Pre-Vasion: The Lists

Team OB:Screamer after running away with the
team title at Autumn Invasion 2015

It's here, oh god it's here- I think I'm hyperventilating, quick someone hand me a brown paper bag. Okay, it's okay, it's only a tournament, you've done these before. But it's huge! Invasion is the king of all Dropzone tourneys! Just calm yourself Dan, and you'll be fine... Probably...

It's Invasion time everyone! Tomorrow the whole OB crew (all six of us) will be swooping in on Croydon, to participate in Hawk's flagship tournament and indulge in their open day which runs parallel to the main event. Normally we would record a podcast to run through our lists for your eager sound canals, but due to life and a lack of time (it's too soon! Let's not get into that though...) you're just going to have to make do with this post.

This is not just an ordinary post though, oh no. I have managed to snaffle the army lists and squeeze a paragraph or two's worth of words from most of my partners in crime; an incredible feat really, considering that Joe and Ed seem almost allergic to words.

I will be doing my best to live tweet the event on our tweeter @OBDZC, but don't expect as thorough coverage as last year, as I believe Tech Boy will be scrap-booking the weekend! We have a scrapbook of our trip to Warfare on our YouTube channel, so be sure to check that out for an example of what to expect. If you see us, or more likely if you hear us, come over and say hi!

Without further ado, and in strictly alphabetical order, here are Team OBs rosters!

Alex Randall - Epitude Rusk

Dan: As Alex didn't write a blurb (admittedly he wasn't asked, blame the convenience of our messenger group, and that he has only joined Facebook proper in the last week) I will take the honour of running through the list for him.

And what a list it is! A gamer could come top 3, ney, top 2 with this! What I'm incredibly arrogantly trying to say is that it is very similar to the list I fielded for Autumn Invasion 2015. This happened to be a happy accident though, as Mike wrote it for Alex. Great minds think alike ehy?

As we all know Scourge are somewhat muzzled in the current meta, and this shows in the list with the inclusion of the Scr-aider. The Jellys need one as things stand, which means you get to take less offensive and ground based units which the Scourge lack enough of already! Having said that, three Reavers are bound to give anyone problems, and if Destroyers are used correctly they can be used as anti-infantry/one shot AT weapons. The list is solid, except perhaps for the lone Minder squad.

Dan Cates - Zombiestate

Dan: I've been playing with Junk-Town warriors since around November, and I am really enjoying them. Not knowing what to expect when I first fielded them, I decided to go for a generally well rounded list and to not fiddle with 'specialist' units like the Barrel Bomber. As it turns out, the second or third draft I wrote has stayed the course, and bar a few tweaks here and there it is the same as the list I am fielding at Invasion.

The list is pretty similar to most, although the inclusion of Hannibals may not be seen that often. Despite the bad press, I like them. They are a barbed thorn in the side of your adversary, and at times impossible to dig out. Another unusual note is that a squad of Occupation Veterans has been moved from public transport to the Lifthawk squad, to boost my CQB strength. I have made a drive-by with a bus maybe once, such is my cautious nature (troops are too valuable to do silly shit like that with), and buses are too slow to get where you need them urgently. Vets in a Lifthawk give me mobile, dangerous, and somewhat survivable infantry to back up the grunts.

Heading into the tournament I am somewhat conservative about my chances. I've always done well at Invasion, but I've had so little time to play with my Rusted Fists that I am still flipping to the rulebook to confirm their rules and stats; for example, I've been using the Thunderstorm at E11 rather than E12! However it plays out, it's going to be a blast to play with my toys all weekend, and meet with friends old and new!

Ed Neale-Scullion - Techboy 2000

Ed: I think my list reflects the new meta in a similar way to Mikes list. There are a lot of infantry choices in this list. Six in total. I ran a similar list previously to this one before the Medusa went up in points (fair enough) in the last update. However that one had an Athena in it instead of the Sirens. The update forced me to rethink my list and after some shuffling I think this list is actually far superior.

With the addition of the Sirens into the list I now don't feel like I'm falling behind in the Objective grabbing power if my Medusas are taking care of business outside of buildings. With the Phobos and Helios taking care of the AA and the Helios, Medusa and Command Squad taking care of the AT this list has most bases covered.

Where this list does fall down is facing resistance, those occupation vets, normal troops and Cyclones take a hefty toll on the Medusas. UCM also have a fair amount in their toolbox to take on the Medusa (Longbows, machine guns on nearly every vehicle, troops with lots of shots.) So I'll need to play a little cagey with them. I learned lessons from both Mike and Joe at the last tournament in this regard! Also I lack long range building Demo so facing a list in targets which has Building demo is going to set me on the back foot straight away, hopefully I can mitigate that some what with fast moving Valkyries.

But this list is basically my dream of Eds Moving Castle realised, hard to kill units striding purposefully across the board able to redeploy as needed supported by bad-ass AA and good troops units grabbing objectives I should be all set to do well. Fingers crossed.

See ya Saturday.

Joe Whiddett - The Gimp

Joe: Hello my friendly neighbourhood zoners, my Invasion 2016 list is stemmed from my last autumn Invasion list. With the exception of not as many free-riders (bet you're all happy), and the adaptation of adding in Scout ATVs. Which in hindsight makes the cyclones even more deadly, so I had to take some too. I also found that having 1 pathfinder is just not scary enough, 2 though that's a bit menacing!!! The list has a bit of everything and has some good synergy.

Feel free to come have a chat if your at invasion

Good luck fighting all!

Mike Burch - MegaMike

Mike: I'm taking it because I wanted to see if I could make a multi-troop list work for the UCM. I won't apologize for the double Ferrum. They can be easily exploited and dealt with.

The list plays aggressively, which is how I like to play, it's not a good reactionary list, I need to stick to my own game plan - which can sometimes be difficult. I definitely lack potent AA and A6 aircraft and fast movers will be difficult to deal with.

Honest expectations are top 6. It is certainly not optimal and has major weaknesses but it's fun to play.

Peter Corps - Sgt Slaughter

Dan: A little like with Alex- well, exactly like with Alex, I didn't give Pete the chance to write his own paragraph. Having said that, he probably would have grunted, sneezed and scratched his arse in response, so maybe it is best I do it for him.

Aren't PHR strong right now? Not only are they strong, they're damn mean too! This list embodies both of those traits, and also throws a few surprises in too. The Valkyrie/ Medusa and Immortal/Helios set up is a pretty standard affair (standard because it is so damned effective) but to shore up what may have been a limp back line, Pete has brought a Nemesis and two Odins. I can't remember the last time I played against two Odins, but I do remember getting the right arsehole with them all game. Stick them where you can blast everything, and not give to many damns if that spot happens to be in front of enemies front line. The Nemesis also provides back board FP grabbing, and the deadly ability to snipe units. I foresee a lot of Thunderstorms feeling the pain of its cannon over the weekend!

I really like the two lone Phobos squads for the back board too. They are great FM snipers, and will make his opponents think. Also in a ploy to own the enemies board edge, the Athena is still the best FM in the game and has the potential to cause havoc! Like Ed, Pete has opted for a unit of Sirens to shore up CQB which is possibly a wise move.

I would have dropped the Athena for a second squad of Helios, as they are the best utility unit in the game, but this list suits Pete down to a tee.


Now you've cast your eyes over, and thoroughly scrutinised our lists, let me know what you think, and oohhh what might even be fun would be to predicate each of our overal end positions!

As a finishing note, don't expect a post on Monday. I stupidly forgot to book the day off, and the others are bound to be in bed all day sleeping off the hardship of pretend-war. You'll just have to wait until Friday!