with options like Snakebite Thugs and Evil Sunz Warbikers. Finally Steel Legion Chimera is a defensive unit that can be utilized to shield your boyz.

Nazdreg

Ork’s first Warlord, Nazdreg, is a strong Warlord that focussed on the Brutal mechanic and generally aggressive play styles. Nazdreg is likely one of the warlords that fairs best with only 2 core sets, especially once a few War Packs are added. Generally this warlord favours aggressive cards like Tellyporta Pad and works best with high health units.

Threat Beyond & The Scourge

Like for the faction in general these War Packs are filled with excellent tools for Nezdreg. Snakebite Thug’s self damage turns into extra Brutal fuel, and Kustom Field Generator allows players to spread damage out and more effectively benefit from Nazdreg’s ability.

Boundless Hate (Planetfall Cycle)

The third War Pack I would recommend to a new player unterested in using Nazdreg specifically is Boundless Hate. One of this warlord’s main weaknesses is being targeted directly, something that Front Line ‘Ard Boyz helps protect against. Additionally Rok Bombardment further allows Orks to control large groups of units while allowing Nazdreg’s units to sometimes gain the benefit of extra Brutal power. And finally Sacaellum Shrine Guard is another cheap unit to help fill out your cost curve.

Zogwort

The second warlord given to Orks is the Weirdboy Old Zogwort. A seemingly bizarre warlord at first glance, Zogwort is actually reasonably powerful due to his token creation ability. Because of his self contained ability Zogwort is a good starting point for a wide variety of strategies.

Zogwort’s Curse & The Threat Beyond

For a player interested in the old Weirdboy, Zogwort’s Curse is an easy sell since it is the War Pack he comes in. Along with Zogwort himself, both Zogwort’s Curse and The Threat Beyond come with all the great cards I’ve talked about this warlord benefitting from.

What Lurks Below (Planetfall Cycle)

The final War Pack I would recommend for a player interested in getting started with Old Zogwort is What Lurks Below. In this War Pack Zogwort can make use of Smasha Gun Battery by applying the damage to produce snotling tokens from Zogwort’s Runtherders or powering up other Ork units. Skrap Nabba is a command body that helps smooth resource gain but also can contribute to combat. Last but not least Orks get the very strong event Outflank’em, which arms Orks with the means to completely warp combat.

Gorzod

The third warlord for the Orks released during the Planetfall cycle, if Gorzod. This warlord changes the conventional deck construction rules letting you include common Astra Militarum and Space Marine Vehicle army units in your decks. To balance this Gorzod cannot include events, support, attachments, or non-Vehicle army units unless they are neutral or Ork.

Deadly Salvage (Planetfall Cycle)

Like Most other warlord the most important purchase for Gorzod is the War Pack he comes in, Deadly Salvage. Unfortunately this War Pack doesn’t include any Space Marine or Astra Militarum cards that he can include.

The Scourge & The Threat Beyond

Gorzod is no exception among the Ork warlords and benefits greatly from the several staple cards that come in both The Scourge and in The Threat Beyond. Even though Snakebite Thug andEvil Sunz Warbiker are both not Vehicles but still fill vital positions. Among the other cards Kustom Field Generator also helps greatly, allowing you to further potect your already tough units.

In this episode of The Tactical Squad Jon, Alex, and Travis bring us a new Reaction Phase, a review of the latest War Pack What Lurks Below, and they teach the secret art of Gymkata. https://tacsquad.provick.ca https://www.patreon.com/tacticalsquad https://twitter.com/tacsquad https://www.facebook.com/tacsquad thetacsquad@gmail.com Tournament Rules Fundamental Event Document FAQ Regional Prizes Canadian Regionals

In the Warhammer 40,000 universe the Space Marines represent the poster children of humanity but the true might of the Imperium of Man comes from the Astra Militarum. The countless soldiers of the Militarum are numerous and expendable, a theme that is carried over well into the Warhammer 40,000: Conquest Living Card Game. In my first article, Buying Guide - The Basics, I talked about the LCG format and how to get started in general, today I’m going to focus on getting started with Astra Militarum in particular.

General

As a Faction the Astra Militarum rely on the many cheap units they have, bolstered by their excellent supports and powerful multi card combos, to wear down opponents. Many card abilities trigger when guardsmen leave play leading to great potential from the loss of a single unit. While AM aren’t the simplest to play, new players will likely enjoy the faction most if they have experience with other card games, enjoy attrition focussed play styles, or wantto have powerful multi-card combos.

