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Post by Hetfiltrator on May 13, 2014 18:14:06 GMT -5
*Drags in a Taurox* What? I think they look funny. Oh... You want a review? Well, I suppose I could... Here goes nothing. The Department of Nice Things, Dangerous Objects and Incredible Technology presents: Hetlan does a stupid review: Starring the Taurox
Overview: The Taurox is a light transport from the imperial guard(I know, shocking isn't it.) However, looking at it, I noticed two things that really stood out. One, it doesn't appear to be terribly useful and two, it is UGLY. I mean it looks like crap, adorable crap, but crap nonetheless. The Taurox Prime on the otherhand shares the same chassis as the Taurox, meaning it still has the same poor armor, but it gains some things that the Poor Taurox can only dream of. So let's dig into the meat of the matter. Or perhaps the metal of the matter would be more apt? When it comes to armor Taurox is a pretty sad vehicle, with 11 front and 10 on the other sides is the kind of armor even the humble Rhino makes fun of. However, this is where the Rhino stops making fun of the Taurox, as unlike the single sad storm bolter that the rhino totes, the Taurox carries a twin-linked autocannon, which packs a significantly harder punch in addition to a pair of fire points on each side, allowing for quite bit of versatility. In addition to this each Taurox re-rolls dangerous terrain tests, and can carry a full squad of troopers making them a decent choice to break through lines. They're also decently cheap, which is another plus. Though it begs the question, if something as cramped as this can carry 10 soldiers in it, why can't the Razorback. Wait, no, I get it. Space Marines are too territorial and if you put too many of them in a Razorback they'd fight. They're like Betta fish...
Evaluation: 6 out of 10
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Post by yvain on Jun 2, 2014 7:41:25 GMT -5
Now that the new rule book is out. Some of these articles may change. Mobility is pretty huge now. It is a buff to fast units like hellhounds and stormtroopers who can grab objectives where ever.
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Post by Julian Sharps on Jun 2, 2014 9:18:04 GMT -5
Yeah, I was afraid of that. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of the new rulebook yet, so this might delay the project for a while longer.
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Post by treadiculous on Jun 2, 2014 17:25:58 GMT -5
great work chaps!
I appreciate what you have achieved here, thank you!
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Post by Julian Sharps on Jun 2, 2014 20:04:14 GMT -5
great work chaps! I appreciate what you have achieved here, thank you! Care to help out?
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Post by Aeon on Jun 11, 2014 22:24:01 GMT -5
Regarding the Taurox:
I have used the regular Taurox to great effect in capture games, zipping squads of carapaced armored, plasma gun armed veterans across the battlefield, unloading them and hitting them with a whole bunch of Strength 7 hits (don't forget, the regular Taurox has a twin linked autocannon)
As for the Prime: I proxied an army of Storm Troopers (using the tempestus codex), and proxied in some Primes as well. I had 2 equipped with the Punisher Junior (the gatling gun with 10 shots) and 1 equipped with the Heavy 2 missile launcher. At BS4, they hit more than they miss, and having a pair of S8 AP3 shots to add to support your Stormies is incredibly useful. I used just that 1 prime to pop 2 rhinos in that game, and to kill a Librarian.
The Punisher Junior proved less useful, as it's only S4 and can barely glance AV10. My opponent was Space Marines mechanized, so you can imagine I didn't have very many targets. But, I guess against lighter infantry forces it could be useful. The missile launcher is twice the point costs of the gatling gun, but in my minimal experience, I found it to be twice as useful, especially because in the absense of vehicles to pop, you get 2 small templates to throw out
Review complete
NOW, HERE'S A DISGUSTING TRICK FOR ALL YOU TREAD HEADS
H.Q: Pask Leman Russ Punisher heavy bolter sponsons
Leman Russ Executioner Plasma cannon sponsons
Pask gets prefered enemy, which allows him and his unit (the executioner) to re roll Gets Hot and To Hit rolls. Absolutely invaluable. Additionally, he has the crack shot ability, which, when he is mounted in a Punisher or Exterminator, makes his shots Rending.
With orders, you can have your tanks fire at separate targets. Oh, a unit of Chaos Terminators and a unit of Khorne berzerkers are coming at you?
Have the terminators eat 5 small S7 AP2 templates, and have those berserkers eat 20 S5 rending shots on top of 9 heavy bolter rounds
These 2 tanks are absolutely a nasty combination. I generally tell people to steer clear of special characters, and to steer clear of tournament-style combos and lists, but if you find your men fighting against a cheese list, don't hesitate to use nasty tricks against your opponent, until you can find someone else who is honorable and just wants to have fun with fluffy lists
I've used this combo in Vassal 40k about 6 times. Pask and his Executioner have never once been killed, nor has the Executioner had an overheat remove a hull point. They always bring in at least 2 to 3 kill points per game.
