SIcon advisor
Mongoose
I can't decide what to get.....
Hoppers
Ripplers
Which do people prefer? why?
Hoppers
Ripplers
Which do people prefer? why?
flying bugs
- Thread starter SIcon advisor
- Start date
Voracioustigger
Mongoose
Hoppers...
Point for point they're just better. Unless your opponent is heavy on air assets ALL the time, then kamikaze ripplers can be a life saver.
But in V. 1 - 2 large squads of hoppers + brain bug + Swarm + Attack or probe tactics = game over to just about any non-bug army.
Point for point they're just better. Unless your opponent is heavy on air assets ALL the time, then kamikaze ripplers can be a life saver.
But in V. 1 - 2 large squads of hoppers + brain bug + Swarm + Attack or probe tactics = game over to just about any non-bug army.
SIcon advisor
Mongoose
so consensus is 2xboxes of Hoppers is better value than Rippler swarm box? (worth about same £)
are Ripplers bad? or Hoppers just a lot better?
are Ripplers bad? or Hoppers just a lot better?
Ripplers have always been somewhat of oddity. Background text and the stats don't really seem to match :-/ IIRC(can't remember exactly since we scrapped official rippler stats long time ago in favour of home version) they should be swifter than hoppers, more fraqile and be lot more numerous. In effect they are about as easy to kill, slightly slower if memory serves and aren't even that much cheaper...
But yeah 2 boxes of hoppers are better from gaming point of view.
But yeah 2 boxes of hoppers are better from gaming point of view.
JoseDominguez
Mongoose
Hoppers can jump from outside normal reaction range, attack and then get back out again with their 24" jump. Better damage and they've got the fear factor too 
. Ripplers have a shorter move, so a lot of their attacks are suicidal (this has carried on into evo too).
Even if they never get a kill, hoppers tie up a disproportionate amount of fire, also, clever placement can lead to them taking out more MI when they die and retaliate, a hopper within two feet is lethal, a hopper within 12" can get you and fly to safety on an open table with no cover. Ripplers are meant to be massed swarm killers, but they are too expensive for what they are capable of.
Purely on a pounds for points basis, it's hoppers all the way.
Points for tabletop effect... same.
Shame the rippler models are so damn good
Worth having just for that, although they don't often get off the shelf.
. Ripplers have a shorter move, so a lot of their attacks are suicidal (this has carried on into evo too).Even if they never get a kill, hoppers tie up a disproportionate amount of fire, also, clever placement can lead to them taking out more MI when they die and retaliate, a hopper within two feet is lethal, a hopper within 12" can get you and fly to safety on an open table with no cover. Ripplers are meant to be massed swarm killers, but they are too expensive for what they are capable of.
Purely on a pounds for points basis, it's hoppers all the way.
Points for tabletop effect... same.
Shame the rippler models are so damn good
Worth having just for that, although they don't often get off the shelf.
Gauntlet-
Banded Mongoose
Hoppers are by far more effective in most situations, though the Rippler has some things going for it
1. It can attack from the air phase, IE it can be in the air zone and only threatened by AA weapons, against skinnies this can be devastating, as they have very little AA.
2. They have a shooting attack which fires 2 dice... while hoppers have a CC of 1 dice. So against certain enemies they work out.
All in all the Hopper is still better if only for its slightly increased threat range.
1. It can attack from the air phase, IE it can be in the air zone and only threatened by AA weapons, against skinnies this can be devastating, as they have very little AA.
2. They have a shooting attack which fires 2 dice... while hoppers have a CC of 1 dice. So against certain enemies they work out.
All in all the Hopper is still better if only for its slightly increased threat range.
I'd go for Ripplers. Why?
1. They look much cooler.
2. Acid Ripplers are the absolute doom of any CAP Trooper Squad.
You'll still need Hoppers to cope with Exos, but against CAPs and LAMI Ripplers are a lot more effective.
5 Acid Ripplers are almost guaranteed to wipe out an entire 5 Man CAP Trooper Squad.
3. They can shoot during air phase. Most LAMI and CAP Platoons have very little AA defence. If you manage to take out any Exos and Marauders you can rain havoc on anything remaining.
