# Taking on monoliths with SM



## englanda (Dec 2, 2008)

Hey guys.

Having a spot of trouble with monoliths. How do you take these monsters down? Almost everything you can take for SM needs a 6 to glance. Lascannons do slightly better, with Lysander seeming to be the only guy who can reasonably do anything against them. Right now I'm running a melta/thunder hammer list with vulkan, but a single monolith can just laugh at anything I can throw at it.

Other than just ignoring it and going after their troops, is there anything you can do?

Just to make sure I have the rules right, they're AV14 all around with a rule that doesn't allow extra dice to be rolled for pen, right?

Thanks.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

tactical squads with lascannons, a good number of them (which is how many you'll have anyway surely) will easily take them down.

but of course the best tactic is just ignoring it, they don't do much damage in all honesty


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

Its only melta weapons who don't get that extra roll for penetration not everything. Lascannons are probably your best bet followed by TH's probably. Going after troops and forcing a faze out is what I would so do however. It is after all only one model.


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## dopey82 (Jul 8, 2008)

monoliths cost a fair amount of points so he is using allot of space for more warriors meaning his fase out number shouldnt be that high. also do you have and demolishers the strength 10 only needs 4 or better and it is great for killing regular necrons also.


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## Syko515 (Jan 22, 2008)

Ordinance blasts, chainfists, melta anything, monsterous critters none of these get bonus penitration dice. honstely a monolith isn't that bad to deal with. even though Chaos and Loyal marines are different in most respects this issue plagues us aswell. Lascannons en masse can do the trick, but its harder. i recommedn vindicator blasts as they, if they hit, have the easiest time pennitrating it even off 1 dice.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Ignore them, and go for the Phase Out. Heavy Destroyers are more of a threat to Space Marines en Mass, so there are going to be far less Necrons to kill. And 2 or 3 Str 10 Ap2 blasts a turn will leave a dent in Necrons numbers.


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## sooch (Nov 25, 2008)

Lysander. End of story. His close combat railgun, called the Fist of Dorn, is master crafted and is a pretty surefire way to take down a monolith.


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## darklove (May 7, 2008)

sooch said:


> Lysander. End of story. His close combat railgun, called the Fist of Dorn, is master crafted and is a pretty surefire way to take down a monolith.


is it S10?


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## Blue Liger (Apr 25, 2008)

Yes Lysnaders counts as S10


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## Someguy (Nov 19, 2007)

I think that part of the issue is how your army is set up. A monolith can be a bit problem for some types or marine army but not for others.

If you are focussing on shooting necrons with tactical marines, then the monolith is going to be problematic. It's going to repair his guys and kill yours. It's harder to ignore in this situation.

On the other hand, if you are charging into cc with land raiders and stuff, the monolith isn't so bad. If you can charge warrior squads, break them and chase them down (ok, a few "ifs" there) then the monolith can't do a lot about it.


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## Daneel2.0 (Jul 24, 2008)

Whether or not you should shoot the monolith depends on how your opponent is using it, and the forces that you are fielding. However, ignoring it is a universally bad idea. You may not want to shoot it, but don't discount it either.

As to taking it out, it does a REAL good job of making that a chore. Very few things keep their bonuses, but anything that is S8 AP1, S9 or S10 can get the job done. Your issue is volume of fire. Just look at your list and maximize the number of these shots that you can fire (or hit w/ in CC). Then in the game, analyze how big a threat the Monolith is presenting and above all DON'T PANIC if you see one (or two or three) of the things sitting on the table. 

Keep a cool head, judge their effectiveness for your opponent and then make a good tactical decision and you'll do fine


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

> Other than just ignoring it and going after their troops, is there anything you can do?


You ignore it and go after the troops, period. Monoliths are ridiculously hard now in 5th ed and are pretty much a waste of effort to go after. You are far better of trying to force a phase out.


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## Cato Sicarius (Feb 21, 2008)

Yeah, but if it DSs right in the middle of your army then it's Gauss Flux Arc will wipe out your squads, period. Bit of a hard decision when you take that into account isn't it guys?


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

Taking 1-2 Razorbacks with Twin Lascannons gives you a decent chance of popping it, and its not very expensive either!

