Do priests have a place?

[Theduke08]

Hey guy’s im trying tovdecide wither or not priests actually hold a place of value anymore?  Typically I would run at least one

priest per 20 marines but im having a hard time justifying the 50-90 points I spend per priest.  What do you guys think
of priest as they currently are and do you have any ideas on how they could be changed to make them more appealing? 

[Jolemai]

What lists do you tend to run?

[Res Ipsa Loquitur]

I tend to run one priest (or novitiate) per 1000pts.

 

I'd really like Blood Chalices to give +1I, like they used to. Just that one little change could make BA a semi-decent army again.

[Calnus]

I haven't run a priest in several of my last builds.  But I've been facing mostly Guard, whose main shooting not only removes the armor save, but denies FnP too.  So I wasn't really getting any benefit from them against that type of army, and switched to taking more units.

 

In a lot of cases, they should still be useful.  But they are hideously overpriced.  If you run any kind of MSU build, or mostly mechanized, then the priest really isn't going to get you anything regardless.

[Ushtarador]

As a rule of thumb, I run priests for two things:

 

- 2 full ASM squads as an assault force, since they want to stick together to win cc by weight of numbers.

- As naked 50pts support character for expensive unit that really benefit from the FnP (terminators, large sternguard)

 

If you play MSU and/or mech-heavy, you usually don't want to clump up your infantry or don't have many models anyway, and then the priest sadly isn't usful.

[TheHarrower]

I think Corbulo is great. Otherwise, I haven't really been using them anymore which is a shame.

[Crusader Bob]

I still use them a lot, granted i still play mostly jump infantry armies.

The initiative loss was tough, but at least my squads are still plenty resilient.

And priest are very fluffy, something i can't forget about when building a list

[Quixus]

I haven't run a priest in several of my last builds.  But I've been facing mostly Guard, whose main shooting not only removes the armor save, but denies FnP too.

IG gets lots of STR 8+ weapons to use on infantry? In 6th edition FNP is only denied by Instant Death.

[TheSauce]

I always run priests with my jump infantry. It's fluffy, helps them stand up against a lot of stuff a little better (small arms, plasma, even those damn helldrakes). IG Artillery can be a huge pain - there are a decent number of options that are S8, 9, or 10 and AP 2 or 3. Barrage means it ignores most of your cover. I just pray for a scatter and send deep-striking meltas and/or stormravens at the artillery first.

That said, if the squads do survive they usually do really well against most stuff. Sure, they'll die to more dedicated melee infantry, but you can usually get the charge off and strike at S5 due to the priest. IG, non-assault eldar and dark eldar, tactical/devastator marines, cultists - pretty much anything that isn't a dedicated assault unit will get mopped up pretty nicely with ASM+Priest. Without the priest they're definitely much weaker against anything but the weakest T3 troops.

[Ushtarador]

Last time my 5man ASM squad with LC on the sarge got stuck for 3 rounds against 4 necron warriors.. then the game ended and there was still 1 warrior alive, costing me the victory because he sat on the objective. I don't like ASM anymore :(

[Fulgens]

I haven't run a priest in several of my last builds.  But I've been facing mostly Guard, whose main shooting not only removes the armor save, but denies FnP too.  So I wasn't really getting any benefit from them against that type of army, and switched to taking more units.

 

In a lot of cases, they should still be useful.  But they are hideously overpriced.  If you run any kind of MSU build, or mostly mechanized, then the priest really isn't going to get you anything regardless.

 

 

Hear, hear. I just played a 1250 game last night. I had Corbulo backing up a Tactical squad and a Sanguinary Priest with a power sword and jump pack in an Assault combat squad. At 195 points for the pair, neither of them really did anything. Furious Charge isn't that useful, and FNP being reduced to 5+ and ignored by my adversary's Leman Russ battlecannon and Master of Ordinance barrage make it generally useless. For about the same price I could have bought a bare 10-man Assault Squad. Next time I will.

[Fulgens]

In short, Sanguinary Priests are like buying a really bad health insurance policy. Whenever you file a claim with them they generally say, "I'm sorry, we don't cover that."

[Calnus]

Only against certain armies.  Armies that don't bring hardly any high strength shooting, like Eldar or Nids, potentially a Grav-weapon based SM list, will see you rolling FnP for nearly everything.  Armies with more of an S8 focus (missile spam wolves, IG artillery as examples) will deny pretty much all saves you might take.  Tau are probably the big one that can go either way--If they're focusing missiles you get FnP, if they spam riptides you don't.

 

The priest is just too expensive in the current book to take when it can be negated by certain armies, or by certain weapons that are accessible to most armies (because IG will ally with anyone, after all).

[Zynk Kaladin]

In short, Sanguinary Priests are like buying a really bad health insurance policy. Whenever you file a claim with them they generally say, "I'm sorry, we don't cover that."

That must really suck for the Lamenters and their pre-existing condition...

To be honest, priests really lost their competitive edge with the no initiative bonus for furious charge. Even a whittled down assault squad that suffered a round or 2 of shooting could easily even the odds by striking first. The FNP change hurt our survivability against small arms, but it helps a bit with those plasma wounds. Let's not forget our assault squads have steadily been getting weaker and weaker in 6th, making the priest a small, gold-plated plug in a sinking ship.

