Arvus Lighter Appreciation Thread

[Perigrin]

I have been reading quite a bit on the Renegades, and have taken it as a challenge to use what is generally seen as a weak army list to make a powerful and fluffy force, and I think that the Arvus Lighter is one of the best toys we have. Lets go over the things that, in my opinion, it has over our other flying transport choice, the Valkyrie.

First, price. This thing can carry 12 models, though no Ogryns, for only 115 points if you dont arm it, and only 155 if loaded with its most expensive weapon, the twin Hellstrikes. This is really cheap for something that functions as both a drop pod and a mobile heavy weapons team. It is actually equal to 4 Renegade heavy weapons teams with Stubbers, fire wise, as it has the same BS while moving, 4 Heavy Stubbers if you take that very cheap option, while being a great deal tougher and more maneuverable with the next point.

Second, lack of Supersonic. This means that it never has to use its hover jet ability, as it has none of the penalties of supersonic that that removes. This makes it the more maneuverable flyer, and lets it keep that sweet hard to hit while making all the 180 turns and mid flight adjustments that it feels like, which with a 20-30 move it can take great advantage of.

Third and finally, Fluff. Its a refitted civilian shuttlecraft, which is perfect for a renegades army, really gives you that desperate scavenging vibe.

 

Overall, I quite like this little bugger, and I doubt that any army wouldn't benefit from having one full of marauders and malefic lords deep strike into the enemy backfield.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Perigrin

[Perigrin]

In addition, it can be squaded, puts out significantly more shots than a Valkyrie at the same BS, for a lower price. An Arvus with 2 multilasers costs 27 points less than a bare bones Valk, has the same transport cap, twice as many shots, its stats don't degrade with damage, which, at T6 with 8 wounds, is very nice, it can also take twin Autocannons, giving it great anti flyer for its price. It can even self heal on a 6+! This thing is a tiny little nightmare! Edited August 31, 2017 by Perigrin

[Azekai]

I have considered a valk full of Malefic Lords, but you make a compelling argument for the lighter. Has survivability ever proved to be an issue? And what do you arm the marauders with, generally speaking?

One of the cons of the Arvus is how difficult they are to find through legitimate channels.
 

As far as making one at home (just thinking out loud here), perhaps sticking the back end of a rhino on a cockpit/front half of a storm talon would work. Then maybe take the unused tail fin of the storm talon and some plasticard and fill out the wings. Leave off or replace the guns as necessary... the result might be a boxy looking bird that could be construed as an Arvus. Wish I had 60 bucks or so lying around to test the idea out.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Azekai

[Perigrin]

It will go down pretty quick against dedicated AA, but is quite tanky against things without skyfire. I generally like to arm my Marauders with Plasma Guns as a general rule, but i could see any special weapons other than flamers and snipers being useful to deep strike with. I had a game against tge tau where i proxied one. 2 Maleific lords and 2 MSUs of Marauders with 4 plasma guns and a plasma pistol is a lot to dump 9 inches away from someone, and I ended up taking down both of his HQ and a Ghostkeel before they were fully put down. This was an unarmed one just to test it, and it took his Riptide weapon dumping into it to kill it because he had no skyfire. Not as tanky as it would be if things still only hit on 6s, but nice.

[micahwc]

They sound pretty awesome, but the Valks do have some pros over the Arvus. Grav Chute Insertion lets you get your marauders with melta guns inside melta range of a target, and your Malefic Lords in range for Warp Flux. For a dedicated anti-hoard load out I think the Valk with dual heavy bolters, multi laser, and dual rocket pods wins out. 2D6+9 strength 5/6 shots per turn is decent anti-hoard.

[micahwc]

I'm pretty sure there is a misprint in it's entry. I think it's supposed to have the Supersonic rule. It has the hoverjet rule that states if it chooses to hover it loses supersonic, but it doesn't list the rule for supersonic on the datasheet. Also, the movement is 20-30 inches, which is how movement is listed for things with supersonic, but movement changes to 20 if it uses hoverjets.

[Captain_Krash]

It's to bad Forgeworld stopped production of it. I always liked the look of it but it is ultimately useless and probably never sold.

 

Krash

[Azekai]

It's to bad Forgeworld stopped production of it. I always liked the look of it but it is ultimately useless and probably never sold.

 

Krash

Isn't the whole point of this thread talking about how it isn't useless?

[Perigrin]

The lack of supersonic is a misprint, but it is a good one that they haven't bothered to fix yet. And from the datasheet i am looking at in Battlescribe, as i dont have my Index for it on my mobile, it has this entry on its rules

"Aerial Assault: During deployment, you can set this unit up in the skies instead of placing it on the battlefield. At the end of any of your movement phases, this unit may fly into battle - set it up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" away from enemy models"
Will verify once i get home and can check it in the book and errata.

 

EDIT =VERIFIED=

 

Upon reading, you are trading the ability to do Grav Chute Insertion for the ability to Deep Strike. Good trade in my opinion.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Perigrin

[micahwc]

I'm wondering why we don't get vultures, vendettas, and rough riders.

