Forgeworld Newsletter #302:- Stormeagle, Decimator Weapons

[Killgore]

My stormeagle arrived today, very nice kit without any defects

[KeyOfTwilight]

My stormeagle arrived today, very nice kit without any defects

Did you order yours from FW Open? Or did you order it online?

[Killgore]

Did you order yours from FW Open? Or did you order it online?

Open day, a mate of mine who also went had his arrive today.

[KeyOfTwilight]

Open day, a mate of mine who also went had his arrive today.

Lucky dog. I have to wait for them to ship mine on the 27th ><

[Petay1985]

Stormeagle arrived on monday. Parts missing, some parts miss-cast (large seam lines), lovely model but dissapointed with the quality.

[KeyOfTwilight]

Stormeagle arrived on monday. Parts missing, some parts miss-cast (large seam lines), lovely model but dissapointed with the quality.

That's a huge bummer. I still haven't received mine, but then again I get to wait like all the other laymen who didn't go to FW open. Plus I live across the pond...

Still can't wait though. Mold lines never bothered me, that is, since i've played with worse stuff (foreign ripoffs ><)

[Petay1985]

to add further insult to injury, if you will, the replacement parts have arrived with parts missing!

[KeyOfTwilight]

to add further insult to injury, if you will, the replacement parts have arrived with parts missing!

That sounds uncharacteristic for Forge World. I would think that they probably have their plates full to the ceiling with all of the stuff they have to ship tomorrow, plus having just finished adeptacon...

[boogle]

Just a quick question, does the stormeagle come with just the wing lascannons, or the wing missiles as well?

[Vegeta365]

Just the lascannons I am afraid.

However the model is beauiful and mine went together perfectly with just a bit of straightening of a few parts.

[Getz]

And so what? Have a thought for those of us who have NOTHING like a Storm Eagle available. As an Eldar player, I'd kill to have a Wave Serpent with two effective weapon systems with an option for two more, a 20 man capacity, the ability to fire one more gun than usual, the ability to assault after moving, and all in the under-used Fast Attack slot! WE, Eldar should have something like this, if we're the technologically advanced, fast-moving, shooty, every-life-is-precious race GW say we are.

Don't mean to rant (much), but complaining about something so good is a bit... tough to read.

You do realise that a naked Storm Eagle is about twice as expensive as a Wave Serpent? I would be a little bit concerned if it wasn't better...

My problem with it is the size combined with no real gain. The ability to rise after being wrecked sounds good and all, but the cold hard truth is that it is unlikely to ever be a factor in your game. Consider the following:

1. The ready availability of AP-1 weapons means it is very likely to be blown up in the first place which means it isn't coming back.
2. Even if it is just wrecked (with the potential of return) the odds are highly against it. Most games go 5-6 Turns. Statistically it isn't coming back.
3. It is much larger than a regular Dread and thus much harder to gain cover for it.
4. Despite the large size it is actually weaker in output. STR-8 cannot do better than glance a Land Raider. A normal Dread can destroy one.
5. It is ridiculously expensive by comparison to a Dread or a Defiler, particularly if you try to go with the weaponry upgrades.
6. It is inferior to a Dread in both WS and BS, being no better than a damn Defiler.
7. The Weaponry upgrades look good in theory but won't deliver in a reliable way.
8. I expect something that much bigger and more expensive to be more survivable. As other have suggested, the ARM should be much higher.

In short, I feel they have dramatically over-valued the model, the ability to return to the board in particular. It would have to have a much higher probability of returning for me to consider fielding it, have a BS-4 and WS-4, and/or have a much higher ARM. If they want to keep the chance of it returning that low, they need to increase armor of that thing almost up to (or almost to) Land Raider level and make it immune to benefits which provide an extra die of armor pen. They could do these thing or simply reduce the price to make it an alternate Dread choice.

Hmmm, I've played with a Decimator a couple of times now and can offer a bit of feedback on your thoughts.

With regard to points 1 and 2: Although at no point has my Decimator actually exploded, it's only ever got back up once and only shrugged off a couple of damage results in three games. I suspect that the major part of the Decimators price premium over a Chaos Dread comes from Unholy Vigor, however the rule rarely does anything. That said, the chance of the Decimator getting back up fully repaired has at least once discouraged my opponent from plunging into assault with my fire base for fear of what might happen if it did get back up...

On your points 4 and 7: The Siege claws are a bit pants as you give up the extremely helpful S10 in exchange for a not nearly so useful re-roll to wound. Butcher cannons are plain vicious however, and I find it hard to believe that you find them unreliable. Two Butcher cannons will usually beat AV 12 twice a turn and throwing large numbers of dice around mean that your shooting will more consistently conform to statistical averages. The Stormlaser and Petard are more specialised weapons - against some opponents they are better than the Butcher cannon but as a rule they don't really provide anything new compared what we already have with Defilers. However, overall I've found my Decimator to be a very reliable shooting unit.

Regarding point 6: I think that we will just have to accept that demon engines get WS and BS 3 unless they have a particular affiliation. It's not really that big a weakness in the grand scheme of things.

Finally, on your points 3, 5 and 8: Yes, it's AV is too low for such an big and expensive model. If it had AV13 on the front (even if it kept the weak side armour) then I think it would be very fairly costed, but as it stands it's overcosted by a good 20 points.

[KeyOfTwilight]

Got my Storm Eagle today. Lovely model, just needs the usual bending with hair dryer and a bit of green stuffing.

[boogle]

Seems there is a massive backlog on the kit, i rang up today to enquire about availability and was told that it's out of stock with a waiting list

[KeyOfTwilight]

Seems there is a massive backlog on the kit, i rang up today to enquire about availability and was told that it's out of stock with a waiting list

It is a pretty big kit. It's 3 of the stormbudgie sprues plus the resin parts, of which there are over 30 parts. I can see why it's out of stock.

[Petay1985]

Just a quick question, does the stormeagle come with just the wing lascannons, or the wing missiles as well?

BOTH! -the missiles are from the plastic stormraven kit and are included.

Just the lascannons I am afraid.
However the model is beauiful and mine went together perfectly with just a bit of straightening of a few parts.

Incorrect, see above.

[Starwax]

Yeah I pre-ordered it a few weeks back and they have still to dispatch it. guess its a popular kit...

[MajorWesJanson]

It would take an Apoc game, but I'd love to run a Storm Eagle with a pair of Storm Ravens and 4-6 Storm Talons in support.

[ChromeZephyr]

It would take an Apoc game, but I'd love to run a Storm Eagle with a pair of Storm Ravens and 4-6 Storm Talons in support.

And a pair of speakers connected to an mp3 player, so you can blast "Ride of the Valkyries."

[Sildani]

Getz: I'm aware of its points cost, and I'd accept it.

[Kijamon]

The instructions left a lot to be desired I felt.

There's at least 3 parts which have no directions and it's only when I got near the end and thought "wonder where this goes..." that I could just about make it out from the photos.