I'm right there with you - I love Wyches, I love Wych Cults, but unfortunately Wyches are a bag of crap in this edition, so you've got to use them pretty intelligently or not at all. While Lhameans are probably better overall than Wyches, there are couple of things to keep in mind:
- Lhameans don't get combat drugs, which means they miss out on what could potentially be some good bonuses, although they have one extra attack base and they don't need strength to wound as much as Wyches do.
- Lhameans don't get grenades, meaning you're still going to eat a lot of fire on Overwatch, which is one of the problems Wyches have (I don't have my Codex in front of me, but I believe that is correct)
- Lhameans don't get the 4++ that Wyches get in close combat, so while they're more likely to 'do the deeps' as it were, they're more likely to get chopped up in return, as well. If you want to tarpit a unit for a while, stick to Wyches.
So basically, Lhameans are more dangerous, less sturdy (who thought it was possible?) Wyches. You're having the same problems in Overwatch but your circumventing one of things that makes them as well as lot of
DE units crappy, the S3. If you're going to run them, I would throw in a few Sslyth for the 2W
FNP, so they can tank some wounds and eat Overwatch. Not to mention throw in some S5 attacks when push comes to shove, as well putting out a respectable amount of ranged firepower with the shardcarbines. For 30 points over the price of a squad of 10 Lhamean, you can throw in two Sslyth. Keep in mind, you won't be getting any benefit from the T5 of the Sslyth unless they're the majority of the squad - If you run 6 Sslyth with 4 Lhameans, you have a MASSIVELY more survivable squad, but at the price of a lot of 2+ poison
ID hits.
I think the general argument against running solely Lhameans would be that there are things that would last longer and do better than Lhameans (Grotesques and Incubi come to mind). However both of those options are quite a bit more expensive (roughly double the cost or more, depending on which). It's funny, I was actually just over at TheDarkCity forum and they were talking about how Lhameans/Sslyth are a good alternative to the classic
HQ+Grotesques. It sounds like for your purpose of softening up a dangerous squad for your killy
HQ, Lhameans might fit the bill. They'll also be good against
MC's with the 2+ poison and
ID on 6's, although you're playing
DE and you have a truly ridiculous amount of Poison to deal with
MC's already. However, keep in mind that unless you kill them with your first strike, they will get comprehensively disintegrated the moment the enemy gets to attack.
If I were to run them, I'd either do 5 in a Venom for a 50 pt. 'Soften them up/
MC-killer' squad, or a mix of Lhameans and Sslyth in a Raider or Venom for a more multipurpose unit. Just my two cents. Although you have inspired me to try this when I play on Friday!
Found this thread on TheDarkCity as well which brings up the same question:
http://www.thedarkcity.net/t11396-lhamean-over-wyches?highlight=Lhamean
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Since I work night shift and I've literally had all night to look into this, here's what I've found:
Shot for shot, Incubi are going to be better if you want a good well-rounded unit that does more damage than wyches.
Let's compare 100 pts of Incubi (5) and 100 pts of Lhameans (10) against a basic T4 3+ Marine, your likely opponent. Disregarding the whole getting into assault and surviving overwatch thing....
Incubi will get 3 attacks on the charge for 15 attacks total. Hitting on 3+ (10 hits) and wounding on 4+ (5 wounds) will kill 5 marines on the charge, in the first round of combat
Lhameans will get 3 attacks on the charge for 30 attacks total. Hitting on 4+ (15 hits) and wounding on 2+ (12.5 wounds) and after the 3+ armor save (4.125 wounds) will kill ~4 marines on the charge, on average.
Again, that's not factoring in Overwatch, of which Lhameans will suffer far, far worse from. With no real save to speak of until
FNP on turn 2/3, you're going to lose a lot of Lhameans, which is going to make that 4.125 wounds go even lower. Neither have grenades, but Incubi have 3+ armor and AP2, allowing them to deal with Terminators and even glance light vehicles (which you should never be in a position to do, but any port in a storm). Additionally, at 100 pts your squad will fit in either a Venom or a Raider, so you have more options as well. You lose the potential Instant Death, but the flexibility and survivability that Incubi give you is a fair trade-off, in my opinion. I really like the idea of "Lhyches" but it seems like there are just better things to fill that niche. They're still great as a dirt cheap
HQ choice, that's for damn sure.
