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I've been thinking how many dreadnoughts is too many?! Ive actually got 4 myself, just wondered what you guys thought

Oggiwan wrote:I've been thinking how many dreadnoughts is too many?! Ive actually got 4 myself, just wondered what you guys thought

Not too sure but lately i have been thinking they are abit expensive for what they do

Orks or Marines?
Also how they're equiped and the rest of the army list.

In both I see them as support units there to help the foot slogging infantry hit the harder stuff, or simply help with whatever task you've made the unit for.

If you really want you could do a Dread army, so really the answer depends entirely on the rest of the army.

n0t_u wrote:Orks or Marines?

Probably SMs,

but talking about orks , i think killa kan are VERY GOOD for their pts and price.

n0t_u wrote:Orks or Marines?

Well either really.

Yeh, they shoot way better than Dreads which is pretty helpful.

For SM I like the Assault Cannon, Heavy Flamer one. Helps shoot infantry and if it has to it can still smash transports if they get near. Genereally though they stand around the stuff I don't want to be in combat too much and help them.

LunaHound wrote:Not too sure but lately i have been thinking they are abit expensive for what they do

I guess they can be a little expensive but it depends on what you want to use them for.

Oggiwan wrote:

LunaHound wrote:Not too sure but lately i have been thinking they are abit expensive for what they do

I guess they can be a little expensive but it depends on what you want to use them for.

what do you suggest? ive heard people DSing with drop pod into middle of enemy army and sort of create chaos like that

Hmm, Seven...seven is too many...

Not if you play Bloodangels . . .
But seriously, a 6 dread list should be quite capable if you build it right

Yeah, he's right, make it an even nine?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ooops. Even Ten!

Firstly there's no such thing as too many Dreadnoughts. Personally I own 14, not including Orks or Eldar, and from what I've seen that's not even close to a large number.

But in a "normal" game I don't think I've ever fielded more than 2. Once you get over 2,000 points I generally increase that number rather quickly. So it depends on size of game. It also depends on type of Dreadnought and delivery method.

I field 5 in a 1500 point force I play all the time, I own 10 of them, they are one of my favorite models in the game. An amazing point value in my opinon.

I have been asking myself about dreads alot lately too.

I play Blood Angels and was thinking about squeezing in a dread or possily two and cut something.

Right now I have a Reclusiarch, 10 Assault Marines, 10 Tact Marines, 10 Scouts, Sternguard Vets, Sanguinary Guard, Devastator Squad, Rhino and A Baal Predator. I also have 5 marines I am not sure what to do with but I was thinking Death Squad or Assault Marines.

I have a lot of soldiers, but not alot of armor. So I have been thinking of Dreads, or even a whirlwind or more Baal Predators, but I am not sure which one.

If I get a dread, do I get a Close Combat Dread and Drop Pod him for a suicide mission, or a Shooty one that can sit back with my Devastators and Tactical Squads and laydown a carpet or lead and plasma?

Or do I go total baddy, and just walk through them with Blood Talons as he charges with assault marines, the vets, and death squad?

And then there is the Librarian in a Box Dreadnaught! So many choices!

I have had many a painful experience against dread heavy armies. I have had a few cases where they have simply not been worth destroying due to the other stuff coming at me and it managed to run across the field and stick its powerfist into my leman russ and rip out the crew. Others have included two dropping into my back lines, smashing the heavy support and just standing there while I was unable to really hurt them. Most often (at least against me) the job of a dreadnaught is find the big scary thing and punch it in the face with a powerfist while hosing it in melta or assault cannon. Always painful when I see that guy loading up two drop pods. Taking more can be a problem as you deny yourself the distractions that will be focused on. To many and they become the prime threat, and good anti tank will cut them down if focused on them. Exact numbers, I haven't got a clue.

Get rid of Scouts if they're Sniper. Try to get another Baal Pred and a Lib Dread with wings to go with the assault squad/Sang Guard.

Personally I don't really like the suicide run plan, to me it's only worth doing if you know it's going to kill enough to be worth it.

Then again it can be used as a huge distraction allowing the rest of the army to cross into CC range with more ease. So keep that in mind, if you're able to race to the enemy fast enough to support it. I supose the Devs could help out with that. Make sure they all have MLs as that's the best weapon for them.

If you want a more normal support one go with Assault Cannon and replace the SB with a Heavy Flamer. This one would be best staying around whatever is guarding the home objective as infantry can be a pretty big issue to them. The squad itself should take care of the transports well before they reach them. I'm not as familiar with BA as I switched to Eldar a bit before the SW release, but I haven't lost a single game against them yet.

LunaHound wrote:

Oggiwan wrote:

LunaHound wrote:Not too sure but lately i have been thinking they are abit expensive for what they do

I guess they can be a little expensive but it depends on what you want to use them for.

what do you suggest? ive heard people DSing with drop pod into middle of enemy army and sort of create chaos like that

What i tend to do with my four( 2 normal dreds, 1 ironclad and 1 Ven) i tend to set up 2 with TL lascannon and have the other 2 with close combat arms to go into the thick of it and crush a few things. However it is a rare thing to see all four noughts out together :-P

I have 6 for my marines, and I'm done purchasing them.

I can use all 6 in an Apoc game or when I use the Master of the Forge.

For Sms its 7, as you cant feild more than three elites and three heavys

I love dreads. Love converting them and love painting them. However, in game, they have serious limitations.

