
Apocalypse has alot of new rules, and not everyone is as familiar with them as they are the main rulebook. There are also a number of different ways superheavies and gargantuan creatures interact with the existing rules.
Strength D vs GCs and eternal Warriors - it only causes 1 wound per hit. Many people assume it causes D3 due to the statement in the GC entry that weapons that would normally kill a model outright instead inflict D3 wounds. Sounds like StrD, right?
Well unfortunately the StrD entry specifically states that if a target is immune to instant death, StrD "inflicts one wound as normal". I have a feeling it was meant to be D3, but I could see them changing it to avoid one-shotting Ghaz and Marneus with a LSB.
Line of Sight - Obviously it is going to be hard to get cover saves, but remember that cover is determined from the firer. Most times a titan can easily see over terrain features and negate cover saves.
This is especially important to remember when firing big template weapons at large groups. The line of sight is measured from the titan's perspective, so often the shot won't be passing through another infantry unit, so no 4+ cover save for them. Similarly when firing at tightly packed vehicles they will need to be really close to count as obscured.
Firing order - All firing is done simultaneously, so a superheavy must declare what each of its weapons is shooting at before the first die is rolled or the tape measure touched. This can be frustrating as you may want nothing more than to turbolaser open their transports then bomb the cargo with your AML. Unfortunately it is not to be.
That said you only need to declare targets, not in which order weapons are fired. For example a Shadowsword could declare it is firing its two lascannons and volcanon cannon at a warhound (with one shield), and the heavy bolters at various infantry.
Fire the lascannons first, and hopefully take down the last shield, then follow up with the Str D on the hull. No point wasting the D on the shields first up as should the lascannons fail against those they wouldn't be damaging the hull anyway.
This does lead to the interesting conundrum of what happens when one weapon is yet to fire, but its target is destroyed? I am of the opinion that if it is a blast weapon (as most titan weapons are) that it should be resolved on the same spot as the previous attack. Attacks of the scale of titan weapons deserve to be played out. It is definately something worth discussing with your opponent though.
Superheavy and GC Tank Shock - Did you know a Heirodule can tank shock? Well it can. It can even tank shock non SH vehicles out of the way. I have no idea how this is supposed to work. With a SH on non-SH tank shock it could be a ram, or simply move the other vehicle out of the way (probably the best idea).
It also means that should a heirodule choose to tank shock through an infantry unit they could technically Death or Glory it - potentially usefull if it is low on wounds or you have some way of dealing D3 wounds to it (say it shocks Wraithguard or a Librarian). However unless it is killed it will not be 'imobilised' so the attacking model will be instantly slain.
I am of the personal opinion that SHs and GCs should simply move 'lesser' vehicles out of the way and infantry have the choice to Death or Glory regardless. Still, something worth a pre-game discussion.
Assaulting a Superheavy - requires a successful morale check, or the unit cannot assault. Not a big thing, but worth remembering just in case.
Harridans Aren't Fliers - They move 24", ignoring intervening terrain, but do not fly like a flying vehicle. Their Type does not contain the word flier - as a Thunderhawk is a Superheavy Flyer, and the Nightwing is a Flyer - the Harradin is a Gargantuan Creature. It can be targeted by blasts/templates and there is no range or 'to hit' modifier either.
Battlefield Assets are Destructable - Disruptor Beacon and the like all count as AV12 targets that can be destroyed, negating their advantage. A lot of people miss that (its in their sub-section's header text).
Dirty Tricks
Abusing Assets is by far the easiest way to make your superheavy a super-duper pain in the ass for your foe.
My favourite ones are Careful Planning to keep your titans off the board should you loose first turn. You want to be up the back anyway and there is no penalty for moving and shooting so there is no real downside.
Reinforcements from Reload is a bit over the top (4+ roll to bring a pre-nominated unit back from the dead that turn). I've used it on Igneus Angelus one time, and got the response that a unit is infantry only, and I can only make the roll once (I failed the first time). Both wrong, you can keep trying and the rulebook describes a unit as prettymuch a catch-all for vehicles, infantry and everything else. This was due to it being an Apocastrike game, and the Planetstrike asset for reinforcements being infantry only leading to confusion.
Flank March is dirty, especially when you bring a Stormlord filled with Death Company Furioso's or a Heirophant right into the enemy's back line. I've heard of alot of groups banning or restricting its use (can't come in 12" from an enemy unit for example).
Allies can be used to ruin your opponents day - the old Inquisitor and Mystic combined with a Titan will really make Deep Striking nearby a risk. If the allies rules are completely fast and loose take a Big Mek with Kustom Force Field to give your Titan a 4+ cover save (or stand it on a Skyshield platform).
Stompas suffer from a lack of force field (outside the Big Mek Stompa). The custom Stompa rules from White Dwarf don't have the option to take them either. Stompas can carry infantry, so take a Big Mek with KFF and sit him inside - instant 4+ save! Not proof against StrD as it ignores cover, but better than nothing.
A few things there to consider, some more useful than others. There are plenty more out there of course, but this is a good start I think.










