Shadow War Catachans

[sedibear]

Would this be an appropriate place for this post?

 

I'm planning out a Catachan kill team for SWA and they'll be fluffy - meaning: heavy flamers, sniper rifles, and melee.

 

Progress to be posted. List building atm.

[WarriorFish]

It is the right place yes :) Sounds like a good plan, but unfortunately until I get my hands on the game I can only comment on fluff and models ;) I hear snipers can be pretty good, so that's a good start :)

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Sounds pretty good, as flamers and sniper rifles are probably the best special weapons.  As for melee, you'll likely find yourself outclassed by other factions - orks in particular.  Still, as long as you have a solid firebase and make sure to whittle down the enemy with fire first, it's not a bad idea.  Certainly a couple of melee guys to bodyguard the heavy flamer would be a good plan.

 

I should be getting my first game in this weekend, so I haven't played yet.  That said, I've played a lot of necromunda, which is one of my favorite games, and I really like what they've done to the rules (which are a much better adaption than the "reboot" 10 years ago).

 

Tactics wise, if you are melee oriented, try to get under or ontop of the enemy... its much more difficult to draw LOS vertically than it is horizontally.  There is a tendency for shooty teams to try to use the high ground... so use that against them by getting underneath them.  Or, if you are a shooty team, try not to let the enemy get under you. :)

 

Inquisitor Psychologis Ruminahui

[Lord_Ikka]

Guard aren't great at melee, but a couple of twin-sword guys to back up your flamer is a good group. A couple of red dotted snipers with the sarge's Voice of Command provide a good firebase. Depends on what you want your sarge to do, but if you just use him as a sniper buffer you don't have to give him much wargear, saving points.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I think you'd be better off with a pistol than a second sword - being able to shoot and pin an enemy in place to be flamed on a later turn is, in my opinion, more valuable than the second reroll - especially since now you can only force a reroll if the opponent beats your dice rolls.

 

Inquisitor Psychologis Ruminahui

[sedibear]

since we get 3 specialists i don't know if i'm going with 2 snipers and 1 heavy flamer or the other way around. it's tricky.

 

Pistols over a second blade im not sure about yet, but pinning i heard is king in this game so I might go with that.

 

Can't I go shotguns with a sword?

[Brendaen]

I just started my first Shadow Wars campaign with a new Ork player. I'm going with a 10 man Catachan team:

 

Sgt. with Assault blade, combat knife, and frag grenades. (He's there for the rerolls of 1 and trying to pin Orks with his grenades when they get too close)

 

2 snipers with camo, clip harnesses, and reloads

2 Veterans with Lasguns

1 veteran with a shotgun

4 Guardsman with Lasguns

 

I went with bodies over toys. We shall see how it goes...

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Personally, I would go two snipers, 1 flamer - I think it would be difficult to position 2 flamers without a) one being out of position and the other being swarmed; or them being in the same position and overkill.

And yes, you can go sword and shotgun, but you would only get one attack in melee as you wouldn't get 2 attacks for 2 melee weapons (nor can you add a pistol, as carrying a 2 handed shooting weapon prevents you from ever getting the 2 melee weapon bonus, unless you have a particular skill). Indeed, I really like the shotgun - its great for pinning models in cover - I just wouldn't give it to a dedicated melee guy.

Brendaen, I think the points for the clip harnesses and camo could be better spent - being at the back it is unlikely they will ever be shot at, provided you keep them in cover, due to the "shoot the closest unless there is an easier shot" rule. And if you aren't getting shot at, you don't need that equipment. DItch those and reloads and you have more than enough for another special weapon.

Inquisitor Psychologis Ruminahui

[sedibear]

Could not resist so here's my preliminary list:

 

Veteran Sergeant

Camo Gear

Power Sword

 

175

 

Sniper Specialist

Sniper Rifle

Toxic Rounds

Red Dot Laser Sight

 

150

 

Sniper Specialist

Sniper Rifle

Toxic Rounds

Red Dot Laser Sight

 

150

 

Heavy Flamer Specialist

Heavy Flamer

Camo Gear

 

175

 

Veteran Guardsman

Camo Gear 

Assault Blade

 

80 x5 = 400

 

1000 points on the nose.

 

I can probably do with 3 shooters and 2 assault Guardsmen (with my Leader as the third) in a buddy system of movement, though.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I think you've put too much gear on your snipers, and not enough on your grunts.  Ditch some of your snipers toys to get guys for your other guys - you'll have a much easier time getting into combat if you can take some shots on the way there and pin some of your enemies.\

 

Inquisitor Psychologis Ruminahui

[sedibear]

yeah i'll be shuffling that around, the 80 pts for toxic rounds and red dot sights not worth it? haven't played yet.

 

I'm probably making a ranged Catachan for every melee catachan.

[Reyner]

Might want to remove the individual points costs for everything :) 

[Lord_Ikka]

I'd keep the red dots on the sniper rifles and drop both the toxin rounds and some of the assault blades to give a couple of lasguns to your regular guys. Having two-man units where one is able to pin with a lasgun while the other can charge into battle is better than trying to get 3/4 of your team into close combat. Like Dr_Ruminahui said, pinning is going to be necessary with a Guard team that's trying to get into melee- since you'll never be up to the standards of Harlies/Chaos/Grey Knights you might as well try to balance the game by making sure that the enemy is pinned by sheer firepower.

 

First thing I'd do after the initial mission is give the lasguns red dots, hot shots, and the close combat guys a laspistol. Using up a promethium cache to upgrade your guys as much as possible on the first chance is a must- you need that extra edge that hot-shot and red dots give you. Even upgrading the close combat guys' laspistols with red dots might even help.

 

Now for your sergeant, you've got a couple of options. You either use him as a buffer for your snipers (having him use his Voice of Command every turn to re-roll 1s to Hit) or you keep him as a close combat fighter. Either is viable, depending on your personal playstyle and what you want your fluff to be. If you want him as a buffer, don't even give him any gear- he'll just stay in the back and VoC every turn. Close combat, a powersword or chainsword and bolt pistol might be the way to go (you'll have Str 4 hits with both rather than Str 4/3 with a powersword/combat blade combo).

 

Remember, your guys only get 1 base attack, so you aren't going to be monster close combat fighters at first. But you can make a good team with what you are planning.