9th ed Sentinels

[Akrim]

So why not a little action on the recon front - after some playtesting Ive found Sentinels to be top choice for Fast Attack...

 

-Minimal points increases (PC/ML patterns were hit the worst, but not ruined), the Sentinel still retains a good points-to-stats value. Toughness, armor, speed with no degrading stat line.
 

-No penalty to move/shooting now means they can play the mobile fire support game well. Psy Awakening provided the Strike Fast, Strike Hard stratagem adding 2 to hit for the unit. This is huge for anti-tank Sentinels (Lascannon/Hunter Killer Sentinels hitting on 3s for 1 CP after emerging from behind terrain is solid - note you can only modify a hit by 1 but this can negate shrouding effects to targets).    

 

-9th ed is all about board control and the Scout Sentinels pregame move gets you into no-mans land before first turn. This is key for setting up roadblocks to enemy infiltrators, double move or fast assault units, etc.

 

Heavy Flamer Scouts went up only 1pt and a squadron can be a legitimate threat to enemy infantry. Despite short range you still have the Go Recon strat to get them to strategic spots on the battlefield.

 

-Their low cost and unit size variation means you can fill Fast slots cheaply for Brigade purposes.

 

Some regimental doctrines are of course more beneficial than others. Psy Awakening Gunnery Experts are a really great fit on these.

 

Looking forward to running these old walkers again.

 

-Ak

 

 

 

[duz_]

Ummm....

Preperations for the rise of the sentinel in 9th are well under way :D

:woot: :lol:

I built up these 3 which have been sitting in boxes for awhile... With changes to army building I am more likely to field a Brigade this edition I feel and definitely the cheapest option we have

Could be worth re-visiting the tactica for these once 9th drops, especially with a new codex on the way at some point

Based on the points that are floating around I might keep mine as cheap and cheery Multi Lasers, although a heavy flamer with chainsword running ahead to slow down enemies might not be a bad option too, especially with no overwatch to be concerned about and the mortal wound strat if they try and fall back :)

[Diagramdude]

Tallarn heavy flamer sentinels can advance and fire!

[WarriorFish]

I've always liked my Sentinels but the -1 to hit wasn't very fun. Now that is gone Sentinels can finally stop being pillboxes with legs :P With their mobility fully returned that can do much better work like cheeky charges and close support for infantry advances :) Cheap and cheerful is still good, though I won't give up my lascannon Armoured Sentinels...

[domsto]

Sentinals might now be a good pick. They have a good Weapon variety and Good Mobility.

I will play mine either with Autocannon or Heavy Flamer. Multilaser only if i need to safe Points.

I also think both Sentinal Variants are now valid.

Edited July 20, 2020 by domsto

[Akrim]

Ah Tallarns, always stuck in before anyone else.

 

Ive honestly been more impressed with the Sents than Hellhounds as of late (tho i do play vs marines a lot). The Sents never lose speed until they die, Hounds not so much.

 

Brigade really might be the way to go for Astra (and other such horde armies) imo, i find my lists often exceed the available battalion slots.

[Diagramdude]

Track guards are only five points now. I could see a speedy tallarn mech list with heavy flamer sentinels, hellhounds and flamer chimeras with track guards zooming around without degrading.

[Trickstick]

I've always liked my Tallarn sentines, although now I'm looking into other regiments. The movement penalty was pretty much a deal-breaker for me.

 

I've seen no mention of plasma sentinels. Is everyone of the same mind as me, that they are useless? A single overheat melting the model seems like a huge risk for me, and I use plasma a lot.

[Shamansky]

And PC is a blast weapon now and can not be shot into melee, which makes PC-sentinels even less attractive

[sairence]

Tallarn Scout Sentinels look great with Flamers now because you get to add another D6 inches to their range for free.

T1 that means 9" scout move + 9" move + D6 advance + 8" range = 27-32" threat range. This basically means you have run into the enemy deployment zone and fired up to 3 heavy Flamers at something. With a bit of luck that's enough to wipe out a chaff unit, sit on or near an objective and be a general nuissance.

 

I tried one game with Armoured flamers, but while they did the job of moving on an objective and be annoyingly difficult to remove, they never actually got to fire their flamers all game. So I'm switching them to 2 Autocannons, 1 Lascannon for the next one and see how that works.

 

I'll also see if I can deploy Strike first, strike hard...even if they advance, they'll end up hitting on 3s with clear LoS on a target in turn 1.

 

Plasma-Sentinels I can only really see as stationary turrets with Cadians now...and even that might be a bit expensive.

Edited July 29, 2020 by sairence

[Captain Caine 24th]

I agree sentinels are probably going to be very important. With 4 or 6 objectives in a mission. I'd like to hold at least half to try and max out 45pts of primary objectives. Go recon is great early pressure towards holding or contesting. Since guard units usually aren't particularly durable to sit and hold objectives, cheap units working together is my plan. Quantity has a quality of its own. Spending turns killing my poor sentinels is not an efficient use of the enemy's time. So I think opening up the brigade might be very important.

