Monday, January 30, 2012

Fixed List Analysis- Nightwing

When I decided to play eldar for the league, one of the reasons was so I could play with my new nightwing conversion (shown to left minus canopy). At the time the unit suffered from a ridiculous point cost but with the release of IA11 it dropped down by almost 50%. It lost some key features as detailed here but became a justifiable expenditure in the process.

For 145 points, you get two brightlances and 2 shuriken cannons. You can get a comparable falcon (2 shuriken cannons, star engines)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Legios Sparticus Defenders of the Fortress Tournament

I am happy to announce the details regarding the March 11 tournament that will conclude the Legios Sparticus  campaign that is currently on going.  This event is completely separate from the league and league participation (or lack thereof) has no impact on the final standings of this event.  The only exception is detailed under the League Championship Sub-bracket heading below.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Corsair Army List Analysis

I was fortunate enough to get a copy of IA11 for Christmas and since then have been trying to get some games in with the new Corsair list.  I've managed to get 2 1850 games in and 1 Apoc game that doesn't really count.  Both 1850 games have been vs. blood angels and I have to say I really like how the army plays.  It is similar to a mech Eldar army but taken to an extreme.  Eldar are shooty, Corsairs are super shooty, Eldar are fragile, Corsairs deem of the day they can be a tough as Eldar.  Craftworld eldar can be fast, corsairs are always fast.  There are a few items that the corsairs really miss, namely quality psychic powers and defense.  Overall I think FW did a good job making an alternate list that is similar but different without making it over/underpowered.  The internal balance could use some tweaking but no codex is perfect.

Here are a few sentences about each unit.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Game 3 vs. Hornblower

I'm going to try a different format for this battle report.  Rather than try to recreate a turn by turn recap, I'm just going to do a pregame and post game analysis.  Let me know what format you prefer.  Unfortunately I didn't bring a camera for this game either (or more accurately I did but forgot about it so you just get this picture of Hornblower's wulfen).


1 kitted out thunderwolf riding Wolf Lord 
5 Thunderwolf Cavalry with lots of options

10 Grey Hunters Pack with Mark of the Wulfen 30, 2 Meltaguns,powerfist 1 Rhino, 35 pts
10 Grey Hunters Pack with Mark of the Wulfen 30, 2 Meltaguns,powerfist 1 Rhino, 35 pts
9 Blood Claws w/ Power Fist

6 Wolf Scouts Pack w, Mark of the Wulfen, Meltagun
1 Dreadnought with heavy flamer
3 Long Fangs Pack with 2 Missile Launchers

Monday, January 23, 2012

Game 2 vs. OrksesNevaLooz

Unfortunately I was unable to secure a camera for this game so I don't have much in the way of pictures.   Here is his fixed list:


Big Mek with Kustom force field
Warboss Cybork with claw,bosspole
10 cybork Nobz with a bunch of upgrades in a Battlewagon with deffRolla,  Big Shoota  
19 Shoota Boyz Nob with claw,bosspole
20 Slugga Boyz Nobwith claw,bosspole 
30 Shoota Boyz Nob with claw,bosspole 
Deffkopta with rokkits
Battlewagon with Deffrolla, Big Shoota  
Batttlewagon with Deffrolla, Big Shoota

Friday, January 20, 2012

Fixed List Unit Analysis- Jetbikes

This is the first of a series of articles where I talk about how I built my fixed list for the Legios Sparticus League.  This list isn't what I would do next year, even if it was still 5th Edition and the Eldar don't get a new codex.  I had to rush the list a bit because of last minute point changes to the Nightwing and Phoenix in Imperial Armour 11. 

One of the ways this shows in by the inclusion of three jetbike squadrons.  Two squads are pretty much mandatory in my book for claiming objectives but three can be overkill, especially with the warlock upgrade but I was at an awkward point level so I put in a third squad to get over 1500 points.  Three still work just fine and with the addition of a warlock, you can even get some in game use out of the them.

