Topic: Rare Choices

[ILoseAtLife]

For Empire, I often find that the strategy of my army is heavily dependent on my rare choices.  I usually oscillate between running 2 Helstorms or 1 Steam Tank.  Taking the Helstorms would obviously mean a heavy artillery army while the Stank tends to see me emphasize more CC.  What do you all like to run for you rares?  Anyone else running double Helstorms?  It's super effective, but I'm kind of leaning away from it as throwing pie-plates is losing its allure to me.  Let me know your thoughts! 

[commandant]

I very seldom have any rares in my army.   If I want to go artillery heavy I go with one or maybe two helstorms, once or twice I take a helblaster but really of all our choices the rare choices are very poor.   Two helstorms can be quite good but it does make your army very artillery heavy when combined with the cannons and mortars that people tend to take

[Baron Martens]

I usually take a pair of Helstorms, mostly because I don't have any mortars somehow.    Not sure how that happened, or why I let it continue.  Anyway, if I did have mortars, I might still take a Helstorm, but then again I might not.  On the whole, I have to say I'm not real inclined to take any of our rares.  The Steam Tank always seems too expensive and performs functions other units often do better at.  I've had horrible luck with the Volley Gun, too unreliable for my taste.  And, like I said, I do take Helstorms, but their lack of accuracy, even in the much more forgiving 8th ed. rules, can be a little worrisome.  Last game one of them took out about 20 of my own troops in one hit    I should've been more careful, but still.

[Northern Storm]

At 3k pts I field x1 Steam Tank and x1 HBVG

[GambitGriffin]

I dont own a steamtankä so I use 2 hellstorms most of the time. In lower points or against some armies I use a hellblaster or two.

[Salostar]

At 2k i'll go with a helstorm, above that i'll go with two. Other then that? Not really a fan of the Steamtank as too many people around my area can either deal with it easily enough, or have little in the way of stopping it.

Volleyguns i don't like, never done anything for me when i've used them, and flagellants i'll take in large games, but i'd rather invest the points in more state troops at small games.

[Sos]

i love hellstorm. its actually my favourite piece of artillery at the moment. so fun, espcially when it lands near where you intended it to...

in 3k games, i usually field 2 cannons, 2 mortars and 2 hellstorms.

in games where i think my opponents wont be using shadow or death, i would take a stank. another thing i like about taking a stank is that some people react and change their tactics when they see a stank.. and thats advantage gained right there. 

[UndeadEmpire]

My steamtank has never let me down.

[novemberrain]

I dont own a steam tank, and dont think I would field one if I did.

I sometimes find myself running with no rares tbh, I find our specials much more useful, tho I have been known to use the wildly inaccurate S% templates o'Doom against Dwarves for hilarities sake....

[ostlandbull]

I think the current Steam tank is quite unbalanced. I only take Hellstorms as rare choises. I've never used flagellants though.

[UndeadEmpire]

I dont own a steam tank, and dont think I would field one if I did.

I thought the same way until I proxied a STank into a game that annihilated half a high elf army by itself.

[Fandir Nightshade]

I think this is actually his point Undead....Stank = army of its own for 300 points.

[UndeadEmpire]

I think this is actually his point Undead....Stank = army of its own for 300 points.

Please change your avatar back, I don't read names, just know avatars and you confused me

[Warlord]

I dont own a steam tank, and dont think I would field one if I did.

I thought the same way until I proxied a STank into a game that annihilated half a high elf army by itself.

He obviously never shot his Bolt Thrower at it. Because after that, it would have just been a paperweight.

Oh wait - I forgot about the T10 thing.

Why did they do that again?

[Fandir Nightshade]

Because now even S1 can wound him 

he should have a lower armour save like 3+

[UndeadEmpire]

I dont own a steam tank, and dont think I would field one if I did.

I thought the same way until I proxied a STank into a game that annihilated half a high elf army by itself.

He obviously never shot his Bolt Thrower at it. Because after that, it would have just been a paperweight.

Oh wait - I forgot about the T10 thing.

Why did they do that again?

Because now magic annihilates it.

[Fandir Nightshade]

As it did last edition but now we can also heal that thing.

[Captain Dob Van Dwi]

A large unit of Flagellants. If I took my WP I would take a second unit as a core. I know from other people's storys that don't work well but I would still do it.

Ah that would be a funny way to kick off my 1st game.

[commandant]

I dont own a steam tank, and dont think I would field one if I did.

I thought the same way until I proxied a STank into a game that annihilated half a high elf army by itself.

He obviously never shot his Bolt Thrower at it. Because after that, it would have just been a paperweight.

Oh wait - I forgot about the T10 thing.

Why did they do that again?

Or used any magic at all against it

[sometimesafish]

A large unit of Flagellants. If I took my WP I would take a second unit as a core. I know from other people's storys that don't work well but I would still do it.

Ah that would be a funny way to kick off my 1st game.

I have actually tried this, while they weren't as spectacular as I hoped the look on my opponents face when I depoloyed them was worth every point I spent on them 

[Eighty]

i only use the hell battery against tough or high armored armies, otherwise mortars always perform better for me.

i have only played with the tank twice and both times the enemy didnt have an effective way to take care of it. so so far so good!

[GambitGriffin]

A large unit of Flagellants. If I took my WP I would take a second unit as a core. I know from other people's storys that don't work well but I would still do it.

Ah that would be a funny way to kick off my 1st game.

I have actually tried this, while they weren't as spectacular as I hoped the look on my opponents face when I depoloyed them was worth every point I spent on them 

Yeah I have used flaggies too in 8th to some success. Against enemies with low I they can do well. Against LM, OnG and Dwarfs they have been decent so far. They are a bit overpriced now but there is a fun-factor attached to them for me:)

[Skyros]

I dont own a steam tank, and dont think I would field one if I did.

I thought the same way until I proxied a STank into a game that annihilated half a high elf army by itself.

To be fair, the Stank probably does best against HE of any army out there. They have expensive weak models and not a lot of high S/no AS shooting. They lack the big tarpit units (like slaves) that could tie the steamtank up indefinitely (or at least until they lost their ranks)

[Warlord]

High Elves IMO do quite well against it. Both Throwers help, magic helps, Special Troops with high strength help.

Wood Elves struggle much more. No Bolt Throwers, weaker magic, less strong special troops.

[Sos]

i dont think the stank will survive long if it is side charged by whitelions or swordmasters...