Unit of the Week: Strike Squad

[Skywrath]

Welcome to the Grey Knight unit of the Week, where we analyse the Grey Knights units strength's and weaknesses. The unit for this week is the humble Strike Squad. Each week a different unit will appear, with the idea being that we discuss how best to use that model on the battlefield.

 

Questions:

 

1. General first thoughts and impressions of the unit?

 

2. How would you use said unit, to compliment a list, or to build a list around? 

 

3. What other units/strategems synergize with it to give it that extra shine?

 

4. Miscellaneous use/Tips and Tricks?

 

 

BONUS: Creative ways to use units that wouldn't be obvious at first. 

[librisrouge]

Ah, the very first models I purchased for 40k, back when it was Codex: Daemonhunters. Good times. I vaguely recall buying them and some super glue, going home, assembling them, and thinking something to myself along the lines of, "I've Only Had These Glorious Silver Dudes for a Day and a Half but if Anything Happened to Him I Would Kill Everyone in This Room and Then Myself."

 

Suffice it to say, I love them.

 

In 9th edition, I'd say that they exist for only two purposes.

1. Contributing more storm bolters to an army tragically shy on small arms fire (*sarcasm*). While that may seem redundant, it is...and I'm not 100% sure where I was going there. I guess there isn't such a thing as too many bullets but that is probably the guard player in my exerting itself. If you throw enough dice at a problem, it'll die eventually and it is nice to know that they can contribute about twice as much as a tactical marine can while doing their real job.
2. OBJECTIVE HOLDING (Wooo! *Banner drops in background*) They're basically our cheapest squad (be quiet, servitors!) and are a troops choice to boot. While there is certainly an argument that they shouldn't be taken because of their less that admirable durability, they have obsec, can be spammed as much as anything in our codex can be, have plenty of shots while they sit on their bottoms, can shank a thing rather well with force weapons as long as it comes to them first, and, perhaps most importantly, have a native deep strike option. This means they can take objectives on the enemy's side of the board or come into places where they enemy doesn't want them to be. 

Now, are those two reasons enough to take them? Depends on your thoughts on terminators, really. Termis are the only unit really competing with them in their favored role so the comparisons will come naturally (and I expect many of them in this thread).

 

I, unsurprisingly, say yes. If only for the aforementioned points reason. If I'm wanting to drop some kind of Paladin death star, or enough units to make smite spam worth it, or as many heavy weapons as it takes to blow all of the enemies back to the warp, then I can't be wasting points anywhere, so "budget" objective holders can free up a lot of room, since I'm taking three troops anyway for a battalion.

[Gnomeo]

Excellent points and as predicted here comes the terminator comparison.

 

Like you said great at getting on the objective the issue they are easy to get off the objective. My preference for the humble strike is to support your terminator core.

 

I find they really shine when a single unit is kept in reserve and coming down turn 3,4 or 5. With either gate or vortex. With gate they can reinforce a point or give movement to a unit out of position. Vortex allows the option of more aggressive play.

 

I belive terminators are better however I think a single strike or 2 makes the army much more versatile.

[Weltbild]

I find they really shine when a single unit is kept in reserve and coming down turn 3,4 or 5.

Don‘t you have to deepstrike your reserves in turn 3 at the latest? Has that changed?

[Gnomeo]

 

I find they really shine when a single unit is kept in reserve and coming down turn 3,4 or 5.

Don‘t you have to deepstrike your reserves in turn 3 at the latest? Has that changed?

Not in 9th.

[The Woodsman]

Not much to add to what Libisrouge said, really. I'd cast my vote in favor of them though, I think their "low" points costs gives them a place. As I've mentioned in other threads, I think the trick (kind of like Gnomeo says) is to know when to strike and when to hold them back. There's no rush to have them arrive like in 8th, we can use that to our advantage and mitigate their lack of durability. Having them drop down on turn 3, even 4 (though this could be pushing it), usually means more space to deploy them and hopefully less stuff that can blow them away in a turn. Using terrain to protect them on your DS turn and set them up for the following turn can be useful too.

 

I've been running 3x5 ever since I started GK, amd don't really plan on changing that, though I am leaning towards a kind of MSU style that mixes 5 man Strike and Termi squads for Troops, like 2 of each. They're definitely a board control/objective grabbing tool more than a purely offensive unit, but their Storm Bolters and Nemesis weapons can lay down some hurt, they definitely do cotribute to your damage output.

