3000 Imperial Fists Stone Gauntlet Lists

[TemujinZero]

I’ve put together these two Imperial Fist lists based on the new options we get in Extermination. They’re basically the same list, but with one including a Lord of War and one without. Both lists use the Stone Gauntlet Rite of War. I know this isn’t the strongest rite, but it is nice and fluffy and has lots of synergy built into it to partly make up for the weakness of the compulsory troops.

List 1 (3000 points, no Lord of War)

Sigismund 230
7 Templars with Melta Bombs and 1 Combat Shield, Land Raider Phobos with Armoured Ceramite and Multi-Melta 545

8 Templars with Melta Bombs and 1 Combat Shield, Land Raider Phobos with Armoured Ceramite and Multi-Melta 570

Siege Breacher Squad (10) with Artificer Armour, a Power Sword and Melta Bombs 250
Apothecary 45

Siege Breacher Squad (10) with Artificer Armour, a Power Sword and Melta Bombs 250
Apothecary 45

Terminator Squad (8) with 4 Storm Shields, 4 Combi-plasmas, 3 Thunder Hammers, 3 Power Fists and a Chainfist 408

Mortis Dreadnought with Lascannons and 2 HK missiles 175

Two Vindicators 240

Heavy Support Squad (5) with Lascannons and an augury scanner 240

Total 2998

List 2 (3000 points with Lord of War)

Sigismund 230
Forge Lord with Rad Grenades 95
8 Templars with Melta Bombs and 1 Combat Shield, Land Raider Phobos with Armoured Ceramite and Multi-Melta 570

Siege Breacher Squad (10) with Artificer Armour, a Power Sword and Melta Bombs 250
Apothecary with Artificer Armour 55

Siege Breacher Squad (10) with Artificer Armour, a Power Sword and Melta Bombs 250
Apothecary with Artificer Armour 55

Terminator Squad (8) with 4 Storm Shields, 4 Combi-plasmas, 3 Thunder Hammers, 3 Power Fists and a Chainfist 408

Mortis Dreadnought with Lascannons and 2 HK missiles 175

Two Vindicators

Heavy Support Squad (5) with Lascannons and an augury scanner 240

Typhon with Armoured Ceramite, Lascannon Sponsons and a Multi-Melta 430

Total 2998


In both lists the breachers and terminators would slog up to the mid field and hold it while the siege guns and Templars lurk and look for targets of opportunity. Sigismund will obviously be looking to take out the enemy warlord, though any terminator bodyguard might have to be softened up with a few demolisher shells in advance since Templars are not kitted out for that kind of work.
My Alpha Legion Pride lists seem much more powerful than this even at lower point levels, but having said that I think even an all in Alpha Legion infiltrator 1st turn dakkafest would trouble shifting the three main infantry blocks.

[Sevatar]

The problem is that Breachers arse a weak choice, and large blasts will just remove them from the table, since a 6++ will do basically nothing. I would replace the scanning squad with 2 Rapier Laser Destroyers and a Las/autocannon predator, as they are more survivable. I assume that is a 10 man Terminator Squad, if not they are far too expensive per model. I also like a transport for my Terminators. Maybe cut down the squad size to a Power Fists or 2 , and buy a Land Raider for some cheap, due as ble transport. Nonetheless, some solid lists. I just don't like Breachers.

[infyrana]

All troops will die to pie, the Breachers just do it a fraction slower at a much high price per marine lost.  I, on the other hand, actually like Breachers despite their cost :D

 

Please don't forget to list squad sizes in your list (Terminators / Breachers / HS Squad).

 

If those Breachers are just 10 men, they are not very cost efficient, and as Sevatar said, will be a weak choice.  If you plan on a full size squad with 4x specials, escorting your HQ and the Apothercary, or as a central point of your army, then it becomes different - more cost efficient and making use of the special weapons they can carry and given a reason for existing.  Doesn't the IF RoW list make Phalanx Wardens a troops choice to choose from?  Might be worth considering, and include Vexilla's.

 

I personally think the HSSquad with LasCannons is an expensive option over other LasCan choices.  Personal opinions, fluff, rules and applications in use may make them a different beast altogether (not having book 3 yet).

[Marshal Rohr]

You guys know breachers reroll failed armor saves against template and blast weapons right? And that when they get charged the enemy doesn't get bonus attacks? Also boarding shields are defensive grenades meaning the squad gets stealth from shooting attacks 8 inches away. 

[TemujinZero]

I've edited the lists with squad sizes.

 

Sevatar:  Breachers are definitely weak.  Making them T5 helps though.  They'll also get FNP against a lot more of those blasts.

 

The Lascannon squad is taking advantage of Tank Hunters from the IF trait.

 

The Terminators are expensive mostly because of those storm shields.  They're 15 points each, but they do give me a 3++ and T5.  The weapon choices are actually more a reflection of what I have (the new shiny stuff is going to my Alpha Legion).

