tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31113605551040065582024-02-06T22:00:04.422-06:00Spite for the Dice GodsThis is a log of various 40k matches, thoughts on the armies, rants, modeling and whatever else I'm in the mood to post.Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.comBlogger255125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-35814370465892336102021-03-17T11:02:00.001-05:002021-03-17T11:02:35.140-05:00Necron Frequently Asked Questions - Do I Give My wraiths guns?<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOb8_omvDJds-On7VSBmO56kjD3-22tmTfg8njhO1SS6O6HIwvEP1UefdRwivh2DCvD9L2P6mEJ3kMqU3krzmGctKsLJHdWIWhbjuwIkw0piqLjC7gMF1zN0HzJ88yUHBxKbmJxu8ek1g/s2493/PXL_20210317_152755316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2493" data-original-width="2397" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOb8_omvDJds-On7VSBmO56kjD3-22tmTfg8njhO1SS6O6HIwvEP1UefdRwivh2DCvD9L2P6mEJ3kMqU3krzmGctKsLJHdWIWhbjuwIkw0piqLjC7gMF1zN0HzJ88yUHBxKbmJxu8ek1g/s320/PXL_20210317_152755316.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free hugs</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>There are plenty of commmon necron questions - wraith loadouts is one of them.</p><p>The one that I see a lot of is "do I put guns on my wraiths?" I'll answer that, and I'll also go into the melee loadout while I'm at it.</p><p><b>Guns? No*. But why?</b></p><p>Wraiths are 35pts base, regardless of melee options. You can pay 5pts to pick up a particle caster (S6, AP0, 1 damage, 12" Pistol 2) or pay 10pts for a Transdimensional Beamer (S4, AP-3, 3 damage, 12", Assault 1). The particle caster is some decent incidental shooting, and the beamer will knock a hole in something. </p><p>So, why are we leaving them at home? Four reasons reasons.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">1) BS4+</span> - wraiths just aren't that accurate. A full squad of 5 (you can take six, but that gets ugly for blast) hits with 5 particle caster shots, or 2-3 beamers. You're paying 25-50 points for that.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">2) Charge range </span>- if you're about to charge, and want to soften up your target, remember that dead models increase charge distance. Remember that you paid to do this.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">3) Wraith Form </span>- you move through terrain without penalty. This, on top of your T5/3W/3+/4++ defensive profile, means that you can avoid exposing yourself to fire, period. At 3W, you're relying on your statline more than Reanimation Protocols to not die.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">4) How Often You'll Shoot -</span> You might get one turn of shooting. So, the ideal scenario for wraiths is to sneak up on a target, then charge through terrain and tag it. If you survive the enemy's turn after that, you should be trying to engage something else and possibly pushing deeper into enemy lines. You can fall back and charge. Anyone that knows what Wraiths can do is going to prioritize killing them once they're exposed.</p><p>*if you're paying power level, knock yourself out with a gun since points don't matter.</p><p><b>But X makes guns good!</b></p><p>I have seen a few arguments for bringing guns on Wraiths. I don't really buy them. It boils down to the fact you're paying points for crappy shooting.</p><p>"<span style="color: #01ffff;">But shooting can do damage</span>" - Yep. Absolutely can. Wraiths aren't reliable at it. </p><p>"<span style="color: #01ffff;">But I can shoot those pistols in assault!</span>" - You can, but how often are you going to do it? Shooting pistols in assault matters when you're stuck in assault. Wraiths don't HAVE to be stuck in assault. Unless you're hitting something that's hidden to everything but the wraiths, you're probably better off falling back, shooting at it with other stuff, and then seeing if it's alive to worry about.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">"But the beamer does 3 damage and that's neat</span>" - It does, if it hits and wounds. A given beamer has a 20% chance to kill a primaris marine, between BS4+ and S4. It goes up to a little over 50% if you spend a CP on the Techno-Oracular targeting stratagem. I seriously think you can find better places to spend that CP.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">"But I can get to BS3+ with a technomancer and canoptic control node!"</span> - Absolutely an option. This is neat if you're doing power level, I suppose. However, the real fun/mean way to do that is bring a node and a failsafe overcharger to make those Wraiths go from WS4+ and 4 attacks base to WS3+ and 5 attacks base. That's just bloody hilarious. And also doesn't really care about the guns.</p><p><b>Opportunity Cost</b></p><p>Opportunity cost is a $20 term for saying "you brought X instead of Y." Or, you should compare what you're giving up to get a thing. Assuming we're paying points, you're looking at 25-50pts for the guns, or the following -</p><p>2-4 Necron Warriors</p><p>1-3 Immortals</p><p>1/3 to most of a Lokhost Heavy Destroyer</p><p>~1 to ~2 Lychguard</p><p>~1 to ~2 Praetorians</p><p>1-3 Scarab bases</p><p>Basically, you can fill out other units, or start paying towards something beefier. Wraiths are unique in that they're a tar pit / potentially killy unit with obscene mobility, but lean into their strengths.</p><p><b>A Note on Scarab Melee Options</b></p><p>While we're here - the melee options are free, and there are two of them. You can take Vicious Claws, or Whip Coils. Claws mean you swing 4 times at S6, AP-2, 2 damage. Whip Coils mean you'll swing 8 times at S4, AP-1, 1 damage.</p><p>So, what do you pick?</p><p>I lean towards the claws. Why? The Necron codex doesn't have a lot of decent multi-damage weapon options (unless you want to drop 1d3 or 1d6, you're looking at Praetorians or assault Destroyer types). Claws excel at stabbing Marines to death. They can also do a number on vehicles as well.</p><p>This isn't to say Whip Coils are bad - it's just that the Necron book has plenty of options for a volume of low-AP anti-infantry attacks. Whip Coils also are liable to bounce against targets with decent saves or higher toughness.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-84684109148474298642021-03-15T20:45:00.000-05:002021-03-15T20:45:05.495-05:00Necron Frequently Asked Questions - Which Cryptek(s) Should I Take?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_jYH_O_KL6Tho2FqUMj-aHxbEFf_M494_uvQta24d7Ivv6f_gaAKWkfmqjNBJ2VYAVXqDXB7pudC4A_Dc-F6hw76934GKw2I82_jLoeVAtTOMHe_1cJ59DubAml10110XxlAQakJYZM/s2827/PXL_20210316_005317492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2351" data-original-width="2827" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_jYH_O_KL6Tho2FqUMj-aHxbEFf_M494_uvQta24d7Ivv6f_gaAKWkfmqjNBJ2VYAVXqDXB7pudC4A_Dc-F6hw76934GKw2I82_jLoeVAtTOMHe_1cJ59DubAml10110XxlAQakJYZM/s320/PXL_20210316_005317492.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We are spoiled for choice when it comes to supporting HQs - the real trick is "which ones should I take, and when?" The follow-on is "Are there cryptek-specific Arkana worth it?"<p></p><p>The Chronomancer is, without a doubt, the easiest to get mileage out of - but don't sleep on the others. Except maybe the Plasmancer.</p><p><b>MVP - The Chronomancer</b></p><p>Unsurprisingly, this is a common sight. The utility is straightforward - you give a <DYNASTY> unit a 5+ invulnerable save, and a re-rollable charge. Your prime candidates are Scarab swarms and Warrior units. You make a tarpit unit or a core troops unit even tougher. </p><p>The Chronomancer-specific Arkana is the Countertemporal nanomine, which lets you halve the advance and charge rolls of a unit within 18." Depending on the unit, you might actually keep them out of a charge.</p><p>ADDENDUM - Orikan the Diviner - so if you pay another 30pts over the regular Chronomancer, you get Orikan. He's got a couple things over a regular Chronomancer. The most useful thing Orikan does is let you put that 5++ and re-rollable charge on any unit, not just a Dynasty unit - so if you're bringing Praetorians, Orikan's worth a thought. Otherwise, Orikan might go into his Empowered profile later in the game and be a slightly uglier beat stuck, but that's about it.</p><p><b>The Technomancer - Friend to Infantry and/or Canopteks</b></p><p>Ah, the Technomancer - AKA the old-school cryptek model. Your baseline ability is with this guy is bringing back 1d3 warriors a turn, or one CORE infantry unit. It's not as wide-open an ability as, say, an Apothecary, but it's in the baseline cost of the unit and you don't have to pay CP to do it, which is solid. You can easily get 13-36pts of infantry back a turn. In reality, getting Warriors or Lychguard back is where this gets good.</p><p>From there, you gotta decide whether you stay cheap, or you tech into the Canoptek Control Node or the Cloak. The Cloak gives you speed, and lets you repair stuff. The node gives your Canoptek units +1 to hit. Combine this with the failsafe overcharge node, and THEN it gets real - wraiths and scarabs get ugly when you start hitting on 3s and get +1 to attack.</p><p>The Canoptek buff build is pretty reasonable if you tech into a couple Canoptek units.</p><p>ADDENDUM - Illuminor Szeras - this guy is technically a technomancer. Think of him as a naked Technomancer with better shooting, and the ability to use his reanimation powers twice. If you're going to use him, you're also bringing a couple units for him to buff with his random augmentation. It's neat, but don't gamble on it. I'd consider a couple Warrior blobs, and Lychguard, and maybe go from there.</p><p><b>Plasmancer - The Gradual Grinder</b></p><p>Do you like mortal wounds? That's what this thing does. It's about all this thing does. It hands them out reasonably reliably. </p><p>I like this thing for its simplicity, but that makes it a little bit tougher to use. You'll get the most mileage out of it by sticking it behind a large unit, and just letting it roll mortal wound dice.</p><p>The problem with it is, of course, opportunity cost - you're giving up slots that could make your army more durable. Your major Arkana is more range on mortal wounds. It's not bad, but it keeps the Plasmancer as a one-trick pony.</p><p>The Plasmancer isn't bad - it fills a slot in our army that otherwise, only C'tan and a couple stratagems fill - but you could do better with that slot. And if you are going to bring one of these, you want to bring it in a larger army so you can hide behind stuff and take your time.</p><p><b>Psychomancer - The Toolbox</b></p><p>The psychomancer gets a bad rap for two reasons. First off, the kit is not the easiest to build. Second, it's a wonderful toolbox - but versatility means you pay for stuff you don't use. You need to get within 12" of an enemy unit during your turn, and then during your morale phase, you can pick from fur fun things - no actions, no ObSec, half advance/charge, or no Overwatch/Set To Defend, and the unit Fights Last.</p><p>So, the problem with this is range and timing. Turning off ObSec can be huge, especially since we specialize in beefy blobs of Obsec bodies. </p><p>Turning off actions is hilariously situational at that range - it will be scenario specific, more than anything. People build around Scanners, but if someone's familiar with the Psychomancer, they may or may not skip out on the scenario-specific objectives.</p><p>Cutting advance and charge rolls can help, but if you're within 12" of them, well, the Psychomancer and the screening unit are still in charging and shooting range. It's a potential disruption tool, though. </p><p>Making them Fight Last without Overwatch is another nasty thing - that last ability takes setup, but you're playing close. It's situational, but someone's worried about the charge.</p><p>Arkana-wise, it's worth picking up the Atavindicator as well - it's essentially a Smite, though you roll 3d6 and compare to a non-Vehicle target (...note, there's not a character restriction here) and if you beat leadership, it's 1d3 mortal wounds. </p><p><b>Addendum - The Cryptothralls</b></p><p>These guys are in here because of Crypteks, but you need to keep in mind they do more than turn off snipers. They are cheap units that can perform actions and hold objectives. Never underestimate how useful that is. You can absolutely justify taking 1-2 units of Cryptothralls and never keeping them near the crypteks themselves.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-79877326780094535952021-03-13T23:26:00.003-06:002021-03-15T19:49:52.132-05:00Necron Frequently Asked Questions - Reapers or Flayers?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvQ_xD4UYY_ehKUPeJHV9vTf_CBx5WAsen19U4zYqk9R2FeUewtEOSly44zJgH3Oj7YcMn9A2qAUzn3fG0QXhjG_uE01ME2WSQY6aaQ6DPc9bIt_Q1D3xyCBym7Dj7ivRydP0ctfJoXY/s2665/PXL_20201017_154952962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2665" data-original-width="2272" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvQ_xD4UYY_ehKUPeJHV9vTf_CBx5WAsen19U4zYqk9R2FeUewtEOSly44zJgH3Oj7YcMn9A2qAUzn3fG0QXhjG_uE01ME2WSQY6aaQ6DPc9bIt_Q1D3xyCBym7Dj7ivRydP0ctfJoXY/s320/PXL_20201017_154952962.jpg" /></a></div><br /> The good ol' internet is FULL of lots of questions about necrons. The most frequently asked question is 'Gauss Reapers or Gauss Flayers' but there are some others. So, let's take a look.<p></p><p><b>Reapers or Flayers</b></p><p>Flayers are S4, AP-1, Rapid fire 1, 24" range. Reapers are S5, AP-2, Assault 2, 12" range.</p><p><b>Short version</b> - reapers are uglier, but need you to think a little more and build a little bit around them. Flayers are more user-friendly, but give up strength and AP. Reapers will do more work for you, and you're going to user large squads of warriors in the midfield.</p><p><b>STRENGTH </b>- first off, S4 vs S5 is pretty significant. Most infantry is T3-T4; reapers are better at wounding them. Reapers also wound T8 on a 5+ - not always relevant, but bloody important when it DOES come up. (mostly vs. tanks, occasionally monsters.)</p><p><b>AP</b> - not a huge discussion, really - AP-2 beats AP-1. You have a stratagem to ignore cover vs. a target as necrons for 1CP; use it. AP matters. Beefy infantry tends to carry a 3++ or 4++ save - you want to go against that, rather than their 0+ to 2+ save. Reaper AP wins out.</p><p><b>RANGE</b> - Here's where people get hung up on stuff. Flayers shoot single shots at 24", double-tap at 12". Longer range sounds easier to use, and it is. Let's be real - shooting S4, AP-1 shots past rapid fire is plinking, it's not meaningful damage output. You average 20-man squad of warriors puts about 3 wounds on a marine stat line outside of rapid-fire. </p><p><b>UP CLOSE</b> - the meat and potatoes of the comparison is "does S5, AP-2 beat out S4, AP-1 at 12?" and the answer is 'yes' based on pure math. Assuming equal squad sizes and hit numbers vs. marines, a flayer squad drops 11-12 wounds on a marine statline in range, whereas reapers drop 6-7 wounds. If you go to T5, the reapers win hands-down. If you start plinking at vehicles, reaper AP carries the day.</p><p><b>GETTING PAST THE WARRIOR DATASHEET</b> - No army exists in a vacuum. Neat, so what next? What matters?</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">1) Getting into range </span>- first off, most of the fighting Warriors do is going to happen either in your deployment zone or in the mid-board. Second, 20 dudes with a Veil of Darkness is HILARIOUS.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">2) Royal Warden</span> - you're probably bringing `1-3 squads of warriors in a Necron army. You should consider a Royal Warden to let them fall back and shoot after a charge, especially since you do your best damage within easy charge range. For extra fun, bring a squad of Lychguard in your list, and let the enemy just guess which thing gets veiled.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">3) Dynasty </span>- Mephrit's +3 range makes the reapers a LOT more user-friendly. 15" range is a huge step up. Nephrekh isn't bad either for the speed.</p><p><b>SHOULD I MIX REAPERS AND FLAYERS IN THE SAME SQUAD?</b></p><p>No. Don't mix. Ever. This is a trap. You have a squad that is confused in what it wants to do. Reapers want to walk up and fire, advance and fire at -1BS, or just advance to get into position to fire next turn. Flayers want to advance if they can't range anything, or walk/stand still and shoot. The only time both weapons are happy is when you can walk into 12" range and fire. Make your squads specialists, and go from there.</p><p><b>SHOULD I MIX REAPERS AND FLAYERS IN THE SAME ARMY?</b></p><p>The answer is 'maybe.' If you're bringing like 3x20 warriors in an army, there's room to consider 2x20 Reapers and 1x20 Flayers. You will end up with a potential traffic jam, but the flayers might be able to plink and contribute.</p><p><b>SHOULD I USE FLAYERS FOR A BABYSITTER SQUAD SINCE THEY CAN PLINK?</b></p><p>So, if you want a squad to sit on a backfield objective, you should ask yourself a question - do I want 10 warriors or 5 immortals to do it? The immortals are cheaper, and while you have fewer wounds, you are T5/3+ base. I'd lean towards immortals because of cost, and it's easier to hide five guys. Warriors are built to run in squads of 15-20 to capitalize on their durability. T4/4+ isn't much until it keeps coming back. If you do go immortals, consider Gauss - it's cheaper, and the Tesla stratagem just needs a shot that you can get from, y'know, a Command Barge or something.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-47974785270099808432021-02-23T13:45:00.003-06:002021-02-23T13:45:34.519-06:00Thoughts on Tomb Blades, or Math Is Weird Sometimes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5JQrs13D7eBbcPUOTzy10nGe6yL7OO2LoReKbNvcKFuUtn8yelKIIzslyofeGS_Sv-BfRGuHaV1HznkHDFMcxgsCNw_MJ5Vh1JH63pv3lG0FnJC3rLn6L3FpeBICbjlEuZD-MqvaXUY/s864/Necron-Codex-Tomb-Blade.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="648" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5JQrs13D7eBbcPUOTzy10nGe6yL7OO2LoReKbNvcKFuUtn8yelKIIzslyofeGS_Sv-BfRGuHaV1HznkHDFMcxgsCNw_MJ5Vh1JH63pv3lG0FnJC3rLn6L3FpeBICbjlEuZD-MqvaXUY/w150-h200/Necron-Codex-Tomb-Blade.png" width="150" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, let's say you want your space undead fast and shooty - why not combine them with a bike?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, why not - but man, once you read the sheet, you've got some options to think about. There's the question of which of three guns, and whether or not you're going to add any defensive upgrades onto these things. After we look at those, we'll look at the Dynasty options.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Guns</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You have three options for guns, and you can mix and match if you really, really want to - you can go with the base Particle Beamer, the twin Gauss Blaster, or the twin Tesla Carbine. Real talk here - my initial impression is the Gauss Blaster with that sweet AP-2, but we'll take a look at math and see what works out here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm going to make some assumptions about math here - </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1) Run shots without help</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2) Run another set of shots with My Will Be Done</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3) Run shots in and out of rapid-fire range (when applicable)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4) Run shots in and out of Mephrit's bonus AP range</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">5) Shots against T3-4 infantry</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">6) Compare vs. variety of armor saves (2+, 3+, 4+, 4++) for common infantry targets</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm going to compare the beamer and the gauss rifle. Note that the tesla carbine has four shots and needs to pull off at least a six and a couple of hits to get the same number of hits as a particle beamer - so its output is similar to or lower than a particle beamer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Particle Beamer</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Assault 6, S5, AP0, 18" range</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Base shots - 6 shots > 4 hits > 2.66 wounds > 0.88 vs 3+, 1.33 vs 4+, 0.44 vs 2+</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">MWBD - 6 shots > 5 hits > 3.33 wounds > 1.11 vs 3+, 1.66 vs 4+, 0.55 vs 2+</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With Mephrit bonus - </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">6 Shots > 4 hits > 2.66 wounds > 1.33 wounds vs 3+, 1.77 vs 4+, 0.88 vs 2+</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mephrit + MWBD</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">6 shots > 5 hits > 3.33 wounds > 1.667 wounds vs 3+, 2.22 vs 4+, 1.11 vs 2+</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Twin Gauss Blaster</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rapid Fire 2, S5, Ap-2, 30" range</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">NOTE - AP-2 is the same vs 2+ armor saves and 4++; but when you factor in Mephrit, you get -3AP in rapid-fire, so any saves worse than 4+ armor don't matter</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Non-Rapid-Fire - 2 shots > 1.33 hits > 0.88 wounds > 0.59 vs 3+, 0.74 vs 4+, 0.44 vs 2+/4++</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rapid Fire - 4 shots > 2.66 hits > 1.77 wounds > 1.18 vs 3+, 1.48 vs 4+, 0.88 vs 2+/4++</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">MWBD Non-Rapid-Fire - 2 shots > 1.667 hits > 1.11 wounds > 0.74 vs 3+, 0.92 vs 4+, 0.55 vs 2+/4++</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">MWBD Rapid-Fire - 4 shots > 3.33 hits > 2.22 wounds > 1.48 vs 3+, 1.85 vs 4+, 1.11 vs 1+/4++</div><br /> Mephrit Rapid-Fire - 4 shots > 2.667 hits > 1.77 wounds > 1.18 vs 2+, 1.48 vs 3+, 1.77 vs 4+ armor, 0.88 vs 4++<p></p><p>Mephrit MWBD - 4 shots > 3.33 hits > 2.22 wounds > 1.48 vs 2+, 1.85 vs 3+, 2.22 vs 4+, 1.11 vs 4++</p><p><b>What does the math tell us?</b></p><p>The particle beamer's got volume of fire over the other weapons. This gives you two things - first, you're more reliable just because you throw more dice; second, you get more wounds and force more saves. The twin gauss is technically a little more effective, but really pulls ahead when you go Mephrit and go My Will Be Done into 2+ armor. </p><p><b>On Range</b></p><p>So, let's talk about range - first off, you're on a platform with a 14" move and the FLY keyword. Odds are good you can get into the range you want, unless you're digging a unit out of the corner. So, let's look at the weapons.</p><p>Particle beamer - it's the shortest range at 18", but you're at full effect at 18 inches. That gets you charged by jump troops, but foot troops are a bit far unless they can advance and charge.</p><p>The twin tesla carbine is full effectiveness at 24" - you're arguably the least effective gun, but you're definitely safe - very little in the game gets to you from 24" away in assault. </p><p>The twin gauss blasters really need to leverage rapid fire to do the work - having a 30" range is neat, but rapid fire is the difference between 'incidental gunfire' and 'closed-casket funeral' - 15" is definitely in range to get tagged if someone wants to make it happen. </p><p><b>Stratagem Considerations</b></p><p>There are two base stratagems Tomb Blades care about, plus the Mephrit-unique one. Tomb Blades can pay a CP to turn rapid-fire weapons into assault 2, or fire assault weapons without penalty - obviously this is a little better for the tesla and particle beamer.</p><p>The other stratagem is just good for necrons in general - Disintegration Capacitors say we auto-wound on 6's to hit. This again favors volume-of-fire weapons, so the assault weapons pull ahead here.</p><p>Finally, we've got Mephrit's Talent for Annihilation - the first three 6's to wound do mortal wounds in addition to normal wounds. Again, we like volume here - so once again, the assault weapons pull ahead here.</p><p>It is worth noting that you could take a single tesla carbine for malevolent arcing - you just need one tesla weapon to target something. For 5pts, it's an option to get mortal wounds.</p><p><b>Other Gear</b></p><p>You start with a 25pt model - you can go up to 30 if you upgrade from the particle beamer to either option. You can proceed to dump plenty more points into these guys, but I question whether you'd do that. Defensively, you are a T5, 2W, 4+ model that takes a -1 to hit vs. ranged combat. </p><p>You can pay 3pts to go up to a 3+ save, or buy a 5++ save for 5pts. You can also pay 3pts to ignore cover. You could even, if you wanted to, mix and match the saves. I think I'd rather get the 5++ or go without - volumes of AP-1 and AP-2 aren't hard to find, but 5++ will at least slow down higher-damage weapons.</p><p>I'd consider the nebuloscope's perk for tesla - yes, particle beamers like it as well, but the point of the particle beamer is cost. Nebuloscope's take that away.</p><p><b>The Configurations</b></p><p>Keep It Cheap - particle beamers, nothing else - take 6-9 for 150-225pts in a unit, throw 36-54 dice at stuff, laugh. Run mephrit.</p><p>Some Quality - Buy gauss, shadowlooms - 33pts a model, pay 198 for 6ea. You're reasonably durable, you don't care if the inevitable rapid-fire fun coming back is ugly.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-90501337651687103872021-02-13T11:22:00.005-06:002021-02-13T11:22:47.972-06:00Death Guard Testing - Volume 2<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGmWrmZDayaQKBIK1tTj_u3uNVze9yjxOuBMa3ccmp5c_FQifhh6oYG36ZL5ovrvHLczQ9Cr7I45gjtYEzMHV9seXemWQpOfZfQPO-pKw3aKtnAz6wzqblspHMYIzvccz_yI3lE-kLjo/s3024/PXL_20210213_165147909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2127" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGmWrmZDayaQKBIK1tTj_u3uNVze9yjxOuBMa3ccmp5c_FQifhh6oYG36ZL5ovrvHLczQ9Cr7I45gjtYEzMHV9seXemWQpOfZfQPO-pKw3aKtnAz6wzqblspHMYIzvccz_yI3lE-kLjo/s320/PXL_20210213_165147909.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Got another round in with these guys - and got my Helbrutes painted. Remember, the mantra for painting chaos is "...where did all this trim come from?!"<p></p><p><b>The List</b></p><p>The Ferrymen</p><p>Lord of Contagion - WL Trait "The Droning", Relic "Ferryman's Scythe"</p><p>Malignant Plaguecaster - Relic - Putrid Periapt, powers - Gift of Plagues, Miasma of Pestilence, Curse of the Leper</p><p>3x Helbrutes (Multi-melta, combi-bolter, fist)</p><p>2x3 Deathshroud Terminators</p><p>15 Pox Walkers</p><p>14 Pox Walkers</p><p>2x5 Plague Marines (Blight Launchers)</p><p>2x Bloat Drones (flesh mowers)</p><p>5 Chaos Spawn (Grandfather's blessing stratagem)</p><p>2x Plagueburst Crawler (entropy cannons)</p><p><b>The Plan</b></p><p>Deathshroud Terminators can start on the board, or drop in where needed. If the opponet leaves a place to drop them near a backfield objective, I can scramble, I can save a CP for a charge re-roll, or force the opponent to commit something more important than a random backfield squad to hold that objective, since these guys should be able to mulch most objective squads solo.</p><p>The Helbrutes and Lord of Contagion are a solid anchor against a variety of targets, and I need the anti-vehicle firepower.</p><p>Spawn are hilariously annoying to kill.</p><p>I need Crawlers for actual shooting attacks.</p><p>My troops hold objectives and take up space.</p><p>The Periapt is in there because Gift of Plagues isn't super-relevant after a turn or two, and I'd like to try to use another psychic power after that. Maybe Curse will do more damage than smite for that CP.</p><p>The Lord of Contagion is there because it'll hand out re-rolls and do respectable damage. I sat around trying to figure out how to make a reasonably kill regular Lord, and they aren't a ton cheaper than this guy. I go with a couple lightning claws, and...eh? I take a balesword and a relic for a 2 damage one, which isn't bad. Or I just go ahead and lean into damage and durability, and the ability to drop this guy elsewhere. Plus, I wanted to try that silly "swing 15 times with cleave" relic.</p><p>Part of my plan was to use the Bloat Drones, Flash Outbreak, and The Droning to try to pin down a chunk of the other army.</p><p><b>The Opponent</b></p><p>I went up against Black Templar. At a glance, the list included outriders, storm-shield-laden vanguard vets, biker chaplain, a trio of dreadnoughts around a master of the forge (2 venerable multi-melta guys, one plasma redemptor), a brick of hammer/shield terminators in front of Grimaldus and an Apothecary, and a trio of Crusader squads camping in the back. See Also - half of us will be in your face now, and the other half, immediately thereafter. Plus I guess some guys brought guns.</p><p><b>Game Summary</b></p><p>I went second - I deployed a touch too far forward, and this let his outriders and vanguard vets get into my lines on one side, annihilate a poxwalker screen (OH NOES!) and tie up a Plagueburst Crawler (...oh, no.). I also screwed up deployment and lost a Bloat Drone turn 1 (...well, [REDACTED]). I broke those guys free eventually with the help of the Spawn, and some Blightening and Trench Fighters on the Plague Marines.</p><p>Dreadnoughts traded blows in the middle; mine blew up first but had some truly garbage dice. My Deathshroud secured his home objectives, so he swung into the midfield ones.</p><p>By the end, I lost by a few points. I took Assassinate, Engage on All Fronts, and Scramblers to his Scramblers, All Fronts and Oath - Oath of the Moment racked up the points. We both Scrambled, and we both did well on objectives and All Fronts, and I'd managed to nail three out of four characters.