Topic: Dragon's breath flamer vs. Firepike.... im sooo confused :S

[sweedination]

ok... so im reaaalllly confused here...

I plan on getting fire dragons as my little tank killing force and i was wondering what the pros/cons of the exarch weapon choices where... i was thinking of fielding this strategy alongside some scorpions

http://www.40konline.com/index.php?option=com_smf&itemid=861&topic=145298.msg1759047#msg1759047

I will be playing against my friend's tau a good portion of the time ( though I am by no means planning to specialize against them because few ppl in my neighbourhood except my friend use them)


 thx

[Sapphon]

The logic up until now has been that the Dragon's Breath, combined with Crack Shot, was a superior choice to the Firepike because the rest of the squad could quite handily explode any tank without help from the Exarch, whereas a heavy flamer (in addition to being rare in the Eldar list) is particularly well-suited to cover the weaknesses of Fire Dragons.

In 5th ed, the firepike may get a little more attention as most tanks' only protection (other than AV) will come from cover saves (whether from terrain, smoke launchers, or flat-out movement), which the Exarch (and only the Exarch) can ignore using Crack Shot.

[Gutstikk]

I used the Dragon's Breath flamer exclusively. Now I'll be using the firepike and crack shot exclusively. Destructor + Doom on warlocks will be replacing the dragon's flamer. This is because I hate the thought of a cover save keeping a tank from getting harmed.

[Blaze182]

Lol same here. I allways liked the look of a fire pike more too! XD

[Ixe]

Choose neither.  The Exarch should have a fusion gun.  Why pay extra points for longer range on a fusion gun?  You never want to fire with just the exarch.  And even if you're somehow stuck in a situation where only the exarch is in range, that's just one single shot.  Save your points, trim the fat, and grab the Exarch a fusion gun.  Or even leave the Exarch at home, Dragons are already so good at killing tanks that there's really no need to pile points into a mega super mega dragon...  Don't treat it as a foregone conclusion that you need an exarch and a special gun for him.  First ask if you have the points to spare, or if those points could be better spent somewhere else.

[syth773]

yea the exarch really isnt neccessary, if 5 or 6 fusion guns cant take down a vehicle by themselves then you've got a serious problem.  firepike only adds a little range and as mentioned above.  pus if you're within 6 inches then you can just charge and meltabomb the vehicle as well, fire dragons are usually complete overkill against any vehicle just by themselves unless it's a monolith.  S8 AP1 melta weapons are some of the best vehicle killers in the game right now.