# Are Wych cults viable in 6th?



## Insanity (Oct 25, 2011)

So I'm trying to start up my Dark Eldar army and was just wondering how viable Wych cults are when it comes to 6th edition. (NOTE: I haven't got the rulebook yet)

Are things like overwatch going to cause trouble to a group of wyches? what kind of pros and cons would a wych cult have when it comes to 6th edition.

I know one advantage DE has as a whole is night vision for the new night fighting rule.


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## Iron Angel (Aug 2, 2009)

Overwatch can be problematic, Wyches are more reliant on their speed than their durability. Also, random charge range can leave you short. Nothing more painful than charging a unit of juicy, fragile Necron Warriors only to be shot in overwatch, end up two inches short, and be rapid fired to death in the next turn. Make sure you are nice and close before assaulting.


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## Majere613 (Oct 14, 2008)

Some things have got better for Wych Cults in 6th. Most notably, being able to use Haywire grenades in close combat finally gives them a way to hurt Dreadnoughts that get too close, which was a problem for DE as a whole and Wych Cults in particular before.

You certainly do need to watch out for Overwatch. Certain squads, like Burna Boyz or flamer-toting Dominions will do horrible, horrible things to assaulting Wyches. Depending on how 'pure' you want your Cult to be, there are various ways around this.

Since a squad must Overwatch against the first thing to declare a legal charge against it in the Charge phase, you can use Incubi or a Talos to declare a charge from 12" away and eat the Overwatch, then attack in relative safety with the Wyches. Note that Overwatching template weapons will still do their hits regardless of the range, but at least those units get a save!

Ultimately, I think DE are going to be doing more shooting in 6th. Venoms with two Splinter Cannons will be golden for clearing out those Burnas, for example. I've personally always played my Cult as a stand-off army sniping with Raiders and Ravagers until the enemy is weakened before going in. The 'in your face from turn 1' approach seems less likely to be effective in 6th.

Finally, Reavers got very nasty. As Eldar Jetbikes, they pretty much teleport around the table now if you don't want to shoot or assault that turn and their T4 now applies for Instant Death purposes. Again, it depends on what you consider to be a Wych Cult unit, but it must be mentioned


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## Necrosis (Nov 1, 2008)

One way I have found to increase my wyches survivability from shooting is to put in a character up front to take all the shots for them (like an Archon with shadow field).


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## clever handle (Dec 14, 2009)

wyches got both nerfed & boosted depending on their roles.

As Majere mentioned, overwatch can be quite brutal, if charging a full unit of 10 rapid firing space marines you can expect to lose 2-3 wyches before the combat even starts. Of course, since FLEET no longer allows you to run AND assault, you will probably be seeing wych hekatrixes utilizing blast pistols & firing off a couple shots on the way in now. Those pistol shots should result in 1-2 dead marines.

Obviously a further nerf is the hit to FNP going down to 5+, this coupled with the reduction in coversaves from wrecked vehicles drastically reduces the survivability of wyches. Of course, since OT vehicles no longer subtract one from the strength of the hit taken by embarked models, expect every downed raider to kill off the majority of your wych squad.

Speaking of vehicles, you can only move 6" if you wish to assault now, this coupled with the caveat that you MUST be wholely within 6" of the vehicle hull removes a significant portion of our charge range!

On to some of the buffs:

obviously vehicle weaponskill makes wyches perfect for tearing apart dreadnoughts and heavy tanks with haywire. not sure I would recommend multicharging a bunch of chimeras though since the occupants can snap fire....

the change to FLEET and the addition of a 2D6 assault move actually serves to make DE charges longer and more reliable than before. Almost 100% of the time in 5th edition you found yourself charging into terrain, this meant you were moving 6" + D6" + D6". Now you're charging 6" + 2D6" with a reroll of either one or both dice. You're still heading the same max distance, just getting their more reliably AND with a round of shooting. This is a boost.

Hellions got a boost with the addition of Hammer of Wrath strikes (albiet at S3...). At the same time they got a bit of a nerf since you need to pick the direction you hit & run prior to rolling the dice.

Beasts got a big boost in that they can enter buildings, climb ruins and just completely ignore all effects of terrain! Of course, since the unit has almost no saves to speak of unless you load up on chimera, overwatch is brutal (made the mistake of charging a full unit of devilgants.... don't do that! lost 50% of my beast unit on the charge!)

As stated, jetbikes got a huge boost.


