Adeptus Titanicus Tactica - Warlord

[Captain Idaho]

To ensure the Bolter and Chainsword continues to be the premium hobby site for everything it covers, this is the first of a selection of Tactica advice topics for us to work on as a community.

 

As the arguably most iconic titan Games Workshop ever produced, this topic will focus on the Warlord Titan.

 

As the game is still in its infancy right now, I expect this topic to change and evolve as time goes by and new releases come out. Once all 3 of the main Titans are released we'd probably have a completely different opinion on the tactics and strategy for this engine than now.

 

Warlord Titan

 

Concepts to discuss:

 

- Weapons systems

- Tactical uses of this Titan

- Load out combinations

- Role in Army/Maniple builds

- Best counters

- Miscellaneous additional content

[TheTrans]

So damn slow... to the point it is to me almost pointless trying to rock a CC weapon.

The current 'stock' loud out doesn't work overly well, as generally 1 batch of Apoc Launchers aren't enough to tear down a Warlords shield.

I've had good fun with a ranged set up of:
Mori Quake Cannon
Bellicosa Cannon
Apoc Launchers

Essentially the Apoc Launchers are there for shield stripping (no duh). Then the Mori fires, hopefully turning the titan to allow a side shot from the Bellicosa.

That loadout is a very much a stand a shoot style affair and isn't meant to leeroy in. My one issue I suppose is there isn't any very long ranged shoulder support options available to the warlords... Outside of Apoc the best max range we have on carapace is 32" with most being lower than that, which starts to get close to the Mori -1 at close range. Also factor in when you are firing at anything other than another Warlod, most of your 'close range' carapace weapons will miss out on their +1 modifiers do to not actually being able to target the stuff around their feet. 

If you want to for for a short range brawler for a warlord you'll be rolling in options, but again I think it is hampered by its maneuverability. I honestly think as time goes on that Reavers will truly become the mainstay of most 'competitive' builds. 

This isn't poo-pooing the warlord, its just more I feel a certain design path works for it which is a big nasty turret, where as your Reavers will probably become the 'go get hers' and, while weaker, are probably better cost to weapon hard point than our glorious Warlords!. 

[Captain Idaho]

I was considering that myself. The Warlord is the anchor to the list and likely to be the ranged combatant in a list for it.

 

It's hard for me to move away from the following build for pure coolness:

 

Warlord - Sunfury Plasma Annihilator x2 and Turbo Laser destructors carapace.

 

Powerful of course but Reactor intensive.

 

***

 

Something important to add to OP - Consideration to Reactor usage for the Warlord.

 

This most affects build and usage. After all, when should we push the reactor and when should we play safe?

[AccidentalCultist]

Warlords are SLOW! I like the idea of most of the weapons but getting in range is the issue, they are also out maneuvered. The Warlord's biggest advantage is its range. At the moment i have only one Warlord, which defiantly changes the situation, but i'm running the Quake, Volcano, Missiles variant.

[Captain Idaho]

Indeed it seems a Warlord won't be useful if expected to rush forward.

 

What do people consider short, medium and long ranges in this game?

[noigrim]

Damn 4 of my 8 warlords have claws, but theyy look so cool!

[depthcharge12]

My counterpoint yo the warlord being too slow to go for cc is that other smaller, faster titans and knights will try to engage them in cc to negate shields, get easy aimed shots, and prevent their carapace weapons from being used.

 

The claw is less for attack and more for defense lol

[Captain Idaho]

It's a good counter to the likely staple of killer Reavers out there.

 

However, I'm finding it hard to move away from the double Sunfury Plasma Annihilator. Just look at that firepower! Dare opponents to come close to that thing.

 

On a deployment note, I'm thinking keeping a solo Warlord back and to a flank should protect it from being bullied drom behind and keep its targets ahead of it. I definitely recommend using Warhounds to hunt opposing units trying to outflank it.

[panascope]

Double SFA will probably be a perfectly legitimate build in a month when the Warhounds get released. Outflanking their big Titan, stripping its shields, then lining up a homerun will probably be a fun strategy.

[Captain Idaho]

I was thinking of the 12 dice from double Sunfury Plasma Annihilators and Turbo Laser destructors. Same amount of dice as a double Volcano Cannon and Apocalypse Launchers Warlord but exchanges the double hit Volcano Cannons for -1 to shield saves for 4 of the shots.

 

Not a bad trade but where this build shines is later when shields are down and you can put all your weapon systems to use on pulping an engine. Knights are even more at risk!

 

Only 1 weapon is draining but if you maximal those plasma it could be trouble. Best do one at a time unless the reactor is green.

[apologist]

Variety is the name of the game, and from what little playtesting I've been able to do, I'm pleased to see that there doesn't seem to be an obvious best option in terms of armament. Even the ones that appear less immediately useful in a Titan-on-Titan game, such as the carapace Vulcan Mega-Bolter Array, will find a place on a back-line Titan.

