However AAC does not work on Neophytes but Litanies of hate does. Also LoH does allow re-rolls for any to hit rolls. AAC only works against targets with a WS characteristic.
Due to RZ being optional, the Chaplains Unmatched zeal steering of units also loses something.
The Chaplain comes pre-made. The Rosarius is good as it is not taking up the single Iron Halo choice. However, he comes with a PW. I don't like them as much as a PF or PoLC. So you get stuck with a second tier weapon....
The Commander blesses all the army with his Ld because of Litanies of Battle.
My choice is the Commander with a PoLC. Army wide benefits and better in cc.
+++
HQ
Tool up versus bare bones.
The age old temptation of the wargamer. I am my HQ, therefore he must be super-awesome because I am super-awesome. My identity is in the model, for the duration of the game at least.
What does an IC bring to the game?
Fighting prowess, army and/or unit buffs, special weapons and equipment. All of this is concentrated into one (or two) transport slot. Highly concentrated power!
The problem is though that they can be killed with a single shot due to instant death. Even if you have Eternal Warrior, he only has (at best) three or four wounds.
A 170 pt Marshal has 3 wounds and 6 attacks on the charge.The equivalent Assault Terminators have 4 wounds and 16 attacks on the charge!
But the Terminators cannot join a unit (which offsets the ICs lack of wounds), or fit in a Rhino. They remain at i4 if charged and should the Marshal (with adamantine mantle) suffer a Vindicator shot, at worst he will loose 1 wound. All Terminators could die. The Marshal can be used to catch crack missiles, because if he does fail his 2+ save, he’ll loose 1 w. You’ll lose a Terminator for doing that!
So it’s all swings and round-a-bouts. But at least you know the pros and cons for tooling up against bare bones.
+++
Power weapons versus Lightning claws.
I don’t like power weapons. Your IC has all this potential to carve through men and needs the safety that re-rolled wounds brings. For the price of an Initiate, you’ll be killing an extra Marine or two each turn. A good investment in my eyes. Combined with AAC and you will rip though MEq with ease.
Thunder hammers and Power fists.
I don’t like them. They look cool and they hit hard. However, none of our ICs can pull off what Arjac or Lysander can ~ 3++ save. That means striking last is terrible as you can’t reliably weather the storm. Also remember my point about IC bringing i5 to the assault? That has just been wasted and the kills that reduce the number of hits you squad takes is gone. Boo! If you want worthwhile s10 attacks (at i4!), bring a Dreadnought.
Terminator armour.
Why is it good value? 2+ 5++ saves and Terminator honours for free.
Artificer armour, combat shield and Terminator honours (all the same stuff) is 20 more points and the only real benefit you get is being able to fit into a Rhino.
+++
Some of the following are all tooled up. The eggs are in one basket, but due to joining a squad they won’t be so easy to break, and will offer much in the way of offsetting the damage the squad will suffer in cc, even to other i4 warriors.
When you go tooled up, I recommend the Marshal over the Castellan. That one wound could keep him in the game for (at least) one more turn and you’ve already gone so far, you might as well take that last step
Marshal. The Biggest Boy. 170 pts
PoLC, Terminator armour (includes T honours free), Adamantine mantle.
*Terminator armour restricts him by not being able to Rhino into battle.
5 A, 2+ 5++, Eternal warrior
Marshal. The Big Boy. 170 pts
PoLC, Artificer armour, Iron halo, Terminator honours
5 A, 2+ 4++.
A slight variation that allows for Rhino/ Razorback transportation and lets you run people down in cc.
Marshal. The Dasher. 180 pts
PoLC, Bike, Iron halo, Terminator honours
Marshal. The Bounder. 170 pts
PoLC, Jump pack, Iron halo, Terminator honours.
Marshal. 135 pts
PoLC, Iron halo
A slight variation between the two, different kinds of mobility.
Castellan. 120 pts
PoLC, Iron halo
Castellan. 106 pts
Power weapon, Iron halo, Bolt pistol
Reclusiarch. 111 pts
Terminator honours. Bolt pistol
5 A, 3+ 4++
Reclusiarch. The Bargain. 96 pts
Bolt pistol.
4 A, 3+ 4++
Reclusiarch. 136 pts
Terminator honours, Boltpistol, Jump pack, Melta bombs
Reclusiarch. 171 pts
Terminator honours, Plasma pistol, Artificer armour, Jump pack, Melta bombs
Holy Orb of Antioch, Melta bombs and other garnishes all have their uses (and will serve you well) but these are on the periphery compared to what is the guts of the IC, imo.
+++
Commander v Chaplain
These two IC both have strengths and weaknesses that contrast with each others.