[Captain Incompetence]

I'm really excited by the changes 9th brought to Sentinels. Now I can actually imagine fielding both variants in the same list! I haven't played my guard army in 9th yet, but I imagine that the Scout Sentinel might have a slight advantage due to the insane board control you can get from them. Though rushing an objective with Armoured Sentinels is also a great prospect. What do you guys think is the best loadout for each? Do you think Missile Launcher Armoured Sentinels are now worthwhile due to their slightly better all-round purpose compared to Lascannons?

[Shamansky]

I think the scout variant with heavy flamer can painlessly take a hunter-killer missile.

[sairence]

For the Armoured ones...I think Multilaser if you just want something cheap and durable to sit on an objective. If your opponent devotes any AT fire against them, it'll be worth it for you. For fire support, I like the sound of Autocannons. Good rate of fire and semi-decent stats without breaking the bank. Missile Launchers cost the same as Lascannons again, right? I don't think they're worth that tbh. How often do you really fire the frag missile in your games? If you shoot Krak 3 out of 5 turns I think just going with the Lascannon is the better choice in comparison.

[GuardDaddy]

Im running three as objective scorers for some of secondaries mentioned above. Pushing them towards enemy table side back corners also is useful deep strike denial. So cheap multilasers fine for me.

[duz_]

Having tried making a couple of 9th Ed lists I suspect mine will be cheap as chips too and just multi lasers

Not even sure I can squeeze the Chainsword in :(

[NatBrannigan]

Loving our Fast attack options all of a sudden! I've not made many lists yet but looking at a unit of 3 armoured Sents with Lascannons and HK's, to really hurt something turn 1, then Hellhounds / Scout Sentinals with HF's as points allow. Still looking at Brigades of course and the fast attack options no longer have the tax feel they used to. I'm enjoying the look of 9th for Guard so far.

 

The only gripe is not Sentinel related and it's that they've once again made Tank Commanders better than regular Leman Russes. The gap keeps widening and I have no idea why!

[Trickstick]

The only gripe is not Sentinel related and it's that they've once again made Tank Commanders better than regular Leman Russes. The gap keeps widening and I have no idea why!

Well with the CP restriction on detachments, tank commanders at least have a few more downsides. You have to pay for a second battalion, or deal with only having 5 brigade HQs. At least it is something. I would say that brigades tempt you to take regular russes, but I'm finding full payload manticores a far more interesting choice.

Edited July 29, 2020 by Trickstick

[sairence]

I would say that brigades tempt you to take regular russes, but I'm finding full payload manticores a far more interesting choice.

They are so good. ‹3

[DarthWaffle]

What about armored sentinels with Autocannons? Are they worth points? 

[Shamansky]

I think that, with GW pushing all those primaris units into the game, Autocannons are becoming more useful with their D2. Had no chance to play in 9th yet, so that's just an assumption.

[sairence]

I played a 2 AC/1 Las unit last night...the Lascannon did Lascannon things, aka miss, fail to wound or that one time roll a 2 for damage. So I'll probably leave it at home again. :P

 

The Autocannons were solid and did some damage...nothing to be excited about but decent support fire. But there was no real benefit to running them as a unit of with those weapons. The main reason would be strategems...strike first, strike hard failed completely and deft maneuvering didn't come up. I think I would have been better off with 3 individual ones, for board control and deepstrike denial. It'll still be worth using the reduce damage strat on one sentinel against really high damage weapons I think. Will probably try running a unit of 3 scouts with flamers next game.

Edited July 30, 2020 by sairence

[Akrim]

Hmm, bad dice maybe? My last game Strike Fast bagged me an Impulsor and killed a few marines in the explosion.

 

(Using HKs & LCs)

 

Also be sure to use obscuring terrain to your advantage, deploy behind it and pop out / shoot. Hopefully still using said terrain to limit return fire.

 

Re: AC/MLas - they have their places; you can always take one as ablative wounds for HF ones. Or if you just want a cheap single objective grabber sentinel to fill slots.

 

But the return wont be as big with the cheaper weapons.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Akrim

[DarthWaffle]

I think that, with GW pushing all those primaris units into the game, Autocannons are becoming more useful with their D2. Had no chance to play in 9th yet, so that's just an assumption.

 

That D2 seems like a big help here. I'm debating purchasing 3 or sticking with my Wyvern. 

[Akrim]

 

I think that, with GW pushing all those primaris units into the game, Autocannons are becoming more useful with their D2. Had no chance to play in 9th yet, so that's just an assumption.

 

That D2 seems like a big help here. I'm debating purchasing 3 or sticking with my Wyvern. 

 

Definitely - sometimes a couple sly AC shots is what knocks an enemy vehicle into the next damage bracket.

 

Wyverns are okay but they really struggle in MEQ/TEQ heavy environments.