Ok, this guy is effing cool. I've like the Flesh Tearers since my flirtation with them back when the Index Astartes series was passing out special rules like candy to every marine chapter in existence. If anybody remembers the old 3rd edition BA pamphlet, Flesh Tearers basically took all the best bits (free DC) and turned them up to 11. They also threw in DC Dreads. Awesome sauce.
The PDF came out and killed my interest, but the latest BA Codex brought them back, sorta. Seth isn't the meanest Chapter Master in the game, by far, but I do like buzzsaws. The new fluff has the Flesh Tearers trying to redeem themselves before their genetic curse claims them. They may go down, but they'll be remembered as heroes instead of monsters.
So, I want to make a Flesh Tearers army. When I think Flesh Tearers I think Death Company, Dreads, and lots of fast choppy. They don't have much in the way of resources and prefer to stay on the move so they can get into the fight as quickly as possible, in and out before other Imperial forces can respond. So, that means speed. Lucky me, everything in the Blood Angels book is capable of being fast! This'll be a big departure from my typical mech force, which my omnimarines can do already, so I'm all for it.
I've been wracking my brain over it for a while, but Stelek's post about Seth got the wheels turning finally. Here's my initial Flesh Tearers dealy.
HQ
Seth
He's kinda essential for a Flesh Tearers army. He's not a character hunter since he doesn't ignore armor, but he can straight up murder infantry, multi-wounders like Tyranid Warriors, and fast moving vehicles.
Honor Guard - 3 storm shields, 2 meltaguns, powerfist
What Seth can't do, Honor Guard can. Powerfists and meltas can nail tougher targets while Storm Shields help them weather return fire. The Priest makes them even better.
Elites
Furioso Librarian Dreadnought - Might of Heroes, Shield of Sanguinius
Psyker defense and general smashy smashy. Shield can protect my vehicles and he can shred hordes with Might or big monsters with his Force Weapon.
Troops
Death Company - 10, 2 infernus pistols, powerfist
Flesh Tearers are hit hard by the curse of their geneseed, so Death Company just seem mandatory. They, like the HG+Seth, can pretty much mulch anything they come into contact with and are ultimately an expensive diversion.
Death Company Dreadnought
Yes it has lower WS, but it's so delightfully characterful.
3x Assault Squads - 5 men, flamer, hand flamer, Razorback w/ lascannon, twin-linked plasma guns
Objective holders, transport crackers, and general support all for quite cheap. I went for flamers because the Razorback provides anti-tank and heavy infantry, I have melta everywhere else, and the most iconic imagery I can remember for the Flesh Tearers is a picture in the 3rd edition book of a marine with a flamer roasting a bunch of sorry heretics. Who wants theirs well done?
Fast Attack
2x Land Speeders w/ multi-melta, heavy flamer
Mini Stormravens. They can move quickly or Deep Strike as needed and can hit a wide variety of targets with devastating effect.
Heavy Support
2x Stormravens w/ twin-linked plasma cannon, twin-linked multi-melta, hurricane bolters
These are the main event. They'll cart Seth+HG and the DC around to drop them off in somebody's face so they can tear it off.
Total - 2000
It's a rock army, I know. The 2 Ravens load up and drop a big pile of death on my opponent's front door while my paltry support keeps them suppressed long enough. I live or die on the Ravens for the most part, so I either want to deploy first and get in ASAP or reserve and come out zooming 24" with Shield of Sanguinius up. Seth, the Honor Guard, Death Company and Dreads should be able to fuck up anything that comes up, while the RAS can sit back or grab objectives, provide support, and mop up if necessary. Everything is fast and the army is made to come out swinging ASAP, which I think is the epitome of the Flesh Tearers' combat doctrine. Also, as an added thematic element, the numbers are low to represent the Chapter's continual decline and they rely on shiny toys to provide their fire support so they can focus on letting out their inner crazy.
Thoughts?
