Rhupert and Vengers

[Craaag]

I've had Rhupert sitting around now for about 5 years in a state of somewhere between primered and base coats finished. I used him alot in mk 1 and of course he was great but I've never used him in mk 2. I might of back in the field test but the memory is a little hazy. part of why i haven't been using him is because of the horribly ugly unfinished condition he's been in. A real downer when you've got a totally finished army and 1 guy sitting there looking like crap. So I decided to paint him up and I was satisfied how he looked.

Then I put him on the table. I ran him with the hopes of some extra buffing on my Vengers if he could keep up. Between rhupert and ashen veil I had effectively def 15 Vengers with terror!
Burrowers tried to come up after the Vengers and failed command 2 or 3 times and were completely ineffective the whole game. Even if they hadn't failed, with the Fell callers buff they still would have needed 9's to hit!

I don't know how I'm going to make a list without him now? +1 def on top of ashen veil or DW is pretty huge.It brings our easy to hit def 12 troops to boost to hit range when these buffs are combined. Can you imagine Idrians with 18 def under ashen veil!

I've always used him back in mk 1 for the extra move buff and pathfinder and I think the one time previously for mk 2 it was for tough. I'm thinking now the true go to buff is veil of mists.

[Menite troll]

IMO tough is always better. Many opponents can find a way around hight def (slams/throws/various special attacks/spells etc.),while very few abilities can ignore tough. Dirge of mists is good for making multiple terror checks on opponents army though a lot of infantry units have banners for re-rolls/have hight cmd or are fearless.

[Craaag]

Not too sure? Tough has let me down. At least the Covenant can guarantee the def buff stays around by keeping troopers on their toes. I can see Tough maybe being better when you are talking about a strict comparison between the two (Dirge and Tough) maybe? The true strength from Dirge I'm referring to would be in combination with our other def spell buffs when you are talking +3 Def instead of +2 it is a big difference.

[jandrese]

I take Rhupert in almost every list. Not only can he give terror and just about the only DEF buff in the game that can't be ignored by something, but he can also negate a failed terror check and let a unit activate normally. Or you can put Fearless on a unit right before they go and charge some abomination to make sure they don't flub that one crucial terror check. Failing the terror check on the charge normally causes you to lose two activations, basically removing the unit from the game most times.

I really love using him to pump Daughters up from 15 to 16 DEF. That's a huge jump given the number of MAT 7 troopers in the game. There's a big difference between needing 8s to hit and 9s to hit.

Tough may keep more troops alive, but unless you're comboing it with the Covenant or Gravus, they'll be knocked down and useless anyway. I tend to prefer the +1 DEF in a lot of cases.

Rhupert is also pretty easy to keep alive since he has an 8" range on his ability and doesn't need LOS. He does die from time to time, but typically not until later in the game when most of my troopers are dead anyway.

[Circle noob]

the temporary terror effect by dirge of mist can be awesome. forcing your opponent every of turn to do a dis check can be devastating. and keep in mind, that dirge of mist applies to rhupert as well. so you might be able to force two dis checks a turn.

[PG_KestrelM1]

I use him extensively with Defender's Ward warcasters. +2 DEF/+2 ARM is fantastic. +3 DEF/+2 ARM & Terror is downright broken. I typically include TFG and/or Daughters to maximize the effect, as DEF16 TFG and DEF 18 Daughters are obnoxious to deal with.

That's before even going into the situational utility of Pathfinder/Fearless.

Rhupert is an amazing addition to any Protectorate force - I just wish he was not Character Restricted

[Blarmb]

I use him extensively with Defender's Ward warcasters. +2 DEF/+2 ARM is fantastic. +3 DEF/+2 ARM & Terror is downright broken. I typically include TFG and/or Daughters to maximize the effect, as DEF16 TFG and DEF 18 Daughters are obnoxious to deal with.

That's before even going into the situational utility of Pathfinder/Fearless.

Rhupert is an amazing addition to any Protectorate force - I just wish he was not Character Restricted

This is very true. Tough tends to better the higher chance you have to be killed in the first place, while +1 DEF is better when they already have a hard hitting you in the first place. So stacking it with defenders ward is a very good move.

15/18 Errants are annoying as well. Along with all the offensive bumps.
16/19 TFG in a shield wall just don't care about anything it seems sometimes.

[PG_KestrelM1]

16/19 TFG in a shield wall just don't care about anything it seems sometimes.

There are surprisingly few ways to consistently deal with 16/19 Set Defense infantry. At least Daughters have the good grace to die once you beat their DEF, but TFG aren't nearly so accommodating :P

[Snipafist]

They're even less accommodating at DEF 16 ARM 23 (UA minifeat), but that's just getting silly.

[Craaag]

This is why I started this thread. Alot of new players don't know about stacking these combos.

I'm going to try this for fun today. Vengers with DW and Dirge. Def 15, Arm 19 (21 when unit takes damage) with 5 damage boxes.

[Bald Menite]

This was an odd occurrence, at my LGS some of us players try to have real to bizzar terrine set up. So, I was running PSevy and KEE with defenders ward, Dirg of Mist, all of them elevated some were in trees. They held the center the whole game, the Swans could not move them, & Cpt. Murdock (sp?) and Troll crew keeper passing there tough test. It was glorious!

Cheers!

[SnakeEyes]

This is why I started this thread. Alot of new players don't know about stacking these combos.

Yeah, it's just too bad that it's one of the very few. We had more in Mk. I. The only other "combo stacking" I can think of is Corbeau + some other movement buff spell.

All the real combo stacking belongs to Hordes. Between spells, abilities from solos/support unit, and animii (this is the big one), Hordes get all the fun buffing combos.

[Harbylove]

I don't know, most of our casters have buffs to stack with rhupert outside of reznik, amon, and HR. I don't nor ever will play feora so I can't say anything there. But I know Harbinger is even more obnoxious with them. In the best case my TFG can get to 20/21! Reckoner, Awe, Rhupert, shield wall, mini feat with marytrdom for an extra layer of hilarious. They REGULARLY have DEF 16 (18 against charges) which is an enormous nuisance.

[PG_KestrelM1]

They're even less accommodating at DEF 16 ARM 23 (UA minifeat), but that's just getting silly.

It's a rare day I get to use both at once, as Iron Zeal is way too useful for getting into position with a Run or making a Charge without losing the +4 ARM.

As far as "combo stacking belonging to hordes," I'm pretty sure those factions would give their left leg for combos like Passage + Enliven + Witch Hound, Battle + Ignite, or Crusader's Call + Guided Hand + Crit Smite. And those are just off the top of my head. Menoth is quite adept at stacking bonuses for incredible power.

[IMakeGoodwin'sLawHappen]

I have to say I've had fun stacking the buffs I have such as making everything "defense stupid" with awe, ashen veil, and Rhupert, then again I was playing against hordes so awe affected everything I was playing against, kind of fun turning def 12 into 16 or higher.

[jandrese]

The thing about Rhupert is that he's the only solo available to us that can put a defensive buff on a unit. I guess I shouldn't ignore the Covenant and Gravus for their anti-knockdown auras, but those are on the model themselves. Most casters have at least 1 model/unit upkeep to stack with, but for 3 of our casters that upkeep is Ignite which doesn't help their defense at all.