Spottswoode Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Can anyone tell me exactly what a Despoiler squad is? They're described on Lexicanum as a "specialized Space marine infantry squad" that was the basis for the Sons of Horus Reaver squads, and it looks like Forge World at some point made kits for them, but I can't seem to find anything more information than that. Are they just the standard Tactical squad that's swapped out it's bolters for chainswords, so they don't have any special rules or status, or are they a separate and unique troop type? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
lansalt Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah, they are just that, a tactical squad with just chainswords and bolt pistols Technically IIRC "Despoilers" where in fluff a Son of Horus name for those. As you can guess they are better for melee legions. A 20 man WE blob with chainaxes is cheap and cheerful. Spottswoode and MichaelCarmine 2 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726804 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelCarmine Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah, they are just that, a tactical squad with just chainswords and bolt pistols Technically IIRC "Despoilers" where in fluff a Son of Horus name for those. As you can guess they are better for melee legions. A 20 man WE blob with chainaxes is cheap and cheerful. What he said Spottswoode 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726807 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottswoode Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah, they are just that, a tactical squad with just chainswords and bolt pistols Technically IIRC "Despoilers" where in fluff a Son of Horus name for those. As you can guess they are better for melee legions. A 20 man WE blob with chainaxes is cheap and cheerful. Ah right, I thought that was probably the case. Odd that FW went to the trouble making a specific set for them, although I suppose it could just be a repack of parts from existing molds. Thanks for settling the issue. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726808 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelCarmine Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah, i think they are also a bit more dynamic in pose. More in line with Assault Squads. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726811 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottswoode Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah, i think they are also a bit more dynamic in pose. More in line with Assault Squads. Looking a bit closer, it seems like the Mrk III's had some unique chest plates too: How strange. It's a bit of an odd choice of unit to go through all the bother of producing, but I wonder if that's part of the reason they don't anymore - why would anyone buy a full resin set when you can make your own from the plastic kit and some bits... Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726817 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gederas Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah, i think they are also a bit more dynamic in pose. More in line with Assault Squads. Looking a bit closer, it seems like the Mrk III's had some unique chest plates too: [image snipped] How strange. It's a bit of an odd choice of unit to go through all the bother of producing, but I wonder if that's part of the reason they don't anymore - why would anyone buy a full resin set when you can make your own from the plastic kit and some bits... Running legs, that's why. The current Mark III and Mark IV plastic kits contain absolutely 0 running legs. Hell, they barely contain any legs that are conveying any sort of motion at all :lol: Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726819 Share on other sites More sharing options...
lansalt Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Forge world resin minis do not come in sprues, but in resin block parts that they mix by unit. MkIII and MkIV are nowadays made in plastic, but first they were released as FW resin kits. They retired the normal squads but kept parts like legs, torsos and heads blocks (which are different sculpts) for FW exclusive resin units like rapier carriers and that MkIII despoiler squad. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726820 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elzender Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 It's been a while and I might be wrong/misremembering, but I think they basically were the mix of assault and tactical squad bits, with the arms, weapons and legs of the first, and torso+backpack of the latter (as far as I remember heads were the same). So I guess they decided to include it as an additional kit as it required no extra molds, and it allowed people to use it for tactical squads with additional cc weapons and for sergeants. Gederas 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726823 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottswoode Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah, the more I look at them the more differences I see. They've got left handed pistols too, which are nearly impossible to find. I guess I'd forgotten just how big the original FW HH range of models was. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726825 Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarabando Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah, the more I look at them the more differences I see. They've got left handed pistols too, which are nearly impossible to find. I guess I'd forgotten just how big the original FW HH range of models was. Theres a thread here with a list of everything thats gone and its like150 products iirc Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726897 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noserenda Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yeah it was great when i built my Iron warriors, buying all the Mk3 kits at once plus some Immortals and kitbashing the hell out of them :) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5726908 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottswoode Posted August 6, 2021 Author Share Posted August 6, 2021 It's a real shame, I suppose I'll just have to kitbash them if I decide to go with them then. Thanks for all the answers, Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727213 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris R Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 (edited) It's a real shame, I suppose I'll just have to kitbash them if I decide to go with them then. Thanks for all the answers, To clarify, you mean kitbashing Despoilers? They're still available on the Forge World website - Mark IIIs are definitely up for sale in the U.S. - it's just that sometimes the website will say "no longer available" whenever stock runs out. FW can be inconsistent with letting the community know when they'll stop manufacturing items but it seems like Despoilers haven't fallen into