Making the Executioner 'save'

[Frater Cornelius]

In a world where getting off one Prescience is hard enough and is usually better spent on the blob and a world where it is fairly risky to take a CCS with Kurov, since a single Chimera and 5 T3 dudes can easily be removed by most opponents and is thus a risky investment at the best of times and Pask is also a risky investment due to how easy you can remove a squadron with Grav,how do you make the Executioners save to use?

 

I really like their killing power, but with 5 Gets Hot rolls every shooting phase, all the opponent needs to do is ignore them and they die by T4 on their own. With 5 Plasma shots per turn, you statistically have 5/12 chance to suffer a glance (rolling a one on five dice and failing your 4+ save). So basically a glace once every 2-3 turns, which isn't too bad. However, one set of bad dice will see your 185pts evaporate.

 

One option I have found was the Aegis Line with Ammo Dump, but that makes them incredibly static, at which point I might just buy the Plasma Obliterator.

 

Any other ideas? Or would you take your chances with it?

 

Edit: Or drop the Plasma Sponsons to reduce the risk?

[CoffeeGrunt]

To be fair, for the points an Executioner is pretty cheap. You could argue that no Plasma Cannon Sponsons is still enough, as 3 Plasma Cannon shots is pretty solid. Makes it less of a target and less of a liability that way. Other than that, I dunno how to really mitigate that problem in a perfect, flawless way. 

[Frater Cornelius]

To be fair, for the points an Executioner is pretty cheap. You could argue that no Plasma Cannon Sponsons is still enough, as 3 Plasma Cannon shots is pretty solid. Makes it less of a target and less of a liability that way. Other than that, I dunno how to really mitigate that problem in a perfect, flawless way. 

 

Yeah, I might just slap HB Sponsons on him for the style and extra shots against infantry and call it. I will miss the 5 shots though. Two things have mitigated it very well. The CCS with KA and the ADL with Ammo Dump.

 

However, with the amount of shooting going around and the huge target painted on the CCS face, it investing 250+ points (CCS + efficient gear + KA + Chimera) really worth it compared to Yarrick and a Primaris Psyker? I feel that basing your army around KA can easily back-fire, to a point where you are stuck with more Plasma than you can count and no way of mitigating the Gets Hot.

 

The Ammo Dump was great, but even a Leman Russ wants to move to score or shove that AV14 in your face, so that Jetbikes can not hurt whatever is hiding behind it.

 

Of all options, the Ammo Dump seems to be safest, especially since I am taking an ADL anyway to protect myself from alpha strike. But depriving my LR from mobility isn't something I enjoy.

[SW1]

They are the glass hammer. Just take a few and expect to loose them but watch the mayhem they cause in the meantime. Maybe the aquila hidden in a Stormlord to make them last longer?

[Quneitra]

Eh, I just take my chances with it. Admittedly, my main list uses them sans sponsons for cost reasons, but I feel like the dangers of plasma to vehicles are overrated at times, at least for the Executioner. Sure, you'll glance yourself once or maybe twice every game on average, but in general most things that pose a significant danger to a Russ can oneshot it on the damage table (Lascannon and melta AP2/AP1 goodness for example) or will put out enough dice to glance it to death. In such a situation, the loss of one hull point doesn't make a massive difference.

Maybe its just me having good rolls - I've never lost more than a single hull point in a game, even with plasma deathstar Exes, who knows?

Edit: And don't forget, we're the Guard - our job is to die for the Emperor, and our life expectancies are measured in hours.

[Truesight]

Pask is probably the best, but the steel host formation gives every tank within 12 inches of your commander preferred enemy, so you can run lots of individual units of executioners to make target priority a pain for your opponent.

[CoffeeGrunt]

I need to try an ADL sometime, and possibly a Steel Host as well. I got an ADL kit, just gotta heretic-up the Quad Gun, and look at what other upgrades are worth taking.

[Frater Cornelius]

Statistically, a 5 shot Plasmacutioner will kill itself over 6-7 turns. It is very unlikely to die to shooting. Either it is D or Grav Cannons and kills it outright or it is simply immune to the enemy guns. So I suppose I could take my chances. I have never tried fielding them without re-rolling support.

 

But what is the opinion on the Ammo Dump? You think that sacrificing mobility is such a big deal?

 

Edit: As awesome as Steel Host is, it is out of the question for now, since my army is based around a blob and thus has no room for 5 LR and Tank Commander tax.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Depends on your table size. With a 36" range and central positioning, the ADL with Ammo Dump could be a good option. After all, Russes aren't exactly mobile anyway, and it provides it with solid Cover.

[WarriorFish]

My solution is to take one without plasma sponsons ;) The other option is to stick a Techpriest nearby to stick hull points back on, would be handy to keep units shooting anyway plus Power of the Machine Spirit is always a nice skill to use.

[Frater Cornelius]

I will need to try how dangerous it is to take two Executioners bare bones. Saves up another 60pts, but it is still 1 Overheat per turn between them. I really hate to say it, but Kurov's Aquila is tailor-made for my army, but I am really scared of putting so many eggs in one basket.