 

I also have oldschool metal models, Libisrouge, just gotta love 'em

[techsoldaten]

none of you have mentioned rhinos or razorbacks yet. Disappointed.

Heh. Was thinking the same thing.

 

Have not played 9th yet because lockdowns, but have been crafting lists.

 

3x 5-man Strikes riding in 3x Razorbacks have potential. They're comparatively cheap for what they do, have decent movement, and act as a force multiplier for capturing objectives. An army running these plus 3x Interceptors could potentially cover 6 objectives in a turn, and this kind of tactic might be something unique to GK.

 

When I say "have potential," Strikes don't currently have 2W. When they get it, I'm thinking MSU strike squads backing Paladins / GMDK combos become a thing. You have outstanding objective campers that can't be easily dislodged together with big elite units that can tie up an army and prevent them from going after objectives for a turn or two. There's a lot of ways this kind of list could be used to swing points to your favor.

 

We'll see where it goes, but Strikes in Razorbacks seem really good to me right now.

[Cryminysakes]

Sorry - I see MSU a lot but dont know what it means.

 

Has anyone played a test game with Strikes and Intersecptors with 2 wounds just to test drive it, feel it out??

[The Woodsman]

MSU = Many small units. 

 

 

Has anyone played a test game with Strikes and Intersecptors with 2 wounds just to test drive it, feel it out??

 

Not on my end. Could be something worth trying, though to be "legit" you'd have to adjust points as well (though I can't remember how much Tacticals went up by). 

 

As far as Razorbacks/Rhinos are concerned - I think Razorbacks can be good at carrying Purgators while pitching in some additional firepower and a "resilient" objective camper. That being said, I think the inherent deep strike ability of Strikes is too useful a tool to pass up. We're paying points for it, so it seems counter-intuitive to place them in a transport. I'm personally not a huge fan of the Rhino for Grey Knights though, so I might be biased. Just to keep it on topic, I really think where Strikes shine is their flexibility via Teleport Strike, but I guess you could make something work with transports. How many would you take, though? Something like the early 8th Guilliman/Razorback spam? Just a couple? What other armor are you taking to draw firepower away from said transports? Its worth some thought!

[Cryminysakes]

MSU = Many small units. 

 

 

Has anyone played a test game with Strikes and Intersecptors with 2 wounds just to test drive it, feel it out??

 

Not on my end. Could be something worth trying, though to be "legit" you'd have to adjust points as well (though I can't remember how much Tacticals went up by).

Ah thanks.

 

So the point changes released in the 9th ed Munitorum Field Manual are up for change by the Codex when it comes out?  I guess I assumes they already had all that designed and those would be the points.

[The Woodsman]

 

MSU = Many small units. 

 

 

Has anyone played a test game with Strikes and Intersecptors with 2 wounds just to test drive it, feel it out??

 

Not on my end. Could be something worth trying, though to be "legit" you'd have to adjust points as well (though I can't remember how much Tacticals went up by). 

 

As far as Razorbacks/Rhinos are concerned - I think Razorbacks can be good at carrying Purgators while pitching in some additional firepower and a "resilient" objective camper. That being said, I think the inherent deep strike ability of Strikes is too useful a tool to pass up. We're paying points for it, so it seems counter-intuitive to place them in a transport. I'm personally not a huge fan of the Rhino for Grey Knights though, so I might be biased. Just to keep it on topic, I really think where Strikes shine is their flexibility via Teleport Strike, but I guess you could make something work with transports. How many would you take, though? Something like the early 8th Guilliman/Razorback spam? Just a couple? What other armor are you taking to draw firepower away from said transports? Its worth some thought!

Talking about rhinos and razorbacks for strikes is off topic? Its the only way to take dedicated transports is with infantry, and seeing as termies cant fit into the rhinos/razors, PA marines are the only option.

 

If you've seen any bat reps on any decent Gaming channel, they run transports for their squads, the transports protect valuable troops while their gun lines take out high valued targets.

Also, nothing like having a squad get out of rhinos and rapid fire and charge a unit.

