Are Destroyers worth taking at all?

[Starlight_Wolf]

On 11/1/2022 at 2:46 AM, Dark Legionnare said:

In wide open games, I like to run two five-mans. Get to split shots of the missile, get to apply rad grenades to two different targets, or double your chances of rolling a successful charge if near each other.

 

Totally agree with this, have run a 10 man squad with Jump packs and baubles, but had more success with two 5 man both bare barring missiles.

 

Just use them as a long range harassment/debuffing squad and make the most of your Str 6 weapons, which as SoH make me very glad for the Carsoran Tabars as it gives me a solid answer to the nightmare of Stone Gauntlet Phalanx warders (Can't FNP a wound that would ID you (as my opponent always puts an apothecary in them), doesn't remove the Rerollable invun, but makes it a little easier to break through them)

[Razorblade]

Basically Destroyers are never going to be worth it as a melee unit compared to assault/despoiler squads. They lack WS5/AP2 so they cant fight anything these units cant and they're not killier into the things they are good against than equal points worth of Assault Marines/Despoilers but they lack line and take up precious elite slots.

Some of their special weapons are cool, but you only get one in every 5 and at that rate they're not enough to justify the unit.

You could build a nasty template unit if you found a way around the handflamers S3, so you're looking at Death Guard (actually good), Salamanders (who loose out on one of the best ROWs out there by taking Destroyers) or Dark Angels. (who have a better unique unit of template throwing Destroyers)

Lastly one could use them as ablative wounds on a moritat. That comes with it's own set of issues as Moritats just aren't very good. The best generic way to run this would probably be a double disintegrator Moritat but that's a very swingy model with a decent chance of killing itself the first time it shoots. 

Double volkites in a Volkite Destroyer squad could work if you buffed the wound rolls (so looking at DAs/Sallies again).

Word Bearers can build a decent Moritat with Warpfires but they have Ashen Circles so no need to bother with regular Destroyers. 

Iron Hands have the best Moritat in the game and while they also have a unique bitter duty unit, I think they want their Moritat to go faster than Immortals do.

So yeah, it's basically Death Guard Alchem Flamers or ablative Wounds for a Gravitat, nothing else really works for Destroyers currently.

[Brother Sutek]

After seeing a guy make gorgeous 3D printed flamer Destroyers I want to build a unit for my Death Guard.  Sadly he doesn't want to sell the design. I respect the artist but still wish hrs release the hand flamers.

[Heir of Sigismund]

On 7/19/2023 at 3:25 AM, Brother Sutek said:

After seeing a guy make gorgeous 3D printed flamer Destroyers I want to build a unit for my Death Guard.  Sadly he doesn't want to sell the design. I respect the artist but still wish hrs release the hand flamers.

Link to pics?

[Brother Sutek]

On 7/19/2023 at 11:32 PM, Heir of Sigismund said:

Link to pics?

Not sure original source or I'd post the link. All I can say is if he sold them I'd buy ten today. These are beautiful. 

Edit for spelling.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Brother Sutek

[1ncarnadine]

It's Manel Parellada (mp_miniatures on insta). He does sell some of his designs on cults, but he does a lot for just himself too. He's got some stunning mechanicum on top of his DG.

[Dont-Be-Haten]

On 7/18/2023 at 12:56 PM, Razorblade said:

Basically Destroyers are never going to be worth it as a melee unit compared to assault/despoiler squads. They lack WS5/AP2...

If you take a unit for a combo charge, it makes all of your paragon blade swings instant death on your Praetor for certain legions, such as Raven Guard, or a furios charge unit.

 

So while you can't put the IC in the squad, if you need to wipe a unit more easily, or drop 2 wound models with a 4++ this is the way to do it. The -1 to Toughness lasts until the end of the fight phase. So a 5 or 10 man squad of assault destroyers next to jumping Elite-Slots or coming out of a Land Raider to multi-assault means they would be worth it as a melee unit. Despoilers and assaults alone do not offer you I5 AP2 instant death, or a way to instant death Custodes in melee combat.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Dont-Be-Haten

[Razorblade]

On 7/31/2023 at 11:20 PM, Dont-Be-Haten said:

If you take a unit for a combo charge, it makes all of your paragon blade swings instant death on your Praetor for certain legions, such as Raven Guard, or a furios charge unit.

