We didn't get a lot of World Eaters teasers before now, though what we got was huge. I previously only covered the Twelfth Legion as part of a mega post, so I haven't gotten very far into them. Now, we have the point costs, so I can do a much deeper analysis than I have for previous Indexes. Though it's still only going to be a gut reaction, since we're still not sure what these points represent. If you saw my discussion on Tyranid point costs, it would seem like some things are being taxed harder than others. And from some of the other discussion I've seen, there's at least some inconsistency there. But let's see what we can make of things.
ARMY RULES
Blessings of Khorne is a bit weird. I know they want Chaos to be, well, chaotic. The Dark Gods are often described as fickle. But Khorne still isn't a god I would associate with randomness and chance. At first I thought this was because they wanted to cut down on the book keeping. But then they kept giving other armies as much or more book keeping than they previously had. I honestly just thing the old Blood Tithe was more thematic.
Still, anyone whose played around with this knows it's strangely consistent. You're regularly going to be getting good buffs, though not always the ones you want or need. You're also guaranteed to get a buff, instead of needing to save up for something or needing to spend a lot of your points to bring Angron back.
We now get the World Eaters Detachment ability for their Berzerker Warband. It looks just a little familiar, doesn't it? Yeah, it's Red Thirst. And anyone that knows some of the lore around Blood Angels knows that Khorne really has his sight set on them. He's kinda just taken the World Eaters as a consolation prize.
Still, this is a powerful and consistent ability, and it's very World Eaters. You get more powerful when you're charging into the enemy. What are World Eaters good at? Charging into the enemy. I doubt anyone is upset by this reveal.
STRATAGEMS
Gory Massacre
Huh, this one's a bit weird. Spending 1CP to cause your opponent to take a Battle-shock test doesn't sound bad. But the timing is really odd. You use this Stratagem in your Fight phase after a World Eaters unit charged and killed something. But the effect doesn't occur until your opponents Command phase, when they take Battle-shock tests. It does make a weird kind of sense. The middle of the Fight phase is the worst time for your opponent to take a Battle-shock test, since as soon as the phase ends the Battle-shock will end too. But then it also specifically stops further Battle-shock tests from taking place, so this doesn't stack with any other abilities. Even if you've brought the unit Below Half-strength, that only gives the unit a -1 penalty. Just weird.
For the Blood God!
Okay this is fun, if potentially a bit inconsistent. Did you not get the buffs you want from Blessings of Khorne? Well prove you've earned it! You may still not get the blessings you want, and if it's the bottom of the battle round you won't have it long. But depending one when you trigger this, it could be good.
For the Skull Throne!
Sweet and simple! +1 to Wound against Characters, Monsters, and Vehicles. You'll take this anytime you run into something on the tough side.
Khorne Cares Not . . .
-1 Damage for 2CP in the Fight Phase sounds familiar . . . Either way, if you've got the CP you'll use this as often as you can.
Blood Offering
I'm pretty sure this is the one we were teased with in the Faction focus. It's amazing how much better I remember reveals I actually blogged about. That's one thing this has been good for. Either way this is situational, since if they were overwhelmed in Melee your opponent will basically gain it at the end of the phase. But when it comes up, you'll be glad you have this.
Apoplectic Frenzy
Automatic 6" Advances are good. If you can combine this with Advance and Charge, it's fantastic.
A lot of these Stratagems are very situational. But you have two you're probably going to be using regularly. It's a surprisingly strategic toolbox.
ENHANCEMENTS
Favored of Khorne - 30 pts
Oh wow! I don't know if this is worth 30 pts, but it's definitely good! You get to re-roll your Blessings of Khorne if you don't like the result. Best of all, it doesn't count as re-rolling the dice but instead as a new set of dice for your blessing. Any rules that allow you to re-roll dice can then be used. If you've got the points free, you're definitely taking this.
Battle-Lust - 15 pts
Free and repeat Heroic Intervention. Not sure this is worth 15 pts but I wouldn't turn it down if I had more Enhancements left and 15 points to spend.
Helm of Brazen Ire - 25 pts
Okay, you're taking this, especially on an important Character. Halving incoming Damage is fantastic!
Berzerker Glaive - 25 pts
This seems pretty good too. This is our generic weapon buff enhancement, and gaining D3 Attacks and Damage on the Charge is awesome.
Some really good Enhancements here. I think I'd always be hoping to have that 80 pts for Favored of Khorne, Helm of Brazen Ire, and Berzerker Glaive. But I wouldn't sweat it if I could only take the Helm. I'm not sure how I'd prioritize the other two.
DATASHEETS
Angron - 415 pts
Khorne's chosen champion was one of the first reveals we had, and he's absolutely devastating. He has pretty decent and flexible buffing presence now, and you can return him to a battle at full Wounds when he dies if you're able to fish for the 6s. I think that cost is okay, though a part of me thinks he should be a bit cheaper.
Khârn the Betrayer - 95 pts
Khârn comes packed with a basic Space Marine hero profile, an always overcharged plasma pistol, and a fluffy eight attacks with Gorechild at a decent profile. He grants his fellow Berzerkers re-roll Hits and Wounds of 1, so that's pretty awesome. He only has to test Leadership to not kill one of his entourage instead of doing it on 1s or automatically, and Leadership 6+ is relatively consistent. He also just has Fight on Death, no roll or anything. Yeah, I think Khârn is pretty good.
