Assassins in 5th Edition

[revnow]

So I posted this over at Warseer, but it seemed relevant to post it here as well. My Assassins in 5th Edition mini-tactica

 

For any errors just PM me and I'll try to edit accordingly. I might also update as is appropriate, we shall see. I'll post links in relevant threads and maybe at the OP as well.

 

Below are the rules changed or added in 5th Edition that I think affect Assassins the most. There’s a good chance I’m missing some points, and I’m depending on you intrepid readers to discover them.

 

Defender Strikes Back

Outflank/Reserves

Killpoints

Consolidation After Close Combat

Run

Combat Resolution and Morale Checks

Shooting Line of Sight and Cover Saves

Objective Contestation

Assaulting into Cover

 

For the purpose of disputes involving the rules I am erring to the disadvantage of the player using Assassins just to be safe, if they are changed through Errata then consider it an added bonus.

 

It is difficult to assess what the net gain or loss to assassins has been post 5th Edition. I will try to explain how I see the rule changes affecting Assassins in general, and then detail where each specific Assassin stands.

 

Killpoints: Where once Assassins were a relatively cheap investment with regards to Victory Points, now they each give up a Killpoint, the same value as an entire mob of Ard Boyz, or a tricked out Carnifex. This is especially problematic for Death Cult Assassins, who are most effective in large numbers (3-6), thus yielding one Killpoint for each Assassin (3-6). Those familiar with Assassins know that they are not the most survivable unit, so unless managed well, they can quickly become a source of easy Killpoints for your opponent in an Annihilation game.

 

Defender Strike Back: Where before Assassins could easily clear their killzone and avoid most attacks back, significantly weakening a unit before consolidation or simply driving it off the board; now the defender moves into combat in order to maximize the attacks back. This is problematic for assassins, as it maximizes the opponent’s ability to put additional hits on a mediocre toughness and invulnerable save. But, against the traditional targets of choice for assassins this shouldn’t be breaking. Consider a standard 10 model SM tactical squad with powerfist. On average, 3 Deathcult Assassins will inflict 10 wounds over three rounds of combat, while only suffering 2 in return (one from the powerfist so 3 total, given instant death rules)

 

Reserves/Outflank: These changes are a double-edged sword for Assassins. They affect primarily the Eversor, Culexus, and Deathcult Assassins (CC and infiltration oriented). At first glance Outflank is a fantastic tool for Assassins, but used without care or full understanding of the rules it becomes a risky gambit, especially for Deathcult Assassins. This is due to the fact that reserves are now rolled by unit rather than FOC choice. Meaning that you have to roll an individual die to see if each separate Assassin comes in (if you held them in reserve to outflank). Flanking sides are also rolled by unit; which means that players are less likely to misplace an entire FOC choice of Deathcultists on the wrong side of the board, but also less likely to get all of their Deathcultists on the side they want. Outflank is best used when facing widely spread out gunline armies like Tau or IG on the Dawn of War and Pitched battle maps (especially Dawn of War given the deployment rules and nightfight)

 

Consolidation after Close Combat: This one is pretty obvious and again affects primarily the Eversor, Culexus, and Deathcult Assassins. Units can no longer use a consolidation to move into another close combat, thus increasing the chance of taking fire from enemy shooting units the turn after a successful assault. The abundance of cover saves takes a bit of the bite out of this though. Assassins can now use the consolidation to find cover behind any number of things (thus giving them a +4 save). This is aided by Assassins independent status. If any part of the model body (head, torso, legs, arms) is obscured in any way from 50% of the shooting unit, the assassin gets a +4 cover save.

 

Run: Moving D6 during the shooting phase is a boon to Assassins, especially close combat oriented assassins like DCAs and the Eversor. Run allows Assassins to minimize the effects of a bad outflank roll, close quicker with opponents after infiltration, find cover from shooting easier, and a number of other things that I’m having trouble dredging up.

