AoS 1000 Point Heavenswatch List

[Christopher]

Now that I've had a taste of winning, I'm looking forward to the thousand point week in my shop's Escalation League, starting next Friday. My commitment to attempt to field fully painted armies is probably working counter to getting an effective army on the table, but we'll see.

The nature of our League makes it impossible to predict what kind of list to prepare. I won't know who my opponent is (and thus what faction I'll be facing) until I'm standing across the table from her or him. And the shop manager is doing random draws from the Open War deck each Thursday to determine the particulars of the next week's games (she posts videos of the draws on Facebook, which is fun).

All that said, here's what I'm planning to take. Only the Skinks and the Salamander are painted so far. If there's something obvious I can do (like ditching the Warscroll Battalion in favor of more units, for example) that I can both support from my model collection and get painted in the next ten days or so, I'd love to hear about it! Artefact and Command Trait choices are also flexible, obviously.

Battalion Warscroll: Heavenswatch Starhost (200)
General: Skink Starseer (200)
--Leader
--Command Trait: Nimble
--Artefact: Incandescent Retrices
Skink Starpriest (80)
--Leader
--Artefact: Prism of Amyntok
Troglodon (180)
--Behemoth
3 Ripperdactyl Riders (140)
1 Salamander (40)
--Artillery
3 Skink Handlers (40)
10 Skinks (60)
--Battleline
10 Skinks (60)
--Battleline

1000 points
56 wounds

 

[Aginor]

I admit I have no experience with the Heavenswatch bataillon but IMO the tax is too high here.
You spend 400 of your 1000 points just to satisfy it as the Starseer is mediocre. Three Rippers may not be strong enough to do significant damage that you urgently need, and you are low on wounds.

 

[Christopher]

I admit I have no experience with the Heavenswatch bataillon but IMO the tax is too high here.
You spend 400 of your 1000 points just to satisfy it as the Starseer is mediocre. Three Rippers may not be strong enough to do significant damage that you urgently need, and you are low on wounds.

Thanks so much, Aginor! At this point I’ve built and painted myself into a commitment to this list, I think, so I guess I’ll just hope for unaccountably hot dice and/or an opposing army uniquely unequipped to dealing with these units, heh.

I’m trying to get out in front a little bit and be able to be more responsive to the good advice to be found here for the 1500 and 2000 point weeks. I’m getting ready to post my tentative 1500 point list in this same forum.

 

[Crowsfoot]

Thanks so much, Aginor! At this point I’ve built and painted myself into a commitment to this list, I think, so I guess I’ll just hope for unaccountably hot dice and/or an opposing army uniquely unequipped to dealing with these units, heh.

I’m trying to get out in front a little bit and be able to be more responsive to the good advice to be found here for the 1500 and 2000 point weeks. I’m getting ready to post my tentative 1500 point list in this same forum.

What else have you got that's ready?

I agree with @Aginor 200 ponts for the battalion is a massive investment that's 40 skinks!

 

[Christopher]

What else have you got that's ready?

I agree with @Aginor 200 ponts for the battalion is a massive investment that's 40 skinks!

Hmm, not much. I basically only started painting my Seraphon army a couple of weeks ago with the advent of this League. Before that, all I had painted was ten Skinks (which I’ve now given makeovers).

The only models I have painted right this second not represented on this list are a Saurus Eternity Warden, five Saurus Guard, a Razordon, and ten Skinks. I do have a bunch of other models primed but unpainted. I’m already worried about completing the painting on my Ripperdactyls, the Troglodon, and the Skink Starpriest on the current list, though, so I’m not sure how much more than those guys I could get prepared. The earliest I could play my Week Two game is this coming Friday. The latest I could play it would be the following Thursday, but it’s harder to schedule mid-week games locally. Lot of factors to juggle.

 

[Crowsfoot]

Hmm, not much. I basically only started painting my Seraphon army a couple of weeks ago with the advent of this League. Before that, all I had painted was ten Skinks (which I’ve now given makeovers).

The only models I have painted right this second not represented on this list are a Saurus Eternity Warden, five Saurus Guard, a Razordon, and ten Skinks. I do have a bunch of other models primed but unpainted. I’m already worried about completing the painting on my Ripperdactyls, the Troglodon, and the Skink Starpriest on the current list, though, so I’m not sure how much more than those guys I could get prepared. The earliest I could play my Week Two game is this coming Friday. The latest I could play it would be the following Thursday, but it’s harder to schedule mid-week games locally. Lot of factors to juggle.

