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Would it be worth buying and fielding 3 hydra in a single heavy support slot for Imperial Guard?

They seem infinitely useful. Sure, a 3 man heavy weapons team gets 6 shots out, but a hydra gets 4 twin linked shots out, which im pretty sure evens out to be slightly better than 6 non twin linked shots, at bs 3.

They also have the ability to move and fire at half the fire rate, and the safety of an armoured chassis. It takes a strength 6 weapon to instant death a heavy weapons team. And str 6 is about the adequate absolute minimum strength you would require to engage a hydra from the side or back.

Hydra seem to perform well in every combat situation except dealing with heavy tanks and superheavy infantry. They can give a wraithlord a run for its money, and will do well against carinifexes, they have that inconspicuous heavy bolter, and its 3 for 225 points.

My question. Are hydras worth taking up a HS slot? Or can it be done better in another area. I find the range 72 and ignore movement saves to be the icing on the cake here (you should see what one of these babies did to a genestealer squad!)

Thoughts? Experiences?


Edit: If any mod feels this is in the wrong place, do not hesitate to move.

have three of them use them if you battleing a horde army

Mech Eldar and Tau absolutely hate them.

Yeah, they ruin skimmers.

Cambak wrote:Mech Eldar and Tau absolutely hate them.

I have a friend who is going tau but I think I only have 4 autocannons

Actually it's hydras rather than autocannons. It gives you a bonus against skimmers (or rather, reduces the benefit Skimmers have).

Also gives a bonus against bikes, too-- neither of htem get cover saves from movement.

With the exception of Piranhas you don't really have to worry about Tau skimmers moving fast, and they have a 5-point piece of wargear that makes it moot anyway. Take what you would against any other medium armor.

Jaon wrote:Hydra seem to perform well

Uhh... how do you define "well"?

In any case, were I to waste a HS slot on hydras, I would always take 3 in a squad every time. Not only is this not prohibitively expensive, but it's the only way to make sure that what you're shooting autocannons at actually dies. Otherwise, you're going to spend a lot of time shaking vehicles and failing to put wounds that stick on monstrous creatures.

They're a really popular heavy support choice. You can definitely do a lot of damage with that many shots, especially at the accuracy they fire at. As mentioned, they're awesome against fast attack-heavy armies. Kult of Speed Orks with a lot of bikers will cry.

A third Hydra is nice for the additional insurance (for example, without accounting for the heavy bolters, a pair of them have about a 70% chance to immobilize or destroy a rhino, or a 45% chance if it is in cover), but the third tank creates some logistical difficulties.

For one, it is quite difficult to net a squadron of three tanks a cover save. With a pair of tanks, it's a breeze (just cover one, and the other benefits automatically). Two tanks are also easier to find room for on the battlefield while allowing for full line of sight (especially considering they are best used in conjunction with other tanks). For these reasons alone I would stick with two. Plus, it keeps the cost down.

By the way, the Hydra guns are not simply autocannons that ignore skimmer/bike flat-out saves, they also have a very impressive range of 72". There really should be nowhere on the battlefield they can't reach.
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I don't think the Hydra gives a bonus vs. Bikers.
Moving Flat Out is different than Turbo Boosting.

But I don't have the specific wording so this is IIRC.

Hydras specifically ignore both.

Of course against Orks specifically that'd just change a turboboosting warbike's cover save from 3+ to 4+. Where this would really shine in the odd cases where it happens is Necrons. Nullify the 2+ cover save on turboboosting Scarabs and inflict instant death on top of it.

And against Seer Council, it means absolutely nothing since they already have 3+ saves. The only time you're ever going to get much use out of the auto-trackers is against Eldar.

I think 2 in most games is a bit more flexible; and saves some points for other choices. Three would be more for Spearhead or Apocalypse. However, juiced up autocannons that can reach the moon are not to be ignored.

I'd say 2 is enough. Any vehicle unit over 200 points is pretty vulnerable to deep striking or fast units with multiple meltaguns. Also, unless you're packing your HS section full and don't want to spend points elsewhere, flexibility means a lot.

Terminus wrote:And against Seer Council, it means absolutely nothing since they already have 3+ saves. The only time you're ever going to get much use out of the auto-trackers is against Eldar.

Nor power armored bikers, hurray!

I-bounty-hunt-the-elderly wrote:I'd say 2 is enough. Any vehicle unit over 200 points is pretty vulnerable to deep striking or fast units with multiple meltaguns. Also, unless you're packing your HS section full and don't want to spend points elsewhere, flexibility means a lot.

Well, a unit that is less than 200 is still just as vulnerable (the cover save discussion aside), it just doesn't hurt as much when you lose it!

I took your advice with my recent list overhaul, and I did like the added flexibility those 75 points gave me. When I get that army on the table in a few weeks, I'm looking forward to seeing how the hydras work out. For now, I'll be using the Aegis defense line quad guns on top of Chimeras to reperesent them.

Just thought of something funny. An individual shot from a Hydra has a 3/4 x 1/6 chance sticking a penetrating hit to a fast-moving Serpent or Valkyrie. Against a smoked Rhino the chance is 3/4 x 1/3 x 1/2 because smoke works just fine against Hydras. Factor in glances and they're actually slightly better at shooting Serpents than Rhinos. Two together have about an even chance of at least immobilizing a Serpent, 45% for a smoked Rhino. Maybe it's only funny because I'm tired.