Mobilization

[LardO'Blood]

Okay, the topic is mobilization.

What is the most point efficient way to mobilize an army?

What styles (fire, water, air, earth) are most dependent and least dependent on mobilization?

How do the different types (Drop pod, rhino/razorback, land raiders)compare?

[Jackelope King]

Okay, the topic is mobilization.

What is the most point efficient way to mobilize an army?

What styles (fire, water, air, earth) are most dependent and least dependent on mobilization?

How do the different types (Drop pod, rhino/razorback, land raiders)compare?

I'll get things started just with options Troops have that don't chew up Force Org chart choices (so no Land Speeder Storms, no Land Raiders to start).

 

Rhino ★★★★☆

A good, solid, cheap transport. It has a few things going for it. First, it has the advantages that all vehicles have: 12" movement, the vehicle damage table, etc. etc. etc. AV11 is weak, but it puts it solidly outside of the threat range of most anti-infantry weapons in the game. And since its AV11 front and sides, there's no threat by rushing forward and "exposing" that side armor. Sure, the armament is a bit of a joke, but even with its two sad little fire-points, that's more than enough to make a Rhino a deadly weapon on the battlefield.

 

Consider the most basic configuration: a Rhino with a Tactical Squad that carries a Multi-Melta. This transport and its unit are now a large, reasonably-tough bubble that can sit midfield and threaten any vehicle in the game. And take a free flamer with that same squad and now you have a serious threat to light infantry too. All without needing to dismount.

 

When a mounted Tactical Squad does dismount, we have a serious amount of space to do it in. We have a large access point in the rear, and two good-sized access points on the sides. And we don't even need an open-topped vehicle (and the drop in survivability that goes along with it) to do this.

 

And of course, our Rhino is a tank. That means we can use it to tank shock enemy troops, and tank shocked troops usually wind up bunched up and easy flamer-bait.

 

In general, Rhinos are your transports of choice for most non-assault units. Tactical Squads, Sternguard, etc., all want for Rhinos. As already mentioned, Tactical Squads in particular should take Rhinos for holding midfield. They have other options for sitting back and shooting.

 

 

Razorback ★★★☆☆ (Las/Plas Configuration: ★★★★☆)

The Razorback is sort of a strange little beast. It's almost as cheap as a Rhino, but has a better gun with less transport capacity and no fire-point. In most of its configurations (including its standard Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter configuration), it is strictly worse than a Rhino. Certainly not impossible to use, but it forces you to either take a smaller Tactical Squad than would normally grant you Special and Heavy Weapons, or to Combat Squad and leave your Heavy Weapon behind as a sort of mini-Dev Squad (usually ranged anti-tank with a Missile Launcher) while the other combat squad (usually with a Flamer) moves forward for anti-infantry purposes.

 

Is the trade-off of a stormbolter, 2 fire points, and the ability to squeeze a whole Tactical Squad into a Rhino worth 5 points and a Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter? In my mind, 90% of the time, it isn't. A Tactical Squad in a Razorback is worse at holding midfield than one with a Multi-Melta in a Rhino. They get all of that nice mobility and durability that a Rhino provides, to be sure, so it certainly isn't a waste.

 

Some other configurations are interesting, but all suffer from being a little too pricey to be truly effective. Other armies do Immolator-spam better, and lacking the easy Meltagun inside makes the Twin-Linked Heavy Flamer less attractive. Twin-Linked Autocannons are certainly interesting, but really want to be on a Fast vehicle, so they can swing around and shred side armor. The Twin-Linked Las-Cannon, unfortunately, lacks the rate-of-fire or AP to be truly impressive as an anti-tank platform like an Autocannon, especially for the price.

 

But there is a diamond in the rough here. The Las-Cannon / Twin-Linked Plasmagun configuration is pricey, but creates a whole new role for the Tactical Squad, enabling it to sit in your deployment zone and create an immediate threat. This Armored Cavalry is very different from a standard Tactical Squad, and relies on early-game firepower to weaken the enemy enough to take midfield uncontested late-game. This transport + a 5-man Tactical Squad is quite cheap, making it spammable. You want at least 2-3 to make it worthwhile, but you can easily spam this thing all day long with almost every Force Org chart slot. Using them to support other Tacticals in Rhinos taking midfield is quite effective, though.

