Tabletop Teacher

Do you want to know how to build an effective army? Do you want to avoid cheese traps and chasing metas? Then read on, you outrageously good-looking individuals, whether you be a fresh faced Lieutenant or grizzled general. There are a good number of list building guides out there, but I've found the vast majority either subscribe to meta trends or cheese lists. Whilst there is certainly value in understanding the strongest combinations of units in 40K, you'll eternally be at the mercy of rule changes and Games Workshop prices. It will be a never ending game of catch up, and the odds are you still won't have a high win-to-loss ratio. Some list building guides are only focused on satisfying detachment minimum requirements. There is little value in that, beyond gaining the old style 7th Edition Formation buffs.They won't help you understand why taking certain units is good, or even what to do with them when they touch table top. I come to you from a position whe...

Since these box sets came out with some rather interesting names, we can predict some behaviours out of them, and some possible formations.  Space Marine/Space Wolf Skyhammer We've got two Skyhammer formations already; the bland Ravenguard formation (Turn 1 can run after getting out), and the infamous Annihilation force (absolute cheese with a beard down to it's ankles). We can expect the same thing here: Unit turns up on turn one, and probably has something similar to the Ravenguard formation in terms of running after getting out or shooting. Dark/Blood Angel Gauntlet Bit of a punt on this one, but will probably involve getting out after driving 12-inches. This somewhat steps on the toes of the Ironwolves, but would certainly give the Blood Angels a taste of the armoured blitzkrieg... especially since they lost a lot of their jump pack speed in the larger formations. Chaos Desolator Pure wishful thinking on this on... squad gets to assault out of the...

One of the things I'm consistently asked by students is "Sir, are those your models?" Which is usually followed by asking if I painted them myself, and then the final question "Doesn't that take ages?" And usually the answer is yes. But for right now, the Eldar have the easiest, and most accessible route into the hobby. They also have the straightest line to competitive builds of all the codices out there. The Start Collecting! Eldar box kit is by far the easiest way to get to a cheesy list, and it even starts right at the beginning. The Start Collecting! Eldar kit comes with a Fire Prism, a jetbike Farseer and a squad of jet bikes. The weakest unit for points cost in this line up is the Fire Prism... and that should tell you something. This is by far the best kit on the shelves, and I can't imagine they're sitting on there for long. Not only does the starter formation get you to use 3 relatively strong units, but two of them have dual bu...

Although the School's League is all about fun, being prepared for possible lists is an important thing. As such, I've allowed myself to indulge in theory crafting and list building. The following was an attempt to squeeze as much free stuff into a 450point Space Wolf army as possible, and scales really well into a more traditional 500 point army. Because of the formation being used, it also forms the core for a more complex force, and would be a good starting point for neophytes as they set off in the foot steps of Russ. Formation Detachment: The Ironwolves Battle Leader: Bolt gun/Pistol, Close Combat weapon [50] Blood Claw Pack: 5x Blood Claws Dedicated transport: Razorback, Twin-linked lascanon, Dozer Blade, Extra Armour, Hunter-Killer Missile, Extra Stormbolter [115] Blood Claw Pack: 5x Blood Claws Dedicated transport: Razorback, Twin-linked lascanon, Dozer Blade, Extra Armour, Hunter-Killer Missile, Extra Stormbolter [115] Land Speeder Squadron: 1x Landsp...

Starting off in Warhammer 40K can be confusing for students, and can be even more confusing at competitive levels. At a certain point, the young neophytes are going to want to build their own armies. But where to begin? The best advice you can give is this: Buy the models you like. Theory crafting an optimization aside, if you love the look of a model you are going to find a way to make it work. Right now, grav-biker Space Marines are a very strong option, but you won't find many people running out to buy them. They're a bit of a pain to construct as there are no kits for them, and the poses on most of the stock models are rather static. This is why you'll find them in very competitive lists, but not so much in friendly matches. They're a bit of a hassle for the average person, and only tourney types and people who love the bikes are making them. Contrast this with Eldar scatter bikes, who have a modern and easily obtained model for the tactic. You find th...

For most people, starting Tau involves getting the Start Collecting! Tau box, which gives you a seriously good discount on models alongside a formation to use. For the Tau, this started formation gives you Firewarriors, an Ethereal, and three crisis suits with a posse of drones. The formation is excellent in terms of maneuverability, and is a great way to introduce players to the Tau ideal of massive firepower on the move. Which most new players throw out in favour of massive firepower camped in the corner of the map with plenty of Interceptor to deal with any irritating Deep Strikers that dare to avoid your shooting gallery. I have avoided this entirely, as I was fortunate enough to pick up a Retaliation Cadre box set, which is all suits. A lovely bunch of mecha and drones! In my current stable of robots, I have three crisis suits, a broadside, a commander, and a gaggle of drones. The king piece is the Riptide, which is both the most expensive and closest to essential mode...