My Standish Standoff list contains a full unit of Devastators. Every Devastator unit has to include the obligatory sergeant, and I kept mine bare bones. Bolter, bolt pistol, and signum.
While cleaning parts and deciding on a pose for my Devastator sergeant, last night, I got to thinking about all the possible armaments and load-outs this one guy can have.
On the surface, a Dev sergeant is identical to a sergeant in a Tactical squad. You start with the typical Marine stat line, a bolter, bolt pistol, frags/kraks, and power armor. However, the Devastator sergeant gets a signum, which allows one model in his unit to fire at BS5, so long as the sergeant is alive and does not fire in the Shooting phase himself. It's a very handy tool.
The Dev sergeant is able to purchase any upgrade you can typically purchase for a Tac sergeant. Ranged weapons like pistols and combi-bolters, as well as melee weapons like power weapons and fists. You can also take the Veteran upgrade, as well as meltabombs.
In my opinion, the first thing you have to decide on is Veteran status. Taking the upgrade gives you one extra Attack and one point of Leadership. So, two attacks base instead of one, and Ld9 instead of Ld8. I don't feel an additional attack in melee is useful for a model in a shooting-dedicated unit. The additional point of leadership, however, is useful.
Devastators are typically a backfield unit. They have a nice, long range band with all of their weapons, which means they're often sitting near your back table edge. This position means that failed Morale tests are dangerous. Lose two or three Marines in a turn and you're risking falling back off the board. Even if you don't fall off the board, the involuntary movement means you lose a turn of shooting as you regroup and regain your fire lanes (unless you are running Ultramarines Chapter Tactics and burn your Devastator Doctrine for the turn).
Meltabombs have always been an upgrade you take as a safety net or last-ditch option. They're cheap enough to throw in without thinking too hard. For Devs, they don't make quite as much sense. You can' throw meltabombs, so they're only applicable in melee against a monstrous creature or a vehicle. Most MCs that charge into a unit whose sergeant has meltabombs tends to challenge out that sergeant to remove the bombs entirely (either by killing the sergeant with AP2 wounds or forcing the denial of the challenge). Walkers are seriously threatened by meltabombs, but if anything but a drop podded Dreadnought ends up in close with your Devastators, I think you may have done something fundamentally wrong that meltabombs won't fix.
That brings us neatly into the melee weapon options. Every one of these falls under the same logic as meltabombs and the Veteran upgrade: Devs aren't a melee unit. If they find themselves in a fistfight, something has gone terribly wrong. Do you really want to spend the heavy points investment in something like a power fist that you may not/probably won't use?
By my thinking, the only viable options besides Veteran status are the ranged weapons, as they match the role of the unit. But which one to take?
I'd write the pistol options (grav and plasma) off immediately, due to their 12" range. Both pistol types are too expensive to take as insurance, single-shot weaponry. I'd skip the combi-flamer and combi-melta for the exact same reason, though they are less expensive as insurance.
A combi-grav is a neat little gem, but its max range is only half that of the weapons it most closely shares a target priority with (plasma cannons, fired at medium and heavy infantry). It does put out a solid three shots when stationary, and the signum is nearly useless for plasma cannon Devastators. I'd say a combi-grav is an "ok, not great" choice.
All that's left is the storm bolter. It's an Assault 2, 24" range weapon, and is as cheap an upgrade as you can get. That range band is at least useful for some of the heavy weapons it'll be alongside. When the unit packs multimeltas, you'll want to use the signum. Plasma cannons make the storm bolter shots into an afterthought, but more dice rolled for shooting is never a bad thing. Lascannons are like multimeltas, where you want the signum instead. Missile launchers split the difference, where they want the signum if you're firing krak/flakk, but the storm bolter shots if you're firing frag. Your closest relative for the storm bolter will be heavy bolters. If you calculate it all out, upping a single heavy bolter to BS5 over BS4 will net you about the same number of wounds on Toughness 4 models as using the storm bolter instead. The difference is only about .30 wounds in favor of the storm bolter.
After all of that rambling, my theory is that there are only two real choices to make when kitting a Devastator Sergeant: veteran or not, and storm bolter, combi-bolter, or regular bolter.