Zogwort’s Curse (Warlord Cycle)

The thirs War Pack of the Warlord cycle, Zogwort’s Curse brings three excellent cards for any AM warlord to use. Steel Legion Chimera exemplifies the faction’s attrition warfare making all of your infantry last that much longer. Tallarn Raiders is one of the staple cheap units giving a great and efficient option for both combat and command. Finally Staging Ground adds an opportunity to deploy units only when needed to surprise your opponent.

Boundless Hate (Planetfall Cycle)

The second War Pack of the Planetfall cycle, comes with three more great options to include in your decks. The first, Sa’caellum Shrine Guard, is another staple cheap unit. Like the Tallarn Raiders this army gives a good combat and command option for minimal cost. Troop Transport is another support that allows for great mid combat utility. Lastly Front Line ‘Ard Boyz is a common Ork card that increases your defensive capability.

The Threat Beyond (Warlord Cycle)

The third War Pack I would suggest to purchase is The Threat Beyond. This War Pack comes with the second Astra Militarum warlord, Torquemada Coteaz. As a play style Coteaz exemplifies the AM combo play style, and leans toward more aggressive strategies. He is a somewhat difficult warlord to use though and I wouldn’t recommend new players bring him to competitive play with getting a good feel for the game and this warlord first. The pack also includes great ally options in the way of Snakebite Thug, Evil Sunz Warbiker, and Firedrake Terminators.

Colonel Straken

The Core Set warlord, Colonel Straken, was one of the least popular warlords released in the box. At this point Straken is still reasonably unplayed but he has a lot of possible combos waiting to be built into a great deck by an enterprising player. Style wise the Colonel focusses on buffing his troops and persistent attrition. Combining him with Space Marines opens up the damage prevention and attrition aspects of his signature squad, while using Orks leads to a much more aggressive builds.

Boundless Hate & Zogwort’s Curse

Like I discussed previously both Boundless Hate and Zogwort’s Curse provide a number of staple cards for Astra Militarum, this is no exception for Colonel Straken. His buff ability is most efficient when used on large numbers of low cost units and both the Tallarn Raiders and Sa’caellum Shrine Guard are great for this. Additionally the Steel Legion Chimera and Front Line ‘Ard Boyz are great defensive card that increase Straken’s ability to take a beating.

Deadly Salvage (Planetfall Cycle)

The third War Pack of the Planetfall cycle comes with several great options for your Straken deck. Deadly Salvage includes Death Korp Engineers and Vanguard Soldiers, both well costed units with good stat lines and strong abilities. Additionally the pack has Inspirational Fervor which allows aggressive Astra Militarum decks to carry their momentum through the game.

Torquemada Coteaz

The second warlord released for Astra Militarum is the Inquisitor Torquemada Coteaz. He is a far less straight forward warlord than most in the game and I would generally not recommend him to a player who is completely new to competitive card games. That said, in the correct hands he is a force to be reckoned with and an ambitious newbie shouldn’t shy away from him but needs to be ready for a steep learning curve. A player might find Coteaz interesting if they enjoy multi card combos and aggressive play styles.

The Threat Beyond

This War Pack is a bit of an obvious choice if a player is interested in Torquemada. Not only does it come with the warlord and his signature squad, but it also has Snakebite Thug and Evil Sunz Warbiker both cheep and very effective units.

Zogwort’s Curse

Much like for Straken and the faction in general, Zogwort’s Curse is excellent for Coteaz. Tallarn Raiders and Steel Legion Chimera are as good for Coteaz as they are for any other AM warlord, but Staging Ground has extra utility in his decks. Being able to hold units in hand and deploy them as needed in combat assists players in using this warlord to the fullest.

Gift of the Ethereals (Warlord Cycle)

Another excellent War Pack for Astra Militarum in general Gift of the Ethereals has several great tools to use with Coteaz. Mystic Warden a unit that has limited use in most decks is excellent for our inquisitor as a cheap target to sacrifice. The other notable AM card, To Arms!, is an excellent option for both the two shield icons and the powerful combo potential with cards like Catachan Outpost. The War Pack also comes with Ammo Depot, White Scars Bikers, and Crushing Blow, all great cards depending on your ally and battle plan.

Broderick Worr

The newest Militarum warlord, and quite possible the most competitive so far, Broderick Worr excels at decks using mostly or only Astra Militarum units. Worr is a very flexible about what AM units he uses and his play style in general, and as a result is probably the best AM warlord for a new player to use. Worr excels at buffing his own units, applying consistent pressure, and unit efficiency.

