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I just picked one up last night, and assembled it in autcannon/heavy bolter mode, and I haven't really had a chance to use it. Not sure what role it fills in a diverse SM army.

Well, if you haven't glued the turrets on yet, your best bet is to take a good hard look at your army list, and figure out where your weaknesses are, then use your predator to fill one of them.

Well, the Predator Destructor has the right weaponry to kill light armour and is very able to kill light and medium infantry. It is not really meant for heavy anti-tank duty. That is the role of the Predator Annihilator, which can threaten AV14 with its TL-LC and LC sponsons (and is probably useful against hardy MCs, too).

Apart from that...well, just my two cents, haven't found any special uber super uses for the Pred. I think it is a good, basic tank.

Magnetize!

Preds are easy to magnetize, totally worth the effort X10

Dashofpepper wrote:Well, if you haven't glued the turrets on yet, your best bet is to take a good hard look at your army list, and figure out where your weaknesses are, then use your predator to fill one of them.

I haven't glued anything on them except for the sponson mounts themselves. I'll be using it as a rhino in cases where I don't need a pred. That said, I'm just sort of wondering what the autocannon is ACTUALLY good for.

The way it is set up now, makes it anti-infantry and should be used to support other tanks or a squad. Maybe put it near a squad on an objective and have it shoot at approaching enemies. The Autocannon will probably not stop much more than transports and maybe walkers and should not be used as a tank hunter like the Lascannon one.

What is an autocannon good for? Well, it can ID T3 characters/MW models, it has an excellant range that allows it sit back and do it's thing, and against light armor it can give your opponent some headaches. Paying 65pts for one is a little silly, but that's why you give it the ol dakka upgrade and allow it to be a viable anti-infantry unit for 85pts (FA 13 can soak up a little bit of damage as well). For IG, massed Autocannon fire is pretty fancy.

barlio wrote:What is an autocannon good for? Well, it can ID T3 characters/MW models, it has an excellant range that allows it sit back and do it's thing, and against light armor it can give your opponent some headaches. Paying 65pts for one is a little silly, but that's why you give it the ol dakka upgrade and allow it to be a viable anti-infantry unit for 85pts (FA 13 can soak up a little bit of damage as well). For IG, massed Autocannon fire is pretty fancy.

I bulked it up with an HK missile and the autocannon did a fantastic job on my opponents twin rhinos and the HK zapped his dread from across the field. I see where the dakka pred fits in, it just wasn't overwhelmingly good. Like all SM units, it just seems pretty good at a wide range of things, and not amazing at anything.

The autocannon/HB predator is an awesome unit because of its extreme points efficiency. Many players will discount it because of the relatively low effectiveness for one model, but the fact of the matter is that you're getting more firepower per point than any unit other than Lootas.

You take dakka preds because multi-meltas are extremely easy to come by in the SM list, so you fill your HS slots with cheap things so you can have more points for the rest of your army.

That and if they have Multi-Meltas you have something extra to shoot at them.

willydstyle wrote:The autocannon/HB predator is an awesome unit because of its extreme points efficiency. Many players will discount it because of the relatively low effectiveness for one model, but the fact of the matter is that you're getting more firepower per point than any unit other than Lootas.

You take dakka preds because multi-meltas are extremely easy to come by in the SM list, so you fill your HS slots with cheap things so you can have more points for the rest of your army.

I was thinking that it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a couple more dakka preds to really load up on extra high armour anti infantry/light transport firepower. My sternguard and termies have done a really nasty job on their armor as of late and it doesn't seem that I really need the twin linked las's on those annhiliator preds.

Yeah, three working together should go very well.

n0t_u wrote:Yeah, three working together should go very well.

What about two and a dev squad with a tank killer kit?

That might be better as you can handle more things effectively. Preds could stop infantry from showing up and wiping out the devs allowing them to focus on what they need to shoot more. Although you could give them a Razorback for that instead and use the preds effectively elsewhere.

n0t_u wrote:That might be better as you can handle more things effectively. Preds could stop infantry from showing up and wiping out the devs allowing them to focus on what they need to shoot more. Although you could give them a Razorback for that instead and use the preds effectively elsewhere.

I actually have a razorback for them that's kitted with twin linked las. I think the razor's a better anti-tank option than the preds mainly because those las cannons can really reach out and touch while the heavy bolters on the predators need to be just a touch closer to deal with the primary targets.

oddjustice wrote:

n0t_u wrote:Yeah, three working together should go very well.

