Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

 GrimDork wrote:
Are they Imperial Fist devastators? Cause those would seem to get tank hunters too

Imperial Fists only get Tank Hunters against buildings.

@DarknessEternal Paragraph 3 (siege masters) of page 78 in your space marines codex would like to have a word with you

If you can't be bothered to look, just know that they (devastators) do, indeed, have tank hunters AND something extra against buildings.

 GrimDork wrote:

If you can't be bothered to look, just know that they (devastators) do, indeed, have tank hunters AND something extra against buildings.

Is that how people are parsing that sentence?

My area reads that as they have both Tank Hunters and +1 damage applied against buildings only. That sentence is equally valid under both interpretations.

"Tank Hunters...against buildings" AND "+1 damage result...against buildings".

If that's not how people are playing it elsewhere, then I'll see if I can convince anyone.

It looked really clear to me and I think I've heard people on the forum talk them up for having tank hunters... I dunno if there is precedent but I think if you have a special rule you have it. Could be wrong, but if I'm reading it wrong then they have prettycruddy chapter tactics overall...

Yeah, I read that to mean that they have Tank Hunters (period) as well as a +1 to the building damage table.

I think GW is eventually going to nerf Shas'OMG to only buff units from codex tau empire with a FAQ. After the nerf Shas'OMG would still be good in a unit of crisis suits or broadsides.

 schadenfreude wrote:
I think GW is eventually going to nerf Shas'OMG to only buff units from codex tau empire with a FAQ. After the nerf Shas'OMG would still be good in a unit of crisis suits or broadsides.

I would NOT be surprised on either account. I just hope I get a chance to win a tournament with it first.

Its like steroids. I can see it now. Player forced to return trophy and prize money for (retroactively) illegally buffing his marines with alien performance enhancers. When asked for a response, the chapter self immolated and won't be available for questioning.

Lol, they want my trophies they can pry 'em from my cold dead fingers.

As it should be, lain to rest with your self-immolated battle brothers

So, new focus with this.

I'd like to come up with a way to run this as part of a tournament list, but I was trying to think of a way to make it even more effective.

Primarily, I realized in the last several games before I stopped using this that players who had encountered this particular tactic before would often choose to avoid the Commander and his Plasma Cannoneers entirely. This wound up creating a 3' radius bubble of avoidance, and a footprint like that is something that's begging to be taken advantage of.

Any idea on how to use that to my advantage? I'm thinking about something involving outflankers, but my brain just isn't latching on to it.

Well i can tell you, i like allied detachment ideas. For example, i run orkses with ig allies and they're working quite great. And noone ever called this combination broken. And noone will call orks+chaos combination broken. Why? Cause they got no extremely overpowered options (cept for dragons but i'd not use them at all). I think the problem lies mostly within pour codex ballancing and broken divination. Many things should definitely get nerfed. But come on. Gw ain't doing it for charity. They got to make money and how are they gona sell fancy models if noone's buying lotsa new stuff they make. All those insane buffs for newer codexes are just a sales move.

 Jimsolo wrote:
So, new focus with this.

I'd like to come up with a way to run this as part of a tournament list, but I was trying to think of a way to make it even more effective.

Primarily, I realized in the last several games before I stopped using this that players who had encountered this particular tactic before would often choose to avoid the Commander and his Plasma Cannoneers entirely. This wound up creating a 3' radius bubble of avoidance, and a footprint like that is something that's begging to be taken advantage of.

Any idea on how to use that to my advantage? I'm thinking about something involving outflankers, but my brain just isn't latching on to it.

If you're doing buffmander for a deathstar he needs all the works. Don't know all the names for the chips, but they would bestow:
Ignores cover
twin linked
monster hunter/tank hunter
and for a paltry 3 pts you can make enemies weapons Gets Hot! within 12" (lel)

All he needs after that is Iridium armor for tanking.
Even better, throw on a chapter master w/ Artificer Armor and Shield Eternal and its even more tanky!

Now do you really wanna win? I mean do you really reeeaalllyyy wanna win? Slap on a unit of broadsides!!
Buffmander now bounces between shooty, tanky deathstar of your choosing (GravCents are probably better btw) and the broadsides. Sit back and delete.

astro_nomicon wrote:

 Jimsolo wrote:
So, new focus with this.

I'd like to come up with a way to run this as part of a tournament list, but I was trying to think of a way to make it even more effective.

Primarily, I realized in the last several games before I stopped using this that players who had encountered this particular tactic before would often choose to avoid the Commander and his Plasma Cannoneers entirely. This wound up creating a 3' radius bubble of avoidance, and a footprint like that is something that's begging to be taken advantage of.

Any idea on how to use that to my advantage? I'm thinking about something involving outflankers, but my brain just isn't latching on to it.

