A Primer on Massed Armour Tactics

So how are people feeling about double-TAG lists nowadays in the various factions/sectorials that have more than one TAG?

 

I've been running vanilla pan o with Joan and Double Squalo + 2 regular hackers with grenade launchers. Squalos do a great job on ARO. All the grenade launchers let me remove hard to reach hackers and repeaters so my tags can march up the field. It's had a lot of success so far.

 

My few games so far have involved an NCA list using an Uhlan and Squalo, it worked quite well thanks to the sheer resilience of the pieces allowing me to be aggressive with them in reactive. I'm yet to play against a Hacking-heavy list yet, however.

 

I worry about the order efficiency of Grenade Launchers as a solution.

But we have a fair bit of hacking to manage locally.

 

What's in the list besides the 3 models? Fusilier link and Fugazi?

 

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I would assume that roughly

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Hmmm needs a way to get fairy dust in there still

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Cheers - very intimidating list. It's like those Mass Greater Exalted Daemons Lists from 40k - just a wall of meat (or steel in this case) that just runs at you.

1. Does missing a point for a Liaison Officer ever come up?

2. Since there is only one source of Fairy Dust (EVO) but two Jotums, is the more aggressively positioned Jotum the one fairy dusted, and is the backline Group 2 one (just assuming, maybe you roll out with both idk) just relying on its native BTS?

3. Do you ever start one of the Jotums in Suppressive?

4. Do you ever pop the crab bot out, and like when? TAGs are still very unfamiliar tools for me, so I'm still working around when to use the crabbot functionality?

5. Do you ever feel the need for a KHD instead of the two basic hackers? With the list, KHD might be hard to fit in since your cheapest KHD is a starting non-marker Nokken at 28 points, so I figured it was the two fusi bodies better than one nokken body logic.

6. More like a your local meta question, but have you seen people roll out with more anti tank in general in N4? Feel like this list very much punishes folks who still are in the HMG/crit meta (If all you have is rifles/non AP machine guns, then when the Jotum is in cover, I don't see an efficient counterplay)

Personally, I feel like my lists always err on the side of having more anti-tank than anti-personnel, b/c if it can kill a tank it can kill a person. Not sure if that's the best logic but it's worked so far.

 

I've always liked the massed armour tactics you have written about since N2.

Does this apply to other factions and sectorials, or does it only work for Pano?

I was thinking of trying it out with Nomads.

 

Honestly I think it might be stronger there in Nomads, these days. You've got just as much choice in armour with much more cost-effective supporting pieces. Szallies, Gators and Lizards are all viable MBTs, the Gecko is an enviably cheap light TAG and all the HI is at least as solid as PanO's selection.

I know in the past I've applied this advice to Yu Jing HI lists as well as PanO dual TAG lists, it's solid stuff.

 

I thought so. I play-tested a 150 point list, and despite my opponent having 10 orders with LI and a Peacemaker armbot, the supplies mission ended up being a draw. I was second turn, but the survivability of the HI, and the increase in stats, gave me the opportunity to survive and continue with the mission.

I need to play more to see if massed armour tactics are viable. I think they do anyway.

 

Its absolutely viable and not as hard to play as people think. Its also a playstyle Pano is pretty good at. This is a faction that has to brute force its way through all problems so just lean into that. Having more wounds and armor than your opponent can work quite well. The meta is forever obsessed with having as many orders as possible. That enviably leads to lists with a lot of 1 wound low arm models. If played well, massed armor can just outlast your opponent.

As for other factions, pretty much everyone can run massed armored lists. Theres no reason Nomads can't. I would say Corregidor is probably best at a massed armored list.

 

Oh, I should explain while Pano and Nomads are pretty good at massed armor lists. You want HI who are good specalists. Hospitller doctors, Santiago spitfire, and nomad EVAs are all great HI specialists. An added benefit to Pano knights is their CC ability paired with high BS. It gives you an easy answer if the enemy throws smoke to stop your shooting. You can just walk the knights into CC instead.

Of particular note is Vanilla Pano who has probably the best duo options in the game. Pairing a Knight with a Bulletter or Karhu is pretty great. MO duo and wildcard options are pretty strong as well. Duos tend to be overlook in favor of Haris but they can have their uses.

 

I agree with your comments. Nomads, from what I have been looking at, do tend to have poor Duo's in vanilla. I think the Hollowman Duo is a viable fireteam. Using a spitfire to protect the hacker or specialist operative onto an objective.
Kriza Borac Duo is too expensive I find when list building.
The mobile brigada hacker is tough and durable. He played well in my game. Survived multiple template hits from a peacemaker and auxbot. Mainly dodged out of everything into total cover. Evaders are good too. I like the riot grrls, but I find the Frenzy skill a negative because they no longer gain partial cover bonus once they turn impetuous. But the MSV1 is needed depending on the opponent's list. Taskmaster is a close combat brute looking at is profile.

Anyway, I am having fun playing a HI list. From what I read in the Nomads forum, I may be a heretic using a HI style. While I like hacking, I do prefer to be aggressive and get miniature into the game.

 

As a Varuna player, how would you adapt this to a Squalo w/grenades and Cutter list?

I swapped Liang Kai for Uma, not exactly 1:1, but not bad. good midfield specialist. most of it is the same. I think the EVO hacker is a huge part of this list.

My usual favorite is Squalo/Patsy as a duo, but my locals are trying to convince me to drop the duo since Patsy seems to cost too much for what she provides. I like the order efficiency and specialist and grenade launching fun with my Duo.

 

https://infinitytheuniverse.com/army/list/gfUGbm9tYWRzB0hJIENvcmWAyAEBAQAIAIGeAQkAAIGeAQEAAIYHAQYAAIF+AQkAAIGvAQcAAIF+AQIAAIGvAQUAAIYgAQIA

Here is a 200 point list I have been testing. Hopefully it can be viewed in Army7.
It certainly survives until round 3 when I can get stuck in and complete objectives. I usually lose two or three miniatures before then, depending on the dice.
It has 14 wounds in total including the Transmutation(W) on the Digger and the NWI on the Evader.

Main vulnerability is Hacking obviously. Depending on the mission I will swap-out a specialist for a Reverend Healer, or swap-out the missile launcher or HMG for the Grenzer MSR (Marksmanship). It is fun list to play. My opponent plays MO so it is fairly even with her TK Harris and 3x Trinitarians.

I just need to play more and gain experience with how each trooper works.

 

While this is a really good thread about TAGs in general it is more specialized for PanOceania TAGs so not all tactics will be applicable.