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So I was messing around with the idea of using an ADL with the Banner of Devastation and a bunch of tac squads. How effective do you think this would be? I would probably also keep some Las Preds and some Vindicators around for any high Toughness or armor targets that get in close.

How many points?

Against who? (usually)

Chances are no. they are still just bolters.

Buddy of mine played this at our LGS, didn't work well.

I ran the banner for a while, and the strength of it isnt gunline, but mobile threat. I usually took 3 squads, 2 in rhinos and 1 in a land raider crusader. The hurricane bolters on the land raider are stated at boltguns and add to the wall of bullets.

Turn one, 2 just rush forward and salvo everything it works wonders on hordes. But its strictly anti infantry.

Now if you put belial inside the big land raider, and on turn 2 deathwing assault down a couple deathwing units...then you get scary. Add a few autocannons, some missiles maybe a flamer for taste, and you have a blob of terminators in position for whatever you need dead, then just move the line forward.

I won about 2/3 games I played with it.

I don't think it would be very effective at all. A tau gun line has S10 AP1 guns, stuff that ignores cover and LOS, markerlights, riptides and missile suits. What exactly does DA have to compare to any of that to run an effective gunline? Bolters are not a gunline, they're only effective against stuff with low T and a bad save.

What about a drop pod list using the banner.

I tried the castle up method in which you are thinking of. Does not work to well. What did work for me was mounting up my tac squads in rhinos and getting into range. Once my squads were setup, the next turn it was deadly with the salvo 4. The problem with the banner, if used on tac squads, it takes a turn to stage yourself for the following turn.

Yeah, that's what I figured. It just sucks because I have this awesome idea of having my troops line up behind a wall and just rain gunfire down on the enemy. The double LR Crusader with Banner and PFG definitely seems the way to go. It's what I've been running lately and it just mows down most things. Even if it doesn't kill, it can usually force a leadership check.


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 Eldarain wrote:
What about a drop pod list using the banner.

Might work. You're still counting as moving when you arrive via Drop Pod, so you'd only be 2 at 12". Next turn you could stand and get the full shots, but they have to survive that whole extra turn.

What if you focused wave one on anti-tank/MC and have the banner come down turn two to buff the remaining marines from wave one.

Overall static gunline in the corner does NOT work out for SM. They pay a lot of points for higher than average close combat abilities and their weapons are shorter ranged and more expensive to field than the major gunline armies (Tau, AM, CWE).

I do play around with 2 different banner of devastation list;
1) Ravenwing...you have probably seen or hear of it. It works pretty well now that DA can get mortis dreads and fireraptors for AA, sicaran w/ schism of mars for anti eldar skimmer duty, and a rappier battery or two to help with vehicles and knights.
2) 60 scouts and a command squad w/ banner in spartan or achilles. This works pretty decently but clustering up to benefit from the banner is not a great way to win score as you go type games. Again the addition of good AA and the sicaran has made DA vastly more competitive than they were before.

 ansacs wrote:
Overall static gunline in the corner does NOT work out for SM. They pay a lot of points for higher than average close combat abilities and their weapons are shorter ranged and more expensive to field than the major gunline armies (Tau, AM, CWE).

I do play around with 2 different banner of devastation list;
1) Ravenwing...you have probably seen or hear of it. It works pretty well now that DA can get mortis dreads and fireraptors for AA, sicaran w/ schism of mars for anti eldar skimmer duty, and a rappier battery or two to help with vehicles and knights.
2) 60 scouts and a command squad w/ banner in spartan or achilles. This works pretty decently but clustering up to benefit from the banner is not a great way to win score as you go type games. Again the addition of good AA and the sicaran has made DA vastly more competitive than they were before.

Mortis dreads are Forgeworld rules right? And what is the sicaran?


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I'm actually trying out a build like this tomorrow. A buddy challenged me to use no Land Raiders in exchange for him using no Riptides. I'll let you know how it goes guys

I wasn't particularly impressed when I tried it as an allied component for my experimental Iron Hands dreadline.

Both the Mortis Dread and Sicaran are forgeworld units listed in Imperial Armour 1 Second Edition.

The sicaran is a fast tank with AV13 with a main gun that is TL Heavy 6, Str 7, Rending, and ignores cover saves from jink. Schism of Mars is a legacy in the same book that can be added to the sicaran to give it tank hunters (and a 4+ to ignore haywire). With armoured ceramite the tank is under 200 pts and is probably the single best waveserpent killer in the game.

The mortis dread gets skyfire and interceptor when it stays still and can take double TL autocannons for the same price as a normal dread can. DA can take any number of them as an elites choice, any other chapter can only take one. Keep in mind that skyfire fires normally against skimmers so that interceptor is actually really useful against DE who sometimes like to DS their paper planes.

If you are facing a Tau army neither of these options is that critical. Don't let his no riptides fool you Tau have several builds without riptides that are brutal.

Yeah unfortunately it worked about as well as expected against a friend's Tau. The extra shots just do not outweigh the limited movement.

One of my friends nearly tabled me with dakka bikers (I think it's raven wing). I was unaware of the banner at that point and twin linked salvo 4 bolters coming at you with 12" movement, ignoring difficult, and relentless has a habit of clearing hordes.


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The only issue is that the strategy dies with the banner and it won't touch armor. My revenge plan for that cheese involves running him over with a land raider

lustigjh wrote:
One of my friends nearly tabled me with dakka bikers (I think it's raven wing). I was unaware of the banner at that point and twin linked salvo 4 bolters coming at you with 12" movement, ignoring difficult, and relentless has a habit of clearing hordes.


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The only issue is that the strategy dies with the banner and it won't touch armor. My revenge plan for that cheese involves running him over with a land raider

True, that is their flaw. The Command Squad and Black Knights can usually bring a lot of melta or plasma, so theres some AT, but RW biker banner still weigh outbeat stationary tacticals.

The most effective use I've found for the Banner of Devastation, is to run it with ravening wing bikers. as they are relentless they'll always get the max number of shots.

The only reason I would use it in a DA gunline, is for a special defensive scenario.