Welcome to a new segment here on Spikey Bits, where I go over some rules clarifications and “gotchas” for 5th Edition.
I realize that there may only be less than a year left for this rules set, but there is still tons of time for gaming!
Not to mention a few big tournaments left to attend as well. So let’s get to it shall we?
Today im going to chat a little about Ordnance Barrage Weapons. According to page 58 of the main rulebook- these weapons can fire indirectly at targets out of line of sight (LOS).
In addition they counting as being fired from the point of impact, so only cover from that point is allowed. But if the target is completely out of line of sight, then the shot scatters the full 2D6 distance. They also get the highest single die roll of 2D6 for armor penetration, and cause pinning at -1 Leadership.
Now turn the page over to page 60, and read the second bulleted item up from the bottom; Hits from barrage weapons, however, always hit the vehicle’s side armor (representing its side armor).
WOW, that’s HUGE. I may be a dummy because of this, but for the first year I played Guard with Manticores I had no idea about that rule,lol.
This makes the Manticore, and other high strength or even medium level strength barrages pretty good against armor.
Being honest though, it’s tough to completely hide from anything in 40k anymore. It seems like there is never enough terrain anywhere, and well tanks especially are just hard to hide, so this is just vicious.
I ran a Manticore in my Mech Guard just to have some “tech” against the mirror match, and be able to take out pesky Land Raiders rolling up on my lines. But when you read that special rule for barrage against vehicles, ugh that makes a Manticore standard in every mech guard list I run from now on.
Why not- the majority of armies out there all have vehicles lol.
Anyone have any other good barrage weapon examples, drop a comment! -MBG
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
