Imperial Fists 2.5k

[Huscarl]

Hi, all. I wanted to put together an infantry-heavy Imperial Fists army, with a decent blend of offense and defense. Was wondering if anyone had any commentary or tips on this detachment, especially if I've done anything illegal or if there are any tips related to what kind of RoW I might use:

 

Legion: VII

Faction: Loyalist

FOC: Crusade

 

HQ (425pts):

 

Legion Praetor 175pts

(Cataphractii Armour, Thunder Hammer, Vigil Pattern Storm Shield, Teleportation Transponder)

 

Primus Medicae 150pts

(Cataphractii Armour, Solarite Power Gauntlet, Needle Pistol, Narthecium, Teleportation Transponder)

 

Command Rhino 100pts

 

Elites (965pts):

 

5 Man Legion Terminator Squad 280pts

(Cataphractii Armour, 3 Power Fists, 2 Chainfists, 4 Vigil Pattern Storm Shields, 1 Iliastus Pattern Assault Cannon, Teleportation Transponder)

 

10 Man Veteran Tactical Squad 275pts

(2 Heavy Bolters w/ Susp. Web, Meltabombs, Rhino w/ Pintle-Mounted Multi-Melta)

 

10 Man Veteran Tactical Squad 275pts

(2 Heavy Bolters w/ Susp. Web, Meltabombs, Rhino w/ Pintle-Mounted Multi-Melta)

 

3 Man Apothecarion Detachment 135pts

 

Troops (705pts):

 

20 Man Tactical Squad 235pts

(Vexilla)

 

20 Man Tactical Squad 235pts

(Vexilla)

 

20 Man Tactical Squad 235pts

(Vexilla)

 

Heavy Support (315pts):

 

7 Man Heavy Support Squad 315pts

(7 Lascannons)

 

Fortification (90pts):

 

Bunker 90pts

(Ammo Store, Comms Relay)

 

Total: 2500pts

 

The plan is pretty straightforward.

 

Turn One:

The Lascannons sit in the bunker, with a Tac Squad on the battlements (babysitting the comms relay and hopefully an objective of some sort). The Command Rhino heads up the field and pops smoke in as much cover as possible, hoping to get within 24" of the Praetor/Medicae/Terminator Squad's primary target. The two other Tac squads march up the flanks to the nearest objectives, trying not to get too murdered by artillery. Apothecaries try their best to keep their Tac Squads alive-ish.

 

Turn Two:

The Terminators and Vets should be pretty consistently showing up from reserves with the 2+ rerollable (assuming the Command Rhino hasn't been blown to bits). The terminators then terminate, while the Vets are responsible for whatever backfield shenanigans seem most appropriate at the time. Command Rhino then uses this opportunity to pie plate.

 

Turns three through six involve scoring, which all of these units except the Rhinos and Heavy Support Squad can try and do.

 

Anyways, if you would, please let me know what you think, or if there's anything major that you would do differently.

 

[dicebod]

Fists player here!

 

Wow, you were not kidding when you said you wanted to go infantry heavy! 

 

The lascannons in the bunker are a great option!  But other than the MM rhinos, they're you're only real anti-tank option.  The terminators w/ chainfists will do well in melee against armor, but if you're deepstriking them you give your opponent a turn to either a ) shoot them or b ) maneuver out of the way.

 

I'd recommend putting a few more points into anti-tank.  Some fluffy choices for a footslogging army might be Rapier carriages w/ Laser Destroyers (cheap & T7 against shooting, so very survivable), a Dreadnought or two (Leviathan w/ Siege Drill or Contemptor w/ Chainfist & Graviton Guns) or a support squad armed with Melta - I'd actually recommend cutting out one of your 20 man tac squads in favor of something that hits a little harder.

[Huscarl]

Hi, dicebod. Thanks for taking the time to review this list.

 

You're right, I need a little more anti-armor, but I'm also loathe to give up any of my Tac Squads because I want this list to represent roughly a full company, so  I'm dropping the Primus Medicae for a pair of Shatter Shot Quad Launchers, and the handful of points left over after that I'll use to give a couple of augury scanners to my apothecaries. I've also switched to the Pride of the Legion Rite of War in order to free those Elite slots up.

 

Between the 8 Strength 8 Sundering shots from the new Artillery, the bunker full of Lascannons, the Meltaguns on the Rhinos, and the Command Tank's Lance bombardment, I'm hoping that meets the absolute anti-armor bare minimum for an HH game. Plus I've got a couple of chainfists on the Cataphractii (and that Iliastus for light armor) and melta bombs on the Vets for cleanup purposes (or just as a way to maybe threaten out some board control).

 

The best part is that with these changes the army comes out to exactly 100 marines, which is perfect.

