Warhammer 40K: Pariah Nexus Mission Deck Tips & Tricks
I finally got to play a 40K tournament with Pariah Nexus rules! Here’s what you need to know to master using the mission deck.
Goatboy here and I finally got to play a tournament with Pariah Nexus rules! It is different from the Leviathan 40K mission deck and while a lot is mostly the same there are some things to think about as you play it. Today I want to go over some of the things I learned or really forgot about as I played through the game as a World Eater player.
This past weekend I competed at the Lone Star Open run by Frontline Gaming in Dallas. I have gone every year as it is localish to me here in Austin. I draw the art for it, and have a good time whenever I play there. The hotel is decent, the area has some cool food, and while it is super north Dallas it isn’t too bad to get to. All of these things are some of the major things to think about when doing 40K events so it is nice it all works out.
So About the Pariah Nexus Mission Deck
Enough of this let’s talk about what I learned about the Pariah Nexus Missions. I learned a lot as I went through a lot of the cards, got to play a bunch of different things, and hopefully will get better the next time I play them at the Texas Open later in August. The big thing I learned though – this isn’t the same sort of scoring we had in Leviathan.
Given the Choice, take the CP
What I mean by that is the scores are not nearly as easy as the old version. You have a ton of actions you need to perform, and your opponent has a chance to respond to them. Those cards that are those actions – unless you can do them and hide easily I would always save those for a CP.
Every game I drew Sabotage, held it to score, and then watched my unit get nuked by something… killed me a bit inside. I probably wouldn’t have won that game in the end but I surely would have rather had an extra CP for my troubles. It’s almost like anything that has you wait around and at the whims of your opponent shouldn’t be messed with most of the time. It gives so much info to your opponent, ends up losing you a turn if you have to keep it into your next, and then you could “lose” a CP if you need to swap it.
Battleline – Maybe Not Important
Speaking of missions – I am not sure how important Battleline truly is in this environment. I know we have the chance to gain more points with the whole banners play but then I don’t know if it is needed. There was also some play in a mission where my Battleline could advance and action but I ended up not needing it then either. I sorta wish we had more of a emphasis on Battleline but that will be in the next mission deck I am sure.
Cull the Horde… is Rough
On the other side of missions – Cull the Horde feels like such a pain to do when you face an army that gives it to you. Of course, those armies usually run – 10 Terminators – that fulfill that role and have you scrambling to exchange that card for a CP. It can be such a waste in specific matchups and really feels off as a whole. I don’t know if it should be changed to kill 25 wounds of infantry models but it feels like a hard thing to deal with.
If ONLY We Could Even Buy the Pariah Nexus Mission Deck…
Speaking of issues – how hard is it to get these decks? I know the GW events gave their participants, mission decks to play with but I wonder if there should be another way to “purchase” a GT deck if you can’t make it out to one. I got lucky grabbing mine from a local store and I gave my “Secondary” second deck to a buddy to use over the weekend. I will see him when I play in Dallas next so I can be helpful to other friends who need it.
Big Picture Army Tactics for the Mission Deck
Right now the vibe I get from this event is to have a decent central board pressure, the ability to shift deployment using Rapid Ingress, and a strong counter punch are the keys to this current Pariah Nexus Mission Deck environment. Looking at ways to either use your reserves to get shooting lanes, place a strong punching unit in a rough spot for your opponent, or just have more options available is very helpful. I can see as more events get denser terrain boards, we will see more shifting to infantry assault- based armies that can easily Kool-aid man through walls and just be a pain to deal with.
How have you liked Pariah Nexus missions? Overall I am having fun and can’t wait to get more games in. I have been loving my World Eaters and plan on continuing to rock them in the upcoming events. They seemed poised to do well in these missions as they move fast, hit hard, and can easily chew through some blocking units. You dabble in some shooting and you got the recipe for a decent army!
What lessons have you learned form the new Mission Deck?
