Goatboy’s Monday 40K Thoughts – MSU and You!
Goatboy here again and MSU seems to be all the rage as people think of lists for the upcoming tournament season. Here’s what’s up:
Events are pushing a lot of Maelstrom/Maelstrom Lite versions so the idea of creating a list that can complete in those missions and still put the hurt on the opponent seems to be the key to finishing out on top. I did a small blurb on the number one and number two lists from the LVO last week and they represent a big push in the MSU brand of 40k.
*** JUST THE TIP – MSU stands for Multiple Scoring Units. In 5th and 6th edition this meant a ton of troops but in 7th this represents just having a ton of units on the table. ***
Why do MSU armies work? Well there are a few things you have to have to ensure your MSU options are worth it. Here is a quick and dirty run down of the things I think that make an MSU choice tick.
1. Point investment is low enough that any attention paid to the unit by your opponent nets you a gain. Look at the LictorShame list. Every time your opponent pays attention to a lictor they are most likely losing the war of point investment. A Wave Serpent throwing all its shots into a lictor is a win for the Tyranid player. That means that Wave Serpent isn’t shooting at a Hive Tyrant or other options that would otherwise win the Tyranid player the game. Heck if the Lictor survives the shooting then you just have denied your opponent points as they have to invest another unit in killing said Lictor.
2. Offensive ability of said MSU unit can make up more points then their initial investment in the army. Nick’s scout army used the little chosen Sentinels of Terra Imperial Fists army option to get more points out of their scouts then other armies options. They were twin linked when in double tap range so your Scouts all of a sudden had big boost in offensive potential. You mix in some strong combi weapon options and you can easily generate more damage then other armies same point investments.
3. Ability to be outside the deployment zone or get somewhere on the board quickly and efficiently. LictorShame had “deep striking” Lictors that could appear anywhere and cause problems. The Scout list used outflank and reserve tricks to try and make sure they were at the right place at the right time. Both opponents ensured objectives were in places that allowed them the ability to easily get the objective as well as make the opponent invest too much to contents/contain/control it. Drop pod armies do the same thing as well as some of the massed Rhino armies that Reece has tested in the past. They can be anywhere and everywhere to maximize their chances to score in these new tournament environments with maelstrom/progressive objectives.
4. The MSU armies also need access to excellent rocks/offensive options that help make the opponent have to make tough decisions. The funny thing with Nick is that the trick to the army is making sure you get at the scouts. They usually won the game for him. Sure the Centurions killed things but their mission was to usually die by the end of the game while your opponent spent too much time trying to remove them. LictorShame has most likely the best point efficient MC in the game with the Hive Tyrant and with a flying MC costing your army so much to actively remove the threat it makes every target a pain in the butt for your opponent.
I am sure there are other “rules” in making an MSU army tick but these seem to be the best 4 that should give you an idea if your army can work. The biggest weakness I have seen in MSU is the dreaded Kill Point mission but a lot of the time you can mitigate that by using your Rocks to kill as much as you can while your MSU options just run and hide with their ability to deploy/move/etc. This is important as you can easily have a ton of scoring units but you need those murder balls to really let you win all the missions.
Let’s see if I can get MSU to work with the Chaos Space Marine book. I hope we get a fixed one in the future – but I get the feeling will just get more Khorne nonsense that don’t fit within the realms of balanced point costs. Just give me Necron power with Chaos Guys dangit. Plus it is a list with actual Chaos Space Marines so the normal comment hate could be less this time? Maybe I should just map CTRL+C with the letter A. That would just make my life easier.
*** SPAM WARNING – CONTROL + C IS IN FULL EFFECT!!! ***
Chaos Space Marines – aka Please update this Book cuz I want to paint more evil dudesmen dangit! – Also – Hey Use all those Rhinos you used to use!
Crimson Slaugher CAD
HQ: Sorcerer, Bike, Lvl 3, Force Staff, Spell Familiar, Meltabomb, Gift of Mutation, Bike
HQ: Sorcerer, Bike, Lvl 3, Force Staff, Spell Familiar, Meltabomb, Gift of Mutation, Bike
Elites: Chosen X 5, Flamer X 2, Combi-Plasma X 2, Meltabombs, Rhino, Combi-Plasma
Elites: Chosen X 5, Flamer X 2, Combi-Plasma X 2, Meltabombs, Rhino, Combi-Plasma
Elites: Chosen X 5, Flamer X 2, Combi-Plasma X 2, Meltabombs, Rhino, Combi-Plasma
Troops: Chaos Space Marines X 5, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Rhino, Combi-Melta
Troops: Chaos Space Marines X 5, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Rhino, Combi-Melta
Troops: Chaos Space Marines X 5, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Rhino, Combi-Melta
Troops: Chaos Space Marines X 5, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Rhino, Combi-Melta
Troops: Chaos Space Marines X 5, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Rhino, Combi-Melta
Troops: Chaos Space Marines X 5, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Rhino, Combi-Melta
FA: Chaos Spawn X 5, MoN
1850 pts
The biggest issue is you have no real Hammer unit. Yes you can make one out of Chaos Lords and other things but the Chaos Space Marine book just lacks that. The Troops are so expensive and I didn’t go with Cultists because well – they kind of suck. It is a terrible tax on your army and we all know – if I need to write such a copy and paste list I better use actual Chaos Space Marines. The guns on each should do enough damage to big things as needed plus any “investment” by an opponent to kill them is usually more then the unit themselves. The Sorcerers are there to generate Telepathy and hope they can let the Marines survive a bit more with Shrouding or other options. Plus you have two Psychic Shrieks that might help out. The Chosen set up is to allow them the ability to remove some hordes with Flamers.
Still this isn’t an exciting list beyond just using all those Rhinos you have. Or I have. Or your friend has etc. If you see an event with progressive points scoring or heavy Maelstrom options this might be the type of list that would at least win you a game or two. Plus it has Chaos Space Marines! I hear they are just like Artisanal Pickles – totally in right now.
Comment with some other MSU style lists that aren’t just Eldar doing the copy paste Wave Derpent nonsense or Lictor Shame. Can other armies make it in the MSU landscape?
