The Year is M41.999

[Focslain]

So I'm building a themed battlesuit list and I'm running into issues on what trait, relic and sept to take.

The force is as follows:

 

Coldstar - missile pod x2, HOBC, shield generator

 

Riptide - HBC, SMS, ATS, TL, Shielded missile drones x2

 

3x XV8 Battlesuits - each has BC and MP x2

 

3x XV8 Battlesuits - each has CIB, MP, shield generator

 

Stormsurge - Pulse Driver Cannon, BC x2, shield generator

 

Total: 1494 pts

 

I'm sure this list will get curb-stomped in a tournament play, but that's not it's point. It's a semi-mobile firebase with most of it protected. Cannon-fodder does what cannon-fodder does, at least they can place some long-range fire while going for objectives.

 

I'm just looking on suggestion for what freebies will contemplate the list the best.

[Guest Triszin]

magetize,

and maybe consider making 1 squad of crisis troops run x3 flamers?

- good for clearing horde's and defending the surge from assaults

[Focslain]

magetize,

and maybe consider making 1 squad of crisis troops run x3 flamers?

- good for clearing horde's and defending the surge from assaults

 

Won't fit the theme at all, never saw a VF with a flamer.

[Panzer]

Warlord trait is easy. Anything else than "Through unity, devastation" is meh.

Sept and relic really depends on you. For example I think I'm about the only one who uses Dal'yth and thus the Dynamic Mirror Field relic lol

 

Since you have so many Crisis Suits you might want to consider Farsight Enclave. It's not the greatest Sept normally but it's the best for Crisis Suits due the +1 to-hit Stratagem the turn you drop them and it has probably the most awesome relic for conversions. I'd really love to build a Coldstar with Fusion Blades. ^^

 

You talk about cannon fodder ... I don't see any cannon fodder in your list. Those all are very expensive units.

It doesn't seem you want to talk about min-maxing tho I still want to mention that mixed weapon loadouts for Crisis are far from optimal and Missile Pods are one of the most overcosted weapons we have in our Codex. Broadsides would be the better alternative for Missile spam. However MPs could become more viable with the CA so that's that. I just hope you magnetized your Crisis Suits.

[Emicus]

I like the 'advance and still shoot without penalty' wt on a coldstar. Allows you to move 40" for truly insane speeds!

[Trevak Dal]

And as a side note, the Tau wouldn't necessarily use imperial dating. So m41.999 might be E5001.

[Panzer]

I like the 'advance and still shoot without penalty' wt on a coldstar. Allows you to move 40" for truly insane speeds!

 

Most people just take a Target Lock for that reason. I for one never found either necessary. You can reach lots of places with 20" movement plus 18" gun range and if you feel you need to advance you still hit on 3+ anyway.

[Focslain]

Warlord trait is easy. Anything else than "Through unity, devastation" is meh.

Sept and relic really depends on you. For example I think I'm about the only one who uses Dal'yth and thus the Dynamic Mirror Field relic lol

 

Since you have so many Crisis Suits you might want to consider Farsight Enclave. It's not the greatest Sept normally but it's the best for Crisis Suits due the +1 to-hit Stratagem the turn you drop them and it has probably the most awesome relic for conversions. I'd really love to build a Coldstar with Fusion Blades. ^^

 

You talk about cannon fodder ... I don't see any cannon fodder in your list. Those all are very expensive units.

It doesn't seem you want to talk about min-maxing tho I still want to mention that mixed weapon loadouts for Crisis are far from optimal and Missile Pods are one of the most overcosted weapons we have in our Codex. Broadsides would be the better alternative for Missile spam. However MPs could become more viable with the CA so that's that. I just hope you magnetized your Crisis Suits.

So on magnetizing the suit, no I have not nor will. As stated I'm not looking to change the weapons since I'm going for a theme.

 

However I am looking at doing a fusion blade coldstar via Wing Gundam (fusion blades, BC and shield). Just not yet and not in this list.

 

Cannon fodder refers to the squad without an inv save and to the colour scheme I'll be using for them, tan with white highlights. Matching their anime counterparts.

 

And as a side note, the Tau wouldn't necessarily use imperial dating. So m41.999 might be E5001.

The title is a play on the opening line of the series this list is based off.

