Enslaving the Host - Prepping for GenCon 2013

Of my gaming group, thanks to Mike (PHR) for beating me at Targets of Opportunity as a tune-up for GenCon.  We really do not get a chance to play too much as our group plays Warmahordes the most.  We are hoping to play DzC Commander at least once a month going forward.

The key takeaway in this match was that CQB is the most important thing in list building as winning a CQB and acquiring that last objective can be the difference in winning or losing.  My Scourge Warriors + Destroyers got wrecked by Sirens + Immortals.  In my CQB calculations (will be posted at a later date), Sirens will destroy Troops but should struggle against A4 Exotics. 

For tournament play, the scenarios are Targets of Opportunity, Recon and Land Grab.

General Thoughts (at 1500pts, take-all-comers, for scenarios above):

• At least one Troop Squad per 500pts, preferably 4.  In Recon, I needed to capture as many pieces of Intel as I could as quickly as possible.
• Two Destroyer Squads because you need to win the key CQB (e.g., 2VP for center objective in Targets of Opportunity).  I started tinkering by adding 2x Razorworms to ensure CQB victory and to deny objectives from other normal infantry.
• Tormentors - I believe they are a MUST for any Scourge list as you need to burn or threaten to burn other Exotics.  As you can see, I'm really paranoid (fitting as Scourge as a command card named this) about CQB.
• Reapers - I believe 2x Squads are a MUST for any Scourge list as they have short range and a flying Commander to protect.  Furthermore, I am paranoid of UCM Ferrum Drone Base spam.
• Fast Movers - While people believe that they are unreliable in competitive play, I strongly feel that the ability to threaten/strike anywhere cannot be underestimated.  For Scourge, Corsairs are effectively fighter/bombers so I included two to enable redundancy to get a better chance of attacking and/or destroying a key target.

As an engineer/scientist in my day job, I will admit that I am an optimizer (or just OCD!) as I want to get as close to a 1500 point list as possible!

By adding Razorworms, I only had enough points to add a squad Prowlers so a Prowler Rush (12x) was my first thought.

1.5K On the Prowl
Clash: 1497/1500 points
Standard Army
    Standard Roster [1497/1500 pts]
        Oppressors [315 pts]
            Desolator: Desolator(Champion) [195 pts]
            Prowlers: 4x Prowler, Intruder Beta [60 pts]
            Prowlers: 4x Prowler, Intruder Beta [60 pts]
        Vanguard [222 pts]
            Hunter Squad: 3x Hunter [105 pts]
            Reaper Squad: 3x Reaper [117 pts]
        Warriors [188 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
        Occupation Patrol [320 pts]
            Prowlers: 4x Prowler, Intruder Beta [60 pts]
            Destroyers: 2x Destroyers, Intruder Alpha [130 pts]
            Destroyers: 2x Destroyers, Intruder Alpha [130 pts]
        Invasion Host [316 pts]
            Tormentor Squad: 2x Tormentor(+Razorworms), Marauder [199 pts]
            Reaper Squad: 3x Reaper [117 pts]
        Attack Swarm [136 pts]
            Corsairs: Corsair [68 pts]
            Corsairs: Corsair [68 pts]

Upon further consideration, I was worried about Land Grab (I have never played) and figured that another Hunter squad would be more survivable and have a better threat range than 4x Prowlers and 2x Razorworms.

1.5K Take 'Em All Alive
Clash: 1492/1500 points
Standard Army
    Standard Roster [1492/1500 pts]
        Oppressors [372 pts]
            Desolator: Desolator(Champion) [195 pts]
            Prowlers: 4x Prowler, Intruder Beta [60 pts]
            Reaper Squad: 3x Reaper [117 pts]
        Vanguard [210 pts]
            Hunter Squad: 3x Hunter [105 pts]
            Hunter Squad: 3x Hunter [105 pts]
        Warriors [188 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
            Warrior Horde: 2x Warriors, Intruder Alpha [94 pts]
        Occupation Patrol [320 pts]
            Prowlers: 4x Prowler, Intruder Beta [60 pts]
            Destroyers: 2x Destroyers, Intruder Alpha [130 pts]
            Destroyers: 2x Destroyers, Intruder Alpha [130 pts]
        Invasion Host [266 pts]
            Tormentor Squad: 2x Tormentor, Marauder [149 pts]
            Reaper Squad: 3x Reaper [117 pts]
        Attack Swarm [136 pts]
            Corsairs: Corsair [68 pts]
            Corsairs: Corsair [68 pts]



Thanks to my friend Nate who painted these miniatures (my sneaky way of getting him hooked on the models and the game).