psybolt ammo?

[chaplain belisarius]

Would you say its a must have or more of a just in case i have points spare option? am putting together my 1k list and am unsure-on the one hand, better shooting, on the other, it rapidly gets pricey!

 

any thoughts?

[breng77]

At 1k points I would say no in gerneral unless you have spare points. Look at it this way your best list choices would be an Inquisitor for HQ (he's cheap), then GK squads probably a couple strike squads/ terminator squads, some purifiers, Dreads etc. If you looked at a list with say 4 -5 Grey knight squads, the Psybolts are going to run you aroudn 100 points, you are better off spending those points on things like Psycannons (or Close combat upgrades), transports, or more units.

[Brother Captain Kezef]

On a 10 man squad? It's a compulsory purchase for me. With smaller squads not so much.

[Abaddonshand]

I'd say there are no hard and fast rules bar take it on 10 man squads only, not worth it on anything smaller due to lower points efficiency. I say take psybolts unless their presence means your list loses out on something more important.

[Chengar Qordath]

I'd say there are no hard and fast rules bar take it on 10 man squads only, not worth it on anything smaller due to lower points efficiency. I say take psybolts unless their presence means your list loses out on something more important.

Another point to consider when it comes to psybolts is how many storm bolters you have in the squad vs. special weapons; psycannon bolts might not be worth it in a 10-man squad with 4 Incinerators/psycannons.

[Abaddonshand]

I'd say there are no hard and fast rules bar take it on 10 man squads only, not worth it on anything smaller due to lower points efficiency. I say take psybolts unless their presence means your list loses out on something more important.

Another point to consider when it comes to psybolts is how many storm bolters you have in the squad vs. special weapons; psycannon bolts might not be worth it in a 10-man squad with 4 Incinerators/psycannons.

 

Great point, at least 8 models should be benefiting from psybolts to make them worth it.

[Something Wycked]

I'll add in that 8+ units is minimum, and I'll also add that I only put in on squads that I intend to be shooting all the time. Meaning, I won't give it to squads intended to get into CC. Any turn of yours they spend locked in assault is a turn they're not using the upgrade you bought them.

 

So rule of thumb for me... 8+ storm bolters in the squad, not an intended CC squad, and I'll certainly squeeze the points in instead of, say, buying additional models- taking a Strike Squad member versus giving a whole squad Psybolts, I'm buying the upgrade.

[Drudge Dreadnought]

Keep in mind that the whole purpose of the GK is to excel at medium (~24 inch) range. Psybolts play to the strength of the army. They also make the difference between being able to glance many transports or not. They are relatively cheap considering the power of them. Take 10 man squads and combat squad rather than 5 man ones.

[Thaelion Hexis]

Take 10 man squads and combat squad rather than 5 man ones

 

I was going to say just this. Being able to combat squad our units helps make the choice a lot easier and halves the cost if you want numerous scoring units and still have the extra strength. As long as you have those two Troops filled, the freedom is yours.

[Brother Captain Kezef]

My army is old school, I use a backbone of two 10 man terminator squads and I find the psybolts to be essential. The str 5 does make a difference, especialy against T4 enemies.

 

Even if you plan for CC the str 5 burst before the charge hits can turn the tide, since I have a habit of facing enemies that can kill me if I don't destroy them in one turn of combat. Bloodletters being the biggest problem, with the psybolt ammo i can rip into a unit of the daemons and charge in with halberds. Normaly there is nothing left to open up my termies after that double punch.

[spu00sed]

I love Psybolts.

 

They are expensive, especially on 5 man squads. However today they allowed me to destroy a dread, after I shot it in the back.

 

Also Psybolts + hammer of righteousness equals very dead GEQs and pretty dead MEQs

[HB66]

I second Spu,

im gonna take psybolts on everything except my rhinos......they turn normal storm bolters into slightly shorter range 2 shot Heavy Bolters!!!!! whats not to love? On any horde army they will only assure a whole sale slaughter in your shooting phase.

 

HB66

[iamnothere]

My 10 man squds take psybolts. II only take 5 man purgation squads so no point on those. All my dreads get psybolts but none of my other vehicles do.

