Pauper Prince Aberrants

[dandc]

So my favourite models to paint and play are aberrants, and I like my gameplans simple. So I've always liked the idea of Pauper Prince Aberrants as per this article from last March.

My questions are 1) a year on, how would it fare as a left-field option and 2) how do you actually deliver that many non-FAE abbies? You can PA one unit, I can't believe you just hope for the 9" charge for the others. Do you bring them in into cover and push up and charge in the following turn?

[kazetanade]

The list discussed doesn't actually get your Abbys in very consistently.

Stacking normal buffs a Clammy and a Abby WLT will give you +2 so it's a 7" charge, which is 46% or so. One unit can PA to make it a min 56% or max 90% charge chance.

It works as well as it did last year - beer and pretzel it's great. Full competitive does leave a lot to be desired.

[hivefleetkerrigan]

Agreed that you need a clamvus and vigilus warlord trait. You should succeed with a 58% flat though for a 7" charge without any rerolls.

I'd personally run two squads and drop them on separate turns and use PA once each turn. I'd have one squad with picks, claws, and signs for screen clear and another with hammers to remove big threats. I'd personally take a unit of flamer acolytes to help with screen clearing as well.

[dandc]

Mar 5, 2020 16:10:22 GMT hivefleetkerrigan said:

Agreed that you need a clamvus and vigilus warlord trait. You should succeed with a 58% flat though for a 7" charge without any rerolls.

I'd personally run two squads and drop them on separate turns and use PA once each turn. I'd have one squad with picks, claws, and signs for screen clear and another with hammers to remove big threats. I'd personally take a unit of flamer acolytes to help with screen clearing as well.

I tend to play at 1500 points so I like this idea. Two units of abbies (albeit not maxed) fit in at 1500 points. I've not used hammers in a while, but I suppose a unit of 5 could be better with hammers because I couldn't bring the two hypermorphs needed to take out big stuff.

Does the biophagus really have a role here? The risk of killing an aberrant seems unnecessary!

[hivefleetkerrigan]

Biophagus can have a roll, but isn't necessary. It's really good for getting an extra buff on your abberants. I ran it and really liked it, but also just enjoy the model. I'd recommend using the familiar as it allows you to roll 2 dice which removes some randomness. I'd say aim for +attacks for screen clear if there's lots of screens or for the hammer squad. Aim for + strength if you're against guard for your screen clear squad. Aim for + tough against marines as that will help the abbys survive.

I'd block out the points and see if you have some leftover. If so, use the biophagus. If not, it's not needed.

[hivefleetkerrigan]

Here's a tentative list. You could also drop the biophagus and go with a nexos if you're worried about cp



++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Tyranids - Genestealer Cults) [28 PL, -2CP, 450pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Cult Creed: The Pauper Princes

+ Stratagems +

Broodcoven [-1CP]

+ HQ +

Patriarch [7 PL, 125pts]: Power: Last Gasp, Power: Might From Beyond, Warlord, Warlord Trait: Biomorph Adaptation

Primus [4 PL, -1CP, 75pts]: Bonesword, Broodcoven Primus, Stratagem: The Heart of the Creed, Warlord Trait: Alien Majesty

+ Troops +

Acolyte Hybrids [11 PL, 170pts]: Cult Icon
. 19x Acolyte Hybrid (Hand Flamer): 19x Hand Flamer
. Acolyte Leader: Cultist Knife, Hand Flamer

Brood Brothers Infantry Squad [3 PL, 40pts]: Brood Brothers Leader
. 9x Brood Brother

Brood Brothers Infantry Squad [3 PL, 40pts]: Brood Brothers Leader
. 9x Brood Brother

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Tyranids - Genestealer Cults) [17 PL, -2CP, 265pts] ++

+ Stratagems +

Grandsire's Gifts [-1CP]: 1 Extra Sacred Relic

+ HQ +

Acolyte Iconward [3 PL, 53pts]

Magus [5 PL, -1CP, 92pts]: Broodcoven Magus, Familiar, Power: Mass Hypnosis, Power: Might From Beyond, Stratagem: The Cult's Psyche, The Crouchling, Warlord Trait: Focus of Adoration

+ Troops +

Brood Brothers Infantry Squad [3 PL, 40pts]: Brood Brothers Leader
. 9x Brood Brother

Brood Brothers Infantry Squad [3 PL, 40pts]: Brood Brothers Leader
. 9x Brood Brother

