1750 (FA) Tyranid Attacking Lists

So, got a game tomorrow:

- Fortress Assault
- Tyranid (attack) vs Death Korps (defense)
- 1750 points

Should be fun if the last Fortress Assault game was anything to go by!

First list: Wave Assault (cheap enough Troops units recycled, infantry armed with S7 krak)

Tyranid Prime; LW/BS, Dev, Regen

3 Zoanthropes
3 Zoanthropes
3 Venomthropes

12 Hormagaunts; Toxin
12 Hormagaunts; Toxin
13 Hormagaunts; Toxin
9 Genestealers; Broodlord; ScyTal
9 Genestealers; Broodlord; ScyTal

2 Biovores
Mawloc
Mawloc

Second list: Planned Attack (+250 points, one unit can outflank, reserves arrive when you want)

Hive Tyrant; TL-Dev w/BL, LW/BS, Wings, Hive Commander, Leech Essence, Paroxysm

Tervigon; ScyTal, CSpines, Toxin, Catalyst
Tervigon; ScyTal, CSpines, Toxin, Catalyst
10 Termagants
10 Termagants
10 Genestealers; Broodlord; ScyTal
10 Genestealers; Broodlord; ScyTal

2 Zoanthropes; Spore; CSpines
2 Zoanthropes; Spore; CSpines
Doom of Malan'tai; Spore; CSpines

14 Gargoyles; Toxin
14 Gargoyles; Toxin

Mawloc; Regen

Last list; Siege Experts (Artillery Support, Night Fighting)

Tyranid Prime; LW/BS, DS, Regen

30 Hormagaunts
30 Hormagaunts
5 Genestealers; Broodlord; ScyTal
5 Genestealers; Broodlord; ScyTal
10 Termagants
Tervigon; CSpines, AG, Toxin, Catalyst

3 Zoanthropes
3 Zoanthropes
3 Venomthropes

2 Biovore
2 Biovore

So, which one to pick?

Well, the lists were made with the prior knowledge that the opponent is going to be Death Korps, and they're going to have 2x AV13 Bunkers and an AV14 Bastion that may well need taking out.
This means the Zoanthropes should be better than Hive Guard - the Bunkers are immune to Stunned/Shaken so the AP1 will help knock them out, and there is no anti-psy to worry about (apart from any S8+ gun...). The small blast is an extra bonus if there are no armoured targets left.

The attacker also gets the first turn and the restrictions of terrain mean that infiltrators won't be able to find any LOS blocking terrain 12" away from the enemy.

Venomthropes should be golden for any foot-slogging element due to the no-man's land and enemy barrage weapons. Add a Prime with them to give them a bit more durability and max the squad size for best coverage and we're good to go.

The first list has lots of fast-moving, hard-hitting infantry that can be recycled - yay infinite Broodlords! I originally had two larger broods of Hormagaunts but figured on going three smaller in the end to increase the chance of overkill against a unit - wiping it out completely to be brought back rather than being left with 2-3 models for a turn. The Genestealers can infiltrate or Outflank in deployment (with restrictions). Troops in the first wave supposed to take the fire away from the Venomthropes/Prime/Zoanthropes following to blow the Bunkers/Tanks early on. Biovores and Mawloc target enemy Heavy Weapons or Troops out in the open.

The second list is built to take advantage of the powerful reserves bonuses, though the restrictions on outflanking prevent me getting straight in behind the front line, I can at least assault it without having taken any fire, opening a gap for the following units. Everything except for the Mawloc and Termagants in reserve, Mawloc tunnels T1, Termagants in cover. Both Tervigons outflanking (1x Hive Commander, 1x Attacker Bonus), Genestealers outflanking, Gargoyles deep-striking, Tyrant in Reserves.
T2 bring on the Zoanthropes, Doom if there's any squads outside, Gargoyles, both Tervigons, Mawloc. T3 - Genestealers.

The last list i'm not quite so keen on as the plan is pretty simple - rush forward as fast as possible and hope the Artillery Support does something... Tervigon likely to get squished as soon as Night Fighting stops.

So, which one?

Well I feel that the Planned Attack list is probably the surest win as Tyranids (or most other armies) get pretty powered up when you can choose when your reserves arrive. I don't own any Gargoyles so would be loath to proxy 30, nor do I have any spores (only one drop-pod proxy). Add to that the Kreig isn't an overly competitive or powerful list and I don't think it would be as fun for me or the Death Korps player, barring exceptional dice either side of course.

I don't really like the Seige Experts bonuses, they're nowhere near as good as the other ones for Tyranids, except for maybe Night Fighting T1, possibly T2 - but the bunkers both have searchlights and so do most of his tanks (if he takes any).

That really leaves just the first list, Wave Assault. Quite appropriate, really. I think this is probably the list that will result in the best game, if nothing else. It should put the pressure on T1, and carry it through 'til death or glory. I can proxy a second Mawloc (Dreadknight, lol) but think i'll run with 2x 16 Horm, 1x 15 Horms and 3x Biovore, 2x Biovore instead of the second.

All being well, i'll try to record it - or at least stay sober enough to remember it.

2500 Hybrid IG List

Got bored, decided to write a 2500 Imperial Guard list after reading loads of 'Ard Boyz qualifier battle reports.



HQ:
-----
CCS; MoO, OotF, ML, Vox, Regimental Standard.

TROOPS:
--------------
Infantry Platoon
Command; 3x GL
4x Squads; 2x AC, 2x MG, 1x Vox, 1x Commissar
Heavy Weapon Squad; 3x AC
Heavy Weapon Squad; 3x AC
Heavy Weapon Squad; 3x LC

Veterans; 3x Melta
Chimera; ML/HF

Veterans; 3x Melta
Chimera; ML/HF

Veterans; 3x Melta
Chimera; ML/HF

Veterans; 3x Plasma
Chimera; ML/HF

Veterans; 3x Flamer, Demolitions
Chimera; ML/HF

FAST ATTACK:
----------------------
2x Devil Dog; HF. Smoke

2x Devil Dog; HF, Smoke

HEAVY SUPPORT:
---------------------------
2x Griffon; HF
2x Hydra; HB
Manticore; HF

2500 points

I quite like it. It has a durable, scoring, firebase in the platoon and CCS with Leadership re-rolls.
The veterans can all roll forwards, with the Devil Dogs tagging along to put the pressure on midfield whilst the artillery does its thang (hopefully).