[Panzer]

You talk a lot about a theme and what your list is based off and what not which seem to invalidate our input ... however you seem to have forgotten to include your theme etc. in your opening post. If you want input that considers those things you should tell us those things. ;)

[Focslain]

You talk a lot about a theme and what your list is based off and what not which seem to invalidate our input ... however you seem to have forgotten to include your theme etc. in your opening post. If you want input that considers those things you should tell us those things.

 

Figured someone would have guessed it by now, but guess I was too vague. 

 

The list is based mostly on the Macross (Robotech in the west... for now), so missiles spam on fast moving units. 

Coldstar - Heroic VF-25 (Frontier)

Riptide - Armoured Valk (SDFM)

suit squad one - cannon fodder VF -1 (SDFM)

suit squad two - VF-25

Stormsurge - Buster Gundam (because I don't have a supmeracy armour for a Koeing monster)

[Panzer]

I see. Never watched Macross so I wouldn't have guess any of your hints.

 

So it seems your 100% fix on your list. In that case I'd say your best options are:

Warlord trait:

• Through unity, devastation

Sept Tenet:

• T'au for the 5+ Overwatch
• T'au for the Focused Fire Stratagem (+1 to-wound against an enemy unit that already suffered an unsaved wound from you this shooting phase)
• Vior'la for advance&shoot with assault weapons without penalty
• Dal'yth for free cover whenever you don't move (helps a lot to survive turn 1 since you don't have any drones which are normally mandatory for battlesuit lists)
• Dal'yth for the Strike and Fade Stratagem (one unit can shoot and then move 6" in the shooting phase)
• Sa'cea for the Markerlight Stratagem since you don't have any Markerlight sources otherwise
• Farsight Enclave for the +1 to-hit Stratagem for your Crisis Suits on the turn they arrive from reserves

Relics:

• No clue what would fit Macross but I like the basically all of them for one reason or another.
• Dal'yth: -1 to-hit against the character in the shooting phase
• Sa'cea: -2 charge distance against the character
• Vior'la: better flamer for the character
• Bork'an: better Plasma rifle for the character
• T'au: 6" move after attacking in the shooting phase for the character
• FSE: Fusion Blades for the character

 

Personally without changing your list I'd probably go for T'au, Sa'cea or Dal'yth.

[Focslain]

I see. Never watched Macross so I wouldn't have guess any of your hints.

 

So it seems your 100% fix on your list. In that case I'd say your best options are:

Warlord trait:

• Through unity, devastation

Sept Tenet:

• T'au for the 5+ Overwatch
• T'au for the Focused Fire Stratagem (+1 to-wound against an enemy unit that already suffered an unsaved wound from you this shooting phase)
• Vior'la for advance&shoot with assault weapons without penalty
• Dal'yth for free cover whenever you don't move (helps a lot to survive turn 1 since you don't have any drones which are normally mandatory for battlesuit lists)
• Dal'yth for the Strike and Fade Stratagem (one unit can shoot and then move 6" in the shooting phase)
• Sa'cea for the Markerlight Stratagem since you don't have any Markerlight sources otherwise
• Farsight Enclave for the +1 to-hit Stratagem for your Crisis Suits on the turn they arrive from reserves

Relics:

• No clue what would fit Macross but I like the basically all of them for one reason or another.
• Dal'yth: -1 to-hit against the character in the shooting phase
• Sa'cea: -2 charge distance against the character
• Vior'la: better flamer for the character
• Bork'an: better Plasma rifle for the character
• T'au: 6" move after attacking in the shooting phase for the character
• FSE: Fusion Blades for the character

 

Personally without changing your list I'd probably go for T'au, Sa'cea or Dal'yth.

Ok, this is what I was looking for and thank you for indulging me.

From the looks I might just going T'au for the vanguard and Bork for the stormsurge.

If we get a price drop I'm going to put drones in the squad with the CIB since in the series they have Ghost fighter drones, just don't have the points in this list.

[Trevak Dal]

I've been super critical of crisis suits so far, but they always reminded me more of Armored Core mechs than anything. (In gameplay they were like the ai mts I think they were called? Not quite armored cores...the closest on table top to feeling like armored cores was previously Knights and still Knights.)

