Dreadnoughts: What Am I Doing Wrong?

[Grenadier]

Of all the models for Space Marines I love the Dreadnought most. Especially the venerable. And so I take great delight in building them and painting them. With visions of conquest filling my head. I'm always eager to bust out my latest Dreadnought having convinced myself I have a powerful new unit that my opponent shall fear.

But in game terms they never live up to my hopes and dreams.

My first issue with them is assault. As I understand it they are supposed to do well in assault. But mine rarely ever make it to assault. Since they move 6 inches per turn most battles see my Dreadnought exploding in flames by a good shot from an enemy heavy weapon. I just can't seem to get them across a battlefield safely. I've only ever been able to get one into assault. Or rather my opponent assaulted it. With Terminators who were packing powerfists. Needless to say my Dreadnought perished. I have been able to assault a stray tank here and there. And the Dreadnoughts do perform well in this regard.

Having had such limited experience in assaults with my Dreadnoughts I pretty much abandoned this role back in the early days of the 4th edition. And now that all enemy hits count on the rear armor of vehicles I'm more reluctant to try assaulting with them.

Instead all of my Dreadnoughts have been relegated to heavy fire support. I took off all their close combat arms and slapped on the missile launcher. And here my Dreadnoughts finally began to shine. Especially for my Black Templars. I've always hated the assault phase you see. And so all my armies tend to be shooty. My philosophy is shoot the crap out of everything and then I'll have less assault to deal with. But since the Templars lack a lot of heavy firepower I can't rightly play the way I normally would. But my Dreadnoughts acting as mobile heavy weapons platforms make up for the lack of heavy fire power.

Still, I would love to unlock a successful strategy for using them to assault the enemy. Any tips?

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

One small note - unless they're Immobilized, enemies in Close Combat only hit the Front Armour of Walkers.

But yeah, there's not a lot a Dreadnought can do that other options can't pull off more efficiently. They're kinda hamstrung by having to carry a mix of shooty and choppy gear. If you're getting full use out of the DCCW, the ranged weapon is going to waste, and vice versa. So yeah, they usually seem to be most popular for long-ranged fire, particularly the rifleman. Drop Podding a Multi-melta + DCCW Dread in also seems popular.

[doom-kitten]

Drop Pods. Take two dreadnoughts kit them out for CC death, personal favourite is Flamer, Fist and AC and drop em in your opponents lap. I use a third DP with Sternguard so I can land both Dreads with the Drop pod assualt rules, the opponent will freak and likely target them but atleast their in his/her face turn one. Provided you place em right or luck is with you, your dread might live and cause some carnage in the opponents DZ.

[Rissan4ever]

Drop Pods. Take two dreadnoughts kit them out for CC death, personal favourite is Flamer, Fist and AC and drop em in your opponents lap. I use a third DP with Sternguard so I can land both Dreads with the Drop pod assualt rules, the opponent will freak and likely target them but atleast their in his/her face turn one. Provided you place em right or luck is with you, your dread might live and cause some carnage in the opponents DZ.
This tactic has been used against me many times, and I can attest to its effectiveness. Stormravens work well for this, too, if your chapter can get them.

Another way to get your Dreads in close is to hide them behind something bigger and scarier, like a Land Raider. While your opponent is wasting time trying to blow up the Land Raider, your Dreads are getting steadily closer to their goal.

Also, don't forget that Dreadnaughts can run! That extra d6" of movement gets you closer faster.

[newtoncain]

Can't Dreads assualt after being dropped off by a StormRaven (moving 12" or less), because it is an assualt vehicle?

[AbusePuppy]

The honest truth is that Dreads are _tough_ in close combat, but not actually all that good- as you note, they are rather slow. Moreover, even strategies like Drop Pods still leave them vulnerable to simply being Meltagunned out of the game as soon as they arrive.

Dreadnoughts will usually serve you better as a counter-assault tool than an assault threat. The possibility of an AV12 walker diving into a unit and grinding it down is usually enough to discourage all but the largest of threats from closing with your lines.

Fire support Dreads, specifically the kind with two pairs of Autocannons, can also be very useful; they put out a lot of shots at long range with the possibility of hurting pretty much everything in the game, and unlike most tanks they can shoot to full effect on the move and climb into ruins, etc, when needed.

