The fate of Possessed in 8th?

[Terkael]

Forgive me if there is a better place to be asking this, but has anyone had a chance to see the Possessed dataslate. Long neglected blessed warriors of chaos, I have always included at least one squad in my lists but had no illusions about their effectiveness. If anyone has seen their stats could they give me a short breakdown, maybe they can buck the trend this edition.

[Dhar'Neth]

Power Level 6 (+5 power level per additional 5) / 22 points per model (5-20 models)

 

M7" Ws 3+ Bs 3+ S 5 T 4 W 1 A d3 Ld 8 Sv 3+/5++

 

Melele Weapons only a.k.a. Horryfying Mutations S:User AP -2 D1,

One model can take Icon

[Sonoftherubric21]

They are FAR better then they were; but are still up in the air.

 

They hit hard in melee but that D3 attacks each is unfair IMO. should be at least D3+1 or something. 

 

That said; they are not "bad" now. they are at least decent. 

[DoomulusPrime]

Yeah, that d3 attack stat just feels like a real limitation on a dedicated assault unit.  

[Sception]

it does hurt, but even with a reliable 2 attacks, I'm not sure they'd compare well to warp talons, who aren't all that much pricier, but get better movement and deep strike.

[Lukash_]

Heralds and Daemon characters can buff them now, though.

[Sception]

They can buff warp talons, too

[Brother Aiwass]

Even is they are ok-ish in this edition, they're still sub-par compared to other units. If you can't take Zerkers or Talons due Legion restriction I guess they are a valid option.

[Smurfalypse]

They are still overpriced compared to other things. The S5 is nice and all but not that big of a deal, they are kinda slow at M7" and the random number of attacks is a bit lazy in the rules writing department. You roll 1 and they are severely overpriced, you roll a 3 and they are probably about right. 

 

That 7" move and W1 really do a hurting to them IMO, especially for their points cost. Better off just going with Plague Marines in a Rhino for pretty much the same cost or Bikers who are pretty baller and wicked fast. 

[Plaguecaster]

I like them sure they are not great but I always loved Possessed as a fluffy choice so having them slightly better than what they were is nice, depending on how I can convert them I'll probably take a unit of 7 in a rhino with a Plaguecaster.

 

They seem pretty good for a Nurgle daemons army as well which can act as a heavy hitting unit alongside a Herald to make up for most of the Nurgle Daemons lack of AP

[TrexPushups]

Initially the d3 attacks made me very disappointed but the command point: re-roll stratagem makes it much more bearable.

If  they roll a 3 have 1 less attack per phase than chain axe berserkers but have a 2 armor penetration. This plus a 7 inch move and 5++ invulnerable save makes the the 5 points per model difference less stinging.

Berzekers will probably always be better as a budding crimson slaughter player I think possessed will be fine especially if we get our own rules to use them as troops again.

[Raven1]

Even is they are ok-ish in this edition, they're still sub-par compared to other units. If you can't take Zerkers or Talons due Legion restriction I guess they are a valid option.

Which is true for Death Guard as possessed are their only option of the three. TS technically can't do any of them. So for if I'm going off list its still going to be Warp Talons because I think they are better. Regardless I would combine with a demon character for maximum benefit. Like heralds add plus 1 str to "demon" and demon prince allows re roll to hit of one.

[ChazSexington]

Word Bearers Bible Camp Bus?

 

Alright, I just invented that. But Possessed in a Land Raider is a lot more viable now - you could even take a Rhino!

 

Stratagems also allow for the re-rolling of a single die - If you hit a bunch of Loyalists with 10 Possessed, you may want to re-roll it for maximum effort if you get a 1.

[Dallas Drake]

Move 7" isn't a big enough trade for the D3 attacks and lack of jump pack move Warp Talons have. -2AP is good but D3 attacks? Meh, why? Why not 1+D3 or just a straight 3 attacks? Not having pistols or any ranged weapons is another nerf so 3 attacks base would make up for that. Berzerkers have them covered in literally every way. I just get the feeling that the GW games designers don't want to make them any good, ever. I've given up waiting for them to be sorted out, my models will be counts as Spawn now, or Mutilators even.

 

I look at Wulfen, then I look at Possessed... all I can feel is hugely disapointed, yet again.

[Prot]

Personally I'd rather take Berzerkers which are ironically more flexible than these guys.

