Contemplating kitbashing Dante, what to field him with?

[appiah4]

Options are:

 

a. Buy a Sanguinary Guard box

b. Build owned Death Company box accordingly

c. Convert owned Death Company box into a Command Squad

d. Convert owned Death Company box into a Vanguard Veteran Squad

e. None of the above

 

Loadout suggestions for your pick are most welcome.

[Jonny Roxtar]

option A.

Use one as Dante use one as a veteran sergeant and use the other 3 for sanguinary priests

Then use the DC for an honour guard with a Vet sergeant.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Option A is most appropriate. For the Death Company, it's best to have Astorath the Grim accompany it.

[NTaW]

I have played Dante with a Priest and 10x man Assault squad for much success. Granted I'll also run 10x DC w. Chaplain as well to mess with target priority but yeah. Really effective meat shield for the points spent.

[Chaplain Gunzhard]

I've run Dante with SG and a priest very often. They are a beatstick unit especially with the banner, but they'll use up a huge chunk of points.

 

Honestly they always perform well and my group is terrified of them, sometimes I even add a Librarian since Dante isn't an HQ anymore, but again the points.

 

Boosted WS, S, Init plus a lot of master crafted power-weapon attacks, FnP, psychic craziness and Hit and Run - is tons of fun, even when I lose ha. The Angelis pistols are nice too.

[Charlo]

The great thing about our HQs and Dante is that they all offer a metric crap tonne of Synergy, especially when all plonked into a big squad of SG with a banner.

 

Chaplain: Re-rolls and an extra 4+ invuln save to tank a wound.

Librarian: Turn Dante or any other character into a MONSTER with quickening, give the SG a 5++ etc

Priest: FNP on a majority 2+ unit? Hells yes.

 

Sure the unit will be quite expensive (probably like 800+) but you can deepstrike with 6" scatter, less with the right precautions (servo skulls) and then possibly even blow up a key piece of AV with massed inferno pistols. Tank the turn of shooting necessary thanks to a combo of 2+/4++/5++/5+++ and then enjoy the absolute carnage this squad will bring in the following turns.

 

IMO Dante is probably the best Marine commander in the game for sheer power.

[NTaW]

I really like Dante with Sanguinary Guard and a Priest but I just can't get away with that in my games. Every one of my pals will focus fire the crap right outta that squad ASAP 'cuz they've seen what it does when it makes their line. Maybe if I had more than 5 SG....*consults to-buy list and makes addition*...

 

Ultimately Dante kills everything he touches whenever I get him on the table. I wholeheartedly agree with Charlo's statement that he's the best Marine commander in the game for sheer power, he's only died in one game and it was such a marvelous death resplendent with the dead of the enemy that it was SO worth it. Ahem. My point. Because Dante is such a beast he's gunna come under a lot of fire from anyone who has half an idea that S6/I6/AP2 in combat is a bad thing for them and he needs as much padding as possible for the cost. 200 points nets you five SG w. a banner and fist or ten Assault marines with two flamers and twin hand flamers for the sergeant. The 2+ save is awesome but I've found that most of the stuff that ignores a 3+ will invariably be able to mince a 2+ as well (plasma and grav come to mind), so if I'm stuck dealing with just FnP from the Priest anyway I'd rather peel off 13 points at a time than 33. In combat Dante and a Priest with Valour's Edge or a lightning claw will usually do enough damage that your Assault or SG unit's attacks are basically irrelevant anyway.

[Arkaniss]

I like running Dante with either a full 10 man Assault Squad or a 5 man Vanguard Vet Jumpers. Depends what I want really - with the VV the unit is small enough to conceal and cover yet deadly to nearly anything it charges, while the Assault Squad are for more open plays. 10 Marines means Dante can be protected easily then break off to be unleashed on whatever character/squad I want annihilated.

 

Not tried him with Sanguinary Guard I confess, though the imagery alone makes it something I will eventually work towards. Oh, and I agree that there are better characters to put with the Death Company than Dante. Lemartes/Astorath/Chaplain suit them better I think.

[CaptainHelion]

 S6/I6/AP2 in combat

S7/I7 on the charge in a BSF, no less! And if you're in a squad with the Chapter Banner, he's got 7 attacks in the charge, too. Mmm, sevens.

[Charlo]

I think Deathcompany aren't a bad shout for him. Keep them naked as he'll dish out enough ap2 for the squad and they can just tank the small arms you don't want to risk is 2+ on and he can tank ap3.

 

Or endlessly tank battle cannons!

[Chaplain Gunzhard]

I really like Dante with Sanguinary Guard and a Priest but I just can't get away with that in my games. Every one of my pals will focus fire the crap right outta that squad ASAP 'cuz they've seen what it does when it makes their line. Maybe if I had more than 5 SG....*consults to-buy list and makes addition*...

