Hello Jaldon (and the others too),
as you're quickly going to guess, I'm a ?English as a Second Language? friend. So first of all, thanks to you for your consideration. I hope that I won?t ?deceive you and that you?ll reach to read me, even if I do almost one mistake per word.
I?m totally a newbie with epic armaggeddon, but I know quite well wargames, especially ?gamesworkshop ones (like battle, blood bowl and 40k). So please don?t disparage my comments, because an ?ingenuous? eye is sometimes useful. Though, I?m not able to see how to make profit from an army list and to understand how to abuse. For example, I wouldn?t be able to imagine the ?rain of lesser synapse node? tech. ?
For my second game with epic, I choose the nid army because I like its background. My feelings concerning the army list and special rules BEFORE the game :
- What a deception when I see the ?mythic? genestealer ! I really don?t see what use I can make with them. So I have taken none of them. If you can explain to me why I?m wrong and why they are so expansive et seem so ineffective, I would be very happy. Especially when I look to the 3.0 version given in the experimental rules. They are more expansive and have weaker stats (CC 2+ =>? CC3+) in your version. Are they so powerful ?
- Why you restrain the maneuverability of the nids so much ! Forcing the lesser bugs to stay in synapse range, and in normal coherency, during the course of an entire turn seems to make the nid army so boring ! A huge swarm in a ?cage? formation surrounding the synapses which moves strait forward, screaming ? CHARGEZ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ? (in my tong ^^, because in the nids?s tong, it is near to ? iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh ?), this is what I feared. So we chose to keep the old rules and played with the rule ? you must stay in formation but you aren?t forced to stay in synapse range ? (3.0 rules), in order to see if this rule is an abuse or not.
- The hierodules cost only 100 ? ? ? Is it a joke ? ? ? ?
- The tyran is an AV ? ? ? So my opponent may choose to fire on him. He can?t hide himself among the lesser bugs ! Ok why not, but for the price, he is unbreakable ? Ah, 4+ and invulnerable save, that?s all ? ? No reenforced armour ? Ok he is more effective than a warrior but a warrior can hide himself, the tyrant not, and it is a big drawback. I have taken one to test it but I was very suspicious.
- The hierodules cost only 100 ? ? ? Is it a joke ? ? ? ?
- Why they cry about the hierophant ? He is still a huge brute (it makes sense ?). 6 life point, 8 attacks (2M), regeneration, 4+ reenforced armour, 25 cm. It seems very powerful no ? To me, it was the only interesting independant (in a ?2000 pts?-limited game)
- The hierodules cost only 100 ? ? ? Is it a joke ? ? ? ?
- Why take another gaunt than Hormogaunt ? They seems more effective. +5cm, 4+ in CC so if he reaches the close combat he can make damages. The other gaunt has only 6+CC and 5+FF. Ravener and Gargoyle seems less interesting in cause of the price (I really want a swarm of lesser bugs, even ineffective and unarmoured).
- What ! ! ! The spawning rule changes and now, it is simply impossible to spawn hierodule and very expansive to spawn another thing than gaunt. I understand the change because I see the possible abuse of lesser node and myecetic spores to create and unvulnerable army, but with a ? normal ? list, now, they almost can?t spawn. You cut another fun option of the nid army, what a pitty :?( ?.
- Have I already remarked that the hierodules cost only 100 ?
Well after one week of reflexion, without knowing what my opponent would play, I chose (1995 pts) :
- 15 Hormogaunts - 15 Termagaunts (as you can see I have taken only 450 pts of gaunts, so less than ? of the army points, so I cheated. But I have taken 30/46 figs from the lesser bugs, so I keep the spirit : roll : ) - 2 Hierodules A - 7 Haruspex A - 1 Carnifex A - 1 Hierophant - 3 nid Warriors - 1 Tyrant - 1 Vituperator - 3 lesser nodes
I guess it is a bad list and I don?t ask you to comment this list (but if anyone wants to point a problem, don?t hesitate).
My opponent chose to play eldars. He oriented his list on skimmer and firefigth. I suspect him to have chosen this because he knew that I would play Tyrannids, but I prefer believe the contrary (innocent until the proof of his culpability ?8-) ).
