Hello fellow wargamers
Today we
will analyze a BA Land Raider- heavy list.
To begin with, why using Land Raiders?
The answer is very simple: Resilience and
Counter-meta.
In the 3rd
part of these series, I mentioned the reasons why Land Raiders remain a great
option. In fact, currently LR are becoming such a good option amongst Space
Marine players, that they are starting to form a brand new archetype of their
own.
Every SM
codex has access to them and most chapters can make an efficient LR heavy list.
However, BA are quite unique solely because they get LR as dedicated
transports, leaving space for HS goodness.
Thus,
without further delay, allow me to present you a typical BA LR list:
HQ
Librarian-125
- Terminator Armor
- Power Axe
- Blood Lance
- Shield of Sanguinius
ELITES
Corbulo-100
Assault
Terminator Squad-225
- 5x THSS
DT: LR
Crusader-260
- Extra Multi-melta
TROOPS
5xAssault
Squad- 100
DT: Land
Raider- 225
- Extra Multi-melta
5x Assault
Squad-100
DT: Land
Raider-225
- Extra Multi-melta
HEAVY
SUPPORT
Vindicator-145
Vindicator-145
Stormraven
Gunship-200
- Twin-Linked Multi-Melta
- Twin-Linked Lascannon
TOTAL: 1850
This is
quite a balanced LR- heavy list. It has enough firepower to deal with most
enemies, it contains some vital units ( vindicators, Stormraven) and has a decent, reliable, melee unit.
The philosophy of the list is quite plain:
Libby,
Corbulo, terminators in LRC, 5man marines in LR. It behaves like a moving wall
(good old 5th ed. Bag of tricks),
making excellent use of the high AV of the list.
The
terminator unit should be nearly unstoppable with Corbulo and his incredible
3+, 2+ FNP guarantee that they will survive long enough to completely wipe out
the opponent.
And while
most LR lists have little to no way of dealing with enemy flyers, the presence
of one Stormraven should be enough to take care of any airborne threat.
I believe that lists like this are probably
the best our codex can offer. At the
moment, I dare to say that they are counter-meta against Tau and Eldar, simply
because their shooting units are unable to harm high AV targets.
Against a
list like this, most Tau players will only get to do some damage with their
Riptides, while your AV Wall with proceed with deadly efficiency, completely
abusing the lack of melta weaponry that characterize today’s meta.
This list
is also very, very effective against Necrons, who also rely on str7 shots and
can only pierce LR if they get in melee. Our buffed terminators should be
enough to deal with as many as 12 wraiths without any problem at all.
The biggest problem of the list is, of course,
the lack of troop units. Having only 2
units of Assault marines means that the opponent can eradicate them fast,
denying you any means of claiming objectives. The trick here is to keep them in
their safe zones ( LR) until late game, making sure not to miss their timing to
go and get those obj, while using the bulk of the LR to keep them hidden from
any harm.
If played correctly, this is a list that can almost guarantee a draw, get a minor victory easily, and lose fairly hard. In team tournaments, I would certainly insist that a similar list should be included in the team. It is just that good.
Thank you
Stefanos
Kapetanakis.
