Although I'm doing much better than I was, it's obvious I'm still not where I want to be. These conventions have been absolutely wiping me out! While I spent most of the day resting with a relaxed session of Factorio, I did get the first 5 miniatures from Leviathan assembled. I also spent a lot of time just cleaning up my painting station. It's gotten quite a bit cluttered over all this time, and I needed to get some of my pill bottles from the Broodlord cleared so I could use them for the Neurogaunts.
I also pulled out the next piece for some more delicate work, the tail of my Trygon Prime, or as I've come to call it, THAT %#@<*^& TAIL!!! A tip for anyone working on a Trygon/Prime or Mawloc kit: do not assemble the tail before painting. It is such a pain to work inside that freaking coil. This thing isn't the reason this project is so behind schedule (that would be migraines) but it's not helping. The next big part of the project I'll be doing more grunt work alongside is painting the final chitin marks on this thing. It's going to take forever, but it'll be so satisfying when it's done.
Until then, let's finally finish up Imperium!
DATASHEETS
Imperial Agents don't really have Army or Detachment rules. The closest thing they have is the Assigned Agents rule we've already seen. It's honestly going to be a bit of a challenge to judge some of these Datasheets. Many of the Characters can join any Imperium Battleline unit, so the combo potential is crazy. I'm definitely not going to go back through all those units to see where the best fits are. I'll be saving that analysis for the armies I actually play (starting with Tyranids). Still, let's see what the Imperium's greatest champions can bring to the table.
Vindicare Assassin - 80 pts
While listening to some Art of War today, I heard the line that Imperial Knights should just always take one of these to complete the Oath for Lay Low the Tyrant. While 80 pts might seem like a lot for that statline, we've already begun to see just how mean Lone Operatives can be. A Lone Operative that can take out nearly any Character with a single shot? Yeah, Vindicare are good.
Culexus Assassin - 85 pts
This single model might prevent Psykers from ever dominating the meta. While probably still not as good at taking them out as a Vindicare is, that 2+ FNP combined with an incredible chance to Battleshock a Psyker unit is brutal! Also, like Shadow in the Warp, you can use it during any Command phase. This means you can use Lone Operative to Evade your opponent, then rush this assassin in to Battleshock bomb a bunch of their units in their turn. My only complaint is that I don't think it should be more expensive than the Vindicare.
Eversor Assassin - 75 pts
The slayer of organizations, movements, and command structures is . . . fine? That SUSTAINED HITS 3 ability feels pretty spiky, but that's about it. This strangely feels like more of a threat or dare than an actual assault piece. You put it near an important objective or section of the battlefield and make your opponent decide if they want to deal with it.
Callidus Assassin - 115 pts
Wow, that's a lot of special rules! The fact this comes with a Vect is very nice. The neural shredder and phase sword feel more deadly than anything we've seen so far besides the Vindicare's rifle. Honestly, this is where I'm sure everyone wants free Overwatch! They're definitely good, but I'm not sure they're worth 25 pts more than a Vinicare. Actually many of these rules would be priced at 25 points alone, so this is probably really good.
Rogue Trader Entourage - 4 models for 105 pts (26.25 pts per model)
This is definitely interesting. They honestly look okay on their statlines alone, like a character leading a three model unit. But then they can join other units to form an even larger unit. I'm worried about what they can join though. I wasn't impressed with Breachers in the Faction Focus. They also have this weird redeploy ability that only works for Battleline. This is definitely an interesting piece of tech.
Voidsmen-At-Arms - 5 models for 40 pts (8 pts per model)
I still don't understand why these and breachers have a Ld 8+. That LETHAL HITS ability is nice though, especially when combined with the Rogue Trader's games. But they've got literally no AP. I have no idea why they cost more than a Guard squad. You're only taking these if you need some cheap chaff infantry.
Imperial Navy Breachers - 10 models for 105 pts (10.5 pts per model)
Yeah, this ain't it either. Neither of these units should be worth more than a basic Guard Infantry Squad. These might be justifiable at the cost of a Voidsmen squad, with the Voidsmen being cheaper. But I think you're paying a lot for the ability to put them in any army.
