Blood Angels Unit of the Week series Unit of the Week: Eradicator Squad

[Jolemai]

 

Welcome to part three of the Blood Angels Unit of the Week series!

 
Following the release of the 10^th edition Index, there is no better time to discuss all the units we have access to. Each week a different unit will appear, with the idea being that we discuss how best to use that model on the battlefield. Where part one will discuss the units from the units found within Index: Blood Angels, parts two to four will discuss Index: Space Marines, part five will be Imperial Armour, and part six will be Legends.
 
Note, this isn't to lament any nerfs, etc, from previous editions; the rules are as they are so try to unlock its potential for those who wish to use them all the same. Similarly, this thread is only for using the option being discussed; it matters not if you feel something is a better choice as such comments aren't constructive to the topic and shall be removed.
 
Without further ado, here's this week's entry:

 

Eradicator Squad

What are you thoughts here folks? How best would you play a Eradicator Squad?

• To compliment a list, or to build a list around? 
• Minimum or maximum size? Multiple units?
• Which Detachment are you using?
• What delivery options are you using? 
• What deployment options are you using?
• What Leader are you using?
• Stratagem synergy of note?

 

Over to you.

 

 

[Jolemai]

Should you want your model on display here (or on another thread), then submit a photo here please.

 

(Once I work out how best to float it!)

 

***

 

As an aside, the thread setup may change over the coming weeks until I'm happy with them. This includes the photos.

[Karhedron]

I like Eradicators for their simple efficiency. They are a very good anti-tank/monster unit and don't really require much in the way of support. If you are running a big blob of 6 than an Apothecary Biologis to help them crack really tough targets can be handy but not essential. Their ability to get full rerolls to Hit, Wound and Damage against their preferred targets is great as you can put OOM on something else.

 

Their only drawback is their short range so either putting them in Tactical Reserves to come in from the flanks or in a vehicle is a good call. I favour a Repulsor as they can hop back inside if they get charged. It also save the Land Raiders for our melee units. A Storm Raven is also an interesting option for transport.

[DemonGSides]

I wish these guys could fit 6 in a drop pod. Would make me downright giddy.

 

I like the eradicator. I tend to lean towards them more than other options due to their extra bit of durability and they have usually done well by me. They are a huge magnet for attacks though. 

[Tokugawa]

No longer the powerhouse in 9th, but effective in 10th and "xtra effective" under firestorm detachment. 

[Paladin777]

Ive had good success pulling these guys out of reserves. 
 

I recently put 3 in a LRC, along with 5heavy ints. I liked it, but that needs more testing. 

[Karhedron]

8 hours ago, Tokugawa said:

No longer the powerhouse in 9th, but effective in 10th and "xtra effective" under firestorm detachment. 

 

Yes, I  love running them with a Biologis with Forged in Battle Enhancement. A magic 6 every turn to trigger Lethal Hits is nice and a magic 6 to save each turn means you can bounce a Lascannon hit if you need to. Definitely helps with durability. 

Edited March 21 by Karhedron

[CCE1981]

I have tried running one to two squads of 6 of these guys about a dozen times this edition, with varying Character support.  I just can’t get them to be useful.   Gawd forbid you target a model with an invulnerable save, then there usefulness drops off a cliff.  I am starting to believe that average damage should be rounded down after you factor in the invulnerable save and before you multiply damage.  I have completely dropped them from my lists, now this happened back before the codex so only in Gladius Task Force, and the one trick pony Fire Discipline VASTLY supports being placed on Boltstorm Aggressors than Eradicators.  From those games where I used that combo I roughly averaged 3-4 times the damage from the Boltstorm guys than I did from Eradicators.

[DemonGSides]

Yeah I don't think fire discipline is as useful for them.  I don't think they even really need a Biologis to be good. They just gotta survive to get into good range. 

[Karhedron]

Yes, survival is the trick. A transport is definitely a solid option. The Repulsor can carry a full sized squad and bring some respectable firepower of their own. Cheaper than a Land Raider and the ability to jump back inside is more valuable to a shooting squad than the Assault Ramp on the the LR.

[DemonGSides]

I would love to see the drop pod expanded out to 12, even though the model wouldn't make sense anymore. Then also letting it contain grav and phobos.

 

6 of these guys dropping 9" away and letting loose is a fun idea. 

[Lord_Valorion]

But are they so strong even with wound reroll? All the good targets are wounded on 5 and even with reroll this is unlikely.

[CCE1981]

Never had Eradicators get charged.  Their targets laugh at their shooting, then shoot back and the Eradicators disappear.   Or I shoot at Eldar Starweavers, bounce off their house invulnerable saves, and ignore me.

[Karhedron]

2 hours ago, Lord_Valorion said:

But are they so strong even with wound reroll? All the good targets are wounded on 5 and even with reroll this is unlikely.

