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Hey All,

So, as I'm continually playing around with the composition of my Crimson Fists Army, and I thought I'd run a variant past the forums and see what you guys think.

The Army List is as Follows:

HQ:

Pedro Kantor

Elites:

(1st) 10 Man Sternguard Squad
4xCombi-Melta, 5x Combi-Flamer, Sgt with Power Sword and Combi-Melta, Drop Pod

(2nd) 10 Man Sternguard Squad
4x Combi-Melta, 5x Combi-Plasma, Sgt with Power Maul and Combi-Melta, Melta Bombs, Drop Pod

(3rd) Contemptor Mortis Dreadnought
2x Kheres Assault Cannons, Cyclone Missile Launcher, Drop Pod

Troops:

5 Man Scout Squad
3x Sniper, ML, Cloaks, Telion

(1st) 10 Man Tactical Squad
Flamer, ML, Sgt with Melta Bombs, Drop Pod

(2nd) 10 Man Tactical Squad
Flamer, ML, Sgt with Melta Bombs, Drop Pod

Heavy Support:

(1st) TFC

(2nd) TFC

Fortifications

ADL w/ Quad Gun

Total Points: 1997

Pedro Drops with the Flamer/Melta Sternguard and they vaporize a tank, then fry the contents or keep Flamers as anti-assault wall of death deterent

Melta/Plasma Sternguard Drops in and combat squads, and takes out Tanks/ Heavy Infantry

The Contemptor drops behind these guys and take out a medium tank or decimates an infantry squad.

My thoughts are that the Contemptor will serve as both close in AA for the Sternguard, and keep them alive longer by absorbing some of the enemy firepower, and he should be pretty survivable with FA 13 and a 5+ invul to shooting.

The 2 TFC and ML from the tacticals will support the Alpha strike at long range, and Telion and his Quadgun will snipe characters/ provide AA for backfield.

This army has 5 scoring units and will drop a crap-ton of firepower on turn one, which should be alot of fun.

What do you guys think? Is the Contemptor worth the points and $ I'd have to shell out?

According to errata you'll either need to drop two empty pods or post your missile marines in pods as you cannot split a squad and then pop half into reserve. I never run FW models so unfortunately I can't tell you anything about the dread. You may have trouble with flyers in the current meta as a single quad gun will rarely take out a stormraven the turn it comes in. 3 combi-meltas is usually enough for one target but definitely keep the 4 to potentially pop two tanks per squad. if you're not planning on vulkan swap the combi-flamers for more plas to deal with MEQ's and termys.

Conum:

The two pods on the Tacticals are indeed there just to drive up pod numbers, and will be coming in empty. I usually deploy the Tacticals in ruins, one backfield one midfield, for objective grabbing and area control. I also sometimes use them to cover the TFCs or hide behind the ADL depending on terrain setup.

The nice thing about the Contemptor Mortis Dreadnought is that it gets interceptor and skyfire when it stays stationary, meaning that any flyer has to deal with 2 missiles, and 12 Assault cannon shots, not just the quad gun

I've tried two Melta/Plasma sternguard squads, but find the flamers to be really helpful, especially when you wind up going against a horde army like nids or orks.

Mortis Dreads cannot take a drop-pod as dedicated transport. The only way to pod them is to spend 65pts (and a FA slot) into a Lucius drop-pod.

correct me if im wrong but isnt the mortis dread a HS choice ?

Yeah, the Mortis Contemptor is a heavy support choice.

Ah, didn't realize the Mortis was Heavy Support, thanks for the corrections Warp and Phoenix.

Odd that he doesn't get the Pod as a Dedicated tranport, but I've got plenty of FA slots open.

Also, I thought the Lucius Pattern Drop Pod was only 50pts per the Forge World update PDFs, will have to go back and check that one.

The list has paid 35pts for a drop pod, so upgrading it to a Lucius Pattern should only cost me one Sternguard Vet depending on the points cost.

The updated rules for the Lucius drop-pod are in Imperial Armour Apocalypse Second Edition.

Dang, looks like Forge World will be emptying my wallet even further :(


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, what are you're thoughts on the general idea of dropping the Contemptor Mortis to support the Alpha Strike?

Well, the advantage is that you'll get serious firepower in the face of the enemy on turn 1. I would give 2 cautions though:

-Stay away from melta weaponry and melta-bombs
-Don't pod the contemptor if you're facing multiple fliers, you'll need the interceptor/skyfire (which you lose if you move)

Remember that interceptor gives you the chance to shoot at anything arriving from reserve at the end of their movement phase, not just fliers.

Good Points Phoenix.

I think the main reason I want to pod him is to

1) Put maximal firepower on the sharp end of things.

2) With two full Sternguard squads and the the Contemptor, and assuming they do as intended and thin out the herd of nasty options at the enemy's disposal, target priority should be a real problem for him.

I'm also hoping to screen the Contemptor with the Sternguard, to both block advancing melta armed units that might be a threat (assuming they live through the first round of my shooting) and to keep the pressure of firepower up if they get tar-pitted in CC.

My fear with keeping him on the ground is that he will serve as a massive fire sink in the opening round if I lose the initiative roll off.

The ADL really isn't high enough to offer him 25% cover, and sticking him behind terrain limits his line of sight for taking out the enemies fliers.

In addition, if kept back at my side of the board, he has to fall back on the two missiles from the shoulder mounts if any target is over 24" away, as the Kheres won't be able to reach. Perhaps Lascannons would be a better option for the backfield role?

The tactical squads, scouts, and TFCs can all maximize use of cover and the ADL without penalty, and without the Contemptor on the board, should fall spread target priority pretty evenly.

I do love that interceptor lets you shoot at anything arriving from reserve, would work wonderfully against my own army in that respect and could help to keep out-flankers on the back heel.

What do you guys think?

Good call with the screening.

I think it'll do well, have fun!

Thanks for all the help Phoenix! Now I just have to empty my wallet and wait for international shipping

He's Arrived!!!! This weekend the Contemptor Construction begins

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/437773-.html