Post by Sensei on Jul 7, 2013 3:13:28 GMT
Ok, ok, I know it doesn't matter what way you spin it, genestealers got hit hard in 6th edition. However, I've been thinking that they may not be as hard hit as initially thought. Genestealers are one of my favourite units in the entire Tyranid repertoire and I have hated how much less effective they became with the introduction of 6th. So I set about trying to figure out how I can still use them effectively in a game. Let me explain.
We are all used to 5th edition stealers; outflank, run, charge, kill, repeat. They were terrifying. They were arguably the best shock troops in the game and although they had no ranged weapon, they more than made up for it in how fast they could close and how hard they hit. Honestly, one of their biggest weaknesses was accidentally making the unit TOO strong and being left in the open after wiping the unit you charged.
In sixth, the general reaction has been - "Awwww, my genestealers can't skip across the board at light speed and rip apart any unit I choose without so much as a casualty in CC - they suck now". I say we need to lose that mentality and look at what they are capable of.
Our stat line hasn't changed. Assault rules have. That means we still have a wicked number of attacks, a high initiative, and rending. Genestealers will still rip through units - the issue now is getting them into combat.
So, here is my theory. Most people (at least most people I know), know genestealers are not as good as they used to be. They actually do not see them as a threat anymore. Which is what I think we need to capitalize on. Kwodd said something in another thread about how people underestimate us as a whole, and we need to use that to our advantage. If we can get them into combat, they are still just as scary.
Challenges we need to overcome:
1. Overwatch hurts.
Genestealers only have a low armour save. Honestly, most weapons go through them quite easily. Overwatch hurts but can be alleviated somewhat. The easiest way (although, not the most points efficient) is to increase unit size to cover expected overwatch casualties. We can also use other units to absorb it first. Lock a unit up. Make them use their overwatch, and (I'll talk more about this later), make the enemy unit immobile. Use gants/gargoyles, or even some heavier hitters to soak up overwatch. Take the hits where you can afford them or where they won't hurt so the genestealers don't get pinged off. Another option is to use a tervigon to throw feel no pain on them before they assault - that buffs our resilience a fair bit.
2. No assault on arrival from reserve.
There's not much we can do about this. Point blank, we can no longer assault after flanking. But that is 5th edition thinking. The genestealer role has changed. They are no longer meant as an initial sucker punch to the throat. 6th edition requires genestealers to be used with finesse and need to choose their targets carefully. They are not a shock assault troop anymore. Now, they are a cleanup squad to finish off crippled/weakened/otherwise occupied foes. Use gants/gargoyles to get in, absorb overwatch and then use the genestealers to mop up. The genestealers will likely hit first, and will hopefully take out what is left. If you can block/threaten tie up the next closest threat, the genestealers can bounce from unit to unit as a mop up squad. This brings us to problem number 3...
3. Fleet no longer allows us to run and assault.
Off the bat, this sucks. But, I don't think it's as awful as initially thought. Yes, we can't charge out, talons waving and run headlong into an enemy unit expecting to rip them apart. There are a few options here though. First, with the increase of terrain, we can still opt to outflank and rather than charging headlong right at the enemy, be more subtle about it. Get in cover/behind cover/out of sight. Put them somewhere they are not directly threatening the enemy, especially if you have something else (preferrably big) threatening them. As genestealers are not shooting anyways, use their run to position them to the most optimal spot. As I said earlier in overwatch, not only does this prevent overwatch from thinning genestealers, but it makes their target immobile. Use this to your advantage. Position your genestealers so when a unit assaults them, they are able to move out and assault on your next turn. With the prevelence of assault weapons, along with the inability to run and charge, enemies can try to evade genestealers while shooting them down. Don't let them. Make them waste their shots, and then immobolize them with another unit before hitting them with genestealers.
4. No grenades/lose initiative when assaulting in/through cover
Ok, so this is a tough one too. In fact, it's a codex wide challenge for the most part. Enemies can sit in cover and negate our higher initiative all day long. It hurts when we go at the same time as power weapons. My solution isn't the best, but it works. Use our smaller more expendable units. We don't want genestealers getting hit with overwatch anyways so it fits together. Take a string of gants and position them properly so only one or two can actually reach the enemy unit it cover. Come their inititive phase, they must make a consolidation move towards our unit getting into base contact if possible. Pull them out of cover. Don't let them stay where it hurts us to hit them, force them out to where we can fight on our terms.
Now, before anyone says "just use ymgarls", let me just say ymgarls count as elite, which is a highly contested spot in our codex. Being able to free up an elite but still having the CC power genestealers provide is beneficial to our army. Overall, I'm not saying genestealers didn't take a hit. All I'm saying is that they aren't as bad off in 6th as the initial reaction made them out to be. Their role has changed, and we can use this to our advantage, especially against opponents who see them as a shadow of their former manifestation and underestimate their strength. Remember, their stats did not change, the wat they need to be used did.
