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Hi,

my local store still has one of those old boxes with three Catachan Sentinels for cheap. They´re cool models so I figured I would pick them up and I´ve started to think on their armament...

Multi-lasers seems to be the best and most flexible option in a tournie-list (?) but I´m very interested in trying three Sentinels with heavy flamers, acting independently. Could it be worth the points if I take the Drop Troops Doctrine as well..? My Orks have a number of Scorcha Buggies and they´ve been very successful with their S5, Ap4 template weapon. They´re fast but a Deep Striking Sentinel have a decent chance to use it´s weapon before it goes down..?

Howabout making a similar unit for my Guards, three Sentinels with heavy flamers are 120p. In Gamma and Omega-settings I could keep them in Reserve and Deep Strike them against vulnerable enemy units. The risk of losing a couple of 40p Sentinels seems worth it when you think about the rewards you can reap... A Genestealer with Extended Carapace costs half the points of such a Sentinel....  And many armies contains good targets for a heavy flamer, Command Squads, Aspect Warriors etc.

They might even trigger some Target Priority tests in the enemy´s shooting phase or maybe even catch/contest an objective with smart placement..?

Alpha Missions can screw them somewhat but on the otherhand, they´re scoring. In Alpha Missions they can win the game if they score in certain missions, that´s harder in Gamma and Omega-settings were they might give me another 40p when they score...

Any ideas, experiences to share etc..?

Buggies are fast vehicles.
Sentinels are not.
Deep strike is only on target 33% of the time.

What do you think I'm going to say?

A "Hit!" is nice but you don´t have to get a "Hit!" to fire that heavy flamer...  

You says it´s definetly a big "No!" not a "Maybe"..?

It is a big no. If you scatter than you might as well kiss the guy goodby. That is why the only two real choices you have is either the multi-laser (cheap, 3 strength 6 shots) or the autocannon (48"inch range, not as threatening as the lascannon)

I think it's an idea worth trying anyways. A scoring unit with an armor value for 40 points is decent even without guns.

The reason i think the flamer may have merit is that typically a sentinel exposes itself to fire early game (with a multilaser or autocannon) to maybe have a 1 in 10 shot of stopping a medium-light vehicle. It then promptly dies, usually after failing to do anything. A sentinel with a flamer would play entirely differently - either deepstriking and hoping for a hit on a juice target, or hiding behind cover waiting for targets to come into move-roast range. Either way, it is more of a late game effect item, when less firepower can be brought against it in return and scoring units really start to matter.

You know the box of 3 still comes with multi-lasers, right?

Beyond Cityfight or an all dropping list, I don't see a use for 'em. Keep the MLs for light troop/vehicle killies.

At worst, Sentinels make great conversions for your ork army...

At worst, Sentinels make great conversions for your ork army...

Good point...

You know the box of 3 still comes with multi-lasers, right?

Yes, I do know that.