(Venerable Dreadnoughts, unfortunately, are a pretty bad buy in anything but the GK codex. Their stat bumps and reroll on the table just aren't enough to justify a 50% price increase.)

[Grenadier]

Hmm...I always forget I can "run" now with my units. And isn't the Stormraven a Blood Angels only unit? My opponent plays Dark Angels but it hasn't stopped him from using that special Dreadnought the Blood Angels have on me. The one with that magnetic grappling crap. Oh how I hate it. Right now there's a lot of great units unavailable to the Templars due to having an old codex. One would think Vanguard squads and Honor Guard squads would be perfect fits for the Templars. As well as wargear like relic blades. They need a new codex.

I have noticed that using my Dreads in a fire support role has its downside: whenever my opponent deepstrikes in they now become very vulnerable to assaults! I've lost a few in this fashion.

Another tactic I thought of is the counter assault. But only when I'm defending. I figure I could slap some close combat weapons back on them and hide them behind stuff until the deepstrikers come in on me. Then lurch out of hiding to smash em good.

[FortheEmperor!]

Can't Dreads assualt after being dropped off by a StormRaven (moving 12" or less), because it is an assualt vehicle? Yes they can and it works wonders!! I play Blood Angels with 2 stormravens. One has 10 assault marines, a sanguinary priest, and a Furioso Dreadnought. The other has 7 death company, a chaplain, a librarian and a death company dreadnought. If the storm raven moves 12" or less the dreadnought (and infantry) can assault right out of it!

[vharing]

I love dreadnoughts to the point that I own seven of the damn things. I feel you pain about having them die before they can do anything. I see a lot of people think the drop pod will protect the dread when it comes down, but that is never the case. I find giving your opponent something to shoot at works best. Having something else out there that can do the same or more damage can be distracting.

[Wolfshade]

Drop Pods + Dreadnoughts = Awesome
Standard DCCW/MultiMelta dropping behind a tank line popping rear armour is always fun! Your opponent then has two choices either drive away from the threat opening up his castle, or turn around and address the nearest threat leaving the rear armour exposed to the rest of your force.
Not to forget that if it survives into turn 2 it can then assault and regardless of the vehicle facing always rolls against the rear armour just as infantry.
Playing as Blood Angels a Dropped Death Company Dread with built in Meltagun works similiarly well. Plus as previous posters have mentioned you can assault out of a storm raven!

[proeliator_legio]

just run a bunch of dreads :), I have an unhealthy obsession to the point any army I play has to have them in it or some form of walker. Space marine/Blood angels i run like 5-7 and Chaos i run 2 dreads/2 defiler. I may not win all my games but I sure as hell have fun because I enjoy my armies. And nothing says fun like a lucius pattern drop pod, sure its 65pts but having a dread assault outta the pod on first turn is just plan fun :D.

[bloodangel 83]

I have four Dreads in my BA army. I have gotten into assualt w/ them on a few occasions with a mixture of results (depends on opp. army). A few times the walked into it and a few my SR's have helped. Grey Knights also have stromravens. A few assualts have removed weapons and he still won combat by stomping the emeny to death. BA83

[Chumbalaya]

The only Dread that's worth anything in a direct assault role is the BA Furioso. High WS, Blood Talons, AV13 and Storm Raven delivery systems.

Basic Dreads aren't great in assault due to middling WS and a low number of attacks, but they are quite durable against the right opponents and can be great for tying down problem units or deterring assaults. They're much better as firing platforms and support.

[Demonus]

I didnt see what chapter you play. If "ultra" marines, I personally like an Ironclad with hammer/ccw in a drop pod. I think it comes in just under 200pts with the assault launchers. Drop it in and use the pod to cover your back.

13 front armor also laughs at krak grenades :)

[bfmusashi]

The dreadnaught isn't always about killing the other guy, but tieing him up indefinitely. As a guard player I have few options for dealing with an AV13 walker in close combat. You can take an infantry blob out of a game as the only thing that could hurt you is the Priest with an evicerator (and he's an IC so if he can hit you, you can hit him), or some sergeant (5 max) with melta bombs (who can only hit you on a 6). Aim it right and you tug that platoon off the objective they're camping and cause all kinds of ruckus.
My brother's drop-pod Ironclad caused me such grief that I'm surprised they don't show up more often.