Strengths:

-14 AV12 Tanks.
-100-odd infantry, 90-something of them scoring, up to 41 of which Stubborn Ld9.
- Reserves interference.
- Lots of potential large blasts/flamer/heavy flamers for anti-horde.
- Some fairly hefty non-LOS firepower.
- Lots of melta weapons.
- Lots of autocannons.
- Lots of high-danger targets to saturate fire.

Weaknesses:

- Always something for the enemy to shoot (i.e. infantry or vehicles).
- Attacking units mostly "suicidal" (lol).
- CCS, PCS, HWS are fairly easy KP's and there are 24 KP's (21 if Blobbed Up)
- No Outflanking/Deep-striking, etc.
- No anti-psy. That is, apart from all the guns...

Alternatively, I could swap the 2x Griffon w/HF for 1x Medusa w/Enclosed Crew. This would improve killing power against small, well armoured targets in exchange for good anti-infantry (got lots of already - HF) and light anti-vehicle work (again, got lots of with ML/AC). It also adds another high-priority target for the enemy AT - whereas the Griffon might well be ignored during the first few turns, the Medusa can seldom afford to be.

1750 Imperial Guard Fortress Assault - Attacking Lists

Following on from the Fortress Assault scenario, I thought out a couple of Imperial Guard lists for attacking.

The first list:


1750 Pts - Imperial Guard
Attacker Bonus; Wave Assault



Company Command
- Col. Straken
- Melta Gun x 2
- Bodyguard x 1
- Medi-Pack

First Platoon
Command
- Flamer x 2
Squad
- Melta Gun; PW
- Commissar; PW
Squad
- Melta Gun; PW
Squad
- Melta Gun; PW
Squad
- Autocannon; Flamer
Squad
- Autocannon; Flamer

Second Platoon
Command
- Melta Gun x 2
Squad
- Flamer; PW
- Commissar; PW
Squad
- Flamer; PW
Squad
- Flamer; PW

Storm Troopers x 5
- Melta Gun x 2
- Deep Strike

Ordnance Battery
Colossus; HF x 2

Ordnance Battery
Medusa; HF; Bastion Breacher Shells x 2

Manticore Rocket Launcher; HF

Pretty simple concept; advance with two 30-man combined squads. Artillery supporting the advance with two squads with autocannons left to babysit them. The Storm Troopers are there to disrupt/suicide priority targets.
Straken is expensive, but with so many power weapon attacks in the combined infantry squads his aura is well worth the cost - his command squad also makes a pretty mean counter-assault unit.


Next up; something with a bit more mobility:


1750 Pts - Imperial Guard
Attacker Bonus; Siege Experts


Company Command
- Astropath
- Plasma Gun
- Melta Bombs
- Vox

Ministorum Priest; Eviscerator

Infantry Platoon
Command
- Grenade Launchers x 4
Squad
- Vox; PW; Commissar; PW
Squad
- PW
Squad
- PW
Squad
- PW

Veteran Squad
- Demolitions
- Melta Guns x 3
- Shotguns 

Veteran Squad
- Demolitions
- Melta Guns x 3
- Shotguns

Valkyrie Assault Carrier
- Multiple Rocket Pods
- Heavy Bolters

Valkyrie Assault Carrier
- Multiple Rocket Pods
- Heavy Bolters

Storm Troopers x 5
- Melta Gun x 2

Guardsman Marbo

Manticore Rocket Launcher; HF

Manticore Rocket Launcher; HF

Leman Russ Demolisher; HF; PC

This is a good candidate for Siege Experts; night fighting for turn 1 and possibly 2 give the Manticore's protection from long-range anti-tank, whilst making their first salvos less accurate this is compensated for by the additional Artillery Support from the attack bonus. The powerblob also benefits as all they'll be doing is running for the first turn or two anyway and the Demolisher is close-range, too.

Priest goes in with the huge blob that advance, soaking up fire whilst the big guns open up the bunkers (hopefully). With all those power weapons it would be nice to have Straken/Creed but will just have to make do. There's plenty of shooting to get rid of heavy infantry without having to rely on S3 power weapons.

Lots of points tied up off the table for the first turn (700 ish) so the Astropath is pretty vital.

The Manticore and Demolisher don't have any protection, so hopefully will have done their damage before anything long range or outflanking/deep-striking gets them!

New 40K Scenario

Warhammer 40,000 Scenario:

Fortress Assault:

Notes:


This scenario is supposed to feel like a combination of a Planetstrike mission and a normal 40K objective based game used to recreate a desperate last stand or all-out attack on a well-defended position.
I have tried to balance it as best I can without play testing and will edit the scenario after playing through it if anything seems out of line, however it isn't really supposed to be very balanced but thematic and a bit different.

The Scenario:

Cut-off, surrounded and out of time; the defenders of an isolated fort steel themselves for death or glory.

Objectives:

There is one objective. The defender can place this objective anywhere in their deployment zone that is on the ground-floor and more than 12" away from a table edge.

- Any non-vehicle unit in the defending army counts as scoring.

- Only Infantry from the Troops or Elites sections count as scoring for the attacker, but any unit can contest.

Game Length:

The game will last 6 turns then roll at the end of turn 6; on a 4+ the game continues for Turn 7.

Victory Conditions:

The player that has at least one scoring unit and no enemy units within 3" of the objective at the end of the game wins.

Special Rules:

Backs against the wall:

The fort has only one approach, and one way out. Units using the Outflank special rule can arrive anywhere but in the defenders deployment zone. Units deep-striking are not affected by this.

Attacker and Defender:

Each player receives different bonuses if they are attacking or defending. Players agree who will be attacking and who defending, then army lists are written then terrain is placed.

Deployment:

The defenders deployment zone is as follows (assuming 6'x4' board):
Choose a long table edge and measure 4' (48") along from a corner, then measure 2' (24") along the short edge adjacent to the corner chosen across to the 4' mark. The area this decribes is the defenders deployment zone.
The attacker can setup anywhere along the opposite long & short table edges, not more than 12" from either edge.

6x 6" Barbed/Razor Wire sections and 2x or 4x Craters can be placed in the no man's land between the two deployment zones; divide the number terrain in half and roll off to place each terrain piece in turn, at least 5" from another terrain piece (Wire or Crater). No other terrain may be placed in no man's land.

The Defender can place any terrain in their deployment zone as they wish.