4. They have the same effective range as Hoppers (18"hover + 6"shoot = 24"), but are much more deadly to soft targets.
5. They can shoot at enemies by strafe and do not have not fly through them (really ugly under the right conditions)
6. They have variation. Your enemy will never really know what he's facing until they shot and/or rammed the first time.
You can pose a great thread he cannot ignore by just placing 3 standard Ripplers near a CAP Squad.
7. They're more flexible. You can put them in reserve as an air unit and bombard your enemy in the turn they arrive. They don't need to land as Hoppers do.
8. They provide you a solid AA defence (Kamikazes are deadly to any Slingshot or TAC Fighter and they are damn cheap)
9. You can use them to fill points as you need it. You can spend 450p on 9 Acid Kamikaze Ripplers or you can spend 90 points on three ordinary Ripplers (270p if you take 9).
10. Did I already say they look way cooler than Hoppers?
1. They look much cooler.
2. Acid Ripplers are the absolute doom of any CAP Trooper Squad.
You'll still need Hoppers to cope with Exos, but against CAPs and LAMI Ripplers are a lot more effective.
5 Acid Ripplers are almost guaranteed to wipe out an entire 5 Man CAP Trooper Squad.
3. They can shoot during air phase. Most LAMI and CAP Platoons have very little AA defence. If you manage to take out any Exos and Marauders you can rain havoc on anything remaining.
4. They have the same effective range as Hoppers (18"hover + 6"shoot = 24"), but are much more deadly to soft targets.
5. They can shoot at enemies by strafe and do not have not fly through them (really ugly under the right conditions)
6. They have variation. Your enemy will never really know what he's facing until they shot and/or rammed the first time.
You can pose a great thread he cannot ignore by just placing 3 standard Ripplers near a CAP Squad.
7. They're more flexible. You can put them in reserve as an air unit and bombard your enemy in the turn they arrive. They don't need to land as Hoppers do.
8. They provide you a solid AA defence (Kamikazes are deadly to any Slingshot or TAC Fighter and they are damn cheap)
9. You can use them to fill points as you need it. You can spend 450p on 9 Acid Kamikaze Ripplers or you can spend 90 points on three ordinary Ripplers (270p if you take 9).
10. Did I already say they look way cooler than Hoppers?
Galatea's on the right track - a lot depends on what kind of opponents you're facing. Hoppers are great for killing Exosuits and other hard targets (Marauders, CHAS, etc.). Acid Ripplers can tear up PAMI, while basic Ripplers do the same to LAMI. Kamikazes are great for dealing with the air threat, leaving your Plasma Bugs to bombard the enemy.
I've used two 12-strong units of Acids to clear an entire flank of MI (two squads of Wasp-PAMI, plus a Reliant platform). And few things are more satisfying than having a unit of reserve Hoppers bolt from a Nest entrance to clobber unwary Exos! Bottom line - I try to go with a mix of both.
I've used two 12-strong units of Acids to clear an entire flank of MI (two squads of Wasp-PAMI, plus a Reliant platform). And few things are more satisfying than having a unit of reserve Hoppers bolt from a Nest entrance to clobber unwary Exos! Bottom line - I try to go with a mix of both.
JoseDominguez
Mongoose
If cash is your limiting factor i.e. it's a choice between being able to afford one or the other...... then hoppers.
That way you have a unit that can cope with anything that's put on the board.
Buy ripplers and he fields an army of exos or marauders.... wasted money.
If you've got the cash, get both. Problem then is knowing what your opponent is fielding. If he only has infantry models and no exos, chas or marauders then ripplers are the way to go. What happens on the day he turns up with an army of marauders he bought cheap from Ebay? Then again, I'm sure if you shop around you could do the same.
The game plays bettter when you don't know what your opponent will be using (a game is only balanced when neither army is built knowing what the other will play)...... unfortunately, most wargames can't take into account that extra bit of 'intelligence' you get from knowing what's sitting on your mate's shelf
I use cheap workers etc.... for taking out the infantry. Keeping the hoppers back for exos etc. Using a unit of hoppers can cripple a unit of exos quite easily.
