1750pts Black Templar and Red Scorpion Tournament Build.

[Martyn Powell]

Hello all,

I have a tournament coming up the first weekend of April and I would like your input on what I am currently considering taking. For this list I was looking at getting my Devestator Centurions up the board as quick as possible, just to make all the gunline armies out there panic. I have tested an older version of the two lists I put up (basically 2 units of sternguard in pods supporting the dev cents with a chaptermaster in each pod also), What I found is while I could effectively remove a wraithknight/riptide a turn the rest of my army was quite easily picked apart (mainly to some poor armour saves rolls on my part).

However here they are:-
List 1

Primary - Black Templars
HQ
Chapter Master - 225
Terminator Armour, Shield Eternal, Lightning Claw

Troops
5 Crusader Squad - 90 Drop Pod - 35
Lascannon
5 Crusader Squad - 90
Lascannon
5 Crusader Squad – 85
Plasma-cannon
10 Crusader Squad – 180 Drop Pod - 35
Sword Brother with Power Sword, Melta-gun, Power Sword
10 Crusader Squad – 180 Drop Pod - 35
Sword Brother with Power Sword, Melta-gun, Power Sword

Fast Attack
3 Scout bikers - 79
Locator Beacon, 2 Grenade Launchers, Melta-Bombs
3 Scout bikers - 79
Locator Beacon, 2 Grenade Launchers, Melta-Bombs

Heavy Support
4 Centurion Devestators - 330
Gravs
Hunter - 70

Allied Detachment - Red Scorpions
HQ
Severen Loth - 175
Telekinesis

Troops
5 Scouts - 60
Snipers

Total = 1748

List 2

Primary - Black Templars
HQ
Chapter Master - 225
Terminator Armour, Shield Eternal, Lightning Claw

Troops
10 Crusader Squad – 165 Drop Pod - 35
Sword Brother with Power Sword, Melta-gun
10 Crusader Squad – 165 Drop Pod - 35
Sword Brother with Power Sword, Melta-gun
5 Crusader Squad – 85 Razorback - 55
Missile Launcher

Elites
Ironclad Dreadnought – 135 Drop Pod - 35
2x Heavy Flamer

Fast Attack
3 Scout bikers - 79
Locator Beacon, 2 Grenade Launchers, Melta-Bombs
3 Scout bikers - 79
Locator Beacon, 2 Grenade Launchers, Melta-Bombs

Heavy Support
4 Centurion Devestators - 340
Gravs, Omniscope
Hunter - 70

Allied Detachment - Red Scorpions
HQ
Severen Loth - 175
Telekinesis

Troops
6 Scouts - 72
Snipers

Total = 1750

Both Lists play the same. Severen Loth and the Chapter Master (Warlord) are in with the devastator Centurions. Loth picks Telekine Dome, Gate of Infinity and either Objuration Mechanicum or Shockwave. Scout bikes scout move up and Loth gates his unit up to the bikes (with no scatter due to locator beacon). Drop pods come down and units disembark to target soft or exposed units. Dev cents target larger scary units like riptides and wraithknights and remove one off the table a turn. Chapter Master tanks the hits on the Dev Cents like a boss. Back units such as Razorback, Hunter and 5man crusader squad camp it up in the corner and take shots at things, jump in the razorback and secure and objective etc. towards the end.

Personally I prefer list 2... just because it's a bit more in your face with only 3 units sitting back in hide mode, I included the hunter just because in my area I have seen quite a few valk/vend trio lists which hopefully this thing can take 1 or two out the sky... if not my dev cents are quite good at it.

Also your thoughts on the bikes? 1 squad or split into 2 like I have done above? Also how do people find the grenade launchers... get to 12" away and thats 4 blast templates (yeah S3 AP6) but awesome at taking out massed infantry by wound saturation, and also S6 AP4 for 4 krak grenades at 12" and 5 at 8" against bigger targets and light vehicles.

So your thoughts, the good, the bad and the constructive please.

Thanks

[Martyn Powell]

And as I'm writing this I'm thinking since I have already spent a fair bit on the scouts on list 2... I could exchange them for a tactical squad to benefit from the 5+FNP from chapter tactics.... or even drop the 5man crusader squad and razorback and buff that up to a bigger squad to support the hunter.

[xTHExCLINCHERx]

What about an inquisitor with servo skulls to join the cent squad instead of the bikes, or one unit of them? That gives you a little divination and you can teleport to the skulls without scattering.

[Martyn Powell]

A friend has also suggested this, but I don't have the models.

I've play tested list 2 twice, both against Ravenwing.

First game I get first turn, bikes scout up 6" away and two drop pods come down with the crusaders in, followed up by the dev cents and a chapter master and loth.

