Monday 12 January 2015

List of the Week - No SWC Aleph

Well, it seems like the N3 profiles are a little way off yet so rather than delay this series any further I thought it might be interesting to push some list creation boundaries.

A while back myself and some friends had a discussion about whether lists without any SWC (special weapons cost) were viable. It would have to be a list without any minelayers, hackers, HMGs, Spitfires, Sniper Rifles, Chain of Command, Rocket/Missile launchers and other neat toys that we would otherwise take for granted.

On the other hand you have things like Fidays, Multi Rifle HI, monofilament mines, link teams and most specialists still to work with.

This list has been on the back-burner for a little while, but with the N3 buffs to shotguns and combi rifles I think now might be the time to bust it out...

Artwork from Infinity: Human Sphere

The first thing that I am worried about is the lack of heavy weaponry available to me so I want some way of dealing with 'big stuff'. I also definitely need models that can close range with the enemy and engage from within 16" to take out snipers/HMGs as the list of my list is going to be very short ranged. The choice then is obvious. Sing it with me now - monomines, Monomines, MONOMINES!

 Naga Monofilament (32|0)
 Naga Monofilament (32|0)

Yeah, Nagas are super sweet and in N3 TAGs still have a big dodge penalty. The area of effect is no longer persistent, and they aren't as good against HI though. It's a shame the minelayer skill costs 0.5 SWC as I really rate shotgun Nagas.

The next choice has to be the man himself. I've been dying to test out Achilles with a Heavy Shotgun for ages as I think he could be a very potent threat with the new rules.

 Achilles Shotgun (75|0)

I'm not 100% certain about this choice as the MULTI Rifle is also pretty tasty right now and the rifle Asura was a contender for the same reason. Burst 3 Shock or AP ammo with reasonable range brackets makes the MULTI rifle a very respectable choice, but who can say no to damage 15 template weapons and effective BS21?

Next up we've got our suite of specialists. It's not going to be exciting I'm afraid due to the SWC restriction - Thamyris, Machaon, Posthumans and all other hackers are out of the running.

 Thorakites FO (16|0)
 Thorakites FO (16|0)
 Thorakites FO (16|0)
 Sophotects (31|0)
 Yudbot (3|0)

Thorakitai FO are still  the best cheap specialists in the faction and the Sophotect is almost unreasonably reliable now that we can use command tokens to re-roll doctor attempts. The Sophotect also gets an obligatory Yudbot. Frankly I don't know why she doesn't just cost 34 points and come with one free!

 Deva Lieutenant (26|0)
 Devabot
 Deva Devabot (27|0)
 Devabot
 Myrmidon Combi (25|0)

Last up we've got out LT choice and then points fillers. Two Devas with Deva Bots rounds out our excellent DZ defence and a combi Myrmidon gives us smoke to cover our specialists and is actually a decent shot in his own right.

So there you have it. A heavy-weapon-less list that I think has a good chance against most opponents. It's very resilient to early rushes (good luck getting through that many 16point/free template weapons unscathed), has plenty of specialists, immediate board presence and an un-ignorable threat. The downside is that nobody can shoot straight past 16".

 Aleph | 10 models
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 Deva Lieutenant (26|0)
 Devabot
 Deva Devabot (27|0)
 Devabot
 Achilles Shotgun (75|0)
 Sophotects (31|0)
 Yudbot (3|0)
 Thorakites FO (16|0)
 Thorakites FO (16|0)
 Thorakites FO (16|0)
 Naga Monofilament (32|0)
 Naga Monofilament (32|0)
 Myrmidon Combi (25|0)
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299/300 points | 0/6 swc
open with Aleph Toolbox  : http://goo.gl/6uP2dW

I think a 0 SWC format would be pretty interesting. You'd be left without many of the heavier weapons, would be unable to take Remotes (perhaps an exception would be required?) and there would be almost no burst 4 weapons in the game. Because attacks would be weaker and hits less frequently, armour would be worth comparatively more and link teams might be harder to dislodge. I imagine MULTI Rifle HI would be the TAGs of the format.

Of course, some factions would be harder hit than others - looking at you here Shasvastii, Steel Phalanx and Aconticimento Shock Army - but I think most vanilla factions would be able to adapt okay.

Overall, I imagine it would be slower paced and full of short-ranged firefights with rifles and shotguns. Maybe it would be interesting at lower points values as you don't have expensive guns to spend points on anyway and in very heavily built up areas as you are less likely to engage at range anyway.

So why not take on the challenge for yourself? What would you try with no SWC to play with?

3 comments:

  1. Nice post! I actually might have to run a few no SWC games between me and the guys for a laugh!

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    Replies
    1. I'd like to hear how it turns out for you.

      Without many of the big guns in the format it should result in more even AROs and close range firefights. If there are basically no Burst 4 weapons in the format then armour becomes more important too as models will be hit less frequently.

      If you are both playing with the same limitations then you won't have TAGs to worry about either. :)

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    2. Oh yeah, both players would have to have the same restrictions - I'm bad enough at the game without intentionally hamstringing myself against my opponent! ;)

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