Z: Thanks for kicking my butt. It was actually a very good game. I never thought I was on the losing end except when I made that multi-assault with my Warriors. What was I thinking? You were already fleeing already, all I have to do was win combat and then escort you off the board. Your Killa Kans might Charge me, but I’ll hit you on 3’s with rending and you’ll need 5’s to hit and ID me.
F: Yeah, that was easily the difference in the game; I made my own big blunder with leaving the terrain open in the center of my army. Not sure what was happening with that thought process. I’m sure as you play this army more you’ll get better and better with it in your own, Zen way.
Z: I sure hope that will come sooner than later. 
Now thinking back on it. I wish that I had deployed the Venomthrope first. Had I had it hiding behind my MCs, they wouldn’t be dropping like flies (like the Trygon did) as your assault would be hampered. But it is my fault for proxying the Carnifexes, I do not feel right abusing any LoS ruling since I do not have the proper model. The Carnifexes too, I should’ve been more aggressive and put them towards the middle of the board, but I was afraid they would be dropped like flies. I only realized afterward they probably wouldn’t.
F: Yeah, even though I have good volume of fire, its not as precise as elite army shooting. I think the carnifexes could’ve run up the gut and threatened pretty much everything. Sending them on the flank allowed me to feed a unit of boyz and then block them and back away. Also, I’m convinced that venomthropes are going to be what makes your MCs work really well. Saving 1/3rd of the wounds you wouldn’t normally be able to save is going to be huge.
Z: You are correct. That truck literally took the Carnies off the game. I agree with you that Venomthrope is important. At least if you are shooting at the Venomthrope, you won’t be shooting at the MCs. Granted my loss is half due to the fact that I played Reserve Gambit. Believe you me, I actually wanted to deploy everything but you happened to win the roll and I thought I might go with something I knew. The problem however is that RG makes every game a puzzle game since I have no clue which unit arrives first followed by which one. So I really need to know how to work my forces together especially when they were limited like what I had. Obviously I didn’t know how to play my MC better. I think next time I’ll just put all of them on one side and walk across the field, with the Carnifexes in the middle. This time, however, I have no one to blame but my inexperience with the new nids.
F: I’m just not a fan of reserve gambit; but you do make it work for you. I guess the difference in mentality is that I would rather risk units to kill units and you would rather risk not killing units to make sure your units live. I think the other thing I dislike about reserving everything is that I depend a LOT on unit synergy and not being able to rely on that tends to bug me. The two times in recent memory when I reserved a 30 strong boy squad (both times in a spearhead deployment to try and take a shortcut towards my foe) my boyz didn’t show up until turn 5 and were the major reason I lost. Essentially losing the game on one failed die roll is frustrating.
Z: Aye, I don’t think Ork will benefit the most from Reserve Gambit anyway. I liked how the Raveners and Warriors can be ID easily. It creates some what a risk management to the player of the game. They were really stupid in the last codex since they were immune to ID if in synapse creature’s range. That really took away a lot of the strength in shooty armies. Now I really have to think twice about who to assault and when to assault. You saw how my big mistake took the Warriors and Prime out of the game, making them unable to press further, thus allowing you to come down and crush my flank.
F: Yeah, that was certainly the difference and the hidden power fist is just brutal against Nids and why I still maintain that the hormagaunt is going to prove to be the best choice for assaulting because you don’t care about those powerfists. Warriors can sure take shooting while running in, but once in… Yikes.
Z: The Ymgarl Stealer was really a good buy, I still think they work better in larger brood, but it is difficult to get that many feeder tendrils. And I fear the day when they all die because I can’t place any of them into the terrain. If nothing else, I liked how I kept you guessing and forced you to shuffle your units back and forth to avoid them.
F: Yeah, I vascillated between remembering to deal with them and forgetting about them. If nothing else, they work well for you as they are another thing that is messing with your opponent’s mind. I’m a fan of the 5 strong unit because with +1 S and rending, you have a legit chance of dealing with vehicles on the table, and that’s a good thing.
Z: How about them Spore Mines? Forcing your opponent to deploy 18″ away is huge in Dawn of War. Consider that I originally took them just to annoy my opponent in their deployment zone, that was an extra benefit I did not consider.
F: It certainly messed with my deployment and strategy quite a bit; having one unit of boyz essentially not show up for the game meant those spore mines did their job. 30 points to deny me the use of 245…
Z: I think my list is pretty good. Very odd at first glance, but it has every answer I need against every army, though not necessarily good at any specifics. I know this type of list will probably drive you crazy. But I think it is a solid one. Though looking back at some of the options, I am having second thought. The myceptic spore for example, though it delivers the Zoanthropes, it is a T4 MC which can easily be nullified by a LC. I might as well buy another Zoanie and walk them across the field.
F: Personally, I’d definitely drop the spore pod for those guys. 3 Zoanthropes are going to be more survivable, and really, 18″ is plenty good for range. Taking away another kill point off your list is a good thing as well. Your lists always confound me as you don’t have any symmetry, which is a hallmark of all the armies I build. But the units you chose work for your style of play as each is fairly self-sufficient. I think you need a mawloc though!
Z: I think I’ll need a Mawloc too But I’ll need more models then…