AoS 2 - Kharadron Overlords Discussion

[Cauthon]

Gunhaulers auto-mortal-wound on 5’s with their drill cannons just sayyyin. Great range too. 

[Borsuk]

That might be the switch. I was thinking which is better -  canon or drill, and I fell like drill is to gimmicky, and canon seems to be more reliable. I guess taking escort wing can help, but I'm still not convinced. Have you get any good results with drill? 

[Phasteon]

18 minutes ago, Borsuk said:

Can you share with us what were your match-ups and general list building idea? Thanks for some insight. 

Sure, I already posted my list a few times but it looks like this:

Barak Urbaz

Admiral

– trait, artifact*

Endrinmaster

Khemist

Navigator

– Flarepistol

 

20 Arkanauts

1 Gunhauler (Cannon, Morgrims)

1 Gunhauler (Drillcannon)

6 Riggers

10 Thunderers

Ironclad (Cannon, Last Word)

Grundstock Escort

 

 

General Idea: 

– Its a background driven army. I love my Admiral (Durgin Grimsson) since I started the army and he won me so many glorious battles. So I always pretty much played a list centered around him in an Ironclad (the Dal Dammaz (duardin: „Old Grudge“) so it was clear that I would include him and his beloved flagship + trusty companions (aka the other Heroes)

– The Arkanauts are deployed with the Khemist for screening/backline objective camping/ marching forward (depending on mission) and so far did their job really good

– The Ironclad garrisoned by Admiral, Endrinmaster, Navigator, Thunderers acts like a Deathstar and is accompanied by the Riggers and the Gunhauler with the Cannon. They won me every game so far.

– Second Gunhauler uses the range of the drill cannon (36 is HUGE) to threaten targets while capturing mainly backline objectives. The Gunhaulers are my main objective capturers anyway. More about that when I talk about the match ups.

– *Artifact on the Admiral. I started with war wound/mask to get maximum CP usage but I found that I dont really use CAs aside „repel“ for +1 hit when charged. So I changed to Grudgebearer and Blade of Symmetry from Hysh (wrote a whole story about an expedition to Hysh a year ago when we played a campaign in our local group). Holy moly the potential. I killed Archaon on HIS charge. Last Word took 4 wounds off, bombs 1, Admiral 12(!!), Endrinmaster another 2 and a Thunderer knocked him out with his trusty gun butt (Those guys are 3+/4+ with repel!!) 

 

As for match ups: I played 2 times against 4x 3 Varanguard and Archaon. Very interesting match up, very tense. 1 wrong move can cost you the game but boy does the mobility come in handy. Today a 150p Gunhauler denied a 300p unit Varanguard because they had to babysit the back objective that was worth 3. 

1 Game against LoN with mostly ghosts, Nagash and Morghasts. He made a big mistake being much too aggressive with Nagash but the Arkanauts showed their strength. They held off 20 Chainrasps and 2 Morghasts with their rerollable save and even killed most of them before support arrived. 

2 Games against StD with Marauder reinforcements. Again, those Arkanauts. They held the backline against 3x 10 Marauders charging in so the rest of my army could shoot of his chaos knights, heroes and 30 warriors unit. Was a tough one but he didnt have enough damage to deal with my 3+ rerollable saves.

2 smaller games against CoS where I used the Dirigible suit. Those were less competitive but our mobility was enough to alpha strike his cannons and outmaneuver his close combat.

 

All in all I am very happy that my favorite Skypork works so well for me, though I want to try Zon, Nar and Zilfin for fun at least once.

[Cauthon]

For my money (literally) gunhaulers are the mvp of our book. Best shooting profile for our best weapon, a movement gimmick written into the warscroll, can deepstrike (with any amount of wounds put on it) and can haul off 7 hitchers the same as the ironclad. 

 

Its also featured in our best warscroll battalion the escort wing.

 

Its too bad they used to be poo and I don’t own any yet. Will be getting 3 for sure. (Unless pointy aelves blow me away on Thursday)

[novembermike]

I still think people are missing the point of Arkanauts. They won't tank Archaeon or a big Petrifex blob, but neither will your Ironclad. They're still pound for pound tougher than anything else in the list and you can take them in small squads without losing anything so they'll do a good job as either a tarpit against less killy stuff or a speedbump and zoning tool against more dangerous enemies. If the enemy ignores them they're also surprisingly efficient, if they're on an objective then they're our best shooting unit against targets that are in range.

