Escalation

I have been out of commission as far as the hobby goes for the last couple of months due to work, family and life in general.  In an effort to get back into the swing of things I’ve decided to join an escalation league with some friends starting Jan 1, 2011.  At present there will be the following armies: Tau, Daemons, Ultramarines, Dark Eldar, Orks (potentially two ork lists).  It has been agreed that we will start things off with 500 points with the regular force org requirements but for initially only requiring 1+ troop selection.  The primary focus of this league will be to stick to fluff and high painting standards. 

The rest of the crew are jumping on board as it will give them a chance to paint a new army in a structured manner.  My focus is to get my Eldar army painted and done!  I’m tired of playing with half painted models.  My main problem (aside from lack of hobby time) is my low attention span and attraction to bright shinny new things.  For example when the blood angel book was released I was all over starting a Flesh Tearer army and as a result work on my Eldar grinded to a halt.  With the release of the Dark Eldar, it took a lot of will power for me not to jump on that band wagon as well.

After our initial investment of 500 points we will be increasing our point levels by 250 every month.  As it stands this is my potential list I wish to start things off with.

HQ:

Autarch – Power Weapon, Mandiblasters, Fusion Gun – 100 points

(rides with the Avengers)

Troop:

10 Dire Avengers (no exarch) – Wave Serpent, Shuriken Cannons – 220 points

Elite:

5 Fire Dragons (no exarch) – Wave Serpent, Shuriken Cannons – 180 points

Total Points: 500

As it stands I have about half of the above painted and will have to focus on completing the rest for January first.  I should also say that I have chosen Alaitoc as my craftworld and paint scheme.  Consequently, as I grow the list I plan to add Pathfinders, Scorpions, Warwalkers, Storm Guardians, Warp- Spiders and a Farseer.  The reason I initially went with an Autarch over the Farseer was mainly for theme.  I like the idea of a small strike force lead by a general. 

I don’t have much experience with 5^th edition and never really played in 4^th or 3^rd edition.  The bulk of my experience comes from 2^nd edition.  The reason I say this is that my big complaint back then with the Eldar was that the army lacked a cohesive military feel.  Now with units up to squads of 10 and the introduction of the Autarch acting as a general I feel this game has come a long way (at least with respect to the Eldar) to grasping that feel of commanding an army.  I realise that the Farseer is probably the better choice and acts as a force multiplier, but I want to:

a)      Seriously try the Autarch out in a number of games

b)      Create a theme to my army as I build it organically over the course of the escalation league.

So there you have it, let me know what you think of my initial 500 points.  If you made it this far in my post, thank you for listening to my rambles.