 

Most of the opposition is T4 so going from 1/2 wound to 2/3 wound is huge - especially with our rate of fire. Statistically a 8 Storm bolters and 2 psycannons will put 10 wounds on an MEQ squad before saves. Agaist GEQ they might as well take the target off the board.

 

Psybolts make light vehicle hunting so much easier - we now threaten rhinos and really worry chimeras.

[chaplainmeliadus]

Put psybolt on the rhino if you take a secnd storm bolter.

[Cpt. Blood Donator]

Put psybolt on the rhino if you take a secnd storm bolter.

 

And make two storm bolters main weapons? Naaah.

[iamnothere]

Why? You can't move and fire both.

Put it on a HB Razor and you've got a big improvement.

[chaplainmeliadus]

No need to move if you're sitting on an objective, especially if you have two psycannon firing from the top hatch.

[Chengar Qordath]

If you really want to have fun with psycannon bolts, put them on a Crusader or a Stormraver geared out to use weapons psybolts upgrade.

[Nian]

Psybolts are fantastic on 10 man terminator squads, not do much for the rest unless you field a few 10 man striker squads with no special weapons. 10 ss with no specials makes the upgrade only 2 points per man. Bargain.

 

On vehicles, until they faq on the issue of defensive weapons, I think it's a bad idea and would only use it on dreads.

[WA Blue]

What about psybolt ammo on a razorback with the heavy bolter option?

 

Can psybolt ammo also be used if the razorback has a lascannon?

 

I'm just starting a GK army.

[Reclusiarch Darius]

I don't really rate it TBH. My Purifiers pack quad psycannon so I'm already invested enough into their dakka. Strike squads are kept cheap as possible to fill my mandatory Troop slots (regular Terminators do not impress me, Paladins are so much win). Paladins are a small squad and again, two have psycannon so I don't see the point.

 

On Razorbacks, psy-bolt ammo is useful if you take the heavy bolter or assault cannon options. The former is sorta uninspiring to me (medium-strength dakka isn't exactly a weakspot with Knights), but it's cheap and works alright. The latter is expensive, but it's essentially another psycannon in your army (and twin-linked as well, yay!). If I'm taking Razorbacks I'd buy the las-plas turret instead.

 

On Rifleman Dreads, never leave home without them. Twin-linked AP4 krak missiles are just so delicious vs light armour and transports.

[Drachnon]

I love them on strike squads. To have a little math in here on a 10 men strike squad the upgrade increases the unit cost by 10% but increase their chance to wound with 16%. Which is a pretty good return on your investment. They also allow you harm some things you normally couldn't (T8 MC's and AV11 vehicles).

[staxer]

If you really want to have fun with psycannon bolts, put them on a Crusader or a Stormraver geared out to use weapons psybolts upgrade.

 

I would not put psybolt ammo on a Crusader as this means the bolters are no longer defensive weapons. On the Stormraven I have put them on but as it is moving so quickly to get its cover save I don't think it is worth it. The Stormraven and Crusader will always get to fire one weapon due to POTMS, remember the one weapon rule means only one sponson not two could fire.

[Chengar Qordath]

If you really want to have fun with psycannon bolts, put them on a Crusader or a Stormraver geared out to use weapons psybolts upgrade.

 

I would not put psybolt ammo on a Crusader as this means the bolters are no longer defensive weapons. On the Stormraven I have put them on but as it is moving so quickly to get its cover save I don't think it is worth it. The Stormraven and Crusader will always get to fire one weapon due to POTMS, remember the one weapon rule means only one sponson not two could fire.

With the Crusader losing defensive weapon status is a trade-off, but Crusader psybolts are very cheap and most of the time my Crusader isn't moving in the 6-12" range where defensive weapon status matters.

 

As for the Stormraven, I personally don't use psycannon bolts on them since I like to keep my Stormravens cheap (not to mention often using the multi-meltas and/or lascannons instead of bolt weapons) but some people are quite fond of them. If you plan on using your SR as a bolt-gunship, being able to increase the strength on all your shots is nice, and the SR can move at combat speed and still shoot everything.