 

So while you can't put the IC in the squad, if you need to wipe a unit more easily, or drop 2 wound models with a 4++ this is the way to do it. The -1 to Toughness lasts until the end of the fight phase. So a 5 or 10 man squad of assault destroyers next to jumping Elite-Slots or coming out of a Land Raider to multi-assault means they would be worth it as a melee unit. Despoilers and assaults alone do not offer you I5 AP2 instant death, or a way to instant death Custodes in melee combat.

How do you get your praetor to S6 in RG?

 

Regarding ID vs T5: Sure you could do that, however it revolves around a) your opponent fielding T5 b) them not seeing that coming from a mile and shooting your destroyers c) your destroyers and your high value unit getting to charge the same unit at the same time and d) the target unit not causing the destroyers charge to be disordered (correct sequencing should do that for you).

At this point I'm pretty sure you're better off just buying more thunder hammers or maybe a chainfist contemptor, which are much more reliable against armies with T5 targets and also still good against those without.

[Misterduch]

You can get any preator to S5 with a biomancer in the unit. Hell, the +1S doesn't even need a LD check irrc if you skimp out on the +1T. With paragon that means S6

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Misterduch

[Dont-Be-Haten]

1 hour ago, Razorblade said:

How do you get your praetor to S6 in RG?

 

Regarding ID vs T5: Sure you could do that, however it revolves around a) your opponent fielding T5 b) them not seeing that coming from a mile and shooting your destroyers c) your destroyers and your high value unit getting to charge the same unit at the same time and d) the target unit not causing the destroyers charge to be disordered (correct sequencing should do that for you).

At this point I'm pretty sure you're better off just buying more thunder hammers or maybe a chainfist contemptor, which are much more reliable against armies with T5 targets and also still good against those without.

Bane of Tyrants makes you S6 in a challenge and S7 in a challenge with the enemy Warlord when you have a Paragon Blade, plus you gain additional attacks based on challenge type so if you charged and get a challenge with the warlord or chosen warrior that is also charged by a destroyer squad, your praetor has 6~ 7 S6~7 instant death attacks, because you've made the opponent T3. This also makes Corax's attacks at S6 all instant death as well, and with precision strikes...man what a strong combo.

 

Regaurds to multi-assault...You telepathy pin the unit you want dead. T5 is majority toughness on custodes. And so makes your S8 weapons instant death them which is the point on that. Custodes are extremely gamey.

[Razorblade]

If the unit is pinned anyway, why walk into Melee where they will likely murder you with their bazillion I5 AP2 Attacks instead of just shooting them? 

Bane of Tyrants requires the Preator to be in a challenge, so that ID on Initiative is applied to the single most expendable Chosen Warrior.At that point he'd do more damage just swinging a thunder hammer and sending someone else to the challenge.

The alternative of using Biomancy has a 235 point minimum tax in Destroyers and the Libby, before you buy a Retinue for your Praetor und you might still need an extra telepathy Libby to pull of the multicharge. 

[OttoVonAwesome]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:15 AM, Brother Sutek said:

Not sure original source or I'd post the link. All I can say is if he sold them I'd buy ten today. These are beautiful. 

Edit for spelling.

I could design something similar in a day. That's just leaving money on the table not wanting to post the stl's.

[Dont-Be-Haten]

9 hours ago, OttoVonAwesome said:

I could design something similar in a day. That's just leaving money on the table not wanting to post the stl's.

It's not always about money. RG42 makes all of their STLs for free for Raven Guard players, and they do amazing work.

 

[FashaTheDog]

Night Lords are another Legion that can buff Destroyers.  Pinned, falling back, or outnumbered enemies grant them a +1 to wound from their universal rule A Talent for Murder (which sounds like an episode title of Murder, She Wrote).  When combined with rad grenades an outnumbered enemy Marine could be wounded on 2+ in melee or their ranged attacks suddenly dump a load of wounds on something. 

[Brother Sutek]

12 hours ago, OttoVonAwesome said:

I could design something similar in a day. That's just leaving money on the table not wanting to post the stl's.

I'd do so if I had the skill and access to a 3D printer. I get why the artist doesn't release them as they want a unique unit and I respect that. However even saying that I really would love a set to make a unit of ten. I have 30 destroyers right now and love them even if they aren't all that great. I use them in my Dark Angels Rite of War: Eskaton Imperative all with jump packs and I admit they are partially used to offset how brutal the Interemptors are. Now if I had those weapons for flamers my Death Guard would have at least one unit... maybe two due to my not so secret love affair with jump pack troops.