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Post by yvain on Jun 26, 2014 16:46:06 GMT -5
I am still wary on the prime with Missile. It is pretty expensive for a units that dies really easily. You could use it for long range support, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a transport. I will have to see how it works in more test games I am waiting for some wheels from Victoria miniatures to finish my conversions. In a regular IG force, I feel like some other options are better. A pair of regular Tauroxs, get two twin-linked autocannons and the ability to grab to objectives as secured for the same price with less chance of lose of points due to dying. I want to like the prime, I am just not too sure.
Where are with the initial review process Julian? What still needs to be done.?
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Post by yvain on Jul 21, 2014 16:22:09 GMT -5
Sanctus Reach has two IG formations. The first is steel host which gives preffered enemy to your tanks within 12 inches of the TC. It requires a TC, and 3 LR squadrons so at least 5 tanks. Seems pretty good especially if you already bring that many tanks to the fight.
The other is the rampart, which is a Bullgryn formation. You have to take 2 five man bull squads and a PCS. It is an expensive formation, however the bulls get fearless, counter attack, and fear. In addition, they grant a 2+ cover save with their shields. So a vehicles with camo nets or a Veteran squad with FW sentries gets +2 cover save. That is pretty great. I think it could make a foot mobile force much more viable especially if you add in straken.
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Post by yvain on Jul 22, 2014 7:41:51 GMT -5
Even better someone pointed out that according to the rules the PCS also grants a +1 cover save just like the Bullgryns do. They also get the Fear, Fearless, and Counter attack rules. Which effectively means you get 3 Aegis Defense lines.
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Post by Lord General Armstrong on Sept 3, 2014 20:09:05 GMT -5
Regarding the Taurox: I have used the regular Taurox to great effect in capture games, zipping squads of carapaced armored, plasma gun armed veterans across the battlefield, unloading them and hitting them with a whole bunch of Strength 7 hits (don't forget, the regular Taurox has a twin linked autocannon) As for the Prime: I proxied an army of Storm Troopers (using the tempestus codex), and proxied in some Primes as well. I had 2 equipped with the Punisher Junior (the gatling gun with 10 shots) and 1 equipped with the Heavy 2 missile launcher. At BS4, they hit more than they miss, and having a pair of S8 AP3 shots to add to support your Stormies is incredibly useful. I used just that 1 prime to pop 2 rhinos in that game, and to kill a Librarian. The Punisher Junior proved less useful, as it's only S4 and can barely glance AV10. My opponent was Space Marines mechanized, so you can imagine I didn't have very many targets. But, I guess against lighter infantry forces it could be useful. The missile launcher is twice the point costs of the gatling gun, but in my minimal experience, I found it to be twice as useful, especially because in the absense of vehicles to pop, you get 2 small templates to throw out Personally, I've only found the standard Taurox to be the most points viable, the rest start becoming severely overpriced for what they bring in the terms of firepower and survivability. When compared to the razorback, which only costs 5 points more, its effectiveness is rather arguable. The razorback has better armour protection, better BS, with the drawback of a slightly worse gun and reduced capacity; which doesn't mean all that much when comparing 5/6 marines to 10 Guardsmen. The twin-linked autocannon does help, and can put some extra damage on nearly any target where required, and can even be used as a makeshift AA weapon; you only have to force the flyer to jink to remove its effectiveness for a turn. Every other variant seems rather expensive for what they bring to the table, when again, compared to the razorback. The effectiveness of the mini-punisher cannon is rather miniscule for its cost, and the only worthwhile upgrade seems to be the missile launcher, but this almost brings the vehicles price into hellhound/leman russ territory; where points are better well spent. If it had a side armour value 11 for its current cost it might be for viable, or if its base cost was reduced by 10; and most of the primes upgrades reduced by another 5-10, it might have been a more serious contender to the chimera. On an unrelated note, I really wish the Taurox looked more like the MRAP. H.Q: Pask Leman Russ Punisher heavy bolter sponsons Leman Russ Executioner Plasma cannon sponsons Pask gets prefered enemy, which allows him and his unit (the executioner) to re roll Gets Hot and To Hit rolls. Absolutely invaluable. Additionally, he has the crack shot ability, which, when he is mounted in a Punisher or Exterminator, makes his shots Rending. With orders, you can have your tanks fire at separate targets. Oh, a unit of Chaos Terminators and a unit of Khorne berzerkers are coming at you? Have the terminators eat 5 small S7 AP2 templates, and have those berserkers eat 20 S5 rending shots on top of 9 heavy bolter rounds These 2 tanks are absolutely a nasty combination. I generally tell people to steer clear of special characters, and to steer clear of tournament-style combos and lists, but if you find your men fighting against a cheese list, don't hesitate to use nasty tricks against your opponent, until you can find someone else who is honorable and just wants to have fun with fluffy lists I've used this combo in Vassal 40k about 6 times. Pask and his Executioner have never once been killed, nor has the Executioner had an overheat remove a hull point. They always bring in at least 2 to 3 kill points per game. You can try a similar thing with just the standard tank commander, and having him/her as your warlord; as it's a D3 roll on the Guard warlord traits. If you get a 3 or 4, that'll also give you preferred enemy, and if you keep your army within the combined arms detachment, that'll give you a nice re-roll to make attaining that a bit more reliable. But that's still more of a gamble.
