Swordwind (that's all aspect warriors for the uninitiated - and is likely to be Biel-Tan craftworld due to their warlike nature) has always been a very evocative army for me. A light-elite army in greater numbers than some, highly specialized, synergistic, lead by an Avatar and backed up by Wave Serpents. With the dawn of the Wave Serpent age, and improvement to many aspects, could it again be competitive?
I take a functional approach to list building ie. I look very carefully at the purpose of a unit and whether it can do it well. In a list you therefore need to also consider not only the efficiency of a unit but also the exact mix of functions you need to win.
Let's take a look at a possible Swordwind type list
HQ
Avatar - disarm
Autarch - long rifle fusion gun
TROOPS
Dire Avengers - 5
Wave Serpent
Dire Avengers - 5
Wave Serpent
Dire Avengers - 10
Wave Serpent
ELITES
Striking Scorpions - 5 - Exarch Scorpion Claw
Fire Dragons - 5
Wave Serpent
FAST ATTACK (double FOC)
Swooping Hawks - 7 - Exarch Sunrifle
Warp Spiders - 5
Shining Spears - 4 - Exarch Star Lance Hit and Run
Crimson Hunter
HEAVY SUPPORT
Dark Reapers - 6 - starshot missiles
TOTAL
2002
This is not my perfect preferred list, but I've tried to make as competitive a list as possible within the confines of being a Swordwind list. Taken to extremis, you could drop a DA and ws for a Howling Banshees and ws combo - but really why would you want to apart from getting every aspect warrior into the list somewhere. I would also be tempted to drop and then make points for a Wraightknight instead of the Dark Reapers - but like I said...theme. It's a hybrid list, MSU style which fits the idea of death by a thousand cuts. But is it competitive?
Now let's judge this list in terms of its purpose - what it can do.
HQ
Melee Bullet Magnet Challenger
Enhance Shooting (Pinning, anti-MEQ, precision shooter, anti-armor)
TROOPS
Scoring (backfield) Shooting (versatile anti-infantry)
Shooting (alpha anti-light armor pinning) Transport Block Bullet Magnet
Scoring (forward) Shooting (versatile anti-infantry)
Shooting (alpha anti-light armor pinning) Transport Block Bullet Magnet
Scoring (midfield) Shooting (versatile anti-infantry)
Shooting (alpha anti-light armor pinning) Transport Block Bullet Magnet
ELITES
Melee (versatile) alpha
Shooting (anti-armor, anti-TEQ, anti-MEQ)
Shooting (alpha anti-light armor pinning) Transport
FAST ATTACK (double FOC)
Shooting (anti-GEQ, blind) linebreaker melee (anti-amor)
Shooting (versatile)
Melee (anti-MEQ anti-light armor)
Shooting (anti-air, anti-armor)
HEAVY SUPPORT
Shooting (anti-MEQ, anti-light armor, pinning)
TOTAL
2002
From here we can see more clearly we have
7 pinning and blind
1 anti-air
5 anti-armor
6 anti-light armor
4 melee
9 anti-MEQ
6 anti-GEQ
5 anti-TEQ
1 linebreaker
5 alpha
1 challenger
1 precision shooter
Note that versatile shooters are included in ALL relevant categories. This is contentious I realize as we don't yet have solid thresholds to decide that this is good enough to count as anti-TEQ but this is not. As a rule of thumb I'm looking at whether it can do serious damage to a unit of that type (including picking out a character with a precision shot etc).
From this it's clear this is a balanced shooty list with a melee element. It's light in anti-air (though CH is powerful), but there are plenty of units that could get lucky with a powerful hit. With the alpha elements there is a good chance of taking first blood, but you'd have to be careful with the smaller units (especially the Scorpions) to avoid giving it away. Scorpions could go in a ws at a pinch and a DA unit then becomes a rear objective holder. You also don't have a lot of troops, so you'd be relying heavily on ws protection and providing enough distractions to force an opponent to target the rest of the army.
The autarch is there to babysit a DA unit, take pot shots at enemy commanders, and to provide the second FOC and to make sure the CH comes on when you want it - important to avoid it getting shot down by a quad gun (take it out with the reapers) or going first vs. an enemy flyer. Hawks can also be helped. He has a fusion gun as well in case you want to push into midfield and need to slag something big nearby. I would really prefer to make one DA unit rangers so they can do something from backfield, but then you lose a ws. And theme...
An Avatar bearing down on the foe along with four Wave Serpents, Dragons, Spears and Scorpions, not to mention Spiders, and with the threat of Hawks later, mucks with target priority.
I feel the small unit sizes here are an advantage. Though bad for killpoints (rare) a big blob of guard of firewarriors may annihilate a unit but will ultimately waste shots. But the real way this list works is in causing 7 pinning and blind tests and thereby nullifying at least some of the enemy force as you close in. This is not a maximum-pin list, but aims to be more versatile with a strong pinning element.
This is not the ultimate competitive build, as stated. It's a competitive build within a fluffy theme. But it is interesting I think, would be fun to play and may surprise in how well it would do. I believe there is inherent strength in having diverse units - diverse threats means more rule load for your opponent to remember, which means more surprises and options for you.
What do you think? Can Swordwind ever really be competitive or is it shafted by its own fluff? Should I have found room for Banshees no matter what?
by Matthew David Townend