Warhammer 40k Excellence: White Scars, Kroot Renegades, and Commissions

I have played Grey Knights every since they released their codex back in 2001 under third edition and I have always loved their style of play, the models, the fluff, and their performance on the table top. However going through two complete changes of editions to the rules, the codex simply can’t complete give the prevalence of armor and hardcore units that now exist. Mind you I still have excellent games and when they do pull off a victory it is something to brag about for several weeks, but I should not have to fear for my life depending on what army is being played across from when, because I have such an outdated codex.

Thankfully the interwebs have been full of rumors and speculations of Grey knight and how they will be released soon and with new models (not like I need any more) and it got me thinking, what do Grey Knights need to become competitive?

My first observation is that even against daemons and chaos, they are awful. They can be easily overwhelmed and with the massive amounts of rending, power weapons, and monstrous creatures their just isn’t enough to put the list down effectively. Against chaos marines, everyone has a 3+ save of better…. so since every weapon in the grey knight codex has an AP higher then 3+ they always get a gave… not cool.

Secondly, Grey knights are the best of the best and yet they die like normal marines. Thirdly, everyone is supposed to be a psyker and only hq choices can take psychic powers, only which one or two is decent. Finally they get out assaulted all of the time, because dedicated assault units go faster, hit harder, and generally have more survivability then my poor grey knights and they die over and over. Its quite sad really.

So with all of this being stated and more just general stat and fluff complaints, I have compiled a list of needed improvements or options for grey knights which would make them worth while against all armies.

Overall: Army special rules, Fearless, Teleport (everyone has the option of deepstrike), Daemonbane (ignore eternal warrior on chaos/daemon models), Counter Attack, 4+ save against psychic powers, Shrouding (when targeting grey knights, treat it as night fight)

Psycannons should either be upgraded to rending or ap3 and kept at 20 points. Grey Knights need guns which can punch through armor. I am a big fan of the dual move or stay still options of these guns.

Incinerators should be upgraded to rending or wound anything on a 3+. Make it poisonous and it will be an amazing flamer again.

Nemesis Force Weapons
Grand Master – +2 to strength, Force weapon which ignores eternal warrior, can be used multiple times in combat
Brother Captain – +2 to strength, Force weapon which ignores eternal warrior
Librarian – +2 to strength, Force weapon regular
Chaplain – +2 to Strength, power weapon
Terminators – +2 to Strength, power weapon
Justicar – +2 to strength, power weapon
Grey Knights – +2 to strength

HQ

Grandmaster

HE should be hands down the best marine type character in the game, so his stats should reflect that. WS 7 BS 5 S5 T5 I6 A4 LD10 Sv 2+/4+ He should have eternal warrior and have feel no pain. He should remain 0-1 because of his rarity. Wargear wise, a nemesis force weapon and storm bolter as standard they force weapon should be able to cause instant death to anyone ignoring eternal warrior and it would be nice if each wound causes a check- similar to typhus. They should have access to other wargear, such as a psycannon, incinerator, working daemon, and a storm shield along with anti-daemon options, but going overboard isn’t needed here. Psychic power wise, hammerhand and would be useful as it would be double strength making it s10 which would solve armor killing somewhat. As far as other psychic powers, I’d rather see them used elsewhere… Finally he should be expensive because he is nasty.

Grey Knight Chaplain

In all of the Grey Knight Fluff, their are chaplains. So why not put them into the codex? Give them stat boosts over the marine versions and when they lead a squad, besides re-rolling misses on the charge, give them another ability such as feel no pain. He should have options for terminator armor and come with a nemesis force weapon, which doesn’t cause instant death.

Grey Knight Librarian

This is where psychic powers should be focused. The librarian, along with a stat change, should have access to all sorts of psychic powers and be akin to mephiston in being able to cast multiple powers to boost his stats and make him one of the best psykers in the game. Some powers that come to mind are the old fear the darkness, living lighting, blood lance etc etc

Grey knight Apothecary Character

This could be a good way of adding feel no pain/furious charge into your squads, but its not overly needed.

Insert a few special characters and there are your hq selections. I wouldn’t mind a character who make terminators troop choices or even just one squad a troop choice similar to ork warbosses. Just so you can represent a very elite daemon killing party.

Elites

Grey Knight Dreds should be elite choices. They should have access to drop pods and they should have a ton of options to choose from. I wouldn’t mind seeing all the drednought choices mixed together for some converting and optimization greatness here. Ironclad weapons on a lascannon toting dreadnought… could be sweet.