 

I would have given possessed 2 wounds which suits their background but also gives their strong move characteristic a bit more meaning in a game.

 

I'm betting these guys are replaced with a 'Primaris' style possessed with new models. These just don't make sense to me as written.

 

Alternatively I'm waiting on Gal Vorbak rules.

[TrexPushups]

Personally I'd rather take Berzerkers which are ironically more flexible than these guys.

 

I would have given possessed 2 wounds which suits their background but also gives their strong move characteristic a bit more meaning in a game.

 

I'm betting these guys are replaced with a 'Primaris' style possessed with new models. These just don't make sense to me as written.

 

Alternatively I'm waiting on Gal Vorbak rules.

If it happens soon I will be very happy espcially if they Crimson Slaugther gets our own rules again.

[Khornestar]

I guess when we have units so similar to each other in terms of roles, it's harder to make them distinct but relatively equal. Not that they couldn't have tried harder/done a better job, but I think expecting this edition to be different in terms of there being obvious winners and losers is a mistake.

 

Possessed are not super impressive. :(

 

As mentioned, a new kit may mean new rules based on what's in the box, and this unit or any unit's rules may be totally different when the codex drops. COULD be different, but probably not drastically so.

 

I agree that 2W and D3+1 attacks would help.

[Sception]

Again, as not-super-impressive as possessed are compared to alternatives in our list like 'zerkers or warp talons, and especially compared to similar units from other lists like wulfen, they're still a lot more playable than they were.  You can field a unit without feeling like you're shooting yourself in the foot.  They'll do some work.

[Zodd1888]

With so many "run in and gotch'ya" units in CSM (Zerkers, Possessed, Raptors, Talons, Spawn) it's hard to balance these out to make them worthwhile. I think that Possessed should have probably taken a different role outside the fast moving attackers and maybe given something to the effect of Psyker immunity or maybe a forced save mechanic (ie. Get hit and wounded must make X+ regardless of models saves to not suffer a wound).

 

Far too many cooks in the speed killing kitchen.

[Noctus Cornix]

They should have been given 2 wounds and an extra toughness... in fact, just give them the rules for Gal Vorbak!

[Dallas Drake]

They should have been given 2 wounds and an extra toughness... in fact, just give them the rules for Gal Vorbak!

I said this before 8th leaked, and got roundly derided

But it seems there is some consensus that they are lacklustre with only 1 wound and D3 attacks. If they had 2 wounds and D3+1 attacks you could run them in squads of 5 or 6 to ambush MEQs etc.

7" move & 1 wound with a 3+/5++ just isn't good enough for their points.

[Plaguecaster]

I'm kinda happy with them but then again I plan on playing Deathguard sticking to the faction keyword so they are the only power armoured unit apart from plague marines I can actually take due to legion restrictions

[Lord Asvaldir]

Not doubting that possessed could be better, but hey I'll take what we got. As a Word Bearers player I can finally field on of our more fluffier choices without it feeling like a completely wasted unit. 

[Panzer]

I guess when we have units so similar to each other in terms of roles, it's harder to make them distinct but relatively equal. Not that they couldn't have tried harder/done a better job, but I think expecting this edition to be different in terms of there being obvious winners and losers is a mistake.

Possessed are not super impressive.

As mentioned, a new kit may mean new rules based on what's in the box, and this unit or any unit's rules may be totally different when the codex drops. COULD be different, but probably not drastically so.

I agree that 2W and D3+1 attacks would help.

I honestly don't need them to be super impressive. I just need them to be not-terrible. As long as they are a valid choice I'm more than happy to take them over Berzerker or Warp Talons if it fits my army better. Of course that only works as long as you are no tournament player. :D

[totgeboren]

The closest comparison would be with Berzerkers, and if you give them Axes, they are basically better and much cheaper. Also, those bolt pistols and plasma pistols are really useful now, so not even having them is a bit of a drawback, while the 5++ save isn't as big of a deal as it was back in the days.

 

So, yea, they are still in the sub par category. What they do have going for them is that you can stack both legion buffs and daemon buffs, which can bring them up a bit in utility.

But you will often be forced to reserve command points to ensure they get 3 attacks if you want them to deliver, when they also cost a ton of point.

 

Just giving them 2 wounds would probably have been enough to make them an interesting alternative.