6th Edition – Revisiting Army Lists

Lately I have begun to revisit my standard 5th edition 40k lists in an effort to bring them up to date with the new realities of 6th edition.  Flyers add a whole new element to the mix as does snapfire, overwatch, cover, wound allocation and the like and all of these must be considered when adapting to a new edition.  So let's roll up our sleeves and take a look at some common themes I've run across when updating lists.



To Ally or Not to Ally
This one took some getting used to.  Every army now requires an extensive look through other army books to determine if there is anything useful from a rules perspective.  This doesn't even begin to address the number of cool fluff ideas that may work out best.  I've been trying to figure out how to use Space Wolves or Blood Angels to make my Iron Snakes more like those found in Dan Abnett's book.

When considering allies look for gaps in utility and function that exist in the basic codex for your army.  After you've considered that, then think about what gaps your own list possesses in addition to the general gaps.  From here, start to focus on units that fill those specific gaps first and then the more general ones.

Examples

• Eldar
• Eldar lack numbers and they lack durability.  My specific list lacks some reliable mid-longe range anti-tank as well.  So I chose to ally with Dark Eldar and took a squad of 10 scourges with haywire blasters (or I could take a Ravager).
• Space Marines
• Space Marines lack any sort of cheap-throw away units.  They also lack in anti-flyer defense so Guard are a great ally.  They have access to the fantastic Valkyrie flyer as well as a squadron of Hydras.  For numbers, even a veteran squad with minimal upgrades is far cheaper than a marine squad.

Flyers
Nothing has changed the game more than the addition of flyers.  Everyone is scurrying to find someway to shoot these buggers down and only a few books have the advantage of possessing a flyer of their own to combat the menace.  So what brings down flyers?  Short of skyfire one needs to look no further than the old standby- volume of fire.  The more dice you throw at a flyer, the more likely it gets hit.  The more it gets hit the more likely it gets penetrated or glanced and falls out of the sky.

Examples

• Eldar
• I know they are fragile but War Walkers are the best at dealing with flyers for craftworld Eldar.  A single war walker with twin scatter lasers fires 8 S6 shots per turn.  Take a full squad and that is 24 shots.
• Space Marines
• Despite the questionable aesthetic the stormtalon is extremely diverse and can easily be equipped for anti-air, anti-ground, or a mix of both.

Wound Allocation Gimmicks
5th edition had one set of wound allocation gimmicks and 6th edition sure has it's own.  I've had to really think hard about this one and the effects it could have on my units.  The basic premise?  Stick the person with the best save out front and if he fails his save, use "Look Out Sir!" to rescue him.  This usually works best with invulnerable save models or those with Eternal Warrior.

Examples

• Space Marines
• Lysander.  He has a 2+/3+ and Eternal Warrior.  Stick him with a unit (any unit) and he can tank with the best of them.  For a few less points, just take a captain with terminator armor and storm shield.  This option works almost as good.  It should be noted that I don't use Lysander, so please don't kill the messenger.
• Eldar
• Exarchs, while being only a single wound with no invulnerability saves or other survival assets, always have a 3+ armor save.  So unless the Exarch is necessary for your plans (or the entire squad has 3+ armor), stick him out front to tank for the unit.
• Allied Dark Eldar can be exceptionally beardy.  Again, I preface this by saying that I do not use this tactic but I know how nasty it can be.  An Archon with a Shadowfield and a farseer with fortune to back him is pretty stupendously awesome in the tank department.  A 2++ rerollable save is nothing to sneeze at.
• Necrons
• A Necron Lord or Overlord with semipaternal weave can tank pretty well for any Necron unit that doesn't use weird deployment rules.  Throw on a Phase Shifter and you have a terminator/SS combo going.

Squad Sizes
Most of my non-"And They Shall Know No Fear" armies received small tweaks to adjust for the realities of regrouping at 25%+ strength.  This frees up a few points to use elsewhere and cover other gaps created by 6th edition rules.

Examples

• Eldar
• My non-close combat oriented aspect warriors shrank in size from 8-10 to 5-8 overall.
• Rangers are actually worth taking again since they were only ever affordable in small squad sizes.
• Guardians also are worth taking again for cheap objective campers since a minimum squad can go down to two models before falling victim to the regrouping rules.
• Orks
• Orks can be taken in units of 15-20 and still retain fearless long enough to be of use and regroup when necessary if they drop too low and run.

Vehicles
Okay, here is the thousand pound gorilla in the room.  6th edition made vehicles more consistent.  No more Rhinos lasting until turn six simply because you can't get that roll of a 5 or 6 when you need it most.  This creates a very different dynamic from the mechanized heavy 5th edition however.

Vehicles now fall into three rough categories, affordable, purposeful, or conditional.  These three groups...

Affordable vehicles are so cheap they often make it into lists just on the merit that they are cheap enough to lose if necessary.  Many transports fall into this category.  Think along the lines of Drop Pods, War Walkers, Chimeras, and Raiders.

Purposeful vehicles are ones that require a little thought to use and fit best into lists that have a specific defined role for them to accomplish.  Most of these vehicles fulfill a generic purpose such as "long-rage anti-tank" or "infantry support" and can be tossed into generic lists that require that role with little thought.  Predators, Defilers, Ghost Arks, Fire Prisms, and Hydras are perfect examples.

Conditional vehicles either lack focus, are prohibitively expensive, or both.  They fulfill a niche role in a codex that must be considered when choosing them.  In short, they are not units one just pulls out of the book and tosses into a generic list, they are units that one builds into the very purpose of a list itself.  Some examples are Looted Wagons, Falcon Grav Tanks, Deathstrike Missile Launcher, or a Land Speeder Storm.

Examples -

• Space Marines
• In my Iron Snakes list I dropped most of my transports since they were more fragile and my units don't need to close as quickly with the changes to rapid fire.  I did keep my drop pods however since they allow for surprise and flexibility.
• I had already planned on removing my whirlwind but originally I intended to scrap up some points from elsewhere to add another predator.  Instead I added a Stormtalon to help deal with other flyers and provide some ground support.
• Eldar
• I dropped almost all of my Wave Serpents since they are far more fragile now and, due to an older codex, Wave Serpents are overpriced.  This allowed me to make other purchases to shore up my foot infantry and add in other units to the mix that fill gaps created by 6th edition.