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Author Topic: So How do Kan Walls Work?  (Read 2125 times)

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Offline starstrider

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So How do Kan Walls Work?
« on: January 8, 2011, 04:53:05 PM »
Having finally primed up my first 500 points, and having gotten started on painting it as well, I'm starting to think about my next few purchases. Basically, I want an infantry list (which, to me still allows for stormboys and lootas and all that fun) without many truks or such (maybe one or two to create cover in a spot, and maybe a deff kopta or two cause they're fun). I've heard of Kan Wall lists, and I guess the idea is that you stick them in the front of your huge wave of orks to take up fire? What seems weird to me, if that's the plan, is that you're kind of intentionally taking models that will give your opponents  lascannons and such significantly better targets than they'd have had if you had kept it just orks, with a screen of grots or something (I hear ard boys work to screen also, when helped with a KFF?)

Two additional questions: any good way to deal with first strikes from opponents who get the first turn beyond your KFF? And what's the first "specialist" unit you think would fit well in a generic list at 1000 points? Kommandos? Lootas? Other?

« Last Edit: January 8, 2011, 04:54:14 PM by starstrider »

Offline Azonalanthious

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Re: So How do Kan Walls Work?
« Reply #1 on: January 8, 2011, 07:51:38 PM »
The general idea with a kan wall is you run your kans in front, boyz behind, with one or two kff meks in position to cover all the kans.  The kff gives the kans a 4+ cover save,  the kans give your boyz a 4+ cover save (better then the 5+ they would get from the kff), working together to help shield everyone.  Kff shielded kans are reasonably tough, so while it may seem that you are just putting them in an exposed position for anti-tank, its not as bad as it seems.  To use the lascannon you mentioned as an example, against AV 11 it will glance/pen 5/6 times... but the cover save will negate 50% of those, dropping it to 2-3/6.  Which isn't AV 11 odds, its AV 13/14.  And 9 (if you are running the full set of kans) AV 13/14 equivalent vehicles will take ALOT of anti-tank to stop.

Beyond the basics above, there are also two other ways kans function.

First, running them each turn to get into close combat as fast as possible is a time honored tradition, but taking them with rokkits is also a very viable strategy, since they are one of the few accurate ranged units in our codex.  Using their rokkits, particularly for transport popping so the squishy insides are assaultable when your boyz arrive instead of hiding in vehicles, can be an excellent use of their firepower.  Combine that with their S10 cc attacks and you get a unit that preforms very well against vehicles in general, which is a weakness for orks.

Second, kans shield your boyz.  Getting the assault with your boyz instead of being assaulted is huge.  The +1 to Str on all those attacks makes a major difference and the inititive bonus is sometimes helpful as well.  You kans help insure that you get this assault.  By keeping them reasonably (but don't have to be base to base by any means) tightly spaced and infront of your boyz, when you start to get close your foe HAS to assault the kans, if he wants to assault at all, as the kans block the movement lines to your boyz.  Which then leaves your boyz free to launch their own assault your following turn.


With reguards to the additional question:

You'll know you don't have turn 1 before you deploy.  Just make sure you deploy everything with range of you KFF(s) and/or in cover on the table and/or behind something that blocks line of sight.

In terms of what to get, my priority would be boyz, nobz, and a kff mek first, as I honestly feel that those 3 units have a place and can improve any and all possible lists.  From there I would look around at different ideas and see how you want to build your army.  We really don't have many 'bad units' so its relatively hard to go wrong.  Battlewagons, trukks, kans, and lootas would probably be my next tier of usefulness, tier 3 would be SAG meks, warbosses, warbikes, deffkoptas, burnas, deffdredds, looted wagons, warbuggies, and meganobz.  Like I said, not many useless units.  And even the units that didn't make the top tiers all have their uses and can be effective (except, in my opinion, some of the named HQs and big gunz with zzapp guns which I feel are just too many point for what they are and so shouldn't be taken).

Offline angel of death 007

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Re: So How do Kan Walls Work?
« Reply #2 on: January 9, 2011, 03:42:50 AM »
Azonalanthious got the kan wall thing pretty much down.  I like to add a dread to my wall though or two to help in dealing with combat and assaults. 

As far as next option,   If you go for elites I am very fond of both lootas and kommandos w/ 2 burnas and snikrot.  Both work very well as the kommandos add a curve ball into the mix and the lootas provide a nice fire support.

Offline The Gretchin

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Re: So How do Kan Walls Work?
« Reply #3 on: January 9, 2011, 04:24:31 AM »
if I had been running a kan wall list, I would have been taking

2 meks with KFF

3 full units of kans

2 deff dreads (troop choices because of the meks)

3 30 strong boy squads


now you have about 500p to do whatever you like with elites like two loota squads, kommandos with snikrot to take out those devastator squads or snipers who will take the kans down or maybe a group of stormboys with zagstruck (PK on I4)

Thats my opinion.....

Offline AXEBLADE

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Re: So How do Kan Walls Work?
« Reply #4 on: January 9, 2011, 05:24:10 AM »
Kan walls can also be used on a smaller scale. My army for instance has 2 mobz of orks on foot which normally march up the field behind 3 kanz. Between the kanz and the normal terrain I can keep the boyz in cover and the KFF mek keeps the kanz alive.
The rest of my army is trukks and bikes and zooms around a flank.

Because I have other vehicles I don't feel that adding in the kanz weakens my list, any fire going at my tanks isn't going at my boomgun wagons (which are normally also positioned to take advantage of the kan wall) or my trukks (which are fast enough to get cover most of the time).
Basically my entire army has a 4+ cover save that doesn't rely on board terrain, this is the main advantage of the Kan Wall list (not to mention the kanz themselves are pretty good).

There have been tournaments that I have heard of where one round of the tournament was fought on a bare board (no terrain) and there are always going to be boards with less terrain than we would like.
A kan wall doesn't really care.
You can even force your opponent to deploy in lots of terrain by taking the sparser deployment zone, therefore making your opponent move slower for the first turn or 2.

 


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