Vet status depends on what other Leadership mechanics are in your army and where. For my Standoff list, I'm running Cato Sicarius, who gives a blanket Ld10 to your army, so long as he's alive. That makes Vet status moot for the Dev sergeant. I feel that if Sicarius is dead early enough for the Devs' Leadership value to matter, I'm on the downslope anyways.
The other option is a banner in a Command Squad or Honor Guard. Honor Guard can't be made into fire support units, so their banner probably won't be anywhere near the Devs. Command Squads can take a whole lot of plasma guns and become some sort of mid-range firebase unit, parked near the Devs, but it's unlikely.
The bolter-or-not-bolter question really depends on how you arm the heavy weapons Marines, and if you're a fan of small points spent on small probability wargear (the statistical chance a storm bolter by itself will kill a MEQ model is small, but when stacked up alongside other factors, it can add up).
Well, there's some mental vomit of "40k tactics" talk for you. I'm sure I've missed something in this pages-long post, so feel free to discuss the math, the options, and the situations for which you'd arm a Devastator Sergeant.
Showing posts with label Tactics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tactics. Show all posts
5.09.2013
Let's Go Back to Bikes
Yes, I'm still working on my Tyrant. I have made some small steps forward (base coating his talons and claws in a golden tan color), but I wanted to jump back over to Marines for a day.
My wife is awesome and switched some shifts around at work to allow me to attend the FLGS's Big Spring Event, the Fratris Salutem. When the date was first announced, I couldn't go, then I could, then it got moved to June 1st and I couldn't, and now I can. It's all very confusing.
It's a 1500 point event, and I obviously don't have a Nid army of any points value done yet. My Tyrant won't even be done for the painting competition (I'll have it for the Standish Standoff 3 instead). So, I'm bringing Marines.
The exact list I'll take is still rattling around in my head, but I'm leaning towards bikes, as that is the easiest for me to run as a "themed" list. My evolving back story for the force is that it's an Ultramarine rapid response and recon strike force. When I run it at events, I like to write up a little one-page short story as a lead-in to the list. The list is always focused on speed: bikes, jumpers, and speeders. My Biker Captain has always been this guy, Captain Equos.
I built this model back int he dawn of 5th Edition, and you can tell. Not only is he not up to my current painting standards and abilities, but he's armed in 5th Edition style.
In 5th Edition, the relic blade was king. S6 power weapon ate most everything for lunch, and at full initiative value. Because bikers were T4(5), you wanted that Captain swinging early to keep power fists from one-shotting him. Storm shields were popular for the same reason, helping the Captain survive those S8 hits a little better than his basic iron halo save. But due to personal preferences, I never ran with a storm shield.
Now that the relic blade has been changed (not nerfed, changed), I'm seeing a need for a new Captain Equon model. In many of the recent tourneys, I've replaced the above model with the one I've used as a Company Champion on a bike. That one has a sword and shield, and I tend to give him artificer armor, a storm shield, and the relic blade. The load out makes him a house in melee against anything that's not a Terminator or monstrous creature.
But now that sixth edition is here, the relic blade is not the best option any more. It's still serviceable, but there are better options: a lightning claw or a power fist.
All three options result in the same number of attacks on the charge (four), but they differ in stat line.
The claw is nice because it's AP3, and rerolls wounds at S4 and I5. Against basic unit leaders like Marine Sergeants or Chaos Aspiring Champions, it does the job admirably for the fewest points. But, it won't scratch artificer armor, Terminator armor, or high-toughness monsters.
The relic blade is double the points, wounds more reliably, but at the same AP value. This wasn't a problem when power weapons simply ignored armor, but nowadays the AP3 is a liability for such an expensive investment in points.
The power fist runs at S8, AP2, but is Unwieldy and swings at I1. As I mentioned before, this was a death sentence in 5th Edition. But the change to biker toughness to a flat T5 makes it far less risky in 6th. It's not as expensive as the relic blade, but more expensive than the lightning claw. The nice kick here is that it can cause instant death to T4 models, like generic Marine HQs.
If you want to go back down to lightning claw points levels, you can go with a generic power weapon.
A sword is ok, but the single extra attack it'll get you from having a pistol alongside really isn't worth the swap from rerolling wounds with a lightning claw.
The axe is S5, gets the extra attack for a pistol, but attacks at I1. Not bad against something like Tactical Terminators, but it really requires investment in a storm shield and a bucket of luck to make sure you don't get punched down in return by the Terminators.
