GK list giving me trouble

[Azerick]

Well my Buddy has a GK list I am having a hard time beating. It is 1500, he has Cortez. 3 Psiflemen, and i believe it was 3 purifiers in rhinos all with 2 psicannons and 2 halbreds and a aegis line with quad gun.

 

He usually hunkers down all dreads and a rhino or two behind the line and then kills me with ranged. Unfortunatly i do not have a line to use against him yet so was wondering if there were any other recomendations.

 

I can field almost anything, but no flyiers, thunderfire, whirlwinds, or termies yet B)

[spartan249]

Well, let's take a look at both your opponent and you.

 

Your opponent is bringing Coteaz, 3 Strike Squads, 3 Psybolt 2x TLAC Dreads, and an Aegis Defense Line. This list can actually be deceptively flexible in application, as the Strike Squads can deep strike in order to wreak havoc on backlines and exposed infantry. If you went overly reactionary and brought a C:SM gunline with no counter-assault elements, you could be facing 30 Strike Knights in close quarters with basically no defenses past 1 shooting phase and an overwatch. This army will most likely dominate a C:SM army focused on dominating the mid-field as GKs are one of the best armies at fighting in and maintaining control over mid-field.

 

As a C:SM player, you have access to a large number of different tactics and strategies, and pulling the wild card on your opponent can be worth quite a bit. Having played both sides of this match-up, I can think of one way you can put the hurt on this list.

 

To take on this particular list, you're going to have to stock up on long range firepower. Tactical Squads with Plasma gun/Missile Launcher, missile launcher devastator squads, scout sniper squads, etc, in order to engage the GKs at range and put the pressure of closing the distance on them. I would devote 800 points to this part of the list in order to bring substantial firepower, enough to force the GK player to be conscious about losing First Blood to you and have him seriously consider deep striking the Strike Squads in to close the distance.

 

Of course, this will be a trap, as you will be bringing something that will hit him very hard if he closes the distance via deep strike. The last 600 points should be devoted to requisitioning units that are able to obliterate concentrated blobs of infantry very quickly, or at the very least neutralize them. Vindicators, Thunderfire Cannons, a Plasma Cannon Devastator Squad, and whatever else you want to use can work. If you bring Missile Launcher devastators, they can contribute to this role as well thanks to frag missiles.

 

Alternately, you could take a different approach to this. Instead of building the list from the long range part up, you could instead design a unit able to fight in both CQB and long-range, then design a lot of shooting support forces around that unit. The one unit that fits that bill would be good old Terminators equipped with a cyclone missile launcher and Lysander, backed up by as many long range units you can pack in. Weapons with long range and at least some ability to lay down low AP blasts are preferable in order to attack both weak aspects of the GK game plan.

 

Terminators will be the ace in the hole for you, as the Strike Squad will have nothing to cut through their armor while simultaneously holding no defense against them.

 

For now, that's all I have to say. Since you say you have no terminators, I'd probably go with the first method for now.

[Azerick]

Thanks for the reply, i will try that out. Also when i get termies i will definatly be using them.

[Inquisitor Fox]

Actually if he's fielding Purifiers, they Cannot deep strike. One of the few units that do not have that ability. Therefore whatever he deploys is stuck where it is, and any reserves are hoofing it from off screen.

 

Close combat he's hoping that the Purifiers flame power will deter you, so I advise the combination of long range firepower (which nothing outside of the Dreads has a range over 24" in that list) mixed with fantastic short range firepower that has a front AV as high as you can go. The psydreads are S8 with the psybolt ammo, which is good, but odds begin to switch to your favor at AV 13 or more on your vehicles. If he has a choice between being shot to death at over 24", or blown to bits by Vindicator cannons, he begins to have a rough day.

 

Also anything that takes out power armor will work. He has no terminators, nothing with better than a 3+ save. Thunderhammer/Stormshield termies could work, so could an Honour Guard. He's probably packing more halberds than hammers at a guess, and that means your 2+ saves become very valuable.

[spartan249]

I don't think this guy is using Purifiers, as the gear loadout and the lack of crowe point to the fact that it's just a naming error on the OP's part and that they're actually Strike Squads. If they are purifier squads though, that makes the fight even easier, as you do the same thing and not have to worry about backfield disruption.

[templargdt]

That or the list is illegal since he would have no troops.

[Inquisitor Fox]

If the OP meant Crowe instead of Coteaz, fielding Crowe makes Purifiers troops... if they're Strike Squads they're Troops regardless, so the list is legal either way. It just makes a bit of difference in terms of how he can deploy. Personally I don't deploy my Strike Squad(s) with a transport, I'd rather deep strike. To me, the presence of Rhinos is more of a Purifier thing, but it's hard to say really. It could just be an oops by two similar names for a Codex different than your own...

 

If it is Coteaz though with Purifiers, then the list isn't legal. Crowe with Purifiers is legal, either list is legal if they're Strike Squads.

[Azerick]

My mistake on the character, they are purifiers, so it must be Crowe.

[Inquisitor Fox]

Don't worry about it, it's an easy mistake :) Crowe is the super Purifier with the daemon sword he doesn't use, Coteaz is the super Inquisitor with the hammer and eagle that pecks your eyes out (and is commonly associated with henchmen lists). Personally I'm annoyed that their names are so close.. I would have renamed Crowe to start with a different letter of the alphabet.

[spartan249]

Ah, alright. In this case, your work is even easier. This army has just about no tactical flexibility, so you don't have to worry about disruption from him. Bring the ranged pain and blast away.

[Haranin]

Ally in a telephone company? Three bassies will bust up a parking lot nicely

[roryokane]

Care to repeat that in Low Gothic for the rest of us? ^_^

[Reclusiarch Darius]

Care to repeat that in Low Gothic for the rest of us?

 

IG Allies. He's referring to a Baslisk squadron. Amusingly, it might actually work against that kind of camping list.

 

First of all, your opponents list is awful and one-dimensional. Lets exploit the hell out of it:

 

HQ:

 

One of the following (depends what you want from the list, they'll work regardless)

- Pedro (scoring Sternguard mean you can dominate objective missions, Orbital Strike will break open the Rhinos early, and his +1A makes Hammernators brutal)

- Shrike (if you wanna get your Hammernators in his face as soon as possible, Infiltrate+Fleet is retardedly fast, Turn 1 charge is possible)

 

Elites:

 

10 x Hammernators (Outflank into his face and laugh, or Infiltrate up, either way he's screwed)

(400 points)

 

(2) 2 x Sternguard w/plasma cannons, 3 x Sternguard (cheaper than Devastators, heaps of AP2 pain to ruin his day, with Pedro they score as well)

(145 points each)

 

Troops:

 

(2) Sergeant, Marine w/plasma cannon, Marine w/plasma gun, 7 x Marines (more AP2 love, and they'll camp on your objectives all day outside of psycannon range)

(185 points each)

 

Fast Attack:

 

(3) Attack Bike w/multi-melta (eat the PsyDreads with them, any firepower he uses on them is a waste by definition, plus they can be used to drag his squads off objectives)

(50 points each)

 

So, adding in the cost of Pedro/Shrike, you have ~100 points to spend. A Thunderfire cannon would be an amusing addition, it would slow down his Purifiers considerably and put out decent damage (and attract PsyDread fire). You could also throw in an Ironclad or something, just to further infuriate his PsyDread firepower. Or drop a plasma gun or two and get some Rhinos for your own bunkers.