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Post by Julian Sharps on Sept 14, 2014 20:41:05 GMT -5
Sorry I've been away for so long.
I haven't forgotten about the project; I'm currently working on the article for the Infantry Platoon (except for Conscripts; Comrade will be happy to learn that the most recent FAQ gave them frag grenades), the Wargear section, and the Chimera.
Currently, we need articles for Orders, the Primaris Psyker, Veteran Squad, all things Fast Attack, the Basilisk, and the Hydra. Also, we might want a more in-depth article on the Taurox Prime other than, "it's a faster Taurox with more guns strapped to it, and the only unit that can take it doesn't need it!"
Also, I'd appreciate it if someone could set up tactics discussion threads for infantry, mechanized, armor, artillery, air support, combined arms, and just general tips and tricks that everyone should know. Aeon, any tactical insight you can offer from your time in the Marines would be appreciated. Keep in mind that we'll probably have to update the existing articles for 7th edition.
Let's do this, people! We've come too far to let this project die now!
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Post by Julian Sharps on Sept 15, 2014 13:30:14 GMT -5
Chimera, by Julian Sharps
The Chimera is the old, reliable workhorse of the Imperial Guard mechanized units, and have proven itself time and again, unlike the new kid on the block, the Taurox.
It is difficult to compare the Chimera to the dedicated transports of other factions. It is not a fast vehicle, nor does it have particularly good side armor. It is not a skimmer or a flyer, and it is only BS 3. It mounts two heavy weapons as standard, and yet it is also capable of carrying a full squad of troops plus support characters. It also technically has a metric crapton on fire points.
Now before you ask, the Chimera has only two actual fire points. The “metric crapton” part comes from the two lasgun arrays mounted on the side that always fire at BS 3 (unless the Chimera is suffering from a Crew Shaken or Crew Stunned damage result, in which case it may only fire snap shots) and may shoot at different targets both from each other and the Chimera's other weapons. This may seem like a nerf from the previous edition (where Chimeras had five fire points period), it is a stealth buff for mechanized platoons, which allow it to put out a lot more anti-infantry fire more accurately on the move and to put that fire in smaller doses where it is needed.
All of this comes together to give the Imperial Guard a dedicated transport that makes Space Marines jealous. A Rhino with more transport capacity, worse side armor, and better front armor, with better firepower than a stock Razorback? It may not seem like much, but the difference between AV 11 and AV 12 is a big one on the battlefield, and any good Mech Guard list will be fielding about half a dozen of the things, using terrain and heavier tanks to protect their flanks.
The Chimera comes standard with a turret-mounted Multilaser and a hull-mounted Heavy Bolter. I've heard arguments either way for stock Chimeras, Multilaser/Heavy Flamer, or twin Heavy Bolters, but be warned: the Chimera's turret gun needs a lot of work to be magnetized properly, so you're probably going to be stuck with whatever turret gun you put on when you assemble it. I personally use Multilaser/Heavy Flamer since I tend to play aggressively with my mech platoon. The Multilaser is a good anti-transport gun given that it comes free on a Chimera, plus it can insta-kill T 3 models, while the Heavy Flamer is good for when you decide to play dirty with multiple Chimeras and tank shocks.
Evaluation: Semi-Competitive
Rebuttal:
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Post by Julian Sharps on Oct 12, 2014 13:59:22 GMT -5
Sorry I've been away for so long. I haven't forgotten about the project; I'm currently working on the article for the Infantry Platoon (except for Conscripts; Comrade will be happy to learn that the most recent FAQ gave them frag grenades), the Wargear section, and the Chimera. Currently, we need articles for Orders, the Primaris Psyker, Veteran Squad, all things Fast Attack, the Basilisk, and the Hydra. Also, we might want a more in-depth article on the Taurox Prime other than, "it's a faster Taurox with more guns strapped to it, and the only unit that can take it doesn't need it!" Also, I'd appreciate it if someone could set up tactics discussion threads for infantry, mechanized, armor, artillery, air support, combined arms, and just general tips and tricks that everyone should know. Aeon, any tactical insight you can offer from your time in the Marines would be appreciated. Keep in mind that we'll probably have to update the existing articles for 7th edition. Let's do this, people! We've come too far to let this project die now! So, can we maybe get some more progress made in these areas? It's been almost a month already.
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