Bad TheoryHammer: Landmines
(Image Credit: AOAV)
I'm not going to just talk about mines today. Mines are horrible things to use in war and, well, the setting of 40k is terrible in general. Plus there's only like two of them, right? Veteran Guard and Marines get them and that's about it. Rather, I'm going to talk about what one of my commenters (hey, u/MuttonMan, this is for you) talked about back in the WarmaHordes days (and what a time those were--I still have my Khador force!).
Basically, a Landmine is a denial-of-area Operative. This could be just because they are so very, very killy. I mean, who wants to stand out in the open in front of someone with a meltagun? It could be your typical Heavy Gunner with a blast/torrent/fusillade weapon (note: I will be ranting about each of them in turn) that can take down a bunch of things. It could just be a Neophyte with a Demolition Charge sitting on an objective going "Come and take it if you're hard enough."
Heck, it could just be a really hard melee dude guarding something (but you're probably going to want to throw said dude into your opponent's face, but not literally, that is assault!).
Actual Landmines
Okay, so there's two. They're both pretty good, but one costs EP and the other does not, which makes the free one instantly better in my book!
Haywire Mine
This is the mine the Incursors (jeebus, so many In...ors) can take for 3 EP. It's pretty darned beefy. It's extremely strong with a good damage profile and Stun. I like it a lot. However, we live in a world where we, as players, know a lot more than our operatives should, and there is just about nobody who is going to be within 3" of a mine if the guy who can set it off is still around. It is of most value when placed near or on an objective and then used to nuke someone who is coming to claim it off the board.
Remote Mine
Hey, Guard get a more damaging version, but it's the same thing (albeit stuck on a squishier model and without Stun). It still has the same uses and, while your Demolitions Operative is up, will mean that nobody wants to come into that 6" (plus) circle. Same things apply here. Best use is to either block off a chokepoint or to plop it on an objective and then skedaddle.
Not Really Landmines, but they Work
Snipers (In General)
(Image Credit: GW)
Snipers are a traditional denial-of-area Operative and in Kill Team, they can serve the same purpose. Sure, you want them to get their kills in, but if your opponent is too afraid to approach because you have a Sniper with a good field of fire, you've already got the battle half-won in my opinion.
The Veteran Guard Sniper does a ton of damage, as does the Pathfinder one (which is also a third rail rifle, keep this in mind). Kommandos have a heck of a Sniper as well, even if he isn't quite as good of a shot (he makes up for it with enthusiasm).
Not Quite Snipers
(Image Credit: GW)
Before we begin, I know Harker isn't legal for Kill Team and that Guard can't take Heavy Bolters. I'm just using him as an example. A model, if you will (see what I did there?).
Your Gunners and Heavy Gunners can be set up in positions where you can deny huge areas of the table to your opponent because they know anyone who comes into that area is going to become exploded/vaporized/whatever nasty thing your guns do to people/etc. This can provide, effectively, covering fire for your other Operatives to go do their things while the guys with the big guns sit around and have a smoke and a cup of kaffa or whatever it is they drink.
Big Beefy Boys
(Image Credit: GW)
I had to do it. I had to use Lilith as a Big Beefy Boy. Sue me. It makes me giggle! (And I know she isn't legal either, but you could take her as a Hekatrix if you really wanted, I guess?)
Here's the thing: You can threaten your opponent with mobile, strong melee units. Remember that technically you have an engagement range of 9" and, if you have the right strategems/keywords, you can make that basically just plain horizontal movement (I'm looking at you, Harlequins, but Agile Gladiators is far from bad). While this seems a lot like a Torpedo (see last post), it actually becomes something of a counter-torpedo. Just by being in an area, your big beefy boy (or girl, or whatever you want to call them, I'm not going to judge) can completely control a circle of about 19" in diameter, which, when considering the standard Kill Team board, is absolutely HUGE.
Blast/Torrent/Fusillade
(Image Credit: GW)
Man, I just keep using non-legal models for stuff, but I wanted someone with a big gun here, so Maugan Ra gets to be shown. Plus, he's actually surprisingly cool for such an old mini.
Here's the thing I'm going to say about all three of them. You'll rarely use them in a game because if someone knows you have weapons with said keywords, they aren't going to be absolute mental midgets and group up, you know? But you can use them to be able to really guard a chokepoint if you are smart with your barricades and make one.
Of the three, Fusillade takes the cake here for worst of the bunch. Third place! I do not like sharing my attack pool against multiple defense pools, as it means a greater chance of doing nothing than anything else.
Blast is nice. Don't get me wrong. So is Torrent (but Torrent seems to only come on Flamers, and those are somewhat contentious). The nice thing about Blast weapons is that they tend to do pretty good damage all on their own, or they have a second option in case there isn't a bunch of targets making themselves available.
The issue with Flamers isn't that they are weak, to be honest. They're actually usually pretty darned strong. It's just that there's oftentimes stronger things out there and, to be honest, given the choice between utterly deleting one Operative (say, with a melta) or injuring two, I'm always for turning someone into a statistic. That said, if you have to take a flamer, it's not a BAD thing to take at all!
But anyway, that's enough rambling for today. I have things to do.
Top article, loving the blog!
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