I take out a dark shroud, a squad of 6 bikes, and 5 of sammaels command squad (including a libby, leaving just the banner and sammael).

I lose two dev cents in return and promptly start mopping up the rest of the bikes. By the end of my turn 2 there are approximately 12 bikes left on the table along with sammael. And we call it.

We set up again, same scenario and I allow my opponent to go first. He focus' on the chapter master and dev cents, killing 2 of them and the chapter master (banner of devestation and lots of plasma along with a rad grenade).

His winning streak is short lived as his lack of models is his downfall and I start picking apart bike squads.

I'm in the process of changing list 2. Dropping the hunter and razorback for example... as they haven't done much but give away free killpoints, my hunter however has managed to get it's first kill in about 6 games of use... a ravenwing biker with a melta-gun.

[xTHExCLINCHERx]

Sounds pretty nice! I wouldn't give up on thenHunter yet, it's very capable of shooting down a helldrake a turn, and is better against that and a Stormraven than Stormtalons will be. I'd be curious how the inquisitor addition would play though, maybe proxy the models and let me know lol?

[Martyn Powell]

Ok revised list... 6 days until the list has to be in but I think this is my final list. I'll have to try the servo skulls thing at some point... I could work out cheaper and be a bit more interesting.

Primary Detachment - Black Templars

HQ
Chapter Master - 225
Terminator Armour, Shield Eternal, Lightning Claw

Troops
10 Crusader Squad - 165 Drop pod - 35
Sword Brother w/Lightning Claw, Melta-gun
10 Crusader Squad - 165 Drop pod - 35
Sword Brother w/Lightning Claw, Melta-gun
5 Crusader Squad - 85 Drop Pod - 35
Missile Launcher

Fast Attack
5 Scout Bikers - 100
Locator Beacon

Heavy Support
4 Centurion Devestators - 340
Gravs, Omniscope
Vindicator - 125
Hunter - 70

Allied Detachment - Red Scorpions

HQ
Severen Loth - 175
Telekinesis

Troops
5 Scouts - 55


Inquisition Detachment
Inquisitor - 55
Divination

Fortification
Aegis Defence Line - 85
Icarus

1750

The way it plays is similar... to the above lists.

Hunter, vindicator, 5man crusader squad and the dev cents with Loth, Chapter Master and Inq all behind the defence line... either turtled up in a corner or somewhere in the middle of the deployment zone against a board edge.

From this deployment it gives me a flexible approach depending on the army. If the army is a gunline/bike army for example then I can infiltrate the bikes and be right up on their line on turn 1, with the dev cents, and 2 crusader squads. Alternatively I can use it defensively as an anchor point for my units to surround and receive cover etc.

Psychic powers - Loth is taking gate of infinity, Telekine dome (which can be pretty funny, Bikes fire plasma guns, bounces off and bike jinks it) and objuration mechanicum. Inquisitor is taking the prescience to give re-roll failed to hit rolls. Both turning the dev cents into a deathstar of remove that unit, each turn, while providing a nice escape from assault (gate of infinity is a blessing which can be cast at a unit in combat), and also providing an invul save for things AP1 and AP2.

expensive unit, but hopefully enough of a sponge to soak up a lot of fire while still pushing out a lot of punishment.

[Martyn Powell]

Hello,

Just thought I'd post up my final list and where I came in the tournament.

Primary Detachment - Black Templars
HQ
Chapter Master - 235
Bike, Artificer Armour, Power Sword, Shield Eternal.

Troops
10 Crusader Squad – 185 Drop pod - 35
Sword Brother w/Lightning Claw and Combi-Melta, Melta-gun
10 Crusader Squad – 185 Drop pod - 35
Sword Brother w/Lightning Claw and Combi-Melta, Melta-gun
5 Crusader Squad – 90 Drop Pod - 35
Lascannon

Fast Attack
5 Scout Bikers - 105
Locator Beacon, Melta-bombs

Heavy Support
3 Centurion Devestators - 260
Gravs, Omniscope
Hunter - 70

Allied Detachment - Red Scorpions
HQ
Severen Loth - 175
Telekinesis

Troops
5 Scouts – 59
4 Sniper Rifles, 1 Bolter

Inquisition Detachment
HQ
Inquisitor Coteaz - 100
Divination
Elites
8 Acolytes – 32
Lasguns
8 Acolytes – 32
Lasguns
8 Acolytes – 32
Lasguns

Fortification
Aegis Defence Line w/Icarus - 85

Total 1750

Powers (Loth always took gate, objuration and telekine dome). Loth, Chapter master, coteaz in with the GravCents.

So how did it go? Who did I play against?

The day (yesterday) was comprised of 3 games, the first being a random draw with games 2 and 3 dependent on how well you do in previous games. The scoring system is quite interesting and is worked out on a 20pt system. Each game was made of a primary, secondary and 4 tertiary objectives and would look like this.

