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5 tankbustas with 3 bomb squiggs in a trukk (reinforced ram +RL of course).
How effective is this unit compared to a full unit of 12 (no extras) in a trukk? I can see the merits of assaulting vehicles with 5 models instead of 12 to avoid casualties from the inevitable explosion.
Thoughts?

 sn0zcumb3r wrote:
5 tankbustas with 3 bomb squiggs in a trukk (reinforced ram +RL of course).
How effective is this unit compared to a full unit of 12 (no extras) in a trukk? I can see the merits of assaulting vehicles with 5 models instead of 12 to avoid casualties from the inevitable explosion.
Thoughts?

I've found 7 (+Nob) to be my sweet spot. With BS2, you still need to play the numbers game to hit anything. Bomb Squids are helpful (since they hit on 2+) and I have been running with 2 of them if points allow.

A unit of 5 die too easily from an explosion of the trukk or 1 shot from a flamer (stupid new no escape USR). Having 7 (well 8 after nob) ensures you'll survive a flamer and the nob will help mitigate the mob rule issues a little bit.

As for assaulting, I try NOT to assault with my tankbustas. They can explode vehicles too easily and that will kill them. Likewise, the rest of my army does great at assaulting vehicles thanks to killsaws and powerklaws. The tankbustas are in my list to pop transports so I can assault them with the rest of my army. The 1 exception where I would assault with my bustas is against a Leman Russ Squad since it'd be worth the death if they can destroy 2+ tanks in a single assault.

Ran some just yesterday!

5 Tankbustas
-Nob
-Boss Pole
-2x Bomb Squigs

Trukk
-RPJ
-Grot Riggers


I pushed them down the left flank with 3x Rokkit Kopta's providing cover/support.

It was night fighting first turn, but managed to just be in range of a Predator.
6x Rokkit's scored a penetrating hit, which resulted in Immobilised!

In his first turn due to night fighting he scored 1 Glancing hit. (Return fire from the Predator)

The following turn it was Bomb Squigs away! The 2 bomb squigs fiished the job and not only destroyed its weapon but knocked away both remaining hull points.

Sadly, I didn't get the chance to do anything else with them as we ended after turn 2!

Bomb squigs have a too narrow use for my taste. Probalby cause half the tanks that i face are skimmers.

tankbustas are also pretty good at assaulting MC's.

Meltabombs put the hurt on many things.

But you need more than 5 for this to work. Preferably 10+

I always run a full unit or two in a battlewagon, just nob and bp upgrades. Squigs are nice, but AP4 and the inability to hit skimmers somehow limits the targets they are useful against. I'd rather spend 20 points instead of 15 and have another tank-hunting rokkit on a mek join the unit.

30" reach and the huge amount of shots makes them awesome against a lot of things orks used to struggle with: MCs, medium tanks and fliers. Traktor kannons are obviously better than against the later, but they are at least as good lootaz.

 sn0zcumb3r wrote:
5 tankbustas with 3 bomb squiggs in a trukk (reinforced ram +RL of course).
How effective is this unit compared to a full unit of 12 (no extras) in a trukk? I can see the merits of assaulting vehicles with 5 models instead of 12 to avoid casualties from the inevitable explosion.
Thoughts?

12 in a trukk is a juicy fragile target for your opponent, so 5 is perhaps a bit less juicy and so likely to survive a little longer, even though just as fragile.

Maybe 2 squads of 5 in trukks would be preferable to 1 squad of 12 in a trukk (for roughly the same points), for that very reason.

Not convinced that you should be planning on assaulting vehicles with them - to me, it's more of a useful bonus (should the squad happen to end up in the right place) rather than a deliberate strategy, given how fragile they are.

Why not assault some landraider with a bunch of meltabombz, eh? Or a darn imperial knight that's gona live through the whole game otherwise.

Previously, tankbustas were situationally fine. Now they're alwayz useful and situationally outstanding. Though, they require a BW to be utilized to their full potential if you take a large squad. But sometimes a min squad in a truck will do. Especially in low pt games when you allready run a bunch of truckboyz alongside them. Target saturation ftw as alwayz.

Though, i prefer to play without them atm just cause i have a bunch of footsloggas and 1 bw won't fare well. Have to find other sources of ranged AT in face of KMK, rokkit boyz and rokkit kommandos.

On the other hand...not to start a new thread, how do you think tankbustas will fare in a footslogging list? I just have a feeling that they're a bit too expensive to be exposed like that.

5 in a truck w/ram and rokkit is a good deal. Squigs, at 5 points each, in my opinion are also a good deal. Even if you don't ignore a space marine's armour save with them, you're gonna hit, and you're gonna wound, and statistically he'll fail one of those armour saves and die (assuming you manage to get someone important on their own.

But yeah, I'd rather have two trucks of 5 than 1 truck of 12 with a nob. Skip the nob if the unit doesnt have 8+ in it. The upgrade and bosspole aren't worth it over more bodies.

 koooaei wrote:
Why not assault some landraider with a bunch of meltabombz, eh? Or a darn imperial knight that's gona live through the whole game otherwise.

Previously, tankbustas were situationally fine. Now they're alwayz useful and situationally outstanding. Though, they require a BW to be utilized to their full potential if you take a large squad. But sometimes a min squad in a truck will do. Especially in low pt games when you allready run a bunch of truckboyz alongside them. Target saturation ftw as alwayz.

Though, i prefer to play without them atm just cause i have a bunch of footsloggas and 1 bw won't fare well. Have to find other sources of ranged AT in face of KMK, rokkit boyz and rokkit kommandos.

On the other hand...not to start a new thread, how do you think tankbustas will fare in a footslogging list? I just have a feeling that they're a bit too expensive to be exposed like that.

You might be able to make them work in units of 5 as well. Full units would probably need pain boyz or MA characters for protection, making them way more dangerous than regular boyz.

In the end, a boy with a rokkit is 11 points, a tank busta is 13, you basically get a melta bomb and tank-hunter for two points. That's far from expensive. Maybe just max out two or three units with a nob and boss pole and try slogging them. Such a unit of tankbustas is 210, a full unit of boyz with PK nob is 220, not a big difference here.