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Runs priest build


Brother Oden

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While I agree with Captain Fabian that Divination is probably the best discipline overall for Rune Priests (I mean; that primaris power, come on); I think there's a lot to be said for rolling Biomancy if you are looking for a Rune Priest who is designed to get stuck into close combat. Smite isn't a terrible power to fall back on (S4/AP2/Assault 4 will definitely soften up MEQ units before charging them), but let's look at the 6 you can potentially generate.

 

-Iron Arm; +D3 Strength/Toughness and Eternal Warrior on the Rune Priest. This has the potential to be absolutely brutal. a T7 Priest with a 2+ save, hitting at Str 7? Have fun winning that challenge.

-Enfeeble; Targeted enemy is -1Str/-1Toughness. Imagine how much this could turn the tide in your favour against say, a unit of 20 Chaos Marines. Now you're wounding on 3's and they're hitting you back on 5's. That's a huge benefit.

-Endurance; Friendly unit gains FNP/It will not die/Relentless. I don't even need to explain how brutal this power could be. Storm Shield WG Terminators with FNP? How about Thunderwolves with "It will not die"? Ghastly.

-Life Leech; S6/AP2/Assault 2 shooting attack that lets him regain a wound if it causes one. Not too bad a power, but certainly not going to turn the tide in an assault.

-Warp Speed; +D3 Initiative/Attacks and Fleet on the Rune Priest. Fleet doesn't mean much, but the I/A bonus is certainly welcome--I'd love to see this one combined with a Force Staff, to knock your enemies down to I1 before they have any say in the matter.

-Haemorrhage; Shooting attack that forces enemy to take a toughness test, if they fail they die and a random model within 2" takes the same test. Potential for a big chain reaction against low T armies, but not an assault-y power.

 

So yeah, definitely a few stand-out powers in the Biomancy tree. Of course, divination has some stellar powers for CC too--especially Foreboding (Overwatch @ full BS), and the fantastic Misfortune (reroll ALL successful saving throws--armour, invulnerable, cover!). My recommendation would be to try both out and see which you prefer.

I wouldn't count too much on normal powers. The Primaris is the one that matters. Everything else just makes the priest better. And with bless powers you are good to go. On the other hand destruction ones need you to pass the test, roll for attacks, roll to hit, wound etc etc. And the other guy gets to deny the witch. So you bless yourself and your unit and that's all. You just do it. That's why I prefer divination.
What about the Space Wolves psychic powers? I see lots of lists with Living Lightning and Jaws of the World Wolf.

 

Those aren't Close Combat (CC) oriented as was the original question of the topic. Still valid builds though.

 

Not to besmirch our beloved psychic powers, but I think the SW powers better reflect what a SW army is: Reactive. Initial reactions to the SW persona is that they must be an insane, melee-oriented army. However, the longer you study their capabilities, the sooner you realize they're meant to dominate the midfield. Not to say you can't be successful in melee, but our overall benefits clearly aren't as melee-strong as other armies like BA. The psychic powers exemplify this, with no less than five of the seven powers being shooting attacks, with the remaining counting as blessings.

 

Before venturing over to the imperial powers in frustration, there's a small silver lining in two of our powers. Thunderclap, while not impressive, is a very limited short-ranged attack (large blast marker). Could easily take a few out before giving/receiving a charge.

 

What is often overlooked, however, is the Wolf Spirits. Usually dismissed for its 12" range, in favor of JotWW or MH, the stats on the Spirits are fairly decent circumstantially, and guarantee 5 potential hits, 2 of which will be AP2, and if anything dies it is an auto-morale check. Combined with tempest wrath or storm caller can help your RP get close enough to use either.

 

Also, don't overlook that all five of our shooting attacks can be used on Overwatch in addition to our Shooting phase for a lvl 2 Rune Priest (Master of Runes).

Master of the runes allows you to cast two powers a turn

 

You psyker mastery level in 6th, when not stated specifically in your codex, is worked out by how many powers you can cast a turn.

