Building an Alpha Strike List

What does it do?The idea behind an alpha strike list is to hit your opponent first and hit them so hard that their counter attack is blunted and they cannot do as much damage to you back. This is not as simple as merely getting the charge. An experienced player will spread out their units frontwise (forwards and backwards, needs to be a word for this, there probably is and I just need to ask someone who actually speaks English). They'll stop you from being able to engage the majority of the unit. Important beasts/jacks will be hidden behind cheaper models (often with someone like Alexia picking up their souls to create more models for your opponent). Other feats and spells will stop you from attacking key models. Some of this in unavoidable and just makes the bad match ups any list faces but if you can't deal with at least some of these tactics your alpha strike list is not going to work very well.

• Heavies

• Infantry

• High ARM

• High DEF

I also need for my alpha strike:

• Threat Range (the maximum distance away your model can be from mine where I can still attack you). I have to be able to out threat my opponent in order to alpha strike. High SPD is good, reach is good, pathfinder is also important.
• Damage Potential - I need to be able to kill what I hit.
• Protection on the approach. If your opponent can shoot you to death or set all your models on fire then you won't have enough for an effective alpha strike.
• A way to clear screening units/models. I want to attack as many models as possible. My opponent is going to attempt to place his models to minimise that. I need to be able to kill, move or otherwise get past those models to attack the bulk of his army and in particular the valuable models. 
• Caster protection. When your army is tearing across the table instead of standing and shooting and when you need to throw in as many models as possible to blunt your opponents counter attack you'll find your caster is more exposed. 

What do I want to put in the list?
Firstly generic stuff. My list needs to be able to deal with:

Alpha Strike - I want to go fast and I want to hit hard. I want reach if possible. I want protection on the approach. If I'm alpha striking my plan is to hit my opponent so hard they don't have enough left to counter successfully. I want a way to clear cheap screening units. I have to also look more closely at how I'm going to keep my caster safe, I don't have quite as many screening options when all my stuff is charging in compared to a gunline.

Example
I've talked about my Madrak2 list before but it's the best alpha strike list I have. It has some shooting to clear screening models, madraks spells to increase damage, madrak's feat lets me run and attack and everything is fast anyway. That's a pure alpha strike list but I didn't want to talk about the same list twice so I'm going to look at Doomshaper1 instead.

1. Doomshaper - feat gives +3 SPD to his beasts. Wild aggression makes them hit very accurately, refuge lets me pull back a key beast so that I protect at least one model from counter attack. Great at throwing out animus, goad allows you to move after attacking a screening model. 
2. Runebearer - lets me protect two models from the counter attack or cycle wild aggression so two models attack extra accurately. 
3. Earthborn + Janissa + Krielstone - Gives me +4 ARM to all my beasts so they make it to the alpha strike alive. Also a damage buff with the elder.
4. Mauler - Damage buff so I kill what I hit, also benefits from the +3 SPD feat. 
5. Mulg - Best beatstick in trolls. With Reach and Wild Aggression and Goad and Rush and Feat can get most anywhere and kill most anything. Gets an extra attack with doomshaper.
6. Axer - rush for more SPD. +3 SPD is good. +5 SPD and pathfinder is fantastic.
7. Fennblades - got to balance the list. All beasts is fine but sometimes you need bodies to get in the way of things or to go do something out of doomshapers control area. Sometimes your opponent has anti beast tech and you need something to go kill it. Fennblades don't synergise at all but give you balance which can be important. Reach also allows them to kill things while still leaving a path the heavies can charge through. They are fast enough to alpha strike as well. 

Trollbloods
Standard Army
PCs: 50 / 50
24 models

[00] Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia (0 / 6 WB)
[02]  >> Trollkin Runebearer
[12]  >> Mulg the Ancient
[10]  >> Earthborn Dire Troll
[09]  >> Dire Troll Mauler
[06]  >> Troll Axer
[03] Janissa Stonetide
[03] Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (3 grunts)
[01]  >> Stone Scribe Elder
[08] Trollkin Fennblades (9 grunts)
[02]  >> Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer

Sometimes I drop the Axer, take some whelps and a chronicler max the stone and take the bellows crew. If I do that sometimes I switch the fennblades for a bomber. I used to play him a lot but I've been giving him a rest lately. Might be time to crack him out again.