Since I'm trying to catch these as they come rather than let them slip past and do a critique later on, I'll add my two cents now. But oh, how many critiques there have been lately! This is good though, because the lists I've been seeing lately have actually been pretty enjoyable to read about. Perhaps these critiques are raising the standard army list post's quality after all?
BTW: Tango Down, there was an Altansar project which a few members were working on once upon a time; perhaps they'll be poking around and can introduce themselves at some point. Anyways, on to the critique:
Read about my 5/5 Rating System for Army List Review here.Background: 1IT appears you've done some research into your desired theme. You've made an effort to represent a particular division with your army list [I imagine there would be a few more survivors than those present with this battle group, but perhaps these are noteworthy and therefore under the direct protection of Maugan Ra?]. You've restricted your unit selection to those units that you can justify being present, and also kept to the martial style espoused by the army's general, Maugan Ra [death from afar]. You may want to track down some of the books that feature Altansar, Maugan Ra, or anything set in the eye of terror
as you flesh this army out.
Composition: 1I feel the troops choices have been somewhat neglected in this list and it may not have been entirely necessary. This is partially due to the presence of two pricey HQ units; this may fit the theme but hurts your unit count. The units selected do fit the theme as you've described it. You may want to consider some of your unit roles and differentiation; you can lay down a decent amount of firepower but could be done in by hordes - we do not know what the new Demon codex will look like, but if the units are much less expensive than Chaos Marines you might want to up the firepower here and there. You also have a notable vulnerability to enemy assaults. The compositional weaknesses do directly correlate to the background and preferred style of war though. And since you are not looking for a truly lethal force, it is acceptable.
Utility: .5The units you have selected tend towards a lot of upgrading, which comes at the cost of getting more units. Sometimes upgrades are not necessary but make for nice touches, while at other times upgrades serve no purpose except to burn points. Your guardians, for instance, cost almost the same amount as two squads with a missile launcher which, if used subversively in a guerilla warfare style, will actually be more resilient as a result [since only a single missile crew need be exposed]. It is nice to have a reaper exarch, but it's not always necessary. The swooping hawks are typically a fairly vulnerable unit so investing heavily in them may not be a wise move. The farseer probably does not need guide or spirit stones, and if he followed the Wraithlord, you could afford to lose the warlock in the guardian squad altogether.
Flexibility: 1As is often the case, utility trades with flexibility. You have spent a lot of points on your squads to make them capable of dealing with a wide variety of enemy units. The exceptions here are the pathfinders [but that is in their nature] and the farseer [who may not be able to take on everything on his own but makes up for it by supporting other units]. Again, your vulnerability is to enemy assaulters, but outside of combat you can get just about anything done.
Ingenuity: 0The thing this list really lacks is any sort of account of how you intend to use it on the tabletop. There are no plans for any of your units, no overall strategy to unite them in their tasks, no consideration given of what you might be up against, and no plan B if plan A fails [unsurprisingly, as there is no plan A]. Without offering some idea of how the army is to be used it is very hard to determine if you will be using it effectively. Even when playing an army for theme, it is necessary to put some effort into the match; to do otherwise makes for a very dull game for your opponent. Think a bit on how you will lead these survivors from Altansar out of their nightmare.
Total Score: 3.5, for a well-thought out army... but you have more work to do! With some thought about your tactics and fitting them to the theme of the army as a whole, this would really have been a great army list, full of unit combinations that don't often get fielded in this format and side-by-side. Since this list does not represent the sort that commonly appear, you need to elaborate on how it will work. Going to the trouble of developing a theme and selecting units so appropriately is no good if all they do is get shot up for want of a plan! I want to see you develop this some more - think about
how the forces of Altansar fight; face to face, or from the shadows? Heroic stands or tactical withdrawals? Meeting the enemy with force, or reacting to the enemy with grace? Which squads will fight together? Which ones will be working on their own? How will you respond to enemy assaults, or enemy hordes? There's lots of room to develop this list further, and I look forward to seeing some more.