The Tactical Squad

Rotation 5 - December 3rd to December 22nd

Its been another slow month in my gaming life this December. I only managed to get in 10 games of Warhammer 40,000: Conquest but included in that was the first tournament I’ve been to in a while. With the release of Decree of Ruin I made the decision to focus my limited gaming time on our new Astra Militarum warlord Broderick Worr. While Captain Cato Sicarius and ”Old One Eye” were also sleeved up to play this rotation, I didn’t manage to get enough games with either to warrant reviewing them. So on that note lets talk about our grizzled Militarum vet.

Worr

[table width=“250px”] Army (28)[attr colspan=“2”] 4x Anxious Infantry Platoon 3x Cadian Mortar Squad 2x Captain Markis 2x Enginseer Augur 3x Iron Guard Recruits 3x Ratling Deadeye 2x Rogue Trader 3x Sanctioned Psyker 1x Seraphim Superior Allegra 3x Tallarn Raiders 2x Void Pirate [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Support (3)[attr colspan=“2”] 2x Catachan Outpost 1x Forward Barracks [/table] [table width=“250px”] Attachment (3)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x Commissarial Bolt Pistol 2x Promotion [/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (16)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x Muster the Guard 2x Noble Deed 3x Preemptive Barrage 2x Summary Execution 3x Suppressive Fire 3x To Arms! [/table]

For the first time since I started writing these journals we’ve seen the release of brand new cards. I decided to start with Worr because my last two rotations each included one of the previous Astra Militarum warlords, Colonel Straken and Torquemada Coteaz. I thought Worr would be the next logical step and provide a good frame of reference for testing. Starting out I felt able to go in pretty much any direction with putting together a deck. There is not much established wisdom or particular innovations for Worr, leaving the field open to lots of ideas. Starting with his ability, which focuses on Astra Militarum units at stronghold (green) planets, I was determined to keep the army units mono faction with the exception of Rogue Trader and Void Pirate. I decided that this would be the perfect deck to run Muster the Guard out of. Worr’s ability works well regardless of what planet he is committed to, making it easier to keep him out of danger while he is exhausted. Additionally his other ability to destroy army units that retreat from the planet he is at means that though he won’t win command while exhausted he is still very effective at destroying opposing command units. Beyond the general decisions I started to look at the opportunities his signature squad and potential synergies. I decided to add Noble Deed for the extra utility from combat units that would otherwise be destroyed because they can’t retreat. I included Enginseer Augur to help dig for the signature support Forward Barracks and potentially deploy outposts for free. With the generally solid command in the rest of the deck and numerous buffs to the ability of the Enginseer (extra attack at green planets, more sacrifice or destroy effect than I would normally have, etc) I found it worked well in this deck where maybe it wasn’t a strong include in others. I added Captain Markis for similar reasons to Noble Deed and Cadian Mortar Squad for the synergies with the sacrifice effects along with their added value under Worr’s command. When I started to play games with the Commissar I found that many of my initial assumptions seemed to be correct. Even with only three stronghold (green) planets showing up in a game - the minimum number - he is still very capable. I was able to build tremendous collections of units for very effective combats and play a strong command game. The use of Muster the Guard and Broderick’s utility for the remainder of that turn generally followed the pattern I predicted. Despite all this I actually found it difficult to win games. Most games had a reasonably tight finish, or had a one sided result after several particularly close combats, but I only managed to win a quarter of my games. At this point I think this can be attributed more to myself as a player than the deck or Worr himself. I have had a much lower win percentage lately and made a reasonable number of costly play errors, particularly in the tournament. Moving forward I’m not sure where I would go with Broderick Worr. As the Planetfall cycle continues and we see more cards become available, a more defined play style may become evident, but until that point I think I will likely fiddle with something very similar to what I’ve already built. Next rotation I’ll be focussing on our other new combatant, Commander Starblaze. But, I also plan to build Zarathur, High Sorcerer and try to get in some more games with Old One Eye. Until next time!

[table width=“208px”] Worr[attr colspan=“2”] Loss v Coteaz (Planet 5) Win v Eldorath (Planet 7) Loss v Ragnar (Planet 7) Loss v Baharroth (Planet 5) Loss v Old One Eye(Planet 7) Loss v Straken (Planet 3) Loss v Cato (Planet 4) Win v Nazdreg (Assassination 6) [/table]

[table width=“208px”] Cato  [attr colspan=“2”] Loss v Worr (Planet 5) Loss v Eldorath (Planet 6) [/table]

