Those funny things called Webway Portals....

I could see two talos (or a talos and a cronos) or some maxed our wracks with liquifyer guns coming out of a WWP and lighting up some poor marine squad, but it's pretty risky... if you get the portal open on time... and if you roll well for reserves... and if you roll well with your liquifyer gun AP roll... it'll be great! I used to love the WWP (I have two of the GW dome models), but for this edition it's not really all that good.

Whereas conversely - if you just put some Wracks with liquifiers into a Raider they'll have more range, be able to assault afterwards, not rely on a portal deployer, and not rely on a reserve roll, and will otherwise be identical.

Thor665... you may have point.

I will admit, I seriously think they should rescind the 'no assault' rule about WWPs, because that will at least make them slightly decent in low to mid level competitive play if you work at it.

But nowadays they're useless except in friendly play...and they aren't even actually all that good there.

Thor665 wrote:

I will admit, I seriously think they should rescind the 'no assault' rule about WWPs, because that will at least make them slightly decent in low to mid level competitive play if you work at it.

Given the changes to transport rules (disembarking etc) and the general difficulties in placing a WWP anywhere useful first turn, I think the ability to assault from the damn things is absolutely essential. Without that, they are an expensive waste of space.

In my last Apocalypse game (2 weeks ago), I used the Dark Eldar 3-Webway Portal Strategic Asset (from the Apocalypse Reload book), which consists in 3 portals that you deploy via DeepStrike and work like the codex ones, with the great difference that units (obviously not vehicles) can embark on one portal and disembark on another one in a movement phase. You count as disembarking from a normal transport (like a rhino).

This kind of portals are really useful, only if we could use them in normal games (I think at 35 points each would be fair, not like the current codex versions).

Well, enough wishlisting.... If I wanted to use the current WWPs, It would be to deploy foot-slogging infantry, maybe accompanied by hellions and scourges... but mainly kabalites, and maybe wracks too.
In this way, I'd deploy the portals in a safe place (cover, LOS blocking terrain), dispersed along the board and preferably near objectives. This way, I could avoid alpha strikes and be able to decide where I want my troops to deploy.

Portal delivery units: haemi or archon with wracks or grots in Venom/Raider. You can get 3 of these at any point level game.

WWP units: Trueborns, Kabalites, Grots, Wracks, and even wyches (to intercept walkers and other vehicles).

WWP or DS units: scourges, hellions.

This way of WWP-ing is completely different from the 5th ed. one, mainly due to the charging-from-reserve nerf. People who loved his portals in that edition (even with its limitations) got punched in the face in the current one, hence the hate against this unique piece of wargear.

In my opinion, WWP-ing is the ultimate way of finesse warfare in our codex. Extremely different from other armies, and also extremely challenging.

EDIT: nevermind I get what the codex is saying.

It doesnt say anything about putting models ontop of the marker though.

And if its only the edge then does that mean the models surrounding the portal on the other side of the marker have to go around instead of through it when moving since it is impassable terrain?

shadowseercB wrote:

And if its only the edge then does that mean the models surrounding the portal on the other side of the marker have to go around instead of through it when moving since it is impassable terrain?

Yes, everyone has to walk around it, unless they are Jump Infantry and there is room on the otherside for them to land, they are allowed to jump over the top.

I don't understand why the writers of our codex gave a WWP to an Archon....is it to foot slog with something like Grotesques and none of us have seen it yet?

If you want to try it and willing to work with it then I would suggest the following ideas:

Since you can not assault out of it then putting units that are primarily a "shooting" unit inside it. Granted the portal is still fantastic for reavers since they have options to either shoot or bloodvane and this makes then naturals however they function just as well with out the portal so it isn't a necessary bike item.

Put your assault units in transports on the table, as well as the portal deploying unit. As mentioned above they will still need a lot of work in keeping them functional but once units emerge from the portal then the target saturation takes the pressure off.

The other portal change which hurts a little is that you have to keep 50% on the table, don't know about you but this was a big change for me, I often place 80% in the portal and liked to have the bulk of my army arrive later in the game - now, meh, don't like it.

As for the units that can do a little shooting but still need the portal to get out there (like the Talos) I have found not too much has changed. It wasn't like the Talos was assaulting straight out of the portal to begin with - with a liquifier and a heat lance it often found more things to shoot than charge anyway.

Being a hopeless portal fanatic like myself I can not imagine too many games where I would not want to play the portal - it is one of the reasons I like the DE. So I just got to suck it up for a couple years and deal with it but I am uncertain if GW will change the rules again, I can only hope.

I don't think it's really changed. I think that the caveat has just shifted from "no vehicles in here" to "no assault threats in here." Not that you can suddenly stick vehicles inside, just that the emphasis has changed rather than its function. It's simply a matter of being creative.

Oh and it's worth pointing out that - like it or not - as per the rulebook and FAQ it works for all of your models in your primary detachment. You're not required to take allies, or be allies, but if you do take them the portal is usable by any of the primary detachment units and none of the allied. This can have bizarre consequences like Dark Eldar locking themselves out of the Webway and leaving the key with some Orks, or Eldar allies being unable to Fortune you in return (portal is a generic area effect, not a Psychic power)... but nothing makes sense anyway in 40k, so bear in mind the following strategies don't just work with Dark Eldar.

In 5th it was a handy way to hide fragile troops inside until after the enemy was de-meched, and then have a shorter move+run to midfield or forward objectives. In 6th this is an interesting alternative to gunboating; empty Venoms and Raiders can be much more aggressive, and then when they die reserved Warriors and Wracks pop out and scamper for cover and objectives. Only mobile or potent non-scoring models start on the board, and that includes dedicated transports. This works especially well with Eldar Primary armies because their Guardian Jetbikes are scoring and can objective-grab much better and more safely than a Wave Serpent starting on the board.

While assaulting out of it isn't an option (Talos lovers everywhere are crying pain tokens. Or are they just becoming Cronos?) shooting short range weapons out is. Blaster Trueborn, or Mon'keigh Slave/Imperial Guard SWS popping out and shooting a ton of darklight or plasma will ruin something's day. Scourges, with their 12" movement, can pop out and shoot at something's rear armor for a guaranteed kill with Blasters rather than hovering around the edge of the field waiting for a lucky shot with haywire Launchers. A lot of short-ranged firepower stuff is on T3 5+ Kabalite bodies that might prefer to skip the whole Raider-ride to their destination, and using their transport (now an extra gun) to count toward the minimum 50% is an added bonus.

You can also combine both of these approaches. If you feel confident that you're holding your backfield, or just deterring your opponent, you can have a Warrior squad pop out and shoot a Blaster+Blast Pistol combo at someone - it's a lot safer than having a Venom or Raider close to half range 6+ at a time so they can shoot out the top.

Do I have to roll a dice to determine if squads can come out of the webway or can they come out as soon as I drop it? I believe that is the rules of reserve units.

They come in as per normal reserve rules.

k, thnx guys