Unit of the Week: Rubric Marines

[Ahzek451]

honestly, advance and surge could be really potent. 

[INKS]

Q: On the full flamer squad. Is it 9 Rubrics with flamers and 1 Asp Sorc? Do you take the hand flamer on the Sorc? Do you bother taking an icon?

[Trokair]

I have been running it as 9 Rubric with Wrapflamers, 1 Aspiring Sorcerer with Wrapflame Pistol and with Icon of Flame. However have been doing so in Crusade where the points don’t matter.

 

If I were to play this unit in a point’s game then the Wrapflame Pistol would only be added if I had spare points at the end, and the Icon would depend on the total Cabal that the army generates and how much I value the extra point. As the flamer units is often more exposed to do its job it tends to die a lot, so not an ideal candidate if you want reliable extra Cabal points.

 

 

Instead of the points for the pistol, another option, at the cost of one command point, is to give the Aspiring Sorcerer the Incaendeum, adds a heavy flamer to the unit that cannot be buffed by Pyric flux (but is S5 base).

[WarriorFish]

I think it's mostly on the tin as discussed, as it were. For example a reason not to take a SRC is because the squad is intended to advance around flaming things - same goes for the WFP; you can't use that after advancing so in to the bin it goes (which is where it belongs anyway )! I don't think we should be worrying about Aspiring Sorcerer upgrades that much, they have a decent standard load out for what is a Sergeant/Champion and can cast powers so aren't in desperate need of extras.

 

The question for flamer units is purely one of numbers I think. That is how many models in the unit, and how many of those have flamers. A full squad of doom will surely do a number on most things it targets and all the more so with buffs, but I think we should also be considering overkill and the fact the unit will doubtless be subject to enemy prioritisation. If you're not planning on some trickery or transportation to focus on an alpha strike I reckon it's worth having a few bolter billies to pad numbers out and heroically leap on bullets.

[Torbenos]

Reading through the codex, am I getting it correct that the Aspiring Sorcerer now has a full smite? Or are my eyes just missing something obvious?

[WarriorFish]

They do, no more baby Smites :P

[Hannibal]

Apologies if this is off-topic, but it seems the closest to thread to the topic and doesn't deserve it's own thread....

I see a lot of people suggesting smaller (usually 5 man) units of Rubrics - what are you doing for the extra Aspiring sorcerers? is it 'already had enough from when more units were needed', 'kit bash an extra from the box with spares from the exalted sorcerers box' or 'just use an exalted sorcerer'? There don't seem to be enough parts on the Rubric kit to make 2 Sorcs from the box.

I used a boxed set of Dark Angels Verans (now Fallen Angels in the GW webshop) becuase I like those robed marines as my unit leaders. Though I still needed some staffs and therefore I picked the Exalted Sorceres boxed set too.

 

---------------------------

 

What is that Temporal Surge?

 

I do not own an english copy of the Coedex and I simply can´t find anything that matches. Would you like where to find that thing?

Edited August 24, 2021 by Hannibal

[WarriorFish]

Temporal Surge is psychic power 23 from the Discipline of Vengeance - lets a unit make a Normal Move (i.e. replacement for Warp Time from the previous codex)

[Cleon]

 

Apologies if this is off-topic, but it seems the closest to thread to the topic and doesn't deserve it's own thread....

I see a lot of people suggesting smaller (usually 5 man) units of Rubrics - what are you doing for the extra Aspiring sorcerers? is it 'already had enough from when more units were needed', 'kit bash an extra from the box with spares from the exalted sorcerers box' or 'just use an exalted sorcerer'? There don't seem to be enough parts on the Rubric kit to make 2 Sorcs from the box.

I used a boxed set of Dark Angels Verans (now Fallen Angels in the GW webshop) becuase I like those robed marines as my unit leaders. Though I still needed some staffs and therefore I picked the Exalted Sorceres boxed set too.

