How to use Assains

[Mosk]

I am wondering, How would one use Assains, more specifically how would one go about using death cult assains.

 

Any advice would be great,

 

(also since I am willing to be Melissia will be reading this, Thanks for all of the other advice and help, hope to see some here as well)

[Wulfen Lord Leo]

Calidus is regarded as the best assassain, and with good reason. A Word in you're ear can make any squad a target. Polymorphine allows you to infiltrate ANYWHERE, the C'tan phase blade can slice ANYTHING... except C'tan, who absorb it. The Neural Shredder is excellent against reletively low leadership army's especially in games with a leadership reducing Inquisitor.

 

Evensor (sp) is a close combat monster, simply put. +D6 attacks on the charge, can wound anything on a 4+, unless its T3 in which it can pull out a power sword for that. It inflicts damage when it dies, has pistols for pre combat shooting and even when it dies it inflicts damage.

 

Calexius (sp again) is effective against any army heavy of psykers, so stuff like eldar or 'Nids, or effective psykers, like Marines of all flavours. Never use this against Necrons or Tau, there aren't any psykers to deal with unless your opponent is using the adversary rules for their HQ and your using WH (at least, for the Tau part).

 

The sniper assassain, whose name escapes me at the moment, is good for dealing with armies who have a lot of leadership boosters, or MC's.

 

Death Cult appears to be the cheaper, less effective version of the Evensor, though I cant give you a detailed report, as I've never used them.

[Tauren]

The main problem nowadays with death cults is simple... They are IC's... that used to be able to avoid being expensive targets through status, now they just get shot at and die and are worth a kill point a piece. They really should just be made into a small close combat infantry unit that counts as elite and acts the same as they currently are without being worth tons of tons of points.

[revnow]

Mkerr over at Bell of Lost Souls has written a Tactica for each of the Assassins

 

http://belloflostsouls.blogspot.com/2008/0...st-archive.html

 

Since I'm lazy, link to my attempt to update for 5th Edition

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...p;#entry1685766

 

Also, Assassins :D

[Gentlemanloser]

The Problem with DCA is;

 

They cost the same as a Terminator, and are more fragile, with less wepaons.

They can't ride in transports

No Frag Genades

No more Kill zones in CC

 

Off the top of my head, can't think of any more.

 

The good points are;

 

They can infiltrate

[Grand Master Tyrak]

I can recommend a Vindicare Assassin (the sniper guy mentioned earlier).

 

Enemies have to roll Night Fighting to see him, his sniper rifle and pistol are AP 2, he reduces enemy cover by -1 when firing at them, he has several special rounds (one use only) and best of all he chooses which model to remove (Sergeant, Heavy Weapon trooper etc.).

 

I think he can now fire into combat too . . . anyone know? ^_^

[Gentlemanloser]

I'd be partial to advising taking a SM Scout Squad with Telion (if you allow Telion to be taken...) over the Vindicare. Obviosuly this doesn't work with a GK/SoB list, unless you ally them in to antoher Inq Parent list.

 

The only thing the Vindicare really has going for him is his one shot Turbo Penetrator round and using it to punch a hole into a Monolith. :huh:

[Skytear]

I think he can now fire into combat too . . . anyone know? :huh:

 

Yes he can, it's in the FAQ for 5th edition.

[Grand Master Tyrak]

Gentlemanloser Posted Today, 01:55 PM

I'd be partial to advising taking a SM Scout Squad with Telion (if you allow Telion to be taken...) over the Vindicare. Obviosuly this doesn't work with a GK/SoB list, unless you ally them in to antoher Inq Parent list.

 

The only thing the Vindicare really has going for him is his one shot Turbo Penetrator round and using it to punch a hole into a Monolith

 

Not even over being AP 2? Reducing enemy cover? Rolling a Night Fight test to see him? Telion is good, but the Vindicare does it better.

[Gentlemanloser]

Not really. :)

 

Ignoring the 4+ Scouts with Telion, it's his abilty to shoot twice per round that seals the deal. the AP2 is weighed out by Telions Rending.

 

Telion has a much better chance to hit, and while he wounds normally, Rending again makes up for that.

 

As for the special ammo, you could think of it as Telion getting the 2 Wound ammo naturally, just from his rate of fire.

 

The Vindi just suffers too much from rolling a 1 to hit.

[Auedawen]

I have to agree with Gentlemanloser here. The Vindicare has the potential to devastate your opponents game plan, but he has just two few chances to do this to really make him worth taking. You'd be lucky to get 3 kills a game with the Vindicare. Granted, these kills might be complete game changers (P-fist Sgt's come to mind the most). But for 110pts I think you can find a better place for your points

 

As for DCA's...sadly they've really gone the way of the do-do bird. The lack of kill zones pretty much means that whatever assault you throw them into they will NOT make it out of alive (I'd consider myself lucky to have a single DCA walk out of a squad of firewarriors alive...). Even worse is the fact that each and every single DCA model (not squad) is worth a kill point. Having any DCA's in your army with the Annihilation objective is pretty much consigning yourself to a loss...this is particularly depressing as DCA's used to make quite the fine unit. Another reason why Kill Points are the dumbest thing to come out of GW in a good many years.