Despite all the negativity and frowny faces still I take the priest out of pure habit and superstition. I find his +1 S to charges and 5+ FNP bubble still very useful, even in the least obvious of ways. Attack bike squads accompanying your assault marine tide are a great unit to soak overwatch, a rule that has contributed to the degradation of our army's effectiveness in this edition. Also, attack bikes can be used to screen your assault marine advance giving your squishy marines a cover save whilst bikes are able to roll fnp against marine insta-killing melta shots. They also do a mean amount of damage to light infantry with the +1 S, freeing your assault marines from those annoying, and frequent, speed bumps. An assault squad with an prescience, axe wielding libby and axe wielding priest is ultra painful and a great unit to punt those traitor/xenos/communazi cowards off their home-field objective. Hump cover like a the ladies to our gene-father and this unit will get into CC with enough models to hurt.

To be fair, looking at the priest at face value invites a lot of skepticism and distaste. However, looking at how he synergises with your army composition and advanced blood angel tactics opens up a whole different arsenal of debate. Remember, we are a finesse army and 6th only magnifies this to the point of ridiculousness. We do not point and click.

[Taranis]

In short, Sanguinary Priests are like buying a really bad health insurance policy. Whenever you file a claim with them they generally say, "I'm sorry, we don't cover that."

That must really suck for the Lamenters and their pre-existing condition...

To be honest, priests really lost their competitive edge with the no initiative bonus for furious charge. Even a whittled down assault squad that suffered a round or 2 of shooting could easily even the odds by striking first. The FNP change hurt our survivability against small arms, but it helps a bit with those plasma wounds. Let's not forget our assault squads have steadily been getting weaker and weaker in 6th, making the priest a small, gold-plated plug in a sinking ship.

Despite all the negativity and frowny faces still I take the priest out of pure habit and superstition. I find his +1 S to charges and 5+ FNP bubble still very useful, even in the least obvious of ways. Attack bike squads accompanying your assault marine tide are a great unit to soak overwatch, a rule that has contributed to the degradation of our army's effectiveness in this edition. Also, attack bikes can be used to screen your assault marine advance giving your squishy marines a cover save whilst bikes are able to roll fnp against marine insta-killing melta shots. They also do a mean amount of damage to light infantry with the +1 S, freeing your assault marines from those annoying, and frequent, speed bumps. An assault squad with an prescience, axe wielding libby and axe wielding priest is ultra painful and a great unit to punt those traitor/xenos/communazi cowards off their home-field objective. Hump cover like a the ladies to our gene-father and this unit will get into CC with enough models to hurt.

To be fair, looking at the priest at face value invites a lot of skepticism and distaste. However, looking at how he synergises with your army composition and advanced blood angel tactics opens up a whole different arsenal of debate. Remember, we are a finesse army and 6th only magnifies this to the point of ridiculousness. We do not point and click.

Good point. I couldn't agree more. A priest is more a surgical tool than ever . Having a plan with and for him is paramount.

[Fulgens]

... I find his +1 S to charges and 5+ FNP bubble still very useful, even in the least obvious of ways. Attack bike squads accompanying your assault marine tide are a great unit to soak overwatch, a rule that has contributed to the degradation of our army's effectiveness in this edition. Also, attack bikes can be used to screen your assault marine advance giving your squishy marines a cover save whilst bikes are able to roll fnp against marine insta-killing melta shots. They also do a mean amount of damage to light infantry with the +1 S, freeing your assault marines from those annoying, and frequent, speed bumps. ...

Interesting. I have long sung the praises of Attack Bikes for their more obvious capabilities, but this never occurred to me. I'll give it a try next game. Thanks!

[appiah4]

These days whenever I'm tempted to buy a Rhino for a squad I end up buying a priest for them.  Foot slogging FNP tacticals FTW.

[Xenith]

 

I haven't run a priest in several of my last builds.  But I've been facing mostly Guard, whose main shooting not only removes the armor save, but denies FnP too.

IG gets lots of STR 8+ weapons to use on infantry? In 6th edition FNP is only denied by Instant Death.

 

Erm. Battlecannons?

 

This can be remedied by spreading out more.

[Father Mapple]

Also, I love having a WS5 IC with a power weapon in my squads. He will do as many unsaved wounds as the whole rest of the squad many times, winning me the combat many times. Love that WS5 AP2 4A axe.

[Zynk Kaladin]

Also, I love having a WS5 IC with a power weapon in my squads. He will do as many unsaved wounds as the whole rest of the squad many times, winning me the combat many times. Love that WS5 AP2 4A axe.

 

Expanding on your excellent point, don't forget that by striking at I1 we can keep him away from combat, then at his initiative step move the priest 3" anywhere into base to base.  Striking last helps keep him out of dangerous combat, then we can point those ap2 4A where it REALLY hurts.  Or, conversely, we can move him away from the enemy models that like to instagib marines.

[Kanis]

That's awesome to see Brother's using the Priests still, as I've been unsure myself but I might try them again this edition to see for myself. I've not since the tail end of 5th Ed; but, is that the preferred loadout is an Axe for them?

[knife&fork]

Priests take up one elite slot. I need those for dreads and sternguard. :(

 

Other than that I think they suffer from the same thing as just about every unit in our codex, not being priced for 6th ed.

[Memento Of Prospero]

My sanguinary priests do have their place. It's at the bottom of my army case along with my vanguard vets and sanguinary guard.