Ultimately Dante kills everything he touches whenever I get him on the table. I wholeheartedly agree with Charlo's statement that he's the best Marine commander in the game for sheer power, he's only died in one game and it was such a marvelous death resplendent with the dead of the enemy that it was SO worth it. Ahem. My point. Because Dante is such a beast he's gunna come under a lot of fire from anyone who has half an idea that S6/I6/AP2 in combat is a bad thing for them and he needs as much padding as possible for the cost. 200 points nets you five SG w. a banner and fist or ten Assault marines with two flamers and twin hand flamers for the sergeant. The 2+ save is awesome but I've found that most of the stuff that ignores a 3+ will invariably be able to mince a 2+ as well (plasma and grav come to mind), so if I'm stuck dealing with just FnP from the Priest anyway I'd rather peel off 13 points at a time than 33. In combat Dante and a Priest with Valour's Edge or a lightning claw will usually do enough damage that your Assault or SG unit's attacks are basically irrelevant anyway.

Haha ...yes 10 SG is where it's at!

Again it's still a large chunk of points BUT - Commander Dante, a jumpy Librarian (warlord) with "Veritas Vitae", a jumpy Priest, 10 Sanguinary Guard with 2 Inferno pistols and a banner is still less than 800 points (765 points in fact). In most of my games they earn that back and then some. I can't make a 2+ or 3+ save to save my life, but I can tank AP2 shots on Dante's invul and make FnP all day for some reason hah.

Veritas Vitae with 2 on Strategic is amazing, especially if you get MoveThruCover-Ruins. Also don't bother with BA psychic powers, you don't need any close-combat buffs with these guys, they hit like a ton of bricks with lasers on them, use the new psychic powers for super craziness!

[NTaW]

S6/I6/AP2 in combat

S7/I7 on the charge in a BSF, no less! And if you're in a squad with the Chapter Banner, he's got 7 attacks in the charge, too. Mmm, sevens.

All those 7's and you left out WS7 thanks to the Priest invariably attached

I really like Dante with Sanguinary Guard and a Priest but I just can't get away with that in my games. Every one of my pals will focus fire the crap right outta that squad ASAP 'cuz they've seen what it does when it makes their line. Maybe if I had more than 5 SG....*consults to-buy list and makes addition*...

Ultimately Dante kills everything he touches whenever I get him on the table. I wholeheartedly agree with Charlo's statement that he's the best Marine commander in the game for sheer power, he's only died in one game and it was such a marvelous death resplendent with the dead of the enemy that it was SO worth it. Ahem. My point. Because Dante is such a beast he's gunna come under a lot of fire from anyone who has half an idea that S6/I6/AP2 in combat is a bad thing for them and he needs as much padding as possible for the cost. 200 points nets you five SG w. a banner and fist or ten Assault marines with two flamers and twin hand flamers for the sergeant. The 2+ save is awesome but I've found that most of the stuff that ignores a 3+ will invariably be able to mince a 2+ as well (plasma and grav come to mind), so if I'm stuck dealing with just FnP from the Priest anyway I'd rather peel off 13 points at a time than 33. In combat Dante and a Priest with Valour's Edge or a lightning claw will usually do enough damage that your Assault or SG unit's attacks are basically irrelevant anyway.

Haha ...yes 10 SG is where it's at!

Again it's still a large chunk of points BUT - Commander Dante, a jumpy Librarian (warlord) with "Veritas Vitae", a jumpy Priest, 10 Sanguinary Guard with 2 Inferno pistols and a banner is still less than 800 points (765 points in fact). In most of my games they earn that back and then some. I can't make a 2+ or 3+ save to save my life, but I can tank AP2 shots on Dante's invul and make FnP all day for some reason hah.

Veritas Vitae with 2 on Strategic is amazing, especially if you get MoveThruCover-Ruins. Also don't bother with BA psychic powers, you don't need any close-combat buffs with these guys, they hit like a ton of bricks with lasers on them, use the new psychic powers for super craziness!

I'm with you on everything aside from inferno pistols on the SG. I just never got it. I know it's a cheap upgrade for the unit but we have so many units that do melta attacks so much better than this. What makes you like them in the unit? I want to believe, I really do. Just seems like the points are better spent on fists for the unit to help them out in the CC they're inevitably going to be in.

[Charlo]

Usually I'd be very against upgrades like Inferno Pistols on a unit like SG.... BUT they actually present a pretty awesome case. Especially as we are talking in the context of Dante.

 

Maximum scatter of 6" is awesome for getting those little metla packs in range and if you manage to slag a nasty AV target before the enemy can retaliate then it's going to send a message.

 

Plus the inferno pistols synergise with the Glaives a lot better than ap4 Angelus Bolters, letting you get more wounds on the tough targets your SG should be targeting.

 

It is 100% an opportunity cost but a great one. We lack any real superior long ranged anti tank firepower outside of the expensive and (at least in my experience) inefficient tri-las pred, so giving out units the ability to pop a land raider fairly easily is quite desirable. [FW units often not withstanding]

 

Plus due to our playstyle we don't want long range anti-tank, the more we can get up in the enemy's grill, the more that will survive and subsequently charge next turn.