8 comments:
It's not that I dislike the list, not at all. But...I wrote a fun-looking Seth list I might actually buy, and so I naturally prefer it. Probably less competitive - but meh.
Yours is almost certainly better, tbh. lol
Ooh, lemme see yours. I'm not sure how solid mine is until I test it, but I do so love Seth and his buzzsaw marines.
Hmm, as you know from 3++, I'm also a FT fan. Let's take a look at this list.
Seth - the man himself
Libby Dread - Wings or Lance >> Might. I think wings, shield and lance are the only powers you'll ever need.
DC - DC = DC Dreads. if you're only bringing 1 Dread, only bring 5 DC. (I know, I know, fluff, but... :) ) Personally, I don't think the Infernus are worth it. 3" melta range? Meh. I'd find 10 or 15 for a Fist/Hammer and hope for some s9 vs rear armor love.
ASM - You're relying on 15 guys for all your objective needs. Divided over 3 transports make them better, I suppose. The flamer is a no-brainer, but I'm not sure the hand flamer is worth it for a squad like this. If they're getting out to flame, things are probably falling apart and a s3 template won't fix it. I think you can find a better use for those 30 points.
Speeders - they're very needed in vanilla lists for the fast melta love, but BA can get fast melta elsewhere. That being said, your list is melta-light as it is, so I'm not sure.
Ravens - I think I found a spot for those 30 points. LB are money on Ravens for the speed/drop/boom that HG and a Libby Dread with Lance can provide.
Overall, the list just seems small, doesn't it? Not enough melta, not enough anti-transport. It's the problem with double Stormraven lists. The birds are so pricey, but don't give the stability of a LR. You also fill them with rock that aren't rocks, so the list ends up loosing focus. It's a tough position.
Also, off-topic, can you write an Iron Priest (on thunderwulf) tactica/list? They're been drawing my interest lately.
Thanks for your insights Jeevie. Now that you and Stelek have weighed in on it, I'm not feeling so good any more :P
I think I may have to drop it down to just 1 Raven. We do 1850 for tournies here anyway, so 2 Ravens just end up almost unfeasible with an extra 150 points down. I'm not sure what to put in there though. Seth and the HG would be a very mean combination, but they're pricey. DC would fit in nicely I think.
I'll have to do some thinking and testing.
Can do on the Iron Priest thing.
Um, I guess my biggest qualm with this list is- how are you going to kill tanks? 4 MM and 2 melta guns aren't going to be super reliable, especially against strong raider builds.
Otherwise, I do like the Ravens. I was wondering why the Furioso was in there, since you were talking about 'fast'.
You already know my opinion about flamers :P But at least you have 2of them in the squad. It does seem a little bit like you're just *praying* that you won't have to play against horde orks (though Seth will hopefully help a little bit with that)
It's not the number of melta, it's more about how and where I use 'em. My plan was to rush the Ravens and Speeders up, smoke something big and then charge what comes inside. Razors help to crack transports too. Now I'm not so sure, so I'm gonna be re-evaluating the list.
I've just created a flesh tearers list that I quite like.
Let me know what you guys think.
HQ.
Astorath the grim
Troops:
Flesh tearers Tactial squad (10)
Rhino transport
Flesh tearers Assult marines
(Astorath the grim to join this unit)
Death Company (10)
Rhino Transport
Death Company (5)
(Jump Packs)
Unit to be joined by Lemerates guardian of the lost.
Death company Dreadnought.
Elites:
Flesh tearer Terminator squad (5)
(Assult cannon, power sword + 2 x chain fists.)
Land raider crusader transport for terminators.
Fast attack:
2 x land speeders both with typhoon missle launchers.
Heavy support:
Flesh tearers dreadnought.
Too many points in expensive SCs/DC/Terms, no real focus, no anti-tank.
I'd totally redo it. Pick an element you want to focus on (Astroboy, Terms+LR, Jumpers, mech, etc) and build around that.
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