Interested in becoming familiar with a battle-tested Ynnari list? Want tips on how to face tournament challenges? Read on!
Alright boys, I got back from my tournament and it was freaking crazy man. It was a 2K ITC tournament with 3 rounds of pure redic, plus a side of 911. Yeah man, the last round, a fight broke out, threats were made, and the cops were called. I mean, who gets into a fight over game rules in a game with little plastic men. That’s just ridiculous.
The list I went into the tournament was with this tried and true list:
1999
Ynnari Battalion – 6 CP
HQ:
Farseer, Singing Spear = 120
Doom, Fortune
Warlock, = 37
Conceal/Reveal
TROOP:
5x Warriors, Blaster = 50
Venom, Splinter = 80
130
5x Warriors, Blaster = 50
Venom, Splinter = 80
130
5x Warriors, Blaster = 50
Venom, Splinter = 80
130
ELITE:
5x Wraithguard, D-Scythes = 225
Wave Serpent, VEngines, Stones, 3x Shuriken = 163
388
5x Wraithguard, D-Scythes = 225
Wave Serpent, VEngines, Stones, 3x Shuriken = 163
388
FLYER:
Hemlock Wraithfighter = 211
Conceal/Reveal
HEAVY:
Ravager, 3x Dark Lance = 155
Ravager, 3x Dark Lance = 155
Ravager, 3x Dark Lance = 155
Overall, very solid list and I would say everyone stood out pretty evenly. There was not a unit here that I would say under-performed, except for maybe the Warriors holding the Blasters because they didn’t do anything effectual in any round of the tournament. They either missed, didn’t wound, or my opponent saved, so lol.
Onto the games themselves! My first round was against a ridiculous level list with Magnus, a LoC, Changeling, a bunch of Burning Chariots, and a bunch of Horrors and Flamers. The dude had like 12 Command Points and near-infinite Smites with -1 to hit one everything near the Changeling, and Magnus himself is just king of ridiculousness. I mean, the entire army threw out Mortal Wounds everywhere, but Magnus throws out 2D6 himself on a 10+ with T7, 18W, 3+/4++ and re-roll 1s and a S16 -4 AP 3 damage weapon. Never mind try to cast with my list when he can cast and deny 3x a phase with a +2 modifier. No really though, it was absolutely insane. I ended up losing the game to what seemed like an endless flock of Tz Daemons that didn’t die, and the match-up felt like it was pretty big mismatch. All that high-S AP fire doesn’t count for much if nothing dies. Feels bad, man.
Next two rounds were awful too, but fortunately in my favor. The second round I was matched up with another Ynnari player, but ended up seizing on him and 1-turning his Wraithknight before systematically erasing his army off the board. He ended up calling it at the end of Turn 2. Round 3 ended with my opponent getting first turn, blowing up one of my Wave Serpents with some crazy flying Storm Eagle Assault Gunship. On my turn I shot down the stupid bird and he fired for little effect with his remaining Stormraven, while I managed to down it in another round of shooting. On my opponent’s turn, he charged Mephiston into some D-Scythes, they killed him and then Soulbursted into his Librarian Dreadnought and it was GG from there.
Here’s what I realized by the end of the day:
- This is a tournament, people take some crazy combos and that’s to be expected. For example, my friend Adam showed up with 4x Wave Serpents filled with D-Scythes, Wraithblades and Wraithcannons, and 2x Hemlocks. He did pretty well in the tournament as well, but there was also 6 Storm Talon list with Girlyman bubble, multiple Knights, Stormswords and other kinds of filth. You need to mentally prepare for stuff like this.
- Alpha Strikes are vitally important in this game, I feel. I think making that huge initial impact that can leave your opponents reeling, and potentially taking out that one crucial unit is what’s going to define the meta for a while. While MCs and multi-wound single models are strong, being able to kill those models quickly and efficiently is going to be stronger.
- I’m not really feeling the bubble-wrap mechanics too much. Stuff like Girlyman giving units re-roll Hits and Wounds around him, Azrael’s 4++ bubble and re-roll hits, and even Dante skipping around the battlefield powering up his Stormravens. Just feels really strong, with little risk involved, and dead easy to execute.
With that said, let’s try something else. While I really liked the list that I played today, it was also really balanced. Maybe too balanced and possibly not destructive enough in the first round of the game. I have a lot of points sitting inside transports not contributing to the battle itself. So what should we do about that?
2000
Spearhead/Air Wing – 5 CP
HQ:
Farseer Skyrunner, Singing Spear = 168
Doom, Fortune
TROOP:
10x Warriors, Blaster, Dark Lance = 105
Raider, Dark Lance = 115
220
10x Warriors, Blaster, Dark Lance = 105
Raider, Dark Lance = 115
220
ELITE:
5x Trueborn, 4x Blaster = 115
Venom, Splinter = 80
195
FLYER:
Hemlock Wraithfighter = 211
Conceal/Reveal
Hemlock Wraithfighter = 211
Conceal/Reveal
Razorwing, 2x Dark Lance = 155
Razorwing, 2x Dark Lance = 155
HEAVY:
Ravager, 3x Dark Lance = 155
Ravager, 3x Dark Lance = 155
Ravager, 3x Dark Lance = 155
Yeah, that’s right: 17 Dark Lances that open up with possible Doom on the first turn, before I run some Hemlocks down their throat with possible Smites. I still have enough Poison to throw around, and I even have a little Blasterborn in a Venom to help with the shooting. This is a much better Alpa Strike list and the Doom from the Farseer does amazing stuff.
Once you use Doom, you really can’t go back.
More From HERO’s Gaming Blog
About the Author: Lawrence King
