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Let's get down to the real core of the problem: the dreadnoughts don't work well as the army list is currently structured. For an offensive and manuever oriented force like the Space Marines the dreadnoughts are more of a hindrance than a help.
Operational Speed - They are effectively the slowest unit in the Space Marine force at 15cm movement. Yes, all of the non-Assault infantry have a 15cm movement also, but they also have transports that increase their speed up to 25-30cm. Dreadnoughts do not have that ability, so they are stuck at 15cm speed. What is worse is that the units that they can be assigned to are effectively slowed down to 15cm speed also due to the unit coherency rules.
Dreadnoughts do have the bility to be transported in Thunderhawk Gunships, Thunderhawk Transports, Landing Craft, and Drop Pods. This is great, and I have no problems with this, but if we as a group want to move the Space Marines towards being more viable as a ground combat force then we need to get the dreadnoughts more ground based operational mobility.
One method of giving the dreadnoughts more ground, non-air assault, operational mobility is to give them transport options. In the past editions of WH40K and Epic allowed players to load individual dreadnoughts into Rhinos so that they could be moved about quicker and easier. I don't know why GW has gotten away from this idea; either they have forgotten it, discarded it out of a WH40K oriented myopia, or think that with the new model (from the old "peanut shaped" to the boxy shape) it would be impossible to transport. I've advocated giving the Land Raider the ability to transport dreadnoughts for a couple of different reasons:
Dreadnoughts need to be transported, not only on the battlefield but from battle to battle.
Land Raiders have been somewhat declared to be able to carry "the bigger units" by being able to transport Terminators.
Land Raiders have been declared to be too expensive and there has been a general consensus to lower their points. But many had reservations that the point drop was insufficient. I agree, but I am loathe to lower their costs any further. I feel that instead of lowering their cost we should increase the Land Raider's worth by increasing their desireability and capabilities by making them more usuable. I think that aside from making them available to Tacticals we should also allow them to carry Dreadnoughts.
Another way to increase the Operational Mobility of the dreadnought is to allow it to operate by itself. As much as the dreadnought is an anchor around the neck of the formation it is assigned to that formation can also hinder the dreadnought. The Dreadnought is the only Codex Space Marine unit that has the Walker special ability, allowing it to more easily negotiate dangerous terrain. If allowed to operate independently players will be more willing to utilise this ability and have dreadnoughts negotiate dangerous terrain without fear of having some other units fail. While allowing dreadnoughts to operate in their own formation is not nearly as critical as allowing them transportation I think these formations will offer a new method for Space Marines to carry out their assaults.
Dreadnoughts are, in my opinion, poorly utilised as defensive units. One of the obvious uses of dreadnoughts is to negate their slow speed and use them as garrison formations, objective defenders, and artillery park guards. Someone suggested allowing Dreadnoughts to be added to Whirlwind formations, which I think is a fantastic idea.
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While I agree that the Epic army lists should try to follow precedence shown in previous editions of Epic and WH40K, we should not be slaves to it. An overly strict interpretation of what follows the background and what does not should not be an obstacle for making needed changes to army lists. Dreadnoughts piloting Land Speeders? Yes, that should not be allowed, and no sane person is going to argue in favor of them. Not allowing dreadnought formations because it doesn't follow background? Now you are disagreeing just to disagree. If there was actual mention that dreadnoughts were not allowed to operate en masse for some reason (like Warhound titans are not allowed to operate in large groups after a defection to Chaos) then I would say there is a valid reason to not allow them.
My suggestions still stand:
1) Allow dreadnought formations
2) Allow Land Raiders to carry dreadnoughts
3) Allow Land Raider upgrades to dreadnoughts
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I shot a Deathstrike Missile and destroyed an enemy titan in my pajamas last night. ?How it got into my pajamas I still don't know...
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