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I know back in the day, the Legion was considered quite bad, overpriced, off rules, etc. etc. but looking at the modern ones, they seem like they're certainly better. Not sure if that's enough to make them playable or anything, mind, just I could see them being taken, since it seems like you could kinda treat them as knockoff/one off terminators, with the 3++ and Slow and Purposeful. Can't take all of the same weapons, which is probably the larger flaw there, no Assault Cannons or whatever for you, but they can still get that Heavy Flamer and another Ranged weapon at 5 men which the Terminators can't. Oh and they're noticeably cheaper. And have that sweet, sweet Ignores Cover on everything. Though admittedly their Deep Strike thing has its ups and downs. Way more reliable than a lot of DS options, buuuut certainly not a Drop Pod. (Also! Look, another Deep Striking model with no Deep Strike rule!)

Granted, as I understand it, most people don't consider Terminators all that great currently either (granted my understanding could be wrong, happens a lot), but are the Legions at least semi-viable now or are there some factors I'm failing to comprehend? Possibly they're just so obviously bad no one with better sense would even contemplate using them because, in a search of the List and Tactics forum "Legion of the Damned" got like... 1 hit each, so maybe no one else even considers them. I don't know, hence the magic of asking!

Thanks for your time/input if you care to give it.

They're pretty good, but lost value when Serpentspam stopped being king. Now you're either trying to bring in high volumes of low AP shots (and they have no access to Grav Cannons for some reason) or trying to simply strip down HP because it is more efficient.

It is a shame as they're actually priced well. Unlike Terminators, which you are correct in that they're horrible.

Now, they do have a niche in that they can hit the rear armor of a vehicle, and you want to take advantage of Ignores Cover. Therefore, you only get a few different Loadouts if you want them.
1. Combi-Melta, Melta Gun, Multi-Melta. You can ID T3-4 this way so not all is lost not facing vehicles.
2. Plasma Cannon or Multi-Melta, Plasma Gun, Combi-Grav. This is more of a TAC squad.

As a stand alone army, they auto-lose due to having no models on the table by the end of turn 1, which religates them a support army only. They can be taken from both the SM codex and their own codex, allowing you to craft a narrative army where the LotD arrive to rescue an understrength Imperial force. On a unit per unit basis, the LotD are really good at disrupting your opponent's plan, as you can drop them into the backfield where they have to be dealt with or avoided. Their ability to ignore cover makes them an excelent anti-jink unit. One downside in todays meta, though, is that only the Sergeant can have Grav, which mean LotD squads will have a more varied weapons load than a similar Tac squad. Take them if you want a terror unit running amuck in your opponent's deployment zone, or build your army around them as a beta-strike counter-meta.

SJ

There is nothing between LotD and terminators. termies are punchy (even "tactical" termies are punchy) and LotD are shooty with their in-built "ignore cover for all weapons"

Deep striking cover ignoring melta still has value.
Especially if you know your average opponent is using a lot of armored targets and/or cover hogging cowards. (cover hogging coward tanks, aka skimmers, very much do NOT like melta legioneers)
In any case, they are not the go-to option of most lists, but they fill a niche.


Termies on the other hand...are overpriced. not because the price per model is wrong, but because the fact you have ot have a powerfist on every. single. model. you don't need that many power fists.
Had there been terminators using the non-codex "power weapon" version who should be 7 points cheaper, and got updated to match the new prices of terminators (for example SW wolf guard costing the proper 28 rather than today's 33) then you'd see them a hell lot more, as they will be actually good for the price.

But under codex "ALL THE FISTS" variation, or the non-codex pre-discount variation (CSM, SW, GK) its just not worth it. BA and DA having both pre-discount AND all-fists suffer the hardest.

I run them in squads of five with a multi-melta, meltagun and combi-Grav. Ignore cover and reliable deep strike is a nice mix. Tbh I'd say the word "reliable", is the most apt description of them. You know what to expect when your unit ignores cover, usually arrives where you want it to, has a 3++ and is fearless.

Throw in some reserves manipulation into your list, and LOTD get work done.

Yeah, I figured being able to drop in Plasma or Melta (or as some people noted both) as a psuedo SURPRISE, both made for a nice opening volley, and with the 3++ and that obnoxious "ignores cover" in hand, seems like it would leave them as a high priority target that might still stand around for a while. Maybe still a one and done, but one that may require quite a bit more attention than most. Dunno, I was just half considering them fluff reasons and wanted to make sure I wasn't plotting terribly. Honestly a lot of these comments seem to reflect what I thought, but I've spent more time theorycrafting the game than playing it, so I've been super wrong about things due to not knowing x y and z (or occasionally just not having a 100% decent sense of what's "over" and "on" cost wise).

Thanks for the responses so far!


Also, wait a minute, found a bit about the LotD Codex, apparently back from 6th which seems to have them permitted to take slightly different upgrades, at least, based on that talk I've seen about it elsewhere, like... Despite the current straight up ban in the SM Codex, the Seargent apparently CAN take a Grav Pistol, thank you very much, and they have a weird relic they can be given too, but otherwise seem to be completely identical to the SM codex counterparts. Has that been updated? Or can you just trade your Obj Sec (or whatever Detachment/formation rules you have that they'd fit into otherwise) for grav pistols, FnP, and the ability to randomly murder people who fail various Ld tests (for a bunch of points, I have to admit, dunno the cost on that)? I mean, not 100% sure on that trade, but it seems weird that you can field a unit of them that totally can carry a Grav Pistol to hang out with anyone, or one that can't as part of the SM codex.

I play with a squad of LotD in my army. And have done for the past 10 games or so. I really like them. My setup is Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Combi-Plas. I find ignores cover AP2 weaponry that can be delivered anywhere fairly reliably fills a gap in my army. I have a good board presence, so I can afford to leave 170 points of unit in DS for a turn or 2. I dont think I'd ever run more than 1 squad, though. I'd rather have other things on the board. But a squad of them will definately work, just make sure you pick your targets based on their weapon loadout.

Only had 1 really bad experiance with them in 10 games or so. Deep strike scattered into terrain and I lost 2 plasmas to dangerous terrain. The plasma cannon then scattered back onto it's self and he died in shooting... Everything that could have gone bad did. And considering I was facing Ravenwing with 2+ re-rollable cover saves makes it a really tough pill to swallow. But never the less, it wont be that bad again [hopefully].

Can't see a reason why you'd want a Grav pistol, even if it is an option in their dateslate. A combi Grav can fire all 3 shots on the drop. Doubtful you'd get to fire the pistol more then that.

The LOTD relic seems good on paper, it could combo pretty well with stuff that forces LD checks, with a debuff, eg. Skyhammer animation force pinning checks.

I run a forgeworld character, Lias Issodon,in my list who lets you re-roll reserve rolls, among other things. Vulcan is another SM character who benefits Lotd (makes units in his detachment super good with melta).

The only real downside imo to Lotd, is that they don't fit into any marine formations.

Yeah, though the major up side of their stand alone Elite detachment thing is that if you want to use a specific set of SM formations, you can always just tag them on the outside since the rules permit. Which certainly does pan out if you want to use their Relic. Of course, if you instead wanted something like Vulcan's ability, or heck, even just Obj Sec on them... Welll then I guess you're sticking a CAD in there somewhere, now, aren't you?

I like using them as an allied detachment, desperate allies for my Demonkin/Chaos Marines. Give chaos access to a combi-grav and ignores cover melta.

Cheesy, against all the lore...but from what I can see Legal Just keep them 6 inches from any chaos model.