Sliscus Tactica

I thought it was high time that I redid my Sliscus Tactica, taking into account changes for 6th edition; I'm also going to look at more ways of using him in general as well as Warlord Traits and the like. So... I'd like to say there are seven eight 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.


8. 20 Kabalite Warriors, 2 Splinter Cannons, 18 Splinter Rifles, Aegis Defence Line and Quad Gun.
A new option that has arrived with the addition of Fortifications to the game. You can now take option 4 with the sheer number of troops and all the amazing splinter fire and now hide them behind a wall for a 4+ cover save. I haven't tried this myself yet but if I were to deploy this unit I'd try and deploy as far centre as possible with good fire lines and line of sight, of course this unit should be sitting on an objective too. So now your Duke Star has some protection, let's give Duke a new toy - the Quad Gun. With Sliscus on the gun he will rarely miss a shot with his high BS and the fact its twin-linked - try downing enemy flyers and reserves as they come on (remember the warriors can fire at a different target in the next turn still) or add weight of fire to the warriors. Roll some 6's and Duke will start sniping special weapons out of squads - if they survive the splinter fire.

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.

This thread and tactica is work in progress. I want YOUR input to flesh it out and make it awesome. I'd like to hear your experiences with the Duke, how you run him, what you think the best warlord traits are for him, what allies work well with him etc.

Reserved, perhaps.

I've taken Sliscus in all 3 of my games so far, and he and his Trueborn Kabal have been my 1 bright spot. 6 shardcarbines, 2 splinter cannon, 1 laster w/ sliscus in Raider. One of the shardcarbines is a dracon w/ pgl.

Nice guide. Added it to the pages of pain.

I love Sliscus - he was my go-to HQ in 5e. I am trying to broaden my horizons now, but I'm not convinced that I've found any other HQ I like as much.

I always used to run him in a Venom w/ 3 Trueborn (2 Cannons, 1 Carbine). The final seat went to a Haemi WWP caddy. A couple of units of Wyches would then emerge from reserves, and Sliscus would ditch his ride to join them, or go it alone if a suitable assault target presented itself.

I've pretty much stopped using WWPs in 6e, but I still like to escort Sliscus with a Haemi in order to give him a pain token and keep a Liquifier close at hand.

Like you I run a lot of the duke. My favorite HQ bar none. Another option that I like to run is a varient of yours.

10 warriors, SC and splinter rifles with a raider. Start them outside the raider with the duke. First turn they jump into the raider and the duke joins another unit-for me it is usually Incubi in a venom that I have convienetly started next to the duke so he can board without stopping the venom from moving. Now you have a 3/3 gunboat with a lot of shots AND a venom that can go dump a CC squad right down the enemies throat. Alternately you could send the duke with three grots in the raider.

What I have not found useful is the orbital raid. I just have not had good luck deep striking our vehicles in 6th. The just tend to go boom right away.

Nappen wrote:

Like you I run a lot of the duke. My favorite HQ bar none. Another option that I like to run is a varient of yours.

10 warriors, SC and splinter rifles with a raider. Start them outside the raider with the duke. First turn they jump into the raider and the duke joins another unit-for me it is usually Incubi in a venom that I have convienetly started next to the duke so he can board without stopping the venom from moving. Now you have a 3/3 gunboat with a lot of shots AND a venom that can go dump a CC squad right down the enemies throat. Alternately you could send the duke with three grots in the raider.

What I have not found useful is the orbital raid. I just have not had good luck deep striking our vehicles in 6th. The just tend to go boom right away.

this is exactly how I run the DUKE! haha he has been an amazing character, especially when I get fortune for my farseer and watch him beast MCs or tough characters

On the subject of Warlord traits, I run Sliscus exclusively and have always gone with Command. While the Leadership traits are nice, the real silver tuna there is the one that lets the Duke and all units in a bubble around him have Move Through Cover. In addition to making assaults easier, it also means that vulnerable Deep Striking units (which I run extensively) can land directly in terrain without having to worry about pesky Dangerous Terrain tests.

Is there a better table I should be using?

Duke/20 warriors/ Aegis is great... until a Heldrake turns up  

commandersasha wrote:

Duke/20 warriors/ Aegis is great... until a Heldrake turns up  

Half the games in 40K end with that sentence these days.  

Mandor wrote:

commandersasha wrote:

Duke/20 warriors/ Aegis is great... until a Heldrake turns up  

Half the games in 40K end with that sentence these days.  

My Chaos buddy finally agreed to leave his Heldrake out of his CSM/Daemon list yesterday...and we both had the most enjoyable game we've shared for ages. The final rounds actually came down to combat between troops! Unheard of in 6th!

I run Sliscus with 9 Warriors in a raider, but usually camp them safe on a back objective, with the boat nearby; some games they never even get a fight! What I get for that investment is a solid defensive base with high leadership, with good anti-infantry in the buffed splinter, anti-vehicle with Sliscus' pistol, and a half-decent IC who can run headlong at a walker to tie it up for that precious end-game.
Attacking my home objective is painful!

Huge fan of the duke! If I didn't like the threat of my huskblade so much he would always be my hq choice. Haven't tried the larger warrior squads but I did like deep striking venoms with wyches (duke in hwg/sc trueborn). Dukes orbital raid seems rarely used but it's a viable way to put mass anti tank up close in cover while still benefiting from full bs splinter fire of the venoms. Obviously not always advisable but a real nice option to have at your disposal when you need to rush a position.

I've read that the duke is lacking in cqc but in the few games I've used him I was pleasantly surprised by how nasty his poisoned blades are especially with drugs. Honestly I put his combat prowess second only to the threat that only a huskblade can project. He's murdered rnf and mc's alike for me.

Nice article btw thanks for taking the time brother.