</p><p><b>Lessons Learned</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Plagueburst Crawlers</span> - These are now in the 'hard to leave at home' category. We need the firepower. Badly. We just don't have guns. T8, 3+/5++ makes them hard to kill - I lost one right at the end when a venerable dread finally got into 12" range and ran hot, and just barely killed it. Go ahead and pay 175 for the entropy cannons.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Bloat Drones</span> - Expect these to get prioritized. Anyone who's played against them more than once knows what they can do - they're fast, they mulch infantry, they heal, they can chew on vehicles, AND they can project Contagion auras. Also, I have a hard time not starting with two. I also don't really see the point of the sprays or the gun; the mower is just so much nastier and lets you heal in melee.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Plague Marines </span>- even a five-man squad can spike damage for a few CP. The Blightening is hilarious when you're engaged - the visual of three guys just dropping grenades at their feet is both great, and getting 18 auto-hitting S4 hits in melee is solid. Trench Fighters is another winner.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Deployment In General </span>- This army does not forgive deployment errors much at all. My losses have in part been due to my screw-ups with deployment.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Plague Company Choice </span>- As neat as The Droning sounds as a Bloatie + Flash Outbreak + Gift of Plagues combo, I'm not sure it's as cool in practice. It goes off on turn two when everyone's moved up, and unless you're locking down slower troops, it's 'eh'. If it's slow assaulty troops, they may be just fine punching the drone to death - a 2-3" move and an assault is probably still good enough. </p><p>I feel like there are more reliable Contagion auras. If I keep the Lord of Contagion, I'd tech into the relic Plague scythe that loses the -1 to hit, perhaps.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Lord HQs </span>- I'm still trying to figure out why we'd bother with a regular lord, unless you kept it super-cheap at 85 points. If so, you're purely getting a re-roll aura and a dude with a chainsword, which is hilariously lackluster. Demon Princes are expensive, but bring out a ton of lethality and utility between psychic powers and the re-roll aura, and a nice heap of 3-damage attacks. The Lord of Contagion is, for once, a decent middle-of-the-road choice. He's about ~20 points more than a regular Lord with a weapon, he's got a neat upgrade, and he starts with a melee weapon that's solidly Death Guard. Really, you only take a regular Lord or Terminator Lord if you want a combi-weapon.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-88279210522384167432021-02-03T19:37:00.008-06:002021-02-03T19:37:54.912-06:00The Death Guard - Shooting Things, And You<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIMyQj6U4PZMtOyuzhy4KOoSQYjYWPW0QnWRgxP5ejQ0-nuLJ245YCgI-mqMKzUPxUbj3vrQxynInGFZlH0PP2R42NIMZaVlp7f_D93Udcfl01uOa8GfQ_CeSfAoGdIdYDCTAbowl6s4/s3437/PXL_20210202_214148164.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1952" data-original-width="3437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIMyQj6U4PZMtOyuzhy4KOoSQYjYWPW0QnWRgxP5ejQ0-nuLJ245YCgI-mqMKzUPxUbj3vrQxynInGFZlH0PP2R42NIMZaVlp7f_D93Udcfl01uOa8GfQ_CeSfAoGdIdYDCTAbowl6s4/s320/PXL_20210202_214148164.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> The Death Guard codex is full of nasty, durable short-ranged stabby things. It is a little light on ranged firepower - and let's be real, sometimes you just need to bring guns to a gunfight. With that in mind, let's take a look at what the Death Guard do have for shooting options beyond the standard-issue boltgun and short-ranged spray weapons. We'll also take a look at the Forge World index, since the 7 January 2021 FAQ decided to let us use options out of that book again.<div><br /><div><b>The Short Version</b></div><div>We've got ~18 options here, once you look at major weapon loadouts for stuff like Predators, etc. I'm going to pick the highlights here, and explain why -</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Helbrutes</span> - they're cheap, accurate, and effective. Melta/fist, melta/missle, or missile/las are all solid, and we have both HQ support and stratagems to make good use of them.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Blight Hauler</span> - take a missile/MM helbrute, lose accuracy for speed/durability. Major con is that they compete with Bloat Drones for slots.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Plagueburst Crawler</span> - strong mix of direct and indirect fire, along with durability. Stuck on the back lines, but whatever. You can also spike to 3 damage with stratagems.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Chaos Leviathan</span> - strong mix of weapons options, speed, and durability - either sandblast stuff from range with storm cannons, or consider a grav cannon and close combat weapon and jog at the enemy like a demented Kool Aid man full of plague.<br /><p></p><p>Other options tend to be either really pricy, or have issues with support or just absolutely SCREAM to be focused off the board while being pricy. The Decimator gets an honorable mention for the Soulburner Petards (because mortals can be fun, right?) and the Sicaran Punisher goes BRRT, which is entertaining in its way.</p><p><b>The Long Version - By Units</b></p><p><b>The Helbrute</b></p><p>The Helbrute trades durability for lethality. CORE gives you the ability to benefit from a lord's re-roll 1s aura, and the Frenzy rule lets you re-roll 1s to wound when you're under full health. Combine this with the Fire Fever stratagem for +1 to hit and wound with your hard hitting weapons, and a Helbrute can reach out and touch someone.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PRO</span> - Range, Cost, lethality. </p><p>Consider a missile launcher and either a multi-melta or twin-lascannon. Without re-rolls, this loadout can knock about 3-4 wounds off the average T7 3+ armor save vehicle, or go up to 4-5 with Fire Frenzy. It only gets uglier when you factor in Fire Fever and a Lord's re-roll aura. A missile/melta helbrute is 120; a missile/las helbrute is 140. Consider the las when possible for the ranged option. If you need a hybrid loadout and want to punch armor to death, melta/bolter/fist for 125</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CON </span>- Survivability, speed</p><p>You are T7 with a 3+ armor save and 8 wounds. Even if you have a passive -1 to damage, you can take a big hit or two and then get chipped down with bolters. Heavy weapons like other lascannons and missiles will rip through your armor. At 6", you're fast enough to start out of LOS, and possibly grab LOS on a target.</p><p><b>Myphitic Blight Hauler</b></p><p>They're back, they're BS3+, and they're ready to get close and do some damage. You get out of the Elites slot and into the Fast Attack slot. Compared to the Helbrute, you lose some lethality and accuracy for durability and speed.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PRO</span> - Speed, Survivability, Cost, Versatility</p><p>These little fellas are zippy with a 10" move, and that means it's easier for them to get the melta into range. You're still T7 with 9 wounds, but you also pick up a 5+ invulnerable save. If anyone charges you, you have a few AP-2 attacks and a -1 to hit aura, which matters more when it's not a fist or thunder hammer. Of particular note is the Belching Fumes stratagem, as it reduces rate of fire by 1 for incoming shots (minimum 1). A lot of stuff does, especially anything with two shots. Weirdly, rapid fire doesn't care. Note also that at 140pts a model they're priced to move - and if there's not a lot of armor, you still have frag missiles and the bile spurt to use versus other targets, and you've got speeed.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CON</span> - Likely to get prioritized, shorter range, FA slot competition</p><p>Missile launcher aside, these guys are medium-to-close-ranged combatants. They have the speed to get there. Anyone that can do so is likely to prioritize these guys just because it's something in the army that moves faster than 5." Furthermore, unless you're taking multiple detachments, your fast attack slots are one of the few ways to get, you guessed it, faster units. (Your other options are transports, or using reserves for positioning).</p><p><b>Plagueburst Crawler</b></p><p>Anyone want to play 'catch'? Not for long? That's fine.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PRO</span> - range, durability, output</p><p>Hey, we have 36" and 48" high-strength weapons here. Wait, one ignores line of sight? SWEET. For 175 points you can get a crawler with paired entropy cannons. The entropy cannons are essentially lascannons light; you're only S8 but you ARE 3+1d3 damage, and you hit out to 36" instead of 48" but it's probably enough range. This is reliable firepower that dictates movement. The big gun is pretty versatile - while it's 1d6 shots, you're still BS3+ to start with and it's S8, AP-2, 2 damage. You can spend CP to use Disgusting Force, which gets you up to 3 damage per shot (...save a CP to re-roll you off of that '1' for shots, it's coming. Trust me.) and threatens mortal wounds to packed targets.</p><p>If it's on the table, you probably hit it. Additionally, our Heavy Support slots aren't exactly that contested. You're also T8 with a 3+/5++ and a dozen wounds in the backfield, which requires work to kill.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CON </span>- Speed, cost, random shots, wants babysitters</p><p>175's not the cheapest option here. You are paying for 1d6 shots out of the primary weapon, which means you're liable to use a CP re-roll or two on this thing over the course of a game. Finally, unless you kept the plaguespitters, you probably want a screen - fast bodies will hug this, and it's up to your slugger and side-mounted guns to clean that off.</p><p><b>Chaos Predators</b></p><p>Hey, it's the same predator as everyone else, but with Contagions and a Smoke Screen. They're serviceable, but our book doesn't really provide a ton of support, and as the one item without -1 damage (and a LOT of long range guns) they kinda scream 'shoot me.'</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PRO</span> - range, firepower, surprisingly spry</p><p>The annihilator can pick up four lascannons (well, a twin and two singles) for 170 points while the destructor can bring its trademark autocannon and two lascannons for 180. Go ahead and buy that Havoc Launcher for another 5. These might be the most expensive dedicated gun platforms in the codex, but they reach out to 48" and will leave a mark on something. They also move a spry 12", unlike 99.9% of the codex. You'll probably use that speed to hide out of LOS and then grab a position.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CON </span>- comparative durability, cost, allergic to assault</p><p>Outside of guns and the speed you may or may not use, the predators have a couple big issues. First, they have a glaring neon SHOOT ME sign on them - while they're T7, it's 11 wounds on a 3+ armor save. Your only other form of durability is the smoke screen stratagem - there's just not a lot in the book that really HELPS these guys.</p><p><b>Defiler</b></p><p>Ah, the angry spider-bot. It got better and you could theoretically tech into long-range anti-tank shooting with a twin-lascannon and Defiler Cannon. The defiler cannon's a solid S8, AP-2, 3 damage weapon with 1d6 shots out to 72", and we all love lascannons. My problem with it is that kitting it out for effective shooting means you're skipping out on melee, and realistically this thing leans better towards melee/smashing stuff.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PRO</span> - Can bring some nasty ranged guns, durability</p><p>T7, 14 wounds and 3+/5++ is solid. You regenerate a wound a turn, and can crank accurate shots out the length of the board - hot rolls on the defiler cannon can outperform the Plagueburst Mortar as long as you can see the target.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CON </span>- versatility, cost</p><p>Versatility can be a con - if you are making the most out of your range, you've got around 190 points on something with a defiler cannon, havoc launcher, twin las, and some wicked melee. And you're just not going to use all of that all the time. Versatility's not a bad thing per se, but it's also not super efficient. It would be a decent babysitter, but a squad of 5 dudes with objective secured can flip an objective on it unless your dice go hot. You take these guys in a demon engine army and enjoy the fact they can shoot.</p><p>-<b>The Forge World Options-</b></p><p>Remember, per the <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/TG5TwX0VYl8BM5pK.pdf" target="_blank">7 Jan 21 FAQ</a>, if it has the <LEGION> keyword and can take the NURGLE keyword, we can take it. Thank nurgle.</p><p><b>Decimator</b></p><p>Hey, it's a weird demon engine with a variety of guns. We can get some use out of this thing. Pay attention to the butcher cannons (4 shots each, S7, AP-2, 2 damage) and the Soulburner petard (only 24" range, but they're assault 2d3 and on a 2+ to wound it's a mortal wound).</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PROS</span> - Reasonable durability, range OR mortal wound output, reasonable speed</p><p>You're T7 with 12 wounds, 3+/5++ and a regenerating wound per turn. Sadly, there's no damage reduction but we can't have everything. Paired butcher cannons are plenty serviceable - 8 shots out to 36" with S7, AP-2 and 2 damage can grind down anything that doesn't have a -1 to damage. The average vs T7/3+ armor is 6-8 wounds per turn with a pair. The soulburner petard gets interesting; you lose range (and increase risk to yourself) but average around 3-4 mortal wounds vs. everything, with a range of 4-12 shots a turn. Also, you move 9", which is nice.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CONS</span> - Degrading statline, little support</p><p>This thing isn't that bad, honestly. The major cons that come to mind is that Death Guard just don't do a ton for generic demon engines outside of, say, a stratagem for a 4++ save and a weird relic for healing them a little.</p><p><b>Chaos Contemptor</b></p><p>You like options? Welcome to options.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PROS</span> - range and firepower</p><p>You're spoiled for choice, but if you really want raw firepower it's two twin lascannons and a cyclone missile launcher. If you want to trim points you can go for autocannons, but that's your call. Reach out and touch someone at 48 inches, hard.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CONS</span> - cost, target priority, lack of support</p><p>If you go with the all-out crazy firepower, it's around 215 points. You're T7, 9W, 3+/5++ and your only defense is a -1 to incoming damage, so um. Yeah. Be careful. Note that you also pay a CP to bring the dreadnought as well, and you have neither the CORE keyword nor the HELBRUTE keyword. That being said, I can definitely see testing these guys.</p><p><b>Chaos Leviathan</b></p><p>You like options and you want them on a vintage, beefy chassis? Now you're in the right spot.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PROS </span>- Really pretty murderous, some solid options, reasonable speed</p><p>Two guns stick out - the storm cannons and the grav-flux bombard. I would consider two loadouts - paired storm cannons, or a grav-flux bombard and close-combat weapon. Storm cannons drop eight S7, AP-1, 2 damage shots out to 36" per gun. You'll chip 5-6 wounds off the average T7 transport, and once Contagions come into play, it gets worse. The grav-flux bombard is a weird, nasty weapon - it's Heavy 2d3 Blast at S8, AP3, 2 damage (up to 3 damage vs saves of 3+) but it has a max range of 18". That's one reason I consider a melee weapon - (which is S14, AP-3, 3 damage and has a built-in meltagun because why not). You're also getting all this on a T7 platform with 14 wounds and a 2+/5++ save with -1 incoming damage.</p><p>I skip past the melta lance mostly because it's crazy nasty but not quite as versatile or reliable as the grav-flux. (1d6 shots vs 2d3, 1d6 damage vs. flat). It can spike, but the bombards engage a variety of targets.</p><p>Also remember you've got a pair of heavy flamers, but you could always replace those with volkite calivers for more S5 shots out to 30". (S5, no AP, 2 damage, mortal wounds on 6s. Man, the 30ks were weird times.)</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CONS</span> - cost, target priority, lack of support</p><p>You're 220 points base, and a CP - 240 if you went double storm cannons. You're neither CORE nor HELBRUTE. Honestly, you kinda don't need either.</p><p><b>Chaos Deredo</b></p><p>Pure shooty classic dreadnought.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PROS</span> - no frills rate of fire</p><p>Base model packs 8 shots of S7, AP-2, 2 damage and you're probably buying a missile launcher for 3d3 shots of S6, AP-1 fun as well. You also get heavy bolters, and have the option to trade your main gun for a six-shot plasma cannon, a two-shot 3+d3 lascannon, or a weird 6 shot S8, AP-2 2 damage gun that drops 2 mortal wounds on 6s to wound. (Volkite! Lightning! DEAD STUFF!)</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CONS</span> - Expensive, lack of support</p><p>Same thing as the other dreads from Forge World - you're around 200 points and a CP and have minimal support. You're still kind of nasty. </p><p><b>Greater Blight Drone</b></p><p>What would happen if someone sped up a Bloat Drone and gave it longer-ranged guns? This. This is what would happen. It gets a plague Reaper autocannon, a spray, and a so-so melee attack.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PROS</span> - cheap</p><p>It's 125pts for a bloat drone stat line that got a 14" move and a reaper autocannon that re-rolls 1s to hit. </p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CONS</span> - Competes for fast attack slots</p><p>It's cheap, but it's not a lot of output. Bloat Drones cost around the same points and demand attention because they will drop a dozen marine-shredding or vehicle-crippling attacks.</p><p><b>The Sicaran Tank Family</b></p><p>The Sicaran chassis is essentially a faster, beefier predator that costs CP to take. They're T7, 14W, a 2+ save and a 14" move. They also start with a hull heavy bolter, and have the option to take sponson lascannons or heavy bolters. There are three options.</p><p>Regular Sicaran main gun - 48" range, 6 shots, S7, AP-2, 3 damage</p><p>Venator - 48" range, 3 shots, S12, AP-3, d6 damage (6 if stationary)</p><p>Punisher - 36" range, 18 shots, S6, AP-1, 1 damage</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PROS</span> - Solid ranged firepower, speed, reasonable durability</p><p>All three options can lay on the hurt at range. The venator looks sick while stationary, but is a bit more swingy due to low volume of shots and the lack of any support. The punisher actually stays a little more reliable just due to straight volume of fire - it's also the cheapest. Take your sponson heavy bolters and you end up right at 200pts, and you just sandblast targets to death.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CONS</span> - Price, lack of support</p><p>You're going to pay around 200 points for these tanks. The only real support you have is the smoke screen stratagem.</p><p><b>Rapier Carriers</b></p><p>Do you like crew-served artillery? Who doesn't. You have a choice of four weapons -</p><p>Graviton Cannon - 36", 1d6 shots, S6, AP-3, 2 damage (3 damage vs. 3+ or better saves)</p><p>Laser Destroyer - 36", Heavy 3, S10, AP-4, 3+d3 damage</p><p>Quad Heavy Bolter - 36", Heavy 12, S5, AP-1, 2 damage</p><p>Quad Launcher - EITHER 24", Heavy 4, S8, AP-2, 3 damage, OR 60", Heavy 4d3, S4, AP0, 1 damage, may shoot at what you can't see</p><p>The only one that doesn't call out to me is the Graviton Cannon. The quad heavy bolter cranks out enough firepower to sandblast stuff to death, but we really like the Laser Destroyer and the Quad Launcher</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">PROS </span>- firepower</p><p>These are all about guns. Or rather, one big gun. Get into position, take the shot. </p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CON</span> - Mobility, Durability</p><p>These things move 4", and are a whopping T5, W5 per model for an 85-120pt model. You really want to stay back and out of range.</p></div></div>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-68134173838360562272021-01-29T11:10:00.006-06:002021-01-29T11:10:44.989-06:00Death Guard - First Game in, First Impressions<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhavYqjGlHhJiFbM8aQ47ZLEywlvKzbhpPiZO-Dt6D9ouINRymtTRCF2PdVeKqBhs4_kmpWUW1_wvV4K0apYQ-0B1q-gJLPXQJNADNu8GWgFNWE-YkCoDSosXuD6UBf4sJ6-bTi9ffE0fE/s3024/PXL_20210129_163633131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1675" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhavYqjGlHhJiFbM8aQ47ZLEywlvKzbhpPiZO-Dt6D9ouINRymtTRCF2PdVeKqBhs4_kmpWUW1_wvV4K0apYQ-0B1q-gJLPXQJNADNu8GWgFNWE-YkCoDSosXuD6UBf4sJ6-bTi9ffE0fE/s320/PXL_20210129_163633131.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> I threw dice with the new book. Unlike 95% of the community, I didn't drop Mortarion on game one. I hit up an old buddy's Black Templar. My list was a little something like this -<p></p><p><b>Mortarion's Anvil - Battalion</b></p><p>Winged Demon Prince - 2x Claws, Warlord - Gloaming Bloat, Warp Hive, psychic power - Putrescent Vitality</p><p>Malignant Plague Caster - Gift of Plagues, Miasma of Pestilence</p><p>5 Deathshroud Terminators</p><p>2x5 Blightlord Terminators - Flail, Blight Launcher</p><p>Plague Surgeon - Fugaris' helm</p><p>Foul Blight Spawn - Revolting Stench Vats</p><p>Helbrute - Multi melta, missile launcher</p><p>Helbrute - Multi melta, fist, combi-bolter</p><p>2x5 Plague Marines - blight launcher</p><p>2x Pox Walker Blobs</p><p>2x Bloat Drones w/ Flesh Mowers</p><p><b>BLACK TEMPLARS at a Glance</b></p><p>Primaris Biker Chaplain</p><p>Grimaldus</p><p>Primaris Techmarine (master of the forge, relic of 4++ invuln for a turn)</p><p>Blob of Hammer/Shield Assault Terminators</p><p>Apothecary (WL trait for free revives)</p><p>Blob of storm shield vanguard vets w/ a few hammers and a Sword of Judgment</p><p>2x MM/bolter Venerable Dreads, Ironclad w/ Hurricane Bolter, 2x Hunter-killer missiles</p><p>3x Crusader Squads to babysit objectives</p><p>Suppressor Squad</p><p>2x Outrider Squads</p><p><b>IMPRESSIONS</b></p><p>OVERALL - This army is slow, durable, and requires careful deployment - unless you're deep-striking or coming in from strategic reserves, you're not going to go that far. We don't have a lot of shooting or long-range assets, so be prepared to protect those. Being tough doesn't mean you break cover and walk in the open, daring the enemy to attack you. 2+ saves like cover just like everyone else.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>By Assets</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Demon Prince</span> - I realize claws are now AP-1; I realized this when I charged storm shield terminators. I'm lucky I'm not dead. The sword is 100% the way to go on these guys. Wings are expensive, but I like the FLY keyword.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Psychic Powers</span> - Miasma's basically an auto-take. Gift of Plagues depends on your warlord traits, but debuff contagion auras (and Flash Outbreak) along with this are dumb. Gift of Plagues can do work even as turns tick over, since debuffs are great!</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Blightlords</span> - mine are modeled with axes. I am still reasonably pleased with axes - S6, AP-2 means I'm hitting on 3s and wounding on re-rolling 2s vs most infantry and swords are 3's and 3's. S6 also lets me grind at vehicles in a pinch. I'll see if I keep that opinion, but the flail and the blight launcher are obvious keeps. I'd considered a combi-weapon or two, but didn't miss it much - we're so slow that you might get one productive melta shot, or a turn or two of plasma plinking at best.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Deathshroud</span> - If you're going to bring a brick of terminators and characters, you're bringing a unit of these. They're murder, though the spray pistols need contagions to kick in for that S3 to be meaningful. No one really wants to get close to them.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Pox Walkers</span> - if you've got enough other threats out there, people probably aren't going to waste the volume of fire necessary to kill 15-20 of these guys off an objective. If you're going to tie up stuff, don't be like me and derp out and forget dreadnoughts with hurricane bolters can fire those in assault.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Plague Surgeon</span> - take Fugaris' helm. That is all. Seriously. </p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Foul Blightspawn </span>- take revolting stench vats. Seriously. A 6" no-charge bubble is a lot more user-friendly and harder to avoid than a 3" targeting "you fight last" power. The spray is a mop-up ability here.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Helbrutes</span> - we get our big guns where we can. I think most of my lists will start with either a couple of these or a couple Blight Haulers. These things get terrifying if someone chips a wound off them; Fire Fever means I'm hitting on 2s (and possibly re-rolling 1s) then I'm wounding most armor on a 2 (and re-rolling 1s if wounded). I really don't care if I have to put a combi-bolter into an armored target for those bonuses. One of mine got popped early after whiffing, and another smoked the Ironclad, then almost beat a second dread to death (..before someone made a couple 6s to shrug).</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Bloat Drones</span> - Our book needs mobility badly - this is an option. Again, if I'm not taking Blight Haulers, I'm probably take a couple of these. The heavy blight launcher isn't bad per se, but the flesh mower is just terrifying. One guy tanked dreadnought multi-meltas (more luck than anything else) and then delayed them; another used the "eat guys for wounds" stratagem, and managed to do some solid work and last the game. Any sane opponent with guns is going to do their level best to murder these to deny you options.</p><p>Hilariously, bloat drones are allergic to AP-1 bolt guns, or 1d6 damage weapons. </p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-41027473568115291452021-01-26T23:51:00.001-06:002021-01-26T23:51:19.636-06:00Death Guard - First Impressions of Plague Companies<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhzarelBQOSTtymplEZxOqhrYi_M5Vzfi1xKI3F5FJnbysYqnpFXXnc0Ao6UP5tYqTQHQOdPyxSRHxKpLijMjXPMe4wgO-g26yfph_CosQCJd2N_SCzza_HRKz0lNq8_4z_xtBehzwxk/s3478/PXL_20210127_044824259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3478" data-original-width="2979" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhzarelBQOSTtymplEZxOqhrYi_M5Vzfi1xKI3F5FJnbysYqnpFXXnc0Ao6UP5tYqTQHQOdPyxSRHxKpLijMjXPMe4wgO-g26yfph_CosQCJd2N_SCzza_HRKz0lNq8_4z_xtBehzwxk/s320/PXL_20210127_044824259.jpg" /></a></div>So, we have a pretty solid new codex - and unlike, say, most other books, we're just one chapter. However, we have seven options for companies. Each plague company offers us a unique warlord trait, a relic, and stratagem.<p></p><p>So, what do we want to do with these? Note we already have some solid warlord traits and relics, so you may just be looking at stratagems.</p><p><b>First Company - The Harbingers</b></p><p>SHORT VERSION - The Harbingers are melee-oriented, with a stratagem for helping Pox Walkers and a so-so relic and warlord trait.</p><p>LONG VERSION</p><p>The meat here is The Wrathful Dead - for a CP, your poxwalkers re-roll hits. Throw that on top of the Mutant Straint stratagem, and suddenly you're fishing for 6s to hit for mortal wounds with poxwalker mobs.</p><p>The Warlord trait is 'eh' at best - it's not bad if you're around multiple minimum-sized units since stuff in Contagion Range (other than vehicles) takes mortal wounds in the opponent's movement phase on 4+s. You can luck out and drop d3 mortals.</p><p>Infected Remains is gimmicky at best - your relic-bearer drops it on an objective marker, which then has a contagion aura as long as the character lives. Not saying this can't be useful, but we've got a ton of cool relics.</p><p><b>Second Company - The Inexorable</b></p><p>SHORT VERSION - This company's pretty utilitarian; the stratagem is solid for a melee army. The warlord trait is neat if you're helping out plague marines, and the relic can actually help heal vehicles - which is kinda rare for this book. (We're more about just not dying, rather than getting better.)</p><p>LONG VERSION</p><p>Ferric Miasma is 1CP for a flat -2 to charge - you REALLY get to laugh at stuff trying to charge you from deep strike; hitting a 9 isn't bad, but hitting 11s is...unlikely. Anyone with charge buffs will need them, and anyone without them is in some shape.</p><p>The Warlord Trait is useful IF you tech into a quantity of low AP attacks - it's an aura of +1AP equal to your contagion range. Terminators don't really care about it, but other stuff does. It's build-specific, but don't keep The Inexorable for just plague marines.