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View Full Version : Severe Weather Edition: 1500pt Njal Drop Pod Hybrid



Unholy_Martyr
01-28-2010, 08:45 AM
So here we go folks, I've been trying this list alot lately to much success. Let me know what you think

H.Q.
Njal
Terminator Armor -270

Elites
Wolf Guard x5
1) Terminator Armor: Power Fist, Assault Cannon
2) Terminator Armor: Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield
3) Terminator Armor: Standard
4) Combi-weapon, Frost Blade
5) Mark of the Wulfen
Drop Pod(Death Wind Launcher) -300

Troops:
Grey Hunters x10
2x Melta, Power Fist, Mark of the Wulfen, Drop Pod -225

Grey Hunters x10
2x Melta, Power Fist, Mark of the Wulfen, Drop Pod -225

Grey Hunters x6
Flamer, Mark of the Wulfen, Razorback -145

Grey Hunters x6
Flamer, Mark of the Wulfen, Razorback -145

Heavy Support:
Long Fangs
4x Missile Launchers, Razorback with Twin Linked Lascannons -190

Total: 1500 Points

So far, with this list I have done fairly well. Especially Orks, Imperial Guard and Tau. I haven't had any opportunities to play a Marine Equivalent yet but I hope I'll have about the same results.

The overall Plan of Attack is to have Njal dropping in with the Wolf Guard and one of the Grey Hunter units dropping in as well. This allows me to get the most from Njal's Lord of the Tempest powers as well as maximize his shooting. Usually, my opponent chooses to deploy normally as they see the Razorbacks and the Long Fangs so they're caught completely off guard by Njal and friends dropping in for a visit. I've wanted to try and maximize the number of Pods coming down and I've derived another list to see if I can improve upon that fact.

H.Q.
Njal
Terminator Armor -270

Elites
Dreadnought
Assault Cannon, Drop Pod -140

Dreadnought
Multi-Melta, Heavy Flamer, Drop Pod -150

Dreadnought
Plasma Cannon, Heavy Flamer, Drop Pod -160

Troops:
Grey Hunters x10
2x Flamer, Mark of the Wulfen, Drop Pod -200

Grey Hunters x8
1 Plasma, Mark of the Wulfen, Drop Pod -180

Grey Hunters x6
Flamer, Mark of the Wulfen, Razorback -145

Grey Hunters x6
Flamer, Mark of the Wulfen, Razorback -145

Heavy Support:
Long Fangs
4x Missile Launchers, Razorback -155

Total: 1545 Points

About the same Plan of Attack here as well, just with a different take on the idea. In this instance, I would drop Njal with a pack of Grey Hunters and 2 Dreadnoughts (Probably the Multi Melta and Assault Cannon Dreadnoughts), this gives me 3 Pods on Turn 1, enemy still is unsure of the Drop Pods and even if they Reserve everything, I still have a decent showing. Granted, I'm almost 50 points over, I'll trim a few things here and there and see what works and what doesn't.

As always comments and criticisms are always welcomed.

Cryl
01-28-2010, 08:52 AM
Njal is pretty fragile (even in termie armour) to pod into the middle of an enemy formation. Sure he's a must kill target which in theory pulls enemy fire away from other units you have but since I can put him out of commision with a single melta shot or a decent assault force, which granted is more likely if he's with the wolf guard. Both need to be lucky granted, but still it's a big big risk for a model that costs more than a Land Raider.

Talking of which have you thought about putting him in a raider with some wolf guard. Combine that with a couple of dread pods and things get more tricky for your opponent. Pods tend to work best as support for some other really scary targets rather than as an all out attack force that your opponent can just 'all reserve' against.

As always YMMV

Unholy_Martyr
01-28-2010, 09:06 AM
The main problem with putting Njal in a Land Raider is that he can't use his powers outside of the Lord of Tempests. Even then, putting him in a Rhino just doesn't do the trick. Most of his powers are about the same range as a Bolter, and trying to do a Drive-By with an almost 500 Point unit is just not going to cut it (Unbelievably easy to pop a Rhino). Whenever I Pod in Njal, he's around 18" away from the Flank or Rear of my enemies deployment. This denies most of their firepower as well as adds some survivability when dealing with Assault. I've only lost him in 1 of the past 5 games while playing like this and well...he did his job by taking out 2 Big Meks with Kustom Force Fields and thinning out a Horde of 30 Boyz down to about 20 (The rest of the Unit took the Boyz down to 10 and they broke).

Another thing is, almost no one expects such a unit to appear in the flank, and with the benefit of other units coming into support; more often than not, he creates a sink hole that is hard to beat.