If you're doing buffmander for a deathstar he needs all the works. Don't know all the names for the chips, but they would bestow:
Ignores cover
twin linked
monster hunter/tank hunter
and for a paltry 3 pts you can make enemies weapons Gets Hot! within 12" (lel)

All he needs after that is Iridium armor for tanking.
Even better, throw on a chapter master w/ Artificer Armor and Shield Eternal and its even more tanky!

Now do you really wanna win? I mean do you really reeeaalllyyy wanna win? Slap on a unit of broadsides!!
Buffmander now bounces between shooty, tanky deathstar of your choosing (GravCents are probably better btw) and the broadsides. Sit back and delete.

Sorry, but I can't agree. The CCN and MSS are the only two things I take for him. If I have 3 pts left over and nowhere to put them, I'll pick up the Neuroweb System Jammer. The rest of the crap is okay, but it gets too damn pricey. Since this is primarily in a Marines list, I'm already having to weigh every point carefully anyhow, and since the ONLY thing that Shas'Omygod is doing is buffing the devs, that's the only thing I really NEED to spend points on. The other stuff is okay, it just hasn't proven points effective in any game I've used them in.

Five extra devastators have proven to be far more useful for wound soaking than Iridium armor.

I have fielded Grav Cents before, but for the purposes of this build they are manifestly NOT better. The Plasma Cannons have half again the range of the grav cannons, and are more effective at killing massed infantry than the grav cannons. In addition, the grav cents have no throwaway wounds, while the devs most certainly do.

I'm not saying grav cents don't have a place in an army, or that they aren't good. But for killing off infantry squads? I prefer twin-linked ignores cover plasma cannons to the twin-linked ignores cover grav weapons. Against MC spam I'd be singing a different tune, of course.

 Jimsolo wrote:
120 if you give him no weapons and no other equipment. 200 for four plasma devs. Total of 320, and essentially selecting an infantry unit within 36' to be removed from play each turn.

Only 130 if you don't take the meat shields. Should try it with Ultramarine doctrine; get relentless on the Plasma Devs so you can reposition if necessary on one turn.

astro_nomicon wrote:

and for a paltry 3 pts you can make enemies weapons Gets Hot! within 12" (lel)

2 points.


People underestimate that piece of wargear so much.
If it kills a mere guardsmen all game long, it made double it's cost. but if by random fluk it kills something noteworthy like a sternguard...emperor protect us.

Probably the most undercosted thing in the entire tau codex, only nobody notices because its so cheap and does so little, it hardly is noticeable.
But unlike most "relic" type items, if this one was unlimited and could be taken free-it would have made crisis teams beyond absurd.

 BoomWolf wrote:

astro_nomicon wrote:

and for a paltry 3 pts you can make enemies weapons Gets Hot! within 12" (lel)

2 points.


People underestimate that piece of wargear so much.
If it kills a mere guardsmen all game long, it made double it's cost. but if by random fluk it kills something noteworthy like a sternguard...emperor protect us.

Probably the most undercosted thing in the entire tau codex, only nobody notices because its so cheap and does so little, it hardly is noticeable.
But unlike most "relic" type items, if this one was unlimited and could be taken free-it would have made crisis teams beyond absurd.

Granted. If I have the points to spare when it comes time to select 'army sprinkles' it's my first go-to.

Why spend a gajillion points and waste a buff commander on Plasma Cannon when a TFC does the same thing, with indirect fire and much larger board reach for 100 points? Add in a prescience Inquisitor if you really want the TL, for 155 points.

Because the TFC doesn't have AP2 and wounds most things on a 2+. And you still have room for 1-2 TFC.

Also the flexibility for the Buff Commander to jump to a different unit.

TFC are good but they don't scare things with great armor saves.

 Jimsolo wrote:
I've been experimenting from the moment 6th edition dropped and opened up allies. This was my greatest success so far.

Did you never use the old Imperium Ally stuff? 5th lost allies about halfway through with the GK and SOB codex redos. I always thought those were better ally rules really.

Think this can be done with a librarian too?

You can reliably get re-roll to hit for the squad, but not reliably get ignores cover. Plus buffmander can give them monster/tank hunter if you wanted

 Tiger9gamer wrote:
Think this can be done with a librarian too?

Not exactly

There are only two, that can, Tigger and lokisomethinsomethinredscorpionguy. tigger has an ok chance to get both, Loki can pick, but both still have to cast and chapter tactics can get wonky.

barnowl wrote:

 Jimsolo wrote:
I've been experimenting from the moment 6th edition dropped and opened up allies. This was my greatest success so far.

Did you never use the old Imperium Ally stuff? 5th lost allies about halfway through with the GK and SOB codex redos. I always thought those were better ally rules really.

I was playing with a single secondhand army for most of 5th. I only came into the money to start picking up allies after 6th.