Let’s dive back into Astra Militarum and look at a list build using Armageddon’ts Steel Legions. Mechanized Infantry, GET ON THAT OBJECTIVE! Check the Tactics Corner for more great articles!
Hey guys and girls, BigVik here with the next in my series of articles highlighting list builds for the Armageddon Steel Legions!
These guys are mechanized infantry all the way, they field lots of small squads with an abundance of special weapons to make every squad capable of getting the job done, and have extended rapid fire range, making them quite sure that the maximum utility will be gained from those plasma guns!
From a rules perspective, if you want to dive back into the rules for the Vostroyan Regiments, I recommend you look back at Reece’s articles, Astra Militarum Review Part 1, and Part 2.
Now let’s dive into the list!
Brigade Detachment (Armageddon, +9 CP, Troops gain ObSec)
- 3x HQ- Company Commander
- 3x ELITE- Astropath
- ELITE- 5 Ratlings
- 6x TROOPS- Steel Legion Infantry w/ plasma gun, heavy bolter
- 3x FAST ATTACK- Scout Sentinel w/ multi-laser
- 3x HEAVY SUPPORT- Leman Russ w/ battle cannon, 2 plasma cannons, lascannon
- DED. TRANSPORT- 6x Chimera w/ multi-laser, heavy bolter
What the list does:This is probably one of the most sturdy lists I’ve built in quite a long time, and the only thing I don’t own is all the chimeras or I would be fielding this by next week! Between the commanders and astropaths you have tons of support to ensure your guardsmen can get maximum use out of those special weapons they brought.
The leman russes open up cans to ensure the other weapons can get to the creamy filling inside, while the sentinels and ratlings keep deep strikers from getting too close to your line on turn 1.
Though there is not an abundance of special weapons, the abundance of boxes with guns on them creates a situation where there is an absurd abundance of strength 6 and 7 shots, backed up by orders, and ignoring cover from the astropaths, you can force saves to such a degree that the one unit that NEEDS to die, will do so, and an abundance of single units means it will be very hard to wear your list down before the end of the game, making this list extremely good at taking and holding objectives.
If anything is a mission denial list, this is it, ObSec bodies on every objective every turn is definitely a thing, and with all the heay weapons attached to vehicles you’ll be throwing buckets of dice at the one target that needs dying.
What Relics to take:The Armageddon relic doesn’t really do too much for this list, you’ll probably be best served by keeping to the eternal stand bys, the outlflank dagger, and Kurov’s Aquila. Between these two, you’ll be getting CP’s back AND be moving around at even more annoying angles for your opponent to deal with.
What its Strengths are: This is a mission playing list, you need an objective? You got it, surround it with boxes, run a bunch of dudes over to the marker to keep your opponent our of range, and win those missions! Let’s not forget the SHEER number of command points you’ll have access to, you can have quite a bit of tactical flexibility to ensure your opponent really has to work to remove those units from objectives.
What its Weaknesses are: This list just doesn’t have as much killing power as other Guard lists. If the player doesn’t have good target priority, then this army can potentially be picked apart over the length of the game, and lack of proper positioning will cause the Guard player to lose shooting once the lines fully engage.
Between all of these skill of both the player and the opponent becomes the primary strength and weakness of this army, if you want to try an army like this, make sure you get some reps in as I can see this becoming a monster on the board, but only when properly fielded, otherwise, as I said before, it can get picked apart.
That being said, I love the mechanized infantry theme of this list, I want to see what you guys would build with this Regiment, post in the comments!
Well that’s all I’ve got for today, tune back in next time when we continue looking at the Regiments of Renown of Astra Militarum!
And as always, Frontline Gaming sells gaming goodies at a discount, every day!
Frontline Gaming will buy your used models for cash or store credit!
Any reason you’re running multilasers on the chimeras instead of 2x heavy bolter?
Come on BigVik! That list gets owned, poned and toned up! Infantry squads. Really? AM needs to kill:)
Some thoughts on Steel Legion.
1. So you can’t move a transport, get out and shoot in this edition, which is the bread and butter steel elgion move. So with Chimeras and Taurox, you are playing a very defensive build. You basically start in a transport. Get out 3″, move 6″ and shoot 18″. So you have 27″ rapid fire plasma and lasguns. Problem is if you even play the list, you get pinned in and chimeras get stuck behind what ever chaff your opponent is clogging up the middle of the board with. Charging forward and sitting on objects with infantry is a good way to just die. And Obsec doesn’t work when you are sitting in a transport.
