light Mech

[Brom MKIV]

If light Mech is still being done successfully I figured blood angels would be the ones doin it. I'm looking for experiences in 6th from players who run light Mech, i.e. what do you use and what pointers would you give?

[BloodReavers]

Grey Knights and Space Wolves can do just as well with Razorspam as we can, if not better in most respects. Also Imperial Guard with their cheap chimeras are another contender.

 

I dropped my Razors because I was tired of giving up the first blood secondary objective when I went second. I'm thinking about putting them back in but not using them as blockers up front at the beginning but zooming out of some kind of cover.

 

I never went full mech, I always did a hybrid of Razors blocking for jumpers behind them with a priest occupying the 6th seat so I didn't have to pay for the jump pack.

[Zedrenael]

Light Mech would be accomplished with using Baal Predators/Vindicators/Whirlwinds now with some support froma librarian dreadnought.

 

I have come accustomed to using two baal predators with a librarian dreadnought for shield of sanguinius. Then leaving a whirlwind in the back field to drop some ignore cover on pesky rangers/pathfinders/scouts.

[Drunken Angel]

The core of my lists is 2 Ravens, 2 Baals and 3 Attack Bikes. I have sometimes included a TLLC Razorback as well. Some may argue that ravens are not "light" but if light means fast mobile and hard hitting then they certainly are "light" mech. Overall they have performed well. The bikes are very in your face and expected to either take out a high value target and slow movement or at the minimum absorb shooting that I dont want directed on my jumpers in the first turn. When the Baals and Ravens turn up I usually start moving troops around the board. I try to co-ordinate assaults from the jumpers with the vehicles shooting. In the last game against a very heavy mech ravenguard list I used the bikes as distraction hide my troops till the Ravens hit the board then moved everything up. On dawn of war setup bringing Ravens in from opposite ends of the short edges removes cover and allows the Ravens to shoot up anything the other Raven might have missed.

[CitadelArmyGuy]

I'd say Grey Knights win the 'best at' Light Mech and SW edge out BA out too.

 

5 GK Strike Squad: 4 Force Swords, 4 Stormbolters, 1 Psycannon and TLHB Razorback w/Psybolts = 160pts.

 

5 SW Grey Hunters: 5 BP-CCW, 4 Bolters, 1 Plasmagun and TLPG-LC Razorback = 160pts.

 

5 BA Assault Squad: 4 BP-CCW, 1 Flamer and TLPG-LC Razorback = 160pts.

 

Numbers like this mean if you play only Light Mech then you shouldn't use Blood Angels. Now HEAVY Mech, that's a totally different story! Did you know that currently in the US Army, a Mechanized Infantry Battalion uses 2 Companies of Abrams Battle Tanks organically alongside 2 Companies of Bradley APCs? Because the two complement each others' weaknesses in combined arms fighting.

 

So basically, I feel BA need to leave pure-AV11 spam to the codicies who are better at it. We should focus on the AV13-AV11 combination! Nobody does that better than us, IMO.

[liberate_tutame]

How do you loadout your Baal's and Raven Drunken Angel? Heavy Bolters and Hurricane Bolters on everything? Is the rest of your list entirely jump infantry?

[SamaNagol]

+1 for Jump Packs behind AV13 tanks.

[Drunken Angel]

How do you loadout your Baal's and Raven Drunken Angel? Heavy Bolters and Hurricane Bolters on everything? Is the rest of your list entirely jump infantry?

I run a heavy Baal using TLAC's and heavy bolter sponsons, a light Baal bare with just a TLAC, both have dozer blades. The Ravens are run with TLMM, TLAC and hurricane bolters. I dont put anything in the Ravens. For the rest I usually take a libby with 2 RAS squads+double meltaguns a single priest and a counter charge unit like DC or SG. Everything is jumpers. If points allow I add a 3rd RAS. I started using scouts and an aegis defence line with coms link to ensure the Baals and Ravens got a re-roll on reserves but stopped. The scouts are not really my kind of game and have been very boring and lack lustre so now I just slam the defence line down and leave a troop or combat squad near it to operate the coms link. The coms link is the key part of my game just one turn of Raven shooting on 2nd turn instead of 3rd ensures I keep the 2 RAS squads alive and combat effective. The firepower of those 2 Ravens screaming across the board 24-30 inches 2nd turn is awesome. If the baals are on the board giving cover on the jumper advance fine, but combine the 2 Baals on outflank with the Ravens and you have a shooty 2nd turn alpha strike that smacks rear armour beautifully. The bikes are usually dead by 3rd but if they have taken a land raider or some nasty template thing out they have done their job.

[liberate_tutame]

combine the 2 Baals on outflank with the Ravens and you have a shooty 2nd turn alpha strike that smacks rear armour beautifully.

 

Nice.... Niiiiiicccee.

[BassMattJaxx]

I feel light mech can get picked apart too easily now, at least of the AV11 variety.

As stated though, a healthy mixture of AV11-13 seems to be the go.

Back that up with some JP Assault Squads, and your good to go :)

[DominicJ]

I have never ran a mechanical list, beyond a solitary rhino.

 

However, i have fought them.

 

The problem they usually have, is lack of numbers.

Very roughly, if you shoot a razor with three rockets, two will hit, one will pen and it will be immobilized for a turn.

