Selpharia

They’re Myrmidesh slowly succumbing to the allure of the Symbaresh fusion

This is a reasonable choice. Especially if it’s really bitter, walking away is perfectly valid. In the end, it’s all for fun, and if it’s not fun, do something else. There’s no prize for making yourself miserable

Well, if the 40k pattern holds, we can expect some reversals in the winter FAQs and some potential new faction options in campaign books

Much like points at the beginning of 9th, I suspect GW thinks of these changes as placeholders. Better to overcoat, lowering the barrier to entry, and overnerf than have a bunch of new stuff release that’s just wrecked by old stuff with weird combos

Y’know upon review I think you’re right, there’s definitely space for magic-heavy that has a decent shot at getting off the big moves. Thanks for helping me reconsider

That’s one of the things I’ve noticed in listbuilding: it’s really hard to justify units whose sole purpose is casting. Even against factions with mediocre wizards, the presence of denies cuts their effectiveness hard, and magic-specialist armies are so much better at it that I’d say they get cut to 1/4 value. The Epitome might be an answer, if it weren’t so highly costed. But for now I think our best options are “incidental Wizards,” units like the Bladebringer, a LoP gifted with the Tome, or a summoned entity. Our spells of greatest value are locked to Greater Daemons, or endless spells that everyone can cast if you pay the points

So I’m trying to see if I can’t adapt to the new points and keep my Keeper + Twins core. Would love people’s thoughts on this: Leaders- Keeper of Secrets (Speed-chaser) [Amulet of 5+ FnP] 420 Synessa 260 Dexcessa 280 Infernal Enrapturess 140 Battleline- 11x Blissbarb Archers (180) 5x Hellstriders(Hellscourge) 135 5x Hellstriders(Hellscourge) 135 Other: Symbaresh Twinsouls 340 Spells: Mesmerising Mirror 80 Total: 1970 points Some options I can see are replacing the Keeper with an Exalted Bladebringer and Lord of Pain/shardspeaker then maybe turning one of the Hellstriders into Slickblades or Blissbarb archers

Pavane is better directed at Severith/Wind spirits anyway, since they’re much more likely to be outside the Little T bubble

I mean, that’s all we really need. And the process flow we’ve seen from recent GW releases supports that it can happen that way. We’re probably far down the queue, but a) we don’t have the FAQ and b) points are the most easily adjusted thing in the system. Early times in a new edition are always tumultuous, so I’m going to keep painting my twins, pick up some mortals that look good, and try things out.

For a bit more perspective on Slaanesh’s current predicament, I went back and read the Goonhammer article on the 9e 40k points increase, and found a modicum of solace there. One of the consensus “biggest losers” during that period: Drukhari, who, less than a year later, were storming the top tables and crushing all in their path. It feels gross now, especially when everyone wants to be hype for 3.0, but the tides will change. And when they do, and we’re used to eking out victory by talon and nail, we will be as Slaanesh, unfettered and ready to drown the world in depravity.

I’m coming round on the Enrapturess, especially in lists with heavy Myrm/Sym battleline

I would suspect that perhaps the hand of marketing is at play here. Most of the biggest losers are daemons who most everyone already had from the 2019 book. The Keeper is the best example of this, as in their heyday, and still in 40k, it wasn’t uncommon to see Shalaxi + 2/3 Keepers. But it’s also true for both the Epitome and Daemonette hordes The units that got off lightest were old mortals/daemons whose stock they want to clear (Hellstriders/Seekers) and new mortals they probably still have many of: painbringers/LoP/Shardspeaker. The only mortals to take major hikes were Blissbarbs, who compete in battleline with striders, and Slickblade/Blissbarb seekers, who compete for the role of fast cavalry.

GW having it out for Slaanesh is the default state of affairs, alas, except for our friends on the modeling team. I suspect that we’re paying a big premium for, among other things, high movement because of the small board size. With the exception of striders, our fastest stuff has tended to go up more. I have to think that a properly kitted out keeper playing the bully might actually be worth the points with the reduced board size. They still combo very well with Dex, and have a high likelihood of striking the enemy lines wherever they wish. Considering their hand, heroic and monster ability, the fact they can be made to <Fly> and the difficulty of mustering the big hordes that can overwhelm them, the lockdown keeper: (Speed-chaser. Circlet or ward) could be a terrifying, shockingly durable piece that can just zip around the board being exactly where the opponent doesn’t want them. Weirdly, I think the army has switched from a skirmish to a bully playstyle. Instead of screening/delaying with our fastest units while the rest of the army does its work, we’ve got to lean hard on picking our fights, movement jank, and restricting the opponent, trading bodies for position early. But idk, I’m an oddball who enjoys trying to win with things that are supposed to be unusable.

