Warlord, what are you good for?

[Cybercrow]

Absolutely nothing?

 

Am I the only one that is underwhelmed by the Warlord? They're tough, but their damage output is usually well below its equivalent points in the smaller units.

 

Is it just me? I find that I'm dropping Warlords from most of my lists, unless I'm playing a campaign game and need to "secure" my points in something that lasts. But for pick up games, they're pretty much all relegated to the shelf for now.

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

I don't know about you, but if I want to have something absolutely, positively, dead, I use a Warlord with Belicosa loadout. They can pretty much end anything smaller than them in only a few hits, even without the ability to aim at already wounded sections. A Warlord also makes a great anchor, but its flanks need to be protected. 

 

That being said, Reavers are the bread and butter, especially supported by Warhounds.

 

What I haven't had success with so far is pushing a Warlord forward to hammer enemies in CC. The Arioch seems to remain a strictly defensive weapon at the moment.

[The boater]

The only times I’ve found I’m bringing one is when I really want to bully some smaller titans. They can put the hurt down on warhounds, but if knights are involved I’d rather spread my points around with reavers. The knights just kill one too easily and that’s a ton of firepower gone off the table.

[noigrim]

The only reason I field warlords is that they are way cheaper than metal epic titans

Volcanos are gold vs knights but reavers can take them also

[Perry]

The missile barrage on first fire can be devastating to an important target or Warhound Squadron

 

 

Destruction wise i find a formation of Warhounds to be more Deadly with lots of Plasma, but a Warlord does have his uses.

[Mandragola]

Warlords are my favourite titans, but that’s certainly because I enjoy the challenge of using them. And because the Legio Astorum rules really improve them, letting me make real progress across the board early on.

 

I’ve never run a dual-belicosa warlord and I think they are pretty terrible. It’s too much power for the weapons, leaving nothing for movement or repairs. It’s no surprise that these guys get outmanoeuvred. Quite often you see them overheat, lose their shields and even explode. My opponent in my first game had two of these guys and they both died in his repair phase, not directly because of my shooting. I think this armament - which most warlords cane with - is the real problem.

 

I’m really interested to see what impact the new guns will have - particularly the Gatling. A warlord that doesn’t need to use its reactor to fire will be a really different beast. You’ll still want to bring support but they should be far more liveable titans.

[Sherrypie]

Warlords certainly have their place and can wreck stuff. They have the biggest guns, can hold their own in a firefight against multiple opponents and are absolute lynchpins for some strategies like Regia maniples. They are less flexible than smaller engines and must thus have sharper focus in mind when fielded, but when they do what they want to do they do it very well.

 

The problem with Warlords is that they cost enough points to lose in the activation economy, which is then further compounded by the fact that they are also cumbersome to maneuver because of the fire corridor. Basically, you get less activations and have to maneuver them before their targets, which can then sidestep 1/3 of their armaments. The counterpoint here is that a battlegroup has to work as a whole, thus if you want to avoid that you should take singular warhounds or cheap Knight banners to rack up some activations to allow your Warlord always turn against something that cannot dodge anymore.

 

As I said before, they need focus. A Lord can do well at long range, as a midfield brawler or mixing some from both to advance and do tricks. Tie it to your game plan from the moment you decide to field one. Have you played games on 6' x 4' tables? Nothing like First Firing for turns on end with missiles, Quakes and Volcanoes with no real retaliation coming your way. Long range also makes using fire corridor easier. Does your Legio have abilities that grant extra shooting for some heat (Fureans, Defensor...), which you don't really care about on the first two turns? Gets all the better when the guns are big. Does your legio allow for some sweet per-gun bonuses like Atarus' Veterans of Shedim Drift? Do you regularily take advantage of the fact that Sunfury Annihilator is perhaps the best executioner's gun in the game, as you can pump reasonably accurate Str 10+ hits to injured locations for almost guaranteed Criticals? Do you use their Quake cannons to control the enemy mobility in conjunction with your other elements? It's hilarious when you punt engines against each other or crash them face first into walls from the other side of the table with Concussive.

 

For funsies, an Astorum Warlord can cover 32" in the first two turns, which in some deployment options is already through the whole field. Put double fists and a potential Vital Cargo on that and let your opponent worry on making sure it has been stopped as your other couriers slip through on the other flank. If they manage to stop it, it's also going to blow up so hard it can take that flank out by itself anyway :D (I'd probably use laser blasters on top, good strenght for Magazine Detonation or some opportunistic shots when it has contacted and can't Full Stride anymore)

 

It's also generally a "winning move" to put a Swift Killer trait on your 'Lord(s), which then allows it to turn 45 degrees before attacking in Combat. Sure it gives a -1 to hit, but depending on your loadout that might not be so bad. Generally, the important bit is supporting your line throughout with other engines so the Warlord doesn't have to fight a war of maneuver as much as to let the nimbler ones do it for it while blasting everything in front of it apart.

 

Hot take, but the double Belicosa loadout is utterly terrible. You lose so much potential for trickery by not having extra space to sink heat when you need to run or spin. At the same time, Macro-Gatling is woefully underrated. It's a 6 dice Str 7 weapon that is both good at stripping shields, punching holes in anything lighter than other Warlords and aiming for injuries when shields are down. Also, of boii, Experimental Weapons for Maximal Fire all day erryday is coming in Doom of Molech for that sweet +2 Str on all sorts of Gatlings. How about 12 Str 7 shots from the carapace gatlings, yaaaas.

[The boater]

For funsies, an Astorum Warlord can cover 32" in the first two turns, which in some deployment options is already through the whole field. Put double fists and a potential Vital Cargo on that and let your opponent worry on making sure it has been stopped as your other couriers slip through on the other flank. If they manage to stop it, it's also going to blow up so hard it can take that flank out by itself anyway :D (I'd probably use laser blasters on top, good strenght for Magazine Detonation or some opportunistic shots when it has contacted and can't Full Stride anymore)

Im imagining a warlord running with the other titans head tucked under his arm like a football

[noigrim]

One of its redeeming qualities is its high firepower, double plasmas and carapace gatlings can kill or maul easily a lesser engine or a bunch of knights turn one.