Happy New Years Listeners! Traditionally, at the beginning of a new year people make a promise to do an act of self improvement or do something nice. Here at the Tactical Squad we are always trying to better ourselves as Conquest players, so each of us have decided to make a Conquest specific resolutions for the New Year. Alex: Be a less salty player, which involves losing games with dignity and being able to better appreciate an opponent’s deck and play. Jon: Start recording stats for all his Conquest games, as well as writing down his thoughts after each game. Liz: To make top 4 in Conquest at Nationals or Worlds. Mark: Diversify his warlord selection and the styles of decks that he builds. Travis: Produce more Conquest commentary videos on the Tactical Squad YouTube channel. So those are our resolutions. We’d like to hear what Conquest related New Years resolutions that you, our loyal listeners, have made for 2016. To encourage your self improvement a bit, everyone who submits their resolution will be entered into a draw for an alt art Straken or a full set of alt art Khorne Berserkers. You can submit your entry by either emailing us at thetacsquad@gmail.com or leaving a comment on this post before January 31, 2016. Hope your 2016 is getting off to a great start and we look forward to hearing from you!

FFG left us a nice holiday gift under the tree - some spoilers for the upcoming Boundless Hate War Pack!  So, as a belated holiday gift for all of you, we are happy to have the opportunity to pass these spoilers on to you. So don’t delay, rip off the wrapping paper and jump right in.

Front Line ‘Ard Boyz

This card is a decent four costs unit that provides a nice ability to the Ork side of the faction wheel. Comparing this against the Tau’s Fire Warrior Elite, for an extra resource this unit gains one extra ATK and an extra command icon, which is a decent gain. The ability allows Ork units with Brutal to avoid receiving a fatal blow for a bit longer, providing them an opportunity to get those stronger swings in. Throw in a Kustom Field Generator and this unit becomes a real pain for your opponent. Attachments such as Rune-Encrusted Armor and Hostile Environment Gear are also great options for this unit. For Orks, Chaos and AM the 4 cost unit slot is already pretty crowded, but being able to keep certain units alive through an extra opponent attack or for another round should not be overlooked.

Ramshackle Trukk

The Ramshackle Trukk is the newest Ork Elite unit. As an Elite unit it hits really hard with 7 ATK, however the low health of 3 is offset by the Goes Fasta! specialization. Most likely, regardless of whether you or your opponent has initiative, this unit is going to get its attack in before dying. Getting more than one battle out of this unit might be hard to do, since there is a good chance it will have taken some damage and will have dropped back to 3 health before it gets a chance to go back up to 7 health or even get back into a battle. Due to that, this card should be reserved more for decisive battles or closing out the game. One might consider using this instead of a Goff Nob or more interestingly if one can build a specialized vehicle deck that uses Dozer Blade. The 2 command icons are nice, but seems like a waste on this card.

Rok Bombardment

The Rok Bombardment uses the new mechanic where card effects are based on planet symbols, however in this case, the effect is only a bonus, the main effect is still valid on any planet no matter the symbols. Orks have many ways to make use of the Brutal mechanic and this card plays right into that as the effect boosts those Brutal units’ attack the next time they attack. The effect will be more valuable in units with higher health or if there are ways to keep certain units alive longer, like using the new Front Line ‘Ard Boys. The 2 shields are also always nice, however right now Orks are spoiled with 2 shield events, all of which are pretty good. Dakka, Dakka, Dakka! is most likely to be the card swapped out for this with both cards deal one damage to units. Rok Bombardment usage is more situational but doesn’t have the negative of exhausting your warlord. Overall, a very interesting card that might require some experimentation.

Overall, these are some great cards. They all provide some new and interesting mechanics to the Ork faction side of the wheel and I personally look forward to getting them into my decks. I, and the rest of the Tactical Squad, would like to thank Fantasy Flight Games for giving us the opportunity to share these spoilers with you.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!! Commander Starblaze versus Broderick Worr in the battle of the century. Mark, Jon, and Alex talk about our latest warlords, open up some rapid fire topics, and share our first Planetfall cycle spoilers, the Ork cards from Boundless Hate.

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Well, Worlds Weekend at the FFG Event Centre in Minnesota recently came and went and now that thing have began to calm down it seems I have time to get some more writing done. That means it’s time to continue revisiting the cards we were released during the Warlord cycle, this time looking at the cards contained in the fourth War Pack, Zogwort’s Curse. This pack saw strong tools for many of the factions, though overall it may have been underestimated.

Orks

We open the pack with a new warlord, Old Zogwort.  At a cursory glance his ability to create Snotling tokens, and the Forced Reaction that destroys them all at the end of combat seem at odds, but with some intelligent play you can leverage his advantage in a drawn out fight.  This mean that Zogwort needs to stick around for multiple rounds of combat and because of this he can be very vulnerable to being bloodied and assassinated.

