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Are Banners on Paladins worth it


vharing

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I am building a squad of three paladins right now.  I have built one already as a apothecary, but I dont know if I should build one with a banner.  I am adding three more to squad next time I get a box to bolster their numbers but for now I am running them small.  The extra attack is the only reason I would add the banner to them. 

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It depends on how many models you have in the squad. At three or four models, a banner isn't worth it. At five it's questionable, it's be the first upgrade I'd drop if I was looking to trim points, but at six or more models it's definitely worth it.

 

The problem is that six Paladins with a banner starts to really eat into your points.

 

On the other hand, the banner is a gorgeous model so go for it, I reckon!

 

EDIT: The important point to remember is that the banner bearer loses his force weapon, so his attacks are essentially useless. So at lower model counts it's a more expensive trade-off while at higher model counts it's a much more obvious benefit.

I misread the title as 'are Paladins worth it?'

 

The answer is no.

 

However, if you're bothering to take them, yeah might as well spring for banner and Apothecary upgrades. They drag them up from 'worse than Terminators despite being twice the price' to 'decent so long as no one has S8 AP2'. 

It depends on how many models you have in the squad. At three or four models, a banner isn't worth it. At five it's questionable, it's be the first upgrade I'd drop if I was looking to trim points, but at six or more models it's definitely worth it.

 

The problem is that six Paladins with a banner starts to really eat into your points.

 

On the other hand, the banner is a gorgeous model so go for it, I reckon!

 

EDIT: The important point to remember is that the banner bearer loses his force weapon, so his attacks are essentially useless. So at lower model counts it's a more expensive trade-off while at higher model counts it's a much more obvious benefit.

 

The real benefit of the banner is to nearby squads - a terminator or purifier squad close enough to benefit can really chew through whatever it hits. If you are taking paladins I think it is either as a bodyguard with apothecary or as a banner-wielding squad - in any other role they just look worse than equal points in terminators.

But the banner only affects the Paladins (and any characters attached to the unit). The only effect it has on nearby units is that they can re-roll morale and pinning checks, and I can count on one hand how often failing a morale or pinning check has mattered to me.

While I agree Falchions take the idea to a new level, you're slowly taking a very expensive squad and making it immensely expensive..... risking losing a game on the destruction of a single squad.

 

Personally I don't like the idea of the banner. I think it's too much, it is getting close to the cost of a body while removing a set of force sword attacks (good point) and eventually you find yourself thinking of more expensive ideas to make the banner work. In this case I think the RoI is too low for me. In a body starved army, this might be playing into the opponent's hands. 'One more attack' against Astra is kind of negligible if they're making you roll fist fulls of saves from firepower every turn.

Agreed. But sometimes it's fun to drop 10 Paladins with attached characters and all the bells and whistles and just see how it all goes. Back in the day it was such a gloriously powerful unit, it was easily worth it's 1,000 points. Now it's just good for a laugh.

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