List Building - NOVA Madness Pt.2

As I mentioned in my first NOVA Madness Post, I had originally planned on taking Eldar, with or without some Tau sprinkled in.

My recent thought has been, with how much I have been diving into the Tyranids, maybe that should be my GT army, and then I will get my Tau/Eldar ready for use in the Trios.


For one, this would be much less of a fluff abomination than having Eldar with 2 Tyranids (and Ron has mentioned taking his Tau if he can get 2k painted up). Secondly, this would let me focus on my Tyranid GT list, while also letting me stay motivated to paint up a second 2k army, as I put in my 2014 resolutions.

To begin, let's look at the 1k paired list for Trios. For the doubles lists, you are restricted to an Allied force org chart, though allowed 3 troops. My only question in my list is whether I am allowed warlocks. Not to create a council, but to lead some Guardians. Anyway, assuming one Warlock is ok, my list is as follows:

Farseer: Runes of Witnessing, Spirit Stone of Anath'lan
Warlock
5 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent: TL Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon
5 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent: TL Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon
10 Guardian Defenders: Bright Lance
5 Warp Spiders
Wraithknight

There are a few benefits to this list. For one, I own all the models listed. Second, the list is pretty straightforward and flexible. The defenders aren't quite big enough to be totally durable, but with Conceal and the possibility of Fortune, they should be pretty tough except against Tau. They also give the farseer somewhere to go. The two Wave Serpents do what wave serpents do and move around, laying down fire before eventually dropping off some Dire Avengers in an advantageous position. Finally, the Wraithknight is the bully, and provides the main anti-armor punch while keeping with the mobility of most of the army.

For bumping the list to 2k, I added a little to the Troops section while also bumping the fire power a bit. Again, part of the goal is to use what I have and limit any new purchases. With that in mind, I've come up with the following list:

Farseer: Runes of Witnessing, Spirit Stone of Anath'lan
Farseer: Runes of Witnessing
2 Warlocks
6 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent: TL Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon, Holo-fields, Ghostwalk Matrix
5 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent: TL Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon, Holo-fields, Ghostwalk Matrix
20 Guardian Defenders: 2 Bright Lances
10 Guardian Defenders: Bright Lance
5 Rangers
6 Swooping Hawks
6 Swooping Hawks
5 Warp Spiders
Fire Prism: Holofields
2 War Walkers: Scatter Lasers and Shuriken Cannons
Wraithknight: Scatter Laser

With this list, I keep the same firebase, adding some more to it by adding a beefy 20 man guardian squad and a Fire Prism. I also increase the amount of alternative deployment units, with the Rangers and War Walkers capable of outflanking while all three fast attack options will deep strike. I went a little heavy on the vehicle options, but I think most are good investments. That said, dropping all of them would free up 65 points, enough for another War Walker, so something to be considered.

At this point I'm not thinking I would bring an 1,850 GT list, but if I did, it would probably be similar to the above list, just dropping a unit or two - likely Rangers and a group of Swooping hawks.

Next time, I'll take a look at the most outside shot (but still plausible) - what I would do if I brought Tau.