Lord Invocatus - 155 pts
In 9th you basically had to choose between Angron or Invocatus, and both options were viable. Now with no Warlord trait at risk, you can happily field both. He's got a pretty good mounted profile with +2 Toughness and +3 Wounds over typical heroes. He gets a good number of attacks between Coward's Bane and the Juggernaught, though strangely not eight this time. Oddly, his first special rule is for Fall Back and Shoot and Charge. I'm envisioning this as backing up to run the corpses over, and not actually leaving the engagement. His old rule is now represented by just a basic Scout move though. Still, it's a head start on getting stuck in.
World Eaters Daemon Prince - 220 pts
Daemon Princes really do look much better with that Mark of Khorne buff. But wow! He grants nearby World Eaters a 4+ Invuln! His own DEVASTATING WOUNDS buff is just gravy! He's going to get shot, but until he does your army is going to be tough!
World Eaters Daemon Prince with Wings - 215 pts
GW is really valuing that Toughness score, and I'm just not sure they're right. At best, I would call trading 4" and Fly for 1 pip of Toughness a wash. But I'm pretty sure it's actually a really good buff, even with fewer weapons wounding you on 4s or better. Either way, taking this Daemon Prince doesn't come with the Invuln Aura unfortunately. Instead he forces Battle-shock test on units he's fighting, and he gets full re-rolls to Hit and Wound against a single unit. But if he doesn't kill that unit, he counts as being destroyed . . . I'd say he's still pretty good to just charge into something and kill it.
World Eaters Lord on Juggernaut - 120 pts
This looks pretty good! He lets you re-roll Advance, Charge, and, if he's leading Khorne Berzerkers, Blood Surge. But even better, he gets mortal wounds on a charge! I was worried you were never going to take him when you have Lord Invocatus, but I think he's a pretty good choice.
World Eaters Master of Executions - 80 pts
The Khornate version of this profile comes with Fights First built in and full re-rolls against Characters. He's maybe a bit pricy, but you're still gonna take him any chance you get just to give Berzerkers Fights First.
Khorne Berzerkers - 115 pts for 5 models (23 pts/model)
Our other preview, these look even better now that we know you're just getting the eviscerator and Icon. No complaints here.
Jakhals - 75 pts for 10 models (7.5 pts/model)
The Khornate version of cultists, these actually look like they've got a decent chance of punching above their weight. They get a 6+ FNP so they're going to last a little longer than standard mobs, and they still get sticky objectives. All and all, pretty good chaff infantry.
World Eaters Terminator Squad - 195 pts for 5 models (39 pts/model)
Hopefully some Red Butchers will be ready for this version of the Codex when it comes out. I do wish they had a better rule than bonuses against damaged units. You want Terminators to be your spearhead, not your cleanup crew. Still, 39 pts seems decent.
Eightbound - 155 pts for 3 models (51.67~ pts/model)
The unique World Eaters possessed look like they shred! Their aura of re-roll Wounds of 1 is a nice touch, even before you get units Below Half-strength for full re-rolls. 50 pts a model seems a bit much though.
Exalted Eightbound - 180 pts for 3 models (60 pts/model)
The suped up versions look much better. Coming packed with some crazy close combat profiles, Deep Strike, a 6+ FNP, and the ability to trap units in combat, these definitely feel like 60 pts models.
World Eaters Vehicles
These are 100% just the Chaos version of these Vehicles. World Eaters are gonna love the fact that Land Raiders have Assault Ramp again, and may want Rhinos to help get into position and Annihilators to have some anti-tank (though they could just take Exalted Eightbound). But nothing much else to say here.
World Eaters Forgefiend - 150 pts
Strangely this just forces Battle-shock on opponents it fires at. It seems okay at 150 pts.
World Eaters Helbrute - 150 pts
Awesome! The World Eaters version gets the same rule as Death Company Dreds and Murderfang! Note, this ability isn't as crazy as it looks. You can only Fight once each phase and only shoot one additional time each phase. So you can use this ability to get an additional Shoot and Fight once in your opponents Shooting phase, or Shoot into combat and interrupt in the any Fight phase. It's still really good and 150 pts looks solid.
World Eaters Heldrake - 215 pts
For some reason the World Eaters version gets to make a Strafing run. I would have probably focused this more on taking out enemy aircraft. 215 pts seems pretty bad to me.
World Eaters Maulerfiend - 175 pts
There's some more bonuses against damaged units. The bonuses are decent, and the fists are definitely nice, but I'm not sure its worth 25 pts more than the Forge Fiend, which just feels okay.
World Eaters Chaos Spawn - 65 pts for 2 models (32.5 pts/model)
Nah. I don't think these are worth it.
Khorne Lord of Skulls - 420 pts
420 pts! That's only 5 pts more than Angron! 420 pts for T13, a 3+ Sv, 24 W, and a 5+ Invuln! And you see those combat profiles, right! And he gets to modify your Blessing Rolls, helping you get your preferred buffs! This thing is a steal!
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