Brief report :
- first turn : he did 1 on his first strategy roll, me 6, so I begin to move first (pleasant for a nid player). I destroy his scouts and take control of one side flag and a strategic covered zone. Good beginning. We both approach each other rushing 45 cm for me 30 or 60 cm for him (damned they?re very fast these eldars !). I was surprised by the only fiew gaunts I lost during this first turn. He didn?t fire at me a lot during this turn. So I was pretty confident at this point ?of the game. In my mind, the most dangerous part of the game for the nids, the ? approach phase ? was finished. I would probably be able to kick him with my CC brutes on turn 2. But??
- second turn : ?.. I was so wrong ! Like I said already, I?m a noobs with epic. So I didn?t know the power of the ? retain initiative ? and ? commander ?? rules. He used his avatar and activated 5 formation before I activated anyone of mine and crushed 3 of my 4 main swarm because my swarm was near ?(in cause of the ? stay in formation rule ?). Indeed, I wanted to make a profit from the reorganisation of the swarm and the ? stay in formation rule ? forced me to have my units within the 5cm range. So he was able to engage two swarms in one assault. Surprisingly, even if the assaults was at FF range, I did some kills (about 8-10). But, I was devasted before I moved one troop. Nevertheless, ?he killed none of my synapse(except one lesser node), none of the brutes (hierodules, hierophant and vituperator) and I keep 4-5 Haruspex. So almost all of my units would take a marshall action during this turn in order to respawn all my gaunts (he destroyed all of them), but in my point of view, it was not yet the end of the game, and? ?.. I engage his bikes with my vituperator enjoying the carnage I was going to make at CC range. But he answered to me : ? sorry, I?m skimmer so I pop up and choose the FF range ?. ?And me : ? WHAT ? ? ? ? ! ! ! Me I?m skimmer too so you can pop up at 10000 meters, I can follow you and engage you for a close combat, don?t I. ?. When he answered ? nope you can?t, even if you?re skimmer too. ? . I lit a cigarette, breathed the smoke and said ? ok, I give up, I can?t manage your vehicules with skimmer, let?s take a bier ? (he taked 1000 pts of troop whith the skimmer skill). Maybe I was wrong, but he already stressed me a lot with the activation of all his troops before me. So I have prefered stop the game.
My feelings concerning the army list and special rules AFTER the game :
- The hierodules cost only 100 ? ? ? Is it a joke ? ? ? ? ^^ - If you keep the ? stay in formation rule ?, there is almost no use to be able to go out the synapse range. - The reorganisation option ?is very dangerous in cause of the 5cm range. Indeed, your opponent can engage the 2 swarns in one assault. - What is the utility of infiltrator, especially for the hormagaunt ? Well ok, they gain 10 cm (15cm for the synapse, plus 15 cm for synapse range, they can move only 30 cm, not 40 cm when they engage). But it is very disappointing that the TERmagaunts and the HORmagaunts have in fact the same move. - With your rules, the nid army have a very bad maneuverability, they spawn only gaunts,? In fact, I find that they have just drawbacks except the unstoppable rule. OK it is a big advantage, but is it justified to have so much limitations (lack of maneuverability, ranged fire, unable to figth against flying stuff, not especially fast, very ??fragile? due to the synapse, etc?) ? So, I very dislike the synapse and formation range rule and think that you shouldn?t have changed this rule. To me, bugs (at least lesser bugs) shoulnd?t be affected by these two rules. On the contrary, I totally agree with the new brood rule.
Questions : - miecetic spores work only the turn we activate them or every turn after activation ? - I suppose it is unpossible to teleport a lesser node on board to save a swarm out of synapse range at the beginning of a turn, but the rules are not clear about that point. Teleport rule and synapse rule take place at the same time : the beginning of the turn (so before the strategy roll), but what?s their order ? Specify it in the army list. For example, in the synapse rule : ? ? at the beginning of each turn, before any other events, assign?. ? - If I merge two swarms and on the next turn affect all the bugs to one synapse leaving the other synapse alone, my opponent can choose to fire on the ? alone synapse ? swarm and kill it, even if this alone synapse is totally hidden among the bugs (surrounded by them) ?
ah, I forget : Excuse me for my english.
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