10 skinks, 1 Razordon, 5 guards is 200 points are the models on the table better than the battalion that's what you need to look at.

 

[Christopher]

10 skinks, 1 Razordon, 5 guards is 200 points are the models on the table better than the battalion that's what you need to look at.

You know, that’s a pretty exciting idea. I could fold the ten Skinks into one of my two Battlelines and, at least possibly and briefly, enjoy the benefit of the bonus they get in numbers. Also, if I’m ditching the Battalion anyway, I could forego using the Skink Starseer and use my Saurus Eternity Warden at 140 points and add a second Salamander at 40 (I have a couple Salamanders in the box—one would need to be built, primed, and painted, but that would be an easier job than painting the Starseer). Hmmm...

 

[Crowsfoot]

You know, that’s a pretty exciting idea. I could fold the ten Skinks into one of my two Battlelines and, at least possibly and briefly, enjoy the benefit of the bonus they get in numbers. Also, if I’m ditching the Battalion anyway, I could forego using the Skink Starseer and use my Saurus Eternity Warden at 140 points and add a second Salamander at 40 (I have a couple Salamanders in the box—one would need to be built, primed, and painted, but that would be an easier job than painting the Starseer). Hmmm...

At 1000 points the more wounds you have the better, you have a priest for mystic shield etc then as you escalate up you could add in a shadowstrike.

 

[Christopher]

At 1000 points the more wounds you have the better, you have a priest for mystic shield etc then as you escalate up you could add in a shadowstrike.

Okay, how about this for my 1000 point list instead? It would only require me to paint ten more Skinks and three Skink Handlers, and to paint the Troglodon and the unit of Ripperdactyls I already have on my bench and on my schedule. That said, I’m an old hand at Skinks by now.

Allegiance: Seraphon
Battle Trait: Lords of Space and Time

Saurus Eternity Warden (140)
—General
—Leader
—Command Trait: Thickly Scaled Hide
—Artefact: Coronal Shield
Skink Starpriest (80)
—Leader
Troglodon (180)
—Behemoth
3 Ripperdactyl Riders (140)
40 Skinks (200)
—Battleline
—Boltspitters and Star-Bucklers
Razordon (40)
—Artillery
3 Skink Handlers (40)
Salamander (40)
—Artillery
3 Skink Handlers (40)
5 Saurus Guard (100)
—Battleline

1000 points
89 wounds

I could also forego the two units of Skink Handlers in favor of a Skink Priest, which keeps the points value at 1000 but drops the Wounds to 87.

 

[Christopher]

This is my final crack at this. The units/models are set because of my painting schedule. The only changes I can make at this point are to which Leader acts as my General, which Hero carries what Artefact, and what the Command Trait is.

Allegiance: Seraphon
Battle Trait: Lords of Space and Time

Skink Priest (80)
--General
--Leader
--Command Trait: Master of Star Rituals
Saurus Eternity Warden (140)
—Leader
—Artefact: Coronal Shield
Skink Starpriest (80)
—Leader
Troglodon (180)
—Behemoth
3 Ripperdactyl Riders (140)
40 Skinks (200)
—Battleline
—Boltspitters and Star-Bucklers
Razordon (40)
—Artillery
Salamander (40)
—Artillery
5 Saurus Guard (100)
—Battleline

1000 points
87 wounds

Leaders: 3/4
Battleline: 2/2+
Artillery: 2/2
Behemoths: 1/2
Others: 1
Allies: None

 

[Aginor]

A bit of a mixed bag. I wouldn't go to a tournament using it but I think it will work fine and be fun in friendly games.

 

[Christopher]

A bit of a mixed bag. I wouldn't go to a tournament using it but I think it will work fine and be fun in friendly games.

Yes--it's based largely on what I can have painted in time. Here's hoping!

My scheduled opponent apparently usually runs Ironjawz. I'll know more details about the game later today after the shop manager draws Objective, Deployment, and Twist cards for the week's games from the Open War deck.

 

[Aginor]

Unless you are facing a really good player and/or mission goals that are very favourable for your enemy I think matches against Ironjawz will be a lot of fun.
I face them regularly and I rarely lose against them. My lists are a bit more optimized (not too much though) and IMO Ironjawz are an "easy" enough opponent so you don't have to play the strongest stuff in order to win. Even many mixed lists without bataillons have a fair chance beating IJ armies as they don't do nasty things like shooting a lot or spamming mortal wounds. It is nice because it allows you to play a different lists and still have a chance of winning.

