The eXtreme Marines are here with the Desolation Squad. Get ready for more rockets than a fireworks display with these rules.
Games Workshop is releasing the most mid 90’s GI Joe inspired Primaris Space Marines ever with the Desolation Squad. You’ve seen the models now it’s time to take a look at those rules.
“Traditional missile launchers – such as those available to the Astra Militarum – trade raw power for flexibility, swapping out frag and krak payloads mid-battle. The armourers of the Indomitus Crusade will brook no such compromise, so these new rocket weapons are specialised to fire one of two warheads, chosen when building your army. “
First up we have the new Superfrag Rocket Launcher. Sporting D3+3 shots at str 4 AP -1 and 1 damage with the Blast keyword this is really gear for shooting into large packs of soft targets. So yeah…it’s a Missile Launcher with a fancier Frag Missile.
Next up we have the Superkrak version. As you might expect, it’s Heavy 1 S 8 AP -3 and D3+3 damage. That’s not too bad considering it’s got a range of 48″ and can threaten the tougher stuff out there. Heck, I’d probably shoot that at Space Marines, too.
The Sergeant also has a special option to choose. Meet the Vengor Launcher:
It’s in a strange middle ground between the Superfrag and SuperKrak option. It’s D6 shots at S 6 AP -1 and 2 damage mean that it can work against most targets — some better than others. It’s really a good weapon to fire at those soft targets if you roll enough shots.
You might have also noticed the underslung belt-fed option on all these models. That’s the new Castellan Launcher. You can see the stats above but it seems like a good compliment to the squad for shooting at soft targets again. Only it’s got a shorter range of 36″ which is still a chunk of the tabletop. Considering these are basically Smart Missile Systems and you can fire them at a different target than the main weapon, it’s a nice addition to the squad’s firepower.
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So how much firepower can this unit put out? Well let’s do some number crunching based on a unit of 5 with the Sergeant rocking the Vengor and the other 4 members using all Superfrag or all Superkrak.
Superfrag Squad:
48″ 4D3+12 shots S 4 AP -1 D 1
36″ 5D3 shots S 4 AP -1 D 1
48″ D6 shots S 6 AP -1 D 2
So, if your target was within 36″ and they rolled max on all those dice it’s 45 shots into them with a potential of 51 damage. That’s not too shabby.
Superkrak Squad:
48″ 4 shots S 8 AP -3 D3+3
36″ 5D3 shots S 4 AP -1 D 1
48″ D6 shots S 6 AP -1 D 2
The number of shots dips down to 25 (again at 36″) but the damage output caps at the same 51 damage. Again, that’s if you max all your shots and your opponent failed all the saves.
So there you have it. Will the Desolation Squad find it’s way on the tabletop in your lists? Let us know in the comments!
eXtreme Marines reporting in!
Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.
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