[Charistoph]

...My opponent plays Dark Angels but it hasn't stopped him from using that special Dreadnought the Blood Angels have on me...

Than he's not playing Dark Angels, he's playing Green Blood Angels. That' means he's either Fallen or Orks in disguise!

[Defenestratus]

Simple solution. Survival in numbers:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q-vhlCTo2kY/T196BMhzaiI/AAAAAAAATfE/NFIlXUXxx-o/s800/IMG_20120126_155350.jpg

Unfortunately one of them couldn't make it to the photoshoot.

[Defenestratus]

Than he's not playing Dark Angels, he's playing Green Blood Angels. That' means he's either Fallen or Orks in disguise!

He's also cheating unless you've specifically told him its ok.

[Charistoph]

He's also cheating unless you've specifically told him its ok.

Only if he's combining codecies. If he's playing Dark Angel colors while using only the Blood Angels codex, it's not cheating, just cheap/cheesy/beardy. If he's using Deathwing and Belial with those Dreadnoughts, that is a total cheat-fest.

[Vangrail]

In my Sons of Medusa army i have tons of dreads I think about 10. I also play the siege list from imperial armor 10. But my normal game lists i have 3 to 4 in a list, I use Vaylund cal (named char for SoM) and he make dreads elites and heavy, I take Titus who is a ven dread hq, then i take 1 or 2 Ven dread for elites, then a contempter dread (double Kyrus assault cannons 12 shots!) for heavy, and personally I only use Assault cannons because they can still wreak land raiders and you have many shots. Multi meltas are the other good choice. I also don't use drop pods but that is just me.

I see a lot of people use drop pods and melta spam and if u want a cc dread for a non BA army u can take a Chaplin with 2 cc arms and he does fairly well.

[Grenadier]

No, he doesn't outright cheat. He does play fast and loose with the codexes though. And tends to be cheesy or beardy.

See, he and I both love to play high points games. Apocalypse is what appeals to us. The problem is he squeezes every drop out of codex. I've fought against what amounts to the entire Dark Angels chapter! He regularly uses every one of their special characters. He's all about every single advantage he can squeeze out of them. All of his units are large, laden with wargear and points. And he'll sometimes mix codexes. He also has the luxury of having a staggering number of models with which to go nuts with.

He even uses a Baneblade sometimes with his Dark Angels, beefing up its BS to 4. One time he used two of them! And it's not uncommon for his best friend to throw into the battle as well making it 2 on one. With me being at the disadvantage.

And you know what? I let him do all that. I don't mind. As long as the actual rulebook rules are being adhered too. Because when we play big Apocalypse type games the more the merrier I say. Besides, all the over the top Dark Angelness does't do him much good.

See, I do play a special chapter of Marines as well. The Black Templars. But I don't go over the top. I don't build uber units with any of my armies. I tend to focus only on fielding units. Not making them super killy death machines. And I don't mind being double teamed.

The thing is, when we do the huge point battles I have to combine both my Imperial Guard and Black Templars just to come near his entire army. And I'm still short. Makes no matter. In one battle I intentionally just fielded my Imperial Guard alone. Too lazy to bother sorting my Templars and making a list. I still allowed him to use his whole Dark Angels army. In terms of points he easily had 8000 points over me. And I beat him anyway. In fact, I don't think I've ever lost to him. But then we never get to complete a battle to turn 6. He usually wants to give up in turn 3 or 4. And usually by then I'm clearly winning. But in my opinion it aint over till its over. You can be losing during the whole battle and still squeak out a win eh?

So I give him a lot of leeway. Like I said it doesn't do him much good. Nothing please me more than obliterating his army, killing all of those vaunted special characters, and demoralizing him.

Still, these battles leave me feeling like I've never really experienced 40k the way it ought to be. Well, I did back in 3rd edition. But due to have no other opponents I can't help but think I am missing out on proper battles and challenges. I'd be willing to play smaller scale battles. Or Apocalyspe. With other players who play more like I do. I'd like to have some possible challenges and losses. And it'd be nice to participate in a tournament.


Only if he's combining codecies. If he's playing Dark Angel colors while using only the Blood Angels codex, it's not cheating, just cheap/cheesy/beardy. If he's using Deathwing and Belial with those Dreadnoughts, that is a total cheat-fest.

