[HH1.0] Iron Hands Tactics

[Memento Of Prospero]

Horus Heresy : Iron Hands Tactica or how to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their primarchs.

 

Preface 

These articles are designed to provide players with information, so that they can make educated choices for them armies. This is not intented to be a point and click reference sheet.

 

 

Legion Special Rules

 

Pros

Inviolate Armour : Probably the best legion special rule so far in the heresy, It has 2 principal virtues. First, it makes us the best legion in small arms fire exchanges, this is pretty obvious. The second is that it effectively raises out instant death treshold on T4 models to S9, which means that we get more milage out of feel no pain than any other legion.

 

Iron Father : A great way to give us a fluffy upgrade and utility at once for the Praetor. It turns a rather once dimensional choice into a much more useful one. Very nice and durable as well!

 

Cons

Stand and Fight : only disadvantages here, but it matters not. Real marines do no go to ground, and they let their vanquished enemies escape so they can spread fear in the ranks of the enemy with the dismaying tales of their crushing defeat. 

 

Rigid Tactics : Maximum 1:1 ratio on Jetbikes, jump infantry and bikes against infantry. Once again it matters not. Real marines don't run around their foes in circles kicking up dust. They walk up to them on foot on inside manly vehicules of AV 13 or higher and punch them in the junk. With a Bolter.

 

 

 

Legion Wargear

 

Blessed Autosimulacra : A chance to recover HP on our vehicules. It stacks with It Will Not Die and makes our Rite of war that much better.

Cyber Familiar : Granting access to this upgrade to all our characters gives us the best possible invulnerable save, without the drawbacks associated with shields.

 

 

Rites of War

 

Head of the Gorgon

The Head of the Gorgon is an the upgraded version of the Armoured Spearhead Rite of War. If you run a purely Iron Hands force, there is no reason to take the armoured spearhead. The benefits for this Rite of War are significant, and the drawbacks go in the oppositve direction, making them not particularly important. It also provide you with lots of tactical flexibility with outlfanking tanks

 

 

Pros

Chosen Ground: Stubborn while in your deployment zone. Great early game bonus. It however does not mean you should end the game there.

 

War Relics: A flamer may be upgraded to a graviton gun for +10 points, and all vehicles gain blessed autosimulacra for free. The free upgrade is just a nice toping. However, graviton guns only excel in a melee/transport deterrant role, as they range and heavy weapon status makes it far too prohibiting on non-relentless/slow and purposeful platforms.

 

Iron Scions: Battle-automata Maniples as elites and any unit of 10 models or less eligible to take a Rhino may take a Land Raider Proteus or Phobos instead.
 

Armored Encirclement: Vehicles with tank type placed in reserve gain the outflank rule. 

 

Cons
Only one Fast Attack slot allowed.
Only a single Consul allowed other than Forge Lord Consuls.
Cannot take allied detachments.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Wolf_Pack

[ROBOcaster]

Two questions so far, Do we still get an army wide Feel not pain or It will not die and if were not allowed to take allied detachments does this mean I cant take a fortification?

[Sanct]

Two questions so far, Do we still get an army wide Feel not pain or It will not die

 

Only if you have Ferrus super-Marinus. (walks off into corner grouching about balance and the legion rules)

 

 and if were not allowed to take allied detachments does this mean I cant take a fortification?

 

Allied detachment is not a fortification detachment.  It also isn't a lord of war detachment.

So yeah, you can still take fortifcations and lords of war

Edited November 21, 2014 by Sanct

[ROBOcaster]

Very nice thank you for that.

[Memento Of Prospero]

Sanct is correct on both counts. I will be adding the other Rites of War sometime tonight or tomorrow. Stay tuned for more ;)

[Raktra]

One thing I will say for the graviton guns - better than a melta suicide support squad in 30k if people are spamming armoured ceramite. Mind I am biased towards esoteric things with questionable rules.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Raktra

[Memento Of Prospero]

melta support squad in a pod is a much better option anyday my friend ;)

[Memento Of Prospero]

Rites of War 

 

Orbital Assault

This Rite of War can play well with our strengths. We excel in short range fire fights, and drop pod play lets us get the upper hand with the alpha strike. The downfall of this is that we tend to want maxed out squads to maximize the efficiency of our apothecaries ( can be negated by the use of oversized pods, at the cost of force organization slots ) and it makes you vulnerable to fury of the legion retaliaton. This however makes legion support squads very effective.

