2500 point 'Ard Boyz style tournament list - looking for suggestions Covens/DE/CWE

Looking for any suggestions here for this list. I've been mulling over it over the last few days and have finally settled on a list that I can run. This will be an 'Ard Boyz style tournament with varying mission types that will not use the objective cards.

Here is the list. I appreciate your time and feedback.

Covens -

Dark Artisan - WWP, Spirit Probe, Nightmare Doll, Ichor Injector, Haywire Blaster
Scalpel Squadron (2 splinter cannon Venom and an Ossefactor)
Scalpel Squadron (as above)

Craftworlds -

Autarch - Banshee Mask, Fusion Gun, Haywire Grenades, Power Sword, Warp Jump Generator
6x Wraithguard w/ cannons
3 squads of 3x scatterbikes
6x Warp Spiders
1x WC Wraithknight

DE CA Detachment -

Archon - WWP, Shadowfield, AoM, Blast Pistol, Power Weapon
2x 5x Kabalites in Venom - Venom has SC
Tantalus w/ Nightshield

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The idea is that I can keep the other army pinned each turn dealing with units on my terms. T1 I should have the Scalpels which are 8 units to deal with. Hopefully I can get first blood here, and maybe a bonus with a group running off the table. It will be hard to eliminate these 8 units in one turn, but I feel like they will take attention away from the WK and shooty Eldar hanging out behind. This is 20% of my army up front.

T2, with modified reserves, I offer up the Tantalus with Archon and WG inside, that should erase a target as a juicy new target, as well as the WK and Artisan in their face. This should keep them off of worrying about objectives and give them a mess of target priority as my jetbikes and warp spiders still put in a fair amount of firepower.

T3 and on, I hope to be in combat and fighting on my terms. I just don't see a lot of attention getting spent on my jetbikes here, and that will allow me to win last turn objectives, which seems to be the focus here.

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I have thought about switching out the CAD for DE to an allied detachment and running 6 bikes with 2 caltrops in the place of one Venom of Kabalites. Thoughts? Sad to be without HWB Scourges too. Also played around with a CTClaw or a Grotesquerie, but couldn't fit the points in.

I typically play leadership shenanigans with Harleys in this list, but too risky with 5 knights and such that I saw last year.

Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts on this.

Steve

Is this by any chance for the Buckeye Battles Tournament?

No, it is a tournament in NC.

spoticus wrote:

L
T2, with modified reserves, I offer up the Tantalus with Archon and WG inside

If they're using the ITC rules and the Draft FAQs that GW has released so far(Other ITC tournaments are using them), then you won't be able to put the WG and Archon in the Tantalus in reserve.

Other than that, the tantalus is sort of expensive for what you get anyhow, so I might drop that and upgrade your wraithguard to D-scythes, which are just as effective at taking out most superheavies and GCs, but far superior against pretty much everything else.

I also don't think the Autarch as he's currently built adds much to the warp spiders. If it were me, I'd get rid of most of his gear, maybe keeping a fusion gun only, and use some spare points to give your archon an agoniser instead of normal power weapon. Then just stick the autarch in the group with your archon to have an option in the case of an unwanted challenge.

I do not believe that they are using the new FAQs. They have a store set that they use. However, just to be safe, I can easily switch out the Tantalus for 9 bikes in two squads with caltrops.

I feel like I lose some target priority there, but I did want to fit them in. I lose some AP2, which worries me a bit.

For the same points I could take a raider full of Grots, maybe with a Hammy. I took your suggestion to heart, and I do appreciate the take on D-Scythes, and I did already fit that in. Saving points from Autarch paid for half of that.

What are your thoughts on the Bikes vs. Grots vs. Scourges or whatever else?

Thanks for your time.

Steve

Honestly, I haven't really run all of the points in your list, but in a 2500 point game, you're going to need 2 things: The ability to take out BIG stuff like wraithknights(which I assume aren't limited), and you're going to need ways to take out hordes.

The major drawback of this list currently is that you don't have a very high unit count. In a 2500 point game, I personally think that's a problem. 2500 points level isn't my ideal point-value, so my advice is mostly theory-based rather than practical. If it were ME, though, I'd probably mix a HUGE number of vaul's wrath support batteries with the idea that you have going there of lot's of deep strikers.

Basically, if you took 2 Eldar CADs, you could take 6 units of 3 vaul's wrath support batteries. That's 18 artillery platforms and 32 guardians. If you deploy them the maximum distance apart, that's enough models to fill your entire deployment zone, denying opposing deep strikers, infiltrators, and others the potential to get behind your lines or contest objectives there. If you then put an Aegis in front of your front line, you now have your entire deployment zone filled with T7 models with 3+ armour saves and 4+/5+ cover saves(since being in an artillery unit makes your T3 infantry T7 vs shooting). They'd be in 2 layers so it'd take a minimum of 3 turns to get the 2nd layer in assault, assuming perfect conditions otherwise. You'd also eliminate any concerns about someone deep striking in your deployment zone.

This would virtually guarantee that you had units survive the first turn, so you could potentially completely drop the scalpel squadrons in favor of more deep striking nastiness, like more WWP D-Scythe Wraithguard.

But that's just how I'd probably approach it. Like I said, I'm accustomed to 1850 games where my opponent can only take 1 LoW. I'm just imagining that there will probably be a lot of LoWs in an unrestricted format.