 

[neoanomally]

Your last list looks the best. I think the biggest problem is trying to find the time painting all the unpainted units. I am currently in a similar type league using a new army to get painted and I quickly over taxed myself with the amount of painting a bunch of battleline units. I think there is mental value finding a list that is maybe not optimized, but gives you time to paint without exhausting yourself.

Good luck in the league

 

[Christopher]

Thanks for the advice and well wishes, all!

The Deployment, Objective, and Twist cards have been drawn for the game, and I'm afraid they might favor my opponent, who I have now determined for sure, yes, will be fielding an Ironjawz army.

We'll be playing on a 4'x6' table, as is assumed for all Open War games.

The Deployment card is "lengthwise," split right down the middle, with each player controlling a territory 4'x3'. In other words, we'll be standing at the "short ends" of the table. Standard Age of Sigmar rules dictate that all units be set up 12" or more from enemy territory, but Open War rules simply state that units must be set up 3" or more from enemy units. I have a question in to the shop manager about whether both of those rules apply or only one.

The Objective card drawn was "Kill the Messenger," which reads: At the start of the first battle round, before determining who has the first turn, each player lets their opponent know which model in their army is their messenger. The model cannot be the army's general, and must already be set up on the battlefield. The first player to slay the opponent's messenger wins the battle."

And then the Twist card, which is the one that really worries me. "Battle Frenzy" reads: Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of all melee weapons used in this battle.

I don't know much about Ironjawz (I know nothing about Ironjawz), but my impression is that they're a melee specialist army. How mobile are they?

Now I have to determine which model (and I suppose it can just be one of a unit, there's nothing here saying it has to be a single model unit) to make my messenger. My immediate thoughts are maybe either the Saurus Eternity Warden, with his high wounds and relatively good defenses, or, maybe, and this is kind of crazy, one of the forty Skinks. Since I get to determine which models are removed when the unit takes wounds, I can just hold him until last and my opponent will have to eat through forty wounds against a highly mobile unit before the messenger is killed. Can that be right?

 

[Christopher]

The shop manager has confirmed that deployment will be within one's own territory and no closer than 3" from enemy units, so that 24" that separates opposing forces in normal Age of Sigmar games at the start of play is out. Unless we just happen to deploy that way.

She's also confirmed that model means model, and the normal rules for assigning wounds to multi-model units stand. So it seems to me the thing to do will be to nominate one of my Skinks as the messenger, hold their unit back, teleport them around if they come under pressure, and just go crazy with everything else trying to kill my opponent's messenger.

As should be obvious from the previous sentence, my tactical skills and instincts are still a work in progress.

 

[Christopher]

So, thinking about this upcoming battle, I’ve come up with an idea I’d like to run by y’all.

I’m thinking about an attempt to take out my opponent’s “messenger” on my first turn with my Ripperdactyls. It would work like this. (Keep in mind that with the Twist card, every melee weapon gets one extra attack.)

Assuming my opponent sets up his messenger as far from the front as possible, or at least at some distance from any of my units, I’ll set up my Rippers within 8” of my Skink Priest and Skink Starpriest in my territory.

In my Hero Phase, I’ll place my Blot Toad within 2” of the unit containing my enemy’s messenger. Then I’ll attempt to: use Celestial Rites on the Rippers, cast Mystic Shield on the Rippers, and then use Lords of Space and Time to move them 9” from the target model.

Assuming the teleport worked, if they’re able to move, the Rippers will fly to within 3” of the enemy messenger. If not, well, that’s going to make this a lot harder, but in either case I’ll declare that they’ll be using Swooping Dive.

In the Charge phase, they’ll charge, rerolling if necessary via the hopefully successful Celestial Rites.

If all those “ifs” go off, then the Combat Phase should see them making these attacks:

7 Moonstone War-spears at 4+/4, rerolling failed hit and wound rolls.
12 Slashing Claws at 3+/3+, rerolling failed hit and wound rolls.
And, finally, benefitting from Voracious Appetite and Toad Rage, 12 to 24 Vicious Beak attacks at 4+/3+.

Then, hopefully benefitting from the Save buffs the Skink Priest and Skink Starpriest provided, they might theoretically even survive the counterattack and get to do something similar in a subsequent round, assuming this assassination attempt doesn’t work straight off.

I also considered doing pretty much the same move with the Troglodon, but even assuming 3 attacks with its Noxious Spittle in the Shooting Phase and taking its 2 damage attacks into account, I think the Rippers have a better chance.