Devastators

[Evil eyeball]

I recently acquired a bunch of new marines for my DA force (From a local classified ad posting no less for $80)

 

which until this point has consisted of The contents of 1 Ravenwing battleforce

and 5 Partially assembled Devistator marines

 

 

 

The new marines are

 

16 bolter guys in PA

 

3 Missile guys

2 Plasma can guys

2 Laz guys

1 MM guy

 

2 flamer guys

1 plasma guy

1 melta guy

 

1 combi melta captain

1 AOBR captain

1 PA Chappie

1 AOBR dread

 

2 TH/SS Termies

5 2lc Termies

1 Cyclone Termie

7 PF/SB Termies

 

 

Now that i have so many heavy weapons I was curious as to the feelings around Devastators

 

Also I need to decide A: what to do with the minis i now have

If i want to do DA, a named Sucessor or my own sucessor.

 

I want to hunt chaos

I also need a story hook that allows me to do more than just "Wrestle the champion" with wolves I NEED TO KILL SPACE WOLVES MERCILESSLY

(My fiancee is a wolf and I am DA/TS... What a 40k Hate triangle we weve)

[Chaplain Lucifer]

With the box you have the best setup is 3 missile launchers and 1 lascannon, IMHO. that way you can hunt tanks and retain frags for infantry.

[Brother Kovash]

I agree with Chaplain Lucifer. I would use the other heavy weapons guys in Tactical Squads, to provide fire support for the rest of your forces.

[pueriexdeus]

I run two different Dev Sqds.

 

1) Vet Sgt w/Bolter & Auspix (He still holds it from V3), 2X LC, 2X ML, 5X Bolter = Anti Tank unit

 

2) Vet Sgt w/Bolter & Auspix (He still holds it from V3) 2X HB, 2X PC, 5X Bolter = Anti Hoard unit

 

They have both proven themselves crucial to my GW victories. You should see the l looks of my opponents faces as they are forced to dismount 18-24 inches away and remain targeted for the remainder of the game.

 

Most times their Units never get within 12 inches of my obj's. But sometimes they do, thats when the Chappi and the counter charge Squad (CMD/Co Vet/ Assalt) come in handy.

[Evil eyeball]

Thanks,

I'm the guy who gave his fiancee 5 missile launcher guys i had kicking around a few months back so she could build a long fang squad out of em... so yeah, I wanted to know the feeling...

 

 

You say 2PC and 2HB? Why that set up and not 4PC?

Is it the scatter? the overheat? or just the 35 point plasmas that turn you off of 4pc?

[Raven Angel]

The scatter, Bad rolls will ruin your hole day. I played a game yesterday and out of 15 blast templates I droped yesterday 1 hit . The rest scatered into open air.

[Brother Kovash]

You say 2PC and 2HB? Why that set up and not 4PC?

Is it the scatter? the overheat? or just the 35 point plasmas that turn you off of 4pc?

 

I tried the 4PC setup before, first round of shooting I lost 1 to the gets hot USR, and the other 3 scattered too much to really help. I lost another PC late game due to gets hot as well. I played one game against orks with 4HB, and they were my all stars. A 2:2 split seems like a good idea, will try in the future.

[Tamwulf]

About the 4 PC thing... It's pretty easy to space out your troops such that only one or maybe two will ever be tagged by the small blast template.

 

There are just too many disadvantages to Plasma Cannons. 1 in 6 will result in an overheat, with a 1 in 3 chance of death, and you only have a 1 in 3 chance of hitting what you are aiming for (scatter dice has only 2 'Hit' facings on it). Scatter gives a random direction and 0"-8" of distance. The prevalence of abundant Cover Saves means the AP value is all but meaningless. With all that, a Missile Launcher fired as a Krack Missile has a way better chance of hitting something and doing a wound. It has a higher strength, longer range, and way, way cheaper then a PC. The hard stuff you will fire a PC at (Terminators) will probably have an Invulnerable Save and more then likely a 4+ Cover Save. Such units are very small, and again, it's easy to space models out so you can only ever tag one, maybe two with the small template. Weaker stuff you are trying to tag with a Frag missile is just that- weaker/horde style armies, and there will be so many of them, it will be hard to not tag at least 2-3. They'll probably have a Cover Save once again. ML's are better against tanks, Monstrous Creatures, and single model targets.