 

So here's the updated list:

 

Legion: VII

Faction: Loyalist

FOC: Crusade

RoW: Pride of the Legion

 

HQ (275pts):

 

Legion Praetor 175pts

(Cataphractii Armour, Thunder Hammer, Vigil Pattern Storm Shield, Teleportation Transponder)

 

Command Rhino 100pts

 

Elites (285pts):

 

Quad Launcher 70 pts

(Shatter Shells)

 

Quad Launcher 70pts

(Shatter Shells)

 

3 Man Apothecarion Detachment 145pts

(2 Augury Scanners)

 

Troops (1535pts):

 

5 Man Legion Terminator Squad 280pts

(Cataphractii Armour, 3 Power Fists, 2 Chainfists, 4 Vigil Pattern Storm Shields, 1 Iliastus Pattern Assault Cannon, Teleportation Transponder)

 

10 Man Veteran Tactical Squad 275pts

(2 Heavy Bolters w/ Susp. Web, Meltabombs, Rhino w/ Pintle-Mounted Multi-Melta)

 

10 Man Veteran Tactical Squad 275pts

(2 Heavy Bolters w/ Susp. Web, Meltabombs, Rhino w/ Pintle-Mounted Multi-Melta)

 

20 Man Tactical Squad 235pts

(Vexilla)

 

20 Man Tactical Squad 235pts

(Vexilla)

 

20 Man Tactical Squad 235pts

(Vexilla)

 

Heavy Support (315pts):

 

7 Man Heavy Support Squad 315pts

(7 Lascannons)

 

Fortification (90pts):

 

Bunker 90pts

(Ammo Store, Comms Relay)

 

Total: 2500pts

 

Thanks again for your feedback, and please let me know what you think. I think that this might still be on the short side for anti-armor, but I'm hoping that against, say, a fully mechanized list I'll be able to weather the storm and win on objectives (probably wishful thinking with the current meta, but we Fists are known for our stubbornness).

[Huscarl]

Well, this is embarrassing, but I didn't quite understand what Rapiers with Laser Destroyers did (or how cool they looked), so I'm going to take a pair of those instead of the quad launchers after all. Thanks again to dicebod for the suggestion.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with the extra 30pts?

[dicebod]

No prob!  Rapier Laser Destroyers are awesome and you're awesome for playing them!  

 

One more quick recommendation I have is that your Praetor doesn't have to be in Cataphractii, as the benefit (4+ invul) is pretty much invalidated by the Storm Shield, so unless you are married to the Cataphractii model I'd suggest putting him in Tartaros so you can sweeping advance.

 

And here's an easy way to spend your 30 points - give your Apothecaries artificer armor (if you haven't already).  Another 2+ save in a big blob squad can make all the difference in tanking wounds that would normally beat 3+ armor.

[K3nn3rs]

I’ve used a similar list, though I ran PotL and didn’t take so many tactical squads!!

 

I’ll offer some of my findings:

 

Command Rhino - a clever opponent WILL target and destroy this T1- make sure you hide it well!

 

Terminators - I’d go with standard terminator armour (or count Tartaros as standard if you prefer the models) as it makes foot born terminators more manoeuvrable and allows you to spread out a little after deep striking. I’d also max out on chain fists 2-3 are never enough to deal with super heavies / knights, especially once you’ve taken a few casualties. I’d also drop the assault cannon and keep it all storm shields - give the squad a dedicated purpose.

 

Bunker - with a command rhino in the list you could exchange the comms relay for a quad gun - giving you some AA.

[Son of Rawl]

It's a good start. I would drop the Damocles and terminator squad, as you are building toward a gun line army so a lone 5 man with attached character with little support will die horribly.

 

I would go for a Artificer Praetor with command squad inside a land raider proteus that has the exploratory array and the hull mounted Lascannon. This way it will provide a fearless bubble for your tactical hordes, hamper your opponents reserve rolls while helping yours, and also provide AA which you will need.

 

Will warn you now though that a bombard opponent will give you an extremely bad time.

[K3nn3rs]

Something else to consider is that your bunker can take up to 6 barricades - providing cover for your infantry.

 

I’d consider reducing your tactical squads to 3 x 15 to pay for a few upgrades / toys (AA in the sgts / apothercaries)

[Ultramarinebo]

Awesome list man, a cheap tactical squad horde will be a force to be reckoned with.

Rapiers were a good addition.

 

For some more aggressive anti vehicle firepower, why not consider dropping the heavy bolters on the vets and decking them out with melta? Fury of the legion on 30 footsloggers will definitely tick the box for dealing with infantry so you won't miss the H. Bolters. In saying this, it's slightly less fluffy for IF.

Awesome list man, a cheap tactical squad horde will be a force to be reckoned with.

Rapiers were a good addition.

 

For some more aggressive anti vehicle firepower, why not consider dropping the heavy bolters on the vets and decking them out with melta? Fury of the legion on 60 footsloggers will definitely tick the box for dealing with infantry so you won't miss the H. Bolters. In saying this, it's slightly less fluffy for IF.