Road to Mayhem- Gavin, Drukhari
Intro
I am intending to take my codex-less Drukhari army to Mayhem at the end of May. This leads to some hard questions, as index datasheets are typically shallow and detachment options are low. This is especially true for the Dark Kin, where it’s technically 3 tiny armies that don’t play well together. It’s doable, but ends up feeling cobbled together.
Detachment breakdown
In my list building journey for the Drukhari, I’ve tested two of the 3 available detachments. Reaper’s Wager is not a valid option for me, as I don’t own the clowns and don’t intend to own the clowns. That leaves Skysplinter Assault and Realspace Raid as my two detachment options. Both are powerful in different ways, and both leave certain options feeling lackluster or less viable.
Drukhari, like all Aeldari, are generally t3 with high movement and middling armor saves, giving up durability for movement and damage potential; very Glass Cannon. This is mediated via the detachment options we have available:
Skyplinter augments this by giving benefits to units that depart transports (lance for melee and ignores cover for shooting) which helps to mitigate the durability issue. It encourages very technical play around transports and vehicles in general. It’s pretty powerful but fragile (like almost all things elven) and any misplay leaves you completely exposed and the crackback is hellish. It’s more focused on the Kabalite side of the army, while the benefits for Wych cult and Covens units are fairly limited.
The Realspace raid augments the army by providing additional pain tokens at the cost of certain list restrictions. For each of the following you include in your list (max 1 each) you get an additonal pain token: Archon, Succubus, Haemonculus. This means that instead of starting with 3 you could start with up to 6 (7 with an enhancement) and is a huge benefit. It also provides limited but fairly powerful benefits for all 3 different subfactions- notably, -1 to wound for Covens units, which will be relevant later- but the overall “detachment flavor” is lacking, as it doesn’t do anything unique for the army.
Pre-Gameplay breakdown
I have been testing a few lists to get a feel for the two detachments- 3 games with skyplinter and 2 games with realspace, so far. All 3 games with Skysplinter went poorly, mostly due to poor tactical application on my part. On Thursday, I met up with the team at one of our local game stores and played 2 games- one at 1500 points to accommodate my buddy who is working on acquiring the rest of his Emperor’s Children army, and one at 2k. Thursday marked the beginning of my testing with Realspace raid, as one of the big issues I had been running into was a distinct lack of pain token generation and durability.
Game 1 vs EC COTERIE OF THE CONCEITED
My reduced list for this game (this was done at 1500) was as follows:
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1x archon
1x haemonculus w/ Art of Pain (+1 pain token on my command phase)
1x 10 kabalites (split into 2x5 w/ venoms)
2x venom
2x cronos (delicious, necessary pain tokens)
2x6 grotesques (24 wounds at t5 with an invuln save and a 5+++ feel no pain for 170 is gross… especially with -1 to wound…)
3x ravagers w/trip Dlance
2x2 talos (2x haywire/2x heat lance)
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The goal for this list was to test the grotesques with the -1 to wound and the additional pain tokens. This went very well!
We played mission D in the Pariah Nexus mission pack- Scorched Earth, Swift action, and tipping point deployment. We set up GW layout 6 and then rolled for attacker/defender- with my opponent getting defender, I deployed fairly aggressively with the Grotesques and conservatively with everything else.
TURN 1
Blake got first turn and set a fast pace for scoring secondaries with Area Denial and Sabotage, and we were moving through the game fairly quickly.
My turn comes around, and I get storm hostile objective and assassinate. I give up on assassinate after assessing the table and character positions and throw grotesques at the center objective to contest Blake. They make it in and dig in to hold the point.
TURN 2
Blake scores 10 points on Primary and draws recover assets and secure no man’s land. He selects units that are fairly safe to do the recovery with and scores secure no man’s land just based on the position he’s in, so he focuses his efforts on killing my units to deprive me of point scoring potential. He fires numerous units into the Grotesques and fails to kill them through the -1 to wound strat and the feel no pain.
I score 10 points on primary and draw defend stronghold… and area denial. I am unable to eliminate the character from the unit that blitzed into my grotesques, and fail so score area, so it’s on to turn 3.
TURN 3
Blake scores 10 on primary and sets an objective aflame to deny us both the potential to score with it. He draws no prisoners and storm hostile objective. He tries to take an objective away from me and is unable to do so, thanks to the grotesques durability. (Both units are at this point down to just 1 or 2 models left, but are absorbing far more punishment than they should be.) He manages to kill 2 of my units (a Venom and the 1 remaining grotesque from the first unit) and scores 4 for no pris.
