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Hi! I'm new to this forum and I'd like some advice or opinions on my army. I play with a group of friends and one of them is playing Astra Militarum, and she has a Baneblade. I've been having a lot of difficulty because my army was lacking serious anti tank capabilities. I've updated my army and changed some of my units and I'd like to know some opinions/tips. I'll post her list and my list.

My Death Guard list:
1 Typhus (175)
1 Tallyman (67)
3 Poxwalkers units (20 models per unit) (120/unit x 3 = 360)
3 Helbrutes (Each equipped with a twin lascannon for anti tank and a helbrute fist with a combi bolter infused = 164 points each x 3 = 492)
This makes a Vanguard detachment


Her list:
1 x Baneblade
3 x Infantry Squad (10 models per unit)
1 x Company Commander
1 x Command Squad
1 x Hydra
1 x Comissar
1 x Creed
1 x Heavy Weapons Team

Would my army stand a chance? Especially if she has a baneblade?

Thanks!

u can try to win by objectives, i doubt you can remove a baneblade but she has only 30 infantry models (R3 ta 5+) you have 60 with R4 and FNP 5++,u can still stand a chance.

What do you mean by "(R3 ta 5+) you have 60 with R4 and FNP 5++"? What's R3 ta 5+ and R4 and FNP 5++?

i mean her guardsmen r3 ta5+ and your poxwalkers r4 fnp 5++
beside baneblade you have better troops to grab objectives, so i would focus trying to wipe her troops, if she cant grab objective she must table you in that case you can play accordingly.

Ok I see. So when it comes to firepower or 1 vs 1, I basically stand no chance? Is there anything I can do with my army to stand a chance other than capturing objectives? And I mean literally, what's r3 ta5+ and r4 fnp 5++? I don't understand the wording. I don't know what r3, r4 stands for and ta 5++. I'm playing 8th btw (in case that's 7th edition terminology or older).

I think he is talking about toughness and saves (armor, invulnerable, feel no pain, etc).

Also, I believe you can run a battalion instead of a vanguard and get more command points.

Consider using miasma of pestilence and putrescent vitality for Typhus. Combining those with the cloud of flies stratagem may help your poxwalkers live long enough to get into combat (if you don't need them to hold objectives). If you play an objective mission, those same psychic powers can help there, too.

I haven't messed with helbrutes yet. Myphitic blight haulers are also an option, albeit with shorter range. The blight haulers are also a bit more survivable, do not degrade, move faster and can all benefit from miasma if you run them as one unit. 3 haulers will also give you more points to spend on a blight bringer (the bell guy) or something else.

I tried your suggestions and I came up with a formation for my army. The cloud of flies stratagem was perfect! Basically I had Typhus, Tallyman and Helbrute inside a poxwalker meatshield circle and a bunch of more poxwalkers circling the meat shield. The player with the baneblade was on my team this time so I didn't get a chance to test it against her, but I was playing against a friend who was playing Tau with strike teams that can deploy during movement phases 9" away from enemy units. The circle in combination with cloud of flies made it difficult for the strike team to go for my helbrutes and I basically forced him to shoot my poxwalkers for half the game (since I only have 4 command points) while my helbrutes were shooting with twin lascannons and combi bolters and my teammate was helping me take care of the Tau while shooting the Tyranid player. We didn't get to finish the game but if I end up playing against the astra militarum player with the baneblade, I can make her waste a lot of shots while I have twin lascannons from the helbrutes shooting the baneblade with the Fire Frenzy stratagem that allows my helbrutes to shoot all their weapons twice if they didn't move (also Tallyman giving me a small chance to regain command points).

The poxwalker meatshield with the cloud of flies stratagem (with miasma of pestilence of course!!) is really fantastic. I can protect any sort of valuable units and waste my opponent's turns while attacking him.

I really do prefer the helbrutes because the twin-lascannons are the best anti tank weapons I can get. That 9 strength makes a big difference when facing the baneblade (and distracting it with the poxwalker wall with cloud of flies). I hit on 3+, wound on 3+, -3 AP and D6 damage vs the Myphitic Blight Haulers hitting on 4+, wounding on 4+ and -2 AP (but still D6 damage). Plus they benefit from Inexorable Advance. They have a pretty big weapon selection so they're pretty versatile.