[Vangrail]

I'm not saying make uber units use what you like that's what I do, and I like dreads and love the look of assault cannons and power fists. Hell i field many tech marines bc they are cool and fit my army.

For templars do you use their book or do a count as army?

[Grenadier]

Indeed, the cool factor of some models means a lot to me. That's why I love Dreadnoughts so much. And the Black Templars. Their look in my opinion is the best of any of the marine armies. Especially those Sword Brethern models.

I use their book. Most of them are Templar models with the upgrade packs and stuff. My army began as a vanilla one in 3rd edition. Then became Templars when Codex Armageddon came out. In 4th edition I began a new army using the chapter traits system. So no more Templars. Stripped them and repainted them. And now I'm back to Templars with their outdated codex. So stripped and painted again. Of course over the years I added additional models. Right now I have enough "Templary" models to stand alone using them. But to bolster their ranks I'll use my unfiinished "stragglers and rejects" that haven't fully become Templary yet. To be honest, I'm considering abandoning them since the latest Marine codex allows me to field a much better army. I must confess though, a couple of times my opponent has allowed me to adjust the stats of Helbrecht and commander models to be more in line with the vanilla ones. That's my main gripe using Templars now. I can live without Vanguards, Ironclads, Sternguards, Honor Guards, etc...but it irks me Helbrecht's stats are weaker than a vanilla commanders. I'm now considering retaining the Templar look but reorganizing the army into a vanilla one so I can make use of better units and leaders with good stats.

[Vangrail]

With that said ivea lways wanted to use the wolf book and play black templars. I would do a wolf guard army with them because i would love to have a black templar army like that. Sword brethren would be the wolf guard giving them frost blades (+1 s) and storm shields, the models would look so cool! And you can have 4 hqs so you can have commander like units and Chaplins. Not sure if they can get relic bladed but if they can you can make a emperors champion easily. Then the hqs can take sagas and it kinda reminds me of knight vows or something.

Units blood claws are hot heads and get many attacks so that fits the army, and think the whole army has counter attack so when u get charged you charge too!

The grand marshal Helbrecht or what ever if u really wanna use him as a better than average guy possibly Ragnar? He makes squads hes with get d3 attacks on the charge instead of 1 so you can have like a badass group of sword breatheren with him. Idk its up to really but i think it would be cool lol. Plus would make for some great conversions

[Grenadier]

I'd like to improve Helbrecht. After all he's the boss of a mighty chapter who's all about close combat. So you'd expect him to be a bit better than a vanilla commander. So here's my vision of what Helbrecht should be like:

The same stat line as a commander from the vanilla codex.
Artificer armor, master crafted combibolter with hellfire rounds, frag and kraks, Holy Orb of Antioch, crusader skills, Iron Halo, Sword of the High Marshals

Chapter Tactics: bestows the preferred enemy universal rule on all Black Templar infantry units.

Inspiring presence: all friendly units within 12 inches get plus one attack as long as Helbrecht lives. (Seems appropriately fitting for Templars)

Sword of the High Marshalls: counts as a relic blade but any wound rolls that score a 6 cause instant death regardless of targets toughness. (It's like Moonfang but now a relic blade)

Overall I think this would bring him more inline with what he should be.

More about dreadnoughts:

What do you think of using non-GW models (suitably converted of course) to count as dreadnoughts? I have one which began its life as one of those Warmachine dreadnoughts in my Black Templars. It was pretty much the same height and size as a GW Dreadnought. And I gave it an assault cannon. To keep it in theme with the Templars I made the assault cannon in a way that affixed it to its forearm. And then used jewelry chain to lash it to the arm. (Since Templars like to chain their weapons to their wrists.) And I have another Warmachine dreadnought I plan to convert as well. Essentially both have all the proper GW weapon parts and stuff. Just their original body is different. Good idea? Bad idea?

[Kevlarshark]

Dreds need to come in pairs.

Templars have the option of selecting a venerable dred with an assault cannon and tank hunter (which is sick) and don't forget they benefit from your vows.

Honestly when I take dreds I take two (or sometimes even three) and back them up with some solid shooting...they usually survive and I miss them when I don't have em.

[Vangrail]

war machine models can make cool 40k units. Are they the right size?

[Grenadier]

The two I have (one isn't assembled though) certainly are the right size in comparison to a 40k Dreadnought. Although my assembled one is leaner than the bulkier 40k version. But in terms of height and shoulder width it's pretty much identical in proportions.

