New SM Psyker Disciplines: 1st Thoughts on BA use

[Indefragable]

New Psyker powers from Angels of Death: 1^st impressions (and knee-jerk reactions). 

 

So, the supplement is not out yet, but this is based off of what can be gleamed from the following: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/320380-30-years-of-space-marines-aod-leaks-page-28/page-28?do=findComment&comment=4363321 . Scroll down quite a ways, past all the recycled NEW AGAIN Formations the vanillas get to find the details of the new psyker powers.

 

I am not going to post them all but rather just cherry-pick some that I think have potential for us at this moment in time.  Overall, most of these new disciplines present an interesting option since for to get some of the really interesting ones, you have to risk rolling quite a few “meh” ones. Lots of S5 AP- Witchfires and “make the enemy take Dangerous terrain test” type thingies. Here we go:

 

Librarius:

Veil of Time: WC2. Psyker and entire unit re-roll all failed saving throws.

                Brace yourselves! The gripes are coming! This one is obviously AWESOME and opponents will complain about it. In all honesty, it’s just a psychic version of what an allied Ministorum Priest can do.

Psychic Fortress. WC1. All friendly units in 12” have Fearless and Adamantium Will.

                Useful if going up against another Librarius.

Might of Heroes: WC1. +2S, +2T, +2I, +2A to Psyker.

                Not a bad buff at all, and a bit more reliable than The Quickening, Iron Arm, or Warp Speed. Libbies with Force Staves are now striking at S9 on the Charge. Again, Mephiston will really benefit from this and make him more of the Challenge monster he should be.

Psychic Scourge. WC1. Malediction on enemy Psyker within 24”. Basically, you roll 2D6 and add the casting Psyker’s ML to the highest result. The targeted enemy Psyker does the same but on 1D6. If results match or yours is higher, then the enemy takes 1x Wound with no saves of any kind. If your results are at least 3 higher than the enemy’s, then they also lose a randomly chosen psychic power.

                This is how Mephiston beats up on enemy Librarius Conclaves.

Null Zone: WC2. Drops enemy unit’s Invulnerable save by 2, to a minimum of 6++.

The Yang to the Ying of Veil of Time. This one is pretty awesome as well.

 

Overall thoughts:

                5x decent ones and 2x real standouts. I forsee this one as a way for us to compete with other SM opponents who bring along a Librarius (if you don’t bring an allied one yourself!). Unfortunately, the armies that really overload with Psychic shenanigans (Screamerstar, et al) have so many ML3-ML4 casters anyways, that some of these “counter” powers don’t even the playing field as much as they should. Still, it’s a great start and I applaud the efforts. Of all the new tables, I really think Mephiston makes the best use of this as his 3x rolls really give you a chance to get the NASTY ones, but if you don’t, his ML3 directly impacts some of the others. Likewise, as one of the few true beat-stick casters in the game, Might of Heroes never hurts for him to go solo some fools.

 

Technomancy:

Primaris: Subvert Machine. WC1. Targets single enemy vehicle within 18” and lets you randomly select one of the vehicle’s weapons (can not use Bombs or One Use Only or Weapon Destroyed ones). You roll off with your opponent. If s/he rolls higher, nada. If a draw: you get to Snap Fire that weapon. If you roll higher, then you immediately get to fire it against another enemy unit using the vehicle’s native BS. Affected by Crew Shaken/Stunned.

               Melacide Drop Pods and enemy Knights/Titans. Enough said.

Warpmetal Armour. WC2. Friendly unit within 24” gets +1AV to all sides if a vehicle, or +1T otherwise. Can be used on a Transport if the Libby is embarked on that Transport.

                T5 Dante? AV14 Fast Vindicator? AV13 Stormraven? AV15 Land Raider??!?!?

Machine Flense. WC2. Focussed Witchfire that targets enemy vehicle unit within 18”, causing it to lose D3 Hull Points. For each Hull Point that the vehicle loses the Psyker can inflict D6 S4 AP6 Rending hits on a single enemy unit within 12” of the originally targeted vehicle. You can choose a different secondary target for each Hull Point lost by the vehicle.

                Yea…anti-Knight time.  

Overall thoughts:

                If you have trouble with Knights, Super-Heavyies, or even Titans in your meta…than this psychic tree solves your problems. Basically the rest of the powers are either Haywire or free Techmarine. Personally, this one does not excite me too much, but it has enormous situational value. If nothing else, this one has the best Primaris power, and that alone is worth considering.