What about two and a dev squad with a tank killer kit?

How much is that Dev squad going to cost you? That's the point behind taking Dakka preds (or even a Lascannon Pred). True that it is one model, but it is still cheaper than a Dev squad and can "theoretically" take more damage. A lasgun can kill a dev squad member, you need something Str7+ to even scratch a Pred. If your opponent is spending his big guns on your Predators that means less shots fired at your transports and marines. If you have plenty of Anti-tank in a list (ala Vulkan) and you buy a LR as a Dedicated Transport, you have 3 Heavy Support Choices to fill with Predator goodness. For 255 points you can either get 1 LR or 3 Preds that can throw out 6 Str7 shots and 18 Str5 shots (Ap4 as well). If you go with the Annihlator (sp) option you can get 3 for 495pts (more than excessive), but then again thats 3 TL lascannons and 6 Lascannon shots.

It just comes down to what you are getting for your points.

barlio wrote:

oddjustice wrote:

n0t_u wrote:Yeah, three working together should go very well.

What about two and a dev squad with a tank killer kit?

How much is that Dev squad going to cost you? That's the point behind taking Dakka preds (or even a Lascannon Pred). True that it is one model, but it is still cheaper than a Dev squad and can "theoretically" take more damage. A lasgun can kill a dev squad member, you need something Str7+ to even scratch a Pred. If your opponent is spending his big guns on your Predators that means less shots fired at your transports and marines. If you have plenty of Anti-tank in a list (ala Vulkan) and you buy a LR as a Dedicated Transport, you have 3 Heavy Support Choices to fill with Predator goodness. For 255 points you can either get 1 LR or 3 Preds that can throw out 6 Str7 shots and 18 Str5 shots (Ap4 as well). If you go with the Annihlator (sp) option you can get 3 for 495pts (more than excessive), but then again thats 3 TL lascannons and 6 Lascannon shots.

It just comes down to what you are getting for your points.

Well, to be honest, I'm not looking for a super competitive list, and I'm limited by funds, so if I already own a dev squad they'll most likely get used before anything else.

Yeah, something fun is always better than something expensive and extremely competitive.

n0t_u wrote:Yeah, something fun is always better than something expensive and extremely competitive.

I don't think that the devs will be so underpowered as to make my list abysmal even. Granted, they're expensive las cannons, but they're also signum'ed and they have ablative wounds. They also give me the flexibility of combat squadding.

oddjustice wrote:

n0t_u wrote:Yeah, something fun is always better than something expensive and extremely competitive.

I don't think that the devs will be so underpowered as to make my list abysmal even. Granted, they're expensive las cannons, but they're also signum'ed and they have ablative wounds. They also give me the flexibility of combat squadding.

I don't think they would be underpowered either. I didn't say they were a bad choice, they seem alright to me. Dev team can hide up in a building while the pred can't. While the pred is more cheaper, what's more fun to play as or against. 3 preds or 2 and a dev squad?

I'm a big fan of 10 man Dev squads, they break off into 5 man/2 heavy weapon teams very nicely...and 4 lascannons or plasma cannons sitting in the middle of 10 mans is a daunting thing to see on the other side of the table.

That being said, there's no dakka like mo dakka, and the Pred is the dakka'est one in the list.

Autocannon, 2 Heavy Bolters and a pintel storm bolter is a crap ton of ammunition to throw down range at anyone for under 100 pts. Even space marines don't like taking that many saves in a turn (and the pred is BS4 so it will actucally hit things it fires at).

n0t_u wrote:

oddjustice wrote:

n0t_u wrote:Yeah, something fun is always better than something expensive and extremely competitive.

I don't think that the devs will be so underpowered as to make my list abysmal even. Granted, they're expensive las cannons, but they're also signum'ed and they have ablative wounds. They also give me the flexibility of combat squadding.

I don't think they would be underpowered either. I didn't say they were a bad choice, they seem alright to me. Dev team can hide up in a building while the pred can't. While the pred is more cheaper, what's more fun to play as or against. 3 preds or 2 and a dev squad?

Oh the devs are more fun by far. I've lovingly painted and modeled those guys.



Automatically Appended Next Post:

RxGhost wrote:I'm a big fan of 10 man Dev squads, they break off into 5 man/2 heavy weapon teams very nicely...and 4 lascannons or plasma cannons sitting in the middle of 10 mans is a daunting thing to see on the other side of the table.