I like them because they're more ornate and archaic looking than the 40k dreadnoughts. Even the venerable looks like an armored tank on legs. These from Warmachine have a very distinctive look. They're not as "technologically evolved" as a 40k dread. So it works for a kind of pre-heresy look I believe. The downside is they're made of metal so it is more difficult to do some converting work.

My completed one with the assault cannon lashed to its arm was a basic conversion. I used the same assault cannon from the 40k model. Except I cut away the shoulder part of it and stripped it down to just the assault cannon. But then I also needed to build a couple of additional parts to make it actually look like something more than just a few spinning barrels. I also built a large handle. The assault cannon is mounted on the underside of the forearm. So it looks a lot like what the Terminators carry. However, the Warmachine dread has rather spindly looking arms so I beefed them up a bit with green stuff. On the other arm I built it up to so it would look like it could pack a punch without snapping the arm. And finally just dressed it up with jewelry chain and assorted Templar bits and purity seals. Over all it came out very nicely. Mostly likely my other one will get the same treatment.

I'm now considering the potential for Warmachine infantry models to be used in my Imperial Guard.

[gcsmith]

If you want CC dreads to work, drop pod them.
Or in templars take them in a horde army. They work really well with horde templars if u also include Landspeeder typhoons.

[Grenadier]

I may be giving that idea a try. For currently I've been overhauling my Templars and focusing much more on fielding infantry units and less other kinds of units. I've always done well with my boys but I've always played them wrong. My army began with a balanced approach to shooting and assault. But now I'm going to focus purely on assault and numbers. This means I have to redo some squads. Only one squad will not be armed for close combat because I don't have enough close combat weapons. So I'll try sticky CC dreads in with them and see what happens.

[Vangrail]

I might try the templar army i talked about earlier sounds like it would be fun

[Grenadier]

Part of me wants to abandon the Templars. And another part makes me want to cling to them. Of all the chapters they're my favorite. Even though I absolutely loathe the assault phase. It's a combination of their look, colors, and background. I don't know which Space Marine chapter is considered the best from a player's point of view. But for me the Templars are the coolest.

[St. Murphy]

Space marines are expensive. So 105 points for a basic dread ain't that bad. Drop pod it smack in the middle of the board on turn one and you're opponent has to deal with it. I'd rather see my 105 point dread soak up some fire for the first turn or two than my 200 pt troop choice racing toward the front line in an AV 11 tin can. It is a sacrificial lamb offered up to get the other important units where they need to be. Besides, that lamb comes packing some teeth.

[Grenadier]

I suppose if I got to fight opponents who didn't use Chaos Marines or Space Marines I might see better performance out of my Dreads. In the years I've played 40k I've had countless battles against some kind of Space Marine. Only one battle against Orks. Once against the Necrons. I seem to recall a battle against Eldar. But never any of the other armies. Sigh...how I long to take my Guard against the Nids. Or my Templars against the Tau.

[gcsmith]

I suppose if I got to fight opponents who didn't use Chaos Marines or Space Marines I might see better performance out of my Dreads. In the years I've played 40k I've had countless battles against some kind of Space Marine. Only one battle against Orks. Once against the Necrons. I seem to recall a battle against Eldar. But never any of the other armies. Sigh...how I long to take my Guard against the Nids. Or my Templars against the Tau.

Well sure u dnt have much variety in armies.
But the irony of that is you come from a place with the original variety of 11? different herbs and spices.

:)

But seriously it cant be that fun, I usually try to play an army no one else plays, gives others variety and stops marine on marine battles.

The fact I play 'tau' a rarely played army, or play as in played, im waiting for a new book. :) But I cant believe how much a pro of them I am compared to others, heck I came to a new store at uni this year, with a long standing tau player, with lots of FW who didnt realise u needed 1 fw squad, or that u needed a BS commander, or that u any time you bought 2 weapon systems on a suit they were twin linked.

Makes me feel sorry for tau, such shame... at least tau have plenty of novels about them, o wait.

Anyway glad my advice could help u with ur dreads.

[kellyj]

As mentioned, Dreds need to come in 1 of 2 flavors. The long range shooty Dred, either Rifleman or the T/L Las Missile Launcher or the standard Dred in a drop pod.
Just to make them more useful I kit my podded dreds with a Heavy Flamer in the event I scatter near a bunch of dudes rather than a tank.
This is esopecially useful if your playing a Vulkan list...twin linking the flamer and the melta.

