My Tactical article pledge: I am not the greatest player, nor am I seal pup, I will endeavor to speak from my experience and always be honest about what is theory and what is play tested. Never will I assume I to know better than anyone else, unless ego or pretension gets in their way.

One of the immediate reactions to the new 6th edition rules was the change in Power Weapon AP. With power weapons now being only AP3, the immediate agreement was Terminators in all there kinds would walk the land reaping destruction on all those that stood in their way. The same key for taking out Terminators remains the same as it was before: shoot them dead. Still GW has successfully asked the question? Will we see 2+ plus armor saves every where?

The answer is maybe.

The reason is that AP2 shooting didn’t get changed so being blow off the board before reaching close combat is still a problem. Even with the expansion of Feel No Pain only nullified by Instant Death, does remarkably little when one is hit by a Lascannon.  So, if you take out the ever-present, death by large firearms– are 2+ save units ready for a resurgence?

Let us look at each in a case by case basis.

–Assault Terminators–

They are still the kings of 2+ armor save units, and now they are made even better. Now only mass shooting is the way to defeat this unit. I  envision (looking at you new CSM) a mass power axe movement happening to curb these devils, but until that happens, only a few units in CC (Death Company, Tricked out Character units, Thunder Cav, Seekers) can take them on. That leads to a sliding scale of  pit units like Ork Boyz or IG blobs. Then you have assured mutual destruction units like, other Terminators and Mega Nobs.

–Tactical Terminators–

This was perhaps the first unit my friends talked about making a come back the second they saw the power weapon change. I have to agree that the change does make this unit pretty playable. Especially, when you add a kick ass character to the mix. I would still put them under the finesse category. If you are experienced playing GKs, you seriously shouldn’t have a problem trying these guys out. They are marvellous for holding the center of the board, screening other scoring units, and providing suppression fire that dare enter their range. Hell, I might even consider bringing out the old Assault Cannon out for shits and giggles.

–Paladins–

I am going to put this under the “duh” category. If you thought things were bad with Draigo Wing now, well guess what, they just got a whole lot worse. In fact, the idea of even talking about them bores me so, let us move on to more interesting (non Grey Knight units) units.

I am done with Terminator units let us look quickly at the non-Terminator units out there with 2+ armor saves. For simplicity let us group this by Codex.

–Tau Empire–

Hey, Broadside units did you just go from Tau must have to OMG, please, please, can I have my very own Ethereal just so I can play with you as my ally? Not only were you obnoxious before, with shield drones running around, but now my outflankers and back door lovers can’t even assault you when I come in from reserve!  Oddly, this unit when assaulted, can sometimes be a tar pit, but now they truly won’t die, with your only hope is getting them to run off from a failed morale check. So put the Hammerheads away because honestly there is only one Tau Heavy Support in town.

Broadside Basics

With a codex as old as the Tau, Broadsides have proven the best heavy support choice for the Tau. Tactics haven’t changed much either for  Broadsides; able to take 4+ invul shield drones, along with two wounds each, make Broadsides one of the best anti-tank units in the game. If you considering the 72″ range of Railguns (twin-linked – Str 10 AP1) Broadsides out range most units in the game. Here are the stats of a typical Broadside WS 2 BS 3 S 5 T 4 W 2 I 2 A 2 Ld 8. All for 70 points before upgrades.

–Dark Eldar–

You might ask yourself, but Tasty Dark Eldar wouldn’t even know what a 2+ armor save looks that doesn’t cost 30 points of wargear? Well guess what! Dark Eldar just got a bundle of fun you can play with. Put away your Vect becausw Darzhar is the new king of Commorragh. Not only is he going to challenge the piss out of any character, Drazhar will also make sweet love with my his I7 demiklaives of tenderness. Drazhar is now the best partner to run with Incubi and their flexible demiklavies. You can also string Drazhar along well behind his Incubi because once in combat he will move base-to-base with Darting Strike. When coupled with Fearless and Eternal Warrior, most units will fall to your Incubi before they can even swing.

Darzhar Basics

Besides having some of the best fluff in the Dark Eldar book, Darzhar is one beast in close combat. He has all the special powers of any Incubi, with even more bonuses. Here is what you are in for when playing Darzhar. USRs: Fleet, Night Vision, Power from Pain, IC, Eternal Warrior, Fearless. Master of Blades: Can only join Incubi and has both Onslaught and Murderous Assault Incubi powers. Darting Strike: At the beginning of the fight sub-phase after challenges have been issued he may move to any part of the combat where he can fit. Riposte: When Drazhar makes an armor save of 6 in close combat he may make a single extra attack. His major downfall is his cost at 230 making him the second most expensive character in the codex, but with a stat line like this WS 7 BS 7 S 4 T 4 W 3 I 7 A 4 Ld 10 who is complaining?

I am going to cut it short here.

Next time we will look at some more codices and see what sweet games one can play with the 2+ crowd!

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Warning

It’s Like Tactics is rated theory hammer because these are general observations and assumptions based on only few tested games.

For tactical articles feel free to email me to continue the discussion or if you discovery inaccurate interpretations of the rules– edits will be made accordingly.