Are sorcerers actually any good?

[deity12]

On paper they don't seem that good, daemon prince's seem superior but on the other hand...

 

Independent character. So they can hide in squads and lash enemies around.

Force weapon. Nasty enough but with warptime could mash up infantry and multi-wounders.

Daemonic steed(okay it's crappy, but its another option)

Terminator Armour

And finally what I think is actually the biggest advantage: familiar

YES!!! I love this little 5 point upgrade. No longer do we have to pay for the hideously expensive mark of tzeentch for two power we can have this instead!!!

 

What do other people think of this?

 

And this loadout?

 

Chaos Sorcerer

Familiar

Mark of Slaneesh

Lash of Submission

Warptime

[Corruptedcz]

If I recall correctly with Familiar you can buy second power but that doesnt mean you can use 2 powers, only MoT can but I can be wrong.

I had many successes with Sorcerer with MoS and Lash ( I played Slaanesh only army ) and he was superior to DP with Lash, he was in unit of Raptors and he last until end of the game (mostly) PRoblem with DP was, he gets killed too soon but if you will play sorcerer right he can survive whole game. Big + for me.

[Brother Nihm]

They aren't bad, like Chaos Lords (who are basically Daemon Weapon platforms), but they aren't really good either.

 

 

The problem with them is in high their price tag, lacklustre powers, and no way of getting around psychic defense, nor any psychic defense of their own.

Given how most armies are Mecha or have psy-defensive upgrades, Lash is situational, bordering on almost useless, unless you tailor your list for it (Oblits Oblits Oblits) and frankly, that's just dull. That leaves you with an assortment of odd psychic powers that mostly emulate weapons and one or two odd spells (see below).

 

When fielding Sorceror Lord you do get access to a ton of conversion opportunities, a flavourful character, gimmicky power combinations (Gift/Wind of Chaos hooo!) etc.

 

But,

In short, a Sorceror Lord brings no tactical value to the table that any similar combination of role-specific CSM weapons doesn't, and they do it cheaper.

 

 

My 2 Kraks

[the jeske]

bad all the way. a lord or Khârn can at least be made cheaper then a DP . A sorc actualy costs more then a DP . Who cares if he is IC , when it means you have to run cult[or gimp csm squad . so nerf ok unit to get a bad one] and he still gets singled out in hth [because lets face it he doesnt do much outside of hth]. But that is not the worse part . What happens if [and let us remember this is 5th ed] his force weapon/psychic power gets stoped ? We get an upgraded asp champion that can be singled out . What happens when the same anti psyker stuff hits the DP ? we have a multi wound MC that can still kill stuff.

[Drudge Dreadnought]

If I recall correctly with Familiar you can buy second power but that doesnt mean you can use 2 powers, only MoT can but I can be wrong.

 

Correct. Familiar lets you know an extra power. You still need MoT to use more than 1 each turn. The point of a familiar is if you want 1 power to use in CC, and 1 to use at ranged. But that's pretty much never, as chaos psychic powers are all terribad except for lash, or warptime on princes.

[chillin]

Prob I have with chaos sorc's, is lack luster pwrs and that they have no anti-psyc protection. Compair sorc to a s/m libby; wide range of useful spells AND their spells are included in their 100 pt price tag AND they nullify other psyc powers on a 4+, all for 100 pts. Makes a sorc look pitiful. Which is so against the fluff, a chaos sorc's connection to the warp and to chaos goods and daemons would make them some of the most feared and dangerous psycr's in the universe, not the lamest :) . Thanks again for all your hard work Thorpe (all 15 min's of it). When I want to use my sorc is another time that I use the SW dex to represent my BL army. Compair the SW rune priest to the chaos sorc's and you'll see how good the sorc is.

[Larkyn]

But,

In short, a Sorceror Lord brings no tactical value to the table that any similar combination of role-specific CSM weapons doesn't, and they do it cheaper.

 

A Demon Prince can do the same thing (without force weapon, but its a MC, so it balances) for cheaper. Plus, IMO, DP's are a lot more fun to model then a sorcerer.

[Brother Nihm]

True but a DP brings much, much more to the table, synergizes a lot better and is actually better than a Sorceror at both anti-infantry, threat + anti-vehicle, that it is a whole different beast entirely.