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So I'm thinking about the Lictors in 6th edition. I read a long tactic thread about it but once I checked the date of post "2010". So any thoughts on the Lictors viability in this edition?

it takes up an elite slot, so by taking lictors, you can take less zoanthropes, doom's and hive guards - a no-go for me, I would only like to try the deathleaper once or twice in a fun game...

but thats my opinion, I have no deepstrike favouring army

Humey

Im with Humey. You need those Elite slots for Zoans etc. They are more valuable and useful. Unfortunately the Lictor doesnt have much of a role to play right now it seems. Sad, because I was actually a fan of the unit.

They'd be good if:

a) They used an FA slot instead of Elite
b) They had the option to automatically come from reserve on turn 1 (like Drop Pods or Deathwing). This would make their teleport homer-like bonus actually useful.

As things stand, the only reason to use a Lictor is because you have a particularly cool conversion:

Lictors in 6th edition are epic failures. They are melee units that get wiped in melee by most shooting units (T4 and 5+ save). They were supposed to be an ambush unit, but since you cannot assault out of reserves, you have to stand around for a turn soaking fire, and then get charged...if they are still alive. At least they have a short range shooting attack that can rend. If I really squint hard I could think about using them to pop out behind low AV tanks and go for the rear armor...but why. Until they release another codex making Lictors an ambush unit again, I rank them just above the pyrovore and old one eye for not worth taking. If your rolling a Drop pod style army, spend the extra points and get a Swarm Lord, he get's to start on the board, plus being a beat stick himself.

Ps: That is a wicked cool Lictor though!

I agree Lictors are no go. The other elite choices are too good for them to compare.

Deathleaper has several good uses, that can win you games: lowering leadership and objective contesting, but it's more occasional than a sure thing like Hive guards tend to be (a sure thing, that is).

I am playing a shenanigans list tomorrow that runs lictors and deathleaper and mawlocs just for fun. I've never used any of those units before, but I really hope they do better than people say, since the models are so cool.

That's EXACTLY why I want them. They are SO COOL!

hubbsey wrote:
I am playing a shenanigans list tomorrow that runs lictors and deathleaper and mawlocs just for fun. I've never used any of those units before, but I really hope they do better than people say, since the models are so cool.

Mawloc + lictor/Deathleaper is a combo that actually make sense. Move the lictor to were you want the mawloc to pop up and bang accurate TfB.Have to ponder that option.

Lictors are great in a City battle where 90% of the table is multi-level ruins and the game lasts at least 10 turns, so not so great for most games.

barnowl wrote:
Mawloc + lictor/Deathleaper is a combo that actually make sense. Move the lictor to were you want the mawloc to pop up and bang accurate TfB.Have to ponder that option.

I haven't seen much talk about it as far as tactics go, but I see it as a pretty dependable anti-infantry / disruption option.

PipeAlley wrote:Lictors are great in a City battle where 90% of the table is multi-level ruins and the game lasts at least 10 turns, so not so great for most games.

That sounds incredible! I need to convince my play group to make something playable like that!

I have run into Mephiston a few times now and am considering Death Leaper just based on his ability to sap D3 from Meph's leadership.


Making him take his psychic tests at 7-9 rolling 3D6 when he comes to roflstomp my Hive Tyrant should be interesting.

He also seems decent if you can get him in solid cover or out of LOS when he pops up, he can assault a squad, challenge out the sgt/leader then smack some stuff around, of back up an existing assault in T3 nicely.

I like the idea of the Mawloc+Lictor combo, BUT it's hard to predict which turn either will come in, they could come in at the same time, or opposite to each other.

 More Dakka wrote:
I have run into Mephiston a few times now and am considering Death Leaper just based on his ability to sap D3 from Meph's leadership.


Making him take his psychic tests at 7-9 rolling 3D6 when he comes to roflstomp my Hive Tyrant should be interesting.

He also seems decent if you can get him in solid cover or out of LOS when he pops up, he can assault a squad, challenge out the sgt/leader then smack some stuff around, of back up an existing assault in T3 nicely.

I like the idea of the Mawloc+Lictor combo, BUT it's hard to predict which turn either will come in, they could come in at the same time, or opposite to each other.

I actually played against him tonight and the effect of the ability with sitw is so nice. He failed seven force weapon activations against a mawloc and died to smash attacks during the next turn.

