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So a group of us are gearing up for some friendly games at 1500, everyone keeping it semi real with nothing really dirty. The goal is fun but also to kinda showcase some of our collections that don't always see play.
Anyway I've been hung up on 'Mr. gabriel' CM of the flesh teares lately trying to find a niche for him. I am aware he's not on par with other Low, BUT he has potential for some serious carnage against certain xenos armies which will be in attendance.. namely dark eldar, orks, crons, nids. Anyone out there who's used him or brainstormed a use for him please chime in.

Heres a couple ideas I've had, most fit inside the Baal SF conferring +1 init on the assault. Would really like to get him preferred enemy or zealet etc without breaking the bank or making a mini deathstar.

5 assault termies 2 tlc, 3 th/ss, LR crusader.
5 cmd squad, 3 ss/mg, drop pod.

Ideas or experiences?

He's pretty cool, but not great. Fun, but not stupendous without a role.

What's Seth got going for him? He's cheap, Fearless, and has the potential to put out A LOT of S9 rending attacks (on the charge, of course). That's strength NINER. AP4 may relegate his attacks to mostly be effective against non-power armor units, but S9 means he can actually scare the heck out of an Imperial Knight Titan. Not an undamaged Knight Titan, mind you, but one that's already taken a few hull points on the way in...sure. It's metal bunghole will be puckered up while Seth is swinging his big Chainsword around...

If, however, you're not expecting to face a Knight Titan...I'm not sure how useful Seth can guarantee to be. He can, of course, take out vehicles of all types, but we have melta out the ying-yang for that.

Ya he does anti mech duty very well from tanks to walkers and I'm sure we'll see some of each. I'm mostly thinking he needs a small durable bunker to keep rampage active though so he can chew through units of 4+ save infantry which could be epic if he pulled it off.

Two things that would help him immensely:
1. Artificer Armor
2. Rampage standard and has a different Warlord Trait.

To get the most out of his rules, ally in Assault Centurions. They have trouble with hordes, and Gabriel can actually handle that on the charge. Add in a Priest and/or Mephiston and they can do some okay work. Awfully expensive though.

Is Seth kinda crappy for a LoW? I would say so. But he is CHEAP for a LoW, and it isn't like you aren't going to use those HQ slots for good stuff like Priests anyway. This way you get your beatstick without having to use a slot for it.

Seth isn't terrible. Even with AP4, with the number of attacks(FIVE on the charge with his extra attack ability with Rending!) he has he is going to probably ID something anyway. Put him with some Vanguard Veterans with Storm Shields as body guards. It would be a lot cooler if he got the C:SM version of the Vanguard Veterans with their cheap power weapons, but them's the brakes. In spite of the Flesh Tearer's Strike Force having some bonuses due to the better access to Assault Squads, SKIP IT, its not worth it when running Seth since he has Rage default. Go Baal Strike Force and use that +1I. You can run more Death Company this way and still have room for a bodyguard unit. Make sure to use that required HQ to get him a Priest to run with. And definitely throw him at vehicles, there are very few things that get FIVE S9 Rending attacks. Chop away!

Thanks for the input guys. I agree artie and rampage default is logical.
The assault cents are interesting, seth and a priest makes the combo almost like grotesques.. i'll have to stew on that one. Biggest issue is SnP is a real put off. Otoh 3 cents + seth almost guarantees he will get rampage which is really the point.

Seth has 6 attacks charging btw 4 + rage, then hopefully rampage. Actually I think BA cmd squads are one of the better bodyguard units for him atm even considering space marine VV's.. 130 buys FNP 3 storm shields and a ws 5 power sword.

dominuschao wrote:
Thanks for the input guys. I agree artie and rampage default is logical.
The assault cents are interesting, seth and a priest makes the combo almost like grotesques.. i'll have to stew on that one. Biggest issue is SnP is a real put off. Otoh 3 cents + seth almost guarantees he will get rampage which is really the point.

Seth has 6 attacks charging btw 4 + rage, then hopefully rampage. Actually I think BA cmd squads are one of the better bodyguard units for him atm even considering space marine VV's.. 130 buys FNP 3 storm shields and a ws 5 power sword.

That's what Spartan Assault Tanks or Drop Pods are for. Drop Pods are unique in the sense that, when dropped, Assault Centurions actually contribute some decent shooting (you get 3 TL Melta Guns and 9 TL Bolter shots which, while not impressive, helps with horde lists), and therefore not being able to assault immediately isn't TOO big an issue.