 

Drop Pod ★★☆☆☆ (in a Drop Pod Army: ★★★☆☆)

To be clear, a Drop Pod is an alpha strike. You trade off on a significant amount of mobility to dictate your deployment to the enemy, in hopes that he or she deploys in such a way that you can deliver a telling blow on turn 1.

 

That said, it's risky. Codex: Space Marines lacks the Blood Lance psychic power to make castling dangerous, and anyone can just reserve their whole army and thus get the jump on you if you use Drop Pods. And using them to "just" take an objective is risky, because the squad inside is immediately exposed to enemy firepower, unlike if it Mech'd up.

 

Drop Pods are pretty cheap, though, and are one of the few ways that we have to deliver Dreadnoughts. When supported by a large contingent of other bodies Drop Podding in, they can be quite dangerous. So if you want to do it, you're going all-in for a knock-out blow early. Your mobility after Drop Podding stinks, and you can't afford to divide your forces, so your first goal on Drop Podding should be to neutralize enemy speed advantages (de-meching units, wrecking fast units like Thunderwolf Cavalry or the like). You also have the advantage later on of dropping later squads right on key objectives, either to claim with a Tactical Squad or just contest with the Pod.

 

Whatever you do, always be sure to take an odd number of Pods. This lets you get more of them down on the field first turn, and lets you better dictate what winds up on the table when.

 

Bike Squad ★★★★☆ (Biker Army Only!)

Bike Squads are another valid choice for your Troops, but they're completely different from either Tacticals in Rhinos or in Razorbacks or in Drop Pods. They're faster than any of them, to start with. Even with smaller numbers, they hit harder, thanks to having Twin-Linked Bolters standard and the Relentless rule. They're tougher, with a portable cover save from turbo-boosting and a T4(5) profile. They get two special weapons and can get a heavy weapon on an Attack Bike that can come with the squad. But oi, the cost. For a full Bike Squad with no special weapons and an unupgraded Attack Bike, you're looking at a princely sum of 255 points. Harder to spam, but surprisingly more necessary to spam, as a Biker army relies on multiple small units to win.

 

So they're expensive, but they can also be your army's source of Fast Melta. Why? Two of the Bikers can take Meltaguns, and the attack Bike can take a Multi-Melta. The threat bubble for that multi-melta, by the way, is huge. On a bike that can move 12" and fire, you have a bubble that can easily encompass a huge chunk of the board, even accounting for terrain. And with Twin-Linked Bolters standard, this squad comes with built-in duality, making it effective in anti-infantry and anti-tank roles.

 

However, without a vehicle shell to protect them, Bikers have some vulnerability to anti-infantry fire, especially when torrented. This is why you need multiple small units. A full bike squad with an attack bike has 10 marines, meaning it can legally combat squad. You want to do this whenever possible, creating more fast melta threats, and more importantly, enough units to saturate enemy firepower. T4(5) will go a long way, as will that turbo-boost, but you have to be cagey with bikers. Outmaneuver the enemy, hunt in a pack, and take the foe down piece by piece to achieve victory.

[DarkGuard]

A fantastic summary there Jackelope King, but I will like to add a couple of things.

 

First off, with the Rhino you have mentioned the flamer/MM being good for midfield. I just wanted to mention the plasma gun with regards for holding midfield. True you loose some anti-infantry, but you have bolters for that. What the plasma gun does though is give you a rapid fire weapon with high strength, low AP shots, perfect to pair with the MM while hunting light vehicles and MEQ/TEQ. Furthermore, both have the same range band, so you can sit in the midfield and provide a valid threat to nearly anything.

 

Also, another efficient way to mobilize an army is to skimp on upgrades to fit more vehicles in. As has been said Rhinos and Razorbacks are fragile, so having more of them only protects them from destruction, as your opponent is flooded with a multitude of targets. Also, taking over tanks and vehicles such as Vindicators and Land Speeders really go a long way to keeping your army mobile. The more your opponent shoots at those other threats, the less he's shooting at your Rhinos and Razorbacks, and the longer you stay mobile.

[Tasche]

certainly you can take a razorback though i personally would never take it.

