Phobia.. what phobos combos would you say are good?

[gkos]

Hi All,

 

I have my mits on the start collecting Vanguard, my regular oppo is Necrons.

Please share with me your pearls of wisdom with any Phobos units, I am stuck on the incursor/infiltrator question as I also have sprues that can be built for either!
 

Cheers in advance!

[gkos]

I have some Reivers unbuilt from another box set, never had a mind to build them as I am not sure how I would use them... I did build the Invictus warsuit if anyone thinks that would make a good addition to the phobos mix

[Karhedron]

Eliminators got a bump to BS2+ in the new codex which is pretty decent. Camo cloaks, cover and concealed positions makes them just tough enough to be a nuisance to your opponent. The Heavy Support slot is fairly heavily contested in a Marine army but Eliminators are cheap which works in their favour.

 

Suppressors got a 50% boost to their firepower in 9th which is not too shabby. They lost the ability to turn off Overwatch but since it is only once per turn for most armies now, this is not such a big loss.

 

Infiltrators and Incursors are both pretty good but you need a plan for them. Infiltrators are more defensive with the Helix Adept allowing them to ignore the first wound each turn and scramblers pushing out enemy reserves to 12". This can be really powerful against some armies like Jump Orks, Genestealer Cults and Daemon Bombs but virtually worthless against others. Incursors are the more offensive option with guns that ignore cover and an extra AP-1 in melee. If you want something to hold an Objective securely with a little extra protection against enemy Reserves then Infiltrators are the winners. If you want something to deploy forward and put early pressure on your enemy then Incursors are the better choice.

 

Bear in mind that infiltrating units close to the enemy can be risky. If much of your army is out of LOS or range on T1, infiltrating units can make a prime target. If you want to use them aggressively, you need to combine them with other units that bring the pain on T1 like Drop Pods, Invictor Warsuits and the like. 1 or 2 small squads of Phobos close to the enemy front lines will likely just be used for target practice.

[Morticon]

Any Phobos leader with the Lord of Deceit trait for BA is gold.- possibly best with a Phobos Librarian. 

 

If we deploy a squad of 10 Incursors aggressively- this means that if we get first turn, we can pop Adaptive Strat on them and then charge into the fray with 41 attacks at AP2 and +1 to wound.  This is after 20 shots at AP1 ignoring all cover bonuses.  

 

In the event we get 2nd turn LoD allows us to either redploy to our lines, or put them into reserve to come on later. 

 

This makes for an exceptionally hardy first strike.  

 

You can do this with up to 3 units.  Imagine 30 phobos Incursors in enemy lines!! 

[Shaezus]

There's definitely a place for Phobos units in the GT missions

 

Concealed positions is risky in some missions where any midfield units will be visible and shot up / charged on turn 1, but useful if you can get out of LoS and close enough to grab objectives when you move.

 

Otherwise with infiltrators there are at least 2 missions where preventing an opponent DSing close enough to charge your home objective is a big VP holder. If just to prevent the oppo gaining. The helix gauntlet means they can't be removed in one round by daemon princes and other things which like to bully troops on objectives.

 

The haywire mine on incursors is a nice thing to have and if you can save it for the later rounds, the oppo will think twice about charging them with a weakened unit.

 

And yes there are strats and other options which open up some lovely shenanigans for Phobos units, but even without them they can strengthen any force.

[Debauchery101]

Any Phobos leader with the Lord of Deceit trait for BA is gold.- possibly best with a Phobos Librarian.

 

If we deploy a squad of 10 Incursors aggressively- this means that if we get first turn, we can pop Adaptive Strat on them and then charge into the fray with 41 attacks at AP2 and +1 to wound. This is after 20 shots at AP1 ignoring all cover bonuses.

 

In the event we get 2nd turn LoD allows us to either redploy to our lines, or put them into reserve to come on later.

 

This makes for an exceptionally hardy first strike.

 

You can do this with up to 3 units. Imagine 30 phobos Incursors in enemy lines!!

seems they changed LoD to pre roll off.

Although the phobos captain and Infiltrators can still be used during deployment to block areas your omni-scramblers then use lord of Deceit to move them in a better position that will favor them regardless goes first

You can combine that with some incursors/haywire

[Closet Skeleton]

Hi All,

 

I have my mits on the start collecting Vanguard, my regular oppo is Necrons.

 

Please share with me your pearls of wisdom with any Phobos units, I am stuck on the incursor/infiltrator question as I also have sprues that can be built for either!

 

I've used 10 infiltrators in a list for a while and never felt the need for more so since the start collecting box ones don't have incursor options so if you have extra sprues that do have options you should always for for incursors.

 

Reivers are the only phobos unit with an assault weapon other than the carbine on the captain and eliminator sergeant so that gives them some sneaky move options with the shoot and fade warlord trait.

