Can fear be used effectively in 40k? And which armies can it be used against?

[ValourousHeart]

I'm used to playing Ravenwing which usually has small units that effectively ignore morale.

I've been using the Eye of the Unseen as a way to protect my Talonmaster from character's charging him and combined with swift strike generally means he is next to impossible to take out in assault.

 

Now I'm branching out and starting to use more greenwing and deathwing units and was wondering about leaning into the theme of scary marines.

As Dark Angels we have a number of tools that can stack for some interesting penalties to leadership and attrition, but can it be effective?

 

WLT - Fear Made Manifest: 6" Aura, -1 LD, -1 Attrition

Relic - Eye of the Unseen: 6' Aura, -1 LD, Enemy Character fights last

Psychic Power - Hallucination: -1 LD, -1 to hit

Psychic Power - Engulfing Fear: -1 LD, Lose ObSec, Action fails

Unit Ability - Aura of Dread: 6" Aura, Enemy units count as below half strength

Unit Ability - Terror Troops: 3" Aura, -2 LD

 

There might be more I've overlooked.

 

With minimal investment this will be -2 LD and attrition failed on 1-2 or 3 if below half strength.  And could be as much as -4 LD and failing attrition on 1-3 for all enemy units involved in that assault, with one unit being at -5 LD.

 

I know certain armies units like Deathwing will ignore morale tests, and Space Marines will ignore attrition modifiers.  But my LGS is starting to diversify with a lot of players picking up non-marine armies like Guard and Votann.

 

Are there any pitfalls to this strategy that I'm missing?

[CCE1981]

Unfortunately no, it’s too easy to get around.  Ask the Night Lords players about fear.

[phandaal]

Morale tests have a hard cap at 2+ to fail, no matter how low you get their leadership. Something to keep in mind. You would also need to weigh the number of models you expect your opponent to lose from this compared to just a good old-fashioned stomping.

 

Many armies have ways to ignore morale. Tyranids with their big bugs and synapse, Votann with a 1 CP strategem to make a unit immune to morale, and of course everyone has Insane Bravery once per game. And do not forget that only certain kinds of units even take morale checks, across the board.

 

Could see this strategy working against something like big blocks of Necron warriors with their high leadership. Force them to lose models in the morale phase, which then cannot benefit from Reanimation Protocols. That is a niche example.

 

You would probably be better off making the army more generally lethal.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by phandaal