Both players then scatter terrain randomly in the attackers deployment zone.

Reserves:

Any unit from either player may enter reserves. Units may use any special deployment ability they are normally allowed to use, however the only way attacking units can arrive from reserves inside the defenders deployment zone is by Deep-Strike.
The defenders reserves arrive anywhere along their long table edge.

First Turn:

The attacking army takes the first turn but must deploy their army first.

Defender:

2x AV13 Bunkers (20 model capacity, 10 fire points) set up along the defense line by the defender.

Bunker ignores stunned/shaken and can take 3 weapon destroyed/immobilised results before being wrecked. Bunkers are equipped with a Search Light which cannot be destroyed.

2x BS2 Quad-Autocannon AV10 guns can be set up by the defender.

2x BS3 Lascannon AV10 guns can be set up by the defender.
All automated defences will shoot at the closest target in range & line of sight unless there is a friendly infantry unit with a model within 2" of the gun.

1x AV14 Bastion (Rules as Planetstrike) can be set up by the defender.

Any number of Aegis defence lines can be used by the defender.

Attackers:

The attacker can choose one of the three following bonuses:

1:- Wave Assault:

Any Troop units that cost 18 points per model (divide total unit cost, less any dedicated transports, by the number of models in the squad) or under that are completely destroyed can be brought back on anywhere in the attackers deployment zone, not further than 12" from an edge. The unit can shoot (counts as moving) or run, and can only assault if the unit has fleet. Dedicated transports cannot be brought back. Units cannot use any special deployment ability if brought back.

Additionally, all Infantry models (of any cost) are armed with S7 krak grenades.

2:- Planned Attack:

The attacker receives an additional 250 points.

One unit can be given Outflank.

Attacker chooses when their reserves arrive.

3:- Seige Experts:

The attacker can fire their off-map artillery in the shooting phase using the following profile:

Name:                Range:        Strength:   AP:   Type:                                              

Artillery Support  0"-Unlimited        9           3      Ordnance Barrage (3), Large Blast* 
*Always scatters, even on HIT. May never deduct BS from shot.

Additionally, the game begins with Night Fighting in effect for Turn 1. At the end of Turn 1, the defender rolls a D6. If the dice score is 3 or more, Night Fighting stops.

If Night Fighting continues it will automatically stop at the end of Turn 2.

Writing Army Lists

“The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory and few calculations to defeat...”

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War






For most of us hobbyists, writing an army list is an important part of the Warhammer 40,000 experience (hey, that sounds like a prog-rock album!).

There is any number of combinations of units in any given codex for any given points value and combined with the same for your opponent means that you really can make every 40K game different.

Now, some gamers write their lists after they know what the opponent is taking, in order to gain advantage over them in the list writing ‘phase’. This is cheating in my eyes. You are gaining an unfair advantage that, unless agreed beforehand, will make the game fun for you but not fun for your opponent. Writing an army list should be done before you do anything else.

I have even seen some gamers wait until their opponent has finished their list and has taken out all their models so they know exactly what they will be facing and then make their list.

I do not mind when you only know which codex you are facing as there are multiple army configurations that can be made from each book, as long as the opponent is allowed the same courtesy.

On a more positive note, it can be entertaining to try to beat an army list by tailoring as long as both players agree to it at the start.

Rant over; on to the meat of the topic.

When writing an army list out, I usually like to take a balanced ‘takes-all-comers’ approach. This means that the army I am writing will be able to handle whatever the opponent has to offer and should not be caught out by things like Monoliths, Land Raiders, Feel No Pain Terminators, Horde Orks, etc, as the list has all the tools required to deal with them.

Below is a list of things I like to consider when writing a list. I will give a brief explanation below.

-         Does my army have enough anti-infantry (Heavy/Medium/Light) capability?

-         Does my army have enough anti-tank (Heavy/Medium/Light) capability?

-         Can my army take and hold objectives?

-         Can my army eliminate back-field artillery and support units?

-         Am I able to damage AV14?

-         Does my army need reserves?

-         Does my army have any anti-psychic defence?

-         Does my army have too many ‘easy’ Kill Points?

-         Do I have any non-LOS firepower?

-         Do I have enough redundancy?

You may find that some units can cover more than one of the above which is fine.

Anti-infantry:

This includes close combat units with multiple attacks, rapid fire weapons, multiple-shot heavy weapons, large and small blast weapons and template weapons, all of which can kill or at least damage, squads of infantry.

You need to account for different types of infantry; Heavy (2+ saves) Medium (3+/4+ saves) and Light (5+/6+ saves). Most ranged weapons that kill Heavy Infantry will also kill Medium or Light infantry as well but you pay more points for those weapons and firing them at Light infantry can be a wasted opportunity. This is the same with dedicated assault units with Power Weapons; great against Heavy Infantry, overkill against Light infantry.

Getting the right mix here is key.

Anti-tank:

Tanks in this case being anything with an armour value (AV) so Land Speeders, Dreadnoughts, etc, all fit in here.

As a general rule, I like to be able to damage (i.e. penetrating or glancing) at least 3 vehicles every turn with shooting, including one heavier vehicle (AV13+). Be wary, as anti-tank weapons and units tend to be on the expensive side, so loading up with too much can leave your list vulnerable elsewhere.

In 5^th Edition, multiple S7 or S8 shots is the most effective way of damaging most tanks, bar the heavier battle tanks with 13 or 14 front armour. Multiple shots are important due to the likelihood of the enemy receiving cover saves, which is usually 50% of your shots saved so the more shots you fire, the more chance there is to do damage.

Anything with a +1 on the vehicle damage table is also golden, increasing the chances of destroying a vehicle with a penetrating hit from 33% to 50%. Meltaguns are the current favourite.

As an added bonus, most anti-tank weapons are also dual-purpose for targeting enemy Monstrous Creatures and powerful characters.

Objectives:

Two out of every three missions from the 5^th Edition rulebook involve holding objectives by having a scoring unit within 3” of the objective and no enemy units within 3”.

As almost all scoring units are Troops and Infantry, it pays to make sure your army has enough to compete. If you only bring two 5-man scout squads to a party, that is only two objectives you can control, and those scouts will go down fast.

Now, it very much depends on the army you play as to how many you should take. Imperial Guard, for example, have very squishy, basic infantry so you’ll want a fair number of them to stand a chance. Dark Angel Deathwing Terminators, however are a much tougher unit and can be relied upon more to last out under fire or assault.

