I have been assembling my epic forces for quite a while now largely based on the advice of others, something that I realised is that nobody recommends the reaver titan... not being very experienced with the game, I assume it's because it's something of a 'nowhere' choice? it's not as big and tough as a warlord, nor is it as fast an agile as a warhound..... is this a good (if overly simplified) approximation?

As someone who is kicking himself for not ordering the Tau when they were available (had my shopping basket full and nearly paid but had a change of heart at the last minute....) I'm wondering if grabbing the forgeworld reaver before it goes the way of the Tau is a sensible idea, or would it just sit gathering dust most of the time?

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Just some guy

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Warhounds are the most commonly taken Imperial titan by far but a Reaver is a decent option actually and generally considered more competitive than a Warlord (which just eats up too many points while not being as killy as a Warlock or Great Gargant). I wouldn't rush out and buy that reaver (it's an old and pretty ugly model - I normally love FWs models and use them where possible, but I rate the design of the metal reaver we've had since the 80s higher) - and I doubt any of the currently available FW epic is likely to disappear - it's been as it is for ages and they're very slowly working on adding a few more models back.

Shame about the FW Tau no longer being available, though I've had and sold nearly all mine and the models are horrendously fragile. How you do you feel about proxy models? So long as you don't game with them in a GW store there are some excellent high quality proxy model options available for all the models you mention in your post, which I can point you in the direction of if you'd like to know more.

I like using Reavers. They're harder too kill than Warhounds and don't soak up as many points as Warlords, allowing you take at least one more formation.

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"I don't believe in destiny or the guiding hand of fate." N. Peart

I would echo most of Glyn's assessment of the Reaver: better option than a warlord because of the points cost, but rarer than warhounds. Think of it this way: if you're thinking of taking a leman russ coy., a reaver is also an option as it's the same points, but has voids, is fearless, has better initiative, etc.

As for the aesthetics, I greatly prefer the luscious-pattern, which the current version of the warlord is - if you like the look of that pattern AND want all your titan to 'fit' together, I would recommend getting the FW reaver. It has it's faults, but I like the FW model much better than the SG one. However, if you don't care, or like the mars pattern better, it's probably easier to find an old warlord and mars-pattern warhounds than reliably find luscious pattern warhounds. If you decide on FW, definitely call them, as the default email answer to "do you have warhounds" seems to be "no", and when folks call they oftentimes have some laying around somewhere.

EDIT: and no matter what Dwarf Supreme says, he LOVES the luscious pattern. it's his favorite. I think he took a hammer to his mars pattern titans a few days ago when he saw the light

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Let us playtest like the Greeks of old... You know the ones I mean

Luscious-pattern? You've been working on the Emporor's children too long. Lucius-pattern, like the Eternal.

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SG

Ghost's Paint Blog, where everything goes that isn't something else.

[sarcasm] Ha ha, you are soooo funny! [/sarcasm]

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"I don't believe in destiny or the guiding hand of fate." N. Peart

well I think I'm sold! I much prefer the FW to the SG model myself and it saves a few quid so I think I will be getting a couple

@GlynG I'm very interested in proxies if you want to point me in the right direction?

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Having a Reaver AND a Warhound working together is a reasonably competitive layout within the 3K tournament lists. However you do need to build your army and strategy around the use of the titans - so some AA capability is usually vital, as well as deep strike capabilities to counter any threats to the titans