Staves and mauls are for Librarians and Chaplains. It's got the same strength attacks as the relic blade, can get a bonus for a pistol, but is a lowly AP4. MEQ models are going to laugh at you. You don't even get the chance to cause instant death from Force like a Librarian, or Fearlessness and rerolls to hit like a Chaplain.
Lances attack at I5, S5, and AP3...on the charge. After that, they drop to S4 and AP4. The only people who should be carrying power lances in a bike army are Command Squad members attached to Kor'sarro Khan, and only because he has Furious Charge and Hit and Run.
After all that, I feel like the power fist is my best bet. The lightning claw is a close second, but is intended for cutting down large numbers of chump models or basic unit leaders. It tapers off fast when faced with better armor saves or higher toughness. A Bike Captain in artificer armor can weather the attacks of those types of units by virtue of his 2+ armor and Toughness 5. Marine Bikers have no real problems dealing with the chaff of enemy armies. It's the leaders and monsters they struggle against, and the power fist is the answer in my opinion.
So after all that rambling, I think I want to build a new model to represent Captain Equon. He needs new armament and some of the fancy, new Marine bitz that have become available since I built the original. He'll end up on a bike with more decorative and stowage bitz courtesy of the new Ravenwing Command box, a powerfist, and artificer armor. I'll skip the storm shield, as the number of S10 melee attacks available on characters is small, and the mobility of bike armies can help to simply avoid those tough fights.
Time to get shopping!
My wife is awesome and switched some shifts around at work to allow me to attend the FLGS's Big Spring Event, the Fratris Salutem. When the date was first announced, I couldn't go, then I could, then it got moved to June 1st and I couldn't, and now I can. It's all very confusing.
It's a 1500 point event, and I obviously don't have a Nid army of any points value done yet. My Tyrant won't even be done for the painting competition (I'll have it for the Standish Standoff 3 instead). So, I'm bringing Marines.
The exact list I'll take is still rattling around in my head, but I'm leaning towards bikes, as that is the easiest for me to run as a "themed" list. My evolving back story for the force is that it's an Ultramarine rapid response and recon strike force. When I run it at events, I like to write up a little one-page short story as a lead-in to the list. The list is always focused on speed: bikes, jumpers, and speeders. My Biker Captain has always been this guy, Captain Equos.
I built this model back int he dawn of 5th Edition, and you can tell. Not only is he not up to my current painting standards and abilities, but he's armed in 5th Edition style.
In 5th Edition, the relic blade was king. S6 power weapon ate most everything for lunch, and at full initiative value. Because bikers were T4(5), you wanted that Captain swinging early to keep power fists from one-shotting him. Storm shields were popular for the same reason, helping the Captain survive those S8 hits a little better than his basic iron halo save. But due to personal preferences, I never ran with a storm shield.
Now that the relic blade has been changed (not nerfed, changed), I'm seeing a need for a new Captain Equon model. In many of the recent tourneys, I've replaced the above model with the one I've used as a Company Champion on a bike. That one has a sword and shield, and I tend to give him artificer armor, a storm shield, and the relic blade. The load out makes him a house in melee against anything that's not a Terminator or monstrous creature.
But now that sixth edition is here, the relic blade is not the best option any more. It's still serviceable, but there are better options: a lightning claw or a power fist.
All three options result in the same number of attacks on the charge (four), but they differ in stat line.
The claw is nice because it's AP3, and rerolls wounds at S4 and I5. Against basic unit leaders like Marine Sergeants or Chaos Aspiring Champions, it does the job admirably for the fewest points. But, it won't scratch artificer armor, Terminator armor, or high-toughness monsters.
The relic blade is double the points, wounds more reliably, but at the same AP value. This wasn't a problem when power weapons simply ignored armor, but nowadays the AP3 is a liability for such an expensive investment in points.
The power fist runs at S8, AP2, but is Unwieldy and swings at I1. As I mentioned before, this was a death sentence in 5th Edition. But the change to biker toughness to a flat T5 makes it far less risky in 6th. It's not as expensive as the relic blade, but more expensive than the lightning claw. The nice kick here is that it can cause instant death to T4 models, like generic Marine HQs.
If you want to go back down to lightning claw points levels, you can go with a generic power weapon.