Librarian/Chaplain Drednoughts… could be interesting but not really needed.

Terminators

This is the unit which makes grey knights amazing, so they should still be amazing in the new codex. The only thing I would like to see is improved toughness (5), weaponskill (6), and if it is not overkill improved initiative (5). Now a little bit of wish listing here but maybe a feel no pain character upgrade here, or a set of rule similar to the imperial guard psyker battle squad where depending on the number of terminators in the squad they drop leadership by X or a large blast strength X attack. Finally I would like to see a veil of darkness kind of rule where they can teleport across the battle where they are needed to counter the most serious of threats. Psycannon and incinerator options stay at 2 in a squad, but an assault 1 multi-melta type weapon for popping tanks would be great.

Assassins

They still belong, so keep them! Just make them cheaper

Inquisitors

Now I hate inquisitors as they are now, but I have no idea how to improve them… I wouldn’t mind seeing them dropped completely. But if they are kept, the Inquisitor should be able to kill a marine in combat and not be a sissy and die when breathed on.

Troops

Grey Knights

Grey Knights as a troop choice are still an awesome unit, however they need some improvements to bring them in line. Foremost… drop true grit and give them one more base attack. Drop the points to 18-20 and they would be great just like that. But since this is what I would like to see done I wouldn’t mind a higher initiative (5) or maybe artificer armor. A 5+ invulnerable save across the board would be nice. A anti-tank special weapon which is assault oriented would be awesome. I think the justicar should have a special rule similar to psyker battle squads but make it a range 36in assault 1 strength x ap 2 shot where x is the number of knights left in the squad. This could prove as a useful anti-tank device.

Inquisitorial Stormtroopers

They can provide some rhinos and cheap scoring units to offset everything being so expensive. However I would not mind them having options of a Valkyrie or a Vendetta!

Fast Attack: These options need to solve the mobility issue which Grey Knights definitely have

Storm Raven

In there fluff they fly around in them, so why not have them in the game?

Grey Knight Jet Bikes

All the awesomeness of Grey knights… on jet bikes. Limit the squad size to 6, twin linked storm bolters with the option of mounting psycannons and this squad is in business.

Teleporting Grey Knights

Same rules as regular grey knights, but with a veil of darkness kind of rule

Heavy Support

Dreadnoughts could be located here in addition to elite choices

Land raiders

I would like the rules to be brought to the same standard as regular marine raiders but with psycannon and incinerator weapon options. Possibly a blessed rule which allows either a cover save to always be made or a re-roll on the damage chart. Either way they should be more survivable.

Purgation squads

Just like the regular grey knights, but with more weapons. An anti-tank weapon would be amazing right here

So these are most of my thoughts… I hope I didn’t go too overboard with the rules adjustments. I honestly think they grey knights would really benefit from having more awesome rules and staying as an elitist elite army. It should definitely be set up where quality is much better then quantity. So I guess we will wait and see what comes around…

I wrote this piece for a new White Scars blog on Blogger and I figured that I would share it with all of you!

This discussion has lead to many heated debates amongst friends and forum goers about which character is better. So the goal of this is to provide the facts and help in your decision!

So whats the big deal?

Well assuming you haven’t read the space marine codex or are familiar with White Scars… The main strength of a White Scars army is the ability to take a ton of bikes and to make the good majority of those bikes scoring units by taking them as troop choices. The only way this goal can be accomplished is by selecting either a Captain or Kor’sorro Khan and mounting him on a bike. This allows all Space Marine Bike Squadrons above 5 models to be taken as a troop choice. However this is where the debate lies, as the Captain and Khan have two very distinct advantages and disadvantages then can radically change the way a biker list is written and played. So having the proper character is a very important decision which is not to be taken lightly.

So who is better?

Truly no character is “better” then the other, despite every one’s opinion. They are both radically different and suit completely different play styles. Stat wise they are the same, equipment and rule wise, they vary greatly, but each is suited to how they play which determines their usefulness. One is better against certain armies, where as the other is better suited against others.

So how do I decide?

Realistically it boils down to what the rest of your army consists of and how many points you have available for a game. But if you a looking to build your army around the character, which would be the smart thing to do, then the only way to figure this out is by analyzing each characters traits.