</p><p>The Leechspore Casket is...I dunno. You want someone already killy to carry it, and they need to punch models to death in order to heal a vehicle for some wounds. If you're going to support some front-line demon engines (anything other than your mortars, really) it's an option, but maybe not the first option.</p><p><b>Third Company - Mortarion's Anvil</b></p><p>SHORT VERSION - This has a hilarious durability warlord trait, a defensive strategem, and a hard-to-fight relic.</p><p>LONG VERSION</p><p>Gloaming Bloat is just sick - it turns off re-rolls to hit and wound in Contagion Range. You really want to bring Gift of Plagues for a boost to that range.</p><p>Relaptic Assault is a neat stratagem because it's going to make folks be careful about positioning - if you've got multiple units next to each other, it's going to be very hard for them to just hit one in assault.</p><p>The Warp Insect Hive is good for full hit/wound re-rolls. A Demon Prince with two claws and Virulent Fever would like this. A LOT.</p><p><b>Fourth Company - The Wretched</b></p><p>SHORT VERSION - The stratagem and warlord trait aren't terrible utility, but the relic is 'meh' and other stuff has more straightforward utility.</p><p>LONG VERSION</p><p>You get a Requisition Stratagem - one psyker gets another power, and one free re-roll a turn. You'll definitely get some economy out of that. This might let you get away with one psyker.</p><p>The Warlord Trait is good for auto-wounds on sixes in contagion range - so it's a turn 2-3 melee buff unless you commit to Gift of Plagues (...which you should.)</p><p>Your relic buffs the Pestilential Fallout on a Malignant Plaguecaster. These guys aren't super durable, and I'd really rather keep 'em away from the front - and real talk, we've got better relics.</p><p><b>Fifth Company - The Poxmongers</b></p><p>SHORT VERSION - Are you leaning into demon engines like the Blight Hauler or Defiler? Look at these guys. Otherwise, skip.</p><p>LONG VERSION</p><p>Your stratagem is all about letting that demon engine fire at point blank range with blast weapons, and a nice +1 to hit as a bonus. The Defiler and Blight Hauler find this hilarious.</p><p>Your Warlord Trait is so-so at best, since it's a leadership debuff and a combat attrition debuff - small beefy units don't care about it, even if we do have a neat -4LD stratagem laying around.</p><p>The Relic leans into your demon engines - someone gets a 4++ instead of their 5++.</p><p><b>Sixth Company - The Ferrymen</b></p><p>SHORT VERSION - There's a bonkers warlord trait, a decent buff stratagem for your elites, and a decent relic for your scythe-wielding guys.</p><p>LONG VERSION</p><p>The Droning is one of the ugliest-looking warlord traits we have - 1/2 movement to enemies in your Contagion Range. Gift of Contagion is a hard must here, and you need this on a mobile warlord to throw at the enemy - you may lose it (unless it's Mortarion) but you can potential hobble an enemy army for a turn, so there's that.</p><p>The stratagem is pretty reasonable - +6" to your FOETIED VIRION (aka - your elite buff guys) auras is a tool you can find a use for - IE, a 9" range for your "you can't fight 'til we're done here" off the Blightbringer is ugly.</p><p>The relic isn't quite as insane as some - it's a manreaper that lets you crank three swings on scything swings instead of two, but you also can't dump one of our plague upgrades on it. Considering our other stuff, eh. Not too worried, and we have other relics.</p><p><b>Seventh Company - Mortarion's Chosen Sons</b></p><p>SHORT VERSION - Do you like sprays? Are you bringing lots of Death Shroud? Then this is your company.</p><p>LONG VERSION</p><p>The stratagem is pretty specific, and very ugly - plague belchers, spewers, and plaguespurt gauntlets are damage 2. A unit of five Death Shroud can crank out 6d6 shots (admittedly at S3, but -1T is a thing) and stuff's gonna notice.</p><p>The Warlord trait, Nurgle's Fruit, is pretty utilitarian - it turns cover off in Contagion Range. Not bad, but we're also not the shootiest army - I feel like we can kinda skip this.</p><p>Vomitryx is a hilarious-sounding relic - it's a flat 7 shots at AP-3, 2 damage - cool, right? There is literally only one problem - it replaces a plague sprayer, which means it goes on a Foul Blightspawn, which means it competes with Revolting Stench Vats. What do you want more? A really neat flamer, or a an aura of "you didn't charge, you don't fight first" in a slow army. If you're taking two of these guys, maybe this would be cool - but eh.</p><p><b>The Wrapup</b></p><p>Some of these companies lean into certain builds - the first helps your Poxmongers, the Seventh Company is tailor-made for Deathshroud terminators, and the Fifth is all about Demon Engines. The fourth is...well, it's a plague company. The remaining ones offer different types of utility, but don't necessarily scream for one type of unit over another.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-34344109003143469542021-01-24T12:37:00.001-06:002021-01-24T12:37:10.093-06:00Death Guard - Picking Through the Plague Marine Datasheet<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.imgflip.com/2ytett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="495" src="https://i.imgflip.com/2ytett.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Options - lots of options</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> If you've picked up the new Death Guard book, you may have noticed that the Plague Marine datasheet is a wee bit beefy. It has lots of options - like, a lot. A potentially overwhelming number of option. At this point, my plan is to figure out how I'm going to think about thinking about the datasheet.</p><p><b>Question Zero - Am I taking Plague Marines?</b></p><p>Technically, I don't HAVE to take plague marines - I can take terminators and then take pox walkers or cultists - three terminator squads let me grab three non-plague-marine troop squads, so I could leave these guys at home. Realistically, you'd taking Pox Walkers for immunity to morale and Objective Secured.</p><p>For the purposes of this thought experiment, let's assume the answer is 'yes.'</p><p><b>Question 1 - Small unit or large?</b></p><p>You can take 5-10 guys. Five-man squads fill out slots, or objective-sit. If a five-man squad goes into assault, it goes into a fist fight with something it's going in as a mop-up or as part of a group. My first impression is that the five-man squad should consider a ranged option so they can contribute whenever - also, seriously, Death Guard don't have a lot of guns, so you might as well get that wehere you can.</p><p>If you're a larger squad, you've decided you're going to do damage - decide if you want a Rhino, or if you're going to walk up the field. If you're going to jog up the field, consider guns and a couple melee options.</p><p>OVERALL - 5 guys bring a gun, sit on an objective and/or sit behind someone and plink. 10 guys do damage and should realistically kit out for shooting and fighting.</p><p><b>Question 2 - Which guns?</b></p><p>We have access to three types of guns - plasma guns, blight launchers, and meltaguns. The meltaguns look attractive on a squad of 10 that are moving upfield to attack - you might have to crack armor open, and you might want to slag a monster.</p><p>The plasma gun and blight launcher are a little bit closer. The blight launcher beats the plasma gun for damage, plasma gets it in rate of fire. I'm a little split, as earlier in the game S7 on a ranged weapon is bound to do more damage early on. Note that the champ can still take a plasma gun as well, so you can double up on aplsma.</p><p>I feel like the plague belcher is definitely an option, but I'd rather focus on what we need help with - the meltagun seems like a more useful option for a couple points. The plague spewer is I guess an option for a rhino-mounted squad, but if it gets popped early you're choosing between shooting and running since it's heavy. (IE - this is the flamer vs. heavy flamer comparison on a squad that cranks out a bunch of WS3+, AP-1 melee attacks against targets at -1 toughness...)</p><p>OVERALL - Realistically, a 5-man squad is a toss-up between the blight launcher and a plasma gun or two, or a double plasma gun. 10 guys should think about the meltagun since they're definitely trying to move and get close.</p><p><b>Question 3 - Sarge's Melee Options</b></p><p>Every squad's got a champ. The champ can bring melee stuff in addition to that potential plasma gun.</p><p>Champ can bring one of three melee weapons - the bog-standard plague knife, a daemonic plague blade, or a power fist. The plague knife is free, and is AP-1. The daemonic plague blade picks up a +1S bonus, and appears to be free as well unless it gets FAQ'd, so you definitely take that. The only real question is "do I pay 10 points for a powerfist."</p><p>If you're babysitting the backfield, you skip the 'fist.</p><p>If you're moving upfield, consider the fist. There's very little T9 in the game, and with the Contagions of Nurgle ability you're throwing S8 vs T7 max 99.9% of the time. As long as you hit with those swings, someone's gonna feel it.</p><p><b>Question 4 - The squad's melee options</b></p><p>Now, it gets interesting. The squad can take several noteworthy melee options - the flail of corruption, the great plague cleaver, and the mace of contagion (and bubotic axe pair). Hello, analysis. These all cost about the same; the mace/axe is ~2pts cheaper.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Short Version</span> - the cleaver has a chance to spike damage vs. vehicles, and if you bring a nice to-hit buff (hello, Mr. Tallyman) and really need anti-vehicle work, consider the cleaver.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">THE LONG VERSION - MATH AHEAD</span></p><p>The Flail of Corruption - S5, AP-2, 2 Damage - swings 2x per attack, so 4 attacks on a plague marine</p><p>The Great Plague Cleaver - S8, Ap-3, D6 damage, -1 to hit</p><p>The Mace of Contagion - S6, AP-1, 3 damage, -1 to hit</p><p>Bubotic Axe - S6, AP-2, 1 damage</p><p>So again, the question here is - what do we want to kill? You've already got a bunch of guys with 2 attacks on WS3+, AP-1, S4, -1T (so T4 infantry are taking wounds on 3+.)</p><p>Our concern is going to be heavy infantry (like 2-3W beefy melee guys, IE Terminators or Ogryn) and vehicles. Part of this concern is going to be what else is in the army - see the meltagun argument.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">VS T4-5 heavy infantry -</span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">FLAIL</span> - 2.6 hits > 1.7 wounds > 3.5 damage on average - you'll get a couple 2W guys, or one 3W guy</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CLEAVER </span>- 1 hit > 0.83 wounds > 2.9 damage on average - you'll probably get the 2W guy, the 3W guy is a 33% miss because of that d6</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">MACE </span>- 1 hit > 0.66 wounds > 2 damage average - ok, the damage average is weird here, but the AP (which we're not doing here) makes this thing get wonky depending on what you're hitting.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">VS Vehicles/Monsters</span></p><p>It gets interesting here, because we've got an S5, an S6, and an S8 weapon. The cleaver doesn't care because it's always gonna wound on a 3+. The flail's wound number changes after T6, and the Mace changes after T7.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">CLEAVER</span> - 2 Swings > 1 Hit > 0.83 wounds > 2.9 damage</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">FLAIL</span></p><p>vs. T6 - 4 Swings > 2.67 hits > 1.33 wounds > 2.67 damage</p><p>vs. T7+ - 4 Swings > 2.67 hits > 0.88 wounds > 1.78 damage</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">MACE</span></p><p>vs. T6 - same as vs. infantry; 2 damage average</p><p>vs. T7 - 2 swings > 1 hit > 0.5 wounds > 1.5 damage</p><p>vs. T8 - 2 swings > 1 hit > 0.33 wounds > 1 damage</p><p>So at this point, real talk - the mace is kinda 'meh' - 3 damage is nice, but it's kind of a trap. I'd rather bring a lot of attacks via the flail, or I'd rather bring the d6 damage and try to spike it. S8, AP-3 puts the cleaver head and shoulders above the mace in most matchups I can think of.</p><p><b>Question 5 - Icons, etc.</b></p><p>You also have options for the Icon of Despair and Sigil of Decay. You can technically take both.</p><p>The Icon lets you drop a 1d6 in the morale phase, and each enemy you're engaged with eats a 4+ mortal wound. If you think you're going to stay in the fight for a while, it's an option - but with a 4+, eh. I feel like I'll spend points elsewhere first.</p><p>The Sigil of Decay lets bolt weapons auto-wound on a 6+. That's legit interesting, but only on a max squad - it could help with chip damage in the first few turns vs T5+ targets, and realistically, any time you skip rolling dice for guaranteed results is good.</p><p><b>Wrap-up - What do squads look like?</b></p><p>Ok, we've considered guns, we've considered melee weapons - now what does all this analysis look like?</p><p>The 5-man squads are building blocks; the 10-man squads are things you build around as a theme.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>5-man squads</b></span></p><p>Keep it simple, keep it cheap - grab a gun or two, sit in the back. Score. Try not to die or look too threatening.</p><p>5 guys, 2 plasma guns - 130 points - you bring this when you're more likely to sit near a re-roll bubble for a couple turns, but it's solid firepower.</p><p>5 guys, blight launcher - 120 points - it's cheap, it can contribute. It doesn't care about babysitters, and it's a little more reliable at popping 2-wound infantry.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>Larger Squads</b></span></p><p>Real talk - go 10 guys for the max options, or go with a weird mix of stuff. You want to fight, but you also want to be realistic about just how much you can dictate your fight. Consider a Rhino as well.</p><p>10 marines, fist on sarge, 2 flails, 2 meltaguns - 250pts - advance, try to melta armor, then try to charge in and wreck whatever you can. It's versatile, it's nasty, it'll leave a mark but man you're light on range.</p><p>10 marines, fist on sarge, 2 cleavers, 2 blight launchers - 250pts - your ranged weapons are anti-infantry / able to soften up crap, and your other stuff is decent for killing anything else in melee.</p><p>7 Marines - Fist on Sarge, Flail, meltagun - 177pts - eh, 7-8ish dudes is a weird spot, but that's what squads look like. This kind of loadout is a swiss army tool; you've got anti-armor shooting, but maybe not the ability to spike fresh armor off the shot/charge.</p><p>10-man Shooty - Plasma on sarge, 2 plasma guns, sigil of decay - 250pts - ok, real talk here - this is a HUGE commitment for a squad that exists to just dump dice at 24." Can you do it? Yeah, sure. I'm not super convinced you should. Also, real talk, it needs one of your precious LORDS for a re-roll 1 aura to make the plasma worth it.</p><p><b>Conclusions</b></p><p>The 5-man babysitter squads are definitely a solid objective-holder / tool squad. The 10-man squads are beefy as hell, but are bound to compete with our solid Terminator options. I'm not quite 1000% sold on larger squads, but I feel like they're worth a test.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-46453564102818516542021-01-23T18:22:00.003-06:002021-01-23T18:22:19.710-06:00The New Death Guard - And Rampant Speculation For Chaos Space Marines Changes<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://theactuarymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/F3-GettyImages-511085185.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="800" src="https://theactuarymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/F3-GettyImages-511085185.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
So, the Death Guard book hit the streets today. There are tons of folks who've already posted thoughts on it, and I'll get around to that.
First off, though, I'm going to take a minute and speculate on what this might mean for the other chaos fellas. Remember, Death Guard may have a lot of special toys, but they've also got a bunch of units in common with regular Chaos Marines and other stuff. Some of these changes look pretty solid, and some others might be cause for concern. Also, some just plain confuse me.<div><br /></div><div><b>The Good</b> </div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Demon Engines </span>- I would expect them to go to WS/BS3+ across the board. The Lord Discordant may or may not keep his +1 to hit buff at this point; who knows.
The Defiler - it got a better gun; flat 3 damage is something. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;"> Helbrutes -</span> Note that in an army full of '-1 damage' these guys have it too, but it's called 'Monstrous Resilience' which is pretty neutral. They get another buff in 'Frenzy' - unlike previous iterations where being wounded meant you killed your buddies, being wounded means that you get to re-roll wound rolls of 1. This combines neatly with the 1CP stratagem 'fire frenzy' which is good for +1 to hit and +1 to wound if you shoot everything at the same target. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;"> Chaos Spawn -</span> Their random attacks are a little more reliable; it's now 2d3 a model. The interesting thing is this - there's a stratagem, Grandfather's Influence, that grants them Disgustingly Resilient and T6. Makes me wonder if we're going to see similar god-specific stratagems in the new book. I think it's pretty neat. At 23pts a model, it's a reasonable distraction unit - even moreso if you can get some cool buffs out on them.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Miasmic Malignifier</span> - Hear me out - the SM bunker of 'whatever' was so-so, and the Convergence of Dominion is weird to use. This thing, though? This thing is pretty solid, pretty cheap, and pretty usable. The only potential problem is slapping it in a useful spot on a table. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Foetid Virion </span>- hey, you have lots of buff characters - and now you get 3 per Elite slot. Rules like these help with army building, and it continues things we saw with Crypteks in the necron book.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Bad</b> </div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Cultists</span> - Hoo boy. Odds are that you have a pile of these guys laying around. They take a couple hits in the Death Guard book - you have to take BUBONIC ASTARTES units alongside these guys, so you can't just bring Demon Engines and cultists. (Not really a problem since this book's good, but worth noting.) Also, they lost Objective Secured. Really, what this does is mean that a big unit can't take a hit from a few guys and still hold an objective - it hurts, but cultists aren't known for sticking around long when bullets and blades start flying. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;"> Lord Restrictions</span> - it's not necessarily bad, but expect restrictions similar to marines and company with respect to HQs. You get one LORD OF THE DEATH GUARD per detachment. I mean, you were gonna be bringing psykers for our sweet, sweet powers anyway. Regular Chaos Marines are bound to have solid variety in the the HQs.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Possessed </span>- So, the downside is that they take 2 slots in a Land Raider, and don't fit in a Rhino. I'd expect errata extending this to the Forge World transports as well. So long as Warp Time remains a thing, I'm not sure if regular marines will worry as much.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Ugly</b> </div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Plague Marine / Blight Lord Options </span>- it seriously looks like some of the weapon options got dictated by the kits. I'm not sure what's up with this. I feel like someone, somewhere, was like "Oh, I bet it'll be easier if the weapon options are identical to the kit!" except having one of each combi-weapon on a blightlord squad is just weird - and there's not enough of eithr melee option to kit a full 5 out with each. It's a little nonsensical.</div><div><br /></div><div> The Plague Marine squad is just kinda confusing, and is going to take a minute to sort through, especially if you want a melee squad. There's a bunch of 1-per-5, so you could somehow end up with a 10-man squad that carried two plague cleavers, two flails, two paired plague knives, two meltaguns, a sigil of decay/boltgun, and a sarge with fist and daemonic plague knife. (Good luck pulling casualties or rolling melee hits in a reasonable amount of time.)</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff;">Splitting Chaos Predator Datasheets</span> - I don't see the relevance myself, but whatever. I guess it matters if you somehow wanted to run 3 of each.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Overall</b></div><div>This seems like a net positive at first glance for Chaos Marines down the road - some of our stuff is bound to get tweaked, the only thing that really confuses me is the "ooh, maybe let's make options similar to what's in the box, except not always!" Thank the gods that logic passed the Devastators by, because that would probably punt devs HARD.</div>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-48778841375564521552021-01-15T21:20:00.004-06:002021-01-15T21:20:42.915-06:00More on Iron Hands and 9th - Post 7 Jan Points Tweaks<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8PJC20l0aNqYxfLixqnO9Efywf0Ca6YMKaABGQJyBw83XgAwojlzZN-6iSuXYtDDxHD-55uORA9fdeClIGbBzj8r14J0nnYRqWIYoPSHfBmKmVy1yLkkrKb-x7T3wDvDtZnMuGxVx_U/s2699/PXL_20210116_023931583.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2072" data-original-width="2699" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8PJC20l0aNqYxfLixqnO9Efywf0Ca6YMKaABGQJyBw83XgAwojlzZN-6iSuXYtDDxHD-55uORA9fdeClIGbBzj8r14J0nnYRqWIYoPSHfBmKmVy1yLkkrKb-x7T3wDvDtZnMuGxVx_U/s320/PXL_20210116_023931583.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I've had some time to play around with the sons of Ferrus Manus and <a href="https://raptor1313.blogspot.com/2020/11/iron-hands-first-impressions-in-9th.html" target="_blank">test some of my initial impressions</a>. We've also had a points adjustment since then, and a forge world index drop.<p></p><p>The question, then, is what do we do better than other marines, and what's worth building around? Also, are there things that just look neat, but are somehow not quite as cool for us as others? And, finally, do we have some hilarious tricks or things?</p><p><b>The Iron Father</b></p><p>Post 7 Jan FAQ, he's 160 points. That's a significant increase over a regular techmarine, and really, you're paying for his 5++ invuln save bubble. Unless you're going to push a bunch of Intercessors up the table, I don't think he's really worth it. Yes, he gives +1 to hit out more freely, but seriously, you've got re-rolls for CORE stuff already.</p><p>MOVING OUT - Build around him, or leave at home.</p><p><b>The Relic Character Contemptor of Dakka</b></p><p>Would you like to bury a bunch of heavy weapons on a character that really does NOT care about snipers? For a little over 200 points and 2-3 CP, you can bring the sniper dreadnought from hell. Take a Relic Contemptor, drop a pair of twin-las on it, and buy a Cyclone missile launcher for good measure. Pay a second CP (you already paid one for Martial Legacy) for March of the Ancients, and since he's 9W, he just needs to hang back for Look Out, Sir. If you REALLY want to have fun, give him the Warlord Trait 'targeting protocols' - he can hand out a re-roll to hit, a re-roll to wound, and a re-roll to damage.</p><p>He's not CORE, but you might have a techmarine nearby for a +1 to hit, or you might just buff yourself. You're kicking out six shots that are probably wounding on a 3-4 and then doing 1d6 damage per shot. It's a chunk of points, but unless you throw him out too far forward or just get your screens nuked, this guy is bound to have a few turns of ugly, ugly shooting.</p><p>MOVING OUT - not for smaller point games, but it's a bloody productive model.</p><p><b>Grav Devastators in Drop Pods</b></p><p>Seriously, the ability to drop in and drop a bucket of accurate dice is solid. 24" is "you have to hide out of LOS, you aren't screening this out" range. If this unit lives, you can pay a CP and promptly go back into the devastator doctrine.</p><p>I suppose you could lean into drop-pod multi-melta if you wanted to, but that seems like overkill and you have other ways to deliver that capability (like, say, Eradicators and possibly strategic reserves).</p><p>I suppose you could also use traditional long-range devastators and leverage the "revert to devastator doctrine" stratagem as well, but grav is tasty and demands a response.</p><p>MOVING OUT - it's just shy of 200pts and a heavy support slot, and it's not hard to fit into a build.</p><p><b>On Dreadnoughts</b></p><p>Real talk here - I think it's safe to say we do the Redemptor very well; a 6+ shrug on wounds and no stat degradation until we're on 3 wounds remaining? Come on. They're big, they hit hard, and I'm having a hard time not putting 1-2 in my list before looking elsewhere. They're even more fun when you get a Librarian with Psychic Fortress Up, because now you've got a tasty 5++ save.</p><p>Venerable dreadnoughts are in a different spot - 2+ to hit is pretty awesome, but the 6+ shrug they come with is redundant, and they don't degrade. We lose a touch of efficiency here, but a venerable dread is still a bargain-bin pick for March of the Ancients and guns.</p><p>The other dreadnoughts skip out on our ability to basically ignore degrading stats, but they're good with the 6+ FNP. The core advantage they have is weapons choices - and really, the only standouts are the twin lascannon and the multi-melta. You trade out a LOT of volume for these - a dozen S6 shots and another 8 at S5, then your small arms fire and possibly that Icarus pod (because at 5pts, why not.)</p><p>The Ironclad is worth mentioning because T8 is significant - small arms and most melee shifts to 6+ to wound, and most heavy weapons are on 4+ to wound now.</p><p>MOVING OUT - Redemptors are awesome. It's hard to say not to them because we make them shine. The biggest competitor is the relic contemptor sniper build mentioned above.</p><p><b>On the Apothecary</b></p><p>So, these guys got a nice buff. The thing is, we already have half of what an apothecary offers - a 6+ shrug. So, we bring one to resurrect guys. A Chief Apothecary is around 100pts and a warlord trait (probably means he's your warlord, and you're spending a CP to buff someone else, or he's getting his trait for a CP). If you didn't bring a beefy unit of special characters, skip this guy - you want to bring back something like Terminators, Aggressors, Bladeguard Veterans, Eradicators or something else tasty.</p><p>If you're bringing him to bring back intercessors, think about what you'd get out of 5 more intercessors on the field right away.</p><p>MOVING OUT - Much as I like this model, Iron Hands really want more of a plan for it since the 6+ shrug aura is redundant.</p><p><b>Warlord Traits / Relics of Note</b></p><p>Don't neglect Student of History - it's not really killy by itself, but Paragon of Iron for a more killy trait (like Sword of the Imperium) along with this lets your Warlord back out of combat on your opponents turn, letting you shoot things and then charge or relocate.</p><p>Sword the Imperium + Axe of Medusa = bargain thunder hammer on the charge; you get an S8, AP-3 3 damage power axe that hits on 2s.</p><p>If you really want to try to make a Repulsor Executioner work (or some other weird, large FW tank) consider a Techmarine with the Iron Stone and Targeting Protocols; -1 damage from your relic, +1BS and a re-roll to hit, wound, and damage is tasty. It's also a lot of eggs in one basket.</p><p>Aegis Ferrum + The Flesh is Weak-- if you really, really, REALLY have to be tanky, you can stack +1W, -1 damage, and a 5+ shrug (that goes to 4+ via stratagem) on a model. This gets kinda dumb on bike characters (T6, W7 biker captain, T6, W8 biker primaris chaplain) and the captain in gravis armor (T6, W8). Make sure your character can already do damage with his existing weapons, though. (Hammer/shield bike, Gravis say "HI!" and then promptly want to beat the hell out of you.)</p><p><b>On Flyers</b></p><p>Look, even though we have a 6+ shrug, I really can't bring myself to recommend more than 0-2 flyers in a list at any given moment. Marine flyers are a touch flimsy - best-case scenario is they fly across the board, dump bullets into a hard-to-see target, and then get dead.</p><p>MOVING OUT - I'll bring them occasionally for fun, but anyone with guns is going to spike them as hard as they can, just because you can take out a lot of firepower for the wounds. 170-220pts for 10W on a T6-T7 chassis that's in short-to-medium range just isn't that hot, even with a -1 to hit.</p><p><br /></p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-86403382064922720892020-11-10T20:43:00.001-06:002020-11-10T20:43:02.746-06:00Necrons - 9th Edition, Dynasties, and You<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-s3S60c3eWm3E-JzaZnfbiA7PZnqp79nY4RJDhxOdH_1kUtAOzqmw1WryYbuHSvME_5kDoFICN9xajzmTZey45E7XBrDZnpSYcTfgRSgtFjW_xVXB2AwypWiQ_yYmcKLbJogC3bIqRZQ/s4032/PXL_20201027_010953547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-s3S60c3eWm3E-JzaZnfbiA7PZnqp79nY4RJDhxOdH_1kUtAOzqmw1WryYbuHSvME_5kDoFICN9xajzmTZey45E7XBrDZnpSYcTfgRSgtFjW_xVXB2AwypWiQ_yYmcKLbJogC3bIqRZQ/s320/PXL_20201027_010953547.jpg" /></a></div>We have some solid options when it comes to picking dynasties now - we've got six stock dynasties, and a "build your own" buffet of traits. Stock dynasties include stratagems, relics, a favorite command protocol and sometimes a character or two. The build-your-own option trades out the stock perks for versatility.