Second Sphere

Wargames => Warhammer 40k => Warhammer 40,000 Army Lists => Topic started by: Waaaghpower on May 01, 2014, 01:43:17 AM

Title: 1850 Tournament Marines w/ Allies (Need help reaching peak competetive levels.)
Post by: Waaaghpower on May 01, 2014, 01:43:17 AM
I'm trying to build an 1850 list that deals with top-tier tournament lists. Tau-Dar pretty much dominates tournaments. I have very little genuine experience with Tau-Dar, and therefore I need help building my list. (Note that I still want this to be able to deal with other armies, I'm not building a hard-counter, I just want a powerful list that can deal with them if it has to.) 

Since I am not sure exactly what I'm going to go with, I am instead going to tell you my base, (What I'm starting with,) and then the options I'm considering taking on top of that, with various explanations for as to why. Once again, I have not gotten a chance to actually *play* against an honest-to-goodness full power TauDar army, and so I don't have a lot of personal experience as to what kills it. However, the base that I'm starting with has won a lot of games against all kinds of armies of varying and sometimes very high power levels, so I know it is fairly reliable in a tournament setting. 
I appreciate the time taken to help out! 

Without further ado, my approximate list: 
Primary Detachment: Space Marines 
HQ: (Variable, see 'options' below.) 

Troops: 
2x 5 Man Scout Squads - Camo Cloaks and Sniper Rifles. (A couple of scoring squads that will avoid being shot at. The Sniper Rifles have yet to cause me any damage whatsoever, but I'm hopeful and they are cheap. Also, I need two troops.) 

Heavy Support: 
5+ Devestators - 4x Plasma Cannons (Extra points give extra body shields. With Pyschic support for twin-linked and hopefully ignores cover, these guys pack a powerful punch.) 
Stormraven - Multi Melta/Assault Cannon (Unsure on this, but I don't have much AA in my army. It has pretty good anti-tank, especially against the somewhat more vulnerable air targets, but I don't have anything to put inside it except possibly a scout squad to drop them off on an objective, and it's really expensive. Without more vehicles or flyers, I'm worried that this will get blasted out of the air before I get any damage done.) 

Allied Detachment: Space Wolves 

HQ: 
Rune Priest - Terminator Armor (Psychic level is great, and that 24" Anti-Psyker bubble is gravy.) 

Troops: 
2x 10 Grey Hunters - 2 Meltaguns, Drop Pod (Two more scoring units, some light-anti tank to pop vehicles early on, and hopefully they will tie up enemy fire in their backline so that my heavy-hitters aren't getting shot at.) 

Heavy Support: 
6 Long Fangs - 5 Missile Launchers (With Psychic Support, they can kill light vehicles, MCs with 3+ saves or worse, and swaths of infantry.) 

Inquisitorial Detachment: 
Hereticus Inquisitor - 3 Servo Skulls, Mastery Level 1, Psycollum, Power Armor? (Servo Skulls are excellent with the amount of blast templates I bring, if I get first turn. Worst case scenario, it's only 9 points for 3. Psychic Support is also great, a few ablative wounds in the squad is great, and Psycollum against any army with lots of psykers is absolute beast.) 

Fortification: 
Aegis Defense Line - Icarus Lascannon (At only 85 points, and with Twin-Linked being thrown on from one of my psychic support units, this provides decent AA that I wouldn't otherwise have, a S9 shot is always great, and cover will (if nothing else) burn their Markerlights and psychic powers to get rid of. 


Now, for options: 
You'll note I left my Chapter Tactics unlabeled. That's because I can't decide between Ultramarines and Iron Hands. 

A Grav-Star with 3 Centurions and Tigurius has yet to fail me. It's sturdy, it's deadly, and it provides some AP2 that can kill MCs, which I am otherwise lacking in. They also can kill heavy tanks, which I otherwise only have a few Meltaguns to deal with. I can kill 1 Land Raider Equivalent reliably, but not 2 or 3. On the other hand, if I am mostly facing lots of really light tanks and crappy armor (4+ or worse) they won't be doing near as much as they otherwise could be. 
Even without the Grav-Star, Tigurius provides excellent psychic support, and I can spend the Grav-Star points elsewhere if anyone has any ideas? 

My other idea, with Iron Hands tactics, is for a Chapter Master with all the toppings, on a Bike, attached to 3 Thunderwolf Cavalry. That way, I get some S10 and S8, a heavy-hitting and fairly hard-to-kill Assault squad. I hear that Tau-Dar is a heavily mobile army, and judging by my experience with independent Tau or Eldar, that sounds right. TWC and a bike-Chapter Master can keep up with some of the fastest enemies, and kill almost anything that they meet in Close Combat. This will hopefully help me deal with Riptides, Wraithknights, and durable tanks. 

If the points are available, I'm considering a tactical squad with a Meltagun, Combi-Melta, and Plasma-Cannon. 5 men with the Plasma Cannon sit back and hold an objective, the meltaguns go in a Drop Pod and join the Grey Hunters. 

With extra points, and if I'm not bringing Tigurius, Coteaz is another really powerful option I want to bring along if possible. The 12" bubble of killing reserves is excellent in a unit of twin-linked Plasma Cannons, Mastery Level 2 Divination, and a slightly increased chance of going first is always great. Plus, more ablative wounds with a 2+ save! 


So, what sounds good? Are there any ideas I haven't listed here? What should I do? (Without varying *too* far from the original idea, that is...)