They would need some protection though, since Drop Pods can only hold 10, and the Centurions at MINIMUM count as 9. The Spartan is MUCH more expensive and you wouldn't be able to do the same thing multiple times. However, a squad with Seth, a Priest, and Sevrin Loth means you have guaranteed invisibility (broken power is broken), and you can scoot across the field as quickly as needed.

If only Drop Pods could hold 11 models, huh?

If only Drop Pods could hold 11 models, huh?

Ya capacity 10 ruins some cool ideas I've had.

Spartans are badass but as you say very expensive. A proteus is a little more affordable at 200 but still. I'm not willing to go to loth's level though. I really just wanna deliver some seth whup-ass in a can and forge some narratives man.

dominuschao wrote:

If only Drop Pods could hold 11 models, huh?

Ya capacity 10 ruins some cool ideas I've had.

Spartans are badass but as you say very expensive. A proteus is a little more affordable at 200 but still. I'm not willing to go to loth's level though. I really just wanna deliver some seth whup-ass in a can and forge some narratives man.

I don't know what the Proteus does, so I cannot comment on that.

Still, the Spartan is worth it for two reasons:
1. Armored Ceramite
2. Access to Schism Of Mars, which means immunity to Haywire half the time.

dominuschao wrote:

If only Drop Pods could hold 11 models, huh?

Ya capacity 10 ruins some cool ideas I've had.

Spartans are badass but as you say very expensive. A proteus is a little more affordable at 200 but still. I'm not willing to go to loth's level though. I really just wanna deliver some seth whup-ass in a can and forge some narratives man.

Have you thought about a Stormraven. That gives you 11 filled seats and a Dread in the luggage compartment.
Toss in a Landing pad with 'Ready for Take Off' to get him on the board on turn 1

Holy... no I have not. Hmm time to brew a bit.

The proteus is a 200 pt godhammer btw, or whatever the modern name is. Has option for ceramite too and scout but gets expensive fast.

EDIT- aaaand I missed that it has no assault vehicle rule. Suck.

I think Seth is really well designed, and I like his rules a lot even if I absolutely loathe him in the fluff. For only 25 points more than a normal chapter master he gets whirlwind of gore (which I have seen become utterly absurd if you give him rerolls to hit) and a surprisingly good melee weapon. Ap4 hurts, but since he's wounding almost everything on 2s and has rending he can carve through MEQ and TEQ equivalents rather well. But his real use is, as others have said, chopping anything with an AV in half.

Example of his absurdity: someone wanted to try BA and borrowed my army, proxying seth. He charged in against a full strength assault terminator squad, alone, but with presience cast on him. Rampage rolled a 6 for extra attacks, so with 9 attacks rerolling to hit, he managed to hit 11 times, got 3 rends, and wiped the squad. Granted, that instance is pretty far on the good end of the bell curve and won't happen often at all, but he still has the ability to say "OOPS! You're all dead!" which makes him a good bit of fun to play.

A 25 point priest from a sisters or IG army does a lot of nastiness for Seth. Between Zealot and the War Hymns (reroll armor/invuln, reroll wounds or smash attacks) the angry little guy can really help boost Seth and since both are on foot, he isn't slowed down.

I am not certain what all is in the squad but I am fairly certain Seth with a sanguinary priest and I don't know what type of flesh tearers beats up orks pretty good. I know it isnt the assault Marines but that's it.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
Two things that would help him immensely:
1. Artificer Armor
2. Rampage standard and has a different Warlord Trait.

To get the most out of his rules, ally in Assault Centurions. They have trouble with hordes, and Gabriel can actually handle that on the charge. Add in a Priest and/or Mephiston and they can do some okay work. Awfully expensive though.

I completely agree. Would also change his huge chainsaw to at least AP3. Don't get why a bog standard SM eviscerator is more powerful than his weapon which is an ancient Baal Relic.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
One option to really buff Seth is to run him in the Baal Strikeforce detachment for that +1I on the charge, but also bring a librarian to cast the quickening on him.

Imagine his 6 Strength 9 rending attacks on the charge being boosted up to a potential 8 or 9 with the quickening plus his initiative being increased to similar heights (8 or 9) due to that power combining with the baal strike force bonus. That would be one pretty crazy wrecking ball.

Oh and don't forget that for every 6 that Seth rolls to hit, it multiplies to 2 hits, so the potential is there for him to have 10+ hits on the charge

Seth with a libby does seem pretty good, particularly if that libby is lvl2 and rolls once on Divination from prescience to go along with the quickening. If you manage to fight a squad bigger than you, Seth can have 8-12 attacks on the charge rerolling to hit. While that doesnt make him competitive, it does make him cool as hell and a blast to play.