Topic: "firearms" in LATD

[Invidious]

Like most people, I expect, I saw stats of firearms in the LATD codex (Well, the Eye of Terror Codex) and thought to myself:

"Well.. it's somewhat similar to a bolter, but it has the getting hot rule.  Kinda sucks."

I never really paid it much heed, just thinking that it was a somewhat silly and easy way to kill your mutants.  I mean, they can't shoot worth a damn, they'll kill more of themselves than they will of the enemy.

And thats where it stayed until just now.  When I saw that mutants can exchange their single close combat weapon (big whop) for firearms for free.  Even if you never shoot the guns the whole game, you don't lose any combat effectiveness at all.  It's almost like you may as well give the mutants the firearms.

And yet.... it is to shoot them, or not to shoot them, which is the question.  I mean, mutants come a dime a dozen, and in up to squads of 30.  I figure 30 mutants with bolter like guns is bound to kill *something* right?  Even if they nuke themselves in the process.

Or it could give you something to shoot if you're still out of charge range, but might have rapid-fire (oh god, the horror!)

I guess my question is:  does anybody have any experience using "firearms" and is this as bad of an idea as I sometimes think it is?


Thanks,
Invidious

[Silverthorn]

I always equip my mutants with them because there are no drawbacks.

I rarely used them. Only time I used them is when I cannot charge and it's like the last turn and I MUST reduce the opposing unit below 50%. They made me win a game like that once.

[DevilSquid]

Hurrr...Yeah, you could give them Firearms, because your'e right, it doesn't cost anything for it, and you MIGHT need some shooting from them...

But that Get Hot really cooks the mutants, and bypasses their best attribute (T4).

Besides, my mutants are either 1) moving forward or 2) in close combat. Not much shooting going on here.

But again, I'm also traitor guard heavy, so i don't need them to shoot. If your army had nothing but mutant squads, I could see the use as then you have some firepower...not good, but some.

D-DS

[Invidious]

Well I could see some thing you could do with em, for example you could throw in 2 heavy stubbers and have a static squad that has a death sentence, but at the same time can churn out 34 shots a turn at 24". 

or you could just hurl them into rapid-fire range and unleash, say if you were going against something that might beat you in close combat, but you could kill easily with shooting (genestealers perhaps).

[Newtype]

It's not so bad for Bloated Mutants, who have a decent armor save, or for basic mutants, who are so cheap that you wont mind loosing a few to "Gets hot!" results, to use your firearms. My Burly Mutants have them just because I modeled them that way, but they never shoot them unless it's the last turn of the game and they can't reach charge range.

I don't take them on my Leaping  Mutants as they almost never have trouble getting to assault and are too expensive to waste on shooting.

[Locarno]

There is actually 1 disadvantage.....th e boss.

If he's armed with a power fist, he gets his normal 3 attacks (2 + daemonic mutation) if he still has his pointed stick, he gets 4...

Do not underestimate how much killing power the mutant boss has.  For 31 points, he'll beat the snot out of a guard senior officer with a powerfist....

They work well as firing line infantry (complete with 2 stubbers) - something that people try to use traitors for (guardsmen with ld 7 that cost the same as hardened veterans cannot form a mass small arms line well, allthough they support it very well indeed)

Bear in mind that the gets hot rule is less of an issue when firing at normal range, but it's a death sentance when you rapid fire. Rapid fire with a unit of 30 mutants and expect to lose (on average) 13 of them.

This is not a good trade for the 1-and-a-half marines you'll kill.