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I wondered if many people are still using the bomb since it took a hit from it's 6th Ed incarnation? If so how are you running this and what tactics/support are you using?

The lack of marine allies and losing either Tigerius or Sevrin is a massive loss in terms of the psychic buffs (particularly gate) and fearless/ATSKNF. The changes to the meta which come along with 7th are troublesome also, not least of which is some crazy good psychic powers such as invisibility and cleansing flame.

I've summarised the positives and negatives of the bomb below:

+ twin-linked, ignore cover, tank/monster hunter on demand with no Ld/psychic test is still very powerful
+ target locks mean MSU is not so problematic
+ 2 up cover is still good especially on ablative gun drones
+ beta strike via non-scattering deep striking can win games
+ no buffmander and iontide combo in the game
+ very difficult for your opponent to take warlord due to sworn protector

- lack of mobility once it drops (6 inch plus 2D6 assault)
- loss of psychic defence
- loss of fearless/ATSKNF

I've tried the list in 7th with Eldar allies which I think is preferable for missions that include maelstrom objectives.

However the list I've been using recently makes use of an Ethereal to provide some additional support, it takes some careful maneuvering as he obviously cant drop down with the bomb. What he does provide is;

+ potential for additional mobility with zephyr's grace in combination with marker lights to bring BS back up
+ added fire power with the +1 shot for pulse carbines at 9"
+ makes the unit stubborn either by joining or projecting the bubble 12"
+ a slight increase in resilience with 6+ FNP

I found him a life saver in a tournament this past weekend, he saved the bomb after it was assaulted by Angrath when they would have broke and ran undoubtedly without the stuboorn bubble (I know you can use the puretide for this but not when you're tank or monster hunting). I also used the additional shots several times which was very nice for the added fire power.

I'm setting my list up in the following way;

farsight + shadowsun BFF

buff suit with MSS, CCN, PEN, DC, OG, VRT
3 suits with double fusion - including shadowsun, 8 fusions with TL, often at BS5 with markers is pretty horrible for your opponent
3 suits with double missile pods - excellent anti-mech and anti-light infantry and the range gives the bomb some much needed flexibility
8 gun drones - ablative wounds and some additional firepower

2x 10 kroot

3x skyrays with SMS

ethereal

3 crisis with 4 marker drones, AFP, DC, TL

skyray with SMS

I think it's highly regional as to whether the bomb is viable or not. Out West, the BAO/LVO guys have ruled that ICs can grant infiltrate to their squad. So if Shadowsun becomes the Warlord, the bomb can infiltrate as well as assault jump 3d6; which together pretty much solve the mobility issues you would otherwise have.

On the East Coast, NOVA tree events don't allow that interpretation; so the bomb is pretty much dead in the water.

That was one rule interpretation i wish GW clarified, since they worded it exactly like before...only directly denying non-infiltrating ICs to infiltrate with an infiltrate unit....not the other way around.

On the bomb, i dont think people run it purely because its kinda risky. Crazy strong, yes, but you can EASILY have it backfire if your initial drop doesnt do enough damage, or your opponent was spread out enough to limit the damage on the big things that can cause the most damage.

djn wrote:

I'm setting my list up in the following way;

farsight + shadowsun BFF

buff suit with MSS, CCN, PEN, DC, OG, VRT
3 suits with double fusion - including shadowsun, 8 fusions with TL, often at BS5 with markers is pretty horrible for your opponent
3 suits with double missile pods - excellent anti-mech and anti-light infantry and the range gives the bomb some much needed flexibility
8 gun drones - ablative wounds and some additional firepower

2x 10 kroot

3x skyrays with SMS

ethereal

3 crisis with 4 marker drones, AFP, DC, TL

skyray with SMS

I think using an unbound list format would be better than a battle forged list. First off, Kroot are not very good objective holders, even in cover. Second, only 8 gun drones? Do you not have 14? Third, an ethereal? Why? The ethereal is not at all necessary and will always die. The extra victory point to your opponent is inevitable. Seriously. I have never used an ethereal and had it live throughout the entire game. Also here is a trick I learned when using the Farsight/Shadowsun Bomb: always use stubborn. Don't even bother with tank/monster hunter: the bomb will kill them anyways. Unless your facing another shooty army I recommend casting stubborn every turn. It will get run down by any strong melee unit if you don't. Another thing I would change about your list is: 4 Sky Rays? How many flyers are you up against that you need to bring that many sky rays? The most I would run would be like 2. The rest of your army should be missile broadsides and missile drones. I don't know what you are doing with the crisis suits but there are enough crisis suits in the bomb. Anyways hope this helps.

Thanks for the input TheCadreofFi'riosMade, I dont agree with all of your views but its good to hear another opinion.

Kroot may not be marines, but the ability to come in late with the comms and outflank is very powerful. Not so much for maelstrom but for eternal war they are very good in my experience.

I do agree regarding the ethereal after my game last night he did nothing and its 50 points that would buy four more drones. He was there to allow me to have stubborn and still monster/tank hunt. However I think blocking is what is needed rather than stubborn and the skyrays/crisis team are useful for that.

Tournaments where I play are forgeworld heavy and the skyrays are a good source of high strength alpha strike potential, irrespective of whether I face flyers. Plus they have lots of utility with their mobility, MLs and SMS. This helps against invisible units as I can raise the bomb's BS hopefully to at least 3 in combination with the suits.

The suits are Obsec and are required in an enclaves list, they also add additional support and a barrage template.

It's interesting to see the ETC lists as they are very similar to what I am running, however the meta is very different and you can choose match-ups to some extent.

 TheCadreofFi'rios wrote:

djn wrote:

I'm setting my list up in the following way;

farsight + shadowsun BFF

buff suit with MSS, CCN, PEN, DC, OG, VRT
3 suits with double fusion - including shadowsun, 8 fusions with TL, often at BS5 with markers is pretty horrible for your opponent
3 suits with double missile pods - excellent anti-mech and anti-light infantry and the range gives the bomb some much needed flexibility
8 gun drones - ablative wounds and some additional firepower

2x 10 kroot

3x skyrays with SMS

ethereal

3 crisis with 4 marker drones, AFP, DC, TL

skyray with SMS

I think using an unbound list format would be better than a battle forged list. First off, Kroot are not very good objective holders, even in cover. Second, only 8 gun drones? Do you not have 14? Third, an ethereal? Why? The ethereal is not at all necessary and will always die. The extra victory point to your opponent is inevitable. Seriously. I have never used an ethereal and had it live throughout the entire game. Also here is a trick I learned when using the Farsight/Shadowsun Bomb: always use stubborn. Don't even bother with tank/monster hunter: the bomb will kill them anyways. Unless your facing another shooty army I recommend casting stubborn every turn. It will get run down by any strong melee unit if you don't. Another thing I would change about your list is: 4 Sky Rays? How many flyers are you up against that you need to bring that many sky rays? The most I would run would be like 2. The rest of your army should be missile broadsides and missile drones. I don't know what you are doing with the crisis suits but there are enough crisis suits in the bomb. Anyways hope this helps.

Most, if not all, major tournaments disallow unbound lists and often have limits on the number of detachments/CADs you can bring as well.

if you want a tournament setting, assume 1 CAD and 1 Ally limitations. Some tournaments are supposedly denying the Ork specific FoC as well, which is kinda obsurred since they NEED that 3rd HQ to function (since painboyz are an HQ, that slot got highly important)