Units 101 Spot - Pariahs

Welcome to the next installment of Units 101 Spot!

We should have some battle reports soon, including a 20,000 + points a side game with Eldar and Imperial Guard vs. Chaos - including over 200 Daemons coming on from a Warp Rift, 3 Baneblades, 100 odd Storm Troopers in transports, 50+ plague zombies, a Balrog impersonating a special character, a Keeper of Secrets ripping into a Seer Council, and lots more. I'll wait for my slack colleagues to write something up and post pictures. Until then, I'm going to have a look today at a unit which is both undeniably cool and yet often rejected, much like my aforementioned slack friends - this unit being from the elites section of Codex: Necrons - Pariahs.

I know, I know. "Why Pariahs? How in all hell can you tell me a unit which almost nobody ever takes will be useful to me? Why shouldn't I just go and get a Nightbringer, 20 Warriors, 30 Immortals, 15 Destroyers and 3 Monoliths and be done with it?" Ok, ok, I understand... no really... you can stop now... really...

Why Pariahs...

Ok, firstly we will look at the unit itself - Pariahs have the same stats as a Necron Lord, but at Initiative 3 with 1 Wound. Remember that they are both Strength and Toughness 5, it is important, especially in combat. Pariahs get no upgrades, but then again, they don't really need it. The unit is 0-1 only, which means that you can't go around with 30 of these guys outside of Apocalypse. Nothing too fantastic so far, I know. Oh, and they cost 36 points each, twice that of your vanilla Necron Warrior (is there any other kind?), don't have We'll Be Back, and don't count as 'Necrons' for the purposes of Phase Out or teleportation. So why are we even bothering? Well, the models look awesome, but for those of you who need more reason than that...

We wonder why, and then we get to... the special rules. Firstly, their weaponry. They have Warscythes. Awesome right? Warscythes with Gauss Blasters, however, are even more awesome. Not only do they have 24" Assault 2 S5 AP4 Gauss weapons, the Warscythes are themselves fantastic. This weapon allows no saves against it in close combat, regular or invulnerable, and also causes the unit to do 2D6 x 5 damage against vehicles, enabling it to be one of the very few Necron units effective against vehicles and walkers in close combat.

Secondly, they are Fearless. Not always important, but useful against a variety of units and armies, as well as against tank shocks - Death or Glory is a viable option with a small unit of Pariahs, and could make opponents think twice about tank shocking through a Necron formation.

Thirdly Pariahs have the Soulless special rule. This causes them to project a 12" aura around the unit which reduces the leadership of all enemy units to Ld7. Very useful, especially in combinations, as we will see later.

So now that we understand the various abilities of Pariahs, we can look at the various tactics on how to use them. Now to save time, I am going to combine various tactics into one section, to save on time and brain cells for both myself and for you, the reader. Appreciate it. That wasn't a suggestion...

Tactics 1,2 and 3 - The Horror, The Horror

These sets of tactics can basically be used against any player who is assaulting you with non-Fearless troops. Take a small unit of Pariahs - the minimum cost is only 144 points for four models, and spread them out behind your front lines. Since the unit isn't worth much, and any models killed won't add any benefit for Phase Out purposes, the unit is usually left alone for at least a couple of turns of shooting.

Now if you have Flayed Ones, try and get them to hold the opponent, then move the Pariah's up to within 12" of the combat. A combination of the Pariahs Soulless special rule and the Terrifying Visage of the Flayed ones means that for half of the rounds of combat, enemies will be hitting your models only on a 6+. This is a fantastic way to block units with high initiative, high impact weaponry and high Weapon Skill - Incubi, Genestealers, Scorpions, Chosen, Nobs and other specialist combat infantry and so forth will all find their effectiveness in close combat severely weakened.

Pariahs also work well with abilities of the Necron Lord. Two pieces of wargear work especially well - Gaze of Flame and Nightmare Shroud. Pariahs' inherent Soulless ability combines perfectly with the leadership modifications of Gaze of Flame - it leaves units in combat with the Lord or any unit he has joined at Ld6 as long as the Pariahs are within 12". This is especially useful if you have surrounded the combat, blocking off fall back routes - Scarabs are one of the best units for blocking duties.

