Crisis Armies in 9e?

[Ahistorian]

I've wanted an all (or mostly) Crisis/Broadside Suit army for a while now, and I was idly wondering how you all feel that'd work in 9e - and if so, how much of the army you'd dedicate to supporting detachments.

 

My idea for it is a force that is run absolutely ragged trying to defend a world from Tyranid bio-harvesting, to the point where they aren't even painting their armour any more, just sending the suits out from the factories in bare metal. I'd prefer to stay as suited as possible while avoiding the Enormo-Suits that have come out over the last few years.

 

Are multiple commanders a thing again yet?

[The_Chaplain]

Are multiple commanders a thing again yet?

Yep- in the psychic awakening book "the greater good" Farsight enclaves got a serious boost, among which was the ability to take 2 commanders per detachment. They also got several strategems and the like to boost crisis suits.

[MithrilForge]

And farsight enclaves would mesh with your fluff story of a army that’s fighting bitterly without support !.

 

Mithril

[Ahistorian]

Ooh, intamaresting... I considered Farsight back in 4e, this would be a nice callback!

[Ahistorian]

So with 2 starter boxes I'd have a good battalion to start with. I could convert two of the suits to commanders and have a unit of 4 Crisis/Bodyguards. I'm sure 6 units of Crisis will fill most points totals if I go further, and then there's the Broadsides... So much potential for superhero landings & other poses!

 

Do people rate Bodyguards in 9e?

[Mandragola]

I've been looking at this myself. I'm wondering about a big unit of suits with all plasma rifles. At only 8 points per gun you can get quite a lot of bodies, so that the unit isn't all that fragile. Even at only 1d this might be a useful approach in a meta that's likely to feature a lot of Primaris bodies, and other stuff with decent armour saves.

 

You'll need other stuff to crack tanks open of course. That's probably where things like fusion commanders come in. Ghostkeels might also be a good option for carrying fusion on a relatively tanky platform.

 

I'm not sure but I think it might make sense to switch to gun drones instead of shields now. Paying 50% more for a drone with no gun doesn't particularly appeal. A big crisis squad can afford a slot for a drone controller, so their output should actually be pretty serious.

[Ahistorian]

A drone controller could be an excellent shout in a flamer Crisis squad: drones for the ranged threat, suits for the Xd6 horde-clearing hits.

 

EDIT: Aw man, Pistol flamers on suits would make Manta strikes into horde-claimed areas of the board so much more effective & cinematic.

Edited August 13, 2020 by Ahistorian

[Focslain]

I'm not sure but I think it might make sense to switch to gun drones instead of shields now. Paying 50% more for a drone with no gun doesn't particularly appeal. A big crisis squad can afford a slot for a drone controller, so their output should actually be pretty serious.

 

I've been thinking about this too. It depends on how good your luck is. I tend to run drone controllers in my force due to the amount of marker drones I use, so adding the extra guns would be of a help in the long run. If I can suppress the enemy's shooting that's less shots the drones have to block.