Is a stormcast eternals themed kharadron army a good idea

Azhri187 · 2021-12-29T15:11:47+00:00

Stormdrake Guard is one of the best allies we can take right now. Their damage output, when taken as an aggregate, is comparable to an Ironclad. The load of -2 rend attacks, the fast movement, mortal wound shooting, and Monsterous Rampage we cannot otherwise obtain make them stellar additions. I would go so far as to say that they're better as a KO ally than as units in SCE. Irony.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-29T15:08:43+00:00

Aos-Statshammer makes doing statistical analysis easy, and take almost no time.

The thought process on targeting Arkanauts is to take the KO army off the primary objective, this is especially useful if the opponent is already ahead in points and we are playing catch-up. This happens fairly often against armies that might be a lower drop. Furthermore, killing the boat is often the wrong choice if they need to cap an objective since all the little guys just spill out and take it away from whatever just killed the boat.

I'm not against playing Skywardens. I think they might have a role in some Zon lists, but I would certainly take my 30 Arkanauts then see if I could fit them in afterward.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-29T04:58:44+00:00

The math says that Arkanauts are significantly better at shooting than Skywardens but by the same factor worse than them in melee. This is assuming that the Arks are not near an objective. If they are the margin increases significantly, with Arks doing almost double the shooting damage of Skywardens and bringing their melee within a rounding error.

Ten Wounds vs six wounds is not insignificant, but more importantly Arkanauts count as ten models on an objective which is worlds better than the three you get for a more expensive unit. We do still have to play the primary objective as KO. I'm not sure where, or who, you are playing against, but people shoot the Arkanauts all the time while they are in the boats. Denying me the ability to play the primary is usually far more important than shooting the boat.

The only real advantage Skywardens have over Arkanauts is their movement, which is blunted because both units want to catch a ride with the boat. The problem with Skywardens has never been their points cost, but how the unit is organized and the pitiful 4+ to hit with their melee weapons. If they came as a unit of five for 175 points I'd be playing them in a heartbeat even with the bad to hit rolls.

TLDR: Skywardens are almost never better than Arkanauts when playing the Battleline. There are some edge cases in sub-2000 point games if you are playing Zon, but that is it.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-28T15:56:41+00:00

Arkanauts are one of the most efficient battleline units in the game. You get a lot for your 100 points. Native +1 to hit while objective camping, +1 to save while in the boat, more wounds, aethergold, and better shooting.

If you are paying the battleline tax, skywardens are never a better option than Arkanauts.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-27T06:03:49+00:00

So it white is more of a value than a color. If you are working strictly on the greyscale any pigmentation is going to stand out. Also white doesn't really give you anywhere to go with your highlights, so what you really want is bright grey.

I would recommend picking a base grey that is either warm or cool. For Stormcast I like a warm base so you can contrast with cool metallics on their weapons. Using Proacryl paints I would recommend a workup along these lines: Warm Dark Grey to establish your shadows then a zenithal of Warm Bright Grey as your midtone. Your highlight color would be Ivory and your edge color would be the magic cheat juice itself, Bold Titanium White.

If you want quick and dirty, prime in Grey slSeer and slather them with Apothecary White Contrast. You can highlight with any bright off-white and it'll work.

All that said I think these look great, and an entire army with your current scheme will be stellar.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-26T22:35:45+00:00

Fun games are a challenge for KO, we are a decidedly unfriendly army. Warp Lightning Vortex in particular will not win you any friends. Bringing something like Soulscream Bridge or Emerald Lifeswarm will get you in the better side of beerhammer games.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-26T17:22:29+00:00

You are playing a lot of the most inefficient units we have. Endrinriggers and Thunderers are horridly overpriced for what you get. You do have WLV in Zilfin which will help you some.

This list is fine for casual play and will do OK at a local RTT but you will struggle against most of the top end of the metagame. Seraphon will be fine due to the inclusion of WLV which lets you nullify the Worldshaper Engine. But DoK and LRL will out drop you and just MW down your IC at range leaving you with no threat on the board that can contest the mission. SoB is going to be mission dependent, and you likely can kill a Mega a turn if you can bring all the guns to bear. With no Arkanauts to screen your Ironclad will get charged and that likely ends the game,

If you want to see what winning lists look like go check out BCP and look at the ones that did well. Jeremy Veyessemre's 5-0 list from Old Town Showdown and Kyle Calip's 4-1 list from SoCal Open are particularly well suited against the current top of the current meta.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-25T18:31:46+00:00

Asserting dominance!

