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I'd say Fire Dragons qualify. They're just 25mm infantry, and their guns aren't especially big or dangerous-looking. Newbie players are likely to ignore them at first.

I was surprised by how effective a Harlequin Solitaire can be for a skinny little Eldar loner.

The basic Imperial Guard squad.

On their own any given squad is merely 10 humans armed mostly with lasguns. Maybe 1 special &/or heavy weapon. 50/50 chance to hit, poor saves, 1 wound , most of their guns are fairly weak.
You can surely rip that apart, right? Of course you can.

But that one squad doesn't fight alone.....

 Kriswall wrote:
I was surprised by how effective a Harlequin Solitaire can be for a skinny little Eldar loner.

100% my favorite game piece for this. My solitaire starts every game just sitting behind some piece of terrain piece. a huge percentage of the time, my opponent forgets he exists, then he wipes a squad or an important character, and then he magically becomes a distraction carnifex turn 2 as they'll bend over backward to position their units in such a way that they can target him, and his little 3++ save can be reeeeeally obnoxious to deal with for people.

Blood angels smash captain has to be the peak of more damage than he looks. One marine sozed character can bring down a knight, a fire raptor or pretty much anything else it wants to!

When i was playing SOB, the St Celestine, she is just an Auramancer at this point. But b.c of what she used to be, everyone hates her.

Foul Blightspawn without a doubt. Tends to be ignored by players who have never faced one, but then they see what it can do. From then on it becomes a distraction Carnifex weirdly as it is (relatively) easy to kill.

 Grimtuff wrote:
Foul Blightspawn without a doubt. Tends to be ignored by players who have never faced one, but then they see what it can do. From then on it becomes a distraction Carnifex weirdly as it is (relatively) easy to kill.

Ditto, I advanced a Foul Blightspawn right up to a Leman Russ, my opponent ignored him pouring all his fire into a nearby Plagueburst Crawler, on the next turn I melted that Leman Russ with the Foul Blightspawn

Nevermind. Antithesis means the opposite of what I thought it did. LOL

I like Xenomancer's preface here; really powerful, but will die if you prioritize it, which you must. But I'm going to have fun and do a truly opposite approach:

Not really powerful, won't die if you don't pioritize it, which you don't have to.

- Helbrute w/Multi-Melta and Power Fist (see also: the default build)

This unit is just... really bad. It'll stick around the game since your opponent can just ignore it, but small stuff just won't actually kill it off, so it can survive the match. Simply planning your moves well enough is often good enough of a means to deal with it.

Now, if you want a unit that is far more dangerous than it appears. I find that one difficult, because once a player gets burned once by it, they tend not to get burned again. Here's some units that I notice tend to not get the respect they deserve until someone gets burned:

- Kraken Genestealers ("they move how fast!?!")
- Primaris Intercessors (before the new codex: "they're pretty much just 2-wound Marines, right?")
- Lord Discordant ("8th edition at it's finest, it's a character so can be targeted, and that makes him easy to kill")
- Shield Drones ("Why is this so hard? Just kill the drones first, then they can't intercept wounds!")

STOMPA!

Fulgurite Electro-Priests. 10 25mm infantry with no shooting tend to get ignored by people who aren’t familiar with them. Then they kill a unit in combat and spend the rest of the game with a 3++ (or 2++ if near an objective and Acquisition at Any Cost stratagem is in effect) dishing out mortal wounds in combat.

The antithesis of a distraction carnifex is a unit that you should ignore because it is never going to make it's points back. Or Perhaps a unit that you regret having to kill like...gretchin or cultist...ESP if they can come back to life!

drop pod...might also qualify.

The reason I was confused because the antithesis of a distraction carnifex is not a unit that is far more dangerous than it looks.

Far more dangerous than it looks? GSC acolytes with rock saws...

I would say Death Korps Combat Engineers with their shotguns might qualify. 2 shots each wounding any non vehicle on 2+ and 2 damage is quite a package. And as far as I know nothing keep you from putting them in a chimera were they might be forgotten. Until they jump out and kill something expensive.

I'll second intercessors. it's easy to dismiss them as "just tac marines with 2 wounds and no special/heaby weaspon" but they're so effective at dealing with infantry they can really do well.

Brood brothers. I never take them seriously but even without orders or anything they always surprise people, including myself. 3 squads of them melt anything getting to close, despite their job being just to stand there and give me CP.

