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View Full Version : The 'Tar-pit' units



Levitas
08-22-2009, 06:40 AM
I was playing a doubles game recently, and watched my team mate use a maxed out guard unit to simply hold up a unit of crushers in combat. Of course the Guard had Yarrick to help.

The guard were never going to win, but they did hold up a lethal unit in combat, while the rest of the armie blew other stuff up.

Sometimes you can't beat them, but a cheap unit that wont budge can simply tie them up - the tar-pit.

What are the best 'tar-pits' to hold up units like nob bikers, TH termies etc?

Chumbalaya
08-22-2009, 07:08 AM
Stubborn Guardsmen, Nurglings, Dreadnoughts (only for things without multiple PFs, hello Bloodcrushers!)

Xas
08-22-2009, 12:12 PM
AV12 sentinels :D

especially against those cow-mounted khorne deamons with their S5! ^^

the usuall comissar+3*10 guardsmen is nice as well but only works against small attack-units (like SS/TH termies if they are only 5 or a carnifex or avatar. dont try to tarpit a big unit of nobz or khorne berzerkers...).

Katie Drake
08-22-2009, 12:57 PM
Dark Eldar Wyches have to be one of the best tarpit units in the game. Wych weapons and a 4+ Invulnerable save in close combat make it very difficult for the enemy to deal with them reliably. Their only real weakness is to shooting of any kind.

Also, the Armored Sentinel suggestion is bang on. Those guys are awesome tarpitters and can do some good damage if given heavy flamers.

Levitas
08-22-2009, 01:29 PM
Playing marines there is no obvious unit, maybe a chaplain with full squad. Or as said, Dreads against units that cant hurt them with fists.

Craz
08-22-2009, 02:22 PM
I like to think of my tactical squads(with ld10 Rites of Battle) as good tarpit units. Unless they're going up against a bunch of power weapons, they can hold off against most. Heck, I've had one tactical squad hold up both Harlequins and an autarch in the same game, keeping them in combat long enough to kill them or just hold them up until the end of the game respectively.

Alien
08-22-2009, 11:07 PM
Playing marines there is no obvious unit, maybe a chaplain with full squad. Or as said, Dreads against units that cant hurt them with fists.

this one has been a bone of contention with my gaming group, we constantly have dreads tying up broods of gaunts or similar and it is always a sore topic.

One of my group says his gaunts are much faster than the dread so they should be able to break away, since they cannot hurt it at all, why stay and fight.
I say if it caught you in the first place it is obviously fast enough.
we have devised a rule for this, if you roll straight up initiative test at the end of cc against the locked unit that you cannot beat, if you win, you can fall back, if you lose however.....well see ya later, sweeping advance style.
this gives those tarpit moments some added climax in an otherwise and often boring ending.

Katie Drake
08-22-2009, 11:56 PM
this one has been a bone of contention with my gaming group, we constantly have dreads tying up broods of gaunts or similar and it is always a sore topic.

One of my group says his gaunts are much faster than the dread so they should be able to break away, since they cannot hurt it at all, why stay and fight.
I say if it caught you in the first place it is obviously fast enough.
we have devised a rule for this, if you roll straight up initiative test at the end of cc against the locked unit that you cannot beat, if you win, you can fall back, if you lose however.....well see ya later, sweeping advance style.
this gives those tarpit moments some added climax in an otherwise and often boring ending.

Yep, voluntary fall back was something that was suggested as an option in the 3rd edition rules. If it makes your gaming group happier, then more power to you. I should suggest though that your Tyranid playing friend try to avoid finding his Gaunts in those situations in the first place, though. Introduce the Dreadnought to a Flyrant with two pairs of scything talons and toxin sacs and the little 'uns will have much less to worry about.

Old_Paladin
08-23-2009, 07:31 PM
One of my group says his gaunts are much faster than the dread so they should be able to break away, since they cannot hurt it at all, why stay and fight.
I say if it caught you in the first place it is obviously fast enough.
we have devised a rule for this, if you roll straight up initiative test at the end of cc against the locked unit that you cannot beat, if you win, you can fall back, if you lose however.....well see ya later, sweeping advance style.
this gives those tarpit moments some added climax in an otherwise and often boring ending.