A sword is ok, but the single extra attack it'll get you from having a pistol alongside really isn't worth the swap from rerolling wounds with a lightning claw.
The axe is S5, gets the extra attack for a pistol, but attacks at I1. Not bad against something like Tactical Terminators, but it really requires investment in a storm shield and a bucket of luck to make sure you don't get punched down in return by the Terminators.
Staves and mauls are for Librarians and Chaplains. It's got the same strength attacks as the relic blade, can get a bonus for a pistol, but is a lowly AP4. MEQ models are going to laugh at you. You don't even get the chance to cause instant death from Force like a Librarian, or Fearlessness and rerolls to hit like a Chaplain.
Lances attack at I5, S5, and AP3...on the charge. After that, they drop to S4 and AP4. The only people who should be carrying power lances in a bike army are Command Squad members attached to Kor'sarro Khan, and only because he has Furious Charge and Hit and Run.
After all that, I feel like the power fist is my best bet. The lightning claw is a close second, but is intended for cutting down large numbers of chump models or basic unit leaders. It tapers off fast when faced with better armor saves or higher toughness. A Bike Captain in artificer armor can weather the attacks of those types of units by virtue of his 2+ armor and Toughness 5. Marine Bikers have no real problems dealing with the chaff of enemy armies. It's the leaders and monsters they struggle against, and the power fist is the answer in my opinion.
So after all that rambling, I think I want to build a new model to represent Captain Equon. He needs new armament and some of the fancy, new Marine bitz that have become available since I built the original. He'll end up on a bike with more decorative and stowage bitz courtesy of the new Ravenwing Command box, a powerfist, and artificer armor. I'll skip the storm shield, as the number of S10 melee attacks available on characters is small, and the mobility of bike armies can help to simply avoid those tough fights.
Time to get shopping!
4.18.2013
Pyrovores...yes, Pyrovores!
In my quest to field a non-standard Tyranid army that I like the looks and feel of, I am thinking seriously about picking up a couple Pyrovores for my eventual force.
Before your heads explode, let me explain why.
Many of the Sixth Edition codexes have featured units that serve pivotal roles in their respective army that everyone takes, Dark Angels being the anomaly so far.
Chaos Marines armies feature a lot of Cultists, at least in this area. These guys just hunker down, take potshots, and claim objectives. There are so many other, nastier units bearing down on you that you can't often spare the fire to wipe them out, especially if they're made fearless by an Apostle.
Daemons do the same thing, but with Plaguebearers. Those rotten bastards hide in terrain on or near an objective, and just exist. The 2+ cover save they get from Shrouded and Go to Ground is tough to beat.
And now Tau have their Fire Warriors and Pathfinders, who have weapons with solid range, and the ability to be keystones of an army with markerlights and Supporting Fire.
Nids will have a really tough time crossing the board with standard units against any of these armies, and that is a common complaint/observation of the Tyranid players and bloggers I follow.
The answer might be Pyrovores.
My theory is that you can take a pair of Pyrovores for under 100 points. Feed them into a Spore Pod, and land the whole bunch danger close to your target. Pods don't mishap on Deep Strike, unless they fall off the board. With the new FAQ allowing the Pyrovores to be placed anywhere that is fully within 6" of the pod, scatter is less frightening. This also allows the Pyrovores to be placed for maximum carnage with their flame templates.
Tau and Cultists won't get a save at all, and the Plaguebearers will be forced to use just their invulnerable and any Feel No Pain they have. Far better (for the Tyranids) than a 2+ cover save!
Those are my reasons for seriously considering Pyrovores in my army. Any counter arguments, suggestions, or ideas?
And remember, if all else fails, they can stand in as Biovore models!
Before your heads explode, let me explain why.
Many of the Sixth Edition codexes have featured units that serve pivotal roles in their respective army that everyone takes, Dark Angels being the anomaly so far.
Chaos Marines armies feature a lot of Cultists, at least in this area. These guys just hunker down, take potshots, and claim objectives. There are so many other, nastier units bearing down on you that you can't often spare the fire to wipe them out, especially if they're made fearless by an Apostle.
Daemons do the same thing, but with Plaguebearers. Those rotten bastards hide in terrain on or near an objective, and just exist. The 2+ cover save they get from Shrouded and Go to Ground is tough to beat.