I run a 10man tactical with a Meltagun/Plasmagun and Lascannon/Missile Launcher (around 185pts) with a rhino, whichever you decide it still does the same thing. The point is a Rhino, for less points than a 75pt (Plasma/Lascannon) razorback with considerably less transport space, you have essentially is a pillbox with High Str & AP2 Weapons inside with fairly long ranges to fill the role of a Razorback. Ususally run 3 squads, up in a staggered formation so that the farthest unit will act as cover fire. while the front units move up.

 

Pro - 10man unit = more wounds to soak before killing special weapons models, more transport capacity, transport is relatively cheep and you wont cry over it if its popped.

 

Con - Less transport capacity, High Priority target, High points value, playing with combat squads (less wounds) and relying on razorback with weaponry. rhinos with passengers cannot move and shoot.

 

I can state more reasons but my personal judgment is that you can have like...1 razorback in your army but the rhino in the end is the better deal.

 

Bike are a whole different league, especially when its very expensive money wise and pts wise to get the same effect as a 10man squad in a rhino.

[Shadowstalker Grim]

One note:

 

The razorback, we've mentioned tacticals taking it, but what about small assault forces such as command squads or vanguard veterans? A better home for squads that are naturally small?

 

I think we're also missing the Land Raider in this! It may well be a ton of points (certainly not something you'd want to pay for tacticals to sit around in really) but by design they are suited for assault infantry. Their point cost is down to the fact that these things are the toughest vehicles we can field and pack a rather impressive armanent!

 

They are the only thing we have to ferry terminators and squads larger than 10 men, which makes them perhaps our only choice apart from drop pods in getting such units together. Generally you'll put things into this vehicle that you don't want touched until you say so! This is largely assault troops who can be wholly nullified by having their weaker transport blown from under them without the need for too much specialist gear. The raider actually promotes assault troops with its built in assault ramp.

 

Because of this things high cost it is not often you'll see them in number, but they are a pretty fearsome vehicle, certainly not worth forgetting.

 

There are 3 types all slightly different and perhaps looking at them in greater detail is a better idea, but generally i'll sum them together as they all operate in a similar fashion

 

If i were doing a star rating...

 

3/5

 

 

Tough as nails, Takes terminators, Impressive force on the field, BUT the cost of the thing makes it a harsh investment and not something that you can put points into easily.

[DarkGuard]

I generally prefer Rhinos for moving troops about, but if I wanted a unit on an objective in my deployment area I don't want them in a Rhino, too expensive for sitting back doing nothing. Instead I'd use a small scout squad, or if I wanted to mech up I'd use a Razorback with TL-LC or LC/TL-PG with a 5 man squad in it. That way they can score objectives, keep out of trouble, and provide some meaningful fire support.

 

And I certainly agree with Shadowstalker Grim that Razorbacks are the choice for small squads such as Vets and Command Squads. For 5 pts more than a Rhino, you have a better gun, and you don't have to worry about smaller transport capacity as you don't need the enlarged capacity. Of course, if you had meltas or heavy flamers in your squad then the Rhino would probably be better for drive by shooting.

 

Land Raiders are also worth mentioning for a mobilised force, very important for ferrying your Terminators and assault units across the field. I've also been playing with the idea of including the 'Godhammer' pattern in larger point games and sticking a small 5 man Tactical Squad in it. Then chuck it onto an objective, and I have a scoring bunker with 2 TL-LCs that can fire at different targets a turn, and redeploy if needed. Not too shabby I think!

[chaplain belisarius]

im finding tacticals with plasma gun and either a multimelta or missile launcher in a rhino makes a very good bunker type of unit...just my 2 cents! ;)

[BearersOfSalvation]

Don't forget that dedicated transports only limits deployment now, anyone can get into a transport during the game. You can buy a rhino for a devastator squad that sits back in a building, buy a 10-man tac squad with a rhino, then combat squad the 10-man and have 2 combat squads in rhinos. Or if you're using sicarius or someone similar, you can buy a rhino for a tac squad that you plan to infiltrate, and give the rhino to a second tac squad.

[Warprat]

The Razorback option is good because instead of using the points on 5 bodies of infantry, you can instead use them on more vehicles. A full tactical squad + rhino = a razorback + five men + a speeder. Neither is better or worse. It just depends on what you want in your army, and how it will all work together.