He did die soon after coming in, but it took the combined power of a full tac squad at rapid fire with two missile launchers, plus the entire payload of a hovering Stormraven nearby.

I had my hive tyrant come with HC, so my reserve rolls were on twos. Having the deathleaper and a unit of lictors almost guaranteed one would come in first, at least at the same time. It popped his backline really easily and made the entire game play out in his deployment zone. (I outflanked a tervigon as well) All in all, I was very impressed with how effective they were as distractions / disruptions. The cost of such a list is fairly prohibitive, but it has it's days, apparently.

Tyranids are spoilt for choice when it comes to elites, as zoans and hive guard are so useful.

Lictors just don't cut it in 6th I'm afraid. A quick review of reasons: they isolate themselves, they provide +1 to reserve rolls, if they come out of reserve a turn before the units you want to benefit. They have a weak save and can be ID but worst of all, they can't charge on the turn they arrive like they could in 4th, which is when they really used to shine.

If you want a lictor for it's gameplay I would suggest Ymgarl genestealers. I love these guys & they can charge when they turn (wake) up. It's easy enough to select a piece of terrain that the opponent won't be able to fill with bodies to prevent them if you just take the 1 squad. Run about 7 (or 6-8) and use the +1 T on the turn you charge, to defend vs snapfire and in hopes that you don't wipe them out in your turn so as not to end up in no mans land.

Endurance from biomany (or catalyst from a tervi) really help them too.

Back to lictors - you can run the deathleaper in smaller games where LD can be a factor, still I would opt to just leave them out altogether.

Lictors are great as long as you run them in groups of 5 or more, base them on 25mm bases, and use them as ymgargargagagarmagarlanomnomnomnomnom I east your face genestealers

Mawlocs are very popular right now. Lictors can make them more precise.

But honestly, I don't see Lictors as being competitive, or even playable. Even a full brood is only six shots the first turn, half of which will miss, and which probably won't hurt a vehicle, might not even kill a single space marine.

They are easy to kill. Very easy to kill. They are 60 points for something that doesn't hold up to shooting, doesn't hold up to close combat, and dies to a stray krak missile. All for precision deep strikes? Meh.

They do compete for elite slots, but due to the ability to double the FoC, I think they may see more use...maybe

I ran a lictor once as a teleport homer for my mawloc. It popped up close to a small squad of space marines...and was killed on the spot. It's biggest issue is likely the fact that I only took one, yet if I had 2, the mawloc would have popped up next turn and forced the space marines to eat an ap2 template (without the lictor it scattered next to the marines, missing them entirely)

I agree that they are very attractive models, though if you want to use them, don't use less than 2, and try to keep them in cover to take advantage of their stealth special rule.

They are easy to kill, I'll give you that. My Deathleaper ate it the turn after he came in, but my 3 man Lictor squad lived until the end, most likely due to target saturation in his deployment zone. Outflank a Tervigon back there, pop up two mawlocs, and in a 1500 point game, the Lictor's threat levels decrease pretty heavily.

I'll go against the grain a bit and say that the Deathleaper has some uses. The ability to contest objectives at will is pretty amazing. The leadership nerf can really cripple certain characters. In addition, the Deathleaper itself can bully around weak backfield units.

Is it worth 140 points? Maybe.

Is it worth an elite slot? Maybe. Those claiming a need for 9 Zoans are way off base. Hive Guard are nowhere near the auto take they once were. Really, I see the Deathleaper competing with the Doom of Malanti as an "x-factor" unit. Both are very boom or bust.

the only useful lictor would be deathleaper, by bullying psykers and teaming with antiarmor against the more dumb players:

one game vs eldar I deepstriked my Deathleaper to shoot the rear armor of a gravtank sniping in the back.. my rending could do stuff with str6 vs AV10.. I didn't do gak :(
but in his turn after that, he turned his (150+ points) tank 180 degrees around, released all gun on my deathleaper, it died ofcourse, but in my turn I could fire four hive guard in his vulnerable rear armor, blowing up the tank...

yet I only would use him for fun - and to bully psykers

When he come by is Chameleonic skin, he cannot charge but he can shoot... For something dangerous in close combat that cannot charge or move... that lame.... not even scary.

3 Lictors apear near IG. Lictors said BOOOO... IG said SHOOT.