Equipping your Skitarii Alphas

[Vel'Cona]

Based on an earlier topic regarding Arc Rifles in Rangers vs. Vanguard, I thought it would be a good idea to have a discussion about equipment options for the Skitarii Alphas. I'll put a few starter questions in here and throw in my thoughts on them, as well:

Melee Weapons:

For my money, I really like the Taser Goad on my Vanguard Alphas since it gives them a bit better anti-tank (remember, rear AV in melee) with the S5 hits, and also has the chance to deal a lot more damage with a Taser trigger here or there. Thanks to Rad Saturation, you're wounding the majority of enemies on 2's. The Arc Maul shares this ability and adds AP 4 and Concussive, but it's double the cost. Haywire on the Maul is nice, but IMO probably not necessary if you're already packing Arc Rifles (unit) or an Arc Pistol (though it'd be nice if you need to charge a Dreadnought). I think the Power Sword is a decent choice vs. MEQ, but it means your Alpha is helpless against vehicles in melee.

In general, I NEVER give me Ranger Alphas melee weapons, as they shouldn't be anywhere near CC if I'm doing things right.

Pistols:

I only take pistols if I have points to spend, or my Vanguard Alpha is taking a melee weapon (which is often). I prefer the Arc Pistol in general since it has Haywire for anti-armor work and can threaten most infantry thanks to S6. The Phosphor Blast Pistol seems like a decent second choice for setting up charges for your melee units (or perhaps the Vanguard themselves if you're feeling plucky), and it's cheaper than the Arc Pistol. The Radium Pistol seems like garbage for the points, but maybe someone has a thought on this?

Special Issue Wargear:

The only one of these I'd consider in general is the Refractor Field for a tooled up Vanguard Alpha and/or an Alpha that's running as my Warlord. The Conversion Field is too expensive for its huge downside (Blind), especially given Skitarii only have Init 3. I think the Digital Weapons are pretty bad for the cost, regardless of where you put them (even the Vanguard Alpha doesn't need them thanks to Rad Saturation).

Getting close to TL:DR, so I'll withhold my thoughts on the Relics until later! What do you guys think?

[Noserenda]

My Thoughts are very similar tbh, ill be running my Ranger Alphas bare as the rifle is almost always going to be more useful. Vanguards i like the pistols for to boost their firepower, the Phosphoenix on my Warlord because im a sucker for Phosphex :D

[Father Mehman]

Call me insane but I'm thinking of putting a Power Sword on my Ranger Alpha. Here's why: Outflanking enemies. I want a little insurance in the backfield in case something decides to go around my flank or Outflanks my line from the start. Or, better yet, he could be equipped with a Taser Goad so that he could put the beat-stick on to the transports that go with those pesky kids.

 

Rule of Cool may win-out on this one. Make the Alpha hold a rifle with his right hand and then in his left hand equip him with a sword.

[shandwen]

The power sword and arc maul cost a bit too much for me, but the tazer is a great buy. On the other hand vanguard alphas can make great use out of a powersword...

[mmimzie]

This is sort of on the line of equiping your alpha:

 

I think equiping your alpha's unit with the plasma caliver is pretty great. I think if your gonna run one this is the unit to put it in to take the edge off get's hot rolls.

 

I also think if you take any relics of mar it's a good idea to take the refractor field. Other than that i wouldn't go out of my way to pick it up, but it is a nice place to dump extra points.

[Yodhrin]

I'm not planning on taking any Rangers(role seems covered by forthcoming CultMech options).

 

For regular Vanguard Alphas, a powersword seems like the best option to me. Maybe a Refractor Field if you have spare points lying around. I'd rather have the max shots from the Rad Carbine, and given the Toughness modifier Vanguard inflict being able to ignore MEQ armour outright seems like it's more useful than the Strength boost from a Goad.

 

For the Prime I like Conversion Field, Phosphor Blast Pistol, and the Phase Taser relic; cheap & cheerful, maximum attacks in CC to take advantage of the relic special rules, and a modest chance of applying Luminagen if you've not already done so with fire from Kastelans.

 

Infiltrator Princeps gets Pater Radium and Conversion Field; charge them in with the Vanguard and anything not killed outright will get a nasty surprise.

[Father Mehman]

I'm not planning on taking any Rangers(role seems covered by forthcoming CultMech options).

For regular Vanguard Alphas, a powersword seems like the best option to me. Maybe a Refractor Field if you have spare points lying around. I'd rather have the max shots from the Rad Carbine, and given the Toughness modifier Vanguard inflict being able to ignore MEQ armour outright seems like it's more useful than the Strength boost from a Goad.

