Don't tread on me
Lately I, and everyone else at Discordia, have been having difficulty against an Armored Company list. With AV14, very few weapons can hurt tanks on the front armor, and with those Lascannons and Battle Cannon, they can lay a whole lot of smack down every turn.

Okay, that's pretty scary, but let's take a look at the big picture. Okay, Armored Company is a list based around the tanks of the Imperial Guard. Although they can take a few other things, we'll mostly be looking across the board at a lot of tanks. Well, a few tanks, anyway. In addition to standard tanks running about 160pts at a minimum, the Armored Company specifically requires a Tank Commander (must have 1 for the HQ) or a Tank Ace for every two regular tanks. In the new Armored Company rules, tanks are 1 per slot, so there will be a maximum of 6 Troop tanks. (This may not seem like a big deal, but in larger-point games, it limits the number of the more efficient tanks.) The Tank Commander adds 100pts to the cost of his tank, and each Tank Ace adds 65pts to the cost of their tank. These tanks do get BS4, but mostly it helps to limit the number of tanks they can get, plus it gives you a few targets that are more expensive than the others. All of these tanks do have AV14 on the front, but most of them only have AV12 on the side and even AV10 on the rear. While they will typically park the rear of the tanks up against the back of the board, the sides are still useful targets, and mobile enemies with good range can take advantage of this. Armored Companies can have some Armored Fist squads, but they and their chimera cost about as much as a tank, so most tread-heads will stick to the vehicles. Bizarrely enough, one further difficulty most Armored Companies have is that they aren't terribly good at taking down vehicles. This is because the Battle Cannon only gets a full strength hit if the center hole of the template is over the target vehicle. While they can improve their chances by getting Hull Lascannons and sponson Lascannons, most won't do this due to the added expense. Note also that, despite being entirely formed from vehicles, Armored Companies are typically fairly static lists, since they want to maximize their shooting potential. This means that you will likely have an advantage in mobility in objective missions. In addition, since the list is entirely vehicles, they can block Line of Sight to each other, meaning that if you manage to get on one side or the other of a line of tanks, only one or two will be able to shoot you effectively. Oh, one last bit. Even though it's pretty hard to damage a tank, pretty much any damage will be useful. Almost every result will keep the tank from shooting next turn, which is all you really need. Sure, blowing up the tank is better, since it means one less tank that you have to kill later, but even a stunned result is fine here.

Since I play Tyranids, I'll start by looking at what can be done with Tyranids in general, and mine in specific. Then I'll take a look at what some other armies can do about the Armored Company.

Tyranids

Okay, they've got a lot of big guns and heavy armor, but they don't have much in the way of bodies or useful mobility. Their big guns are primarily AP3 Ordnance weapons. First off, this tells me that a 2+ save would be pretty darn useful. (Not quite as useful against Nick's armored company, he's one of the guys that springs for Lascannons in hull and sponsons on his tanks. He's pretty smart. He's probably also reading this. Hi Nick!) Creatures with lesser saves can still be useful (check the charts later) but they'll need to be spread out due to those nasty large blast templates. Cover will be helpful as well. If there is cover between a model and the center of the blast template, it counts as being in cover. In area terrain, such as Forest, that means that only the model directly under the template would not get a cover save, while the rest would. Hey, even a 1/3 chance to live is better than none, and every model you keep alive is another threat to those tanks. Faster models will also do us some good, since it gives the Armored Company less time to shoot before we can start damaging them, and because it allows us to move to one side of the force, potentially getting attacks on side armor or even blocking off most of their Line of Sight. On the other hand, we don't want things that can't damage AV12 (assuming here that the enemy has it's back to the edge of the board so you can't actually get behind them.) That lets out all Gaunts and Gargoyles and Rippers. It also lets out Raveners or Warriors without Rending Claws (or Venom Cannons for the Warriors.) Everything else in the list has at least a possibility of harming tanks. Let's take a look at each of our options in turn to see what they're capable of...

