[Lost Hemisphere Challenge 2013] Initial lists

It's time for part 3 of the post series chronicling my (possibly misguided) attempt at Lost Hemisphere's Most Epic Unloved Model Challenge 2013. My introduction post can be found here, and some musing on Venethrax and the options available to me can be found here.

For this post I'm going to take a look at the lists that I've come up with. These are my initial ideas, and will probably change after some play experience, but in the end my options are limited somewhat by the restrictions of the theme force.

I thought that I'd build list options at 15pts, 25pts, 25pts, and 50pts. Those seem to be the most commonly played point values, and the idea was that each list would build on the previous level, allowing me to fully paint each one as I went along. I was also aiming to use models that I already own as far as possible; if they were already painted, even better. I'll give the lists in order, and add some comments on each one as I go along. Additions/changes at each level will be in italics. Models that I don't own yet are in red, and models that I've already painted are in green.

15pts - Tier 2

• Venethrax
• Seether
• Skarlock
• Min. Mechanithralls 
• 3 Brute Thralls
• Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
• Pistol Wraith

At 15 points I feel that getting tier 2 is important. Venethrax is a tanking, frontline caster, so any protection you can give him whilst he gets there is good. The clouds that I get at tier 2 can play a role in that by protecting him from shooting for a round. That means that I need two cheap units, and luckily the theme force allows both Mechanithralls and the Necrosurgeon. I went with minimum Mechanithralls plus maximum Brutes over a full unit with a single brute in order to get as many medium bases on the board as possible, adding more protection for Venethrax. The extra Brutes also means that it's more likely there'll be some of the unit still hanging around for the Necrosurgeon to replenish.

The Pistol Wraith is a slightly self-indulgent choice; I love them, and have had success with them in the past. The Skarlock though is useful, letting Venethrax save focus for more tanking, and providing an additional Hellfire on the assassination run if needed.

25pts - Tier 2

• Venethrax
• Seether
• Defiler
• Skarlock
• Max. Mechanithralls 
• 3 Brute Thralls
• Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
• Pistol Wraith
• Pistol Wraith

Bumping the Mechanithralls up to maximum adds to both the tarpit and offensive potential of the unit, and Pistol Wraiths work much better in pairs than alone (at least in my experience). That leave 5 points available; I feel naked without an arcnode, and adding one opens up more potential avenues for Hellfire assassinations. Guns synergise well with Venethrax's feat, so I thought about a Nightwretch to be one point under. But the Defiler's spray acts as a handy Hellfire rangefinder, and the corrosion damage never goes away when in Venethrax's control area. My other option is a Ripjaw for dealing with heavy armour, but with only one arcnode I'd rather keep it slightly further away from the frontlines if possible.

35pts - Tier 3

• Venethrax
• Seether
• Nightwretch
• Skarlock
• Max. Mechanithralls 
• 3 Brute Thralls
• Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
• Max. Bloodgorgers
• Gerlak Slaughterborn
• Pistol Wraith
• Pistol Wraith

This is where the decisions start to get difficult. I don't own enough Mechanithralls for two units, or a second Necrosurgeon, otherwise I'd consider going with a dual Mechanithralls build. Going warjack heavy also doesn't seem like a viable option, as Venethrax wants to be selfish with his focus. So since I'm going to need to buy more models, I have the option of more Mechanithralls, the Bloodgorgers plus Gerlak module, or Black Ogrun. Or some combination thereof.

I've gone with Bloodgorgers plus Gerlak to get me up to Tier 3. That adds lots more medium bases to the mix, for extra line-of-sight blocking, and an additional cloud effect from Tier 2. Advance deploy from the theme force keeps all of those bases out of my deployment zone, giving me more room to manoeuvre, lets me quickly put some pressure on my opponent, and also gives the option for an early feat turn.

50pts - Tier 4

• Venethrax
• Seether
• Seether
• Nightwretch
• Nightwretch
• Skarlock
• Max. Mechanithralls 
• 3 Brute Thralls
• Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
• Min. Bloodgorgers
• Gerlak Slaughterborn
• Max. Black Ogrun Boarding Party
• Pistol Wraith
• Pistol Wraith

Moving up to 50 points lets me add some more shooting to the force, and also brings in some more unloved models - the Black Ogrun. These seem much maligned amongst Cryx players (possibly just because we have better options available), but they're cheap (4/6), have a decent gun, decent melee output, and lots of wounds. I plan to convert some from Legion of Everblight Warspears, as the official models are a bit small for my taste.

Adding an additional Seether brings me to tier 4, and adding the pair of heavy warjacks with advance move to the Bloodgorgers and Gerlak advance deploying gives me a dangerous vanguard that my opponent will have to deal with. At this points level I also feel like a second arcnode is necessary, so I've had to drop the Bloodgorgers to a minimum unit.

So there you go. Those are the lists that I'm planning to build and paint this year. There's a 35pt Steamroller tournament coming up at the end of March that I've entered for, and it'll be a good chance to test out Venethrax. I've got 14 models to paint to get the 15pt and 25pt lists fully painted, so I'd better get cracking!