 

The game is in a weird state right now, damage on weapons went up, infantry wounds went up, yet transports and most vehicles wounds didn't go up. So yes, transports feel weaker, but you have to break through that mental barrier of "this feels like a points sink" when it in fact isn't. Transports, including the razorback perform crucial roles for our strike squads. And they go hand in hand. infact, 4 strikes marines are 80pts, that's 4total wounds, with a 3+ save T4, for the same amount of points you get T7, 3+ and 10 wounds. Sure, there's the obvious trade off of melee potential and stormbolter firepower, but you gain an extra 6" of movement.

 

A lot of people just don't know how to run transports effectively, or they don't like 'em for whatever reason, doesn't mean they are effective.

I'm now leaning on the side of taking transports if you are taking Strikes, even Purgation squads, as both are mid board objective holding units. Transports do the same thing, and forces your opponent to dedicate some decent STR weapons to open it up to shoot at the Strike squad. That's potentially saving you GMNDK, for those of you who run those, or dreadnoughts.

 

Yes, transports aren't conventional for Grey Knights in particular, but they were in previous editions. And until our codex gets released with some much needed power increases, you have to think unconventionally to get a win here and there. 

 

 

I meant talking about Razors & Purgators was a little off-topic. I agree that right now troops in transports are doing well, what with the focus on holding objectives over consecutive turns and all. I'm not saying they don't have their uses in a Grey Knights army, just that they are maybe better suited to holding support units that don't have an inherent Deep Strike ability. Thinking outside the box is great, and we've seen lists that are running Razorbacks succeed. They definitely help in getting your Purgators into range for turn 2, and by fielding enough of them, could you make Purifiers a thing, by splitting 3 10-man squads ino 6 Razorbacks? I think moving forwards Razorbacks are definitely a way of covering anti-tank duties and infantry protection. I just don't think they particularly help or do that much for Strike Squads... not that they don't have a potential use in the faction!

[Captain Coolpants]

I am well out of the loop in regards to playing/rules. Haven't played for numerous editions now. But do Rhinos still have firing points? Edited December 19, 2020 by Captain Coolpants

[Skywrath]

Getting slightly off-topic here folks. 

[Captain Coolpants]

Ahhh shame. Yeah not off topic, used to be a cool thing to do, full squad of strikes with 2 special weapons, combat squad them, put the 5 man with specials in the rhino to shoot out the top hatch, and the other 5 in deepstrike to do whatever with.

[The Woodsman]

Yeah, can't remember what edition they took that away, there's no mention of hatches in the profile anymore. I'd have to pull out the old codexes.

 

Strike marines and transports go hand in hand, now seeing as how the thread about how we could use strike squads. Rhinos and Razorbacks are hugely important to this topic.

If you watch any batreps from Tabletop Tactics, or Tabletop Titans or SN Battle reports, a lot of their armies run transports and are hugely beneficial to the survival of the unit.

 

I'm not sure I'd want to deep strike my Strike squads, as I'd want to save those allocated points for something that needs to be further up the board, or a counter punch unit in response to your opponents deep strikes. 

 

Strike squads are not your counter punch unit.

 

having them on the board and protected in rhinos/razorbacks is much more efficient use. As Grey Knights suffer from low model/unit count, you need target saturation. Offering up a rhino to shoot at rather then a more valuable unit is perfect.

 

Yes we have gate, yes we have teleport strike. You can only have 40% of your army in reserve, correct me if I'm wrong. But I'm pretty sure it's 40%, that's a lot of points to not have performing something turn 1. Especially for GK's

 

So having a 12-18" move for your strike squad is super important when the whole premise of 9th edition is speed and board control. Which, might I point out, GK lack.

Yes, we have interceptors, (also fragile 1W marines) so you need more variety. 

 

I don't know that my first priority is to waste a gate of infinity on a squad of strikes. Also, rhinos can act as screens for your strikes as well, or as chaff to charge something to tie it in combat, or to block a pathway between buildings. As true line of site still exists.

 

It is currently 50% that can start off the board. 

 

It always really depends on your list. If you've got a 500+ points of Paladins and some Terminators that you want to deep strike, then you obviously need a way of mobilizing your Strikes. You could argue in this case that Terminators are the way to go, and you could forgo Strikes altogether. I haven't used transports other than Land Raiders (and they're not really transports) since I played Blood Angels in 4th/5th edition, be it with my Grey Knights or Guard. I 100% agree that they can be invaluable in this edition, but I don't think they are mandatory in a list. Some factions do really well with them (Eldar and their Wave Serpents - but sheesh what a transport, Harlequins and their Starweavers - I think?, Codex Marines with Impulsors can be nasty), but the transports they use have great special rules that make them a worthwhile addition to the list. 

