Exo Army List - Thoughts

[Alexb83]

Okay all; ACTA has distracted me for a while, but I'm trying to get back into SST. Hopefully there'll be another tourney before evo comes out - so how does this look for a list? Should be 2000pts exactly.

PL2, Exosuit platoon:

Lieutenant, Cougar Suit w/ sixgun
Skills/Talents: Dirty fighter, CC Expert, Fleet Liason, Warning
TAC UAV

Squad 1:
Grizzly Sarge, 2x sixgun, armourer
Grizzly corp, 2x firestorm
Grizzly trooper, 2x firestorm

Squad 2: same as squad 1

Squad 3:
Cougar sarge, armourer, sixgun
Cougar corporal, sixgun
Cougar trooper, sixgun

CHAS
2x Flamberge w/firestorm

 

[Lorcan Nagle]

Is there any point in giving the sarges in the firestorm-heavy squads Armourer?

 

[Hiromoon]

I'd rather give them Fire King... but I believe that might be a little too pricey.

 

[Alexb83]

Well, removing armourer from those two squads frees up 50 points - but I'm at a loss as to where to spend them. Possibly a scatterbomb flamberge, or replacing the Flamberges with a TAC fighter?

 

[Hiromoon]

Again, take a peek at Fire King.

 

[Alexb83]

Fireking is tempting - but I think I'm right in saying that it can only be applied to one unit (from the wording of the rules - members of the model's unit within command range)?

That being said, I could move the UAV/Fleet liason ability to one of the Grizzly squads, and drop the firestorms from it. Swap out the Flamberges for a Ground Support TAC Fighter and still have 40 points to spend somewhere... drop pods for the cougars?

 

[Hiromoon]

If you gave it to the LT, you can attach him to a squad...

 

[Alexb83]

At 100pts for the trait, I can hardly give it to anyone else The army does lack any nukes, but then I've never been a huge fan of them - plenty of ordnance from the air units and Chas, and the squad with firestorms, though.

Still, at 12 models and 2 assets, it's a very small army.

 

[Mr Evil]

i like to give my commander sicon and a nuke ina couger suit, he can hold back or pop on the table with probe and launch his nuke mid flight through his firestorm launcher, then spend the rest of the game useing his launcher to take out straglers that unit fire power would be waisted on.

 

[JoseDominguez]

Consider swapping squad 3 for a couple of NCO's
(unless I've missed someting you only have one officer anyway.... not possible with 3 squads of Exos).
That way you only lose one model and get two flexible cougars with more chance of passing a dodge save, maybe give them warning too...so a 2+ armour and 4+ with re-roll dodge?

 

[Alexb83]

This is true - curse army builder for not picking that up.

So it boils down to:

Lieutenant in Cougar w/Fire king (260)
2 Cougar NCOs with Warning (185 each)
1 squad of 3 Grizzlies w/twin firestorms (475)
1 squad of 3 grizzlies w/sixguns. Sergeant with TAC UAV and fleet liason. (345 + 120)
1 CHAS (175)
1 TAC Fighter (250)

1995 points, if I'm not mistaken?

 

[JoseDominguez]

Still pretty damn tough, but one lucky attack from the bugs and you are gone.
Consider that 15 worker bugs have 15d10+1 attacks and can take 15 hits. They still only cost 150 points. You could be facing 200 of them

And I've tried that, it was brutal (well 150 + a brain and tunnels). The exos killed loads, but as soon as one unit got close enough that was it.
Eventually you end up with nowhere to jump to.

 

[ChrisPasseno]

Here's a 2000pt list that I put together.

LT. Cougar (Firestorm) w/ Fireking.
NCO Cougar (Firestorm) w/SICON Military Intel.

Alpha Squad:
Cougar SGT (Six Gun) w/ Armorer
Grizzly CPL (2x Firestorm)
Grizzly (2x Firestorm)
Grizzly (2x Six Guns)

Bravo Squad:
Cougar SGT (Six Gun) w/ Armorer
Grizzly CPL (Six Gun & Thermic Lance) w/ Close Combat Expert
Grizzly (Six Gun & Thermic Lance)
Grizzly (2x Firestorm)

Fleet Asset:
Flamberge w/ Pee Wee Nuke.

