Land Speeder Proteus Loadouts

[Jings]

Hey guys

 

I'm putting together a White Scars force at the moment and I've got two of the old plastic Land Speeders kicking around that I'd like to use. I've adored the models since I was a kid, and running around with White Scars speeders on DoW was one of my favourite things to do as a kid.  Problem is, they look a bit underwhelming on the table. 

 

Anyone had experience with using these? Naturally the inclination would be to use them as flanking tank killers. Problem is, they run at 80ppm with a Melta, and 105 with 2 which isn't ideal. Volkites with HK missiles look like a fun versatile flanking unit, and while swapping a Volkite for that Melta is a tempting prospect, I feel that brings them too close in cost to the outright superior Javelins. 

 

On the topic of Javelins (although perhaps out of the scope of this board), are there any examples of classic plastic Land Speeders being converted into Javelins? I've got good access to tools and building materials, so I'm considering this approach provided they are comparable sizes. I'd appreciate it if any frater could provide dimensions for the Javelin before I put knife to plastic. 

 

Additionally, I've got a couple of Attack Bike sprues kicking around. Obviously, they're unuseable with their current rules (ditto regular bikes outside of Command Squads RIP) but I'm wondering if it would be worth my time running them as HB/HB or HB/MM Speeders. That would give me a squad of 5 which I think would make for a pretty stunning unit on the table. The size difference gives me pause as I'd like to avoid modeling for advantage, so any thoughts ways to avoid any such accusations would be appreciated. Currently I'm thinking either a larger base (80mm) and/or a raised scenic base to give them a little more height. I can't imagine I'd come into much trouble, given how week the unit is, but I'd still like to make it as fair as possible. 

 

So Land Speeders. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Jings

[RoadRunna]

Hi - The legacies rules for Attack Bikes have been modified to only 45pts for a bike with 2 wounds and 2 attacks so they are now more viable. This is now a 15pt discount to a Proteus.  A 2nd bike is only 40pts whereas there is no discount for a 2nd Proteus.

 

I run 6 attackbikes in my Swift Blade NL list.  Up until the updated legacies I ran them as Proteus "counts as" but now I will joyfully be able to run them as true attack bikes.  The point reduction has also freed up about 130pts for extra goodness.

 

If you run Proteus as a tank hunter they need to be 2xMultiMelta as they are pretty fragile so with 2 twin linked shots you can "almost" guarnatee a penetration - better if you run 2 in a squadron.  Proteus does have the advange over the AB as it is T5 vs T4 so you can take a lascannon hit without being insta-killed but bikes can hide behind terrain unlike a Proteus.

 

I also run my old chaos bikers as NL Outriders - no body cares

 

[Razorblade]

On 11/29/2023 at 6:57 PM, Jings said:

Anyone had experience with using these? Naturally the inclination would be to use them as flanking tank killers. Problem is, they run at 80ppm with a Melta, and 105 with 2 which isn't ideal. Volkites with HK missiles look like a fun versatile flanking unit, and while swapping a Volkite for that Melta is a tempting prospect, I feel that brings them too close in cost to the outright superior Javelins. 

Instead of making them into worse Javelins by slapping Melta/Volkite/HB on them I would Focus on the Guns that aren't available to Javelins. A Proteus with two Grav-guns or Plasmacannons is 20 points cheaper than a Javelin and can do something a Javelin can't.

On 11/29/2023 at 6:57 PM, Jings said:

On the topic of Javelins (although perhaps out of the scope of this board), are there any examples of classic plastic Land Speeders being converted into Javelins? I've got good access to tools and building materials, so I'm considering this approach provided they are comparable sizes. I'd appreciate it if any frater could provide dimensions for the Javelin before I put knife to plastic. 

Classic land speeders diverge pretty far in terms of size and silhouette. If you want a more "modern" body javelin, the primaris speeders have very similar dimensions and with their longer and broader snout feature a similar silhouette.

On 11/29/2023 at 6:57 PM, Jings said:

Additionally, I've got a couple of Attack Bike sprues kicking around. Obviously, they're unuseable with their current rules (ditto regular bikes outside of Command Squads RIP) but I'm wondering if it would be worth my time running them as HB/HB or HB/MM Speeders. That would give me a squad of 5 which I think would make for a pretty stunning unit on the table. The size difference gives me pause as I'd like to avoid modeling for advantage, so any thoughts ways to avoid any such accusations would be appreciated. Currently I'm thinking either a larger base (80mm) and/or a raised scenic base to give them a little more height. I can't imagine I'd come into much trouble, given how week the unit is, but I'd still like to make it as fair as possible. 

I think I would always be weirded out by non-flying speeders and with that load out they'd still be terrible. 

As @RoadRunnasaid they've received an update which may just make them better than running a Proteus with those guns

[depthcharge12]

@Jings I’ve played with a squad of 2 proteus landspeeders in two different tournaments this edition (Adepticon and Bugeater). I run double grav on them and most people underestimate them or ignore them all together.

 

They can really strip wounds off of contemptors (the apex predator of this edition) and pee in people’s cheerios with difficult/dangerous terrain markers.

 

Don’t forget how fast they are either - those 16” let you redeploy across large swathes of the battlefield.

 

I’d highly recommend running a squad of 2 with two grav guns (if you don’t have the bits, they should be cheap on eBay/etsy). Every match, they and my single lascannon javelin end up putting in a ton of work.