 

Missile Launchers have a longer range, higher strength (Krack), won't kill your own troops, and are way, way cheaper then a PC.

 

FYI, if you have a unit of 4 PCs and shoot them every turn for 6 turns, odds say all will be dead from "Get's Hot!" by the end of the game. This will never happen from Missile Launchers.

[Zebukkuk]

I run two different Dev Sqds.

 

1) Vet Sgt w/Bolter & Auspix (He still holds it from V3), 2X LC, 2X ML, 5X Bolter = Anti Tank unit

 

2) Vet Sgt w/Bolter & Auspix (He still holds it from V3) 2X HB, 2X PC, 5X Bolter = Anti Hoard unit

 

They have both proven themselves crucial to my GW victories. You should see the l looks of my opponents faces as they are forced to dismount 18-24 inches away and remain targeted for the remainder of the game.

I too use the same setup as 1). It retains lots of hitting power while remaining flexible.

 

But what do you mean by being forced to dismount within 18-24 inches away? I'm curious.

[pueriexdeus]

I run two different Dev Sqds.

 

1) Vet Sgt w/Bolter & Auspix (He still holds it from V3), 2X LC, 2X ML, 5X Bolter = Anti Tank unit

 

2) Vet Sgt w/Bolter & Auspix (He still holds it from V3) 2X HB, 2X PC, 5X Bolter = Anti Hoard unit

 

They have both proven themselves crucial to my GW victories. You should see the l looks of my opponents faces as they are forced to dismount 18-24 inches away and remain targeted for the remainder of the game.

I too use the same setup as 1). It retains lots of hitting power while remaining flexible.

 

But what do you mean by being forced to dismount within 18-24 inches away? I'm curious.

Forcing the op to dismount because my Devs took away his transport.

 

@Evil eyeball, as mentioned their are several disadvantages to a 4XPC list. On the up side I will always Combat Squad my Devs allowing for multiple Target acquisition. On one memorable 750 point game against Orks, my PC's took out his three Defcoptas on turn one with only one template. By turn two all his boys were dismounted and never made it to midfield. (Lucky Dice)

[BigGumbo]

There are just too many disadvantages to Plasma Cannons. 1 in 6 will result in an overheat, with a 1 in 3 chance of death, and you only have a 1 in 3 chance of hitting what you are aiming for (scatter dice has only 2 'Hit' facings on it). Scatter gives a random direction and 0"-8" of distance. The prevalence of abundant Cover Saves means the AP value is all but meaningless. With all that, a Missile Launcher fired as a Krack Missile has a way better chance of hitting something and doing a wound. It has a higher strength, longer range, and way, way cheaper then a PC. The hard stuff you will fire a PC at (Terminators) will probably have an Invulnerable Save and more then likely a 4+ Cover Save. Such units are very small, and again, it's easy to space models out so you can only ever tag one, maybe two with the small template. Weaker stuff you are trying to tag with a Frag missile is just that- weaker/horde style armies, and there will be so many of them, it will be hard to not tag at least 2-3. They'll probably have a Cover Save once again. ML's are better against tanks, Monstrous Creatures, and single model targets.

 

Missile Launchers have a longer range, higher strength (Krack), won't kill your own troops, and are way, way cheaper then a PC.

 

The cover save issue you refer to applies equally to Krak missiles, as you mention, so isn't an inherent disadvantage of plasma, whilst plasma is much more likely to wound than frag against horde armies, as frag's S4 will get you at best a 3+ to wound against most opposition, and the cover save will presumably still be applicable since if their armour save is better, it'll be good enough that frags won't get through it where plasma would. I wouldn't regard reducing terminators or PA opposition to making cover saves rather than armour saves "meaningless", but that's just me.

