Iron Priest effectiveness

[Wildfire]

discuss

[Grey Mage]

I think, currently, that the best setup for an Iron Priest is with 2-4 Cyberwolves, and probly on a Thunderwolf himself.

 

Saga of the Iron Warrior can be used if you want him to repair reliably, and keeping it all wolves adds a bit of mobility to the unit, while just a couple cyberwolves gives him some durability without addint to much to his price.

 

Thats about it for me.... its rare I have an open elite slot and the points for him in the same list.... I wish theyd made him an IC.

[Hfran Morkai]

The Iron Priest is a support unit, it can be used to repair valuable Space Marine vehicles (I mean in Apocalypse you could even repair Super-Heavies!) Sure it isn't a particularly great combat unit but it's not half bad. Most people wouldn't like to spend the points on such an investment, I know I wouldn't except in larger games but he does have his uses.

 

 

This is the unit I like the look of:

 

Iron Priest

Saga of the Iron Wolf

3 Thrall Servitors

2 Cyberwolves

Total: 125 points

 

Then I'd stick him in a Land Raider Redeemer to gain an additional D3 inch movement, not bad when your main weapons have a range of eight inches and PotMS still allows you to fire a single weapon.

 

Then on the charge you have:

3 Thunder Hammer attacks

4 Servo Arm attacks

6 Thrall attacks (strength 3)

8 Cyberwolf attacks

 

That pouring out of a Land Raider Redeemer is pretty nasty, perhaps another two Cyberwolves to increase the attacks given out.

 

Also the Iron Priest will be repairing vehicles on a 2+ and one Thrall can die and it will still be a 2+ with a minimum of a 4+ to repair. Therefore he excels in an armoured assault due to the ability to repair immobilized vehicles, it's a shame he can't purchase a Razorback as a dedicated transport as that would be cheaper than a Land Raider.

 

He could also be used to maintain a gunline of Dreadnoughts, Predators and Whirlwinds, using his abilities to keep them running as long as possible and if need be add to combats.

 

It's hard to justify him when using a FO chart and regular sized games due to the amazing choices we have in the rest of our list and the points being so hard to come by.

[nurglespuss]

Support for me to be honest. Problem is, it takes up a valuable elites slot, and with 2 dreadnoughts, and only one choice left? I'll be taking wolfguard! pity though...

[stinkenheim]

if he was an IC i would look closer at taking him, but as so many hace said i can't spare an elite slot for some one just to wander around patching up my few vehicles... maybe in a fully mech army but not in mine

[Ullr Direfang]

i have yet to use one with the new codex, but i only foresee apoc. games for the one i have. unless i run lots of vehicles for some reason. or maybe a nice little distraction type force with wolves.

[xxvaderxx]

Only see one posibility

 

Iron+saga+2 servitors for a 2+ repair, inside a redeemer to keep it pouring.

 

Other than that is just as useless as the tech marin, GW knows this, that is why there is thunderfire cannon.

[ChainsawDR]

I run a lone wolf, Wolf Guard and an Iron Priest with WTN, Thunderwolf Mount and 2 Cyber Wolves as my elite choices.

 

Iron Priest needs to be run behind Rhinos to offer him the protection he needs, but is excellent in CC and the 19-24" charge is just awesome.

[Lord Thoralf]

Only problem I see with the Iron Priest and all those Thunder Wolfs and Thrall Servitors is that if gets killed you can kiss everything else goodbye. He only has 1 wound. :P

 

Give him a bike and stick him behind your dreadnoughts or Land Raiders for support. Thats it.

[commander alexander]

I think it really depends on what game you're trying to play, and what type of list your using

[WolfGeezer]

I've played 6 games with these guys in a Redeemer. No idea why anyone wouldn't take 3 or 4 wolves if you have the space as majority T5 is what really makes the difference and ensures you get the I1 attacks. These guys got out and assaulted in every game and died only once. They killed 2 Daemon Prince's, an eldar Wraithlord (or whatever those 3 wound T8 walkers are called) a squad of plaguemarines and 2 squads of marines as well as finishing off a couple of remnants. Only had a chance to make 2 repairs rolls over the 6 games and failed 1 (needing 2+ :P ) Did have 2 assault phases against armour 10 with 3 TH and 4 servo arms (plus wolves) only to do nothing more than stun though!

 

Still these guys easily made more than their points back and were left over half strength in 5/6 games if you exclude the Redeemer which was a little disappointing in its own shooting. There is almost nothing I would rather run into CC with a daemon prince (other than Arjac and he costs mre than the whole squad.) T5 and 4 hidden TH/PF attacks hitting on 3's with the WTN (which I recommend highly.) Try finding such a monstrous creature killer at the 150 pt level.

