How much Mech is out there?

[eagleboy7259]

I know that with some of the more recent codexes there have been some options that actually encourage people to not mount up their entire armies. Things like Thunderwolves, Reaver Jetbikes, Hellions, Blood Angel's SC's and Assault Marines, etc. Combined that with the armies that don't usually take many tanks anyway - Chaos Demons, Tyranids & Orks - well just how much Mech are you seeing on the local and tournament scene? And have these new units influenced you towards changing your army comp?

[Archduke]

I think it depends on your local meta really, the more IG, space wolves, blood angels, space marines, witch hunters and tau ( I think those are the major mech list players) you have, the more you have to worry about it. For example, in my gaming group which consists of about 10 people atm, we have 3 different IG players, myself included, as well as a space wolf player, a tau player, a sisters player, and a CSM player so we have alot of mech but if you have more daemons, orks, nids and such you dont have to worry as much. In tournaments, you had better have stuff to deal with mech because tournaments do tend to have more mech then just fun play since people dont bring their Ork foot slogging list to a tourney when they can bring leaf blower.


Also, from the lists I have seen, blood angels are pretty heavily mounted up because alot roll 3 stormravens now and carry deathstar units to your face.

[SotonShades]

A bit hard for me to say, as I like fielding Armoured Battlegroup lists. So for me, the more mech someone has, the better. My most recent tournament experience was based around using a super-heavy in your list as well (not quite such a serious tournament obviously), so there was masses of mech there.

In general though, I tend to see most armies have 5 or fewer vehicles in their lists, and for the most part these are killing vehicles (Dreadnoughts and the more aggressive vehicles such as predators, vindicators, leman russes) or the kind of transport that can do both (LR and stormraven). I can't remember the last time I saw more than 2 transports that can't be used as tanks in their own right, such as the humble chimera or rhino.

Overall, I think you always have to plan for some mech in any opponants army (save 'nids of course) as I cant remember a game recently where I haven't seen at least one vehicle. I don't reckon you need to go quite so far as some people and make sure every unit has at least one way of dealing with vehicles except for in tournaments.

[Torpedo Vegas]

I see a lot of mech around here, as more than half of the players here play marines, followed by guard and eldar. I tend to field my own DE either all in raiders or build a foot slogging webway list. Blood Angels are very popular in the army, razorback spam is common, as is wave serpent based eldar and chimera mounted IG.

[Xas]

I usually see the competatively built lists (those that arent just built for modelling and collecting first but with the GAME in mind to begin with) allmost completely meched up when available (as in: not nids). only example of this are tyranids (efnroced by codex) and a well-run horde orks army. deamons I have yet to face again after 2 years ago.

its just that mech is SO GOOD as a rhino worth about as much as 2 marines can take a battlecannon shell directly heads on and ignore it more or less more than 66% of the time where a marine squad in the open would easily loose 40% of their members.

even non-power-armored armies rather take their wounded on 3+/4+ (depending on if its open or not) in ~50% of all destroyed results WITH armor saves over what otherwise would wound them on 2+ and ignore armor saves!


I'm in no way saying that non-meched is not viable (in contrary I'm of the crowd that thinks allmost everything can be made viable if the list is done well and your tactics are up to the task) but meching up is just very convenient compared to the harsh life of an infantryman out in the open (well unless your a termiantor with a stormshield and a sanguinary priest neraby, THEN you can prolly laugh at stuff that even pulverizes tanks ).

[Vaktathi]

Well, to be honest, basically all of my armies are mechanized.

That said, the only army that I mechanized because of 5E was my CSM's, my 1st IG army and my Tau were already mechanized, Eldar of course would be mechanized regardless of edition, and my 2nd IG army really was more of an extenstion of my original IG army. My DH and WH armies are, at this point, really just half-armies that get propped up with troops from my IG armies.

Though my Tyranids are incapable of being mechanized

I also started this game with a mech IG army when mech IG were one of the worst armies in the game, because I like the concept of mechanized troops and lots and lots of tanks .


In all honesty, most armies I see that are capable of being mechanized are. **Generally** (meaning: usually, but not always) it's only newer players that don't really quite grasp what they are doing or don't have the tanks yet, or that guy who wants to be the Wargaming equivalent of that "cool and edgy hipster" type dude and refuses to do "what's popular", run army types that would be better served with mechanization (though also not all armies need be mechanized, just most).

[GremlinGSP]

I face allot of mech. I play marines and eldar and both are full mech. I normally face full mech DE, 3 battlewagon orks, full mech sisters, and another mech C:SM. My BT lists are generally a hybrid but still bring along a good chunk of armor.

The last Tournament I went to everything was meched except the one nid. Even fought a 3 Landraider Blood Angel list.

I think its the ability for tanks to easily get a 4+ cover save most of the time. Maybe if this was just a 5+ or something it would maybe even out a bit. Perhaps leave smoke as a 4+ and everything else is a 5+ cover? Its not the end of the world though. Aside from a few assault vehicles its a far cry from the rhino rush of 3rd.


Although my BT do miss the old Rhino rush.