Death Korps of Krieg Reviews: Assault and Siege Lists

[FashaTheDog]

I posted this on another forum as a primer for someone starting a Krieg army, but I thought it would be nice for folks here to benefit from a review of both Krieg lists.  I cleaned it up a little. 

 

You have the free .pdf on the Forgeworld site which is sadly a bad copy-paste tweak job on the Siege list from Imperial Armour 12's Assault list. I will start with the superior Assault list then I will tackle the Siege list before moving on in each entry.

The Assault list has an optional rule called Forlorn Hope that allows you to return any fully destroyed Infantry Platoon to ongoing reserves. There is an objective that goes in your foe's deployment that you must claim and he does not to get VPs, so it is not something to base your entire army list around as some missions will make that a hindrance to you. Yet, in a number of missions it can be a crucial key to victory, but it is situational as the location of where the objective can be be placed is fairly predetermined on a 4'x6' table. In my first outing with the Assault list, I had three minimum sized platoons and the mission worked out such that I was able to throw away my platoons nearly every turn, resulting in me winning the 2,000 point game even though I lost over 4,000 points worth of Krieg. A somewhat extreme situation, but one that will come up every now and again, especially if the bulk of the objectives are near or in your deployment zone.

In the Assault list, you get three unique orders. While the senior order Death Unto Duty is neat and occasionally useful, the two junior orders, Dispersed Advance and Without Mercy, are great for the list and can really see you get some mileage out of your Infantry Platoons.  Without Mercy can really allow you to soften targets for assaults, while Dispersed Advance can give you that extra bit you need to bust through terrain to get where you need. 

As to the rest of the Krieg lists, they are quite similar so here is a brief primer:

Krieg Rules: Fearless and not taking morale for 25% shooting casualties means your foe will need to assault your trench lines to displace you, plus in the unlikely event you do have someone fallback, a nearby officer can mitigate that pesky 25% starting number rally issue.  Overall, I like this better than the old pseudo-stubborn as it fits the army better.

 

HQ
Command Squad - Comes with a regimental standard by default, but that was always too amazing not to take anyway. While both lists are similar, there are a few huge differences. The most notable being the advisers as the Siege list goes with your standard IG complement, but the Assault list three different Kriegers, a Quartermaster, Techpriest (not really of Krieg, but close enough), and Artillerist, who is similar to the Master of Ordnance, but with a different profile shot. These advisers make the Assault list's Command more aggressive. The Assault list also gets a few special items like a one use Eternal Warrior piece of kit for your Officer and more amazingly the choice of one of three great upgrades to your regimental standard. You can only take one per army, no matter how many Command Squads you have, but a toughness boost, hatred against witches and traitors, or gaining a VP for losing the unit in the assault are all great fun and useful. I love the third one as it often negates the kill the Warlord VP my foe gets, but you could be cheeky and instead take that on a second, non-Warlord Command Squad too. The Krieg Warlord traits are also particularly fun and only available to the Assault list. The Assault list can have a Storm Chimera while the Siege list only can take Centaur, meaning advisers are not welcome to ride.

 

The refractor field on the officer, however, really bothers me from a fluff perspective, as in the last list Forgeworld went out of their way in the FAQ to spell out that it was distinctly counter to the Krieg philosophy to provide something like that to one of their soldiers.  I just refuse to take that save on moral principles.

Marshall Venner - A unique character who replaces the senior officer in a Command Squad in the Assault list and is a little more assault based than standard Krieg officer, especially in a challenge, and gives an ability like Fantasy's Inspiring Presence, making the Assault list feel a little like a Fantasy army in that you'll have units making Ld tests off your general with a BSB re-roll .

Quartermaster Cadre - A fun support unit for either list and can take Centaur for quick Feel No Pain taxi service across the battlefield.

Commissar General - Only available to the Siege list and can take his own private Centaur, but other than that is pretty much your regular IG deal.

