32 minutes ago, bllaw said:

I do understand that its the most powerful of the weapons, its just that I think id be trying to get into melee with the dewback so the flamer wouldnt be super effective on the charging up before getting into melee since its only range 1. I dunno maybe its really good on the board it just looks strange to use right now. Guess ill have to try it out once theyre released

What my friend said once he saw the article was "charge up get in melee, then if they try to disengage you can finish them off with the flamethrower" It's an excellent deterrent for disengagement as well as a slight extend of the threat range and position control.

Just now, toffolone said:

I think that when you compare the 3 weapons, you should consider one thing:

It is true that the flamer gas a larger damage potential. But by the time you can use the flamer, you could have used the other two weapons at least two more times, maybe even three times if the opponent is not dumb.

So the damage potential of the two long range weapons should be multiplied by some factor in order to compare it properly with the flamer

Depends on the terrain. Locally we use bombed out buildings and 2-3 story outposts, sometimes units are out of LoS well into the game.

3 hours ago, Darth Sanguis said:

What my friend said once he saw the article was "charge up get in melee, then if they try to disengage you can finish them off with the flamethrower" It's an excellent deterrent for disengagement as well as a slight extend of the threat range and position control.

That deosn't really make sense given that they're not going to disengage without a plan, and you could always just move into base contact and melee them to death if they do.

5 hours ago, EVIL INC said:

I think he was getting at the flamer does more overall damage to the unit in a turn than a round of melee. The question is, does it enough more to make it worth the points since by that time, it will have a HUGE target on it from every enemy unit. I wonder also, will staying out of melee be worth it as then it would be an open target since it would not be engaged. of course, I have yet to actually play this, but in other games, you are unable to fire into close combat and there would be the possibility of the critter being exposed anyway if it wiped out the enemy in a round of close combat.

I agree.... fiddle with it and figure out what works best before committing for good.

Bingo; the damage potential is higher for most targets.

After some 30 years of minis, Dewbacks are liable to be my first magnetized models.

I've been doing tournaments for 30 years and wargaming for 35. I didnt start magnetizing till about 5 years ago wishing I had done it sooner. Trust me, it is worth it and can save $. Invest in a dremil.

I don't think the flamethrower does "more" damage than melee. I gladly take the 0.25 less hits against 4 minis in melee, if I get suppressive. So only against 5+ squads the flamethrower does "better" dmg. Your opponent will know that and use their high cost single units to fight your dewbacks (where your flamethrower is worthless), not to mention that by the time you get in range, some squads have probably lost a mini already.

So imo it's just a question of: Is Range 1 + a bit of threat area worth 20 pts?

I don't think so. I'd rather have the 10 pt. weapon + HQ Uplink. That allows me to do reliable damage even into heavy cover at range 3 + better activation control. And since you will use Spur quite some times you maybe want to recover anyway once or twice per battle.

"Will someone please get this walking tank out of my way?"

- Captain Kayn Somos, Stormtrooper unit commander.

15 hours ago, arnoldrew said:

That deosn't really make sense given that they're not going to disengage without a plan, and you could always just move into base contact and melee them to death if they do.

see

18 hours ago, Darth Sanguis said:

Depends on the terrain. Locally we use bombed out buildings and 2-3 story outposts, sometimes units are out of LoS well into the game.

I could 100% see situations where a player would try to disengage early in the round to try to get shots off on a dew back. Probably better than straight sacrificing the unit to the inbound 3 red 3 white crit 2 suppressive death that awaits. If positioned well enough too it may take a few turns for troops to be close enough to engage.

This player is specifically well known for using his speeders in crafty ways. Managing to keep the on-target but out of attack range or LoS until he doesn't need them any more.