[ripath]

on assassins? I always take the eversore, Its one of the cheapest, easiest to use, and most surprising to your opponent. I use mine to first turn charge something that I want to see dead, If my opponent gets first turn then he gets shot by just about everything then the rest of my army is left unscathed. The key to infiltrating with the eversore is to deploy along your opponents flank and use the furthest model to one side as cover from the rest of the army to block LoS (tanks block LoS)

 

Thats all I have for right now though. so I hope it helps

[Gentlemanloser]

How do you first turn charge with the Eversor? You'll need to delpoy over 18" away form your closest target (unless your board has some sort of LoS blocking Impassible Terrain, in which case you'd have to go round it anyway), and first turn the Eversor can only move 6" and charge 12".

 

You have to be over 18" away to infiltrate, so you're just shy of the charge.

 

Now if the Assassins were Fleet, or had a Scout move, it would be different...

[iamnothere]

I'm a big fan of the Calidus, the ability to mess with your opponents plans are excellent.

 

A word in your ear can bring units within first turn charge range or out of position in numerous ways. Polymorphines abilty is incredible at taking out HQs (Necron lords at the edge of squads), Ig fire teams, battlesuits, etc.

 

Being able to pick and choose your fights also helps.

 

Its not even a hinderance in annialation missions as you can place it miles from anywhere and hide. If it turns up late then even batter as you can now contest against a more important troops choice, denying it the objective just by being alive - position the charge right and you can even draw them off the objective completely.

[revnow]

If you can place the Eversor in a way that absolutley none of your Opp's models can draw LOS to it (as in see arms, legs, head, torso), it can infiltrate 12" from the closest enemy model, potentially allowing a first turn charge. Additionally the Eversor can Outflank, which isn't a first turn charge, but has a 2/3rd chance of being a charge against a unit within 18" of either board edge.

[Inquisitor Fox]

I have to disagree.. I've had great luck using DCAs. I always take them, usually between 2 and 4 (I only own 4 models thusfar.. need another 2).

 

The trick is to chose which type of unit to paste with them. With 4 power weapon attacks on the charge, at WS5 and I5, S4... yeah.. buh bye tactical squad :) There are a few tricks to using them:

 

1) Always use them in teams... they do NOT work well individually, however 2 or 3 DCAs charging into the same target will ruin anyones day.

 

2) Use infiltrate to deploy to your advantage. Choose the area that you are SURE the enemy will have to advance through. Use them to force the opponent to move where you want him to by denying corridors of movement. They are just as effective locking a unit into combat for multiple turns and not allowing it to move as they are killing things! A scoring unit that never gets the change to get onto an objective because you tied it up in combat for 1 or 2 turns doesn't score.

 

3) Most people SERIOUSLY underestimate these guys. I had 2 DCAs charge a Space Marine combat squad w/ veteran powerfist and attached Chaplain.. they tied it up for 3 combat rounds, eliminated 4 regular marines, and stalled long enough to allow my Inquisitor Lady with close combat retinue to paste the Chaplain and Sergeant that were left, preventing this scoring unit from scoring or contesting the objective. The reason: By taking the charge, I not only eliminated the Chaplain's rerolls from taking effect, but by having the DCAs locked in combat, I also let the reinforcement unit of mine get the charge, again eliminating the Chaplain's rerolls. I've also had great luck with them in Apocalypse, eliminating enemy scoring units or causing massive casualties, at least their own points value.

 

Their uses are not limited to just killing things, they are just as effective at locking things into combat, making the enemy wonder and worry about their capabilities, and are a unit most people never encounter. They've convinced me long ago of their use, and although I grant the point their value in a Kill Point scenario got nerfed by 5th ed, they're still incredibly useful once you get some practice. at 2 wounds each, a full team is 6 wounds of stopping power. Run them all next to each other, have an opponent say they're shooting the assassins, then ask them which individual assassin they would like to target. Chances are they won't be shot at again the whole game once he realizes an entire squads shooting would only affect a single model.

 

Vindicares... well.. it's all about picking off lone models of importance: Chaos Icon bearers, comm-link operators for Imperial Guard, standard bearers, Space Marine Apothecaries, Sister of Battle Imagifiers or Faithful characters (buh-bye heavy bolter retributors VSS.. no more faith for j00!). Pick your targets, pick them well, and watch a battle plan begin to fall apart when daemons can no longer be summoned in, a communications/leadership chain is now useless because the officer's squad doesn't have a vox, or feel no pain becomes gone. It's loads of fun.