I’m pondering going hard in on min units of Seekers. They combine with enough board coverage to leave the enemy choked in their deployment zone, and have the speed to pip over and minimize the counterattack, generating some depravity on the way in. Stack with the godseekers special depravity rule, and there’s something there perhaps. I can’t imagine it’s be a terribly enjoyable experience for the archers we’re likely to see loads of. Hell can only be unleashed once, after all

Oh, I’m still going to assemble my twins. They’re actually quite nice. I do think we’re basically forced into a LoP general as the only way to get any kind of value from our battleline. With a leading coterie of Siggy, LoP, Dex and a Shardspeaker/Syn, then two to three Myrmidesh or Symbaresh, the increases aren’t awful. The Keeper’s pricing is a crime, and pushes them entirely out of contention. It’s not my favorite thing, and it’s not going to burn down any tournaments, but it’ll function.

There’s always 40k, I guess

I don’t expect these prices to stand very long, but it looks like a pretty transparent, ham handed effort to push older/lower performing mortals. I wonder if there was an algorithmic look at: can this unit be summoned? that pinged a bunch of our units really hard.

I think the only concern with going heavy on magic is that it feels like an invitation to get Teclis’d. Unless he gets wayyy more expensive I expect to see him even more often, along with the best magic heroes from every faction

I looked again and unless I’m mistaken you need two subcommanders for Warlord? Which you can do, but that’s spending around half your points on Leaders

I’m a little saddened by how a Keeper + Twins can’t fit in any battalions we’ve seen so far, but honestly it probably doesn’t matter that much if one or two units don’t fit. It’s not like Hedonites can be easily made low-drop now

I know this is largely a theoretical exercise at this point but as a Slaanesh player who ended up taking a Harlequin holiday, I’m hoping to get back in as 3.0 launches, with a list that uses the twins and feels both flavorful and fun. Despite the grousing from other corners of the Internet, I find the skirmishing, death by inches playstyle fascinating Here’s what I have so far, open to suggestions: Host: Godseekers Leaders(3): Keeper of Secrets (340) <General> (Enrapturing Circlet) (Speed-chaser) {Progeny of Damnation} Dexcessa (280) Synessa (260) Battleline(3): Blissbarb Archers(x11) (160) Blissbarb Archers (x11) (160) Daemonettes(x10) (110) Other Units(3): Slickblade Seekers(x5) 200 Slickblade Seekers(x5) 200 Symbaresh Twinsouls (x5) 170 Endless Spells(1): Mesmerizing Mirror (60) Total:1990 Still coming to grips with the changes from 2019, hopefully I haven’t missed anything critical

As a general question to ponder, do Hedonites have an effective answer to shooting-heavy armies? Lurid Haze shenanigans seem promising, but I'm not sure they stand up to Tzeentch or KO gunlines. Maybe hordes of cheap mortals? As much as I love daemonettes, they seem like they die a bit too easily for their price to be of much utility. I'm pretty sure a Pretender beatstick is out, since most of the newer armies can ice the souped-up Keeper before they even hit combat. Seekers might make a decent tie-up unit id you can get the jump on the foe, but they're an expensive gamble.

So is it just me, or do the new KO look like they’ll be a nightmare to deal with?

What are the best options if you don’t want to use Beastmen?

I’d combine the two Blood Sister units into one unit of 10. Having 2x5 tends to mean that one or both gets made irrelevant because it loses too much punch. One big unit is also a better target for spells and prayers. Also, if you’re set on using the Medusa as a General, I’m not sure the Slaughter Queen on Cauldron beats the Hag in the same spot. You’re pretty low on witchbrew. If you want to keep the SQ, I’d drop one of the Khinerai for another Hag, split up your 30-double-knife unit to fit the battleline requirement (20-10) and use the remaining 60 points for another Hag Queen, and make the Slaughter Queen your General for the sweet Command ability.