Decree of Ruin (Planetfall Cycle)

This War Pack is a must as it includes Broderick Worr himself along with his signature squad. Unfortunately because this warlord uses mainly AM units there really aren’t any additional cards worth using.

Boundless Hate & Zogwort’s Curse

I’ve covered both of these War Packs already and most of what I’ve said hold true for Worr also.

Rotation 7 - Feb 6th to Mar 17th In the grim future there are only burly men yelling.  Or at least that’s all there was in this rotation. This time around I focused on Ba’ar Zul, the Hate-bound, bringing him to two Store Championships, and also worked on my Colonel Straken damage prevention deck. I had these decks built for almost seven weeks, but, with moving taking up most of my life during that time, I didn’t get to play much. That said, I did get some great testing in and really enjoyed playing Ba’ar Zul. Speaking of our angry friend, let’s dig in.

Ba’ar Zul

[table width=“250px”] Army (29)[attr colspan=“2”] 4xBa’ar Zul’s Cleavers 3xChaos Fanatics 3xGleeful Plague Beast 3xHeretek Inventor 3xKhorne Berzerker 3xRavening Psychopath 3xRavenous Flesh Hounds 2xRogue Trader 3xSplintered Path Acolyte 2xVoid Pirate [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Attachment (6)[attr colspan=“2”] 2xPromotion 3xSlaanesh’s Temptation 1xThe Butcher’s Nails[/table] [table width=“250px”] Support (1)[attr colspan=“2”] 1xKaerux Erameas[/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (14)[attr colspan=“2”] 3xArchon’s Terror 2xBlood For the Blood God! 2xExstatic Seizures 2xPromise of Glory 2xSowing Chaos 3xTzeentch’s Firestorm[/table]

This is the deck list I used during both Store Championships. I also experimented with some changes since. I will mention those closer to the end.

When he was first spoiled some time last fall my interest in Ba’ar Zul was pretty minimal. Playing him now I found that really enjoyed the play style he affords. During this rotation I brought him to two store championships, going 3-1 and 2-2 in a 14 player event. Considering these were collectively the first eight games I had played with the warlord I was quite pleased. Starting out building the deck I wasn’t sure if there was a gimmick worth exploring so I just began assembling what I considered to be generally good Chaos cards. As I began putting things together I was curious what the collection of Khorne trait army units had to offer. Khorne Berzerker is a generally good card for inclusion in any Chaos deck, as is a copy or two of Roghrax Bloodhand. Ravening Psychopath helps stack damage onto Ba’ar Zul and guarantee he becomes bloodied on your terms. I decided that the deck also made sense with enough cultists to include Ravenous Flesh Hounds, a unit that hasn’t seen much play since the Core Set but has so much survivability in this deck it is quite valuable. Making my way through all these decisions I realized that I had almost completely filled out my deck and I still hadn’t picked an ally faction. Since I felt I had no specific needs from at this point I decided to ally with Dark Eldar solely for the use of Archon’s Terror. When I finally got around to playing the deck my general strategy was to try to win my second win condition planet using Ba’ar Zul as a damage soak. This would lead him to being bloodied and ready to tank his way through my winning planet. In most games this plan worked quite well. Ba’ar Zul would become bloodied on turn two or three and the game would be over by turn four or five. If it continued too long Ba’ar Zul would lose the ability to put pressure on. In games where my opponent didn’t offer enough opposition to bloody Ba’ar Zul I would use my own units to do so, triggering Ba’ar Zul’s Cleavers or letting Gleeful Plague Beast deal damage unshielded. That said, playing our Hate-bound warlord is something of a tightrope walk. You have to be very conscious of when you let him go and how to use him through the entire game. Games required a somewhat reckless mentality otherwise I feel the pressure would have been too much compared to other warlords. I’m not sure I would really recommend using Ba’ar Zul at any high level events unless a player is very comfortable with him of focused on fun over competitiveness. Since those tournaments I’ve added in Sslyth Mercenary, Seer of Deceit, and Gut and Pillage to help smooth out my economy.  I haven’t had enough games to really determine the effectiveness of these additions yet. What testing I have done is pretty promising, between Promise of Glory and Gut and Pillage I managed to get almost 40 resources in 4 rounds one game.

