Sunday 10 October 2010

Hydra Ponderings, Landspeeder



Undeniably, Hydras are one of the most awesome vehicles for the Imperial Guard. It's the ideal killer for AV11-AV12 vehicles and a couple of them have high enough rate of fire to convincingly stun lock an AV 13 tank (fantastic against Predators).

They are also quite easy to protect. I run a squadron of two, using the Forge World models. I just need to park a chimera in front of one (no LoS blockage for the main guns and if placed correctly secondary gun will be OK too) and I instantly get 4+ cover for the lot. They have an amazing range (72'') so I usually deploy them way back so I don't worry about meltas usually until turn 3. And they are also cheap as chips costing 75 points each. They are very often the MVPs on my games. I think every Imperial Guard army should have a couple.

My main issue with this vehicle is what secondary weapon I should give it, Heavy Flamer or Heavy Bolter?  I figured out that since I will be mainly shooting AV11 - AV12 vehicles, a heavy bolter would be almost useless. So I had Heavy Flamers in my squadron just in case something got too close. Also not very keen on BS3, at least with the Heavy Flamer you know you are going to score some hits.

From the games I played I realised that usually after the second turn I was shooting at infantry most of the time with the Hydras. I never got to shoot the Heavy Flamer even once. Heavy Bolters seemed like a much nicer alternative, since even with one hit I would be doing something.

If a unit comes at me outflanking it will probably kill the Hydras if it is in range (meltas or charging). If it is not in range then the Hydras are not going to be in range for the Heavy Flamer to work well so there is not much point to it for this case. And since the main weapon is 72'' I always had a safe distance from my targets.

Of course I will need to keep my Hydras stationary to use both guns. I don't think this is a major issue since they shouldn't be moving unless they got an imminent charge incoming. Sometimes it is necessary to redirect them to more vantage shooting points but if they were deployed correctly from the beginning this shouldn't happen too often.

I posted this question in a couple of forums and people seems to agree that the Heavy Bolter is the better option. For my last few games I've been using it and it seems to do the trick. I was also thinking about giving them extra heavy stubbers since that would make them very good against infantry. Unfortunately you can give so many good stuff to your units that there are not many points left in the end for extravagances like these.

On a different note, I got the first vehicle for my Space Marine army today. I headed down to the city-center Fantasy Shop to use the cheque I won at the tournament last week. Very excited to actually get something that I earned by doing well in a competition. I know it's not much but the feeling is great. I got a Land Speeder and since there were 2,5 euros left from  he purchase I also got a Vallejo Goblin Green which seems ideal for a Salamander's mid tone. The kit looks very easy to put together and I will do it on the first chance I get. I have to finish my models for tomorrow's Warbands league game and I have to make sure everything is WYSIWYG so not enough time for my pet project tonight.

6 comments:

  1. I like the Heavy Bolter since it can also use the Auto-Targeting System. I know that Heavy Flamers negate cover saves too but I'd rather be taking out Bikes/Speeders at range.

    Glad you've started your Marine army. Looking forward to seeing pics!

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  2. Hey, thanks but it's going to take a while. Promised myshelf I will limit to one unit a month. Plus I want to have something fully painted before I buy something new. I don't want to rush things with the, want to do everything properly :)

    Hydras seem to be the perfect weapon for those new pesky reaver jetbikes ;)

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  3. Heavy Bolters on the Hydras any day! They can always use more firepower from a range. You have Chimeras for heavy flamers.

    As far as the speeder is concerned, how are you going to equip him?

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  4. I agree with Stillfrosty. Your heavy flamers go on chimeras, while your Hydras get heavy bolters. The stubbers are mismatched here a little. If you really want stubbers throw them on chimeras.

    Also think about adding a third hydra. It will statistically make it so you dont have to keep shooting at the same vehicles over and over.

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  5. Agree, get a third if you can. It'll only need one extra Chimera to give the entire squaron a cover save. Couple cheap squads in those chimeras you then have a good speed bump that can potentially delay outflankers.

    Something to bear in mind though - the hydra has TWO twin-linked long barrelled autocannons, which means if you move you're firing at half power regardless of what secondary weapon system you take. Sorry if I'm insulting your intelligence here but the amount of people I've seen that miss that...

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  6. @ Stillfrosty: Okay doke! I will actually magnetise the LS in case my mind but for now I am thinking MM and HF.

    @ Natfka :I haven't really done the math here but I think a 3rd one might be overkill for most vehicles. It would be handy against AV12 of course but at the moment I'd rather get something else for 75 points. I think heavy stubbers are great but for 10 points there are much more nifty things I can get for my squads.

    @ Ginge: Cheers, but don't worry. I rarely move my Hydras and if they are going to they usually go 12'' to avoid close combat.

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