The Commander:
Able to be custom build and tooled up with a far more optimal fit-out than the Chaplain. The Chaplain is stuck with a Power weapon (inferior to a Lightning claw) and the Rosarius (which makes Terminator armour ~ which is a good value combo pack, less of a good deal)
Rites of Battle
A quality army buff, especially useful for Foot, but still worthwhile in getting the best value out of Righteous Zeal.
Ld 8 = 26/36 or 72.2%
Ld 9 = 30/36 or 83.3%
Ld 10 = 33/36 or 91.6%
The more men you bring, the better RoB becomes. Naturally, the less you bring decreases RoB effect.
The Commander comes into his own in battles around 1500+ pts (say from >1000 pts)
The Chaplain:
Good value combo built in (even though not optimal)
A Castellan with power weapon and Iron Halo costs 10 more points for the same thing.
Unmatched Zeal
Adds Fearless to his unit and more control to his Righteous Zeal moves.
Litanies of Hate
Re-rolls in cc, works against things without WS, which is good for Assault squads with meltabombs, and on Neos
The Chaplain works well in < 1000 pt games as the 1st HQ because he is good value and you have less units (which means Rites of Battle is benefiting less units)
In games > 1000 pts, he loses effectiveness to the Commander (and his army wide buff) and becomes 2nd choice.
+++
Reclusiarch v Master of Sanctity
As I have hopefully shown, Chaplains are an excellent bang for buck IC when not built for cc, and a good portion of their value is buffing their unit’s to hit rolls
For this reason I believe the Master of Sanctity (with his extra wound and leadership ~ which is near useless for a fearless IC) is a less effective choice because the Chaplain’s main strength is being cheap and nasty.
However in some builds the MoS will work (such as in a low points cost game) but on the whole, the Reclusiarch is where it’s at.
+++
Marshal v Castellan
This one is much more of a horses for courses choice.
You want the incredible hulk to burst out from your LRC? - well both of them a pretty much even. But what makes the Marshal the better choice for the extreme end is his extra wound. You’ve poured so many points into him anyway, so a bit more to keep him alive seems worthwhile. This is especially true when you’ve forked out for an Adamantine Mantle (which actually works well for catching crack missiles)
Then you get his excellent 91% Leadership thrown in for RZ tests.
Now if you want a cheap vehicle for RoB, then the Castellan offers a strong 11% increase to leadership, whilst the Marshal only brings 8.5% on top of that.
The Castellan offers good bang for buck, especially when you don’t go overboard on the upgrade sauce. The Castellan is a good choice for those wanting best value for money.
.... but you could always show self restraint and not go crazy on the Marshal and have that extra point of Ld....
Tool up versus bare bones.
The age old temptation of the wargamer. I am my HQ, therefore he must be super-awesome because I am super-awesome. My identity is in the model, for the duration of the game at least.
What does an IC bring to the game?
Fighting prowess, army and/or unit buffs, special weapons and equipment. All of this is concentrated into one (or two) transport slot. Highly concentrated power!
The problem is though that they can be killed with a single shot due to instant death. Even if you have Eternal Warrior, he only has (at best) three or four wounds.
A 170 pt Marshal has 3 wounds and 6 attacks on the charge.The equivalent Assault Terminators have 4 wounds and 16 attacks on the charge!
But the Terminators cannot join a unit (which offsets the ICs lack of wounds), or fit in a Rhino. They remain at i4 if charged and should the Marshal (with adamantine mantle) suffer a Vindicator shot, at worst he will loose 1 wound. All Terminators could die. The Marshal can be used to catch crack missiles, because if he does fail his 2+ save, he’ll loose 1 w. You’ll lose a Terminator for doing that!
So it’s all swings and round-a-bouts. But at least you know the pros and cons for tooling up against bare bones.
+++
Power weapons versus Lightning claws.
I don’t like power weapons. Your IC has all this potential to carve through men and needs the safety that re-rolled wounds brings. For the price of an Initiate, you’ll be killing an extra Marine or two each turn. A good investment in my eyes. Combined with AAC and you will rip though MEq with ease.
Thunder hammers and Power fists.
I don’t like them. They look cool and they hit hard. However, none of our ICs can pull off what Arjac or Lysander can ~ 3++ save. That means striking last is terrible as you can’t reliably weather the storm. Also remember my point about IC bringing i5 to the assault? That has just been wasted and the kills that reduce the number of hits you squad takes is gone. Boo! If you want worthwhile s10 attacks (at i4!), bring a Dreadnought.
Terminator armour.
Why is it good value? 2+ 5++ saves and Terminator honours for free.
Artificer armour, combat shield and Terminator honours (all the same stuff) is 20 more points and the only real benefit you get is being able to fit into a Rhino.