[Vangrail]

Dont abandon them, u never know they might get a new book

[gingerkid]

Of all the models for Space Marines I love the Dreadnought most. Especially the venerable. And so I take great delight in building them and painting them. With visions of conquest filling my head. I'm always eager to bust out my latest Dreadnought having convinced myself I have a powerful new unit that my opponent shall fear.

But in game terms they never live up to my hopes and dreams.

My first issue with them is assault. As I understand it they are supposed to do well in assault. But mine rarely ever make it to assault. Since they move 6 inches per turn most battles see my Dreadnought exploding in flames by a good shot from an enemy heavy weapon. I just can't seem to get them across a battlefield safely. I've only ever been able to get one into assault. Or rather my opponent assaulted it. With Terminators who were packing powerfists. Needless to say my Dreadnought perished. I have been able to assault a stray tank here and there. And the Dreadnoughts do perform well in this regard.

Having had such limited experience in assaults with my Dreadnoughts I pretty much abandoned this role back in the early days of the 4th edition. And now that all enemy hits count on the rear armor of vehicles I'm more reluctant to try assaulting with them.

Instead all of my Dreadnoughts have been relegated to heavy fire support. I took off all their close combat arms and slapped on the missile launcher. And here my Dreadnoughts finally began to shine. Especially for my Black Templars. I've always hated the assault phase you see. And so all my armies tend to be shooty. My philosophy is shoot the crap out of everything and then I'll have less assault to deal with. But since the Templars lack a lot of heavy firepower I can't rightly play the way I normally would. But my Dreadnoughts acting as mobile heavy weapons platforms make up for the lack of heavy fire power.

Still, I would love to unlock a successful strategy for using them to assault the enemy. Any tips?

To be honest buddy I think you're spot on with the firing platform thing. I LOVE the dreads too (infact my favourite model by gw by far ) but whenever I've ran them in a list I have the same problem, people just target them first nomatter what. So if you're gonna do anything with your dreads, I'd say just keep doing what you're doing and use em to blow things up and making your army look awesome.

[Shotgun Justice]

As others have said there are 2 ways to go with Dreds, sacrificial or in numbers.
If you drop pod them in they will not survive long but they are fun to use, and if they somehow do live then you get to choose what they are assaulting which you might not be if you walk them. Dreds are great in combat against support & backfield units and against vehicles. Their threat obviously expands if you drop pod in 2 or 3.

If you want to walk them then you need more than 1, people talk about armour saturation but that is simply one element of threat saturation: each army will have a limited ability to deal with av12 at range - some are much better equipped than others. One dred is a dead dred, 3 dreds give you a much better chance of keeping your undead un-dead.
However, you can't consider them on their own - for guard, wolves etc 3 av12 units still aren't much of a problem. This is where saturation really comes in - use the front armour of Preds & Vindis to force much harder choices on your opponent. We could be up to 5 or 6 units with av12/13 now, even still you will need to use rhinos to screen your advance and since you're playing Templars it's very likely Raiders will feature somewhere.

The other thing to note is get your dreds and rhinos/razorbacks out, put the dreds behind the rhino's and note what can and cant be seen. Remember that line of sight and range is drawn from the weapon itself - so a dred only has to expose one arm from behind a rhino chassis to fire. In return he gets a 4+ cover save. If you place your models carefully and the rhino's selectively smoke then you can give your entire advance a 4+ cover save each turn. A dred can fully disappear behind a Pred too.

Finally if you're playing Apocalypse sized battles then use your drop pods as lucius pattern dreadnought drops pods - their rules are in the free update to IA2 from forgeworld's downloads section. Those things are MEAN

[Grenadier]

I'm beginning to think those 11 herbs and spices are a myth and in reality we're only getting maybe 5 herbs and spices. I do live relatively close to the world's first KFC and there's just something suspicious about it.

I had a small Tau army back when they were first released. And I was pretty impressed with their tanks and Firewarriors. But I abandoned them since I went through a period of a few years without opponents. The later codex tempted me to get back into them. My only real probleme is the rather dorky looking Crisis suits. They remind me of 1980's toys intended to rip off Transformers.


