Goatboy’s Warhammer 40k: Dreadnoughts Are Good Now
Goatboy here and I love me some Dreadnoughts. Codex Space Marines and 9th Edition has super charged the walking coffins.
I have a Chaos Army that I hope stays ok whenever we get a true update (dang FAQ…) so instead of looking towards the bad guys I thought why not go over to the good side and see what might be good there. The new Space Marine codex as well as 9th edition has really super charged Dreadnoughts. In fact I think we can safely say we might even get a chance to see a Redemptor on the field as they might actually be good.
New Buffs
We all know how 9th fixed the whole move and shoot thing with Dreadnoughts by removing the -1 to hit when running around the board. This in of itself was a great update and kind of had me thinking they could be usable as something of a flank protector, back field bully, or just mobile fire base. The second bit of awesome came from the Marine book updating all dreadnoughts (except you Invictor Warsuit – your Marine has too many limbs to be a true Dreadnought!) to get a flat -1 damage versus all attacks. This is amazing as this used to be a Stratagem that now just flows over all your coffins with feet and makes them something to actually worry about.
Tips & Tricks
Why might you ask? I talked a bit about the bully nature of these models as their close combat damage output is nothing to sneeze at plus the ability to usually have some kind of decent firepower. On top of those we also have a lot of ways to “heal” them, buff them, and just create a situation where your opponent has to over invest to ensure the dreadnought has been dealt with. It is these sorts of game mechanics that allow you to win even if your dice are not always cooperating. This ability to control either the outcome a bit or force your opponent to “lose” some offensive might when removing a threat.
This is why Deathstars were so good in they just too much to effectively remove while at the same time affecting the game in a way to allow the other aspects of the army to win. Now with 9th edition you don’t have the same Deathstar aspects but instead have armies built to do a lot of things all at once. Armies need to be able to control objectives, shoot opponents off of objectives, and have the ability to be a true threat in close combat. All of these things are why I think having a fat zombie robot holding the back field, pushing a flank, and throwing bullets down field are extremely powerful.
Right now we are waiting on what the new Forgeworld book does for a lot of Zombie beep boops. This just leaves us the initial ones listed in the new Marine codex to figure out if they are viable. I have already talked about how the Redemptor might actually see play but the other versions are not too bad either. The Contemptor got a nerf by losing a 2+ WS/BS which is a shame but going to 9 wounds for the Iron Hands might make it a viable option. You add the extra shot from a Multi Melta on top and you might have a viable 150 point option. That isn’t a terrible deal for a dreadnought. If the FW version keeps the ability to take two Assault Cannons we start to have an interesting firebase if needed.
Putting It All Together
Overall I feel the Redemptor is really where we need to look at things as it has a lot of wounds, can be set up to put out a decent amount of firepower, has a huge footprint, and as it is an Elite choice you can easily have Eradicators to give you some true “anti” tank ability. With that in mind it makes me feel like if we want to go this route we should truly look at building this as an Iron Hands list – full of tough as nail jerks, some Primaris Tech Marines, and a plethora of Damage. With that – here is a shell of what I feel would be a decent list in both firepower and ability to play the missions.
Space Marines – Iron Hands Patrol – 0CP
-HQ-
Primaris Techmarine – Master of the Forge – Warlord – Warden of the Ancients, Relic – The Vox Espiritum – 110pts
Iron Father Ferios – 110pts
-Troops-
Heavy Intercessors X 5, Executor Bolt Rifle X 5 – 140pts
-Elites-
Redemptor Dreadnought – Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Icarus Rocket Pod – 185pts
Redemptor Dreadnought – Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Icarus Rocket Pod – 185pts
-FA-
Outrider X 3 – 135pts
Space Marines – Iron Hands Patrol – -2CP
-HQ-
Primaris Captain – Warlord (-1CP) – Rites of War, Master Crafted Power Sword, Relic (-1CP) Burning Blade – 95pts
Primaris Lieutenant – MC Power Axe – 80pts
Primaris Lieutenant – MC Power Axe – 80pts
-Troops-
Heavy Intercessors X 5, Executor Bolt Rifle X 5 – 140pts
-Elites-
Redemptor Dreadnought – Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Icarus Rocket Pod, March of the Ancients (-1CP), Paragon of Iron (-1CP) – Merciless Logic – 185pts
-FA-
Outrider X 3 – 135pts
-Heavy-
Eradicators X 5 – 200pts
Eradicators X 5 – 200pts
PTS: 1980 CP: 6
Dreadnought-tastic
As you can see this list is basically a brick for the middle with some bikers to go get stuff as needed. It is tempting to put in more as you can use them to move out, bother your opponent, and maybe hold an objective or two. The Warlord traits are set up to heal Dreadnoughts well and give them objective Secured as needed. I went with Heavy Intercessors as I thought it would look neat on the table top to have the majority of people in bulky armor. Everyone is up armored so it fits a them beyond the Captain and Lieutenants. I try to set up enough rerolls as needed to allow the army to work without needing a ton of CP right away and it can survive not going first. I think that is going to be the key to a lot of armies in the future as you can’t guarantee you are able to go first and bring the pain.
Get ready for more walking heavy metal on the tabletop!
