Goatboy here to say it may be time to rethink the whole Dedicated Transport concept for 9th Edition!
I ask this as we are preparing for an Ork invasion and looking at terrain changes/guidelines have shifted how you think about your army. Mix this all together and you start to see a new environment where the investment in a moving box might not be too bad.
The Looming Ork Menace
First will talk about the upcoming Ork menace. I know their shooting can be very hit or miss but the newest “issue” on the market is of course the Rukkatruck. I am sure you have all heard how this fast little no LOS throwing damage beast can be a bit of a problem. Throw it in a Freeboota army and you start to get two 4+ hitting no LOS guns. Mix in a Burna bomber and you start to get this weird set of threats that can easily overwhelm a ton of foot slogging units. What helps solve some of this? A toughness 6 fat body that holds a bunch of your guys, turns off that auto max hit blast option, and can move your dudes men a bit farther up the board. Orks have this too in their careening Trukk boy nonsense that can produce a very rude “counter” punch to an army.
The other crazy thing with a push towards some Transports to move your models around is the fact it helps you complete the most important mission in 40k right now. The game is now much more open to “board” control than ever – especially with the shift in terrain placement, lanes of fire, and just traffic in the middle of the table. A few Rhinos, Trukks, Chimeras, and Raiders become a lot to deal with especially when they are full of meaty damage potential that can jump out and get into your business. The game has really started to push out of the first turn alpha and settled into a much more brutal 2nd to 3rd turn counter punch with a solid “board” control back up.
All Hail the Rhino
Now I know what you are saying – the Rhino was never good and why waste points on it? Well look at the current newish Marine body options. Both the Death Guard and Thousand Sons get Rhinos with the T.Sons having pretty mean ones and the DG having ones that could blow up big. The Sisters of Battle love the Rhino as well with a few players running pretty Rhinos in their lists. I even expect some Grey Knight armies to have some as it gives you another body to hold an objective and be a bit of a pain to deal with. We also are starting to see a bigger change with army damage composition where you won’t have nearly as many mean ole lascannons blowing holes in your pretty boxes or nearly as many Dark Lances.
The Rhino isn’t the only thing as I talked about how the regular ole Ork Trukk looks pretty decent. If we ever get a new AM book I am sure the Chimera will bring back those who loved the ole Leaf Blower mentality with a bunch of boxes, Army peeps, and flashlights leading the way. The Dedicated Transport is always something I have enjoyed in my game playing. It helps let you play a bit faster, gives you a lot more movement options, and just lets me put something in the way that is moderately hard to remove. It gives me a lot more control than just a string of 5 guys trying to hold the fort as the enemy bears down and brings some damage.
Primaris Woes
I think there is some hurt with the Marines right now as the Primaris are the way to go but the Impulsor is just a tad too expensive to make it worth it. I still see some from time to time housing a bunch of Bladeguard and coming into to steal all your candy. I am wondering if a few shifts in points might make it good and bring some Marines back to the tabletop. I think the whole shift of old Marines can’t get into X and the new guys can only get into Y makes it really hard to invest in some transports.
I talked a bit about it but playing the same amount of models but somehow moving more of them faster is a great way to speed up your play. I know I had a Rhino list I wanted to try at some point for my Death Guard and think getting a lot of Plague Marines on the tabletop might actually work. It will allow me to control things a bit and while not nearly as killy as I would want it does let me play missions. I have talked about it a lot but having options to play missions will help you get better at the game and give you more opportunity to win.
What do you think? Do you think the era of the Rhino is back? Is it worth it?
Source: Bell of Lost Souls
