Multi-Meltas

[Montford]

In your opinions are multi-meltas currently more viable for the Sisters as Immolator loadouts or in a Retributor Squad?

 

Also, what do you think of MM armed Retributors in a Repressor?

[Jomgor]

I think although not a bad choice on the immo per-se but you lose the Immo Flamer to get it and the Immo flamer is better than every other flame option we have based on every metric you can compare them by. So it may not be bad but you take a loss to equip it, probably will only ever do it myself when I know for a fact im going against a pure mech or t5+ force. on rets though i think they are amazing since with AoF you can essentially get 8 MM for the price of 4 with the possibility of resurrecting lost ones and you never lose BS when you take wounds. I think they would do best in an Immo since to really make the points sink of MM worth it you need to buff them with AoF and you can't AoF something inside a transport even the Repressor. Not an invalid strategy but your points would be waaaaay better spent on melta Dominions if your plan is to drive them around in Repressors.

 

My 2-cents.

[Atrus]

Twin MM on an immolator is a waste of our awesome assault immolation flamers. MM on Retributors on the other hand, im completely down with that. They're a great little intimidation unit in the middle of the board, enough range on t hem to give your opponent cause for pause, especially if in the safety of a repressor. Pricey pillbox though.

[Beams]

Rets with an Imagifier are amazing, but in my experience just create a no-go zone where the opponent tries not to send anything valuable.

 

If they do, however, it dies.

[Drider]

An idea i chew over every so often is multiple 5 girl troop squads with a multimelta. Spread out that high value weaponry rather than putting it all in one basket. It's not as attractive as putting them all in one unit because of AoF, but it does mean that you're expensive heavy weapons can't be effectively focused down. 

[Mekhitar]

I used to run multimeltas on immolators all over the place in 7th.  When 8th started, I tried it once or twice, but I stopped for two reasons...

One, the immolation flamers are just so tasty!  The ridiculous of move+advance+flame for mobility cannot be overstated; the 12" inescapable overwatch in an army that doesn't want to be charged is so lovely; and the fact that the immolator doesn't give a hoot about its degrading ballistic skill all combine to make it a sweet option.  Besides, it's so cheap! (Relatively speaking.)  I use my immolators (and chaos rhinos, when that's my army) as giant speed bumps, constantly charging them into close combat to blunt the enemy advance or shooting or to act as overwatch screens to CC elements in my army.  And I love the idea that if I fall back from combat and the enemy charges me, he basically gives me a free round of shooting with the tank anyway.  So nice.

I do like the multimeltas, but again, they are so expensive on a unit that an enemy army's AT should have no trouble popping if he wants to focus it.  And boy do those MMs get focused!  I don't know that I have ever had one survive the enemy alpha strike, in any game.  If I take 1 MM and 2 Flamers, I bet you can guess which one is always the one to die first.  Additionally, if it doesn't get killed, it gets crippled - its BS fades quick, and when you add the -1 penalty to move and hit with it, it quickly becomes a paperweight.

The real loss, though, is the opportunity cost of taking out the flamers.  Oh, the stories I could tell of what immolation flamers have done for me...

 

That being said, I have taken multimeltas on battle sisters.  I will freely admit, the chief reason I do this is that my sisters collection has only 6 meltaguns, but an additional 5 multimeltas.  It is an easy way for me to burnish my anti-tank, by throwing down some retributors with MMs.  They are, again, so expensive, that I feel like I only get mileage out of them by stacking them together in a squad and dropping an act of faith on it every turn.  Oh boy, can they do work if the enemy gets in range - but you have to place them right, and play a good game of opening/closing lanes of fire on the table with your vehicles and how you dodge the terrain.  Leave them out unprotected and they get smoked, and that's expensive.

(Side note: those rare games where I run a hospitaller, I get a kick out of getting a 36-pt model back with her ability...)