ELITES
Rapier - A great anti-tank piece of artillery with a medium range.  Has an Engineer a crew. 

Hydra Flak Platform/Tank - The platform is for the Siege list and the tank is only in the Assault list. Like your IG models, although the platform is obviously stationary.  Theme-wise the platform is pushing it a bit for Krieg as a weakness to air attacks always felt right for the list, but I can understand the inclusion since certain aircraft heavy lists could be a bit much.

Leman Russ Forward Command Tank - Only in the Assault list, this lone battle tank, of any Leman Russ variant in the Heavy Support section, can spot for barrage weapons and has an extra point of BS for a low surcharge.

Griffon Strike Battery - An Assault list Elite like your local IG brings to bear in the Heavy Support.

Field Artillery Battery - Siege list version, see Heavy Support for the Assault list. This is the Siege list's Elite must have section in my opinion. Here you can choose from either the Heavy Mortar, which is just like the Griffons, but without the accurate rule or the Thudd Gun, which can see a battery of four lay down a S5 3" Barrage 16 and with a pinning penalty to boot! These guns are immobile unless towed by Centaurs, although you have to have the same number of guns and tractors, which the unit can purchase. Being an artillery unit, like the Rapier, these units are very durable against shooting and combined with the special Krieg rules, will not run from shooting losses.

TROOPS/ELITES
Since the two lists overlap here:
Grenadiers - For the Assault list, these men are Troops. Mount them in Storm Chimeras, which are just like your IG models, but with a few mandatory upgrades. I like to use meltaguns and plasma gun, but adding a heavy flamer is also fun if points permit since it does not take away from having two of those aforementioned special weapons. The other special weapons choices seem lackluster by comparison, but I could see an argument made for the flamers when combined with the heavy flamer option and the heavy stubber model does look cool.  While points-wise they are expensive, the fact they are scoring and mobile is a great thing and can make it possible to grab the Forlorn Hope objective as well as other far off ones.

 

In the Siege list, they are Elites, and thus cannot score, depleting their value. Furthermore, they lose access to the Storm Chimera and instead can take a Centuar, which only has a capacity for a minimum sized unit. This changes their role to a small fast strike unit designed to hunt and kill a target in preparation of breaching the enemy lines.  You could use them on foot in larger units, but it will be tough going for them.  Still, you can make use of them with care in the right list on foot.

Engineers: In the Assault list they are Elites. While they gained access to all the special weapons instead of just a demo charge from their prior rendition, they can only take one and are not scoring. They can, however, take a Centaur, Storm Chimera, or Breaching Drill. The Drill is a tough unit to use now thanks to the nerf it took from being abused by the IG Vets, but careful use and a small unit of Engineers is still a viable threat you can bring to bear if your list permits. In the Assault list only they can take carcass shot, which makes their shotguns Gets Hot! and Shred which is great. That option does help buff them nicely here.  Using them with a Storm Chimera or Centaur might get you better, or at least more reliable, results as you can throw them with other mounted units or in support of Infantry Platoons.  They also lost the gas grenades of old, so no more I10 assaults off the bat, but they get acid gas bombs standard which are basically what they will throw instead of frag grenades.

In the Siege list they are Troops, making them great. There is a catch though. They cannot take a Storm Chimera, although a Centaur is still an option. The Drill is available in this list, but by taking one as a dedicated transport, that unit of Engineers becomes Elites, meaning you will need to dedicate other units of Engineers without Drills to follow the Elite unit and hope your foe does not block their exit since it automatically causes them to mishap. Tricky to use, but really the only option the Siege list has for reliably crossing the table with scoring units. Careful bombardment of the area you send them in and sustained fire heedless of scatter is the way to make it work.  If you just run the Engineers on foot or with the Centaur, then they can actually make for a rather decent scoring unit so long as you treat them like Veterans in carapace armor.