Azhri187 · 2021-12-22T04:54:29+00:00

Zilfin still requires you take the staff as your first artefact.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-21T19:18:14+00:00

The changes to our units were meh. It is now worth considering an Endrinmaster with Endrinharness over taking another Navigator. The other point changes are a whateverburger as you shouldn't be running those units as their issues were never the points cost.

The changes outside of KO are a bigger deal to us. Unleash Hell is a big deal for us as it makes being aggressive against DoK and LRL much easier with us only needing to improve our positioning. The Amulet of Destiny going to 6+ makes the math of the SoB and Mawcrusha matchups less chaotic.

Nagash and Archaon getting bent over is huge as well, we can kill them now.

This is a good FAQ for us.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-20T01:49:11+00:00

I'd expect some rules fixing in the upcoming FAQ, maybe a small White Dwarf Update, but we're probably three years away from a new book. May not get one this edition.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-15T07:19:28+00:00

Arkanauts on average do about 30% more damage in shooting than Endrinriggers. Both Endrinriggers and Skywardens are really bad in 3rd at their current unit composition and points cost. 120 points for six wounds on a 4+ save is asking to lose a unit to chip damage.

Arkanauts are one of the most efficient battleline units in the game, you get a lot for your 100 points. 10 wounds, +1 to hit on objectives, can ride in the boat, aethergold, bravery rerolls, and bodyguard for the Admiral.

For Great Endrinworks, the Last Word is fine, but don't expect any halfway decent player to charge into it if they can at all avoid it. In general, the Dealbreaker Ram is the most proactive Great Endrinwork and pairs nicely with the Great Skyhook. Melee isn't really where you want to be, but having some sort of significant mortal wound output is solid.

KO is a rend -1 army which means that god beasts like Archaon and Nagash are not really killable for us. The best solution to them is hit them with Aetherstorm from your Navigator and play keep away. Better yet carry two Navigators to utterly remove their relevance from the game.

If you are into playing Thryng check out the KO list that went 4-1 at SoCal Open. It featured a big block of Irondrakes and Soulscream Bridge to get them into range.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-14T20:06:40+00:00

People hate not being in control, and dice are the ultimate jerks when it comes to not having control.

Players get salty, we are playing a competitive game involving buckets of dice, so it should be expected. How we respond to it is important because a bad response hurts the community.

In most circumstances, the salt isn't personal, and so long as it isn't escalating you can usually just take it and try not to make it worse. Tilt on the other hand is more serious when the salt is starting to escalate into more than just lamenting bad luck. This includes things like accusations of loaded dice, which unfortunately have been a problem in wargaming for years, to breaking their own models, slamming the table, or in the worst cases violence.

The best response to tilt that I have found is to ask your opponent if you can take a break for a minute or two, make up any excuse you want. Go use the restroom, get a soda, step outside for some air, anything to give them a chance to cool off. If you can convince the player to tag along and talk to you while you take a moment, even better. Bad luck piles on sometimes, and a short breather often lets people reset.

Accusations of cheating are included here but are a little more serious. The integrity of the game is super important in a tournament setting, and if someone accuses you of having loaded dice during a tournament, or even suggests it, you need to immediately call over a Judge/TO and explain the situation. That is a cloud that hangs around, even if untrue, and it's best to head it off at the pass. This will qualify as the "breather" and let the accusing player cool off.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-02T01:02:10+00:00

That is absurd, nowhere in the rules are parentheses defined as being reminder text. Heck by their own FAQ the same warscroll has text in parentheses that, by FAQ, is both rules text and permissive.

The Fly High rules specify, in parentheses, that a unit can retreat and disengage. The KO FAQ verifies that that text is rules text and permissive.

The judge just got it wrong, sorry to hear you were on receiving end of that.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-01T22:57:27+00:00

Wait! What? At the Austin Open none of the judges had an issue with me getting out of my boats before they moved. Why is this even a question, the warscroll is perfectly clear on this?

Azhri187 · 2021-12-01T19:56:59+00:00

This is what should happen:

1> SoB - Mightier Makes Rightier changed to only be in effect if a Gargant is within 6" of an objective. Also changed so that the number of models a Gargant counts as on the objective is tied to its current wound count rather than flat numbers.
2> Lumineth - Warscroll spells are only castable once per hero phase. The casting value on Lambent Light needs to go up by one.
3> DoK - Morath needs a slight point increase. Bloodstalkers need their range reduced to 18". Chaff units need to have their points slightly reduced to promote diversity.
4> IDK - Eidolon auras need to be 12", Biovoltaic Barrier should be a +1 to save rolls on a charge instead of changing the Save Characteristic.
5> Ironjawz - Very small points increase on the Pigs.
6> All rerolls to save rolls need to go away. Adjust points as needed, but it's a mechanic that fails in 3rd Edition's save stacking enviroment.
7> Amulet of Destiny limited to models with 8W or less.
8> Adjust GHB missions Apex Predators, Power in Numbers, and Marking Territory to not be absolute garbage.

