Unplayable Trash: Long Gunner Infantry

Back in Mk2, I had one game where a gun line made of 7 gun mages, 6 long gunners, and the Black 13th absolutely trashed a Cryx dudeswarm of mechanithralls and banes. But in Mk3, the long gunners are considered unplayable trash. I'd like to take a moment today to consider why. Are the long gunners really unplayable? And if so, what would it take to get them to the table?




So in a nutshell, what have we got with long gunners? Either 6 or 10 range 14, POW10 guns with RAT5. If they aim, which they should pretty much always be doing, this goes to either 12 or 20 range 14, POW 10 guns with RAT 7, or if you double up using CRA you get 6 or 10 shots at range 14, POW12 with RAT 9. That's some good flexibility and good range. So why is it that long gunners are considered unplayable trash?

First off, anything that attacks a long gunner will kill a long gunner. If a field mechanic attacks, the long gunner will die. If any kind of AoE lands nearby, three long gunners will die. 12/12 is the most victimy of victim stats. They're like a mortar crew: their primary defense is range.

They cost 11 points for a min unit of six or 18 points for a max unit of ten. That's 1.83 points per model with the min unit or 1.8 points per model with the max. At a cost of 11 points for six long gunners, they cost a point more than trenchers, and the same as gun mages. The gun mages have better defense, gunfighter, and shot types - one of which gives them range equal to the long gunners. And the trenchers have smoke as well as CRA, just not the range.

In terms of laying out a CRA for a potential assassination, a unit of ten long gunners can deliver a single POW20 CRA to a target 20" away, or 24" inches away with snipe. They can deliver two POW20 CRAs to a target within 14", or 18" with snipe. Two POW20s will nearly kill a caster, no matter how much they're camping. But every one of those long gunners has got to start its activation in range. And when you're dealing with ten models, getting in each others' way, all trying to get line of sight, it can be a pain. If only they had practiced maneuvers and could see and move through each other.

Officer and Standard

So we add the command attachment. Now, instead of paying 11 or 18, we're paying 15 or 22 points. That's a hefty investment for two models, one of which I'd say is entirely worthless. In my mind, the command attachment isn't two points per model. It's 3 points for the officer and 1 for the worthless standard.

So aside from two models, what are we getting? Practiced maneuvers is useful, but probably the least useful of the three. The command attachment also grants Trained Fire, which gives the long gunners an additional die when firing from within 8 inches. That's a good ability. Suddenly those POW10 shots are boosted POW10s and have gone from doing nothing to an ARM18 heavy to doing 2.5 per shot. When you consider that you're talking about potentially 20 shots, that adds up to fifty boxes, meaning it can wreck a heavy with ease. The primary issue with that is that you've gotten within 8 inches of the front and the long gunners will probably die next turn. Unless it was a 22 point heavy, you're trading down. Thankfully, you've got the long gunners' minifeat: Flawless Maneuvers. This lets them reposition 5 inches back. Now they're ending the turn 13" back from whichever target they've just melted. Not too bad. It's too bad that they can only do this once.

Final Assessment

I believe the biggest reason long gunners have fallen out of favor is due to the current meta. Back in the Mk2 InfantryMachine days, having twenty Range 14 RAT7 POW10 attacks would be good. Today, they just tend not to crack armor. As the meta shifts away from jack bricks, we may see long gunners make a comeback. The CRA and Dual Shot makes them very flexible.

But with RAT5, they can struggle to hit higher defense targets. They rely on aiming and CRA for accuracy. Which reduces their mobility and shot volume respectively. There are a lot of tradeoffs. While the option for that flexibility is useful, is the entire package enough to be worth it?

To me, the Trained Fire ability from the command attachment is the only thing that might make them worth fielding. So for the moment, I'd say that the best package is the whole 22 point bundle. It's pricy because it's so incredibly flexible. The irony is that while the unit will get better as a more infantry-heavy meta emerges, they are themselves vulnerable to the anti-infantry tools that will become more prevalent in that type of environment. So even though they seem overpriced, maybe give the old long gunners a try. Just try not to lose the entire 22-point unit to one activation from Herne and Jonne.