centurions in 8th

[uldrick]

i am currently on the road to write my first list with the new codex and i noticed the points changes in assault and devastator centurions

a good deal of my strategies relied on delivering a squad of devastator centurions  (grav-cannon and hurricane bolter) via stormraven to where they would deal the most damage while the rest of my armies pushed on forward. but now, at 336pts for the squad (an 45pts increase), i find them hard to justify. are they just that much overcosted now? they cost a LOT, the grav/hurricane bolter squad now cost more than a landraider but are much less survivable, are they worth it that much?

anyone using them can justify their cost now?

i was looking at switching to assault centurions for their now reduced cost. and was wondering how do they fare? armed with 2 flamers each and hurricane bolter, they put out quite a lot of fire power, especially for salamander chapter if vulkan is nearby + the flamecraft stratagem. i can even see them viable with melta guns or with a combine loadout of 4 flamers and 2 meltaguns or 3 assault centurions. my main concern with them is their very low movement speed. 4'' is not a lot, and since the ennemy has a turn to move away before i can disembark them now, will that leave them completely exposed and unable to land a charge?

are they worth it? how do they compare to aggressors? they are more expensive, better in melee and arguably better in shooting (depending on the configuration and potential targets of each squad) a lot more survivable against anything other than anti-tank or plasma weapons, but they are very slow. 

is their speed "kneecaping" them? or is that less work than i think it is.

thank you for your inputs on this matter.

[Alcyon]

I think if you have a transport for them, the movement issue is less important. I do like them with Vulkan as well and I think Assault Centurions certainly got better in comparison given the points change.

 

My issue with the Grav ones is that the weapons simply aren't as killy as they were before, they really need an LT to improve their wound rolling with only 5 strength. I also think they really suffer from the new AP system; armies like Blood Angels or even Dark Angels that have ways to give them invulnerable saves may be some of the only forces that can make them worth it.

[uldrick]

how do you think the following unit fare:

assault centurions (x3) (HB+flamers) + vulkan + apothecray inside a stormraven (TLAC, TMM, SSML, 2xHB) for deployement, that makes around 745pts flying around the map.

is that too much of a risk in a 2K game? i believe that would be the ultimate delivery system, but that is a LOT of pts in one bird. but still, even if it crashes, if it doesnt crash and burn and you dont roll 1's, your guys would be relativly safe nd with 20-45", they should be where you need them to (albeit quite more exposed than you'd like them too)

[Alcyon]

Yeah, it's fairly unlikely for your guys to die from the crash, 1/6 chance of death and a 1/6 chance of d3 mortal wounds for the squad. I agree it's a lot of points though, I would probably try to play MSU alongside it which Salamanders are good at with their 1x rerolls per unit, lots of Tacticals with a Grav-Cannon or Plasma Gun and Scouts with a Heavy Bolter or ML for the stratagems each turn.

 

You also probably need some other armour to help offset how juicy the flyer will be, a couple Predators or Razorbacks would hurt your opponent's target priority or at least be more survivable than otherwise. Thinking about it now I think Blood Angels are really the best army for Stormravens given how good and inexpensive Death Company are, not mention their very good dreadnoughts.