The Nightmare Shroud is another great piece of wargear to use - it causes all units with a model within 12" to take a Morale check. Again, combined with the Pariahs Soulless rule, this can create a chain effect of units running away, completely breaking the enemies plans. Best used sometimes on a Lord with a Veil of Darkness enabling him to teleport even further into enemy lines to get even units outside the Soulless range of the Pariahs.

Of course, the combination of the Deceiver and Pariahs can be extraordinarily potent. The Deceiver's Dread special rule is like a directional Terrifying Visage - if the unit fails a leadership test, it only hits on 6+ in that combat. The other of the Deceiver's power that is useful in combat is the appropriately but unoriginally named Deceive - this acts as a long ranged Gaze of Flame in causing a unit within 24" to take a Morale or Pinning check.
Of course, you can combine any of these units to create something truly dangerous - imagine Pariahs working with a Necron Lord with a Gaze of Flame or Nightmare Shroud that is attached to a unit of Flayed Ones, with the Deceiver hanging around for good luck. With some support elements in Scarabs, Wraiths, more Flayed Ones, etc, a truly potent hand to hand force could be forged from what most people see as a mid range shooting army. A bit of imagination and deviousness is required, and you truly have to think about where you are maneuvering your army to use it effectively, but it can be very competitive and dangerous. And the first time you do this to an opponent, they are going to get hammered - the Lord of all Dice permitting of course.

Tactic 4 - The Bigger They Are...

Necrons have fantastic firepower against vehicles and high toughness models. However, in close combat most standard models are unable to hurt vehicles at all - Wraiths and Necron Lords being the major exceptions.

However, since most sides don't take Wraiths because Fast Attack slots are so competitive and Necron Lords are often too valuable to throw into combat, a large hole is left against sides with large numbers of high toughness/AV combat troops such as Space Marine Dreadnoughts and their Chaos and Grey Knight brothers, Defilers, Wraithlords, Ork Dreadnoughts and Killa Kans, etc.

This is where a Pariah unit comes in handy - a unit of 4 will be most likely to kill a Killa Kan or Dreadnought, and have a decent go against a Wraithlord. A unit of 8-10 will chew straight through the first walker that comes its way without a sweat with 2D6 +5 for Armor Penetration and ask for seconds and thirds.

Also, the Pariahs are almost the only decent unit in the entire Necron army to take on Terminators and Nobs and other similar hard hitting power fist equivalent units. At S5 I3 with no saves, they should carve through any I1 troops. A small unit can often cause the enemy to hesitate as to committing their very expensive units, especially if they have support in form of a Lord, Flayed Ones, a C'Tan, and so on.

However, the complete opposite applies to Pariahs vs higher initiative assault troops with large numbers of power weapons such as Assault Terminators, Howling Banshees, Incubi, Veterans/Chosen, and so on. Why? Because your Pariahs won't get saves, and they don't have the durability to be combat effective. Normal troops backed up by a Res Orb Lord or a C'Tan are perfect substitutes in this instance.

Tactic 5 - Apocalypto time!!!

For Apocalypse, these guys get a new lease of life. Why? Well firstly, there are lots more units about to hassle, and even more chances to get close quickly when you can possibly start only 12.001 inches away from the enemy. Also, there is more chance the expensive hard hitting units such as Nobs and Terminators will be hanging about, as well as Seer Councils and the like - against whom even 3 or 4 surviving Pariahs will still have a field day. Plus, why not take a variety of different stuff, have fun, and still crush the enemy mercilessly? A perfect gameplan!

Also, Pariahs are great super heavy hunters! Sick of that Baneblade or Hellblade that keeps on obliterating your phalanx? Tired of Type D death from your rich friend and his massive Forgeworld collection? Get some Pariahs, and use either Sewers, Flank March or some other combination to get it up there as fast as you can. A single squad of Pariahs will rip straight through most super heavies with ease. And for once they will be cost effective even if they die the turn after! Also, they will be great if they group charge either large groups of firebase infantry or groups of tanks - you hate that Emperors First Tank Company? Three squads of Pariahs and a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth later, there won't be one.

