Since I've been such a hideous tyrant in reviewing army lists lately, I figure it's a good time to let all of you take a swing at mine. This will also serve to illustrate that I tend not to field the most powerful lists I could, and also to show some errors I make when approaching the game. If one of you would like to critique using my system as outlined in the Big List post, on my behalf [since I don't think I'd do it objectively], I'd greatly appreciate it.
This list is designed with the intention of being a flexible, take-all-comers force that will have a good level of performance in any of the basic missions at any game level, so that, were I to practice using it and nail it down, I could use this list as a tournament list with comfort. It features a list built in accordance with my own Craftworld design - therefore, only 1 power per Exarch/Seer, no wraithguard/lords, no Avatars, and a fairly even mix of Aspect and Non-Aspect units. I have no idea who I might be facing [it may even occasionally be used at a higher points level, suffering a handicap as a result], so I have to be pretty sure it can handle a variety of terrain setups and mission requirements, as well as handle any opponent it might encounter.
Because of these requirements, and because I don't alter my unit configurations too much anymore, I figure this list is about as complete as it's going to get. But I am curious to see how others might think it performs. So without further ado:
1496/1500pts:
130: Autarch, Jetbike, Laser Lance, Fusion Gun
118: Farseer, Jetbike, Fortune, Spear
113: 6 Frost Dragons, Exarch, Flamer, Crack Shot
128: 6 Scorpions, Exarch, Claw, Stalker
100: 10 Defenders, EML
100: 10 Defenders, EML
140: 9 Dire Avengers, Exarch, Dual Cats, Defend
130: Serpent, Twin Shuriken cannon, Shuriken cannon, VE
75: Vyper, EML, Shuriken cannon
75: Vyper, EML, Shuriken cannon
157: 3 Spears, Exarch, Star Lance, Withdraw
165: Falcon, Shuriken cannon, holofields, stones
65: War Walker, 2 x Scatter Lasers, Spirit Stones
Plans for Alpha and Gamma:
The Defenders, Scorps and Walker start on the field, covering key fire lanes while the scorps guard the line. The Walker will try to reach the best available position with scout move, then the group will fire upon the enemy as the scorps advance through cover.
The Autarch is joined to the Spears, while the Farseer follows them downfield but doesn't join them. They all turbo-boost early if possible [turn 1 or 2], weathering fire directed at them if necessary. Then, they receive fortune again, charge the enemy, and hit and run out of combat to guard the Farseer from enemy fire and assaults, relying on their augmented armor to keep them around [the Autarch will actually break off from the squad to split up fire even more, but as a result, no fortune for him...].
The Avengers advance in their serpent with support from the vypers as necessary; the vypers and guardians team up with the Falcon and Dragons vs enemy tanks while the Serpent picks on the same target as the walker. The avengers only dismount if lots of targets are available and they are relatively sheltered from enemy interference.
The Scorps are set up to hop into the falcon after the dragons have been released, being driven to the location at the end of their turn 2 move where they will meet up with the Autarch and Farseer for turn 3's assaults. Depending on who survives, the Farseer will aim to fortune the squad who will benefit most. If necessary, the Avengers can hold up the enemy for 1 round as the Autarch's crew get ready to launch a second offensive [and can block firing lanes for enemy infantry if need be].
My Defenders and faster units will advance towards objectives in the later points of the game. One of the weaknesses of this list is its general frailty, so I will need to actually hold back on my plans for a turn or two if possible, which may let the enemy redeploy in such a manner that he gains the upper hand. It will be a tough call to balance the need to avoid attrition [a 6 turn match is harder on a less-durable army, so casualties need to be dealt early] with the need to take objectives [where I will need units to be around later on, so will have to avoid direct confrontation if I can].
Escalation will require me to make excellent use of concealment, throwing my first turn if necessary to allow time for the reserves to arrive, though this moves my battle plan back a turn it just isn't worth facing the enemy with a fraction of my firepower. If I can hit hard enough in a small enough area I should be able to gain local superiority, and ultimately expand to control of the battlefield from there.
The low model-count is also an achilles heel; I will be unlikely to weather the kind of firepower I can put out. This means against an army with more numbers and equal firepower I'll have to try very hard to control how the forces engage each other, and dictate the ebb and flow of the battle. To this end, it will be important to know when to withdraw [and where!] as well as when to press the attack, and to avoid any sacrifices if possible.