Winter War List Review

A great days gaming. three good games and lI earned a lot. Usual format, what worked and what didn’t in my list, and some learning points.

What worked

• Troupe’s in Starweavers. Harlequin Troupes in Starweavers are such a fantastic unit. Fast, tough, and deadly, whether it’s with Fusion Pistol drive buys (and I’ve revised my position on these), or in assault, they are just awesome. And having 5 of them rather than the 4 I had in my last list, made a difference. I was less worried about losing a Starweaver and, as a result, more ready to get them up close and personal, where I think they want to be. 

What were OK

• Skyweavers. Their speed is great, but they do very little damage when they get there. Their main role is tieing things up and grabbing objectives. And they are so expensive - 56pts for a bike with a Glave. I expect them to come down in points dramatically in Chapter Approved (or get 4 attacks base, and S5 with a Glave).
• Shadowseer. Again, she was OK for twilight pathways, but I really missed the Farseer from the list I took to Blood and Glory. For the same points, a Farseer on a bike is so much better. Again, I expect Shadowseer’s to come in at 100pts, after Chapter Approved.
• Solitaire. From hero to “OK”. He didn’t shine this tournament like he did at Blood and Glory, but he was still good (assasinating a bunch of little characters in the game 2 against guard). Again, it’s what you try and do with him that’s key. Don’t bite of more than he can chew (e.g. a Patriarch!!). 

But the main learning points of the tournament were (a) how complex and subtle the assault phase is, and (b) that my list lacks an effective screen, and needs more volume of fire.

The assault phase, or at least the way you move into assault (including pile ins) is incredibly important. A fraction of an inch matters! I won the game against guard because of the turn one multi assault, which left me locked in combat with the heavy weapons team, so my opponent couldn’t shoot me. And flip belts, combined with rising in crescendo, make it so much easier to do. 

As for screens and fire power, I think I need some allies!! I’m going to play around with adding 3 units of Kabalite Warriors in Venoms, and a Doomseer - something like this

Troupe Master, Fusion, Embrace x2

Troupe, 3 Fusion, 4 Embraces x6

Starweaver x6

Farseer, Wings, Doom, Executioner

5 Kabalite Warriors x3

5 Venoms, with Splinter Cannons, x3

So, 6 troupes with a couple of master, all tucked up in their Starweavers, and 3 Venoms with Kabalites. The Kabalites can work as a cheap screen if necessary, and the Venoms kick out 22 poison shots each at 12” (if you count the embarked Warriors). With doom from the Farseer, on average dice, the Venoms would have wiped out one of the ‘stealer units in game 3, leaving the Troupes to mop up the rest (in theory!!).

I see the Starweavers and Venoms working together, with the Venoms lurking a little behind the Starweavers, providing fire support. The Farseer should be able to keep up if he takes the relic that allows him to move 12”, and the warlord trait that gives him another 2” to his move, for a 14” move. I would much prefer a bike, but dont have the points. Maybe when Chapter Approved comes out we will get enough of a points drop give him a bike (for example, I expect Splinter Cannons to drop to 10pts each)!

Alternatively I could drop one Troupe and Starweaver, and upgrade the Kabalite Warriors to Trueborn, and add in 6 more Splinter Cannon, for  a total of 30 poison shots per Venom (again including embarked units). I would have points left over for a 10 man unit of Warriors to act as a screen.

Thoughts?