Bonzi Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Thought I would start a topic where actual play testing experience with using the Vigilus Formations could be discussed. Today I dusted off my Vostroyans and ran a double Battalion, one as a Vostroyan Emperor's Blade detachment, the other as a Scion Tempestus drop force. Rough list was: VOSTROYANS Tank Com: Plasma, x2 plasma, lascannon Tank Com: Battle Can, x3 h. bolters Company Commander (warlord:mechanized commander, kurovs Aquila) Company Commander X3 Infantry: grenade launcher, heavy Bolter X3 Chimeras: mixed loadouts SWS:x3 flamers Cmd Squad:x3 plasma, medic Veterans: x3 plasma Basilisk H. Weapons Sad:x3 mortars Vulture: x2 punishers SCIONS Temperstor: rod (extra warlord, detachment trait) Primaris Psyker: (shroud and barrier) X2 5 Scions: x2 plasma guns X1 5 Scions: x2 melta guns Valk: hellstrike, x2 h bolters, multilaser So right off the bat with this list I've spent 3cp to get two detachments and a secondary warlord. These detachments relics are garbage so I took the Aquila to get back some CPs, but nothing is super optimized. I just wanted to try things out. I ran this list against an Ork Evil Suns Speed freaks list that was a Gorkanought, a big blob of bikes and a ton of buggies with grots, shoota boys, and a blob of lootas mixed in as well. My opponent conceeded at the top of turn 3 because the game was solidly in my favor by then. Thoughts: I LOVE the Emperor's Blade formation! I'm a mech guard player at heart and this brings it back for guard players. Coupled with the drop in points for Chimeras, Veterans, and most weapon costs, this formation let's you play something distinctly different from gunline guard and it is glorious. The warlord trait is golden, functionally letting your warlord add 11 3+ T7 wounds to his statline that can be replaced if he jumps into a new Chimera! He's hard to pin down AND if he's in a Chimera he can operate the Lasgun arrays even after the main squad disembarks. The disembark strat is cheap and powerful, good for getting frail guardsmen with big guns exactly where they need to go. I used it to drop a Special Weapons tripple flamer and a tripple plasma command squad right where I wanted them to be AND I could still throw orders on them AND use the Chimera to tie up the units that didn't get killed to prevent a counter charge. My Ork opponent was floored as my Chimeras drove forward to meet his charge and then tarpitted him into CC with the durable Chimeras. I honestly think my Chimeras and squads lifted more weight than my tanks did this game. I really want to run a rolling wave of Chimeras in this fashion but with the limitations of using a strat only once per turn, it's probably best to not go off the deep end with this detachment. I think the best units for this formation are Chimeras for their increased durability and transport capacity over tauroxes and especially for their amount of Dakka to use in the overwatch stratagem. Veterans, SWS, and Command Squads are the best payloads to deliver as they carry the guns to punch hard. A surprise Infantry squad in a Taurox might make for a great late game objective grabber. I'll add my thoughts on the Scion formation later. Feel free to add your own experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trickstick Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 Just a quick point: I used it to drop a Special Weapons tripple flamer and a tripple plasma command squad right where I wanted them to be... Did you drop them both at the same time? The stratagem only lets a single unit disembark, which makes it a bit less useful with Special Weapon Squads and Command Squads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallofStovokor Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 My experience with the Emperor's Wrath has been great. The warlord trait allows my basilisks to have -4AP. The suppressing fire allows for a full squad to get into combat with no fear of overwatch. The real standout is shooting a basilisk twice. That coupled with overlapping fields of fire means that you can destroy any heavy damage dealer you want once per turn. The basilisk's earthshaker cannon, as you know, is one of the best weapons per game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzi Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 Just a quick point: I used it to drop a Special Weapons tripple flamer and a tripple plasma command squad right where I wanted them to be... Did you drop them both at the same time? The stratagem only lets a single unit disembark, which makes it a bit less useful with Special Weapon Squads and Command Squads. Ah, good catch. I read the rule to fast. I thought it applied to the transport and thus anything embarked in it. It does say (unit). That was my bad. That does push Veterans and Infantry squads as being more useful for this strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 There is some info in "The hammer on vigilus" thread further down. The tempestus drop force has been ok, I've used it twice. Nothing super. Its probably not worth bringing the valkyrie. The emperors wrath has been awesome, auto include for me everytime now. I dont bother with the warlord trait but I have started taking the relic. Ignores cover on a double shooting basilisk or wyvern is pretty good. The suppressive fire stratagem is good for when I have a vehicle fall back or otherwise can't shoot or doesnt have a good target, clearing the way for bullgryn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuardDaddy Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Following on from Mertbl comment above has the Emperors Wrath formation pushed people towards hydra? It is eligible for the key word, and the ability to use suppressing fire seems to increase its utility notably as no roll to hit required to use. So either great v flyers, or cheap way to get suppressive fire off repeatedly. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wassa Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Does the Hydra need Line of Sight to use Suppressive Fire? The strategem just says it has to be within range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sairence Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 With the way the strategem is worded...no. It's specifically not a shooting attack, so any restrictions on your normal shooting don't apply. Same reason why you can use it after falling back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glute Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Excuse my ignorance on this but: 1. Can you take Vigilus formations in any game (Match, Narrative, etc)? 2. Are the valid for ITC? 3. Does anyone know if Battlescribe will be supporting this? I'm not sure I want to shell out $50 for 5 pages of formation data. