Barnabas List Dojo

#dojochallenge time!

With the new Blindwater Congregation theme now official, it's time to really sit down and take a look at what I want a Gator list to look like. Part of this is going to involve looking at my play style, but it also involves understanding where each model/unit in the army fits (I don't do this well - I mainly go "hey, that looks cool, let's use it!").

So, I have sat down and crafted a new army list for Barnabas, one that I think will do well. First, how will it match up to my play style? What is my play style? I kinda need to know that first. So, I spent an afternoon (not really, only about 10 minutes) reviewing army lists I have enjoyed playing, why I enjoyed playing them, and what makes them so fun. To answer these questions (and hopefully not waste all that introspection), I came up with the following:
1) I enjoy mashing it up. My favorite Minions lists to date involve Lord Carver and Dr. Arkadius, both running a large number of melee beatsticks. I don't have the patience or the mentality to sit back and shoot my opponent. I just want to apply axe to face!
2) To complement that, I also enjoy running lots of warbeasts - specifically heavy warbeasts. The two warlocks I mention above both have at least three War Hogs (usually four) in their lists. And while light warbeasts have their place (I do like Battle Boars, as well), they are at a minimum.
3) Speed is important! Slowly moving 4" a turn does not do it for me. Lord Carver has Mobility, giving all of his 'beasts SPD7. Dr. Arkadius has his Feat, giving all of his 'beasts an extra charge (thanks to targeted Frenzies).
4) On that note, Feats are important - but only in a straightforward way that helps with the first point. Lord Carver gives extra die on attacks and Overtake. Dr. Arkadius gives a free charge. Helga (another Farrow 'caster I enjoy) lets her whole army Slam!
5) Some way to damage at range is important. Road Hogs, Brigands, and the occasional spell are all used in my Farrow lists, even though they aren't the main focus. Of important note is that all of them can also be used effectively in melee!

Before I look at the list, let's look at the theme requirements and benefits.
Only the following models can be included:
- Minion warlocks with Amphibious
- Non-character warbeasts with Amphibious
- Warrior models/units with Amphibious (catching a trend here?)
- Gobber models/units
- Feralgeist solos
- Raluk Moorclaw, the Ironmonger (though this makes no sense to me)
- Totem Hunter solos
- Viktor Pendrake
- Wrong Eye & Snapjaw
- Sacral Vault battle engine

Benefits include:
- Can include one non-character Mercenary warjack controlled by Raluk (because he can be in the list, make sure he has a 'jack!)
- The field allowance for Gatorman Posse units become U (whoa!)
- For every full 20 points of units and battle engines in the army, add one Bull Snapper or solo without the Lesser Warlock rule for free
- Gatorman Posse units gain Snacking
- Gatorman Posse trooper models increase their damage boxes from 5 to 8 (double whoa!!)
- Deployment is extended 2" forward

With the above in mind, let's dig into the new army list!

Blindwater Congregation theme
Bloody Barnabas [+28]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Blackhide Wrasterl [16]
- Bull Snapper [0]
Gatorman Witch Doctor [0]
Gatorman Witch Doctor [0]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew [2]

The list really starts with the Gatorman Posse - the main beneficiaries of the theme. In theme, they gain an extra three damage boxes each and Snacking. Snacking is situational at best, but is really important for removing models before opponents can gain souls or corpses - this helps limit an opponent's effectiveness! I've always thought Gatorman Posse were effective with 5 boxes, but 8 boxes really push them above everybody else. That gives 40 damage boxes per unit!

Also, for every 20 points of units (or battle engines), I get to add a solo or a light warbeast for free - talk about points saved! However, that many points being spent on units limits the number of warbeasts I can take. And as seen in point #2 of my play style, I like warbeasts, especially heavies. This is a slight concern, until I view the advantages of these guys:
- SPD 5, with a Prayer (Predator's Prayer) allowing them an extra 2" of movement. This means they can charge as far as they run, if they charge a living model (10"). And with their halberd, they threat 12". That's a good distance, and means they will get into combat relatively quickly. Not SPD7 quickly, but good enough.
- Two attacks each - this means a full unit (if they are full when they reach the enemy) is attacking with 10 attacks. And while not incredibly strong, their P+S 13 will still do damage. And with the Prayer Offerings of Kossk, they get to re-roll misses when attacking living models. Since it's a Prayer, they can't use it and the Predator's Prayer at the same time, but once I get into melee, I'll hit more frequently (or if I'm close enough I don't need Predator's Prayer).
- Dirge of Mists allows me to Pray for concealment, boosting the average DEF 12 to a much harder to handle DEF 14. This increases their survivability. Another boost their their survivability is the eight damage boxes they all have now. Along with Tough, it's going to make it difficult for an opponent to remove models at range (and ARM 16 helps, too!).
- Once melee is reached, their survivability doesn't suffer too much. They still have eight boxes and Tough, but now they have ARM 18 thanks to Unyielding. While that's not going to stop a heavy 'jack from squishing one, it should slow down anything else.

Basically, I can count on the Gatorman Posse to kill anything short of heavy warjacks or warbeasts by themselves. With help, they can even manage to hurt those monsters. Also, with their defensive buffs, they can hold a zone and deny it to an opponent. Four units might be overkill, but I'm going to need four units of something to get the free solos, so it might as well be four units of Posse.

Witch Doctors kinda took a hit in MkIII. Since Gatorman Posse now have Tough as a base ability, people say that the Witch Doc doesn't have much of a place. And I was in that camp until a couple of games ago. There, I took one because I wanted to see how he worked with Maelok and discovered something really cool - auto-hitting POW 16 attacks hurt, even from only 8" away! So I include two in this list, to provide a bit of ranged attack when needed most. Sacrificial Strike an already mostly dead Gatorman to auto-hit a 'caster within 8" and there's going to be some hurt applied. Do it twice and watch the opponent cringe!

The warbeasts are minimal - not at all what I usually like. However, with a free Bull Snapper, I get a hunter-killer missile. But Rage on him and you get a P+S 15 bullet that attacks from 11.5" away. I plan on using him to kill important solos - and once he's done his job, it doesn't matter if the opponent kills him. He didn't cost anything. :)

The Blackhide Wrastlers are the heavy lifters of the list. However, their speed is a limiting factor, so they are probably going to be the second wave, following the alpha strike presented by the Gatorman Posse.

Barnabas is hopefully what is going to help the Wrastlers see combat. With Warpath, the Blackhides (and the Snapper, too) get a 3" move. However, this is dependent on something dying first, which reiterates their role as the second wave of attackers. He also helps deliver them by using Swamp Pit, allowing his battlegroup (the most likely recipients) to advance without being shot. Finally, Death March will help that first wave of Gatorman by allowing one unit of Posse to have Vengeance - getting them there a little bit quicker, in case they do get shot.

Barnabas also has a Feat I really like - everything gets knocked down! Well, almost everything, but there's not a lot out there that is Amphibious, except other Gators (and a small selection of Cryx). That's great! Auto-hit in combat, or having to sacrifice your attacks or movement if out of combat.

Finally, the lowly Swamp Gobbers. Really, they are here for cloud cover, to keep pesky shooting from my Posse (or maybe limit charges from targeting my battlegroup). And because I had a couple points.

There's the list - something I think will work well. It's got survivability, melee output, a little bit ranged (magical) threat, and a few ways to speed everything up. Time to get some games in!