Hive Tyrant: This creature is going to be one of your best bets. With a Warp Blast it rates a 0.25 chance of glancing at 18 inches, but even better is the Venom Cannon, coupled with BS4 and Toxin Sacs. That combination will give you a 0.33 chance at 36" range, which is pretty darn good. Giving it two VCs (making a single, Twin-Linked one) will bring you up to 0.44, but that's not a huge increase for the price, and for how much it limits your Tyrant if you are planning to bring this list against other armies. Definitely bring Carapace or Warp Field, however. That 2+ save is great against Armored Company, since it limits their options. A 6+ invulnerable would be awfully nice as well, unless you have something better to do with that Psychic Power slot. Note that, although expensive, a Winged Tyrant would have a much better chance than most things of getting around the side of a line of tanks and getting shots against the far more fragile side armor. Usually Winged Tyrants are close combat beasts, but this would give you a 1.0 rating, which is amazing!

Warriors: With Venom Cannons and Toxin Sacs, these guys can hurt AV12, the side armor, at a distance. They don't have a prayer of doing anything from the front, however. If you can get that side shot, however, they get a pretty respectable 0.33 chance of getting a Glancing hit. (2 shots x BS3 x 5+ to glance.) That assumes that you get the side shot, and that'll still cost you about 100pts, give or take. With Rending Claws, they have the possibility of breaking through that front armor, though you have to get rather close to do this. Assuming the tanks moved a little, it works out to 0.22 per Warrior (4attacks, 4+ to hit, 6 to Rend, additional 3+ to Glance.)

Lictors: Their special deployment gives you a pretty good chance of surviving into close range where you can potentially be a threat. It also gives you a better chance at getting that side armor. Against the front, a Lictor gets about 0.28(4attacks, 4+ to hit, 6 to Rend, 2+ to Glance) Against the side, it is slightly better, with 0.33.

Genestealers: The only Troop choice that gives us a chance against Armored Company. Rending Claws potentially means dead tanks, Fleet means they get there sooner. Max of 4+ armor saves mean these guys will die quickly against an Armored Company. Spread out and run fast. If you are specifically going against Armored Company, don't bother with Carapace, as even their lowliest weapons will ignore it. Scuttlers might be useful, to save you a turn of running forward. Just remember to spread out, and hopefully you will have other threats to distract them. Individual Genestealers aren't terribly effective against tanks, but they will typically have larger numbers than our other threats, so it adds up. Each Genestealer gets about 0.13 glances. Put even 3 of them together and it gives you 0.39, better than anything else we've looked at so far. They are a little better on the side, but don't count on them getting there.

Raveners: Fast. That's pretty much what these guys have going for them. They aren't any stronger than Genestealers, but they do get more attacks (5 vs. 3) which helps a bit. They also have the fact that you can buy them in broods of 1, which means you give the enemy more targets. As long as they don't all get caught under a large blast template, an Armored Company will have a hard time effectively hitting these guys. Each Ravener scores a 0.21 chance of a glancing hit on the front armor, and slightly better against the side. They aren't twice as effective as a Genestealer, and they are slightly pricier than 2 Genestealers, but they will get in really fast, which may surprise your opponent, or it may give you a chance to slither around the side of the line, or it might just keep him distracted from your other threats.

Spore Clusters: Uh, yeah. These things have about a 0.04 chance of getting a glance on AV14. Definitely not worth your time. Take a Ravener instead.

Biovores: See above. Don't waste your time or precious Heavy Support Slots on these things.

Zoanthropes: Warp Blast is going to be the only effective power here. With an 18 inch range, you'll need something to keep them hidden until they get close enough, but once they do, each one is a 0.25 chance of glancing one of those tanks. At a potential 0.75 for a single slot, they are definitely worthwhile. Just make sure something nearby has Synapse (or give one of them Synapse) so that they don't get instakilled. The 2+/6+ is pretty sweet against most Armored Company fire as well.

