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Dealing with Ironbreakers
Topic Started: 11th August 2004 - 09:59 PM (544 Views)
tate1307
Chieftain
Man are these guys tough. They are the only real unit that I am scared of. Great weapons and a 2+ armor save with T4, thank god they can only charge 6 inches. So how do you guys kill them off?

I cant use jezzails in small games, warplightning is equally ineffective in small games with dwarves 4 auto dispell dice unless I take two warlocks (too much for small games), PCBs havent been having good luck for me typically only killing 2-3 including fumes, and I dont use the WLC in games under 3 (4?) thousand (which means never so far) so all I can think of is WFT and ratlin guns. I generally prefer WFT but that isnt very reliable. So far the only way I actually got rid of some ironbreakers was to hold them down with my plague monk unit (with priest) and flank charge them with clanrats and beat them by 7+ on combat res with outnumber tons of ranks flank, etc and then they flee a lowly 2d6-1. Other than that, is there an easier way (besides avoidance?)
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Jackety
FEAR THE LEMMING!
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They only get 4+ save if they use great weapons.
Gromril armor is only 4+.
Hand weapon and shield would make it 2+.
And a brassorb works well...or an Assassin with the Gouger. Just start shouting can-opener if you use the Assassin with gouger idea.
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Skaskrit Venomclaw
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Ex-Councilrat

Ironbreakers do not get great weapons. Hammerers and Longbeards do, but those don't get Gomril Armour and therefore only get a 5+ save if they use the great weapon.

Ironbreakers are nasty, but no more so than any other tough infantry unit. If you can't flank them with a good unit, the best option is indeed to shoot them. They get a 3+ save against shooting, which means jezzails, ratlings, warpfire and warplightning all work fine.

But if my opponent brings a big unit of Iron breakers, simply not fighting them is a perfectly viable strategy. Use rat swarms and slaves to distract them. They're slow and hard to manoeuvre. You should be able to dodge them for the duration of the game, and kill everything else in the army instead.
"I have a post-Armageddon vision. We and all other large animals are gone. Rodents emerge as the ultimate post-human scavengers. They gnaw their way through New York, London and Tokyo... within 5 million years, a whole range of new species replace the ones we know. Herds of giant grazing rats are stalked by sabre-toothed predatory rats. Given enough time, will a species of intelligent, cultivated rats emerge?"

Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale
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gorod
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The Burninator (middenheim faction)
make them take panic check after panic check after...etc,eventually they'll break. This is succeded by piling troops into them from all sides, feed them walking combat res (slaves), crush their flanks with something fun like Censerbearers and you should be good.

I once had to fight an opponent who had 2 thanes in his IB unit, one was aBSB w/ banner of slowness and the unit took the stubborn banner as their magic banner upgrade....NOT fun!
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Sammy the Squid
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Back to retirement!

Enough shots from Ratling guns and WFT's will kill them. then charge them in the front with clanrats, stormvermin or even slaves and in the flank with swarms or skirmishers! Even they shouldnt be able to stand up to that (hopefully)
"If the squidman can't do it, no one can!!"

Wins/Losses/Draws

Skaven Clan Rattenkrieg - 108/58/20
Dark Elves - 44/14/8
Hochland Empire - 33/14/4
Malkavian Vampires - 23/22/4
Beastmen - 50/25/2

Have not completed a Painting Vow since July 07!!
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Kraven Tailblade
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Loyal servant of the Great Horned One
You will probably only beat IronBreakers with CR, not kills. Flank charge them and take away their rank bonus!!
They'll get +1 standard.
You'll get +1 standard
+1 outnumber
+1 Flank
+3 ranks
Thats +6CR before any dice are rolled!
Or hold them up with swarms,shoot them, or just avoid them.
Warlord Kraven Tailblade
" Life is cheap. Yours is worthless. "

May the Great Horned One bless you!!
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Snorkel
Chieftain
Let's get realistic, if he fields a large unit of IB with heroes and magic banners
he's going to spend a huge amount of points to just one unit of slow moving infantry. It's better for you too as he would field more units and now you get a flank charge more easily!
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Thrask Vilepaw
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The Grim Squeaker

*cough*jezzails*cough* need i say more.
Official master of parades by Rattsu
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Vinshqueek
 
Thrask, for being such a nice squiggly thing!
Giantrat
 
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24 hour painting challenge : 30 clanrats in 10.5 hours SUCCESS
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Lava
Unregistered

Magic (pestilens breath, plaque)...
Charge RatOgr and PlaqueMonk in ironbeakers flank...
Assasin with Dwarf-Slayer....
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Sammy the Squid
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Back to retirement!

I fought Iron Breakers this weekend, and I simpyl couldnt deal with them. They beat back anything I threw at them. My Rat ogres initially caused huge damage, but a daemon slayer quickly sorted them out... sadly I didnt get a chance to use any good skaven weaponary on them...
"If the squidman can't do it, no one can!!"

Wins/Losses/Draws

Skaven Clan Rattenkrieg - 108/58/20
Dark Elves - 44/14/8
Hochland Empire - 33/14/4
Malkavian Vampires - 23/22/4
Beastmen - 50/25/2

Have not completed a Painting Vow since July 07!!
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Lava
Unregistered

Fear-outnamber is good choice because i use rat ogr and clanrat/plaque monks....
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warlord Arqueek
supreme warlord
iron breakers piece of cake.. just hold them of with some slave's and put some globediers at the flank of them.....
let the storm come !!!!


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Kraven Tailblade
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Loyal servant of the Great Horned One
Lava
Aug 15 2004, 08:20 AM
Fear-outnamber is good choice because i use rat ogr and clanrat/plaque monks....

Won't work unless you take the Sacred Standard of the Horned Rat in a large unit.
The fear-causing units have to outnumber your enemy. The troops who do not cause fear don't count for the auto-break.
Otherwise you could field a huge unit of regular troops with 1 fear causing hero leader and auto-break your enemy.It doesn't work like that.
Warlord Kraven Tailblade
" Life is cheap. Yours is worthless. "

May the Great Horned One bless you!!
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Sammy the Squid
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Back to retirement!

Oh yeah! Sacred Standard would be brilliant against dwarfs. Its a good idea to hit them with a flanking unit aswell. But then again, Rat ogres could cause enough damage by themselves to break units, with their fear and all...
"If the squidman can't do it, no one can!!"

Wins/Losses/Draws

Skaven Clan Rattenkrieg - 108/58/20
Dark Elves - 44/14/8
Hochland Empire - 33/14/4
Malkavian Vampires - 23/22/4
Beastmen - 50/25/2

Have not completed a Painting Vow since July 07!!
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tate1307
Chieftain
Yeah my problem with relying on panic/fear tests is taht its hard to fail a LD 9 test. Cant count on that. I have beaten them before by hitting them on the flank and in front with some CR and plague monks, but it was close. My issue last time was that it was a small game 1500 pts for a two side 4 player multi game (750 each basically) and I had no Jezzails or WLC or anything heavy like that.

And what is this you say. . . Ironbreakers cant have GW? Damn my stupid opponent who cant count or read. So Gromil is 4+, shield and sword make it 2+ (3+ shooting at) and only S4. . . . that makes it easier.
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