 

infyrana:  The logic on the breachers is that I have to take two squads, and I don't want to throw good points after bad trying to make them efficient, so I might as well spend the minimum possible on them.  Two maxed out squads would be more efficient but then I'd have weak breacher squads making up a huge chunk of my army.  All I want from them is to be a brick wall alongside the terminators advancing towards the centre.  40 would be overkill and they'd still have a poor damage output.  The Stone Gauntlet rite of war bizarrely makes Phalanx Warders troops, but requires two units of regular breachers.  I was relieved when I realised this because the Warders are almost identical except that they're even more overcosted in exchange for a fairly marginal special rule.

 

Marshal2 Crusaders:  Breachers pay through the teeth for those rules, but there are so many ways for an opponent to make them irrelevant.  AP3 blasts ignore the hardened armour rule, and the boarding shields split their bonuses awkwardly between ranged and close combat so that you're never fully benefiting from them.  If their rules were focussed on a particular role and costed appropriately then more people would take them.  As it is they're still underwhelming with an extra point of toughness.

[infyrana]

Seems like you really don't want to use Breachers.  I fail to see the reason you would want to use this rite of war then if the Breacher unit in your eyes doesn't do half of what it does or what you want it to do... seems like they are there just as expensive fillers to allow for the rest of your army.

 

May I ask what it is that you are trying to achieve with them then, if you think they aren't up to scratch - why use them?  Fluffy yes, but that works better when the owner actually seems to like the unit :)

 

Do you have to take breachers then, or can you take basic troops as compulsories?

[TemujinZero]

You have to take two units of breachers.  Despite their muddled rules, they're characterful, have cool models, and with this rite of war are very resilient in most cases.  They're still bad, but not so much that they derail the army.

[Sevatar]

You guys know breachers reroll failed armor saves against template and blast weapons right? And that when they get charged the enemy doesn't get bonus attacks? Also boarding shields are defensive grenades meaning the squad gets stealth from shooting attacks 8 inches away. 

That doesn't help them against the blasts of a Typhon. They font get to reroll invulnerable saves. And if they did, a 6++ reroll is not much. Given that you don't like the Rite of War, why take it? T5 Terminators don't really matter that much, since most anti terminator weaponry will be S7+.

[TemujinZero]

I do like the rite of war thematically. This is an attempt to make it workable. I'm going to make a similar list with no rite of war for comparison.

[Dono1979]

While I love Breachers and will be trying to field a Stone Fist army as often as possible, only having two squads of 10 Breachers foot slogging seems suicidal in a 3,000pt list. They are not assault units (even though they might be in fluff), they are anvil units, they are meant to follow an assault unit as they clear the ground in front of them. Have a stronger unit clear an objective with the Breachers following close behind or even assisting in the assault, the assault unit then moves on while the Breachers sit on the objective and hunker down, very hard to move. I have found this tactic to be very effective, the emphasis is then taken away from the Breachers, as the main threat is actually the primary assaulting unit, and by the time they get rid of that threat they then have less time to whittle down an entrenched breacher squad.

 

While they can take higher amounts of incoming fire then most other infantry Power Armour units, a ten man squad will deplete very quickly. Twenty man squads in Spartans.

They are simply too expensive to take min sized, you are paying an extreme premium.

 

I'm not convinced that Sigismund and his Templars fit in the same style list as Breachers and the Stone Fist RoW (and this is coming from a Templar player who has converted to 30K). Much as I would like it so, I just think that both combinations work out to be too expensive to field to make them effective. I would LOVE to be proven wrong though.

[TemujinZero]

Here's a list that takes on board some of the advice and ditches the rite of war.  This allows for combining the two Breacher squads and lets the terminators teleport.  The points saved means I can run both Templar squads and the Typhon in exchange for dropping one of the vindicators.

 

List 3 (3000 points with Lord of War)

Sigismund       230

7 Templars with Melta Bombs and 1 Combat Shield, Land Raider

Phobos with Armoured Ceramite and Multi-Melta        545

8 Templars with Melta Bombs and 1 Combat Shield, Land Raider

Phobos with Armoured Ceramite and Multi-Melta        570

Siege Breacher Squad (20) with Artificer Armour, a Power

Sword, Melta Bombs, a Vexilla and 4 Graviton Guns    375

Apothecary with Artificer Armour               55

Terminator Squad (6) with a Storm Shield, 5 Combi-plasmas, a

Chainfist, and a Teleportation Transponder       280

Mortis Dreadnought with Lascannons and 2 HK missiles                    175

Vindicator 120

Heavy Support Squad (5) with Lascannons and an augury scanner                  240

Typhon with Armoured Ceramite and Lascannon Sponsons              410

Total 3000