 

43pts for a model with Jump pack, Inferno Pistol, Artificer Armour and a power weapon is an absolute steal. Compare it to assault terminators who for that price get what, a 5++ and lightning claws and can't sweep?

[CaptainHelion]

 

 

S6/I6/AP2 in combat

 

S7/I7 on the charge in a BSF, no less! And if you're in a squad with the Chapter Banner, he's got 7 attacks in the charge, too. Mmm, sevens.

 

All those 7's and you left out WS7 thanks to the Priest invariably attached :D

How could I have forgotten?

[Chaplain Gunzhard]

I actually modeled all of my SG with swords and Angelus, and just 2 with Axes and Angelus; but I now play the Axe guys as having Inferno Pistols too (as proxy) -- because too often I was left having to assault a transport, and then not being able to assault the juicy goodness hiding inside. Still, my dice rolling is so bad that I generally have to assault it anyway hah.

[Father Mapple]

I say kit bash a Dante, priest with jump pack, and a sergeant for a 10 man assault squad. Making assault squad ws5, FNP, and hit and run really takes them into another league. Give the priest relics to make the squad crazy. The cheaper bodies and ablative wounds have the edge in survival over death company per point, their benefits synergize better, and it's only 535 points with a priest getting a power weapon, 2x melta guns, and a sergeant to eat challenges with kit. 3 melta weapons to slag a transport, 3+/5+ majority save and FNP, 16 wounds total, etc.

 

I know death company have more attacks, but you don't need the extra 20 attacks usually if your goal is to stick in combat and let Dante and priest win combat resolutions. Death company don't protect from bad challenge match ups but very the"hidden" weapon. They have less special weapons ranges, and flamers could be better charge deterrent for assault squads. Sanguinary guard got power weapons and 2+ armor, but are susceptible to grav and have a hard time picking through 2+ themselves for the point ratios.

 

People have to make hard target choices when going for a warlord in a good bunker unit like that, versus other threats like a death company unit, drop pods dreadnoughts, an etc..

[Chaplain Gunzhard]

I say kit bash a Dante, priest with jump pack, and a sergeant for a 10 man assault squad. Making assault squad ws5, FNP, and hit and run really takes them into another league. Give the priest relics to make the squad crazy. The cheaper bodies and ablative wounds have the edge in survival over death company per point, their benefits synergize better, and it's only 535 points with a priest getting a power weapon, 2x melta guns, and a sergeant to eat challenges with kit. 3 melta weapons to slag a transport, 3+/5+ majority save and FNP, 16 wounds total, etc.

 

I know death company have more attacks, but you don't need the extra 20 attacks usually if your goal is to stick in combat and let Dante and priest win combat resolutions. Death company don't protect from bad challenge match ups but very the"hidden" weapon. They have less special weapons ranges, and flamers could be better charge deterrent for assault squads. Sanguinary guard got power weapons and 2+ armor, but are susceptible to grav and have a hard time picking through 2+ themselves for the point ratios.

 

People have to make hard target choices when going for a warlord in a good bunker unit like that, versus other threats like a death company unit, drop pods dreadnoughts, an etc..

I would say in a smaller game, 1500 or less this is the way to go. That said, 535 still isn't cheap... for 670points you can have instead 10 SG with 2 inferno pistols and a banner (including Priest and Dante) - that's 4 master-crafted power-weapon attacks each on the charge and a 2+/5+FnP save.

[appiah4]

Wow that was a lot of replies, thanks.  I can really see the merit in pairing him with the Sanguinary Guard but I really can't justify the purchase yet, with such a backlog to paint through.  If the ETL helps me with a portion of that, maybe..  Otherwise, would a tooled up Honor Guard or a Vanguard Veteran squad with some Storm Shields and stuff be a terrible idea in a pinch?

[Charlo]

Not at all - if you face a lot of ap2, the VV with shields are probably a better option. I'd definitely stick a priest with them still though, the extra pt of WS and FNP go a long way on VV.

 

Really, Dante is going to win any combat for you, the other guys are there to keep him safe. I'd probably keep them with shields, a couple of power weapons (type depending on meta) and some inferno pistols to have synergy with his.

 

You could even make an argument for Power Lances, because of hit and run! S7 ap3 on the charge is pretty rad.

[appiah4]

Not at all - if you face a lot of ap2, the VV with shields are probably a better option. I'd definitely stick a priest with them still though, the extra pt of WS and FNP go a long way on VV.

 

Really, Dante is going to win any combat for you, the other guys are there to keep him safe. I'd probably keep them with shields, a couple of power weapons (type depending on meta) and some inferno pistols to have synergy with his.

 

You could even make an argument for Power Lances, because of hit and run! S7 ap3 on the charge is pretty rad.

Cool. I LOVE power lances and have a kitbashed priest with valors edge.

 

Leaning towards Dante, Priest, Vanguard ( RB/SS sarge, 2 MP/SS, 2 PL/BP)

[Charlo]

Looks perfect mate!

[appiah4]

Looks perfect mate!

Bitz order made. Dante and Vanguard Veterans being kitbashed soon. :)