As a very rough guide, I like 2 scoring units per 750 points, minimum, so at least 4 for a 1500 point game.

Speed: worth mentioning in the same section as the objectives as a slow-moving army will find it difficult or impossible to reach objectives placed in your opponents half of the table. By the same token, fast enemy units become more of a priority target for shooting or assault to deny them access to your own objectives.

Mechanised, outflanking, infiltrating, scouting and deep-striking all have the potential to get where the slower elements of your army cannot.

Eliminating backfield units:

Some armies you face have access to powerful artillery and support units, things like Devastators/Long Fangs/Manticores/Broadsides. These are usually protected by being at the back of the army, covered by the rest of the units in-front.

It is important not to forget about these types of units as left undisturbed can really swing the course of a battle.

Long range shooting, infiltrating, deep-striking and scouting/outflanking are all things to be considered here – being able to by-pass the covering units in front and hit the more vulnerable units in the backfield is a major asset to most lists. Fortunately the units that can do this role can also then be purposed for other tasks as needed; contesting objectives, anti-tank, anti-infantry, etc.

AV14:

Being able to harm AV14 is a major boost to any list. It is the hardest armour you can face in the game so, if you’re equipped to deal with it you can also deal with anything less well-armoured.

The most obvious application is stopping a Land Raider full of Assault Terminators from being able to pick & choose where they get to assault. Leman Russ tanks can really put the hurt out at range, and being able to neutralise them early on will give you an advantage.

Reserves:

In my mind, there are two main types of reserves; offensive and defensive. Offensive reserves may include deep-strikers and outflankers – hitting your enemy from an unexpected or vulnerable position. Defensive reserves can be counter-assault elements, or scoring units held safely off-board to control objectives towards the end of the game.

Reserves are unpredictable however, as you rely on a single dice roll each turn. Some armies have access to units or upgrades that give bonuses to reserves but these may be too expensive if you only plan on using one reserved unit.

Reserving your entire army can be useful for denying enemy shooting armies a turn of firing if you find yourself going second to say, Imperial Guard. Coming on and getting off the first shots can be crucial but you are risking your army turning up piecemeal and getting cut down rapidly.

Anti-psychic defence:

Fairly niche but increasingly more important; does your army have access to units or Wargear to deal with psychic powers and the psykers that use them?

Some armies, like the Imperial Guard, have no psychic defence whatsoever. Some, like Grey Knights, have too much!

If you don’t have anything specifically suited for the task, then your army has other ways of dealing with psykers. This will probably involve either shooting or assaulting them!

Easy Kill Points:

Again, this is not something that should show up all the time but is definitely worth considering as one third of missions are won on Kill Points.

This is being aware of say, three squads of three Ratling Snipers will almost certainly give up their Kill Points during a game, whereas one squad of nine has the same firepower but is only worth a single Kill Point if destroyed.

Non-LOS:

Another niche category as not everyone has access to non-LoS (i.e. does not need to see at a target to shoot; barrages, etc) weaponry.

It can be a very useful tool for forcing your opponent to come to you, or diverting resources to dealing with these units that would otherwise be spent attacking your main force or contesting objectives. Static armies in particular that can often be out-manoeuvred by a faster force, jumping from cover to cover, can really benefit from non-los shooting; giving the enemy literally nowhere to hide!

Redundancy:

In short, redundancy is not putting all your eggs into one basket.

By having multiple units suited to a specific role you can be surer that what needs to get done gets done. For example, if for some reason your entire army’s anti-tank comes from one 5-man combat squad of Space Marines with a Lascannon, and they miss, then you’re boned. If you had two or three such squads then if the first one misses, or fails to damage then you can try again to ensure that the tank/transport is damaged/destroyed.

Certain armies do redundancy much better than others; Imperial Guard is probably the best at this as all the units are relatively cheap, so you can have more of them. Space Marines can do it quite well, too, as all their troopers have anti-infantry weapons, krak grenades for anti-tank and a variety of special and heavy weapons.

Putting it all together:

Trying to fit everything you want into one list isn’t always possible, or practical. It takes practise to put together a well-balanced list, but once you’re there you shouldn’t have to rely on what other people on the internet say is the ‘best’ list for your army. Any list you are comfortable with and know inside-out will do well (dice gods smile upon thee) and you should be prepared for whatever you may face.

Now, this is all based on my own personal experience so feel free to adapt/ignore anything I’ve said if you’re not comfortable with it. Knowing your own army’s limitations is more important than turning up with a copy-paste list that the internet says is super-awesome.

Imperial Guard Artillery

Imperial Guard Artillery:

Note: throughout this post I refer to ‘artillery’ – note this is not the unit type Artillery (WH40K Rulebook) but just a blanket term used to refer to the non-Leman Russ vehicles in the Heavy Support section of Codex: Imperial Guard.

Hydra Flak Tank.

The Hydra in the fluff is the primary mobile anti-air defense of Imperial Guard armies. On the tabletop it has a wide selection of possible targets thanks to the decent Strength and rate of fire of its main weapons.

One of the cheapest and most effective tanks in the codex, you can purchase a squadron of two Hydra’s for the cost of one basic Leman Russ tank – I would not recommend squadrons of three tanks until you hit higher points levels (2500+) but squadrons of two kick out some serious firepower.  

The Hydra is packing two long-range, twin-linked autocannons as well as the ubiquitous hull mounted weapon. Having two main weapons means that unless you want to sacrifice 50% of your firepower your Hydra will be staying stationary. This means good deployment is essential – get this tank a good field of fire along the paths you think the enemy transports will be heading and leave it there.

Unlike most of the other ‘traditional’ artillery pieces, the Hydra needs line of sight to its target – this also means it has to be in harms way. This is compensated for by being very cheap.

It is also worth mentioning the Hydra’s special rule that allows any shots fired by the Hydra to ignore cover saves for turbo-boosting/moving flat out. Sounds great in theory, however bikes and most skimmer models tend to be relatively small and easy to give a 4+ cover save to; even without zooming around – so you will not get to use this rule as often as you’d like.

I would also recommend taking a hull mounted heavy bolter, rather than the flamer – the tank will hopefully be stationary for the whole game shooting at targets that the heavy bolter can actually damage and can still take advantage of the special rule.