 

TROOPS
Infantry Platoon: What you need to note is that your paying the Krieg fee and now must take krak grenades on all those units, making them 20 points more compared to the IG slackers and you cannot take heavy weapons in them or combine them. You'll probably want a second or third small platoon in the Assault list as exploiting the revolving door of Forlorn Hope can really help you hold your table edge against the more aggressive armies out there when you use it. In games where you do not declare the Forlorn Hope or are using the Siege list, you'll need to treat these guys with care as their inability to combine makes them easy prey unless well dug in.  In both lists the Infantry Squads can take platoon standards, which can give the a slight edge in the assault, although the cost might be too much except as a "I have spare points" or "I have the models and need to be WYSIWYG" kind of deal.

In the Siege list, we find that the mandatory krak grenades remain, which hurts some as the Siege list will typically see far less use from them due to the more defensive nature of the list and not being able to declare a Forlorn Hope in this list means that the extra price pays for nothing. What really hurts, however, is that you cannot combine the squads here either, although you can purchase heavy weapons squads for the platoon in this list so you can have more of them and without eating into the big guns. It is also worth noting that until FAQ'd the Siege list cannot issue orders as they left that part out, although the junior and senior officer references are still present. This means that by RAW, no Guard or Krieg Orders.

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Centaur - Opened topped and fast, this little fellow can get a small unit where it needs to be, but it is vulnerable to lighter arms. They are also your list's tow-tanks for artillery.  The old option to mount a transported unit's special weapon is now gone.

Storm Chimera - Take a regular Chimera, add a couple of mandatory options, change the multi-laser to an autocannon, and Bob's your uncle.

Hades Breaching Drill - Despite being strong, it was once very well balanced for the Siege list, but Imperial Armour's access to the regular IG book caused paroxysms of rage as IG Vet squads sullied the drill's reputation. The changes make it difficult to use as it is prone to mishap and destruction with the loss of the Engineers. It is actually possible to successfully tanks shock the 3" template on the board and then lose the drill because it is longer than the template and your foe did not have to make room enough for the vehicle. Used with care and support, it is still a good addition to the list, but you will need to make its use crucial to your plan and not count on it as a distraction factor as once you could.  In the Siege list, don't forget it changes the Grenadiers it is dedicated to to Elites.

FAST ATTACK
Hellhound Squadron - Both lists. Just like the IG; all three flavors.

Death Rider Platoon - Per slot, 0-1 Command and 1-6 units of what are superior Roughriders. A very solid choice that looks great on the table.  The Command Squad may cost a little more, but the option of a demo charge on the officer makes it solid gold.  Ridermasters, Squadron Commanders, and Death Rider Commissar are also the only models in the list that can take power axes as the rest of the list specifically states power swords.  In the Assault list especially, this unit shines as it is mobile and can really wreck house since you are likely to be charging down your foe's throat anyway. 

Salamander Reconnaissance Squadron - Assault list only. A fun choice that is much like an autocannon armed Sentinel in role, but not a walker and a little better armored. Also, the ride of choice of Ciaphas Cain, Hero of the Imperium!

Cyclops Demolition Tank - Siege list only. Sadly by RAW they are useless right now. They are now infantry, but lack a strength, so are automatically removed as a casualty. Not having a Ld value also means that should the auto-die problem be house ruled away for use, they are oddly susceptible to a number of powers and attacks that feel weird and powers like Terrify cause them to flee without ever being able to rally and anything that wounds against Leadership will destroy them. If they FAQ it back to an all round A10 1 HP vehicle that may charge to detonate at I10, then it would be a great low cost demo charge on treads like it used to be. Previously, they were a cheap means of getting a powerful shot on something, but had the huge drawback of your foe only needing to kill a lone Guardsman to stop it, or just by blasting the small remote in the middle of your lines, causing friendly fire as it often detonated prematurely. A good unit, if a little unreliable, but the cost justified the risks.

