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Author Topic: Sunshark - how to use?  (Read 2896 times)

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Offline Plastikente

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Sunshark - how to use?
« on: November 8, 2013, 09:39:55 AM »
I'm currently in an expansion phase for my Tau army, and I bought myself the Sunshark/Tigershark box set because I quite like the model.  I'm building it as a bomber, because I think it doesn't look sleek enough to be a "Strike Fighter" (although now that I have the kit open, I can see the potential for some fun conversions ... that's for another time, though), and I like the drones  :D.

So my question is, how do I use it?  I have a flyer in my Dark Eldar army, but I have never really used a bomber - anyone got any hints to get the most out of it?  Is it best to detach the drones at the first opportunity, or are they safer staying attached?  Is it worth paying to twin-link the missile pod?  Are any of the vehicle battle systems worth buying?  Decoy launchers look like a good way of trying to protect yourself from any Quad Guns you can't take down before your flyer arrives.

I await the wisdom of any Air Caste veterans out there...

[Edit...] Now that I come to put it together, the position of the missile pod seems utterly bizarre.  If you use true line of sight, there are massive blind arcs in front of and below the bomber, which is the exact same arc covered by the networked markerlight (which appears hull mounted to me, but if it is supposed to be 360 then its sideways arcs are pretty restricted by the engine nacelles), essentially preventing you from firing both in the same turn, unless you can place something in your front arcs at the same altitude as you.  Anyone got any gaming experience of this issues?
« Last Edit: November 8, 2013, 10:15:35 AM by Plastikente »

Offline Wyddr

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Re: Sunshark - how to use?
« Reply #1 on: November 8, 2013, 11:25:42 AM »
I don't have any direct experience with the Sunshark, but much of what to do with it depends on the tactical situation. Decoy Launchers are a must, I think (too many quadguns/stuff with interceptor running around), and whether to detach drones or not should depend on whether or not you think the Sunshark likely to survive the enemy phase.

The one thing that has bothered me about the Sunshark (and the only reason I haven't gotten one yet), is that, as a Bomber, it ideally wants to fly *over* its target to drop a bomb. In most instances this will result in it exposing rear/side armor to much of the enemy army, yet it's only boosted armor is from the front, which seems largely useless.

In terms of tactical application, I think the advantage of the Sunshark is the capacity to engage up to three targets on one turn--bomb, drones, and pod/seekers/markerlight. I would plan to fly it on, bomb something if possible, and then shoot up two other things (assuming you can line it all up). I has the potential to make a nice splash that way, and seeing how I feel this flyer isn't going to live a long or healthy life in most battles, you need to make that splash while you're still airborne to make it.

Offline Plastikente

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Re: Sunshark - how to use?
« Reply #2 on: November 8, 2013, 01:23:33 PM »
I suppose if the markerlight is supposed to be on a 360 mount you can fire it and the missile pod back at whatever you bombed in the movement phase.  Doing so fails to take advantage of the multiple targets thing you pointed out though.

Offline Wyddr

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Re: Sunshark - how to use?
« Reply #3 on: November 8, 2013, 01:54:57 PM »
It's worth noting that the guys you fly over and bomb can also be hit by the overload shots from the Interceptor Drones for more blast fun, plus the missiles if needed. You can wallop a lone unit with this plane, that's for sure.

Offline Oliver009

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Re: Sunshark - how to use?
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2013, 05:03:16 PM »
So my question is, how do I use it?  I have a flyer in my Dark Eldar army, but I have never really used a bomber - anyone got any hints to get the most out of it?  Is it best to detach the drones at the first opportunity, or are they safer staying attached?  Is it worth paying to twin-link the missile pod?  Are any of the vehicle battle systems worth buying?  Decoy launchers look like a good way of trying to protect yourself from any Quad Guns you can't take down before your flyer arrives.

I used one in the 40KOnline tournament earlier in the year and I have to say it was in my top three units of the tournament.
It's best use in my opinion is as a harassing unit. Sure people have complained about the strength of the bomb, but I found that it at least took two Space Marines of the board. But I wouldn't say Meq's are it's main target. The bomb will butcher soft targets.
The drones really make it worthwhile. Detach them as soon as you can and they'll really annoy your opponent. Don't forget that they're extra skyfire shots too at a decent strength.
Did I find it fragile. Well yes and no. It hit the dirt twice out of four games, but by then it had done it's job. Though I never really faced much skyfire myself. If you can get the marker light on an other flier then that helps the rest of your army too. It might not be a game winner, but I found it a useful addition to the army. I think the impressions of people on the internet also helped. If people think it's rubbish they might not pay it too much attention until it's too late.

Offline Spectral Arbor

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Re: Sunshark - how to use?
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2013, 06:58:00 PM »
Looking at the rules for "Bombs and Bombing Runs", pg 81 of the 40k RB, I believe a person could zoom off the board, enter ongoing reserves, and then resolve the bomb they've dropped.

That would help to avoid exposing a weak rear AV, and potentially make targeting easier for the next turn. It also avoids the primary reason for not entering ongoing reserves, which would be no damage output that turn.

Maybe I'm missing something, though.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2013, 07:03:07 PM by GreatBigTree »

Offline Wyddr

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Re: Sunshark - how to use?
« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2013, 09:44:31 AM »
You could do that, yes, but there are a couple issues with it. Firstly, you can't enter the board and exit it the same turn, so you still need to survive at least one turn of return fire. Seeing how the Sunshark isn't substantially tougher than a Crimson Hunter, you really can't take too much return fire. If your enemies don't have skyfire, well then sure, but how often does that really happen these days?

The second issue is that the Sunshark has a lot more guns than just the bomb. By flying away, you waste using those guns. A markerlight, a turret-mounted missile pod, and a pair of seeker missiles are pretty handy. Let's assume the drones have popped off, of course, but even still, this isn't the kind of thing you want to do all the time.

All that said, it's definitely a useful option to keep in mind. If the choice is between 'lose your flyer' or 'bomb somebody and screw out of there', then you could clearly go for option B. If you keep having to do that, though, I'd suggest saving the points and buy yourself a Hammerhead with submunition rounds for a significant discount--it throws large blasts around just about as well and is much tougher overall.

Offline Spectral Arbor

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Re: Sunshark - how to use?
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2013, 01:36:19 PM »
Ah, yes. What I was trying to get at was that you could move on, fire weapons in a forward arc, and then zip off and still drop the bomb, the turn after. Rinse and repeat. You'd have two turns of damage for one turn of exposure... and you'd only need to bugger off if you were worried about incoming fire.

2 on, full fire. 3 off, drop bomb. 4 Reset, full fire. 5 off, drop bomb. Etc. :)

 


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