Sliscus Tactica

I'd like to say there are seven ways to run the Duke and in this article I'll be discussing the set ups available and the use you can get out of them.


1. 4 Kabalite Trueborn, 2 Splinter cannons, 2 Shardcarbines in a Venom.
I'd like to say that this set up is one of the most popular, this unit let's you lay down up to 24 shots at range or 30 with everything firing at full capacity. It's a very compact and lets out a lot of firepower for such a small unit at a good points cost. My negative feelings on this set up is that it offers no anti tank capabilities other than the Duke's Blast pistol, take up a much coveted Blasterborn slot and don't let you score. I don't feel the Duke synergises particularly well with this squad as they are best at mid to long range, whereas you're wasting Sliscus's assault and general mayhem abilities by sitting him in the Venom, I'd say to move him in the early stages of the game to get some use out of him.
I've used this set up the most so far and although they look good on paper I find I rarely ever use the Shardcarbines, if I was to use this again I'd drop a Trueborn and run the remainder with a Splinter rifle.
For Venom upgrades I'd look at Night shields to supplement any long range firing they may do.


2. 9 Kabalite Warriors with Splinter rifles in a Raider.
Possibly the other popular choice for the Duke's entourage is 9 Warriors with Splinter rifles in a Raider. This offers a decent anchor unit for the army that has good anti horde capabilities while the Lance on the Raider will help with popping tanks.
I find this unit is very good in a support role, they're reasonable at range though this means they'll be stationary, however it is close to the enemy that they excel. They are able to plug gaps in your lines and get into rapid fire range when the rest of your army has worked on destroying the enemy transports.
They have a reasonable chance of gaining a pain token at the start of the game which only lends themselves more to scoring. You can garnish this unit more by adding a Haemonculus and a Blaster to the unit whilst a Sybarite with choice of upgrades adds to their assault threat. Doing this makes them a lot more expensive when really they should concentrate on what they do best: enhanced poisoned splinter fire
For the Raider, Splinter racks are a must buy, add your choice of Flickerfields and/or Night shields.


3. 9 Kabalite Trueborn, 2 Splinter cannons, 7 Shardcarbines in a Raider
This is number 1 with bells and whistles added. I've used this a few times and their potential firepower is outstanding. 33 shots hitting on 3s, wounding on 3s is very, very good.
This unit excels at mid to close range, any further away and you are wasting all the carbine shots. They'd also have 30 attacks on the charge which is nothing to be sniffed at but that's not what they are for.
I find this set up has a lot of negatives, especially when you weigh up the previous two options. They're expensive whereas MSU warrior venom squads can achieve a similar firepower output. They're not scoring either and also have a big shoot me sign hanging from their transport. They're not an awful choice but I'd consider 1 and 2 first.
Raider upgrades: usual choice to suit you.


4. 20 Kabalite Warriors, 2 Splinter cannons, 18 Splinter rifles.
48 shots. Hitting on 3s. Wounding on 3s. That's how I'll start this choice off. That's a lot of shots.
A massive unit of scoring warriors, these guys might do well coming through a WWP and have serious staying power, especially if Duke gives them feel no pain or you add a Haemonculus; a Sybarite with Phantasm Grenade Launcher will also shave off any bonus attacks from enemies assaulting them.
I haven't tried this out yet but I can see the negatives. Templates will ruin their day, as will tank shocks but I can't think of a better objective sitter. Points wise it's quite heavy but in larger games it may be worth a go.


5. 3/4 Kabalite Trueborn, 3/4 Blasters in a Venom.
Now we start going to the less obvious choices. You're using the Duke in a Wych heavy list or you simply don't want or have a unit similar to 1, 2 or 3 for him to work alongside but he needs to start the game somewhere.
Your Blasterborn will be down your opponents throat very quickly and assuming it's not a KP mission then why waste Duke sitting back field? Run him up with these guys and go straight for a suitable target.
The Duke is mediocre to good in combat, he's no monster but has serious staying power owing to his Shadowfield and can carve through small units on his own.
Doing this means you've wasted his poison ability but this is an option for those who are only focusing on his drugs and low orbit raid.


6. Jump ship to Wyches.
He's set up with a unit of Kabalites who now have his poison effect for the rest of the game. Why not move him to a unit of Wyches and get the most out of him that you can? He's used his three abilities before the game has even started and as discussed before, he is a combat orientated character. By moving to a unit of Wyches he will be able to support them in assaults and add an extra bite to take squads down.


7. 14 Kabalite Warriors, 1 Splinter cannon, 13 Splinter rifles in a Tantalus.
This is option 2 but overly embellished. What you get is a larger unit who perform the same role with the same positives and negatives but now have a Tantalus to cruise around in.
I'd look at using this in fun and friendly games or Apocalypse battles. It's over the top, probably won't make it's cost back but it's the Duke, he should always travel in style. The issue you'll have is all the issues that come with the Tantalus but I'll leave that to the other threads.


