Fun and games with Independent Characters

[maeloke]

Independent characters:
2+ Look out sir
Choose target on to-hit roll of 6, ranged or assault.
Can join/leave any unit during Movement.
Can issue challenges.

Our ICs include:
Parasite of Mortrex
Doom of Malantai
Deathleaper
Tyranid Prime

[EDIT] Sad face. The others are uniques, and characters, but dont get the *really* awesome perks of the IC status.

I know there was a thread already talking about the assassination potential of Deathleaper – between rending flesh hooks, challenges, and scamper – err, hit and run, it’s got a decent chance of running into a softer unit, eviscerating the leader, and running away to avoid reprisal. Or you can position it with some backup – say some ‘stealers and broodlord you’ve infiltrated in – and pick up the extra wounds to survive a fight. Look Out Sir onto the broodlord seems quite effective for mitigating its weakness to S8 hits.

How about the Parasite? Stick it in a unit of Gargoyles, do your Hammer of Wrath assault into a big unit of Terminators, and then challenge! Hey chaplain, want to take 5 rending implant attacks? No? Okay, we’ll just be here taking apart your troops. Good luck killing the hard hitter of the unit when it has a 2+ gargoyle save.

In general, I’m really liking the idea of tarpits with a nigh-invincible IC for extra killing power. I wish we could join rippers - that would be extra hilarious.

What other shenanigans can we come up with? Any fun special abilities we can make better use of by attaching to a unit? Share your thoughts!

[nurglitch]

The Tyranid Prime and the Parasite of Mortrex are the only ones that have the Independent Character special rule.

[maeloke]

I suppose I was getting optimistic after reading the thread here: thetyranidhive.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=39343&page=1

But I suppose the distinction between character and Independent character is something they'd take care with. Post edited for the 'leaper stuff.

Point stands for Parasite though. And how about a tooled up Prime in a unit of gaunts?

[gloomfang]

Jul 12, 2012 14:10:32 GMT maeloke said:

I suppose I was getting optimistic after reading the thread here: thetyranidhive.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=39343&page=1

But I suppose the distinction between character and Independent character is something they'd take care with. Post edited for the 'leaper stuff.

Point stands for Parasite though. And how about a tooled up Prime in a unit of gaunts?

Anouther thing is you can not take Look Out Sir saves when in a challange.
And they do make the distintion between IC and C.

However you can still attach a prime to a unit of genestealers and outflank them. They still get infiltrate from the unit and infiltrate gives them out flank. Just can't actully infiltrate them.

[maeloke]

Jul 12, 2012 14:44:03 GMT gloomfang said:

Anouther thing is you can not take Look Out Sir saves when in a challange.
And they do make the distintion between IC and C.

However you can still attach a prime to a unit of genestealers and outflank them. They still get infiltrate from the unit and infiltrate gives them out flank. Just can't actully infiltrate them.

Yep, no backup in challenges. I still like it as a strategy, as I tend to assume our characters will strike first and harder. Both Parasite and primes roll some pretty crushing ID attacks which lots of folks will want to avoid.

Infiltrating with stealers... that has some potential, especially with a brood lord turned biomancer. I wish ICs inherited fleet

[killme304]

Prime in a unit of warriors was downright silly vs DE. At 2500 points, most of it in shooting (he wasn't playing wyches), my unit survived two full rounds of shooting, almost exclusively. This was not with good luck either, as I couldn't roll above a 3 to save my life, and failed every FNP bar 3 for the one turn they had endurance. After the prime died to failed Lo,S saves + my (please do not swear) rolling, the unit died fairly fast after that. Unit was Prime + 8 warriors.

Prime + 3 Dakkafex would also be quite fun.

Unless there is a new rule I missed in 6th, IC can join rippers.

[gloomfang]

Jul 12, 2012 15:14:53 GMT maeloke said:

Yep, no backup in challenges. I still like it as a strategy, as I tend to assume our characters will strike first and harder. Both Parasite and primes roll some pretty crushing ID attacks which lots of folks will want to avoid.

I have been sticking implant attack on my BLords (never used it before) and it ends challanges pretty quick. Need to see if I can put them on my prime with the bonesword becasue that means it will kill anything without EW or an invuln that I wound.

