Primarch Tabletop Tier List (Not Dueling)

[b1soul]

Now that we have rules for all the primarchs...is there a primarch tabletop tier list? If yes, what is your list?

 

I am NOT talking about which primarch is the best at duking it out with a fellow primarch in a mathhammer slugfest.

 

I am talking about which primarch brings the most value to his legion on the tabletop, taking into account his points cost as well.

 

I guess a related question would be which legions are now the most competitive.

 

The Lion's rules:

https://spikeybits.com/2020/04/dark-angels-primarch-lion-eljonson-rules-revealed.html

[Noserenda]

Just to save anyone else being drawn in by the clickbait, the spikeybits link gives no extra info from the Warhammer community article :/ 

[Monkeychunks]

I'm not experienced enough to create a proper tier list, but I think you can certainly separate the outliers into 'fun' and 'competitive' lists. Every one of them is having to compete with a Typhon for that LoW slot so it's a high bar to reach.

 

Alpharius is certainly up there. Potentially army-wide Preferred Enemy is crazy. Probably my number one choice.

Other strong options include, in no particular order:

Fulgrim. Cheap as chips, an excellent Sire rule, extreme versatility by Warlord, and a decent shredder to boot.

Sanguinius. Day of Revelations is already an A+ Rite and he just makes it better. Dawnbreakers are a unit that really should not be a Troops choice.

Ferrus. Again, excellent army support through a ~20% in resilience, including vehicles.

Lorgar. He is just an excellent core to a brick of Gal Vorbak. The ability to choose psychic powers really cannot be overestimated; Cursed Earth and Precognition are standouts that he can both guarantee and reliably cast every turn.

Corax. Being able to play without either an escort or a transport is a big point saver, he's a blender in of himself, and he can bail out to save VP once he's finished.

[MegaVolt87]

I don't know enough about HH, though it seems RG, Morty and Alpharious add pretty good army wide bonouses just for including them.

[Scammel]

For value, I think pretty much any Primarch with reliable deepstrike or otherwise enhanced movement places near the top of the list. For outright footsloggers you're realistically looking at an extra 305+ investment for a Spartan, while the guys with vanilla deepstrike should strongly consider investing in a Damocles. Horus' pricetag might look hefty compared to a utilitarian... Dorn, say, but once the latter forks out for the Damocles the comparison looks less lop-sided.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Scammel

[b1soul]

Seems the primarchs occupy a spectrum from one-man blender to army-wide buffer

 

Interesting breakdown here:

 

https://youtu.be/It8bLWzZxGc

[Varyn]

I think that deep striking a primarch is a bit of a trap; best case scenario they are arriving turn 2, which means the best you can hope for is a turn 3 assault. In a 5 game turn, you really want your primarch contributing to the fight earlier than turn 3. 

 

The 'best' primarch rules are probably those with the biggest force multiplier bonuses combined with a list which plays to those strengths. The relative strength of a primarchs rules are offset by the points commitment to make them worthwhile. As Scammel said, if you have to buy a spartan & bodyguard then you're spending around 1000 points on your primarch (essentially 1 unit and a transport), does that points commitment outweigh the buffs they provide to the army? compared to the units you could otherwise buy for those 1000 points? it's difficult to determine, I think the best approach is simply to play thematic armies and everything else falls into place!

[Billy the Squid]

I've been theory crafting lists, before selecting my army for 30k, one Traitor one Loyalist, to work out which best suits my play style, I've been going through the black HH books, FAQs etc. 

 

My personal favourite is Alpharius & the Alpha Legion

 

Alpharius - Possibly the best force multiplier in the game, with the ability to control the battlefield and screw with your opponent's reserves/ Deep Strike rolls to a ridiculous degree. 

 

Sire of the Alpha Legion - Preferred enemy vs everything! 

 

One of Many - while he might not be the strongest Primarch, he's still a Primarch, and being unable to pin down where he might pop up creates a threat to any elite units/ artillery battery/ non Primarch HQs which Alpharius is more than capable of carving through. 

 

Insidious Mastermind - Gets to seize the initiative on a roll of 4+, buffs outflank mvmnt by D3 when they come in and after turn 2 gets to replace an opponent's successful reserve roll with a unit of the same type from the Alpha Legion's own reserves on a 4+

 

The above has incredible synergism with RoW and Mutable tactics. MT, means Alpharius can pop up almost anywhere on the battlefield via infiltrating or outflanking units. 

 

Coils of the Hydra - subterfuge gives +1 to go first/ re-roll seize the initiative, Signal corruption gives -1 to enemy reserves (stacks with Augury Web) making it almost impossible to bring on reserves when it's vital for your opponent (which Alpharius can switch out for Alpha Legion reserves for laughs)

 

Head Hunter Leviathal - Sudden strike lets you re roll to see who goes first, which combines with Alpharius' buffs. Head Hunter Elites, combined with MT infiltrate & army wide preferred enemy re rolls are actually decent due to precision shots & bane-strike rounds & re-rolls from twin linked bolters, False Flags gives fall back option in case you don't get to go first, even with all Alpharius' buffs

Edited April 14, 2020 by Billy the Squid

[Aztek]

Yeah Alpharius still seems pound for pound the scariest Primarch out there. He's not a duelist, but he's buffing your army so much.

[b1soul]

It's almost like all your bases belong to him