 

Fulmination:

Electroshield: WC1. 3++ to Psyker

                Awesome due to its simplicity. If this was for the whole unit, even at WC2, then it would be a no-brainer to take with Sanguinary Guard. As it stands, this is great for Mephiston

Electropulse: WC1. 9” S1 AP- Assault 1, Haywire NOVA

                Your metal boxes can’t protect you now! How many syllables in “Drop Pod Librarian?”

Lightning Arc: WC2. 18” S5 AP4 Assault D6, Lethal Discharge (roll a D6 for every enemy unit within 6” of the target. On a 4+, that unit suffers D6 S5 AP4 hits that are Randomly Allocated.

                Ok….but combine with the one below for the fireworks.

Fists of Lightning: WC1. Psyker gets +1S and +1A, but every hit the Psyker lands on the enemy in melee generates +2 S5 AP- hits.

                Time to break them tarpits! Combine with a Chappy and warm up your sword-arm.

Magnetokinesis. WC2.(Basically Wings of Sanguinius with 18” range)

Electrodisplacement. WC2. Either Blessing or Malediction. You pick a unit, either friendly or enemy, within 24” and swap that targeted unit with the psyker’s unit.

                Whoa! This one has huge potential for us BA. “Exchange” that bubblewrap on the enemy vehicles for some Melta ASM. Or Drop Pod in Libbies then swap them out for the Death Company Jumping up the field. The last line of the description explicitly says that units not already in close combat may charge after this power is used. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4atH_Km4KaQ The possibilities are endless.

 

Overall thoughts:

This is probably the “safest” new table for us BA to roll on. Some are clearly better than others, but all 6 of the above can really benefit us in some way, shape, or form. I can definitely see Mephiston Drop Pod into the enemy lines, throw up a 3++, go Haywire on the enemy vehicles, then tag-in the DC bomb jumping up the field.

 

Geokinesis:

Earthblood: WC1. Model within 18” of Psyker regains D3 Wounds and that model + entire unit gets It Will Not Die.

                Awesome. Being so heavy on named characters, this one alone may be worth considering this discipline for.

Phase Form. WC1. Blessing on friendly target within 24” Unit has Move Through Cover, Ignores Cover, and does not need line of sight in order to target a unit in the Shooting phase—just has to be within weapon range.

                Fast Vindicators. Emprah have mercy on our foes…they are going to need it.

Shifting Worldscape: WC3. Move a piece of terrain by 24”.

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3PUu88nOcw So….you’d best read the exact wording yourself to figure out what it means. Does this include terrain that has an Objective in it?  Basically, cover-camping fools (Tau, Guard, Devastators) will pay for their cowardice. Or if the enemy is turtling up in a corner, box them in with terrain! Lolz

 

Overall thoughts:

                Bring yer fishin’ pole, since this one has 3 awesome ones, but the other 4 (including Primaris) are not so exciting. Basically dangerous terrain tests for everyone (which half the OP units in the game don’t care about anyways). This one, me thinks, will be hilariously fun in casual or friendly games. More serious fights, perhaps not. Unless they FAQ Sevrin Loth and say he can choose his powers from this table. Then ally him in, grab Earthblood, and let Dante and Mephiston claim the Tag Team title.

 

 

 

Anyways, that’s just my initial thoughts on the new Psyker Powers. If nothing else, things are about to get interesting.

 

 

Edits: formatting and typos. 

[Blindhamster]

Small note on mephiston - he only gets 2 randomly generated powers, not 3.

[Indefragable]

Small note on mephiston - he only gets 2 randomly generated powers, not 3.

Ah yes. "Is Sanguine Sword from the Sanguinary Discipline?" debate. According to the BRB, it counts as a free power, much like Force.

 

If you roll on the same psychic table, you get 3x powers (1 for each Mastery Level) + the Primaris from that table. If you roll on seperate tables, then you know 3x total. Otherwise, ML1 psykers are completely useless. 

[Silverson]

 

Small note on mephiston - he only gets 2 randomly generated powers, not 3.

Ah yes. "Is Sanguine Sword from the Sanguinary Discipline?" debate. According to the BRB, it counts as a free power, much like Force.

 

If you roll on the same psychic table, you get 3x powers (1 for each Mastery Level) + the Primaris from that table. If you roll on seperate tables, then you know 3x total. Otherwise, ML1 psykers are completely useless. 

 

 

yes but Mephiston's rules under his psyker specifically state he can draw two more powers from x,y,z .

[Indefragable]

 

 

Small note on mephiston - he only gets 2 randomly generated powers, not 3.

