SoH 2k Long March

[Starlight_Wolf]

Just running through a slow grow league with some friends, but wanted to see how viable my list is in a more general setting. I'll post the 3k list up as it's flexible depending on this one, as we're adapting lists depending on experiences.

 

HQ

 

Praetor - Carsoran Axe, Volkite Serpentia (Chosen by the Dark Gods

 

Elites

 

Contemptor Dreadnought Talon

2 x Contemptor Dreadnoughts: Gravis Melta Cannon, Dreadnought fist and Heavy Flamer

 

Destroyer Assault Squad - 10 man

Sgt - Artificer Armour, Charnbal Blade

Missile Launcher and suspensor web

Melta bombs (Full Squad)

 

Cataphractii Terminators - 5 man Squad

4 x Pair of Lightning Claws

1 x Chain Fist/Heavy Flamer

Land Raider Spartan

 

Troops

 

Recon Squad - 5 man

5 x Nemesis Bolters

 

Recon Squad - 5 man

5 x Nemesis Bolters

 

Tactical Squad - 10 man

Sgt - Carsoran Axe

9 x Chain Bayonets

Augury Scanner

Rhino Transport - Dozer blade

 

Tactical Squad - 10 man

Sgt - Carsoran Axe

9 x Chain Bayonets

Augury Scanner

Rhino Dozer Blade

 

The basic idea with the list is for the Rhinos to rush forward for the tac squads to claim objectives, with the rhinos then acting as mobile shields/ramming squads of interest (I've had one kill an entire Assault squad, breaking them the first turn and running them down the second). The Spartan is partly to threaten Armour and Dreadnoughts, pushing the Terminators to the centre of the table to apply further pressure.

 

The Dreads secure the flanks and thinning any large infantry blobs if there's no clear armour or heavier targets, with the Destroyers either harassing back line units or softening up targets for the terminators or tactical squads to mop up if there's a squad that needs shifting from an objective further up field. Recon squads act as an anchor and hand back on home objectives with the Praetor joining one of the tactical squads (generally ending up hunting down the enemy Warlord with a 75% success rate so far).

 

At 3k the list would shift into PotL as I'd be adding a unit of Justaerin into the mix. But any advice would be appreciated for what changes the list could do with going forward :)

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

One question: Is not better use a Proteus Land Raider instead a Spartan?

[Starlight_Wolf]

Ideally yes, from a points perspective. Unfortunately working on a tight budget and I haven't been able to pick up a Proteus yet.

 

It is one thing I'm looking at going forward as point for point they'd do the same thing and with a min squad the Spartan does seem overkill, even with the extra Lascannon shots. 

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

The only "but" in this list you "abuse" (In the good way!) a little of using Carsoran axes. Not a good weapon in all the cases in my opinion. Make no mistake, is a good option and exclusive of SoH, but in my opinion, not for everyone. Think about it for the Praetor, because you have a lot of freedom in what weapons use and how to match them. If it was a Consul, then is fine. But in a Praetor... And for sarges quite the similar. Better power weapons, in my opinion.

The rest in fine. More than fine.

 

How many points, by the way?

Edited May 3, 2023 by AGRAMAR

[Starlight_Wolf]

That's fair, initially I got swept up by them being our 'special weapons', but haven't got much mileage out of them. The sergeants got them purely as they felt superior to Power Swords, and I didn't fancy the 'fight last', that came with the Power Axe, as I wanted to give a fighting chance for challenges (hasn't worked out too badly, though the tac squads are largely there to absorb charges and grab objectives, so combat is a secondary consideration).

 

I am looking at putting a standard Power axe on the Praetor, as with Dark Gods, that's a potential +3 Str on a good turn, but for slightly cheaper than other options (he's basically for taking single wound infantry as he runs in a tac squad currently, but jumps in with Reavers going up to 3k), though I do have a model with a Thunder hammer kitted from the axe Praetor, may have to swap him in for a little more punch?. 

 

List currently sits at 2k, though if I had the kit I'd swap the Spartan for a Proteus and slot something shooty in to support the push up field (likely a Support Squad or Seekers, depending on how the 3k list shakes out). 

 

at 3K I bring Abbadon and a Justaerin Retinue (half axes, half hammers + HF/CF combo), a Master of Signals (because Day of Revelation really hurts and I need a solid response to it) and the aforementioned Reaver squad. Intention is to make the list more flexible and reliably able to throw some melee damage that isn't the chain bayonets (saying that they have done pretty well so far). I toyed with a Leviathan, but that depends which RoW I take, Black Reaving looks good though I don't make the most of the Reavers as troops it looks to have some better benefits than Long March overall (that said the extra inch movement on the Dreads has been very helpful :) )

 

 

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

Can I talk to you a minute or two about our lord and savior, the Power Maul?

XD

And more seriously, why not a Praetor with Parangon?