You mean a little like 'hit and run'? :p
Really though, I know what you mean. I think it's just meant to add a bit more of another tactical level to the game; keep the weak units away from something they cannot beat.

Which is another thing. I've seen people toss gaunts into a Dread because it can kill max 6 (and thats with no retreat losses). Better its tied up all game then blasting around with an assault cannon and pounding on injuried 'fexes with its fists.
It's all about how you see the game; one persons goal is another persons headache.

darth_papi76
08-24-2009, 02:29 PM
Two maxed out Storm Guardian squads supported by an Avatar are great for holding up elite close combat units.

evil_bryan
08-24-2009, 02:47 PM
As a Daemon player, my best tarpit units are Plaguebearers squads of any size.

MOZZ
08-24-2009, 02:49 PM
Howsa' bout fortuned farseer squad on jetbikes? I'm only just becoming acquainted with Eldar but I am pretty sure with a few wargear options it's possible to have and entire squad with a rerollable 3+ invulnerable save. Now that's what I call a tarpit.

yesitdoesindeedhurt
08-25-2009, 10:11 AM
Sisters of Battle make excellent tarpit units. They will rarely win any cc but with the ability to get invul saves and the book of st. lucius it means they are stupidly hard to get rid off.

terminus
08-25-2009, 10:40 AM
The units big enough to work as tarpits have a hard time getting off the invuln. save. About the only safe bet is using Litanies of Faith from a Cannoness.

Katie Drake
08-25-2009, 06:27 PM
As a Daemon player, my best tarpit units are Plaguebearers squads of any size.

Try Nurglings. They're greatly amusing, especially if you manage to tie up something like Assault Terminators for a couple rounds of combat. Your thunder hammers help you not! :D

Pariah Stevo
08-26-2009, 04:39 PM
My 30 boy ork squads with power klaw and my friends dred/ defilers enjoy retarded game long slug fests of stupidity

mkerr
08-26-2009, 05:00 PM
Sisters of Battle make excellent tarpit units. They will rarely win any cc but with the ability to get invul saves and the book of st. lucius it means they are stupidly hard to get rid off.

Sisters of Battle are the absolute best tar pit unit in the game. They can have 20-man squads, a 3+ Invulnerable save (or become Fearless) when they need it and they are essentially Stubborn (or better than Stubborn).

In 4E, I used them as a cattle guard for my IG gunline.

-- mkerr

VinceBlack
08-26-2009, 05:19 PM
I got a vanguard squad tied up with a chaos drednought for the majority of a game. Vanguard even had a TH but couldn't manage to take it down untill they had blown both arms off the thing and finally immobilized it. A Venerable dreadnought in CC for marines is something that I would consider to tie up units.

EmperorEternalXIX
08-26-2009, 06:29 PM
We don't really have one of those in the SM. Our "tarpit" unit is also our "hammer" unit (the thunder hammer/storm shield terminators), and it doesn't fill any of the roles a normal tarpit unit does.

-- Low model count
-- High cost (relatively, anyway)
-- Doesn't hold units in combat well (it tends to steamroll whatever it touches, heh).

NecronAbyss
08-26-2009, 08:37 PM
You want a tarpit? Necron Scarabs. I usually ran a unit of 8 and they wouldn't die until turn 5 or 6. Loved Emperor Eternal, you can vouch for me on that one. Totally a pain in the arse? ::squeak squeak::

Drax
08-26-2009, 08:45 PM
The king of all tar pit units the Plague marine. 3+ save with feel no pain yea gonna take a while to kill them

Katie Drake
08-26-2009, 09:03 PM
The king of all tar pit units the Plague marine. 3+ save with feel no pain yea gonna take a while to kill them

Depends. The best tarpit units are the ones with Invulnerable saves since they can attempt to save against things that would splatter Plague Marines all over the place. Even a single power fist equipped model can make things a bit difficult for the Death Guard.

NecronAbyss
08-26-2009, 09:36 PM
The king of all tar pit units the Plague marine. 3+ save with feel no pain yea gonna take a while to kill them

This, good GOD this!

Now sure, as stated by Katie Drake, power weapon will negate both the 3+4+, but still, They are gonna hold something not monstrous up for a little bit.

