Road to Adepticon: Part 1 - Assembling the List(s)

I mentioned in my previous post that I'm giving up the competitive Warhammer 40k scene for at least a year. Over the last year I've played a great amount more Warhammer Fantasy and I decided that during my self-imposed 40k sabbatical that I'd try my hand at competitive Fantasy. Why? Well, honestly I feel I'm just better at Fantasy than I am 40k. Let's take a quick look at my 40k tournament scores over the last decade. For local tournaments I've never placed higher than 3rd place, except when I've entered a few team tournaments and then I've placed two or three times, only one of which was a 1st place slot. Comparatively, for Fantasy I rarely play in a local tournament where I don't place in the top three. On the national scene I've never played Fantasy, but I played in the GW GT at Chicago for three years and then Adepticon Championships for another two years plus two years for the team tournament. The highest I've ever placed? At my 1st GT I placed 58th place out of around 180 people. I didn't even come close to winning any of the prize support though. So, at the end of the day, why not try my hand at Fantasy? I can't really be much worse and honestly- I have more fun playing Fantasy against strangers.

So with every trip to Adepticon comes a planning stage. I follow a 5-step process to help me keep deadlines and ensure that I end up with a decent list that's been playtested, and plenty of time to prepare the models. Here's the Process;

I. Planning
This stage involves listcrafting, purchasing tickets to events, and coming up with a rough time-table for everything.
II. Playtest I
The first playtest stage involves playtesting the various test lists I have crafted in the planning phase. Liberal use is made of proxy models to ensure I don't waste a bucket of cash on units I won't use.
III. Assemble & Paint
Assembly and painting usually go on concurrently with the playtest phases. I start with the models that are common to the most lists and then, as I refine my final list, I work on the more themed pieces.
IV. Playtest II
As mentioned above playtesting is an ongoing process. At some point though i draw a line in the sand and pick a final list and that is what this second playtest phase is about. This phase gives me a chance to practice playing with the final army list and make small tweaks.
V. Final Touches
By this stage the vast majority of my tournament army will be playtested, my list completely finalized, and the stage ultimately set. The final touch stage is where I come up with the extras like the display board, background fluff, graphically designed lists, and final touches on the bases.

So, my plans for Adepticon this year? I'm definitely going to play in the Championship tournament on Saturday and I may try and squeeze in the "It's How You Play" 1,000 point tournament on Friday as well. We'll see if any tickets are left when I go buy my stuff this week. These articles will largely concern the larger of the two events though.

So the first decision? I need to determine what army I want to bring. I have three choices given my model collection at this point; Skaven, Chaos Warriors, and Tomb Kings. I've never really felt enamored by Chaos, I love the models but really no urge to put them on the table. While building up a Tomb Kings army would be greatly satisfying, I have very little experience playing with them in this edition or with the new book. My experiences go to a couple of games where I used proxy models for most of the army. That leaves Skaven. I love my Skaven and the book still holds up really well in the current national meta so I really don't have an issue with using them.

Now, before I craft a list I really need to pay attention to the rules for the event. So off to the Adepticon website for the rules. In the past years they've had everything from comp scoring that required an advanced theoretical mathematics degree to determine, to rules concerning special characters, and even unofficial lists like Chaos Dwarves and Dogs of War. So after pulling the rules up I note two things that either interest me or will affect the lists I build. First, the weird point cap. 2200, really? You guys can't throw in the extra 50 points like EVERY OTHER national tournament? *Sighs* whatever, I'll make it work. Otherwise I'm curious about the inclusion of Dogs of War and Chaos Dwarves, so I'm off to download those lists just so I can better understand the units involved and see if they offer up any nasty surprises. That being said, I doubt either army will have a significant presence at the tournament to really worry about.

So now I have my army selected and I've read the rules for the tournament. Now I need a list. Usually at this point i craft several lists and playtest each. After one or two plays with each list I general know whether the list gels enough to warrant playing around any further with the list. So let's go over the leading four lists I've come up with and I'll give a breakdown of strengths and weaknesses for each. I've excluded magic items from these lists given the closed list environment and I don't want to tip off any sneaky competitors out there.

List A

Lords

Warlord - Bonebreaker, Shield, Magic Items

Heroes

Chieftain - BSB, Halberd, Shield, Magic Items

Warlock Engineer - Level 2, Magic Items

Warlock Engineer - Level 1, Magic Items

Warlock Engineer - Level 1

Core

35 Clanrats - Full Command, Warpfire Thrower, Shields

40 Skaven Slaves - Musician

Special

5 Rat Ogres, Packmaster, & Skweel Gnawtooth - Masterbred Rat Ogre

10 Gutter Runners - Poison Weapons, Slings

Rare

2 Doomwheels

Strengths - This list is very close to what I run normally so I'm very familiar with all of the strengths and weaknesses. It possesses a nice solid core with plenty of slaves to soak up wounds and lock enemies in combat. A nice large batch of gutter runners to sneak behind enemy lines helps deal with war machines. The Rat Ogres with the warlord are the real hammer though and offer a great way to really hammer through some heavier opponents. The doomwheels are there to cause the usual havoc as well and are great monster hunters with the d6 multiple wounds from the warp lightning.

