Gentlemen! You're Expertise Needed!

[Deleted]

Afternoon Ladies and Gents!

I have not posted in sometime, I hope my Loyalist Comrades-in-arms are still fairing well these days!

Sorry about the Long post!

The problem is (once again) down to Doctrine choices. I first started playing 40k about 5 or so months ago and since then have built up a fairly well-rounded, decent I.G army of about 2,500 points. I have won several battles with my brave army but unfortunately these days am suffering defeat after defeat to my friend's Iron Warriors! (argh!)

The problem arises when he sends a beefed up C.S.M Lord (sometimes with a bike retinue) on a bike charging into CC with my front lines. When he moves initially he turbo boosts 24" and his 2+ armour save becomes a 2+ Invunerable save (because of the speed at which he is travelling!). Therefore, before I know it he has crashed into my lines and dices me up good and proper with 5 attacks each round!)

I have started experimenting with a close combat HSO with powerfist which seems to have some effect, but the thing is my platoon of 40 conscripts is very effective until (sometimes) they fail a morale check at (Leadership 9) and run clean off the board!

I usually have a LRBT or two and Heavy weapons and some special weapons in my squads, however, but my opponent always seems to get into close combat so fast that my men are always forced to fight in close combat with him. Most of the time, you can guess how that turns out for me...

As a result, my question is this... shall I stick resolutely with my current list or replace my Official Cadian Doctrine List of:

Iron Discipline
Sharpshooters
Stormtroopers
Sanctioned Psykers
Conscripts
Special weapons
Grenadiers

For my own list of

Iron Discipline
Sharpshooters
Storm troopers
Ratlings
Rough Riders

The Cadian list is fantastic because it gives me free doctrines, however, this second list is becoming ever more appealing to me because I feel that perhaps rough riders are the only way to effectively deal with some of the really savage close combat beasts I come across these days!

Any help or insight greatly appreciated!

Thanks and Regards,

General Hadrian

[Mabus]

Rough riders are good, but they will not win the game for you. The trick is to position them carefully so that when the C.S.M Lord reaches your line you will have a decent counter attack unit. Try and ensure that it's your conscripts that get assaulted.

[Deleted]

Conscripts will soak up the damage nicely, but chances are they won't be able to kill the Lord on a bike. However, if you stick an Independent Commissar in there then there'll be a good chance they won't break. Give him a Trademark Item and then you're pretty safe (though the Conscripts are far from it!). The one thing you'd have to be careful of is that Conscript squads are huge and Close Combat will block line of sight, disabling your flank one way or another.

Rough Riders, if timed correctly, would probably work best because of the high strength, power weapon attacks. Though you'd have to catch him once he's engaged, because if he still has the 2+ invuln then your Rough Riders will be obliterated.

Ratlings wouldn't be too bad against the Lord either. Though you'd have to be pretty lucky to have him fail his 2+ saves either way. You might be better off hitting him with every lascannon and missile launcher you have and hoping he fails his save to finish him off instantly.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the replies so far!

Any other contributions?

[knight (M.I.A)]

If he relies on too good saves you can't ignore somehow use multishot weapons. It might sound like a bad idea to hunt a CSM Lord on a bike with a Heavy Bolter, but the more shots hit him the more saves he will have to take. And the more safe rolles he has to take the greater the chances that he will fail some of them.

[dethklok]

yeah i always find it better to throw more shots than a few ap 1,2 shots. Although the guard all lascannon army would take care of it but that is a diff story. you might want to include some auto cannons, yes 2 shots but their range is better and with the higher strength greater chance that you will hit em.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[sammy1979]

here's my advice purchase gaunt he's cheep as chips as speciel charecters go can be used quite happily in a army of your size he's a independent charecter so you can stick him with your conscripts, he's pretty hard as a charecter goes he transfers his feerless charecteristic to your 40 conscripts plus his a good scrapper in his own right, then you've saved a doctorine point that would have been wasted on independent commisars? not that i recon doctorines are worth the effort any way,