Just to retouch a few key points: SR2015 is coming, but I don't know how that's going to change competitive play if at all, so I'm not trying to next level anything there. Likewise, I'm not really sure what to expect in a meta sense from these events so I'm leery about narrowing my focus too much with any of my lists. Broad lists aren't ideal in Steamroller play - you risk not having enough focus to answer some of the powerful skews out there - but it feels like the best way to go when going into a situation cold.
Lastly, it's worth mentioning that I rather enjoyed the 35 point lists I used during the last event I participated in, so I think I'll use lists very similar to those (if not the same lists).
First up, Vladimir Tzepesci, The Dark Champion (Vlad2):
Vlad2 - 35 Points:
* Demolisher (9pts)
Iron Fang Uhlans (Leader and 4 Grunts) (11pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Tactical Arcanist Corps (4pts)
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
Iron Fang Kovnik (2pts)
Kovnik Markov (4pts)
Vlad2 is one of my favorite 'casters in Khador but he's a hard sell at 50 points due to the way his feat plays out at that point total, but 35 points is the game size where he starts to shine. His feat has the exact right amount of affect to both buff a key portion of his army and remove a key portion of the opponent's army.
There are a lot of different ways to go with a Vlad2 list, and I really enjoy running him with Uhlans (it doesn't hurt that this is one of the few 'casters that really makes them shine). This combo is a gamble at 35 points since the unit alone is almost a third of the army and it crests that when you throw Markov into the pile, but it can be damn effective, and it sure is fun.
The rest of the list is pretty straightforward: the Eliminators are solid models that are excellent potential feat targets (if anything happens to the Uhlans, or if they ed up with a really good angle), the Kovnik is another feat target and prevents Knockdown on the Uhlans, Widowmakers are Widowmakers, and the Demolisher gives the list some scenario game, as well as being a decent Assail target (with some other shenanigans).
The Tactical Arcanist Corps (TAC) are...popular in my lists recently. Part of that is the principle of throwing them at everything to see where they really stick, but the other thing that makes the TAC a frequent inclusion is that they can really support the way Khador 'casters like to play. Most of them want to hang out around mid-field, but they lack many of the defensive tricks and tech that other mid-field 'casters usually have (see: Cryx and Hordes).
The TAC give 'casters a very potent defensive mechanism with their cloud wall (it's not infallible but it's effective more often than not) and they're also solid workers in their own right. They've been very valuable in many of my lists, and Vlad2 is one of the 'casters that benefits a lot from what they have to offer.
I enjoyed this list quite a bit when I played it, and I'm honestly kind of excited to run it more. It's not the most versatile list, but then again 35 points isn't a size that allows for a lot of versatility. Running Uhlans down the opponent's throat is awfully fun, and this list does it better than pretty much any other can.
The question is, what to pair with this list?
The answer seems obvious: the same thing I did last time.
Sorscha2 - 35 Points:
Forward Kommander Sorscha (*6pts)
* Beast-09 (11pts)
* Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2pts)
Great Bears of Gallowswood (5pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt (4pts)
Winter Guard Infantry (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* Winter Guard Infantry Officer & Standard (2pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich (2pts)
This is a slight tweak from what I had last time: I dropped the Widowmakers and Reinholdt for double Eliminators. Reinholdt and the Widowmakers are useful, but I felt like the previous list didn't have quite enough punch; Eliminators give the list some more punch while still offering some anti-infantry capabilities.
There is also the possible swap of dropping the Eliminators for Aiyana and Holt and Gorman, which gives the list more punch via debuffs. A&H also shore up the Cryx match up a little more (Incorporeal can be devastating at 35 points). Something to consider.
Similar to the Irusk2/Sorscha2 pair at 50 points, this list pairing is meant to cover each other: Sorscha2 can handle infantry while also taking care of armor moderately well and Vlad2 absolutely explodes a dense list while having a few outs for infantry (not great outs, but better than nothing).
I don't think these two lists cover each other quite as well as my 50 point pairing, however I'm not sure if that's a consequence of my choice of build, the natural limitation of 35 points, wonky 'caster choices, or all of the above. I may also be overly paranoid - Vlad2 did extremely well the last time I broke him out, and Sorscha2 is very strong in general.
I think between my love of Vlad2 and Sorscha2's general efficacy (plus I'll be getting more practice with her and her general list by also running it at 50 points) this pairing will do fine. But of course I won't know that for sure until I take it to a few events and run it through the ringer.
---
That covers my thoughts about my 35 point lists. I greatly prefer to play at 50 points, so I don't have a lot of theory for 35 points, but I do like these two lists quite a bit. 35 point lists are where Khador can really skew and actually have it be effective, so that can be quite a bit of fun. Butcher3 is a very strong option at that total, and if the Grolar ever comes out a 35 point Karchev powerslide list could do wonderful/terrible things.