<p></p><p><b>Mephrit - </b>+3" range / +1AP in half range - AKA "assault/rapid-fire love"</p><p>Mephrit is pretty straightforward and usable.</p><p>If you were on the internet, you saw far too many times where someone asked "flayers or reapers?" on warriors. Mephrit gets reapers to 15", which is a lot more usable with transports and the Veil of Darkness. Otherwise, the basic trait is great for making your small arms a bit more killy. Your preferred protocol is great for your rapid-fire turn, as it strips cover AND might give you more AP if you roll a 6 to wound. Note that another 3" of rapid-fire range usually doesn't mean that much, but assault weapons - IE Tesla - tend to like it.</p><p>The unique stratagem just helps more - you can get mortal wounds on 6s to wound, up to a max of 3. Mortal wounds are always great, and most stuff with the volume of fire for this has AP-1 (maybe AP-2 if you're rapid-firing Flayers, because of the +1AP bonus.)</p><p>The relic is not BAD, per se, but you probably won't take it because you've got other options. Your Royal Warden (...if you took one) gets a 36", rapid-fire 3 S6, AP-2 2 damage gun. Again, this isn't BAD at all, but you've got some solid relics to pick from before this.</p><p>The Warlord trait is, interestingly enough, more stabby - +1A, +1S. Compare/contrast to Enduring Will; this is a bit more killy but Enduring Will is a boon against multi-damage weapons. Note that +1S gets most Lord weapons to S8, which is a significant break-point for your wound rolls.</p><p><b>Novokh - </b>+1" to charges / +1 attack on the charge - AKA "CHAAAAAAAAARGE"</p><p>Like Mephrit, this is pretty+ straightforward and usable.</p><p>Do you want to assault things? This is how you assault things. A Lord with a Veil of Darkness and Implacable Conquerer next to some Lychguard and get ready to have some fun - you can do silly things like use the standard +1 attack stratagem for Lychguard, AND Novokh's +1 attack stratagem, AND +1S for CORE melee units. Going to an 8 with a re-roll means you get about a 65% chance to make that charge. Not guaranteed, but damned scary since it might be game-changing.</p><p>The exact bonus of a +1 to charge rolls depends on where you're at on distance - could be as much as ~17% (8 to 7) , could be as little as ~6% (12 to 11).</p><p>Your chosen protocol is decent - +1S and bonus AP on 6s to wound. +1S matters mostly if it'll kick you from wounding on 4+ to 3+.</p><p>Your warlord trait is so-so - you get free mortal wounds on a 6 to wound. I'd rather get more attacks or better attacks.</p><p>Now, the relic is pretty straightforward - it's good for +2 bonus attacks. Again, it's straightforward, and useful.</p><p><b>Szarekhan - </b>5+ shrug vs. mortal wounds / re-roll a wound - AKA "Utility and psyker defense"</p><p>This is some straightforward stuff as well - you aren't necessarily pointed towards any given build, but your units with low-volume / high-quality attacks are going to like it. This is by and large the most utilitarian dynasty, as you also get a stratagem that gives you a Deny the witch on a flat 4+.</p><p>Your utility extends to the Warlord trait - it lets you use one protocol twice. The problem remains in guessing the <a href="https://raptor1313.blogspot.com/2020/10/new-necrons-command-protocols-and-you.html" target="_blank">flow of the game well enough to pick a protocol</a> - so I'd recommend you pick one to double up on in the first couple of turns.</p><p>Surprise, surprise - your relic, the Sovereign Coronal, is ALSO utility - based. Your command protocols are 9", and any CORE units within that range get both sides of the protocol. So, yes, there's utility here - however, you need to REALLY get your protocols right. I'd honestly skip this one.</p><p>I want to like Szarekhan, but the most reliable benefit is going to be the wound re-roll, followed by the mortal wound shrug and the psychic deny.</p><p><b>Nephrekh - </b>Translocation / 6++ invuln - AKA "speed kills"</p><p>Nephrekh's 'translocation' lets you get an auto 6" advance in exchange for no shooting w/ assault weapons, AND it lets you fall back through models. You'll probably use the auto-advance more than anything else. Your mobility extends to your dynasty stratagem - you can slap a DYNASTY unit in deep strike (...sadly, no C'tan).</p><p>Your warlord trait and relic help you leverage this mobility into assault fun. Anyone taking a shot at your warlord takes -1 to hit - this helps more when folks aren't swinging powerfists, etc. at 'im, but it's still very usable. If nothing else, you get access to a pair of defense WL traits in this and in Enduring Will. Your relic - the Solar Staff - is a Staff of Light with a better rate of fire - but the real perk is that if you land one of those six shots on target, you turn off Overwatch and Set To Defend on your target.</p><p>All in all, Nephrekh offers some obvious utility - it's beginner-friendly with Translocate, and anyone can make use of the speed and the Deep Strike stratagem. The 6+ invulnerable save is neat - won't save you all the time, but might save you here and there. Scarabs kind of like it, to be honest.</p><p><b>Nihilakh - </b>Ignore AP-1 in your Deployment Zone / Obsec Enhancement - AKA "go read custom dynasties"</p><p>9th is game of objectives. Objective secured is always going to be useful. Your most noticeable trait is that EVERYONE is now objective secured, and models that already have it count as +1 model for the trait. Ignoring AP-1 in your DZ is kind of 'eh' at best - it's not bad, per se, but it's not super. That's ok, ObSec matters. </p><p>Your stratagem is 'eh' - you pay a CP to let infantry be able to shoot. It's not great, but it can be useful if you just need a little more shooting. In general, though, you don't want large, important units doing actions - but this is a nice backup plan.</p><p>Your warlord trait is just 'fight first' - not bad, but might save you if you don't nuke your target on the charge. Your relic is similarly 'eh' - it's +1 to your save and ignoring wounds on 6+. Going to a 2+ armor save isn't bad, but you've got better options, frankly.</p><p>I want to like Nhilakh, but frankly I think we've got better options - you'll see when we get to the custom section. The real money-maker here is that ObSec frees up how you can build, and lets your faster units hold ground against non-Troops infiltrators.</p><p><b>Sautekh - </b>Morale re-rolls / 18" rapid fire - AKA "Y'all like Gauss, right?"</p><p>You're here for the second one. It's not hard to build around rapid fire, given that pretty much anything that can take a can can probably take rapid-fire. Your stratagem piles on with the love, giving fellow Dynasty units a +1 to hit if someone just SHOT at it. Honestly it's kinda gruesome if you just want to delete an important unit.</p><p>Your warlord trait is pretty utilitarian - you refund command protocols on a 5+. Your relic is utilitarian and defensive - your warlord makes an enemy unit within 3" fight last - actually better than that, they can't fight until everyone else does. It's neat if you get charged, OR if you want to get the drop on a nasty melee unit.</p><p>Overall, these guys aren't terrible.</p><p><b>Custom Dynasties </b></p><p>You get to pick from one of eleven Dynastic Traditions (I'm skipping the 'we use another dynastic code') and one of seven Circumstances of Awakening. You don't get unique warlord traits, relics, or stratagems. I'm not going to touch every last one of these in depth, as some of these are partial re-treads of other Dynasty Traits.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Dynastic Traditions - Re-Treads</span></p><p>You can get Objective Secured (Nihilakh), Re-roll a Wound in shooting (Szarekhan), 6+ invuln (Nephrekh), and Morale re-rolls (Sautekh). Really, you care about these when it comes to mixing them with Circumstances of Awakening, as it's that vs. the dynasty that includes this already. Mixing Nihilakh's Objective Secured (or double Obsec with stuff that already has Obsec) is the real sexiness here.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Dynastic Traditions worth Looking At</span></p><p>Rad-wreathed is worth a look for assault armies - it's a 1" aura of -1 toughness. S3/4 and S6 melee units care about this. It's worth noting that, outside of a couple specific stratagems, this really helps Flayed Ones - they start wounding T4 infantry on a 3+, and T5 infantry on a 4+ - which REALLY matters with a volume of attacks.</p><p>Pitiless Hunters looks neat - it lets rapid-fire weapons double-tap out to max range. Honestly, though, if you're really looking to buff rapid fire you pick up Sautekh or Mephrit and get their cool stuff, unless you just want to try it with a Circumstance of Awakening.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Skip These</span></p><p>Immovable Phalanx - if your INFANTRY stand still, they get +1 to save vs. 1-damage weapons. Honestly, you'll use this on objective campers and stuff that's already stuck in assault. Sounds cool, sounds fluffy - it'll kick in a couple times a game.</p><p>Contemptuous of the Codes - +1 to hit vs. Characters. Um, neat, a to-hit bonus vs. one to three or four units. I guess if you REALLY want your snipers to hit, this is a thing.</p><p>Severed - your command protocols work within 9" of characters instead of 6". Protocols are neat and all, but seriously, it's a case of opportunity cost here. Protocols are neat, but you're doing well if you managed to pick relevant ones for the first couple of turns.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Circumstances of Awakening</span></p><p>This is where it gets neat - you've only got one re-tread here, as you can get +3" range (Mephrit called, asked what's up.)</p><p>If you really want to go Canoptek-heavy, you look at The Ancients Stir - it's a +1 to move for Canopteks, and a 6" pile-in. This is neat and fluffy more than anything, but faster Wraiths and Scarabs should scare anyone.</p><p>You can take Arise Against the Interlopers if you want to auto-wound INFANTRY and BIKERS on a 6+. I mean, it doesn't sound bad but I really have to ask if it's worth giving up your regular stuff. High rate of fire troops probably aren't going to worry about wounding infantry THAT much. If you're worried about wounding T5 or T6 infantry/bikers, you probably also want more AP than wounds.</p><p>Healthy Paranoia is a re-tread of Mephrit's +3 range, so realistically if you want to run Reaper warriors or Tesla Immortals/Tomb Blades, ask if you want to mix it with another Dynastic tradition or take Mephrit.</p><p>Relentlessly Expansionist is the one everyone is (rightfully) raving about - move 6" at the top of the first battle round, but before the first turn starts. This is so much utility it just ain't funny, especially since you can get out of your DZ. </p><p>Isolationist looks interesting, as it's +1S for rapid fire shots within 12". Going up to S5 on Gauss Flayers is neat (S4 to 5 matters vs. most infantry) but again, I feel like Mephrit or Sautekh might give you more.</p><p>Warrior Nobles is lol-tastic - your Nobles (all one or two of them) re-roll 1s to hit and wound in melee. Um, sure, go ahead and take it, but do it for fluff reasons. </p><p>Interplanetary Invaders is an interesting one - your vehicles can either fall back and shoot with a -1, or shoot in melee without a -1 on heavy weapons. Honestly, the fall-back-and-shoot is cooler, but vehicle-heavy necrons seems...um. I dunno. I'm not feeling it.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Combos</span></p><p>Eternal Conquerors + Relentlessly Expansionist - Obsec on everything and a free 6" move before the first turn is crazy useful. It's just stupid useful, to be honest - literally any build can make a good use of this. Move up, grab and hold objectives. This also lets you deploy more aggressively, and then either exploit that OR adjust.</p><p>Rad-Wreathed + The Ancients Stir - Scarabs and Flayed Ones get the most out of this. Scarabs are stupid useful, and with this they're faster and wound most infantry on a 3+ or 4+, and they throw a LOT of dice. Flayed Ones will love it as well. </p><p><b>In Closing</b></p><p>The Necrons have some solid options when it comes to picking their Dynasty. If you want to go hyper-aggressive with assault, Novokh is your code. If you like short-range firefights, Mephrit and Sautekh are worth a look. The remaining dynasties have varying flavors of utility, but I lean towards Nephrekh for the speed and the deep strike.</p><p>The custom dynasties are full of neat, fluffy options - but you also have some crazy stuff, like army-wide obsec and a free 6" move off the bat with Eternal Conquerors + Relentlessly Expansionist.</p><p><br /></p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-5690437877294110202020-11-06T13:30:00.002-06:002020-11-06T13:30:38.232-06:00Iron Hands - First Impressions in 9th<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4GwpDp5Cl8Xk8am5Kl9bfQZ1o3FZa9yipkOXCFwOlAEhDFJ1LUTOT0sJy3Bv-aqQaMOS2wCqwYJUfeCBit5eK7h5PWY3p3hPj0-gIwksdLd9SN0618ETb98NbNauh_jAAu5J8YnacY0/s3441/PXL_20201106_165118408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2257" data-original-width="3441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4GwpDp5Cl8Xk8am5Kl9bfQZ1o3FZa9yipkOXCFwOlAEhDFJ1LUTOT0sJy3Bv-aqQaMOS2wCqwYJUfeCBit5eK7h5PWY3p3hPj0-gIwksdLd9SN0618ETb98NbNauh_jAAu5J8YnacY0/s320/PXL_20201106_165118408.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No one saw this coming, right?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>I've taken a minute to pivot from Necrons to my good ol' Iron Hands. The Space Marine book is a bit of a rebalance, and the rebalance will continue once we get the Forge World index. This is me looking at Iron Hands in particular, rather than taking a holistic look at the Marine book. I played these guys before Primaris marines were a thing. /olddreadrant</p><p><b>What Do Iron Hands Do That Other Marines Don't?</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Chapter Tactics - Durability</span></p><p>Our chapter tactics have two parts - a flat 6+ shrug vs. damage, and our vehicles double their remaining wounds.</p><p>The 6+ shrug is not the most reliable thing in the world, but it's always going to be a factor in a game. You will always take damage. There's also the faint chance that a good 6+ vs. a two-damage weapon will let one marine soak two of these instead of one. It's more funny than anything else, but it happens. It also means our vehicles are likely to absorb a little more abuse.</p><p>Now, that "double remaining wounds" thing is something to build around. This means that most vehicles need to get shot down to ~2 wounds before they're degraded, or one wound to be on the last profile. Multi-wound vehicles really benefit from this, and the marine book definitely has some worth considering.</p><p>This also means you're probably going to watch folks play 'Bring it Down' if you use our chapter tactics to the fullest, but whatever - hose the dreadnought out, chuck another body in and go.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Iron Father with Infantry</span></p><p>We still have our special character from the supplement - Iron Father Fierros. He's a beefy named tech marine that throws out a 5++ bubble for infantry, has a +1 to hit buff, and can put 3 wounds back on a vehicle. He's also no slouch in melee. However, at 140pts, he's something you have to build around.</p><p>He's a little less attractive now that the chief apothecary doesn't hand out a 5+++ bubble, but Iron Father + chief apothecary + beefy infantry is a starting point. Getting a bunch of beefy bodies on objectives and staying on them is a strategy. I feel like you really want to run a bunch of 5-man units around this guy to make sure you live through shooting, but also don't make nasty anti-tank blast weapons more efficient.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">One Nasty (if expensive) Overwatch</span></p><p>We still have a stratagem to hit on overwatch at 4+. Granted, you're spending 2CP to do it, so it's definitely a "well, maybe" instead of a "LOL EAT IT!" move. Honestly you either need to be shooting a LOT to make it worthwhile (IE - be a Redemptor with all the guns) or shoot at something that might get killed.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Devastator Doctrine Buff</span></p><p>Our Devastator doctrine lets you move and shoot heavy weapons - and if you don't move, you re-roll ones. Note that we have a 1CP stratagem to let someone go back into the devastator doctrine. This comes into play for, appropriately enough, Devastator marines - drop pod devastators (probably with, y'know, multi-meltas) hit on 3+ on turn one. Foot devastators can either grab a great position and get re-rolls without a captain, or deploy conservatively and then reposition as necessary.</p><p>Note also that you can always roll back the doctrine for extra AP (for high rate-of-fire weapons) or to get re-rolls on stationary units.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Anti-Sniper Tech</span></p><p>Cogitated Martyrdom means that if your character is near infantry, they can hand off sniper hits. Snipers are ugly, and even though marines are beefy, well - bounce enough rounds off their heads and they die. Librarians and lieutenants in particular care because they generally don't have an invulnerable save.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Character Dreadnought Stratagem</span></p><p>You can only use it once, but one dread can be a character. Anyone other than a Redemptor is 9 wounds or less, which means that you can use Look Out, Sir. This has the obvious effect of making a dreadnought not die to shooting ASAP - most sniping weapons are meant for people, not walking coffins full of guns and rage. You can hide some nice guns this way.</p><p>Another perk here is that dreadnoughts have Wisdom of the Ancients - for 1CP, they're a Captain or a Lieutenant for a turn. You can either bring more detachments for more HQ slots, or bring a non-Redemptor dreadnought and let it pretend to be a Captain or Lieutenant as needed. There are build options here.</p><p><b>Units of Note</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Redemptor</span></p><p>This guy got buffed in the new book, and Iron Hands are absolutely on board with it. T7, 13 Wounds (and you don't notice any issues until you're on 3 wounds), an innate -1 damage thanks to Duty Eternal, a reasonable speed, and a lot of guns WITH a fist of 3+1d3 damage? Yes please.</p><p>I'd default to paying 185 for the heavy onslaught gatling cannon and Icarus pod - then I'd trade the heavy flamer for an onslaught gatling cannon. The storm bolters and fragstorm grenade launchers are close enough in performance as to be dealer's choice. The Icarus pod is cheap enough at 5pts that I'll take basically 1d3 autocannon shots. This loadout farts out a healthy 20 shots that wound most infantry on 3's, and in a pinch can chew up vehicles before you try to punch it to death. Also, enjoy the look on someone's face when they charge this thing and you pay 2CP to crank out like ~30 dice that hit on a 4+.</p><p>I have drooled over the plasma incenerator, mind you - I think if you're taking 3 dreadnoughts, you might as well take one. S8-9, 2-3 damage, and AP-4 (depending on whether you overcharge or not) is hard to argue with - the only letdown is the random number of shots. You trade out reliability for a little more range, and the ability to ruin the day of heavy infantry.</p><p>As far as support goes, Psychic Fortress isn't a bad pick - getting a 5++ on a dread or two can be clutch, as a 3+ armor save won't stop las, melta, or their xenos equivalents, and that's what the dreads fear. A flat -1 damage is great versus weapons with 2 damage and a good rate of fire, but once you start doing 3+ damage at a time, well, the Redemptor starts noticing. A 5++ is at least a chance to avoid some of that pain.</p><p>The dreadnoughts could also use some melee support - the fist HURTS when it hits, but at 5 swings on WS3+, it's definitely a quality over quantity thing. Hopefully you thinned out the horde with all those guns.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Invictor</span></p><p>Do you like distracting people? Drop two invictors in the midfield, make the enemy kill them. I lean towards the flamer just for the hell of it, though the autocannon does give you versatility in the event that deploying forward is dumb.</p><p>You WILL lose these guys in basically every game, mind you. That's not the point. The point is that they'll generally mess up the enemy plans, because no one can afford to have these things running around the midfield or backfield.</p><p>Most of what I said about the Redemptor applies here, but you trade durability for forward deployment. These guys are only T6, and don't have Duty Eternal for the sweet -1 damage. Consider infiltrators as an option as well.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Razorback</span></p><p>It's not as scary as a redemptor, but transports do a few things for you - they protect troops, and if you're on an objective, a popped transport just farts out ObSec bodies on that objective. Razorbacks get a mention here because the chapter trait means they'll put out accurate firepower until they're almost dead.</p><p>Remember also that 5 dudes in a razorback can take a combi-weapon, a special weapon, and a melee weapon. Think about the job for the loadout - if you want a backfield camper, think about twin-las, then maybe a flamer, combi-flamer, and chainsword. If you're moving up, I think you look into the assault cannon for the razorback and then consider plasma/combi-plasma/chainsword.</p><p>If you're bringing Razorbacks, make sure you're also bringing other armor - Razorbacks aren't super-easy to kill, but they're not super-hard to kill, either.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Devastator Squads</span></p><p>These guys have two big roles for Iron Hands. The no-brainer is four dudes with multi-meltas in a drop pod - given a signum and cherub, that's like 9 multi-melta hits on a target. They might get to weep before exploding.</p><p>The second is that dev squads have flexibility on the field - hide them in round one, or enjoy re-rolls if your enemy can't melt them on the first turn. Remember also that for one CP, you can get re-roll 1s as well. For the backfield squad, I'm torn between missile launchers and lascannons. Missile launchers trade one strength and 2 AP for versatility. Blast weapons say 'hello' to infantry - 12-24 shots from 48" away are a thing.</p><p>The other devastator options don't really call to me. Heavy bolters and grav cannons w/ amps aren't bad, per se, but we can get volume of fire elsewhere. I really want to like plasma cannons, but you really, REALLY want to re-roll 1s on guys that might blow themselves up. If I really want plasma with a side of self-immolation, I might as well look at the Inceptors with plasma exterminators.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">March of the Ancients + non-Redemptor</span></p><p>As mentioned above, you can hide a dreadnought. If you opted to focus away from armor, or just want to hide a dreadnought, you've got options. First off, I'd consider what you wanted to achieve from this - did you want to hide heavy weapons? Did you want to bring a versatile, reliable buff bot? Did you only want to bring one dread? Also, you can always drop a warlord trait on these guys.</p><p>Venerable Dreadnoughts hit on a 2+ - if you want long-range fire, a lascannon and whatever else is a reasonable pick. It'll run you around 145, but it's pretty solid. I'd rather pay for the 2+ WS/BS than go with a regular dreadnought's 3+, if I'm going to invest CP.</p><p>Ironclad Dreadnought - Realistically you brought this as a hidden counterassault. You get T8, and you lose out on shooting. Sure, you can take a hurricane bolter, but Dreadnoughts don't get bolter discipline. It'll also run you 135-145, depending on weapon options. I think this is more lulzy than anything else.</p><p>Contemptor Dreadnought - this guy has fewer options, but has two big things that recommend him over other dreads - an 8" move (vs 6") and an innate 5++ save. You also have 9W instead of 8, which is neat. You're a flat 150, and can choose between an S7 assault cannon or multi-melta. Honestly, I think this is the best of both worlds - you have a hidden heavy weapon, you have speed, you have durability, and you can still punch pretty well.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Librarian with Psychic Fortress</span></p><p>Ok, anyone can take these - but these guys can probably get a 5++ on some of your vehicles. That's why you want to look at taking these guys. Play up that durability.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Chief Apothecary</span></p><p>Durability's a theme here - pay the points to upgrade to the guy who can revive units for free. Do it two turns, and you've turned a profit. This also dictates target priority for the enemy, as one living Eradicator or Terminator suddenly becomes two - and characters start healing 3 wounds in combat. For more fun, heal characters that have your 5+++ warlord trait.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-61081435330978887162020-11-06T10:47:00.001-06:002020-11-06T10:47:40.473-06:00The C'tan on the tabletop<p> I've now had some time with C'tan on the tabletop. I spent <a href="https://raptor1313.blogspot.com/2020/10/necrons-in-9th-brainstorming-builds.html" target="_blank">some time brainstorming</a> how best to use them. I've run them, run up against them, or watched them a chunk now.</p><p><b>So You Brought a Centerpiece</b></p><p>A C'tan is a hefty chunk of points - 350 points of mortal wounds, love, assault power, and battle-dictating survivability. Simply by being on the table, a C'tan begs a question of the opposition - "Do I try to kill it, or do I try to feed it chaff?" Some armies just aren't going to have chaff, and they're going to have to figure out how to handle the C'tan.</p><p><b>Stumbling Blocks for the Centerpiece</b></p><p>Note that C'tan are vulnerable to crap rolls - if you fail a power of the c'tan, you can't re-roll it. Similarly, bad melee rolls make you cry - anyone that can degrade to-hit rolls or mess with wound rolls is liable to give your C'tan a bad day. Similarly, anyone with the ability to mess with charge rolls can give them a bad day.</p><p>Of particular note are any units that have innate rules or stratagems for wound rolls - dropping to a 4+ to wound due to Quantum Shielding or Transhuman Physiology is a big deal. </p><p>Note also that 3W infantry are in a weird spot for C'tan (other than the Deceiver) because you're looking at 1d6 damage per hit (or flat 1 for the Nightbringer's sweep attack). Even if you blow through their saves, you still have a 50/50 chance of killing them with random damage. 2W infantry aren't as big a worry unless you're the transcendent C'tan, the others can generally power through.</p><p>None of the C'tan are really thrilled at the thought of chewing on a horde of models, but you brought support for that, right? Like seriously, My Will Be Done on a bunch of warriors and a veil is a pretty reasonable investment.</p><p><b>Command Points and C'tan</b></p><p>Seriously, be prepared to burn several on a C'tan. You should consider the 1CP 'use a random power' stratagem - this is part of your damage output. It might or might not work, but it's decent investment. If you brought the Void Dragon, it's not unreasonable to think about a CP for a re-roll in the shooting phase.</p><p>For the dead gods' sake, save one for the charge. Failing a charge with a C'tan is a significant blow. </p><p>Keeping one around for a re-roll of a 4++ is an iffy thing at best - it depends largely on what the dice do. If your opponent has decided the C'tan should be dead, then a timely re-roll may result in you drawing fire that could maim other stuff in your list. The C'tan puts the opponent on a schedule, and missing a wound in a phase can be pretty important. Taking hits back in melee depends largely on matchups you should be dictating.</p><p><b>Chip Damage and Army Composition</b></p><p>Something else I've noticed in the shooting phase - if you have a heap of units, it's not too hard to chip off the wounds. And here's where army composition comes into play.</p><p>Necrons brought C'tan, only infantry - all the anti-tank goes into the C'tan until 3 wounds come off. This isn't a bad outcome, but it's nicer if you're absorbing higher rate-of-fire weapons that would otherwise go into your multi-wound models</p><p>Necrons brought C'tan, other targets (IE - vehicles, Destroyers) - now it gets interesting. Your hope is that the C'tan's 4++ absorbs the bulk of the firepower. Alternatively, you bring something beefy along with it - charging monoliths are uglier than you think.</p><p>C'tan vs. small arms - you are T7, 4++ (Void Dragon gets a 3+/4++, but AP-1 isn't THAT rare) - S4 gunfire in small chunks is actually user-friendly on your opponent - three failed saves from boltguns are just as useful as a dozen.</p><p><b>Strategic Reserves?</b></p><p>Gut says 'no' on this - and here's my logic. The instant a C'tan hits the table, it dictates the fight. It moves, it drops mortal wounds, and unless it's turn 1, it's probably in assault. Hell, if the enemy moved towards you at all, you might be in assault already.