The Kochi 20th Light InfantryBack on the 21st August 2008, I posted my army list for the Kochi 20th. Since then many things have changed. Although this list was written for 5th edition rules, it was operating in the old codex and some very weird circumstances.
At that time I mostly played against my brother's Eldar as I hadn't started my Tyranid or Tau armies. The Kochi were subsequently a very light infantry force with lots of emphasis on old-codex gizmos like the plasma'd command squad, Nork Deddog and my Irregular 'veteran' squads.
Check out the full article here, for a step down memory lane.
Long live the Kochi 20th.... in retirement.
First, a quick detour - into the Storage Isle
Up until recently I had my 'little men' (as the other half calls them) on display on a small (10' by 8'), high, wall mounted rack. As long ago as July, this paltry display/storage area proved needy. As such, with a small winfall, I've gone out to the infernal swedish flatpack furniture people and bought funky modular storage options for my home office. This now means that as well as having a marvelously organised workspace, I could seruptiously upgrade the 'little men' storage.
The solution ... BESTA opaque glass fronted draws! While they don't 'show-off' my men, they do keep them very safe and dust free. The storage run at about 2000-2500pts per draw and make sorting/organising very easy.
See below.
Ahhhh ... so subtle! The besta draws look professional - but who wants to put staplers in these when you can put...
The Tyranid Draw: (A carnifex, 2 zoanthropes, 30+ gaunts, 2 warriors and 10 gargoyles in the 'to do section' downstairs ... lots of unpainted - a project for January? And next...
The Tau Draw: 2 more broadsides, 12 Fire warriors, 2 skyrays/hammerheads and six gundrones from completion. And finally...
The Guard Draw: 24 models downstairs in the 'built but not painted' and one Chug (in its box). And....
The Tank draw: Only one more Chug for here ... and then there's the repainting. My tanks have gone through the biggest painting 'revolution' from my very obvious Leman Russ things have got dirtier and more realistic.The KOCHI VIII - Mechanised Infantry
The new list is based around the Kochi VIII. Just like Admiral Drax, 5th Edition and the new 'heavy weapon teams' rules meant the end of light infantry platoons as their combination of a lack of maneurvability and armour meant they would be rolled by other armies.
I could also afford to invest much more heavily in the Kochi. And therefore the Kochi 8th Mechanised Infantry was born.
The focus is much more on blitzkrieg 'combined arms' tactics... hitting them with everything from the back line (in my case mortars and Basilisk) while the Chimeras, Hellhounds and Leman Russ Battle Tanks make a bee line to engage.Like before, My army would be comprised of the Kochi Regulars and the Kochi Irregulars. The Regulars have the job of forming a strong firebase while the Irregulars mount up and take the battle to the enemy.
Kochi VIII Army List
Irregulars: These form the 'aggressive' end of the Kochi line, based around a mech list of 4 chugs and their various contents!
Commander with powerfist, Nork Deddog, meltagun, regimental standard, medic and a heavy flamer in Chimera
Commissar Yarrick
Veteran Squad #1: melta gun and 2 plasma guns in Chimera, Powerfist and plasma pistol
Veteran Squad #3: Harker with 3 Grenade Launchers, Demolitions
Nark Muldoon (Sly Marbo)
Ogryn Squad (6) in Chimera
Storm trooper Squad (6) with Plasma and Meltagun
Storm trooper Squad (6) with Flamer and Grenade Launcher
Regulars
Easy Platoon: Power Weapon, plasma pistol, 4 Grenade Launchers in Chimera
Squad #1: Flamer, power weapon, Commissar with power weapon
Squad #2: Flamer
Squad #3: Grenade Launcher
Special Weapons Team with meltagun, 2 flamers
Mortar Team #1
Mortar Team #2
Mortar Team #3
Mortar Team #4
Mortar Team #5
Fox Platoon: Command with power weapon, Heavy flamer, flamer, meltagun and medic in Chimera.
Squad #1: Grenade Launcher, Missile Launcher
Squad #1: Grenade Launcher, Missile Launcher
Lascannon Team
Autocannon Team
Heavy Bolter Team
Missile Launcher Team
Techpriest Enginseer and 4 Servitors (servo-arms)
Veteran Squad #2: 3 plasma guns
Ratling Snipers x 9
Fast Attack
5 Roughriders (Sergeant has a power weapon)
5 Roughriders (led by Kef Hulia, mounted Commissariat)
3 Scout Sentinels, Heavy Flamer, 2 Lascannon
2 Hellhounds with Inferno Cannon and Heavy flamers.
Armour
Leman Russ Battle Tank: 3 Heavy Bolters
Leman Russ Battle Tank: Lascannon
Leman Russ Demolisher, Heavy Bolters, lascannon
Artillery
Basilisk, Heavy Flamer
*****
Synopsis: As you can see from above, I can still field a lot of heavy weapons teams, but the major focus for this is fielding primerily Mortars, followed by Lascannons. I've a preference for forcing the enemy to weather or 'deal' with the Mortar teams. Any 'specials' sent to deal with them generally get counterattacked by the roughriders, 55pts for 11 S5 I5 attacks on a 'throw-away' unit in the backfield is awesome!
As I've detailed elsewhere the 48" ability of mortars to 'fire and forget (about me)' leads to frustrated opponents, awesome damage and they can hold objectives too!
The combination of the three tank types ... the Russ variants, the Hellhounds and the Chimeras is remarkably potent. There's very little in every army that doesn't fear at least some of these weapons, plus the new hellhound is a peach model - a must buy!
Finally there are the also ran ... although I love my Ogryn and Stormtroopers, I struggle to field them. Ogyrns are great, but they are hideously expensive in the new codex. Stormtroopers have great options, but I'd rather take Marbo as a throwaway deepstriker ... he's more likely to get the job done. Likewise I'd rather have 9 roughriders defending the backfield than a bunch of ratlings, so they usually stay on the shelf.
The new codex has crafter my army ... it's very much mech orientated now, with good combined arms tactics (ordinance/mortar fire preempting a heavy flamer crunch). While against 3+ armoured models I prefer to take normal guys and non plasma. The simple reason - I just like whittling them down with lots of lasguns ... plus the 'roll a 1 or 2' dance does help! I'm just not a fan of meltaguns - I take a few ...usually spread out if I'm playing defensively.
Usually the army starts focused around one platoon with at least 3 chugs and 2 mortar teams. It then spreads from there, usually buying a hellhound first and then another antitank option. I'm not actually very into 'anti-tank' in general as I generally find that games are won (and lost) by models. As such I field enough s6-s8 shots to flatten transports and then the rest is mainly anti-MEQ or anti-GEQ...
The future of the Kochi
Apart from perhaps buying a few character models (like the Primaris Psyker or Straken, who both rock as models and characters) I'm pretty repleat. I'm not inclined toward Battle Psyker Choirs (although the warhammer 'flaggelant' conversion may entice me) and I've got nearly everything.
The only thing I would consider is 'griffons'. S6 AP4 reroll to hit ... hohum. 75pts - yes please! But I'd definitely need three - boo!
Something tells me that when January comes I need to save my pennies for the new Tyranid codex and spanking monster toys... good job I'm a Capricorn!
Next up: the tanks ...
