Starting out as a Daemonhunter, educate me!

[Lord Inquisitor Coteaz]

Well, Im new to 40 k, introduced by the (great!) novel Grey Knights. Coupled with the fact that i love the models and the fact that the Daemonhunters seem to be one of the least played armies, Im hooked on them!

 

Soo, After having read up on the (new, it seems?) rules, Im thinking of taking a trip down to the local GW and get a few practice games. Seeing as Im more of a collector than gamer, I'll try to put a force together first. I've read around the net a bit and it seems like it's an unforgiving force, so I figured you elitists maybe could help me with some advice and tips. Most models appeal to me, so the force includes a bit of everything. I know that Daemonhunters struggle, but is the list ok?, any general hints for playing Daemonhunters (or 40k for that matter)?

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HQ

 

Inquisitor Lord: Daemonhammer, Artificer armour and Bolt pistol.

Retinue: 2 Combat-Servitors and one Acolyte. (149pts)

 

Troops

 

Justicar with 7 Grey Knights: One Psycannon (250pts)

 

8 Inquisitorial Stormtroopers: 2 Plasma Guns (100pts)

 

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The thing im really wondering about is whether the Inq will survive running across the battlefield to close combat. I really like the look and fuffy feel of that unit, see. Might sacrifice the psycannon or change whatnot to ensure that it stays. So, thanks for your time, and please leave feedback.

[Ambro]

Hi, good to see you have chosen a DH army, the more people the better :). I'll try and give you some help then from what ive learnt in the time ive been collecting them. First you have a choice as to what kind of DH force you would like to collect, some go for a pure Daemonhunter force as taken from the codex, if you go for this option then you can choose to either be radical or puritan, i'd reccomend puritan as it gives you the option to take the grey knights although daemonhosts are quite interesting for a themed radical army but dont expect it to be too competitive. Another option is to use inducted units, this has never really interested me so i'm no expert but if you use space marines as inducted troops then you can't take grey knights which is the coolest things about having a DH army. Using imperial guards as inducted troops is a better option as you have access to some pretty decent stuff such as sentinals and leman russ tanks and there are no drawbacks except that you need the imperial guard codex of course. The final option would be to go for a pure grey knight army as some players do here although expect this to be very challenging as you will have very limited numbers of troops.

 

I take it that the list you posted above is your draft list which isnt too bad for a first attempt although there are a few things you could change. First important rule I should mention is that close combat inquisitor retinues are almost always a waste of points. The reason is that you will have to make you inquisitor durable enough to make it into close combat and survive at least a few rounds, for that youll need to spend a lot of points on armour, invulnrable saves and ablative wounds on your squad. Next problem is that once youve spent all those points to make it into close combat youll need to equip your inquisitor to the teeth in order to dish out some serious damage to make all those points you spent on getting him in there worthwhile. This is the main problem as the inquisitor has only strength three so whatever you give him he's never going to be good enough to justify his points cost. If you really wanted a CC inquistor then go for it as some people here have had good experiences occasionally with them although dont expect to win too many games.

 

So for a start i'd reccomend dropping the daemonhammer and artificer armour and giving your inquisitor a psycannon instead, his 3+ save should be good enough if he has a decent retinue. The next problem is choosing the retinue which I don't really have time to explain as it is quite complicated although there are many good artilcles on this forum. One suggestion I would make is dont overequip your inquisitor, it is almost always better to invest the points in extra grey knights or storm troopers, just give him the minimum so he can get the stat benefits and no more.

 

Your troops choices are ok, personally i'd try and get two squads of troopers in there and drop the psycannon on the grey knights but thats just my preference. Hope thats enough information for now, i'm sure youll find many excellent posts on this forum which will help, i'd recomend reading silent requims post which is a sticky on the top of this section as it has some good tactical advice which is still relevant even in the 5th edition, just ignore the parts about IC status.

[the_Armyman]

Well, Im new to 40 k, introduced by the (great!) novel Grey Knights. Coupled with the fact that i love the models and the fact that the Daemonhunters seem to be one of the least played armies, Im hooked on them!

 

Welcome to the B&C and, more importantly, welcome to the Daemonhunters! Well, you've made one good choice already: you're playing the game with models and an army you like. Most of us in this forum sorta share that in common, too.

 

HQ

 

Inquisitor Lord: Daemonhammer, Artificer armour and Bolt pistol.

Retinue: 2 Combat-Servitors and one Acolyte. (149pts)

 

In smaller games, you're better served by putting as little into your HQ units as possible. Even in larger battles, Inquisitor Lords have a very short list of effective configurations, so I would recommend pulling back a bit on the wargear and maybe just starting out with a bolt pistol and power weapon. After you've gotten a few games in and expanded your army a little more, you can try out some of the bells and whistles in the wargear section.

 

Troops

 

Justicar with 7 Grey Knights: One Psycannon (250pts)

 

8 Inquisitorial Stormtroopers: 2 Plasma Guns (100pts)

 

Use the 30 points you saved in wargear from the Inquisitor and add two more Stormtroopers. Then, break those ten ISTs into two squads of five. At lower points levels, more smaller units will be better than a few large ones. Also, be sure to take into account your opponent. Spend some time at your local GW and get to know the crowd a bit. Make sure your opponent knows you're new to the game, and you're more interested in simply having a bit of fun rather than honing a killer list. Play on a 4x4 table, and start out light on the rules.

 

Stop back and let us know how things went!

