Inferno pistols- trick or treat.

[Brother Raul]

Hail Brothers and Sisters,

                                              Trying to figure out if the inferno pistols are a trick or a treat? Previous editions have them at 6" melts range but 3" melta range just seems unusable or situational at best.

 

Obviously if you get a chance on the right target then it could be really important.

 

I am just trying to figure out how often you will get 3" shot off and then a charge?

 

Scenarios I can think of are failed tank charges or shooting a vehicle in melee? The Strat for liberator assault (Death from the skies) will let you manipulate your advance/shoot charge to make it all a bit more reliable.

 

 At that point is it better off as a over charged plasma pistol for some 12" shooting and then are you risking a powerfist to gets hot as don't think spreading the weapons out is ever a good idea?

 

What are peoples thoughts?

[Karhedron]

One or two seem situational at best. One place I have found a use for them en-masse is in my VanVets. I run a 10-man squad with 5 Storm Shields and 5 Inferno Pistols. When used in numbers, they allow the VanVets to threaten Monsters and Vehicles which might otherwise prove too much of a challenge for Heirloom weapons.

 

I prefer the IP over the plasma pistol in most cases as it does not overheat.

[Paladin777]

They're the best pistol option, but that's not a very impressive list so don't expect miracles. Opportunistically Frying a Custodian Guard in melta range is pretty fun though. 

Edited October 12 by Paladin777

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

It’s clearly meant for use in melee. Since they’re pistols it doesn’t matter if you’re in range or hit or anything before the charge, just blast ‘em next shooting phase.

 

ill be building the new captain with one as a new Tycho, but I generally don’t like them, too short ranged, and this edition not enough S to reliably wound the targets they’re meant for.

Edited October 12 by Inquisitor_Lensoven

[Blindhamster]

Yeah I think with the fact you can shoot pistols whilst in melee, it gives a reasonable bonus punch in the shooting phase in any combat you don’t outright win 

[Rhavien]

I don't know. In all the games I have played, since pistol shooting in cc was a thing it happened so rarely, it felt nearly useless. 

Further, I nearly always regretted taking melta pistols instead of plasma on the old jump DC. 

Of course this is highly anecdotal as I struggle to get at least one game per month. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I like melta pistols, but I just don't get a good return. To add further insult the dmg dropped to D3. That makes me sad. 

[Karhedron]

13 hours ago, Paladin777 said:

They're the best pistol option, but that's not a very impressive list so don't expect miracles. Opportunistically Frying a Custodian Guard in melta range is pretty fun though. 

 

I think that this is the key point. They are not as good as past editions but they are free and they are generally better than the alternatives. I can see some use for massed Hand Flamers with the Overwatch stratagem but BAs don't usually struggle for horde clearance.

 

The one place I would choose Plasma Pistols over IPs is Death Company for the Lost Brethren detachment. Being able to kill one of your own Marines to trigger rereolls to Wound can be quite a handy option. If if you pass all your Hazardous tests, well at least that is a lots of S8 2D hitting the enemy.

[Kryczek]

I'm also reconsidering plasma pistols especially when there is only one in the unit or they are on a model with another special like a fist.  Could end up really hurting a unit like assault intercessors.  JAI aren't as bad as you can have 2 per 5.

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

6 hours ago, Rhavien said:

I don't know. In all the games I have played, since pistol shooting in cc was a thing it happened so rarely, it felt nearly useless. 

Further, I nearly always regretted taking melta pistols instead of plasma on the old jump DC. 

Of course this is highly anecdotal as I struggle to get at least one game per month. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I like melta pistols, but I just don't get a good return. To add further insult the dmg dropped to D3. That makes me sad. 

I’ve had plenty of opportunities to shoot pistols in melee. The only time it ever feels pointless is when it’s a las or bolt pistol.

plasma pistols typically have been plenty fine for me, same with the one inferno pistol I currently run.

[Rhavien]

45 minutes ago, Inquisitor_Lensoven said:

I’ve had plenty of opportunities to shoot pistols in melee. The only time it ever feels pointless is when it’s a las or bolt pistol.

plasma pistols typically have been plenty fine for me, same with the one inferno pistol I currently run.

But BA don't want to stay in fights over time in general. We excel at charging. You would like to fall back and charge again via strat or charge with something else. I would consider staying in cc when fighting a vehicle, as you can still shoot at them with the rest of your army, but even then I think I would prefer to manouver to a better position to charge ahead. 

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

4 hours ago, Rhavien said:

But BA don't want to stay in fights over time in general. We excel at charging. You would like to fall back and charge again via strat or charge with something else. I would consider staying in cc when fighting a vehicle, as you can still shoot at them with the rest of your army, but even then I think I would prefer to manouver to a better position to charge ahead. 

No one wants to stay in melee longer than necessary, I’ve just never had the sort of luck with my rolls to wipe anything but the squishiest of units or severely depleted units in a single round of combat, and against a big tank or monster it’s pretty unlikely to go down in a single round of combat and that’s exactly what an IP is best used against anyway 

 

the inferno pistols are just extra ways to hide some AT in the army. They’re not expected to be a staple of AT or carry the army, but 2 or 3 extra melta weapons on infantry can be extremely annoying for something like an armor heavy guard or tau army.

Edited October 13 by Inquisitor_Lensoven