E.g. Opponent dropped an exo platoon on my side of the board, COugar LT, Grizzly NCO and two units (3 with missiles, 3 with sixguns). I flew in 20 hoppers in two units... first unit took out his LT and two of the sixguns, he then had reaction fire from the remaining sixguns (two in the unit, one on the NCO). Second unit came in and took the remaining sixgun and grizzly sergeant. I then coordinated to take the NCO.
Left two grizzlies with missiles... no command, pack weapons so can't react.
Hoppers are great for this and exos are really susceptible to losing their command structure... most players will double up the missile launchers to get the extra penetration/multihit effect, that means you only need to take out the sixguns to stop reaction, then use coordinate to get a second attack and take out the command models (exos have two hits, so they can't 'substitute' a lesser model like other MI).
But Adastra is right, if you can afford it, buy both, it keeps an MI player guessing if you have both on your shelf (planning to cope with both costs points and prevents cheesy armies). If it's one or the other, go hoppers, they can put a hole in anything.
That way you have a unit that can cope with anything that's put on the board.
Buy ripplers and he fields an army of exos or marauders.... wasted money.
If you've got the cash, get both. Problem then is knowing what your opponent is fielding. If he only has infantry models and no exos, chas or marauders then ripplers are the way to go. What happens on the day he turns up with an army of marauders he bought cheap from Ebay? Then again, I'm sure if you shop around you could do the same.
The game plays bettter when you don't know what your opponent will be using (a game is only balanced when neither army is built knowing what the other will play)...... unfortunately, most wargames can't take into account that extra bit of 'intelligence' you get from knowing what's sitting on your mate's shelf
I use cheap workers etc.... for taking out the infantry. Keeping the hoppers back for exos etc. Using a unit of hoppers can cripple a unit of exos quite easily.
E.g. Opponent dropped an exo platoon on my side of the board, COugar LT, Grizzly NCO and two units (3 with missiles, 3 with sixguns). I flew in 20 hoppers in two units... first unit took out his LT and two of the sixguns, he then had reaction fire from the remaining sixguns (two in the unit, one on the NCO). Second unit came in and took the remaining sixgun and grizzly sergeant. I then coordinated to take the NCO.
Left two grizzlies with missiles... no command, pack weapons so can't react.
Hoppers are great for this and exos are really susceptible to losing their command structure... most players will double up the missile launchers to get the extra penetration/multihit effect, that means you only need to take out the sixguns to stop reaction, then use coordinate to get a second attack and take out the command models (exos have two hits, so they can't 'substitute' a lesser model like other MI).
But Adastra is right, if you can afford it, buy both, it keeps an MI player guessing if you have both on your shelf (planning to cope with both costs points and prevents cheesy armies). If it's one or the other, go hoppers, they can put a hole in anything.
Voracioustigger
Mongoose
How to make an all hopper army...
Buy warriors, get green stuff / modeling putty, wake wings and shift the legs around.
They look fantastic and are really easy to make (and CHEAP!). Someone posted a how to on them about a year ago. I tried it out and have gotten compliments on them ever since (even the completely unpainted ones!)
Buy warriors, get green stuff / modeling putty, wake wings and shift the legs around.
They look fantastic and are really easy to make (and CHEAP!). Someone posted a how to on them about a year ago. I tried it out and have gotten compliments on them ever since (even the completely unpainted ones!)
SIcon advisor
Mongoose
thanks for the replies guys! 
yes there are budgetary (sp?) restrictions. I've basically got $75 to spend on some bugs and the choices I narrowed it down to were:
tanker, plasma, hoppers
tanker, rippler mega swarm, mi grizzly officer
tanker, hoppers, blisters, mi cougar officer
tanker, hoppers, hoppers, mi grizzly officer
as you can see i really want a tanker and one of the flying bugs........
:?
yes there are budgetary (sp?) restrictions. I've basically got $75 to spend on some bugs and the choices I narrowed it down to were:
tanker, plasma, hoppers
tanker, rippler mega swarm, mi grizzly officer
tanker, hoppers, blisters, mi cougar officer
tanker, hoppers, hoppers, mi grizzly officer
as you can see i really want a tanker and one of the flying bugs........
:?
