How you build your army lists is an important part of playing Warhammer 40,000. Expert player Stephen Box agrees, and returns in another article from the White Dwarf archive to help writer Dan improve his list, after analysing his existing force in the last instalment. Take it away, Stephen!
Stephen: Last time, we took a look at army analysis – the act of casting a critical eye over an army list to decide whether the units and faction rules a player has picked are optimal for the games they will be playing. We even brought in a guinea pig to help explain how you can analyse an army in the form of White Dwarf writer Dan and his Adeptus Mechanicus force.
To recap that little experiment for those of you that didn’t get to read the article, I personally focus on how well my army performs in three core areas when analysing my army lists:
Completing Primary Missions
Completing Secondary Missions
Damage output
I rate each unit out of 5 in each area, with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent. As you can probably guess, some units excel in one area but may struggle in others, and finding a unit that’s good in all three is very rare indeed.
When Dan analysed his army, he established that, across all of his units, he could perform pretty well in the first of those three criteria, but perhaps not as well in the other two. Achieving Secondary Missions (and therefore scoring VP from them) seemed to be pretty tricky for him, while damage output – particularly when focused on heavy infantry like Space Marines – was virtually nonexistent.
Analysis complete – what next?
The first step is looking at the units you have in your army and working out if you are using them to their full potential. It might be that with a few tweaks, their effectiveness increases. There are plenty of areas you can explore, but I find the following questions are useful guidelines:
Have you missed any unit rules?
Have you misinterpreted any rules?
Do you know how to get the most out of your faction rules?
Are you using the best Detachment for your collection?
Have you got strong unit synergy?
All of these questions should be addressed before you run off to the shops to buy new miniatures to replace ‘the ones that don’t work’. If you have a collection of models that you enjoy using, then replacing some of them should be a last resort.
This seems like a good time to bring Dan back in to chat about his army.
Know your unit rules
The first question focuses on unit rules. Were there any you missed when looking through your Codex?
Dan: Yep, there were a few. I didn’t realise that Skitarii Rangers have the Scouts 6" ability. I just looked at their gun profile, saw they had a 30" range and thought ‘I’ll keep them at the back’. However, they could easily be used to race forward at the start of the battle and contest objectives.
Stephen: They have a potential move of 18" in your first turn – 6" each for Scouts, movement and Advance. That’s a big deal for a cheap unit with a high OC.
Dan: As mentioned last time, I also missed that Tech-Priest Enginseers become Lone Operatives when they are within 3" of a friendly vehicle. I was deploying him with my Skitarii Vanguard so he wouldn’t get shot, but then he couldn’t repair my tanks. Or the Vanguard had to hang back so he could be near the Onagers, which seemed like a really big waste of their potential. I know exactly where to keep him now in future battles!
Use those bionic legs!
Stephen: Dan’s discovery that his Skitarii Rangers have Scouts 6" could have a huge impact on his battle tactics, particularly regarding Secondary Missions. If he deploys them at the edge of his deployment zone, he can move them into No Man’s Land (and ideally into cover) before the first turn. Regardless of the deployment map, they can be on the centre line of the board in his first turn. They could complete Area Denial, Secure No Man’s Land, Cleanse, Recover Assets, Extend Battle Lines or even Engage On All Fronts if they advance!
Battle tank bastion
Tech-Priest Enginseers are cheap characters and handy to have around. By placing one with his Onagers, Dan can protect the Enginseer, keep both vehicles in good repair and secure his backfield objective marker. Between the three units they have OC7, which should be enough to counter most fast-moving objective-marker-grabbing units and hold onto the objective marker even if one or more of them is Battle-shocked. If he positions them well, he should also be able to screen a chunk of his deployment zone from deep strikers.
Did you read that right?
Okay, how about rules you read, but might not have got quite right?
Dan: Oh, totally! It was actually a rule in the Core Rules. I gave my Tech-Priest Dominus the Malphonic Susurrus Enhancement so that he would give the unit he was with Stealth. Perhaps it was me misreading the rule, or maybe remembering a rule from a previous edition, but I got it into my head that they couldn’t be targeted with shooting attacks if the enemy was further than 12" away.
Stephen: Which is the Lone Operative rule on the opposite page in the rulebook. It’s an easy mistake to make. Interestingly, Stealth applies no matter how close the enemy is, so they could be 3" away and your unit will still be at -1 to hit.
Factor in the faction
In the last article, you said you weren’t sure how to get the most out of your Doctrina Imperatives army rule. Have you done any research since then on what tactics would work better?
