C'tan powers and you

[Shas Oh Dear]

I haven't really seen any discussion around the slightly changed c'tan powers and the best ones to use depending on the enemies your facing. I have been trying out triple c'tan recently. My thoughts so far;

 

Transdimensional thunderbolt is more reliable now going off on a 2+ for the initial target and can still choose targets. The splash damage is a nice bonus but not really the point.

 

Antimatter Meteor goes off on a 3+ against the nearest target which is a slight reduction in reliability but doing flat 3 mortal wounds is a big buff, especially in the current gravis heavy meta. Speaking of which...

 

Times Arrow has had a big buff, it now only needs to equal the targets toughness not exceed it. That means this just kills an aggressor/eradicator on a 3+ and has 50/50 odds to remove a non primaris character from the board.

 

Sky of falling stars is very good early game but has diminishing returns. The big upside is that you get to just choose any 3 units within 24" no line of sight required. You can just hide behind a building and chip away at 5+ model squads with impunity.

 

Cosmic fire remains unchanged, a bomb you try and chuck into the centre of as many targets as possible.

 

Seismic assault is probably the least useful generally speaking even against its ideal target. A thirty man squad will take around 5 mortal wounds.

 

Cosmic insanity is the deceivers power and tbh I'd say it's better to swap it out asap. It has potential for big damage, especially against low LD enemies but a more reliable power is going to be better.

 

Gaze of death is very strong just like everything else the nightbringer does. Only 9" range but reliable damage with potential for a swinging high output. Can target characters too so very good.

 

Voltaic storm is another reliable option that goes big on vehicles. I've not used it personally but its got all the hallmarks of what you need.

 

If you're just going with the nightbringer as I think a lot of people will then there are a couple options. First transdimensional thunderbolt is likely the most common choice. Long range and targetable let's you do some chip damage and compliments his other power. You could also go with sky of falling stars and leave him behind a building in relative safety so that you can make the mid board a place no one wants to go while still doing some reasonable chip damage, you can just pay a cp to swap it if the enemy units have been whittled down to a point it's no longer reliable. Finally you can just stick cosmic fire on him and use him as a missile, advance him every turn and then go maximum damage once you're in amongst the pigeons.

 

What are everyone's thoughts and experience with these so far?

Edited October 25, 2020 by Shas Oh Dear

[Captain Idaho]

Transdimensional Thunderbolt is nice because you can select the target (bar characters as per usual) and put D3 wounds on it. It's easy to use as well and so it becomes very consistent.

 

That and Antimatter Meteor spring out the page for me. Consistency and power is the name of the game here.

[Shas Oh Dear]

I think they very much depend on your opponent, transdimensional thunderbolt is a good all rounder but in the first half of most games I'd take sky off falling stars over anti matter meteor. It's likely to do more damage as long as you aren't against something like custodes and you're still in control of what is targeted.

 

I cannot praise times arrow enough if you're facing relatively elite armies especially if they have access to feel no pain.

 

I agree that going for powers you can do consistently all game are the better picks.

[Get Thokt]

Can the named C'tan swap out their unique powers? I was under the assumption they couldn't

[Amon777]

Can the named C'tan swap out their unique powers? I was under the assumption they couldn't

You can with the strategem to do so. They still have to start with their unique power.

[Mr4Minutes]

I think they’re all pretty good. Worth a cp to cast an additional one almost every time.

 

I like times arrow to scare armies with beat stick characters on 5 wounds or less. Target a unit, remove a model. Nothing about character protection or single model units. It may be a 5+, but telling your opponent 1/3 of the time you remove their character and they have zero ways to avoid it is a strong psychological tool.

 

Antimatter meteor is probably my go to. Basically a 3+ smite that explodes on 6s.

[Captain Idaho]

Guaranteed 3 wounds is very potent too.

 

Regarding Cosmic Insanity is a funny one. On average, used against models that aren't characters, it's not too bad. Ld10 vs Ld8 in most circumstances is quite favourable to the Deceiver. Ultramarines with the +1Ld is going to be a pain but otherwise you can put 2-3 Mortal Wounds on most units just by beating the opponent's roll by 1.

 

Where it becomes potentially really powerful is when stacked with Flayed Ones and Pyschomancers. The average Ld8 can go down to 5 and then if they roll a 1 and you roll a 6 you've caused 10 Mortal Wounds...

 

Of course it would average between 4-6 wounds and requires a few things stacked in your favour, but it's easy enough to combine the Deceiver with Flayed Ones.

[Nusquam]

I've been going with thunderbolt and switching the named powers for Cosmic Fire once I'm in close. Not as exciting fighting gravis marines though. 

[Shas Oh Dear]

If you're against gravis then meteor and times arrow are your best friends. Each one is just a dead gravis body on a 3+.