 

Oh, good shout, I should still have a couple of those bodies hanging around from kitbashing Blood Angel Librarians.

[Xenith]

Looking at some of Prot's thoughts on Rubrics (spoilered), in a flame-bric squad, what psychic power do you prefer? I'm looking at both Temporal Surge and Pyric Flux, one to hit harder, the other to hit in the first place!

 

 

 

Something I just noticed is that All is Dust is just for heavy weapons. I assumed it meant the unit counted as stationary, so could rapid fire bolters at 24", however this is not the case, they only get 2 shots at 12" or when standing still, so that's a massive point in favour of the scarabs. 

 

Yes, until you add flamers. It's important to note that the Rubrics would have to use their Strat to get the full fire shots while moving which I think is kind of silly.

 

Nevertheless this is why I have been less hot on the Flame-bric configuration when ever I use a fair chunk of Scarabs.

 

I think Scarabs are just amazing now that they have Kopesh's and Obsec. And as you've discovered, that constant 4 shots at 24" (can be 5) is great for low level troop match ups.

 

One thing that is nice for Flame-brics though, and I've used this frequently is the S5 flamers via Pyric Flux. It doesn't rely on any other mechanism like the Infernal Master, etc. As someone who plays against Orks, and Death Guard frequently, this really is a strong plus for Rubrics.

 

 

[Xenith]

Quoting you here @Mushkilla as I've moved the post with your nice thoughts on your Exalted Build to the Exalted Thread. 

 

 

Looking at some of Prot's thoughts on Rubrics (spoilered), in a flame-bric squad, what psychic power do you prefer? I'm looking at both Temporal Surge and Pyric Flux, one to hit harder, the other to hit in the first place!

 
 
Why not both? If you have an Exalted Sorcerer or Sorcerer with Prism of Echoes (one of our most underrated relics) you can cast Pyric Flux at 24" (Glarmour of Tzeentch and Weaver of Fates at 36").
 
Even without Prism of Echoes remember that casting Pyric Flux prior to Temporal Surge will give you an extra 6" effective range on the power.
 

[Xenith]

So with the new Chapter approved update, flamers and soulreapers get cheaper, and a bunch of stuff becomes free, including pistols on the sorcerer and more importantly, Icons of Flame! 

A unit of 5 guys with 4 flamers, hand flamer, icon of flame was previously 144pts, now it's dropped to 117, a massive 27pts (19%) decrease. 5 man soulreaper units with icons went from 125 to 110, a 12% drop. 

An army previously running MSU rubrics, particularly with flamers, might be seeing almost 100pts less on saved weapons, or the equivalent increase in now free cabal points. How do we feel about that? I think the penta-flamer unit for 117 is a steal. 

[Casual Heresy]

Thanks to the savings on weapons and icons in the update, I've been able to drop five Tzaangors and add in a second 5 man rubric squad with icon and soulreaper instead. Gives me another back field unit that can hold objectives and contribute with the reaper, while the 10 man rubric and scarab squads join the characters in causing mayhem upfront.

[byrd9999]

On 7/1/2022 at 11:55 AM, Xenith said:

So with the new Chapter approved update, flamers and soulreapers get cheaper, and a bunch of stuff becomes free, including pistols on the sorcerer and more importantly, Icons of Flame! 

A unit of 5 guys with 4 flamers, hand flamer, icon of flame was previously 144pts, now it's dropped to 117, a massive 27pts (19%) decrease. 5 man soulreaper units with icons went from 125 to 110, a 12% drop. 

An army previously running MSU rubrics, particularly with flamers, might be seeing almost 100pts less on saved weapons, or the equivalent increase in now free cabal points. How do we feel about that? I think the penta-flamer unit for 117 is a steal. 

I tend to play games around the 1000pt scale, and I run 2 units of penta flamers with the Icon, as you described, so the points decrease is superb! It allows me to add Icons to both units (instead of just 1), and a 6th Rubric marine to each squad, one with bolter, one with a Soulreaper cannon.