How do I counter Pariahs?

Pariahs are undeniably nasty, especially when combined with other Necron units and their special rules. I suggest that the best option is to either shoot them to death early on if you are afraid of your assault troops running away, or assault them with high initiative MEQ killers. And whatever you do, don't let your walkers, Terminators and equivalents or vehicles hang around for too long, or you will lose them. Most importantly - be decisive about the action you are going to take. If you are going to shoot them, put enough shooting down to kill the squad, as the unit still effective at 1 model, and casualties don't even count for phase out purposes. And in combat, if you don't kill them up front, they will kill some of your models. That may be an expensive thing to happen. So make sure if you want them dead, you commit yourself to the task suffecient force to do it, or you may as well not bother.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed todays Units 101 Spot! Any suggestions for future articles, don't hesitiate to either leave a comment, or e-mail me at lords2001-AT-gmail-DOT-com. Enjoy, wargamers, and I hope to kill you soon!

Units 101 Spot - Chaos Dreadnoughts

Hey there and welcome to our next Units 101 Spot. Today's review is of a very nasty character, and one much maligned by many, many Chaos players - the Chaos Dreadnought.

My first impression is that Chaos Dreadnoughts are interesting models - heavy as all hell though. You know, it wouldn't have been hard to update the model from the Space Marine version and put it in plastic, but hey, I guess we have ForgeWorld. They can come with a variety of wonderful ranged weaponry as well as the usual close combat equipment.

And at last they are an Elites unit, which means they aren't competing with Havocs, Obliterators, Defilers, Land Raiders, Vindicators and Predators for space in Heavy Support.

So why take Chaos Dreadnoughts?

Now this is a question worth thinking about, for there is some strident (and somewhat fair) criticism of the Chaos Dreadnoughts for their new rule sets. The Fire Frenzy rule ensures that on average once a game, your Dreadnought will have a chance of shooting your own side. Not fun. And the unit options are rather, well, limited at extra armor. For 15 points. However, there are quite a few roles that the Dreadnought can play in your Chaos army that can get around this rule.

Firstly, to be worried about it shooting your own units, it needs to be able to see it. If you want a shooting Dreadnought, you can either put it in some area terrain that will stop it from seeing most of your own units, or use terrain to block line of sight directly to any of your units closer than the enemy. Or alternatively, take a weapons mix that won't harm the closest models - an autocannon/missile launcher or plasma cannon/missile launcher combinaton doesn't have much chance of doing anything to a Predator's front armor, especially if you get the missile launcher shooting frags. And if you are aggressive with your shooting Dreadnought, you can ensure that the enemy is the closest unengaged model, forcing them to chew down a double burst of fire. The rules don't benefit people using Dreadnought's as bunkers, but hey, they aren't meant to be.

So since they don't totally suck, lets look at...

How to use Chaos Dreadnoughts -

Firstly, lets look at options. Before you choose what weapons you take, you have to know what you want your Dreadnought to do. Do you want it to be a mobile Havoc squad? Or do you want it to be a 'fixer' unit that can shoot and counter assault? Or do you want it to be an area denial unit? Or a close combat specialist? Knowing what you want your Dreadnought to do, or be able to do, is vital to understanding what weapons are the best choices for you.

As a tank hunting combination, the Dreadnought Missile Launcher(DML)/Autocannon duo is great against medium tanks and walkers - it will be able to threaten AV 10-13 with ease, and convert across to shooting Monsterous Creatures as well. Just keep in mind that if you choose this option, it may be an idea to keep a tough tank nearby to take any Fire Frenzy damage. Of course, you can always take the Twin Linked Lascannon/DML option if you are brave enough.

The Plasma Cannon/DML is another great option, though slightly better suited to shooting heavily armored troops such as Space Marines or Necrons, or even Striking Scorpions and Warp Spiders.