</p><p>Now, pull it off the table. On the bright side, the enemy can't shoot it, and you can keep them guessing, right? Well, first off, you're giving up C'tan powers. Second, you have to come in off a board edge - if the enemy focuses on a flank, congrats - they get to dictate your deployment, which is the opposite of what C'tan should be doing. Third, that's a turn that the C'tan isn't really contributing - you're down 2CP for the reserves, and should assume you'll want a third CP for the charge re-roll.</p><p><b>Did Your Opponent Bring a Balanced List? Did You?</b></p><p>Realistically, this is the biggest question that you'll run into. If the opponent is relying on one phase to do the bulk of their damage (IE - Tau/IG for shooting, demons for assault, etc.) then they'll hate the C'tan. If you can avoid getting tied down, great.</p><p>If your opponent brought a list that can do damage in 2-3 phases easily (IE - they have psykers, guns, and melee weapons) then they're in a reasonable position to kill the c'tan. You'll definitely want to pay attention to what it fights, and if you can seriously mess with the enemy's ability to hurt you in a phase (IE - murder a psyker or two, because the dead don't smite) then go for it.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-69709763055361257692020-10-20T22:01:00.001-05:002020-10-20T22:01:11.262-05:00Necrons in 9th - Brainstorming Builds, Part 2 - C'tan shards and you<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/spikeybits-staging-bucket/2020/07/5b39d70d-void-dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="740" height="320" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/spikeybits-staging-bucket/2020/07/5b39d70d-void-dragon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right in the wallet<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> I've had <a href="https://raptor1313.blogspot.com/2020/10/necrons-in-9th-build-theme.html" target="_blank">some thoughts</a> on how I'm going to organize my Necrons in the new edition. One question you should ask yourself is of course "Do I want to build around a piece of a star god that we captured and weaponized?" Do you like mortal wounds? Do you like dictating the flow of battle around one big piece that's terrifying and beautiful?</p><p>If you said 'yes', then you're in the right spot. We've got four options - The Nightbringer (for chopping up stuff), the Deceiver (because pre-game redeploys are fun), the Void Dragon (who hates vehicles and is pretty choppy), and you can take a Transcendent C'tan shard if you want to go cheaper and have vaguely custom options.</p><p>We'll take a look at what they have in common, how they differ, and then employment of them.</p><p><b>Common Traits</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>I. Durability</b></span></p><p>Necrodermis + Living Metal is what draws a lot of the attention here. You have 9 wounds at T7 and a 4+/4++, but the kicker is that Necrodermis means you can lose a max of three in a phase and you get one back during your command phase. You aren't worried about a volume of fire all at once, but the trick is that you can be papercut to death.</p><p>How nasty this is depends on the matchup - there are seven phases in a turn. - Command, Move, Psychic, Shoot, Charge, Fight, and Morale. We can pretty safely discount command and morale as phases where you see wounds happen. Movement matters if they have bombers, as those just need to move over you to threaten mortal wounds. The psychic phase, if applicable, should make you think about positioning relative to psykers - our psychic defenses are somewhat limited beyond Spyders, a stratagem, and killing psykers. The charge phase gets a mention just because overwatch happens here; a lucky shot or a good overwatch can knock off wounds.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">II. Mobility</span></b></p><p>They're 8" move with the FLY keyword. It's not slow, but there's really no other way to speed them up. You get no buffs from the rest of the army because of keywords. The only way to go faster is to advance and hope for a good roll, but you'll maybe want to do that once because they turn off your Powers of the C'tan.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">III. Powers of the C'tan</span></b></p><p>There are six basic powers, and each C'tan knows two. You pick when you build, but can spend a CP to change out a power. Note that the named shards have a unique power + a normal power, whereas the transcendant shard picks two. These are all damage-dealing powers with short to medium range; you're looking at 9-24" range. If you're not quite sure what you want, Antimatter meteor is pretty reliable for damage output with minor targeting restrictions, and Transdimensional Thunderbolt has solid range.</p><p>Note you can also pay a CP to use another random power - you use your powers, and then drop 1d6 and immediately use that power. There are worse ways to use CP than on more mortal wounds.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">IV. Brawling</span></b></p><p>C'tan are all pretty nasty in melee, and outside of the Void Dragon, no one picked up a gun. You have a heap of attacks hitting on 2+ - the exact type of melee output depends on the shard you picked. Note that you can also ignore invulnerable saves with the Entropic Save stratagem. If someone kills you, you might also explode into mortal wounds. At least that probably won't happen during deployment.</p><p>In general, a C'tan's game plan is move up, unload powers, charge, punch stuff to death, unload powers, try not to die. It's not exactly subtle, but it does dictate the flow of battle because it's likely to last at least a couple turns.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">V. List-building restrictions</span></b></p><p>Note that you can only fit one C'tan per detachment. You can take multiple, but you're down 600-700pts and some CP for them at that point. My initial preference is to take 0-1, but I suspect we'll see double-C'tan lists.</p><p><b>The C'tan Themselves</b></p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">Shard of the Nightbringer</span></b></p><p>This is getting the most press. The Nightbringer is all about murder in the assault phase. Drain Life is half your money-maker here - enemy models can't ignore any wounds they would lose. This turns off stuff like Disgustingly Resilient and Necrodermis. The half is the six attacks with the Scythe of the Nightbringer. Either you try to clear a horde with the Reaping Sweep - you make two attack roles at AP-3 and 1 damage, which is a nice dozen dice - or the Entropic Blow, which is a beefy S14, AP-4 1d6 damage that ignores invulnerable saves.</p><p>This makes the nightbringer great at crushing vehicles - on the charge, you can expect to do an average of 14.5 damage to a T7 or lower vehicle. If you go into something T8, that drops a little lower - but you're still dropping 4-5d6 of damage straight to the wounds, unless the dice laugh at you.</p><p>The nightbringer can also do reasonably well at trashing smaller units - a dozen attacks with the sweeping blow is good for 8ish wounds. </p><p>His unique power - Gaze of Death - is noteworthy for being able to target characters. You drop 3d6, and each 4+ on those inflicts 1d3 mortal wounds. It's a little swingy and short-ranged, but mortal wounds are mortal wounds.</p><p>At the end of the day, the Nightbringer is at its best tearing vehicles apart and shredding smaller units - or forcing larger ones to fall back.</p><p>The Nightbringer should watch out for melee opponents that can do 3 wounds a phase reliably, and anything that can mess with wound roles - Transhuman Physiology in particular is annoying, as the nightbringer really wants to wound on 2+ or 3+ vs. multi-wound infantry.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"> <b>Shard of the Deciever</b></span></p><p>This is the thinking ovelord's C'tan shard. Grand Illusion lets you redeploy up to three NECRON units in your deployment zone, or put them into strategic reserves. This guy also has deep strike, unlike the others. You redeploy before the first battle round begins, so you get to react to whoever has first turn. This will almost always be useful, because it makes your opponent worry.</p><p>The Deceiver also has a nice defensive ability in Misdirection - attacks targeting it take a -1 to hit penalty. Given the way that you can inflict no more than -1 to hit, this isn't as big a deal for some melee weapons like powerfists, thunderhammers, and other stuff - but it's not a bad thing at all.</p><p>Melee-wise, the Deceiver is decent and reliable. It has five attacks with S7, AP-3, 3 damage fists. It's not nearly as out-and-out murderous as the Nightbringer or the Void Dragon, but it's plenty workable vs. infantry and light to medium vehicles, but maybe don't go trying to kill a night.</p><p>The Deceiver's unique power - Cosmic Insanity - is fun enough. It's your Ld10+1d6 vs. the opponent's Ld + 1d6, and they take mortal wounds based on how much you beat them by. Supporting this guy with flayed ones isn't the worst you could do, as they're about your only leadership debuff in the book.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">Shard of the Void Dragon</span></b></p><p>If you hate vehicles, and like punching stuff to death, this is your god-pokemon. It's the only one that starts with a gun - the Spear of the Void Dragon is essentially a lascannon that goes from 1d6 to 3+1d3 vs. vehicles. If you manage to shoot over a unit, that unit might take a hit as well, which is a neat extra. Or just a really dead guardsman.</p><p>The Dragon isn't a slouch in melee, either - S9, AP-4, 1d6 damage (or 3+1d3 vs. vehicles). The dragon also gets another 1d6 S6, AP-2, 1-damage swings with random Canoptek blades, so you've got something vs. larger units.</p><p>The other reason you go after vehicles is this is how the void dragon shard heals itself - kill a vehicle, drop 1d6, and regain a wound on 2+.</p><p>In case it isn't obvious, the Void Dragon murders armor - you're doing 4-6 damage per hit. Average damage on a charge is 12.5 unless you found a random T9 vehicle.</p><p>If you're fighting infantry, be mindful of how many you're trying to kill in a given phase and how many wounds they have; 5+1d6 attacks isn't going to kill a fresh squad.</p><p>Voltaic Storm is a pretty reasonable power - against infantry, it's 1d3 mortal wounds on a 2+. Now, if you're close enough to hit a vehicle, that goes up to 1d6 mortal wounds AND halves the number of wounds on the vehicle for purposes of the vehicle's profile.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">Transcendent C'tan</span></b></p><p>First off - these are 280pts, vs. the 350 for named shards, so if you think you're getting less, there's a reason. You can tailor them a little - Fractured Personality lets them pick one, or roll for two at random and re-roll if you get doubles.</p><p>Your melee damage is lesser than the named shards - you swing five times at S6, AP-4, 1d6 damage. You're workable vs. infantry, and can help mop up vehicles. Your best source of damage output is taking Cosmic Tyrant and firing off two C'tan powers a turn. </p><p>The other traits are so-so at best - you can get some defense vs. a charge, slightly better melee power (+1S, +1A), or a deep strike. On the face of it, I like Immune to Natural Law, since it means wound rolls of 1-3 always fail - but this only really comes into play for S8+ weapons, and only really, REALLY inconveniences S14+, as you're already T7. You shouldn't be punching healthy melee knights anyway.</p><p><b>Where Shards Fit in a List</b></p><p>If you bring a Shard, you're building around it - named ones run you 350, and the regular one runs you 280. </p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">Command Points</span></b></p><p>Save a few CP for these guys - you'll want to make that first charge, and you'll probably want to use Dimensional Destablization for extra wounds. You may or may not end up needing Entropic Strike - so that's anywhere from 1-4CP in a couple turns.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">Deployment</span></b></p><p>Consider deploying them last, for two big reasons - first, you want to pick your targets and you're a melee unit; second, Necrodermis is something the opposition plans around - make them deploy as much as possible before you pick your spot.</p><p>The Deceiver gets a mention here - you can redeploy 3 units, including the Deceiver. It doesn't matter quite as much, but I'd still probably deploy the Deceiver. The redeployment option is also why, if I were going to take two C'tan, I'd probably take the Deceiver + one other, as placement is going to be crucial for them.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">Your List</span></b></p><p>In general, the C'tan all want to operate with some support - they can hand out mortal wounds at short-to-medium range, and tear up stuff in melee. You should probably build a balanced list - the C'tan is a missile you're firing at a couple enemy units and the enemy's plan. Deploy near some of your anti-infantry support, as you'll want them to soften up your charge target, or clear a hole for you to charge something juicy. </p><p>Additionally, consider taking Protocol of the Undying Legions for turn two - getting two wounds back on living metal is bound to be demoralizing to the opponent, and may keep you alive for another turn. The longer the C'tan is alive, the more disruptive it is on the table.</p><p>I waffle between saying that the shards need to be built around individually, and thinking that they're all close-ish enough to appreciate a balanced list.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-20829969227041884692020-10-17T11:48:00.001-05:002020-10-17T11:48:33.603-05:00New Necrons - Command Protocols and You, Initial Thoughts<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jbMyWPA3tRdJi1q8OkcSBIoA_MxPooDF2DPIYQh5ZtTAbizA62vlOctVSWXCVUoT9htGQZt86-XKKC2XNA7NUz6_D1pU3h6VeKNZxCsDJ4Fu2_5HyC_nL133DJ99BEngiLLANXjBoxQ/s2665/original_0f768322-8deb-4bdc-a0b6-1bf6e980ea06_PXL_20201017_154952962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2665" data-original-width="2272" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jbMyWPA3tRdJi1q8OkcSBIoA_MxPooDF2DPIYQh5ZtTAbizA62vlOctVSWXCVUoT9htGQZt86-XKKC2XNA7NUz6_D1pU3h6VeKNZxCsDJ4Fu2_5HyC_nL133DJ99BEngiLLANXjBoxQ/s320/original_0f768322-8deb-4bdc-a0b6-1bf6e980ea06_PXL_20201017_154952962.jpg" /></a></div>Command Protocols are a brand-new addition for Necrons in 9th edition. On the one hand, flexible army-wide buffs sound kind of neat. On the other hand, that customization is going to make you do some decision-making, and that can go wrong. I'm going to take a swing at de-mystifying Command Protocols for the average Overlord here.<p></p><p>Once you look at your list, you can make a reasonable guess at a protocol order list, and then go from there - the enemy list might get a vote, but I suspect you'll change few things.</p><p><b>What Do I need to do for Command Protocols to Work?</b></p><p>You need to meet several criteria -</p><p>1) Army is from the same DYNASTY</p><p>2) have a living NOBLE on the field at the start of the round</p><p>3) units must be within 6" of a CHARACTER to benefit from it</p><p>Bottom line - it's not hard to get a benefit from this. You are probably going to have a NOBLE as an HQ choice unless it's a tiny game, and most of our NOBLE guys aren't itching to get into melee.</p><p>Remember also that if you've got some isolated units (for whatever reason) they aren't getting protocol support.</p><p><b>The Challenge and the Perk of Command Protocols</b></p><p>You have six protocols - and you pick five, in any order, to be in effect for the game. If you go past five turns, then the last protocol is in effect for turn 5+.</p><p>Note that the Szarekhan-specific warlord trait, The Triarch's Will, lets you double up on a Protocol. Note also that if you bring the Silent King, he is required to be your warlord, and he takes this trait by default. Doubling up on a trait can be helpful.</p><p><b>The Protocols And Their Uses</b></p><p>There are six protocols. Each has two effects. You pick one, but each of the main Dynasties favors a Protocol and thus gets both. If you picked a custom dynasty, you don't have to worry about it, because you don't favor it.</p><p>In general, the protocols fall into either 'useful at a predictable point in the battle' or 'might be situationally useful.'</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">1. Protocol of the Eternal Guardian - favored by Nihilakh</span></p><p>Directive 1 - gain light cover if you didn't move</p><p>Directive 2 - may hold steady/set to defend if you are not already engaged</p><p>USAGE - This is defensive/situational - are you stationary outside of cover? Are you expecting to get charged? It's not bad, per se, but you're gambling on knowing when you're hunkering down outside of cover (...which is an iffy move and depends on the board) or when you're getting charged (which depends on the enemy, which may be 'never' or may be turn 1-3).</p><p>Note that Nihiliakh doesn't need this as much if they're already in their deployment zone, unless they're getting charged. Fluffy, sure, but not as important.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">2. Protocol of the Sudden Storm - favored by Nephrekh</span></p><p>Directive 1 - +1 to movement</p><p>Directive 2 - may perform an action and still shoot</p><p>USAGE - Directive one is a reasonable first-turn choice unless you know you're getting charged turn 1. Get as much ground as you can. Directive 2 is situational - you take it if you're going to perform actions, and you've got a better option for earlier turns.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">3. Protocol of the Vengeful Stars - favored by Mephrit</span></p><p>Directive 1 - +1 AP on unmodified 6s to hit in shooting</p><p>Directive 2 - no cover benefits for target if firing w/in half range</p><p>USAGE - This is situational either way. You need to be unloading with massed firepower to get something out of it. This is unlikely to be an early-game power; it's more of a 'nice to have' than anything else.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">4. Protocol of the Hungry Void - favored by Novokh</span></p><p>Directive 1 - +1AP on unmodified 6s to hit in melee</p><p>Directive 2 - +1S on melee attacks when charging, charged, or making heroic interventions</p><p>USAGE - Situational. If you're melee-focused, you're probably aiming for turn 2 charges (unless you think the enemy is running into the midfield and will let you get a turn one charge, in which case go ahead). </p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">5. Protocol of the Undying Legions - favored by Szarekhan</span></p><p>Directive 1 - Each time this unit uses its living metal ability, regains an additional wound</p><p>Directive 2 - Each time you roll reanimation protocols, re-roll one dice</p><p>USAGE - I'd say the earlier you use this, the more you'll get out of it. Most armies are going to hit you the hardest on either turn 1 or 2. This is an easy ability to slot in there.</p><p>The only thing that might make me think a little harder about this is a C'tan and my matchup - some armies can put damage on them in more than one phase, and getting 2 wounds back vs. 1 wound may be the difference in keeping a C'tan around another turn.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">6. Protocol of the Conquering Tyrant - favored by Sautekh</span></p><p>Directive 1 - +3 to aura abilities, max of 12"</p><p>Directive 2 - may fall back and shoot, but takes a -1 penalty</p><p>USAGE - I'm a little 'eh' on directive 1. Directive 2, though - if you think you're going to take an assault on some shooty troops on a given turn, then this can be money. This is probably a turn 2 (if you're using veil on a warrior blob) or turn 3 power for that, depending on matchup.</p><p><b>Sorting The Directives</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Solid early-turn picks</span> - 5. Undying Legions, 2. Sudden Storm.</p><p>If you're not sure, Sudden storm will help you get positioning and Undying Legions will help you take a punch. </p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">I'm Going To Hurt You This Turn </span>- 3. Vengful Stars, 4. Hungry Void</p><p>If you're pretty sure you're going to unload on a given turn (either by shooting or by assault) you pick the appropriate protocol. It's a bit of a gamble, but odds are this is turn 2 or 3.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">I Think I'm Going To Get Into A Situation Here</span> - 6. Conquering Tyrant, 1. Eternal Guardian, 2.2 Sudden Storm</p><p>Conquering Tyrant's great if you think you're going to get charged and need to fall back, otherwise it's 'eh'. Eternal Guardian's useful if you're going to stand still in the open or get charged that turn, but I'm not sure you can necessarily predict those without seeing the field or just messing up. The second part of Sudden Storm may be situationally useful - but again, the situational stuff all competes with more generally useful abilities.</p><p><b>Thoughts on Picking The Directives</b></p><p>The first three turns are likely to be the easiest to predict turns and the most important turns. You know what the board looks like, you know what the armies look like, and you can make guesses about deployment. Turns 4-5 are either going to be mop-up or harder to guess, depending on how the dice and the plays have gone. I'll refine this as I get more games in.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Shooty Necrons w/ assault elements vs. Shooty army</span></p><p>Turn 1 - Undying Legions (for resilience)</p><p>Turn 2- Sudden Storm</p><p>Turn 3 - Vengeful Stars</p><p>Turn 4 - Hungry Void</p><p>Turn 5 - Whatever you feel like</p><p>The idea is to take the hits on turn one, move up, open up, mop up, and then hopefully win or be dead.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Shooty Necrons w/ assault elements vs. Assaulty Army</span></p><p>Turn 1 - Vengeful Stars</p><p>Turn 2 - Conquering Tyrant</p><p>Turn 3 - Hungry Void</p><p>Turn 4/5 - whatever you feel like, probably Undying Legions and then Eternal Guardian</p><p>The logic is that they'll move up - hopefully you deployed in a manner to avoid a turn one assault. Shoot them, get assaulted, fall back and shoot, then punch them and hope it worked.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Assaulty Necrons</span></p><p>Turn 1 - Sudden Storm</p><p>Turn 2 - Hungry Void</p><p>Turn 3 - Undying Legion</p><p>Turn 4 - Vengeful Stars</p><p>Turn 5 - whatever you feel like</p><p>Move up, charge. Turn 3/4 could be swapped out; it's a matter of how many guns you brought for mop-up work.</p><p><b>Closing Thoughts </b></p><p>My gut says that there's a few camps on protocols. Some folks are probably all "OMG what do I do, too many options!" and some are all "It's not marine doctrines, ergo it's garbage."</p><p>I think once you look at them, and split them into "generally useful" and "situational" and look at your list, you figure out an order of operations pretty quick - especially once you realize you should worry mostly about the first 2-3 turns.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-55383064402017813802020-10-12T19:22:00.003-05:002020-10-12T19:22:59.393-05:00Necrons in 9th - Build Theme Brainstorming and The New Book - Part 1 - Core, Cults, Canopteks, and Those Other Guys<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBodJ2u_-iPwAlSqD81PXOZU7Iknl1go7AOEApAmEEnGqTTnaEp2fXLS88lI53iSbvtlkKnJU1TSkgEv6L-YRtpCpl7clkoQrzU3Lsr7qIj700CGhHYC_si3GsXYrB7wHOZAn71BE82s/s4032/PXL_20201012_204117007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBodJ2u_-iPwAlSqD81PXOZU7Iknl1go7AOEApAmEEnGqTTnaEp2fXLS88lI53iSbvtlkKnJU1TSkgEv6L-YRtpCpl7clkoQrzU3Lsr7qIj700CGhHYC_si3GsXYrB7wHOZAn71BE82s/s320/PXL_20201012_204117007.jpg" /></a></div>I've seen a little bit of Necrons in 8th and pre-codex in 9th. I think the biggest challenge is zen, here - you should empty your cup, so to speak. This is a new book, an army re-work, and a fine time to start 'crons.<p></p><p>I'm going to start with the keywords.</p><p><b>Army Keywords to Organize Around</b></p><p>You've got a couple questions to ask yourself in the new book -</p><p>1) What keyword(s) to build around? Core, Destroyer Cult, Canoptek, or a mix? And don't forget Dynastic Agents, which don't really benefit from any of the previous keywords.</p><p>2) What dynasty?</p><p>3) Big centerpiece unit (C'tan Shard, Silent King, Lord(s) of war), yes or no?</p><p>I think the biggest adjustment is going to be getting used to buffs and how they revolve around the Canoptek, Core, and Destroyer Cult stuff.</p><p><b>Core Units - The Buff Bots</b></p><p>This is probably what a lot of folks have laying around. You're either CORE, or you buff it. There are a LOT of Cryptek arcana, so I'm limiting this to core-specific powers. </p><p>As a rule, most of the stuff here tends to be 1-2 wound infantry that relies on volume of fire to do work. Also, all your Troops choices live here. The bulk of your characters live here as well.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Overlord, Catacomb Command Barge</span> - Relentless March is good for +1 movement as an aura, and My Will Be Done is your targeted +1 to hit buff.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Lord</span> - You get the overlord's Relentless March aura, and you get The Lord's Will, which is good for re-rolling 1s to hit.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Royal Warden</span> - it's Relentless March yet again, but more importantly this HQ will let one unit fall back and shoot or charge. This is obviously more situational, but still useful.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Technomancer</span> - It brings back a Core infantry unit a turn, or 1d3 warriors.</p><p><b>I. Core Units</b></p><p>A lot of this shouldn't be a surprise.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Warriors</span> - shouldn't be a surprise, it's a troops unit. You do all your work via volume of gunfire, and you're either 15-20 man blobs, or 10 guys in a Ghost Ark.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Immortals</span> - Like Warriors, it shouldn't be a surprise. You get more durability (T5, 3+ vs. T4/4+) but you're 5-10 man squads vs. 10-20. As with warriors, your work is done via volume of gunfire.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Lychguard</span> - Now we're cooking with gas. One way or the other you're looking at getting into a fight. Either you went for durability with sword and shield, or you just want to hurt things with scythes. Mobility and accuracy are great here.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Deathmarks</span> - I guess core fits. These guys exist to tag characters with sniper rifles. You CAN buff these, but they don't have as many shots as other core stuff, and you want unmodified 6s for mortal wounds.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Tomb Blades</span> - it's another volume-of-fire unit, with some decent durability baked in - they have an innate -1 to hit vs. shooting, and can get a 5++. Your issue might be positioning, but each model is kicking 4-6 shots.</p><p><b>Core unit helpers</b></p><p>Some gear/units/stragems interact with CORE units explicitly without being a CORE unit in and of themselves.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Ghost Ark</span> - it heals warriors. It takes up space. It has 10 flayers. </p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Night Scythe</span> - it carries 20 CORE models.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Veil of Darkness </span>- it moves a character (that doesn't have to be CORE) and a unit of CORE infantry via deep strike.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Monolith</span> - it can deploy CORE infantry from reserves.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Dimensional Corridor </span>- a CORE INFANTRY unit pops into reserves and out of a Monolith for 1CP.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Deathless Arise</span> - for 1CP, your technomancer uses Rites of Reanimation again.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Hand of the Phaeron </span>- listed here because an Overlord gets to use My Will Be Done twice. Gotta pay 2CP prior to the battle, though.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Primsatic Dimensional Breach </span>- pop out of a Night Scythe or Monolith, but you do it without as many restrictions for placement.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Relentless Onslaught</span> - rapid fire guns auto-wound on unmodified 6's to hit.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Disruption Fields</span> - +1S for a fight phase.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Reconstitution Protocols</span> - that Ghost Ark brings 1d6 warriors back instead of 1d3.</p><p><b>II. The Destroyer Cult</b></p><p>The Destroyer Cult units tend to be beefy multi-wound fellows that prefer quality of attacks over massed small arms fire. Also, they're apparently psychotic and live for murder. You can definitely build around the Cult for some nasty murder bots, but any Troops are still core.</p><p>As a rule, the Destroyer Cult units generally re-roll 1s to hit, and the Destroyer HQs grant them re-roll 1s to wound. Almost everything here's got an 8" move, so this is your more elite/speedy wing rather than your silver tide of bodies.</p><p><b>Destroyer Cult-specific Supporting HQs</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Skorpekh Lord</span> - you get United in Destruction, which is a re-roll aura for wound rolls of 1. This is basically your one buff for HQs. Otherwise this thing's 'buff' is its ability to thrash things in melee.