that category yet, so you just need to see when they become available again on the U.K. FW website. If you meant kit bashing other models, sorry for the misunderstanding. Edited August 6, 2021 by Cris R WrathOfTheLion and Spottswoode 2 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727217 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottswoode Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 To clarify, you mean kitbashing Despoilers? They're still available on the Forge World website - Mark IIIs are definitely up for sale in the U.S. - it's just that sometimes the website will say "no longer available" whenever stock runs out. FW can be inconsistent with letting the community know when they'll stop manufacturing items but it seems like Despoilers haven't fallen into that category yet, so you just need to see when they become available again on the U.K. FW website. If you meant kit bashing other models, sorry for the misunderstanding. Yeah, I meant Despoilers - FW is showing them as No Longer Available (although weirdly Mrk II is now "Temporarily Out Of Stock"?) but as you said, FW have a strange labelling system, and I'd assumed they'd only been dropped recently. I'll keep an eye on them, but I might end up kitbashing them anyway - that would mean £40 that can go on a Breacher squad instead. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727294 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfran Morkai Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Running legs, that's why. The current Mark III and Mark IV plastic kits contain absolutely 0 running legs. Hell, they barely contain any legs that are conveying any sort of motion at all :lol: Can confirm. I still had a few MkIV Tacticals left from when they were FW. I wanted to build a 10 man unit of Seekers on the move so picked up a Despoiler Squad the other week to round out the numbers (pistol and close combat arms are handy too). Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727301 Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTheLion Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 FW has been marking all sorts of stuff as 'No Longer Available' and then coming back into stock over the past several months, I wouldn't worry or conclude anything about kits marked that way. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727385 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris R Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 To clarify, you mean kitbashing Despoilers? They're still available on the Forge World website - Mark IIIs are definitely up for sale in the U.S. - it's just that sometimes the website will say "no longer available" whenever stock runs out. FW can be inconsistent with letting the community know when they'll stop manufacturing items but it seems like Despoilers haven't fallen into that category yet, so you just need to see when they become available again on the U.K. FW website. If you meant kit bashing other models, sorry for the misunderstanding. Yeah, I meant Despoilers - FW is showing them as No Longer Available (although weirdly Mrk II is now "Temporarily Out Of Stock"?) but as you said, FW have a strange labelling system, and I'd assumed they'd only been dropped recently. I'll keep an eye on them, but I might end up kitbashing them anyway - that would mean £40 that can go on a Breacher squad instead. Vanguard Veterans would be a good source of arms if you’re using MKIVs and can find a reasonable bits seller to purchase them from. I did a quick check to see if they use the same arms and they do. So that could help with this project. Spottswoode 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727399 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottswoode Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 Vanguard Veterans would be a good source of arms if you’re using MKIVs and can find a reasonable bits seller to purchase them from. I did a quick check to see if they use the same arms and they do. So that could help with this project. That's what I was thinking too. This is all a bit hypothetical at the moment anyway - I'm hoping to use the upcoming Mrk VI HH box for an Alpha Legion army, and I'm trying get a feel for what I can build that wouldn't look out of place in the lighter Mrks IV and VI. But Despoilers seem to fit with that, especially if the regular bolter Tactical squads are in Mrk VI, and they're just a variant of those. Cris R 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727410 Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTheLion Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Might be able to use CSM arms for a few legions, like SoH or WB, especially with the upcoming MK VI kits. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727439 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottswoode Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 Actually, I haven't asked the most important question - are they worth taking? (For reference I'm looking for something to stick in a Spartan along with some Cataphractii. I'm leaning towards Breachers, but I'm lacking any real close assault troops so was wondering if Despoilers could fill that gap.) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727479 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris R Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 (edited) Actually, I haven't asked the most important question - are they worth taking? (For reference I'm looking for something to stick in a Spartan along with some Cataphractii. I'm leaning towards Breachers, but I'm lacking any real close assault troops so was wondering if Despoilers could fill that gap.) This thread could be helpful thinking about the merits of the unit: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/300534-has-anyone-used-despoiler-squads/ Edit: made rules error about holding Cataphractiis and other units in one Spartan. Deleted my comment after SkimaskMohawk's correction. Edited August 8, 2021 by Cris R Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727488 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elzender Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Can Spartans transport multiple units though? I thought they are not superheavy vehicles, but I'm bot really up to date with the rules. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727500 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkimaskMohawk Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 They can't, it's not 8th+. Spottswoode 1 Back to top Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727504 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mogsam Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 You can cut mark iii arms at various joints to make combat weapon wielding guys. The issue is the lack to weapons. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/371207-what-are-despoiler-squads/#findComment-5727533 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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