So for the first time, I’ve been invited to the NOVA Invitational. Go me! Mike and team have decided this year to do a bracketing system for the event, similar to the Torrent of Fire Invitational a few years back, and I love the idea. I was seeded #19, a little high in my opinion, but great nonetheless. Unfortunately, that pairs me against Zach Powlakowski, an up and coming young gun from New Jersey, who’s playing a VERY difficult list for me to face. First, let’s talk about my list.
For a few months now, I’ve been playing a rendition of a Harlequin Council who’s got a very strong trick up their diamond-pattern sleeves:
Harlequin Masque Detachment
Shadowseer (ML2, Mask of Secrets)
Shadowseer (ML2)
Shadowseer (ML2)
Shadowseer (ML2)
Shadowseer (ML2)
Troupe (3 Kisses, Starmist Rainment, Warlord)
Troupe (3 Kisses)
Troupe (3 Kisses)
Starweaver
Starweaver
Voidweaver
Dark Eldar Allied Detachment
Archon (Webway Portal, Armor of Misery)
5 Kabalite Warriors
7 Clawed Fiends
Eldar Seer Council Formation
Farseer (Jetbike)
Farseer (Jetbike)
5 Warlocks (Jetbikes)
If you’re at all familiar with the two key pieces of wargear I listed (Mask of Secrets, Armor of Misery), you’ll see the trick of the army. Basically I get near you, I lower your leadership by 4, and then I use any of my thousand psychic powers to annihilate you. At least that’s the normal plan. The list as it stands has 21 Warp charges across the 5 Shadowseers and Council, which normally gives me a significant dice advantage in a game, allowing me to all-but-free cast my more deadly powers.
Unfortunately, from all accounts, my opponent’s list looks like this:
Eldar CAD
Baharroth
Farseer (Jetbike, Spear)
3 Windrider Jetbikes (3 Scatter Lasers)
3 Windrider Jetbikes (3 Scatter Lasers)
6 Warp Spiders (Exarch)
6 Warp Spiders (Exarch)
Eldar CAD
Farseer (Jetbike)
Farseer (Jetbike)
3 Windrider Jetbikes (3 Scatter Lasers)
3 Windrider Jetbikes (3 Scatter Lasers)
6 Warp Spiders (Exarch)
Eldar Seer Council Formation
Farseer (Jetbike)
Farseer (Jetbike)
8 Warlocks (Jetbikes)
Well then. What we’ve got here is a list I’ve seen a number of times, originally piloted by long-time Seer Council player Matt Schuchman. 5 Farseers, 8 Warlocks, totaling 23 psychic dice. So in a game where I really relish the advantage of powers, I’m playing 2 dice down. Ouch! Not only that, but his Star has better ability to roll for the three key powers that both of our lists target: Gate of Infinity, Invisibility, and Fortune.
council
Dark Elf Cold Ones for my Seer Council (ridings missing)
So needless to say, this is going to be a very tough matchup for me. Zach is a great player, and has been playing in a tough group that includes Nick Nanavati and Cameron Piniero, among others. He finished in the top 8 at the 2014 NOVA GT, and of course is seeded higher than me (#12).
I’ve been working out some strategies, and will hopefully get some additional test games in over the next week. There are some ways I can win, for sure, but my sincere hope is that neither of us loses the game in the first psychic power generation phase, as that would be really disappointing. Both of us rely on those few key powers, so without them, the game will very quickly avalanche towards the person who managed to get their powers. So in the interest of a competitive matchup, I hope we both get the powers we look for without too much trouble.
Once that’s done, this game is really going to come down to model placement and psychic dice management, both casting and denial. Assuming any reasonable d6 rolls, there will be close to 50 dice generated each psychic phase, and the odds, probabilities, and sometimes lucky rolls will be most impactful during this phase when a key power going off (or getting denied) will spell victory or defeat.
fiends
Converted fiends from Legion of Everblight Warspears and Dark Eldar Talos bits
In short, I’m looking forward to the game, to the high level of competition, to playing vs. a younger guy who’s the future of this game, and to seeing if my underdog book (Harlequins, woo!) can pull out a victory! You can make your bracket predictions here: http://www.challonge.com/NOVA15, and follow along on Torrent of Fire, of course!
I’ll also have my first fully painted army in a long time, complete with some conversions I’m really happy about. Hope to see you there!