 

HEAVY SUPPORT
Heavy Weapons Platoon - Both lists.  Only 1-3 squads and no platoon command here makes them less useful than their IG counter parts, but in the Assault list, this is where your heavy weapon armed infantry will be found. They also have a diminished selection of weapons: mortars, heavy bolters, autocannons, lascannons, and twin-linked heavy stubbers. The last of these is pretty effective against light infantry tanks to the re-rolls and looks great on the table, but they do lose some of their luster thanks to their AP6. Still a good way to force your foe to pile on the saving throws and worth using.  In the SIege list the entry seems hollow and redundant as you can just tack on the one to three you'd take here to an Infantry Platoon and free up a Heavy Support slot, unless you've already taken 18 of them there and still are looking for more...

Thunderer Siege Squadron - Think of it as a discount Leman Russ Demolisher with the main attraction being hull mounted and you got the idea. Not a bad way to cut a few points if you need to get another demolisher cannon or two on the table.

Leman Russ Tank Squadron - Like your Guard entry, but now with more choices! The Annihilator is a pretty nice anti-tank piece and the Conqueror is a faster and lighter armed version of the main Russ.  Both went up in price from before, but those two used to be cheaper than a standard Leman Russ.  The Vanquisher is also better here than in the IG Codex as it gets the option of a co-axial weapon, obviously a heavy stubber. Might as well mention it here, but many Krieg vehicles also have access to track guards, which provide an invulnerable save from immobilization (but not the hull point damage gained with it), or a mine plough (although not enough people seem to litter their tables with mine fields), which does cause some low S, low AP damage when tank shocking in addition what the upgrade says on the package.

Ordnance Tank Battery - Assault List only. Look her up in your local Guard Codex.

Bombard Battery - Siege list only. Sadly not a Bombard anymore, it is 1-3 Colossus right out of the IG Codex . No 7" templates for you anymore.

Heavy Artillery Battery - Siege list only. Alright, now we're talking! Artillery unit versions of the SPGs the Guard use. Those wonderful gun carriages and their meat shields of crew are tough customers for your foe to tackle at range, especially since the heavy artillery has double the number of wounds as a normal artillery piece. The guns are now the same as the IG's SPG instead of the long ranged pieces they once were, but a minor change that still makes them powerful since there is no minimum range your foe can hide in.  Sadly, that also means the Medusa is no longer a barrage weapon, but it is still a good choice.  Fence them in with Aegis Defense Lines, add camo-netting, and good luck losing that unit!  Although you may not really need the netting.  Now there is wording issue with camo-netting as it states 30 points per model, not per gun, which could mean that even a single gun would cost 150-270 points for the upgrade, depending upon the number of crew taken.  Obviously the intent is per gun, but as it stands the wording is vague enough to make that silly argument.

Field Artillery Battery - Assault list version. Unlike the Siege list that takes these two guns in the Elites, they are Heavy Support here. Don't be discouraged because the Heavy Mortar here is better. It can take carcass shells which, in addition to what they do for the Engineers, also reduce the strength of the shot by one and ignores cover. This makes them better than the Griffon's heavy mortar. Although Marines and Terminators are less concerned about them, they are more likely to be wounded and anything in a 4+ save or worse now has reason to fear your barrages even more as there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide!

Naval Air Support - Same in both lists, although it feels very thematically wrong in the the Siege list, it can be justified in the Assault list as that list specifically represents a full scale attack across no man's land so you would expect assets to be drawn from more than the unit at that one point of the line that the Siege list is supposed to represent.

 

These three aircraft are all versatile enough to fill most roles, depending upon how you equip them, but each tends to a specific task more than the others. The Lightning is your go to interceptor, lightly armored, but can be loaded with anti-air missiles, so break out them Aviators and turn up the Top Gun sound track when using these. The Avenger is your primary ground attack craft and sports the best frontal armor and hull points of all three. Then we come to my old favorite, the Thunderbolt. This all rounder specializes in nothing and has the armor spread out on the side instead of all up front, but is always a good fallback choice and can potentially shake the locked velocity damage result 16.6% of the time, plus if you read Double Eagle by Dan Abnett, you will likely want to paint up a Phantine one. Weapons taken with the bomb clusters rule on these aircraft basically allow you to drop yet more barrages on your foes (because we all know your enemy is not being hit with enough of them by this point already). There are also a few upgrades that help with night fight, either for the aircraft itself or for your other units, can provide a morale boost, or get a one use 4+ save against missiles.

