Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveBerenyi  Fire Dragons
Ok, we all know that fire dragons are just the single best squad available to any army in 40k for armor hunting. Their uses are very small and as such they should only be used in 2 cases. 1 vs IG. They will melt any and all armor they come across. 2 vs any army you think will have some Hard To Kill Armor (SM, CSM, TAU, INQUISITIONAL) in which case I’d say take only a single squad.
The Fire Dragons work best IMO when fielded as such:
Falcon (Pulse Laser, Bright Lance)
5 Fire Dragons
Exarch
Exarch Upgrades:
Fire Pike: Longer Ranged Fusion Gun
Useful, but only when you first disembark from the falcon.
Your best bet would be to take a fusion gun and land the falcon closer.
Dragons Breath Flamer: anti infantry.
FIRE DRAGONS ARE NOT AN INFANTRY FIGHTING FORCE!!! I cant stress that enough. If they are in HTH they are dead.
In all honesty the best setup for the exarch is a fusion gun as well.
Exarch Powers
Tank Hunters
Name says it all and I recommend this power always.
Crack shot
Again if you have these guys shooting infantry you are wasting them. No usefulness here. |
while it's very true that fire dragons are indeed dedicated tank hunters, the dragon's breath flamer is a real gem in disguise!
the dragon's can't typically deal with enemy infantry of any semi-decent number... thus, the flamer really does negate the need to 'baby-sit' the dragons with say, a unit of storm guardians or dire avengers to cut down the charging masses.
another case-in-point, dragon's are great for nipping down an enemy's flank thanks to the head-long 24" movement of wave serpents. (falcons require alot more luck to use when the 'reserves' rule is in play!) so, the dragon's hop out and slag a transport... now, there's likely some very disgruntled passengers and/or nearby support wanting to have a little 'chat' with your tank-killers... a flamer shot, added to the 2 shuriken cannons a serpent can carry will see off most enemies! (and as an added bonus, those dragons are perfect for hunting down heavily armoured foes like termies too!)
finally, let us not forget about those foolish young tau who just love to hop out behind their transports and huddle together... that dragon's breath can very likely remove the entire squad if you position your exarch right. also as a nice added effect, you'll land a S5 hit to the rear armour of the devilfish too!
so yes, the dragon's breath may leave you scratching you head at first, but it really does round out the dragon's usefullness and ensures that they have at least one tool for the job at hand.
cheers!