Saturday, May 8, 2010

Underrated Units: Swooping Hawks




Hello, and welcome to the first installment of Underrated Units with Scribbles. This will be a tactica on units that are generally considered to be "not worth their points costs", and ways to make them useful, or at east more useful then they are. This week: Swooping Hawks.

My Thoughts: I love Swooping Hawks. They are one of the few (if not the only) Aspects that serve a dual role, in this case slaying hordes of light infantry and busting vehicles. They took a big hit in the new codex with the loss of the Web of Skulls, but other than that got a huge boost in ability.

The internet says that there is only two ways to run this Aspect:

1) Don't.

2) Minimal squad with an Exarch with Skyleap. Then just keep yo-yoing them until the game ends.

This is a terrible way to look at a squad with so much potential. Why not utilize them for what they're great at?

Try taking a squad of 10, with an Exarch, Skyleap, Intercept, and a Sunrifle. Deep Strike them in about 16 inches away from an isolated squad, soften it up with the template, then blast away with your lasblasters. With Doom support, you'll likely take a large enough toll on whatever you shot at to minimize casualties on a counter attack, and with a 19-24" threat bubble, enemy tanks won't want to get near them. Use this threat bubble to your advantage, by harassing the outskirts of your opponents army and funneling them into the bulk of your warhost. If they ever get stuck in over their heads, use Skyleap to get them out of harm's way, then bring them back in where they'll be safe.

If they have broken and are fleeing to your table edge, use Skyleap and return to reserves. It's a free regroup, and will work even if you're under half strength to get them back into the fight, ensuring your opponent will have to commit to destroying the whole squad.

What are your thoughts about new and interesting ways to use Swooping Hawks?

No comments:

Post a Comment