Wraithknight; Yay or Nay?

[Prot]

So my weekly stumble through the Eldar army has me really trying to get to the bottom of the build more so than the premise of using him. But I wonder what you guys think of the build options considering the support he can take advantage of.

 

Besides, I think the model is one of the most elegant of the super heavies in the game.

 

Composition wise I have narrowed it down to the Shield and Suncannon.

 

- pluses include: cheaper build, no need for invuln support, and thus doesn’t necessarily need the Vigilus detachment, bonus is good for killing Marines/ elite infantry.

 

- minuses include: not great against hard vehicles, trades potent firepower for survivability.

 

 

Heavy Wraithcannon Build :

 

- pluses include: true threat to super / heavies at range. That’s about all I have, but it’s huge. Overall a lot more shooting variety, and not as dependent on making it to close combat, remaining effective against superior close combat armies.

 

- minuses include: cost. First turn loss is more likely, and more painful. No invuln, requires Vigilus to access invuln. Required CP to survive.

 

 

So that’s my good/ bad thoughts. What do you guys think? I’m truly split.

 

Overall I’ve come to find that even at its worst, the Knight is something we can prop up on the psychic phase like no other army. The Knight is never stellar, and it wouldn’t work with 2, but it can work. Sometimes it’s stellar in absorbing damage.

 

It might never win me a tournament, and I know right now we’re in a phase where heavies disappear pretty fast , but I do think it’s okay for at least mid level play. I’m curious what you guys think.

[TrawlingCleaner]

I would definitely go with the Suncannon and shield, higher Strength and dmg potential is not better IMO, it's why disintergrator cannons, autocannons and burst cannons are taken the most. It's all down to target priority with the suncannon, aiming more for infantry of all sizes, dreadnought equivs and light vehicles. You can defintiely swing at bigger vehicles but it may take guide and doom to get a reliable output, Doom is for sure needed if you're going for repulsors etc. The only downside to the Suncannon is the 2D6 shots, it's great when you roll high but horrendous when you roll low. IMO they should change this from 2D6 to 4D3 like they did with the Exorsists for SoB or have a strat where it can max shots like wtih Salamanders. If you want good AT, Fire Prisms are really the way to go and to a lesser extent Fire Dragons are they are very short range.

 

The 5++ really helps here too, survivability is far superior to just damage output potential, D6 damage is all over the place most of the time.

 

Pros to Suncannon and shield:

Reliable damage, multipurpose, potential high amount of shots, high AP, doesn't need any powers on if it's going against infantry, 5++ invuln is nice against AT and can definitely come in clutch, more flexible, if you do shoot at something with high toughness without an invuln it won't have a save better than 5+ and with an invuln you'll get plenty of dmg through thanks to weight of fire

 

Cons:

Needs powers to do well against more than T6, amount of shots is random

 

 

Pros to dual wraithcannons:

Strength 16 is ridiculous, everything T8 without an invuln will hide from this or will not get a save/ only 6+, potential of 24 damage and will make vehicles with an invuln think twice, fixed amount of shots

 

Cons:

No invuln means you have to put more resources into keeping it alive, Random damage

 

 

I would keep this multipurpose and then have dedicated AT elsewhere so that the enemy has to split their fire. They focus your Fire Prisms, fine, you can Doom their AT and wither it away with the Suncannon and vice versa

[Prot]

I think I'm leaning that way.

 

The way I used it last was with the Vigilus Detachment and I can easily get a 4++ invuln on it with that, however it's far too CP intensive, and facing GSC, or Black Heart Cabal, it can't be blocked. 

 

I keep going back to DOOOOOOOoom! When I need the extra mileage out of the WK, I think that's the way to do it.

 

All of that said, one of the good things to me is the fact IF I do lose it in turn one it's not the end of the world.

[TrawlingCleaner]

How many CP is it to boost it's invuln?

 

Exactly, losing it turn one isn't the end of the world assuming that the opponent has to use a hefty amount of firepower. With an Invuln and high toughness it should either weather the storm or soak a considerable amount of firepower that the rest of your army wouldn't be able to.

[Karhedron]

How many CP is it to boost it's invuln?

2CPs I think. It's not bad but it is not a long term strategy. Then again, keeping a LOW alive even for 1 turn can be good.

 

The answer for building a model is magnets (of course). I magnetised my WK so I can switch seamlessly from HWCs to Suncannon.

[Prot]

 

How many CP is it to boost it's invuln?

2CPs I think. It's not bad but it is not a long term strategy. Then again, keeping a LOW alive even for 1 turn can be good.