The Khan

Pros:

* Grants anyone who has access to combat tactics and dedicated transports the ability to outflank. This ability is great as it allows for loads of outflanking multi-meltas and opens up deployment options to cater how you play against what opponent you are facing. This is very useful for using bike’s superior mobility for boxing in units and annihilating them.
* Grants any squad he joins Furious Charge and Hit and Run. These abilities teamed up with a hardcore assault squad, such as a command squad on bikes or terminators increases their effectiveness tremendously.
* Has a weapon which can cause instant death. This is very useful for killing other characters before they swing on the charge.
* His mount, Moondrakken, gives the Khan Fleet. Not the coolest ability… but having access to the only fleeting bike in the game is awesome. I have used this ability before to catch up to running squads and it works.

Cons:

* Expensive! Compared to a standard Captain on bike he is 40 more points. Now not a huge difference, but in games smaller then 1500 points, that is a lot of points. I usually recommend in smaller games to avoid the khan.
* He only has a strength 4 power weapon. Even though it can cause instant death to anyone on a 6 to wound, if the Khan is in a prolonged combat amongst multiple enemies this can be a bad thing.
* The loss of combat tactics. In order to outflank, you give up combat tactics. Combat Tactics is an essential rule if you are playing defensively.
* There is no model for him. Though this isn’t a big deal, it would be nice to have a bike mounted version of the khan instead of converting one, but it does pave the way for some cool conversions.

Overall:

The Khan is typically a better option if you are building you army to be very aggressive with assault elements, typically Terminators or a Biker Command Squad. Outflanking is awesome for melta weapons and allows plenty of side armor shots besides the other benefits of multiple deployment options. Playing defensively with this character is quite frankly a bad idea and will lead to losses.

The Captain

Typically a sufficient bike mounted captain is more efficient the cheaper he is. Spending more points on him then necessary often leads to disappointment. The standard build for a captain is:

Captain
Bike and Relic Blade –165

Pros:

* Cheap* This all depends on the wargear and what you want him to be tasked with doing
* With that being said, the captain has access to tons of wargear and weapon options. Artificer armor, digital weapons, storm shields, lightning claws… the list goes on. This opens up loads of conversion opportunities.
* He is the most desirable choice for small games due to his low points and lack of deadly assault units.
* Being armed with a relic blade, the captain is actually better in assault against high toughness enemies.
* Combat Tactics. If you take a captain you get to keep this rule. This rule has been likened to a virtual “hit and run” in the shooting phase and is very great to preserving units by forcing them to fail leadership tests.

Cons:

* Tones down the effectiveness of a command squad. Without having furious charge and hit and run, the command squad becomes more vulnerable to prolonged assaults. This is not a good things
* With that being said, I would argue that if he is apart of a command squad, that it is more expensive then an effective one run with the khan since you will have to purchase more powerfists and stormshields to keep your squad alive and to make up for the lack of not being able to go first. Conversely however, this unit will suit the captain in hunting monstrous creatures.
* Not being able to outflank means that there is a loss of deployment options. Having the flexibility to deploy your army is essential for winning. It can be argued that turbo boost makes up for this, but I find the fear of outflanking bike squads far out weighs being able to move fast thanks to turbo boost.

Overall:

The Captain is best suited for a defensive list which has an emphasis of staying out of assault and relying on shooting. Bikes can bring a lot of firepower to bare, but the ability to assault after shooting those weapons has saved me numerous times. I definitely suggest the captain for low points games as outflanking isn’t as necessary due to smaller tables (typically) and the points need to be invested into troop units.

Now What?

In order to figure out which one suits you, first you must determine the points level of your game. Secondly, do you enjoy playing defensively or aggressively. Thirdly, are you planning on running dedicated assault squads? Finally, what have been your personal experiences with each character before this game. With all of this in mind you can finally choose what character best suits you! So go out and win one for the Scars!!!

I just wanted to report back from the tournament I played in on Saturday. I played three games at 2000 points using the White Scars army posted a few days ago. There were a total of 12 players including a ton of marine players chaos and imperial, imperial guard, eldar, and orks. On a starting note… my camera died before I even took my first picture so I wasn’t too happy about that.