Brood Brothers Infantry Squad [3 PL, 40pts]: Brood Brothers Leader
. 9x Brood Brother

++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Tyranids - Genestealer Cults) [40 PL, 781pts] ++

+ HQ +

Abominant [6 PL, 105pts]

+ Elites +

Aberrants [14 PL, 280pts]
. 7x Aberrant (Hammer): 7x Heavy Power Hammer
. Aberrant Hypermorph (Hammer): Heavy Power Hammer

Aberrants [14 PL, 294pts]
. 8x Aberrant (Pick): 8x Power Pick
. 2x Aberrant Hypermorph (Hammer): 2x Heavy Power Hammer

Biophagus [3 PL, 47pts]: Alchemicus Familiar

Clamavus [3 PL, 55pts]

++ Total: [85 PL, -4CP, 1,496pts] ++

[dandc]

Thanks mate, I appreciate your input! I will take a look at your list and see what I can do. I don't have any acolytes, which is mad for a GSC player I know but £20 for 5 7 point models has always put me off! I was looking at something like:

PP battalion
Abominant
Iconward (relic banner)
Patty crouching, biomorph adaptation
3x10 bb
10 pick aberrants inc 2 stop signs
5 hammer aberrant inc hypermorph

PP battalion
Primus, alien majesty
Patty, familiar
3x10 bb

Mixed vanguard
4AE Magus, Inscrutable Cunning
PP Biophagus, familiar
PP Kelermorph
PP Sanctus, sniper rifle

[hivefleetkerrigan]

I'd recommend making the party + magus + broodbrothers in the mixed detachment and swap the primus down to the vanguard. You can then get the cult trait on all models except the magus. Other than that looks ok.

I feel you on the acolyte price. I've gotten all of mine through boxed sets so it feels like a much better deal that way. Still it bothers me how one of the best way to play GSC is "liberally apply acolytes. If problem persists, apply more acolytes"

[murderfiesta]

Mar 4, 2020 16:58:23 GMT dandc said:

So my favourite models to paint and play are aberrants, and I like my gameplans simple. So I've always liked the idea of Pauper Prince Aberrants as per this article from last March.

My questions are 1) a year on, how would it fare as a left-field option and 2) how do you actually deliver that many non-FAE abbies? You can PA one unit, I can't believe you just hope for the 9" charge for the others. Do you bring them in into cover and push up and charge in the following turn?

This is one of the edge-case situations where I think a custom Cult may really truly actually be your answer here, rather than just being an odd thought or something that breaks down under further analysis.  I've proposed the below solution in other places as a general strategy and it's generally been shown to be strictly inferior to the standard 4AE+Broodsurge strategy, but it may actually be worthwhile here.

You'd need to take the "Re-roll 1s to hit on first round of combat" and "re-roll charges within 3" of Hybrid Metamorphs" traits.  You'll then need 35 points for a min squad of 5 Hybrid Metamorphs with Rending Claws and Lash Whips (cheapest option).  Two squads for 70 points total might be advisable if your opponents decide to Auspex Scan your Metamorphs rather than Aberrants.  You'll also need 55 points for a Clamavus, and 75 points for a Primus, so 165 - 200 points on top of your Abominant and Aberrants (but really only 35 - 70 additional points, because you were going to take a Clamavus and Primus anyway).  This gives you 7" re-rollable charge on your Abominant and Aberrants, and your Hammerants will be hitting on 3+ RR1 (so only half the re-rolls on average, but this is mitigated by getting RR charge on everything), and your Pick/Claw Aberrants will be hitting on 2+ RR1 (exactly the same benefit you'd get form Pauper Princes).  Obviously you lose access to the Pauper Princes relic so there's definitely trade-offs, but your Aberrants are far more likely to make it into combat in the first place where they can at least do something, rather than doing nothing if they fail the charge.

Doing this also means you can put your Rock Saw Acolytes in the Anointed Throng detachment (8" RR charge is better than 7" charge) if you don't have the points/CPs/free detachments to take a second Primus+Clamavus+Iconward in a 4AE Broodsurge detachment.

Edit: One thing to keep in mind is that you can take SIX elites choices in a single Battalion detachment.  This is enough for your three Aberrants, a Clamavus, a Hybrid Metamorph squad, and one flex choice (Biophagus, Nexos, or 2nd Metamorph squad).  I think the Biophagus is the greedy choice, while the Nexos will probably be the choice if you don't have the points to run a third Battalion (likely if running 3 Aberrant squads), and the 2nd Metamorph squad will be the safe choice if you're concerned with your opponent Auspex Scanning your Metamorphs OR you want to run either staggered assaults (i.e. deployments on both turn 2 and 3) or assaults from multiple vectors (at which point you'll likely need to shell out 1 CP for the Clamavus 9" strat as well) both of which are distinct possibilities if you're running the full 3 Aberrants.