Jwolf
08-26-2009, 09:41 PM
A big batch of WON Gaunts in Synapse near your board edge can be essentially eternally in combat, like for 100000 turns.

R3con
08-28-2009, 08:07 AM
I think the greatest tar pit is a Nice SoB squad....

Book of Saint Lucious means your leadership never wavers no matter how badly your being beat up on, and faith easilly turns a 3+ armor save into a 3+ inv...

I've had a squad sit in front of a Fex for close to 3 turns before being wiped out...

dmcgr19800
09-02-2009, 12:14 PM
Wraithlord Wraithlord Wraithlord. Wraithlord in close combat are tarpit central.

tinfoil
09-02-2009, 12:51 PM
Plaguebearers end up doing most of my tar-pitting. High toughness, invul saves, FNP, and fearless: They'll last 2-3 turns against just about anything. Stick an icon in the pack and you set up an incoming "hammer" unit. Poisoned blades against opposing monstrous creatures is a nice little bonus. And of course, their status as troops means that in most missions an opponent has to do something about them.

Droofus
09-02-2009, 02:01 PM
You want a tarpit? Necron Scarabs. I usually ran a unit of 8 and they wouldn't die until turn 5 or 6. Loved Emperor Eternal, you can vouch for me on that one. Totally a pain in the arse? ::squeak squeak::

You'd think so, right? But anything with strength 6+ just mashes the little bugs into paste and kills the rest with fearless wounds. Usually (but not always) units worth tarpitting will be able to eliminate swarms with ease.

Superbran
09-02-2009, 03:32 PM
Sister of battle cannoness with the book that ignores modifiers to leadership and artificer armor. For that matter anyone with the book in a sisters army can be a tarpit. As for the dreadnaught vs guants, I cant imagine why you wouldn't want to keep the dread locked up. I think that gaurdians with an avatar nearby is also a good tarpit unit.

Superbran

twomas_rox
09-02-2009, 05:34 PM
My favorite is a squad of 30 Guardsmen, 3 sargents with PW's and a Commisar with a PW. Not only is it a tarpit, but a tarpit with bite.

RocketRollRebel
09-02-2009, 11:43 PM
Guardsmen mobs can be nice but IG lack a good squeegee unit to close the deal so its only halfway there. Unless you do some ridiculous Straken and GKT combo lol.

Basically I'm gonna go with any unit that starts with the word Plauge. Be it bearers or Marines, these guys always make my Blood Angels hesitant to get into combat with them unless I am absolutely sure I can take them on the charge and not get counter charged by some brutal assault unit. Getting stuck in Nurgle Goo is the sucks!

Droofus
09-03-2009, 08:35 AM
One interesting thing I'm getting out of this conversation is that Power Fists/Klaws are a great way to help ensure that your steamroller units won't get tarpitted. Sure it won't help against the stubborn IG wall, but against everything else that has been mentioned a power fist or two would reduce the amount of time you spent stuck in with the tar pit.

Whitehorn
09-03-2009, 09:53 AM
It's hard to have something tough tarpit TH+SS termies, so you need something with a LOT of numbers and stable morale. Invulnerable saves help. The weight of attacks, hitting first, should also inevitably lead to a few 1s being rolled for saves.

What units fit this? A lot of daemons, albeit pricy. Daemonettes for their numbers. Horrors for their saves. BloodCrushers for sheer bulk. A Horde of Ork boys would probably be my choice though.

bunker_o_matic
09-03-2009, 06:04 PM
It's hard to have something tough tarpit TH+SS termies, so you need something with a LOT of numbers and stable morale. Invulnerable saves help. The weight of attacks, hitting first, should also inevitably lead to a few 1s being rolled for saves.

What units fit this? A lot of daemons, albeit pricy. Daemonettes for their numbers. Horrors for their saves. BloodCrushers for sheer bulk. A Horde of Ork boys would probably be my choice though.