 

Wounding on 5s with a reroll is better than wounding on 4s, you have a 55.6% of wounding. You can can also reroll all Hits and Damage rolls too which makes them very reliable. Any unit without a 2+ or Invulnerable will get no saving throw either.

 

Against a T10+ vehicle/monster within 9" a 6-man squad will average 24 Wounds before saves! That is a lot of damage for a unit with no buffs, characters or stratagems and not even shooting at the OOM target. Yes Invulnerable saves do take the shine off them somewhat but Marines don't have a lot of higher RoF mid-strength weapons to deal with such targets anyway.

Edited March 21 by Karhedron

[Paladin777]

They're also pretty cheap for what they provide. 
 

I wouldn't mind having a second squad of 3, but considering how buff-independent they are, I don't think I'd ever run them in 6's. 

[AutumnEffect]

20 hours ago, Karhedron said:

Yes, survival is the trick. A transport is definitely a solid option. The Repulsor can carry a full sized squad and bring some respectable firepower of their own. Cheaper than a Land Raider and the ability to jump back inside is more valuable to a shooting squad than the Assault Ramp on the the LR.

 

I second this. The Repulsor seems designed to carry them around and it's saved the bacon of my 6 man squad a couple of times being able to jump back into it. People just forget it has that ability and the high quantity, low strength shooting it has is a good compliment to the Eradicators.

They go together like PB and J.

[Brother Raul]

I've had absolutely no experience with these guys but find all of this extremely useful so thank you.

 

Quick question; is it worth putting them in a transport or should you just take the gladiator lancer? Or Ballistus? I want to take Erradicators but think anti-armour armour is a harder problem for the opposition.

[AutumnEffect]

1 hour ago, Brother Raul said:

Quick question; is it worth putting them in a transport or should you just take the gladiator lancer? Or Ballistus? I want to take Erradicators but think anti-armour armour is a harder problem for the opposition.

 You could also try putting them Tactical Reserve.

But you need some kind of plan to deliver them.

[Karhedron]

5 hours ago, Brother Raul said:

Quick question; is it worth putting them in a transport or should you just take the gladiator lancer? Or Ballistus? I want to take Erradicators but think anti-armour armour is a harder problem for the opposition.

 

Gladiator Lancer, Ballistus, Predator Annihilator and the Vindicator are all viable choices for anti-tank along with the Eradicators. Which you choose depends somewhat on what you need to accomplish.

 

Most of the long ranged, vehicle based anti-tank solutions are quite easy to use. You sit back in your DZ and plink away but they tend to lack punch and can take multiple turns (or multiple units) to kill an enemy tank. Also they may struggle to get LOS to their desired target on boards that have a proper level of terrain. 

 

Eradicators are not as tough as vehicles but they can dish out a lot of damage for their points. Even a 3-man squad will reliably put 12 wounds on any monster or vehicle without an invulnerable save. As infantry, they can move through terrain much more easily than tanks meaning that they can be used more aggressively to hunt down enemy targets.

 

In practice both types of units have strengths and weaknesses. Given that vehicles are quite effective in 10th, I would say there is a valid case for taking some of each. I normally take 2 dedicated anti-tank units and a couple that can do som damage at a push in 1500 points. 

[Brother Raul]

19 hours ago, Karhedron said:

 

Gladiator Lancer, Ballistus, Predator Annihilator and the Vindicator are all viable choices for anti-tank along with the Eradicators. Which you choose depends somewhat on what you need to accomplish.

 

Most of the long ranged, vehicle based anti-tank solutions are quite easy to use. You sit back in your DZ and plink away but they tend to lack punch and can take multiple turns (or multiple units) to kill an enemy tank. Also they may struggle to get LOS to their desired target on boards that have a proper level of terrain. 

 

Eradicators are not as tough as vehicles but they can dish out a lot of damage for their points. Even a 3-man squad will reliably put 12 wounds on any monster or vehicle without an invulnerable save. As infantry, they can move through terrain much more easily than tanks meaning that they can be used more aggressively to hunt down enemy targets.

 

In practice both types of units have strengths and weaknesses. Given that vehicles are quite effective in 10th, I would say there is a valid case for taking some of each. I normally take 2 dedicated anti-tank units and a couple that can do som damage at a push in 1500 points. 

Always helpful as usual. I work off redundancy and try to allocate a % of points for roles depending on who I am playing. For 10th I am trying to run anti tank at 20% of points as a baseline and trying to make Eradicators work would really help that.

 

On foot they just seem unreliable (vulnerable and melta range) and with a transport, points wise, they are as expensive as the Ballistus and the Lancer.

[Jolemai]

If you want to compare units, create a new thread please. The unit listed in this thread series is for maximising the use of the one in the OP.