Slaughterhousers, how many units?

[Burninated]

Basically what the title says.

I'm about to pick up a single unit of SH's for the journeyman league I'm in. Can they be effective with only 1 unit on the board? Do you need more than 1 unit to get them to work?

How many units are you running and with what casters?

Man we really need some more options

[PG_Dmark]

The number of units to use varies both with your choice of 'lock and whether or not you play Pact or Theme Force. With S&D, though, nothing changes whether you play Pact or Theme.

Carver: If you are playing Theme Force, it's usually a good idea to bring one, and then fill the rest of your list with War Hogs and Brigands. If you play pact, though, it can be better to field two units of Slaughterhousers and one less unit of Brigands, since the point cost is only one less for a 6-man unit of Brigands compared to two less in Theme Force.

Arkadius: As many as can be fit in after your three War Hogs, one unit of Brigands, one unit of Bone Grinders and Targ is what I'd recommend if you play Theme Force, which is almost always what you wanna do. If you play Pact, skip the Brigands and then go for more Slaughterhousers.

S&D: No Brigands, just use Slaughterhousers instead, no matter if you play Theme Force or Pact. In their Theme Force, the Slaughterhousers get advance move, which makes them much more effective, but in the Pact they get Advance Deployment, so in the end it comes down to whether you want the opportunity to take some of the fantastic Pact-only solos or you want the amazing bonuses from Theme Force.

[ajay29]

I have had one unit since they came out, and struggle to see why I'd need more. I am a huge fan of Brigands though, so maybe I need to wean myself off them!
I do want a second unit, but I still find they die so easily, and even when they don't die they're lying on their ***** xD

[PG_Dmark]

I have had one unit since they came out, and struggle to see why I'd need more. I am a huge fan of Brigands though, so maybe I need to wean myself off them!
I do want a second unit, but I still find they die so easily, and even when they don't die they're lying on their ***** xD

I am a huge Brigand fan too, but I started out with Carver, and then I still somehow expect the Brigands to perform as good with the other 'locks, which is why I've come to prefer Slaughterhousers with everyone but Carver. They are still awesome with Carver, but so is everything. That guy takes anything and makes it at least twice as good.

[TheLoki]

I've been unable to justify 2 units yet. While the single unit has proven to be a huge asset, A unit of brigands carver or no is needed if for nothing else the body count. Granted the more i play with brigands the more i realize that even without CRA they perform extremely well for the cost.

Slaughterhousers and Brigands have a symbiotic relationship and should always be taken together. Brigands screen them and soften targets up while slaughterhousers scrape units off the brigands/beasts and finish off the heavy/lights the brigands have pinged a few times.

[PG_Dmark]

Don't get me wrong, I don't play a list without Brigands, but I've just found Slaughterhousers to fit my non-Carver playstyle a lot better.

[gaminguy]

I'm disinclined to buy a second unit of either, because of the second units of Cetrati, Acuarii, Venators, and second BB and Gladiator I have lying around. I know if I make that purchase now they will eventually wind up gathering dust once we have more options available, and for the moment I'm taking the opportunity to get familiar with some of the solos like Gundrun and Rorsh that I probably won't pull out much once I have more units to work with.

(I think it's a testimate to how well balanced this game is that my second Gladiator very rarely sees the table despite the fact that I think it's hands-down the best beast in the Skorne stable. Even with the Glad's amazing level of utility I still can't justify the opportunity cost of not having the additional tools provided by a different heavy.)

[Burninated]

nice summary gaminguy.

I think this is what I'm thinking. My only hesitation is that the SH's are a 6 man. With my Menoth I feel like there might be times when I want an extra unit of Knights Exemplar. But, that is partially because we have an excellent theme list to make use of them with eKreoss.

I think the lack of options for farrow at the moment makes me feel like I might want duplicates. I'm very hesitant, because I think in the long run we won't need them. I have 2 War Hogs for now, and I am loathe to get a third because of the Road Hog coming out and the ineviteability of us getting more heavies.

[Burninated]

One more question.

How are you guys using the SH's. Up front shock troops? Second wave to make use of finisher?
I'm liking the idea of running them just behind the brigands to smash whatever they have softened up.

[gaminguy]

That's how I've used them. I'm not terribly fond of 6-man units in the first place, putting one out front just seems like throwing points away. I think they're pretty effective as a closer, Finisher is one of those irritating rules that kicks in right after it would be useful a lot of the time.

[Pirrekurr]

I usually use 2 units of Slaughterhousers with both Carver and S&D. I am not a big fan of the brigands at all, they are ok with Carver but subpar with everything else. I have however been thinking about playing with 3 units of Slaughterhousers with S&D. This of course means that I have to play pact but no big deal unless I want a lot of Road Hogs. I am thinking that a Sturmcentric list with Sturm (obviously) would be cool where I advance deploly all 3 units, use Saxon for Pathfinder on one of the units and then cast Deflection to up everyones ARM. I think people will be a bit afraid when my 18 Slaughterhousers come charging down the board. Also, if/when I change into Drang mode, Killing Ground would give them all Pathfinder on the charge. I basically love my Slaughterhousers. The Carver feat turn caharge is also awesome. Hitting DEF 15 on average rolls and doing an average of 25 damage on each Slaughterhouser, 28 if I manage to get Finisher working is wonderful. This combined with that your opponents can't use tough, reive fury from killed beasts and that warjacks don't leave a wreck marker is pretty nice.