Next we have a contender for most underwhelming signature army, Zogwort’s Runtherders. This unit is very hard on the cost curve for any Zogwort deck and unfortunately doesn’t provide much. Its ability is an Interrupt meaning it will trigger even in response to a killing blow, but this unit still leaves something to be desired.

Zogwort’s signature support, Zogwort’s Hovel, is one of his best signature cards. This card serves to prevent opponents from focusing on attacking Zogwort with a number of smaller units for fear of not being able to deal with the many snotlings that may result. Since the game has moved in the direction of a swarm focused meta the stock of this card has only increased that much more as now Zogwort is less likely to face single high damage attacks. Unfortunately, as is the case with all signature supports, you can only have one copy of this card in your deck.

Wyrdboy Stikk unfortunately stands up about as well as Zogwort’s Runtherders. Having the three shield card is nice and the ability is flexible, but I’m not sure I want to find myself choosing the ability over the shield icons.  Moving on to the final card in Zogwort’s signature squad, Launch Da Snots, which, given its power, may be the best card in his signature squad. This event is a Reaction to a unit being declared as an attacker, meaning you can use it as a surprise when needed and not risk the unit in question being routed or destroyed by enemy card effects before having the opportunity to make its attack. It is also noteworthy that this event actually synergizes well with Zogwort’s Reaction since you can decide what order they happen in, allowing you to create a snotling with his ability and then add the extra attack with Launch Da Snots.

All told, I think Zogwort has a lot more potential than many first believed, but he definitely is still missing a few pieces. We didn’t see any direct support for Snotling tokens, but his deck still has a lot of potential to be competitive. If you are interested in hearing more of my thoughts on Old Zogwort then you can read about my experience playing with him in my War Journal - That’s a Lot of Tokens.

Space Marines

Space Marines continue to receive Space Wolves love with their first army unit in this War Pack, the Blood Claw Pack. This unit provides a potential economic advantage if played correctly in a Space Wolves heavy deck, but at this point in the game there are only a handful of army units that it can target and this card is probably not worth the economic advantage you will occasionally gain from the limited expensive targets.

Next is the event Rally the Charge, a very powerful card but one that relies too heavily on card combos or units that don’t often see play. I don’t know if this card is powerful enough to bring those less played units back into vogue, and I think I would suggest keeping it in the back of you brain as a potential power card for later in the LCG’s life.

Finally SM are given the support Secluded Apothecarion. Like most alternate economy cards, this support hasn’t seem much play at all. Looking at this card again, I think there is potential for a decent long term payoff in some decks but I’m not sure if what it brings is enough to really shift the established Space Marine play styles. Certainly as more and more low cost Space Marine units become available the stock of this support will increase, but until that his critical mas this will continue to sit in most people’s binders.

Astra Militarum

With each War Pack in the Warlord cycle, Astra Militarum seems to get more and more toys. This pack is no different and in fact adds also is a great help to the factions that can take AM allies.

First we see Steel Legion Chimera, another tool added to the Militarum’s strong defense game. This army can be a tremendous benefit in certain game states, stacking with cards like Blood Angels Veterans, Bodyguard, and Rockcrete Bunker. The cost of the Chimera can be hard to pay sometimes, but if your cost curve predominantly sits around 2 cost and below then there is room in a deck for this card.

Tallarn Raiders come next in the War Pack. I think this army unit qualifies as the best warlord groupie that we see during the Warlord cycle. I say this often but it bears repeating, 1 cost for 1 command icon is a great value. In addition the Raiders have an effective combat presence. This makes them a staple include in any deck using AM faction cards.

Finally Astra Militarum get the support, Staging Ground. Another in a large collection of supports available to AM, this card gives a very surprising amount of flexibility. Combined with Ammo Depot or just a lot of cheap units on hand this card can provide a serious tipping point to most combats. A staging ground essentially allows you to ambush in a target unit. I’ve found this to be a very strong include for many decks.

Chaos

Chaos receive one of their most important cards all cycle in this pack. At first I was very unimpressed with Gleeful Plague Beast. I didn’t see why you would take it over Vicious Bloodletter, but I began to see articles online singing its praises and the local Zarathur enthusiast started to get very excited by this new Elite Daemon. At this point its hard to envision a Chaos deck without the Plague Beast. While the army unit damages your own units in addition to your opponents, it does so at a point in the round that is very hard to prevent. This means that, short of Inquisitorial Fortress or judicious use of damage effects, your Plague Beast will have a large impact on the combat phase. Pair it with Zarathur, High Sorcerer and you will be doing 2 damage to all enemy units. With Ku’gath Plaguefather you are priming your warlord so that he is ready to use his ability. I definitely think the Gleeful Plague Beast is a strong include in most Chaos factions decks.