Well sure u dnt have much variety in armies.
But the irony of that is you come from a place with the original variety of 11? different herbs and spices.

:)

But seriously it cant be that fun, I usually try to play an army no one else plays, gives others variety and stops marine on marine battles.

The fact I play 'tau' a rarely played army, or play as in played, im waiting for a new book. :) But I cant believe how much a pro of them I am compared to others, heck I came to a new store at uni this year, with a long standing tau player, with lots of FW who didnt realise u needed 1 fw squad, or that u needed a BS commander, or that u any time you bought 2 weapon systems on a suit they were twin linked.

Makes me feel sorry for tau, such shame... at least tau have plenty of novels about them, o wait.

Anyway glad my advice could help u with ur dreads.

[Thornblood]

My marine army is, surprisingly on foot, and it does quite well. And comes with three dreads as the only vehicles.

Thing is a long time ago I discovered my scouts were very lucky. Then I realised how awesome a squad of five scouts with shotguns, led by a sergeant with a plasma pistol and an powerfist is. That sergeant has killed many enemy commanders armed with p.fists and thunder hammers, because of a)instant death and b) simultaeneous combat. The scouts around him sometimes kill things in combat too! Especially units of Terminators. Statistically I think the squad on a shoot and assault turn can kill 3-4 termies, more than making up for there cost. Lovely. And some might even survive (not likely though).

I take two of these units of scouts. Plus with combat squads there's another five just with bolters and another five with sniper rifles and a missile launcher hanging around the battlefield. Maybe a unit of tactical marines, definitely a unit of devastators or two, a badass HQ with a tooled up command squad wandering around that surprisingly has never really been targeted. Its basically a marine horde army designed for lots of short ranged firefights and a few select assaults and long range firefights.

And in the middle of all that three dreadnoughts, slowly walking forward doing very well as all-rounders. Because the emeny just had his thunder-hammer wielding commander killed by a scout sergeant and he's being swamped in a few places the dreads, walking forward somewhere, firing here and there, taking out marines in there ones-and-twos each turn means they get overlooked. Occassionally I get them locked in combat to tie up an enemy unit which hasnt got any way to deal with the dreadnought, but they do better wandering around swiping at enemy vehicles and have alot of fun fighting enemy dreadnoughts. One was one stuck in combat with an enemy dread when they were both immobilised.

So thats how I run my dreads, if it were a more normal marine army Im sure they would get blasted pretty early in the game.

[Grenadier]

Two dreads in assault and both end up immobilized? Imagine the conversation between two dreads in such a scenario.

"Damn it, I knew I should've swung hire."

"Well ya didn't! Now look at yourself.

"You're one to talk."

"So um, what do you think about this weather we're having?"

[The AKH]

I play a very infantry-heavy Marine army, and have found two ways that Dreads work for me. One is the much-aforementioned drop podding - which I am a fan of.

The second thing I do sometimes (works well with Assault Marines too) is keep my Dreads on foot and in reserve, as countercharge support for my firing line of heavy weapon combat squads. On multiple occasions I've managed to tie up a unit of Biker Nobz or other fast/heavy units (you do play a bit of reserve roulette tactic) by springing the "Dreadnought Surprise" on them.

[Vangrail]

I play a foot marine army, i have like one squad in a razor back. My dreads march around in squads helping where ever fire support is needed and i never send one dread into close combat he needs buddies with him.

[Grenadier]

If I wanted to I could field a single 15 man crusader squad mounted in a Crusader. And then five 6 man squads mounted in Razorbacks. Plus I have Sword Brethern in a Razorback. On top of this I could also field a character and command squad in a Landraider. Then two Terminator squads, and two 10 man assault squads. In addition I have four Dreadnoughts and two bike squads, plus a couple of Predators.

So I have tons of infantry models. My original army list included those small squads so I would be able to take Razorbacks to make up for lack of heavy support. And while they did prove themselves in battle the squad size wasn't suitable. And it resulted in a ponderous army. The only true advantage of this list was it ensured I had ample ability to take out enemy transports and vehicles making it safer for my Templars to disembark and assault. The smaller squads faired poorly though thanks to the righteous zeal and being outnumbered. The only squad which proved itself time and time again was the 15 man crusader squad. Whenever I disembarked and got the charging bonus it could easily overwhelm any opponent by sheer number of hits and wounds. The amount of dice I had to roll required me to cup my hands and roll a mountain!

