Culexus with Inducted Guard

[Doomaflatchi]

I was looking through my Imperial Guard Codex today, and I noticed something interesting: when purchasing Psyker Battle Squads, though they are treated as a single Psyker for the purpose of using psychic powers, each model in the squad counts as an individual Psyker. After seeing how relatively cheap they were, this tickled something in my memory. Flipping over to my Daemonhunters Codex, I looked up the Culexus Assassin, the bastard step-child of the Temple Assassins who we usually just sweep into a closet and forget about, and almost immediately realized what tickled me so.

 

The Culexus Assassing gets an additional Str 5 AP 1 shot for each Psyker within 12", with no limit. This means that an army with an Inquisitor Lord HQ and a Culexus Assassin could induct two full squads of ten Sanctioned Psykers, put them in Chimeras, and have the Culexus hop a ride in one and fire out of the top hatch 22 times each round. That's a lot of AP1 firepower for your Elites choices (and costs less than two Land Raiders). On top of that, the other Psyker Battle Squad could cast Weaken Resolve, drop the opponent's Leadership to 2, and suddenly make very fearful many things which previously would not have been a concern (like the Culexus' Life Drain Power, or simply forcing a Moral Test through shooting or a Tank Shock).

 

So, I wanted to turn this idea over to you guys. Has anyone either done, or thought about doing, anything like this? Is it worthwhile? Would such a mobile 12" firebase be a useful foundation for an army? Does anyone see any reasons why this couldn't, or shouldn't, work, or how it could work better?

[Eltnot]

The problem with this combination is it's cost.

 

Whilst it will work, it's rather expensive and is nothing that a few leman russ can't do at even greater ranges.

The assassin can't get into a transport that is already occupied also which means he's easy to pick off.

 

Fun for an apoc game though.

[Magua]

The Culexus Assassing gets an additional Str 5 AP 1 shot for each Psyker within 12", with no limit. This means that an army with an Inquisitor Lord HQ and a Culexus Assassin could induct two full squads of ten Sanctioned Psykers, put them in Chimeras, and have the Culexus hop a ride in one and fire out of the top hatch 22 times each round. That's a lot of AP1 firepower for your Elites choices (and costs less than two Land Raiders). On top of that, the other Psyker Battle Squad could cast Weaken Resolve, drop the opponent's Leadership to 2, and suddenly make very fearful many things which previously would not have been a concern (like the Culexus' Life Drain Power, or simply forcing a Moral Test through shooting or a Tank Shock).

 

Don't have Codex handy, so this is going off of memory, but:

 

1) If you're playing a DH/WH army, you can't induct in Sanctioned Psykers. The list of allies you can induct in is explicitly listed in the relevant codex. So you have to play IG and then use the DH/WH as allies.

 

2) Assassin requires an Inquisitor or an Inquisitor Lord. If you're using DH/WH as allies, you only get 0-1 Elites, so you have to take an Inquisitor Lord as an HQ choice, and then the Assassin as your Elite choice.

 

3) The psykers have to be within 12" of the Culexus, and the Culexus has to be within 12" of the target (that being the range of the Animus).

 

4) Chimeras are pretty easy to pop, and if the psykers are outside of a transport and within 12", they have to test morale or break (and they suffer from Ld 7 due to the Culexus, as well).

 

5) It's pretty expensive (psykers, inquisitor lord, assassin, assorted transports) for something that guard can already dish out a good amount of anyways.

 

Now, that all said, it is neat when it works. But once your opponent sees what it is, all they need to do is pop one of those Chimera and your 22-shot AP1 firebase is limited to 6" of movement a turn, or, worse, breaks and runs. If your army already has psykers, and you haven't filled your HQ and Elite slots, there can be some very nice synergy, but I wouldn't build the army around the idea of getting the 20 AP1 shots off. The combo is simply too fragile.

[Saint_]

I have to say while that is a really cool idea, i mean really cool;

(who doesnt like 22 shot ap 1 haha)

Assassins cannot ride in transports due to their 'Independant' special rule.

[mycnh]

Callidus' (Callidi ?) are also quite awesome w/ choirs. Especially with bugs and all those pesky T6 big bugs - by using Weaken resolve and her Neuro-shredder to instant kill these guys. Imagine a Tyrant and his guard evaporating, Tervigons being Tervi - GONE.

 

Could be mean ...