There is a tournament at my friendly local gaming store (FLGS) this weekend, and it is a 1500 point cityfight competition. It will be battle points only, so we will skip painting considerations and dive straight into the tactics!
In Cities of Death, most game types require you to "occupy" a building in order to get the win. Buildings themselves become the objectives, and you will find your units battling fiercely to repel attackers as well as furiously throwing themselves upon defenders. With the advent of 5th edition, the mechanics of these city-fights have changed somewhat. Before 5th, there was a complicated list of scoring units and stipulations on what units could occupy buildings for the win. Now, only troop choices can occupy buildings as scoring units, and only other scoring units can contest a building's occupancy.
Begin the FAQ mode:
Q: What does this mean to your army list?
A: Troops. Lots of them. For some of the veteran players, that prefer to minimize troop choices and take the max in elite, fast attack, and heavy support, this method of list building can be contrary to what they are used to. For us SM players, it means either a lot of scouts, or a lot of tactical squads. Leave your bike lists at home, as the limited maneuvering room will limit their effectiveness in this kind of battle.
Q: So we now know to take tactical troops. Can you be a little more specific?
A: Yes, I can! Take your tactical squads in the full allotments of 10 troopers per squad. Using combat squads can double the number of scoring units, and give you greater flexibility with their combat roles. For example, you can delegate your flamer or meltagun to one combat squad, and your heavy weapon to the other. Do NOT use combat squads in killpoint games, however, because you double the amount of kill points for each squad.
Q: What special/heavy weapon options do I need to take with them?
A: Take weapons based on your opponents list, if you have that information available. Meltaguns/multimeltas work fairly well against armored lists in the tight confines of a city board. For anti-horde work, nothing digs troops out of cover better than flamers. For anti-horde heavy lifting, try a heavy bolter. If you want more general-purpose weaponry, if you don't know what list you will be facing, I suggest flamers/missile launcher combos. The missile launcher can be effective against either light armor or infantry hordes, and the flamer is best for negating cover saves. Additionally, the flamer/missile launcher combo does not cost any additional points to a full 10 man squad, making it the most cost effective option.
Q: What other units work well in city fights, to support my troops?
A: I like my SM cityfighting lists to be infantry heavy. It is kind of hard to get your vehicles around in cityfights, and there are various stratagems that can make it even harder on you (i.e. anti-tank obstacles). With infantry, you can slow them down but rarely stop them. I like to take dreadnoughts for heavy hitting power and tough armor. The multi-meltas really work well in the city fight environ for taking out armor, but they have enough assault capability to dislodge units from buildings. Taking a flamer instead of a storm bolter is helpful to that end. Assault marines really shine in cityfights too, where their advanced mobility and lots of cover lets them get real close without taking a lot of fire beforehand. Terminators are my last choice, but sometimes fit the bill for some heavy shock troops to dislodge tougher opponents holed up in buildings or ruins. I rarely deepstrike units, as this can lead to epic failures with all that terrain scattered about.
Q: What's your cityfighting list look like now?
A: I'm still working out the various kinks and numbers, but I'll post that later today if I get time.
Q: Why do you ramble on about this junk so much?
A: Just trying to help!
Q: You suck at this.
A: That's not a question!
What other tips do you SM players have to add to this?
Contrary to your point about vehicles, cheap and really expensive ones are much better in City Fight. A land Raider where the enemy cannot use railguns and lascannons is fantastic. The reedeemer is built for city fight! In addition, the razorback with twin linked heavy flamers costs a measly 45 points (I think) and six of them would dominate, as they can control fire lanes, to a huge extent. In addition, getting to ruins before your oponent is really useful.
ReplyDeleteSo my list would be more like this:
Cassius 125
Tac Squad, Flamer, Missile Launcher, Razorback w/ Heavy Flamer 215
Tac Squad, Flamer, Missile Launcher, Razorback w/ Heavy Flamer 215
Tac Squad, Flamer, Missile Launcher, Razorback w/ Heavy Flamer 215
5 Terminators, Heavy Flamer 205
Ironclad Dreadnought, 2 Heavy Flamers 145
Land Raider Reedeemer, Multi-Melta, Storm Bolter 260
Assault Squad, Power Weapon, Melta Bombs 120
=1500 Points, with two units that go straight up the front (dread and LR) and then get stuck in CC. Assault Squad stays back to grab objectives, while cassius joins the Terminators. Razorbacks screen, blocking fire and assault lanes, contesting objectives and generally being a hassel. The Three Combat squads with Sarge and flamer go after buildings, on foot, while the heavy weapon ones are dropped off by razorbacks in front buildings.
Basically, there is more armour here, than anywehere else, except Mech Guard (Who I predict will win, with Demolishers and Artillery!). Very few oponents will be able to deal with it, and you will have control.
--40K Addict (40Kconfessions.blogspot.com)