It’s also worth a mention that as of this date, GW do not currently sell a plastic Hydra model, so if you want ‘official’ then it’s the forgeworld one (which does look awesome) or convert your own. Or wait.

Targets:

Transports, monstrous creatures, light tanks, infantry.

Loadouts:

-         Hull heavy bolter/flamer

Or

-         2x Hydra

-         2x Hull heavy bolter

Manticore Rocket Launcher.

The Manticore is one of the best* tanks available to Imperial Guard players. Almost a no-brainer choice for one Heavy Support slot and should always be, at least, considered for inclusion in any army.

Like most Imperial Guard artillery, it is a stupidly powerful main weapon system mounted on a fragile chassis and will need a modicum of protection by infantry or other friendly units to get the most out of it turn after turn.

So first off, the bad points;

-         It has Limited Ammunition, so you can only fire the main weapon four times.

-         It has a random number of blasts per shot, so you can never be quite sure what’s going to happen.

-         You cannot take squadrons of Manticores – 1 per Heavy Support slot.

-         It has an AP of 4, which isn’t great.

-         Mounted on a fragile Chimera chassis.

Now the good points;

-         S10 Ordnance – dominates long range anti-tank work; especially at AV14 and can Instant Death those pesky T5 models from the other side of the street.

-         Multiple large blasts per shot (between 4 and 12 per game) for increased accuracy and forcing saves on tough infantry.

-         It has a relatively small minimum range, can be fired directly and has a massive maximum range.

-         Only 10 more points than a standard Leman Russ tank.

To address some of the bad points; the Limited Ammunition rule isn’t so bad – if your opponent has not destroyed your Manticore after 4 turns of firing chances are its done its job and weakened the enemy sufficiently. Chances are even higher they’ll make it a priority target in the next game though! The AP is mostly negated by having multiple blasts – forcing more saves on a unit to increase casualties and the fragile chassis can be hidden behind terrain for barrage firing.

There are times when it will let you down – like most things in 40K – if the dice are poor. I haven’t found this happens very often; maybe once in six games it will fire one shot each turn which will miss. Such is the price we pay for an otherwise excellent vehicle.

Targets:

Heavy vehicles, everything else except small units of 2+ save infantry and 2/3+ save monstrous creatures.

Loadouts:

-         Hull heavy flamer.

* There is no ‘best’ tank, only the one used properly at the right time. However, the Manticore is excellent pretty much all the time.

Deathstrike Missile Launcher.

For a tank that’s sporting the most destructive weapon system in the entire game, it’s a massive let-down. For those of you reading this that like to win when you play and enjoy squeezing out efficiency and reliability from your lists, look away now. For those that play Apocalypse, enjoy a fun, fluffy, relaxed game, which enjoy having a handicap or just want to give some of the old codex books a chance, then this tank might appeal.

It has a one-shot weapon, which is fired randomly from the second turn onwards.

Chances are good that it will fire at some point in a game unless your opponent has dedicated anti-artillery units (i.e. Wolf Scouts). Even if it does fire, it is normally mid-late game when the enemy is likely to be spread out and not at full strength and there’s still a chance it will just scatter off and miss completely.

If it does fire early, you roll well for the size of the blast and get it on target then there shouldn’t be much left standing after the smoke has cleared.

The Deathstrike cannot be taken in squadrons.

Targets:

Right in the middle of the most expensive bunch of nasty things your opponent has left.

Loadouts:

-         Hull heavy flamer.

Ordnance Battery.

The following artillery units can all be taken in squadrons of up to three vehicles and you can mix different units within a squadron.

I would recommend against the latter course of action – all the artillery have different ranges and optimal targets as well as some being able to direct-fire and some not. If you are going to run a squadron, don’t mix vehicles.

Also please note that all the vehicles below are Open-topped. Do not forget this when your opponent comes to shoot/assault them as the +1 damage modifier means a lot.

All vehicles also come with smoke launchers and searchlights.

Squadron upgrades:

The following upgrades are bought for the vehicles in a squadron.

Note: it is all too easy to spend lots of points upgrading vehicles in the Imperial Guard. I would recommend taking the bare minimum to allow for more points to spend for the rest of your army (i.e. 3x Extra Armour and 1x Hunter-killer missile are as many points as a Chimera – The extra Chimera is always more useful than those upgrades for a goodly number of reasons)

Camo Netting:

The Vehicle gains the Stealth USR if it remains stationary. On the surface this appears to be an excellent upgrade for (mostly) static artillery, further increasing their survivability. There are drawbacks. First and most importantly of all is the cost; it’s just too many points to spend to make a fragile vehicle a bit less fragile (in the right circumstances). Secondly; the vehicles this is best to take on (indirect firing ordnance) should either be hidden away or at least in cover anyway.

Enclosed Crew Compartments:

This upgrade increases the vehicles survivability by removing open-topped. It does not change any of the armour values however, so the tanks are still relatively easy to destroy. This upgrade should only go on vehicles that need line of sight to fire (and so will be seen by the enemy). It is worth considering if you have spare points and the vehicles you put it on are important to your army.

Extra Armour:

Really not worth the points on any vehicle that is not transporting an assault unit, and the ordnance tanks most certainly are not. Save points, don’t buy.

Hunter-killer missile:

Another over-priced upgrade; for the same amount of points you can get another special/heavy weapon in the rest of your army that can fire every turn.

Dozer blade:

This is another almost totally useless upgrade for static tanks. Unless you play a lot of Cities of Death missions and are using direct-fire tanks avoid this upgrade.

Griffon.

-         Griffon Heavy Mortar

At first glance, the Griffon appears to be nothing special and new players would be forgiven for overlooking it in favour of the more obviously destructive artillery pieces. The Griffon is one of my personal favourites however, for two very good reasons:

-         it is stupidly cheap

-         it has re-rolls to hit

Because it is so cheap, this is a vehicle that I would definitely recommend putting in a squadron; two tanks will be fine – and do a lot of damage.

Let’s take a look at the weapon; it has a close-in minimum range and a max range of a lascannon and cannot fire directly. This is actually a very small threat radius for an artillery tank compared to the others but this is mitigated somewhat because almost all IG opponents advance towards you - staying at range is pretty futile.

It has a Strength of 6; nothing spectacular here but S6 is enough to wound 90% of infantry models on a 2+. Because it is Ordnance Barrage you get to roll 2D6 (pick the highest) + 6 vs. side armour of tanks which is well worth remembering.