Subductor Squad - 11 models for 110 pts (10 pts per model)
This is better. Not only do they have a proper Ld, but they have a 3+ Sv. They still don't look like they do much damage, but they might be tough enough to at least get something done before they're removed. The AP-1 on the shock mauls definitely helps.
Exaction Squad - 11 models for 75 pts (~6.82 pts per model)
Oh wow! This is so much better! For just a little bit more than Guard, you get a 4+ Sv, a 5+ FNP, and can inflict a Battle-shock penalty. How is this so much better than anything we've seen so far?
Vigilant Squad - 11 models for 105 pts (~9.55 pts per model)
Did . . . did GW list the wrong points for the Arbites squads? I feel like this should be 75 pts and the Exaction Squad should be 105. Actually, the Exaction squad shouldn't be 105, but this definitely shouldn't be 105. For 5 pts less than the Subductor Squad, you get some slightly better shooting and much worse melee. Oh yeah, and you lose the Invuln! Seriously, what?
Lord Inquisitor Kyria Draxus - 75 pts
For 75 pts, Draxus brings some pretty good anti-infantry power and can protect her unit from all shooting outside of 18". She's particularly good against Xenos targets, making her a bit situational. I feel like she's okay.
Inquisitor Coteaz - 75 pts
Okay, at first I thought Coteaz was completely inferior to Draxus. But his Spy Network is really cool. Lots of armies are going to bring units that can help them generate and regen CP, so this will almost always be useful. He can also hit decently hard in melee.
Inquistor Greyfax - 65 pts
Do you have a Battleline unit you absolutely do not want to suffer Battle-shock? For 65 pts you can make them nearly immune to it. If you've got re-rolls, say from Guilliman, you're practically guaranteed to pass. She can also occasionally just snipe away an opponents Character, and armies with Psykers will hate her.
Inquistor Karamazov - 130 pts
Damn! Karamazov looks really good! He's basically a 130 pts walker with an aura that both buffs your units against Battle-shock while inflicting a penalty on your opponent. He then gets to hand out a Battle-shock test during your Shooting phase. He's not gonna do a lot of damage if he gets tied up in combat, but that melta has a solid profile.
Inquisitor - 55 pts
I'm not sure you want to take the Psychic Gifts. Yeah, the force weapon is better and Psychic Shock Wave seems decent. But then you lose the 5+ FNP against Mortals. And the only other thing the Iquisitor brings to the table is a CP regen ability. Just not sure they're worth it even then.
Inquisitor Eisenhorn - 65 pts
If you're bringing a Daemonhost, you're probably going to want to bring Eisenhorn. Other than that, he has decent combat ability and the ability to nerf enemy shooting. But he's probably not worth it otherwise.
Inquisitorial Henchment - varies
I almost want to cheer this on because it's the closest we've gotten to an older style 40K Datasheet. The Acolytes are 10 points a model, which is honestly pretty good for 2 W infantry with decent firepower. It kinda sucks you have to take the Gun Servitors and Mystics together, as the Deep Strike denial is nice but it feels like you're paying a tax for some mediocre heavy weapons fire. The Jokaero and Daemonhost are both definitely worth it though. I would take one of these alongside Eisenhorn.
FINAL THOUGHTS
And that's that! Other than Forge World, which I likely won't go through, that's all the Imperium units. These were always destined to be odd ducks. Assassins are nice because they can help deal with enemy characters. Of the four, the Vindicare and the Callidus seem the most useful. But the rest are meant to fill a hole in your army, such as a lack of screening units. But they all come with the drawback that they won't get any of your faction's rules to enhance them. The navy units are frankly all trash. Two of the Arbites are okay, but you're probably still better using your own units. Coteaz and Greyfax both look useful, one to help with CP generation the other to help protect a unit from Battle-shock. Karamazov would be a good unit in any army, but I think you're getting the discount since he won't be getting any Army rules. The same is probably true of the acolytes.
I think that the most likely use you'll see for these units is for Knight armies that need to spend a few more points. If you're stuck with 135 pts or less, there might be a combination of retinue and Inquisitor here that will fill that hole well. I also did wish we could get proper Army Rules, as we're starting to get to the point where you could legitimately make an force out of these. The main thing this Index is going to be used for is Narrative (and the occasional brave competitive player) that want to field the forces of the Inquisition.
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