40K EDITORIAL: New Life For Outdated Wargear?
Fritz here from Way of Saim-Hann. Amidst the rumble of newly minted Imperial Guard tanks and the howls of the Space Wolves, what are we older codex (RE: Eldar, Tau, Necrons, & Dark Eldar) supposed to do to stay competitive?
Well, many things, but the focus of this article is going to be on reviewing your wargear first. Check over your codex and review the different wargear options to see if there is a new twist on some old tricks. Each army has its standard load out and we all have our list favorites, but make sure you are not missing any possibilities that might interact with the newer codexes and missions.
Let’s talk about Necrons for the moment since they are almost hurting more then Dark Eldar for a new codex. Of course there is the standard Lord with Veil of Darkness and a Resurrection Orb that seems to be in every list, but what about some of the other hidden gems in there to gain an advantage.
Like what you say? Well, Solar Pulse for a start! Be honest, when was the last time you ran or faced a Lord with Solar Pulse? Exactly, now consider this: a Lord with Solar Pulse and Veil of Darkness.
In the standard 40K missions, 1/3rd of the time you will be playing Dawn of War, and Dawn of War has night fight on the first turn. Solar pulse negates night fight for that turn. Can you see where I am going with this? Here is my experience so far with exploiting Solar Pulse…
My opponent comes onto the table and moves forward with his units, transports, etc. Looking to get an extra turn out of popping smoke most players in my sphere of gaming don’t smoke on the first turn, but rather let night fight protect them, and then pop smoke on the second turn. When my Necrons enter the table my Lord uses his Solar Pulse to negate night fighting, while my Destroyers and Heavy Destroyers move up and get into position to fire on said transports or key units. At worst I get a “free” turn of shooting, at best I get to really cripple my opponent’s army if the star gods favor my dice.
If we are not playing Dawn of War then I will use the Solar Pulse to negate a round of shooting on one of my key units by causing night fighting to apply to the unit with the Solar Pulse – maybe a group of Destroyers that I need to keep around to contest, or a group of Warriors holding a back objective or bottlenecking some terrain. Solar Pulse can and sometimes does change the pace of the game.
~So here is my challenge to you generals: what wargear options are you now exploiting as opposed to games past? Throw some of those hidden gems our way..
