Sea Dog Deck Gun

No less devastating on land than at sea, Deck Gun Crews add a deadly punch to armies. Whether obliterating tightly packed formations or singling lone targets, Deck Guns provide Sea Dogs with the fire power to breach heavy defences or sweep aside waves of enemies in the field.

Basic Info

Mercenary - This unit will work for Template:Crucible Guard mercenary, Template:Cryx Mercenary, Template:Cygnar Mercenary, Template:Khador Mercenary, or Template:Menoth Mercenary.

Abilities

• Both models
  • Template:Advance Deployment
  • Template:Tough
  • Template:Reposition 3

• Gunner only
  • Template:Man-Sized
  • Template:Mobile Artillery
  • Template:Take Up

Weapons

• Gunner
  • Deck Gun - 12" range, 3" AOE, POW 13 ranged attack
  • Hand Weapon - 0.5" reach, POW 3, P+S 8 melee attack

• Grunt
  • Hand Weapon

Theme Forces

• Mercenaries
  • Template:Operating Theatre (Only if a Cephalyx Dominator is attached)
  • Template:The Talion Charter

• Other Factions
  • Infernal players can use this unit in the Template:Hearts of Darkness theme, but only if Crosse2 is leading the army.
  • Furthermore, Mercenaries can be hired by other Factions. Normally those Factions' themes will have a limit on how many models they can hire. Refer to #Other Theme Forces, below.

Thoughts on Sea Dog Deck Gun

Sea Dog Deck Gun in a Nutshell

In a nutshell? It's a cannon, and it does what a cannon does. However it's not accurate, powerful, nor fast.

In The Talion Charter theme you can get two Deck Guns as a single freebie. That makes their "effective cost" 4 points, ie 1 point per model. (The logic being that the effective cost of a free model is the cost of the most expensive model you didn't get for free). One point per model for cheap and expendable models to contest, block charges, or even claim zones - it's not a terrible deal on paper. Despite this, the other Requistion options are often more preferrable - even at a two-for-one deal they're a very tough sell.

Combos & Synergies

• Non-casters
  • Lord Rockbottom can give the deck gun coins to make it harder hitting. He should always have a better target for his coins than this thing, though.
  • Master Gunner Dougal Macnaille gives it extra range for a turn
  • Aiyana & Holt - moderately long ranged guns really work well with ranged ARM debuffs.

• Casters
  • Captain Phinneus Shae makes it move faster
  • Fiona the Black - a ranged ARM debuff, and if she can't get back arc channeling and her cultists aren't in range the crewman is an incredibly cheap model to sacrifice to channel through.
  • Rahera - can help protect them from ranged threats and the Aoe shot is more likely to trigger Black Spot additionally this models benefits from her feat when the other better artillery option (commodore cannon) does not.

Drawbacks & Downsides

• It's an upgraded "Hand Cannon" placed on a large base at RAT 5. Unlike other weapon crews, it doesn't do anything unusual.

Tricks & Tips

• If you're going to use them, use them as a two-for-one Requistion option (and even that isn't recommended, as mentioned above). You should never pay their real points cost (3 points for a single Deck Gun) - you're probably better off spending those 3 points on Bloody Bradigan.

Other

Trivia

Released in Forces of Warmachine: Pirates of the Broken Coast (2007)