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The multimelta is the cheapest option on the Chaos Dread. Hell, it costs less than the extra CCW arm or extra armor. The 24" range is kind of sucky, but other than that, is there any merit to using it? Anybody have any insights? They don't sell multimelta arms outside of the old BA SM arm and Forgeworld, so I was hoping to get some opinions before dropping some dough.

I guess if you kept the dread back as anti-armor counter-assault the MM would be a nice option - say, keep the big guy behind level 3 terrain until he hops out to obliterate cheeky armor getting too close.

The problem? If the dread can't be shot by the enemy, there's a good chance his fire frenzy shots will go into his buddies (or their vehicles) instead, so playing the waiting game becomes rolling to see when the timebomb goes off on your own dudes. And then there's bloodragin' out of cover and into LOS anyway!

So I dunno. I say do it if you want to run a totally unique dread weapon, and the FW one looks pretty nice if you ask me. And it is death to tanks ...

- Salvage

I had a 3rd edition Marine dread with multi-melta. He sucked in regular games but was hell-on-2-legs when we played "kill the tank" games where your dead body would respawn from a board-edge. But that was in the days when for some reason, the multi-melta option cost MORE than the lascannon. Now that it cost 3.5x less than the lascannon, uh... I dunno man, there's something to be said for a 100 point dread with gun and CCW even if it takes him a turn (or two) to get into firing position... If he lives that long, he WILL kill tanks. I'm just not sure if that's better use of points than the dedicated twinlinked autocannon / ML combo, twin CCW combo.

Your Christmas avatar rocks BTW. The only thing that would be more awesome is a photoshopped avatar of Kuato from Total Recall sporting Santa hats.

the short range might actually help with Fire Frenzy - on a large gaming table, it _might_ be practical to keep your own troops out of range, which isn't nearly as practical as with say a lascannon

Friends.
Don't.
Let.
Friends.
Play.
Chaos.
Dreads.

I think it would be fun...but only if your opponent allowed you to take two chaos dreds with multi-meltas for free in addition to your normal army, and you played them as normally as you wanted. Trying to maneuver those dudes to do something useful and not kill your own army or each other would be pretty entertaining, but only if you weren't spending points on them.

I will say that the dred with the multi-melta would be maybe the most useful version of the chaos dred, if you could find a way to avoid it with the rest of your army and just let it do its own thing, die, charge around like a crazy man, whatever. It won't be effective if you want to win, but it would probably be entertaining and fun.

chaos dreds are still useful. some just dont shoot very well (salvage )

running them with ML and DCCW is the way to go IMO, especially since i play deathguard, if i frenzy, i fire a frag missile into my deathguard, ive yet to cause a causualty with it.

OT: im not a huge fan of multi meltas on the dred, for obvious frenzy reasons. i would love to be able to run them in a havoc squad, but i guess thats askin to much...

I ran a multi-melta on my Space Marine dreadnought back before assault cannons were godly for cheap points. It just makes it have a purpose - short-range tank-killing. I figured the safest place for a dread was in assault anyway, so the short range wasn't usually a problem.

On a chaos dread it would be about the same, just keep it in front of your tanks - remember its LoS arc only goes straight out to the sides of it.

-Spellbound

Spellbound wrote:On a chaos dread it would be about the same, just keep it in front of your tanks - remember its LoS arc only goes straight out to the sides of it.

Pretty sure nothing is safe from a frenzied dread. The rules read that it pivots to face the closest unit, so unless "pivot" is defined to include "not outside of 180 degrees to the front" then no go on hiding behind the big angry guy.

studderingdave wrote:chaos dreds are still useful. some just dont shoot very well (salvage )

running them with ML and DCCW is the way to go IMO, especially since i play deathguard, if i frenzy, i fire a frag missile into my deathguard, ive yet to cause a causualty with it.

