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Or is there?

If my dreadnought gets into CC with, say, a group of Hormagaunts or a (EMP nadeless) Firewarrior team are they screwed? As far as I can tell, they have no way to hurt the dread and become locked in combat until they retreat. They inevitably take some losses and have to run away, which makes a sweeping advance available to possibly mop them up. Is this correct?

The only way they may survive is if they lose combat, fail moral and then survive the sweeping advance to fall back. True as well?

I have two dreads in my 1000 pt list and I am usually able to pull this off once a game against my Tau or Nid friends, but I feel cheesy knowing I've already won the combat once I've charged. But if this is all true, then I guess its my friends' fault for letting me get my dreads into combat with their wimps.

There's a reason dreads are so good. Enjoy it. Take 3 dreads if you want to, it's your list.

Yes this is true. However, it does keep your dread from popping tanks. Against Nids, go for it. Otherwise, only use this tactic when you have few tanks to shoot up.

Yeah, there aren't many tank in my playgroup right now, so I like to get into these one-sided combats to hide from Broadsides and Zoanthropes.

Fiend wrote:Or is there?

If my dreadnought gets into CC with, say, a group of Hormagaunts or a (EMP nadeless) Firewarrior team are they screwed? As far as I can tell, they have no way to hurt the dread and become locked in combat until they retreat. They inevitably take some losses and have to run away, which makes a sweeping advance available to possibly mop them up. Is this correct?

The only way they may survive is if they lose combat, fail moral and then survive the sweeping advance to fall back. True as well?

I have two dreads in my 1000 pt list and I am usually able to pull this off once a game against my Tau or Nid friends, but I feel cheesy knowing I've already won the combat once I've charged. But if this is all true, then I guess its my friends' fault for letting me get my dreads into combat with their wimps.

Yes Yes and Yes.

Walkers are very VERY good, especially vs Models without Grenades!

Fiend wrote:I have two dreads in my 1000 pt list and I am usually able to pull this off once a game against my Tau or Nid friends, but I feel cheesy knowing I've already won the combat once I've charged. But if this is all true, then I guess its my friends' fault for letting me get my dreads into combat with their wimps.

Aye. They should have wiped out the dread or ran away earlier - but do consider that some players also intentionally tarpit things like dreads and wraitlords with cheap infantry. A dread can be stuck for several rounds with a Fearless unit, for example. Often enough that it will have no say in contesting objectives or shooting the big bad. You need to look around the battlefield and decide if the opponent is offering up a unit as a sacrifice or not.

Armored sentinels are great for this as well. And they are a lot cheaper to boot.

Even if the squad has krak grenades, 6 to hit, 6 to glance.

powerfists are a bit more of a problem of course.

yea, its actually to the player with the useless units advantage to charge into a dreadnought sometimes.

for example, a nid player uses a tervigon to spawn ~9 gaunts or so, and charges my venerable dreadnought with them. those 9 gaunts will hold my dreadnought up for at least 2 assault phases, possibly more... while he's using a free meatshield unit to do so, removing a 170+ point unit of mine from the table.

it doesn't have to be a disadvantage for the player with the cheap units, if the units are sufficiently cheap and numerous.

Another thing to remember...at least with nids is that they are kind of like bears. The small ones look cute and cuddly, but the big ones are always close by and aren't so friendly. And if they are gaunts they will likely be close to something rather large.

Make sure the trade is in your favor if you choose to make an assault like that. I've had a lot of players make the mistake of thinking their dred is invulnerable and then have a MC come up and lay 3 or 4 pens to it next assault phase.

Watch out for the tau players like my self that keep a squad or two equipped with EMP Grenades.

Not really any different from there being no escape from combat with a C'Tan or Wraithlord with a toughness so high your troops can't hurt it.
Annoying, sure, and almost a shame that there's no voluntary morale break option, but at least you're tying up something big and mean.

Don't feel bad man! Punish those fools for leaving themselves exposed. Don't forget, however, they are tying you up as much as you are them!

Drummerboy wrote:Another thing to remember...at least with nids is that they are kind of like bears. The small ones look cute and cuddly, but the big ones are always close by and aren't so friendly. And if they are gaunts they will likely be close to something rather large.

...best forum quote EVER

Drummerboy wrote:Another thing to remember...at least with nids is that they are kind of like bears. The small ones look cute and cuddly, but the big ones are always close by and aren't so friendly. And if they are gaunts they will likely be close to something rather large.

Make sure the trade is in your favor if you choose to make an assault like that. I've had a lot of players make the mistake of thinking their dred is invulnerable and then have a MC come up and lay 3 or 4 pens to it next assault phase.

I'm sigging this quote.

It is a sad truth, but as everyone keeps saying, all i need to do is tarpit a 110 point squad of kroot and your dread can't hurt the things that are important in my army (FW, Devilfish, Stealthsuits, etc)

I do this against heavy weapon guard squads.

What I usually do is kill the heavy weapons, then mop up the LRMBTs or MA with Land speeders.

they usually loose around 800 points to what is basically 400 pts.

This is always used, and I've never seen it as contestable.