Carnifi: Our siege-constructs can wreak total havoc if they actually reach the tanks. Unless they have guns, however, this is unlikely to happen. If they have guns, they can start doing damage from turn 1, giving them more chances to stun the tanks right off the bat. A Carnifex with a Venom Cannon and Enhanced Senses (like my Venomfexes) gets a 0.5 rating. The much-touted Gunfex (Senses, VC/BS) only gets 0.58, which isn't much of an increase. A Twin Venomfex, however, rachets up to 0.75. (Twin-linking BS3 shots is much more effective than Twin-linking BS4 shots.) Most Tyranid players scoff at the Twin Venomfex, saying it's not worth the price to merely twin-link the gun, when you are paying for two whole guns. Since no other weapon can effect AV14 like the Venom Cannon, and you have to pay the price for bringing the whole Carnifex anyway, it is certainly worthwhile here.

My Shooty Godzilla army
With all that said, now how can I improve my chances against armored company? Very little of my current army can effect AV14 at range. To be precise, I have 4 models that can affect AV14 outside of CC, and two of those only have 18" range. Even all put together, my whole army can only get 1.5 glances, assuming they are all in range. Not too impressive. If I get another Gunfex, I'd have to replace my Zoanthropes, which are a large part of why this army works. Those same Zoanthropes are also half of my ranged effect models against AV14. What are my other options? Well, Biovores or Deep-Striking spore mines are definitely out of the question.

Improved Gunfexes (Gunfi?): The current Venomfex is 0.5, which isn't bad. If I go to a Twin Venomfex, that'll go up to 0.75, as good as adding another Zoanthrope. On the other hand, that also puts a lot of my eggs in one basket. Nick currently shoots at my Venomfexes first, knowing that they are the most effective weapons I've got. Making them better just gives him more incentive to kill them. Giving them a 2+ save is a possibility. It would be worth the price against Armored Company, certainly, but I like giving them a 3+ against other armies, as it encourages people to shoot them instead of the Devourer fexes, and those are much more effective against other armies. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to go this route, however, in light of my other options.

More Versatile Hive Tyrants: While I like giving my Hive Tyrants Dual Twin-linked Devourers (12 shots at S5, rerolling missed hits and missed Wounds is pretty sick!) Replacing one Twin-Linked Devourer with a Venom Cannon gives me an additional 0.33 glances at 36" range, which I pretty sorely need here. That does take me down from 3.1 Dead Space Marines in shooting to 1.9, but I think that's probably acceptable for the added effect against vehicles. Using Warp Field instead of Carapace would also help a little bit, but that would also replace a Psychic Scream, which is what I'm basing this list around. I think that would be too big a change. Warp Blast on a Tyrant would also be less effective than a VC and would also replace my Psychic Scream, so it's not really an option for me.

Lictors can be pretty effective, since they can jump in near to where they are needed and have a good chance of getting to the side armor, where they'll be more effective. On the other hand, they would replace one of my Devourerfexes, which isn't something I really want to do unless I know I'm only facing Armored Company.

Warriors are possible. I could even see moving a brood up one side behind cover, while the Armored Company was distracted by the rest of the army. Again, though, I'd be replacing either a Devourerfex or a Tyrant, neither of which is something I'm willing to give up for a 0.33 chance of a glancing hit.

Genestealers: Well, I've already got these in my list, I might as well use them. They don't have Carapace, which makes them a little cheaper. I might consider getting Scuttlers for them, but generally my plan (against enemies other than Armored Company) is to hide them behind the Monstrous Creatures, which would make Scuttlers mostly useless. On the other hand, if I spread them out, he'll have a hard time killing them all. Last time I did spread them out a bit, and he had to waste a lot of shots on them, which cost him a couple of tanks. This time, I'll have to spread them out even more, out to the limits of coherency, so that they'll survive a little longer.