That's 8 Firestorms, which if direct fired would be 32d10 w/ possible multihit. That's also 6 Six Guns, so 18d6+1. That's also 2d10 + d6 with the Thermic Lances.

As for Reactions, don't forget Close Combat with these guys. A d10 ain't two shabby.

The key is just like any other MI unit. Mobility. Stay back and pound them with artillery. If you can't see them, go indirect. If you can see them, lay into them with direct firing them Firestorms. Normally I don't put the nuke in the Flamberge, it is usually in a Firestorm in the unit near the LT. A direct fire Pee Wee with Fireking is 15d10+4 with rerolls. BRUTAL!

 

[Alexb83]

Is it really worth putting firestorms onto Cougars? With only one system, you don't get the benefit of the multihit/piercing bonus on them, and lose the ability to fire twice a turn w/AA trait?

A nuke is nice as it denies VPs to the enemy, but by the same token it's a few less exos, or a Chas+TAC UAV missing.

The TAC fighter may be skewing it too far towards an AA centered army (so many sixguns, and the UAV already), but I'm mindful of the rippler swarm recently played at MOW.

ALso, SICON intelligence can only be given to lieutenants.

 

[ChrisPasseno]

Alexb83: You're correct. I don't know why my brain didn't register that SICON is for LT's only. Good catch.

That would eliminate the nuke, so it does free up the 50ts for SICON and 300 for the Pee Wee.

As for the Firestorms on the Cougars. I guess it depends on your playing strategy. I would rather take 4d10 direct fire a round to 6d6+1. I generally use a coordinated artillery strategy. My regular bug opponent puts carrion bugs on every warrior, and prefers a ground and pound game. He has very little air assets.

 

[tneva82]

Is it really worth putting firestorms onto Cougars? With only one system, you don't get the benefit of the multihit/piercing bonus on them, and lose the ability to fire twice a turn w/AA trait?

I wouldn't worry about too much losing possibility to shoot twice. Jump&shoot should be what you should be doing mostly anyway and that means no shooting twice either :lol:

And firestorm certainly has nice punch even on cougar(most of the time multihit trait is waste anyway and while improved piercing is nice it's IMO overrated).

 

[Alexb83]

48 inch range is nice - I'll ponder it a bit more.

But the SICON intelligence issue is there - it can only be given to Lieutenants (and I guess captains, although the rule does say lieutenants only he is allowed access to all the options of his lieutenants' type), or gotten free with a SICON Advisor. So no nukes unless you spend 50 points with your Lt - which means no Fireking+Nukes without a second Platoon or a Captain.

350 points is enough free to take a slingshot, or a tactical/ground support TAC though - and ground support can rain down alot of napalm on those bug swarms.

 

[Makoto]

300 pts is enough to get the Heavenly Mercy slingshot, and in an army so small as pure exos one such baby means "recycling" all the loses - invaluable in campaign, and denies the bugs most VPs ^^

 

[Alexb83]

This was more an idea for a tournament all comers list - I'm very conscious of the fact that a firestorm heavy army would end up mincemeat against lots of Ripplers - an army which has indeed been used by Mr Evil.

A mix of sixguns, firestorms and air assets seemed to be the way to go. Putting a nuke into an exo army makes a for an even smaller presence on the tabletop.

 

[JoseDominguez]

firestorms greatest failing is in reaction....... last game my opponent had a lot of firestorms, second turn I charged in some hoppers, picked off his sixguns (he can't swap as they have two hits). He had nothing to react with, so I coordinated and charged again, there was nothing left. By turn three he'd lost two of his exo units and all of his officers. Just his supporting caps left.
You need the sixguns so you can react. If you are using firestorms double them up..... two hits from one exo gain multihit and piercing 2, multihit vs a tunnel marker can slaughter warrior bugs (it hits them all) and piercing two is invaluable, it makes firestorms tanker killers. Putting one firestorm on a grizzly reduces your chances of getting that (as each exo rolls separately, but can combine it's own dice and only needs to hit with two)