[Khornestar]

There is this unfortunate design philosophy about r&h that they're deliberately bad/worse than loyalist equivalents. The 6th/7th edition book was similar in philosophy but made more sense in terms of units being consistent, and far more army design choices related to the warlord having an impact on army composition and unlocks etc.

 

Now we have this weird poorly conceived thing that is unlikely to be updated any time soon. Maybe errata, but the army is what it's going to be for the foreseeable future.

 

Apologies for the rant, I meant to be more concise but this is a touchy subject for me. I really shouldn't overreact this way but I had high hopes for renegades in 8th.

Edited September 2, 2017 by Juggernut

[Tamika]

Just treat it as hard mode and it will make victorys all the more sweeter.

[Akrim]

But you need to look at the sum parts; yes AM have orders, better troops units, fancier aircraft but R&H have better Ogryn, Spawn, Malefic Lords, and we can branch out to tougher stuff from Chaos like pox walkers and the like.

 

I agree its more like advanced AM but if the lists were mirror to each other whats the point?

[Perigrin]

We also have Marauders, which are pretty great, and pulling in Daemon Engines in formation with Leman Russes with Basilisks and Heavy Mortars is pretty nice.

[Khornestar]

Yeah, you all make great points, but IMO what we lose doesn't really compare to what we get in return. But as I must admit, complaining will accomplish nothing. Best to figure out how to make it work or play them as "evil" skinned IG.

[Akrim]

Yeah, you all make great points, but IMO what we lose doesn't really compare to what we get in return. But as I must admit, complaining will accomplish nothing. Best to figure out how to make it work or play them as "evil" skinned IG.

 

Whats giving you a hard time on the table? Ive been having pretty good success so far in 8th against a very wide variety of armies.

[Khornestar]

It was more a desire to use models that I owned in a renegades army (such as the Stormhammer, Stormlord, heavy flamer teams) as well as run a coherent, competent military IG-style. But eeeeevil!

 

I think it would be fair to say my disappointment stems equally from the army list as it does my desires/expectations. Even fair-er to say is that running IG with traitor skin solves 75% of my objections.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Juggernut

[Jolemai]

Hang on, when did they get rid of it and why have FW stopped doing Last Chance to Buy options? Grrr.

[Tamika]

One would hope they will do a new Arvus Lighter design at the very least if they don't bring it back. Love having civvie 40k models.

[Jolemai]

Do we have an official reason why it was pulled yet, or are we just speculating that it went due to lack of sales?

[Tamika]

The canopy cover doesn't fit very snugly to the main body but other than that it's really easy to assemble without any problems. Hot water makes it easy for the two body halves to match exactly. One thing you will see on ebay is an uneven line down the middle where people haven't unwarped it properly before assembly.

[Perigrin]

I am pretty sure a lack of sales killed the Arvus.

[N1SB]

Just want to say I'm really sold on your points about the Arvus.  It's such a pity I can't buy it anymore.  Such a disconnect.

 

I like the cost-effectiveness, I like the versatility, but most of all, I like the fluff-angle you presented.  It's a civilian craft.  It's just some insurgents that hijacked this thing and brought guns on it.  That is so Renegades & Heretics.  The last time I felt this type of excitement was the Genestealer Cult Goliath trucks, just the possibilities.

 

On the broader issue of R&H being just weaker by design compared to IG, I see your point, but I do consider R&H being a complementary force rather than a main force, supporting Chaos Space Marines or Daemons.  Like it's a way to bring indirect fire artillery or things like Arvus Lighters filled with Malefic Lords, to supplement a main Chaos SM/Daemon army.  It reminds me of the possibilities we saw when Genestealer Cult brought some vehicle options to Tyranids, like they were better as Allies than as the Primary FoC.  Now in 8th, with the flexible detachments, I'm genuine impressed by the options R&H offers, for real.

 

Minor edit - as in, I do think R&H was made just a little weaker by design, as pointed out above, because the designers allowed for a buffer when it becomes an ally to other Chaos forces.  They knew crazy combinations were coming that they couldn't account for, especially since there were still upcoming releases like the Death Guard.  I really do agree with the observation that FW didn't do this accidentally, it was deliberate, a design choice as mentioned above, to avoid them accidentally making an invincible Death Star in the future.

 

I've been keeping reading all the boards what with 8th being such a paradigm shift.  Just IMHO, this R&H board offers the most interesting ideas at the moment, because of perspectives like this one.  Looking forward to when FW re-releases the Arvus Lighter.

Edited September 7, 2017 by Not 1 Step Backwards

[Perigrin]

I love Kitbashing, so not selling one is only a problem if i were going to play tournaments, and you could mash one together out of a valk and a few other things to use official models. I am using Renegades as my main force, but bringing in some units as allies, like Dreadnaughts and Defilers, really helps the durability issues.

[N1SB]

I see your point, especially since they're supposed to be civilian craft, they really can be all models as well.  I'll keep an eye out for good components.