First round I played against Mark’s Blood Angels which I think looks like this…

Mephistion
6 assault terminators with 4x lighting claws and 2x thunder hammers
10 assault marines with jump packs 2x plasma pistols, and a powerfist
10 assault marines with 2x melta guns, a power fist, and a drop pod
10 scouts with close combat weapons and a sergeant with powerfist and combi-melta
10 death company with a powerfist and a rhino
10 man devestator squad with 4x missile launchers, a powerfist, and a rhino
10 man devestator squad with 4x missile launchers, a powerfist, and a rhino

The mission was dawn of war and seize ground with 3 objectives

Surprisingly this was a really close battle. I state that because he didn’t have that much in the way of firepower. However, my multi-meltas kept missing, so I couldn’t blow up his transports. Some of the highlights were that mephiston slaughtered a whole bike squad by himself and went to kill the khan before he even swung… but in that same close combat phase, my lightning claw veteran hit and wounded all three times and cut his head off! At the end of the battle, all I had were the 4 veterans in the command squad, 5 bikes in a troop squad and a single speeder, but that troop bike squad was able to capture two objectives and I managed to win a minor victory.

The vindicators really did not do anything because my opponent kept everything spread out and they died by turn 3 but the speeders did ok. They won me the game because they blew up a transport in the last turn of the game which pinned the squad in side and he had to retreat with his remaining 10 man assault squad to claim his home objective. I managed 6 kill points in the game and he claimed 7

Juan’s Space Wolves

Logan
Ruin priest
Wolf Lord with thunder wolf mount, thunder hammer, storm shield, and 2x wolves
Lone Wolf with terminator armor, thunder hammer, and storm shield
15 wolves
10 grey hunters with 2x melta guns, power fist, and a rhino
10 grey hunters with 2x melta guns, power fist, and a rhino
9 grey hunters with a melta gun, power fist, and a rhino
6 long fangs with 2x lascannons, 3x heavy bolters, and a razor back with twin lascannon
6 long fangs with 2x lascannons, 3x missile launchers, and a razor back with twin lascannon

We played pitched battle with capture the flag

This battle ended up in a tie because I was all over his objective, but the game went to turn 7 giving him time to knock the units off of his objective. Some highlights were that the Khan in close combat managed to kill both the wolf lord and logan, hit and run onto contest the opposing objective before taking 3 lascannons to the face. A single land speeder tornado (since his partner died in the first turn again) killed a razorback and 2 rhinos.

So once again the vindicators did nothing worthwhile except when the one did hit it killed 12 wolves with one shot. Every single other shot scattered!

I managed 10 kill points to his 5

Justin’s Imperial Guard

Command Section with 2x melta guns, 2x plasma guns, chimera with heavy flamer, stubber, and multi-laser
Infantry platoon Command with a mortar
3x infantry squads with autocannons
1x infantry squad with grenade launcher and a commissar
Infantry platoon command with 3x flamers in a chimera with heavy flamer, stubber, and multi-laser
2x infantry squads with a flamer mounted in a chimera with heavy flamer, stubber, and mutli-laser
Vendetta with 3x twin lascannon
Vendetta with 3x twin lascannon
2x Hellhounds in a squadron with 2x hull heavy flamers
Leman Russ with hull lascannon, sponson heavy bolters, stubber, and a battle cannon
Leman Russ with hull lascannon, sponson heavy bolters, stubber, and a battle cannon
Leman Russ Demolisher with hull lascannon, sponson multi-meltas, and a demolisher cannon

We played corners and kill points.

I felt sorry for Justin because this is probably the last mission he would want to face my army in. Long story short, I tabled him in 4 turns and only lost a vindicator and a few bikes. I got a full 16 kill points. My command squad racked up 7 kill points alone. Vindicators were pretty lame but they did manage to kill a leman russ after 3 rounds of firing. Massacre for the scars!

So after all the points were added up, I got second place, and was only one point behind Juan who received first place. To show how close the standings were, in Juan’s last game if he would have killed one less unit I would have been able to seize first place. Soooo close!!!! Mark received 3rd place as he got a massacre in the third round as well against chaos. It was nice seeing a bunch of gamers that I have not seen in quite some time and getting some prize support doesn’t hurt either.

Now I have some projects to work on over the rest of the summer!

My Girlfriend needed a thunderwolf mount for her Iron Priest and as always I was there to help out.  Its funny how you remember things when your not really thinking about them… But my muse must have been on my shoulder that day and i remembered WAY back to the Old mechwarrior Dark age game and a Mech known as a “Thunder fox”  Rushing online I managed to score myself 3 of these sweet mechs for next to nothing.  A couple of quick slices with the knife, a drop of green stuff and a mini dig in my bits box later I came up with this totally sweet Cyber Mount