Saurus
Avak786
Active Member
- Messages
- 67
- Likes Received
- 143
- Trophy Points
- 33
After several games using them, I have come to the conclusion that Ripperdactyls are one of our strongest combat units in Age of Sigmar. Although definitely a glass cannon (5+ save, 3 wounds each) with the right combinations and piecing together of special rules (of which there are many for these unholy engines of destruction) they can be used in a variety of different battlefield roles to great effect.
TACTIC 1: Alpha Strike
Using this unit in conjunction with the skink patrol formation allows for a devastating turn 1 charge, capable of removing powerful units before the game has truly begun. So, in your first hero phase, place the blot toad within 6" of the unit you wish to attack "marking them" this is important as it greatly affects the weight of attacks that the rippers can bring to bear on the enemy. After your hero phase is done, bring the ripperdactyls in from reserves via the "Strike from the Skies" special rule from the battalion and place them 3" or as close as you can from the unit you wish to attack, then, after the movement for the rest of your army is complete, declare a "swooping dive" from the Ripperdactyls. Allowing them to re-roll to hit and wound rolls in the following phase. Don't forget to do this as it greatly affects the fighting ability of the Ripperdactyls in the following phase. In the shooting phase do not shoot the unit targeted by the Rippers as a canny opponent may take them off the facing closest to the rippers thus making the charge harder and possibly jeopardizing the strike. Obviously just charge the rippers in the charge phase, the chances of failing are pretty low (1 in 36 for a 3" charge) then on to the fun part: the combat phase. Leave the riders and claw attacks until after the attacks from the jaws. Because of the toad, each ripper gets 3 attacks hitting on 4+ with re-rolls because of the dive, making an extra attack for every attack that hits after the re-rolls, then those extra attacks roll to hit with re-rolls, this keeps going until you fail the re-roll of all your attacks thus not being able to generate any more attacks. In my experience this generates a hell of a lot of attacks which then in turn wound on a 2+ from "strike from the skies" with re-rolls from "swooping dive" almost all of the hits will wound leaving the enemy to take their armour saves. After the saves have been taken do the riders and claws. If there are no models from the target unit left and you are in range of another, use these to attack them, if there are still models in the target unit, finish them off with the claws and riders. Any survivors will probably be removed from the enemy taking battleshock tests.
TACTIC 2: Fear/Board denial
This doesn't require the skink patrol but, as always the patrol makes for a more effective method of dealing with enemy units that stray into the denial zone. Multiple Ripperdactyl units are also good in this case. This revolves around using the 6" bubble around the toad(s) to deny areas of the board to the enemy by placing them at either important strategic zones or on the maximum movement limits for powerful enemy units you wish to keep locked down, forcing the enemy player to either face the high possibility of having said unit wiped off of the table or waste turns outrunning the toads giving control of the game to you, the player with the ripperdactyls allowing you to pick apart the enemy army. This can be very useful in sudden death where board control for the smaller army is vital. Fear is also good with ripperdactyls, get your opponents to overreact to the fact that there are rippers and use that to control their setup. For instance: the enemy castles all their characters and elite units inside a blob of average infantry. Place toad in the centre of the blob and watch the army scatter or be ground to a halt as rippers kill a great deal of models and then ties up the whole blob in combat giving you an extra turn to maneuver and get further charges in.
I will try to update this, also any feedback and other tactics would be greatly appreciated so they can be added.
TACTIC 1: Alpha Strike
Using this unit in conjunction with the skink patrol formation allows for a devastating turn 1 charge, capable of removing powerful units before the game has truly begun. So, in your first hero phase, place the blot toad within 6" of the unit you wish to attack "marking them" this is important as it greatly affects the weight of attacks that the rippers can bring to bear on the enemy. After your hero phase is done, bring the ripperdactyls in from reserves via the "Strike from the Skies" special rule from the battalion and place them 3" or as close as you can from the unit you wish to attack, then, after the movement for the rest of your army is complete, declare a "swooping dive" from the Ripperdactyls. Allowing them to re-roll to hit and wound rolls in the following phase. Don't forget to do this as it greatly affects the fighting ability of the Ripperdactyls in the following phase. In the shooting phase do not shoot the unit targeted by the Rippers as a canny opponent may take them off the facing closest to the rippers thus making the charge harder and possibly jeopardizing the strike. Obviously just charge the rippers in the charge phase, the chances of failing are pretty low (1 in 36 for a 3" charge) then on to the fun part: the combat phase. Leave the riders and claw attacks until after the attacks from the jaws. Because of the toad, each ripper gets 3 attacks hitting on 4+ with re-rolls because of the dive, making an extra attack for every attack that hits after the re-rolls, then those extra attacks roll to hit with re-rolls, this keeps going until you fail the re-roll of all your attacks thus not being able to generate any more attacks. In my experience this generates a hell of a lot of attacks which then in turn wound on a 2+ from "strike from the skies" with re-rolls from "swooping dive" almost all of the hits will wound leaving the enemy to take their armour saves. After the saves have been taken do the riders and claws. If there are no models from the target unit left and you are in range of another, use these to attack them, if there are still models in the target unit, finish them off with the claws and riders. Any survivors will probably be removed from the enemy taking battleshock tests.
TACTIC 2: Fear/Board denial
This doesn't require the skink patrol but, as always the patrol makes for a more effective method of dealing with enemy units that stray into the denial zone. Multiple Ripperdactyl units are also good in this case. This revolves around using the 6" bubble around the toad(s) to deny areas of the board to the enemy by placing them at either important strategic zones or on the maximum movement limits for powerful enemy units you wish to keep locked down, forcing the enemy player to either face the high possibility of having said unit wiped off of the table or waste turns outrunning the toads giving control of the game to you, the player with the ripperdactyls allowing you to pick apart the enemy army. This can be very useful in sudden death where board control for the smaller army is vital. Fear is also good with ripperdactyls, get your opponents to overreact to the fact that there are rippers and use that to control their setup. For instance: the enemy castles all their characters and elite units inside a blob of average infantry. Place toad in the centre of the blob and watch the army scatter or be ground to a halt as rippers kill a great deal of models and then ties up the whole blob in combat giving you an extra turn to maneuver and get further charges in.
I will try to update this, also any feedback and other tactics would be greatly appreciated so they can be added.
With rerolls to wound and hit when you swoop down