Topic: Help needed for a 2nd Wraithlord ^.^

[-Φ Ulfhedinn Φ- Servant of the Lord of Dark Delights]

Hey guys,

I have a second wraithlord model that i have yet to assemble and i was wondering what would be the ideal weapon combo for him as my second Heavy Support choice.

I have written up no army lists as of yet as my main concern is assembling + painting. I have a general idea of what tactics i will use against each army with the units i choose to field.

My Heavy Support model choices are as follow:

1 Wraithlord with BL, EML 2x flamers
1 Falcon ( interchangeable weapons )
2x Fire Prisms

Now my indecision  starts here because i want to convert and pose the model, thus not making magnets a viable option as i hate the static poses. The pose depends on the weapons really.

The options to me are to go with another BL, EML 2x flamer combo when i don't field my Prisms to make him an all rounder and make the most of his BS 4.

However ( with any luck ) i will be acquiring 2x units of wraithguard and was thinking that whether or not a wraithsword + BL would be the go. Basic tactics would be a screen of Storm Guardians, then the Wraithguard + Wraithlord.

Below is a total list of models i currently have. If you see a combo of models and know a tactic please help me out ! 


Avatar of Khaine x1 ( Forgeworld )

Eldrad Ulthran x1

Farseer x3 ( 1 SS, 1 dual WB, 1 Staff *new models* )

Warlock x8 ( 1 SS, 2 WB )

Autarch ( WSG, Mandiblasters, fusion pistol model )

Autarch on Jetbike

Fire Dragons x 6  (Exarch)

Harlequin Troupe ( Shadowseer, Death Jester, Troupe Master, 8x harlies with kisses and 2 with melta )

Dire Avengers x 30 ( 3x Exarch )

Rangers x 5

Storm Guardians x 20

Guardian Jetbikes ( might convert to shining spears )

Warp Spiders x 5 ( Exarch )

Swooping Hawks x 6 ( Exarch )

Vyper x 1

Wraithlord x 2

Falcon x 1
 
Wave Serpent x 3

Fire Prism x 2

and the last few models are ones i am possibly acquiring if all goes well:

20x Wraithguard ( possible unit - auction pending )
1x Phoenix Void Dragon ( possible unit - auction pending )
10x Howling Bansees ( possible unit - auction pending )
10x Striking Scorpions ( possible unit - auction pending )


Any help will be appreciated 


-Ulfhedinn-

[Adrastos]

Take my advice with plenty of salt as Wraiths are a unit I'm not liable to use. They are completely unfluffy for my Khorshid, even though the craftworld is small in number, the idea of using wraiths is entirely abhorrent to them.

First up, don't use the stormies as a screen! If the enemy really wants to shoot you, they'll all be dead in one turn. Instead a little fortuned wraithguard action makes more sense to screen the stormies and WLs keeping them alive. T6 3+sv is tough, especially when re-rollable.

Now as for the wraith lord. I've got two thoughts rolling around in my head:
A, figuer out what role you want him to fulfill, what is he going to do for your army?
B, pulling this one out of the 'Tyranid Tactical Guide to Swarmin It Right' when faced with a lot of upgrades, specialize your units. Consider what its doing for the army, and then stick to that. Don't combine CC and Shooty, this wastes potential power in CC and in Shooting.

But those are both sort of secondary to this:
Build some lists, then figure out the Wraithlords place in them. It makes no sense to be making a decision to lock a unit with one set of weapons, without having seriously considered what role he'll play in YOUR army(s). A 'best' combo doesn't exist, and with Eder knowing what your unit does and how it synergises with the rest of your army, is half the battle.

[-Φ Ulfhedinn Φ- Servant of the Lord of Dark Delights]

Thanks for the reply Adrastos 

Out of personal curiosity i used an army pt spreadsheet calc and it looks like i have about 4,500 pts to play around with. ( With troop upgrades ect. )

I think i will make multiple army lists, about 2 per army ( mech vs foot, slog vs assault ) and put them up for review and critique using the models i actually have.

- Ulfhedinn -

[Irisado]

My views on Wraithlords are as follows:

My experience of fifth edition has taught me that the EML/Brightlance Wraithlord is fairly ineffective against tanks these days unless you take a pair of them.  This is due to the fact that glancing hits can no longer destroy vehicles, and EMLs and Brightlances are not especially liable to generate penetrating hits against AV12 or more unless they are two or more of each firing.  Since you already have one Wraithlord equipped in this way, then I would say that giving the second model the same weapons is the most logical decision.

On the idea of a 'jack of all trades' Wraithlord (i.e. Brightlance + Wraithsword), I've never been a supporter of this idea.  There are a handful of lists where it might work (Stezerok managed to convince me it would work in a list he posted on Warseer), but usually it's just mixing two roles, and making it (the Wraithlord) indifferent at both of them.

If you want an assault Wraithlord, your best bet is to give it the Wraithsword, dual Flamers and no heavy weapon in my opinion.  If you then combine it with the Avatar, you get what I refer to as the Monstrous Creature tag team, which is very good for spearheading infantry based assaults.

In view of how you have armed your first Wraithlord though, I suggest that you take the first option.

I hope that helps.

[Kastlerok]

I just built a 1k army of 3 WL's, 3 Guardian squads with warlocks and a farseer.  My WL's are all armed with 1xBL 1xStarCannon.

Perhaps my dice were bad, but in 6 round game all three fired every round at one Vindicator and never destroyed it.  It took a rambo WL to get into melee range and stomp on it.

Irisado may have a good point that twin-linked BL's are the way to go if you want an anti-vehicle unit. 

Kastlerok

[-Φ Ulfhedinn Φ- Servant of the Lord of Dark Delights]

Thanks for the replies ~ 

[Irisado]

I just built a 1k army of 3 WL's, 3 Guardian squads with warlocks and a farseer.  My WL's are all armed with 1xBL 1xStarCannon.

Perhaps my dice were bad, but in 6 round game all three fired every round at one Vindicator and never destroyed it.  It took a rambo WL to get into melee range and stomp on it.

Irisado may have a good point that twin-linked BL's are the way to go if you want an anti-vehicle unit. 

Kastlerok

That doesn't surprise me at all.  Starcannons make for pretty poor anti-tank, while the Brightlance isn't as good as it used to be, and needs to be used with the EML (or twin-linked on the Wave Serpent, not the Wraithlord) to stand any sort of chance of being an effective anti-tank weapon in my opinion.  Even then, working in pairs is the way to go for anti-tank Wraithlords in fifth edition.