Weaknesses - Believe it not, this list lacks magic. The lack of a level 3 or 4 wizard means I'm at a disadvantage when dispelling so I'll have to make that up somehow. Also, while I certainly have numbers, most of my troops are subpar slaves or very mediocre clanrats. Doomwheels are hardly real competitive either given their randomness. Also note this list lacks shooting of the non-magical variety with most emphasis on melee combat. Lastly, any victory conditions using Break points will really suck as this army only possesses a fortitude of 5 (and the break point will be 3 for the tournament). All the enemy has to do is kill 2 units of clanrats or whichever unit of clanrats possesses the BSB in order to win the game.

List B

Lords

Grey Seer - Screaming Bell, Magic Items

Heroes

Chieftain - BSB, Halberd, Shield, Magic Items

Core

30 Clanrats - Full Command, Poison Wind Mortar, Shields

36 Stormvermin - Full Command, Poison Wind Mortar, Shields

40 Skaven Slaves - Musician

Special

6 Rat Ogres, Packmaster, & Skweel Gnawtooth

6 Gutter Runners - Poison Weapons, Slings

Rare

Hellpit Abomination - Warp Spikes

Strengths - This army still possesses a strong core of slaves and clanrats with some stormvermin thrown in for fun. The giant block of unbreakableness will mean I don't have to worry about my general or the BSB running off the board. The HPA is a solid monster. The gutter runners, while smaller than I'd like to see, are still there to harrass war machines. The inclusion of a Grey Seer greatly boosts magic and the bell can have some amusing effects as well.

Weaknesses - I've really only used the Screaming Bell once or twice before and never to great effect. Stormvermin aren't my favorite unit either but make ideal bell carriers. The Rat Ogres will need to stay close to the BSB or end up running off the board when they lose a model or two to ranged weapons. Again, the issue of break points comes up. This list has the same problem and is very much an all or nothing proposition given that if the enemy destroys the bell unit the game is over. Lack of ranged units.

List C

Lords

Warlord - Bonebreaker, Shield, Magic Items

Grey Seer - Magic Items

Heroes

Chieftain - BSB, Halberd, Shield, Magic Items

Warlock Engineer - Warplock Pistol, Magic Items

Core

35 Clanrats - Full Command, Warpfire Thrower, Shields

35 Skaven Slaves - Musician

Special

5 Rat Ogres, 2 Packmasters, & Skweel Gnawtooth

5 Gutter Runners - Poison Weapons, Slings

Rare

Doomwheel

Hellpit Abomination

Strengths - Same great core. Good magic support with the seer. Still multiple hammer units with the rat ogres, the HPA, and the doomwheel. Good melee support from the Warlord. Gutter Runners still around to harass war machines.

Weaknesses - While this list has a little of everything that's the problem. It has fewer numbers overall. This list could end up being so generalized as not to be good at anything. Break points still an issue. Gutter runner squad a little small to really be effective. Lack of ranged units.

List D

Lords

Grey Seer - Magic Items

Heroes

Chieftain - BSB, Halberd, Shield, Magic Items

Warlock Engineer - Level 2, Magic Items

Warlock Engineer - Level 1

Core

35 Clanrats - Full Command, Ratling Gun, Shields

40 Skaven Slaves - Musician

Special

10 Gutter Runners - Poison Weapons, Slings

Rare

2 Doomwheels

2 Warp Cannons

Strengths - Strong Magic support with 3 casters. Strong central core for an army. Gutter Runenrs will run amok in the enemy backfield or help deal with monsters as scouts. Warp Cannon offers some serious ranged support to help thin the ranks of enemy forces and the doomwheels adds further confusion, flanking support, and monster hunting.

Weaknesses - This list requires strong coordination to avoid having the doomwheels destroy the gutter runners should they use their scout placement. Again, doomwheels are entirely random and could underperform. Break points still an issue. No real hammer units so I'll have to rely on shooting to thin out the enemy ranks enough for my normal units to finish them off.

At the end of the day I'm happy with all of these lists. Right now I'm leaning more towards list A since that is what I'm comfortable with. List B uses a deathstar unit and one that is random at that, so I would consider that list on the bottom of the pile. Now, I may still craft one more list to deal with a recurring issue I see in all four lists - Break Points. I'll have to keep this in consideration and see if it handicaps me siginificantly enough for me worry about recrafting some lists.

So let the playtesting begin!!!!