And now Tau have their Fire Warriors and Pathfinders, who have weapons with solid range, and the ability to be keystones of an army with markerlights and Supporting Fire.
Nids will have a really tough time crossing the board with standard units against any of these armies, and that is a common complaint/observation of the Tyranid players and bloggers I follow.
The answer might be Pyrovores.
My theory is that you can take a pair of Pyrovores for under 100 points. Feed them into a Spore Pod, and land the whole bunch danger close to your target. Pods don't mishap on Deep Strike, unless they fall off the board. With the new FAQ allowing the Pyrovores to be placed anywhere that is fully within 6" of the pod, scatter is less frightening. This also allows the Pyrovores to be placed for maximum carnage with their flame templates.
Tau and Cultists won't get a save at all, and the Plaguebearers will be forced to use just their invulnerable and any Feel No Pain they have. Far better (for the Tyranids) than a 2+ cover save!
Those are my reasons for seriously considering Pyrovores in my army. Any counter arguments, suggestions, or ideas?
And remember, if all else fails, they can stand in as Biovore models!
4.16.2013
A Newbie's Musings on Gaunts
I did a quick headcount of my Tyranid models thus far, and I've got a Hive Tyrant, 17 Genestealers, 12 Hormagaunts and 8 Gaunts. All my Genestealers will be simple to arm, as all of their weapons are largely interchangeable, and no one in the local area will pitch a fit if some of the models in the unit have scything talons on the model, and others do not. So long as I clearly point out and mark which units have which upgrades, we're good.
Gaunts are a tougher choice, and I did some quick Mathhammer to see what guns work best in different situations. I compared the stock Fleshborer against Spinefists and Devourers. I skipped the spike rifle and the strangleweb, as those are flat out bad. The strangleweb is laughably bad.
Against T4 models, a unit of 10 Termagaunts manages 2.5 wounds with fleshborers, 2.475 with spinefists, and 7.5 with devourers. This is assuming they're all within 12", of course. For the fleshborers, you essentially pay 20 points per wound caused. Spinefists are 24.24 per, and devourers are 13.33 per. Devourers seem the most efficient.
Against T3 models, the same units do 3.3 wounds with fleshborers (15.15 pts/wound), 3.75 with spinefists (16 pts/wound) and 9.9 with devourers (10.10 pts/wound). Again, devourers win on efficiency in a vacuum.
So, the conventional wisdom holds true. Take fleshborers if you want masses of cheap, garbage units. Take devourers if you want a hailstorm of small arms fire. Seriously, a unit of 10 Gaunts with devourers is half as expensive as a Tactical Squad, and can outshoot them on raw wounds caused.
That's the kicker, though. Wounds caused is not wounds punched through. In the above scenarios, only the devourers will punch through Marine armor with anything resembling reliability.
I was curious how the changes that arrived with Sixth Edition altered the common thinking on Gaunt weapons, especially when it comes to Overwatch fire. As a Marine Bike player, I know how valuable twin-linking is, so maybe Overwatch is where the spinefist shines?
When you do the math, that 10-strong Gaunt unit does .85 wounds to a T4 unit during Overwatch with fleshborers, 1.03 with spinefists, and 2.5 with devourers. Points per wound for those are 58.82 for fleshborers, 58.25 with spinefists, and 40 with devourers. Devourers win again!
Now Overwatch versus T3 models: 1.12 wounds from fleshborers (44.64 pts/wound), 1.56 from spinefists (38.46 pts/wound), and 3.3 from devourers (30.3 pts/wound). Devourers again.
So, my theory that spinefists are more efficient during Overwatch is nuked. There doesn't seem to be a situation in which devourers lose to any other Gaunt weapon in pure points-to-wound ratio. That bums me out, as I really wanted to put to use some of the million spinefist bits I have.
The only time it seems spinefists outshine any weapon on a points-to-damage basis is when attempting to ground a flying monstrous creature. That functions purely on hits, so the spinefists clock in at 19.29 points per hit, compared to a flat 20 for devourers, and 29.4 for fleshborers. Not exactly a huge margin over devourers, and a bit of a ludicrous application of Gaunts.