It also has an AP of 4; pretty poor when compared to the other artillery pieces. This is rarely a problem, however due to the mortar’s special rule allowing re-rolls to hit and taking multiple Griffons you can end up forcing so many saves on a squad of Marines that there will be a lot of fails.

For example; a ten-man squad of Space Marines has just had to disembark from their Rhino which was just wrecked by something else in your army. Your squad of two Griffons now open fire on the tightly-packed squad – let’s be generous and say that both shots hit every Marine for 20 hits. 2+ to wound say around 17 saves… that should be about five dead Marines (unless you’re me, who could probably fail all of those) and a pinning test at -1. That’s not bad at all for an AP4 weapon. It also gets better as you need never worry about shooting a squad of Marines that would get a cover save, as they will be taking armour saves instead.

Targets:

Infantry, light vehicles & vehicles with low side armour.

Loadouts:

-         Hull heavy flamer

Or

-         2x Griffon

-         2x Heavy flamer

Basilisk.

-         Earthshaker cannon

The Basilisk used to be a pretty standard choice for lots of Guard armies - now; not so much. The Basilisk suffers from “jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none” syndrome. Like the Manticore, the Basilisk has a wide range of targets that it can hurt. It has enough strength to penetrate Land Raiders and with AP3, seems like a decent choice to fire at squads of heavy infantry.

One of the major drawbacks this tank has is the massive minimum range if firing indirectly. This means that you’ll have to put this tank in harms way if you are going to be reliably firing turn after turn.

The other drawback, related to the minimum range, is the prevalence of cover saves in 5^th edition. The AP3 isn’t as painful as it should be if your target is in cover. If you fire indirectly, the cover save is taken from the centre of the blast and area terrain grants cover universally, but you will almost certainly not be firing indirectly most of the time.

The Basilisk is cheap enough to squadron up although this does get expensive, but the points you spend on these tanks could be spent elsewhere to do the same job more reliably.

Outside of Apocalypse games where you can use the Basilisk to its full potential, there are few scenarios where I would want one of these tanks over say, a Leman Russ tank; for an extra 25points you get a gun with one less point of strength, but mounted on a much, much more durable chassis.

Targets:

Infantry, vehicles.

Loadouts:

-         Hull heavy flamer.

Or

-         2x Basilisk

-         2x Hull heavy flamer.

Medusa.

-         Medusa siege cannon

Another new addition to the 5^th edition Codex: Imperial Guard, the Medusa mounts what is essentially a longer range demolisher cannon. Fantastic, although there is a caveat: no indirect fire. This means your tank will need to be able to see what its shooting – no hiding safely behind buildings for this tank – putting it in range and sight of the enemy AT assets from the word go. Therefore this is definitely a tank I would recommend the enclosed crew compartment upgrade for. It does make an already expensive vehicle more expensive but you can guarantee there will be a lot of fire coming their way so the extra protection is welcome.

The siege cannons have the same targets as the demolisher cannons, which is pretty much anything. AV14, Terminators, it’s really not that fussy. Point, shoot and kill.

Cover saves really should be mentioned (again) as that lovely AP2 can go to waste if not used properly, and even then it can be tricky to find a target that won’t get a cover save.

The Medusa is also capable of being upgraded to fire the bunker buster munitions to make it one of the most fearsome tank-hunters in the game (10 + 2D6, AP1, Blast – ouch!). Note that this replaces the usual large blast, etc, you cannot change the type of shells you fire mid-game.

If you can park the Medusa somewhere which will grant it a cover save, with good lines of fire and a supporting unit or two then you should be laughing. Your opponent, however…

Targets:

Heavy vehicles, heavy infantry, everything else.

Loadouts:

-         Hull heavy flamer

Or

-         2x Medusa

-         2x Heavy flamer

-         2x Enclosed Crew Compartments

-         (optional) Bunker buster ammo

Colossus.

-         Colossus Siege Mortar

The Colossus is a specialised piece of equipment; perfect for taking out 3+ save troops hiding in cover in the enemy backfield (Long Fangs, Heavy Weapon Teams, Devastators, Havocs, Troops guarding objectives, etc).

The Siege Mortar cannot fire directly and has a minimum range equal to a boltgun max. range. This is painful when the entire enemy army is hidden away in transports and driving at your lines as fast as possible - you may not even get a chance to fire it!

Against a more ‘balanced’ or takes-all-comers list, the Colossus should have targets to fire at most turns. Against a fully ‘mech’ army you will have to dedicate enough fire to the transports to force the infantry out before you fire the Colossus.

Like almost all of the artillery, it is a bit of a glass-cannon. Incredible anti-infantry firepower, mounted on a fragile, open-topped chassis. It is also rather expensive and only taking one of these is asking for bad scatter rolls to ruin your fun.

The major downside to this particular piece is its specialised role can be filled by other units in the codex that are usually cheaper, tougher, not in a Heavy Support slot or all three! You can also get the same effect (or better) with a squad of two Griffons. The Griffons are more likely to hit (re-rolls) and should do twice as many wounds as a single Colossus which means the negating cover doesn’t really matter – pour on enough wounds and the targets will go down just the same.

Targets:

Infantry in cover, infantry, light vehicles.

Loadouts:

-         Hull Heavy Flamer

Thoughts on Tyranids so far

Now I have had a good chance to play a few games with the Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition Tyranid codex, I thought I would briefly share my thoughts so far.

First thought; cover.

Cover is massively important to the Tyranids. As an up-close-and-personal army with almost no access to invulnerable saves or transports, getting across the table and getting to grips with your opponent with enough models left to do serious damage is reliant on getting those cover saves.

I would also point out at this time the 25% terrain rules. If you're not playing with at least 25% of the gaming table covered with differing types of terrain (LoS blocking, area, difficult/dangerous, ruins, etc) then you are already on the backfoot and will have a much harder time of it than you really should.

Fortunately, the army is capable of generating cover for itself, either by using screening, cheap units or by using Venomthropes.

This requires a different way of thinking and playing over say, Imperial Guard. The Movement phase becomes the most critical of all; setting up assaults, counter-assaults, getting in range for shooting, all whilst trying to maintain your cover saves until the last possible moment, or the enemy threats have been dealt with.

Second thought; Transports and eating the juicy treats inside.

Having played a 1750 point game yesterday against my mates Sisters of Battle (using new rules and points costs we guessed at) saw about 5 transports on the field (not as many as he could have taken). Transports carrying meltaguns and heavy flamers...