[Ser_namron]

25 minutes ago, Cauthon said:

Gunhaulers auto-mortal-wound on 5’s with their drill cannons just sayyyin. Great range too. 

Oh, ive only taken drills so far, their so clutch with that auto MW. Range is nooooooooooooooooooooice. unfortunately i talked them up too much and he nuked 2/3 of mine first turn lol. 

 

 

20 minutes ago, Borsuk said:

That might be the switch. I was thinking which is better -  canon or drill, and I fell like drill is to gimmicky, and canon seems to be more reliable. I guess taking escort wing can help, but I'm still not convinced. Have you get any good results with drill? 

I dont think its that gimmicky, for an army with little to no MW its a really nice addition, and the range is incredible like stated above. And if you dont get the MW you still have a -3/d3 shot, thats gonna chunk alot of stuff. I think against OBR itll be amazing for dealing with heroes. 

Also, unsung hero of 2 of my lists so far has been a Gyrocopter allied in. Great screen, 16" move, aesthetically pleasing among other ships ( this shouldnt matter lol) . Against the Gitz it has given me a great horde clearer with the 8" models within range weapon. ive burned 11/8 stabbaz respectively in 2 games with it and put a nice blocker in between my frontline. KO doesnt have a ton of horde clearing potential it seems so far. PLus 70 points kinda slips right into a pt slot we dont have much of anything to fill since our lowest model is 90 pts.

[Borsuk]

I had similar ideas for urbaz, thanks for artifacts ideas, it's much appreciated. 

I think that Arkanauts are good battline. They might look like lackluster at first glance, but when they work, boy, they work. 

Ps: i also have some backstories for my army and their awesome ship. And of course I love my Admiral. I'm only sad that mhornar is no good anymore, but I'll try to come up with something interesting. 

[Phasteon]

8 minutes ago, Cauthon said:

For my money (literally) gunhaulers are the mvp of our book. Best shooting profile for our best weapon, a movement gimmick written into the warscroll, can deepstrike (with any amount of wounds put on it) and can haul off 7 hitchers the same as the ironclad. 

 

Its also featured in our best warscroll battalion the escort wing.

 

Its too bad they used to be poo and I don’t own any yet. Will be getting 3 for sure. (Unless pointy aelves blow me away on Thursday)

Gunhaulers arent even that much better at shooting tbh (they are but its not that they deal a ton of damage. Its a bit more reliable though) 

They win me games because they are

a) cheap

b) fast

c) reasonable durable for their cost and mobility

d) battleline in Urbaz so my list works out with the battalion. 

[Borsuk]

Yeah, I own one Gunhauler atm, but planing to get two more. They seem to be amazing  for 150 points. 

[zilberfrid]

1 hour ago, Kramer said:

On a different note. Anybody considered this terrain to build a skyport?

I was looking at that, but my primary piece will be the Forgeshrine. All skulls replaced by bearded dwarves, of course. And stuff from the dwarven Blood Bowl set.

 

99120199066_Forgeshrine01.webp

[Phasteon]

20 minutes ago, Phasteon said:

Sure, I already posted my list a few times but it looks like this:

Barak Urbaz

Admiral

– trait, artifact*

Endrinmaster

Khemist

Navigator

– Flarepistol

 

20 Arkanauts

1 Gunhauler (Cannon, Morgrims)

1 Gunhauler (Drillcannon)

6 Riggers

10 Thunderers

Ironclad (Cannon, Last Word)

Grundstock Escort

 

 

General Idea: 

– Its a background driven army. I love my Admiral (Durgin Grimsson) since I started the army and he won me so many glorious battles. So I always pretty much played a list centered around him in an Ironclad (the Dal Dammaz (duardin: „Old Grudge“) so it was clear that I would include him and his beloved flagship + trusty companions (aka the other Heroes)

– The Arkanauts are deployed with the Khemist for screening/backline objective camping/ marching forward (depending on mission) and so far did their job really good

– The Ironclad garrisoned by Admiral, Endrinmaster, Navigator, Thunderers acts like a Deathstar and is accompanied by the Riggers and the Gunhauler with the Cannon. They won me every game so far.

