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Rapier Battery Tactics


BrotherGecko

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I'm heavy considering running a Rapier Battery for my future Imperial Fists Army and I am wondering about how good Rapiers are?

 

I plan on using them first for a zone mortalis list then working up to a full army.

 

What would be the all around best choice for both zone mortalis and regular battles? How many should be ran in a battery?

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The best weapon's got to be the quad-mortar. Sure, the AP is gack, but the number of saves it'll force and the number of penetration rolls it can get will make up for that easy.

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However, for ZM, a case could be made that you can't fire a Quad Mortar in there because its usually an enclosed space meaning Ceilings.

 

At which point a Graviton Rapier is awesome because your making hallway-wide zones of Dangerous/Difficult Terrain when it shoots.

 

A case could actually be made for the Quad Heavy Bolters in ZM due to weight of fire and the only armor you'll find is Dreadnoughts.

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Ah hell, I missed the ZM bit. Still, the solid shot would be pretty beefy from it.

I mean, its a future-space-mortar, who knows, maybe it can shoot in straight lines too.

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Can't barrage weapons be direct fired?

Its more of a Fluff Problem since the Quad Mortars shatter shells aren't Barrage.

 

While yes, the Frag shells are nice due to gaining shred in ZM or if they already have it +1S.

 

Its, as I've said, a fluff problem due to how Mortars usually work :p

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Lol I've seen mortars fired on a flat arc.

 

They don't make a quad mortar currently do they?

 

Haha technically a master of signals can direct fire his orbital bombardment in ZM. Not sure how that would go down ha.

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Hmmmmm could work. Hoping by the time I that the financial plunge they will have made them.

 

Any opinions on the Laser destroyer? While I can't see it being optimal for ZM I feel like its AT potential in regular 30k would be invaluable with melta being weak. The quad launcher doesn't look like it would be as threatening as games scale up.

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Tbh in ZM its pretty good. Its one downside is the lack of range and on a defensive base can happily strip damage from enemy walkers which otherwise lack the options. 3 Rapier Lasers costs less than a Deredeo and has a similar damage output against Dreads for example. If not better thanks to the destroyed result potential.
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It has a 48" range in the new book, so hopefully they'll keep buffing the thing. But yeah, the poor old laser destroyer doesn't have enough shots. A thudd gun is better against everything except high AV targets and MCs.
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Since they confirmed shatter shells for all quad mortars, it's easily the best all-around choice if you want some firepower but don't have a specific hole you need plugged in your list.  Even for killing marines, shatter shells do just as well as the lasdestroyer.

 

Lasdestroyer @ BS4 vs MEQ

0.888 hits

0.74 wounds

0.74 failed saves

 

Shatter Shells @ BS4 vs MEQ

2.666 hits

2.222 wounds

0.74 failed saves

 

Either one will cause ID, so no FNP.  Lasdestroyer obviously has an edge against TEQ or an MC like a Castellax.  But for killing marines?  Either will do in a pinch, and the Shatter Shells will excel at taking down walkers.

Edited by kitwulfen
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The one thing people seem to forget about the Graviton Cannon is that it changes the surrounding area into Dangerous Terrain, this could slow down a infantry unit or stop a transport in its tracks and leaves them open for a mobile assault orientated squad to get the charge off they want.
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Yah that is how I feel about it. 10 to 15 points cheaper and it would be way more attractive.

 

They definitely are dangerous in ZM but probably much less so in standard games.

 

Would you through in a master of signal into a rapier battery for funzies?

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What it is important to remember is that a dead transport forces its units to disembark and take dangeous/difficult terrain tests. It isn't a huge amount of damage, but it really slows a unit down (3 5" templates cover a HUGE area), forcing a slowed movement and assault move. Combine with overwatch and you can force assaulters to actually fail their assault move.

 

In regards to blowing things up, sure it doesn't have the potential to just blow things up, but a Laser Destroyer blows things up with a 1/3 chance, and as a Hull point is caused each time, that is 3HP of dakage blowing up most units. That leaves the Weapon limited to rewlly being only more effective against 4HP or greater vehicles.

 

The trick is that they have AV14, which is a 30% chance to penetrate with a 33% chance of splodes. That is for every 10 hits, you blow it up, but with a 55% chance to glance or greater that is 7-8hits to destroy it. A graviton has a 5 in 6 chance of wrecks and bypasses flare shield defences on Spartans - 6 shots ends that threat.

 

If you can get something like a Spartan whichis usually carrying a big hitty squad (because for 350pts you can get a much more powerful damage output) to force a disembark first turn with said hitty squad sat in difficult and dangerous terrain in its own desployment zone, if you can spare the elite slots, you have thrown a spanner in your opponents plans right from the off; that is usually 800+ pts nullified for the cost of 450pts.

 

If you want to kill power armour, you donn't use Rapiers, although if you must, Quad Mortars are about the best option due to the nukber of med strength hits caused. But you're better served by something like a Pair of Plasma Legion Dreads for similar points (270).

 

Haywire is the supreme heavy tank killer IMHO. A glaive being the ultimate, obviously, although it does suffer against non superheavies. Compare points; obviously there are other mitigating factors to those high points, but at 520 for a Falchion and 625 for a glaive, comparative points do between 7 and 9ish hull points compared to 5ish.

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Might be missing a word haha.

 

I never considered what a 3 gun battery could do to mobility in larger games. With haywire and mobility denial the gravitron cannon seems pretty tasty actually. Through it behind an aegis defense line and it would probably do not too bad.

 

It isn't as all around as the quad mortar but then it actually has a model haha.

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