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Lokhust Lord</span> - You get the same United in Destruction aura, but but can also bring a resurrection orb.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Technomancer w/ Phylacterine Hive, Canoptek Cloak</span> - you get to bring back a Cult unit once per battle with this Arkana. It's a 20pt piece of wargear that'll bring back a 35-70pt model. Worth thinking about, especially as the cloak lets you pace destroyer units and repair 1d3 lost wounds.</p><p><b>Destroyer Cult Units</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Hexmark Destroyer</span> - who likes a half-dozen BS2+ pistols that re-roll 1s to hit? Re-rolling wounds on an S6 attack isn't bad, but this guy likes to fall out of reserves and shoot stuff. With 18" on the pistol, you can probably benefit from the aura.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Skorpekh Destroyers </span>- choppy tripods. All they really want outside of an HQ friend is a defensive buff, which they have via a -1 to wound stratagem.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Ophydian Destroyers </span>- take the Skorpekh destroyers - drop a point off the armor save and toughness in exchange for deep strike, and here you go. </p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Lokhust Destroyers </span>- we're back to guns here. Each one packs a three-shot S6 gun with AP-3 and 1d3 damage. Everyone knows how sick these things are, so consider cover and a Chronomancer or other defensive buffs.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Lokhust Heavy Destroyer</span> - It's the bigger, heftier, meaner cousin of the Lokhust Destroyer. You get to choose between 3d3 shots at S7, or one S10 shot at 3d3 damage. </p><p><b>Destroyer-Specific Gear/Stratagems</b></p><p>The Destroyers carry a lot of their buffs with them, as they're a beefy, mobile force.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Extermination Protocols </span>- you only get to re-roll wounds in shooting, but you already have a re-roll of 1s to hit.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Burrowing Nightmares -</span> Ophidian-specific, but it lets them dip off the board and pop up the next turn. Either you're repositioning for a charge, or grabbing an objective. Or pulling shenanigans.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Whirling Onslaught </span>- Skorpekh destroyers (or the lord) pay 1CP to make anyone trying to hurt them take a -1 to wound. Since you're already T5 (or T6 for the lord), this is pretty significant - small arms go to a 6+ to wound, and heavier weaponry goes down to a 4+ to wound.</p><p><b>III. Canopteks</b></p><p>This is your third big chunk of keywords - like Destroyer Cults, you don't have troops. Most Canoptek stuff has multiple wounds per model. They tend to be beefy but not super accurate (WS/BS4+ for the most part), but you can work around that. You also have an army-specific objective that Canoptek units can help with in Ancient Machines. You also generally have assault weapons when you do have guns.</p><p><b>The Technomancer </b>- Technically all the Crypteks have the Canoptek word, but this choice can bring a Canoptek Control Node, which is good for +1 to hit rolls. Hitting on 3's is a lot more useful for your guys, trust me. The Phylacterine Hive gets a nod here, as again it'll bring a 35-70pt unit back if given the opportunity.</p><p><b>Canoptek Units</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Canoptek Reanimator</span> - you're bringing this to try to keep stuff alive, and hoping that it draws fire. I guess it technically has weapons, but they're token at best.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Cryptothralls </span>- They're in this bin because of the keyword. They get their biggest buffs from being near a Cryptek, and exist to make snipers work for their shots. They also can do more damage and take a few more hits than most folks think, for a 2-model unit.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Canoptek Spyders</span> - Now we're talking. If you want to have some fun, you can absolutely bring a 3-Spyder squad with guns and put them near a Technomancer w/ control node. At that point, they're ~70 points a model, but crank out five S8, AP-3, 2 damage attacks in melee and each have a dozen S5 shots. If you don't drop one, it can get repaired. If you drop one, the Hive can bring back a T6, 6W model. I personally want to take a 3-man squad with a Technomancer and a Chronomancer for the laughs.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Canoptek Scarab Swarms </span>- they're cheap. They're fast. They're 4 wounds a stand. You can take 3-9 in a unit. They auto-wound on 6s to hit. If you bring a couple large units, this could get funny - I wouldn't expect them to kill a hall of a lot of stuff unless a full squad hits it - but that's a LOT of wounds to get through. You can also Self Destruct for mortal wounds at the cost of CP.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Wraiths </span>- This is your speedy tie-up unit that may stick around, and even hurt something. T5, 3W, 3+/4++ on a 12" move that doesn't care about terrain? They're throwing out either four S6, AP-2, 2 damage attacks or 8 S5, AP-1 one damage swings.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Canoptek Doomstalkers </span>- Hey, someone else found the Doomsday cannon! You've got a dozen T6 wounds on a 3+/4++. You've got reasonable mobility, but moving means firing at a weaker profile. You can also lend a hand in Overwatch for stuff within 6" - which is to say, your screens. You're basically committing to a control node for these, since d6 shots at BS4+ is kinda sad.</p><p><b>Canoptek Gear/Stratagems</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Enslaved Protectors</span> - One Canoptek unit gets to heroically intervene. Everyone but the reanimators and Doomstalker care about this, since they're all reasonably choppy.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Fail-Safe Overcharger</span> - +1 attack for Canoptek units nearby. Or, +1d3 if it's a Monster (IE - the Spyders). You get to use this more than once.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Phylacterine Hive</span> - as mentioned above, this is just great fun with Spyders, but the Wraiths won't mind either, assuming they're in range. Really though, I think you bring this with the Spyders.</p><p><b>IV. The Other Guys - Dynastic Agents, Triarchs, Vehicles, etc.</b></p><p>There are some other units out there that don't fit into the three previous ones, because they just don't have the keywords. Other than your various special characters, this includes the following -</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Flayed Ones</span> - these guys have no extra keywords. They do have a fight-twice stratagem, though. They are kind of self-contained, when it comes to stratagems.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Triarch Stalker </span>- Here's our first triarch entry. These are actually army support - as long as it shoots at something, you get to re-roll ones.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">C'tan Shards</span> - they have a handful of stratagems out there that buff them. They...don't really need it.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Triarch Praetorians</span> - They're beefy jump-infantry that like to stab things. They are neither Core nor Dynasty, so that does lock them out of some buffs. However, the Silent King has a special spot for them and is more than happy to let them re-roll hits and wounds.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">All Vehicles Other Than The Ghost Ark (Annihilation Barge / Doomsday Ark / Doom Scythe / Obelisk / Tesseract Vault)</span> - These tend not to have any interaction with CORE units. There are other stratagems that interact with them, and other gear - but that's not in the scope of this particular post.</p><p><b>Conclusion of Part 1 </b></p><p>This post is already a bit beefy. I think step one of getting to used to the codex is sorting stuff into bins. Outside of a crazy theme list, odds are you're going to include some core choices, and buffs for those. The Destroyer cult units are reasonably self-contained and don't need a lot of buffs. The Canopteks either take up space really well, or you bring a Control Node Technomancer and wreck stuff.</p><p>There's a lot in this new book to unpack.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-64252519296032358052020-09-20T18:58:00.002-05:002020-09-20T18:58:50.241-05:00Speculation, and Impacts of Wargear Changes<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOdb03__7VUBSv9vY7DnyxbMMaeGmwnKrr0xM6F04YXY6E6Fmab8kaiQVX2GUWg3FmUy1AsVgDuq4vghuxdH8cQyPIFc2G_BnVNUBfeFNAI0pGLJwUfKAxwPWultGLWqWgLz1LJYxq7c/s630/divin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOdb03__7VUBSv9vY7DnyxbMMaeGmwnKrr0xM6F04YXY6E6Fmab8kaiQVX2GUWg3FmUy1AsVgDuq4vghuxdH8cQyPIFc2G_BnVNUBfeFNAI0pGLJwUfKAxwPWultGLWqWgLz1LJYxq7c/s320/divin.jpg" /></a></div><br /> So the other week, <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/09/14/codex-space-marines-weapons-and-wargear-updates/" target="_blank">we got a look at a number of wargear changes</a>. These will change when Marines come out, and apparently it'll go to everyone that can carry them.<p></p><p>The precise impacts will vary depending on who actually has access to them, but I think I can smell some trends already.</p><p><b>The Short Version</b></p><p>I think we'll see Marines and Custodes feel the Storm Shield change in a big way, and it's probably not a bad thing. The heavy bolter change is probably a reaction to multi-wound marines coming for CSM and non-Primaris marines, but I expect we'll see similar stuff play out for other armies WRT similar weapons. The power sword change is a noteworthy tweak as well. Past that, multi-meltas are probably playable now (if not really neat in certain configurations), and flamers are probably usable again.</p><p><b>Trends</b></p><p>I see some adjustments overall to durability - weapons have picked up some lethality, and Storm Shields are taking a hit to their invulnerable save. Considering that the name of 9th is "put durable bodies on objectives" this is probably a decent step for the game.</p><p><b>Storm Shield Changes</b></p><p>You saw this with Indomitus - the invulnerable save goes to 4++, and the armor save gets a +1. The impact here depends on who's holding it. Dudes that just had power armor like this - they still get an invulnerable save, and that 3+ goes to a 2+. The big change is for Terminators, Marine characters, and especially Custodes. They all get more resistance to small arms fire (especially terminators and Custodes) but marine characters (well, captains) and Custodes already had a 4++. The Indomitus-pattern lieutenant is more valuable now because he's got the shield (vs. no invlun), but Custodes now have to really think about whether they want to give up spear for the shield and sword.</p><p>I'd say this is the more far-ranging change. TH/SS terminators are also a chunk less durable - the move from 2+/3++ to 1+/4++ means that small arms are less effective, but plasma, etc. is much more effective.</p><p><b>Weapon Changes</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>Power Swords, other power weapons</b></span></p><p>+1S matters more than you'd think. Everyone with S3 (Eldar, IG, etc.) now wounds marine-equivalents on a 4+, and generally wounds vehicles on a 5+ instead of a 6+ (unless it's a T8 vehicle, but you should have another weapon for that, or be falling back). S4 folks (marines, mostly) like it because S4 to S5 is beefy vs. T4 (wound on 3+), T5 (now you wound on 4+), and T8 (wound on a 5+). Power axes and mauls are decent enough already, but now you have to ask if the +1S/AP-3 is better for wounding than +2S/-2AP from the axe. If you're already S4, the sword's not bad. The maul? Eh, maybe just get a powerfist instead and get a damage buff.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>Astartes Chainswords</b></span></p><p>-1AP all the time. This is probably a change based on new cover rules. Anyone who's got a volume of attacks already had a sword, and this is probably good for them.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>Heavy Bolter</b></span></p><p>The only change here is it went to two damage. It's now a heavy infantry killer, and also the threat to vehicles is increased. </p><p>Let me say it now - there area LOT of heavy bolters out there. The IG have one on basically everyone vehicle. Marines generally have one on a vehicle, or have the option for it. Sisters seem to think they're participation trophies. Bring enough of them and you'll chew up anything. Chaos may not have them on everything, but Chaos still has access to them.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>Multi-Melta</b></span></p><p>So these things might not be paperweights any more. They got two buffs- they want from one to two shots, and if they're in half-range, they go from 1d6 damage to 1d6+2 damage, dropping the lower of 2 dice. </p><p>The priority goes to anything that can close the gap with these. Any vehicle with a multi-melta (heck, even old Dreadnoughts/Helbrutes) are a bit scarier to other vehicles. You can also melt heavy infantry (well, slowly) in close. Big winners here are any vehicles, any infantry that can get close, and anyone with accuracy buffs. </p><p>I shudder to think that a handful of Iron Hand devastators can do falling out of a drop pod. (The short answer is "make a lord of war go away - a decent round of shooting sees them drop on average of four wounding multi-melta hits, so figure on 3 going through - which is 6+3d6 damage, taking the highest. Average is probably around 15-18 damage.)</p><p>Short Version - you might start seeing these again on stuff that can close the gap and/or get accuracy buffs.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>Flamers</b></span></p><p>All of the sudden they're 12" range. This does two crucial things - first, it lets you deep-strike into flamer range, and second, it lets you fire overwatch. This matters chiefly on units that bring a bunch of flamers. Think Chaos Terminators, Crisis Suits, etc. - or just mobs of angry sisters or a Baal tank.</p><p>This is another one of those changes that is a bit more far-reaching - there are flamers EVERYWHERE in this game.</p><p>HOWEVER - these things matter mostly when it comes to overwatch and deep strike. If you get to move, you'll get range anyway.</p><p>Short Version - Matters mostly when you're deep-striking or overwatching.</p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">Hunter-Killer Missiles</span></b></p><p>They went up to S10, which matters mostly vs. T5 vehicles. Matters mostly for those that brought lots of vehicles. This is a quality of life thing more than anything else, since it's still a single-shot weapon.</p><p>Short Version - It's neat, I guess - it's +1 to wound vs. T5 targets.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-18538665683632395972020-09-08T10:14:00.004-05:002020-09-08T10:16:47.549-05:00First Impressions - Custodes in 9th Edition<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLYoB-YgYstOYFs0l6czgKGYeKqT6Tkt0USYcDTP5V-rrNLkcZ4OwKdJQMCnlD4PpXt7Am6Ysgrh5Wxj9KoxSLBgra7qJJyyDs8eQBeHm_Zfh0sQyWUnX1WBNb7nV-PiDtXzYp7wAG0A/s2886/IMG_20200907_162045.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2213" data-original-width="2886" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLYoB-YgYstOYFs0l6czgKGYeKqT6Tkt0USYcDTP5V-rrNLkcZ4OwKdJQMCnlD4PpXt7Am6Ysgrh5Wxj9KoxSLBgra7qJJyyDs8eQBeHm_Zfh0sQyWUnX1WBNb7nV-PiDtXzYp7wAG0A/s320/IMG_20200907_162045.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> My time with 9th edition's been a little impacted by COVID and light surgery, but I've gotten my Custodes on the table enough to get an idea about how they feel.<p></p><p><b>Army Strengths</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Durability</span></p><p>Your basic troopers are 2+/4++ guys with T5 and 3 wounds. Grab terminator armor for more wounds, and if you get a bike, you get T6 on top of that. You also shrug mortal wounds from psychic powers off on a 6+, which is nice. Most of your vehicles have either solid toughness, or high speed if not both.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">ObSec</span></p><p>If you're a guy or a dreadnought, you hold objectives. Combine this with the aforementioned durability and you're good.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Accuracy</span></p><p>You're WS/BS 2+. Our HQs have re-roll 1's to hit auras, and at worst the enemy can inflict a -1 to hit debuff.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Melee Power</span></p><p>Outside of dedicated shooting units (IE - vehicles, Saggitarium custodes) most Custodes hit at a minimum of S6, AP-2 for 1d3 damage and they're swinging three times per model. If you feel like running a Telemon with a fist, it's S16 at a flat four damage, because sometimes you just have to make chunky salsa out of whatever's on-hand.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Deep Strike Access</span></p><p>You have a few flavors of terminators, and with From Golden Light They Come, you can deep strike other stuff (including Dreadnoughts) - and for a few more CP, your guys can roll 3d6 and drop the lowest on the deep-strike charge with the right host trait.</p><p><b>Liabilities</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Army Size</span></p><p>You are a small, small army. At 2,000pts, a pure Custodes army might bring ~20ish guys. You have a small footprint. At least you didn't have to paint a ton of guys, right?</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Psychic Defense</span></p><p>So you've got a 6+ shrug vs. mortal wounds? Great. You can spend a Warlord Trait (Impregnable Mind) on getting one Deny the Witch trait, and that's kind of it. You're looking at bringing outside help for this, be it Sisters of Silence or a Culexus.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Volume of Fire</span></p><p>You definitely have quality of fire with all the BS2+. However, there's a handful of units with actual volume of fire - Jetbikes pack Hurricane Bolters, and War of the Spider lets you bulk up Rapid Fire units (Aquilon Terminators, take note).</p><p>This tells you you're an assault army.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Random Melee Damage</span></p><p>Your infantry need a relic to have anything other than 1d3 damage on their melee weapons. Unless it's a 1-damage melee weapon. Your Dreadnoughts tend to get around this. Be aware of it when you're throwing down with multi-wound units - it's occasionally a little annoying, but bad dice can see primaris bobs and terminators soak more than one hit from high-quality weapons.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Point Cost</span></p><p>All your quality comes at a price - when you're building a list, your cheapest models are easily 50ish points a head. You may be filling in points with Misericordia, since that's about the only gap-filler.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Forge World</span></p><p>This is kind of neither here nor there - but almost half of your roster (and basically all of your vehicles) is from Forge World. Some folks still have weird prejudices against Forge World. You can build a decent army without ever touching resin, but your options are a bit slimmer.</p><p><b>On Objectives</b></p><p>Custodes take a couple of turns to get started. We don't have a lot of guns, and we don't have a lot of bodies. Pretty much all those bodies have Objective Secured, though - so you are well-suited to brawling over an objective marker. You also have a 1CP fight-twice stratagem for that.</p><p>When it comes to secondary objectives, your choices are going to be dictated by army composition - sometimes yours, sometimes theirs. I lean towards Attrition, Engage on All Fronts, and go from there.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Purge The Enemy</span></p><p>Assassinate is based on how many characters they've got - if you think they'll be near the front and you can tag them in assault, go for it. Titan Slayers is matchup-dependent - you can get a +1 to wound with Slayer of Nightmares for anything T6 or higher (T7 if bikes are fighting it). This really shines on terminators with either power gauntlets or castellan axes. S8 with +1 to wound is ugly. Slay the Warlord depends on whether or not you want to put the eggs in one basket.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">No Mercy, No Respite</span></p><p>Attrition and While We Stand, We Fight are the standouts here. Custodes are hard to kill - and if you can get into assault, you should be able to get Attrition for 2-3 turns. WWS,WF is nice if you brought a Telemon and a beefy character or two - T5-6 characters with 7+ wounds and 2+/4+ saves are nasty, and a Telemon's got T8, 2+/4+, and 14 wounds.</p><p>First Strike is going to be difficult unless you have a very shooty setup vs. someone that left wimpy units out. You should probably skip it.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Battlefield Supremacy</span></p><p>Engage on All Fronts is doable with faster units - though you're probably only going to get 3 table quarters rather than all four. Linebreaker is going to be harder, I think, outside of a deep-strike heavy build, and even then it's potentially restrictive. Domination is another challenge for a smaller army.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Shadow Operations</span></p><p>You don't have a lot of units. Repair Teleport Homer might be worth it if you're planning on deep striking a support HQ and a squad into the enemy's lines on turn two - IF you think you'll kill enough in the drop, and you can let the HQ sit around. The problem is that actions are really for larger armies.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Warpcraft</span></p><p>Hey, you don't have psykers in your codex. Abhor the Witch is pretty much it, and is matchup-dependent.</p><p><b>A note on Force Org Charts when Building</b></p><p>If you're going Custodes-pure, give a look at a Patrol. Unless you're going to take three of a given slot, a patrol is realistically what you're after. You were probably going to leave a minimal troops slot on a home objective anyway.</p><p>Note also that Custodes have some awesome defensive stratagems - we can flat-out deny ALL re-rolls vs. a single unit, for example - so bringing large units lets us focus buffs.</p><p><b>Units of Note</b></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The HQ Slot</span></p><p>Expect to burn 100 or ~200 points here. You can burn a relic to get a 3++ save if you don't feel like taking a storm shield (or if you take a terminator or biker). Trajann's worth a look because he brings a re-roll 1s to wound on top of the normal re-roll 1s to hit buff, but he's locked into a so-so warlord trait.</p><p>Pay attention to the Captain Commander stratagem out of War of the Spider - it's a nasty buff, and helps let you farm CP. Or pick from any of the other sick buffs.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Vertus Praetors</span></p><p>Say hello to something you can build an army around. These guys are almost 100pts a pop, but you get speed (~14" move and FLY), durability (four T6 wounds), volume of fire (a hurricane bolter) and nasty melee (S6 spears with re-rolling wounds on the charge). It's not hard to see why folks build around these.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Aquilon Terminators</span></p><p>This is the forge world terminator. If you want to clear out infantry and then punch...well, anything that isn't flying...to death, these are the guys.</p><p>You land, you point your S5, AP-1 Rapid Fire 2 storm bolters at something within 12", and use Superior Fire Patterns to double your volume of fire. Eight shots per model is beefy. Then charge in and swing an S10 powerfist that hits on 2+. Things die if you can make it into assault.</p><p>If the enemy counters, use Auramite and Admantium, which means you ignore AP-1 and AP-2 - so you're either on your 2+ or your 4++. Given the cost of these guys, you need them to do as much work as possible.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Allarus Terminators</span></p><p>Here's your plastic terminator. You have fewer options than the Aquilon guys - choose between a Castellan Axe or a Sentinel Spear. Choose the axe for the strength; you can spend CP for more AP if that comes up, and if you need it you can get the bonus to wound.</p><p>Allarus terminators trade some shooting power (and two strength) for two neat stratagems - Inescapable Vengeance and Unleash the Lions. The former lets then target characters with their guns and grenade launchers. The latter lets them split into single-model units.</p><p>Sniping characters is a neat trick, but difficult - within 12", each Terminator kicks out two S4, AP-1 two damage shots and d3 S4, AP-3 one-damage shots. Given this is a 2CP stratagem, you really want like a 4-man squad shooting something more durable than a guard captain with an invulnerable save. Then you probably want to charge somethinge else.</p><p>Unleash the Lion is a neat trick more than anything. There are two things it does - first, it'll make the other side think long and hard about how much firepower they need to hand out, and where, as your terminators are still T5, four-wound models. Secondly, if you need models to split up and perform actions or claim objectives, it's an option.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Telemon Dreadnought</span></p><p>Don't be fooled by the S16, 4-damage fists - this thing is a wonderful gun platform. Grab a good position, stand still and unload with both guns and 10 shots from the bolt launcher.</p><p>When compared to the Caladius Grav-Tank, the Telemon is more expensive (by about 60 or so points) but much more durable - they both have 14 wounds, but the Telemon is T8 with a 2+/4++/6+++ vs. the Caladius' T7, 3+/5++. Caladius can out-range it with the right guns, and deducts 2 from enemy charge rolls. Also, y'know, it has FLY and a base move of 14", so can hide.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Vexilla</span></p><p>You can take one of three standards on either a regular Guard, or an Allarus Terminator. One is a 5++ for friendly IMPERIAL units, so you can skip it for Custodes pure builds. There are two buffs to pick from - +1 attack per model, or -1 to hit vs. enemy shooting. If you aren't building a 100% mobile force, consider one of these.</p><p><b>Stratagems of Note</b></p><p>The base codex has some decent offensive stratagems, but War of the Spider introduces some choice defensive ones.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">From Golden Light They Come</span></p><p>Deep strike 1-2 infantry, bikes or dreads that don't normally get it. Beefy at 1 or 3CP.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Golden Light of the Moiraides</span></p><p>If you picked the Dread Host as your shield host, pay 1-2CP for 1-3 deep striking units to roll 3d6 on the charge and drop the lowest dice. Suddenly those charges are a little easier to make.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Vexilla Teleport Homer</span></p><p>If your standard-bearer started on the table this turn, you can pay 3 CP to drop within 6" of him, and end up more than 3" away from enemy models. Is it a little niche? Yes. Are you going to nuke something close to you? Also yes.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Indomitable Guardians</span></p><p>Are you close to an objective, and would you like to fight twice for 1CP? We're an assaulty army.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Emperor's Auspice</span></p><p>Pay 2CP, deny any/all re-rolls for a phase. Depending on the type of army you're facing, this is a nasty counter. You're incentivized to bring beefy units, since this is a flat 2CP to protect a unit for a phase. You will probably pay more CP for this than someone else pays to get those re-rolls, but if it stops something like Gravitic Amplification or Extermination Protocols, it was worth it.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Arcane Genetic Alchemy</span></p><p>Pay 2CP - wound rolls of 1-3 always fail. You're T5. Someone's high-powered weapons just got less effective. Use it when you expect to absorb more than small arms.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Auramite and Admantium</span></p><p>Pay 1CP - your terminator treat AP-1 and AP-2 weapons as AP0 weapons. I mean, AP-3 or better was going to hit your 4++ anyway. Honestly, if you have terminators, you should keep CP for this hidden away.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Superior Fire Patterns</span></p><p>If your infantry didn't advance, double your number of shots for pistol and rapid-fire weapons. Honestly, that's most infantry weapons. Aquilon Terminators and the Venatari Custodes are noteworthy (Aquilon have storm bolters; Venatari can carry S6, 2-shot 2-damage pistols with good range).</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Tanglefoot Grenade</span></p><p>For 1CP, you deduct 1d6 from an enemy unit's move OR charge. It's a little niche, but you can potentially ham-string a unit twice if you're close to them.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Captain-Commander</span></p><p>Pay a CP, pick one of nine traits for a non-character shield captain. Strategic Mastermind is worthy of note as it'll let you reclaim one CP per battle round on a 5+ whenever you spend CP. The other buffs are geared towards mobility or melee upgrades, though there's also a flat +2W one. I guess if you wanted, you could dump a CP and relic onto a jetbike captain and have a 9W, 2+/3++ guy flying around the table shooting/stabbing everything he can to death.