 

PCs have a 44% chance of being on target, will wound most infantry on a 2+ and may affect more than one enemy; whilst krak missiles have a 66% chance of being on target, wound most infantry on a 2+ but at most will only cause one casualty. The PC accuracy/effectiveness actually gets higher when you factor in the possibility of scattering and still having part of the template over the target (i.e. rolling a 5 for scatter), or scattering far enough to hit another model entirely - which is something you can influence to some extent by appropriate target selection.

 

The range issue is a real one but to me it's not so problematic if you're looking for anti-infantry capability rather than anti-armour, although that might just be due to the nature of the armies I tend to be up against. Deep Striking PA armies (Blood Angels in particular) make plasma cannon much more effective, since a hit or a low scatter roll results in substantial portions of squads being wiped out as soon as they arrive and therefore before they can do any damage.

 

FYI, if you have a unit of 4 PCs and shoot them every turn for 6 turns, odds say all will be dead from "Get's Hot!" by the end of the game. This will never happen from Missile Launchers.

 

Odds actually say you'll have had four "Gets Hot!" wounds, of which two or three would have been saved. So 1 or 2 dead from "Gets Hot!" on the basis of expectation over six turns of shooting for four plasma weapons.

 

Ultimately, as with many things 40k, it comes down to your risk preferences. A plasma cannon is a more effective horde killer than a missile launcher, but less effective against armour (especially AV12 and higher) and comes with the "Gets Hot!" risk - you pays your money and you takes your choice.

[Evil eyeball]

Unfortunately I lost two las cannoneers and a plasma cannoneer to a paint stripping accident

 

however I plan to rip the arms off of some of the bolter guys and replace with extra hw's i have kicking around

so all is not lost, i just feel stupid for leaving them in too long and melting them :S

[captain sox]

Unfortunately I lost two las cannoneers and a plasma cannoneer to a paint stripping accident

 

however I plan to rip the arms off of some of the bolter guys and replace with extra hw's i have kicking around

so all is not lost, i just feel stupid for leaving them in too long and melting them :S

 

Good lord, what are you stripping them with? Try Dettol if you can. It's a stron smell, but it won't melt your minis and you only need to let them sit for a few hours.

[Brother-Captain Sharp]

I forgot a terminator squad in DOT-4 brake fluid for the last six months. Just found them yesterday. They're fine, and not a speck of paint on them. Cannot recommend it highly enough, as it's strong enough to strip models quickish but doesn't eat them over time.

[Tamwulf]

Simple Green is a wonder product. Non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and won't melt plastic. Does a fantastic job of stripping acrylic paint after about a 12 hour soak. Use an old toothbrush and warm water, Bob's your uncle.

 

I can't recommend it more highly for stripping acrylic paint off a model!

[Evil eyeball]

I had some Acetone Free Nail polish remover which I now hear works if instead of soaking, you scrub at like you would in removing the nail polish from nails.

 

 

but yeah I do plan to get some simple green

I also have a couple extra heavy weapons kicking around and some 2 pistol marines which should easily surrender their arms to my cause (Rip off the arms and put HW's on them

 

SO Right now my count is

 

3 ML

3 PG

2HB

1MM

3 Unassembled dudes which can have choice of (2LC, 1 MM, 2HB)

I was thinking i'd assemble those three as 2LC and 1 MM and then rip arms off two guys to make another pair of HB guys.

 

I'm doing a semi ok job at sculpting robes too on them, Havent done any hoods yet (Any tips on hoods would be appreciated)

but they all have the "Skirt" part of the robe added.

 

I'm going to look now on google and see where in my area carys simple green, I'm at work so I should be able to pick it up on my way home at 8:00 am (NIGHT SHIFT FTW)

[Evil eyeball]

Just the simple green all purpose cleaner then?

I see many variants on their site and want to be sure i get the proper one.

[lhg033]

i tried the nail polish remover route and it melted hte details of the plastic model.