 

Pros

- Strong Alpha Strike

- Makes good use of inviolate armour

- Teleportation for Terminators, removing the need for a transport

 

Cons

- Models must use a Drop pod or teleport

- Scattering can put you in a bad position against close combat oriented armies.

- No staying power beyond the alpha strike

[SillyDreadnought]

One thing I'm loving is the Inviolate Armour rule. It makes our Tactical blobs with Apoths near unkillable. Minimum of S9 weapons are needed to strip our FNP.

[Raktra]

Aye, toughness 4.5 is slick. Highly tempted to get some Skyhunters to dick about with fast "wraithguard".

[Memento Of Prospero]

I'll be finish the HQ section by tomorrow ;)

[Emperors Teeth]

Thoughts on the Relics of the Age of Technology available for the Iron Hands:

Nanyte Blaster
This thing is just disgusting regardless of who fires it and what they fire it at. Bunched up units being the ideal targets, if it's victim explodes. Get this one someone with BS5 and the Fleshbane makes a casualty an almost certainty. Only the 50/50 Uncontrolled Replication roll makes it slightly unreliable. If the first victim goes off though... wow.

Warp Shunt Field
A 3+ Inv. Save against Shooting.... which sadly can't be upped to 2+. Cheaper than buying a Praetor an Iron Halo & Cyber Familiar, but without the combat benefits. Good for non-Praetor IC's.

Phase-Walker
The ability to reposition anywhere on the board is pretty ace. The further and more objects he passes through the riskier. I'm postulating that placing this on a unit who needs to be several places at once would be useful, eg: An Iron Father or Forge Lord to jump to the vehicle most in need, A Master of Signal to leap over to the squad most wanting +1BS, same goes for the Siege Wrecker or Primus Medicae. It's a shame (good thing) the plasma Moritat has been nerfed, 'cause yipes!

Combat Augment Array
The obvious place to put a guaranteed roll of a 6 is the Praetor with a Paragon Blade. Another thought, if very expensive... combo it with the Nanyte Blaster and declare the Uncontrolled Replication as your guaranteed 6. Kablamo!

Cloaking Array
Invisibility for a turn but loses it if charging or shooting? I suppose you could use it to safely reposition a character to set up the next turn? At least... you could if it let you move while using it! Srsly? Why would you use this?

Void Shield Harness
Only really protects a bunched up unit... which is not something I'm too keen on doing with so many AP3/2/1 blasts around the place in Heresy games. Perhaps good for a small elite combat unit?

Grav Gauntlet
With it's AP3 and triple flame template, this has the potential to not only kill a bunch of marines (albeit on a 5+, of course...), but also render a huge area of the board in front of your unit Dangerous & Difficult Terrain for the next turn. In a Zone Mortalis game this really comes into its own, completely sealing off a corridor to effective movement. It's something of an all-rounder this one; and much better than a standard Grav weapon, being Assault 3 and haywire makes it a very effective vehicle-buster. Perhaps not to be compeltely relied upon, but certainly will finish off a damaged vehicle. Perhaps unfluffy, but putting this on a fast unit like a Jetbike Character might be the way to go.

-------------

A lot of strong choices in there. I'd probably always want a better choice over the Cloaking Array & Void Shield Harness, but the remaining Relics are amazing. Serious contendors for my next army list I think are the Nanyte Blaster and Grav Gauntlet.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Emperors Teeth

[Raktra]

Emperor's Teeth - are you perchance Mr Pardoe on C&H?

[SillyDreadnought]

If he is, I'm the prat who killed his thunder by pointing out that a Cyber-Familiar can't buff a save beyond a 3+ :P

 

I'm currently pondering bolting on the grav gauntlet onto my Lightning Claw Iron Father ( because I've got Gorgons to pummel enemy Praetors to death ) to give him a shooting attack.

[Emperors Teeth]

Heh heh. It's like interweb connect the dots in here! (And you saved me looking an idiot in here ;))

Edited December 4, 2014 by Emperors Teeth

[Memento Of Prospero]

HQ Choices

Non-Primarch character hammer is not a thing in the Horus Heresy. It is even more so for Iron Hands, as well prefer short ranged fire fights and armour over close combat.

