Just for those who've been asking while I work on getting settled back in and cracking up a full report, the 1850 list I took to the GT was ...
Straken w/ 3 Melta, 2 Bodyguard, Carapace, Medic, Chimera (ml/hf)
4 x 3Melta, Shotgun Vets w/ Chimera (ml/hf)
2 x 3Melta, Shotgun Vets
3 x Solo Vendettas
2 x Solo Demolishers
Beat fairly optimized: TWC / wolf lord + lasplasraz + longfang/runepriest wolves in a KP mission, leafblower (manticore/etc.) guard in a "capture terrain pieces" mission, and MSU spammed guard in a 3-objective-with-one-primary mission
The thing about the list is that against things like tricked out wolf lords, it can melta / gun them down via torrent once they get close, and prevent favorable charges, all if the demolishers don't do a number on them via a failed 3+ invul. Meanwhile, Straken's squad can annihilate units like grey hunters with impunity, without even taking significant damage. Plus, after 2 guardsmen die, according to INAT's FAQ specifically by this very example, units are swinging to hit them via WS5. Silly.
I want to make a a Straken IG Ork counts-as army, but I'm not sure if just throwing him in any old army works.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it worked out fine for you, any thoughts on the iron man himself?
Straken armies have to be built and run like any other mobile / in your face melta vet based mech IG army, with Straken being a bonus that may or may not matter.
ReplyDeleteAgainst gunline guard opponents, you can kinda run rampant. Identify and eliminate close range heavy plasma or melta type threats so that he can freely run about and frustrate people with cover and FNP saves, and then bullrush him at a flank ... he'll waste a lot of their attention and sometimes crush entire sections of guard or tau armies. It's highly entertaining.
The most important part is to treat him like a trips melta vet squad in all respects, until and unless he has the opportunity to do more. This means don't run him at TH/SS terms, or TWC units, or the like, unless it's a flat out emergency and you'd consider doing it with a plain guard squad anyway.
It's also important to understand consolidation, pacing, etc., so that you don't leave his squad exposed to excessive fire. They are basically like Seer Council when it comes to S5 and lower AP3 and higher while in cover, or in CC to non-power weapon S5 and lower ... but once you get to S6 and higher (no FNP for all but Straken) you're getting into areas you don't want to be in.
I also think Demolishers are underrated. There were perhaps 4 or 5 across the entire tournament of 240 that I saw, and 2 were mine. They came in handy every game, were generally ignored by things like lascannons and the like as those shot at covered chimeras near and behind them instead for better odds, and reliably punked tanks and harder infantry units all game long.
I'm curious as to how long/whether your Vendettas survived full game, or were effective in pulling attention away from your Demos and Melta Vets?
ReplyDeleteThe vendettas got their butts kicked, mostly b/c everything possible shot at them. This worked out really well for me, b/c when games get close and messy at the end, I much prefer having a chimera that can move up, fire 3 meltas out of hatch and then heavy flame something, th an a vendetta with basically no "close in support" capability whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteI'll have a lot more on this in the full report, too.
Demolishers are by far my favourite Russ - even though I've never been a Vindicator fan.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that's even a contradiction.
The INAT FAQ is very often counter-intuitive, IMO.
I like the Demos too, it's either them or Erads for my favorite Russ variant.
ReplyDelete