For the Prime I like Conversion Field, Phosphor Blast Pistol, and the Phase Taser relic; cheap & cheerful, maximum attacks in CC to take advantage of the relic special rules, and a modest chance of applying Luminagen if you've not already done so with fire from Kastelans.

Infiltrator Princeps gets Pater Radium and Conversion Field; charge them in with the Vanguard and anything not killed outright will get a nasty surprise.

By the Omnissiah, I hadn't thought of that! Infiltrator Princeps with Pater Radium alongside the Vanguard...

[Scurvydog]

I see few scenarios where infiltrators will get to live long enough to be of use if they just follow the pace of vanguards. With scatterlaser jetbikes flying around, I see my infiltrators often instant killed by nearly everything, where neither wounds or fnp makes a difference, making the 200ish point unit nearly as squishy as 5 guardsmen.

 

With 12 range weapons they only good on the charge, but with no charge after infil/scout, I find that the terrain really needs to be in your favor for them to do anything and not get obliterated by shooting T1, let alone surviving 2 shooting phases if you dont get first turn.

 

My vanguard alpha getting two 6 to hit with a taser goad on both attacks on a blitzing harlquin was golden though, after he whiffed most of his attacks.

 

Besides the warlord I would only buy anything for other alphas/princeps if I have nothing else to buy for 5-20 remaining points. Unit upgrades/weapons seem to be a far better investment

[Yodhrin]

I see few scenarios where infiltrators will get to live long enough to be of use if they just follow the pace of vanguards. With scatterlaser jetbikes flying around, I see my infiltrators often instant killed by nearly everything, where neither wounds or fnp makes a difference, making the 200ish point unit nearly as squishy as 5 guardsmen.

 

With 12 range weapons they only good on the charge, but with no charge after infil/scout, I find that the terrain really needs to be in your favor for them to do anything and not get obliterated by shooting T1, let alone surviving 2 shooting phases if you dont get first turn.

 

My vanguard alpha getting two 6 to hit with a taser goad on both attacks on a blitzing harlquin was golden though, after he whiffed most of his attacks.

 

Besides the warlord I would only buy anything for other alphas/princeps if I have nothing else to buy for 5-20 remaining points. Unit upgrades/weapons seem to be a far better investment

 

They tend to survive a lot longer when you've just used Rent-a-Rhinos to dump 30+ Vanguard right in your opponent's face :P

 

I've only played a couple of proxy games so far, but I had great success infiltrating a big unit of Sicarians into the midfield at spots designed to maximise their survivability, bringing a wave of Vanguard up in transports and disembarking, then either moving both in together which gives you a nice synergy between the two debuffs, or by walking the Vanguard away a bit while firing to set up a situation where whichever group the enemy chose to attack the other would countercharge.

[Scurvydog]

 

 

I see few scenarios where infiltrators will get to live long enough to be of use if they just follow the pace of vanguards. With scatterlaser jetbikes flying around, I see my infiltrators often instant killed by nearly everything, where neither wounds or fnp makes a difference, making the 200ish point unit nearly as squishy as 5 guardsmen.

 

With 12 range weapons they only good on the charge, but with no charge after infil/scout, I find that the terrain really needs to be in your favor for them to do anything and not get obliterated by shooting T1, let alone surviving 2 shooting phases if you dont get first turn.

 

My vanguard alpha getting two 6 to hit with a taser goad on both attacks on a blitzing harlquin was golden though, after he whiffed most of his attacks.

 

Besides the warlord I would only buy anything for other alphas/princeps if I have nothing else to buy for 5-20 remaining points. Unit upgrades/weapons seem to be a far better investment

They tend to survive a lot longer when you've just used Rent-a-Rhinos to dump 30+ Vanguard right in your opponent's face :P

 

I've only played a couple of proxy games so far, but I had great success infiltrating a big unit of Sicarians into the midfield at spots designed to maximise their survivability, bringing a wave of Vanguard up in transports and disembarking, then either moving both in together which gives you a nice synergy between the two debuffs, or by walking the Vanguard away a bit while firing to set up a situation where whichever group the enemy chose to attack the other would countercharge.

That could definately be potent, although expensive in points to bring all that with allied detachments. I guess that would be the way to go, I just tried them as a 5 man unit in small 1200 point gamers and found them fragile for their points, I did gamble some with their infiltrationen and my opponent seized the initiative, so they became sitting ducks :-/ Maybe eldar s6 laser bike spam just made them seem worse and countered their mobility in all areas.

 

The mask which gives zealot did ensure they did not run after the first volley though. If dragoon models were not so expensive to buy I would like to see how they could work together, with stealth and hiding behind dragoons with the same speed (and phospher serpentias to reroll charge distances), they could ruin anyones day