Raveners: Well, my list already includes a Ravener or two, so it's a good thing that they can be effective. I'm not sure whether I'll try to zip them up the side, or just have them join the Genestealers in a forward charge. With their high movement, they are threats about a turn earlier than the Genestealers, but in broods of 1 and in Synapse range, I think he'll have a hard time taking them down.

Zoanthropes: I could improve a bit by adding a third Warp Blast, but that would either cost me Synapse, which has come in very handy against Armored Company once the Tyrants are dead, or it would cost me a Psychic Scream, which is what I'm basing this army around.

So, what does this all mean? Well, if I improve both my Venomfexes and replace a Twin-Linked Devourer with a Venom Cannon on both my Hive Tyrants, that'll bring me up to 2.16 Glances at 36 inch range, and 2.66 at 18 inches, which is a good improvement. (If that doesn't seem like much, remember that every tank that gets glanced is a tank that probably won't be shooting next turn.) Carapace would also make my Venomfexes more survivable, which makes it harder for him to kill them. I think I can make most of these changes by pulling out some Genestealers. I really hate to see them go, but the rest of the army is more critical than they are.

Other ArmiesTyranids aren't the only army out there that can get headaches trying to deal with all those pesky tanks. Let's take a look and see what we have to work with and against before we delve into the individual armies.

Tanks. Heavily armored and having big guns, they are also expensive, which means you won't see very many. I'd expect 7, maybe 8 tanks in 1500pts. This means they are more easily outmaneuvered (they can only point that AV14 in one direction. If you can flank them, somebody gets to shoot at the softer side armor.) This also means that lucky shots hurt. A lot. Okay, so you need at least a S8 weapon to do that, but every shot that gets through negates a big chunk of firepower. Even 2 Stunned results mean that 25% or more of their firepower is gone next turn. Once you stun a tank, move on to shoot at a different one.

Mobility. As mentioned previously, the Armored Company is likely to put it's back to the wall and simply stand and shoot. This means that you can easily outmaneuver them. You can use your mobility to limit their Line of Sight to you, letting half of your force see only one or two tanks gives you a good shot at damaging those tanks without getting creamed by a big helping of return fire. In addition, getting around the side not only gives you a shot at the weaker side armor, it will make the line of tanks block most of it's own Line of Sight.

Run and Gun. Rather, drive and gun. Most Armored Companies will have a weakness against vehicles, so using some will help you, and using lots will help you even more. Falcons and Land Raiders will be particularly difficult targets for them. Having the mobility that vehicles provide will also give you a better chance of nailing that side armor.

Eldar
Bright Lances will be fairly effective (unless they spent an extra 25pts per tank to get a special thing that ignores the Lance rule. On the other talon, that's awfully pricy unless they know they are going up against Eldar or Dark Eldar. 6 tanks with that almost equals another tank they could have taken.) Falcons will be pretty effective here, as could Wave Serpents. The Wave Serpent won't be quite as survivable, but a Twin-linked Bright Lance would be more effective. Vypers would be pretty useful here, too, though very vulnerable. Of all the Aspects, I think three of them have a chance to shine here. Scorpions delivered by a Grav tank bring that Exarch's claw into play pretty quickly. Fire Dragons are pretty obvious here as well. Deliver with a Serpent next to the line, blow up the first tank and use the wreckage to hide behind. An unusual possibility here that might do very well are the Warp Spiders. With their incredibly fast movement they can move to flank the tanks quickly. Once there, those S6 Rapid-Fire guns could come in very handy against that weaker side armor. Basically, either think heavy firepower or mobility, or a bit of both.