Only trouble with ork boys is the wounds they take from being fearless, although the nob with klaw does give them a bit of hitting power.

terricon4
09-03-2009, 07:15 PM
I play orks so instead I just make a full ring of grots around some big unit so they have to fight, then get shot if they beat them. Otherwise I use painboyed nobz with armor and big choppas to be a stopper against all non vehicles. They can hit faster than most power units and deal a lot of damage at str7 and with armor and a 4+ fnp they can last a while if they cant kill the enemies before they get to fight. Stopped two carnifexes in a dual assault, once ended up killing one and holding the other for three turns till he moved his winged hive tyrant to overwhelm us, I won the game though, all my guns thinned his numbers and then we beat them in cc and sniped(by sniped I mean dropping a dozen flamer templates and loota shots) them.

Earthen
09-04-2009, 02:21 PM
Ironclads!

therealjohnny5
09-04-2009, 03:16 PM
Ripper swarms then...10 swarms = 30 wounds immune to instant death in synapse...hold up almost anything long enough to get somethin gbigger in there to kill it...or win by objectives...

Katie Drake
09-04-2009, 10:50 PM
Ripper swarms then...10 swarms = 30 wounds immune to instant death in synapse...hold up almost anything long enough to get somethin gbigger in there to kill it...or win by objectives...

Naw, Rippers don't get the benefits of Synapse unfortunately. They can still be instant-killed.

MetalStorm4786
09-06-2009, 08:07 PM
9 Nurglings(max squad size i think.) 108 points for 27 wounds, immune to instant death, fearless with LD 10 and an Inv. Save. Immune to instant death means that 27 wounds HAVE to be inflicted (bar any wounds suffered from losing combat), fearless means you wont be falling back, and the Inv. save means power weapons or not, you have a %33.3 chance to save.

Now because of the low stat line, I wouldn't try to tarpit whole squads with them, as the sheer number of attacks will end up taking them down in maybe 2 turns. But for MC's, Walkers and Heavy Shooter squads....perfect!

sorienor
09-06-2009, 09:31 PM
Both nurglings and scarabs get eaten by Orks in short order..never had a combat last more then 2 or 3 phases with them. I've surprised a few opponents hoping to hold up the boys while bigger things get there only to have the boys rout the swarms and continue the rampage. I can see though vs something like marines a unit of swarms would just hang around forever.

Anyway I like 'ard boys for holding up most units. Don't use them against MC's or bloodletters but anything else they can hold in place for a very long time. Having a 4+ armor save on an ork boy is almost too good and, again, surprises a lot of people still ~~

N-Bomb
09-08-2009, 08:22 PM
Not exactly a tar-pit unit...but if you ever get the chance. Charge the Avatar with a Lord of Change, I've done that twice against two different players and the one started on turn 2 and ended on turn 7, the other one started on turn 4 and didn't finish in the 6 turn game.

Or...20 man plaguebearer you charge something WITH 9 nurglings...the opponent gets an all hope is lost kind of thing.

Whenever I play against marines with a dreadnaught I always surround it with nurglings because its funny. He can shoot because he covered in little fungus things hehe.

In short, if you want to make an army of just frustrating to kill:
Lord of Change and Great Unclean one
Nurglings and Plaguebearers
Soulgrinders

Those are my favorite pits

DarkLink
09-09-2009, 02:00 PM
I played a casual 500pt game with my Grey Knights vs a friend's space marines. He had a Venerable Dreadnought, and the only stuff I had that could hurt is was my nemisis force weapons and psycannons. So, I avoided it, killing the rest of his stuff. Then, for fun, I charged his dread with all my remaining stuff. We played it out, starting turn 5 or 6. I didn't glance it do death until turn 11 or so.

Eisenhorn
09-09-2009, 02:22 PM
As a long-time Necron player, I agree that scarabs make for a good "tar pit" unit. Yes, power-fisty types squash them quick. But they're great for running down a flank and tying up one of your opponent's not-so-tooled-up units that he was SURE was gonna make a quick grab for that objective, just to name one annoying use.

It goes without saying that a largish Necron Warrior unit (until they get rid of "We'll Be Back" :mad:) can also tie up your opponent's close combat wackos for a verrrryyyy long time, but they're probably not in the spirit of a "cheap" unit at 18 points per.

Duke
09-09-2009, 03:34 PM
Oddly, my 10 man unit of wraithguard with a Warlock using enhance is a nice tarpit... Especially when fortuned. Other than that anything with mark of Nurgle, (Plaguebearers)