Last of the Summer Posts

Well, it's almost time for school to be starting back up. For UMBC, move-in is this Sunday (the 30th), which is kind of shockingly soon - only 3 days? It's been a fun summer, overall, but truth be told it's about time I got back to the grindstone, so to speak. So, what's on the scope for this next year?

Well, classes, first of all. After taking nothing but Physics courses last semester (yeah, it was bad), I'll be kicking back and relaxing, with only three: Thermal & Statistical Mechanics (which I used to call "Thermodynamics," until the Engineering majors started in about how easy that was), Electromagnetic Theory (rumored to be the hardest course in the major), and Modern Physics Lab (everything's more fun with radiation, right?).

To fill out my schedule (or more frankly, my graduation requirements), I'm also taking Weight Training and Deductive Systems. That's two courses, not one. I'm sort of excited about both: Deductive, because I sorely missed having a philosophy class last semester, and Weights because I don't go to the gym nearly as often as I should. And as everyone knows, the only thing better than being a philosopher is being a philosopher with bulging, He-Man-esque musculature.

But aside from classes, there's plenty to look forward to this year. Some friends of mine got an apartment together, which looks to be a fairly cool place to hang around wasting time. I'm sure they'll booze it up something awful, but enough of them are hygienic enough to keep the place relatively clean and vomit-free.

One would hope, at least. Regardless, it'll be a step up from last year. We won't have to sneak into Erikson (stupid swipe-cards...) anymore, and there won't be nearly as much RA paranoia. Having a good central hang-out makes things a lot easier; last semester everyone was spread around campus, which made things tougher.

Bob, his two friends, and Eyob should all be hanging around a lot more, which should lead to at least one solid campaign starting up. We've been pretty horrible about that in the past, but I feel like it'll work out better this year. With any luck, I'll have this homebrew finished (or at least in open beta) by some time next semester, and that will probably lead to me roping them in for a few games. Who knows? It might be awesome.

Speaking of housing, I'll have a new roommate again this year. I've been fairly lucky with them in the past, so I've got high hopes this year as well. I think I've seen him around; a chill enough guy, as I recall.

Of course, this'll be my last semester (with any luck... friggin' McCann...). Which mean's I'll probably spend the second semester either a) chilling out, waiting for police academy to start, or b) frantically looking for a paying job after changing my mind about the police thing at the last moment. Yeah, best laid plans and all that... Still, I think I've made some good in-roads with the MoCo PD, and they're probably the best department to work at, in terms of taking care of their officers, at least. So that would be cool.

I'm not really going anywhere with this. Actually, I bet this seems like a terribly dull semester so far. But then, the best adventures are the ones you don't plan. I'm sure we'll be involved in plenty of wacky hijinks, and hilarity will undoubtedly ensue.

So here's to next year!
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Oh yeah, 40k! While I'm at school, I'll probably be playing most Saturdays at the Battle Bunker. I'm not sure what to expect from the metagame there. Last time I was there (admittedly, over a year ago) it seemed like they had a fairly good range of players, with all skill/intensity levels equally represented.

Speaking of, there are two new codices coming out this year: Space Wolves, which I've talked about already, and Dark Eldar. Essentially "Space Elves, but Evil," these guys haven't gotten a new codex since 3rd edition, and have always been one of the least-played races. It's kind of a shame, because they're awesome to play (and play against). Hopefully, with a new codex and new miniatures (the current ones, especially the troops, look a little dated, though I always thought the vehicles were some of the coolest), they'll get a big boost in popularity.

There are kind of two separate lists when playing Dark Eldar, depending on which HQ you pick. I went with the standard list, as opposed to the much more heavily close-combat-oriented Wyche Cult option. The main focus of this list are the very fast, very fragile skimmers, which should be able to transport troops around fast enough to take advantage of their excellent close-ranged firepower. A fairly standard "Raider Spam" list, with a few tricks thrown in:
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Dark Eldar - Raiding Party

HQ
Archon (60) [note#1]
-Punisher (20)
-Tormentor Helm (5)
-Shadow Field (25)
Retinue [note#2]
-2x Warriors (16)
. -w/ 2 Splinter Cannons (20)
-5x Incubi (125)
-all mounted in Raider (55)
. -w/ Horrorfex (5)

Troops
10x Warriors (80) [note#3]
-w/ Blaster (5)
-w/ Splinter Cannon (10)
-w/ Sybarite (6)
. -w/ Agonizer (20)
-mounted in Raider (55) [note#4]
. -w/ Horrorfex (5)

10x Warriors (80)
-w/ Blaster (5)
-w/ Splinter Cannon (10)
-w/ Sybarite (6)
. -w/ Agonizer (20)
-mounted in Raider (55)
. -w/ Horrorfex (5)

10x Warriors (80)
-w/ Blaster (5)
-w/ Splinter Cannon (10)
-w/ Sybarite (6)
. -w/ Agonizer (20)
-mounted in Raider (55)
. -w/ Horrorfex (5)

Heavy Support
Ravager (105) [note#5]
-3 Disintegrators (15)
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Note#1:
So, we'll start from the top. The Archon is the better of the two Dark Eldar Lords, and some people prefer to go with the Dracon, equipping him with combat drugs. My thinking is, why? Dracon with combat drugs costs as much as an Archon, who already has +1 to Weapons Skill, Initiative, and Attacks. It's as good as drugs, but permanent (kind of like insanity).