– Second Gunhauler uses the range of the drill cannon (36 is HUGE) to threaten targets while capturing mainly backline objectives. The Gunhaulers are my main objective capturers anyway. More about that when I talk about the match ups.

– *Artifact on the Admiral. I started with war wound/mask to get maximum CP usage but I found that I dont really use CAs aside „repel“ for +1 hit when charged. So I changed to Grudgebearer and Blade of Symmetry from Hysh (wrote a whole story about an expedition to Hysh a year ago when we played a campaign in our local group). Holy moly the potential. I killed Archaon on HIS charge. Last Word took 4 wounds off, bombs 1, Admiral 12(!!), Endrinmaster another 2 and a Thunderer knocked him out with his trusty gun butt (Those guys are 3+/4+ with repel!!) 

 

As for match ups: I played 2 times against 4x 3 Varanguard and Archaon. Very interesting match up, very tense. 1 wrong move can cost you the game but boy does the mobility come in handy. Today a 150p Gunhauler denied a 300p unit Varanguard because they had to babysit the back objective that was worth 3. 

1 Game against LoN with mostly ghosts, Nagash and Morghasts. He made a big mistake being much too aggressive with Nagash but the Arkanauts showed their strength. They held off 20 Chainrasps and 2 Morghasts with their rerollable save and even killed most of them before support arrived. 

2 Games against StD with Marauder reinforcements. Again, those Arkanauts. They held the backline against 3x 10 Marauders charging in so the rest of my army could shoot of his chaos knights, heroes and 30 warriors unit. Was a tough one but he didnt have enough damage to deal with my 3+ rerollable saves.

2 smaller games against CoS where I used the Dirigible suit. Those were less competitive but our mobility was enough to alpha strike his cannons and outmaneuver his close combat.

 

All in all I am very happy that my favorite Skypork works so well for me, though I want to try Zon, Nar and Zilfin for fun at least once.

Ah I missed the biggest one! 

Vs Hermdar - very competitive List. 

Won with doubleturn after t1 because I snatched his backline Objectives and burned all 6. (Valor battleplan) 

It was a big mistake on his part but tbh. he would have lost either way because his HGB were too slow. He could have either defended his backline and lost because I would have shot off something and probably tie on points (if not an attempt to snatch an objective last turn) 

Or he could move forward (he tried) and leave his backline open because Aurics/Vulkites die too fast

[Ser_namron]

i was thinking of getting a 2nd frigate instead of an ironclad, but now im starting to think Ironclad is a must have. I just hate devoting that many points to 1 model. Anyone been having luck with 1/2 frigates? ive been running 1 in an escort wing and its carbines are decent enough but besides that its coming up short ( i also rolled 1 attack almost every time ive shot shrapnel so far  ) 

[Kramer]

1 minute ago, Ser_namron said:

i was thinking of getting a 2nd frigate instead of an ironclad, but now im starting to think Ironclad is a must have. I just hate devoting that many points to 1 model. Anyone been having luck with 1/2 frigates? ive been running 1 in an escort wing and its carbines are decent enough but besides that its coming up short ( i also rolled 1 attack almost every time ive shot shrapnel so far  ) 

If you do, and I will probably try it at some point as well, don’t forget the attack squadron battalion. Although not the most obvious it’s an easy battalion at that point. 

[Ser_namron]

5 minutes ago, Kramer said:

If you do, and I will probably try it at some point as well, don’t forget the attack squadron battalion. Although not the most obvious it’s an easy battalion at that point. 

Ya, i was thinking about that, but im also not sure its as useful as escort wings ability. I dont see myself wanting to charge Arkco very often, seems like a death wish. And they wont be able to shoot the pistols because of the range nerf. I guess its solid for grabbing an objective quickly, but if its uncontested already theirs really no need to drop my arkco in dangers way when i can just keep them safe for another turn and still have the objective with the frigate. 

[Sactownbri]

Got  a 2K game in over the weekend, tried a completely new list.