2. Chimeras. If you do want to use Chimeras, at least use the one from Forgeworld turrets with 2 heavy bolters in the turret…
3. So remember when I said, you can’t move a transport, get out and shoot in this edition? Well, I lied. Enter the Valks and Vendettas. With these babies you can move fast drop out and shoot at Range. PLUS, only fliers can assault fliers, so agianst many units can you put the flier in front of the infantry to make them basically unassaultable.
NOTE: If you are willing to mix up regiments tallaran fliers are where it’s at 😉
3. Infantry? Why BigVIk! Why? A Valk can hold 2 assault weapon squads with 3 plasma guns each or 3 command squads with a total 12 plasma guns! OR you go with an assault squad and a command squad plus some HQs if they need a ride. Think smite 😉 Think astropaths. Think Yarrick. Think Officer of the fleet (which is weirdly good in this scenerio).
4. Hades Breaching Drill Squad. Often overlooked as a good option, but it gives steel legion reserve units, which works really well with the Dagger of Tu’Sakh or with Tallaran allies or scion allies. These 2 units are actually deployed as one, which is a nice unit count reducer.
But let’s focus on the tactics. Character can only be targeted if they are the closest VISIBLE unit. You can use the drill to block LOS to other units and snipe the character. Work really well with 2 drills and the extra ranged rapid fire helps with the 9″ push back for reserves.
Mount up really works well with this unit as well. Deploy them outside the drill when they are deployed. Shoot and mount up. Try to charge with the drill.
Now for the controversy.
5. Mount Up! – unit can shoot and immediately embark, unless they just disembarked in the previous phase.
So basically you can’t disembark, shoot and re embark. Which is a shame, but thems the rules.
The obvious use is running away, shooting and mounting up.
But it also means someone can charge you, you can fall back from combat, shoot your enemy and mount up. Thems the rules. Codex rules override core codex rules. So RAW it works.
As for the controversy… “Get back in the fight” explicitly calls out fallback as a clarification in it’s rule, but frankly it didn’t need too.
6. The rub… So Steel Legion are basically all about maxing plasma guns and the most efficient plasma guns are actually special squads, but for some reason GW changed these guys to elites this editions. (Why GW… This list could have been so good! Why?). So now you have huge competition in the Elite slot between command squads, vet squads, hades breacher squads, assault squads….
So sure, you could run 18 special weapon squads in 9 chimeras plus HQs. (maybe swap in a couple command squads for room in the chimeras), but I’ve done it. It hits hard, but it’s not great tactically because you simply can’t drive through guys with chimeras… Right BigVik 🙂
So you need to start mixing fliers and drills for speed and redeployment.
But the rub, is that units like scions do very similar things without the transport tax. Scions also offer plasma guns and hot shot las in the troop slot. So I find picking up a battalion with scions or elysians really helps the build get some CPs. Elysians also offer deepstriking Valkyries which steel legion can use and tauros venator that can also drop in without penalty to shooting.
Speaking of allies, all transports are better with tallaran as they can move and shoot without the penalty. So consider taking steel legion command squads with tallaran special weapon squads in valks or chimeras. Tallaran also make units like vultures and leman russes more intersting.
Forgive me for saying this, but this seems like a very odd army.
– I don’t understand why you’d want Heavy Bolters on mobile infantry squads. Given that you’ll be hitting on 5s when you disembark (and are likely to want to move afterwards to maintain the 18″ Rapid Fire), it just seems like a complete waste.
– Why Multilasers? I can *maybe* understand them on Sentinels (though even then, why not spend an extra 5pts and have a weapon that’s actually worth a damn?). However, why in the name of all that is holy would you want them on Chimeras? You’re literally paying 2pts more than a Heavy Bolter for an objectively worse weapon.
– Regarding the Leman Russ, the Lascannon and Plasma Cannons puzzle me no end. The Lascannon seems rather wasted when it’s hitting on – at best – a 4+ (and worse if you want to move). But the Plasma Cannons . . . why? Just why? You’ve got no Tank Commander for rerolls, so any 1s will damage your tank if you overcharge. And if you move and overcharge then you’ve literally got better odds of damaging your own tank than you have of damaging the target. I get that you don’t *have* to overcharge, but given the cost of Plasma Cannons, that seems no less wasteful.
Would it not make more sense to just give them Heavy Bolters? Or, hell, if you replace the Lascannons with Heavy Bolters and drop the sponsons entirely, you can probably get a third Leman Russ.
Also, what points is this list for? I put it into Battlescribe out of curiosity and it came to 1581pts. If you’re playing 1500pts then you’re 81pts over. If you’re playing 1750pts then you’re 169pts under.
(Just to be clear, since tone doesn’t always come across in writing, I’m really not trying to be nasty/hostile here. It’s just that your list seems to contain a lot of baffling choices that were left unexplained.)