To augment his already-formidable combat abilities, we've given him a Punisher, which counts as a power weapon (and thus ignores armor saves) and adds +1 to his Strength. The downside is that it's a two-handed weapon, meaning he can't gain an attack by wielding two weapons. This limitation is handily circumvented by the Tormentor Helm, which fires as a pistol and counts as an extra weapon in close combat. Thus, he'll get four WS6, Str 4 power weapon attacks at Initiative 7 every turn (or five attacks, if he's charging). And with the Shadow Field, he's got a 2+ Invulnerable save (at least until he gets hit the first time...). For 110 points, I like this guy's odds against any 200 points worth of Assault Terminators.

Note#2:
The Archon doesn't roll alone, though. He's got a retinue along with him, and they're every bit as scary as him. The five Incubi are benefiting from the same "Punisher + Tormentor Helm" combo the Archon has, and their 3+ saves give them more durability than nearly any other Dark Eldar. They'll kill their weight in Assault Marines, Raptors, Striking Scorpions, and most other specialized assault troops.

Two plain-jane Warriors are along for the ride, too. They're there for their guns: splinter cannons put out a decent amount of firepower, and as Assault weapons you'll still be allowed to charge the turn you fire them. This can be fired while you're still embarked on the Raider, or help thin down the enemy's ranks before a charge (also, don't forget your Incubi & Archon's pistols!). Over all, the Archon and his retinue are a hefty chunk of points, but of all your unit's, they're your most durable, and your most dangerous.

Note#3:
Still, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Everyone knows 5th Edition is Troops Edition, so we've brought them in quantity here. Three squads of 10 Warriors form the core of this list, and they're equipped to deal with a variety of different targets. There's the splinter cannon for anti-infantry, the blaster for anti-tank, and the Sybarite with agonizer to take care of tough melee opponents. I

Normally, it's bad practice to have generalist squads; things run smoother when each unit has a set role to fulfill, and enough invested in it to actually be good at that role. But Dark Eldar troops are somewhat hard to do that with; no option for multiple special weapons, etc. Besides, they're not the one who should be doing the heavy lifting anyway; these squads are supposed to be nabbing objectives and harassing weak points in the enemy's force, and generalists make much better annoyances, since nothing can quite ignore them.

Note#4:
What really allows the Warriors (and indeed, the Archon & retinue) to do their job is their transports. The Raider is a great little transport, and practically defines the Dark Eldar playstyle: fast, dangerous, and made of tissue paper. With 10 Armor all-around and the Open-Topped special rule, you'll be lucky indeed if even a single one of these survives until the end of the game. And we're taking 4 of them. Safety in numbers? You'd better hope so.

If they're so fragile, why use them (besides the fact that they're the only transports available, I mean)? Raiders are Fast Skimmers, meaning they can zip around at 24" per turn - great for a last-minute objective grab. As mentioned before, they're also Open-Topped, meaning you can assault the same turn you disembark from them, and every model being transported can fire while still inside. Raiders also are armed with Dark Lances as standard, which are pretty handy anti-tank weapons, with a decent range.

There's one last bit of equipment the Raiders have: the Horrorfex. Basically, it's a grenade launcher that causes pinning instead of killing people. Typically, Dark Eldar have trouble with horde armies, which can spread out to limit maneuverability and absorb losses pretty easily, especially when there aren't many blast weapons on the board. Giving each Raider the chance to pin down an enemy unit, essentially taking it out of the game for a turn, can go a long way towards evening the odds, and for 5 points, I think they're worth it.

Note#5:
And last, some Heavy Support. If you could call it that. The Ravager might have more firepower than the Raider, but it's just as fast and almost as fragile. Essentially, it's a Raider with two extra guns and a slight bump in armor value. I've gone with the 3 Distintegrator option here, which drops your anti-tank firepower but works a lot better against enemy heavy infantry. Considering the only other defense against tough infantry units in this list is the Archon&Friends in close combat, it should be useful. Besides, you've already got 3 Dark Lances on the Raiders; I'd rather put all my anti-Terminator in one basket than all my anti-tank, since it's a lot harder to pick up the slack from a lack of tank-killing.
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So that's the list. If I get around to a second list (don't hold your breath, folks), I'll go with a Wyche Cult, which plays rather differently. The main idea behind this list is being able to be wherever you want on the tabletop. That, in turn, let's you focus the bulk of your force on only a small portion of the enemy, letting you defeat them one unit at a time.

Or at least, that's the theory. Dark Eldar are notorious for having a very steep learning curve, which might explain why they're not more popular. Well, that and the fact that their default color scheme seems to be eye-hurty purple. Still, a new codex, and new models, are on their way! I'll pump out a fresh new list as soon as I get myself a download of it, though I'm not sure of the exact timeline.

Anyway, that's all for now. I probably won't post again until after school's started.

Next Time (general): School Starts, and A Good Time is Had By All
Next Time (40k): Um... huh. Imperial Guard, maybe?
Next Time (Philosophy): Brace for Deductive Reasoning, Hombre!