The other two cards that Chaos gets this pack are both fairly low impact. The first, Blight Grenades, is very slow and very easily countered. It is a high cost to use and has very few viable targets to attach to. The second, Doombolt, is an interesting but very limited card. It is another source of direct damage but can only be used during deployment. As a result it requires setup and planning to use effectively. Both of these cards could get better given some time and the release of new combo cards.  But unless and until that happens I don’t expect to see them much at all.

Dark Eldar

Next up the forsaken children of Isha receive even more great options to add to their arsenal. The first card is their warlord groupie, the Bloodied Reavers. Initially I though that the Reavers ranked as one of the less effective groupies, landing maybe in the middle of the pack, but they have actually proved to be one of the most used of the bunch. The limit of no wargear attachments is almost completely irrelevant in the factions that can play the Bloodied Reavers, and it fills in the two cost army slot in deck construction allowing for a smoother curve.

Dark Eldar also get a couple Torture traited cards in preparation for Urien Rakarth. Crucible of Malediction brings an added utility to the Torture cards in your deck. Unfortunately this card can be very very slow. Having a maximum of 7 opportunities to trigger over the course of a game. Even then only if you play it on turn one and the game plays out 7 rounds. It also requires you to have torture events you’re able to play in hand.

Moving on from a sub par card to the final Dark Eldar card in the War Pack we get Searing Brand. As a two shield T__orture event this card holds a key slot in any Urien deck. The ability can sometimes be difficult to trigger, but when you are able to make Searing Brand fire the effect is very worth while. When you aren’t able to use it for its effect, you will always be happy to use it for it’s two shields

Eldar

Unfortunately Eldar didn’t receive anything worth talking about. In my opinion neither Vectored Vyper Squad or Guardian Mesh Armor have a place in any existing or potential Eldar archetypes.

Tau

Unlike the Eldar, the Tau get a very substantial set of cards in Zogwort’s Curse. Opening with the Sa’cea XV88 Broadside, the Tau gain a powerful Elite army unit. Starting out with decent stats for its cost this army gets even better when it is equipped with an attachment. Some prime candidates include Gun Drones and Repulsor Impact Field, either bolstering its effect with stacked Area Effect or making it even more troublesome to remove. Like most Elites the Broadside is particularly weak to some removal effects, but I think the power of this unit outweighs that weakness.

Next Tau get a very interesting and versatile card, Tense Negotiations. At first this card was exciting for the prospect of being able to exhaust Aun’shi and have him able to remain at a planet for another combat round. The event has proved to be far more potent and versatile, being useful for any warlord able to take it. Baharroth particularly makes excellent use of Negotiations because of his ability to move around the board so much more freely. The cost of exhausting your warlord is definitely worth it in exchange for some of the battle abilities available.

The last card for both this War Pack and for Tau, but certainly not the least for either, is Heavy Marker Drone. Immediately we have a two shield icon attachment which is great news for the faction in general but Commander Shadowsun in particular. There is excellent synergy paired with Shadowsun, Aun’shi, or Ambush Platform. For me, at least, this may be the most exciting Tau card all cycle.

Conclusion

Because of the warlord in the War Pack I think a lot of people were unimpressed with this release. In hindsight this pack was very important for all of the cards it provided to Astra Militarum and Tau, with some key cards for Chaos and Dark Eldar as well. It may not be glamorous but Zogwort’s Curse definitely is a valuable War Pack.

In the grim darkness of the far future there is only Worr! Well also Starblaze… The Tactical Squad reviews the first War Pack of the Planetfall cycle, Decree of Ruin. In this episode we also talk about what we’ve been up to recently and announce our Patreon!

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Rotation 4 -November 3rd to December 2nd

Its that time again! War rages on amongst the stars and my quest for greater tactical prowess and combat experience continues. It has been a rough several weeks and unfortunately my opportunities to both play games and write have suffered from a busy schedule. As a result I spent longer focusing on the warlords I had built for this rotation. In this War Journal I’m going to focus on Ku’gath, Plaguefather and Colonel Straken. I had 13 games between the two. I also played a few games with “Old One Eye” but I’m going to continue to experiment with that deck so I’ll leave that write up for my next journal.

