Hunters: like 'em even more now

[Gederas]

Threadomancy most foul or an efficient Ultramarine utilising an old thread for the important information therein? We'll find out shortly...

 

So I've been thinking, taking into consideration the state of play and what ends up competitive for each list (for and against) and I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that a Hunter is actually one of the hidden gems of Codex Space Marines, mono build of course, out there.

 

Why would I make such an extreme claim?

 

Well, simply put, would you buy a vehicle with long range, 2 S9 Damage D6 shots that rarely miss against all targets, with 22 wounds and T8 all for only 160pts?

 

The answer for just about any army using other vehicles is going to be yes. Well the unit is actually 2 so you get to still fire even when one is locked in Close Combat, claim 2 objectives and fire sequentially so less overkill. All the while filling out a Spearhead for an extra CP.

 

So what is the current feeling of experience people can feed back to me?

 

I'm planning on a Leviathan list so extra T8 is going to be crucial. Marines struggle against Knights and Flyers in the more competitive games so Hunters will even those odds somewhat. Knights don't like being hit by Lascannons and hitting even Alaitoc flyers on a 4+ but rerolling 1s and 2s is pretty reliable. Other flyers will be hit even easier.

 

I could be wrong but 160pts for a pair of these beasties alongside a Relic Leviathan and a Chainsword Techmarine looks like the go to Spearhead to me.

I mean, I've been thinking of getting a Hunter (or two, or three :lol:) for my Dark Angels for the reasons you've mentioned.

[Kierdale]

Oooh! Now I want one too! :( :D

[Jacques Corbin]

I run it as a Stalker, for Volume of fire, but good point on the hunter vs knights, although their invuls can prove problematic for one shot weapons.

 

Consider the Thunderfire Cannon. It comes with a Techmarine, and while tremor shells do not work on units that fly, or things like knights, they are gold vs hordes.

[Aurica]

I always fancied a squadron of anti-air tanks.  Recently bought one Hunter/Stalker, guess I will get it painted to troll my opponents lol

[Captain Idaho]

Thing I'm liking about the Hunter is the way it is very effective against land targets too.

 

Definitely wouldn't take just the one mind. It's just too much of a swing on the weapon damage to be reliable.

[Panzer]

They aren't bad, but 2 shots for 160p is really not a whole lot. You pay mostly for the durability. If you want them to do the job well you want a third I'd say (actually a fourth but I just gonna assume the 3 datasheet restriction for most tournaments).

 

For comparison sake, a Heavy Rail Rifle Broadside with Shield Generator costs only 78p (without the secondary weaponry) and deals unbuffed slightly more damage than the 80p Hunter with its re-rolls even against FLY targets with T7 or less (ignoring the HRR Mortal wounds and slightly better AP here even). The difference of course is in the defensive. T5 vs T8, Sv2+/4++ (in my case even Sv1+ since I play Dal'yth so they are permantently in cover lol) vs Sv3+, W6 vs W11, potential Drone protection vs nothing and last but not least the degrading profile of the Hunter.

I'm not going into detail about all the different buffs both factions have available, just so much that T'au can easily apply a re-roll hit rolls of 1s with a single Markerlight on the target while the Hunter doesn't benefit from Captain auras since it already has its own re-roll build-in.

So why am I even mentioning the HRR Broadside here? Because while it's a decent unit it's not really considered to be a super good unit. It can do the job decently if you take multiples (read: 3 of them so you have 6 shots) but nobody is pointing at them and saying "yeah, that unit is great and will win me battles". Even T'au have the 'problem' of medium strength weapons with decent AP and high RoF being better than dedicated anti-tank weapons with low RoF.

 

So my conclusion would be: Take them if you want to, but don't expect the outcome of your games to change dramatically. They are decent but not super good. Kinda like most Marine units currently, I guess. 

[Captain Idaho]

Well comparing them to Tau is a little misleading. Tau excel at their individual roles because they have zero options in assault and most of their units barely move (the Tau Castle is so boring).

 

Marines do have those options, though we have other balance issues (which is a different debate).

 

I do agree Hunters won't break the game. What they give is saturation T8 and range combined with reliability for a moderate cost.

[Panzer]

But that's the point. The HRR Broadsides don't excel at their individual role. They are only okay at it and likewise Hunters are only okay at it.

[Captain Idaho]

I just don't see the comparison. It's like comparing Death Company to Genestealers - the armies are different, the units totally different and the purpose different.

[Panzer]

Well, if you don't see it you don't see it. Can't change that.

[Captain Idaho]

Well it's a risk of flying off topic but GW doesn't balance the armies via unit by unit, they balance as a whole army vs army. Andy Chambers was the first to reveal this I believe, back when he used the example of Striking Scorpions often being ignored in favour of Howling Banshees in Eldar armies, but in Tau armies they'd be very valuable so Striking Scorpions get a discount in Eldar armies yet if in Tau would be more expensive.

[The Unseen]

I believe that Idaho.

It's a bad way of doing it, and it's probably a contributing factor as to why allies always throw the entire system balance out the window

[9x19 Parabellum]

I've been off B&C for a while now but I'm blessed to come back and see people talking about my beloved Hunter :-)

[Captain Idaho]

You'll have to give us some feedback on how they've performed for you recently, in your absence.

[Jacques Corbin]

If they performed. Like in my case, my wife and I just moved, not quite settled in yet, and now we are expecting twins. Life does get in the way...

[Joukernaut]

Hmm, I’ve got two unpainted ones.

I’m kinda curious how they perform now.

Unfortunately I don’t play with unpainted models,