Ah yes. "Is Sanguine Sword from the Sanguinary Discipline?" debate. According to the BRB, it counts as a free power, much like Force.

 

If you roll on the same psychic table, you get 3x powers (1 for each Mastery Level) + the Primaris from that table. If you roll on seperate tables, then you know 3x total. Otherwise, ML1 psykers are completely useless. 

 

 

yes but Mephiston's rules under his psyker specifically state he can draw two more powers from x,y,z .

 

 

Ya know, I never once saw that before. Good eyes....what the heck's the point of being ML3 then? 

[NTaW]

I always thought that so long as a psyker generates all his powers from a discipline they gain psychic focus. Since ol' Mephy is generating all of the powers he's allowed to generate does that not qualify?

[Indefragable]

I always thought that so long as a psyker generates all his powers from a discipline they gain psychic focus. Since ol' Mephy is generating all of the powers he's allowed to generate does that not qualify?

 

That is true. You are correct.

 

 

...however, I just looked up Mephiston's Codex entry and it specifically says he "always knows Sanguine Sword and may also generate two more powers from ______" 

 

So Mephy is getting specifically nerfed. 

 

Thanks to others for clarifying that. I am sure we are not the only ones to never actually read that section that closely. 

[evildrcheese]

Nice Summary. I think Fulmination is my fave at this point. Really looking forward to trying these out.

 

EDC

[Indefragable]

Nice Summary. I think Fulmination is my fave at this point. Really looking forward to trying these out.

 

EDC

 

Thanks.

 

 

Electrodisplacement is honestly the biggest game changer, the more I think about it. You can swap out units in close combat. So if your Tacs get Charged, swap them out with the TH/SS Termies you had nearby. Then while they are tied up, replace the casting Librarian with your Death Company bomb and charge the enemy that is locked in combat! 

[L30n1d4s]

You can also use Librarian Dread HQ with Technomancy in a Drop Pod.... use the Blessing powers to buff himself (AV14 front armor, for example) and the maledictions to rip up enemy vehicles/use their own weapons against them. Obviously, against a biological army like Nids or Green Tide, this is not too great, but against a mechanized Battle Company or Wave Serpent Eldar or Astra Militarum with lots of vehicles, this could be quite potent. 

[Indefragable]

You can also use Librarian Dread HQ with Technomancy in a Drop Pod.... use the Blessing powers to buff himself (AV14 front armor, for example) and the maledictions to rip up enemy vehicles/use their own weapons against them. Obviously, against a biological army like Nids or Green Tide, this is not too great, but against a mechanized Battle Company or Wave Serpent Eldar or Astra Militarum with lots of vehicles, this could be quite potent. 

 

That's an amazing point!

 

What I like about these powers is that you can choose what to roll on based on battlefield conditions. Mech-heavy? Technomancy. Lots of blobs? Fulimation for chain lightning. 

 

I almost forgot about the Librarian Dreadnought. Good call on that one!

[Red-beard]

Shifting Worldscape:  Place your own units (DC or furioso dread maybe) on a piece of terrain. On your turn, have your psyker move the terrain up to your opponent's deployment zone. Then assault your opponent's models in their own deployment zone on turn 1.

[Tenma13]

Shifting Worldscape: Place your own units (DC or furioso dread maybe) on a piece of terrain. On your turn, have your psyker move the terrain up to your opponent's deployment zone. Then assault your opponent's models in their own deployment zone on turn 1.

Similar idea here with the swap unit power . Scouts on bike infiltrate up, switch Scouts with terminators and lib shoot and assault

[NTaW]

I always thought that so long as a psyker generates all his powers from a discipline they gain psychic focus. Since ol' Mephy is generating all of the powers he's allowed to generate does that not qualify?

That is true. You are correct.

...however, I just looked up Mephiston's Codex entry and it specifically says he "always knows Sanguine Sword and may also generate two more powers from ______"

So Mephy is getting specifically nerfed.

Thanks to others for clarifying that. I am sure we are not the only ones to never actually read that section that closely.

Not that I'm particularly interested in pursuing it, but my gaming group has a different stance (and I'm the sole BA player in it, so it wasn't just me wanting to use Mephy ). The second paragraph of Psychic Focus (pg.22) is the key in our minds:

If a Psyker has any psychic powers that are not part of a discipline, such as Force, those powers are not considered when determining whether the Psyker has Psychic Focus.

Since Sanguine Sword doesn't come from a discipline he's good to go. I know it says he generates two powers but everyone I've ever come across has simply thought that means he doesn't get to rock a three-power-focus and know half a discipline plus Sanguine Sword. It's a shame people won't let you play it as such!

