First List Examination. A Balanced List.

The time has come for me to put up a list that I have made and give it a thorough examination. For this list I wanted to be shooting oriented but still have a close combat presence. Also, of course, I was going for balance. So here’s the list:

Total:-2,000

HQ:-191

Marshal: Bolter, -81

Emperor's Champion: Vow (Abhor) -110

Elite:-428

Terminator Squad (5): 2 Assault Cannons, 5 PFs, 3 Storm Bolters, Tank Hunters; Drop Pod: -285

Dreadnought: Assault Cannon, DCCW, Storm Bolter, Venerable, Tank Hunter, Extra Armor, Smoke Launchers; 143

Troops:-768

Crusader Squad “Alpha” (5): 3 Bolters, Lascannon, Plasma Gun; Rhino: Extra Armor, Smoke Launchers; -159

Crusader Squad “Beta” (5): 3 Bolters, Multi-Melta, Plasma Gun; Rhino: Extra Armor, Smoke Launchers; -154

Crusader Squad “Gamma” (5/1): 4 BP/CS, PF/BP, Melta; Razorback: Twin-Linked Lascannon, Extra Armor, PotMS; -240

Crusader Squad “Gamma” (5): 3 BP/CS, PW/BP, Melta; Razorback: Twin-Linked Lascannon, Extra Armor, PotMS; -225

Fast Attack:-210

Land Speeder: Typhoon Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter, -70

Land Speeder: Typhoon Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter, -70

Land Speeder: Typhoon Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter, -70

Heavy Support:-393

Predator: Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Extra Armor, Searchlights, -131

Predator: Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Extra Armor, Searchlights, -131

Predator: Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Extra Armor, Searchlights. -131

First off, the intended tactics: Predators, Razorbacks, Alpha Squad, and Land Speeders begin firing at enemy vehicles to disrupt my opponent’s plan. All the S8-7 firepower is there to suppress while the Lascannons focus on actually killing things. The Dreadnought, Razorbacks, and Rhino with Beta Squad march across the board at 6” a turn, using smoke when beneficial, going for their own targets. The Dreadnought is there for some suppression fire as the Gamma Squads close in; the Rhino with Beta Squad heads for a midfield objective where it begins to use the Multi-Melta and Plasma Gun (both with a 24” range but better at 12”); the Gamma Squads disembark once they can assault onto enemy objectives and, once that is done, the Razorbacks begin to patrol around them continuing to fire their Lascannons; the Dreadnought uses its Assault Cannon on light armor or infantry and any time it gets shaken (a good chance since it is Venerable and has Extra Armor) it charges into infantry where it can begin dealing of damage and be safe from the guns of my enemy. The Terminators get reserved and teleport directly into the enemies face. Since they have Tank Hunting Assault Cannons they can immediately begin firing and isolating threats to themselves.

Now, there are problems. First off it is relatively easy to pinpoint threats and I can’t vouch for synergy. I also have very few was of dealing with heavy armor (a single Multi-Melta, some Tank-Hunting Assault Cannons, a DCCW, and some Lascannons). I could bring some extra melta but as it is I’m pressed for points. Another problem is my limited close combat ability with my actual close combat squads. I don’t have AAC and those small squads are going to get eaten by anything tough but they will have the Emperor’s Champion with them and, if correctly supported, should be able to bring down whatever is holding an objective (supported by early fire to weaken the target unit(s), both working together, tank shocks, the Dreadnought, and perhaps the Terminators).

If I could then I would give those Land Speeders each a Multi-Melta, the Dreadnought a Drop Pod, and a few more members to those Close Combat Squads. But aside from those three things, there is very little I can see to change about this list. It is not the best list but I feel that it can hold its own in many games.

Sword Brethren, a follow up.

Now, I know that before I said that Sword Brethren weren't a good idea. But I've had a change of heart. Now, they still cannot compete with Terminators but there's a good reason for that. Nothing can compete with Terminators (except perhaps an over-priced Techmarine, but that is for a different post). But the reason to take Sword Brethren is for their greater abilities in close combat than Crusader Squads. The time to take them is instead of CC Crusader Squads when you haven't purchased many Neophytes. That way you can equip them with Lightning Claws and a Meltagun, put them in a transport, and you have a reliable close combat threat. Again, not as good as Terminators but for the price of 2 Terminator Squads you can have 3 Sword Brethren. And 3 Sword Brethren providing a close combat shield for the rest of your army is worth looking at. But still, generally, they are a poor choice.

That's all for now. Sometime in the next week I'll try and get a list up to look at.

Sword Brethren, a closer look Part 2

Obviously you want CC as anything else is done more cheaply by Crusader Squads, the first problem is whether to take Lightning Claws or Powerfist. You want Terminator Honors for either one, and the Powerfist can hurt vehicles so without it you'd need Krak Grenades, but which one is better? With Lightning Claws (on the charge) you have 4 attacks, 2 hits, 1.77 wounds, so 1-2 kills (this is against MEq). With a Powerfist you would get 3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 1.25 wounds, so 1 kill usually. The Lightning Claws take advantage of the better Initiative when charging, but the Powerfist can Insta-kill. But you could take a Storm Shield with the Powerfist for the cost difference. Personally, I'd take the Powerfist for the vehicular advantages. Besides to make up for the cost difference you could simply not take Terminator Honors of the Lightning Claws, which means only about 1 kill so you lose that advantage.