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 1. Yes 2. Yes, I think so but obviously up to the event TO. 3. Yes, but it provides no real info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wassa Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Battlescribe has the formations, but I’ve had some issue with it. Like it won’t let you give the relic battle cannon to a tank commander unless he’s your warlord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rommel44 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 As a fellow Mechanized Infantry player, I can concur that the Emperor's Blade formation is awesome. I have played it with the Tallarn Doctrine and have given all my Chimeras Dual Hvy. Bolters to go with a Hvy. Stubber and the number of shots they put out is staggering. So far have dominated most opponents with my IG after I started fielding this Formation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 What do you use for your 1 disembarking squad? Command squads with plasma? As a fellow Mechanized Infantry player, I can concur that the Emperor's Blade formation is awesome. I have played it with the Tallarn Doctrine and have given all my Chimeras Dual Hvy. Bolters to go with a Hvy. Stubber and the number of shots they put out is staggering. So far have dominated most opponents with my IG after I started fielding this Formation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rommel44 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 What do you use for your 1 disembarking squad? Command squads with plasma? As a fellow Mechanized Infantry player, I can concur that the Emperor's Blade formation is awesome. I have played it with the Tallarn Doctrine and have given all my Chimeras Dual Hvy. Bolters to go with a Hvy. Stubber and the number of shots they put out is staggering. So far have dominated most opponents with my IG after I started fielding this Formation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Multiple command squads would be funny for clown car shenanigans. Opponent kills squad. Next squad hops out. Opponent kills, next squad hops out. Repeat forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallofStovokor Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 This is tangentially related. Has anyone got a chance to do a vigilus campaign? My local store is about to and I was wondering how the missions play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I'm interested in running one here. Waiting on the holiday bustle to die down and then start drumming up interest. They do seem to have quite a bit of ignore invuls. Lots of environmental aspects to the missions, lava flow, earthquakes. This is tangentially related. Has anyone got a chance to do a vigilus campaign? My local store is about to and I was wondering how the missions play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sairence Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Will likely be involved in one run by a friend soon. Can't wait for my first running tank battle on a moving battlefield XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diagramdude Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Just took 3rd at a local RTT using the Emperor's Fist and Emperor's Blade formations. Brief thoughts:Fist: 3 damage battle cannon is incredible, it gives the traditional battle cannon Russ a much different threat level, great for taking out two or three wound infantry and reliably blows T7 tanks apart and threaten T8s, all from 72" away. And in the common scenario where someone tags the Russ in combat, you can fall back 10" and with Full Throttle! from himself move and advance another 11"-16". So whatever tagged you is left in the dust. Blade: Running 3 Chimeras with 3 plasma vet teams, I found them really strong as the mobile element of a Cadian gunline. The majority of my Cadians are static and I could play the whole game sitting in a chair by my deployment zone. The Chimera plasma vets though have the mobility to swing around anywhere in the mid-board and hop out when they are ready to pour 2+ no overheat plasma shots on whatever is getting Overlapping Fields of Fire. This can be 18 shots of 2+ reroll ones overcharged plasma. I will also say about the Rapid Redeploy strat is it is most clutch when you advance a infantry to embark into the chimera, advance the Chimera, pop out again at the end of the move phase, and Move Move Move! in the shooting phase. You can easily cross the short side of the board, and have ob-sec infantry almost anywhere you want. The minimum move rolling all ones would be 7"(advance to Chimera) + 3" (embark range) + 13" (Chimera advance) + 3" (disembark end of move phase) + 7" (Move Move Move) = 30". Maximum rolling all 6's would be 12+3+18+3+12 = 48". This is god-tier mobility for 1 CP, especially for Cadian gun lines that want to sit back until the later turns and then rush out and grab objectives once the threats are gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noigrim Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Need for speed man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanguinaryGuardsman Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 Just took 3rd at a local RTT using the Emperor's Fist and Emperor's Blade formations. Brief thoughts: Fist: 3 damage battle cannon is incredible, it gives the traditional battle cannon Russ a much different threat level, great for taking out two or three wound infantry and reliably blows T7 tanks apart and threaten T8s, all from 72" away. And in the common scenario where someone tags the Russ in combat, you can fall back 10" and with Full Throttle! from himself move and advance another 11"-16". So whatever tagged you is left in the dust. Fully agree on that 3 dmg battlecannon. It is totally filthy. Your Full Throttle! maneuver is unfortunately not possible since the BRB clearly states that you cannot advance if you made a fallback move earlier in the turn. Since Full Throttle! requires an advance move you cannot do use it in a turn in which you fell back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diagramdude Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 Gonna have to disagree with your call on full throttle... see pretty much every other guard order that breaks the core rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 I'd also expect rapid redeploy to stop you from getting in and out in the same turn. I think Steel legion(stratagem/order?) already has this prohibition. I really thought we'd see the faq this past Saturday for vigilus and CA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallofStovokor Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 Full Throttle doesn't violate it. Technically advancing is done during the movement phase. You're not supposed to do anything in a turn where you've advanced either, but you can give a squad move, move, move or a tank full throttle after you've advanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Are Verlo Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 Ar the moment I’d say a regular battlecannon is better than the HoS. Flat damage 3 is great but I’d rather fire the regular battlecannon twice because of grinding advance. As written right now the HoS can not be fired twice because it is not on the list of weapons listed on page 86 under the grinding advance rule. I expect this to be «fixed» in a FAQ and then it will be a totaly fantastic weapon :-). Range 72” and 2d6 shots with flat damage 3 is going to hurt most units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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