With the loss of an objective on the table and an entire flank (it was previously just the grotesques), i score 5 points for primary. I set the center objective to burn and stack Talos on it to maintain my hold and ensure it does not remain. I draw overwhelming force and bring it down. I finally kill the rhino that burned the objective for bring it down and kill 2 units on the remaining no-man’s objectives to max overforce.
TURN 4
Blake scores 5 points for his home objective, having been pushed out of no-man’s land fairly effectively, and draws defend stronghold and engage on all fronts. He takes the points for defend and with few units remaining, sends Lucius out to try to clear off the last remaining objective and make a push to come back. Lucius goes down to 1 wound off an incredibly lucky overwatch from a Talos unit and does not successfully charge in.
I score 10 on primary, controlling the only remaining objective not in a deployment zone and my home objective, and draw cleanse and behind enemy lines. I am able to throw a venom with it’s payload of kabalites to score behind enemy lines and i cleanse with the only remaining objective and send everything else hunting for the remaining models my opponent has. I am able to remove all of my opponent’s models before turn 5.
TURN 5
Blake scores 5 points for the home objective he was able to hold due to his unit applying a lingering control, (sticky objective) and with no units left is unable to score the secondaries drawn.
I score my primary at the end of the turn, and i am able to take Blake’s home objective and burn it to score 20 primary points for holding 2 objectives and burning his, as well as scoring a maxed Sabotage.
The game ends at 86-68 Drukhari win. The Grotesques and Talos impressed the hell out of both me and Blake, and we agree that they put in a lot of work this game. Blake heads out to get some rest, and I am on to game 2 of the day.
GAME 2 VS ULTRAMARINES IRONSTORM
My list for this game was not reduced, so i was able to test the full 2k (1965) list i had designed:
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1x archon w/ labyrinthine cunning
1x haemonculus w/ art of pain
2x 10 kabalite warriors (split into 4x5 with the venoms)
4x venom
1x raider
2x cronos
2x6 grotesques
2x ravager w/ Dlance
1x 5 incubi
2x5 mandrakes
2x2 talos (2x haywire/2x heat lance)
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I have the same goal for this game as I did the last one, to test the durability of my Covens units with the -1 to wound and how much benefit I got from the additional pain tokens.
We rolled up mission R (Terraform, Swift Action, and Sweeping Engagement deployment) and used layout 3 from GW pariah nexus. I get defender and start deploying out. I know i am facing highly efficient shooting from very durable vehicle platforms, so my output is unlikely to compete, and playing for points is the goal here. I deploy everything conservatively, and Robert goes first.
TURN 1
Robert starts the game off with an abundance of CP (thank you Calgar) and draws secure no-man’s land and Area Denial. He is able to get small secure using one of his dreadnoughts (he has 3 dreadnoughts, 2 gladiator reapers, a repulsor executioner, a hammerstrike in deepstrike, calgar, Roboute Guilliman, and 3 tech marines) and does not make the push for the center, choosing to keep back.
I start my turn off drawing overwhelming force and recover assets. I am able to score small recover by the end of Robert’s following turn and i ditch overforce for more CP- i am going to need it.
TURN 2
Robert draws assassination to supplement his area denial from the previous turn, and scores 8 on primary. He drops the hammerstrike into the middle to score area and then dunks my raider with incubi payload but fails to kill my character on his turn. (My archon later dies on my turn after failing to survive the crackback, so he scores assassinate anyway)
I draw no prisoners and cleanse, and score 8 on the primary. I cleanse the no-man’s objective i’ve got a unit on that can’t be direct shot and make a push into the middle to deal with the hammerstrike, which i do pick up. I also destroy one of his buffed up techmarines to score 4 points on no prisoners.
TURN 3
Turn 3 for Robert starts with 8 primary and both Recover assets and no prisoners. He is able to score 2 on no prisoners, missing lethal on several units, but chooses to keep recover (he forgot to allocate units to do the actions)
I score 8 on primary, terraform the no-man’s objective i control, and draw containment and area denial. I use one of the mandrake units to drop in a gap in his backfield to help max my containment, and i score area denial as i have a unit of grotesques (which are what killed the hammerstrike previously and have been tanking damage from the repuslor and a redemptor dreadnought) to hold the center.
TURN 4
Robert is only able to score 4 points for primary and draws Containment in addition to the Recover assets he still has. He chooses to try to clean up the board of my units instead of scoring points, and scores nothing for secondaries this turn. He does pick up a significant amount of my remaining army, leaving me with 5 units that are still within my deployment zone as the only remaining units.
I score 10 points on primary (2 objectives held and 2 points for the terraform i accomplished the previous turn) and draw bring it down and engage on all fronts. I forgo engage and focus on bring it down, scoring 4 points with what i had left.