 

SUMMARY

The Assault list is the current list most Krieg players are likely to run as it has plenty of options that were simply omitted from the .pdf and does not have all the copy-paste errors (in the Siege list, the dedicated transport section still refers to them as Storm Grenadiers) found in the latter that make some units far worse off (or useless in the case of the Cyclops).  Hopefully Forgeworld will go back and rewrite the list, either as a .pdf or in a future Imperial Armour as the Siege list lost some of its old trench warfare flavor and address thematically inappropriate choices like the aircraft.  The Siege list really does have the feel that the folks at Forgeworld had felt pressured to get an updated list out there and threw it together at the last minute to meet a deadline, which is a shame considering just how great the prior Siege list had actually been.

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Fasha, I read this for the third or fourth time this evening, while giving more thought to the list I'm building for Astronomi-con 2014 -- and I wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this up and share it with us.

 

I'm looking forward to getting my troops finished and start getting some experience with them on the tabletop.

 

I'm going to use the Assault Brigade List either way, because its too full of awesome (fluff and theme-wise) to not use. But I'd like to know what your thoughts are on the overall strength of the lists -- i.e. can they be competitive, or should one stick with the regular Imperial Guard Codex if he wants to be competitive? I just thought of this question reading the comments in the Elysian list thread, where people were discouraging use of the Forgeworld/Elysian list.

[WarriorFish]

A comprehensive review, thanks Fasha. I have a much better understanding of the lists now, despite never having read them! :)

[FashaTheDog]

The Siege list is competitive against certain lists in certain missions, otherwise the rather hasty update makes it more of a fun list that would likely only win best looking army at a tournament, provided you are a good painter.  If you go heavy on the aircraft and make good use of Death Riders with artillery support and a few Engineer squads in Centaurs held in reserve, you might be able to hold your own in tournaments, but then you are not really playing Krieg as you are gas mask Guard.  The Assault list, however, can hold its own while maintaining it's character through judicious use of Forlorn Hope and careful use of your units appropriate to the mission.  It will clearly not be top tier, but it can do well against most lists making it suitable for a tournament if allowed. 

[WarriorFish]

I'd take a list I personally put hours into building, painting and crafting over a top tier one any day If Krieg were meant to be a top tier army they wouldn't have such good models!

[Emperors Immortals]

Thankyou very much for this article, I'm currently preparing a Vraks project this is exactly what I needed.

 

In your opinion, what would a good ally be? Historically, there was Culln and the scorpions on vraks but what's the better tactical option, SM bolter line, tau suits or eldar mech?

[lav25gunner]

Can anyone tell me where it says that DKK can take Chimeras, Storm or otherwise?

 

This is the link for the 6th edition update and it doesn't say a word about Chimeras.

 

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/d/dkksiegelist.pdf

 

Here's the Siege Regiment rules, and under "troop" it specifically states, "may not take a Chimera as a dedicated transport".

 

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/k/kreig.pdf

 

Also, in this Forge World Imperial Armour Volume 5 Q & A it specifically states...

 

     20. Why can’t a Death Korps of Krieg Grenadier squad take a Chimera 

     as a transport vehicle? 

 

     We removed all Chimeras from the siege list because they a 

     footsloggers army, fighting static battles rather than mechanised 

     warfare. 

 

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/i/iafiveqanda.pdf

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

In the Assault Brigade list (IA12) grenadiers and CCS can take Storm Chimera.

[lav25gunner]

In the Assault Brigade list (IA12) grenadiers and CCS can take Storm Chimera.

Thank you. Now I just have to get the Imperial Armour Volume 12.