+++
Some of the following are all tooled up. The eggs are in one basket, but due to joining a squad they won’t be so easy to break, and will offer much in the way of offsetting the damage the squad will suffer in cc, even to other i4 warriors.
When you go tooled up, I recommend the Marshal over the Castellan. That one wound could keep him in the game for (at least) one more turn and you’ve already gone so far, you might as well take that last step
Marshal. The Biggest Boy. 170 pts
PoLC, Terminator armour (includes T honours free), Adamantine mantle.
*Terminator armour restricts him by not being able to Rhino into battle.
5 A, 2+ 5++, Eternal warrior
Marshal. The Big Boy. 170 pts
PoLC, Artificer armour, Iron halo, Terminator honours
5 A, 2+ 4++.
A slight variation that allows for Rhino/ Razorback transportation and lets you run people down in cc.
Marshal. The Dasher. 180 pts
PoLC, Bike, Iron halo, Terminator honours
Marshal. The Bounder. 170 pts
PoLC, Jump pack, Iron halo, Terminator honours.
Marshal. 135 pts
PoLC, Iron halo
A slight variation between the two, different kinds of mobility.
Castellan. 120 pts
PoLC, Iron halo
Castellan. 106 pts
Power weapon, Iron halo, Bolt pistol
Reclusiarch. 111 pts
Terminator honours. Bolt pistol
5 A, 3+ 4++
Reclusiarch. The Bargain. 96 pts
Bolt pistol.
4 A, 3+ 4++
Reclusiarch. 136 pts
Terminator honours, Boltpistol, Jump pack, Melta bombs
Reclusiarch. 171 pts
Terminator honours, Plasma pistol, Artificer armour, Jump pack, Melta bombs
Holy Orb of Antioch, Melta bombs and other garnishes all have their uses (and will serve you well) but these are on the periphery compared to what is the guts of the IC, imo.
+++
Commander v Chaplain
These two IC both have strengths and weaknesses that contrast with each others.
The Commander:
Able to be custom build and tooled up with a far more optimal fit-out than the Chaplain. The Chaplain is stuck with a Power weapon (inferior to a Lightning claw) and the Rosarius (which makes Terminator armour ~ which is a good value combo pack, less of a good deal)
Rites of Battle
A quality army buff, especially useful for Foot, but still worthwhile in getting the best value out of Righteous Zeal.
Ld 8 = 26/36 or 72.2%
Ld 9 = 30/36 or 83.3%
Ld 10 = 33/36 or 91.6%
The more men you bring, the better RoB becomes. Naturally, the less you bring decreases RoB effect.
The Commander comes into his own in battles around 1500+ pts (say from >1000 pts)
The Chaplain:
Good value combo built in (even though not optimal)
A Castellan with power weapon and Iron Halo costs 10 more points for the same thing.
Unmatched Zeal
Adds Fearless to his unit and more control to his Righteous Zeal moves.
Litanies of Hate
Re-rolls in cc, works against things without WS, which is good for Assault squads with meltabombs, and on Neos
The Chaplain works well in < 1000 pt games as the 1st HQ because he is good value and you have less units (which means Rites of Battle is benefiting less units)
In games > 1000 pts, he loses effectiveness to the Commander (and his army wide buff) and becomes 2nd choice.
+++
Reclusiarch v Master of Sanctity
As I have hopefully shown, Chaplains are an excellent bang for buck IC when not built for cc, and a good portion of their value is buffing their unit’s to hit rolls
For this reason I believe the Master of Sanctity (with his extra wound and leadership ~ which is near useless for a fearless IC) is a less effective choice because the Chaplain’s main strength is being cheap and nasty.
However in some builds the MoS will work (such as in a low points cost game) but on the whole, the Reclusiarch is where it’s at.
+++
Marshal v Castellan
This one is much more of a horses for courses choice.
You want the incredible hulk to burst out from your LRC? - well both of them a pretty much even. But what makes the Marshal the better choice for the extreme end is his extra wound. You’ve poured so many points into him anyway, so a bit more to keep him alive seems worthwhile. This is especially true when you’ve forked out for an Adamantine Mantle (which actually works well for catching crack missiles)
Then you get his excellent 91% Leadership thrown in for RZ tests.
Now if you want a cheap vehicle for RoB, then the Castellan offers a strong 11% increase to leadership, whilst the Marshal only brings 8.5% on top of that.
The Castellan offers good bang for buck, especially when you don’t go overboard on the upgrade sauce. The Castellan is a good choice for those wanting best value for money.
.... but you could always show self restraint and not go crazy on the Marshal and have that extra point of Ld....
No comments:
Post a Comment