If you want a unit able to both shoot and mix it up in combat, then find a complementary heavy weapon to go with your Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon (DCCW) depending on points cost, other heavy weapons you may have, and personal preference. An Autocannon or DML is usually the middle ground.

Another combination is that with 2 DCCW's. However, I would suggest that extra armor be a mandatory upgrade if you choose this option, as otherwise you can be left stuck in the open short of combat by a lucky shot.

Just remember to take weapons that suit your purpose for the unit, and make sure that purpose integrates itself properly within your army, and usually you won't go far wrong.

But enough about weapons, lets look at the tactics...

Tactic 1 - Support the Surge

This is easy to understand - you have a large assault element, and need some support, especially against those really tough opponents. Remember, your Dreadnoughts strike at initiative, which can be helpful, especially against high cost elite units such as Terminators, Pariahs, MC's, etc. And the Chaos Dreadnought will do an absolute number on units such as Howling Banshees and Incubi who don't have the base strength or power fist equivalents to be able to hurt it. Just remember, however, that a Dreadnought is not the best unit for entering combat by itself against high impact close combat units like Terminators or even a full 10 man Marine squad with the hidden power fist. Rather, The Chaos Dreadnought works best in combat in support of other units such as your own Terminators, Possessed, Raptors, Bezerkers, Plague Marines, and so on - able to do full damage but forcing the target to dilute its own damage across two or more units.

Tactic 2 - Hammer the weak!

Just as with Sentinals, Chaos Dreadnoughts are great units to take out those annoying units which float down your flanks to rip into your back line. These units can be anything from infiltrating close combat troops to skimmers and jetbikes, and to go after these units to shoot and/or assault them, the Dreadnought can be detached from the main body of troops, meaning that potential Fire Frenzy issues are reduced.

Tactic 3 - Psycological Warfare

Dreadnoughts are scary in the minds of most players - big, really tough, and the whole S10 with multiple attacks in combat also put people off. If you want an enemy to stay away from an objective, or from a particular section of your line, stick a Dreadnought there! It won't always work, but then again, if they do start to close in, they are just putting themselves in range for you to shoot/assault. And as a counter-assault/area denial unit it is cheaper than the majority of the options available to a Chaos player.

Tactic 4 - The unseen hammer strikes the hardest

This is more specifically for those playing Apocalypse. Do you know your opponent is going to have a tranche of super heavy tanks which you aren't sure how you are going to kill? Basically, you take the Flank March strategic asset, and use it to place multiple dreadnoughts near the enemy's super heavy tanks/artillary squadrons. Dreadnoughts and other MC's do massive damage to super heavies, especially from the side or rear, but even from the front 2D6x10 will hurt. Two Chaos Dreadnoughts equiped for combat should be able to completely wreck a Baneblade in a turn, or at least strip off enough guns and movement to be able to destroy it. It is difficult to counter this tactic - Ambush will have almost no chance of hurting the unit, and a Disruption Beacon can be destroyed. Of course if the board isn't big enough, the Dreadnoughts aren't always going to get into combat, but they can still shoot, or rip into tanks and artillary hiding in your opponents back line.

How do I counter Chaos Dreadnoughts?

Easy. Either shoot it down, as it is still AV12 after all, or if you have to deal with one in close combat, use a unit that can afford to lose the two or three models in combat before the Dreadnought dies.

So Marine squad with a power fist/Eldar/Dark Eldar unit with haywire grendaes/Tankbustas/ = good

Terminator squad w/power fists/Pariahs/Nobs = neutral (you'll definately kill it, but it will put paid to a couple of squad members first).

Howling Banshees/Incubi/IG/Tau/Necrons troops = bad (no way to hurt the damned thing unless the unit has haywire grenades or something.)

Final thought - Just remember, when using Chaos Dreadnoughts, play to their strenghts, which are large when you get to use them, and do your best to reduce their weaknesses. And don't throw it in the back of the model case the first time you get hammered trying something out - sometimes you need a few games to work out the dynamics of the unit and fit it into your game plan. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Units 101 Spot, more to come soon! By the by, if you have any requests for Tactics 101 Spot or Units 101 Spot then leave a message in the comments, and I'll get on it!