IG super heavies

[WestRider]

Sounds like the BaneSword would pair well with some Demolishers for close-in defense.

[Guest]

Sounds like the BaneSword would pair well with some Demolishers for close-in defense.

Yeah, could go that route, or could include the banesword in a list with lots of speed/sustainability that forces a "frontline" that starts ~24" from the banesword.

-Pax

[Guest]

My banesword "plow of daemons" faced a stompa for the first time. On turn 2, I had dealt 7 HP to it in a single turn. Things were looking up, then I learned that it can repair from the inside at a rate of 4 HP per turn. I started to ignore it. In hindsight, probably should have ignored it from the start. The stompa didn't win, his scoring did and those were outside the stompa.

 

The stompa did make melee range with my Banesword. It hit only twice with that D melee weapon, and with only average rolls on the D weapon table, inflicted 7 HP of damage (even though I only had 6 left).

 

As for the stompa's weapons, it's shooting was very lackluster. Part of this was low rolling, but the other part was just having trouble with Ork BS and AV14 vehicles. The super gatler was impressive against my flyers.

-Pax

[PourSpelur]

Have you considered hellhounds to keep opponents out of your 24 inch minimum fire arc? Hide em behind the supa heavy so they don't get shot, someone gets inside your bubble just jump around and burn em. All the chimera based fast attack options could do the job pretty well and their shorter ranges wouldn't be a hindrance in that role. Then again I've NEVER actually won a game yet so take my advice with a heaping spoonful of salt! ;)

[WestRider]

I think that, as I mentioned earlier, Demolishers would serve that role better. Hellhounds aren't ignorable, but there are a lot of Units that aren't exactly terrified of them. Demolishers, on the other hand, scare just about everything, and they've got a similar target profile to the Super Heavy, so they further stretch your Opponent's Anti-Heavy Tank resources.

[Guest]

Have you considered hellhounds to keep opponents out of your 24 inch minimum fire arc? Hide em behind the super heavy so they don't get shot, someone gets inside your bubble just jump around and burn em. All the chimera based fast attack options could do the job pretty well and their shorter ranges wouldn't be a hindrance in that role. Then again I've NEVER actually won a game yet so take my advice with a heaping spoonful of salt! ;)

Between the 12" move and the 10" blast, keeping them outside 24" has not been the threat I thought it would be.

Also, the Banesword really isn't the threat that many of the super heavies are, so opponent may choose to ignore it. Best to think of it as a direct fire basilisk squadron of three with better armor - that's pretty much the role and threat level. For cost, it's roughly the same as a basilisk trio and an aegis line (5pts more).

 

Unlike a transport version, I can afford to have it die, as it doesn't contain my scoring units. I'm still debating Sponsons - the lascannons in particular would dramatically improve my odds of victory, but the increase in cost also decreases my odds of survival for the tank and for the army of the tank if it dies too quickly.

-Pax

[Guest]

Hmm.. more tinkering. I might go back to the banehammer. Aside from being slightly cheaper, having a transport capacity means it's unable to be ignored. I'm thinking I want a platoon with the command squad in the banehammer (just 5 guys, but scoring), then have the other two squads in vendettas. If I take Chenkov, I think his stubborn bubble would extend from the banehammer, which would helpful for footslogging IG. The rest of his unit would probably have melta or plasma guns, as the encounter with the stompa left me realizing that having a close range AT unit that camps in the super heavy would be very smart for coping with melee super-heavies.

 

As for losses, the switch would lose me 1 point of strength on the main cannon and 3" of blast diameter. The ID threat range doesn't change, nor does the AP. Mostly it means that this weapon won't be very useful against fortifications and AV13+ vehicles. I also lose the minimum range, which is no loss at all.

-Pax

[Guest]

Hmm...switched back to the bane hammer the other day and was pleasantly surprised to find a new ability on it that I hadn't previously considered.

 

Banehammer is cheapest one, equipped with basically a 7" battle cannon blast. In the secondary effects, models under the pie plate that survive take dangerous terrain checks.

 

I have been playing that the unit takes the hits, then takes dangerous as a unit, but as it came up in a  recent game, it actually resolves against the models actually under the plate. This means that if I aim for the back of a big unit, and shots are removed from the front, the models actually under the pieplate are more likely to survive the initial shot. In addition, this allows me to hit specific models, even if odds are only 1/6 to actually wound them.

 

Not an amazing discovery, but more potent than before.