Dan: I was almost exclusively using the Protector Imperative to give all my units’ weapons the Heavy ability, but then I wasn’t moving them forward enough to capture objectives and complete Secondary Missions. What I’ve come to realise is that only my Onagers have really good guns, and they already have Heavy. I’m now thinking that the Conqueror Imperative would be a better option for my units. I can Advance them into good positions so I can complete Secondary Missions and, if I’m lucky, get off a few long-range pot-shots with an improved AP.
Stephen: That’s a good assessment. It means your Rangers will have an effective range of 48" and your Vanguard 30". They’re unlikely to wipe out an enemy unit, but they may cause enough casualties to inflict a Battle-shock test. Don’t rely on the shooting from this Imperative but rather free yourself from the limitations you were imposing on yourself with the other one!
Detachment time & synergistics
Straight up… why did you pick the Rad-Zone Corps Detachment?
Dan: Erm, it was basically the same as the one on the Index cards, so I kept using it when the Codex came out.
Stephen: And now?
Dan: The Skitarii Hunter Cohort might be a better option for me. A good chunk of my army has the Skitarii keyword (or can hide in a unit that has it), so they’ll benefit from the Detachment rule – Stealth! And seeing as I now know how that rule works, I can use it more effectively, particularly on my two Battleline units.
Stephen: You’ll benefit from some much stronger unit synergy that way. You’ll also gain access to some brilliant Stratagems, such as Bionic Endurance (Feel No Pain 5+), while Expedited Purge Protocol stratagem and their Optimised Gait ability combined means your Ruststalkers can advance and charge a long way – up to 30"!
Feel less pain
Stephen: Dan attached his Tech-Priest Dominus to his Corpuscarii Electro-Priests so he could give them Feel No Pain 4+. However, they already have FNP 5+, so it’s only an increase of 16.7%. Instead, he could attach the Dominus to his Rangers. That way, 10 models will benefit from his rule rather than five, and they will gain Feel No Pain 5+, which they didn’t have before. It will also give his Dominus better protection, as enemy units will have to kill twice as many models before they can target him, and they’ll be at -1 to hit while doing it if Dan picks the Hunter Cohort Detachment.
New units
I would only suggest changing units as a last resort, but it might be that the synergy between your units improves with a few subtle army list changes. I know you’ve had some thoughts on this already.
Dan: In the last game I played, I realised that taking objective markers in my opponent’s deployment zone was virtually impossible, so I have already invested in some Pteraxii. They can Deep Strike, making them great for landing in or near enemy territory. I’ve invested in one of each type. Skystalkers can land, shoot, then make a free move, meaning they can potentially steal an objective marker from my opponent.
The Sterylizors can re-roll Wound rolls if they target enemies in range of objective markers. I noticed that a lot of the Rad-Zone Corps Stratagems affect a Battleline unit and another non-Battleline Skitarii unit, so that would be hugely useful. Alternatively, they can make use of all six Stratagems in the Skitarii Hunter Cohort Detachment, including Shroud Protocols, which means they can’t be shot unless the enemy unit’s within 18".
A Skitarii Marshal may also be a good investment to bolster my Vanguard. Clandestine Infiltrator could also be pretty handy for boosting my Secondary Mission options.
Lastly, my lack of mid-AP firepower. Kataphron Destroyers with plasma culverins seem like a decidedly nasty option. I think the Electro-Priests and an Onager may have to come out of my list to add them and a unit of Pteraxii in. I’m already looking forward to seeing what I can do with my newfound knowledge.
Synergistic sterylization
Dan’s made a good choice adding Sterylizors to his army as they benefit from excellent rules synergies. They can re-roll all Wound rolls if they’re within 6" of a friendly Battleline unit and they target an enemy within range of an objective marker. The Isolate and Destroy Stratagem adds 1 to their Wound roll if they target a unit on its own. Binharic Offence gives them AP-1. Combine that with the Conqueror Imperative to make them AP-2. They also benefit from Stealth as they have the Infantry keyword, and you can protect them with Bionic Endurance.
Between Dan’s experiences and Stephen’s advice, hopefully you can now take your army lists to the next level. This marks the end of our tour through the Warhammer 40,000 rules and tactical advice, but keep an eye out for more highlights from the White Dwarf archive.
Stephen Box is a veteran Warhammer 40,000 player and a master tactician. He runs Vanguard Tactics, a website that helps people to think critically while remaining composed and confident in their ability to play Warhammer 40,000.
More in White Dwarf
A version of this article was originally published in White Dwarf issue 505. You can find in-depth content like this every month, so there's never been a better time to subscribe.
subscribe now
