Semi competitive concepts besides Cawlstar

[lash144]

Hey folks,

I'm looking for some input from you guys. I love my AdMech but lately I really struggle coming up with some good list ideas which don't include Cawl + mass Dakkabots.

Since I'm playing in a semi-competitive environment I would love to hear what is working for you in such environment.

 

P.S.: I have no problems taking some allies, e.g. guard.

[MajorNese]

No idea how competitive this is in your environment, but on a beer-and-prezels environment, it made AdMech fairly usable for me. Take Lucius. Ignoring -1 is nice (read: damn situational, maybe useless), but deep striking literally any unit is far nicer. Dropping 2 or 3 plasma vanguard squads outside of interceptor range (12" servo-skull stratagem etc., 18" plasma) and a TPD (Solar Flare relic) to reroll 1s, creates pressure without getting shut down if the enemy gets turn 1, because the critical units aren't even on the board yet. Add advancing dragoons and maybe other forward units, and your opponent will have  a lot of stuff to deal with turn 1, ignoring most of your remaining army.

 

Also, Lucius makes a lot of other units usable. Dropping a large squad of CC baymaxes is a threat, and leaving them on default protocol makes them fairly resilient, especially when ignoring -1. Dropping autocannon dakka-chickens behind enemy lines means decorating the surroundings with a certain character who stayed behind the wall of bodies. Just go for stuff that no one expects from such an immobilie army, it can't hurt. The Carl Wall is too well known for being the one AdMech approach.

 

A lot of people also include knights. IG superheavies are a usable option too, with Enginseers repairing for the full D3. Add the repair relic, Warlord Trait, and maybe stratagem, to repair an IG superheavy for 4-8W per round. Having a damn self-repairing baneblade as threat keeps your onagers alive until it's dead.

[Prot]

I find my AdMech to be my most difficult army to play competitively. I did try a detachment of my Armigers and it went poorly. I have had more success with my Crusader Knight as it’s cheaper as a solo unit, and just shoots a heck of a lot more.

 

Of course I play Mars exclusively and if I were to go outside my normal allies of Knights it would be for CC.

[lash144]

Haven't played with Knights yet, so which do you recommend?

I guess a Crusader like Prot said? Which loadout do you run?

Also the Cerastus Archon looks pretty tasty?

[Lysere]

Haven't played with Knights yet, so which do you recommend?

I guess a Crusader like Prot said? Which loadout do you run?

Also the Cerastus Archon looks pretty tasty?

 

If using the GW knights I feel the Thermal cannon is the weapon of choice. Plasma fills the damage value of the gatling just fine and the battle cannon is meh for me regardless. My own list is an errant backed up by a trio of dragoons and two Onagers in the backfield.

 

Crusader is fine if you need more dakka but it is the most expensive option since the gatling is the most expensive weapon. It is the better choice if you plan on taking the repair warlord trait and have the dominus babysit it but I prefer the command point trait.

[Cilu]

How about something like this:

 

Stygis VIII Battalion:

HQ: Tech Dominus + Tech Engineseer

6x8 Rangers with 2 Plasma in each + one Alpha

3x4 Dragoons gets them -2 to hit due to Stygis VIII and the incense cloud

3 Dunecrawlers with the laser  

 

that would be around 2.000 Points :)

[strawberry fist]

I'm very knew to the Ad-Mech and haven't built my army up to be large enough to use in a fight yet but I quite like the look of the Lucius Dogma and 'teleporting' in a unit of 10 vanguard with 3 plasma to then be supported by a TPD with solar flare. This unit can then go after tanks and small squads but would you use this as a distraction squad or use some dragoons to come and help with that flank?

 

With a lot of primaris players at my local store the ignoring -1 to AP will be useful and personally see they dogma as one of the better ones.

[MajorNese]

I'm very knew to the Ad-Mech and haven't built my army up to be large enough to use in a fight yet but I quite like the look of the Lucius Dogma and 'teleporting' in a unit of 10 vanguard with 3 plasma to then be supported by a TPD with solar flare. This unit can then go after tanks and small squads but would you use this as a distraction squad or use some dragoons to come and help with that flank?

Depends on the situation. Deep strike 2 full squads and a TPD in cover, and they will hold for a while, as well as kill something big. 3+ armour against anything AP0 or AP-1 is decent, supporting them with advancing dragoons/vanguard, more deep strikers or anything else might hold that location. My last game, I used half a dozen bare ranger squads which just moved up to that deep strike location/objective. They drew fire, they whittled down chaff, and the end of the game all the half-decimated squads blobbed the objective while dragoons drew attention elsewhere. The concept itself can work, but depends on mission/opponent/list.

[strawberry fist]

Yeh there are a lot of external factors that can change things. I've just got a start collecting box and the forgeable box and going to building it up from there just need to come up with a strategy and what else to buy to go in the army :)

[brother_b]

I feel that putting pressure on armies by throwing something up in their grill is key. Not sure what that would be. Probably dragons, maybe vanguards, fistbots, whatever. That'll take some pressure off my shooty line. This is coming from a guy that's only played admech twice. Sounds reasonable though and to that end I'll be working on my dragoon.

