"Rangers:
Basic = Somewhat better than average ability to put the hurt on MCs. Some chance at killing heavily armoured Infantry, and PMEQs. Small chance of Pinning on the 8% of units vulnerable to such things. Barely significant chance of getting through AV11. Carry pistols for that rare assault on Gretchin. Infiltrate, MTC, and Scout, so Outflanking is an option, albeit a crap one.
Pathfinders = Much improved survivability in cover, chance of hurting any target, even Tanks, although maximum pen roll of 12 does not increase, chance of AP1 does, and, as we all know, AP1 is the only way to reliably hurt a vehicle significantly. If you’re taking a unit above 6 guys, vital, otherwise save the points for something else, unless you have a GDSeer nearby to dramatically increase effectiveness. If you do, of course, then you aren’t infiltrating, so consider War Walkers instead.
NOTE : Just about acceptable in a Mech list, due to their ability to Inf, Scout, and hold objectives, something a highly mobile army sometimes struggles with." (Another CGTTE excerpt)
Overall, in a Mech army Pathfinders act more often than not as an expensive speedbump. Against certain lists (Lash Princes) they can do a lot of good, before getting raped in CC or by a Flamer, but against many enemies the simple torrent of a-i fire they can expect is enough to break them, and render them useless. Overall, they're too complicated a unit to use to recommend to a new player's Mech list, because new players are invariably concerned with keeping their Troops alive more than they are destroying the enemy's Troops, and other serous threats. Of course, Infiltrating is really the best answer to well played AirCav, meaning if you're likely to face them, take these guys, just use as Rangers.
Units of ten will generally get the job done best, but then are a horrible sink when they die, which they inevitably will. As a result, somewhere around 8 is more cost effective. Always deploy in cover, even if that means in your deployment zone.
3 comments:
I don't ever really rely on them to do damage. They can potentially harm the odd stranded infantry unit or wound a Monstrous Creature, but past that? You need a 6 on a hit on a vehicle, then another 3+ to MAYBe hurt the thing.
They can act as a screen, but it's a bloody expensive one.
most of the time, after they go to ground once, the enemy will stop wasting a lot of fire on them. Instead, a flamer will come up and cost you the squad.
I think I'd rather keep them cheap, run them as Rangers, and slap them on an objective if I'm not using them as a screen. Still, it's a bloody expensive and somewhat limited screen.
I mean, they just don't kill much for their price. They do their work by going to ground (if not Pathfinders), and drawing fire, or being ignored and camping on the objective (or blocking).
At most, I take a unit of 7-8.
You've left off the most important part of the Pathfinder upgrade: the ability to completely ignore difficult terrain.
I almost never deploy them *on* an objective, but instead 6-8 inches away from one, so they can jump on the objective towards the end of the game, but before then can be, hopefully, a little more safely out-of-the-way.
True, that is a point I overlooked entirely. Firstly because I think it's unreliable, expecting them to survive. Secondly, because they will inflict even less damage that way.
That said, it CAN be a viable tactic, and bears mentioning. It will be appended into the Tactica section of the completed article. :)
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