Primary (10pts):- Big guns Never Tire
Secondary (6pts):- Purge the Alien
Tertiary (1pt each):- High ground (have a model on the highest point of the table), Slay the warlord, Defence and recon (have more scoring units in yours and your enemies deployment respectively).

Made for some quite interesting games and I believe enjoyed by everyone.

Game One: Vanguard Strike
Primary: Crusade, with 5 objectives.
Secondary: Purge The Alien.
Tertiary: Slay the Warlord, Recon, Defence and High Ground

Game one I drew a player who is featured in the rulebook (the big chunky tome). He took a full thunderwolf/fenrirsian wolf army with 2 characters on bikes. I got first turn took out a unit of wolves and a few TWolves, however in doing so I put myself too close to my opponent allowing him to charge me on his turn 1. I lost some scout bikes but tied up half of his army in combat hoping to gate out of it in my turn... That didn't happen as runepriest decided to nullify every psychic power. The game continued with my opponent ending with just 3 Twolves and 7-8 Fwolves. I ended up with 2 pods, 1 unit of acolytes and the 5 man crusader squad. Game 1 score, a loss for me. 12 - 7 to my opponent with me 197pts behind what my opponent had left on the table. Was a really fun game though.

Game Two: Hammer and Anvil
Primary: The Scouring.
Secondary: The Emperor’s Will.
Tertiary: Decapitation, Recon, Defence and High Ground

Game 2 I drew a friend at the local club. Space wolves with ultramarines (including tigurius). My opponent won the drop but opted to deploy second and go second. My scout bikes provided great location for my drop pods, followed by my gate (i forgot to use coteaz's powers first, after i gated up the runepriest nullified prescience and ignores cover ), I still managed to take out a unit of long fangs manning a quad gun, and took out another squad and some more wolfs. My opponents first turn and he dropped a pod with 3 wolf guard terminators next to coteaz along with another wolf unit with a guy in terminator armour from another pod. 1 pod was out of range however final placement put both units and another pod in range of coteaz's ultimate intercept rule... Wolf guard terminators dead, drop pod dead, wolf squad with termie guy... dead. In assault one of my crusader squads gets charged by two units, I lose but hold. My turn 2, tigurius dies, last long fang squad takes a few casulties, I kill a few more in combat which is a draw. His turn 2 He drops a pod with a few melta's behind my hunter (which is in a nice forest) and I save them, taking one glancing from bolt guns. Assault and my already engaged crusader squad takes another charge from a 5 man combat squad. They pull through and win by 2 causing 2 out of the 3 units engaged to fallback and run off the board. My opponent then concedes with just a razorback, 2 long fangs, 2 drop pods and 9 marines left on the board. I get a full 20pts and scored 1506army points.

Game Three: Dawn of War
Primary: The Relic.
Secondary: Big Guns Never Tire with 4 objectives.
Tertiary: Decapitation, Recon, Defence and High Ground

This game was against another friend at the local club. He was using a white scars list of korsarro Khan on moondrakken with dark angel allies note the dark shroud lol. I get turn 1 drop 2 pods down on my opponents exposed left flank (for some reason he deployed a fair distance away with him using 3/4 of the deployment zone furthest from me). I gate up, drop an orbital on a 5 man bike squad and take out the 3 with storm shields, rest of my army takes out another 8 bikes and a marine. My opponent in return puts a wound on a dev cent and takes out a few marines and 2 scouts. My turn 2 I take out a couple of bike squads fully and turn my attention to clearing objectives. 2 of my acolyte squads I deployed away from my army behind some LOSblocking cover, they end up getting charged and kill the front bike, and the rest don't make it in, in my turn I moved them round and unloaded killing the remaining two bikes with 32 lasgun shots. The game continues with me killing quite a number of bikes with just khan and 2 LStyphoons (which keep passing jink saves) on the table by turn 5... eventually my army converges on the land speeders killing them (after passing lots more jink saves). Khan and my chapter master are locked in a duel killing eachother on turn 5 and winning me the game. 20pts to me with everything but my chapter master on the board.

My final result
Pos / Name(Army) / TP / VP
1 / (ELDAR/DARK ELDAR) / 58 / 2878
2 / (IMPERIAL GUARD) / 56 /3258
3 / Martyn Powell (SPACEMARINES) / 47 2599
4 / (SPACE WOLVES) / 39 / 1238
5 / (TAU/ELDAR) / 38 / 1214

3rd place.... out of 26. I think mainly down to going up against power armour in my last two games, coupled with a strong alpha strike causing the damage where it was needed.

I enjoyed the day, my first game was the best for me. game 2 and 3 after my alpha strike both opponents pretty much gave up due to me taking out the majority of their damage capability.