Ku’gath

[table width=“250px”] Army (25)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x Chaos Fanatics 3x Gleeful Plague Beast 3x Heretek Inventor 3x Khorne Berzerker 4x Kugath’s Nurglings 1x Roghrax Bloodhand 2x Rogue Trader 3x Splintered Path Acolyte 3x Sslyth Mercenary [/table] [table width=“250px”] Support (1)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x Vile Laboratory [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Attachment (7)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x Promotion 3x Slaanesh’s Temptation 1x The Plaguefather’s Banner [/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (17)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x Archon’s Terror 2x Cacophonic Choir 1x Exstatic Seizures 2x Fetid Haze 3x Promise of Glory 3x Tzeentch’s Firestorm 3x Warpstorm [/table]

After training for and playing in American Nationals this past Gencon I was tired of Eldorath and ready to move on to something new. One of the players I play with regularly, Victor, gave me his Ku’gath deck and challenged me to give it a go. I had mixed reviews of the Plaguefather up until that point but the tournament helped improve my opinion of him as a viable option. Playing with him this rotation, I decided to go with a very similar build, using Dark Eldar as allies. Because of my experience with him previously I only ended up playing four games with him this time around. Generally I found my playtesting reinforced what I had discovered before. Ku’gath is a powerful warlord that requires a certain type of finesse. Using a variety of powerful events along with a strong selection of command units, bolstered on both accounts by the Dark Eldar allies, there is a great amount of control to be had. That said, some of the units and effects can create very complex game states and, if you don’t have the resources at hand when you need them.it can be hard to push through. I’m still kind of working on finding my comfort zone with Ku’gath but I think his play style doesn’t quite click with me. I’ll continue experimenting with him occasionally but I feel that overall, while my opinion of him has improved substantially, I don’t enjoy playing as the Plaguefather myself.

Straken

[table width=“250px”] Army (27)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x 10th Company Scout 3x Blood Angels Veterans 2x Firedrake Terminators 2x Iron Guard Recruits 3x Ratling Deadeye 2x Steel Legion Chimera 4x Straken’s Command Squad 3x Tactical Squad Cardinis 3x Tallarn Raiders 2x White Scars Bikers [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Support (5)[attr colspan=“2”] 2x Catachan Outpost 1x Omega Zero Command 2x Rockcrete Bunker [/table] [table width=“250px”] Attachment (5)[attr colspan=“2”] 2x Bodyguard 2x Promotion 1x Straken’s Cunning [/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (13)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x Crushing Blow 2x Glorious Intervention 3x Suppressive Fire 2x Indomitable 3x To Arms! [/table]

Straken has gotten a lot of flak from the Conquest community since the game launched at Gencon last year. As a warlord he has been criticized for his card text essentially being a less version of the ability on Zarathur, High Sorcerer. Until lately I have agreed with all of this, but lately I’ve been starting to think more about the strength that comes from his signature squad. Looking at his signature event, Glorious Intervention, and his signature unit, Straken’s Command Squad, you can see a strong basis for an attrition style of play that isn’t really present in any other signature squad. Combine this with Rockcrete Bunker, Steel Legion Chimera, and the many double shield cards available in Astra Militarum and you’re beginning to build a strong defensive archetype. I decided to follow this direction and see how far I could take it. I decided the best course of action was to go heavy into Space Marines cards. This ally choice gives access to Firedrake Terminators, Blood Angels Veterans, and Indomitable to really flesh out a defense focused game. Playing this deck I was impressed to find that the strategy I was taking a shot at was not only effective but actually powerful and very flexible. When accompanied by Marines, not only is the defensive strategy shored up,but several very powerful offensive options become available. The deck has some novelty at this point because many players don’t expect cards like Indomitable or Crushing Blow to be played out of faction. I do have confidence in how the deck will develop over time though, even once a player knows what tricks are coming it can still be difficult to play around what is in store. I am really pleased with how this deck is working.  So far it has gone 6 and 3. Going forward I will continue to develop and practice with this list. There is a lot of potential for this style of Straken deck to be competitive and with the Unstoppable keyword being introduced and expanded during the Planetfall cycle there should be a number strong Space Marine cards to add, as well as any new options Astra Militarum gain in faction.  From just the first pack, I’m already  excited to test Righteous Initiate in the next version of the deck. I will continue to play Old One Eye, but I will be changing out Straken and Ku’gath for Broderick Worr and Captain Cato Sicarius. I hope to post my next War Journal before the holidays, so keep an eye on this space. Until then, thanks for reading and May the Emperor Protect!

[table width=“208px”] Ku’gath[attr colspan=“2”] Loss v Nazdreg (Concession 1) Loss v Nazdreg (Assassination 6) Win v Eldorath (Planet 5) Loss v Zarathur (Planet 7) [/table]

[table width=“208px”] Straken[attr colspan=“2”] Win v Aun’shi (Planet 4) Win v Nazdreg (Planet 6) Loss v Shadowsun (Planet 5) Win v Baharroth (Planet 4) Loss v Old One Eye (Planet 7) Win v Coteaz (Planet 6) Loss v Old One Eye (Planet ?) Win v Urien (Planet 4) Win v Urien (Assassination 6) [/table]

Posted here without explanation of why it was late (it was Alex’s fault!)

