Email in: Yet another army list for you no doubt! [1500 BA/SW]

"Hey Kirby,

Your site is the one that I keep coming back to at the moment and I just wanted to say job well done. So many well written articles just keep appearing.

Also, thanks for the feedback on the Chaos lists thing that you ran. Most helpful, although I do not think I will be going back to CSMs anytime soon. I do like these current series of articles that give a great insight to armies step by step.

So let’s get on with it. I have our big annual club tournament coming up late October and I am sick of winning painting awards and need to bring home a real trophy! I have come back to marines of all kinds recently and would like to use them after prolonged use of Chaos Marines, Eldar and Tyranids. As with most UK events it is a 1500 points affair. There are a couple of custom missions as well as 3 straight from the BRB, but really the custom ones are not worth mentioning as they will not have an overall effect on the tournament and come so close to BRB missions anyways.

I have just played a couple of tournaments with Codex Marines (silly Charlton Heston lists!) and I think I would like to try out either BA or SW for a different play style. I love marines going and holding midfield but have played an awful lot of that lately.

So the two lists I have come up with so far are attached. I thought it might be easier than a great big wall of text.

So in 1500 points I have found that I like to have a minimum of 4 rhino equivalents to block and control the board somewhat. My play style also seems to lend itself to timely sacrifice and so I really do get along well with MSU type armies. You will see common elements in both lists being ranged firepower, psychic defence and a forward front with some distractions thrown in.

In the space wolves, I like the amount of bodies I have on the table and I also like the disruption I can achieve with the couple of units of scouts (wolf guard attached obviously), the Land Speeders and the minimal TWC. I know that I could probably make it a bit more efficient by losing the cyclone terminator, but I do like the idea of him for a bit of flexibility in joining things at deployment, be it some sit back grey hunters who leave their transport for scouts, a unit of long fangs or indeed just leave him on his own in cover walking about firing off. Not as great a roadblock as say a Lone Wolf, but perhaps enough to cause some thought.

With the BA, I have the same sort of thing in terms of a backfield and a front line. The Libby goes in the cheapest ASMs Rhino so that the threats are fairly evened out. I lack the scout/deepstrike disruption of the Space Wolves, but the fast vehicles mean that I am playing a different game anyways. The rifleman dreads effectively replace the scouts as disrupters (or in this case transport stunners) and the attack bikes are there instead of the land speeders as annoyance or blockers as required.

I just wanted to get some feedback really and see what you thought. I have no model limitations at all and if I see the merit of something or the lists can be improved, I can jump straight at it.

Hopefully you will have time for a bit of input for me. If not no worries.

Cheers from the UK...John (Bigbaboonboy)"

Here are the lists shorthand:

1x Priest w/Chooser, Lightning, Jaws
5x WG w/4x combi-melta, 4x power weapon, TDA w/CML
2x 5x Scouts w/meltagun
4x 5x GH w/flamer, Las Plas Rback
2x 1x MM/HF Speeder
2x TWC w/PFist
2x 5x LF w/4 ML

1x Libby w/Lance & Shield
3x 5x ASM w/flamer, Las Plas Rback
1x 5x ASM w/meltagun, infernous pistol, Rhino
2x 5x ASM w/meltagun, infernous pistol, Powerweapon, Rhino
2x 1x AB w/MM
2x 1x Rifledreads
5x Devs w/4ML

The SW list is much better. If you want to use or utilise the BA list there needs to be some things fixed and fiddled with but the SWlist as is pretty much spot on. I understand the logic and reasoning behind the CML Termie but not sold on it's worth. It'd be good fun to outflank with the Scouts but dropping him for a regular Wolf Guard and one of the LasPlas to a Rhino allows for combat weaposn on the GH squads. I'd also avoid Jaws on the Priest. Tempest (and hurricane) has a lot better utility against more armies and he can hide in armor to get a nice big area of effect for it.