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Victor of the Blood Games</span></p><p>I mention it because it's a little iffy - on the one hand, it's undeniably efficient - it's 2CP, and it can a re-roll a turn, so you'll get more points back. You're putting it on a character, though, so you're already re-rolling the 1s to hit - so you'll be re-rolling wounds and saves, which aren't bad. But, it's still 2CP right off the bat.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Stooping Dive</span></p><p>Let's be real, this looks cool, but it's niche. You pay 3CP to let your biker unit charge at the end of the opponent's phase, and then they fight first. If the opponent doesn't know this is a thing, it's hilarious. If they fail a charge, well, then you gotta ask if you want to burn the CP to get in there. Or, y'know, you can move up, dump hurricane bolters on them, save 3CP, and then charge. It's an option, but expensive CP-wise.</p><p><b>On Shield Hosts</b></p><p>War of the Spider introduces shield hosts. These are analogous to legion traits, but in practice give you a warlord trait, a relic, and a bespoke stratagem.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">The Dread Host</span></p><p>This is your choice for deep striking. Golden Light of the Moiraides (as mentioned above) is a nice buff for arriving from deep strike, since you almost always want to charge from it. As a bonus, these guys have a relic Castellan Axe that has a flat 3 damage in melee. The Warlord trait is an aura that says any 6s to hit within 6" grant additional hits, which isn't bad - but isn't super, since you aren't exactly a high-volume army.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Solar Watch</span></p><p>If you aren't deep-striking, this is a decent choice. The warlord trait is Sally Forth - if you start the movement phase within 1" of the warlord, you get an extra inch of movement, and can advance and rapid-fire with -1 to hit. You also get a neat little stratagem that's 0CP - if you kill a character, the next stratagem the opponent uses costs an extra CP, but you can use it once per round.</p><p><b>Overall</b></p><p>I've enjoyed Custodes thus far. They are rock-hard. The two biggest adjustments have been army size - you never quite get over feeling outnumbered, and the fact that turn one is almost never that graphic. That being said, I don't feel the biggest need to have turn one - I can't break the enemy's back on turn one with overwhelming firepower, and if I have anything in reserves for deep strike, I'm not sure I need to over-extend myself.</p><p>Plus, painting ~20 models and being done painting an army is pretty awesome.</p><p><br /></p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-19410921852338083362020-08-22T15:39:00.007-05:002020-08-25T16:04:41.605-05:00Indomitus Set Impressions - Marine Side<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskD1C_I6oWsmhCSZRwuVPSwLNx5GfBNCex_GrrWd075IpeguyofsdLI1OB4szPav7lxuWZUUc-0_VmuKQcSR8akLUtigVHqwx0y_U8DV00q4gcwHUzf4PI6Hrxn51smbW9NeUK10yI-k/s3024/IMG_20200822_145044.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1590" data-original-width="3024" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskD1C_I6oWsmhCSZRwuVPSwLNx5GfBNCex_GrrWd075IpeguyofsdLI1OB4szPav7lxuWZUUc-0_VmuKQcSR8akLUtigVHqwx0y_U8DV00q4gcwHUzf4PI6Hrxn51smbW9NeUK10yI-k/w512-h269/IMG_20200822_145044.jpg" title="We heard you like buckets of dice" width="512" /></a></div> <p></p><p>At this point, I think everyone's at least aware of what's in the Indomitus boxed set. I've had a chance to muck around with the marines a bit, and here's where I think they'll fit in. Note this is in advance of a new codex, and we also have plenty of rumors and teasers of re-worked weapons profiles anyways.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Primaris Captain</b></p><p>Hey, look at that - the marines got a captain in their side. There are a handful of other power-armor captains out there. You get a heavy bolt pistol, a two-damage S5 power sword, and a relic shield that ends up granting you a 2+/4++ with a 4+ save vs. mortal wounds.</p><p>This guy's a niche piece, I feel - you can get more melee punch and speed off the good ol' hammer/shield/jump pack captain. The powerfist/plasma pistol captain has better strength on weapons. The vanilla sheet also gets you better ranged guns. But, if you're going to wade in and thrash, the relic shield makes this guy worth considering.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Impression</span> - consider the captain if you're skipping a 'smash' captain and going try to crush face in melee.</p><p><b>Primaris Lieutenant </b></p><p>So, full confession - we all love those Primaris Lieutenant memes, but this guy actually has a pretty solid loadout. This guy has a decent melee weapon (S5 2-damage power sword), an invulnerable save via storm shield, AND a pretty solid pistol. I mean, come on - it's two shots at S5, two damage, and potential mortal wounds.</p><p>If you're going to take a primaris lieutenant (and unless you're going for a jump pack, might as well go Primaries) give this guy a look.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Impression</span> - I honestly think I'm gonna end up using this guy a fair amount. He's got a decent gun, and unlike all his other lieutenant buddies, he's got an invulnerable save.</p><p><b>Primaris Chaplain</b></p><p>Um, it's a chaplain, fellas. We already have this. It's a neat new model, but doesn't bring anything new.</p><p><b>Judiciar</b></p><p>Now, THIS is something new. Sure, he's got melee punch. Here's what we care about, though - "You, you there, within 6 inches - you go last." If you are on foot (Maybe if you're Iron Hands and still trying for the whole mob of intercessors), the enemy basically HAS to hit you with as many elements as they can at the same time. </p><p>Why? Well, one of them goes last. Another one swings, and then you can pop your 2CP interrupt stratagem. If you're in a foot mob, or delivering a large group of guys via transports, then bring this guy.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Impression</span> - it's build-specific, but definitely worth bringing if you think your mob of troopers is going to get charged.</p><p><b>Bladeguard Ancient</b></p><p>This is basically a riff on the existing Ancient, except that it provides Bladeguard-specific buffs. Frankly, the "act again on a 4+" isn't super-reliable, and the utility depends a) on stuff dying, and b) stuff dying when its retaliation is meaningful.</p><p>For example - bladeguard dying and shooting a pistol is kinda 'meh.' Hellblasters gettng punched to death and swinging a couple times in melee is 'meh.'</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Impression</span> - The codex may bring more, but consider this guy only if you're already bringing a couple bladeguard squads.</p><p><b>Bladeguard Veterans</b></p><p>First, first impression - um, what's up with 3W? You're not Gravis guys. That aside, at first glance these guys are in a wonky spot. They're a small unit. However, they're kind of sick in melee - everyone's packing a storm shield (even if it is the weird new-ish one) and a master-crafted power sword. If you're bringing these, consider bringing a pair.</p><p>Realistically, these aren't for every army - if you try to walk them across the board, expect someone to thank you, and shoot them off the board if they can. Build around delivering a couple squads into the enemy, though, and maybe you'll enjoy 'em.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Impression </span>- Some chapters will love them, others won't necessarily care - but don't bolt them onto any build and assume they'll do great.</p><p><b>Assault Intercessors</b></p><p>Well, it's about time we got stabby intercessors. I have to assume that the codex will let Sarge take melee options, especially since regular Intercessors already have them. These guys will be fine for knocking enemies off existing objectives with fistfuls of dice (outside of anything else, you're cranking out 4 dice a dude on the charge at AP-1) if you can get there. Note that if a volume of attacks is what you're after, you can always look at the auto bolt rifle on regular intercessors. You lose the chainsword and fancy pistol, but go up to an assault 3 gun with 24" range. You also get a stratagem to auto-hit all your shots at 12" range. You don't always, y'know, WANT to be punching someone to death - and you still aren't a slouch in melee.</p><p>And that 'if' means that these may not be for everyone. It's the same idea as Bladeguard vets - you're specialists. Build around it, or don't take them. And ask if you're ready to give up a rifle before going into melee.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Impression</span> - I think a lot of armies will keep to existing intercessors, unless you've got great melee rules (cough cough, white scars, cough cough). Otherwise, if you want volume of attacks, the assault bolt rifle's an option.</p><p><b>Outriders</b></p><p>I'll admit I'm partial to these guys. They're fairly beefy in terms of toughness and wounds (T5, four wounds a guy), but note that bikes interact with cover differently than regular infantry. You want to break LOS if possible on the approach.</p><p>And believe me, you want to make that approach. If you want a chaff-clearer, it's these guys. If you make the charge with a full unit, you're throwing out a hilarious 19 attacks with S4 AP-1 chainswords that hit on 3+. It sounds like a lot, but it's reasonable to assume you're operating outside of support. You'll be doing all this after firing a half-dozen bolt-rifles' worth of shots into the target too. All told, that's a dozen AP-1 bolter shots onto your target first. </p><p>In spite of the volume of attacks, remember - these guys are probably going to run screaming well out of range of any re-roll auras you have.</p><p>Based on the volume of attacks these guys get, I don't think we'll see Sarge getting melee options. 5 Thunder Hammer swings on the charge on turn one seems...unlikely.</p><p>These guys will be useful for putting pressure on objectives early, or going for stuff like 'Engage on All Fronts.' </p><p>Admittedly, some armies will get more mileage out of these guys, but I think everyone can get something out of them.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Impression</span> - I'm sold. I won't run these all the time, but I can see running a couple units of these just to mess with someone else's plans. </p><p><b>Eradicators</b></p><p>Let's be real - these are the guys everyone focused on when Indomitus dropped. Honestly, it's understandable - the mere presence of these guys is meta-shifting. You have to assume that a squad or two of these guys is going to walk off the side of the board and double-tap something important.</p><p>A 24" range is just about impossible to screen against, unless you're using terrain or stratagems. You can probably keep them out of melta range, though. Also god help you if you managed to leave a character exposed, someone's going to have to get a bucket and a mop.</p><p>Obviously their natural prey is enemy armor, monstrous creatures, and really, really beefy infantry. You'll rarely ever skip out on Total Obliteration.</p><p>Why? Unless you're starting these guys on the board (and hiding them well, just in case you don't go first) these guys may not be in re-roll range.</p><p>Expect one good round of shooting out of these guys. They're reasonably durable at T5 with a 3+ save, so if the enemy can't shoot them to death, they may just assault them. And Eradicators have....a pistol...for close combat. So, y'know, try not to get into a fistfight. And expect the enemy to try to charge them to tie them up if not kill them out-right.</p><p>Army-wise, any Marine army would be happy to run a couple units. Note that anything that makes them more accurate is great - Salamanders come to mind, for reasons mentioned above.</p><p><span style="color: #01ffff;">Impression</span> - Most marine players will try these guys a few times. Not everyone will ultimately keep them. Others will eventually adapt to them, one way or the other.</p><p><b>Overall Impressions</b></p><p>Eradicators drew all the attention first - and it's not undeserved. That being said, I'm partial to the Outriders myself. However, don't sleep on the Lieutenant - it's a solid loadout. Finally, most of the rest of the box has at least a situational use.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-1380825300593037842020-08-07T11:32:00.003-05:002020-08-07T15:26:28.656-05:009th Edition - Initial Thoughts<p> Ninth's been out on the streets for a hot minute. Hopefully everyone's had a chance to play with it - pretty sure there've been some tournaments out there already, for those that have been lucky enough to be in a position to attend them. The world's bit crazy and Nurgle-y these days.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Objectives - and holding them</b></p><p>So, if you've read any of the missions, watched battle reports, or, y'know, played - this matters. You should be aiming to hold as many objectives as possible. You do this by slapping durable troops on them at the beginning of the turn, and living for a turn. You want to grab 10-15 points a turn.</p><p>You take objectives from someone else by murdering troops on them, and/or slapping more bodies with Objective Secured on said objective. Now, killing is well and good, and most armies have ways of killing things.</p><p>What's this mean? If you have durable troops, or durable models that can throw down in close, you're in good shape. If not? You're not in a great position right now. Considering that 2/3 to 3/4 of your points in a game are coming from these, it's kind of important.</p><p>Short version - I hope you have durable troops and lots of firepower, if not both. I also hope you have a decent number of units. I see this HOPEFULLY changing as more codices come out and/or point values get tweaked.</p><p><b>Command Re-Roll Tweak</b></p><p>Not gonna lie - this is one of the sleeper hits of a change in 9th. There are a LOT of things that got changed by this. On the face it, it looks like there are a lot of things you can re-roll - hits, wounds, damage rolls, saves, advances, charges, psychic tests, deny the witch tests, or the number of tests.</p><p>There are a lot of things you're not re-rolling, though. Most codices have a strategem like "Deny the witch on a 4+" (Hey, black templar, Iron Hands, World Eaters...). In 8th, you realistically had a 75% chance of that working - drop a CP, roll 1d6, and then maybe drop a command point re-roll. Also, Necrons have a neat little "My character reanimates on a 4+" which can be a 100-150pt swing.</p><p>Well, now that's back to a flat dice roll. Look, these are probably still worth the gamble. However, they're not nearly as reliable as they used to be.</p><p>Short version - THIS is bigger than you think it is and WILL surprise you more than once or twice.</p><p><b>Command Point Regeneration</b></p><p>You'll get one back a turn in matched play, and a number of armies can bring a way to get another one back on a 5+ or so. If you bring only one detachment, you can have somewhere between 17-22 command points in a game. 22 is gonna be some crazy luck on 5+ rolls though.</p><p>What does this mean? Bringing another detachment for a couple CP isn't that big a deal. Similarly, spending a CP or two on another relic and/or another warlord trait isn't a bad thing unless you really were going to burn all 12 CP in two turns on breaking the other army's back.</p><p>Short version - Don't worry about burning a couple in the build phase. If you can bring a way to get more back without losing a crazy important relic, think about it.</p><p><b>Game Length - Fixed at Five Turns</b></p><p>In 8th, if you weren't playing for a fixed amount of time in, say, a tournament, you could go for 5-7 turns. Now you have five turns and then you're done. You have four turns to score the primary take-and-hold objectives.</p><p>Short Version - you know game length now, and how/when you're going to have to score.</p><p><b>Secondary Objectives</b></p><p>You can get a lot of points off primaries - but it won't be enough to win. So, secondary objectives matter. Next up - man, there are some options. Don't panic.</p><p>Look at your army list and look at the secondary objectives. This is going to tell you if you can discard some of them out of hand. I'd recommend doing this first. Battlefield Supremacy, Shadow Operations, and Warpcraft all depend on your build.</p><p>Battlefield Supremacy cares about deep striking, speed, and/or outflanking from reserves. If you can do these, consider Linebreaker and/or Engage on All Fronts. Domination is great too if you have plenty of troops.</p><p>Shadow Operations is for people with lots of infantry units. You're gonna be performing Actions, which take a unit offline for a turn and involve not being assaulted or shot off the objective. If this isn't you, consider skipping it.</p><p>Warpcraft - did you bring psykers? If not, skip 2/3 of this. If the enemy brought psykers, consider this for Abhor the Pskyer.</p><p>That brings us to Purge the Enemy and No Mercy, No Respite - these depend on the other side's composition.</p><p>Purge The Enemy is pretty much about killing specific stuff. You're either killing characters (the more, the better), killing Titanic Models, or killing the Warlord. Note that the Warlord one is low-value (only 6pts).</p><p>No Mercy, No Respite is more about killing regular guys. Thin Their Ranks is all about nailing hordes - every ten infantry you kill is a point, and everyone 10+ wound model is 10 points. Pretty simple. Attrition is for durable armies - 4pts a turn if you kill more than them, so if you're elite and they're not, think about it. First Strike is a thinking man's objective - if you can off a unit in turn one, 5 points. It's 8 total if you kill more than they do in turn one.</p><p>Note also that all the scenarios have a bespoke secondary objective as well. It's worth thinking about if none of the other objectives look good.</p><p>Short version - secondaries aren't that bad if you think about them. Build to hold objectives, then think from there.</p><p><b>Terrain</b></p><p>Honestly, I like the new terrain rules. They're pretty decent once you think about them and read them a couple times, and reasonably sensible. As much as I like the idea of true LOS, this trims down some arguments, and I'm all about that life. It's an adjustment worth making.</p><p><b>Max +1/-1 Modifier</b></p><p>There are definitely some armies that took a hit on this - Alpha Legion and Aeldari fliers come to mind. There are also going to be some interesting interactions on this, like infantry moving and shooting heavy weapons into dense cover and only taking a -1 to hit, after taking a pair of -1 to hit penalties.</p><p><b>Overall</b></p><p>I am generally enjoying 9th. However, I've got concerns about some armies out of the gate - some armies are going to struggle with objectives. I'm worried about regular Chaos Marines, for example - cultists and baseline Chaos marines are so-so at best for durability and lethality. </p><p>You don't HAVE to bring any troops in this edition, but you can also watch a dozen terminators stare blankly at a single tactical marine on an objective - who can then be the difference between a guy scoring 10 and 15 VP in a turn, because ObSec.</p><p>Fingers crossed that we see some point tweaks and get some neat stuff in the new codices.</p>Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-35803311074769162142020-07-14T22:07:00.000-05:002020-07-19T11:30:30.981-05:009th Edition Speculation - Org Charts, Command Benefits, Point Costs, and Army Building<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCMh-hhtT7800RY9w3woypAPDtOhc3N-jjLjH5ldvFTeVo23ynqwzK8QlWDCkBu9mRLuQzBsJzIbGPbOzpGINpgl04GYqIDjuK9QB4WJV2uKI_ExW24g8hbbPW6DBfWOzOR7MGQWEKTI/s1600/org+chart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="460" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCMh-hhtT7800RY9w3woypAPDtOhc3N-jjLjH5ldvFTeVo23ynqwzK8QlWDCkBu9mRLuQzBsJzIbGPbOzpGINpgl04GYqIDjuK9QB4WJV2uKI_ExW24g8hbbPW6DBfWOzOR7MGQWEKTI/s200/org+chart.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I guess it's a Titan org chart?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, we finally got a few more pieces of the puzzle - 9th is basically here, since we have point value leaks and the new force org charts.<br />
<br />
<b>The Short Version on Org Charts</b><br />
1) You pay CP to take an org chart<br />
2) If your warlord is in that org chart* you are going to get that for free<br />
3) If you take more than one org chart, that org chart is going to cost CP<br />
4) You start with 12 CP at 2,000 points<br />
5) Dedicated transports require INFANTRY units instead of just units<br />
<br />
*Unless it's superheavy. Then you need a Knight codex with its rules.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Thinking about Org Charts in General</b><br />
Pretty much every org chart (outside of the Superheavy detachment) requires an HQ choice, so I'm not super worried about comparing HQs with each other.<br />
<br />
Note also that we don't see the 3x flyer detachment back, but most org charts allow 0-2 flyers.<br />
<br />
THE BATTALION<br />
Ah, the battalion - the workhorse of 8th. The old 'giver of CP.' The battalion's biggest impact was to make us look at taking tons of troops - so either you brought good troops, or you brought cheap troops.<br />
<br />
Now, in 9th, if you're bringing a battalion, I suspect you'll bring 1 or none. If you're going mono-faction, you can get up to 3 HQs, and you probably won't mind 3 troops choices - assuming, of course, that you have decent troops. 'Cheap filler battalions for CP' is no longer a thing, since you now have to pay CP for them.<br />
<br />
Before taking a battalion, ask - "Is this my main/only faction?" and "Do I really like building around my troops?" If you answered yes to both questions, consider taking it.<br />
<br />
THE PATROL<br />
Ah, the patrol. One HQ, one troop, and access to 0-2 of most everything else. I don't know that patrols got a lot of love in 8th.<br />
<br />
I suspect this will change in 9th.<br />
<br />
If you don't like your troops, you don't have to take a lot. Save your points for other org chart slots where some of your more durable and/or lethal stuff is. After all, those troops aren't giving you more CP now, either.<br />
<br />
Additionally, if you want to 'splash' another faction in here but aren't planning on taking 3 of a given force org slot, you probably want to just cave, grab a token troops choice, and go from there for the low CP cost.<br />
<br />
Before taking a patrol, ask - "Is this my main faction?", "Do I like my troops?" and "What all did I want to bring from this faction?"<br />
<br />
If this is your main faction AND you don't like your troops, think about a patrol.<br />
<br />
If this isn't your main faction AND you aren't taking 3 of a given force org slot, think about a patrol.<br />
<br />
THE SUPERHEAVY DETACHMENT<br />
Ah, here's where we get into some pain. If you want to bring 3 superheavies and include the 'titanic' keyword, you're out 6CP. Note that Knight codices have ways around this, but it's written into their rules.<br />
<br />
My 3 Lords of Skulls are sad now. Like, real sad. Same goes for Imperial Guard Baneblade trios, Eldar wraithknight spam, etc. (I don't think the latter was a thing, but I could be wrong.) Any way you cut it, this is going to hurt unless you're knights. Also you're probably only bringing along a patrol at best.<br />
<br />
If you're knights, rejoice.<br />
<br />
If you're anyone else, ask how painful starting with a max of 6 CP is going to be, and if it's going to be worth bringing 3 superheavies.<br />
<br />
FLYER WING<br />
Aaaand it's gone.<br />
<br />
If you're bringing anyone with the 'Flyer' battlefield role, look at other org charts.<br />
<br />
VANGUARD / SPEARHEAD/ OUTRIDER DETACHMENT<br />
You bring an HQ, 3 of elite/fast attack/heavy support, and then 0-3 troops, and 0-2 of everything else.<br />
<br />
In 8th, these were great ways to bulk up on slots (because you never can have enough guns) or splash another faction for cheap.<br />
<br />
REVISED OPINION - You might build around these if you KNOW you're gonna take 3 of a given type of unit. IE - "I really want 3 units of bikes as Ravenwing, and I don't want to bring any troops choices!" Whether that's a good idea or not is another thing altogether.<br />
<br />
Before taking one of these specialists, ask "Do I really want three of a unit type?" If yes, take it. If not, look at another one.<br />
<br />
<br />
BRIGADE<br />
Why? You could do one in 8th, depending on your codex, but your options were limited - but you got some good CP for it. Your competition was 2x battalion and change.<br />
<br />
You needed to have good, cheap stuff available in most force org slots in order to make the math work and to have a GOOD brigade. I think a lotta folks enjoyed trying to make cheap brigades just for the challenge of it.<br />
<br />
I can't recall if we've seen a brigade get spoiled or not, but with the cost increases we've seen/heard about, I don't see a point in worrying about a brigade.<br />
<br />
AUXILIARY SUPER-HEAVY DETACHMENT<br />
You're taking this if you want just one super-heavy. There's not a lot of debate here - build around that unit and go. Just remember the old saying "One is none, two is one, three is some."<br />
<br />
<b>Moving Ahead</b><br />
So, the way I see it now, you've got a couple options for 9th edition and it's going to depend on how you built your armies.<br />
<br />
First, you can try to re-point what you've got. If you ran multiple battalions, though, I don't think that's going to get you where you want to go - the part where we all start with 12 CP and pay for detachments beyond the first are going to make us re-think the number of detachments we want to take.<br />
<br />
I would instead encourage everyone to take a good, long look at your troops slots. Did you take a bunch of cheapo troops to fill out battalions for sweet, sweet CP? (I'm looking at you, cultists.) Or, did you take some solid, reliable troops (I'm looking at you, Primaris fellas) that both filled troops slots AND carried weight?<br />
<br />
If you liked your existing troops and you don't really NEED more than 2-3 HQs, it's probably going to be a battalion. If you don't really like your troops, it's probably going to be a patrol and something else.Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-39531156354449339372020-07-06T22:48:00.003-05:002020-07-06T22:48:41.304-05:009th Edition Brainstorming - Alpha Legion Edition<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivt5_2WjBl9I542bKHpfj3DWS2vUrwImtR1ATxLcs4MwPMdZQuwbjbqcFgdvnZKcPLpnNyVI0Xy-46Hsvd_UuYyxln9DBYmFEzKBUeORaMthhN00zp-cBszKQli7IScUH_jgyRD_c__JM/s1600/IMG_20200519_143239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1494" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivt5_2WjBl9I542bKHpfj3DWS2vUrwImtR1ATxLcs4MwPMdZQuwbjbqcFgdvnZKcPLpnNyVI0Xy-46Hsvd_UuYyxln9DBYmFEzKBUeORaMthhN00zp-cBszKQli7IScUH_jgyRD_c__JM/s320/IMG_20200519_143239.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I AM SNEAKY</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Games Workshop has been kind enough to release the <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Lw4o3USx1R8sU7cQ.pdf" target="_blank">short version of the rules</a> at this point. I've taken a look at that and <a href="https://raptor1313.blogspot.com/2020/07/9th-edition-first-impression-of-new.html" target="_blank">done some vaguely-informed speculating</a> already.<br />
<br />
At this point we're still missing a few details -<br />
-Revised points costs<br />
-Full details on missions<br />
-Full details on core stratagems<br />
-Full details on force org charts<br />
<br />
I do think we have enough data on the force org charts to make some educated guesses - Battalion, Patrol, and the Lord of War detachments are enough for us.<br />
<br />
There's actually some good news - at a glance, Alpha Legion at least has a decent toolbox of stratagems and the like that'll help us.<br />
<br />
<b>What do Core Rules Mean For Us?</b><br />
<span style="color: cyan;">1) Max of +1/-1 Modifiers - OH NOES(?)</span><br />
I imagine that a lot of Alpha Legion folks (and probably some Raven Guard folks, and Aeldari, and probably some others) picked up on this pretty quick. Does it hurt survivability of infantry at a basic level? Eh, sometimes. How often were you going to give more than one unit a -2 to hit?<br />
<br />
It's not that hard to get units to -2 to hit or more between Dark Apostles and Miasma of Pestilence (for those who can take the Mark of Nurgle - IE the Possessed). Or you could add relics and warlord traits - IE, Clandestine, or the Shade Blade.<br />
<br />
My follow-on question - how many things does Alpha Legion actually try to use this combo on? <br />
<br />
We really kind of want the Mark of Slaanesh on our shooty stuff - who cares about defense when the target's dead. Also, we can put our important guns behind other units and use Conceal to make sure the enemy has to shoot other stuff first.<br />
<br />
Ok, so that leaves us with melee troopers - which is pretty much "Possessed" and "Demon Princes" - demon princes should be leveraging their character status for protection.<br />
<br />