Lord Azaghul
01-28-2010, 09:21 AM
I like it. ( the first one) It seems alot more effective and aggresive then most MEQ list I see (and crush).

I agree with you on the LR. I play mixed guard. And Land raiders are just a waste of time. I don't bother shooting at them unless I have no other vehicle targets. Its an aweful lot of points that are almost purely defensive. So while you're hiding a nice scary unit in your LR to 2-3 turns. I'm bring the full weight of my army down on the rest of your army. When your unit gets out the LR, most of you army is aready dead, the unit in the land raider jump out, kills a unit or two, and then either dies or realizes it can't take all the objectives from me.

I think cheap transports like drop pods, razor backs are rhinos are far more effective, with out being the big point sink!

Unholy_Martyr
01-28-2010, 09:38 AM
To be perfectly honest, I would be hard pressed to field a Land Raider of any kind at 1500 Points. Sure it can soak alot of firepower but at 1/6th of the entire points cost (if you include the unit, that can easily go up to 1/3 of the points cost), it is a major sink as Azaghul points out.

Additionally, I don't like to play with the "Mech Blitz" mentality. I did that all day, every day in 4th Edition and I am done with it.

Cryl
01-28-2010, 10:42 AM
To be perfectly honest, I would be hard pressed to field a Land Raider of any kind at 1500 Points. Sure it can soak alot of firepower but at 1/6th of the entire points cost (if you include the unit, that can easily go up to 1/3 of the points cost), it is a major sink as Azaghul points out.

As is Njal and he's potentially easier to kill.


Additionally, I don't like to play with the "Mech Blitz" mentality. I did that all day, every day in 4th Edition and I am done with it.

I don't play "mech blitz" either, I tend to include some pods to sandwich my opponent between the mech and the pods, it's served me pretty well so far and I've had very good experiences using a LRC as a delivery mechanism for power units. I stand by my comment about more pods not always being good, I've personally found 3 to be perfect, means you can drop 2 (usually dreads for me) in on turn one and have a reserve for taking / contesting objectives later

By the sounds of it you've had some good experiences using Njal in a pod, I probably wouldn't play him that way but that's what keeps things interesting, if we all played the same list it'd get dull really fast!

Unholy_Martyr
01-28-2010, 11:15 AM
Yeah, Njal's little ruse has paid off on many occasions. Now I'm going to try newer iterations on the list and see where that takes me.

While Njal costs more than a Land Raider, the issue really is: Do you pay the same points in an overglorified taxi, or do you put him in the line of fire and maximize his lethality?

Lerra
01-28-2010, 12:45 PM
I like the idea, but I'd probably drop pod both grey hunter squads turn 1 and save Njal for later. That way he lands with increased safety (a chunk of the opponent's army should be dead or tied up in assault), and his Lord of Tempests ability is more useful later in the game. He's more likely to survive to see the really nasty Tempest abilities go off if he enters play turn 3 or so.

Unholy_Martyr
01-29-2010, 09:41 AM
For a while, I ran this list in that matter and needless to say it was never pretty. As much firepower as 2 Grey Hunter units can put on paper, Njal's unit can pour out just as much.

While his later Lord of Tempest powers are AMAZING, his early ones are nothing to shake a stick at. On a 2 nothing happens...boohoo. On a 3 or 4 though you have make shooting more difficult for your opponent and you cause them to have to test for terrain respectively. Making a BS 3 army drop to a BS of 2 is life changing for everyone.

The key to making this work is to land on the extreme flank of your enemy, just within range of his powers, but just out of range of Assault. Try it, and I think you'll like it.

Weafwolf
01-29-2010, 11:23 AM
Given the fact that the FAQ stated that Njal's "game turn" powers no longer have any effect if you go second, have you changed your approach at all? I'd be more tempted to leave him on the sidelines for a couple of turns after that ruling.

Unholy_Martyr
01-29-2010, 11:32 AM
To be honest, where I play we have actually decided to bypass that ruling for several reasons.

1) It makes no sense.

2) We are actually following the Independent Natioinal Warhammer 40K FAQ that states:

+SW.53C.01 – Q: Exactly how long does each roll on the „Lord of Tempests‟ table last for?
A: Make a roll at the start of each of Njal‟s turns. „Howling Cyclone‟, „Vengeful Tornado‟ and „Chain Lightning‟ are resolved when specified, while the effects of „Driving Gale‟ and „Living Hurricane‟ last until the start of Njal‟s next turn [clarification].

We do this as a few Tournaments that we have attended in fact use these rules. Also, most of the time they make more sense.

3) The ruling only changes a single power, and Njal has alot more to offer than just Lord of Tempests.