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.

So, as we all know, the defiler got a big boost in survivability in the new codex, but also a big points increase. There were a lot of debates about wheather it's still competitive or not, but not a lot of discussion about it's loadout, for us who would like to run it. In 5th the optimal loadout was pretty obvious, 2 DCCWs, since you'll be firing the battle cannon at any opportunity, unless you melee. Now that you can snapshot more weapons, and that 2 DCCWs are not available as an option, there are more factors to consider.

Here are my opinons on the loadouts:

Left hand:
Twin Linked Flamer : Seems like the obvious, optimal loadout in most situations. Free and can really make a nice dent on the way into assault. if you decide that you dont want to battlecannon. More importantly, it gives you a nice little Overwatch shot that might just save your bacon if you're lucky. Shame it cannot be snapshotted, but I am guessing you wont always be shooting the battlecannon when charging into melee that often, and against anything but MeQs you'll probably get more wounds out of your Reaper/Heavy Bolter + TL Flamer in close shooting.

Havok Lanucher : Worthless, in my opinion. You'll never NOT want to shoot your battlecannon unless it's been destroyed, which is pretty unlikely given the random weapon destroyed allocation. Even if it is, you'll probably want to be running towards opponents, or assaulting them, where the flamer comes in. A weapon that cannon be snapshotted seems useless in this situation.

Power Scourge : Now THAT's an interesting option. The big thing about this one is that against most targets, reducing the WS even by one makes them hit on a 4+, which is obviously a fairly substatial defensive boost on the defiler. If you manage to lower it by 2, you are now hitting back at 3+. By 3, and they are now hitting you on 5+. With demonic possession, the new 5++ save, and a power scourge, the defiler is now becoming a credible threat on squads with powerfists/meltabombs, and much safer against krack grenades and the like. Especially if you intend to go terminator/dreadnought hunting, you need this. It's a shame then that it's so expensive. In my opinion, it's worth it's points, but given that the defiler is already expensive, this is only appropriate for a more melee oriented build, where you actively try to get into melee combat with nasties like marine squads, dreadnoughts and the like, in order to justify the points. The extra attack is nice too!

Right hand

Twin Linked Heavy Bolter : This one is interesting, and one I am still wondering about. Even when snap shooting, you still expect one shot to go through per turn, giving you a nice little damage boost. However, the problem with it is that it's useless for half the targets you'll be shooting at in the battlefield, that is light vehicles. That being said, the battlecannon IS at it's most effective when shooting MeQs, so maybe it's worth simply going for the more specialized weapon, rather than the more generalist Reaper. Either way, it's very good choice. Very useful for over watch too.

Reaper Autocannon : In my opinion, the best free option. Unlike the Heavy Bolter, it might not produce hits every turn, but it is useful against pretty much any target. In my opinion a chance to remove an extra hull point, or even a pen, are worth more than a certain save roll for an MeQ. Still, this one is debatable, and I'd love to hear your opinions about it.

Power Fist : This used to be the obvious choice in the previous codex. Now, I think it's generally not worth it without the Scourge. The other weapons work all the time, meaning you are going to get more wounds out of them overall. What's more, they also give you overwatch shots. That being said, the Fist is probably the way to go if you went for Power Scourge. You want to capitalize on your extra CC capabilities, and you'll probably find yourself in melee far more often as a Power Scourge Defiler anyway, to make up for the extra points.

Twin linked Lascannon : Much like the Havoc Launcher, I dont really see the point of this one. With only one shot, you'll rarely get snapshots to land, even with twin linked. Not enough atleast to justify the extra points. I suspect the idea with this was to provide the Defiler with some versitility, by allowing him to switch to a more anti vehicle role, but in my opinion the versatility boost simply is not worth the extra price.

So there are two valid builds that I see :

A melee oriented : Power Scourge + Power Fist
A cheaper shooty : TL Heavy Flamer + Reaper Autocannon

I am actually inclined to go with the first option on this one, even with the extra expense. A Defiler with 6 attacks lowering the WS of his opponents might be worth the almost land raider cost, maybe, simply because it can challenge most things in close combat.

How do you run your Defilers? Opinions?

Don't forget the dirge caster and the Gargoyle for soul fire...

Ooooh, completely forgot the other vehicle updates, but isn't it getting way to expensive at this point. It seems weird to have a vehicle costing the same as a Land Raider.

I'd give it a dirge caster, 5pts and you never get overwatched as long as your in 6 inches, stops that one lucky melta shot right there and it can suck up other overwatches around the board