Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Okay, the Imperial Guard Colossus is 140 points for a strength 6 AP3 ordnance shot that ignores cover saves. Is this worth it, or should I just use two griffons instead for only slightly more?

Instant kills MEQs, *really* screws with anything Ork or horde....they're the bomb. REALLY the bomb.

A guy at the FLGS uses one to good effect in our friendly Ork vs IG games. There's not a game goes by that it fails to kill something. Since I've experience template death enough times before there are tactics to minimize it; sitting near the table edge, spreading coherency, long thin formations and the like.

Against MEQ's I'd imagine it's da bomb.

So would running three in a 1500 point game kill a lot of infantry?

Two combined with a Hydra squadron to finish off the stragglers or deal with transports would be better at almost exactly the same price.

Yeah, I would certainly expect it to, though it may not be the best use of your points; you're putting a lot of points into anti troop that may be A) Total Overkill, or B) Not as efficient.

Take for example, the lowly Griffon. It has a Str 6, AP 4 Template that has a good chance to remove cover (it's barrage), is only 75 points a model and re-rolls it's scatter so it's fairly accurate.

If you're looking for Anti-Troop and you want to lean heavy on the big guns in the back, I would say: Two Colossi (in their own units, if you can) and two Griffons in a single unit. Now that's only 10 points more than three Colossi but a lot more troop smooshin' potential.

Also, keep in mind that for 170 points you can get a Leman Russ with 3 Heavy Bolters...now that's some heavy anti-infantry to consider too.

Seriously though, the Colossus is pretty good, having one around will never do you wrong.

How does a collosus work when in a griffon battery?

Two Colossi + 1 Griffon = 300 point unit that targets off of the Griffon's re-rollable scatter die.

The Colossus is a great unit. If you know you're facing a primarily non-meched opponent, then it will absolutely flatten their objective holders and/or take a solid chunk out of their advancing sloggers.

The trick, though, is that it's pretty much worthless against mech.

Yeah, but there's a billion other things in the Imperial Guard that can handle other vehicles.

Killing infantry will always be a valuable goal, because inside every metal box is a squishy pink thing to be squashed...you just have to open up the can first.

My problem with the Colossus is the 24" absolute dead zone. Remember, it cannot fire directly, as a Basilisk can (If it could, you could field a block of cheese as the tank). That's a pretty big radius. The damage potential to 3+ save or worse infantry is very high, though.
I can see great use for a Colossus in objective games. Not all of the objectives will be within the minimum range, and the 240" inch maximum range can range anything in standard games. It's a great denial tool, since area terrain won't save MEQs from Colossus shells.

How do the Colussus re-target using the griffons reroll?

The special rule states: 'When a Griffon fires it's heavy mortar, the controlling player can re-roll the scatter dice if he wishes'. It doesn't say the rest of the battery can too.

When you fire multiple barrage weapons, you place one template (the griffon's) first, and the others fall adjacent to it.

As for a 24" dead zone, its a perfectly valid tactic to put your collosus in one corner, and your army in the other corner with as many objectives (or 1 for C&C) as you can fit.

The Dreadnote wrote:When you fire multiple barrage weapons, you place one template (the griffon's) first, and the others fall adjacent to it.

Actually, that is not 100% clear, because the wording in the rulebook does not account for Multiple Barrages of differing weapons, but instead are written for Multiple Barrage of the same weapon. GW need to clarify it, but they refuse to do so.

Is the Colossus worth it?

Hell. Yes.

For it's cost, it is amazing if you have the room for it.

In my first game with one, it tore into Space Wolves like nobodies business, wiping out 2-3x its actual cost. Turn 1, it pretty much insta-killed all the long fangs in a squad. In successive turns it popped off parts of marine squads left and right.

The concern about the dead zone can also be damn near eliminated by placing one colossus at one corner of your DZ and another colossus at the other end. Just make sure there's a cheapo squad nearby to protect your valued machinery.

In my experience, I usually have trouble with minimum ranges, even with corners. Then again, that's usually my luck (Especially against fast armies), even if I use both deployment corners to cover each other. I'm not entirely discounting the Colossus due to the minimum range, I'm just stating that you got to take extra precautions to cover it's no-hit zone.
Regarding multiple barrages, you can only use the Griffon's re-roll for the whole salvo if the Griffon is the closest model to the target (Page 32, Multiple Barrages, Paragraph 2). Otherwise, that re-roll only affects the Griffon's blast alone.

A Demolisher or two pairs nicely with the Colossus; within 24" is where the Demolisher shines. As long as you have a short-ranged threat near the Colossus, you're making the enemy make a tough decision.

I recently proxied a colossus, and I'll be converting one soon. The low strength might be a turn off, however negating cover and the AP of 3 makes up for that.

It managed to consistantly pummel the chaos marines I was facing into a pulp, whilst greatly hindering my opponents plans. Very effective, especially in a cityfight scenario.

Low strength? It won't blow up any vehicles sure, but that's not what it is for. It's job is to hit marines, wound on 2's and kill 4 or 5 marines a shot.