Getting the units out of the transports posed quite a problem (even with Hive Guard) but once they were out it was feeding time and units disappeared rapidly.

There are really only two phases that Tyranids (and any other army) can open the transports; shooting and assault. Of these two phases, it is much, much better to do the job with shooting rather than assault. If you assault a transport, say Rhino, with a TMC (Tyranid Monstrous Creature) it will probably be destroyed, however that then leaves a full (or nearly full) squad inside ready to jump out and wreck whatever assaulted the transport in their go, which will be straight after (assauming Pinning check is passed, but that isn't reliable enough to depend on).

There is also the option of surrounding the transports exit points and hull with models and hoping the transport is wrecked which would, if i'm not mistaken, mean the transported units inside are destroyed.

If you shot said transport, then your assault phase comes straight afterwards, leaving you free to munch on the contents! Obvious, but pretty vital stuff!

The problem here comes from the Tyranids rather limited anti-transport shooting:
Hive Guard (Elites)
Zoanthropes (+ Doom of Malan'tai) (Elites)
Tyrannofex (Heavy)
Heavy Venom Cannons (HQ, Fast Attack, Heavy)
Devourers with Brainleech Worms (HQ, Heavy)

Of these, the HVC is OK for suppression, as is the Devourer. Supression just doesn't cut it against transports as the squad inside can still just get out and shoot/assault you in their turn. Transports must either a) explode b) wrecked or c) immobilised far enough away from anything useful, forcing the squad inside to get out.

I've listed the FOC types for these as well. No anti-transport in Troops, very limited in Fast Attack and the Heavy and HQ options are very points-heavy. So that really only leaves the Elites section.
Of the two choices, Hive Guard and Zoanthropes each have their pro's and con's:


Hive Guard
Pro: cheaper, multiple shots, don't need LoS, T6, 24" range, S8, harder for target to get cover save.
Con: no AP1, only glance AV14.
Zoanthropes
Pro: synapse creature, AP1, S10 Lance, 3++, variable fire mode
Con: short-range, psychic test required, can be shut down by hoods/anti-psy, T4, more expensive, easier to get cover saves from, Spore almost certainly needed.

The Hive Guard seem to be the better option generally as they have less drawbacks and are almost impossible to stop shooting unless the unit is killed but, exclusively taking Hive Guard is asking for Land Raiders to come and ruin your day.

In the 1750 point game vs Sisters, I had 2x 2 Hive Guard and the Doom of Malan'tai (in a spore) as my elites choices. It worked pretty well, with the Hive Guard going after the transports for the rest of my army to munch on the contents.
The Doom actually did better at anti-vehicle then anti-troop (although my mate rolling 6,6,6 for one of his tests was pretty painful) I believe the Doom blew up an Excorcist with a S10 blast and a Rhino, again with a S10 blast.

I am due to play again on Friday this week, hopefully against either the Death Korps or Grey Knights and i'll try to record any games I get to play.

Tyranids vs Death Korps of Kreig

No pictures this time i'm afraid.

1500 pts Tyranid vs Death Korps of Kreig

My list (approx):

Prime; Lash Whip + Bonesword, Devourer, Regen

10 Termagants

Tervigon; Cluster Spines, Catalyst, Toxin Sacs

16 Hormagaunts; Toxin Sacs

6 Genestealers; Broodlord with Scything Talons

6 Genestealers; Broodlord

5 Tyranid Warriors; Devourers, Venom Cannon

2 Hive Guard

2 Hive Guard

2 Venomthropes

Tyrannofex; Cluster Spines, Rupture Cannon, Regen

His list (approx)

Company Command; Carapace, Officer of the Fleet, Autocannon, Vox, Regimental Standard

Platoon

Command Squad; Centaur

Infantry Squad; Commissar with Power Fist, Vet with Power Fist, Vox

Infantry Squad; Vet with Power Fist

Infantry Squad; Vet with Power Fist, Vox

Infantry Squad; Vox

Heavy Weapon Squad; 3 Autocannon

Heavy Weapon Squad; 3 Lascannon

Engineer Squad; Demolition Charge

Hades Breaching Drill

Heavy Mortar x 2

Heavy Mortar x 2

Leman Russ Demolisher; Multi-melta sponsons, Lascannon

Hellhound; Multi-melta

5 Objectives, Pitched Battle

Tyranids win first turn (phew)

I set up fairly aggressively, but with most units in as much cover/area terrain as possible in case of losing the initiative. Hive Guard on either flank just in Synapse. Genestealers outflanking. Prime attached to Venomthropes following Warriors and trying to keep the Tfex within 6”.

The Death Korps setup in the middle of the table with lascannon and autocannon heavy weapons teams each joined to a 10-man squad in two separate ruins in his DZ. CCS, Demolisher and 20 man combined blob in the centre, Hellhound on far right flank, one Heavy Mortar battery on far left flank to act as a buffer in case of ‘stealers.

* Thoughts

Well, the opposing army is very shooty but very static. Those Heavy Mortars and the Hellhound can really do a number on the medium and small bugs whilst the Demolisher and lascannon team are dangerous to my MCs. As the army I picked isn’t very fast I will be relying on the ‘stealers outflanking to get to his backfield artillery (although this is by no means certain with -1 to reserves thanks to the officer of the fleet) so I will be taking at least two or three turns of fire from them. Luckily, the Kreig infantry are stubborn so if I can get in combat and not wipe out his squads I have a good chance of being locked in combat during his turn, keeping the assaulting units safe.

As it is an objective game, I will move up the entire army to midfield and hold there, letting the faster, assault elements charge in an tie up some of his shooting.

Turn 1; Kreig fails to seize!

Tyranids; all move up, most through difficult terrain that slows my advance a bit. Tervigon casts Feel No Pain on the Hormagaunts at the front of my advance.

Hive Guard on the right fire and pop the Hellhound in a ruin. Tfex misses the Demolisher. Warriors Venom Cannon misses Infantry blob.

Kreig; no movement.

Shooting starts with the CCS ordering the lascannons to twin-link at the Tervigon in the open, 2 wounds. Orders re-roll cover saves on autocannon squad against Hormagaunts. Lucky cover and Feel No Pain means I lose a couple. PCS orders blob squad to FRFSRF at Hormagaunts, I lose 1 after cover and FnP. Heavy Mortars squad 1 fires at Hormagaunts, again I get lucky with cover and lose a couple. Heavy Mortar 2 fires at Warriors, more lucky 5+ cover saves from the ‘thrope and I take one wound. Demolisher opens up at the Hormagaunts (only just being in range) and kills 1 after more good cover saves.