The standard dreadnought is AV12 which means it is slightly vulnerable to plasma and autocannons, vulnerable to lacscannons, krak missiles, and meltas at long range, and very vulnerable to meltas at close range. This can be an issue as it is a lower armor shooting platform than a predator and generally needs to be closer to utilize its strengths. Krak grenades aren't very scary, but S8 powerfists and esp. monstrous creatures can quickly scrap the dread as well.

So what does this tell us? The dread needs to stay out of LOS of long range AT and away from melta units and MCs. Having lots of comparable targets (rhinos, razors) can distract fire from the dread and also provide cover (a dread can walk behind a rhino for cover and the rhino pops smoke). It also means Drop Podding is suicide against most MEQs as the tend to carry lots of meltaguns. Also, armies like BAs, SWs, CSM, etc. tend to have PFists in squads that can wreck the dread in CC and with only 2 base attacks, the dread struggles to make kills.

Variant dreads can alleviate some of these problems. Ironclads have AV 13 which means they can shrug off the smaller stuff and are significantly better off v. lascannons and PFists, but still crumble to close melta and MCs. Venerable get a re-roll on the damage chart and better accuracy, very useful for Assault Cannons, not so much for Plasma Cannons. Furiosos and Blood Talon dreads can rip through infantry. Chaplains add more support abilities.

Weapon selection is also a factor. Twin ranged weapons make for a platform comparable to a Razorback, but with more guns and better AV. Plasma cannons offer the only vehicle mounted one SMs can get. A ranged and CC offers versatilty and lets the Dread do something even if immobilized. Two DCCWs adds assault killiness but makes immobilization a tremendous liability.

I would recommend never taking 1 dread, unless it is just a twin TL AC or something/ML dread sitting back. In any case, dreads should be taken with plenty of other armor to make sure it is not quickly singled out and eliminated. Taking lots of dreads is intimidating, but can quickly lose steam if the opponent has any decent AT.

I recently converted and have added a TL AC dread to my army, and I find its a great unit.
The ability of TL AC to take down AV 10 and 11 has really helped the rest of my army greatly, and I would recommend one in most marine armies.

Well, i currently have 8.

2 riflemen

1 sniper

2 Ironclad

1 metal Venerable(nice Paper weight currently)

2 Grey Knight Dreds

Grey Templar wrote:Well, i currently have 8.

2 riflemen

1 sniper

2 Ironclad

1 metal Venerable(nice Paper weight currently)

2 Grey Knight Dreds

What would sniper be? lascanon and missile?

I was just wondering that myself, Luna.

You can never have too many Dreadnoughts. There's always a place for more metal men, be it Apoc, Spearhead, Planetstrike, or homebrew games.

Personally, I love Dreadnoughts in moderation. One or two are solemn, ancient heroes, but more than that diludes the effect for me. However, a vast array of Kans and Deffdreads, or a combined Dreadnought force from a variety of Chapters is an awesome sight.

LunaHound wrote:

Grey Templar wrote:Well, i currently have 8.

2 riflemen

1 sniper

2 Ironclad

1 metal Venerable(nice Paper weight currently)

2 Grey Knight Dreds

What would sniper be? lascanon and missile?

indeed, lascannon and missile

Don't forget Spearhead rules! You can field a LOT of dreads if you put them in tank hunter, ambush, or archeotech spearheads.


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I think if you had a MotF, you could have 3 elite dreads, 3 heavy support dreads, 3 ambush dreads, 3 tank hunter dreads, and 3 archeotech dreads. Maybe even 3 outrider spearhead dreads... so a whopping 15-18 dreads! No... that would be like 2500 points... but hey that's a lot of dreads!

After GWs latest FAQWTF I am sure glad I didnt build a librarian dread for my BA.

As it stands I own 5 dreads- 2 DC, 2 furioso, and a heavy support dread.

Since the FAQ made libby dreads not get options, I wont be making a sixth.

Thank you GW. Might as well ruin codex entries you dont sell models for, I see it doesnt affect your bottom line, so falls beneath your notice/care.

I specifically waited to build a libby dread with this idea in mind- if they dont produce a expensive kit for a model in the codex, they could care less if the rules work, or if the model performs on the battlefield, so when the swiss cheese rules need a FAQ, these codex entries are the first to feel the shaft.

Too bad. Ive seen some very nice Libby dread conversions with weapons options modeled on. But its obviously too game breaking to allow your ultra elite psyker dreadnought to have the same options as your run of the mill hvy support piece... because the more elite you are, the LESS wargear you should have access to right???

If im a warleader I would certainly arm my strongest warriors with a rusty spoon and my average ones with the top of the line gear!

Anyways... I have 5 dreads.

10 is to many, its not legal

SlimPickens wrote:Anyways... I have 5 dreads.

I hadn't noticed that when I glanced over the FAQ. If I were you, I'd ignore that bit of the FAQ since it doesn't make sense and isn't errata. I certainly wouldn't force that bit of astounding stupidity on anyone. The only thing Librarian Dreadnoughts are unable to take are Blood Talons, as it requires the Dreadnought replace both Bloodfists, and the Libarian Dreadnought only has one. Otherwise there is no reason they can't take a Frag Cannon, or Extra Armor.

Augustus wrote:10 is to many, its not legal

In standard 40k and only for Space Marines. Orks can take 11 walkers in standard 40k. Anyone who can take walkers can take tons of them in the expansions.

I have 3 Marine Dreads, 4 Deff Dreads, 3 Killa Kanz and 3 War Walkers and TWELVE Wraithlords. That might be too many.