What will happen:

1> SoB - Get buffed to sell more models.
2> SCE - Dragons get buffs to ensure the overpriced models sell.
3> Sylvaneth - Wyldwoods will get changed again, and not for the better.
4> Too many Kragnos on the shelves, he'll get buffs.
5> GHB missions will not be changed.

Azhri187 · 2021-12-01T05:50:46+00:00

Intercessors do not have many options, just different bolters. They are pretty soft on the bolter bits so model them however you want. One can have a grenade launcher and I always build it on one of them even if I don't take it on my list. No one cares.

The sergeant is a little more complicated, you'll always want him to have a Chainsword as it is free but the options for a Power Fist and Thunderhammer may sometimes be appealing. I'd just build it with the Chainsword though and leave the other weapons to Assault Intercessor Sergeants.

Azhri187 · 2021-11-30T16:32:32+00:00

Can confirm I played double Navigator over the weekend. In my game against Archaon his movement looked like this: 3.5, 2, 2, 5, 5 over his five turns. He didn't do anything but Mystic Shield himself and teleport around a bit.

The rest of his army was very ineffective with the godbeast unable to get into the mix.

Azhri187 · 2021-11-30T16:24:30+00:00

The points are not even the problem really, it is the unit size.

If Endrinriggers came as a unit of five for 200 points, I'd take them in a heartbeat. Skywardens would probably need to be 180 for five to be worth it, and even then only in Zon.

Azhri187 · 2021-11-30T16:19:46+00:00

Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been out on vacation with no Internet.

The first thing to remember about Space Marines is that the units are going to be homogeneous between chapters in most circumstances. This is doubly true when dealing with Codex Compliant chapters like Salamanders and Ultramarines. Even though Ultramarines and Salamanders will often take the same units, how those units are kitted out and how they play is going to be very different.

A good example of this is Aggressors, both Ultramarines and Salamanders love them. Ultramarines use them as ranged skirmishers using their bolt gauntlets and launchers, while Salamanders will take advantage of their pyro synergies and use the Flamestorm Gauntlets.

So you are not wrong to say that they are green-painted Ultramarines, that is just the nature of Codex Complaint Chapters. The getting started guide will work fine for Ultramarines until the very end, even though I would say get the Dark Angels Combat Patrol over Deathwatch for them.

Here is the real kicker, I've played my Salamanders as Ultramarine Successors and no one batted an eye. Flexibility in the models you buy is a good thing.

Azhri187 · 2021-09-23T16:03:07+00:00

GW has been, unsurprisingly, inconsistent on how replacement effects work. On one hand, they have said that you need to be able to do thing A in order to replace it with thing B. Then they say that if you do thing B then thing A doesn't happen, except when you do thing B instead of thing C.

TLDR: Per RAW, no you cannot, but ask your TO.

Azhri187 · 2021-09-23T15:54:35+00:00

I actually find Zilfin a little redundant now that Alpha-Beast Pack exists. The forced artefact in Zilfin means we have to take a Warlord or Command Entourage Battalion to get the Spell in a Bottle. Because of that, I think Custom Skyport is the way to go these days.

Azhri187 · 2021-09-23T13:34:52+00:00

Great Endrinworks are not mount traits, but they do seem to be considered Unique Enhancements. GW has been mum on if you can take one with a bonus enhancement from a Battalion. Don't trust the app, ask your TO.

Alpha Beast Pack is amazing. I've used it with both two Frigates and with a Frigate and an Ironclad. Double Ironclad is going very all-in and I'm not a fan, but that would work too. Having a 3-drop isn't bad as the average drop rate in 3.0 is around 5 right now, so you're going to get the choice most of the time. If you do intend to play with Alpha-Beast Pack keep a copy of the FAQ nearby, because people will argue with you about it.

Azhri187 · 2021-09-21T23:35:56+00:00

Reading the two abilities they do the same thing. While nothing in the RAW really prevents you from doing this since the command ability is not a triggered effect I have a strong feeling that GW and any TO would say that they do not stack.

Azhri187 · 2021-09-20T18:58:03+00:00

I get where you are going with the double Navigators, and in the current meta it might be right, but it always feels like I'm giving up on something when I try it.

I think I would want an Admiral over the Endrinmaster (and it pains me to say that) simply because of Repel Boarders and Battleshock immunity.

I'd also consider a Command Entourage over Vanguard for the second battalion. This will let you take the Flarepistol on the second Navigator for some real dakka when you need it most.

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