Grenades and Your Meta in N3

They're often times too expensive and too low of burst to make a difference. they also require you opponent to group models for them to be worth it. Really requires a perfect storm of them to be good. they often eat up too much SWC that is better spent elsewhere.

Now some people freak out about the Druze and emily spec fire. having played against it. it's okay i guess. My opponent wasted a number of orders trying to hit one HI at a time (I was careful not to group them). then was fixed by an engineer on my next turn (It was an E/M grenade).

 

I assume the question is specific to non-smoke grenades, in which case I hardly if ever see them. Smoke grenades launchers and thrown smoke are as common as much locally but use of regular, E/M or any of the other grenade types is far less common to the point of being almost unseen.

 

My local friends' lists include - NCA with Squalo HGL and Druze with E/M LGL link. Both are highly effective... Anyone who isn't scared of spec fire E/M is kidding themselves.

 

I haven't really seen LGL/HGL be terribly useful in games locally. I recently was playing against an opponent who was trying to do an HGL list, but the odds just aren't good enough for it to be an efficient use of orders.

Thrown grenades are completely irrelevant, except for that one time an Intruder HMG remembered that it had an 8" ARO option that was better than a pistol.

Smoke and similar visibility-blocking grenades, whether launched or hand-thrown, are off course a different beast.

 

+5 Damage for -1 target number is pretty nice. Not really useful for being a grenade though would be better as an LSG or something.

Massacre linked uses E/M grenades in ARO sometimes.

 

With all these Missions including a Designated Taret the cheap Line / Garrison troop LGL proved to be a trusty points earner - in particular if supported by a troop capable of inducing the targeted state.

 

You forgot the "I use them to break people out of suppression." option.

 

There aren't a lot of effective grenade platforms to begin with... They're a fairly uncommon piece of kit.

Matchups where I commonly see grenades:
-Ariadna (specifically Duroc, throwing on PH13 in the enemy DZ is mean.)
-Druze (E/M LGL everywhere)
-StarCo (Emily everywhere)
-NCA/PanO (on occasion with the Squalo.)
-Acon (Montessa, Regulars)
-CA (people forget that the most popular Daturazi loadout has them, and they're mean with it.)
-Anyone who regularly brings Krakots (like Daturazi, grenades available on the most popular profile.)
-JSA (almost all Domaru profiles have E/M grenades, and Domaru now have broad linkability.)
-Steel Phalanx (if you've never eaten a Stun Grenade before, damn they're nasty.)

If your meta doesn't use them, try them out. They're dominant on the right platforms.

 

I use Daturazi, but don't have a lot of situations where I'm within 8" and want to force a FtF roll.

I'm planning on trying Bayram, and am looking forward to being initiated into the joys of linked LGLs.

 

I see them used a lot against REMs (low Dodging ability and bad ARM makes them an ideal target,) or to break up suppressive fire / destroy mines to increase the Dat's chance of living through a Chain Rifle attempt. Also good against targets lurking on rooftops in the midfield who would otherwise be inaccessible!

 

I like them in theory, but in practice pretty well never use Grenades. I cannot spare the 1 SWC for a Light Grenade Launcher. I struggle with SWC in general, so dedicating some to a highly situational bit of equipment that is unlikely to be used? Nah, not happening.

I have a few profiles that can take Grenades, but situations where they are useful as so uncommon that I rarely consider the option. For example, the Intruder HMG gets Grenades. It is a practical option at 8'', but I cannot recall ever having a target 8'' from an Intruder HMG! Similarly, when I run a Wildcat Fireteam:Core I always include the Boarding Shotgun profile, but have never had a good situation for using the Stun Grenades.

EDIT: Almost forgot. I use Smoke/Eclipse Grenades in basically every game. They are a whole other story!

 

Makes sense. Usually I either dropped a chain rifle template at longer range or am using smoke to try and get all the way into BtB.

 

Yeah that's the main use honestly.

Never like to risk Electric Pulse. But I've never felt the need to spec fire on a REM either.

 

Id suggest askinf a different way.

Is speculative fire a capabillity you ensure you have in your list?
Like means of dealing with camo
Means of dealing with mslink teams tags and hi.

Does it get used every game or every time a model is in a building or on a roof? No not if i dont think its worth the orders. And sole order generators are rarely worth it imo.

But i definitely think it is an ability that is required for a list unless you want a large capability gap your opponent and probably will exploit

 

Oh, absolutely, in N3 electric pulse is brutal. I've had an opponent literally jump a helperbot off of a roof so that it could move-cc into my TAG and zap it.

 

I forgot and cut a turret during a scenario with Penny, rolling a 1. Found out it lasts longer than I thought. She didn't make it off that ship...

 

To be honest I do not like to use Grenades for something specific when I can help it. They work just fine but you never know if it'll be on the first or the fifth Order.

When I use Spec Fire it comes down to 3 reasons:
1. I'm using a Squalo HGL from DZ to trade lower odds for safety and a full pool to achieve what I want to do - mostly punishing bad deployment and killing Designated Targets.
2. the I'm out of better options and Spec Fire gives me the best play.
3. Multiple targets bunched up so you can just throw and see what sticks.

Normal BS Attacks with Grenades do happen as they're quite good AROs in 8". Linked Santiagos, Massacre... etc also wreak havoc when you get 2 dice on 16/19 in an active turn FTF.
Throwing Grenades at unconscious troops to catch someone else in the blast is also worth noting as a great asset.

I don't play any faction that gets decent use out of LGLs but core linked X-Visor E/M LGLs are certainly no joke.

 

I use 1 or 2 LGLs in my USARF these days. Only thing I have the can scare those TO/ODD things in supressing fire with any degree of regular success simply because they can't be shot back at. Normal hand grenades show up sometimes and I have used them a couple times with great effect. Would use them more if more profiles have them.