A few posts back I mentioned that I was in the process of designing a 1000 point list that would pretty much stand up to almost anything and be something to fall back on whenever I needed a list to play an impromptu match. Coming off the back of a fourth straight win without reply, albeit all against Space Marines, I thought i'd share the list and what I look to each unit to do.
HQ: The Spiritseer. I didn't want to spend too many points on the HQ, because so much utility can be found elsewhere in the Codex. The Spiritseer however makes my Wraithguard troops, and toughness 6 troops can be pretty hard to shift off of an objective. I also take Telepathy on him as I prefer a more offensive psyker, also his Wraithmark can be quite a boon for this list if he is in range. With 5 in initiative and Fleshbane and Armourbane on the Witchstaff I'm also not scared to throw him into close combat, even if it'll cost a victory point. He's in the list, so I might aswell use the guy.
Troops: There are a couple of 10 man squads with Warlocks in this list. The Warlocks default Conceal every time as they are there solely to give the Guardians a bit more help surviving incoming fire and maybe help out in close combat with their Witchblades. The Guardians will generally be set up on the back field and in cover near my home objectives and not move as models will move to them to try and push them off the objective, at which point they can unleash their volleys of Shuriken fire and (usually) protect their quarry.
The Wraithguard benefit from being troops thanks to the Spiritseer. Their main objective is to sit in a Wave Serpent and get carried to either a hard hitting unit or to on of the mid to far objectives and hold it. They can generally take a bit of fire thanks to their high toughness and give it back in reply thanks to their Wraithcannons, if needs be, they can also sit in Close Combat for a while and tar pit a unit or contest an objective for quite a few turns thanks to their hardiness. Obviously this isn't their best use, but they are part of the three pronged assault up the field.
Arguably the best troop transport in the game, the Wave Serpent flies up the field to deposit the Wraithguard where they can be most effective as soon as possible, and then proceeds to be a nuisance for as long as possible. Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannons and the Serpent Shield means it can put out a lot of shots and remove some of the lighter infantry off objectives quite easily. I am usually quite wary of firing off the Serpent Shield when it is available and will only fire it if there are no tank hunter weapons in the vicinity. Overall, it exists to be a pain in the arse, and does it quite well.
Heavy Support: In my view, the Fire Prism is the most versatile unit in the Codex. It's three firing modes means there is nothing much it can't deal with. I usually take it standard, but give it Spirit Stones because I want to make sure that the main gun can fire as often as possible, also, the secondary guns remain as Shuriken Catapults as their main use is to make sure a weapon destroyed result is a 50/50 for the Prism Cannon. It is usually deployed on the opposite flank to the Wraithknight and, if possible, elevated to give it the most firing lanes that it can across the table.
The Wraithknight, I owe this unit an apology, as initially I thought it to be a sub par unit. The problem was, I thought it was a Riptide, it's not. I take it completely standard and set it's targets to enemy armour and the opponents deployment zone. Given its high toughness, it will either be left alone, or absorb a lot of fire. But generally, as long as it can remove the toughest units on the field with its Strength 10 guns before (if) it falls, it's done its job. Being high strength and a monstrous creature itself, I have used it to assault random troops or objective holders to clear them out, but it's main purpose is to remove tanks as soon as possible, especially those that put out pie plates to threaten the Guardians.
Tactics: Deployment is pretty straightforward, Wave Serpent in the middle, Wraithknight on one flank near the most dangerous unit, Fire Prism on the other. The Guardians then deploy in cover (where possible) with the aim to hold any homefield objectives you may have. The Warlocks Conceal them every turn until they Perils themself to death. Battle Focus can be used to move them into range of a close by enemy, unload as many shots as possible, then dive back into the building. The Wraith units will then proceed up the table to try and force the main fighting to be as far back as possible as the Guardians can't be felled if nothing is shooting at them, so give the opponent targets that can survive sustained fire. As stated above, the Heavy Support and Wraithguard will focus down any tough targets, the Fire Prism will move to an objective if the mission is Big Guns, and the Wraithknight will claim an easy linebreaker. One tactic that is very useful, especially as high strength guns have few shots, is if there is a unit holed up in a building, just shoot the building. Most of the time you can pentrate on a 3+ and if you are lucky, remove the building from play, at which point you mop up what is left thus denying the opponents homefield objectives.
In Summary: Use the Guardians to hold the back of the field and use the heavy guns to remove any immediate threats to the Guardians whilst pushing as far forward as possible. Unload the Wraithguard when close to an objective, or, when their 12" range can cover a few targets. Use the relevant Fire Prism shots to deal with whatever you feel is the biggest threat and just hope that the dice Gods are with you that day.
As I have said, this has been a successful list for me, it is by no means instant win, but you will have to play smart and tactically and the rewards will be reaped. Win or lose, it is generally a good game, and in the end, that's all that matters.
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