Dark Eldar
Similarly, Dark Eldar have access to Lance Weapons. Dark Lances. Lots of them. With BS4. Are you salivating yet? Unless they knew you were coming and bought the anti-lance stuff, you'll easily crush them. If you want, you could bring something like 20 Dark Lances in 1500pts. That's 6.6 glances per turn. Alternately, Wyches with Blasters work well, particularly against the side armor. Wyches with Haywire grenades will make them go boom pretty quick. Any character with an Agonizer will also have something like a 0.25 chance of glancing as well. A Ravager with Dark Lances will mash just about any tank it shoots, but if they can see it, it'll die pretty quickly. The Talos, on the other hand, won't do much, since it's only S7. It does have a chance of damaging, as it modifies the Strength of it's hit on vehicles if it gets more than one hit, but it's not much. If you use Raiders or Raveners, try to use them in a Wolf Pack. Move them around in a group and try to limit the number of tanks that can see the group to just 1 or 2. Then nail those 1 or 2. If you can pull this off, you should be able to whittle down those tanks with very few casualties.

Chaos
Chaos is a pretty versatile force. You do have some limitations, however. Of all the Daemons, only the Greater Daemons will do any damage against tanks. Greater Daemons or Daemon Princes can shred them, if they get close, however, so grab some with good movement and good protection. 2+ Save, some Invulnerable save, something to keep them from being instakilled and Feel No Pain, if available. Bikes with Meltas or Powerfists could be very effective, especially with Turboboost making their saves invulnerable. Normal squads will have a hard time making across the field, though a rush with rhinos might be effective. For more effect, try a Land Raider with some Chosen Terminators (powerfists, naturally) since they'll have a hard time stopping you. At longer ranges, consider the Tank Hunters skill. It turns Reaper Autocannons into fearsome weapons. It also makes Lascannons the equivalent of Rail Guns, and gives even Plasma Guns a chance to do something. A Tank Hunting Heavy Bolter would also be very effective on the weaker side armor. Predators can also be very effective and might be hard for the Armored Company to deal with.

Imperial Guard
Lascannons galore! If you can get some Autocannon squads off to the side, they should be able to plink the side armor pretty effectively as well. Get good leadership and spread out as much as possible. You will take casualties, but if you can stick around, you can throw more lead (or hot photons or what have you) downrange than even the Armored Company can. Some drop troops or Storm Troopers with Meltas can be very effective here. Even if they get nuked next turn, they will probably have taken more than their points worth with them. I remember that The Commissar from the Imperial Guard list on Yahoo groups used to take a "Slag Squad." It was a squad of hardened vets with 3 Melta guns, I believe, which took care of anything that he thought was a serious problem. Well, put 'em in a Chimera and run them up, they should do pretty well here, too.

Orks
Hmm, sort of a mixed bag, here. Zzap Gunz can do lots of damage, but they are so vulnerable that they won't last very long. Loads and loads of Rokkit Launchaz could stand you in good stead here. Ultimately, however, it'll probably come down to Nobz with Powerklaws. Killa Kanz might also be useful here. Small targets, so they can be hard to hit, but they should be pretty scary if they actually make it into contact. Note that Wartrakks and such that can get Rokkits can very effectively zoom up the side and hit the flanks. Just don't pack them too close together, there will be return fire, and it will be big.

Space Marines
In some ways, similar to Chaos here, only without quite as much of the close combat options. Terminators in a Land Raider will be very effective, however. At range, Predators will be pretty effective, as will things with the Tank Hunter Skill as mentioned above in the Chaos section. Of additional interest, however, are the things that can be equipped with Assault Cannons. About 60% more effective than Lascannons at taking out AV14 threats, and with mobile platforms, the range doesn't matter. I remember reading something on Dakka where a guy was coming up with a concept he referred to as the Armored Core. It involved a couple of Squads of Terminators (with Assault Cannons) and a couple of Tornados, plus a Dreadnaught or two with Assault Cannons and a Predator, I think. The idea was to have them all deployed together in a fairly tight wedge. They would be set up to limit Line of Sight, then vaporize anything they could see. The formation would then shift a little and vaporize the next section of the enemy army. This could be pretty effective against Armored Company, given the amount of firepower it throws out, as long as it can limit the return LOS.

If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know

Return to Warpstorm!