the new Talos

At first glance it looks slightly weaker than before.
Costs more points, has a set attack value, lost the cool 2D6 chain-flail rule.
However for an extra 20pt increase from the old cost it now starts the game with FNP, an ECW and a set number of attacks on the charge.
To me it seems to be a fair trade off.
With a slight nerf to ravager's and scourge's looking like they'll be taking over the AT role, im hoping my Talos will play a more significant role.

In previous games unless coming out of a WWP my talos would be dead by the end of turn 2. People just didn't like it and hammered it untill it was gone. At least now it'll get some sort of save from nearly everything.
so im going to try out a few different tactics.

Option1.- the fire magnet. should be familiar to most, run the talos straight up the middle of the table to draw fire away from other units. Unless it's hit with a weapon the says no save of any kind its going to have some sort of save. Slightly more durable than before and will hopefully draw more fire before being destroyed, leaving other units a bit safer.

Option 2- Defense Monster. Sits at the back of table close to a "sigh" static unit (DL armed scourges maybe) or on an objective. In my gaming area the it seems everyone can dump units on my side of the table with ease and having a talos close by will be a great deterent.

So how does everyone see using their Talos is it going to get table time, or sit on the shelf next to the wyches.

I don't own any - but I will be getting at least two!

My plan is to use them and a cronos as my turn 1 board presence, with twin haywire blasters to annoy any tanks my opponent brings, a min of 9 T7 wounds with a 3+/cover/4+FNP should be able to live through just about anything most people can throw at them.

I was stealing your idea already Eye.

It's quite costly at 365 points but it has presence and is survivable.
I would not place it in LOS, if possible, only to show it if more reserves wash on the battlefield.
Than I would move the pain train up the field so if they leave the Spirit Probe alone, I'll have extra buff in mid-field CC.

I'm rather counting on Reavers to be an ideal board presences unit: jumping over cover to take pod shots if possible. Just to annoy the enemy, because they can.

On upgrades I was thinking Inchor Injector, but it isn't poisoned. So I rather invest in Chain-Flails if I have some spare points.
For now I haven't seen enough 2+ MC's in my meta to invest in Inchor and hope for 6 to ID. But if you could trough in two Taloi at the same target, you are a decent chance on that ID.

My plan is to run 3 Talos buffed up by a Chronos hidden behind. The Ichor Injector is pretty meh on a single Talos but taking them on a full unit of 3 and now you've got a very scary threat. But it is a trade off for massed AP2 MC attacks so really depends on your meta and the rest of your army.

Talos is now a great platform for the Splinter Cannon (next to a stationary Trueborn unit) so my unit above is pumping out 18 TL Splinter shots a turn, but again depends on your meta and army list if you need more AT.

And as above, my monsters will be the T1 fire magnets. Place 2 out front, the 3rd and Chronos behind and "leap frog" them up the board to keep the wounds recycling through the unit. I do plan on hiding the Chronos as best as possible tho

El_Jairo wrote:

I was stealing your idea already Eye.

How very Dark Eldar of you

Splinter Cannons are also a very worthwhile option on this unit, it's on the table from Turn 1 and is great for taking out pesky quad guns that can ruin your day!

I think the move from d6 attacks to 4 attacks base (3 + 1 for two close combat weapons) and 5 on the charge is fantastic, add re-rolling to wound for 5pts is a steal. Being able to take them in squads and them coming stock with FNP is a solid improvement.

On the other hand the twinlinked liquifier is no longer worth taking, as not only has it tripled in price and been reduced to S3, but it also replaced one of the talos' two close combat weapons reducing it's number of attacks to 3 (and 4 on the charge). It's just no worth it.

Personally I'm going to be running the formation from the Covens supplement, with Haem, Talos and Cronos all as a single unit, with the obligatory WWP for precision deep strike.

Count Adhemar wrote:

Personally I'm going to be running the formation from the Covens supplement, with Haem, Talos and Cronos all as a single unit, with the obligatory WWP for precision deep strike.

Yeah its great, the +1 WS and +1I are huge, as it means you have a unit with WS4, WS5 and WS6 meaning the majority is WS6 for the purpose of determining what you will get hit on. The unit is also majority toughness 7. The Talos being I5 is a great defence against anything daft enough to try and charge it (force weapon wielding grey knights). Combine all this with FNP4+ and re-rolling 1s for FNP, a ridiculously tough unit for your warlord and WWP positional awesomeness and you have probably the most exciting thing to come out of this release. The only downside is that liquifiers are not worth taking, limiting the potential of a pin point WWP flamer strike. By turn 4 the haemi will have zealot conferring re-roll to hits to the rest of the units making it even more brutal.

Mushkilla wrote:

The only downside is that liquifiers are not worth taking, limiting the potential of a pin point WWP flamer strike. By turn 4 the haemi will have zealot conferring re-roll to hits to the rest of the units making it even more brutal.

If you want a precision flamer strike, take medusae, they're S4 and guaranteed AP3.

I plan on trying out 3 Talos with either scannons or haywire depending on what weapon I think my army will most need. I will add chain flails if I have points to spare for sure

Are there any disadvantages to taking a boatload of Medusae? Seems like the advantages of all that S4 AP3 outweigh the disadvantages.

Looking at my Codex, the picture of the Talos shows it with Chain Flails and a Liquifier, but the text suggests it can't have both of those things. Any thoughts? Could anyone say what the army builder thing in the iPad edition allows?

I must get the supplement, damn I totally missed it.

Coven looks like the new fashion. I hope wracks got boosted too as I have stocked some alternative models. Showing the variety of raves that are subdued by the Haemonculi Ancients.

:Edit On Topic: Talos with Chain-flails for me please. Easy price, easy to build up points
I might consider Ichor Injector if my meta shows me 2+ MC's.

Count Adhemar wrote:

Personally I'm going to be running the formation from the Covens supplement, with Haem, Talos and Cronos all as a single unit, with the obligatory WWP for precision deep strike.

This, although ponying up A$83 for a second book just for that one formation may prove a bridge too far!

A shame they don't get Power from Pain, getting It Will Not Die from the coven chart would have been brutal.

Fauxmonculus wrote:

Looking at my Codex, the picture of the Talos shows it with Chain Flails and a Liquifier, but the text suggests it can't have both of those things.  Any thoughts?  Could anyone say what the army builder thing in the iPad edition allows?

iPad army builder allows either/or, not both