Note that Possessed still kind of like it because it works in melee, but Possessed may still benefit from having other Demons around for daemonic loci. Slaaneshi demons come to mind with the whole 'advance and charge' thing.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">2) Coherency and Screening Units - We Got Smaller</span><br />
Cultist utility as screening units may take a hit based on the new coherency rules. Don't expect your screens to be as large - <a href="https://raptor1313.blogspot.com/2020/07/9th-edition-unit-coherency-and-screening.html" target="_blank">a minimum-sized cultists squad covers less than half the space it used to</a>.<br />
<br />
This impacts anyone larger than 5 guys. It means that most of our stuff cars about it, outside of Havocs and Obliterators.<br />
<br />
If you're bringing 3 cultist squads to fill out a battalion (and I'm guessing we probably still will be) just know that they won't block off as much space. <br />
<br />
Note also that we have access to Scrambled Coordinates - so we can push folks back 12". This'll help us with pushing anyone arriving from reserves back out of assault and rapid-fire range, which is what we generally care about.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">3) Morale - At Least We Won't Have To Feed The Cultists</span><br />
Morale got a few changes - you only lose one guy for sure when you fail morale. Next up, though, is attrition - you roll 1d6 per model, and on a 1 they run away. If you are under half-strength, that attrition roll takes a -1. Morale gets a little less predictable, but it's not going to be hard to knock out low-leadership, low-save, low-toughness units.<br />
<br />
I mean, we kind of knew this already. Ld6 means there's always room for failure if anyone dies.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">4) Command Phase</span><br />
Getting 1 CP a turn is going to help - Chaos has plenty of awesome stratagems. The only vague concern I have about the 'command phase' is that I suspect a lot of "beginning of turn" effects will get moved here. Hopefully Dark Apostle prayers will remain "at the beginning of the round."<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">5) Force Org Chart Changes - Chaos has Friends, Really</span><br />
Here's our mixed bag. If you were playing pure Alpha Legion, the biggest difference is going to be in how many HQs you want to bring. Double battalion was pretty normal for 2k, which meant 4 HQs and six troops. <br />
<br />
If you're skipping out on multiple Lords of War, you might as well go with a battalion - 2 HQs and 3 troops is reasonable. You've got room for another HQ - and we have good ones.<br />
<br />
If you're bringing in allies or mixing Chaos, the question's going to be 'what do you need?' because that's gonna cost CP. Look at what units you need from either other Legions or the Demon Codex.<br />
<br />
The thing that really hurts is the eye-watering 6CP to bring a Superheavy Detachment. I've been mucking around with 3x Lords of Skulls (or 2x Lord of Skulls and a Kytan Ravager) and that's a giant kick to the CP. Then again, that list was a bit more CP-efficient than others, since it mostly cared about popping the Daemonforge stratagem 1-2 times a turn and maybe re-rolling a psychic test. And possibly a charge.<br />
<br />
Mixing Chaos knights with the chaos codex is a little more like 'mixing Chaos marines with Chaos Knights' - based on spoilers, the Renegade Knight book will have rules for taking a Superheavy Detachment without paying CP, provided the warlord is in said detachment.<br />
<br />
<b>Relics, Warlord Traits, and Stratagems</b><br />
GW is tweaking points for 9th, so your lists are going to get smaller. That being said, one of the things I like about Alpha Legion is that AL has a pretty solid tool kit at its disposal with respect to warlord traits, relics and stratagems. Note that the Chaos Marine codex already has some solid ones - I'd say the stars of the show tend to be "Veterans of the Long War" and "Endless Cacophony." If you've seen CSM on the table, you've seen them.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Hydra's Wail</span><br />
Can everyone regenerate CP every turn? Yes. That's the biggest hit the Wail took. You don't have to take any gear to get it. However, to get the most out of it, you want to play it against an enemy that's going to plan on dropping 3-4 stratagems in a given turn - bonus points if they have defensive stratagems.<br />
<br />
It won't bankrupt them on hot dice. I'm a little sad, since this was one of my go-to relics. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Clandestine & the Shade Blade</span><br />
The perk of these items - a warlord trait and relic, respectively - was that they added a -1 to hit to you. Well, that doesn't stack any more. <br />
<br />
I suppose if you want to give a Warlord trait to a Lord Discordant, or something else that's going to get into melee, then Clandestine has some use. <br />
<br />
I can't really say I'm a fan of the Shade Blade - S5 is nice, but the 1d3 damage is 'eh.' If you're going up against multi-wound models, reliability matters. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Viper's Bite + Headhunter</span><br />
Killing characters is always great. Screening changed a little with the whole "Look out, Sir!" rules - characters need to be next to something now - but this still ignores it in hilarious fashion. Infantry screens are so-so, but being next to a vehicle means you gotta pop a tank to get it out.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Master of Diversion</span><br />
This warlord trait is almost always going to be useful. Being able to redeploy units is awesome. Never underestimate it. This is pretty much my go-to for its utility. I'll probably take Viper's Bite + Headhunter on someone with a stratagem, as that guy's gonna draw fire after he splatters a VIP's brains.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Conceal</span><br />
Since we can't get more than a -1 to hit vs. shooting anyway, the next best thing is "hahaha, you can't shoot me anyway." 2CP is a bit more affordable now that we start with 12CP and we get 1CP per turn back.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Scrambled Coordinates</span><br />
GW's teased the part where just about anyone can pay CP now to come in off board edges from reserves. There are a handful of units that pay extra to say "No, you come in more than 12 inches away instead of 9 inches."<br />
<br />
Trust me, that 'more than 12' is important - it means you categorically are NOT assaulting the target, and odds are that you're not rapid-firing (generally speaking). Sure, some stuff has a 24" shot, but you were never going to screen that anyway.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Ambush</span><br />
As above - reserves are gonna be more common, so someone might as well catch bullets. And since we have more CP, using this stratagem isn't so bad.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: cyan;">Devastation Battery / Punishing Volley</span><br />
This is build-specific - you have to take Havocs or Obliterators and pay a CP for the detachment upgrade. The reason you take this is because if you go second, you can use a stratagem to have Obliterators (or havocs, I guess) shoot something during your opponent's turn, and then you can use Conceal to make sure they live another turn.<br />
<br />
I say 'Oblits' because if I'm not going second, I can leave them in reserve and drop them in later.<br />
<br />
This is plenty affordable, especially with regenerating CP. If you're turned off by the randomness of Obliterators, think about what they can do after someone moves into range. <br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: cyan;">Soulforged Pack</span><br />
This one's going to be a little harder to gauge. If you are taking it on our smaller demon engines, it's not bad - you're out one CP. If you are going to use it with Lords of Skulls - the question becomes "Do I really want to advance and charge?" because you're out 6CP for the LoS detachment, and the main reason you'd take Soulforged Pack is the "advance and charge" stratagem.<br />
<br />
<b>The Shape of Armies to Come</b><br />
My gut says that pure Alpha Legion is probably going to build towards a Battalion at 2000 points.<br />
<br />
I suspect that I'll start out with a sorcerer, a dark apostle (and friends), and 30 cultists still.<br />
<br />
Sorcerers are probably going to stay just because of the utility of our psychic powers. The Dark Apostle is too useful as a buff bot - prayers TBD.<br />
<br />
Cultists are kind of a "we'll see." Early leaks indicate that the point cost is up on the cultists. They're taking a hit from morale and coherency rules.<br />
<br />
Our troops choices are still going to be something like the following -<br />
-10 cultists (cheap, takes up space)<br />
-20-30 cultists (not cheap, takes up more space)<br />
-5 marines (relative cost TBD, but has heavy weapon)<br />
-10 marines (definitely not cheap, but has a couple heavy weapons and durability)<br />
<br />
It's all going to be about what our guys cost, now. I have ideas about allies, but I want to see what I'm out in terms of points and CP.<br />
<br />
The other concept I want to play with is still 3 Lords of Skulls, but I've still got to build one. Pretty sure I'll be taking a Patrol detachment with that.Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-75387911111368503392020-07-03T17:34:00.002-05:002020-07-03T17:34:52.865-05:009th Edition - Unit Coherency and ScreeningBy now I imagine most folks have noticed that the <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Lw4o3USx1R8sU7cQ.pdf" target="_blank">9th edition rules are out</a>. At least, the short ones are - we haven't seen all the detachments yet, or the core stratagems.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I've already done a bit of thinking about the <a href="https://raptor1313.blogspot.com/2020/07/9th-edition-first-impression-of-new.html" target="_blank">impacts of them</a> - and if you're like me, you like not getting charged right off the bat.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This means you bring screens. And if you like screens, you're definitely going to pay attention to the new unit coherency rules. I figure that a visual demonstration is going to be worth a lot more than a few words.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>The Old Rules</b></div>
<div>
-horizontal coherencies is 2" between models</div>
<div>
-vertical coherency is 6" between models</div>
<div>
-if you are out of coherency, move into coherency next time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>The New Rules</b></div>
<div>
-horizontal coherency is 2"</div>
<div>
-vertical coherency is 5"</div>
<div>
-if you are out of coherency, there's a coherency check during the morale phase - and those units just bail out. (But aren't casualties for Morale purposes</div>
<div>
-Units with 6+ models treat coherency different - models must be in unit coherency w/ 2 models instead of one.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This last one is the biggest change for large units. I think the easiest way to show it is visually.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A Brief Demonstration - Admittedly in a Vacuum</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTDmUGKZdroWArE9NFFEfmcdMujFaiQPtmiHQC4-JGNxJ_pxTHaJTQZkcFdUAhAl35lDZiQGPeia-hKobBBpxRE11_zN4ZIA8nq2CdWF47xLPbkOyKZqTcvDwjX_hOlhpBBoIBGcLjuo/s1600/IMG_20200703_155918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1326" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTDmUGKZdroWArE9NFFEfmcdMujFaiQPtmiHQC4-JGNxJ_pxTHaJTQZkcFdUAhAl35lDZiQGPeia-hKobBBpxRE11_zN4ZIA8nq2CdWF47xLPbkOyKZqTcvDwjX_hOlhpBBoIBGcLjuo/s320/IMG_20200703_155918.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Our Stars</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'll start with a typical unit employed for screening - a minimum-sized unit of cultists. Everyone knows and loves them. They're cheap. They fill a troops slot if you need that. Their main strength is that they take up space - if they're here, you can't deep strike close to them, and unless you kill them first, they might block an assault for a turn.<br />
<br />
If anyone's asking, these are some of my cultists I use with my Alpha Legion - filed off the GSC logos.<br />
<br />
If there are several squads of them, ignoring them means they might claim objectives or eventually chip away at something.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Screens in 8th</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Putting the 'chain' in Daisy Chain</b></td></tr>
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Ten guys on 20mm bases two inches apart can spread out about 25-26". No one arrives from reserves within 9" of them - so one unit can deny a heap of space.<br />
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<b>9th Edition Coherency</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>More daisy, not so much chain</b></td></tr>
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This is a unit with more than 6 models, so they have to be in coherency with 2 models instead of one. This gets a vote on how much we can spread out. As you can see, it's not as much. I'm not sure I could spread out a ton more - I might eke out a fraction here and there and make it exactly two inches, but that's about it.<br />
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As you can see, we're less than half as broad - we're 11" and change wide, and 4 inches deep. The depth part is negotiable if you want to slap them on the front line - but that's about as wide as a 10-man unit gets.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>How Do I get Back to that Sweet, Large Footprint?</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Phone a friend time!</b></td></tr>
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So I grabbed another cheap screening unit - if you look closely, you'll notice that's a ten-pack of brimstone horrors. For the sake of this experiment, it's deployed in coherency with the cultists as though it was one unit.</div>
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<b>Initial Thoughts After Seeing Pictures</b></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">1) Screen Footprint Reduction - Ouch</span></div>
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Ok, so this one's obvious - especially from the pictures. Your large screening units are not going to cover as much ground. They're going to a little less than half of it.</div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">2) 12" Denial Bubbles Are More Valuable</span></div>
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Some troops have an innate "no one comes in from reserves" bubble of 12" due to abilities. Others can get it from stratagems. As screening units get smaller footprints, anything that increases it becomes more valuable.</div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">3) Screening Is Still Important</span></div>
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Lots of armies already have units that hop out of reserves - terminators and Crisis Suits fall out of deep strike. Demons hop out of the warp. Necrons hop out of...wherever they do. The list goes on. Also, note that you can pay CP to walk on a table edge in 9th.</div>
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Screens matter because screens push that out. Melee units and short-ranged shooty units care about screens, but anyone with 24" guns is most likely to just laugh and shoot anyway because they've got range.</div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">4) You'll still probably want to bring some screens</span></div>
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Obviously it's a bit early to make predictions about the meta for 9th - but considering that there's even more options for deployment shenanigans than before, I'll be surprised if we don't see mid-field infiltrators or a couple cheap backfield squads.</div>
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<b>Next Steps</b></div>
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Obviously, we'll still need data on what point costs turn into. Cheap screens are useful. Multi-purpose screens are great too - if you can take up space and kill things, that's useful. However, the big question is going to be "what do cheap units like Brimstone Horrors and Chaos Cultists cost?"</div>
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Because honestly, those guys exist to take up space. You bring them to fill out a force org chart and to take up space - either on objectives or in front of something important.</div>
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<b>A final bit of a laugh</b></div>
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So I've played the game off and on for a minute - I recall blast templates being a thing. Ironically, now there are large units clustered together - what used to be spray and blast weapons are more effective against them - AND no one's gonna waste time arguing about who's under what stupid template. GREAT SUCCESS.</div>
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Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111360555104006558.post-75060563415052859712020-07-02T12:12:00.001-05:002020-07-06T17:55:18.648-05:009th Edition - First Impression of New Rules<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've been waiting for a hot minute, but finally, GW's kicked out the 'core' rules - so let's SPECULATE! BECAUSE THE SKY IS FALLING!<br />
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No, seriously. It's time to actually <a href="https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Lw4o3USx1R8sU7cQ.pdf" target="_blank">read something</a> and think about it.<br />
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DISCLAIMER - this is a first impression. More is INVARIABLY going to emerge after experience, games, and more reads. This is meant to be thought-provoking.<br />
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<b>SCOPE</b><br />
This is based on the rules leaked on 2 July - the core rules. It doesn't include all the detachments and all the missions or scoring. It includes the basic turn structure, though, which is a fair amount to digest.<br />
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Once we have those, we'll have an idea where 9th might go. I mean, we'll then need to see point values, and we'll have the stage set. Then people might play games if Nurgle isn't making the tallyman work overtime.<br />
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That being said, I'll take it from the top, and focus on changes from 8th.<br />
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<b>Unit Coherency</b><br />
This is going to be a change-up. Note that unit coherency now changes based on unit size. If you're 1-5 guys, it's the good ol' 2" between guys. If you're 6+ dudes, you now have to be in coherency with two guys. Also, if you're not in that coherency, you lose guys - but at least they don't count for morale purposes.<br />
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The short version - unit footprint is getting smaller.<br />
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The long version - screening units have a much smaller footprint. Combined with what we know about strategic reserves, life's gonna get interesting.<br />
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<b>Dice Modifiers</b><br />
Well, we got clarification here, but it's more or less what's expected - at the end of the day, you can't have more than +1 or -1 to a dice roll.<br />
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So, you can layer multiple -1s to hit to counter a +1 to hit, though - so it might be worth bringing multiple buffs/de-buffs in case you want or need to stack them, or spread them out. I'm not sure how practical it's going to be, though.<br />
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The question, of course, is going to be "What kind of buffs to do I want to bring?" which assumes, of course, that you've got a variety.<br />
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All in all, this is a hit to some armies, but probably a decent balance move.<br />
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<b>Modifying Characteristics</b><br />
Hey, at least we got an order of operations in the book - I'll take it.<br />
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<b>Turn Phases</b><br />
We now have a 'command phase' - you'll definitely get a CP during it for being battle-forged.<br />
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My follow-on question - there are a lot of "at the beginning of your turn" abilities, and some "beginning of the round" abilities. Are one or both of these going here? I suspect that "beginning of your turn" abilities will now be "command phase" abilities. Hopefully 'beginning of the round' abilities stay there - chaplains, etc. will feel a bit of a hit.<br />
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<b>Move Phase</b><br />
There are three standouts here -<br />
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First off, your unit chooses from one of four things - 'move', 'stand still', 'advance' and 'fall back' - which means you can't have some dudes shuffle and the heavy weapon guy stand still. I'm ok with this clarity, for the most part.<br />
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Falling back disables psychic powers this time around, though - that's gonna take some getting used to, assuming you had powers. Alternatively, you can lock up psykers in melee and make them wonder if they want to be there.<br />
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'Fly' no longer lets you fall back and shoot, which is sad. Or glad, depending on whether you liked Tau. Insert sad Riptide noises [HERE]<br />
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<b>Reserves</b><br />
Note that you don't have to come on by turn three - you only die at the end of the game. Kind of expected, given the changes to aircraft and the fact you can pay CP to keep dudes in reserve, per the leaks/previews we've had.<br />
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<b>Transports</b><br />
Now you can't hop into one if you're engaged. I'll admit I'm rusty on transport rules because I didn't see a ton of them, and I sure didn't see a lot of folks get back into them.<br />
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<b>Aircraft</b><br />
Pretty sure most of this already got previewed - but at least now flying off the table isn't a bad thing, and it might even be useful. Then again, removing a target means it makes the other guy's shooting phase that much easier.<br />
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<b>Psychic Phase</b><br />
At a glance, it looks like nothing really changed. It looks like they just codified 'you get to try each power 1x per turn unless it's Smite' and "Smite gets harder each time you try it."<br />
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<b>Shooting Phase in General</b><br />
A lot of this looks like housekeeping/codifying stuff - like "pick all your targets first" which just means "might want to think about math and odds."<br />
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The blast weapon buff is pretty nice - minimum 3 hits, max hits on 11+ - is going to help, and blast weapons are going to be at a premium since screening got a LOT harder.<br />
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<b>Shooting Phase - Look Out, Sir</b><br />
Character screening got a little more complicated, but again this got previewed. I'm largely ok with this. Mostly, you just need to be within 3" of another unit or vehicle - you can't 'screen' a character with that tactical squad that's a foot away. And you can't screen a character with a character, but I'm pretty sure that was already a thing.<br />
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Basically, bring a squad to hide behind. Bring two. Or hide behind a tank or two. Or just have more than 9 wounds and be sad.<br />
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<b>Shooting Phase - Big Guns Never Tire</b><br />
I think a lot of folks are psyched about this - even if you're not a big melee monstrosity, you can still defend yourself a little. However, -1 to hit from heavy weapons (and no blast weapons) is going to hurt.<br />
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You can always gamble and hope you scraped off everyone attached to you - but you have to declare all your targets. (So you can try to dump your backup weapons into some randos climbing on your hull, hope they die, and dump a battle cannon onto something else. Either you kill 'em and shoot someone else in the bargain, OR lose the battle cannon shot. Math is your friend!)<br />
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<b>Ranged Weapon Types</b><br />
Infantry take a -1 to hit after moving and shooting heavy weapons. That's the big change here. Note, though, that if you're already taking a -1 to hit at a target and you need to move, well, you're not losing anything else at least.<br />
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The big change here is blast weapons - they depend on the number of dudes in the unit.<br />
1-5 guys - roll for number of attacks<br />
6-10 guys - roll, but it's minimum of 3<br />
11+ guys - max attacks<br />
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Can't shoot into Engagement Range if you're a vehicle, which is sad. Blast weapons can put out the volume of shots, now.<br />
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<b>Making Attacks</b><br />
Wounding, mortal wounds, and damage look pretty unchanged from what we knew.<br />
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<b>Charging</b><br />
The biggest change I see off-hand is the change to multi-charges. You either make all your charges, or none of them.<br />
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Overwatch has also been changed - you need rules or a stratagem to overwatch. Honestly I'm not too miffed about it; overwatch is either heavily influenced by army stratagems (IE - Tau, Iron Hands, etc.), weapon types (...why are you charging flamers again?) or lucky dice (Like that time a Hellwright on Dark Abeyant blew up a near-mint Knight Armiger on overwatch. Don't think about the odds.)<br />
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Elgibility to fight got a slight change (that will probably be easier to explain with pictures). You can fight if you're in engagement range, which is an inch. You can also fight if you're within half an inch of a friendly who's within half an inch of an enemy.<br />
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<b>Morale Phase</b><br />
Morale got a change as well, but the impact is a little more variable.<br />
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You still take a morale check based on casualties. Dead guys + 1d6 vs. leadership. If you roll a 1, you auto-pass. If you roll higher, one guy runs away, and THEN, attrition! Drop 1d6 per guy, and on a 1 they run.<br />
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Casualties are going to be more variable, based on the number of survivors. You're going to lose 1 guy per failed morale check, and could assume another 1 in 6 will flee. (It's not perfect math, but it's a reasonable enough guess for you to go with.)<br />
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So let's take a unit of 20 guys at Ld10. Kill 10.<br />
8th Edition Ld Check<br />
-straight dice - between 1 and 6 flee.<br />
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9th Edition Ld Check<br />
- 1/6 chance to auto-pass.<br />
-when you fail because your dice hate you, 1 dude flees, and out of the remaining 9, 1.5 flees, since you're above half-strength.<br />
-Note that if you get lower than half-strength, it gets worse, since the combat attrition takes a -1 modifier. (so there's a 1/3 chance of fleeing, vs. a 1/6 chance. Ouch.)<br />
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Short version - math is going to be involved, and I think we'll probably still have the 2CP auto-pass stratagem.<br />
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Note that the coherency check occurs here as well, but doesn't count for morale.<br />
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<b>On Objective Markers</b><br />
The rules codify that an objective marker's a 40mm base, and spell out how close you have to be to claim it. I'm ok with this, since it puts everyone on the same page. There's nothing wrong with standardization.<br />
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<b>On new table sizes</b><br />
It looks like you still start 24" away from each other, so I'm not sure how much of a difference it'll be. At most you just use your old tables and mark off a couple inches on either side. Blammo, done.<br />
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<b>In Summary</b><br />
I remain cautiously optimistic. The biggest changes I see are as follows -<br />
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-unit coherency gets a vote on screens<br />
-tactical reserves & widespread availability thereof<br />
-level playing field of CP<br />
-dice modifiers limited to +1/-1<br />
-multi-charges are all-or-nothing<br />
-vehicles/monsters get a little mobility back with move-and-shoot<br />
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Now I just have to actually, y'know, play some games and get ahold of new point values, rules, etc.Raptor1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/16909802419382710809noreply@blogger.com0