Almost done with my data entry, then I'll finally get to move on to logic and algorithm. Though I'll likely need to take a break this week as I have a lot of doctor stuff coming up. In the mean time, we've still got another Astra Militarum download to go through.
DATASHEETS
Avenger Strike Fighter - 130 pts
Time for the forces of the Imperial Navy! Aircraft in 10th Edition aren't doing very well right now. While they get the same benefits as Towering, they usually have to start off the board. This means you don't get any chances at some good Turn 1 shooting with them. Additionally, because of their movement rules, every model has a predictable "flight path." Smart opponents have learned how to use this to avoid any bomber abilities and even keep completely out of line of sight. The end result is that Aircraft need to either be very flexible, have awesome guns, or useful special rules to consider including.
This has none of these things. While relatively inexpensive for its profile and the guns it's carrying, its main ability is to shoot back at an enemy that destroys one of your units. The fact this keys off the Fly keyword isn't bad, but the fact it only triggers when a unit is destroyed is an issue. Like I said, you can play around Aircraft pretty easily. The number of times an opponent is going to destroy one of your units within 6" of an Avenger, and the Avenger will be able to do anything meaningful will be zero. I don't even think the threat of it will affect your opponent's game plan much.
130 pts isn't bad for the body and guns it has, though. If it didn't have to start off the board, it'd be a pretty nice vehicle on its own.
Voss-Pattern Lightning - 130 pts
While the -1 to Hit is nice, I don't feel like the hellstrikes make up for the loss of the bolt cannon and heavy stubber. This just isn't bringing enough damage.
Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter - 190 pts
The shooting on this will be much more effective, at least when targeting enemy Flyers. At BS4+, that +1 to Hit really helps. But it's not a large enough improvement in toughness and fire power to justify being that much more than an Avenger.
Vulture Gunship - 225 pts
The fact this has the Hover keyword immediately makes it more interesting. When your Aircraft has Hover, you can essentially treat it as Knight with better movement. At that point, the question becomes whether it can survive to get its value in.
And unfortunately, I just don't see it happening. It's not tough enough to survive enemy shooting and it just doesn't put out enough of its own. If you're going to take one, I definitely think you take the gatling cannons though. Those will at least reliably let you force some Battle-shock tests.
Marauder Bomber - 345 pts
I'm sorry if this is feeling really negative, but unfortunately Aircraft just really aren't in a good place, and this really isn't helping. The fact you have to specialize its bombs really reduces its usefulness. Your opponent could already easily play around the bombing run, now they don't even have to worry about it for all their units. Even if you could reliably make the bombing runs, you're going to be doing a total of 6 mortal wounds on average during a game. That just does not justify that price tag.
Marauder Destroyer - 375 pts
This at least is better. The 6 average mortal wounds per game goes up to 8 and now threatens your opponent's entire army, and you get way more guns. I'd definitely say this is the better of the two bombers. However, the price tag is still way too high. On a guess, I'd honestly say its at least 100 pts too much for what it will do. That's the kind of cost issues we're running into with some of these.
Tarantula Battery - 35 pts per model
I've always kind of liked these, even if they've never been particularly good. I think it's because I've always liked sentry guns in movies and games. However, as cheap as these are, they're still too expensive. A single gun in your deployment zone doesn't do a lot, even if it's a good gun. GW may be charging a little too much for movement, but not being able to move a model is a big deal. If you've got the points free, grab one of the demolition vehicles. These are a pass.
Rapider Laser Destroyer Battery - 30 pts per model
Okay, now those Tarantula's really look bad! These however are actually pretty good! You'll need to get them into position so that you can use that Heavy ability, but then you'll be blasting away with a pretty good gun. It's too bad Guard doesn't really have order splashing anymore, as you'll nearly always have better targets than this. But if you want a cheap screener or list filler, this is actually a good deal.
Hades Breaching Drill - 110 pts
Interesting! While I think this is overpriced, Deep Striking any Infantry unit is huge. I especially like the fact that the setup range on this is 9", as it means you can potentially crowd in a large number of models around it. No matter what unit you bring in with Subterranean Assault, you'll probably manage to successfully deploy it. If you like the idea of making a gigantic block of Infantry to try and hold the mid board, this might reliably get it there.
Trojan Support Vehicle - 80 pts
I like this too! It may have to wait until Guard vehicles are in a little better spot, but once they are this will be a useful piece of tech. It's nice and cheap and it doesn't put out anywhere near enough shots for your opponent to want to shoot at it. When they do, this is just tough enough they'll be grinding their teeth at the amount of fire power they have to use to take it down. So this will either spend the game healing and buffing vehicles or taking shots that are meant for them. Honestly not bad for 80 pts.
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