Straken

[table width=“250px”] Army (29)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x10th Company Scout 3xBlood Angels Veterans 2xDaring Assault Squad 2xFiredrake Terminators 2xIron Guard Recruits 3xRighteous Initiate 3xSa’caellum Shrine Guard 2xSteel Legion Chimera 4xStraken’s Command Squad 3xTallarn Raiders 2xWhite Scars Bikers [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Attachment (5)[attr colspan=“2”] 2xBodyguard 2xPromotion 1xStraken’s Cunning[/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (12)[attr colspan=“2”] 3xCrushing Blow 2xGlorious Intervention 3xIndomitable 2xSuppressive Fire 2xThe Emperor’s Warrant[/table] [table width=“250px”] Support (4)[attr colspan=“2”] 1xOmega Zero Command 3xRockcrete Bunker[/table]

This deck is just a continuing development of the Colonel Straken deck I talked about in my previous War Journal - It Just Won’t Die. I only ended up playing a few games since not much has changed at this point. I added in Sa’caellum Shrine Guard to help smooth out the lower end of the cost curve. Otherwise most of the changes I made were minor number changes of units that I had already included. The deck is very strapped for space but at some point I would like to find space for Troop Transport and Inspirational Fervor. As the meta shifts this deck still seems a reasonably effective style to use for Straken. Certainly it is the most effective I’ve come across. It is still lacking the over all control to actually become top tier, but we may see the tools it needs still yet.

Conclusion

Moving into the next rotation I will be catching up with the Planetfall warlords I haven’t had a chance to play with yet. Gorzod, Subject Ω-X62113, and Archon Salaine Morn will likely be the focus of my attention until at least Wrath of Crusaders releases in mid to late April, if not beyond that. Until then, Loot all da trukks and make’m go fastaaaaaa!!!! WAAAAAAAAGGGGH!!!!

[table width=“208px”] Ba’ar Zul[attr colspan=“2”] Win v Shadowsun (Planet 5) Loss v Selain (Kill 5) Win v Aun’shi (Planet 3) Loss v Ragnar (Planet 5) Win v Aun’shi (Planet 4) Loss v Zarathur (Planet 5) Win v Nazdreg (Planet 5) Win v Swarmlord (Planet 4) Win v Swarmlord (Planet 4) Loss v Worr (Kill 5) [/table]

[table width=“208px”] Straken[attr colspan=“2”] Loss v Old One Eye (Planet 6) Win v Ba’ar Zul (Planet 7) Win v Subject Omega (Planet 6) [/table]

Space Marines are more or less the poster children of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and that has held true with the Warhammer 40,000 Conquest Living Card Game. In my first article, Buying Guide - The Basics, I talked about the LCG format and how to get started in general, today I’m going to focus on getting started with Space Marines in particular.

General

Space Marines are possibly the easiest faction to pick up and play as a new player. They have sturdy units, good damage prevention, solid combat tricks, and great options available in their ally factions. New players will find Space Marines exciting if they enjoy long lasting units, the ability to deploy units on the fly, and minor control abilities.

Core Sets

In general Space Marines have an exceptional selection of cards right out of the game’s first box. I think the best recommendation to make if Marines are your faction of choice is to start out with a full set of 3 core sets. This will give you a really wide breadth of the factions best options.

Howl of Blackmane (Warlord Cycle)

The core set provides so many excellent options the jumping right into the next warlord is actually very easy to do. This War Pack will give you the signature squad for Ragnar Blackmane and let you experiment with a new play style.

Cato

Captain Cato Sicarius is the faction’s core set warlord. Style wise Cato is generally quite good at almost any strategy you want to take. His ability means you can afford to play a slightly more expensive deck than most other warlords. His signature squad has a variety of powerful control effects that apply to a number of circumstances. All told he makes an excellent starting point.

Core Sets

Since Cato is great at playing a variety of styles the core set really helps you fill out those options. I would say that owning 3 core set boxes is a top priority for this warlord.

Gift of the Ethereals (Walord Cycle)

If you aren’t quite ready to go all in with 3 core sets or if you already have and you’re ready to expand further my next suggestion would be Gift of the Ethereals. This War Pack brings with it one of the most powerful Space Marine events, Crushing Blow. You also get White Scars Bikers, an excellent 3 cost unit expanding out the variety of options to use with Drop Pod Assault in the core set. There are also a few other cards to expand your deck building options

Descendants of Isha (Warlord Cycle)

The last War Pack of the Warlord Cycle, Decendants of Isha fills a lot of holes that were remaining in each of the factions. For Space Marines this includes Space Wolves Predator and Primal Howl. Cato himself provides a reasonable number of resources over the course of a game and since most warlords will have no qualms taking Cato face on you can use often use Primal Howl to fill in your card draw. Space Wolves Predator on the other hand is a great big toy that lets you bully opponents. These of course aren’t the only new options you’ll get, the pack comes with more options both in faction and from allies.