As for the topic of the thread, I'm very stoked to put a Libbynaught into a Stormraven casting Technomancy. Cool stuff can happen! Not to mention the swap shenanigans that can happen with terrain and T1 charges. Smells like a fine year for cheese, that one!

[Emicus]

 

 

 

Small note on mephiston - he only gets 2 randomly generated powers, not 3.

Ah yes. "Is Sanguine Sword from the Sanguinary Discipline?" debate. According to the BRB, it counts as a free power, much like Force.

 

If you roll on the same psychic table, you get 3x powers (1 for each Mastery Level) + the Primaris from that table. If you roll on seperate tables, then you know 3x total. Otherwise, ML1 psykers are completely useless. 

 

 

yes but Mephiston's rules under his psyker specifically state he can draw two more powers from x,y,z .

 

 

Ya know, I never once saw that before. Good eyes....what the heck's the point of being ML3 then? 

 

​+1 warp charge

cast one extra spell a turn

​better rate of denying the witch

​more capable of making enemy psykers forget powers

 

​I.e. lots.

​

[Silverson]

I didn't think that mastery level determined the amount of powers you can cast a turn?

 

And to clear up mephiston's psychic powers.

 

He automatically knows force and sanguine sword, then gets to roll two powers on any discipline he has access to where if he generates them both from the same discipline he automatically gets the primaris power (psychic focus)

 

And example would be he he knows force, sanguine sword, rolls endurance and life leech so gets smite for free for a total of 5 powers.

 

Or he knows force, sanguine sword, rolls endurance and perfect timing but because the powers he rolled for are from different disciplines he does not get psychic focus so only knows 4 powers.

 

Back to the new powers tho,

 

I think that subvert machine while cool is a very poor power because of how many chances you have of failing to get anything good, you need to cast the power, win a d6 roll off, get lucky with the weapon it gives you, roll to hit, roll to wound/ ap, then the enemy gets to roll saves. I'll be trying it out tonight on my Libby dread tho to see what it can achieve

[Spagunk]

You are correct, master doesn't determine how many spells you can cast but rather your dice pool. So by virtue of having more dice, you can cast more spells.

[sebs_evo7]

So could you potentially infiltrate a unit of scouts and do the swap power?

[RedemptionNL]

You are correct, master doesn't determine how many spells you can cast but rather your dice pool. So by virtue of having more dice, you can cast more spells.

That, and your mastery level also influences how many spells your psyker has. As you can only attempt to cast each power you know once per psychic phase, that also directly influences how many spells you can cast; if you know more spells, you can cast more spells.

[Charlo]

So could you potentially infiltrate a unit of scouts and do the swap power?

 

Yup. It's pretty insane.

[evildrcheese]

 

 

So could you potentially infiltrate a unit of scouts and do the swap power?

Yup. It's pretty insane.

Yeah I'm going to be abusing the hell outta this.

 

EDC

[Xenith]

As before, scout bikers.

 

They can set up 18" away in plain sight, 12" scout move to put them 6" away from the opponent, then do the old switcheroo.

 

You can even save your jump packs for the assault phase for HoW attacks.

 

Or leapfrog a bunch of footslogging termies.

[DarkAngeal]

As before, scout bikers.

 

They can set up 18" away in plain sight, 12" scout move to put them 6" away from the opponent, then do the old switcheroo.

 

You can even save your jump packs for the assault phase for HoW attacks.

 

Or leapfrog a bunch of footslogging termies.

Sorry, I know this is off topic, but jump infantry have hammer of wrath regardless of which phase they use their jump pack in.

I know we are all going crazy over the AP buffing power for libby dreadnoughts, but what about using it for the toughness increasing? Death Company could rock out to being T5

[Rafen IX]

Where does it say for electrodisplacement that you can use on enemy units? Blessings can't be cast on enemies.

[evildrcheese]

 

As before, scout bikers.

 

They can set up 18" away in plain sight, 12" scout move to put them 6" away from the opponent, then do the old switcheroo.

 

You can even save your jump packs for the assault phase for HoW attacks.

 

Or leapfrog a bunch of footslogging termies.

Sorry, I know this is off topic, but jump infantry have hammer of wrath regardless of which phase they use their jump pack in.

Citation needed. I don't have a rulebook in front of me but I'm fairly sure under Jump Infantry it says that it's only when you don't use your jump packs in the movement phase do you gain HoW and reroll charge range in the assault phase.

 

EDC