Would Phobos BA work?

[Captain Antargo]

I'm thinking of adding Phobos units to my BA Army, would this work? Could you share any strategies you use or would use with BA or Phobos units, help is appreciated!

[VanDutch]

I think there is a general consensus that Incursors and Invictors have a place in a BA army. Both have infiltrate, are decent in combat and benefit from the BA chapter tactic and stratagems. You can usually pull of turn one charges with them. I’ve had a lot of joy with Incursors that have managed to survive until turn 3.

 

Infiltrators are good for preventing your opponent from deep striking, if you need to defend a back line.

[Panzer]

Sniper Eliminators are good for obvious reasons as well, however usually don't fit in because of all the Sanguinary Guard and Deathcompany. Having strong and mobile melee units usually also takes away the need of having sniper units.

[Klazien]

Phobos definitely have their play in a BA army.

 

Incursors are a solid troop. Maybe not your primary troop but a unit or two bring options to table.

 

I've been running Invictors since last year the perfect distraction Carnifex to take the first turn heat and put some threat up close and personal.

 

Eliminators are just plain outstanding.

 

Toyed a bit with Suppressors and Reiver but didn't find a way to make them work well with my style. Phobos Captains and Librarians have a bit of play if your trying out WLT and Psychic power. And the LT just dont make sense, just mismatched all up.

[DistractionTacMarine]

Incursors and Infiltrators are good, although expensive. Invictors are also good but suffer a little from the fact that you need to bring at least 2 or they’ll just be focused down right away. Eliminators are great, but it’s hard to find the points for them since you again need at least 2 squads, and having mobile melee somewhat reduces the need for snipers in any case.

[Indefragable]

Incursors are the best Troop option currently available to BA.

 

<gauntlet thrown down>

[Blindhamster]

I still love my intercessors honestly.

 

But yeah, incursors are good.

 

I actually think there is mileage in the phobos characters and eliminators for BA too as they provide something we otherwise do less, they're complimentary units to our melee style.

 

I still like rievers too honestly, they have done fairly well for me, I think our chapter bonuses really help them not suck. Our chaplain litany also helps them

Edited May 26, 2020 by Blindhamster

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

Phobos Captain is good candidate for Quake Bolts due to the extra range of his weapon and good midfield “buff” giver. Reivers have their place I suppose, but for me the stars are the HQ’s, Incursors, And Infiltrators also to a lesser extent, and definitely Eliminators. The Warsuit is really cool model and has its place, but due to how ugly the models are will neve use Suppressors. Fluff/paint scheme wise I’d field it all as tenth coy, and maybe add scout bikes as they’re really good IMHO. Regular scouts are alright, but if you’re gonna field them over Incursor and Infiltrator units, you want to take advantage of what you can’t get with the Phobos stuff, for me the standouts are the Landspeeder Storm, which is a pretty cool little transport, heavy bolsters and missile launchers to take advantage of HELLFIRE and FLAKK MISSILE starts respectively, Astartes shotguns and the ability to take mixed squad loadout. I realise the question is about Phobos units rather than scouts, but their is overlap between the two both from fluff and crunch perspectives alike. Edited May 27, 2020 by Captain Smashy Pants

[Majkhel]

^Suppressors are not Phobos though. They lack the keyword.

I've been using Incursors as tougher Scouts successfully. They do not give away that kill points to the enemy as easily. 
Eliminators (snipers) too, mostly as a distraction carnifex. They rarely kill their points value equivalent, but they fact they exist on the board and shoot out of LoS has an impacting on the game. If you take them, take 2 units.

[Indefragable]

In my experience you need multiple squads of Eliminators to be effective. There’s a chart of sorts you could make, showing each additional squad increases their effectiveness exponentially:

 

-1 maybe get a lucky pot shot or two

-2 you will kill something key over a few turns

-3 you will take out Abaddon in a single turn and wipe out their characters

-4 game over dude, no one will play you since you rock opponents in a single turn

-5 no one has done this before

 

...my mean lists I run 3 since they are such a psychological effect on the opponent...and I I get to shoot with them his key buff characters WILL die early and often. As such, he is forced to position them in a way that keeps them hidden, thus making him play my game before the game even starts, thus setting up what I want to do with the rest of my forces. They are a strategic asset to the commander for that reason, regardless of how they actually perform on the battlefield.

 

So yea, Eliminators are awesome in my experience, but they step into Competitive, Do Not Use Against Friends territory.

[Panzer]

I don't fully agree. With one unit it's not just about getting a lucky shot or two. Use the Sergeants ability. Hitting on 2+, wounding most characters on a 2+ with a Mortal wound on a 5+ is very reliable even with just two shots. With two units you can already reliably take out most regular characters in one turn.

[greatcrusade08]

arent you limited to 3 of the same unit choice for most competitve events anyway?

[DistractionTacMarine]

Yeah rule of 3, if you take 4 you’re playing a friendly game and WAACing hard lol

[greatcrusade08]

Yeah rule of 3, if you take 4 you’re playing a friendly game and WAACing hard lol

 

I would probably say you weren't playing friendly at that point :p

[Panzer]

Yeah rule of 3, if you take 4 you’re playing a friendly game and WAACing hard lol

 

Or you just want to play a thematic army and want to have both, Snipers and Las-fusils, in the army. ;) 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Panzer

[Indefragable]

...my point about taking 4+ is more theoretical to illustrate how powerful the ability to neutralize buffing characters can be.

[Pavement Artist]

Incursors are the best Troop option currently available to BA.

 

<gauntlet thrown down>

You're right

Edited May 30, 2020 by Pavement Artist

[greatcrusade08]

incursors are 15 pts cheaper than infiltrators, but they have different rules which can both be helpful.

Why do we think incursors are the better option?

[Captain Antargo]

incursors are 15 pts cheaper than infiltrators, but they have different rules which can both be helpful.

Why do we think incursors are the better option?

I honestly have no idea, incursors can be very good in certain circumstances, but eliminators just pack too much of a punch to be rivalled with any other basic infantry units.

[Panzer]

incursors are 15 pts cheaper than infiltrators, but they have different rules which can both be helpful.

Why do we think incursors are the better option?

 

Because their special rule is very niche so there's rarely a reason to pay those 15p per unit extra. Better get some more DC or SG for those points.

Also Incursors directly synergize with our melee buffing chapter tactic. Their paired combat blades are only a sad excuse compared with chainswords or combat knifes, however it's better than nothing at all.

[Panzer]

 

incursors are 15 pts cheaper than infiltrators, but they have different rules which can both be helpful.

Why do we think incursors are the better option?

I honestly have no idea, incursors can be very good in certain circumstances, but eliminators just pack too much of a punch to be rivalled with any other basic infantry units.

 

 

There's no competition between Incursors/Infiltrators and Eliminators. The former are Troops options so they help out filling your Battalions to get more CP (for now) while also bring a lot more wounds for their points to the table to contest objectives, while the later are a Heavy support option that's hyper specialised in killing characters at long range (or anti-vehicle but nobody cares about that).

[Blindhamster]

Medium range tbf. Only 36

[Panzer]

I consider 30"+ as long range since it lets me comfortably shoot from one deployment zone into another. :sweat:

It's a topic to endlessly argue about but at the same time not really worth it to be fair.

[Captain Antargo]

I consider anything long range as long as it keeps me a safe distance from melee units for a couple of turns whilst being able to shoot them.