 

Three rockets isn't a lot, but it stops a razor dead.

 

My shoot lists can pin four razors with ease.

 

If you want light mech, you need something else as well.

 

Lots of it

stun locking four razors is one thing, six or eight is quite another.

 

Heavy armour

it takes twice as many rockets to glance a13

simply over match the enemy at capability

 

bigger threats.

Ten dc in a pod.

No one is going to shoot your tanks when you have dc in their lines

[Panda_]

1+1, MSU Razors is no longer what it was. However hiding behind Av13, may provide some tricks.

 

My shoot lists can pin four razors with ease.

So what ? BA are able to pin 4 heavy weapon team/tank with ease too.

 

There is one thing that BA can do better than others with a few Tacticals : Reserving Rhinos.

 

In reserve, they don't give away First blood.

While reserve, the opposing heavy weapons are wasted shooting your foot sloggers.

While reserve, the opposing heavy weapons should die to your firepower

When they comes from reserves, they give cover 24" from your endzone.

Once opposing AT is gone, not much should stop your healthier unit to claim 1VP for surviving in ennemy lines.

 

Food for thoughts, those tricks can't be easily dismissed at 105 points (7% of a list).

[Deschenus Maximus]

Personnaly, I just replaced ASM + Razor for ASM + Raven. Razors and Tacticals still works fine though.

[DominicJ]

So what? BA are able to pin 4 heavy weapon team/tank with ease too.

So what?

Because its very easy for a moderately shootie army to stun four razorbacks, its a very bad idea to base your strategy on having four razorbacks with freedom of movement.

 

Light transports are prime targets because they are brilliantly effective tools to use, and relatively easy to destroy

 

Except in special circustances, I'd argue you should always pop transports as a priority.

 

If you want to use transports you need

 

so many that enough survive the inevitable losses (so 6, 8, 10)

 

Heavily Armored enough to survive the shooting (So raiders)

 

Special Circustances (so podded death company or some other sort of Turn One mayhem)

 

 

Or as CAG brilliantly suggests (cough stole from me cough)

Combine All Three and take 6 razorbacks and 6 predators :down:

[Deschenus Maximus]

To be fair, the new Night figth rules help a lot. If you don't get first turn, there's still a 50% chance you can deny your opponent the chance of shooting at your razors at all with proper placement.

[DominicJ]

Just ordered three razors and two more battle forces.

 

Three assault squads in bolterbacks

two tactical squads in rhino

rec, priest, hammernators in a crusader.

 

Might change that to assaults in rhino and tac in bolterbacks.

 

 

Obviously won't be protesting this Tuesday, but next perhaps, anyone awaiting a dantewing test is going to be waiting a lot longer.

[knife&fork]

Or as CAG brilliantly suggests (cough stole from me cough)

Combine All Three and take 6 razorbacks and 6 predators :)

 

or add even more high AV targets instead of maxing out razorbacks :)

 

Unfortunately for us the AV13 spam isn't as good as it used to be.

[Bayaz]

So basically, I feel BA need to leave pure-AV11 spam to the codicies who are better at it. We should focus on the AV13-AV11 combination! Nobody does that better than us, IMO.

 

Couldn't agree more. I often use 4 preds (2 Autolas, 2 Dakka Baals) and varying amounts of mechanised troops (Assaults in Razors, Tacs in Rhinos). The transports full of marines seem to be almost invisible to most opponents when they're looking at a bunch of predators. Stick down the transports by themselves and they're wiped out post haste.

[Deschenus Maximus]

DomJ: I would strongly recommend you get some assault cannons from trades/bitz sites to convert the bolterbacks to assbacks. The 105 pts expenditure is WELL worth it.

[DominicJ]

Or as CAG brilliantly suggests (cough stole from me cough)

Combine All Three and take 6 razorbacks and 6 predators :D

 

or add even more high AV targets instead of maxing out razorbacks :)

 

Unfortunately for us the AV13 spam isn't as good as it used to be.

 

Raiders instead of Razors is a lot more points, and I ordered razors :(

 

DomJ: I would strongly recommend you get some assault cannons from trades/bitz sites to convert the bolterbacks to assbacks. The 105 pts expenditure is WELL worth it.

 

I've got three razors coming, I assume they come with asscannons?

[Sokhar]

I've got three razors coming, I assume they come with asscannons?

 

Nope. The Razorback sprue contains twin heavy bolters and twin lascannons. If you want any other options, you're looking at having to convert (heavy flamers, las-plas) or order bits (Land Raiders have a twin assault cannon turret that's the right size for Razorbacks).

[Deschenus Maximus]

They don't, unfortunately. Twin heavy bolters, or twin las.

 

Actually, now that I think of it, grab some plasmaguns and convert twin las into las/plas. It's also a pretty easy conversion: chop off one of the lascannon barrels and glue two plasmaguns there. BA plasmabacks are the new sex.

[Morticon]

DomJ: I would strongly recommend you get some assault cannons from trades/bitz sites to convert the bolterbacks to assbacks. The 105 pts expenditure is WELL worth it.

 

I've got three razors coming, I assume they come with asscannons?

 

Sadly not. THey come with HBs and Twin-las only.

[DominicJ]

Meh, expensive (pts) anyway

[Deschenus Maximus]

Yep, but much much better than bolters. If you want to go cheap, twin flamers is the way to go.