 

Vindicares will acquire more attention and hatred the more precious models you one shot. Also, note many IC's got downgraded to 2 wound models now... so um.. turbo-penetrator that Space Marine Librarian and tell me the Vindicare is useless :lol:

 

No Assassin is useless.. you just have to have a plan and objectives you want them to accomplish. They will NOT win the game for you alone.. what they do is supplement the rest of your army and put specific crimps into the opponents plans. You throw enough monkey wrenches at someone while winning the game with your army, and they tip the balance of battle into your favor.

 

They're not Achilles.. they are not unstoppable killing machines (except maybe the Eversor), but what they do.. is cause specific things of the enemy's plan to fail. This is almost even better than a killing machine ;)

[Captain Malachi]

I'm not going to even pretend to be experienced enough to actually answer the OPs question, instead I'm going to ask another one! Yay! *cough* Erm, yeah, anyway, what would you all say is the best use for the culexus, besides psyker hunting obviously, in a DH army? And also, any tips on using him?

[Gentlemanloser]

If you can place the Eversor in a way that absolutley none of your Opp's models can draw LOS to it (as in see arms, legs, head, torso), it can infiltrate 12" from the closest enemy model

 

But Terrain no longer blocks LoS?

 

Unless I suppos it's something like a massive unbroken wall, that curiously also doesn't count as impassible terrain, I suppose.

[revnow]

Or a rock structure, or a building, or a silo, or any number of terrain pieces in 40k. Admittedly on some maps it will be better to have the Eversor outflank or walk behind a vehicle, but there are plenty of maps with heavy enough terrain to set up a first turn charge, city boards, alien instalations, bunkers, large rock formations, etc...

[Oor_Mate_vlad]

But Terrain no longer blocks LoS?

 

Unless I suppos it's something like a massive unbroken wall, that curiously also doesn't count as impassible terrain, I suppose.

 

Terrain does block line of sight, but if you want to go for the charge you'd better hope to roll a 6 on the difficult terrain check.

(GW rationalised it as the model breaking down the wall/terrain somehow [grenades, brute force, etc])

[ArmouredWing]

But Terrain no longer blocks LoS?

 

Unless I suppos it's something like a massive unbroken wall, that curiously also doesn't count as impassible terrain, I suppose.

 

Terrain does block line of sight, but if you want to go for the charge you'd better hope to roll a 6 on the difficult terrain check.

(GW rationalised it as the model breaking down the wall/terrain somehow [grenades, brute force, etc])

It's not even that difficult. If you can get him out of LoS then you've got 6" to move him around terrain into position prior to the charge.

[Doomaflatchi]

I'm not going to even pretend to be experienced enough to actually answer the OPs question, instead I'm going to ask another one! Yay! *cough* Erm, yeah, anyway, what would you all say is the best use for the culexus, besides psyker hunting obviously, in a DH army? And also, any tips on using him?

Quite frankly, the Culexus has no real use other than psyker hunting. All of his abilities are geared towards it, and if you're not facing psykers, just pay 15 points more for the Callidus (or 10 points less for the Eversor), which are both more effective against non-psyker heavy armies.

 

Well, I take that back - I have found one use for the Culexus which, although not tournament-winning in its efficiency, has nonetheless been quite fun. If you use a multiple Land Raider list, then the Culexus can be worth his salt against armies that are normally fearless for whatever reason, like Tyranids or Orks. Suddenly, with his Soulless ability, those tank shocks that didn't do much before now have a 50% chance to push them off the table! (I'm nearly positive that GW ruled in its FAQs that Fearless units still have to take Leadership tests, as they only automatically pass Morale tests, which are a specific type of Leadership test) You just have to make sure to coordinate your tank shocks with the position of the assassin, and do everything you can to keep him from getting bogged down in close combat (which reduces Soulless to a non-mobile footprint). Plus, the Culexus just sucks in an assault - he should never go there, for any reason, even against psykers! Remember, he can specifically target psykers in the shooting phase, but NOT in the assault phase, unless they're an IC. However, despite this, Psychic Abomination can help if he does accidentally get assaulted (so long as there's a psyker present!) by forcing them to take a Morale check (at Ld 7, because of Soulless) or fall back, which will force them to break off their assault and run even if they start the turn locked in close combat.

[Tauren]

Keep in mind, keeping a culexus near your grey knights counts the justicar as a psyker.

[Doomaflatchi]

If you use a multiple Land Raider list, then the Culexus can be worth his salt against armies that are normally fearless for whatever reason, like Tyranids or Orks. Suddenly, with his Soulless ability, those tank shocks that didn't do much before now have a 50% chance to push them off the table! (I'm nearly positive that GW ruled in its FAQs that Fearless units still have to take Leadership tests, as they only automatically pass Morale tests, which are a specific type of Leadership test)

Oops, my fault - this isn't the case. Fearless units still don't care about tank shocks. Still, it helps against any non-Fearless army, making your tank shocks more effective.