[killme304]

Jul 12, 2012 15:22:23 GMT gloomfang said:

Jul 12, 2012 15:14:53 GMT maeloke said:

Yep, no backup in challenges. I still like it as a strategy, as I tend to assume our characters will strike first and harder. Both Parasite and primes roll some pretty crushing ID attacks which lots of folks will want to avoid.

I have been sticking implant attack on my BLords (never used it before) and it ends challanges pretty quick. Need to see if I can put them on my prime with the bonesword becasue that means it will kill anything without EW or an invuln that I wound.

Implant attack only triggers ID on a to wound of 6.

[ikken]

Jul 12, 2012 15:24:04 GMT killme304 said:

Jul 12, 2012 15:22:23 GMT gloomfang said:

I have been sticking implant attack on my BLords (never used it before) and it ends challanges pretty quick. Need to see if I can put them on my prime with the bonesword becasue that means it will kill anything without EW or an invuln that I wound.

Implant attack only triggers ID on a to wound of 6.

yes but when combined with rending it means that it by passes armor saves . it is quite effective .

[nurglitch]

Also kind of rape-y.

[coredump]

PoM is pretty good at killing characters, but also gets ID'd in return by anything S8+, like those Pfists that terminators carry...

[maeloke]

Jul 12, 2012 15:21:25 GMT killme304 said:

Unless there is a new rule I missed in 6th, IC can join rippers.

Don't jerk me around here. I don't have my book at work but i could have sworn swarms can't be joined by characters.

If so... happy day! 2x Bonesword toxin regenerating Prime + 9 ripper bases = 200 point package of slogging doom. What a nuisance!

[gloomfang]

Jul 12, 2012 15:44:59 GMT ikken said:

Jul 12, 2012 15:24:04 GMT killme304 said:

Implant attack only triggers ID on a to wound of 6.

yes but when combined with rending it means that it by passes armor saves . it is quite effective .

The real cheese on the pizza is Toxin Sacs. Failed to wound on most models is a reroll and better chance to rend/ID. So with my Blord he has TS, IA and ScyTal. That makes him re-roll 1's to hit, wound on at least 4+ and get re-rolls on most failed to wounds, on a 6 to wound I ignore armor and ID.

He is one nasty peice of work.

[maeloke]

Jul 12, 2012 15:21:25 GMT killme304 said:

Prime in a unit of warriors was downright silly vs DE. At 2500 points, most of it in shooting (he wasn't playing wyches), my unit survived two full rounds of shooting, almost exclusively. This was not with good luck either, as I couldn't roll above a 3 to save my life, and failed every FNP bar 3 for the one turn they had endurance. After the prime died to failed Lo,S saves + my (please do not swear) rolling, the unit died fairly fast after that. Unit was Prime + 8 warriors.

Prime + 3 Dakkafex would also be quite fun.

Unless there is a new rule I missed in 6th, IC can join rippers.

A Prime with brood that big *ought* to endure a lot of fire, IC or no! I'm surprised lances didn't do you in, though.

Prime with 3 Dakkafex is... stupid almost. Triple fex is going to be nasty no matter how you slice it - I'm really not sure what the prime brings to that unit, except for some rather silly Look Out Sir mental images.

I got home and confirmed that swarms are ok to join. For some reason. This truly brings a new level of weird to tactical options. The fluff is nice for using Parasite with a swarm of flying rippers, but I honestly am going to start running a Prime in a pile of swarms. With the swarms eating 5 out of every 6 wounds he would take, Regen starts to sound appealing, and he really can take double boneswords and get the better ID odds.

Here's another topic: how do you plan on abusing Precision Shots? A case in point: A tyrant with 2x TL Brainleech Devourers is going to average 3 targetted hits per round of shooting - including overwatch. That's 3 shots at picking off the powerfist, or the missile launcher, or whatever-the-heck else has a chance of hurting you in the future, no matter how bubble wrapped they are.

[coredump]

Prime with 3 Dakkafex is... stupid almost. Triple fex is going to be nasty no matter how you slice it - I'm really not sure what the prime brings to that unit, except for some rather silly Look Out Sir mental images.

Prime will use LOS to spread around the wounds so each Fex takes 3 before any dies.