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Can I do this with the new codex?


Attach strong melee ICs to a Lobba/Kannon Artillery Squad and walk across the board at my enemy. You can't shoot but count as T7 for getting shot. Can artillery run? I cannot find anything that says no.

No idea if you can do it with the new codex (because it's not out yet), but it's OK with the current one and I don't imagine it's going to change.

Incidentally, you can now shoot with artillery after moving. Usually it's just snap-shots, but put a model with slow and purposeful in the unit and you can shoot as if stationary.

The downside is that you make your characters vulnerable to being assaulted by putting them in a unit where the majority WS and T is terrible. Not a good thing if you are deliberately trying to close with the enemy. You could have a proper ork unit nearby for the characters to jump into, but then the enemy can shoot that unit instead of your artillery. The only way I can see it working as an assault unit is if you have a bunch of warbosses in there, which is going to get really expensive and you would probably be better using biker warbosses.

On the other hand, you are going to need some kind of character with any artillery battery of more than a couple of guns, because you don't want the grots running away at the first sign of trouble. Either a S&P character to keep the guns mobile or one with ranged firepower or some other ability which can be used at a distance. Which of those choices will be available and effective in the new codex remains to be seen.

Or you attach Grotznik and go on rampage with fearless FNP cybork gretchin. Rampaging gretchin aren't dangerous at all though, so while the unit is hard to kill, it doesn't do anything.

 Perfect Organism wrote:


The downside is that you make your characters vulnerable to being assaulted by putting them in a unit where the majority WS and T is terrible. Not a good thing if you are deliberately trying to close with the enemy. You could have a proper ork unit nearby for the characters to jump into, but then the enemy can shoot that unit instead of your artillery. The only way I can see it working as an assault unit is if you have a bunch of warbosses in there, which is going to get really expensive...

You realize that the new artillery is around 90points for a unit of 5 guns 10 grits. It's almost like buying wargear it is so cheap. With combined arms detachments you can saturated the unit with ICs. Put them on bikes! If you face an assualty army/someone that can deal with T7 in shooting then don't assemble the deathstar.

Depending on what the guns are like it could be just worth it to put the cheapest mega-armour character in just to get S&P and better morale. If the point costs are anything similar a mega-mek is only 75 while a megaboss only 100.

Considering that you could just another bunch of gunz for those points, not worth the trouble.

A kannon/lobba is 18 points per gun, a kustom mega kannon 30. You'll need some more gretchin for the KMK though, since Get's Hot! will kill them off.

I don't know if I am confusing my intent with giving S&P to the unit. I want an IC delivery system. The amount if high strength weapons that it would take to eliminate the unit would be the bulk of most armies anti tank (battle cannons aside). If they are shooting at your warboss + 90pts of kannons instead of the rest of your army isn't that good? If they ignore it you get a warboss across the table untouched plus kannons near side armor.

If they have a strong assualt unit you simply put the warboss somewhere else and let the kannons be kannons.

against gretchin they don't need a strong assault unit. guardsmen will win in CC with gretchin. and as the majority of the squad is T2, guardsmen will wound any characters in there on 3's. if there's a biker boss, those 90 points of grots just made the space marines you're in combat with strength 8 (wounding on 2's) against him.

an alternative, though:

Mekboy escort. you get a mega-mek or two that you want running around and fixing vehicles, but want to fill the behicles with boys rather than leave a slot free, or some such excuse. running around with mek guns that can move and shoot but aren't after close combat would work rather well. shame they can't embark on vehicles... ...that we know of...

DaKrumpa wrote:
I don't know if I am confusing my intent with giving S&P to the unit. I want an IC delivery system. The amount if high strength weapons that it would take to eliminate the unit would be the bulk of most armies anti tank (battle cannons aside). If they are shooting at your warboss + 90pts of kannons instead of the rest of your army isn't that good? If they ignore it you get a warboss across the table untouched plus kannons near side armor.

If they have a strong assualt unit you simply put the warboss somewhere else and let the kannons be kannons.

I guess you're just overthinking the issue. A warboss on a bike is a lot faster than when joined to an artillery unit, has T6 all by himself and doesn't have any of the downsides the kannon unit brings (pretty much auto-dying in close combat). Every army has some unit better than gretchin in their army somewhere. any bike or jump unit will be able to intercept and kill you. Since they are always hit on 3+, wounded on 2+ or 3+ and have no saves at all, you are pretty much guaranteed to lose combat, even if your warboss manages to kill something. If you fail your moral check afterwards, your unit, including the warboss, will automatically be destroyed due to artillery always failing sweeping checks.

