1500 Honour guard

[DarkGuard]

Captain Idaho speaks the truth, Typhoons can be scary, but they need to be in squadrons. When I originally used them I used two flying solo, and I was less than impressed with the results. Half the time they'd miss, they'd do nothing to the tank I was shooting at, and I eventually switched to Riflemans, who are deceptively cheaper as they stand a good chance of killing a vehicle at 125pts, rather than 180pts for a squadron of two Speeders.

 

However, in my last couple of games, I've used Typhoons again, and took out the Vindicators, mainly because I wanted a mix up. As I was running Vulkan, I wanted my MM/HF Speeders, which I'd run a long time before by then, in squadrons of one, as two would be overkill. Normally I'd want my Typhoons squadroned so I could threaten more tanks, but with me retaining my Rifleman Dreads it meant they could stay squadroned, and I could now threaten three tanks a turn a from range! The results were much better, and they were largely responsible for killing a Rhino my Riflemans had bad dice rolls with, in addition to killing a couple of Necron Destroyers, all the Necron Heavy Destroyers, and the last few casualties for phase out.

 

So speaking from experience, squadroned they are so much better than solo. And if you give them a few games to show what they're about, then they can be devastating and rise on the threat meter. Furthermore, they may be tin cans, but they're not as bad as Dark Eldar Raiders. Plus, they operate at 36" range minimum. Bolters are 24". Typhoons have no business in going to that range, and so your opponent has to bring his squads forward and expose them, or divert lascannons and missile launchers and the like, which then means that he's not targeting your transports, including the one with your Honour Guard. Give them a try, and keep them in backfield, they'll be survivable, especially when there are more immediate threats.

 

Also, Dreadnoughts can be threatening. A Rifleman Dread is now considered on a par with my Vindicators on the threat meter at my LGS, just because of their ability to cut through light vehicles with ease. With that volume of accurate firepower, those Dreads can be very threatening. Likewise Dreads with meltas and flamers in Drop Pod are threatening. Not only are they likely to blow up a tank, but they're in your opponent's backfield, diverting his attention while the rest of your army closes. It just comes down to what you prefer, but I'd suggest giving some of these a try.

[Captain Idaho]

I use both Typhoons and Dreadnoughts to draw attention away from my Honour Guard. Very few games I have lost Honour Guard before they charged at least one!

[DarkGuard]

I use both Typhoons and Dreadnoughts to draw attention away from my Honour Guard. Very few games I have lost Honour Guard before they charged at least one!

 

Yes, I always used to think that you needed Vindys to draw fire, but a couple of Dreads and Typhoons, plus lots of Rhinos does the job as well!

[DerekLee688]

I wouldn't give up on the vindi's just yet. I would run two if I had another. Having two shots and planning on one to hit seems like a fair expetation of their points. I believe that vindi's need to be built around to get the most out of them. Keeping a dread on each side of them like armored bookends, will keep them alive longer. They even move the same speed without the loss of firepower from any of the units, rifleman dreads can pop the transports and fast tanks that would threaten your vindi's and let them do what they do best.

 

Rifleman vs. Typhoons:

Riflemen can keep your vindi's alive, but typhoons are more of a threat against MEQ, FNP, and 4+ armor saves. However you can't rely on them surviving as long if they can't out range or hide from ANY long range firepower.