 

I tried running the MM in a BSS a few times - usually as part of MSU; say 3 or 4 squads of sisters so equipped.  I really don't like it.  The small threat range but high threat potential of the MM means you'll always wanting to be moving it to get its shots off on high value targets.  And really, the rest of your sisters squad doesn't want to be doing that.  They want to be sitting on objectives, or going for table-control secondaries, or screening important targets, or double-moving for positional advantage - they don't want to be weighed down by a lone model that really needs to move in a different direction to draw line and have range on a tank of choice.  Then there is the frustration of, when it is in range, choosing whether to move the squad to advance some secondary objective of yours, or keep it still for the effective +1BS.

At least if you clump your MM together, there's no question what that squad's job is, and you don't have to worry about Killing Things vs Playing the Mission with it.

I have never run them in a repressor, as I don't have any repressors, but I have talked about it.  I am in the process of acquiring a 3D print conversion, and then I would love to give that bunker a shot.  The best I have done (the closest I have done) is stick a 5 man ret squad with 4 MM into a bastion, and then deployed it on an objective. It was a giant Bubble of Nope that covered 2 objectives, and probably singlehandedly got me Hold More basically every turn of that (ITC mission) game - but it actually spent most of the game not doing anything as far as Killing was concerned.  I faced Aliatoc "hit me on 5s" Eldar, and the only thing that came close was a hemlock that accidentally strayed a few inches too far into my table corner.  Nothing else ever touched that table corner.

So, I suppose it did its job, but I think it really wants to go against an in-your-face army (knights anyone?) to really "feel" it.  Bunkering that squad up in a repressor is a tempting thought because I can scoot it forward to where it is guaranteed to do serious work.  Then again, a repressor is a heck of a lot easier to pop than a bastion. :P

Maybe bastions will get a points drop...

[Beams]

I don't like mutlimeltas in Repressors, since then they can't move or can't AoF. But the added defense could be worth it?

[Slasher956]

I don't like mutlimeltas in Repressors, since then they can't move or can't AoF. But the added defense could be worth it?

 

Ok cant AoF but the repressor can move 12" the same as an AoF move + standard move then the girls can still shoot at -1 as normal.

[Montford]

It seems my thoughts on Multi Meltas are about the same as my fellow Sisters players. I prefer them afoot with an Imagifier nearby. I also like to add a Sister or two for some ablative shielding.

 

I typically place Melta Dominios in my Repressor but I really want to try Heavy Flamer Retributors in one. 

 

I agree that the Immolation Immolator is the best option for the Immolator all around. That 24-30 inch threat range can really surprise people.

[Atrus]

2 HF rets in a repressor is a nasty surprise for anyone not expecting it. Give the repressor double heavy flamers and that 8 heavy flamers. That makes things- even tanks- go bye bye pretty darn quick. Its a fun quirky thing to do, but darn expensive.

[Slasher956]

2 HF rets in a repressor is a nasty surprise for anyone not expecting it. Give the repressor double heavy flamers and that 8 heavy flamers. That makes things- even tanks- go bye bye pretty darn quick. Its a fun quirky thing to do, but darn expensive.

Ok think I'm missing something here... 2 HF rest + 2 HF on the repressor = 4

 

A full unit of 4 +2 on the repressor would be 6...so how do you get 8?

[Atrus]

Squads, my friend. 2 HF ret squads (with 4 HF each) in a ret with double flamers is 8.

[Slasher956]

Squads, my friend. 2 HF ret squads (with 4 HF each) in a ret with double flamers is 8.

2 squad with 4 each is 8 + 2 on the Repressor is 10!

 

(so why not go the whole hog and give both sis. Superiors a combi flamer for 10D6 S5 AP-1  & 2D6 S4 AP0 hits....for a mere 375 points )

 

Oh ... RTFR!!!! 

 

Ok only 6 models can shoot from the repressor... kinda important rule to have missed :(

[Montford]

Aye, 6 firing  ports unless I am missing something. (Which I have done before!)