I have one more post planned for this series: I've picked some lists to focus on playing, but it can also be illuminating to look at alternate lists (especially since I may want to audible at some point during the year). And of course it wouldn't be a proper round of Steamroller theorymachining without taking a dip in the jank tank.
Join me next time for that collection of other list ideas and thoughts. You can probably guess what at least one of them will be if you've been paying attention to my posting history.
Until then, please feel free to leave comments or suggestions about these lists below. As always, thanks very much for reading!
The rest of the list is pretty straightforward: the Eliminators are solid models that are excellent potential feat targets (if anything happens to the Uhlans, or if they ed up with a really good angle), the Kovnik is another feat target and prevents Knockdown on the Uhlans, Widowmakers are Widowmakers, and the Demolisher gives the list some scenario game, as well as being a decent Assail target (with some other shenanigans).
The Tactical Arcanist Corps (TAC) are...popular in my lists recently. Part of that is the principle of throwing them at everything to see where they really stick, but the other thing that makes the TAC a frequent inclusion is that they can really support the way Khador 'casters like to play. Most of them want to hang out around mid-field, but they lack many of the defensive tricks and tech that other mid-field 'casters usually have (see: Cryx and Hordes).
The TAC give 'casters a very potent defensive mechanism with their cloud wall (it's not infallible but it's effective more often than not) and they're also solid workers in their own right. They've been very valuable in many of my lists, and Vlad2 is one of the 'casters that benefits a lot from what they have to offer.
I enjoyed this list quite a bit when I played it, and I'm honestly kind of excited to run it more. It's not the most versatile list, but then again 35 points isn't a size that allows for a lot of versatility. Running Uhlans down the opponent's throat is awfully fun, and this list does it better than pretty much any other can.
The question is, what to pair with this list?
The answer seems obvious: the same thing I did last time.
Sorscha2 - 35 Points:
Forward Kommander Sorscha (*6pts)
* Beast-09 (11pts)
* Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2pts)
Great Bears of Gallowswood (5pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt) (3pts)
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt (4pts)
Winter Guard Infantry (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* Winter Guard Infantry Officer & Standard (2pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich (2pts)
This is a slight tweak from what I had last time: I dropped the Widowmakers and Reinholdt for double Eliminators. Reinholdt and the Widowmakers are useful, but I felt like the previous list didn't have quite enough punch; Eliminators give the list some more punch while still offering some anti-infantry capabilities.
There is also the possible swap of dropping the Eliminators for Aiyana and Holt and Gorman, which gives the list more punch via debuffs. A&H also shore up the Cryx match up a little more (Incorporeal can be devastating at 35 points). Something to consider.
Similar to the Irusk2/Sorscha2 pair at 50 points, this list pairing is meant to cover each other: Sorscha2 can handle infantry while also taking care of armor moderately well and Vlad2 absolutely explodes a dense list while having a few outs for infantry (not great outs, but better than nothing).
I don't think these two lists cover each other quite as well as my 50 point pairing, however I'm not sure if that's a consequence of my choice of build, the natural limitation of 35 points, wonky 'caster choices, or all of the above. I may also be overly paranoid - Vlad2 did extremely well the last time I broke him out, and Sorscha2 is very strong in general.
I think between my love of Vlad2 and Sorscha2's general efficacy (plus I'll be getting more practice with her and her general list by also running it at 50 points) this pairing will do fine. But of course I won't know that for sure until I take it to a few events and run it through the ringer.
---
That covers my thoughts about my 35 point lists. I greatly prefer to play at 50 points, so I don't have a lot of theory for 35 points, but I do like these two lists quite a bit. 35 point lists are where Khador can really skew and actually have it be effective, so that can be quite a bit of fun. Butcher3 is a very strong option at that total, and if the Grolar ever comes out a 35 point Karchev powerslide list could do wonderful/terrible things.
I have one more post planned for this series: I've picked some lists to focus on playing, but it can also be illuminating to look at alternate lists (especially since I may want to audible at some point during the year). And of course it wouldn't be a proper round of Steamroller theorymachining without taking a dip in the jank tank.
Join me next time for that collection of other list ideas and thoughts. You can probably guess what at least one of them will be if you've been paying attention to my posting history.
Until then, please feel free to leave comments or suggestions about these lists below. As always, thanks very much for reading!
Good lists, but your eVlad one has a problem - no Drakhun! He's awesome with and without the feat, and I'd rather take minimum Uhlans and him instead of max.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Drakun is an easy swap, and a great inclusion. I originally wanted to push the Uhlans super hard, but you're right in that its just as, if not more effective to swap things around like that (hell, it's the same number of wounds and ARM.)
DeleteThe other nice thing about that is that you're ensuring that you'll always be able to cover all your available cav models with Vlad2's feat. Whereas with the maximum unit you'll sometimes have a fantastic turn lined up, only to get 4.
I'll probalby make that change. Thanks for pointing it out!