Of course, this all feeds into the idea that Gaunts are not a "heavy lifter" unit. I've used that term before elsewhere when talking about Troops choices. Some armies, like Deathwing, Grey Knights, or Orks have Troops units that can and do pull a lot of weight on the table. They can and must kill enemy units reliably in order to win games. Those units are either so costly in points, or in board real estate that they are forced to do SOMETHING or risk losing through inaction. Gaunts are not a heavy lifter. They're cheap enough, and of such poor effectiveness that they lose nothing by inaction. A unit of 10 Gaunts with Fleshborers can be parked out of sight (and out of mind!) for an entire game, and it won't affect the damage output of your army by more than a model or two.
So, how will I arm my Gaunts? I've already vowed never to field a Tervigon, EVER, so I'm not forced to field fleshborers if I don't want to. It's a decision that's a ways off, as I'm determined to finish any and all Genestealers before I complete a unit of Gaunts, plus I only have 8 Termagaunt bodies at the moment, unless I want to plunder a few Hormagaunt bodies and put guns on them.
Right now, I'm leaning toward Devourers, because not only are they "most efficient", but they're more expensive, meaning I can get a tiny force on the table faster if I field Devourers.
As a final note, I know Mathhammer is unreliable, and never accounts for all of the different factors in a game. I also know that quantity has a quality all its own, that 100 points of Devilgaunts won't have as many bodies as 100 points of Fleshgaunts or Spinegaunts. I think that's a HUGE factor to realize, because Gaunts die to a stiff breeze, being T3 and no real save to speak of. How many times will I actually fire that full volley of Devilgaunts, as compared to firing off the survivors of a unit of Spinegaunts or Fleshgaunts that have taken the same incoming damage? Points-per-damage is an attempt to quantify that, but 0 is still 0 no matter what. If the unit of 10 Devilgaunts is down to no models, it's not shooting at all, where the double-sized unit of Fleshgaunts still has 10 models left.
I think that's one of the things I like about learning a new army. Marines don't tend to worry about such things, as they all run in units of 5-10, and you don't tend to make the same types of decisions with them.
Does anyone have any fun or radical methods for running Gaunts of either breed in their armies? I know all about the "best" loadouts. Adrenal Hormagaunts for cracking AV10 rear armor transports through sheer weight of numbers and hull point attrition. Toxin Hormagaunts for taking down anything with a wounds value and less than a 2+ armor save. But does anyone run anything really wacky and unconventional?
Gaunts are a tougher choice, and I did some quick Mathhammer to see what guns work best in different situations. I compared the stock Fleshborer against Spinefists and Devourers. I skipped the spike rifle and the strangleweb, as those are flat out bad. The strangleweb is laughably bad.
Against T4 models, a unit of 10 Termagaunts manages 2.5 wounds with fleshborers, 2.475 with spinefists, and 7.5 with devourers. This is assuming they're all within 12", of course. For the fleshborers, you essentially pay 20 points per wound caused. Spinefists are 24.24 per, and devourers are 13.33 per. Devourers seem the most efficient.
Against T3 models, the same units do 3.3 wounds with fleshborers (15.15 pts/wound), 3.75 with spinefists (16 pts/wound) and 9.9 with devourers (10.10 pts/wound). Again, devourers win on efficiency in a vacuum.
So, the conventional wisdom holds true. Take fleshborers if you want masses of cheap, garbage units. Take devourers if you want a hailstorm of small arms fire. Seriously, a unit of 10 Gaunts with devourers is half as expensive as a Tactical Squad, and can outshoot them on raw wounds caused.
That's the kicker, though. Wounds caused is not wounds punched through. In the above scenarios, only the devourers will punch through Marine armor with anything resembling reliability.
I was curious how the changes that arrived with Sixth Edition altered the common thinking on Gaunt weapons, especially when it comes to Overwatch fire. As a Marine Bike player, I know how valuable twin-linking is, so maybe Overwatch is where the spinefist shines?
When you do the math, that 10-strong Gaunt unit does .85 wounds to a T4 unit during Overwatch with fleshborers, 1.03 with spinefists, and 2.5 with devourers. Points per wound for those are 58.82 for fleshborers, 58.25 with spinefists, and 40 with devourers. Devourers win again!
Now Overwatch versus T3 models: 1.12 wounds from fleshborers (44.64 pts/wound), 1.56 from spinefists (38.46 pts/wound), and 3.3 from devourers (30.3 pts/wound). Devourers again.