That being said, there's no dakka like mo dakka, and the Pred is the dakka'est one in the list.

Autocannon, 2 Heavy Bolters and a pintel storm bolter is a crap ton of ammunition to throw down range at anyone for under 100 pts. Even space marines don't like taking that many saves in a turn (and the pred is BS4 so it will actucally hit things it fires at).

yeah, that's basically the setup I put on that first pred. Seemed like lots of shots to me, especially if I can set them back far enough so that the 190 degrees on those sponson bolters can see both sides of a firing line. I think the H/K is not a bad buy actually to give it some emergency punch.

I actually like taking the H/Ks as well. It's all fun and games with the other guy tooling around in his rhino until he gets smacked with one of those from another light vehicle. In this new era of mechanized everything, it's a decent buy and it's not too expensive...just don't forget what it is; say, for example, an HK missile is your only plan for taking out a Land Raider, it might be time to re-examine the plan. lol

Devastator Space Marines are like that old work horse that everyone forgot about when the new pony showed up, but they can plow that farm better than anyone else still, let me tell you what.

EDIT: Apparently I don't know how to spell or type in English.

RxGhost wrote:I actually like taking the H/Ks as well. It's all fun and games with the other guy tooling around in his rhino until he gets smacked with one of those from another light vehicle. In this new era of mechanized everything, it's a decent buy and it's not too expensive...just don't forget what it is; say, for example, an HK missile is your only plan for taking out a Land Raider, it might be time to re-examine the plan. lol

Devastator Space Marines are like that old work horse that everyone forgot about when the new pony showed up, but they can plow that farm better than anyone else still, let me tell you what.

EDIT: Apparently I don't know how to spell or type in English.

LOL, it happens.

I definitely think that las cannon equipped devs are your best bet for nailing enemy armor on the cheap. I've got my squad kitted for maximum flexibility too, 10 man, 2x HB, 2x Las My best bet for killing that LR is actually the sternies out of the drop pod with those hot ass meltas.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you're silly for taking Dev squad(s). We were just on the topic of the merits of a Predator. Personally I like the idea of Combat squading a dev squad. It makes more sense then just mobbing it up. I like the idea of maybe splitting up the squads into a 2x lascannon combat squad (with Sgt), and a 2x PC, or HB, squad. Maybe even 2x squads with Lascannons. Would allow you to be flexible and if one squad cracks a tank then your other squad can pick out another target.

Edit: Looked at a squad build. 270pts buys you a 10man Dev squad with 2x Lascannons and 2x ML. Split them up and leave the Sgt with the Lascannons. The ML cs has the flexibility to deal with a variety of targets. Not excelling in one area, but it would allow for some interesting shooting phases.

barlio wrote:Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you're silly for taking Dev squad(s). We were just on the topic of the merits of a Predator. Personally I like the idea of Combat squading a dev squad. It makes more sense then just mobbing it up. I like the idea of maybe splitting up the squads into a 2x lascannon combat squad (with Sgt), and a 2x PC, or HB, squad. Maybe even 2x squads with Lascannons. Would allow you to be flexible and if one squad cracks a tank then your other squad can pick out another target.

Edit: Looked at a squad build. 270pts buys you a 10man Dev squad with 2x Lascannons and 2x ML. Split them up and leave the Sgt with the Lascannons. The ML cs has the flexibility to deal with a variety of targets. Not excelling in one area, but it would allow for some interesting shooting phases.

Oh, no offense taken bud. I've decided on a pair of dakka preds and a dev squad with 10 men carrying 2 HBs, 1 ML, and 1 Las. I've decided to embrace the Space Marine motto, Semper Gumby. Always flexible yannow.

One thing Predator Annihilator can do is cause instant death on nobz. The best they can do is a 5+ invulnerable save and if they fail a few of them (and they will) a morale check is forced as an added bonus.

orkcommander wrote:One thing Predator Annihilator can do is cause instant death on nobz. The best they can do is a 5+ invulnerable save and if they fail a few of them (and they will) a morale check is forced as an added bonus.

Smart players just put the lascannon hit on the Warboss because it doesn't cause ID.

Dakka Predators make dark eldar shake in their space booties. There is nothing like watching all of his raiders get shot down on the first or second turn. In most of my all comers list I take 2 dakka predators and sometimes 3 if I dont have any where else to put 100 pts. They really excel at taking out transports.

Plus with Dawn of War you won't be able to set up your dev squad(s) and have to wait at least a turn to start fireing