 

The biggest weakness of the Warlord we found was the slow turn – a lone Warlord will struggle to even draw a firing solution on a Warhound if there's even a small amount of terrain; so this needs to be taken into account in your overall Maniple construction and deployment. 

 

Defensive and arrogant

Given their generally long-range and low manoeuvrability, anchoring Warlords in corners (to protect their sides and rear) is an obvious deployment option, but that will often prevent you from achieving mission objectives. If you're intending to play defensively, the currently default Apocalypse Missile Launchers and twin Belicosa Volcano Cannons (AL/BVC/BVC) are a good, if expensive, choice, particularly on relatively open tables. By staying still, you can bleed off the reactor between shots, and generally punish anything that gets anywhere in front of you; using the AL to threaten things out of line of sight. However, on denser tables, I think the cost and unreliable nature (i.e. draining, hard to repair) of the BVC makes them more of a liability. 

 

+++

 

Tough and in your face

Warlords are durable enough to sustain a full turn of fire from pretty much anything in the game at the moment (particularly with Voids to Full), so you can go more aggressive. Taking shorter-range weapons that don't require you to push the reactor leaves you free to instead order power to locomotors and/or power to stabilisers, letting you take the fight to the enemy. Aggressively deployed near the centre, the correct orders and pushing can bring your Warlord very close to an opposing Warlord wherever they start; and in a one-on-one game, it's quantity of shots that starts to count. 

 

Consider a Warlord equipped with Paired Gatling Blasters, Sunfury Plasma Annhilator and Macro Gatling Blaster (PGB/SPA/MGB) facing an enemy Warlord equipped with AL/BVC/BVC. The former is considerably cheaper, and can afford to be pushing its reactor early on to get close, while its opponent has to choose between firing or redeploying to avoid the attacker. Once within 24in, the long range advantage is lost; and the sheer weight of fire is far more reliable at stripping shields than the AL/BVC/BVC. If allowed to get close enough, the opposing Warlord can't even fire its BVC, and then it's a case of weight of fire gradually wearing it down. 

 

Let me be clear; I don't think that the suggested PGB/SPA/MGB Warlord is some sort of revolutionary idea; merely that it is (relatively) cheap, and able to be played aggressively.

 

+++

 

Working in groups and the Megabolter Array

That scenario above is in isolation, of course. The problem with charging across the field is that it leaves you open to being flanked. The answer here is to have supporting Titans to threaten anything that tries to flank the charging Warlord. Keeping to the Tactica theme of Warlords, having two in the front-line, and one Warlord further back seems a decent idea. Titans light enough to flank your frontline Warlords will have to work hard not to present their own flanks or rear to your defensive Warlord. 

 

Here, the Vulcan Mega-bolter Array finds a role. Rapid makes them astonishingly good at stripping shields. Your defensive Warlord will likely only get one bite at the cherry before becoming a target itself (in which case it's done its job anyway); so the Mega-bolters offer the best chance of stripping the shields of a Warhound or even Reaver in one round of fire, allowing the primary weapons a chance to hurt the aggressor.

 

Once the shields are down, the low strength is less of a liability against the lighter armour of Warhounds; particularly if the aggressor is presenting its flanks or rear. As a final bonus, it's amongst the easiest to repair, and cheap; leaving you more points to kit out your frontline Warlords.

 

In the late-game, when you may have lost one or both of your frontline Warlords, the defensive Warlord can advance. By this point, the surviving enemy will hopefully have sustained enough damage that the VMB array can threaten them from the front – or at least keep the shields down while your primaries go to work.

 

This is just an example of a two-line strategy; and how Warlords in groups can be more than the sum of their parts. Overlapping fields of fire and keeping one back can really throw a spanner in your opponent's plan, if they're relying on outmanoeuvring you.

 

+++

 

Anyway, there's a few thoughts in defence of the less obvious, and giving a bit of reassurance that while Warhounds (and my favourites, the Reavers) look like they'll be a big threat owing to their superior speed and manoeuvrability, there's a reason Warlords are kings of the battlefield.

[vanimal]

I have tried a lot of load outs and I'm glad too see they are a good mix without being any obvious favourites.

 

As for close combat weapons they have worked for me on a warlord. Pushing the reactor in both movement and action phase under full stride means it moves 12" a turn.

 

It's tough as nails and took three turns of fire power from a warlord and reaver before it got there. It was stripped of sheilds , structurely compromised and had suffered some critical hits. And it still destroyed a warlord and reaver in turns 4 and 5 in close combat. On the charge it's devastating and you can fight again in the action phase.

 

I may have been lucky but that's the second time I've survived the stomp across the battlefield and hot to use a CCW.

 

Plus it's one hell of a distraction for your opponent. So all my other units claimed objectives or got into outflanking locations unscathed.

[Captain Idaho]

The ultimate distraction I guess.

 

What are people finding as the best targets for a Warlord? In a full Maniple game I'm thinking a solo Warlord should act as a bully and go for the smaller titans who it should be able to nuke in a few salvos or extremely badly damage.

 

Let the thing fire later if possible to account for other titans bringing the shields down.