[Prot]

Dragoons feel essential to me. How many is up to your tastes but I feel they are must have to protect your base.

 

The Armigers have disappointed me. I can’t help,but feel they will get better but for now all they have accomplished is robbing my army of model count and footprint allowing armies to get in deep on me and wreck me in a turn.

 

I still prefer the full sized Knight. I can’t remembe how to repair them for more than 2 wounds a turn but you can.

I love the Crusader because it can delete chaff while blocking chaff for the rest of your army.

[strawberry fist]

I do prefer the crusader, run it with the thermal cannon and the rocket pod. It's usually a good distraction unit and helps to keep my other tanks alive.

 

How many dragoons would you suggest to run? As I like the sound of the -1 to hit them as their advancing.

[lash144]

Dragoons feel essential to me. How many is up to your tastes but I feel they are must have to protect your base.

 

The Armigers have disappointed me. I can’t help,but feel they will get better but for now all they have accomplished is robbing my army of model count and footprint allowing armies to get in deep on me and wreck me in a turn.

 

I still prefer the full sized Knight. I can’t remembe how to repair them for more than 2 wounds a turn but you can.

I love the Crusader because it can delete chaff while blocking chaff for the rest of your army.

Yeah Dragoons are king, I love them.

 

Regarding repair: There is a WL-trait which allows repairing for an additional wound and then you can spend 1 CP for repairing an extra time, which also proccs the WL-trait. So you can repair 4w each turn.

[ImperialSquishiness]

I feel that putting pressure on armies by throwing something up in their grill is key. Not sure what that would be. Probably dragons, maybe vanguards, fistbots, whatever. That'll take some pressure off my shooty line. This is coming from a guy that's only played admech twice. Sounds reasonable though and to that end I'll be working on my dragoon.

This is key. Get something in your opponents face early like infiltrating/deep striking dragoons/fistbots that will take a fair bit of dakka to put down and it protects your main line from the Alpha strike.

 

If a unit if 6 Stygies dragoons all of u sudden starts 13" away from the main line of your opponent (if you don't get first turn) They'll be -2 to hit, take up a large chunk of board space to deny deepstrikers and will get to charge immediately if they survive.

[Vel'Cona]

 

Yeah Dragoons are king, I love them.

 

I just wish the damn things weren't 50 bucks apiece! 

[Prot]

 

 

Yeah Dragoons are king, I love them.

 

I just wish the damn things weren't 50 bucks apiece! 

 

 

I know right? I own 3, and borrow 3 more from a friend in my non-allied lists. I actually can't afford the list I'd like to play. But boy do I have Rangers! LOTS OF RANGERS!

[caladancid]

With the advent of Flyrant spam, and since it’s not crazy to think large monsters might make a comeback, I think the other (i.e. non-Crusader) Knight versions are going to prove quite useful. I even think the overcosted Armigers will be helpful with their speed (though I do hope the codex either reduces them in points or buffs them).

 

So I think adding some monsters of our own to lists could be a new sort of competitive build.

[MajorNese]

Dragoons feel essential to me. How many is up to your tastes but I feel they are must have to protect your base.

 

The Armigers have disappointed me. I can’t help,but feel they will get better but for now all they have accomplished is robbing my army of model count and footprint allowing armies to get in deep on me and wreck me in a turn.

 

I still prefer the full sized Knight. I can’t remembe how to repair them for more than 2 wounds a turn but you can.

I love the Crusader because it can delete chaff while blocking chaff for the rest of your army.

For fun and giggles, I'll try all 3 units you mentioned, trying the in-your-face approach dialed up to eleven. 1 atropos, 2 armigers, 4 dragoons, 3 deep striking plasma vanguard squads, and a whole lot of cheap footsloggers. Not optimized at all, but maybe threat saturation will do its thing.

[Redtoof]

My 'bit of everything' Ryza force is by no means optimised but I think there might be something to max sized units of plasma destroyers using the Ryza plasma specialist stratagem, if you can somehow stop them from being dead.

[Vel'Cona]

My 'bit of everything' Ryza force is by no means optimised but I think there might be something to max sized units of plasma destroyers using the Ryza plasma specialist stratagem, if you can somehow stop them from being dead.

 

Is there any way to get them a better* Invul save?

[Clingy]

They have a 6+ inv don’t they?

[lash144]

They have.

[Redtoof]

I think there might be some mileage in putting them in fortifications. Don't know if you can use a stratagem on them while the are inside, but they can always get out and shoot without penalty.

[MajorNese]

Set up an objective in cover, and use the "Acquisition at any cost" stratagem. At least for one round, a nice 2+ save.

[Subtle Discord]

*Subtle hugs his Void Shield Generator with its 12" bubble of 4+ invul and a perch for some TA toting Rangers*

 

I'm hoping with careful placement I can use the shield to help weather the inevitable times where I can't go first, then the elements that need to move forward to get their jobs done can do so, while the supporting units hang back to enjoy the invul bubble. Will it actually save 190pts worth of casualties to offset its current cost? That's the question.