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What to do with the extra 5 Devastators ?


GreyCrow

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The title says it all ! Assuming you go with a full squad of Devastators, how do you use the extra 5 Marines ? Do they serve as meatshield for the Heavy Weapons guys, do you stick them in a Razorback, do you combat squad to get better map coverage ?

 

Let's share how we play them ! :)

I would combat squad them to man the quad cannon. Twin-linked and Tankhunter makes airplanes cry. :)
If there are no more planes in sight, and if they are´nt at an objective, then they will leave the cannon behind and grab the objective.

Since marines are expensive, five marines that will just baby-sit the heavy weapons is not very tempting.

I think it depends on the situation. Sometimes there is no good cover and/ or you expect heavy fire on your devestators so having extra bodies to soak up some damage may be important to keep your heavy weapons firing. Other missions may need those 5 bolters gunning down the hoards of enemies or securing an objective. It I was expecting to have my 5 bolter guys split, I would consider giving the sgt a combi-weapon.

 

I think categorically saying you would only ever deploy one way is a mistake as how you use those marines would depend on the situation.

I used to take devs that had two LC and two ML and then take the full 10 man squad so I could split them into 2 different firing platforms and use the left over bodies as meatshields. But it never worked out because they usually just sat there until they got shot and deaded. But latley I just take 5 man with 3 of any said heavy weapon then spejnd the points somwhere else. I have always loved Devs but it took a while to learn how to use them effectivley.

Thanks for the insights guys ! Based on your comments, all of you are suggesting to keep options open rather than shoehorning them into a specific role.

What I had in mind originally was 4 Missile Launchers and 6 regular Marines (perhaps BP+CCW for the Sergeant) along with a Razorback. Based on what you say, I'm probably going to give them either a regular Razorback with TLHB or a Las/Plas turret, that way I can have sufficient flexibility and dakka depending on what I'm facing smile.png

Thanks for the help !

EDIT : Actually, Malorn's post had me wonder something !

At 1000 points, I plan on running half a squad of Devastators, with just the Sergeant and 4 Missile Launchers. I was thinking, is it more interesting to play a "true" half of a Devastator squad, with the Sergeant, 2 regular guys and 2 missile launcher guys, but with a Razorback with twin Linked Heavy Bolter as a transport (if needed, not necessarily planning to start them on it necessarily).

They lose out a bit of the dedicated weapons platform role, but they will in this scenario act as backfield Tactical Marines, able to be mobile to reposition if sticking to a position is not good.

Is it something that has any tactical value, or is it a dumb idea ?

Cheers !

Actually, the Razorback was a very expensive addition that didn't do much... For a 10 man squad of Devastators, the Rhino is the dedicated transport to love ! You can either move them up 12" in the first turn and set up a forward position (without shooting their heavies obviously, but if the forward position yields better advantages later on...).

 

If we decide to split, I thought that the Rhino was still viable for a squad of Bolter guys, or to provide a "mobile bunker" in the case we have 2 heavy weapons in each combat squad. That's if cover is rare or we need a centerpiece firebase. Because of the 2 fire points, we can shoot both devastators from there !

 

In addition, with Raven Guard Tactics, it allows them to be repositionned even further up the board :p

My Devastator Squad has extra bodies for the sole purpose of giving them some more durability. They have always taken a lot of fire early one so it has made sense to me. I have been tempted to give them a Razorback in the past but they are usually needed elsewhere (I play C:BA so my Assault Squads purchase them for a discount).

My Devastator Squad has extra bodies for the sole purpose of giving them some more durability. They have always taken a lot of fire early one so it has made sense to me. I have been tempted to give them a Razorback in the past but they are usually needed elsewhere (I play C:BA so my Assault Squads purchase them for a discount).

 

Is your army more assault oriented or more gunline oriented ? I guess that may be a stupid question since you're playing Blood Angels, but I saw BA armies perform effectively with a mechanized gunline and 2 Stormravens thrown in with 2 Dreads and nasty assault units inside !

These days, my Devastators only come out to play when I'm playing a hybrid list or Apocalypse. With my hybrid lists, there's usually 2/3 different parts to it, i.e. a static firebase, a hammer and a distraction. Here's a sample list for the next time I use my Devastators in case you're interested (it's only five man due to points restrictions, but you'll see what I mean by a hybrid list).

 

Originally, I included the extra bodies to allow me to combat squad my Devastators to allow them to engage multiple threats as my squad had a mix of weapons. Whilst I currently don't do this, if I were to I would definitely use a Razorback as it could give me a third target or could compliment one of the other two. Here it would be 2/2 or a 3/1 mix and in the latter case the 1 would benefit from the Signum (so a Multi Melta, Lascannon or possibly the Plasma Cannon).

I recently tried a 10 man dev squad with 4 missiles with flakk with a rhino. I combat squared with 2 launchers in each squad. One stayed in the rhino while the other plunked down in prime cover with good firing lanes. The added durability and ability to engage multiple targets kept this squad busy all game.

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