For me Vespid is a contender. They tend to get ignored, which works for me against SM. They tend to only get ignored once though

One word. Just one word: Astropath !! These guys have fudged the game for so many opponents... Especially now that they are almost free!!!

 Xenomancers wrote:
The antithesis of a distraction carnifex is a unit that you should ignore because it is never going to make it's points back. Or Perhaps a unit that you regret having to kill like...gretchin or cultist...ESP if they can come back to life!

drop pod...might also qualify.

The reason I was confused because the antithesis of a distraction carnifex is not a unit that is far more dangerous than it looks.

Far more dangerous than it looks? GSC acolytes with rock saws...

I guess kinda, but I've basically never had my acolytes last more than a turn in any significant numbers. They show up, do their thing immediately, and then die the next turn, so it's not like my opponent had some kind of opportunity to bring them down and failed to do so.

I'd say Smasha Guns for my orks fit that mold nicely. I field 3 in my Freeboota army, and generally I shoot them first to try and get them to trigger the clan kultur (as gretchin they can't benefit from the kultur but they can trigger it for my other models) and they're small and unthreatening compared to my other models, they don't move around the board, and they don't carry other stuff like my transports, so my opponents just tend to ignore them while they do tons of work.

Also, Rubric marines. These guys roll up turn 1, usually get set up in terrain and pop off a couple of bolt shots from 24", and then turn 2 when my opponent has focused all his fire on my defiler and my tzaangors they open up with that busted-ass beta boltgun thing and a bunch of mortal wounds and psychic powers and just routinely win the game for me.

 Xenomancers wrote:
The antithesis of a distraction carnifex is a unit that you should ignore because it is never going to make it's points back. Or Perhaps a unit that you regret having to kill like...gretchin or cultist...ESP if they can come back to life!

drop pod...might also qualify.

The reason I was confused because the antithesis of a distraction carnifex is not a unit that is far more dangerous than it looks.

Far more dangerous than it looks? GSC acolytes with rock saws...

A distraction carnifex is a unit that looks scarier than it is and is preferably tough to kill, like a 80 point carnifex that looks nasty but won't do much. But it might stop your opponent shooting at your hive guard for a turn and then it has been useful.

The antishesis is a unit that doesn't look much but is dangerous, like acolytes with rock saws.

Depends a bit, i think that RC marines can wrong foot alot of armies.

Marauders from R&H are also preety bonkers for what they are. Namely, a bunch of GEQ sized mercs. until you realise that they are a closet marine in essence with a constant -1 to hit and 2 baseline attacks with immunity to morale.


i made good experiences with Chaos terminators with the cheapest possible loadout aswell.

Assault Plasma Incinerator equipped Hellblasters for me.

Being able to chuck out two shots at 30" due to always being on the move is hilarious. While the shots may only be S6/7, it's the sheer weight of firepower from 3 min squads that simply melt units. Add in a banner, and chapter master+Lieutenant combo and it becomes downright insane.

You know what looks really scare but isnt? A Tantalus..................................................... i hate playing it, everyone shoots it first turn its on the table.

 Dr. Mills wrote:
Assault Plasma Incinerator equipped Hellblasters for me.

Being able to chuck out two shots at 30" due to always being on the move is hilarious. While the shots may only be S6/7, it's the sheer weight of firepower from 3 min squads that simply melt units. Add in a banner, and chapter master+Lieutenant combo and it becomes downright insane.

Glass cannons without the glass

Oh also for DE another one, a unit of 3 Cronos, looks scary, has potential for high damage, but isnt at all

tankbustas in a trukk aka the oh its just ork shooting in thier small transport... turn 2 and several command points later... wtf just happened to my imperial knight/ heaviest vehicle.

 Amishprn86 wrote:
You know what looks really scare but isnt? A Tantalus..................................................... i hate playing it, everyone shoots it first turn its on the table.

Does it have a huge unit of grots in it?

 Xenomancers wrote:

 Amishprn86 wrote:
You know what looks really scare but isnt? A Tantalus..................................................... i hate playing it, everyone shoots it first turn its on the table.

Does it have a huge unit of grots in it?

No... its 400pts first, and then if you but in 8 Grots (the most you can), as soon as it dies you have to roll 8 dice, each 1 is a 35pt dead model lol.

Hellions. Way more punchy than people give them credit for.

 Amishprn86 wrote:
You know what looks really scare but isnt? A Tantalus..................................................... i hate playing it, everyone shoots it first turn its on the table.

Yeah, that's a Distraction Carnifex. This thread is about the opposite.