Turn 2:

Tyranids; no reserves. Army advances again, everything just within Synapse.

Tervigon spawns 9 gants, no doubles. Casts FnP on Hormagaunts but takes a perils wound.

Both Hive Guard units are just out of range of their targets, as are all the Warriors bar the Venom Cannon which kills a couple of guardsmen. Tfex misses the Demolisher. Horma’s get a good fleet roll, putting them in range of assault with the autocannon squad.

Assault; Hormagaunts kill about 9 in total, take 1 casualty back, Kreig hold.

Kreig; no moving, Hades drill still in reserve.

Shooting sees the lascannons ordered at the Tervigon again and do another two wounds (1 left). Demolisher fires at Warrior squad, after good hits (4 from Demolisher, 1 each from MM and LC) and lucky cover saves, only 1 Warrior falls (phew). 1 Heavy Mortar fires at Warrior squad, does a wound to the Warriors and a wound to the Venomthropes. The other heavy Mortar squad fires at my 10 gants on my right flank but scatters and only kills a couple.

Combat sees my hormies kill all but an autocannon team, who then holds! Damn!

Turn 3.

Tyranids; I get one ‘stealer squad arriving on my choice of side, I bring them on the far left, ready to assault one of the Heavy Mortar squads.

All my army is now arriving in mid-table, I leave the Prime from the Venomthrope unit to join the Warriors sitting on an objective and edge closer. Tervigon spawns 5 gants and burns out, I forget to cast FnP.

Shooting; Tfex finally hits the Demolisher, penetrates and shakes it. Good enough! Hive Guard on the left explode the Centaur, killing 3 guardsmen and pinning the survivors. Hive Guard on the right are out of range of the Demolisher. The Warriors and gants fire into the combined squad in front of them, nailing (I think) 5. The gants are in range for an assault but the Warrior + Prime unit will need a 5 on their difficult terrain test to get in (and most will strike last). Stealers fleet towards the artillery.

Combat; the ‘stealers assault in and wipe out the artillery with little effort (I think I rolled 5x 6’s to wound, although the Broodlord rolled 1x 6 and 3x 1’s to wound). Hormagaunts roll over the last autocannon team and consolidate towards the CCS.

The termagants and warriors try to charge the blob squad. Warriors roll a 4 so don’t make it, leaving 5 gants against the blob. My attacks go off and I kill 1, the blob swings back and kills all the gants. They consolidate back 2”.

Kreig; No Hades drill again. Demolisher moves backwards and pops smoke. CCS faces off against the Hormagaunts. Blob squad moves towards the nearest objective.

Shooting sees the genestealers drop to FRFSRF and the remaining Heavy Mortar squad. CCS kills a hormagaunt with shooting before assaulting in and wiping them out. Something takes the last wound from my Tervigon.

Turn 4.

Tyranids; last ‘stealer squad arrives on table edge of my choice so I bring them on following the previous squad.

Hive Guard and gants both pass LD test since the Tervigon was providing Synapse to their half of the board. Hive Guard move up to try to contest the objective closest to them and the last of the Kreig blob. Warriors stay put in cover on their objective, Tfex moves into the open to try to force the lascannons to fire at him. Other Hive Guard move up near their objective.

Shooting is mixed, with the Tfex and both Hive Guard units failing to dent the paint on the Demolisher, whilst the Warriors + Prime hose down more guardsmen from the blob, leaving the vets, commissar and a couple of normal guys. Genestealers fleet but won’t be in charge range.

Kreig; Hades drill arrives. Scatters away from Warriors + Tfex. Demolisher sits pretty, blob + CCS advance toward objective held by Hive Guard. Unpinned PCS move towards the objective closest to them.

Shooting; lascannons and Heavy Mortars fire at ‘stealer squad, most survive! Demolisher fires again at Warriors, most shots miss but still ID’s a Warrior and a Venomthrope after cover saves. Hades melta cutter scatters wildly.

Turn 5.

Tyranids; ‘stealers move to assault last artillery battery. Tfex moves up, as does the remaining Venomthrope.

Shooting; unengaged Hive Guard blow away the remains of the PCS. Tfex misses. Warriors mow down the last of the blob squad. Other Hive Guard miss the Demolisher.

Assault; ‘stealers wipe the artillery.

Kreig; Engineers arrive, demo charge and shotgun the Hive Guard but only do 1 wound. They then charge in, along with the CCS. I think I kill 2 engineers and the regimental standard then take a wound in return. Both Kreig units hold.

Game over!

Tyranids win 2-0 on Objectives.

Post-game thoughts:

A good game. 


My cover saves were on fire when it mattered, making more than my fair share on 4+/5+ cover saves. This helped keep my larger Tyranids alive, like the Warriors, and doing what they do.

The Death Korps, I think, are hampered by their lack of mobility in objective games. Mainly having to rely on large blobs running with the Move! Move! Move! Order and keeping them in the fight ‘til the end.

Best Tyranid unit/s: probably either the Hormagaunts, for surviving the run across no-man’s land, charging in and causing good damage to the infantry, or the reliably destructive Hive Guard. Of course, the Hormagaunts would not have made it all the way across without the Tervigon supporting them.

New to Tyranids.

So to start off the blog, I will be talking a bit about my new 40K squeeze; Tyranids!

After playing Imperial Guard for so many years, I do occasionally fancy a change of pace; be it by playing an army that gets a decent armour save, or has a totally different play-style.

Why Tyranids?
A good question. I think mostly because they are so different to the Guard; completely alien, melee orientated with no armoured vehicles whatsoever. I also love the models and look forward to painting them (very important) and, as a bonus, my little bro gave me all his Tyranids after he stopped playing!

Initial thoughts.
Historically, Tyranids have been the premier close-combat army; rush forward and engage as soon as possible. With the release of the 5th edition Tyranid codex, things seem to be a bit more complicated than that, adding in layers of synergy that need to be accounted for during both the list building element and the actual playing element.
Tyranid shooting seems to have taken a knock from the previous edition however, there is still plenty of it knocking about and needs to be taking into consideration for supression/anti-tank and anti-infantry.