Quack… Quack… Quack… Quack. Quack. Quack. Qua- What..? Baharroth doesn’t play for the mighty ducks? Hmm… Well I suppose I should move along quickly then.

Rotation 3 - Oct 14th to Oct 29th

Well its been another few weeks and I’m done with two new warlords and moving on from another. I didn’t get nearly as many games in as I would have liked over the past two weeks and set my self back in my schedule a bit in an attempt to get a few extra games in. Thankfully, there’s nothing too pressing on the horizon, but unfortunately this rotation felt like a bit of a flop. All told I got in 11 games during this rotation, 5 with Baharroth,  3 with Torquemada Coteaz, and 4 more with “The Swarmlord”. How did I feel? Lets dive-bomb right into it.

Baharroth

[table width=“250px”] Army (29)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x Autarch Celachia 4x Baharroths Hawks 3x Biel-Tan Guardians 2x Bloodied Reavers 2x Incubus Warrior 2x Rogue Trader 2x Soaring Falcon 2x Spiritseer Erathal 2x Sslyth Mercenary 2x Vile Raider 2x Void Pirate 3x Warlock Destructor 2x Wildrider Squadron [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Attachment (1)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x The Shining Blade [/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (19)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x Archon’s Terror 2x Cry of the Wind 3x Death from Above 1x Foretell 3x Gift of Isha 3x Nullify 2x Seer’s Exodus 2x Subdual [/table] [table width=“250px”] Support (1)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x Banner of the Ashen Sky [/table]

When Baharroth was first released I panned him largely because of his signature army, Baharroth’s Hawks. Building his deck I found myself wishing that I was actually just using Eldorath Starbane. I decided to pair him with Dark Eldar to have access to Archon’s Terror along with a few other staple command and combat units. I also made the decision to include more Mobile units than I normally would to create a more distinct deck from what I usually play in Eldar. I didn’t get to play as many games as I would have liked but I was impressed with how Baharroth performed. Much like Old Zogwort, this warlord is very good despite his less than stellar nature signature army unit. His Hawks do manage to do work, but they suffer from more restricted deployment and greater fragility than other units. You are able to get a good discount on a number of excellent units with Death From Above. Deploying at the last planet is not a major draw back when you are getting two command icons for one resource and you are able to adjust your position with Mobile. Add to that Baharroth’s signature event, Cry of the Wind, and you can actually have units deployed using Death From Above arriving into combat much sooner than expected. This deck’s primary strength is its command game and ability to respond to threats. Having most Mobile units provide a reasonable combat presence and two command icons means you can spread out to win command and still converge on a planet for a battle. This kind of responsive presence allows the deck to dominate in multiple phases of the game. At this point I think the deck definitely needs more work.  The deck suffers when the you do not draw the right cards early. I have found that the cost curve is too high and relies too much on being able to cheat units in with Death From Above. The release of a few more good 3 cost Mobile units, or units with movement effects, for Eldar or either of its ally factions could really help make this deck style more effective. I believe that, with a couple more cards released that focus on this play style, Baharroth could become a very competitive warlord.

Coteaz

[table width=“250px”] Army (33)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x 10th Company Scout 3x Blood Angels Veterans 3x Cadian Mortar Squad 2x Captain Markis 4x Coteaz’s Henchmen 3x Iron Guard Recruits 2x Leman Russ Battle Tank 3x Ratling Deadeye 2x Rogue Trader 1x Seraphim Superior Allegra 2x Tactical Squad Cardinis 3x Tallarn Raiders 2x Void Pirate [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Attachment (1)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x The Glovodan Eagle [/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (11)[attr colspan=“2”] 3x Preemptive Barrage 3x Suppressive Fire 2x The Emperor Protects 3x To Arms! [/table] [table width=“250px”] Support (5)[attr colspan=“2”] 2x Catachan Outpost 1x Formosan Black Ship 2x Staging Ground [/table]

This rotation I played Torquemada Coteaz the least.  Fortunately, I have had some experience with him in the past. Usually I’ve built his decks with Orks as his allies but I decided to explore Space Marines instead this time around. Marines provide a degree of staying power not found in cheap Ork allies. After playing a few games using Space Marines as allies I think that it makes most sense to use Orks for the greater number of cheap units. The resilience of units like Blood Angels Veterans doesn’t seem to add up to the long term attrition provided by many cheap units, at least in this deck. Using Coteaz in many ways feels similar to playing Aun’shi. Because he has an ATK of O unless you use his Action to sacrifice a unit he can find himself easily outmatched if you aren’t consciously planning your combats. Though, if you are able to leverage the advantage when you have it, Coteaz can put an unprecedented amount of pressure on an opposing warlord. In my opinion he is the premier assassination warlord. Playing this deck has reinforced my belief on how lacking Astra Militarum can feel as a faction. At this point there is something, missing but I’m not sure what it is. Regardless, there is a lot of space for exploration and growth. [I asked Brad to make some more cards to help Coteaz — Travis]

