Thoughts on Vanguard Vet army

[Shiboinky]

Howdy! I've been following along with 8th since it dropped but have not had the chance to play a game quite yet. While building a list I decided that I would really like to make a jump-pack focussed list. Would running around 30ish vanguard vets (either as squads of 5 or 10) be a viable core of an army? I would like to tool some out with hammers, etc. for anti monster/vehicle but am also thinking of running some bare bones as better assault marines to hunt troops, support units, etc.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

[Idomeneus]

The main issue I can see is the boots on the ground rule. You need some troops starting on the table, and vanguard veterans would probably not be the ones to go for, given that they are expensive, reasonably fragile cc troops. Maybe make a cheap battalion detachment of scouts to start infiltrated, then a vanguard detachment to bring the pain deep striking on the first turn. I'd add some company veterans into the mix for special weapons. I doubt it would be a top tier competitive list, but it would be fun to play with.

[Shiboinky]

Hmmmm fair point, I also just read the article regarding chapter approved. All troops getting pseudo-objective secured makes them much more worth while. Could around 15 of them tooled out for anti MEQ work as a decent flanking force as opposed to the bulk of the main force? While they're somewhat fragile, my hope is that some storm shields and other more pressing targets (such as a unit of terminators/sanguinary guard) will help with survivability.

 

Also, I love the idea of some jump pack special weapons jumping around the field and causing trouble.

[Indefragable]

The question is what purpose do they serve?

 

That might sound snarky, but I mean it as a legitimate question: what role do the VV serve in achieving you victory? are they for holding OBJ? Killing cheap enemies? Killing big scary things? Mobility? I would start there and work backwards.

 

The other kind of interesting thing about he current state of 8th for BA is that Company Vets with Jump Packs serve a similar role, but have more options. Besides being able to eat wounds for an HQ on a 2+, BA jump Vets are also (AFAIK) the only jump unit in the game that can take specials and combo weapons en masse. Although it presents more questions than answers for you, it opens up the options. So, rather than sending 5x VV w/ TH/SS at that Carnifex, you could instead DS 5x Company Vets with combi-Plasma in rapid fire range instead.

 

For anti-GEQ, Vets with 2x chainswords spit out 4x attacks each. With a Sang Priest that's wounding on 2's as well.

 

For anti-MEQ, BA seem to be spoiled for choice. Someone who's better at math than I can work out the efficiency of VV w/ LC vs Assault Terminators with lightning claws. Either way, a heap Sang Priest with Jump is a must.

Edited August 13, 2017 by Indefragable

[Shiboinky]

No worries, you didn't come off as snarky at all, and you raise a fair question. I haven't had the chance to play any games of 8th yet, so it's a bit hard to answer at the moment.

 

I like the idea of some dual chainswords for hoard management. Killing elite units is something that seems to be covered quite well by the sanguinary guard, so I figure that knitting them out as mobile troop hunters and using them more for board control. My thoughts are that a few squads with some power weapons could be used to bail out some razorbacks mounted troops or to support the sanguinary guard if needed.

 

I do think that one of my next projects will be a unit of plasma toting jump pack vets.

[Indefragable]

I forgot to mention that I built all my Vets to be Sternguard, but swap out weaponry/jump packs as necessary. I forget that others may not have that option.