But overall I didn't like the list. So now I'm reorganizing the army and downsizing:

It'll still retain the 15 man squad. But instead of five 6 man squads it'll now be two 10 man crusader squads. One will be armed with bolters, the other outfitted for hand to hand like the 15 man squad. And instead of Razorbacks they'll get Rhinos.

I'll still be running my other infantry type units. But there will be less armor now. Only the Crusader, other Landraider, two Rhinos, and a Razorback for the Sword Brethern. Maybe another Razobrack to carry Grimaldus. I'll still have my Terminators, bikers, and Assault marines.

This ought to give me a more viable "horde" army.

[kingsfan2099]

If you have access to Storm Ravens I would say go that way but if not Pods with the DCCW and Multi Melta are downright rough to deal with and while your opponent will have to deal with it or all his armor will be at risk and then if you add a 2nd dread it will allow the rest of your army to control the table.

[Grenadier]

Am I wrong, but aren't Stormravens only available to Gray Knights and Blood Angels?

[Nrthstar]

Dreds need to come in pairs.

Templars have the option of selecting a venerable dred with an assault cannon and tank hunter (which is sick) and don't forget they benefit from your vows.

Honestly when I take dreds I take two (or sometimes even three) and back them up with some solid shooting...they usually survive and I miss them when I don't have em.

This ^ but as odd as it may seem, I take one with it's DCCW and a Heavy flamer, and another as a firepower station. Mix it up with some Bikes and/or Thunderwolf Calv (anything fast that can take a hit) and I can pick and choose what's getting smacked by my dread.

[Loshkins]

I always use a dread in my GK as a backfield holder in case of deepstrikes and what not. Arm him with a psycannon (assault cannon + psybolt) and CCW, and he can really ruin those deepstrikes.

[Wolfshade]

Am I wrong, but aren't Stormravens only available to Gray Knights and Blood Angels? You are not wrong, they are only for BA/GK

[Javin]

If the new 6th edition rumor is true you can use the new dred pods that let you assault the turn you arrive.

[Eupackardia]

Drop pods + Dreadnoughts = Trollface master taunter. Drop it somewhere on the rear of their army, his purpose is bling bling only you know, look scary and taunt some, especially if he's venerable, in which case you can have some fun. The best thing you could do is you know assault little critters like a squad of gaunts or annoying smaller units who can't do much and lock them into combat for the game.

If you can concentrate 3 las cannon / missile launchers shots for 2 turns it is pretty much worth its points IMO.

[Drunkencorgimaster]

My dreds make great cover as wreckage after the first turn.

[LexIcon]

My dreds make great cover as wreckage after the first turn.

Hahahahahahah soo true. They are good at being stalemated by my wyches as well.

[El_Davo]

i'm sure every one else has said this but drop pods. easiest way to get them stuck in. and ven dreads are awesome cuz theyre bs and ws 5. no one ever seems to remember that.

[Ork E Nuff]

I too love the idea of fighting with a dreadnaught. And, I've had the same problems. I would put to you that you really have to put some thought into using a dread in 40k, because of all the anit-advantage units out there. Meltas, dark lances, lascannon, etc...you get the idea. If you've tailored your dread to a specific role, then you will enjoy your dreads more. If you want to get them into combat quicker; tool them up with a DCCW and an assaultcannon and droppod them into the game. You can't assault that turn, but you can shoot, right? Get them in, squish your opponent and move out...nothing plainer than that.

[SeraphimAngels]

Just a question but when you're playing is your opponent rolling 6's to hit? The walker can defend themselves well and you need a 6 to hit them, then you roll for AP, then result. (not Venerable scenerio) I run with a dreadnought myself and it usually takes a couple turns if not different assaults to take it down. My favorite loadout for one is plasma cannon and CCW.
It really comes down to each game you're going to be playing and how to equip them ad how to bring them in. My friend plays Ultramarines and he loves to load it out with melta and seismic hammer as close as he can to my troops as a shock value, another friend auto cannon's both arms and uses them as mobile armor killers.
It all comes down to what you want them to do, whats their objective in the game your playing, tie up squads, break tanks, fight monstrous creatures? Drop Pod is the fastest way to get them into your opponents face and distract them from the rest of your army.