Just keep them far far back. They shoot longer then anything in the Necron army so there is no need to be nearby, also thanks to the size of the Monolith its almost always visible. They will most likely hit each turn which will lead to results sooner or later


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## Saint7515 (Apr 30, 2008)

The only two problems a Monolith presents are:
The, "re-rolls to stand up, and exit from the door, ready to shoot"
The, "pull out of CC, and exit from the door, ready to shoot"

Both solved by getting some assault marines in front of the door and throwing Meltabombs at it until the cows come home. No 2D6, but still strength 8, and he can't use the door without his dudes dying in the process as they get slaughtered by the Rules Hammer as they exit.

If you can't spare the jumpers, then ignore and prioritize the targets as the Destroyers, Lords and the rest.


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## darklove (May 7, 2008)

There is a problem with that theory: the fact that the Monolith can turn around to let the Necrons out, or that the Necrons can make emergency disembarkation moves even if you are right infront of the portal.


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## Amra_the_lion (May 26, 2008)

I use a few razorbacks with twinlinked lascannons, in a 2000pt game I'd probably have another pair of twin linked las somewhere, landraider, dreadnought, and maybe another razorback. Tactical squads with lascannons are a waste, ten men and only one can shoot the vehicle with a chance at killing it. 

Twin-linked las are great against every army, even orks now they have that new model for the battlewagon. I try to take 1 for every 500pts I play


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## IamI1966 (Oct 12, 2008)

I always feild a predator anihalator, they kill monoliths if not with ease than at least with not mutch struggle. I killed three in three turns with a predator anihalator.


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## Syko515 (Jan 22, 2008)

now, i apologies in advance for Hi-jacking the thread a bit, but there is realavince. Someguy made mention of Necrons not being able to do much once in CC. attack wise true. i play agenst a necron player who uses the monolith to pull locked squads out of CC...is this legal?
I've never really questioned it until someguy's post made me think about it.


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## Ztrain (Oct 26, 2008)

Syko515 said:


> now, i apologies in advance for Hi-jacking the thread a bit, but there is realavince. Someguy made mention of Necrons not being able to do much once in CC. attack wise true. i play agenst a necron player who uses the monolith to pull locked squads out of CC...is this legal?
> I've never really questioned it until someguy's post made me think about it.


Yes if the unit is within teleport range of the monolith it can teleport one unit away throught the portal even if locked in CC. Even better sinse the hostile unit is not locked in cc with that unit anymore the teleported unit if in range and shoot right back in to them even.

Z


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## Someguy (Nov 19, 2007)

The thing to do is hit them hard in CC so they break, and run them down because they have a terrible initiative. They aren't an army that you can lock in cc.


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## SpacedGhost (Dec 16, 2008)

Those pesky Monoliths used to be a bit of a worry of mine too. I've been witnessesing the amazing phenomana in batreps lately though... I've been watching Dreadnoughts completely level Monoliths in CC. I was never really a big fan of dreadnoughts in the past especially since gauss flayers used to garauntee death to vehicles... But after witnessing countless mechanical fists punch holes in the floating doom pyramids like wet cardboard I've reversed my opinion.

There have already been some other great suggestions made and I'm not the first to bring up dreadnoughts. I just wanted to give a thumbs up to the lumbering metal giants I formerly neglected myself. I regret that my current army list doesn't run any. A drop pod dreadnought or one that can utilize cover long enough to get into CC is a glorious sight. There's always the option of loading them down with some heavy firepower too but that's another story altogether.


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## Pauly55 (Sep 16, 2008)

Lascannons have a very small chance of killing a monolith in 5th ed. Str 8 weapons, don't even bother. Chainfists don't work. Melta weapons don't work. Taking Lysander just so you have a counter for monoliths is ridiculous. So where does this leave us?

Dreadnoughts in CC, and Vindicators. You are almost guaranteed a hit with a vindicator, plus you DO get to roll 2 dice and choose the highest for penetration (I'm pretty sure) since it is an ordnance weapon. That gives you a 2/3 chance of a penetrating hit every round, which is damn good. 

Range monolith destruction = Vindicators
Melee monolith destruction = Dreads

statistically, there are no other options.


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