[Wildfire]

The Rune Priest is not all that likely to die quickly, as he has runic armor and is not an IC. He does still put out IC-like attacks, though, and costs less than an IC. The only downside I see is that he requires a transport to get to battle, and cannot take one of his own. And this is a serious defect, make no mistake.

 

Bottom line, I see the Iron Priest a combat unit. Any chance to repair a vehicle is a bonus, not the reason you take him in the first place.

[Grey Mage]

Ahh, but he has all the downsides of an IC and none of the upsides if you dont want to buy him some friends... wich is the sticking point i think.

 

Im seriously considering using him in some planetstrike scenarios though, to fix my indomitable fortress- Ill let you know how it goes.

[commander alexander]

Personally, I love dreads, I love tanks, and I love plasma cannons, that means I stick him in the back with two of his servitors having plasma cannons and repairing vehicles if need be, and I'm happy :)

[Gentlemanloser]

The Saga of the Iron wolf is nearly useless. Sure, if you wan to spend 65 points (plus servitors) for someone to keep your two other Dreads working. Or you could just buy another Dread. I suppose if you're really scared of someone rolling a 6, then you failing your 5+, then them rolling a 3/4 to weapon off/imobilise Bjorn (and you not using the Venerable reroll), or you face a lot of Tank Hunter (or lol Necrons), he might be worth hiding behind Bjorn.

 

As for the movement increase, an extra d3 on a Redeemer. People would *love* to face that, rather than a tooled up CC squad actualy in the Redeemer.

 

As for sticking the IW on a TWM with some cyberwolves. Buy a couple of TWC instead.

[Wildfire]

Ahh, but he has all the downsides of an IC and none of the upsides if you dont want to buy him some friends... wich is the sticking point i think.

 

Well, true. But that's the same as saying a sgt has all of the downsides of an IC and none of the upsides if you don't want the rest of his squad. Bottom line, the IP needs to be considered as a squad. Not as an IC. I think he'd be great if he could take a rhino, as it is he hurts because he needs an expensive LR to be able to start the game in a transport. If he could take that rhino, I think we'd see him quite a bit.

 

Again, Gentlemanloser, I say the IP is not a techmarine. He's a nasty CC squad that doesn't have a transport option.

[Grey Mage]

Ahh, but Id rather have him as a hero... I think itd be great having him in a swarm of BCs as they march up with my Dreadnaughts.... or in a Rhino Squad with the Rune Priest casting Stormcaller so he can hop out and make repairs.

 

I dont find the enforced retinue to my favor really... and thats the reason why a cool conversion rarely is ever sees the light of day.

 

Still hoping on planetstrike though.

[Wildfire]

Ahh, but Id rather have him as a hero... I think itd be great having him in a swarm of BCs as they march up with my Dreadnaughts.... or in a Rhino Squad with the Rune Priest casting Stormcaller so he can hop out and make repairs.

 

I dont find the enforced retinue to my favor really... and thats the reason why a cool conversion rarely is ever sees the light of day.

 

Still hoping on planetstrike though.

 

It looks to me like you're making a common mistake. You're seeing the new codex and trying to shoehorn new units into old roles. You need to shake off your preconceptions and see him as he is now.

 

Edited to add: realized that sounded a bit patronizing. Didn't mean it that way, please take no offence.

[Grey Mage]

Ahh, but Id rather have him as a hero... I think itd be great having him in a swarm of BCs as they march up with my Dreadnaughts.... or in a Rhino Squad with the Rune Priest casting Stormcaller so he can hop out and make repairs.

 

I dont find the enforced retinue to my favor really... and thats the reason why a cool conversion rarely is ever sees the light of day.

 

Still hoping on planetstrike though.

 

It looks to me like you're making a common mistake. You're seeing the new codex and trying to shoehorn new units into old roles. You need to shake off your preconceptions and see him as he is now.

 

Edited to add: realized that sounded a bit patronizing. Didn't mean it that way, please take no offence.

I dont take any offense- I should note that I didnt use a IP through all of 4rth and 5th editions to date. I have nothing to shoehorn....

 

I suppose I havent been speaking properly- I would have prefered something along the lines of a Techmarine- they are great in CC, useful for repairs, and excellant as a squad support character at a moderate price.

 

I know our WG are capable of most of this, but I would have it just the same.

 

Edit: wich is to say, the reason I dont take it is because what I would like to do with the unit is really feasable.

[Wildfire]

We may simply have a play style difference. I don't think much of the Techmarine. I would absolutely love the IP if it had a transport option.

