GM or Libby

[Glendor]

I hear people talking of both of these awesome characters in their lists and I must ask if they are taking both. Also I would like to know what most people consider the better option. I understand they are different but what do you think works better overall?

[nurglez]

I think you will get a few different replies, though it boils down to several factors: Your playing style, what size game and what your army is like.

 

A libby is a rather good support character, with access to a psychic hood, and a wide range of psychic abilities to choose from.

A GM is also rather good at support (thanks to his access to grenades, grand strategy and psychic communion), but he quickly gets costly if you pile on the upgrades. However he is better in combat then the libby (higher ws, more attacks and the option for a 3++ save in combat).

 

Both would be nice, but then you have 300-400+ points in 2 chars.

[number6]

Neither character is "better overall". As you say, they are both different. Which means you take the HQ from which your specific army list will gain the most benefit. Nobody can tell you which character that is. In fact, the answer could be "neither"! :) You might be better served with an Inquisitor, or a Champion....

 

The strength of the GM is that he is capable of affecting how your army plays overall. He can give your army an edge on winning game objectives through judicious use of Grand Strategy. He orients your entire army's tactical approach around winning the specific objectives of the specific game you're playing. He's a pretty decent combatant, but for his cost, most other armies get a lot more raw combat power than the GM has on offer. So you don't take a GM because you want a kick-ass combat character. He's a "metagame" character.

 

The strength of the Librarian is that he can significantly boost the effectiveness of a single unit. While he's only so-so in combat, he can make his unit stronger, or faster, or give them an important armour-busting shot, or.... Also, through The Summoning, he can quickly help you exert localized control over the battlefield. He's also got a psychic hood, which makes him the only unit outside of dreadnoughts with psychic defense. (And his psychic defense is at double the range of a dreadnought's.) The librarian is an "in game" character.

[stoopicus]

I don't have my codex handy but I'm forgetting if the libby is 0-1 or not. If not, has anyone tried taking two and ping-pong summoning purgation squads/dreads/etc back and forth across the map with them?

 

I'm thinking de-meching with guaranteed back/side shots on vehicles here.

[Zagman]

I don't have my codex handy but I'm forgetting if the libby is 0-1 or not. If not, has anyone tried taking two and ping-pong summoning purgation squads/dreads/etc back and forth across the map with them?

 

I'm thinking de-meching with guaranteed back/side shots on vehicles here.

 

That sounds like a very costly setup for a very unpredictable and risky power, not to mention doing it multiple times and not as a calculated risk. Though I may be wrong, this probably won't work well at all.

[stoopicus]

I don't have my codex handy but I'm forgetting if the libby is 0-1 or not. If not, has anyone tried taking two and ping-pong summoning purgation squads/dreads/etc back and forth across the map with them?

 

I'm thinking de-meching with guaranteed back/side shots on vehicles here.

 

That sounds like a very costly setup for a very unpredictable and risky power, not to mention doing it multiple times and not as a calculated risk. Though I may be wrong, this probably won't work well at all.

 

 

Not to mention terrain cover-save even with Astral Aim and making it hard to set up well. It's just the first obvious tactic that occurred to me when reading the description of the psychic power, and I was wondering if anyone had tried it to see if it were tenable.

[Something Wycked]

As usual, Number6 is right on the money. I don't even have anything to expand on about his post.

 

@ stoopicus: haven't heard of anyone trying it, and 310 points (minimum) is a lot of investment for a mobility advantage that is easily acquired through Interceptors, Dreadknights, and Stormravens.

[Red Lost Soldier]

I still can't justify either in my lists. Spending the best of 200pt in a single character is not something that I'm comfortable in with such an already small army. Instead of either choice I could have 5 more GKT. Though if I had to pick it would be the Librarian because he brings something unique to the army in his support powers. Yes I know the GM can make other units troops, but you could simply get a whole extra troop choice for his cost.

 

Problem for me is that when taking a Stormraven and filling it up I'm already investing many points in a niche choice, and adding an IC to an already tempting target is not my ideal. I usually end up taking 1/2 Inquisitors, or a Brotherhood Champion. Another advantage of these two not TDA characters is that you don't need a LR or a Stormraven.

 

I'd consider all the HQ choices, not just the shiny two.

[Brother Knight]

Personally I run both, as it's the same argument that we've always had with the LRs. I sway on the side of "if it keeps your GKs alive, then it's already made its points back" as you may be able to buy 5 GKTs with those points but if you can't keep them alive before doing their job it's 200 points wasted. Also the synergy between the GM and Libby is immense and really makes your footprint on the board that much larger and gives you far more versatility over the field regardless of play style due to their ability to be kitted out to make them suitable for any role.

[spu00sed]

I am running both too. In a unit of Paladins they go through enemy elites and heavies like a puppy through a blender.

 

In my last game my strikes held up the enemies termies and tried to assassinate his libby (he was hooding 90% of my powers) whilst the Paladins and characters took on the rest of the army.