Ragnar

Space Marines second warlord, Ragnar Blackmane, was released in the first War Pack of the Warlord cycle. His style is much more aggresive than Cato’s, allowing Ragnar to bully and sometimes even assassinate opposing warlords. Even with this he can work quite well with very similar decks to Cato, as well as radically different focusses.

Howl of Blackmane (Warlord Cycle)

This War Pack is a bit of a no brainer if a player is interested in playing Ragnar as it is the product he comes in. Fortunately if you already have a couple core sets this is all you will need to get started with our Fenrisian Space Marine.

_**

Gift of the Ethereals (Warlord Cycle)**_

This War Pack provides much of the same benefit to Ragnar as it does for Cato. Ragnar though is likely to make much greater use of both White Scars Biker and Crushing Blow. Because Blackmane is able to bully and threaten a warlord kill, both cards become much more versatile.

Zogwort’s Curse (Warlord Cycle)

In my oppinion the most effective ally to Ragnar is the Astra Militarum, and one of the best packs for AM is Zogwort’s Curse. For Blackmane the Tallarn Raiders provide an excellent 1 cost army that adds to your command prescense and your combat pressure. Staging Ground also comes in the War Pack and add to the surprise and flexibility of the deck. Finally the War Pack comes with several other cards that, while not the most competitive cards, will add variety to your deck building options.

Rotation 6 - January 7th to January 28th

Its that time again! only about a month late its time for another War Journal. This time around I will be looking at my play experience with and thoughts about Commander Starblaze. I also played some games with Zarathur, and have moved on from Old One Eye. I’m not sure how much I have that is worth while so they won’t be included today. With that out of the way let’s dig into the 41st millenium’s anime space fish.

Starblaze

[table width=“250px”] Army (32)[attr colspan=“2”] 4xArdent Auxiliaries 2xAssault Valkyrie 3xBork’an Recruits 3xExperimental Devilfish 2xFireblade Kais’Vre 2xIron Guard Recruits 3xRatling Deadeye 3xRecon Drone 2xSanctioned Psyker 2xStalwart Ogryn 3xTallarn Raiders 3xVior’la Marksman [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Support (5)[attr colspan=“2”] 2xCatachan Outpost 2xStaging Ground 1xStarblaze’s Outpost [/table] [table width=“250px”] Attachment (4)[attr colspan=“2”] 3xIon Rifle 1xSearing Burst Cannon [/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (9)[attr colspan=“2”] 2xBond of Brotherhood 2xDeception 3xSuppressive Fire 2xTense Negotiations [/table]

Life has been busy and I didn’t get as many games as I would like in and its taken me a lot longer than planned to write this. Starblaze was interesting but really didn’t capture me as much as other warlords have. I tried to construct a deck that focussed on unit efficiency as I believed that is the inherent strength in his signature squad. Using Ardent Auxiliaries and Experimental Devilfish you can build a persistent first planet bully. Add in the effect of Starblaze and you can move around your powerful Astra Militarum army units. The command presence this deck provides is also very hard to compete with. Again Starblaze’s ability and the constantly ready units provide efficiency in the command phase. AM and Tau also have quite likely the largest combined selection of two command icon units. While the basics look good on paper the reality seems to be less exciting. Neither AM or Tau have the trick available to most other factions to carry them through combat. It also seems that at least this version of the deck just doesn’t have the punch needed to win big fights. I think that maybe a heavier focus on attachments or the use of harder hitting AM units might be a direction to go as far as experimentation is concerned. I’m not sure we’ve gotten any real wow card to update it with though. I’ll probably leave Starblaze alone for the next while. Moving forward I’ve already begun to play with Ba’ar Zul, the Hate-bound and I’m revisiting Colonel Straken. I haven’t managed to get many games in in February so I will be continuing with these decks for at least a few more weeks. Until then, SKULLS FOR THE THRONE OF KHORN!!!

In this episode Jon, Travis, and Liz dig deep into the scrap heap and review the cards released in the Deadly Salvage War Pack.  https://tacsquad.provick.ca https://www.patreon.com/tacticalsquad https://twitter.com/tacsquad https://www.facebook.com/tacsquad thetacsquad@gmail.com Deathworld cycle announcement https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/3/1/jungles-of-nectavus/ Summer prize kit https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/3/4/order-your-summer-2016-tournament-kits-6/ US Regionals locations https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/2016-regional-championship-locations/ UK Regionals locations http://www.esdeviumgames.com/news-item/fantasy-flight-games-regionals-stores-announced/