 

With their current rules they are more like armored cores than ever before.

 

:cusss sake GW, give me a 5 point support system that let's me have a 8" move in assault (that counts as movement phase/can ignore terrain and models/has fly). I feel like I'm being flogged for all the :cuss my suits killed in 6th and 7th.

[Focslain]

So for Trokair's Facing the Unknown II, I actually built the force I was planning in the OP.

 

Due to the point drops Tau had since I last posted I was able to get in some drones for support/protection. In keeping with the theme their designed after a drone used in the series.

 

My core force starts as an Outrider detachment -

 

Coldstar - HOBC, MPx2, shield gen, puretide chip and either master of montka or Tenacious Survivor

 

4 man unit of XV8 battlesuits - CIB x4, Shield Gen x4, MP x3, drone controller

 

3x 4 man Tactical Drone units - 2x marker and 2x shield drones (close up of drones in spoiler)

 

This is just over 500 pts, sept choice with the new options is Harden Missiles and Hybridized Weapons. This gives the MP more AP and the CIB/HOBC slightly longer range, just enough to keep them out of standard assault range.

 

A bulk of the current force is the Bork'an SCD which has:

 

Coldstar - relic plasma rifle, MP x2, Shield Gen, 2x shield drones

 

2x Fireblades - markerlight, pulse rifle, pulse pistol, 2x shield drones (each)

 

Riptide - Heavy BC, SMS, TL, ATS, and Missile Shield drones x2

 

Stormsurge - Pulse Driver Cannon, cluster rockets, SMS, BC x2, destoryer missiles x4, Shield gen, EWO

 

So the longer range added to getting to use the relic plasma (half the reason for the sept choice) made it a ok defense. I've only used it once so far and the Stormsurge and fireblades lasted the entire battle, but the riptide was dropped early. I had spread the group out so wasn't able to get the drones in position to guard the riptide. Bad planning on my part. The EWO on the stormsurge is to give it a little protection since the general plan is to place it on an objective in my deployment zone, drop anchor and stay there. The fireblades are nearby (might be base to base) so that if there is an assault they can add some fire or tempt to charge them to active FGG on the Stormsurge. Plus the fireblades give a markerlight hit on 2+ so I can get the needed reroll 1s.

 

In adding to this I have made the start of another Battlesuit squad, this one is a BC, MPx2 with the sgt getting the iridium upgrade. I have three done, need to find or salvage another MK1 suit for the fourth member.

I did build and paint one XV9, giving it twin BC, pulse submunition rifle and shield gen. In the few games I used it, it wasn't really good, but I haven't faced light armour infantry which seems to be the main target of the PSR.

 

Either way it has been a decent objective take and holder. The decent range of the hybridized PSR allows for support fire of other units while the twin BC gives it more defensive fire. I'm going to build and paint another one, just different colours, replace the blue in the pict below with purple to preview what the next one will look like.

 

 

 

Other planned additions is a spearhead detachment with the following:

 

Enforcer Commander - CIB x2, Shield Gen, Drone Controller (modeled after the Metal Siren from Macross II)

 

3x 3 man units of sniper drones (going to trim down the saucer section, the bottom half is just fine)

 

Custom sept of the hybridized weapons and the sniper option (forgot the name). This is mostly to assassinate characters, the commander's job to kill any bodyguards near the target.

 

Also looking at doing a custom broadside or two. Modeled after the Destroids from the series.

 

But that is way down the line.

 

Here's a picture of the whole force so far (minus still needed shield drones) done so far.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

[MithrilForge]

Nice theme, i like it! 

Luckily with the "make your own sept" now your force is a little bit better than when you first had this idea 

 

thanks for sharing your army with us!!

 

Cheers, Mithril

 

++EDIT++ you could have done the army in that cartooney style like that guy did with his borderlands comic book style force... to get that Macross cartoon feel 

[Focslain]

Nice theme, i like it! 

Luckily with the "make your own sept" now your force is a little bit better than when you first had this idea 

 

thanks for sharing your army with us!!

 

Cheers, Mithril

 

++EDIT++ you could have done the army in that cartooney style like that guy did with his borderlands comic book style force... to get that Macross cartoon feel 

 

The anime style just requires me to go thru and black line them. Not too hard but time consuming.