Hey, my dread's accuracy is about 200% against my own men

Pretty sure my Birthday FW Dread this year will be a "Studder Pattern," with lefty missile launcher + righty chainsaw. Will go well with my righty plasma cannon lad for some tag team death dealing. Possibly to each other

keezus wrote:Your Christmas avatar rocks BTW. The only thing that would be more awesome is a photoshopped avatar of Kuato from Total Recall sporting Santa hats.

Ha, thanks Keezus. Dread Santa & Lil' Stompy love all the children

- Salvage

What about arming Chaos Dreads with Plasmacannons, and escorting them across the board behind/beside a Land Raider? The PC cannot hurt the AV14 Land Raider should they fire frenzy, and the Land Raider might be able to shield the AV12 Dreads from incoming fire. Especially if the Dreads are modeled in a crouch and the Land Raider has extra spiky bitz/banners.

Only bad thing would be if the LR gets popped and the transported troops become the new closest target....still, if they're Plague Marines they can FNP a couple of Plasmacannon shots, it wouldn't be *that* bad...

Multimelta would obviously be the worst choice for this tactic...

Just my 2c I don't have the codex on me but it's a good place to put one should you be so inclined. There is the mentioned bonus that it is easier to keep away from your own troops, and if it's cheaper it's cheaper.

But from a power gaming perspective for ~100 or so points you can also have Chosen with meltaguns which are probably just as good if not more versatile to boot.

But it's a good fit in a mech heavy list provided you can keep it away from your other guys.

I've used Dreads with both arms having CCW's (I use Furioso right hands), swapping one of the bolters for a heavy flamer. They run along behind a Rhino, and they've never managed to hurt it appreciably (they've shaken it twice) with their flamers and bolters. I've had indifferent success with them, ranging from hot (spasming with the heavy flamer against genestealers and a couple of times they've gotten the extra fleet movement at a key moment.) to cold (Sentinels lascannoning them down as they cross the field, bright lances from transports, etc.)

I don't know about the multi-melta. It probably is a little worse than the lascannon, since it has a bit more difficulty with AV14 at range, and is slightly less effective against monoliths. On the other hand, if your plan is "gogogo" it might work fairly well.
I suppose you can not drop pod them, eh?
All in all, it doesn't seem any worse than a las cannon since how often do you really have more than 24" of firing lane?, and the extra dice really help against landraiders and titans and the like.

I like dreads quite a bit though, so I might be biased.

I second the idea of equipping Chaos dreadnoughts with a permanent space on the shelf for zero points.

No kidding, a unit that doesn't do what you want 1/3rd of the time and attacks your own troops 1/6th of the time shouldn't have any powerful weapons. Use a chosen squad or Terminators for your elites choices.

Mind you, a Chaos Dreadnought with two Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons is a holy terror.

I think the only decent load out is CC arms for the Chaos Dread, that way if it does fire frenzy, at least the damage is minimal.

I think there can be a use for Chaos Dread. but not in a tournament list except maybe in a Mech. Assault list, but you have Terminators, Possessed and Lesser Deamons that take priority over it.

Nurglitch wrote:Mind you, a Chaos Dreadnought with two Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons is a holy terror.

Until it gets within 19" of the enemy, and gets shot dead dead dead.

Or for real humor, fire frenzies it's bolters 3" from a meltagun squad.

Done both! Won't ever do it again.

Funny how loyalists don't go crazy, but Chaos does....and it's the same vehicle with the same old guy now 'retired' within it.

Stelek wrote:Funny how loyalists don't go crazy, but Chaos does....and it's the same vehicle with the same old guy now 'retired' within it.

Ish. Chaos dread pilots don't particularly like their eternal confinement in an unfeeling machine hull, and actually spend most of their time couped up in their sarcophagus, disconnected from the guns and chainsaws and stewing in their own insanity.

I'd be angry too, and would probably also opt to blast my comrades / captors straight to hell when given the chance

- Salvage

But so do loyalist dreads. lol