Swarmlord

[table width=“250px”] Synapse (1)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x Stalking Lictor [/table] [table width=“250px”] Army (29)[attr colspan=“2”] 4x Brood Warriors 2x Hunting Gargoyle 2x Ravenous Haruspex 3x Ripper Swarm 3x Scything Hormagaunts 2x Shrieking Harpy 3x Strangler Brood 3x Termagant Sentry 3x Toxic Venomthrope 2x Tyranid Warrior 2x Volatile Pyrovore [/table]

[table width=“250px”] Attachment (3)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x Bone Sabres 2x Promotion [/table] [table width=“250px”] Event (15)[attr colspan=“2”] 2x Clogged with Corpses 2x Consumption 2x Dark Cunning 2x Indescribable Horror 2x No Mercy 2x Spawn Termagants 3x Spore Burst [/table] [table width=“250px”] Support (3)[attr colspan=“2”] 1x Leviathan Hive Ship 2x Spore Chimney [/table]

For purposes of this reflection I am going to talk about the whole month of playing with “The Swarmlord”. Starting out Tyranids required a lot of learning and assessment. Unboxing them, it was evident that there is a lot of potential for both Swarlord and “Old One Eye to be fairly competitive. Playing Swarmlord I still feel that this possibility is present, but it has become apparent that it will take some work to unlock the faction’s full potential. In many ways the Faction still feels very similar to playing the core set factions in the early days of the game. For this deck in particular I wanted to focus on playing a very limited amount of Hivemind, basically only including what I felt is necessary. Instead I built a focus on command and efficiency, relying on units that I thought could synergize well with a press of small bodies. Generally this strategy seemed to be successful, allowing me to play a long game with continuous pressure. I also decided to put a bit of emphasis on infestation. So far this feels like an under-developed mechanic. I don’t feel there are enough options to trigger infestation available yet, but when you can get it on the table it does feel like there are enough effects that benefit from it to be worth while. I discussed with a friend the use of Spore Chimney versus Virulent Spore Sacs. I had been opting for Chimneys but in this deck they may be too slow for the benefit they provide. Spore Sacs might be a more effective include but ultimately I would like a more consistent option than the one time use it provides. This may be something to develop further after more Tyrnaid cards are released. I really enjoyed playing Swarmlord, it’s ability allows it to indirectly influence battles and focus more on command. I look forward to revisiting and further developing this play style and seeing how Swarmlord and Tyranids in general fair at Worlds.   For the next rotation I will be building Ku’gath, Plaguefather, Colonel Straken, and “Old One Eye’. This will likely be the last set I play before the new warlords from the Planetfall cycle start releasing and I get to start incorporating the new card into decks and my game play.  

[table width=“208px”] Baharroth[attr colspan=“2”] Win v Ku’gath (Assassination 4) Win v Old One Eye (Planet 5) Loss v Shadowsun (Planet 5) Win v Old One Eye (Planet 5) Loss v Kith (Planet 5) [/table]

[table width=“208px”] Coteaz[attr colspan=“2”] Win v Swarmlord (Assassination 4) Loss v Ku’gath (Planet 5) Loss v Kith (Planet 5) [/table]

[table width=“208px”] Swarmlord[attr colspan=“2”] Loss v Eldorath (Planet 3) Win v Aun’shi (Planet 5) Loss v Ku’gath (Planet 3) Win v Old One Eye (Planet 4) Loss v Ku’gath (Planet 3) Loss v Coteaz (Planet 5) Loss v Zogwort (Assassination 5) [/table]

So, I had just busted out of the Warhammer 40,000: Conquest main event in 9-16th place.  I was disheartened but I had to think about whether I wanted to enter the Android: Netrunner event, which was halfway through the first round.  I had been looking forward to playing in the event, but it had been a long couple days and even though my time at the Top 16 table had been brief, it had left me emotionally drained.  After walking around for 15 minutes to try to let off some steam, I realized that I may never have the opportunity again, so I went and handed in my decklist.  I’m going to talk a little bit about my experiences in the Netrunner main event, but if you want to jump straight to the Conquest Wrap-up event, click here.