[kazetanade]

You sir have made my day. Take my likes, take all the likes I have. Someone actually made these trash tier custom traits worked.

My biggest problem with GSC has always been the way we burn CP so liberally quickly, especially in Abby heavy builds. With PA now redundant, we save between 3 to 6cp with which we can get other stuff done. The only sadness is that we don't keep Fight Twice since that's with TH only. If we're only looking for a damage tank unit, then T5 Abbys are basically the tankiest (please do not swear) we have, and will be an absolute nightmare to get rid of in combat for Numarines. They won't trade as efficiently but they are going to wreck things regardless, esp with mixed weapons (hammers for vehicles, picks for infantry).

Edit: For record - playing an FAE Abby squad gets you to 6" no rerollable, which with a CP reroll is actually really close to a 7" rerollable. This one gives you additional options for increasing their output as well, which is where its great. This needs to be contrasted against needing Metamorphs(can be placed outside 12" so no Auspex) and a dedicated Clammy, in terms of points and flexibility. On the plus side, you can bring an Abom + Abby + Clammy + Bio/Meta assuming you want absolute cheapest.

[murderfiesta]

Glad I made your day Kazetanade! You're right about being able to place the Metamorphs outside of 12" range, so that eliminates the need for taking two squads except against Eldar(?) and Space Wolves(?).

I think the FAE and Custom cult are reallllly close in terms of viability for getting your units into combat, the Custom cult wins out in my mind though because the custom cult also gives access to re-rolls (the primary goal here!) and you only strictly need one FAE Broodcoven Warlord to access all the rest of FAE's goodies.

I do agree that losing Twisted Helix Fight Twice definitely sucks when going Aberrant-heavy, but Twisted Helix is only viable if you're Perfect Ambushing a single unit a turn anyway, and there's no possible way to get re-rolls with it. At that point you're spending 6 CP a turn on just the Aberrants, which is way too "all your eggs in one basket" for me. You're basically forced to go Deliverance Broodsurge rather than Anointed Throng in order to make sure the rest of your army can "get there" unless you're going for a shooty-heavy build with a core of 7+ Ridgerunners (less CP hungry, but you'll still want a CP a turn for the Overcharged Weapons stratagem).

Such are the trials and tribulations of having most of your faction's power pie taken up by extremely binary core abilities that are too good to make readily available.

[kazetanade]

FAE considered mostly because of shared buffs, assuming you are going Brood surge also because that's the bulk of our scoring/damage power on the board.

Edit : I used to do broodsurge + anointed + BC laser drop, so it's definitely doable, but having free CP is very liberating, just need to know what to pair it with.

[murderfiesta]

It's 1376 points for a Primus, Abominant, Clamavus, 5 cheap Metamorphs, Nexos, 3 units 10 Pick aberrants w/ 2 stop sign hypermorphs, and 3 units of 10 brood brothers. If you're going heavy on the Aberrants like this (probably not the best idea, this is pretty excessive) it might not even be worth going Broodsurge for the remaining 624 points because the Aberrants and Rock Saw acolytes are going to overlap role-wise. Adding an Alphus and 9 Ridgerunners in an Outrider detachment brings this up to 1977 points and might help maintain board presence on that first turn since they're reasonable durable with decent firepower for their cost.

The CP overhead here is quite low. Starts with 9, needs 2 to get Anointed Throng + Field Commander. Doesn't actually need to spend anything on Perfect Ambush because they've got 7" RR charge. Isn't Twisted Helix, so won't be running Aberrant Fight Twice. Doesn't have bike bomb or flamer bomb, so doesn't need to spend 2-4 CP on that. Can basically dump all the remaining CP on Chilling Efficiency or the Ridgerunner Laser/Heavy Stubber strats. Can also drop a Ridgerunner to take a 4AE Magus and make it the warlord, get another d3 CP there and Vect pretty easily. Can drop another Ridgerunner to get one of the Aberrant squads hammers for 56 points.

Definitely a bit excessive as far as list compositions go, but it'll hit like a truck without being super CP intensive. Primary drawbacks being poor screening/virtually no obsec.