AoS The best Stormcast Support units - Dracothian Guard Tempestors

[Joshua Horchler]

Hey Lustria,

I'd love to have an indepth look into Stormcasts as allies. They seem to have some units that could pair well with our beloved Seraphon. Prime is obviously popular and syngergies well with Shadowstrike and Kroak. I was looking into Dracothian Guard units. They are pretty fast, tough, most hit hard in melee, and have some mortal wounds. I feel like they are exactly what a lot of Seraphon armies could use or at least in my head.

I like the idea of Dracothian Guard Tempestors. They stink in melee compared to the others but make up for it in supporting fire. Their ability stacked with a Starpriest could be huge on your opponent's big monster or buffed up unit. Although their melee is no good, if you get close enough, their mortal wound output isn't bad.

Any thoughts?

 

[Crowsfoot]

Hey Lustria,

I'd love to have an indepth look into Stormcasts as allies. They seem to have some units that could pair well with our beloved Seraphon. Prime is obviously popular and syngergies well with Shadowstrike and Kroak. I was looking into Dracothian Guard units. They are pretty fast, tough, most hit hard in melee, and have some mortal wounds. I feel like they are exactly what a lot of Seraphon armies could use or at least in my head.

I like the idea of Dracothian Guard Tempestors. They stink in melee compared to the others but make up for it in supporting fire. Their ability stacked with a Starpriest could be huge on your opponent's big monster or buffed up unit. Although their melee is no good, if you get close enough, their mortal wound output isn't bad.

Any thoughts?

Anything that's ranged and does MW is a good match for us.

 

[Joshua Horchler]

What do people think of the idea of using a Knight Vexillor and teleporting 2 Fulminators into battle? I know the VExillor tax is high, but it puts you in 3inches which allows the Fulminators d6 (+3 to hit) 2mortal wound shots, then charge and you get the attack bonus.

Combo this with Shadowstrike and it seems legit.

 

[Joshua Horchler]

EDIT* I think the GH 2017 nerfed the Knight Vexillor to 9inches away. That makes more sense. Sadness.

 

[Xasto]

Maybe Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows could be a good replacement?

 

[Joshua Horchler]

Yeah they have some good supporting fire, but I was looking for something mobile to play along with Shadowstrike and your alpha strike. People use Celestant Prime, but I was just looking for something else.

I do like the Dracoths pair welll with Seraphon in general. They are pretty fast, tough and offer some mortal wounds. Maybe worth trying! The entire Stormcast book has something to offer Seraphon. I'm sure in most lists you could find something that could be useful.

 

[Joshua Horchler]

Has anyone who plays Stormcast or uses allies played with a Knight Venator? Is he too gimicky or is he a good hero? He seems interesting and could help shadowstrike assassinate heroes/monsters. Could be a fun conversion with a Terradon rider and Skink with a big bow.

 

[dinoSTARZ]

Dracoths are pretty expensive, you pay 240 for 2 so you could only bring 2 with you in most games (400 allies is the max for 2000 point games) but they get better with more models in the unit, so I dunno. The celestant prime I haven't had the opportunity to use yet but we really can use it's mortal wounds and rend and it comes in just like the teleport or a summon so I can definitely see it being awesome. I do plan to get one at some point but I already feel I've outgrown my local meta and thus maxing out my armies potential is no longer a great goal.

 

[Aginor]

Has anyone who plays Stormcast or uses allies played with a Knight Venator? Is he too gimicky or is he a good hero? He seems interesting and could help shadowstrike assassinate heroes/monsters. Could be a fun conversion with a Terradon rider and Skink with a big bow.

I play against SCE who use the Knight Venator every time and I kinda hate him. I think he is well worth the 120 points as it is almost impossible to not get shot by him. He is big (which means he has good line of sight), he can fly and has 12" move (so he can position himself well to shoot), 30" range (frickin' artillery), three good attacks with rend (3x 2+/3+/-1/1 really?), and then three more from the eagle that aren't bad either (3x 4+/3+/-/1).
If you want to gamble you can use the star-fated arrow, which pretty much one-hits most non-elite heroes if it hits.

And he isn't even _that_ bad in melee (except if compared with other SCE heroes). In fact he is almost as good in melee than dedicated melee heroes of some armies. With a 3+ save (2+ on a terrain piece, which is quite likely if you keep in mind that he has a great move and great range) 5 wounds, and 5 melee attacks at (3+/4+/-/1) he is definitely not going down too quickly, except by mortal wounds or high rend attacks maybe.

All that for 120 points? Yes, I'd say he is worth to be considered using him as an ally if you need a sniper.

 

[Crowsfoot]

I play against SCE who use the Knight Venator every time and I kinda hate him. I think he is well worth the 120 points as it is almost impossible to not get shot by him. He is big (which means he has good line of sight), he can fly and has 12" move (so he can position himself well to shoot), 30" range (frickin' artillery), three good attacks with rend (3x 2+/3+/-1/1 really?), and then three more from the eagle that aren't bad either (3x 4+/3+/-/1).
If you want to gamble you can use the star-fated arrow, which pretty much one-hits most non-elite heroes if it hits.

And he isn't even _that_ bad in melee (except if compared with other SCE heroes). In fact he is almost as good in melee than dedicated melee heroes of some armies. With a 3+ save (2+ on a terrain piece, which is quite likely if you keep in mind that he has a great move and great range) 5 wounds, and 5 melee attacks at (3+/4+/-/1) he is definitely not going down too quickly, except by mortal wounds or high rend attacks maybe.

All that for 120 points? Yes, I'd say he is worth to be considered using him as an ally if you need a sniper.

Is he a named Hero?

Edit: checked the book and he isn't so you could run more than one but is that a good return for the points?

 

[Aginor]

Hmmm... I think the Venator is too specialised as a hero sniper to be of any real use against many other targets.
Against horde armies his damage output is too low.
So I guess using two could make sense against many armies that rely on their heroes for synergy (such as Seraphon) while three is probably a waste of points.