DOA

[Nemisor]

hey guys,

 

just looking for some advice on facing nids with a pure DOA. i'm wanting to use a DOA list next year for a few tournaments. i have had two games with it so far. the first game i tabled a fellow BA force, he had razors, baals, RAS and mephiston.

 

the second game i played a nid force that had 3 units of steallers, a ymgal squad, 2 units of hive guard and a couple of big critters and some guants. i figured any game against nids will be a DOA hardest fight, and i was doing ok till the last couple of rounds of CC and got overwhelmed. it ended up being 9 KP's to 7 in his favor.

if i had rememberd my death masks on dante and the SG it may have helped

 

any advise on fighting nids (especially stealers) would be great.

 

if it helps my list is:

 

dante

libby with JP

HG with JP's, 2 x IP, 2 x SS, 1 x PF

chaplin with JP

SP with PW & JP

RAS X 10 with 2 x meltas and a PW

RAS x 10 with a PF and a flamer

SG with 2 x IP's, death masks and a fist

VV x 7 with JP's, 2 x SS, 2 x PW's, 1 x TH

[Volcatus]

Pure DoA can have a tough time against Tyranids. We can't match the body count, and it only takes a few rending hits to make a squad ineffective. Use terrain and mobility to force your opponent to assault through cover, and if possible (table allowing), find a bottle neck and hold it. Think Thermopylae.

 

List wise, I'd drop the Chaplain. The rerolls are nice, but you need more bodies and better kit on your RAS. Use the points saved to grab another Priest, and to give another special weapon to your 2nd RAS. Never pass on the opportunity to take a special weapon with RAS. They provide the shooting that pure DoA needs.

 

The Death Masks need to go as well. They are overpriced and a tad gimmicky. Take the Chapter Banner instead, and never look back. More attacks are better than making your opponent WS1 in almost every scenario.

 

Your HG and VV are vying for the same job: Tying up a scary CC unit for a couple turns. VV do it better since they can HI, which allows us to rekit the HG to be special weapon delivery. 4X Plasmaguns or 4X Meltaguns would be in order. Or you can get really crazy and give 4X meltaguns and 4X flamers to the squad. It sounds odd, but it's 35 points cheaper than the way you have them set up currently. And they can pull off any job you need them to, shooting wise.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

[Nemisor]

thanks mate. you may have a point with the chaplin and the masks i think. it would be nice to cram a bit more shooting in.

 

the reason for the HG is Dante. i found its too tempting to pass up the no scatter with 3 meltas. doing this with the SG is asking for a whooping because of the lack of INV save. the HG have 2 3++ and a built in SP and also i find using the SG as more of a knife than a hammer helps them alot.

 

i was tempted to drop the chap & libby for the sanguinor as well but i cant justify 500 points on 2 HQ models :P

[Volcatus]

I use Dante for melta delivery as well, but I opt for the 4X meltagun approach. They really shine for me, and are normally still around at the end of the game, no Storm Shields required. Depending on the table, you can often find a spot to drop them behind cover, and still be in melta range. It's cheaper, has more firepower, and allows you to take more guns elsewhere, which I think is what you're in need of. Special weapons really are the bread-and-butter of DoA lists.

 

I hear that Dante + Sanguinor is a really great combination. I haven't tried it yet, but the cost is certainly prohibitive for anything other than 2500 lists.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Here is an article I wrote on my blog how to fight Tyranids with a DoA army:

 

http://greenblowfly.blogspot.com/2010/12/h...hstar-with.html

 

Not long after writing this article I played in a GT and beat two Tyranid armies (they both had the Nid deathstar).

 

I have had lots of success with my Chaplain and often arm him with a power fist - he is great for assassinating enemy characters. I remember one game versus another BA DoA army my Chaplain mulched Dante with his power fist.

 

G :P

[Nemisor]

thanks for the link dude. i might have to go have a rumage through the rest of your blog now.

[AbusePuppy]

The first thing about DoA vs. Nids is that you don't want to Deep Strike in; doing so leaves you unable to assault, and lacking any long-range shooting, you have no reason to do so against Tyranids. The matchup will largely come down to who is getting the best assaults- each player is going to try and bait the other into making a charge that leaves the unit exposed for charges of their own. Monstrous Creatures and Tyranid Warriors will do this job on the Tyranid side; the various squads augmented by Sanguinary Priests do so on the BA side.

 

I think you're overspending a bit on characters with Dante, the Libby, and the Chaplain; honestly, I don't like Dante is most lists, especially below 2K points, because you need to be using multiple squads of SG to really take advantage of him (he is otherwise unimpressive). At the least I would recommend cutting the Chaplain, as he brings the least to the table compared to the others (a Librarian can fill his function and still do something else.)

 

You mention the opponent having "some big critters," which could refer to any number of things in the Tyranid codex. If you meant Tervigons, the unit that spawns additional Gaunts, those are your biggest threat, because they can use the Gaunts to block charges and protect their MCs in order to force charges of their own on you. Trygons, Hive Tyrants and Carnifexes are other common options, and all of them are basically combat machines that will murder their way through your guys very efficiently; you MUST get a charge on them (for S5) if you intend to do any real damage. Harpies and Tyrannofexes are the other options, and they are mostly shooting units that can do only vague melee stuff; they will kill 1-2 models per turn, but a Power Fist can easily chew them apart.

[pararanger]

I use Dante for melta delivery as well, but I opt for the 4X meltagun approach. They really shine for me, and are normally still around at the end of the game, no Storm Shields required. Depending on the table, you can often find a spot to drop them behind cover, and still be in melta range. It's cheaper, has more firepower, and allows you to take more guns elsewhere, which I think is what you're in need of. Special weapons really are the bread-and-butter of DoA lists.

 

I hear that Dante + Sanguinor is a really great combination. I haven't tried it yet, but the cost is certainly prohibitive for anything other than 2500 lists.

 

 

Yeah... I've been on the receiving end of your 4x meltaguns once... and that was enough. Gotta love hot BA on Fleshtearers action. As far as Dante + Sanguinor, I used it last Apoc match and they both tore a certain DreadKnight apart. It was glorious.

[Volcatus]

I use Dante for melta delivery as well, but I opt for the 4X meltagun approach. They really shine for me, and are normally still around at the end of the game, no Storm Shields required. Depending on the table, you can often find a spot to drop them behind cover, and still be in melta range. It's cheaper, has more firepower, and allows you to take more guns elsewhere, which I think is what you're in need of. Special weapons really are the bread-and-butter of DoA lists.

 

I hear that Dante + Sanguinor is a really great combination. I haven't tried it yet, but the cost is certainly prohibitive for anything other than 2500 lists.

 

 

Yeah... I've been on the receiving end of your 4x meltaguns once... and that was enough. Gotta love hot BA on Fleshtearers action. As far as Dante + Sanguinor, I used it last Apoc match and they both tore a certain DreadKnight apart. It was glorious.

 

Epic. :blink: I'm bummed that I missed that.