[Starlight_Wolf]

You raise a fair point, I think I'm getting hung up on AP2 where the intended target is likely to be 3+ at best. I was looking at running a Chieftain unit with all mauls, so may have to look at breaking some arms off :)

 

The Paragon blade was purely down to points, though the more I play (and with 130 points spare from a Land Raider swap) I'm fairly sure that would be a very viable option, AP2 at initiative and Murdererous Strike seems pretty solid. Especially at 3k with 2 running round (Potentially Prateor with one, Abbadon with the other, though he presents a whole other issue for the opponent being accompanied by the Justaerin as well). So far my experiences of running into other Praetors has been quite positive with the exception of my BA friend with a 15 man Assault squad and TLC jump pack Praetor to boot, but will definitely look at rejigging the list and put an updated list together :)

 

 

[Starlight_Wolf]

So off the back of a game with my Imperial fist friend, and sitting down and readjusting the list I have a fairly heavily altered list going into 3K (haven't properly sat down to tweak the 2K list, as I have 1 more game with it and can't make alterations mid period, will still do some adjustments once I have a little extra free time and models to work with) but here's the evolution of the original 2k into 3k

 

RoW: Black Reaving

 

HQ

Abbadon - Jusataerin Retinue - 7 man - 3 x Power Axe, 3 x Thunder Hammer, 1 x CF/ HF

Master of Signals

Praetor - Power Mace, Volkite Serpentia 

 

Elites

 

Apothecarium Detachment

1 x Artificer armour

 

Contemptor Dreadnought Talon

3 x Contemptor Dreadnoughts: Gravis Melta Cannon, Dreadnought fist and Heavy Flamer

 

Destroyer Assault Squad - 5 man

Sgt - Artificer Armour

Missile Launcher and suspensor web

 

Destroyer Assault Squad - 5 man

Sgt - Artificer Armour

Missile Launcher and suspensor web

 

Troops

 

Reaver Attack Squad - 10 man

2 x Power Fist (1 on Sgt)

Legion Vexillia

Rhino Dozer Blade

 

Recon Squad - 5 man

5 x Nemesis Bolters

Augury Scanner

 

Recon Squad - 5 man

5 x Nemesis Bolters

Augury Scanner

 

Tactical Squad - 10 man

Sgt - Power Maul

9 x Chain Bayonets

Augury Scanner

Rhino Transport - Dozer blade

 

Tactical Squad - 10 man

Sgt - Power Maul

9 x Chain Bayonets

Augury Scanner

Rhino Dozer Blade

 

Fast Attack

 

Outrider Squad - 6 man

Artificer Armour + Power Maul on Sgt

Twin Linked bolters

 

The game plan remains very similar, just found the Cataphractii took damage, but couldn't dish it back (granted this was against Stone Gauntlet IFs, but given my other opponents are Day of Revelation Blood Angels and World Eaters, where weight of attacks coming in would outweigh their survivability). So in their place is Abbadon and his retinue Deep Striking as the two destroyer squads make the most of their Rad missiles to allow us to make more of the Power Mauls and Rage that have found their way into the list.

 

Outriders are partly for the Fast attack requirement of the RoW, partly to help with the Rage requirement (hit and run being a major boon in that respect), partly for more mobility and harassment in objective based games. The Praetor joins the Reavers, who take the Apothecary to give them some survivability as the second punch to the Outrider jab.

 

MoS is joining a recon squad, which all have augury scanners to ignore night fight (and get a further two intercept threats), since every game I've played with night fight and it hurt their ability to soften up the wave of angry marines charging down, or soften up the Imperial Fist shield wall. The extra Dread joins the list as additional anti armour, which without the Spartan we sorely lack, but given the opposition and the majority of armour I face being other Dreads or Predators, a third Contemptor felt the best fit given army composition and available slots.

 

Oddly I seem to be leaning into my 40k Space wolf style of aggressive mobility, as opposed to my original intention of trying to get as close to fluffy as possible for the Sons of Horus, but so far the list has produced some fun games, curious to run a more assault oriented list after this campaign, money and melee weapon upgrades allowing :)

Edited May 12, 2023 by Starlight_Wolf

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

Question. Some squads,  how many members have?

[Starlight_Wolf]

Updated the list accordingly, solid catch :) That's what I get for writing it up in a hurry ;D

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

Ok.

I like the list. The only "but" are the small units of Destroyers. Too small and too tempting to take down. My question now is, the outriders is a worthy unit? I never try one of them in Horus Heresy.

 

PS: Try to save some points for more vexilas.

[Starlight_Wolf]

Yeah, the destroyers were intended to be a 10 man unit, but opted for the 2 smaller units for target saturation purposes. My past few games the larger unit got blasted off the table as they were struggling to get to their target without being picked off, to compensate I opted for two with Missile launcher, so if one squad is blasted/mauled/running for their lives the second can still soften up the intended target (in theory, my dice have mixed feelings on this happening as we often find) :)

 

Honestly the Outriders are just there for a Fast Attack option, for the RoW and to help trigger Rage, beyond they're just a harassment unit to either cover the Destroyers and just be a general pain, given Hit and Run. Was considering Seekers, but though the Outrider's might have more survivability and given I have some bikes lying around and some spare torsos to convert them to be more 30k looking, thought they may be a more economical option.

 

Got a few months to lock the list in so there may be further tweaking going forward

 

Edit: Just had a scroll through BattleScribe and realised the Skyhunter Squadron can do the same job, with heavier weapons (good for dealing with Dreads and Terminators) and provides a way of getting through the Stone Gauntlet Wall (-1T from the Destroyers, making ID a possibility)

Edited May 15, 2023 by Starlight_Wolf
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