Newhammer - My Second Game

Thursday evening, Alfie posted up that he wanted a game of 8th edition on Friday, so I jumped at the chance. He even agreed to 2000 points, which would allow me to be lazy and use the army I used against Jack. I wouldn't even have to re-pack the models, as they were still in the carrying case.

This didn't stop me making some quick changes though...

Out

• The Warlock Conclave
• Both squads of Dire Avengers
• The Guardian's Shuriken Cannon
• The Fire Prism
• The Voidweaver

In

• Wings for the Autarch
• A Singing Spear for the Farseer
• Two more squads of Guardians
• A Wraithlord with twin Flamer, twin Bright Lance and a Ghostglaive
• A second squad of Hellions
• A second squad of Skyweavers

I wanted to try out the Wraithlord, and that's my standard load out for him. I wasn't too impressed with the Dire Avengers, so straight swapped them for the equivalent points of Guardians for more shots, especially with the Path of Command buff from the Autarch. I dropped the Voidweaver to help make points, same with the Warlock Conclave, as both the Hellions and the Skyweavers impressed me in the first game and I wanted an extra unit of each. This kept the army at 2000 point, but dropped the power level to 98.

Alfie fielded:-

• Urien Rakarth, as his Warlord
• Wracks in a Venom
• Wracks in a Raider
• Grotesques, with a Haemonculus, in a Raider
• A unit of 3 Talos
• A unit of 2 Chronos
• A Harlequin Troupe
• A Shadowseer
• A Solitaire

This came out to just under 2000 points (he took the Harlequins to make up points) and power level 90.

The Game

Once again we played the Only War mission from the Battle Primer. After setting up we rolled on the Victory table and discovered we were playing Slay and Secure. Unfortunately, we only ended up having time for 2 turns each, which didn't lead to a decisive result, although only I controlled an objective when we ended.

Haemonculi give a buff of +1 Toughness, which can make the units near them really hard to hurt, especially things like Talos and Chronos.

The Haywire Cannons and Bright Lances killed one of the Raiders and it exploded. The Talos and Rakarth took Mortal Wounds, but the passengers (Wracks) survived unscathed.

I was able to charge and surround the Venom, so when I killed it the passengers couldn't disembark; slaying them all.

The Guardian's Shuriken Catapults and the Reaper Launchers killed 2 of the Talos and dropped the third to 2 wounds.

There wasn't time for much else to happen, though once his big stuff was in combat it slaughtered the Guardians.

Unit Analysis

Farseer - This game he failed his powers in the first turn, and failed to wound with the Spear. Second turn, casting Doom on the Chronos was amazingly useful. Still probably my default Warlord choice, as the trait of +1 Leadership is also good, and I wouldn't want to put too big a target on the Autarch's head.

Autarch - Giving him wings meant I could start him off the board in case I didn't have the first turn (I didn't), and then have him descend in my first turn into the optimum position. This allowed all three units of Guardians, the Farseer, the Wraithlord and the Dark Reapers to all benefit from Path of Command. I suspect he and the Farseer will be the starting point of my Iyanden armies, with maybe a Spiritseer once I try out the Wraith-units.

Guardian Defenders - All three of these units moved up to shoot the Talos unit, and with Bladestorm and Path of Command took quite a toll. They are still a lot of short ranged firepower, and benefit from Battle Focus pretty well.

Dark Reapers - With the Reaper Launchers doing 3 Wounds when they are Strength 8, they are really good versus Vehicles and Monsters. Always hitting on 3s, even if they move is amazing too. Expensive unit, but well worth the points.

Wraithlord - As a platform for the Bright Lances, he was good. Charging into a large-ish unit, he was disappointing, but his charge was supported by the Skyweavers, leaving in locked in with 2 Wracks. Doesn't want unsupported combat against squads, but will probably make a mess of Vehicles and Monsters.

Succubus - Still a poor HQ choice for this detachment, but probably a good one for regular Wyches. Nothing else fits the force though, so I guess she is staying.

Hellions - These guys want the Combat Drugs of either extra attacks, for 16 Strength 4 attacks, or extra strength, for 11 Strength 5 attacks. Either way, they have the speed to end up where you want.

Reavers - Mobile Vehicle/Monster hunting, I'm overall happy with these guys and the Outrider detachment on the whole.

Troupe Master - Still a good leader for the Harlequins. His buff gives re-roll wounds to nearby Harlequins during the Fight phase, so he makes them really good in combat. 5 attacks makes him impressive too.

Shadowseer - A solid psyker, can't say much more about him. His buff is still amazing.

Troupe - Got more use out of these guys this time. I think Harlequins are a much better force in 8th. What they lack in shooting, they make up for in speed and combat prowess.

Skyweavers - So impressed, I took a second unit. Haywire Cannons are decent choice to make them Vehicle hunters, and they have the speed to charge the units they want to charge. Really good support for the Troupe.

Future Changes

I'm happier with this configuration for the army. Would need a full game to see more. I do want to try out my Wraith-units though, so I will need to build an army to accomodate that.

Final Thoughts

I'm enjoying trying different units. I'm going to brainstorm up a configuration to let me test the Wraith-units without being too all-in on them. Also, other people are excited about the edition change, so there are plenty of opponents about.