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AoS Ripperdactyl Riders vs Terradon Riders

Snoopdeville3
Razordon

Snoopdeville3

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Hey guys, for AoS which do you prefer, I am having a hard time choosing? I do have 6 that I can make. At first it was Ripper all the way until I seen the Sunleech Bolas weapon on the Terradon's. The roll for how many wounds you get is awesome.

I have fielded thse so I am uncertain as to which usualy work better. Which do you prefer?
 
I haven't played much AoS yet, but from what I've seen around rippers seem like they're better at straight up damage, especially when swooping in, as well as zone control with their toad, and have a fear factor that works on your opponent. Terradons on the other hand seem like they're better if you want a ranged harassment unit which is mobile and can get into your enemy's backline easily to poke at their weaker units. Not sure if one is better in general or not, someone with more experience with AoS will probably be along shortly to help though!
 
Gogery said:
I haven't played much AoS yet, but from what I've seen around rippers seem like they're better at straight up damage, especially when swooping in, as well as zone control with their toad, and have a fear factor that works on your opponent. Terradons on the other hand seem like they're better if you want a ranged harassment unit which is mobile and can get into your enemy's backline easily to poke at their weaker units. Not sure if one is better in general or not, someone with more experience with AoS will probably be along shortly to help though!
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Yes this is what I was thinking as well!

So it says if they swoop down to fight.. if theu dont swoop dowm can they not be engaged in melee combat? I know some units like the TK Carrions are like this.... at least my friend says so... lol
 
Honestly it depends on the kind of army you're fielding.

What sort of army do you have? Offensive? Defensive? Fluid? Melee? Ranged? Etc.
 
Leaning more towards the defensive side, Thats why I am thinking toads and rippers are better choice.
 
Snoopdeville3 said:
Leaning more towards the defensive side, Thats why I am thinking toads and rippers are better choice.
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If you're defensive then I'd actually say that Terradons are the way to go. If you're building defensive right then you'll already have a lot of meaty, bulky, melee-based units. But what you'll lack will be some fast moving aerial shooters who can use their high line of sight to shoot over your line from behind into combat to support your front line.
 
Snoopdeville3 said:
So it says if they swoop down to fight.. if theu dont swoop dowm can they not be engaged in melee combat? I know some units like the TK Carrions are like this.... at least my friend says so... lol
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This sounds... wrong to me and I would never play it like that, but after looking over the rules real quick I can see how it could be interpreted like that. Not sure what to think here.
 
Snoopdeville3 said:
Yes this is what I was thinking as well!

So it says if they swoop down to fight.. if theu dont swoop dowm can they not be engaged in melee combat? I know some units like the TK Carrions are like this.... at least my friend says so... lol
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Also yeah, they can still be attacked in melee if they don't swoop. It just alters line of sight.
 
Bainbow said:
If you're defensive then I'd actually say that Terradons are the way to go. If you're building defensive right then you'll already have a lot of meaty, bulky, melee-based units. But what you'll lack will be some fast moving aerial shooters who can use their high line of sight to shoot over your line from behind into combat to support your front line.
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Awesome thats a great idea! Thanks
 
Personally I'd use the bolas, by the way, tiny range but the Terradons should be able to get close enough to use them safely by being behind the defensive line. Though the javelins will still work if you want to be safe.
 
Bainbow said:
Personally I'd use the bolas, by the way, tiny range but the Terradons should be able to get close enough to use them safely by being behind the defensive line. Though the javelins will still work if you want to be safe.
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What are Bolas?
 
Bainbow said:
Personally I'd use the bolas, by the way, tiny range but the Terradons should be able to get close enough to use them safely by being behind the defensive line. Though the javelins will still work if you want to be safe.
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Oh the weapons nm sorry!
 
Snoopdeville3 said:
So it says if they swoop down to fight.. if theu dont swoop dowm can they not be engaged in melee combat? I know some units like the TK Carrions are like this.... at least my friend says so... lol
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I know this is a little old, but don't forget that all measurements are from the model. So in theory only tall models or models that are very close can attack in melee. If you swoop you loose this advantage.
 
Well this z-axis movement does open opportunities.. If you just say you are flying at 2" above your enemy you can still attack with the moonstone War-spears with the 2" attack range. If you are fighting a unit with weapons that only have a 1" range they will be out of luck with any return attacks. Your Ripperdactyl can't attack then but it might save your unit until facing an enemy worth swooping down on.
 
my experience of rippers has been in conjunction with the skink patrol (or shadowstrike starhost) formation - even in a unit of 3 these chaps are amazing. The ability to swoop down in turn 1 behind enemy lines and hit them before they get a chance to do anything about it is immense. I regularly cause 20 wounds on a unit when i do this. Steam tank, War Altar, High Elf Prince on a dragon, Warboss on a wyvern, Settra, Leon Leonceur, Durthu, 15x Black Orcs - All of these have died in a single turn to my Ripper-assault :D

Especially when your attacks are 9x claws 3+ to hit - re-roll, 2+ to wound - re-roll and 9x beaks 4+ to hit - re-roll - make extra attacks, 2+ to wound - re-roll. It's horrible, but a true alpha strike unit.

They will die immediately (mainly because my opponent just concentrates everything on them and they are always out on their own with no support) but that doesn't matter - they make their points back and I get to roll handfuls of dice.

Terradons - honestly, I stick them behind a piece of terrain and leave them there. The exception to this is when there are small, lightly armoured skirmishers, or lone wizards for them to eat. Then on the last battle round (or as late as possible) they fly onto an objective, drop rock on a nearby enemy unit and claim it. They don't have the longevity to last long out in the open or get dragged into a long combat.

If you are thinking defensive, go terradon. If you are going offensive take rippers and try to complement them with a unit of 10x chameleons (or two units of 5 for the formation), popping up in terrain for a 3+ save.
 
Gorgerak said:
my experience of rippers has been in conjunction with the skink patrol (or shadowstrike starhost) formation - even in a unit of 3 these chaps are amazing. The ability to swoop down in turn 1 behind enemy lines and hit them before they get a chance to do anything about it is immense. I regularly cause 20 wounds on a unit when i do this. Steam tank, War Altar, High Elf Prince on a dragon, Warboss on a wyvern, Settra, Leon Leonceur, Durthu, 15x Black Orcs - All of these have died in a single turn to my Ripper-assault :D.
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I disagree. If your opponent is sufficiently prepared for this then they're going to totally block your Rippers from doing anything valuable. What you should do is wait for a few turns until your opponent slips up and leaves their guard open, at which point you can bring the Rippers down and punish them for the opening. Granted this opening will appear on Turn 1 if your opponent's not too tactical, but against solid opponents you're going to need much more patience.
 
Bainbow said:
I disagree. If your opponent is sufficiently prepared for this then they're going to totally block your Rippers from doing anything valuable. What you should do is wait for a few turns until your opponent slips up and leaves their guard open, at which point you can bring the Rippers down and punish them for the opening. Granted this opening will appear on Turn 1 if your opponent's not too tactical, but against solid opponents you're going to need much more patience.
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What do u mean by bring them down? As into melee combat?
 
wow I guess I really shouldn't give any tactical advice then...

I dont profess to know everything but I have used both rippers and terradons fairly extensively over the last few months and have what I consider to be fairly good pool of experience to draw on when answering people's questions.

No tactic will work in every situation, and yes I have played games where people have surrounded their most valuable units to stop the rippers swooping down on them, and yes in those situations I have found it more useful to hold them back, but more often than not there is an opening in turn 1 and I exploit it, my above post is the result.

So whilst you may disagree, my experience speaks otherwise and that's what I will be recommending when people ask.
 
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