defilers, ultimate shocktroop?

[Demoulius]

hello gents,

 

i intend to put at least 1 defiler in my army. the battle cannon and close combat...er....choppyness seem to make it the ultimate shock trooper (only bested by the deamon prince) in my eyes.

 

are they as good as i think they are or am i just clouded by all the shiney weapons it has? havent played with my army yet so would like some intel on whetever its good or not :verymad:

[the jeske]

sometimes it is good to read what people wrote in the chaos codex review when it came out.But anyway. If defilers then 2-3 . anything else is too few . Yes they are more safer in hth and yes no indirect and the +4 cover + possible upgrades or going down means that defiler as shoting platforms suck.

[Hiro_Protagonist]

Not the ulimate shock trooper. WS3 means that all those powerfists out there with be hitting on 3+ which will make you sad. Same goes for most other Walkers you might face. Defiler is good but not great all around. His Daemonic Possession is probably the best thing it has going for it cause it ignores 1/3 of all penetrating hits and 2/3 of all glancing. Mostly it's a highschool bully...big and intimidating...but not nearly as good as it thinks.

[Shas'o R'Vre]

For me they are "Shock Troops" because they attract SO MUCH Firepower, allowing your troops to get places unscathed. But yeah, 2/3 is better than just 1. That goes for practically everything in the Chaos dex though.

[Hyaenidae]

Every time I've brought my Defiler into CC, he's died. Maybe just bad luck, but I've found he's FAR better at range.

[Lady_Canoness]

Defilers are failry cheap and good to have around, but, as was mentioned before, they draw a lot of fire - too much in fact. If you need other armoured units to survive then bring a defiler, but if your planning on your defiler single handedly winning the game... ? Well, I've had dreadnoughts with the game much more than a defiler has... in fact it's only survived one game all the times I've used it.

[Shas'o R'Vre]

Every time I've brought my Defiler into CC, he's died. Maybe just bad luck, but I've found he's FAR better at range.

Agreed.

 

And Lady_Canoness is right.

[minigun762]

If you're looking for something to lead your assault, Defilers can do that pretty well I think. Put them infront of your Rhinos and it should provide a nice cover save while absorbing incoming fire. Shoot of the BC the first few turns and then fleet into something, properly supported by your troops you should be able to handle most anything.

[Hyaenidae]

If you're looking for something to lead your assault, Defilers can do that pretty well I think. Put them infront of your Rhinos and it should provide a nice cover save while absorbing incoming fire. Shoot of the BC the first few turns and then fleet into something, properly supported by your troops you should be able to handle most anything.

 

I do this trick with a Land Raider. More expensive? Of course. Survives longer and kills more, plus full of Termi goodiness to do even more damage? Oh, hell yeah. Keep the Defiler in the back and hammer away. Assault only if no other option presents itself. Leave the assaults / bullet shield tactics to other forces in your army.

[Hiro_Protagonist]

I find it a good rule of thumb to assault with the Defiler under only 2 conditions. Either I've got no other options, or I know they can't kill it (at least easily).

[the jeske]

Every time I've brought my Defiler into CC, he's died. Maybe just bad luck, but I've found he's FAR better at range.

Agreed.

 

And Lady_Canoness is right.

 

ok how is that possible . shoting has melta [av 12=dead] in pods or on fast moving platforms and most armies that can try to spam the maximum number of str 7-8 weapons they can find , unless they are a razorback build then they go for str 7 and 9. a defiler gets no cover most of the time.

 

in hth even if it gets charged kraks have problems with hiting it and fists are hiting with what 3-4 attacks and they still have to hit and penetrate to blow it up [because it has 6 weapons and imobilised doesnt help] . yes a unit of TH/SS termis kills it or stuff that costs double the points, but the same can be said about most chaos choices.

[Hyaenidae]

@jeske: please note the bad luck part, lol. I'm also poor at what people call mathhammer. Plus, in general, my opponents keep everything away from it that can't kill it. So, yeah, I shoot the hell out of 'em as they charge. I pull back if they get too close, and pummel 'em again. And again. It's effective, and the defiler usually smokes twice it's weight in points by the end. Works for me, brother. Assault 'em if you wish, best of luck.

[Ace of Gods]

I run a Defiler in my army. it generally walks up the board 6 inches each time firing at something. I dont run 2/3 liek most ppl here say, my other heavies are Oblits (2-3 of them) and a Vindicator. I also have a Land Raider as Ded transport for termies in some lists.

 

If it gets close to units that dont pose too much of a threat against it, i will fleet and charge into them. I dont think i ever use the Reaper autocannon, thats always taken away and i use the spikes on it for another CC arm. I keep the Hvy flamer most of the time, firing that before assaulting a unit usually works out really well.

[Mentat]

I use 2 defilers in my mech chaos army. Typically 1 will survive the entire game, usually immobilized by the end. They attract tons of long range enemy firepower away from my rhinos, and the way I see it, daemonic possession is like having a 5+ invulnerable save (6+ vs melta). I use autocannons and havok launchers on them. I start out by using the autocannons and havok to shoot transports (my army spams autocannons, and the havoks can glance a rhino on a 6). Once I can see infantry bunched up or in the open I use the battlecannon. If my opponent gets a weapon destroyed result they invariably choose to destroy the battlecannon, so I then continue to fire autocannons and havoks. When the enemy gets close they help with assaults.