Post by saniles on Jan 7, 2019 23:19:27 GMT
With a few games under my belt with the Bastiladon, I thought I'd share why and how these guys are awesome.
First thing I noticed is that at Ld6, these guys head for the hills at first sign of trouble.
You really need to run them within range of your general. If you get into combat, you will be losing combat more often than not. Being Ld9 (or 10 with the banner) makes these guys hold out in combat.
The 2nd thing we need to get through our minds is "This is not a Steggadon". It's a 150 point buff wagon, but lacks the attacks and strength to be a combat monster. Don't be deceived by the single S10 attack; it's job isn't smashing stuff up in combat.
So what is it's job?
Option 1:
Impervious Defense:
The Bastiladon's job is to hold the flank, within range of the generals leadership. T5 2+ armor and 4 wounds will hold for a few turns against most opponents. Let the opponent hit you in the flank; it has zero impact on combat resolution.
T5 2+ armor can take some pretty good hits. 6 Empire inner circle knights win on the charge (by 3, but with Ld10 cold blood and re-roll from BSB, you're only running ~3% of the time). Once the charge is done, the Bastiladon starts thumping away. The combat continues on grinding for 7 more turns, with each turn the bastiladon more likely winning the round of combat, and forcing the fear test each turn. Against an equal point value of 1+ knights, the Bastiladon forces more break tests, at a worse leadership, and holds out.
Option 2:
Feint Charge. M4 is slow. But that's not all bad. Using him to force terror tests on support units at 14-16 inches is pretty decent. Odds of actually making the charge are low, and for pesky units like gnoblar swarms, forcing a terror test, and redirecting to force another test is very useful.
Failing the charge means you shuffle a bit, and then blast the beam in the magic phase.
Option 3:
Pew-Pew! Bound 3. Throw a die at it (or 2 dice in a good phase). Half the time, you get a massive magic missile out of the spell. 2D6 S5 hits? 2D6 S6 hits? On a 3+!!! I really cannot understate how good this is.
Think of it like this. Ruby ring is 25 points for a D6 S4 hits on a 3+. Solar Engines Beam of Chotec is the worse 1/6th of the time, the same 2/6ths of the time, and totally awesome 3/6ths of the time.
Options 4:
Bask in the Sun. While Init 2 Saurus aren't exactly tearing up the charts, Init 3 Temple Guard, and Init 3 cold ones are pretty good. Init 5 Skinks are pretty decent. While it isn't super exciting, it's free, and you only need to bother to try and get it when it matters.
So in summary, your ideal location is when you can physically block charges with your deep base, and be within range of the general/bsb. Your ideal opponent is smaller support units, which often are the ones that opponents put out on flanks. Your Beam of Chotec and the Solar engine let you boost your magic and combat phases when you don't get locked down in combat.
First thing I noticed is that at Ld6, these guys head for the hills at first sign of trouble.
You really need to run them within range of your general. If you get into combat, you will be losing combat more often than not. Being Ld9 (or 10 with the banner) makes these guys hold out in combat.
The 2nd thing we need to get through our minds is "This is not a Steggadon". It's a 150 point buff wagon, but lacks the attacks and strength to be a combat monster. Don't be deceived by the single S10 attack; it's job isn't smashing stuff up in combat.
So what is it's job?
Option 1:
Impervious Defense:
The Bastiladon's job is to hold the flank, within range of the generals leadership. T5 2+ armor and 4 wounds will hold for a few turns against most opponents. Let the opponent hit you in the flank; it has zero impact on combat resolution.
T5 2+ armor can take some pretty good hits. 6 Empire inner circle knights win on the charge (by 3, but with Ld10 cold blood and re-roll from BSB, you're only running ~3% of the time). Once the charge is done, the Bastiladon starts thumping away. The combat continues on grinding for 7 more turns, with each turn the bastiladon more likely winning the round of combat, and forcing the fear test each turn. Against an equal point value of 1+ knights, the Bastiladon forces more break tests, at a worse leadership, and holds out.
Option 2:
Feint Charge. M4 is slow. But that's not all bad. Using him to force terror tests on support units at 14-16 inches is pretty decent. Odds of actually making the charge are low, and for pesky units like gnoblar swarms, forcing a terror test, and redirecting to force another test is very useful.
Failing the charge means you shuffle a bit, and then blast the beam in the magic phase.
Option 3:
Pew-Pew! Bound 3. Throw a die at it (or 2 dice in a good phase). Half the time, you get a massive magic missile out of the spell. 2D6 S5 hits? 2D6 S6 hits? On a 3+!!! I really cannot understate how good this is.
Think of it like this. Ruby ring is 25 points for a D6 S4 hits on a 3+. Solar Engines Beam of Chotec is the worse 1/6th of the time, the same 2/6ths of the time, and totally awesome 3/6ths of the time.
Options 4:
Bask in the Sun. While Init 2 Saurus aren't exactly tearing up the charts, Init 3 Temple Guard, and Init 3 cold ones are pretty good. Init 5 Skinks are pretty decent. While it isn't super exciting, it's free, and you only need to bother to try and get it when it matters.
So in summary, your ideal location is when you can physically block charges with your deep base, and be within range of the general/bsb. Your ideal opponent is smaller support units, which often are the ones that opponents put out on flanks. Your Beam of Chotec and the Solar engine let you boost your magic and combat phases when you don't get locked down in combat.