[Valerian]

Regarding the Iron Priest:

 

We have the ability to take up to 4 Headquarters selections. It would have been much better if Phil had just made the Iron Priest an Independent Character and a HQ choice, leaving pretty much everything else the same. This would have given us everything required to more easily incorporate an effective alternative into Space Wolves armies by giving us the ability to: attach to other units; ride in their transports with them; and, freeing up that important Elite slot.

 

I, like Grey Mage, haven't included an Iron Priest in my force since 2nd Edition. With the changes I recommended above, I would be much more likely to find a place for him. In a smaller points game I'd be more inclined to take one of the cheaper HQ units, making the Iron Priest a good choice to fill that requirement. In larger points games I would more likely have the points to spare to add him in to an assault unit for his extra-umph.

 

Grey Mage, you may remember a thread that we had here back in April titled "New Codex Concerns"; one of the issues that popped up in that old thread was about what they would do with the Iron Priest. Allow me to quote myself from that old post:

 

The problem with the Techmarine is that he's got too many toys/abilities, so he gets a little expensive, but none of them are complementary. Instead, you end up paying for capabilities that are at odds with each other. He has better stats, better armour, and can get some good close combat weapons (Power weapon and servo-arm Power fist, and add a flamer, twin-linked plasma pistol, and another Power fist attack if you get the harness). That's great for getting him up close and personal. However, he also pays for Blessing of the Omnisiah, which to really use he has to stay out of the fight and tied to whatever high priority vehicle you want to keep alive.

 

This is extremely unfortunate, too, that such a cool idea for a Marine character type has to always sit on the shelf. All they would need to do really is make the Blessing of the Omnisiah power one out of several tech-related options, rather than a default. You want a vehicle repair guy? Take the Blessing power for your Iron Priest/Techmarine. You want somebody to hang out in the back feeding targeting data to your Long Fangs/Devastator squad? Take the Signum option. You want someone to help call down more accurate Orbital Bombardment from the Strike Cruiser/Battle Barge? Take the Comm Grid option. You want more accurate Drop Pod Assault/Teleportation? Take the Battlefield Positioning System relay. You want him to shred in close combat with the Assault Squad? Give him the Power Weapon and Servo Harness stuff, etc.

 

It just takes a little imagination to make an Iron Priest/Techmarine a worthwhile choice. However, unfortunately, I think that GW has missed the boat on this opportunity since the Rogue Trader rules. That is why, if you spend any time looking through army lists on the B&C sub-forums, you almost never see either present. [/rant]

 

 

 

 

V

[Skirax]

Generally, I find it strange that they come automatically with Runic Armour, and the Rune Priests have to pay for them.

[Gentlemanloser]

Again, Gentlemanloser, I say the IP is not a techmarine. He's a nasty CC squad that doesn't have a transport option.

 

I actually used an IP on a TWM in the first ever SW Codex game I played (it was an Apoc match), and loved the idea.

 

Problem is, it's 155 points base, and I could have three TWC for just under that.

 

And the TWC all have Rending attacks, which non of the IP/Cyberwolves have. Plus with the single wound, you can't make any sort of wound allocation shenanigans, which vastly increase the survivability of the TWC.

 

Sure the IP comes with a TH as base, and another lovely PF attack. But I'd rather have the increased number of S5 Rending hits form the Cavalry. I'll splash out the points if needed, picking up a PF for one, and get a Rending Power Fist. :D

 

Also, the IP has a very big downside. The Wolves are wargear options, and dissappear when he dies. As he's not an IC, this usually isn't a problem. Until you're hit by a Rending shot from Telion, who allocates it to the single wound IP (or you actually face the rarer Vindicare assassin). And method of sniping (like anoher JotWW) and you cuold lose the whole unit.

 

Unlike the Cavalry. They're just a better unit, and point sink, for the slot of 'nasty CC unit'.

 

I suppose I'd use an IP with Cyberwolves, if I've alsready got my three fast slots taken up by TWC. But then I'd probably want to spend the points on a WL/WGBL on TWM to add to one of those suqads instead.

[Wildfire]

The powerfist on a TWC is not rending. Taking the powerfist negates the ability to rend.

 

I'd agree with you that the three TWC with a powerfist is better than an IP on mount with cyberwolves, for a few more points. They are in different slots, which can sometimes make a difference. However, I'm talking about a IP on foot with servitors and cyberwolves. That's what I mean when I say "a nasty CC unit without a transport option."

[stinkenheim]

i think it is, if i remember its only the thunderwolf mount that says rending doesn't apply to special close combat attacks, and thunder wolf mount i the wargear option available to characters. i might be wrong, just glossed over the entry as it doesn't really apeal to me too much.