 

Combat Resolution and Morale Checks: Unless a player either suffers a horrific round of rolling, or is engaging the wrong type of unit, Assassins should almost always be forcing a morale check in close combat. The new rules make a failed check much more likely, as the morale modifier is equal to the number of wounds the checker lost combat by. This has some very specific effects for certain assassins that I will detail later, but suffice to say that sweeping advances should become more common.

 

Shooting Line of Sight and Cover Saves: I talked a bit about this under consolidation, and the principle remains the same. Assassins are independent, and so if any part of their body is obscured to 50% of the shooting squad, the model gets a 4+ cover save. Keeping the new rules in mind is also especially important when using the Vindicare and Callidus.

 

Objective Contestation: Now that everything can contest, combining infiltrate/outflank, run, and an Assassin can make an opponent’s effort of holding an objective much more difficult. I’ll get back to you all on some specifics and dirty tricks with this.

 

Assaulting into Cover: Assassins don’t carry grenades apparently (?), so assaulting into cover is murder for these units that depend heavily on their I5 to compensate for mediocre Toughness and Saves. Keep in mind though that assaulting into cover has changed. It is now based on whether the unit had to make a difficult terrain roll to assault. So, if you must assault into entrenched units, try to do so in a way that will not require the Assassin to make a difficult terrain test.

 

Alright, so lets talk specific Assassins; I’ll try to detail out a few tricks as well.

 

Eversor: Still an ugly CC God. The purpose of the Eversor hasn’t changed much, though its effects have due to some rule changes. The new pistol rules now mean that double shot is effectively useless as all pistols are Assault 1 (reference the FAQ). Also, the new defender strikes back rules are a real boon if you are using the Eversor to simply inflict as much damage as possible before dieing. Forcing a unit to maximize base to base around the Eversor before combat is resolved, means that Bio-Meltdown! will hit a far greater number of models. Unfortunately, the Eversor can now no longer consolidate into close combat, so survivability has become a more pertinent issue. This may mean players begin to preference expensive monstrous and high toughness individual model targets over softer more numerous targets like marine tac squads, effectually trading the (relatively) low point Eversor for a more expensive IC or MC. For general tactics I refer you to Mkerr’s Tactica over at BoLS and the articles/posts he references.

 

Callidus: I may be a bit biased, but of all the Assassins, I think that the Callidus benefited most from fifth edition. The new setup/turn rolls take absolutely all the risk out of using A Word in Your Ear. A player can even use it after the Steal roll has been made, since the rule simply says that it has to be used after setup but before the first turn (though in all respect, it’s probably best to agree to dice it off if it becomes a conflict). This means previously risky uses of the ability, like dragging out an expensive IC from a squad (to be shot to pieces), or grouping a squad together (and leveling blast weapons at it) have lost their risk (since turn order is now decided BEFORE the ability is used!). I am a huge fan of AWiYE, and this makes the ability much more dangerous if the proud Callidus owner wins the first turn, or manages to steal it. There are still a few solid 2nd turn uses as well (see below).

 

“Find my damn optical scope!”: Take each model of a heavy weapons squad and move them 6” in opposite directions (like a spreading star). This works best if you can manage to put at least one model in a place where the unit will have to make a difficult terrain test next turn. The player will now have to use their first turn moving that heavy hitter squad back into coherency, disabling the heavies for a turn. If you can get a model in difficult terrain, a bad difficult terrain roll might mean that the player actually must to spend two turns of movement returning the unit to coherency. It’s also important to move all of the models in a different direction in order to maximize the distance they have to move in order to return to coherency. It’s even more vicious if they manage to regain coherency only in time for the Callidus to come in from reserves and kill them anyway.

 

“Uh sorry Sarge. I left the stabilizer down there”: As we all well know, hard hitting shooty units are put up into buildings and other high perches in order to maximize the new LOS and minimize the ever prevalent cover saves. A Word in Your Ear can be used to move a unit 6” (2 levels) down, forcing the owning player to either spend a turn (or maybe 2) climbing back up, or find another spot to shoot from. This can also be used to move units out of bunkers or behind whatever building they have taken up positions in.