I'd take two Storm Shields to absorb Power hits if you have the points, though I would not put them on the guys with the Powerfist/Power Weapon in case they don't make their save. Give them Frag Grenades, Furious Charge, and put them in a Rhino, a Land Raider Crusader if you have the points. Join your Emperor's Champion to them so he can use his Black Sword to full effect. As to how many, this is very much up to your point limit, but since we are trying to save points rather than having Terminators we'll go with 5.

So here is the unit:

Sword Brethren Squad (5): BP/CCW, Frag Grenades, 4 Terminator Honors, 2 Storm Shields, Powerfist, Power Weapon, Furious Charge, -190

Rhino: Extra Armor, Smoke Launchers, -58

Are they cheaper than Terminators? At a total of 248 compared to the minimum 480 that Terminators with Furious Charge In a Land Raider Crusader would be, yes. Are they more effective than a Crusader Squad would be? An equivalent unit would be 9 Initiates with Frag Grenades and a Powerfist -168 plus transport (we could exchange 4 of the Initiates for Neophytes but that would bring the cost down too much and we are trying to fit in a rhino).

The Sword Brethren get, on average, about 1/3 more kills on the charge and 1/6 more kills in standard combat. Sword Brethren have 2 3++ saves but the Crusader Squad has 9 wounds to clean out rather than 5. Plus the Crusader Squad can put out reliably 1 wound in shooting while the Sword Brethren have 3 Bolt Pistols so, 1 if they are really lucky. My calculations are all against MEq and I estimate the Crusaders to gain an advantage against GEq as well as TEq. Plus the Crusader Squad is Scoring so it can do more than contest objectives. It is less reliable against Vehicles but you can snatch a Melta Gun for +10 points (and you're still cheaper than the Sword Brethren). So again, are Sword Brethren better all around than Crusader Squads? No. They have slight advantages but are not worth enough for their points.

Compare once more to Terminators (not Assault Terminators) who do not fire their weapons and have Tank Hunter instead (5 members). They will most likely kill any Vehicle they come in range of, so that's a small advantage. On the Charge they do 3 more kills than the Sword Brethren, 6 1/3 more normally. In Shooting they have 5 Storm Bolters so no need to worry about that. They are so much better and, if you give them a Drop Pod instead of a Land Raider they work out to 3 points less than the Sword Brethren with their transport. You could, of course, give the Sword Brethren a Drop Pod instead of a Rhino, and save a whopping 20 points. For 17 extra points, I would take 5 Terminators in a Drop Pod. And you don't even have to take a Drop Pod, you can Teleport them in. To add onto all of this the Terminators have a 2+/5+ save instead of the Sword Brethren's 3+ and 3++ saves. So they're more Survivable as well.

Now you could improve the Sword Brethren Squad with more members, which would increase the price and still never reach the effectiveness of the Terminators.

To put a lighter note on them, Marshal Learoth has just designed a list using Razorbacks with PotMS. For an elite choice that fits with this, Sword Brethren are viable. But what Marshal Learoth took instead of what I was thinking was 3 Vindicators which are a far, far better choice than the 2 extra units I was thinking of.

I admit, this analysis does not cover absolutely every build. You could Infiltrate the Sword Brethren with a Multi Melta or a Melta Gun and get a few shots off, or you could spend the points more efficiently on something that isn't a suicide unit. Frankly, the best way to use Sword Brethren is done far better for the same price by Terminators and done more cheaply by Crusader Squads. Sword Brethren just aren't worth it.

Sword Brethren, a closer look Part 1

Alright, I said I'd do this so now to it. Due to the length, I'm making this a 2-parter.

At 19 points each they are equal to the cost of regular Initiates plus a special skill. This isn't so bad until you realize that regular Initiates are scoring, these guys aren't (a problem due to this being a 4th edition codex in a 5th edition game). So how can you make them worth taking? This becomes difficult when our other Elite options are Terminators and Dreadnoughts.

Making Sword Brethren into cheaper Terminators is the wrong decision, I checked. But let's look at upgrades. For upgrades they can take a variety of things, essentially the same selection than Crusader Squads but doesn't have the doubling option that Command Squads do.

Firstly they can use bolters, or bolt pistols and close combat weapons. Not a mix, though, and it seems like using bolters is laughing at their name. But this choice comes down to what kind of army you are running and how you plan to use them.

Next they may be given Terminator Honors. While this can be advantageous, you must be careful as the price these guys begin to mount up. For a 3++ save that is only another 10 points each you can have some dangerous guys. 39 point guys. Then we need to start looking to see if it isn't better to just take Terminators, which are much better for only a few more points. But you don't have to give them all Terminator Honors, nor all of those ones Storm Shields. A mix is best, and provides some good Invulnerable saves for facing power weapons.

