Rune Priest or not?

[climbingcog]

I've read a few people's comments (and some of my limited own experience of 7th ed) that suggest the points used on a Rune Priest might be better spent on something else.

 

What are people's thoughts?

[Nova_chron]

I have at least one in every list but I love my rune priests so that may be skewed. I do admit depending on your army the need might vary but the deny on a 4+ or better is just to good to pass up if you expect psykers and I usually see at least one or two most games (tyranids and elder being my most prevalent opponents currently). if I know I do not have to worry about it then I would say yes if you don't want/use the powers then put those 60-115 points (about all I am willing to spend) elsewhere or on a fightier HQ in low point games but I usually take Krom and a rune priest.

[skeletoro]

Rune priests are great, I think. They should be by no means an underperforming character. It is somewhat hard to gauge their value numerically because power generation is random. But a barebones ML2 divination rune priest could potentially do a lot, with the right powers (and at only 85 points! Take a few!) One of the helfrost bolter relics could go somewhat nicely with divination (possible reroll hit and wound power), or with the helm of durfast and a more shoot discipline (bio or tempestus). For a few extra points you could kit out a rune priest to make the most of biomancy - terminator armour or armour of Russ seem a good bet.

 

Their biggest contender is generally going to be a wolf priest (specifically Ulrik). He is a lot pricier but most of the time will do more if in close proximity with multiple units. That said, some powers can effectively benefit multiple units (misfortune grants rending to ALL attacks against the target, for example. Same thing for enfeeblement) so don't underestimate rune priests.

 

My hunch is that often the 85 point ML2 rune priest will be the best bet. Because powers are random, you need to throw a bunch of dice to benefit from regression towards the mean (the larger the sample size, the lower the variance in the outcome). I personally think two such characters are respectable even when compared to Ulrik.

[Valor]

I do admit depending on your army the need might vary but the deny on a 4+ or better is just to good to pass up if you expect psykers and I usually see at least one or two most games (tyranids and elder being my most prevalent opponents currently).

That's only for the unit the Rune Priest is in and if they are targeted, not for blessings so it's situational at best.

 

I think Rune Priests are good because they are so cheap, and will work great if you take multiples. But I don't think that we will be a "must include" by any means.

[CatSmasher]

I think its important to acknowledge who you will be playing. You can't out psychic most xenos or chaos, and we are on par with certain loyalist builds. I will continue to selectively pair HQs against specific lists.

[wulfgar hammerfist]

I have been using a Lv2 on a bike to roll around with my WG bikers and it has worked out well. Divination and Biomancy being my preferred disciplines.

[Nova_chron]

I admit it is not good against blessings but bugs like to shoot mind bullets at me so the 4+ is helpfull

[Frater Cornelius]

Thruth be told, I do prefer Wolf Priests now. Getting Prescience off is now much more problematic and given that everything that shoots well does it with BS4 and we now do not have to rely on Long Fangs to blow up flyers anymore I do not think that I will miss ranged rerolls all that much.

Melee is where the rerolls are best now because the majorty of the time you will be hitting on 4s and given the mass of attacks SW units can produce, you can really skew the statistics in your favour. 6+ FnP and the new and improved Ulrik are further reasons why I prefer WP.

That is not to say that RP suck, they can still put down very respectable dakka with Tempestas, ignore cover and 4++ with Divination. I just find WP more reliable and fitting for my aggressive playstyle.

[Spacefrisian]

I thought they were great, than they ditched there powers, so i tried Pyromancy (i now know they couldnt use that). There powers now pale in comparison.

 

Now i use a regular Librarian to get Pyromancy.

 

Note: I want to use a Stormtalon anyway, so that and some scouts and i have a battleforged army (all these models are in SW colours anyway)

[MeatGrinder]

I think telepathy runepriests are pretty strong, tempestas and biomancy are also good choices, but pretty niche. The main problem Ive been having is fitting them into my list somewhere that keeps them relevent but doesnt impact the effectiveness of my 10man squads. I think what Ill be doing is running mine on a bike, accompanied by a WG squad on bikes with storm sheilds, they'll run in tandem to my TWC squads, with either biomancy for combat or telepathy for invisibility and psychic shriek (which I have had great success with, dropping a few tyranid monsters with good rolls). The alternative is putting him with long fangs, and hoping fr some good divination powers, but with some of them being WC2, I dont think its worth it.

[alpro]

As with most people, i have started to file blood claws into a stormwolf.

 

As these guys get 4 attacks each i want to ensure they do maximum damage and im currently torn between three HQs to provide that impact.

 

Rune Priest

i stick a level 1 RP with divination with them. I cast prescience on them before charging and then go for it; the re-rolls to hit are brill and ensure that i can as many wound as possible. The second div spell is a bonus and depends what i get!

 

Wolf Priest

bare bones, allows re-rolls of 1's against infantry (unless there is sonething else i reackon i can nail in my opponents army). not bad, but just the 1s get re-rolled!

 

Ulrik

Got a lot better, FNP (albeit 6+), preferred enemy everything within 6" not to bad as thatll be all the bloodclaws, stubborn as well which is cool. Expensive and not as easy to add to a list than a 60pt RP!

 

I think ill use the RP for a while then try the oethers

[CatSmasher]

With the RP and divination is shooting attacks only. Which is all the more reason to take a WP

[Squark]

Uh, 4+ Invulnerable and Re-roll failed to hit rolls work great in close combat.

 

My take on the situation;

 

-Rune Priest: 95 points for 4+ Deny the witch and a ML 2 psycher with a Psychic hood is one of the strongest psychic defenses in the game, second only to Njal himself, and he's significantly more expensive. Most of the disciplines are solid if you build for the right style. The second half of Tempestus is probably the worst of the lot.

 

-Njal Stormcaller: ML 3 Rune Priest who can re-roll one deny the witch a turn. Pricy, but at least in theory, he justifies the points.

 

-Wolf Priest: Pay 35 points to upgrade to Ulrik.

 

-Ulrik the Slayer: Reliable alternative to the Rune Priest for support HQ. Probably offers more raw power, but if your metagame is lousy with maledictions and witchfires, that 4+ Deny the Witch is solid

 

-Wolf Lord: Pricy, and there's no way around it. Not a support HQ. You need a unit for him to ride with, too.

 

-Ragnar Blackmane: A wolf Lord with Meltabombs, Frostfang, and the Wulfenstone comes to 175- Helfrost>Master-crafted given his saga already lets him re-roll to hit in challenges where he'll be all the time anyway. So, is re-rolling one save a turn worth 20 points? I'm not sure.

 

-Harald Deathwolf: 5 points pricier than Equivilent Wolf Lord for garunteed Saga of the Wolfkin and Lord of the Wolfkin.

 

-Krom Dragongaze: 10 points more expensive than equivilent wolf Lord. Must accept challenges with that axe, making him... not work well.

 

-Battle Leader: Cheaper than the Wolf Lord, but you're still going to end up paying a fair bit.

 

-Canis Wolfborn: 55 points (!) more expensive than equivalent Battle Leader. +1 attack, Rampage, Born of Wolves, and garunteed Saga of the Wolfkin. Yeah, no.

 

-Bjorn the Fell-handed: ~70 points points more than a Dreadnaught, depending on weapon choice. +2 Attacks, Master-Crafted for his great wolf claw +1 Front AV, 5+ Save, and +1 to seize. That's a pretty nice set of perks, but I really wish he could get his remaining hand on some Assault Grenades, to stop him from being melta bomb bait.