 

However that's on the assumption you didn't take Apocalypse Launchers, which with first fire and then firing before your main weapons, should reduce any shields the enemy may have without assistance.

[jeffersonian000]

There are quite a bit of real world navel tactics that can be applied to games like AT, specially target choices and maneuvering of forces. Warlords are basically Battleships with forward pointing “Broadside”. Reavers are Cruisers. Warhounds are Destroyers. Knights are Torpedo Boats. As such, you can apply navel tactics to your game, such as:

 

In a game where your opponent is using smaller craft to protect a larger craft, clearly the small craft in your opening salvo is a good idea, because it lets you focus on the large craft with 100% of your ship killers instead of spreading out your throw weight over multiple targets. However, if your opponents small craft are going to be ineffective due to range or lack of firepower, ignoring them for a target you can kill in the single Salvo is recommended.

 

Crossing your opponent’s “T” seems to be an interesting reversal of tactic in AT, where you want hit the side of your opponent while mitigating their return fire via positioning, especially given terrain that’s normally not an option on the open sea.

 

SJ

 

Edit: stupid autocorrect.

[noigrim]

For fist warlords the -2 to hit srrat should help

[Supe robot gangster #1]

For fist warlords the -2 to hit srrat should help

In melee you are hitting with an arioch on 3+ anyway! It’s +2 to hit at short range, and can only be used at short range :p

[noigrim]

-2 to hit to get there mate

 

Made some playtest it was

Laser blaster, sunfury, volcano

Vs

Apocalypse, volcano, claw

 

The claw titan lost 2 out of 3 games, the reactor struggles between keeping shields up and moving 6" overheating eventually, the best arm weapon was the sunfury: if you fire maximal it gives 4 s10 shots that easily pierce armour, the few overheats can be vented off. Volcano is just one shot, always overheats and can't be fired in cqc. As said once shields go down they stay that way so just one shieldbusting weapon should be enough. With that my ideal build would be apocalypse/blasters and two sunfuries.

 

A problem I've found is that weapons blow up easily, disarming a titan that can only kamikaze into the enemy or run.

 

I've also found the control sheet annoying to use so I'll try an alternate roster with pencil marks

 

PS: what's about the absurd strats like blowing yourself up?

[Supe robot gangster #1]

Not meaning to sound rude or anything, but where are you getting the -2 from? I can’t find it anywhere? I am notoriously blind however!

[noigrim]

Its a stratagem, blind barrage -2,to hit and to be hit in one titan

[Captain Idaho]

-2 to hit to get there mate

Made some playtest it was

Laser blaster, sunfury, volcano

Vs

Apocalypse, volcano, claw

The claw titan lost 2 out of 3 games, the reactor struggles between keeping shields up and moving 6" overheating eventually, the best arm weapon was the sunfury: if you fire maximal it gives 4 s10 shots that easily pierce armour, the few overheats can be vented off. Volcano is just one shot, always overheats and can't be fired in cqc. As said once shields go down they stay that way so just one shieldbusting weapon should be enough. With that my ideal build would be apocalypse/blasters and two sunfuries.

A problem I've found is that weapons blow up easily, disarming a titan that can only kamikaze into the enemy or run.

I've also found the control sheet annoying to use so I'll try an alternate roster with pencil marks

PS: what's about the absurd strats like blowing yourself up?

It certainly looks like the Sunfury Plasma Annihilator is head and shoulders above the other weapons. I picked up on that straight away; I reckon it'll receive a points increase come the 1st supplement release.

 

I'll still take it though since Plasma has always been a favourite of mine in any game.

[noigrim]

However since my titans will be wysiwyg they will only have two sunfuries, they are assembled so I'm loath to cut away at them

[The boater]

I like the really agressive close in Warlord for city fighting. Macro Gatling, power claw, and paired Gatling mean that all weapons can fire in the front arc and strip anything’s shields in a volley, and you can push your reactors all day to maneuver arround buildings or get close enough for a charge. I plan to use one with some ranged reavers holding the back line, and warhounds as the mid field support for the warlord.

[noigrim]

after some games the megabolter seems the best option for carapace, it has more hits and even if you destroy the shields you can make superficial hits when rolling 1' in armour. Weapons with lots of shots are ideal for aiming, specially overcharged plasma.

The main tactic I use is to concentrate the fire of two or more warlords against one, when the shields are stripped aim for the weak torso with multishot guns with the volcano firing normally. Usually I wait until the torso is a bit damaged before aiming too. Since warlords withstand a lot of punishmet the best way to kill or compromise one is concentrating firepower, that way you destroy shields and locations fast while the return shots only damage your titans slightly.

 

So ideal build would be two plasmas and megabolter or missle launcher (for barrage and range)

[Kilofix]

Yeah, I’ve changed my mind and decided that I’m with you guys - Dual Sunfury and Dual MB or Gatling puts out a huge amount of fire

[Fajita Fan]

That’s a build I’ll be trying once I get my stuff painted. I may end up getting a few more plasmas and megabolters printed next week.

 

Mori Quake Cannon. Discuss.