Expensive but crazy. One thing is the not-so-unlikely bloodying of warlords during the deploy phase turn one, but imagine it as deterrent for the rest of the game. Good with To Arms! as well since it is non-loyal.

And it can't be stopped by Indomitable or Iron Halo. It also can't be targeted by the Devastators.

Time to load up on shields - good for Salaine, not so much for most other non-Ork/Worr players

Dirty Hands Kugath, low cost curve AM builds, conventional Ork with high HP decks....an all-star card that has potential to define a meta. Raises the middle finger against high command warlords. 5/5

I think this is a card you need to witness in action before you get it! I was playing Baharroth and got an amazing start in command phase, only to get wrecked by this thing

So the current counters to this are Squig Bombin, Death Korps Engineers, Clogged with Corpses and Subdual. Anything else?

Idon't know.. How to "play around it"? Not draw cards? Well that definately puts the player facing this support between a rock and a hard place. Is this just something that I need to shrug off because it will not see play in an competetive environment, or will this be something to watch out for? Man I'm just so messed up now getting beaten by this card few minutes ago..

This works well with Ammo Depot decks, since you can just empty your hand, trigger, then draw with the Depots. Half tempted to stick this in Worr ....

I wish this card was never made.

Lol why?

I wish this card was never made.

Lol why?

Sounds like somebody got Smash(a)ed.

I'm gonna use Smasha for both my Nazdreg and Coteaz decks. 

My main concern with this card (and the reason why I rated as a lowly 1/5 in my review) was, and still is, that it will be useless in a wide variety of matchups - in particular, against decks running Ammo Depots (most Worr builds).

Another significant concern is that Support hate is becoming more and more common, so if this actually ends up being dangerous it might get destroyed pretty quickly.

Finally, at 3 cost it's not cheap by any means and cannot be ditched as shields if you can't afford to play it or the situation for it isn't favourable.

It's a very good card to use against Eldar, since they tend to win lots of cards and like keeping them in a 'toolbox' style, and also because they lack support removal.

However, against most decks I see it being rather unimpactful - the possible combinations with Bad Dok and Enraged Ork are good, but I don't see them being worth taking this over the other options.

So maybe 1/5 did not reflect the fact that it can actually be helpful sometimes, unlike most other 1-rated cards, but I still think it won't make competitive decks (unless we see more synergy for it and/or a big meta shift).

It certainly feels like a card that you build a deck around rather than one that helps you do something you were already planning on doing with the deck in the first place.

I don't know if there is some sort of Ork indirect damage deck archetype out there waiting to be built, but this would be a part of it.

Runtherders, Bad Dok, and Enraged Ork all give you options for taking damage with benefit. Still need maybe one more card? Maybe we'll get an Unstoppable ork. Heretek Inventors are also fun for this, giving the best HP per resource ratio in the game, AFAIK.

My main concern with this card (and the reason why I rated as a lowly 1/5 in my review) was, and still is, that it will be useless in a wide variety of matchups - in particular, against decks running Ammo Depots (most Worr builds).

Another significant concern is that Support hate is becoming more and more common, so if this actually ends up being dangerous it might get destroyed pretty quickly.

Finally, at 3 cost it's not cheap by any means and cannot be ditched as shields if you can't afford to play it or the situation for it isn't favourable.

It's a very good card to use against Eldar, since they tend to win lots of cards and like keeping them in a 'toolbox' style, and also because they lack support removal.

However, against most decks I see it being rather unimpactful - the possible combinations with Bad Dok and Enraged Ork are good, but I don't see them being worth taking this over the other options.

So maybe 1/5 did not reflect the fact that it can actually be helpful sometimes, unlike most other 1-rated cards, but I still think it won't make competitive decks (unless we see more synergy for it and/or a big meta shift).

I still maintain that (if you are building a strategy around the smasha) you can focus your command on all the resources in a game, forcing them to keep their hand and draw their cards, and from there they are struggling to pay for their cards in hand and smasha remains viable.

My Nazdreg Smasha deck was 30/13 with this strategy.

My Nazdreg Smasha deck was 30/13 with this strategy.

How does that compare with your win rate with other decks? Are you usually about 70% win rate?

How does that compare with your win rate with other decks? Are you usually about 70% win rate?

Not sure, I go through phases of recording and not recording. 70% seems right but it's tough to put a stamp on it. The winrate is good on smasha considering its a completely new decktype, meaning it should have a low winrate during the testing period, but it stayed steady around 70% most the time, and some of those losses had more to do with me than the smasha.

(Santimantal Marine) Our chapter is still thinking what to do when the enemy opens with this card and we have no support-removal card in hand. "Drop Pods" may be an option but we are more inclined to make peace with Orks!

Deploy a Sanctioned Psyker. Or a Blood Angels Veterans.

Drop Pod is good for a couple of shields, but can't be used to counter this otherwise, as its a combat action, and this is a deploy action.

Deploy a Sanctioned Psyker. Or a Blood Angels Veterans.

 

 

We asked them all. Nobody wants to go first!

Mavros will be a good counter to decks using this as the unstoppable trait will prevent a good amount of damage.

Until they use To Arms! and also deploy a second one anyway!

You are right and wrong about this though. Unstoppable will stop some of the damage, but unstoppable buffs are once per round. So if your opponent burns all of his unstoppable procs in deployment, you are still coming out on a positive. 

Yeah, the Smasha is pretty ruthless and not even an Indomitable helps there. I'm not sure Mavros will be better suited to deal with a turn 1 Battery than other warlords, though of course the Marines do seem to have access to a wealth of two-shield cards, many of which might fit nicely into a Mavros setup otherwise, i.e. Primal Howl, the Black Sword, Drop Pod, Iron Halo, maybe even the Storm Bolter.

But the Smasha Gun - while being a gamble - is hard on everybody. Poor Urien with his eight-card starting hand..

You are right and wrong about this though. Unstoppable will stop some of the damage, but unstoppable buffs are once per round. So if your opponent burns all of his unstoppable procs in deployment, you are still coming out on a positive.

Since this card came out, it has been discussed as a turn 1 deploy. I think that is the wrong way to play it.

I treat this card in my deck construction like a 3-cost unit that I don't want to deploy on turn 1. I want to hold it until turn 2 or later and play my game until then with an eye toward being able to get the most advantage out of it when it hits the board. This means leaning more on resources than cards in command, if possible luring my opponent to get a lot of cards in hand. Ammo Depot is a must with Smasha Gun.

Holding the card until later also means I get some of my other supports out (Ork Kannon, Depot, Sig Support) earlier that might bait out support destruction.

Just my two cents on the card, which I play in one of my versions of Zogwort.

that sounds like a much more "balanced" type of play for the card. The reason people talk about turn 1 is to maximize the damage from the card. Since the amount of damage depends on how often you activate it (how early in the game) and how many cards are in the opponents hand (which trends down for 90% of decks as the game goes on), earlier was better. using it the way you describe, just makes it a value support card instead of  a strategy. 

that sounds like a much more "balanced" type of play for the card. The reason people talk about turn 1 is to maximize the damage from the card. Since the amount of damage depends on how often you activate it (how early in the game) and how many cards are in the opponents hand (which trends down for 90% of decks as the game goes on), earlier was better. using it the way you describe, just makes it a value support card instead of  a strategy. 

Good point and analysis. Thanks.

Delaying its deployment a little seems a good way to really stick it to an Ominous Wind player though, especially if you then deploy two of them