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chapter master 454
10-13-2009, 07:11 PM
Well recently getting the IG codex I, as a treadhead, love the fact I can field a ton load of armour and artillery. Now looking at the artillery batteries I can get, I was starting to think about the devastation I could wreck with 6 medusas and 3 colosuses. 3 pie plates of cover ignoring, power armour negating goodness, sure the 24" no threat zone is a problem but thats what the medusas are for. 6 of them, 2 have bastion breacher shells (one per trio) and they would let loose hell on anything that got too close while dealing with any armour. Upgrade them all with enclosed crew compartment and just rain the pain down upon all, would that be cheesey or just plain daft? any comments on such a amount of artillery!

slobulous
10-13-2009, 08:11 PM
That is definitely a LOT of firepower, and a viable idea, but I would skip out on the enclosed crew compartments for the Colossi. They should be way in the back behind buildings or forests, or at least behind a wall of tanks, and should not take much enemy shooting. I am curious what points level you plan to field this at? That would cost 1320 points, leaving you with 530 in an 1850 game, so you are not going to have much more. Just enough to field a decent compulsory force (HQ and 2 Troops).

EDIT: You might also consider specializing the Medusae, by having 1 regular squadron, and 1 squadron with bastion breacher shells.

SandWyrm
10-13-2009, 08:33 PM
6 Medusas with enclosed crew compartments and bastion breachers, plus 3 Colossi with enclosures comes to 1380 points. In a 1500 pt. List that leaves just 120 pts for your HQ and troop choices. That won't work, so let's assume you're running an 1850 list with a couple of platoons to screen the artillery and grab objectives.

Assuming your enemy spreads out a bit, your 6 Medusas will kill 2 enemy tanks per turn. The Colossi might manage to take out one more. That sounds good until you think about most 5th edition Mech lists bringing 10-13 tanks. So even if you kill 5 tanks in the first 2 turns, he can be in your face with meltas by his 2nd or third turn.

Let's list some other ways of making you cry.

1) Space Wolves will send in their Wolf Scouts from your own table edge to pop your artillery with melta bombs.

2) Orks will overwhelm you with targets. A trukk list could bring 8-9 trukks and a battlewagon at 1850. You won't stop them all with your artillery alone.

3) Codex Marines will drop in Dreads, tactical squads, or Termies to kill you with Assault Cannons, Melta and/or Close Combat.

4) Chaos Marines will drop in Obliterators.

5) Tau will bring their railguns in from reserve and take you out one squadron at a time. They'll also send Piranhas into your face with their 24" move. If you don't kill them, they'll pop a squadron on the 2nd turn.

6) The Imperial Guard will drop in Stormtroopers with meltas and/or sik Marbo on you. Or outflank Sentinels with Autocannons. Or spam you with infantry autocannons and Hydras. Or take out your artillery with Vendettas firing twin-linked lascannons from the air. Or rush Chimeras full of Vet Meltas into your face. Or kill you with HIS Medusas and a pair of Manticores. GOD, I LOVE THE GUARD!!!

7) Tyrannids will die in droves until sometime in January when all our base will belong to them. ;)

Chumbalaya
10-13-2009, 09:14 PM
Problem with squadrons is the high cost, immobilized = destroyed and you all have to fire at the same target. For now, 3 artillery tanks should be more than enough. You can spend the rest of your points on Infantry, mech elements and other units to support and protect them, plus finish what the shells have started.

SandWyrm
10-14-2009, 05:18 AM
Yar. The only tanks/artillery that I like to put in squadrons are Hydras. But that's 150 pts for 2, not 450+ pts like what ChapMaster is describing.

Lord Azaghul
10-14-2009, 07:08 AM
As generally mentioned. The new book is great, but you can easily over extent yourself. The squadron rules can work against you as well. I don't recommend squading with much other then hydras, sentinals, and basilsks. One nice melta toating elite unit in a drop pod, and bye,bye 450pts squadron.

chapter master 454
10-14-2009, 01:21 PM
I normally play at 1750pts and while yes mech runs the spam of tanks I doubt I should worry. I would field light armour poppers best I can, the medusas with bastion breachers is more for dealing with armour more effectively (they are after all extended range demolisher cannons). The colosuses I guess would be hiding so thats 45 points back.

First off the Colos would be targetting cover hogs or infantry and generally would fire last if tanks were needing popped. I would gather that dropping three pie plates of AP3 cover save ignoring goodness that wounds normal marines on 2+ is something not good enough (pick a tactical squad!). The medusaes would be for dealling with the 24" problem about the cololuses, so pick: pie plates of doom at long range or pie plate of slightly shorter range death.

I could take away one squad of medusas and replace with basalisks. Hydras could be fun, 12 rounds of light armour but to e quite frank when I'm done with the imperial guard I will most likely own 3 of every tank they have! (Come on, fielding 3 land raiders wasn't enough, I will one day field 9 leman russes just for the ability to say: how much anti-armour did you bring?)