The Heavy Flamer Razorback

[Meatcaber]

Hi guys,

 

You lot have given me some great advice/feedback on most things I have posted or asked about, so now I would like some opinions on something that I very rarely see in people's armies - this goes for all Chapters, not just ours. The Sons of Russ have to pay 25 points for this 'upgrade' on non-Fast RB's, plus we can get the 35 point discount as well.

 

Have you guys ever tried the TLHF 'Back? In what sort of scenarios would it perform well?

 

I am thinking of adding two such units to my collection - 5 Assault; Flamer; Razorback; TLHF (or with different special if I feel my army lacks something)

 

For slightly more than a kitted out JAS you get 4 template weapons, two transports and two sergeants (worthwhile giving them any upgrades?). With Fragiosos, Vindi's, Predators and DC in my army perhaps these two units would not seem overly threatening? I wouldn't cry if my enemy blew up a 20 points RB instead of one of my AV13 tanks! 

 

The best use for them, I think, would be for clearing out infantry in cover, preferably ones contesting an objective. 

 

They can also get 2 Meltaguns or 2 Plasmaguns just like a regular JAS, but because they are two units they will have more tactical options should one unit succeed in it's task.

 

As with a lot of people, it seems, I have decided to go all Mech/ Drop Pods since our Assault Troops in general aren't quite as effective in the shooty-loving age of 6th Ed.

 

If you've managed to make sense of that confused rambling, hopefully you can help me out! 

 

Cheers!

[Huginn]

I can see them being very useful in a cities of death game for sure. I would not run them as my first choice of weapon on an RB especially if you have a fragioso.

 

I would run them with a few other RB's with other weapons.

 

Obviously they are not a competitive choice but not all of us play competitively.

[knife&fork]

The best way, IMHO, to get your value from a TLHF razor is to tank shock. You want to bring your enemy into a blob that maximizes hits, and he's unlikely to move around in a drop shaped formation with his infantry. :P 

 

Remember that only models that have to move out of the way are allowed 'death or glory'. So it's usually pretty easy to avoid that melta gunner or sarge before flaming them. You can also use this to isolate a character from his unit (and thus his LoS! rolls / take him out of challenge range), or just to make sure a key model like a special weapon gunner takes the first wounds if you have no other friendly units nearby. 

 

Another thing to note is that tank shocks are a bit more deadly than some people realize. A model must move the shortest way possible away from the tank and any model moved that's no longer in coherency must be removed as a casualty. 

 

Since we can't embark or disembark when making a tank shock what's inside the razor really isn't that interesting. I'd keep it as cheap as possible but a dozerblade is a good investment since you are very likely move around in terrain at some point. 

 

In short, play them aggressively as a supporting unit. Either go full speed towards something, or go through things.

 

Divide and BBQ!

[TheHarrower]

I used to love them and that was my vehicle of choice for the Death Company. When 6th came along and they made it so that you could no longer assault out of a Razorback I switched to using a Heavy Bolter instead. The reason being that my naked 5 Assault Marines are hanging back and I have no intention of getting them out until the end of the game or until they have to grab an objective.

 

In game, the Twin-linked Heavy Flamer has always been awesome for me and it does great against any foot slogging army since it denies cover. The problem is 5 (or 6) dudes die fairly easy in this edition and they certainly aren't going to hold their own in assault let alone do much after standing there taking a turn of shooting in the face and then dealing with Overwatch. That makes taking one cost prohibitive IMO.

 

If I would use one now I would buy one as a dedicated transport for a 10 man Tactical Squad so I had a mobile Heavy Flamer. I still stick with Assault Squads though so I haven't fielded one in ages. Shame really. I made a conversion for the turret I really like. You can see it on my blog here.

[Jolemai]

Personally, I feel that people shy away from the Flamerback for the same reason they shy away from the Flamerpred and the Flamerraider: having a template weapon means you have to get inside Melta range to use it. Couple this with the Flamerback being AV11 and you can see why it wont last long. In the fifth edition the risk was fine as it could deliver a squad which would then charge. Now that is not the case and you are essentially giving away a free kill point.

 

I do feel that it could be of use in certain situations (anti-cover seems to be a necessity these days) and it is certainly considered a low priority model if it is amongst other armour. It just requires finesse to use rather than the blunt approach many of our other units utilise.