Why use the Cult Truck

[kwisatzhaderach]

Jul 16, 2020 22:46:23 GMT kurtangle2 said:

Jul 16, 2020 22:28:48 GMT kwisatzhaderach said:

Have you actually used this list in 9th or is this just theorycrafting? Because I can tell you firsthand that Acolytes in a truck work. I don't like relying as much on Perfect Ambush since now we can't reroll the D6 value. 
But if anything, we both agree that Goliath Trucks in 9th do work. Pending further codices, they will probably be the meta list for GSC. 

Played 1 game and they were so far very very good. Acolytes in trucks are the quintessential "pay for abilities that you freely have" without any added benefit (thanks to that 9" stratagem limitation).

I guess we'll agree to disagree here.
I think that T1 advancing up trucks, and T2 disembarking Acolytes creates a serious amount of board pressure that most armies just can't deal with effectively. And if they can, you're going to lose regardless of what's in the truck. 
Points and rules changes might not have been completely kind to us, but 4 Trucks with Acolytes + Saws and 9 Ridgerunners with a Jackal Alphus in 2k is quite strong. 

[kazetanade]

If the ban on specialist detachments is real, then melee GSC is pretty much in the dirt - draw blood is pretty quintessential to the GSC melee threat, as that is what allows unit of 10 men or 15 men 4 saws to be a threat to anything. If they remove specialist detachments, then 10 men units will only be able to threaten troops more or less, and you'd need TH to reliably get their buffs to STR, so making the charge is not a likely event anymore.

[kwisatzhaderach]

Jul 18, 2020 3:08:16 GMT kazetanade said:

If the ban on specialist detachments is real, then melee GSC is pretty much in the dirt - draw blood is pretty quintessential to the GSC melee threat, as that is what allows unit of 10 men or 15 men 4 saws to be a threat to anything. If they remove specialist detachments, then 10 men units will only be able to threaten troops more or less, and you'd need TH to reliably get their buffs to STR, so making the charge is not a likely event anymore.

Reading that was a huge bummer.
I used Deliverance Broodsurge a ton in 8th.
I had planned to use Anointed Throng in 9th, as well as Broodsurge. 

I still think I'm going to give Twisted Helix truck rush a few more games to get a good feel for 9th, but losing +1 to wound sucks. 

Granted, for Twisted Helix, making the charge on T2 is not hard. You've already advanced quite a far amount the first turn in the truck first turn. Turn 2, you move and advance +2" for Twisted Helix and with Genetic Lineage or Psychic Stimulus you can charge after disembark+move+advance. It's no rerollable charge, but it is something. 

[kazetanade]

Yea I mean it's not the worst odds, but it's more the "This Truck has Saw Acolytes? OK I'm going to shoot this truck specifically, then bolter the Acolytes dead. Now I will use my excess firepower to shoot into those Ridgerunners".

The problem is less pronounced with Truck/Neophyte combination because 1: it gets its value T1 no matter what while Saw Trucks don't get value until the charge is made T2, and 2: Truck/Neophyte is cheaper by like 30pts per unit due to number of saws/icon.

Is definitely worth a try though, so let us know how the test games go!