First tournament

[Shirtless_Iron]

Ok guys... in need of some help creating a decent list for my first tournament in the coming months. I'm going to be running my skitarii and I was just looking for some advice on what works well! Thank you everyone in advance!

[Charon]

Some trolls here will tell you to just take a net list and collect an easy WAAC win.

This is not how this works.
First step is information.

What kind of tournament is it?
How does the local meta look like?
Which armies/builds are popular?
What are the tournament rules, FAQ, errata or restrictions?
What do the tables usually look like?
Which missions are gonna be played?

After you have answered all of this, you can start to build a list according to the information you gathered.

If you have a list it is time to learn that list, learn the matchup, identify weaknesses in your and enemy lists and adapt/learn.
Then you start over with the list building and play even more games.

Nobody can actually answer you "what works well" witout any context.

[Mr Mystery]

Are you fielding just Skitarii, or are you also fielding some Cult Mechanicus?

Either way, do familiarise yourself with the new FAQs for the armies. They're not particularly long, but Defo worth a read.

Now, personally,I really really like Sydonian Dragoons. They're fairly light, but also fast and can hit like a ton of bricks thanks to their Lances - and once in combat, your opponent may struggle to inflict damage on them thanks to having an AV value. Downside here is their lightly armoured nature, and the very real risk that they'll hit so hard on the charge that they'll wipe out the opposing unit or otherwise drive them off, leaving them wide open to ranged retribution... Also, they're not particularly cash cheap, and sadly I feel they need to be taken at maximum size (you may feel differently, of course!)

Your anti-tank options can be surprisingly limited. Arc Rifles are pretty tasty, but the rest of the unit's firepower is then wasted for that turn. Perhaps field them in 5 man units to reduce that wastage. Makes them small and easily hidden, but of course makes them far more vulnerable to retribution.

Dunecrawlers are pretty good, and I favour the Laser weapon, simply because I find my other long range anti-armour somewhat limited. Again, downside is that you really want a three strong unit to get that 4+ invulnerable save. If you're familiar with the theory of tank squaring, they doubly benefit from that. Plus, whilst far from the killiest guns, their heavy stubbers mean they can at least tickle enemy infantry if you've knacked all their armour.

Also, look to your modifiers and multipliers. Sicarian Infiltrators have that natty helmet that reduces enemy stats - whilst they're not quite as outright fighty as Ruststalkers, with the Flechette Pistols and Taser Sword Thing, they can do serious damage to lighter units, and even tackle smaller units of heavier stuff due to the sheer volume of attacks and wounds they can generate.

I know it's old and hackneyed, but synergy is your key. Each unit should be a cog in the machine, making your force greater than the sum of its parts.

[Shirtless_Iron]

Well its a tourney at gencon in Indianapolis and it will be my first ever tourney, since it's a convention I'm not exactly sure what the meta will be like and it's hard to guess since I'm sure it'll bring in ppl at least from the surrounding states, I'm going with a couple friends so I know what they will more than likely run and that's an assaulty space marine army and either Eldar or iron warriors.... It is in itc format which I haven't dabbed into much yet but I've got a couple months to practice it. Other than that I'm kinda just stumbling into the fogs of war. Lol. I know my skittari/cult mechanicus are very shooty as is the crusader knight I plan on taking and there are still a few rules I need to familiarize myself with while playing as them but like I said I've got some time to practice.

[Captain Bubonicus]

Well its a tourney at gencon in Indianapolis and it will be my first ever tourney, since it's a convention I'm not exactly sure what the meta will be like and it's hard to guess since I'm sure it'll bring in ppl at least from the surrounding states, I'm going with a couple friends so I know what they will more than likely run and that's an assaulty space marine army and either Eldar or iron warriors.... It is in itc format which I haven't dabbed into much yet but I've got a couple months to practice it. Other than that I'm kinda just stumbling into the fogs of war. Lol. I know my skittari/cult mechanicus are very shooty as is the crusader knight I plan on taking and there are still a few rules I need to familiarize myself with while playing as them but like I said I've got some time to practice.

So you are bringing Mechanicus?

Good. Kataphron Destroyers can really add some shootiness.

[Shirtless_Iron]

Ha are you going to be there as well cap?