Coming back to 40k after SoB update.

[Warsmith Aznable]

It's been a while since I played or posted here. In previous editions with my metal army I ran something like:

 

Celestine + Seraphim to create enemy backfield havoc

Canoness warlord hidden in an Immolator with BSS to spend the entire game trying to dodge giving up a Slay the Warlord point to my opponent

Dominion spam as my main combat force to overpower MEQ and TEQ saves

Retributers with HB to lay down fields of fire to protect my lines and camp backfield objectives

Occasionally a single giant blob BSS to tarpit and bolter spam the center

 

pretty much all MSU in an extremely typical midfield run and gun style.

 

I'm coming back to maybe playing again and I've got Morvenn Vahl and the Paragon warsuits and the models are so cool there is no way I cannot use them. How are people fielding them? How do they work on the table? What do they replace in a typical list and what usually supports them best? I know that's pretty broad, but I did a search and did not see a topic specifically about how people are using these two units.

[Bonzi]

I've got Morvenn Vahl and the Paragon warsuits and the models are so cool there is no way I cannot use them. How are people fielding them? How do they work on the table? What do they replace in a typical list and what usually supports them best? I know that's pretty broad, but I did a search and did not see a topic specifically about how people are using these two units.

I have run Vahl and Paragons in a lot of my lists.

 

Vahls is a beast in close combat and her full reroll buff is amazing on the right targets. Her shooting is a lot less effective than it looks on paper so you can't sit back and shoot with her the whole game but she also isn't tough enough to rush her out front right away either. Vahl and the Paragons both benefit from hanging back for the first turn or two until they can be committed to fights that won't see them swamped. The best target for her rerolls are high output units or units that are good in both shooting and melee (HB or Multimelt Retributors, Dominions, Paragons, and sometimes Sacresants).

 

I play Argent Shroud so I lean into multimeltas and storm bolters on my Paragons and usually a mace on the superior and swords on the other two. I use their mobility and Argent Shroud rules to hang back and shoot key targets until it's time to run them into midfield combat. Paragons are very expensive in points and really frail against a lot of antitank as well so you have to position them very carefully so you can get their value before they die. They benefits from buffs from Vahl, Cannoness with Rod of Office, and Priests buffs like +1 attack, +1 invuln, or -1ap to bolters in half range. If you just want to race into combat in think Penitent Engines or Mortifers offer more durability and bang for your buck.

[Warsmith Aznable]

Thanks for the input. I put some Celestian Sacrestans together yesterday, armed with the halberds. These seem like an "auto include" if I'm thinking about this correctly, maybe as a retinue for Vahl. I play OML, so I guess the big blob of BSS would be a good thing to continue to maximise "being under starting strength" time. The characters are extremely tempting to want to play, but I have to say that getting a Palatine option for a cheap HQ is also extremely attractive. I'm about to have two days off, so maybe I can paint these new girls.