So, my theory that spinefists are more efficient during Overwatch is nuked. There doesn't seem to be a situation in which devourers lose to any other Gaunt weapon in pure points-to-wound ratio. That bums me out, as I really wanted to put to use some of the million spinefist bits I have.
The only time it seems spinefists outshine any weapon on a points-to-damage basis is when attempting to ground a flying monstrous creature. That functions purely on hits, so the spinefists clock in at 19.29 points per hit, compared to a flat 20 for devourers, and 29.4 for fleshborers. Not exactly a huge margin over devourers, and a bit of a ludicrous application of Gaunts.
Of course, this all feeds into the idea that Gaunts are not a "heavy lifter" unit. I've used that term before elsewhere when talking about Troops choices. Some armies, like Deathwing, Grey Knights, or Orks have Troops units that can and do pull a lot of weight on the table. They can and must kill enemy units reliably in order to win games. Those units are either so costly in points, or in board real estate that they are forced to do SOMETHING or risk losing through inaction. Gaunts are not a heavy lifter. They're cheap enough, and of such poor effectiveness that they lose nothing by inaction. A unit of 10 Gaunts with Fleshborers can be parked out of sight (and out of mind!) for an entire game, and it won't affect the damage output of your army by more than a model or two.
So, how will I arm my Gaunts? I've already vowed never to field a Tervigon, EVER, so I'm not forced to field fleshborers if I don't want to. It's a decision that's a ways off, as I'm determined to finish any and all Genestealers before I complete a unit of Gaunts, plus I only have 8 Termagaunt bodies at the moment, unless I want to plunder a few Hormagaunt bodies and put guns on them.
Right now, I'm leaning toward Devourers, because not only are they "most efficient", but they're more expensive, meaning I can get a tiny force on the table faster if I field Devourers.
As a final note, I know Mathhammer is unreliable, and never accounts for all of the different factors in a game. I also know that quantity has a quality all its own, that 100 points of Devilgaunts won't have as many bodies as 100 points of Fleshgaunts or Spinegaunts. I think that's a HUGE factor to realize, because Gaunts die to a stiff breeze, being T3 and no real save to speak of. How many times will I actually fire that full volley of Devilgaunts, as compared to firing off the survivors of a unit of Spinegaunts or Fleshgaunts that have taken the same incoming damage? Points-per-damage is an attempt to quantify that, but 0 is still 0 no matter what. If the unit of 10 Devilgaunts is down to no models, it's not shooting at all, where the double-sized unit of Fleshgaunts still has 10 models left.
I think that's one of the things I like about learning a new army. Marines don't tend to worry about such things, as they all run in units of 5-10, and you don't tend to make the same types of decisions with them.
Does anyone have any fun or radical methods for running Gaunts of either breed in their armies? I know all about the "best" loadouts. Adrenal Hormagaunts for cracking AV10 rear armor transports through sheer weight of numbers and hull point attrition. Toxin Hormagaunts for taking down anything with a wounds value and less than a 2+ armor save. But does anyone run anything really wacky and unconventional?
12.28.2012
Stubborn in Sixth
Warning: this is a "theoretical tactics" article. In other words, it's an article in which I spout off an a subject having never used the tactics described.
I have been thinking about the utility of Stubborn in Sixth Edition.
In Fifth, it was largely panned as useless when compared to Combat Tactics. It was better to attempt to break off the fight and auto-rally in Fifth than it was to stay in melee and get pummeled repeatedly. The only real risk was being chased off the board due to the 6" proximity rule for rallying.
Marines rally automatically in EVERY situation in 6th, which really calls the utility of Stubborn into question now. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of some ways to make Stubborn into an advantage, instead of a disadvantage.
Marines can only acquire Stubborn in two ways: Pedro Kantor or Darnath Lysander.
Kantor allows Sternguard squads to be scoring units, but does NOT allow them to be taken as Troops. Your army will still contain Tactical or Scout squads. He also provides a nice +1 Attack bubble (but it won't stack with an Honour Guard banner). Kantor is "ok, not great" in melee. he is a safer bet in 6th than he was in 5th, as he cannot be singled out in melee like he used to. One Dreadnought punch in Fifth would routinely hose him before he did much on return. With challenges in Sixth, his life expectancy is a bit longer, especially if he's got a squad Sergeant alongside him to soak up powerfist-armed challengers. Pedro can rampage through non-character models with his three powerfist attacks while Sergeant Nobody dies for the cause.