 

Back to Strike Marines. They're not a "counter-punch" unit, not in the sense that you could drop them in and tip the scales of a game by their combat/shooting potential alone. However, I truly feel that for 300 points for 15 Strikes, they are a great back pocket tool that can be used to secure objectives or lay down a few mortal wounds plus a bunch of storm bolter shots somewhere. The Rhino is 78 points bare bones, which I admit isn't much in itself points-wise in a Grey Knights army. The Razorback is 110 with Heavy Bolters is 110 and with Lascannons 120. That's either another 5-man Strike Squad, a 5-man Purgator unit with 4 Psilencers, or 5 Interceptors... I personally feel that the Deep Strike mechanism is better at protecting them (they simply cannot be targeted) and at delivering them - say your transport is destroyed turn 1, you've now got a "stranded" Strike Squad that you're going to have to Gate into position, and which will probably be picked off before it can do much. Whereas by Deep Striking, you're guaranteed (or pretty much) to get into Rapid Fire, Smite and Charge range (albeit a lucky charge at best). To me it just comes down to how the army is designed to work... other Marine armies are tooled for transport assaults, GK not so much, IMO. Razorbacks, I believe, can have a place because of their guns and how they can fill a gap in the army, ranged anti-tank. But as I've already said, I'd lean towards stuffing them with Purgators, zipping them into position for turn 2 while shooting their guns (now that there's no -1 to hit on heavy weapons for vehicles), and then disembarking with said Purgators, now that all those tasty psiweapons are in range. That being said, if I could deep strike Purgators without spending the CP, I probably would!

 

As far as threat saturation goes, I wholeheartedly agree - its what I'm trying to do with my double Raider / double GMDK list. My issue is that to really pull it off with transports, you're going to need a lot of them. Let's face it, you don't really need anti-tank to deal with a Rhino, Heavy Bolters could get through it pretty easily, especially coming from Marines in Devastator Doctrine. As far as Grey Knights are concerned, I think every unit in the army should contribute to its psychic potential and shooting output, at the very least one of the two. That's my main issue with Rhinos, however useful they can be in protecting/maneuvering units. I feel like I'm going in circles now, so I'll just finish with this - again, Strikes have a very potent delivery mechanism built-in, considering making the charge is kind of secondary compared to grabbing objectives/board control/clearing chaff. Making it to combat is a bonus, IMO, though sometimes you'll want to charge to steal an objective or tie something up, but you should never bank on it happening. Remember that units in transports count as "off the board" for the purposes of your 50%, so anything hidden in a Rhino/Razorback still adds up to your limit. Not saying that transports are a definite no in Grey Knights, just that I don't think Strikes need them or particularly benefit from them. 

 

I'm eager for your thoughts on this though Reskin (and anybody else!), its nice to exchange ideas and opinions, especially when they differ. :)

[Skywrath]

 

 

Getting slightly off-topic here folks. 

 

Nah its not, I know what he was getting at, what edition did you start playing Skywrath?

 

Rhino's used to have 2 firing points that units inside could shoot out of, so a strike team could fire its two special weapons from it.

 

 

There are elements in the discussion that would probably be more better suited by when the units such as Razorbacks/Rhinos appear in the weekly review. So until those units appear on the weekly review, you'd probably be best holding your psi-weaponry until then, for that discussion, so we can get more out of it.  

 

Here are my thoughts about strike squads. 

 

I run strikes for one of the three reasons: When I need to fit more expensive units (such as paladins) in the list, just to put them on a point and forget about them, or as a cheap screen for an impending charge. My impressions of them are not really anything different from what said above, however when we get two wounds, I suspect they and the other playstyle of the Grey Knights will shift towards a melee one. The more I look at the strikes melee weaponry and psychic abilities, the more I suspect we are going to swing that way (pun not intended). Combine this with the discussion on top about Rhino's/Razorbacks having a place in some types of lists, I expect that to be even more to be true with Strikes being loaded up and perhaps even used with AA to turn their vehicles (a lascannon Razorback) into a veritable sniper. Other than that, they just exist on points, and gate across to a point being cleared out by a paladin bomb.