Barak-Zilfin,

Admiral,

Navigator,

Endrinmaster in Drigible,

2x3 Riggers,

2x Frigates,

2x Arkanauts

1x Thunderers (all rifles)

Opponent was playing the new slaves. A max company of Warriors then all Cavalary. He was also playing the summoning battalion with 4 heroes. I left one Arkanaut company on the objective in my deployment zone then had the rest of the troops garrison the boats. I lined up refused flank to my right. He deployed cav heavy to his left to counter my refused flank, leaving his warriors and three heroes on his back objective. Turn 1 he moved all his cav forward to get in a turn two charge on my boats. My turn one I flew high with my boats and started my plan of crushing him from his weak flank.

I ended up loosing but more due to distance and too effective shooting. I needed to make an easy charge on turn 5 to jump on an object to win. I split fire so I would just grind down his cavalry but I accidentally shot them off the board :(, immediate loss for me. Winning unit: my backfield arkanaut company sitting on the objective. They lasted until turn 4 and let me just roll up his backfield and shoot his army to death. At the end of the game the only unit I lost was that one arkanaut company. I did loose a few models in other units but I was still 100% combat effective and my Frigates ended at full wounds.

The new battletome is all kinds of fun.  Skyvessels finally feel right. Garrisoned, they are so good. Charging with my Frigate full of arkanauts with skypikes feels sooo good now, with riggers following up to throw on more pain and heal the boat.  Thats what it should have always been like!

[Phasteon]

15 minutes ago, Ser_namron said:

Ya, i was thinking about that, but im also not sure its as useful as escort wings ability. I dont see myself wanting to charge Arkco very often, seems like a death wish. And they wont be able to shoot the pistols because of the range nerf. I guess its solid for grabbing an objective quickly, but if its uncontested already theirs really no need to drop my arkco in dangers way when i can just keep them safe for another turn and still have the objective with the frigate. 

The battalion absolutely doesnt fit my playstyle but if Zilfin was my favorite skyport I would 100% go for that battalion! 

Frigates have more output/wounds than the Gunhauler for „just“ 100 pts more and moving then disembarking arkanauts on and objective is so incredibely powerful. Most objectives are guarded by trash units so your 340p Frigate with 10 Arkanauts is more than enough to clear the objective, claim it and rinse and repeat on the other side of the board. 

Maybe 3 Frigates, 3x 10 Arks, Battalion (around 1100pts) Ironclad w overload endrinwork, Hero and another 20 Arks would be good. 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Phasteon

[sal4m4nd3r]

1 hour ago, novembermike said:

I still think people are missing the point of Arkanauts. They won't tank Archaeon or a big Petrifex blob, but neither will your Ironclad. They're still pound for pound tougher than anything else in the list and you can take them in small squads without losing anything so they'll do a good job as either a tarpit against less killy stuff or a speedbump and zoning tool against more dangerous enemies. If the enemy ignores them they're also surprisingly efficient, if they're on an objective then they're our best shooting unit against targets that are in range.

So they won’t kill anything, tank anything. They act as speed bumps, and a zoning out mechanism.....and this is what we are supposed to be happy with for the iconic/universal battleline ground troop? Lmfao.

[Walrustaco]

On 1/17/2020 at 1:24 PM, Ser_namron said:

has anyone painted KO with contrasts? Id love to see how they turned out, guides would be a bonus. Lots of metallics on the KO so im wondering if contrasts are the way to go. 

100% contrast over leadbelcher spray. Gore grunta fur for the bronze

Edited January 21, 2020 by Walrustaco

[sal4m4nd3r]

40 minutes ago, Sactownbri said:

Got  a 2K game in over the weekend, tried a completely new list.

Barak-Zilfin,

Admiral,

Navigator,

Endrinmaster in Drigible,

2x3 Riggers,

2x Frigates,

2x Arkanauts

1x Thunderers (all rifles)

Opponent was playing the new slaves. A max company of Warriors then all Cavalary. He was also playing the summoning battalion with 4 heroes. I left one Arkanaut company on the objective in my deployment zone then had the rest of the troops garrison the boats. I lined up refused flank to my right. He deployed cav heavy to his left to counter my refused flank, leaving his warriors and three heroes on his back objective. Turn 1 he moved all his cav forward to get in a turn two charge on my boats. My turn one I flew high with my boats and started my plan of crushing him from his weak flank.

