[1.3.2] Banshees and Echoes of COH

[Logic_Bomb]

Interesting game using my latest favourite combo of banshees with Warlock. TS range for all players is 26-30 for 3v3 games. A lot of my skirmishes are against the Eldar Farseer (same colour scheme even). The build uses Banshees with Warlock Channelling Runes + Conceal to turn the Banshees into a total tank unit for about 20 seconds or so. They can handle multiple squads like this and make it to level 4 in the end.

Highlights:
Around 13:00 top VP - good Eldar duel with Banshees + Runes + Conceal - they finish the fight at full health. The WL has to stand still while channelling the runes but can still do his ranged attack so upgrading to Merciless Witchblade comes in handy as it gives extra ranged DPS + knockdown.
I mess up my D-Cannon positioning just before this fight so it didn't have line of site for what could've been a great singularity shot

Around 16:00 - top VP again - my Fire Prism comes for the Seer Council and the eldar uses Warp Gates "exploit" like ghost tank traps from COH to block my FP and kill it - doing this against another eldar is just really cheap ass play in my book. :noway:

Around 18:00 - centre VP - nice combo of rangers suppressing and Termies with their rocket barrage to pwn Seer Council for some payback. Termies + Rockets reminds me a lot of Calliope from COH (minus the long range).

Hope you enjoy this Banshee build - I love the staying power it gives to them and Banshees and Rangers gives you some mobile suppression on demand that works better than Shuriplats I think - especially for this huge map.
Comments, feedback, praise, snarky remarks and all welcome....

[Aokin]

not too much can withstand Channeled Banshees in the early game or for that matter units in tier 2 without proper support. However the early investment in power will slow timely tier transition for vehicles or at least anti-vehicle additions. For all of these factors (emphasis on early offensive power and delayed vehicle options) it is often best to focus on their requirements. This means prioritising economy over victory point capture and generally not reinforcing units until the Banshees and Channeling Runes wargear are operational.

in 1v1 it is straightforward to bring this combination together just before three minutes, and includes a standard opening so as to attempt power attacks. The real drawback of this early offense design is that you will be more exposed to early vehicles and potentially behind on power, the Eldar has to determine whether it is in their interests to do so.

the same combination works effectively at later stages but in your game they were the third squad fielded so I would suggest revising your build and opening strategy if intending to field 'early' Banshees. As it was..I believe it was somewhere closer to seven minutes before they first appeared. If you want to focus on early wargear on the Warlock commander that is your call to make but this will further delay the general necessity of anti-vehicle responses. Likewise there was no gain (so far as I can tell) in transition to tier 2 before Banshees and after all else.

depending on how integral (not to mention how long you can keep them in play) the Banshees are to your design a Fire Prism can be problematic. In team games if the game allows you to go Banshees with no particular vehicle issues and the higher micro/fragility issues don't bother you, I find the inclusion of Warp Spiders rather swell :) The combined damage output will chase armies away, as long as your army does not get caught in any predicament for longer than .6 seconds..

it might be that in team games players actually have more early power, that would be really useful for early Banshee strategy.

[Logic_Bomb]

Yeah 1v1 is a whole different ballgame where an early transport would really hurt - the banshees would have to be used as an alternative to shuriken cannon for power harassment duties to delay an early vehicle. I've seen Banshees + Warp Spiders work well together against vehicles too.


the same combination works effectively at later stages but in your game they were the third squad fielded

They were the 2nd squad I purchased - I don't think I could get away with just my 2 opening units for capping and any initial fighting while waiting for 15 power to show up - I feel like I need that 2nd guardian squad to bridge the gap until I get banshees.
I'll keep playing around with it and see how it works in different situations and refine how early I can get them out.