Don't bother with Combat Shields. Compared to Storm Shields you gain 1 attack and 5 points each, you lose 50% greater chance of surviving Power Weapons. Pre-FAQ the option was viable to select instead of Storm Shields since you save the same amount but lose only 16% chance.

Frag and Krak Grenades are better selections than they are for Crusader Squads since if you are charging into cover the improved initiative is much more important for a more expensive unit and with 5 members the Krak Grenades are more reliable against light AV than if they have a Powerfist. Still, they are not staple upgrades to take.

The options are essentially the same as Crusader Squads with a few differences: Power Weapons are now in the second paragraph and costs 5 more points, a Pair of Lightning Claws are available, the Plasma Gun is 4 more points, and you don't get Bolt Pistols with the Powerfist or Power Weapon.

This gives them an advantage in CC over Crusaders since they can take two weapons that ignore armor (One of which can be Lightning Claws). Add in some Terminator Honors for those who have the Special Weapons and you have a deadly Close Combat unit, but we'll get back to that in a moment.

Crusader Seals and Transports are the same as Crusader Squads. The only two changes, tactically, is that Land Raider Crusaders are a nicer option since they help the Close Combat orientation that these guys will have quite nicely, same thing with the Crusader Seals.

And now we get to the skills: I'm going to go in a reverse order from how they are listed. Infiltrate has some nice uses, especially for a mechanized rushing list. You can start the game much closer than the rest of your army and on foot so you free up a few points from not having a vehicle. But you can't have an Independent Character joined and you are on foot. So if you want to have the unlikely chance to charge first turn then this is for you, but I recommend not doing so.

Counter Attack has some different uses, and is best when used with bolters and heavy weapons. This is an option, but you are paying for a Crusader Squad with a special skill that helps if you get charged. But it is only useful if you to get charged and it is always better for you to charge and deny the enemy an extra attack. And you aren't Scoring.

Last is Furious Charge. Unless you are going to be shooting with these guys then this is the skill to take. The +1 initiative saves lives and the +1 strength means your Power Weapons and Lightning Claws are going to wound more often. This is by far the best one as it capitalizes on the advantage Sword Brethren have over Crusader Squads.

So that's all the options and choices you can select for Sword Brethren, so what's the best way to use them? That will be answered in Part 2.

Terminators.

I've been playing around some more with facing the Ork army from Assault on Black Reach. I fiddle with my list to make it come out at 450 points (that of the orcs) and I've learned something (which is the whole purpose of playing these games).

Using a base list of my Crusader Squads and my Emperor's Champion lets me pick either my Terminator Squad or my Dreadnought and Castellan. I've tried the Dreadnought/Castellan approach and it always ends in a draw or a loss for the Black Templar. But just recently I tried the Terminators instead.

Now, it might have been the table, it might have been luck. But both games were great victories. In the first one I killed the entire Ork army. In the second one I killed all except for three of the Nobz and my Terminators survived being charged by both a squad of Boyz and the Deffkoptas, finally defeating both on their own before coming to kill some Nobz.

Why have I posted this? Well, for one is to let me practice my writing skills. But the other is to let me give my impression of Terminators.

Terminators are very expensive. But they are also worth the cost to a certain extent. Having thirty Terminators in your army, while impressive and awesome (I want to try that now), is not being cost effective. That's 1,200 points. Granted, you can fit this into a 1,500 point game but they won't do what those points could if split up.

Is 200 points worth a squad of Terminators? At low points, very. At higher points, it isn't that expensive, so yes. But keep in mind, they are better when you give them something. Personally, I like either Assault Cannons or Cyclone Missile Launchers combined with Tank Hunter. Either one is a valid choice for taking down light armor as well as being a threat to infantry.

But that is just my opinion. In the next few days I'll get back to Sword Brethren.

A Glance at Sword Brethren

Yesterday I emailed what I thought was a viable tactic to Marshall Learoth about Sword Brethren with the Infiltrate skill in a Razorback with a Twin-Linked Lascannon. If you're sharp you can immediately spot the mistake I made. Otherwise, or for a more in depth look at both the email and Learoth's comments, you can read his blog post here: http://www.implausiblenature.net/1/post/2011/03/email-sword-brethren-infiltrating-razorbacks.html

So, I'm still looking for a worthy use for Sword Brethren that makes them worth their points. This is not very easy since they have both cheaper, scoring Crusader Squads and hard, deadly Terminators to compete with.

Currently I'm examining using them as something of an assassin group by putting them in a drop pod with Bolters an assault weapon and Counter Charge. Drop them behind enemy lines and get a rapid fire off along with being a dangerous unit to charge. But I still have the problem of making them a better option than transporting Terminators in who have a bunch of power weapons and can even fire heavy weapons their first round. But they are a better option than using Initiates for this with their Counter Charge Skill.

Well, that's all I have for now. I'll be sure to give them a full examination sometime soon though. I hope to start a series so that I make sure I look at units completely.

Devjon