Edited October 23, 2020 by Closet Skeleton

[Morticon]

 

Any Phobos leader with the Lord of Deceit trait for BA is gold.- possibly best with a Phobos Librarian.

 

If we deploy a squad of 10 Incursors aggressively- this means that if we get first turn, we can pop Adaptive Strat on them and then charge into the fray with 41 attacks at AP2 and +1 to wound. This is after 20 shots at AP1 ignoring all cover bonuses.

 

In the event we get 2nd turn LoD allows us to either redploy to our lines, or put them into reserve to come on later.

 

This makes for an exceptionally hardy first strike.

 

You can do this with up to 3 units. Imagine 30 phobos Incursors in enemy lines!!

seems they changed LoD to pre roll off.

Although the phobos captain and Infiltrators can still be used during deployment to block areas your omni-scramblers then use lord of Deceit to move them in a better position that will favor them regardless goes first

You can combine that with some incursors/haywire

 

 

damnit!!! you're so riight- i totally missed that. 

 

Scrap the above advice then ><; 

[Charlo]

 

Suppressors got a 50% boost to their firepower in 9th which is not too shabby. They lost the ability to turn off Overwatch but since it is only once per turn for most armies now, this is not such a big loss.

 

Suppressors still turn off Overwatch, in fact its even better now - they just need to score a hit! So you can rid 3 units of their potential to Overwtach.

[Xenith]

Though suppressors are not, in fact, PHOBOS, right? They're in OMNIS pattern power armour. Useful to remember as some strats/rules/traits only affect Phobos.

 

I've read somewhere that a Reiver Lt with some relics and a trait can add a lot of negative penalties to the enemy, forcing more attrition casualties?

 

Gkos, if you have 10 incursors on sprue, I'd make 10/10 incursors/infiltrators. I don't think you'd really need more than 10 infiltrators. I personally made one of the infiltrators into a comms guy using the incursor sprue, so the infil unit has both medic and comms, and I'll just say which is in use each game. I think incursors are much more useful for BA. 

 

From that set, I'd expand into getting a phobos librarian, who is such a useful tool, and possibly the captain. Reivers are in a strange place still, but the Invictor is a great addition. You can add some fast units like outriders and a biker chaplain to add some support that can keep up with your infiltrating phobos stuff. 

[Karhedron]

 

Suppressors got a 50% boost to their firepower in 9th which is not too shabby. They lost the ability to turn off Overwatch but since it is only once per turn for most armies now, this is not such a big loss.

 Suppressors still turn off Overwatch, in fact its even better now - they just need to score a hit! So you can rid 3 units of their potential to Overwtach.

 

You are right, I was getting confused. The difference now is that the anti-overwatch effect only affects infantry.

[Karhedron]

I've read somewhere that a Reiver Lt with some relics and a trait can add a lot of negative penalties to the enemy, forcing more attrition casualties?

 

There is a thread on them here.

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/367107-reiver-lieutenant/

[gkos]

 

Gkos, if you have 10 incursors on sprue, I'd make 10/10 incursors/infiltrators. I don't think you'd really need more than 10 infiltrators. I personally made one of the infiltrators into a comms guy using the incursor sprue, so the infil unit has both medic and comms, and I'll just say which is in use each game. I think incursors are much more useful for BA. 

 

Aha! you have of course given me the answer! I actually had not realised the the start collecting set did not have the option for Incursors, I just assumed it did!

 

 

Thanks for pointing out the obvious for me :) 10/10 it is!

 

I am definitely going to have to get the full character set, I quite like the fact that phobos character units can "communicate" their buffs over the field to the infiltrators.

 

I will read through the lieutenant thread, if I can get the Necrons to run away I would be pleasantly surprised :)

[Karhedron]

I will read through the lieutenant thread, if I can get the Necrons to run away I would be pleasantly surprised

Yes, it's fairly effective, at least against Warriors (who are probably the only units fielded in large blobs). Also casualties from Morale are not eligible for Reanimation Protocols. At the very least you may force your opponent into spending 2CPs on Insane Bravery to prevent his large ObjSec units from melting away.

[redshadow]

I actually think the infiltrators are more useful than the incursors mainly because of the area of denial giving us more time to react with are assault units to support the infiltrators Edited October 23, 2020 by redshadow

[Orblivion]

Or you could just let anyone who dares to charge us go through with it and then bring the Sanguinor down on their heads Edited October 24, 2020 by Orblivion

[gkos]

Or you could just let anyone who dares to charge us go through with it and then bring the Sanguinor down on their heads

 

It is a unique tactic, despite having the model, I have never used the Sangiunor.

 

I just don't like gold as an armour choice :-/

 

But, back on topic, putting the infiltrators in their face early on as a feint to allow the Sanguinor to arrive is possibly worth a try, by that time hopefully some JP equipped or other mobile units will be on scene to help.