# Best time to use orbital bombardment?



## TheUnmarked (May 19, 2008)

Personally I think the best time is right in the first turn to kill as many enemies as possible before they get a chance to contribute but I want to hear your thoughts. 
Remember its only one shot per game (unless you take 2 chapter masters I suppose)


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## godzy (Jun 5, 2008)

well, that is one way to think of it, and might be worth while in some missions- mostly kill point oriented. but if your after objectives, that last turn strike could be a game winner, getting an enemy off an objective deep in his deployment zone.
another use might be to soften up soothing before engaging it with other units- that 20 strong chaos marine or 10 strong clawed terminators will thin out enough to be charged successfully.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

the best time to use it is when your enemy forgets that you have a master and bunches up a group of men thinking he is safe from other blast weapons, first turn is too early, since most players deploy in a way that limits a blast weapons effectiveness


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## Daneel2.0 (Jul 24, 2008)

It all depends on what you face. If, for instance, you are about to be hit with a wave of Genestealers it might be nice to drop a bombardment on them to a) Force them to ground or b) kill enough of the wave to take the assault or c) kill so much that he can't assault this turn and you get another turn to shoot at him.

It is a tactical decision that can really only be made during the course of the game.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

It really depends on which army you're facing, I think. Against armies that vastly outnumber you like Orks or Tyrands it's probably a good idea to drop that orbital bombardment straight away. After all, the most important thing early game against armies like that is that you thin out the numbers of your enemy. Space Marines are superior to all other troops (with a few minor exceptions, truth be told) so if you can fight the enemy on a more or less even keel you'll be in a good spot.

Against other armies though, it can pay to wait for that perfect moment. Like others have suggested, looking for a time when the enemy has foolishly grouped together, or when you have a squad being rushed by more enemies than it can handle at once will behoove you.


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## Son of mortarion (Apr 24, 2008)

I would look for tactical advice regarding IG use of demo charges, as they have the same uses. After that, I would look at tacticas discussing the use of deep strike. both will give some good info on how to use that bad boy.


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## D3mon (Jul 31, 2008)

i personally think it is a great idea useing it in the first turn to thin out the numbers without the opponent knowing what to really do next, but its a bit risky because most people set up along the deployment line as close as possible whitch means that if u get slightly unlucky with the scatter it goin off the board and hitting nothing!!!....having said that on the flip side taking out virtually a whole sqaud first turn is definalty goin to dent the other players confidence slightly!!!i say go for it lmao xD !!!


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## Sanguinary Dan (Feb 2, 2008)

For me it's definitely a turn 1 weapon, particularly when it's a table quarters set-up. Since it scatters without any modifier for BS using it when you've closed with the enemy is asking for trouble. 

It's a cute little game opener with only a 33% of being on target. Drop it on your enemy's HQ or expensive Elite and maybe you'll get lucky. Save it in the hopes of it being a game winner and I think you're :crazy:


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## Damned Fist (Nov 2, 2007)

> For me it's definitely a turn 1 weapon, particularly when it's a table quarters set-up. Since it scatters without any modifier for BS using it when you've closed with the enemy is asking for trouble.


This was my though too. Since it always scatters 2D6 then if you wait a turn or 2 then you may end up being victimized by it!


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## Taggerung (Jun 5, 2008)

I just used it for the first time last night, and it was a dead on hit destroying a LR demolisher and about 6-8 guardsmen. So other than against objectives I don't see any reason to not use it on the first turn. Especially against horde armies.


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## Cole Deschain (Jun 14, 2008)

Either Turn one or turn 5-6..

After all, it scatters the full 2d6, so you don't want to pop it when your own guys are too close.

On the other hand, if your Master looks like he's in immediate peril of being swamped by Genestealers or the like, I could see him dropping it right on his own coordinates. :biggrin:


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## Captain Galus (Jan 2, 2008)

I'd use it on turn 1 to take out the enemy's long-range firepower (especially basilisks OMFG). I can't see myself ever dropping it on an enemy's HQ because that just seems...dishonorable :angry:. Unless it's another SM master, in which case he _kinda_ qualifies as long-range firepower lolz. :victory:


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## beenburned (May 15, 2008)

Last battle I fought was against an ork horde, but led by ghazkull and 4 mega-nobs. I dropped it on ghazkull and the mega nobs, since I'd messed up my list and the only other thing that could take them down with ease was my vindicator, which got blasted turn 2 by tankbustas. So in effect, what I'm saying is the best use is to fill in for your armies deficiencies. With it's stat line, it's good against everything, so just use it like a safety net.

On a side note, I think he had me on with those nobs but I can't be sure...are they immune to instant death, or is there an upgrade to give them it?


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## Cole Deschain (Jun 14, 2008)

...

Nobz can ALWAYS be instant deathed
Ghazkull can't


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## beenburned (May 15, 2008)

Cole Deschain said:


> ...
> 
> Nobz can ALWAYS be instant deathed
> Ghazkull can't


In that case I'm annoyed. Stupid cheating ork player.
Ah well, if he'd been playing to the rules it woulda been 4 meganobz down, and a wound off ghazkull (I managed to roll very well). A pretty effective use I'd have thought.


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## Morgal (Sep 26, 2007)

First turn unless he has to little on the board or is too spread out.

really, yes you could wait till turn 2 and those genestealers are on your doorstep....and risk missing and hitting nothing...or you could have killed them a turn ago and risked scattering and hitting something else...

the exception would be that the risk of scattering and hitting nothing is fairly high even first turn. in this case maybe wait till more htings are on the table.


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## Alex (Jan 19, 2008)

So far all the times this has been used against me in the third turn it could have turned the battle. Thankfully its either failed or scattered away from my troops options. I think its probably best to use it in a turn where the enemy has only a few troops left so they can't use them to their advantage. In my experience this is usually turn 4 or 5.


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## D3mon (Jul 31, 2008)

but thinking about it i rekon it is better to use it straight away because if your oponent knows u got it he is gonna probably try and take the chapter master down as soon as possible!!so u mite aswell use it while you have a chance!!!


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