Netrunner Main Event

So, with my participation in the Conquest Top 16, I had missed the first round of the Netrunner event and had been awarded an automatic loss.  No problem.  I had no illusions that I would place in the Netrunner event.  In my first game I make a few mistakes but manage to sweep opponent.  In the third round I’m starting to find my rhythm and tally two more wins. Walking to the tournament HQ to hand in slip, I think to myself, “Boy, that Assassin is doing work, I’m glad I didn’t take it out of my deck.”  Suddenly I realize that Assassin is not on the decklist I copied down from the web when I wrote out my list that morning before the Conquest event. I had reversed a few tweaks that I had tried and what I had online no longer matched the deck I had built.  The only delta is that I had an Assassin and an Architect in place of a 2nd Tollbooth and an Archer.  I knew that it was enough of an infraction to be awarded a loss in both matches and I felt terrible about my mistake.  I went to the judges and explained my error.  I knew that I hadn’t cheated, despite the error in the list, so I was happy when the judge was merciful and updated my decklist to match what I was playing.  Of course, that kind of subjective ruling can be problematic in competitive play, but I am grateful for their call. Starting the fourth round, I knew that I was starting to make my way out of the loser’s bracket and would start to be facing better opponents and likely decks I didn’t have a ton of experience playing.  I only won my runner game that round because my opponent didn’t notice that I could no longer bring a clot out on the board after a hail mary Medium seige on R&D.  I was able to top deck the final agenda on the subsequent round.  I won my corp game as well and finished the morning session 6-2.  Going undefeated in the morning session was a great way to push the disappointing results from earlier out of my head, at least for a time. After lunch, I started to face some stiffer competition.  I got swept in round 5 by a talented player from Ottawa.  I think I could have managed a split if I had been a bit more on my game, but I was definitely outclassed in general. In round 6, I faced the Italian national champion and despite a few language related misunderstandings, I felt my two losses were well deserved. In round 7, I got back on the winning side of the ledger.  My second win went to time when it probably shouldn’t have, but I felt like a poor sport asking my opponent to speed up his play or even call a judge over.  Given how often my opponent was checking the clock, it’s hard not to feel like the stall was at least partially intentional, given the game was essentially unwinnable for him at the end.  I’m 8-6 at this point and going into my last round I am hoping to come out with a winning record. In round 8, I lost the first game.  I just couldn’t get my Noise engine going.  My last game was going to be the difference between a winning and losing record. I managed to get the Astro train going and pulled it out to go 9-7 on the day. That’s a better record than I could realistically have hoped for. I should also congratulate Dien Tran for his impressive run to the Top 12 of the Netrunner event.  Dien is one of the top Toronto players and with a nearly 270 player field, making it to day 2 is an impressive feat.  We’re all very proud of Dien for the accomplishment.

Conquest Wrap-up

The stress of the main event was over and now I could just play for fun.  That meant no more Kith.  It was time to pull out my Coteaz deck. My first game was against the Australian Netrunner national champion and even though Conquest was not his primary game, he was still good enough to beat me.  My second game was against the German Conquest nationals runner-up and despite having a couple tricks up my sleeve, I went down in defeat again. I managed to bounce back in my next game with some brutal [whc mode=“short”]Preemptive Barrage[/whc] shenanigans to bloody my opponent’s warlord and push through to a definitive victory. My next match was against Eric Taylor from the Conqast podcast.  Despite getting all of the Coteaz combo pieces out, it still came down to a crazy battle at the last planet that was won when I used [whc mode=“short”]Staging Ground[/whc] to bring in a [whc mode=“short”]Void Pirate[/whc] with my last resource and used [whc mode=“short”]Catachan Outpost[/whc] to buff it up for the killing blow.  I’m grateful to Eric for his patience in letting me work my way through the final combat math - and reminding me that when Coteaz got bloodied, I hadn’t lost the game yet. I managed to win my last game pretty handily and was able to turn my day around to finish 3-2. With my two initial losses, my strength of schedule was not great and I finished 17/38.  There were surprise prizes for the top 16, so I ended up on the bubble.  Thankfully for me, a couple of the players in the top 16 had already left, so Brad was kind enough to give me one of the alt art [whc mode=“short”]Possessed[/whc] that were being handed out as prizes. I went back to the hotel to collect my other games, but some of the remaining players wanted to do another Netrunner draft.  The early sets were heavily discounted at the Event Center and FFG was still providing prize support.  We were able to get our prize support to go and enjoyed watching the Netrunner finals in the hotel boardroom before getting down to a draft.  I’ve shouted out the Conquest community already, but I have to give props to the Netrunner crew that went down.  I won’t name all dozen players that went down from Toronto, but I had a great time hanging with all of them.  With more than half of our group finishing in the top 100 or so in the main event, I think we had a solid showing. And that’s it for my World’s 2015 experience.  Thanks for reading. While Travis is back from the Fantasy Flight Games World Championships in Minnesota, where he played in the Star Wars: Armada, Warhammer 40,000: Conquest and Android: Netunner events, he still wants to share his last few updates here on The Tactical Squad blog.