Anyway, I hope this thread has been of some use to you and may make you think differently of your options for deploying Duke Sliscus.

# 3 is so far (in my games) my favorite. Locally we don't see alot of mechanized spam type armies ( besides guard, which can't really help it) so giving up a blasterborn squad is not a big deal for me. My opponents all have the internet and thanks to blasterborn spam they think they are the biggest threat, sneaky of us to trick them like that. Depending on the opposition, I have dumped off the trueborn in cover and run the Duke off on his own or left him on the raider/grabbed a wyche squad for a flanking maneuver on a key enemy later.

It is an expensive unit, but really takes advantage of his buff, that wound on 3+ is huge. A 9 man squad in cover takes a ridiculous amount of fire at times to wipe, more if they have destroyed a unit in the previous shooting phase and got that first pain token. I actually view it as a plus; if my opponent wants to skirt around the FNP he has to use weapons that should really be shooting at my vehicles. Lets face it, our vehicles best defence is not getting shot at in the first place. The fact that they are non-scoring is a plus for me too, I would rather lose those units and still have objective holders in turns 4 and 5.

Just be wary of running the Duke against a Dante led Blood Angels army. Dantes debuff can really sting.

My duke tends to ride in option 2 - complete with a blaster as well.

I like the idea of the tantalus!!! i have a tourney in about 8 weeks which will et me use mine as well... hmmm...

I've been running the duke with the 20 lads (there is always some cover in the deployment zone) then shift him on to 9 bloodbrides(this number seems optimal as they can get the maximum number of stuff).

I find the warriors are rarely bothered because the enemy have three wych squads and an archon rammed down their throat. That can cause them to miss some things.

I tried the duke only once... and it was great (Kinda of great I'd say...)
I played with 4 Trueborn with 2 Splinter cannons and 2 Splinter Carbines on a venom!
That was awesome! 30 poisoned shot from Trueborns + Venom! Everything hits on 3+ and wounds on 3+!
I've killed half 10-man gray hunter squad, killed 2 models of thunderwolves cavalry and I've made a wound to the Wolf Lord on Wolf!

They was doing a great performance!
Unfortunatly the venom Exploded and I had los all my Trueborns with explosion + Fire on the squad.
Fifth turn I tried to kill 3 Marines (1 with powerfist) with the duke that was capturing an objective:
0 marines dead
1 Duke killed by fist. (And I had the "+1 attack drug"

Really nice for what he gives, but "meh" in C&C. (At least against MEQ, against GEQ he just shines, i think!)

I like to run him in a venom with trueborn, 2 splinter cannons and 2 blasters. I take him mainly to buff my 4 wych squads and for the 3+ wounding splinter damage of the cannons. I often slap a night shield on the ride too.

Its a tactical choice handy in tournaments, that can be anti tank with 3 blast weapons or mow down infantry with 24 possible poison shots. Usually the Duke only has to get his hands dirty if a juicy target strays too close.

It really is the less-sexy option of the bunch, but I have found option 2 to be the best. I truly am a sucker for scoring units and have found this unit to be delicate enough to remind me not to do anything stupid with them(my poor Dakkaborn squad does get into some stupid situations due to my over-aggressive playing style). Fun all around, and I hope that rumors of a Duke model turn out to be true!

Thank you Sky, this is very useful.

I'm thinking option number two, just because they'll be cheaper than option three, but I love the thought of thirty three 3+ shots.

...I had not realized that the Duke does not need to stay with his chosen squad for them to keep the boosted poison. Went back and re-read his rules and yeah, he just needs to deploy with them, nothing about staying attached.

This opens up so many more options for how I'll field him!

Unoi90 wrote:

I tried the duke only once... and it was great (Kinda of great I'd say...)
I played with 4 Trueborn with 2 Splinter cannons and 2 Splinter Carbines on a venom!
That was awesome! 30 poisoned shot from Trueborns + Venom! Everything hits on 3+ and wounds on 3+!
I've killed half 10-man gray hunter squad, killed 2 models of thunderwolves cavalry and I've made a wound to the Wolf Lord on Wolf!

I ran this very setup tonight against some tyranids.

Ran into a rules lawyer that pushed that the Duke's 3 + to wound bonus did not apply to the Splinter Cannons on the Venoms.

Took it to the head of the club and the call was that it did not apply to the Venom, only the squad he was riding with.

Where would you get that it did apply to the venom?!?

Massaen wrote:

Where would you get that it did apply to the venom?!?

From this little thread called "Sliscus Tactica", you may have heard of it.

Unoi90's post above.

No one disputed it here, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The fact it specifies the unit he joins gains the benefit and he can't join a vehicle should be a give away it does not work.

At least you know now!

Indeed, and why I posted. So no other DE Noobs like myself make the same mistake!