Unit of the Week: Annihilation Barge

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

 

Welcome to the Unit of the Week Series!

 

Each week a different unit will be highlighted for discussion until we have amalgamated a full list of our available options and their relevant tactics as 9th edition evolves. This will include not only matched play, but free play considerations as well as Crusade, as these methods of play are just as relevant and exciting.

 

Please keep in mind this isn't to lament the status of featured units or compare them to others but to try and find their potential for all types of gameplay.

 

This week’s unit is:

 

The Annihilation Barge

 

As a loose guide, here are some thought-provoking questions to consider and cogitate as we discuss this week's unit(s):

• What are the overall strengths and weaknesses of this unit?
• What strategems synergize well with it?
• Do you prefer maximum tesla fire, or is a smattering of gauss more to your taste?
• What Crusade bonuses best suit this unit?
• Do you deploy it in a support or spearhead role?
• How do you use this unit in your listbuilding process?

The floor is yours, honored Nobles and Crypteks!

[VoceNoctum]

I just bought one, haven't even assembled it yet (need more paint!). I do think it's easy to magnetize to swap between Pharon and giant blaster, but otherwise I dunno! :)

[Mandragola]

I think the best thing about the annihilation barge is that you can make it into a command barge, and those are fantastic. Edited March 9, 2021 by Mandragola

[Stupidity]

Only possible use for them I can think of would be taking them in threes and a CCB with Planetary Invaders or Mephrit and just ramming infantry with them.

Never actually tried that though obviously. 

[Miek]

S7 is super awkward, but my plan is to ram one in CC with rad wreathed against the right targets. It should be fun for low points games.

[Mandragola]

I’m not seeing what you get from sticking these things in combat. They can fire it’s true, but they’re not at all tough in that situation and they’ve got to get there. What am I missing?

 

Rad-wreathed looks interesting on a character with the warlord trait to increase the radius of auras. He can stand there and reduce the toughness of everything nearby while other shooty units get to work. Or you can just have melee units like wraiths have it and go and murder stuff.

[Stupidity]

Barges simply are fast and tough enough that most melee weapons won't hurt them much. Putting them in melee will also defend them from ranged weapons which is where most scary anti vehicle is. 

I don't think it's a great plan or anything, it just seems like a better one then using them as weapon platforms only, as thy are very mediocre at that. 

[USNCenturion]

Don’t even need to magnetize the AB or CCB. The gun assembly simply sits on the platform, with a nice click to boot. The lord can sit on the platform even with his base glued on and his hand railing slots into four holes in the platform.

[Get Thokt]

I glued the railing in because I just know that the Annihilation Barge will always be inferior to a Command Barge.. just like my Doomsday Arks Edited March 13, 2021 by Get Thokt

[Mandragola]

It’s definitely a good thing that the kits can be swapped around. As we all know, the rules are liable to change between editions and points costa can go up and down. Right now I don’t think there’s a use for the annihilation barge but they used to be awesome and could be again.

[Stupidity]

Even a new edition is unlikely to save them. Their problem isn't points, their problem is that both their weapons are odd and not very useful. Necrons don't need or want S7  Tesla or a couple more Gauss shots. 

 

Also I think AB's should have been Core. Why not? Makes as much sense as Dreadnoughts.