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I really would like to try running these guys, but they seem awfully fickle. I was curious if anyone has devised an effective method of playing them. The seem like they could be decent. Any success with them?

I really don't like them.
The main reason for that is that they only have 1 attack and hit at I1.

I prefer Lychguard because they absolutely slaughter Terminators and vehicles with their Warscythes.

Kangodo, if I'm thinking of the right unit, then you may have missed the point but have still given a right answer...
Praetorians aren't designed for assault. They're designed for close-range firepower. Unfortunately, they're not very well designed for it in my eyes... I feel like the intention was that jump packs would allow them to get in, burn something then get the hell out of there, but because you can't use jump packs in the Assault phase aside from charging, in order to fire you have to leave yourself within easy retaliation range. This, coupled with 1 attack at I1, makes them too high-risk for the points - especially without the shields that Lychguard get.

Jetpacks instead would have done the trick...

I know, but with 6" range they WILL get into assault.
If you want firepower, you take Destroyers.
If you want combat-power, you take Wraiths or Lychguard.

The problem is that they are a "hybrid-unit".
They aren't good in anything, but they aren't bad in it either.
Problem with that is that a good tactician can keep his ranged power out of melee and he can get his melee in close combat.

I have had success running them with a destroyer lord. Preferred enemy and a 4+ RP. The lord also ties up, and usually kills, any character in a unit that can deal with them, leaving them to cut up the rest of the unit.

Anything that hits at around str 4, even with a power weapon has trouble killing them, same can be said for lychguard though.

The jump pack gets them into range nicely or you can use a monolith.

One of the best things I find is that they are fearless.

Points wise they are better than other codex units, like terminators IMO.

Do you use the Voidblade/Particle Caster, or the rod of covenant? I have a 10 man unit all void/PC, and I haven't used them in 6th yet. I built them to hunt vehicles in 5th, but now I wonder about that configurations viability.

DOOMONYOU wrote:
I have had success running them with a destroyer lord. Preferred enemy and a 4+ RP. The lord also ties up, and usually kills, any character in a unit that can deal with them, leaving them to cut up the rest of the unit.

Anything that hits at around str 4, even with a power weapon has trouble killing them, same can be said for lychguard though.

The jump pack gets them into range nicely or you can use a monolith.

One of the best things I find is that they are fearless.

Points wise they are better than other codex units, like terminators IMO.

This. Using them with a destro lord is probably one of the better ways I've found to use them. I use them with RoC because being able to shoot then assault is useful. The other thing is that at the moment they tend to be underestimated so don't draw quite as much fire as wraiths do. This, I find, makes them more effective because more of them make it to combat.

It is a massive pain hitting at I1. However, at higher point games having a unit of wraiths with coils and a unit of praetorians tends to work well.

Do you use the Voidblade/Particle Caster, or the rod of covenant?

Rods. THeir whole purpose is to shoot then assault, I'm not letting something get a free round of shooting in if i can help it.

I'm probably going to try them out with Rods too.
If they aren't working, I can always count them as Lychguards with Warscythes.

I actually prefer pistols and blades a s6 shot then rending entropic cc attacks (plus an extra attack from 2 ccws) with pe from a d lord will mess up anything save termies, and tge chances are they won't total the unit so are safe from shooting the next turn. I think people under estimate them a lot.

I can see the extra attack being useful, but does that plus the rending make up for the loss of AP3 attacks in practice.

I managed to pull off a dual assault in a recent game - wraiths with coils first and then praetorians. It was particularly brutal. Fun though!

They are a great harrasment unit, and really potent with a Dlord.

Their main problem is they NEED a Dlord to be effective. With the low volume of attacks, you really need that PE for their shooting and CC.

They are also VERY survivable with a res orb, you just have to plan your movement phase accordingly, as cover helps them quite a bit.

Overall, they are a good unit. I prefer them than Lychguard, as they are faster, but there are certain units I would avoid sending them against.

I have used 10 with particle caster and void blade lead by D-Lord with res orb. The unit is absolutely tough as nails. They are tougher then Wraiths against every weapon except plasma. The caster gives them a str 6 shooting attack with a longer range then the rod. The void blade lets them be successful against a wider arrange of targets including hordes, monsters and armor 14 vehicles.

So far in 6th thereis really no reason to take a rod of covenant. There are not enough high armor save targets on the board anymore. It's a horde/vehicle edition right now. Maybe the new marine codex changes that.

The biggest problem for the Praetorians is their cost. It's 400pts for the full unit. Wraiths are about 240pts. It's hard to justify their cost in this shooting edition.

I will say I ran the praetorians with a full unit of wraiths and full squad of scarabs. Two D -Lords lead the army. It's fast and very assaulty. The answer to everything is in those three assault units.

If you use FW, take Acanthrites instead. For 10 points more, you get so much. Acanthrites get a voidblade and a "cutting beam", which is a 12" range S6 AP2 melta shot. Essentially, they trade 1 strength and reanimation protocols for 2 wounds, 1 attack and stealth - easily worth it. They do occupy FA rather than elites but unless you're overspending on non-troops to begin with, you shouldn't fill your FA in a list where you'd consider Praetorians. Their shooting is better - it combines the strength and range of the particle caster with the AP of the rod of the covenant and adds melta. Assault looks worse but as you strike at initiative with another attack, it works out better vs most enemies. Consider that for the cost of 10 Praetorians, 400 points, you can take 8 Acanthrites which as a unit has 14 more wounds, 6 more attacks (-4 if you take PC+VB but then your shooting is vastly inferior to the rather amazing Acanthrites S6 AP2), stealth and melta.

Eyjio wrote:
If you use FW, take Acanthrites instead. For 10 points more, you get so much. Acanthrites get a voidblade and a "cutting beam", which is a 12" range S6 AP2 melta shot. Essentially, they trade 1 strength and reanimation protocols for 2 wounds, 1 attack and stealth - easily worth it. They do occupy FA rather than elites but unless you're overspending on non-troops to begin with, you shouldn't fill your FA in a list where you'd consider Praetorians. Their shooting is better - it combines the strength and range of the particle caster with the AP of the rod of the covenant and adds melta. Assault looks worse but as you strike at initiative with another attack, it works out better vs most enemies. Consider that for the cost of 10 Praetorians, 400 points, you can take 8 Acanthrites which as a unit has 14 more wounds, 6 more attacks (-4 if you take PC+VB but then your shooting is vastly inferior to the rather amazing Acanthrites S6 AP2), stealth and melta.

This is Truth.