I personally feel wych cults got a big boost due to the effects of glancing to death coupled with grenades always hitting vehicles on 3's now. A unit of 10 wyches equipped with haywires can reasonably expect to glance two 3HP vehicles to death if they multi-assault.


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## asianavatar (Aug 20, 2007)

> Hellions got a boost with the addition of Hammer of Wrath strikes (albiet at S3...). At the same time they got a bit of a nerf since you need to pick the direction you hit & run prior to rolling the dice.


I always thought you had to pick a direction before rolling. Also, if Hellions are considered jump pack guys than you can only use the jump pack once per turn. So fly 12, charge 2D6 with no Hammer Of Wraith or move 6, charge 2D6 with rerolls and Hammer Of Wraith.


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## clever handle (Dec 14, 2009)

Not sure about the first point, I never declared... may have been playing wrong since Christmas, doesn't matter now....

Hellions are considered jump pack guys, so they are moving a little bit slower (-D6") but are moving their max distance more reliably.


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## Archon Dan (Feb 6, 2012)

Wyches can still be used, but you now have to shell out for Phantasm Grenade Launchers. I never used them, as Wyches already had Plasma Grenades, and were almost never charged. But Defensive grenades now give protection from shooting, most importantly from Overwatch. It's not much, but I'm willing to give it a try. Just be careful not to charge large shooting units. Lilith or an Archon with Phase Shifter at the front could save you some wounds too.

On a side note, Vect got a little better. Preferred Enemy now transfers to any squad he joins. Putting him with Wyches or Incubi could be quite fun.


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## Pandora (Jun 19, 2012)

I would say that Wyches just now need that accompanying Haemonculus more than ever. Starting with the Pain Token is necesary now. They still have roughly the same charge distance from vehicles too though, since running was rarely a big distance. If you routinely rolled 6s to run, you just need to roll 12s to assault now. The biggest devestation is that you cannot assault from a Webway Portal. Unforgivable in my opinion.


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## Sakura_ninja (Apr 29, 2012)

The impression I get from the online community is that your army is going to be destroyed by overwatch, because 6's to hit is just too powerful and it wipes out armies, so your better off not attacking ever, and just standing in no cover (because cover does not exist because not all of it gives a 4+ save, so it does not exist) and just shooting the enemy from 12" away, because its the only thing 6th is good for, and being hit on 2/3/4/5+ is better than 6+

But that's just the impression I get from people on here.


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## Majere613 (Oct 14, 2008)

Sakura_ninja said:


> The impression I get from the online community is that your army is going to be destroyed by overwatch, because 6's to hit is just too powerful and it wipes out armies, so your better off not attacking ever, and just standing in no cover (because cover does not exist because not all of it gives a 4+ save, so it does not exist) and just shooting the enemy from 12" away, because its the only thing 6th is good for, and being hit on 2/3/4/5+ is better than 6+
> 
> But that's just the impression I get from people on here.


Not from me. Overwatch only scares me if there's a hell of a lot of it (eg Devilgaunts) or multiple templates. But anyone who assaults a unit with several Flamers with a unit that can't take that sort of pain is in for a rude awakening.

Ooh, here's one- ally with Craftworld Eldar, and charge that unit with the Avatar first


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## scscofield (May 23, 2011)

A lot of it will depend on what your charging, bs1 shots from 4 or 5 marines is not going to be as scary as bs1 from 30 orks. Also the amount of template weapons in the unit. Depending on how they deploy you might be able to get around this though if you can hit the unit from a angle. The closest unit die first thing cuts both ways, if you shoot their templates off the board or shrink a massive force then you will have a better chance to survive. The DE's quick transports being open topped means you can hit from the sides better than other armies. Hit the unit from the side with your assaulting unit but shoot if from the other side during the shooting phase. This should soften the unit up and still maintain your charge.


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## DeathKlokk (Jun 9, 2008)

Sakura_ninja said:


> The impression I get from the online community is that your army is going to be destroyed by overwatch, because 6's to hit is just too powerful and it wipes out armies, so your better off not attacking ever, and just standing in no cover (because cover does not exist because not all of it gives a 4+ save, so it does not exist) and just shooting the enemy from 12" away, because its the only thing 6th is good for, and being hit on 2/3/4/5+ is better than 6+
> 
> But that's just the impression I get from people on here.













There it is...use it.


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## Sakura_ninja (Apr 29, 2012)

DeathKlokk said:


> There it is...use it.


Does the door have overwatch?, or even worse nid players on the other side?


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