I did this a few times with ghazz and a weird boy attached to cannons.. teleporting across the field.. then taking a round of fire before detaching and smashing.. I did lose the unit to a mishap a few times I will admit. still a very fun tactic.

DaKrumpa wrote:
I don't know if I am confusing my intent with giving S&P to the unit. I want an IC delivery system. The amount if high strength weapons that it would take to eliminate the unit would be the bulk of most armies anti tank (battle cannons aside). If they are shooting at your warboss + 90pts of kannons instead of the rest of your army isn't that good? If they ignore it you get a warboss across the table untouched plus kannons near side armor.

If you're planning to walk your warboss across the table, you've already got a delivery system for him; just put him in a footslogging unit and Look Out Sir! anything which manages to land on him. An Independent Character really doesn't need any additional protection from shooting.

im not sure why you would do that. Yeah, T7 is nice but only the guns themself have any real defense being multi-wound and 3+ armor. Only reason the T7 is strong for the grots is it prevents infantry guns from cleaning house with only ~5 bolters or so. Any wounds removes models unless its hitting the guns, and dunno bout you i try to keep them alive until i wouldnt have any grots to man them after losing another grot.
Artillery still dies when dedicated against, and pretty easily at that. Its the insanely cheap cost and bigger guns requirement that keeps them alive, nobody WANTS to hit them lol

Battlewagons tend to be good delivery systems.

but for the guns, I'd rather put a weirdboy or a SAG with them. Now those 2 guys could benefit from having a T7.

use Sacrifice on grot cremen for heralds, so full of win.

Yeah but the conversion of a Big Warboss in Mekarmour pulling behind if 5 Artillery pieces with chains is to good of an idea to pass up. I mean seriously that's bad ass.

Hollismason wrote:
Yeah but the conversion of a Big Warboss in Mekarmour pulling behind if 5 Artillery pieces with chains is to good of an idea to pass up. I mean seriously that's bad ass.

PFFTHAHAHAHA omg mental image is epic right now. Love it.

Totally need to do that, and so it doesnt conform to vehicle resemblances make each gun removable.

Hollismason wrote:
Yeah but the conversion of a Big Warboss in Mekarmour pulling behind if 5 Artillery pieces with chains is to good of an idea to pass up. I mean seriously that's bad ass.

ok, so go a warboss and weirdboy. if you're not shooting the guns, you might as well put the grots to use

Think of it as a place to stick a crapload of ICs and gain T7 vs shooting, for 90pts (or less). If you look at it that way then maybe it seems more reasonable.


The. Kannons being hauled by the warboss is an amazing idea! Exalted

DaKrumpa wrote:
Think of it as a place to stick a crapload of ICs and gain T7 vs shooting, for 90pts (or less). If you look at it that way then maybe it seems more reasonable.


The. Kannons being hauled by the warboss is an amazing idea! Exalted

You also get T2 in close combat and automatically fail all sweeping tests. The only thing I'd want to put there would be a SAG.

You could leave the gun still and move some of the crew forward which works well with extra crew. That way the gun still shoot. The only thing it will accomplish is to obsfucate which unit you plan to have the IC join when he leaves the guns.

It's the best place for SAG mek since 6 ed.

this mental image is very cool, but in game i think it's awful.

do you know how fast demons are? I'll have that squad swept t2 at the latest. cheap or not, the ICs and guns are gone without doing anything. i won't shoot them, I'll save the grinders for the boys, and just charge/kill that squad.


very cool imagery though.

Mek Gun Battery + 2 SAGs + KFF Mek + nearby stuff that can benefit from the 5++

+second detachment of course

Ork gunline ftw

Edit: Also gives an excuse to field dreads, because they'd theoretically be useful as CC defense for such a thing

I was thinking of doing this with Eldar and like 10 Spiritseers.

Nothing wrong with doing it as far as I know.

With no artillery models in my collection I hadn't thought up this matchup. Just found a perfect position for my SAG. Thanks a bunch.

Wait if a model has slow and purposeful does it confer to the unit he is with??

Hollismason wrote:
Wait if a model has slow and purposeful does it confer to the unit he is with??

Absolutely. So long as one model with the rule is in a unit the entire unit gains the benefits and consequences of S&P.