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I'm quite interested in using a super-heavy vehicle as a centrepiece for my tank heavy IG force. However, the one super-heavy that I own is a quad sponson Stormsword. Not only is it more than 500 points but it completely wipes the floor with most enemies. This just feels wrong if I am trying to get pick up games, where removing entire sections of your opponent's army is not very fun for them. So, I was wondering which super-heavies people find good for casual game nights.

My first idea would be a Malcador. These things are not a load of points and look really nice. I love the look of the Infernus but it has the same "brush models of the board" problem as the Stormsword. The other variants seem bad for the points though. I suppose the main problem I have when looking at the choices is that there is little middle ground. Things are either super awesome or poor.

Knights seem like a good addition to a list, giving close combat potential. I don't know much about them though, and thunderblitz seems like a fun reason to take tanks over walkers.

So, which super-heavies have you found fun playing with/against?

Asking for superheavies in a casual game is suicide on these forums. I would definitely ask before using superheavies in a causal game however. Just be careful lest you become hated as much as Eldar players are.

Yah--set up your playdates ahead of time, and let them know what you're bringing. This gives them the opportunity to list-tailor, if they so choose, or to at least bring a list that's theoretically capable of dealing. Also advisable to let your opponent choose the mission style.

Then, roll dice and make them pick up their models. We're all wearing our big boy pants right?

The Malcador is pretty terrible in its base format so I think when people realize how bad of a tank it is, they'll be pretty fine with playing against it.

A single Knight in a 1500 point army is pretty frightening, but an army totally unable to bring it down is probably doing something wrong. However, its presence will still dominate the game. The Wraithknight is arguably more accepted, despite being possibly even stronger (depending on armament).

However, I find that what really makes Stormswords and Baneblades feel so power and not-fun is that they play themselves. You put it down, and just shoot with everything every turn at every unit that's the best target. Propose the following to your opponent; "I play with a rule for my Super Heavy where it can only target up to two units a turn."

This way the vehicle can still unload a TON of firepower, and against certain units it'll need this firepower to kill them, but it won't just totally dominate the game. This modification to the rules (shockingly) makes the unit more fun, because you and your opponent are now in a position where you can interact tactically rather than just "shoot and win".

Despite it's huge huge pt cost, I think it's pretty mean to deploy an Ork Stompa filled with Meks to keep it regenerating and I'll avoid doing it for the most part. I'm still adding a Stompa to my collection since I know there will be times when it's needed, form high point games to when I simply need to be a dick right back against a notorious tfg. Most of the time it'll be a glorious center piece to a diorama.

Like I said in another thread soemwhere, we do pre-plan our games at my local gaming store. So on facebook, a day or 2 before the match, we discuss the point limit and which army we bring. It's common to tell the opponent if you think about bringing a Super-Heavy, a LoW in general or Forgeworld unit.

the other person rarely decline the game afterward, but it feels good to know in advance what the opponent is bringing. especially since the word 'cheese' is thrown everywhere these day lol.

I was hoping for an option that would be generally acceptable for pickup games, as they are far more common here than setting up a match. I really want super-heavies to become just another normal part of the game, like fliers are now compared to when they were introduced. However, that is going to be hard if the only super-heavies used wipe armies off the board. That is why the Malcador seemed decent, as it is only AV13, 6hp and has pretty mediocre weaponry.

Unless you somehow establish that only the mediocre super-heavies are allowed, that's going to be a risk...

... and it's really not the player's fault that GW makes some SH crappy and others god-like.

Hoping for something does not make it a reality. I'd take two lists, one with and one without, and ask opponents if they're okay with a super heavy, showing them the rules prior. It forces a different type of list to be taken by those playing just for pickup games, and they may not like that, especially if they tend to take more "fun" or goofy lists.

If someone brought super heavies consistently without asking prior, I honestly wouldn't be a fan of playing with them. Or I'd have a list built specifically to nuke their super heavy every time we played. I have lists that do fine against most lists that have issues with super heavies, and I know who others do too.

As for your analogy...Flyers are not as much an issue here as they could be. That is because everyone has one and so they can deal with each other. They are still not loved by many, and many who don't want to use flyers feel forced to take one. I suspect for SH to be commonly accepted, everyone needs to have one.

Talk with your buds.

Id have no issue with a casual beat down with some knights or whatever so long as the opponent can bring his own or deal with it.

Make multiple lists. If I want to take my Baneblade I also make up 1-2 backup lists. Before the game I'll just ask "Do you think you want to fight/can fight a SH tank?" If they say they can't/won't then I just pick another list.

 Trickstick wrote:
I'm quite interested in using a super-heavy vehicle as a centrepiece for my tank heavy IG force. However, the one super-heavy that I own is a quad sponson Stormsword. Not only is it more than 500 points but it completely wipes the floor with most enemies. This just feels wrong if I am trying to get pick up games, where removing entire sections of your opponent's army is not very fun for them. So, I was wondering which super-heavies people find good for casual game nights.

My first idea would be a Malcador. These things are not a load of points and look really nice. I love the look of the Infernus but it has the same "brush models of the board" problem as the Stormsword. The other variants seem bad for the points though. I suppose the main problem I have when looking at the choices is that there is little middle ground. Things are either super awesome or poor.

Knights seem like a good addition to a list, giving close combat potential. I don't know much about them though, and thunderblitz seems like a fun reason to take tanks over walkers.

So, which super-heavies have you found fun playing with/against?

A basic Baneblade is usually perfectly fine, if an opponent can deal with a triple Russ squadron, they can deal with the Baneblade. The Malcador and Macharius tanks unfortunately are rather hideously overpriced in every conceivable manner.

The problem with a Stormsword is that it ignores cover, making it very good anti-everything. That said, with wider introduction of things like D weapons, Titans, GC's and the like, it's certainly not as intimidating as it used to be. But I can certainly see where it very much can be something of a "spoiler".

Well unfortunately im pretty sure every Eldar superheavy has D weapons in some form or they have a Hellfire template with AP3 wiping anything off the board with no cover saves allowed.

I've had a Baneblade for years, and OP it ain't! The Baneblade battle cannon is a pretty good weapon with the co-ax autocannon, but it doesn't ignore cover and every other weapon on the BB is still just BS3. No one is frightened of twin-linked heavy bolters or single-shot, BS3 lascannons. Also, a Baneblade is terribly vulnerable to assault. Punch a hole in its bubblewrap with blast or template weapons, and a MC can pretty easily tear it a new one.

A knight is far more dangerous than a Baneblade, IMO.

I would probably not feel bad running either of the Necron superheavies in a casual game. Especially not the Tesseract Vault. Durable? Yeah, fairly. But also really expensive and not overly hurry for its cost.