I ended up loosing but more due to distance and too effective shooting. I needed to make an easy charge on turn 5 to jump on an object to win. I split fire so I would just grind down his cavalry but I accidentally shot them off the board :(, immediate loss for me. Winning unit: my backfield arkanaut company sitting on the objective. They lasted until turn 4 and let me just roll up his backfield and shoot his army to death. At the end of the game the only unit I lost was that one arkanaut company. I did loose a few models in other units but I was still 100% combat effective and my Frigates ended at full wounds.

The new battletome is all kinds of fun.  Skyvessels finally feel right. Garrisoned, they are so good. Charging with my Frigate full of arkanauts with skypikes feels sooo good now, with riggers following up to throw on more pain and heal the boat.  Thats what it should have always been like!

A frigate full of arkanauts with skypikes? You mean 10 arkanauts with 1 skypike? LOL

[sal4m4nd3r]

On 1/17/2020 at 8:24 AM, Ser_namron said:

has anyone painted KO with contrasts? Id love to see how they turned out, guides would be a bonus. Lots of metallics on the KO so im wondering if contrasts are the way to go. 

This is wraithbone spray. Skelton horde all over the jump suit and straps. Leadbelcher over metal areas. Doombull brown:contrast medium on sprays and boots and gloves. Terradon turquoise over metal. Then a thin layer of retributor gold over the accents. 

30 mins of work MAX. Love contrast over leadbelcher 

[Gecktron]

14 minutes ago, sal4m4nd3r said:

So they won’t kill anything, tank anything. They act as speed bumps, and a zoning out mechanism.....and this is what we are supposed to be happy with for the iconic/universal battleline ground troop? Lmfao.

I take sword/shield guardsmen in CoS for 80 points. For 10 points more I get the same melee attack plus a lot more shooting. Worth it to me. 

[novembermike]

44 minutes ago, sal4m4nd3r said:

So they won’t kill anything, tank anything. They act as speed bumps, and a zoning out mechanism.....and this is what we are supposed to be happy with for the iconic/universal battleline ground troop? Lmfao.

They're a bunch of dwarf adventurers, they're there to brawl with the chaos warriors and die a horrible death to Archaeon. They fit the lore. The trick is that Archaeon is spending a whole turn murdering a 90 point unit which won't get his points back, and while he's doing that the rest of the army can shoot him. 

If they're not fighting Archaeon they'll do a good job of tarpitting and killing most smaller units. They've got range issues but they're better at killing chaff point for point than anything else in the army.

[sal4m4nd3r]

2 minutes ago, novembermike said:

They're a bunch of dwarf adventurers, they're there to brawl with the chaos warriors and die a horrible death to Archaeon. They fit the lore. The trick is that Archaeon is spending a whole turn murdering a 90 point unit which won't get his points back, and while he's doing that the rest of the army can shoot him. 

If they're not fighting Archaeon they'll do a good job of tarpitting and killing most smaller units. They've got range issues but they're better at killing chaff point for point than anything else in the army.

Who is talking about going after archaon with arks? Nobody said that. It’s a ridiculous comparison.  He ignores them. He flies over and past them. 

[novembermike]

4 minutes ago, sal4m4nd3r said:

Who is talking about going after archaon with arks? Nobody said that. It’s a ridiculous comparison.  He ignores them. He flies over and past them. 

...Do you know what screening is? Archaeon's got a 160mm base. That's massive. If you can't zone out that base with a linear 250mm of Dorf muscle then you need to go back to geometry class. The same goes for teleporting models or other fast movers. At the very least you can minimize how many models can get in range of the model you actually want to defend.

[sal4m4nd3r]

Just now, novembermike said:

...Do you know what screening is? Archaeon's got a 160mm base. That's massive. If you can't zone out that base with a linear 250mm of Dorf muscle then you need to go back to geometry class. The same goes for teleporting models or other fast movers. At the very least you can minimize how many models can get in range of the model you actually want to defend.

Why do I need to screen a model that can be anywhere I want on the board? What good units are arks screening? Models that will just fly high across the board? Lol.