 

Therefore with master of the runes (2 powers) you are psyker mastery level 2?

 

 

I only started reading the new psyker rules last night, but i think this is how it works, and for each mastery level you can cast 1 power at any point (or possibly one a phase, with overwatch is in the assualt phase, not shooting).

 

 

 

Has anyone been using MotR in 6th? I always found it was too expensive for its possible effects in 5th

Well, guess I need to check the FAQ more often. Seems last month, this was fixed.

 

Q: Can psychic shooting attacks be fired as Snap Shots (assuming that

the Psyker has enough Warp Charge available and requires a roll to

hit)? (p13)

A: Yes, but only in your own Shooting phase. This means that

psychic shooting attacks cannot be made when firing

Overwatch.

Two small points:

 

1. Although certain BRB psychic powers can help, the Rune Priest really doesn't have the stats to be all that burly in close combat. Although they'll do just fine against Sergeants, and the like, they will get curb-stomped by actual melee characters.

 

2. Irnst the Wise supports Logan Grimnar directly, and not his brother. This is a bone of contention between the two.

 

Valerian

  • 2 weeks later...
even without invulnerable saves rune priests do just fine, especially if they have a unit to 'look out' for them, priests can take rune Armour to absorb the odd power sword but their strength isnt in absorbing damage, its to support other elements in your force, to this effect ive really been enjoying Divination if i field a single priest, prescience is just amazing! especially as prescience can be cast on nearby units as well!
  • 2 weeks later...

I find Rune Priests to be exceptionally useful. They are more then worth the points and with Leaders of the Pack, why not. I play a lot of Imp guard and Tau, so big guns tend to Blow them away, but I love them still.

 

I tend to take two most of the time if the game is over 1000 points. One with the Long Fangs and the other with the Grey Hunters. Runic Armor or TDA is a must. Living Lightning is amazing. Lightning Wolves tear apart anything you point at. Game on.

The best cc rune priest I can think of comes at a huge cost but can be a snowballing beast.

 

Master of runes, TDA, wolf tooth necklace, saga of the warrior born. And roll twice on bio. That's 215 points for a 2 wound 2 attack character. But I'd be worried about him in a challenge. Stick him with a wolf priest for PE. But that would be a fun bookworm to toss at any enemy!

Up until yesterday, I was having great success with two Priests at 2000pts, each with Runic Armour and nothing else. One sat in a Pod and took MH and LL and supported Grey Hunters on the frontline, the other took Divination and Prescience and twin linked a Long Fangs pack and their attendant Cyclone equipped Wolf Guard. It's tended to work well.

 

(Yesterday I lost a Rune Priest turn one of all three games, usually due to rolling multiple ones for saves or fluffing Perils checks. It was embarrassing.)

 

As an aside, we don't have Force Weapons - we have Runic Weapons, so all are S - As User AP3, wounding Daemons on a 2+. That came in handy vs a Daemon Prince in one game....

Up until yesterday, I was having great success with two Priests at 2000pts, each with Runic Armour and nothing else. One sat in a Pod and took MH and LL and supported Grey Hunters on the frontline, the other took Divination and Prescience and twin linked a Long Fangs pack and their attendant Cyclone equipped Wolf Guard. It's tended to work well.

 

That seems to be a recipe that quite a few folks are using, and having good success with.

 

V

What about a Rune Priest with Chooser, and divination, hang back with the Long Fangs? Obviously, mainly for the primaris power, but some others can also help. Or just the Primaris with Jaws? Would this waste the potential of the RP, or would it actually help a big deal killing tanks/flyers etc if you could reroll to hit with your long fangs?

Marmande is totally right; the codex powers are still fantastic, but the new Divination/Biomancy powers bring something something to the table that the old power list was sorely lacking--support and utility.

 

If you want your Rune Priest to melt face, roll codex powers. If you want him to provide potent buffs to other units, roll Divination. If you want him to either be really good in close combat or provide some more impressive buffs, and you like gambling, roll Biomancy.

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