Lysander only boosts the unit to which he is attached by granting them Bolster Drill, a reroll to hit on all bolter-style weapons. He's also an absolute house in melee with his Eternal Warrior rule, S10 hammer, and 2+/3++ saves.
So, once you've taken one of these characters, how do you use Stubborn? Here are a couple of possible ideas:
Extend the life of combat squads.
Combat Squads is a great rule for instantly doubling your unit count, be it for objective holding or increasing the number of potential enemy targets that can be engaged. The problem is that 5 Marines can only do so much, and one of those resulting combat squads is Ld8. Taking even two casualties from a small squad drops your chances of staying in the fight dramatically. You're suddenly rolling against Ld6 instead of Ld8. The ability to keep a couple Marines holding ground leads nicely to the next point.
Reliable 'tarpits'
'Tarpit' is a dirty word to many, but it's actually a viable tactic in the days of 6th. Objectives are everything now (and they were in 5th as well), and securing them against attackers is vital. A tarpit unit seeks to lock up an incoming enemy in melee, and keep them there until the game expires. A Marine unit that holds til the last man is easier to achieve when you're not taking cumulative Ld penalties for losing an assault. Of course, is this any more desirable than using Combat Tactics to fall back after your opponent's turn, auto-rally, and then open fire into the unit and charging it again?
That's really the best I can come up with in regards to uses for Stubborn. Can you think of anything else, or is Stubborn more of an impediment than a bonus?
I have been thinking about the utility of Stubborn in Sixth Edition.
In Fifth, it was largely panned as useless when compared to Combat Tactics. It was better to attempt to break off the fight and auto-rally in Fifth than it was to stay in melee and get pummeled repeatedly. The only real risk was being chased off the board due to the 6" proximity rule for rallying.
Marines rally automatically in EVERY situation in 6th, which really calls the utility of Stubborn into question now. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of some ways to make Stubborn into an advantage, instead of a disadvantage.
Marines can only acquire Stubborn in two ways: Pedro Kantor or Darnath Lysander.
Kantor allows Sternguard squads to be scoring units, but does NOT allow them to be taken as Troops. Your army will still contain Tactical or Scout squads. He also provides a nice +1 Attack bubble (but it won't stack with an Honour Guard banner). Kantor is "ok, not great" in melee. he is a safer bet in 6th than he was in 5th, as he cannot be singled out in melee like he used to. One Dreadnought punch in Fifth would routinely hose him before he did much on return. With challenges in Sixth, his life expectancy is a bit longer, especially if he's got a squad Sergeant alongside him to soak up powerfist-armed challengers. Pedro can rampage through non-character models with his three powerfist attacks while Sergeant Nobody dies for the cause.
Lysander only boosts the unit to which he is attached by granting them Bolster Drill, a reroll to hit on all bolter-style weapons. He's also an absolute house in melee with his Eternal Warrior rule, S10 hammer, and 2+/3++ saves.
So, once you've taken one of these characters, how do you use Stubborn? Here are a couple of possible ideas:
Extend the life of combat squads.
Combat Squads is a great rule for instantly doubling your unit count, be it for objective holding or increasing the number of potential enemy targets that can be engaged. The problem is that 5 Marines can only do so much, and one of those resulting combat squads is Ld8. Taking even two casualties from a small squad drops your chances of staying in the fight dramatically. You're suddenly rolling against Ld6 instead of Ld8. The ability to keep a couple Marines holding ground leads nicely to the next point.
Reliable 'tarpits'
'Tarpit' is a dirty word to many, but it's actually a viable tactic in the days of 6th. Objectives are everything now (and they were in 5th as well), and securing them against attackers is vital. A tarpit unit seeks to lock up an incoming enemy in melee, and keep them there until the game expires. A Marine unit that holds til the last man is easier to achieve when you're not taking cumulative Ld penalties for losing an assault. Of course, is this any more desirable than using Combat Tactics to fall back after your opponent's turn, auto-rally, and then open fire into the unit and charging it again?
That's really the best I can come up with in regards to uses for Stubborn. Can you think of anything else, or is Stubborn more of an impediment than a bonus?
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