 

The answer for building a model is magnets (of course). I magnetised my WK so I can switch seamlessly from HWCs to Suncannon.

 

 

 

Yup, 2 CPs for the strat, but you pay another CP just to buy into the Vigilus Detachment. Plus it really only works with the Wraithknight if you take a Supreme Command detachment. All this gets pricey (it forces me to use 5 HQ's which is tougher with a super heavy.)

 

So it's funny you mention magnetization. I just bought the model. I am slowly putting it together in spare time between painting the army up, and I didn't realize I could magnetize the Suncannon/Shield variant and dual Heavy Wraithcannon loadout?

[Karhedron]

So it's funny you mention magnetization. I just bought the model. I am slowly putting it together in spare time between painting the army up, and I didn't realize I could magnetize the Suncannon/Shield variant and dual Heavy Wraithcannon loadout?

I built mine a couple of years ago and faced a similar dilemma. I will try and dig it out and take some photos so you can see where I put the magnets. I can't match your painting skills unfortunately but we can't have everything.

[Captain Coolpants]

I found that I didn't need to magnetise anything other than shield. The wraith cannons are push fit, and if you apply the paint on thick inside the suncannon 'forearm cage' that also push fit. Same for the hands/sword, put some thick paint or glue on the hexagonal male part, then it's also push fit.

[Prot]

 

So it's funny you mention magnetization. I just bought the model. I am slowly putting it together in spare time between painting the army up, and I didn't realize I could magnetize the Suncannon/Shield variant and dual Heavy Wraithcannon loadout?

I built mine a couple of years ago and faced a similar dilemma. I will try and dig it out and take some photos so you can see where I put the magnets. I can't match your painting skills unfortunately but we can't have everything.

 

 

My assembly skills suck. I literally despise putting models together.  My magnetization skills suffer as a result. In fact if I find abandoned Eldar (or other 40K) projects on ebay with magentization or just really good assembly, I jump all over it if it's affordable.  I'd love to see what you did. Even some quick phone pics would be much appreciated.

 

I found that I didn't need to magnetise anything other than shield. The wraith cannons are push fit, and if you apply the paint on thick inside the suncannon 'forearm cage' that also push fit. Same for the hands/sword, put some thick paint or glue on the hexagonal male part, then it's also push fit.

 

That is great to hear. That's about the extent of my abilities. So does this mean you can have Shield/Suncannons or Shield/Glaive or Heavy Wraithcannon configs at your convenience? Or is there a combination that doesn't work?

 

How about shoulder mounts? Are those completely swappable too?

[Karhedron]

I'd love to see what you did. Even some quick phone pics would be much appreciated.

The left arm is magnetised just below elbow for the shield and HWC. The right arm is assembled in gun configuration and the barrel is just swapped between Suncannon and HWC as Captain Coolpants suggests.

[Prot]

That looks awesome. Well done. That might be a bit beyond me but now I know how it’s supposed to work. Thanks for posting him up. Looks fantastic...elegant and intimidating. I’m sure he’s crushed many a monkeigh! ;)

[Prot]

My Knight building is not going so well. lol

 

I don't know if I'm going to have the skill to put the magnets in those really figidty little spots. I am putting the arms together and the spots where the energy field goes is seemingly small. To replace all that with the guns is going to be interesting.

 

Anyway, the mould lines are a real pain. I've done a tone of work and liquid greenstuff trying to get rid of them. But getting rid of them on round surfaces like this is really risky. It's so easy to cause imperfections.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

On a build side note for lists:

 

I keep trying to figure out the way to beef up the list with a Wraithknight. Keeping 2 squads of Wraiths with him is very hard. It definitely hurts your ability to hit hard from range and have numbers to protect those Psykers.

 

Interestingly enough at one point I pulled the WK from the list entirely, and thought of 'beefing' up with two Crimson Exarchs to join my Wraithfighter. 

 

Guess what?... They're  352 points combined... with Starcannons!

 

That just seems like so much. I know everyone uses these things, but we are now in the area of the WK. 

 

My current preferred build of WK is Suncannon/Scattershield and two Scatter Lasers for a total of 374. 

 

So let's just say 22 points difference which is a very paltry difference. That's some wargear of fleshed out low end troops. 

 

This, to me, made me realize something: 1) I REALLY need to try 3 flyers with two of them being Crimson Hunters, or 2) the Wraithknight is a proper value, and may be a valid unit in competitive play? 

 

I think the feedback I see from tournaments is obviously option 1, but I did find the cost comparison interesting.