[Pirrekurr]

One more question.

How are you guys using the SH's. Up front shock troops? Second wave to make use of finisher?
I'm liking the idea of running them just behind the brigands to smash whatever they have softened up.

With Carver as second wave. With S&D, as everything. Either up front and while people deal with them my 3 War Hogs position for the kill, or behind the Hogs and while people kill Hogs the SH position for the kill.

[Beckman]

2 Units. I love Slaughter Hausers.. Their reach and effective weaponmaster have made me really happy with their performance.

[Bob of Doom]

When in doubt, go with the Douglas Adams response: 42

[Benejeseret]

How are you guys using the SH's. Up front shock troops? Second wave to make use of finisher?
I'm liking the idea of running them just behind the brigands to smash whatever they have softened up.

Both! I have found a lot of success with interspersing 2-3 units of SH into one massive, spread-out, mob of death. On non-feat turns I have a few models tying up as much as possible (will die - unless tough lucky) with Quagmire when applicable. Having enough models spread also prevents Tramples. Charging others to the outer 2" reach when it helps, but often using the leading edge to tarpit until everything is in place to (Carver) to Feat and rush everything in.

This means the leading edge (unit) I will sometimes RUN into place if needed. Charging is definitely better, but sometimes you need that extra 2" to at least get things locked into melee, preventing their alpha charge and controlling the board. If they die, there's always more SH pouring in behind.

[Nuriochi_sol]

Was screwing around with this for a while...

Lord Carver (*6pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
Farrow Brigands (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Farrow Razorback Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (3pts)
Farrow Razorback Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (3pts)
Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt) (6pts)
Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt) (6pts)
Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt) (6pts)

This was a train wreck of a force, though easy for my wiley Khador opponent to bog down and circumnavigate. Once the battle was joined, however, it wrecked face. The Brigands screen and look for shots of opportunity. The Razors plink into big targets. The Slaughterhousers well... slaughter. Fun, direct army. Just be careful of terrain-heavy boards. And strings of being unable to roll even average for two entire games made both into uphill battles. But fun! Need to run it again against other opponents.

[zionson]

AT LEAST one, obviously. But if you play at a pointage where you can squeeze in one more, do it. The Slaughterhousers are freakishly good at what they do. Built-in Tough is great and extends the table time of this 6-man unit. Finisher can let Slaughterhousers do surprising things, with two to three able to wreck a light jack or beast (with at least one damage) on a charge. Then there's Takedown, which has great uses against many army types -- from Trollbloods to Menoth to Cryx (who can't bring back their dead).

I know it's not a Slaughterhousers love thread, but I've justified purchasing two units for myself.

Because, also, the models are AWESOME.

[TheLoki]

Was screwing around with this for a while...

Lord Carver (*6pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
Farrow Brigands (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Farrow Razorback Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (3pts)
Farrow Razorback Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (3pts)
Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt) (6pts)
Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt) (6pts)
Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt) (6pts)

This was a train wreck of a force, though easy for my wiley Khador opponent to bog down and circumnavigate. Once the battle was joined, however, it wrecked face. The Brigands screen and look for shots of opportunity. The Razors plink into big targets. The Slaughterhousers well... slaughter. Fun, direct army. Just be careful of terrain-heavy boards. And strings of being unable to roll even average for two entire games made both into uphill battles. But fun! Need to run it again against other opponents.

Try to work Saxxon in that list and your terrain issues alleviate quite a bit.


On topic. Fielding more then 1 unit of slaughterhousers isn't itself an inherently bad thing. In fact Redundancy is a very good thing in small doses. The issue however arises with what exactly do you give up to fit them? Hell i have a hard enough time fitting my razorbacks.

[PG_Draxos]

Remember Jon, they just run forward and smash. Or die in the case of Slaughterhousers.

[RevolverAdamska]

Imho , cause of theyr cost ( imho those butchers are very expansive ) and numbers i choose always x2 units =)

[Nuriochi_sol]

Try to work Saxxon in that list and your terrain issues alleviate quite a bit.

Yeah, that would be the obvious improvement. The point of the list building was to get three units in as well as three War Hogs. Fitting in Saxon without wasting points might be tricky.

[PG_Dmark]

Yeah, that would be the obvious improvement. The point of the list building was to get three units in as well as three War Hogs. Fitting in Saxon without wasting points might be tricky.

Drop a Razorback? I know they're good at plinking out damage from the bigger, more juicy targets to allow the Slaughterhousers to hit hard, but it's an option.