How do you use veil of darkness?

[Beatnik cryptek]

Let's try this here. I tried it in another forum and had bad results.

How do you use VoD? Early on to attack, later on to exploit a sudden change in the situation, save it for a response to something bad like a major deepstrike, etc?

Do you use it with special units like destroyers or immortals, or do you prefer to use it to move a huge number of warriors?

Who do you give it to? An overlord, a lord or a cryptek?

 

In general I like to give it to a cryptek who has taken the chronometron as giving the unit that is moves a 5++ save is generally a damn good idea.

 

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

I used it a lot in previous editions when it was just points to control objectives, or deliver a squad from a stronger point of battle to a point on the battleline that needed reinforcing.

Now that they usually cost command points, though, I don't run it as much and tend to run a weapon instead. If I did use it, though, it would probably be a blob of warriors for the enemy to deal with, especially with my preferred code of Mephrit. AP-2 is pretty nasty, no matter what your save is. I wouldn't be averse to using it to deliver a squad of telsa immortals for 2+ hit/5+ exploding tesla shots at AP -1.

I wouldn't rely on it too much, though, unless you have a mechanism to prevent morale losses for the turn after, when your enemy is almost certain to have leveraged the resources to really put the hurt on them.

[Beatnik cryptek]

I'm not sure you have to use a CP to use VoD, it's a piece of gear you can get free.

It's nice to see someone else agree using it on a 20 warrior blob can be a good idea. After all, a destroyer squad, a favorite for using VoD on, can be wiped out in as little as 6 lasconnon type shots. a 20 man blob still takes 20 hits to wipe out. This damn board seems hellbent on underlining what i type even after i shut underlining off, having not picked it in the first place, and I'm tired of trying to stop it.
 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch
fixed formatting

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

I went ahead and fixed your formatting. If something formats and you don't like it, you can highlight it and then click the eraser button in the top left of the control panel, which clears all formatting. Hope that helps.

 

Well, it by itself doesn't cost a CP, but multiple relics do, and I really like having a warscythe relic for the extra oomph in melee, and I usually don't have the CP to burn on an extra relic. Hopefully once my immortals get online, that will change and I can get some cheap(er) battalions.

Warriors can be nice. My only concern is with morale, but that can be mitigated if the teleporting character is your warlord with the Immortal Pride trait, or if you spend the 2CP for insane bravery.

[BaconCouch]

I use it in 1 of 2 ways.
Teleport Destroyers into range of a target turn 1 for extermination protocols.
Pull a screening unit out of melee and onto an objective out of LOS to regen, and let the rest of my army tee off on whatever got into assault.

[Beatnik cryptek]

I went ahead and fixed your formatting. If something formats and you don't like it, you can highlight it and then click the eraser button in the top left of the control panel, which clears all formatting. Hope that helps.

 

Well, it by itself doesn't cost a CP, but multiple relics do, and I really like having a warscythe relic for the extra oomph in melee, and I usually don't have the CP to burn on an extra relic. Hopefully once my immortals get online, that will change and I can get some cheap(er) battalions.

Warriors can be nice. My only concern is with morale, but that can be mitigated if the teleporting character is your warlord with the Immortal Pride trait, or if you spend the 2CP for insane bravery.

I still think the crypotek's 5++ save is a better option. But a lord, especially on a CCB, can be nice.

[NTaW]

The Veil of Darkness is one of my favourite relics and I've used it as much as I can since we first saw it added to 8th in the initial Chapter Approved book.

 

For a long time I used it on a ChronoTek to transport 20 Warriors to where they needed to be, or out of combat for regeneration and retaliation. While the gimmick was fun and some successes were had it really wasn't great at doing anything aside from frying light infantry even when adding in the Mephrit AP bonus and the Talent for Annihilation stratagem. The only times I saw real brilliant use out of this was v. Ork and Nid infantry, and once my opponents got wise to it they made it -very- hard to fit that many bases down in advantageous spots (and I have mine on 25mm bases even).

 

Using it on Destroyers has been OK for me but with the terrain I've had on the tables recently this use has been negated. I find it easy enough to hide them out of sight then use the 10" FLY move to pop up onto something for LoS and range.

 

Currently my favoured use of the VoD is on an Overlord bringing a full squad of sword and board Lychguard to where they need to be. I use MWBD on the Lychguard (and often the Overlord as well via The Phaeron's Will if I'm feeling lucky) and go for an 8" charge into the backlines. I don't often make the charge, but then get to use the Dispersion Field Amplification stratagem to make my opponent question unloading any high rate of fire weapons into the squad. Lychguard are easy to kite for most people I've faced but if you can use the Veil to get them into an unavoidable position they can really distract the enemy and do decent damage once they get stuck in.

[Get Thokt]

Majority of the time I would be using it on Destroyers to get them in terrain and to get the jump on tough targets. Though using it late game to get into the enemy's deployment for line breaker or behind enemy lines in ITC format are good uses too.

[TootiusNootius]

One more use I don't see folks talk about often that I do is hold it as an ace in the hole counter. Someone charges my Warrior phalanx - "Oh no my frontline is tagged in combat..."

 

[Does reanimation protocols (With res orb if needed). VoD Teleports out of combat (With or without MWBD) and shoots like nothing happened (Not falling back out of combat so not hit with an inability to shoot penalty). Enemy melee unit is left in the open surrounded by firepower]

 

++Warning: May end friendships.++

Edited May 13, 2020 by TootiusNootius

[Mr4Minutes]

I usually use mine on an overlord and 10 Tesla immortals. MWBD plus mephrit is a lot of damage on screens/etc t1.

 

I’d recommend running the deceiver or fast moving units so they aren’t sitting totally alone. Or just isolate a weak front of your opponent to minimize their counter attack.

[Get Thokt]

If you're playing against Marines, watch out for Auspex Scan. A 2CP Stratagem that allows a unit to shoot at a deepstriking unit (includes our Veil of Darkness) within 12". Deceiver works better in this case as you can re-deploy outside of 12" then move in for that Rapid Fire/Mephrit ability. Edited May 14, 2020 by Get Thokt