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Hello,

I'm planning and, at the moment, making a khorne army. However, with this, I wish to include a traitor guard section.

Reasons being:
Fluff
I like guard
We're playing an apocalypse game next year with 100,000 points, and I've been confronted with this issue.

So, hydras. I know they are anti air/skimmer weapons, but I was wondering, how effective are they against other targets (and when massed in large numbers, what can they kill?)

Hydras are great against AV10-12 targets, but fire at anything above that and you will probably be scratching paint.

They also can be effective at anti-infantry. I run mine with HHBs so they tear through Eldar, Fire Warriors, other Guardsmen, and Warriors like snot at a kleenex party.

Autocannons exist for one purpose - killing AV10. Outside of that role, they tend to preform pretty crappy, what with not having enough strength to reliably threaten AV12 by themselves, and not enough shots to handle hordes particularly well, and not enough AP to handle things like monstrous creatures with any particular degree of effectiveness.

I played hydras for awhile, and they did a pretty decent job of beating face, but I was also rather lucky with them.

Basically, they're the same as an autocannon HWS, but it comes in AV12 form instead of infantry form. If you're playing against lots of skimmer armies, then it's probably worth it to include a couple, but otherwise just leave them at home.

DakkaDakka wrote:

mech lists are everywhere and I have yet find a game where ACs arent useful.
Another thing is they are cheap and adds well to the AV12 spam.

4 Twin Linked shots each at 72 inches? Uh, yeah I'll take that.

A lot of people forget this, but they also have hull-mounted Heavy Bolters. Inside of 36" that's 4 S7 shots and 3 S5 shots a piece. A squadron of 3 is putting out 12 S7, 9 S5 shots. That's a lot of dakka.

I just ran a 1500 list with 6 Hydras. Even marines and terminators fall under that much firepower pretty quickly. You don't want to rely on them solely, because there are better weapons against those targets, but they've got relatively high rate of fire and medium strength. They end up pretty versatile.

Actually, I'm kind of happy with their lack of "good" AP. They're exactly as effective against marines in cover as marines in the open, so it doesn't ever feel like you're "losing" firepower just because someone walked into a building.

In a huge Apoc game, I'm sure that they'll never be out of targets, ever.

Against transports, they are good enough. Also against termie groups and other infantry formations.

In a huge Apoc game, you're likely to face flyers. Even things like the Thunderhawk are only AV12, and most flyers are AV10 all around. They rely on the only hitting on 6 rule to keep themselves alive. So, in a huge apoc game I can see them shredding flyers as an important job. Skimmers will also be something that you will need to hurt, especially the DE Raiders. Thanks to all AV10, you'll be able to punch through those relatively easily.

Finally, I have to say, the massed autocannon fire will be pretty good at stripping void shields if you lack any other targets. In a masssive Apoc game, your Hydras will find a place.

In Apocolypse Hydras can be BRUTAL.

*Make sure you take the Imperial Armor 1 Hydras (from the Update), your Hydras gain AA Mount so they can shoot at Flyers
*Add the Lord Castellan Supreme Command formation and now your Hyrdras have tankhunters
*Add General Gizmund from Imperial Armor 1, and then for 20 more points each hydra can take the Ace Gunner, and Veteran Commander skills

What you end up with is a 95 point Hydra that is Strength 9 vs Vehicles and can re-roll Vehicle damage table results once on 1D6 per Hyrda

Broken, yes. Fun, HECK YES!!!!

I used this setup to shred 2 titans, and a Gargantuan Creature in one Apoc game....

Yup, Hydras are pretty sweet all-in-all. I gave Autocannon HWTs a try a couple time, but their annoying tendency to run away at the first chance the get coupled with their reliance on orders to actually hit, just makes me that much more glad when I set my Hydras on the table.

Although thy "contribute" to the av12 wall, they aren't exactly durable, and they *will* get smoked if your opponent focus' his fire on them. But for 75 points, that's an amazing deal.

Hydras aren't required, but are rarely a bad addition to an army.

They provide punch against light armor high toughness models, and are cheap enough to not feel like a waste against hordes.

They do struggle mightily against AV 13, can't hurt AV14, and are at best ok against AV12, but are still among the better options, for IG, against AV 12 at range.

And to be honest, your Hydras are mostly going to be shooting at AV12 and down. You have other things you'll be aiming at Predators, Land Raiders and Leman Russes. Your Hydras will be going towards shooting those annoyingly fast Raiders, Wave Serpents, and Devil Fish, and lending their firepower to culling a bike horde.

Hydras combine with Vendettas and melta vets allows you to deal with just about any vehicles.

I say in an apoc game, a group or groups of Hydras can whittle down any advancing foot army, whether Ork or Nids, Eldar too if they dare to approach
Hydras are valuable when you try to whittle down advancing terminator armies, thats so much fun sizing them down to size then letting you blob squad mop up the rest.

My list features a squadron of 2 Hydras for the lighter stuff, with a pair of Medusas tackling any Monoliths, Land Raiders, or whatnot.

So far, it's worked quite well, although I'm seriously considering enclosed crew compartments or camo netting for the Medusas, as their armor seems to be held together with chinese paper and whispered secrets.

odorofdeath wrote:My list features a squadron of 2 Hydras for the lighter stuff, with a pair of Medusas tackling any Monoliths, Land Raiders, or whatnot.

So far, it's worked quite well, although I'm seriously considering enclosed crew compartments or camo netting for the Medusas, as their armor seems to be held together with chinese paper and whispered secrets.

Enclosed crew compartments are a good idea, specially so that the Medusa are required to be LOS of their target,thus being LOS too of their retaliation, so the additional armor is a godsend plus whatever cover you could put at their front