 

“Look, the reinforcements have arrived!”: This is actually for if you win the first turn. Normally I’m not one for combining a Callidus and Deathcultists. I use the Callidus primarily for A Word in Your Ear and then point her at some juicy target in the hope of causing as much damage as possible before she is killed. But, the risk is gone from using AWiYE based on taking the first turn. This is done best with 3-6 Deathcultists on a map with good infiltrate locations. A MEQ player is the preferred target, or any expensive unit that doesn’t deal with I5 power weapons well. If you have access to a good infiltrating spot, all you need to do for a first turn attack on a valuable target is, after infiltrating, use AwiYE to move the unit 6” closer to the Deathcultists (as long as its still in the deployment zone). Terminators in a Landraider are a great example of this. Move them out of the Raider and 6” closer to the Deathcultists.

 

Vindicare: The new cover saves really hurt the Vindicare. Since the Assassin targets individual models, and any part of the model being obscured grants it a cover save (except MCs and vehicles), unless the Vindicare has complete line of sight on it’s target, it is faced with a cover save. Luckily, Spy Mask turns most of these from a 4+ save to a 5+ save. Infiltrate is now even more important to the Vindicare, as True LOS now means that an advantageous shooting position (high up) could avoid those potentially damning cover saves. The Exitus pistol has been nerfed a bit as the Vindicare can no longer sit still and double tap on units 12” away. Still, a S5 AP 2 pistol that ignores targeting rules is no joke. The Turbo-Penetrator round has also gained quite a boost. The average roll to pen on the round is now 13/14 (3+10/11), up from 10/11, which is respectable in its own right, but factor in the new rending rules for sniper weapons and the Turbo-Pen can penetrate AV 14 more than 50% of the time.

 

Culexus: This quirky fellow both gained and lost as a result of fifth edition. On the plus side, using Mkerr’s “Bag of Hammers” (see the BoLS Tactica on the Culexus) trick now makes morale tests worse with even a -3/-4 modifier (not uncommon in 5th Edition) on base Ld 7. But, the new Defender Strikes Back rules eliminate the ability to clear killzones and avoid attacks back. This means more casualties and less Deathcultists to sweeping advance with. On the plus side, most of the dirty old tricks still work with the Culexus (like taking 20 Last Chancer psykers and infiltrating them with the Culexus in Apoc). For hilarity and random fun the Culexus can be combined with the likes of Daemonhosts (Terrify and +modifiers to the Animus Speculum). A lot of buzz has also surrounded the return to prevalence of psykers with the upcoming nerf on the psychic hood (24” range for SM). This means a more target rich environment for the Culexus (and DH/WH likely get to keep the outdated but unnerfed hood). A Culexus and Inquisitor Lord w/ psychic hood combo is murder for Lash and Psy Eldar lists. Also keep in mind that all synapse creatures are psykers, and count towards the Animus Speculum’s bonus.

 

Deathcultists: I think I’ve covered how 5th edition affects these for the most part, but I’ll rack my brain for anything additional and post an addendum if I find something; one thing actually. Keep in mind; killpoints are only 1/3 of friendly games, and usually only a secondary objective in competitive games. The new contestation rules combined with outflank/infiltrate means that Deathcultists, if properly used, can play merry hell with your opponent trying to hold objectives; by simply contesting, or by charging and pulling that unit off the objective with Defender Strikes Back before a critical “end of game” roll.

 

I reference Mkerr's Tacticas over at Bell of Lost Souls at lot, and anyone who is interested in a more detailed look at each Assassin (and who hasn't seen it already) should go check them out.

[Cheesus]

I dig it. I have always been a fan of assassins, I just haven't worked them out yet in my 5th edition lists. They are essentially 2 wound 4++/5++ killpoints, which will pretty much lose you any killpoint game you play.

 

 

Another nasty trick with the Culexus is Word of the Emperor and consecrate scrolls. Two leadership 7 checks before assault please!