TURN 5
Turn 5, Robert scores 8 points for primary and finally scores both containment (for 3) and recover assets (for 3). He realizes that he should have focused more on points as my units were not as big a threat to his after turn 3, and losing an entire turn of secondary points cost him the game.
My turn 5 i score primary at the end of the turn. I draw secure no man’s land and extend battlelines, which i only had one option to score- i announced 4 charges into the repuslor executioner (which had moved onto the center point) and made 3 of them. If all of the units lived through combat with the tank, i score both of my secondaries for the turn. The tank does kill 2 of the kaballites that were in combat with it, depriving me of secondaries that turn. I still managed to score 6 points on the primary (4 for my home objective and 2 for the terraformed objective) which brought the game to a 70-58 win for the Drukhari.
I was left very impressed by both the firepower the ironstorm list could deal and the durability my covens units displayed in surviving it.
Post game thoughts
After both games were done, I drove home and reflected on the lists, units, and games. I am really vibing with the Covens units, and my conversions for the Grotesque units are pretty cool- i am planning to include more talos and grotesques in my next list variation. They are not invincible, but they take a lot more punishment than anything else in my datasheets and they will absolutely turn the tables on someone who does not respect the feel no pain and -1 to wound combination. The next post from me will be shorter (Sorry Sam!!) and will feature that list.
Battle Recap - Experimental Prototype Cadre versus Fellhammer Siege Host
It’s Sunday, which means practice as we gear up for Mebane Mayhem. I’m on a tighter schedule than I’d like to be, but Kyle and I figure we can jam a quick game before I have a hard out at noon. He’s been on a bit of a hot streak with the Fellhammer Siege Host lately, and I’m trying out the new Experimental Prototype Cadre.
His list is sturdy- Two units of chosen and a unit of terminators make up the meat of his army, each with characters (including Abaddon), that make for some really difficult-to-shift threats with insane killing power if they so much as touch one of my units. Kyle likes to sit on objectives and dare you to try and knock him off, and with his detachment it’s a supreme effort to do it at range.
I’m feeling confident with what I’m putting on the table as well. I’ve got two commanders leading a squad of Sunforge suits and Starscythe suits, alongside some breachers and riptides. This will also mark the first time I’m putting broadsides on the table in ages, and I’m hoping to really pop off with their missile loadout.
The Game
We’re on Mission F, with Burden of Trust as primary. This one has hidden supplies as the mission rule, with a second objective now in the center. This allows for some really juicy primary points- provided I can actually hold an objective.
Considering his lack of shooting, we both deploy pretty aggressively. I want to really see what this detachment can do, plus the sooner we start taking stuff off the table the faster we can get moving. I get first turn, and I hit the gas.
I charge forward with my fusion suits with riptides close behind, then angle my broadsides to pummel his chosen with missiles. He pops a strat to get a feel-no-pain, and suddenly my barrage becomes a gentle breeze. I’ve popped the lethal-sustained strat on my suits and they just can’t make it happen. I kill a couple guys, and then Abaddon’s unit tanks my fusion suits before they get cut down on his turn. I had pulled no prisoners that turn as well, and had been banking on being able to really get in there and do some damage. I inhale, adjust for my losses, and then train everything on Abaddon for turn two.
As a T’au player my experience with big bricks of tough units is to just hurl shots into them until they’re gone, and just hope they’re out of models before you’re out of gun. Kyle pops the feel-no-pain again, but I just hammer into him with everything. Flamers, pulse blasters, pathfinder rifles, Skyray missiles, and ion rifles all rip into the unit- each activation taking away one or two models until it’s just Abaddon left. I don’t take any chances and pop my Riptide’s devastating wound ability. Two sixes finish off Abaddon and I exhale.
Turn three, and the next squad of chosen go down easier than the first, thanks to Abaddon’s early departure. I use the Experimental Ammunition strategem on my flamer suits and end up completely beefing my hazardous test. Two suits die in the effort- probably need to be sent back to the lab.
Killing the chosen and their characters is a bit of a hollow victory, though. Kyle’s massive terminator brick is able to hold two points, and I simply don’t have the time or the power to kill it. We speed things up as noon approaches, and he ends up winning with 75 pts to my 63.
Final Thoughts
I’m pretty happy, despite the loss. New list, new detachment, and I’m shaking off about a month of rust since Cherokee. I definitely know where I made mistakes, but also I really enjoy having the extra range for my breachers and crisis suits. I think this list is going to get run back a few times- and it will most likely perform better against armies that aren’t as tanky against ranged units.
I wouldn’t say I’m in love with the new detachment, but it did feel pretty nice to not have to worry about what turn it was or if one guy was within however many inches of another. I’m not 100% sold, but I’m looking forward to experimenting more!