Even though they are all jetbikes, the two three-man squads are very different from the four man squad.  The three man squads are there to claim objectives and that is it.  I use to put a cannon on them, but found that all that did was tempt me shoot with them instead of turbo-boosting them which typically results in me having one less scoring unit the next turn.  Just like all Eldar, you need to have a plan for what you want out of the unit and focus them on the task.  Eldar jetbikes are the only unit in any army that have "win the game" as their sole purpose.  They are unable to fight and have almost no shooting all they do is claim objectives.   66 points for a unit that can move 24 inches, claim an objective, and win you the game is worth it in my opinion.  In a 1850 point game 2 squads will only cost you about 7% of your total points.  The only other thing I ever use them for is they can provide cover for other units, especially if terrain doesn't allow hiding them.  They almost always start off in reserve to ensure that they are turbo-boosting from the start, and frankly the longer they stay off the board the happier I am, as it means they aren't being shot.

The four-man unit includes a warlock.  Much like the cannon, the warlock is really a temptation to use them in a sub-optimal fashion.  The warlock does provide them with embolden so they can re-roll their morale tests and a single casualty doesn't break them very often.  The spear can also be used to take down the occasional vehicle, especially if they are able to get behind enemy lines and hit the support tanks.  They are still there primarily to claim objectives but have a little more diversity.  I am ok, giving them a cannon as well but forgot to in this case.  The added resilience of this squad isn't worth doubling (almost) its point cost but it is still a worthwhile investment.

Summary:  IMO, fifth edition has made these guys a just have.  As other armies get stronger and stronger, the Eldar have to rely more and more on tricks and efficiency and these are one of the best, as long as you can support them with the rest of your army.  I highly recommend 1 unit / 1000 points (or part there of).

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Game 1 vs. Bodgerboy

Last week I was able to get the first of my five upcoming league games for the new Legios Sparticus 40kfightclub league I am running.  You can find out more details about the league here. My first game was vs. BodgerBoy one of the three ork players.  His fixed list was:


Big Mek Grotbug with Burna, Kustom Force Field, 'Eavy Armor, Cybork
29 Slugga Boyz w/Nob with Power Klaw, Bosspole
18 'Ard Boyz w/Nob, 2 Big Shootas, Power Klaw, Bosspole
11 Shoota Boyz w/Nob with 1 Rokkit, Power Klaw in a Trukk with Reinforced Ram, Boarding Plank
10 Shoota Boys w/Nob, 1 Rokkit, Power Klaw in a Trukk with Reinforced Ram, Boarding Plank
10 Grots with Runtherd
2 Deffkoptas w/Rokkits
2 Warbuggies w/Rokkits
3 Killa Kans w/Grotzookas
3 Killa Kans w/Rokkits
Battlewagon with 3 Big Shootas, Armor Plates, Grot Riggers

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Welcome to Aspects of the Void


Welcome to Aspects of the Void.  This is my first attempt at running a blog so I hope you will be patient.  My goal is to create a blog focused primarily on "regular" eldar, you know the ones that don't run around with million lances and poisoned weapons.  I plan to populate this with a series of battle reports, some unit analysis and maybe even a tactic or two.

Before I get started, here is a brief bio about me.  I've played 40k for about 15 years after being introduced to it during my freshman year at Michigan State (Go State!) by a kid across the hall in the dorm that I played Magic with.  Over the years, I've played a number of armies (marines, eldar, dark eldar, nids, and tau) but eldar have been my main army for most of that time.

I'm not an ultra-competitive player, so if you are looking for tactics on what to do with your three wave serpents with fire dragons this probably isn't the right place for you.  Even going back to my card-flopping days, I've always preferred playing "toolbox" armies/decks, so eldar with their specialized units were a natural fit.  I think the new corsair army list in the Doom of Mymeara will fit this bill as well, so you can expect a heavy dose of them as well over the next few months.

I also plan to track the new campaign found in Doom of Mymeara, Hornblower from 40kfightclub.com will play the Imperials while I beat on him (hopefully) with various eldar.

Opening of 40kFightClub League

Over the next couple months, I am organizing and playing in a local league.  The format is fairly simple, you have a fixed list of between 1500 and 2100 points, any points not spent in the fixed list can be adjusted between games.  Just about anything is legal, even superheavies (with limitations).  My fixed list is a bit off as I needed to make a last minute adjustment as the Nightwing and Phoenix got major point reductions right as the fixed lists were due.  Anyways, here is the list