[- 7eAL -]

A Brother-Captain is an excellent alternative HQ choice. Relatively inexpensive hero with good weapons and Terminator armour. Add a psycannon, and he becomes a mobile heavy weapons platform.

A similar Inquisitor in a heavy support setup with Gun-servitors is also good - potentially better than a close combat Inquisitor, but also more expensive.

 

Armyman's advice on the matter of Stormtroopers is good.

 

At 500 points, I would prefer to have more squads or bodies rather than special weapons. Storm bolters are generally good enough that special weapons aren't necessary for Grey Knights until more difficult creatures arrive on the table. If you need special weapons in a small game, take them on Stormtroopers because their special weapons don't cost 25 points and a Nemesis force weapon and a storm bolter with True Grit.

[Lord Inquisitor Coteaz]

Wow, thanks for the great feedback guys, much appreciated! As I mentioned I really like that Inquisitor unit, so I'll downgrade the daemonhammer to a power weapon to shave a couple of points but I still want to try it! Sound advice on the psycannon and stormtroopers too. While on stormtroopers, are the plasmas generally good against most things? I'll maybe come off as a cheapskate, but models are expensive and money isn't a premium, and I want to be able to use the things I buy...Well, gotta try the Inquisitor unit, bad or not! And since I'm splitting the stormtroopers, would it be smart put the grey knights on fast attack so that they COULD teleport just in case? They can just begin on the table as normal should I choose, right? Oh, any advice on how to play my beloved Inquisitor Unit? Again, thanks for your help!

 

HQ

Inquisitor Lord:

Artificer Armour, Power weapon Bolt pistol

Retinue: 2 Combat-servitors, acolyte

 

Troops

2x5 stormtroopers with 2 plasma gun each

8 Grey Knights

 

 

P.S I find I really enjoy puzzling lists together..

[Ambro]

! And since I'm splitting the stormtroopers, would it be smart put the grey knights on fast attack so that they COULD teleport just in case? They can just begin on the table as normal should I choose, right? Oh, any advice on how to play my beloved Inquisitor Unit? Again, thanks for your help!

 

Yea thats what I do with my 500 point army, I have a shooty inquisitor with one HB servitor a few others and then two squads of IG for troops and a squad of 7 PAGK which I can choose to teleport or not, teleport is a nice option to have though as 7 GK landing behind enemy lines usually gives the opponent quite a shock in a small 500 point game especially considering they get 14 storm bolter shots as soon as they land. Also its a nice army to play as its very fluffy with the inquisitor and his men struggling against the enemy until the grey knight reinforcements arrive.

 

One more tip if you want to give you inquisitor a bit of a boost in CC without paying a tonne of points then just give him a familiar and warrior henchman and give him the psychic power hammerhand then I use him as a counter charge unit to protect my storm troopers.

[- 7eAL -]

With 5th edition, putting a squad of Grey Knights into Fast Attack isn't the wisest choice in small games because that costs you a scoring unit. When objectives don't count it doesn't matter, but Grey Knights are still some of the best basic troops in the game.

[Ambro]

You will usually get a lot more effect out of your grey knights if you deepstrike against most armies. The ability to be able to place a unit as effective as grey knights anywhere on the board later in the game gives you a big advantage over your opponent which will usually offset the disadvantage of having a scoring unit. Also what people dont seem to realise is that objectives are only really important in one thirds of the games you will play, in the annihilation mission you just have to kill your opponent whilst minimising losses and in the capture and control mission you just have to guard your own base and try and get your own unit in the enemy base before the end of the game so a deepstriking unit is invaluable in these missions. It is only in the seize ground mission where objectives really become important and so you might want to use your GK as a troop if you know you are going to be playing that kind of mission but in all other cases it is usually preferential to have them as fast attack.

[number6]

HQ

Inquisitor Lord:

Artificer Armour, Power weapon Bolt pistol

Retinue: 2 Combat-servitors, acolyte

As hinted at earlier, the best loadout for Malleus Inquisitors is shooty. You're spending a lot of points on a close combat unit that, for almost exactly the same points, could instead yield you a minimal 5-model GK squad. I think it's patently obvious which of those units will perform best in assault. Not to mention ranged firepower! :rolleyes:

 

As much as the fluff of the game -- and the awesome cover art of the HD codex! -- would have us believe that Inquisitors should be getting in the thick of things ... they really shouldn't. They're fragile, expensive, and their retinues are similarly expensive and weak. Conversely, fielding a shooty Inquisitor is an excellent and synergistic choice. The list is short on ranged firepower, and an Inquisitor can provide that efficiently. At this points level, go with an Inquisitor with a psycannon (nothing else!), 2 Heavy Bolter Servitors, and either a sage or an acolyte with a bolter. When you get to bigger games, add in another gun servitor (plasma cannon or heavy bolter) and make sure you have 2 sages and at least 1 mystic.

 

Deployed into cover, Inquisitorial firebases are cheap, effective, and difficult to scrape off the table.

Troops

2x5 stormtroopers with 2 plasma gun each

8 Grey Knights

These are excellent. I've always preferred footslogging my GKs rather than deep striking them, and IMHO, the emphasis on Troops makes that essentially mandatory. ISTs are just too squishy, especially in small numbers, to dependably contest and hold objectives. If you're going to include Knights, I think you should always slot them as Troops. Save deep striking for your Terminators, when you can afford them.

P.S I find I really enjoy puzzling lists together..

Heh. I could probably have painted all of my Skaven with the time I've spent (wasted?) developing army lists!