 

when i used dev's (when i actually get to play) if i plan to stick to full squads i have 3x missile and a las cannon

 

otherwise i go 4x heavy bolters combat squaded and 4x missile launchers combat squaded. that said i keep wanting to try out a couple of whirlwinds instead for my horde surpression and leave my tacticals/bikes to tank hunting

[IndigoJack]

I personally don't run PCs in my devs, because I feel that the lack of a signum puts them at a greater disadvantage to normal marines. In fact, I normally don't run devs at all for that reason, and instead use typhoons for my missiles. That's just personal preference though, and there's nothing wrong with using devs.

[Tamwulf]

Just the simple green all purpose cleaner then?

I see many variants on their site and want to be sure i get the proper one.

Yes, just the general Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner. If it's concentrated, I'd cut it 50/50 with water. The key is to let your model soak in the stuff for 12-48 hours depending on how much paint is on the model. After about 12 hours, I'll take the model out, use my old toothbrush and gently scrub the old paint off under warm water. If there is still some paint on the model, I'll soak it for another 12 hours. Great thing about this stuff- it doesn't melt the plastic, won't dissolve glue, and won't make the glue bonds more brittle or easy to break. The down side are bases. It'll strip most bases.

 

The most amount of time I've spent soaking something was a unit of metal Terminators that had a ton of paint on them. Took about two days and 3-4 cleanings to get the paint off.

 

If you leave some plastic models for too long in Simple Green, it will soften the miniature up. In that case, don't use a toothbrush. Simply rinse the model off under warm water and set it aside to dry. After a couple hours, it'll be back to normal.

 

I HAVE NOT used Simple Green on Finecast or Resin, so I don't know how it will work with those materials. Does anyone have any experience in that area? So far, I've used it on GW grey plastic, Privateer Press Plastic/Resin, Dream Pod 9 plastic/resin, and a bunch of different white metals.

 

Simple Green has a citrus smell do it, doesn't requite gloves when handling it, won't stain anything, doesn't need to be covered, has only a mild reaction with water (it foams up/makes bubbles!), won't kill you if you drink it or blind you if you get it in your eyes. In other words, it's much, much more safe and forgiving then Brake Fluid or Nail Polish Remover. I have no qualms about dumping Simple Green down the sink. What do you do with used Brake Fluid or Acetate? What about using rubber gloves, a mask and well ventilated area?

 

Simple Green FTW!

[Evil eyeball]

i got some of it today i will post the results of a bolter marine this time im being smart lol

[captain sox]

Please do post results of the simple green. I like the Dettol, but the my place smells like a hospital after I use it, and I do need gloves, and I can't put it in the sink.

[Evil eyeball]

2 bolter marines lived to tell, such that i dunked the rest of the PA guys (except the AOBR captain as its painted far better than i could ever hope to and even though its a BLEEP ultramarine i might keep him as is, I havent decided, theres 3 other HQ units, a second captain, a chaplain, and last night i discovered what i thought was a sargent with Power sword and plasma pistol was actually the guys attempt at converting a librarian.

[march10k]

I run two types of Dev Squads... and I love them both in spite of the hideous cost. The first one is the no-compromise antitank squad. Four lascannons. Thing is, even when they're not blasting large holes in heavy vehicles, they do great things. Point for point, they may not justify themselves when shooting at marines, but that doesn't tell the real story. Once the game starts, points cost is irrelevant. A unit's true value is determined by where it is and what it's doing. If the enemy has three tactical squads on the board, one of them is almost certainly worthy of a little lascannon lovin, and one is probably best completely ignored, even if all of them cost the same. I often decide that I just can't afford the luxury of this squad, but when I do field it, I'm NEVER disappointed.

 

The other version is four plasma cannons. Obviously, this is for sodomizing a targeted squad of marines, and it does that well. It's also decent for transport popping. Expensive in that role, for sure, but the chance of more than one of the four shots scattering off of a vehicle is really low, so it's probably better than a medusa for busting through an obscured save. I actually prefer the lascannon version, though.