500pt Combat Patrol - Coven List

Hi all,

Got 2 500pts Coven lists.

Looking for a bit of advice on which Coven list seems strongest and any advice on improving either list.

Dipping my toes into the world of 9th for my second game, only playing combat patrols at first to get used to Matched Play missions + objective-based gameplay.

Welcome advice on list build and ways to play in 9th ed with the objective focus.

In my first game, with a 500pt Kabal, I reverted back to an aggressive style with less focus on Primary objectives. With Coven, I think they excel more at the capture and hold style of play and so want to try and focus on that.

My opponent will be playing Ultramarines with a focus on Primaris marines.

The lists:

List 1

Coven <PoF>

HQ
Haemonculus 80pts (85pts)
Electrocorrosive whip
THE VEXATOR MASK
Diabolical Soothsayer

Troops
9 Wracks 108pts (113pts)
Electrocorrosive whip

9 Wracks 108pts (113pts)
Electrocorrosive whip

Heavy Support
Talos 85pts (105pts)
Stinger Pod
Macro-scalpel *2

Cronos 70pts (80pts)
Spirit Vortex

TP:496pts


List 2

Coven <PoF>

HQ
Haemonculus 80pts (85pts)
Electrocorrosive whip
THE VEXATOR MASK
Diabolical Soothsayer

Troops
8 Wracks 96pts (101pts)
Electrocorrosive whip

8 Wracks 96pts (101pts)
Electrocorrosive whip

Heavy Support
Talos 85pts (105pts)
Stinger Pod
Macro-scalpel *2

Talos 85pts (105pts)
Stinger Pod
Macro-scalpel *2

TP:497pts

Battleplan:

Secondaries -
RAISE THE BANNERS HIGH - Aim, Wracks sit on two objectives and raise banners to get more VP
(I'll pick the rest at the time, any advice welcome)

Wracks sit on objectives getting VP from Primaries + raise banners.

Hopefully, PoF makes them tanky enough to survive til turn 4. Once they are getting low on numbers use BLACK CORNUCOPIANS stratagem to refresh them and move to capture an objective or deny my opponent his Primary objective.

Haemonculus + Talos/Cronos can be used aggressively mid/late game if my opponent is defensive to push them off an objective and allow me to score "Hold More".

If my opponent is aggressive the Haemonculus + Talos/Cronos can be used defensively to counter-attack/ hold the objective to blunt their attack. I can maybe BLACK CORNUCOPIA a wrack unit turn 4 to grab my opponent's objective if he is out of position/ has a weak defense giving me "Hold More".

Taking Banners as a secondary may force my opponent's hand to play offensive.

If I manage to get hold more on one of the turns and my defenses hold I should score more VP than my opponent, with the banners VP as well, I should win.

Thoughts??

• What list would be best at this battle plan?
  
• Are fewer Wracks but another Talos better than the Cronos choice?
  
• Is playing for primaries stronger than aggression?
  
• Any advice on secondaries?
  
• Is there a better coven/obsessions to take?
  
• Is there a better Haemonculus build?
  
• Are grots better than Talos?
  
• Is there a better Talos build?
  

Thanks in advance!

Full disclosure, I have no idea how missions/secondaries will work at 500 pts.

FWIW, I think the dual Talos would be a better option, due to the ranged weaponry and better CC potential. Technically the Wracks are cheaper per wound, but you will need to tell us how that works at 500 pts. The enemy will have an equally hard time fitting enough threats into a list.

Primaries seem to be the main goal, but it will depend on how you play the secondaries at this low point limit. My gut tells me that primaries should be your "primary" concern (sorry for the pun).

Secondaries for this list should probably be Raise Banners and possibly Kill More (cant recall the name of it off the top of my head). You will not be killing much (your only ranged threat is the Talos, and they would be dumb to charge you outside of very specific scenarios), but you also will not be dying.

PoF is really the best Coven. You are making additional use of it by taking the WLT and Relic, so I would stay there. When you get to larger games, you may want to look into Dark Technomancers for the added damage output (at the cost of your survivability). At these low point games, I think the survivability should be better.

As for Grot/Talos builds, they depend on the rest of your build. If you are taking DT, then you want to maximize your ranged firepower to take advantage. At these low point games, there really isnt a wrong answer. Maybe next game swap out the Talos for Grots just to see what they can do. Generally they are more punchy and tougher, but lack the all-around-goodness of the Talos. I would stick with Talos in this point limit personally.

This is my $0.02 anyway. Take the list out for a spin and let us know how it goes. We can help give more advice once you tell us what worked/didnt work and what kind of enemies you faced.

And most importantly of all, remember that regardless if you win or lose you will take lots of slaves back to the Dark City! The True Kin always win, regardless how the match plays out

Hi fisheyes!

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

So far playing Missions/secondaries at 500pts is pretty interesting, it's been useful to get a handle on the new ways of Scoring VPs without too much else going on. I'm liking the new mission format so far but it is early days!

I was swinging towards the dual Talos (...Taloi?) also I just wanted to ensure I had the staying power on the objectives. Intercessor Shooting and Combat is really impressive, my opponent took the 3 shot bolters last game and was really putting out the damage on my vehicles and then charging for another round of damage. As for threats, he will struggle to bring a predator or such like at 500pt but he can bring an fearsome dreadnought. With its shooting+combat output (plus Big guns never tire) he can put in some serious work in. Not looking forward to facing an Invictor Tactical Warsuit popping out next to an objective turn one when we play bigger games.

Thanks for the secondaries advice, were you referring to "ATTRITION" kill more enemy units then your opponent does? This is a good idea considering I can use BLACK CORNUCOPIA at the right time to maybe hold another objective and deny a kill point! I hear CPs for VPs is the way to play.

Yes I was thinking DT for the obsessions, I also saw the combo with Masters of Mutagens which seemed like a strong combo but as you rightfully pointed out the 4++will be much more valuable and I was slightly concerned about the number of Stinger Pod shots combined with the DT 1s to wound equal mortal wound with such low model count, one for when I have more points to spend!

Thanks for the pointers fisheyes, I'll post the results!

Yes, the community has decided that the plural of Talos is Taloi. I quite enjoy saying the word, it rolls off the tongue nicely, lol

With Attrition (you are right, thats the name of it), you need to be sure that you can actually KILL stuff though. Your list is very hard to kill, but would be difficult to get kills of your own (unless the enemy is running at you). I would decide that based on the enemy, Primaris Marines would probably be a bad match up for that Secondary.

With regards to DT and the Mortal Wounds, you can only get 1 MW per weapon per turn. The stinger pods shoot 2D6 shots that can do 1 MW maximum, regardless of how many 1's you roll. However, two Splinter Cannons can deal 2 MWs (1 for each Cannon). Something to keep in mind.