Tactics Discussion: Tallarn Chimeras with Scions?

[Mordian Glory]

Greeting Commanders,

 

Whenever I use Scions in my army, either as support or a stand alone force, my instinct is to either deepstrike them or put them in a Taurox Prime. However, Deepstriking means I can't get into rapid fire range with my Hot Shots and whilst the Taurox Prime is a great transport it is very expensive in points (about 40 points more then a chimera) and if it moves it cant take advantage of its Regiment Trait thanks to the -1 to hit with moving and firing heavy weapons. 

 

Enter the Chimera. Its cheaper, tougher and has room for a squad of scions and supporting characters. Also you could take the Chimeras in a separate Tallarn detachment (Say a spearhead with some Leman Russ for fire support) which would allow them to move and shoot with heavy weapons with no penalty. 

 

So my fellow guard players, Is there any merit to the idea of putting Storm Troopers in Chimeras? And does anyone have any experience with doing this? 

[Arkaniss]

I love Chimeras - they look great, every inch the workhorse of the Imperial Guard they're supposed to be in the fluff! Now I don't have experience of using them in a Guard army I'm afraid, however the IG do have better things to put in them than the Inquisition. I can see a Stormie squad leaping out of a Chimera being a lot more effective than an Inquisitor and retinue which is how I use mine Perhaps it's not the most efficient use of a Chimera but the theme of an Inquisitor riding around in their own personal transport is too good to pass up  

 

Something like this may well come down to your gaming meta and what else you are fielding yourself. One Chimera on it's own with a Stormie payload is quite probably easy for an opponent to deal with - but what do you intend to run with it? I shall be interested to see people's thoughts here. Perhaps I can siphon off some knowledge to aid my Inquisitional forces

[Expendable_Aquanaut]

I've been thinking the same thing. One issue is that if you put the chimeras in the scion detachment you will lose the tempestus doctrine. If you have two separate detachments I guess it could work. Are you allowed to start the game with a squad from one detachment embarked in a vehicle from another detachment though? I think that is the only real limiting factor here. If that is legal, I think this would be a great tactic for a large squad of stormies with hotshots or something. The transport capacity of the chimera would also hold two small squads and a tempestor prime for orders, which sets it apart from the taurox.

[sairence]

It's legal, the Chimera transport wording only talks about Astra Militarum infantry. No regimental restrictions. Edited July 31, 2019 by sairence

[Mordian Glory]

I've been thinking the same thing. One issue is that if you put the chimeras in the scion detachment you will lose the tempestus doctrine. If you have two separate detachments I guess it could work. Are you allowed to start the game with a squad from one detachment embarked in a vehicle from another detachment though? I think that is the only real limiting factor here. If that is legal, I think this would be a great tactic for a large squad of stormies with hotshots or something. The transport capacity of the chimera would also hold two small squads and a tempestor prime for orders, which sets it apart from the taurox.

 

I believe you can deploy inside another regiments transport, the only limiting factor is that the chimera can only transport "Astra Militarum" infantry, but scions have the AM keyword so its all good and legal :)

[Expendable_Aquanaut]

Excellent! That is really good to know. For some reason I thought regiments restricted vehicle usage. I usually run 2 at least 2 regiments anyway so I might have to give this a go.

 

What do you think the ideal loadout for the scions inside would be? I'm almost thinking it would be fun to run a full 10 man squad with hotshots and a prime. Jump out in rapid fire range and get first rank second rank? I'm more tempted to deepstrike my plasma squads as they can get into rapid fire more easily. Maybe this could be a good way to make meltas work if you're looking for a say to shoehorn them in?

[Halfpint100]

I have seen this tactic be used before at it works surprisingly well, even if a tad confusing for your opponent. Nobody expects the gloryboys

[Tokugawa]

You still must declare which units are mounted on transport when deploy, so it wont "suprise" any experienced opponent.

[jpwyrm]

That is a good trick to pull. Your whole army does not depend on it but it can be useful at times. I think it could a good way of delivering meltagun squads where they're needed (i.e. right in front of Knights mainly)

[Expendable_Aquanaut]

Yeah meltagun squads would work well here. Although I'd argue that a squad of vets and a platoon commander might be better suited to this task. They wouldn't have quite as much firepower with one fewer meltagun but they would be cheaper.

 

I can see using scions to maximize your investment though. One big squad, four meltaguns, two plasma pistols (one on the tempestor and one on the prime) and you can use the grenadier stratagem for krak grenades on the rest of your guys. With the scion specific order to reroll wounds against vehicles that could be pretty deadly.

[dakkamasta]

If you're running them with a lot of plasma, it could be worth considering to put them in Valkyries and take the specialist detachment from Vigilius Ablaze. You won't be able to rapid fire your hotshots but you can get your plasmas in range on the first turn due to the ability to disembark after moving. You can also fit 2 squads + a tempestor prime just like the chimera. 

 

You can make the Tempestor Prime a field commander and take the warlord trait that gives a +1 to hit bubble on the turn they disembark from the Valkyrie. Combined with the Take Aim order you'll have plasma guns hitting 2+ rerolling 1's, with no chance of overheating (unless the target has -1 to hit) and hit rolls of 5+ will trigger extra shots. Has insane damage potential if you pull it off.

 

You can also use the stratagem to allow the Valkyrie to overwatch on a 4+ against anything that charges the scions.

 

I know this doesn't involve chimeras, but being a similar tactic I thought it would be worth comparing.