Harlequins Review and Tactics

After a bit of a break, I’m back!

I’ve not really had a break from 40k to be honest, just from blogging .... well at least here. I’ve actually been asked to contribute a few articles to Frontline Gamin, and my blogging time was taken up with a review for them. You may have already seen it (it was also posted on BOLS), but if not I include it below for completeness.

Why? Well, I want to do a series of posts on 3 GT’s I’m attending offer the next few months, and the article is “background”.

So, for those who haven’t read it, here it is.

Harlequin List Review

So, a few thoughts on my list and some changes.

The list I took was

Harlequins first tournament

Took my Harlequins to their first tournament at the weekend. It did not go well!

Out of a total of 80 possible points available over the weekend, i got 3, losing all 4 games. To be fair, it was a team tournament, and my list was by far the weakest list in the team, so tended to get "preyed" on, but it was still pretty woeful!

The list I took was

Harlequins for 8th

I'm a bit late with all this 8th edition stuff I know, but I've had my "usual" (OK, it's happened twice!) break from 40k after the LVO and spent the summer getting fit and losing weight (it's all relative!!), before getting bored with that and coming back to 40k.

I've now played 6 games of 8th edition (2 wins against guard, 2 losses against Grey Knights, one win against Dark Angles and a win against an Alpha Legion list with 40 berserkers, so 4-0-2 so far) and I'm beginning to get the hang of it. Llike most people, I'm impressed. It's simple and streamlined, but still sufficiently complex to be entertaining. The only thing I miss are vehicle facings and firing arcs. Firing arcs in particular added more depth to the game, and helped to reign in flyers (which are of course way more powerful in 8th).

But overall, I'm loving it!

Going Second with Genestealer Cult - Planning your Beta Strike

Going first with GSC is relatively straight forward. There are a number of decisions you need to make, but they are limited within the same general purpose – getting of the most effective Alpha strike you possible can. Going second is harder. In fact I suspect the best GSC players will be  those who win consistently, while going second. So, how do you go second and win with GSC – well I wish I knew. To be honest I’ve not been very good at it! So far most of my losses have been when going second

Going First with Genestealer Cult - The Ultimate Alpha Strike?

Does a Genestealer Cult Army have the ultimate alpha strike? That’s the question I want to explore in this post. However, first “spoiler alert” I think it does! So the rest of the post is really about why! The thing that makes GSC so effective at hitting hard in turn one is the ability to roll on the Cult Ambush table. I’ve talked about the mechanics of Cult Ambush in a previous post, so I won’t repeat myself here. Suffice to say, it’s the ability to deploy using Cult Ambush at the infiltration stage, setting up close range shooting attacks and first turn charges, that makes GSC such a potent Alpha Strike weapon. Maximising the potential of that Alpha Strike is an important element of playing GSC well, although perhaps not the most important element. I suspect the ability to play well when going second is more important. I’ll deal with that in a later post.

Cult Ambush and Return to the Shadows

Initially I was going to have 2 posts, one on Cult Ambush and the other on Return to the Shadows, however they are so connected that it was hard to write about one without the other.

Cult Ambush (CA) is the “big rule” for GSC. But it’s a “fickle” rule, typically relying on rolling a “6” to have direct impact, and having a number of “hard” counters that limit its usefulness in certain situations. It seems to me that the key to success is a thorough understanding of how to use it and when. I don’t pretend to have that understanding yet, but thinking through a few options might help.