We are all used to 5th edition stealers; outflank, run, charge, kill, repeat. They were terrifying. They were arguably the best shock troops in the game and although they had no ranged weapon, they more than made up for it in how fast they could close and how hard they hit. Honestly, one of their biggest weaknesses was accidentally making the unit TOO strong and being left in the open after wiping the unit you charged.
In sixth, the general reaction has been - "Awwww, my genestealers can't skip across the board at light speed and rip apart any unit I choose without so much as a casualty in CC - they suck now". I say we need to lose that mentality and look at what they are capable of.
Our stat line hasn't changed. Assault rules have. That means we still have a wicked number of attacks, a high initiative, and rending. Genestealers will still rip through units - the issue now is getting them into combat.
So, here is my theory. Most people (at least most people I know), know genestealers are not as good as they used to be. They actually do not see them as a threat anymore. Which is what I think we need to capitalize on. Kwodd said something in another thread about how people underestimate us as a whole, and we need to use that to our advantage. If we can get them into combat, they are still just as scary.
Challenges we need to overcome:
1. Overwatch hurts.
Genestealers only have a low armour save. Honestly, most weapons go through them quite easily. Overwatch hurts but can be alleviated somewhat. The easiest way (although, not the most points efficient) is to increase unit size to cover expected overwatch casualties. We can also use other units to absorb it first. Lock a unit up. Make them use their overwatch, and (I'll talk more about this later), make the enemy unit immobile. Use gants/gargoyles, or even some heavier hitters to soak up overwatch. Take the hits where you can afford them or where they won't hurt so the genestealers don't get pinged off. Another option is to use a tervigon to throw feel no pain on them before they assault - that buffs our resilience a fair bit.
2. No assault on arrival from reserve.
There's not much we can do about this. Point blank, we can no longer assault after flanking. But that is 5th edition thinking. The genestealer role has changed. They are no longer meant as an initial sucker punch to the throat. 6th edition requires genestealers to be used with finesse and need to choose their targets carefully. They are not a shock assault troop anymore. Now, they are a cleanup squad to finish off crippled/weakened/otherwise occupied foes. Use gants/gargoyles to get in, absorb overwatch and then use the genestealers to mop up. The genestealers will likely hit first, and will hopefully take out what is left. If you can block/threaten tie up the next closest threat, the genestealers can bounce from unit to unit as a mop up squad. This brings us to problem number 3...
3. Fleet no longer allows us to run and assault.
Off the bat, this sucks. But, I don't think it's as awful as initially thought. Yes, we can't charge out, talons waving and run headlong into an enemy unit expecting to rip them apart. There are a few options here though. First, with the increase of terrain, we can still opt to outflank and rather than charging headlong right at the enemy, be more subtle about it. Get in cover/behind cover/out of sight. Put them somewhere they are not directly threatening the enemy, especially if you have something else (preferrably big) threatening them. As genestealers are not shooting anyways, use their run to position them to the most optimal spot. As I said earlier in overwatch, not only does this prevent overwatch from thinning genestealers, but it makes their target immobile. Use this to your advantage. Position your genestealers so when a unit assaults them, they are able to move out and assault on your next turn. With the prevelence of assault weapons, along with the inability to run and charge, enemies can try to evade genestealers while shooting them down. Don't let them. Make them waste their shots, and then immobolize them with another unit before hitting them with genestealers.
4. No grenades/lose initiative when assaulting in/through cover
Ok, so this is a tough one too. In fact, it's a codex wide challenge for the most part. Enemies can sit in cover and negate our higher initiative all day long. It hurts when we go at the same time as power weapons. My solution isn't the best, but it works. Use our smaller more expendable units. We don't want genestealers getting hit with overwatch anyways so it fits together. Take a string of gants and position them properly so only one or two can actually reach the enemy unit it cover. Come their inititive phase, they must make a consolidation move towards our unit getting into base contact if possible. Pull them out of cover. Don't let them stay where it hurts us to hit them, force them out to where we can fight on our terms.
Now, before anyone says "just use ymgarls", let me just say ymgarls count as elite, which is a highly contested spot in our codex. Being able to free up an elite but still having the CC power genestealers provide is beneficial to our army. Overall, I'm not saying genestealers didn't take a hit. All I'm saying is that they aren't as bad off in 6th as the initial reaction made them out to be. Their role has changed, and we can use this to our advantage, especially against opponents who see them as a shadow of their former manifestation and underestimate their strength. Remember, their stats did not change, the wat they need to be used did.