 

 

Legion Praetor - Iron Father

 

the Praetor's main function is to give you access to Rites of War. In most cases, Rites of War become desireable around the 2,000 point mark, which is incidentaly where is point cost becomes more justifiable. He is tougher than the Consul and has access to a greater array of wargear. His downfall is that he gets really points heavy real fast, and to make an iron hand Praetor bring more utility, you have to upgrade to an iron father, at a 40 point premium.

 

 

Iron Hands Praetors against other legions

 

So what do we gain as benefits or disadvantages? The first major benefit is access to a 3+ invulnerable for a mere 15 points and at no functionality cost. Other legions that have access to this must sacrifice the extra close combat weapon. the second perk is that our instant death threshhold against shooting is 9, which can make quite a difference in many cases. The 3rd is a little more subtle, but the Servo Arm is a trump card in duels. We can match anyone in close combat with the standard Paragon blade builds, but the Servo Arm can provide you with an additional source of instant death at the end of the round. This, coupled with our inate toughness and 3++ access makes us quite the pain to deal with.

 

 

Pros

- Rites of War

- Beat Stick in Melee

- More utility than most Legion Praetors

 

Cons

- Substantially more expensive than a Consul

- Still limited in utility in comparison to the Consul

 

 

Legion Consul

The legion consul the most versatile unit in the game. With several options and specializations at his disposal, he can be shaped into anything your list requires the most.

 

 

Legion Consul Types

 

Master of Signal

This guy is a real power house for us. A force multiplier with his ability to grant +1 BS every turn, he can still get work done in close combat. This guy should be near the front lines to empower your legion support squads and tacticals who will be using fury of the Legion. Also great for your tank hunting units.The Orbital Bombardment is also a great asset, to be used wisely. Since the December FAQ, he can no longer be a compulsory HQ, which is a serious drawback.

 

Pros

- Best supporting Consul for Iron Hands (night vision + BS 5) 

- Orbital Bombardment once per game

- Still capable in close combat

 

Cons

- Non-Compulsory HQ

- Needs to remain stationary

 

 

Primus Medicae

With the december FAQ, this guy as gone from solid contender to a waste of space. With the ability to purchase 3 medics for 1 Elite slot who also have access to artificer armour, he becomes redundant as he brings nothing else of value to a Iron Hands army. Do bring him if you plan on using Ferrus Manus either. 

 

Pros

- Brings Feel No Pain

- harder to assassinate than an apothecary

- Access to more wargear

 

Cons

- Non-compulsory HQ

- Weak in close combat

- Substantially more expensive than a apothecary

 

 

Moritat

The Moritat is a unit I would see the Iron Tenth use on the field of battle. He is a ruthless and efficient killer. Even though the min/maxing approach to the Moritat was crippled in the December FAQ, you can still get good millage out of using Volkite Serpentas. with the new relics available, he can do some really neat tricks. He however does not contribute all that much overall in utility. He will kill MEQs well, but so does everything else in the heresy (I kid, I am looking at you rotator cannons!).

 

Pros

- Like a Ninja

- Shreds infantry rather well

- Very independant

 

Cons

- Non-compulsory HQ

- No overall utility

 

 

More to come later...

[Raktra]

I like that we're positive and bro-y over here. The Iron Warriors thread, whilst sense-making, is just mope-y.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Raktra

[Memento Of Prospero]

Yeah... I almost commented on there. Almost...

[Slips]

Well, it does fit their Legion Mentality :x

 

Its weird since they're also a Book 3 Legion and we got it better than the Book 1ers; poor WE, EC and SoH :\

[Raktra]

That's why they had to outnumber us at Istvaan V.

[Memento Of Prospero]

The HQ section will be done by tomorrow night, including special characters.

 

Would you guys like me to include recommended setups for the rites of war at say, 1,500 2,000 and 3,000? Feels like that section is rather bare....

[Raktra]

I could throw my 3k list up as an example? I'm more a chilled player mind, but still.

[Memento Of Prospero]

Sure! Throw it up with a little blurb about the thought process behind it!

[Emperors Teeth]

I'd be very interested in learning about people's experience writing lists with and using The Head of the Gorgon rite of war. Seems like it has so much potential, but only really in larger games.

[Memento Of Prospero]

The Heresy as a whole is designed with large games in mind. That's one of the main reasons some legions do so poorly in the public's eye, it's that the special rules are really important in smaller games (1,500 -2,000) but when you hit 3,000 -5,000 range, they start to lose their vital edge. Larger games are less focused on gimmicks and more oriented towards sound tactical decisions.