1000pts starting out

[Brother Kraskor]

Well-met brothers,

 

Looking for some guidance on starting a GK collection. Just a 1,000pts Patrol detachment, and I've tried to explain my reasoning.

 

 

Dreadknight Grand Master - 245pts

- Warlord (Nemesis Lord)

- Hammer, Psycannon, Psilencer

- Teleporter

- Sanctuary

 

Sanctuary for 3++, WL trait means he does min Damage 4 and max 7 - that's disgusting! 

 

Librarian - 108pts

- Stave & Storm Bolter

- Sanctic Shard

- Empyrean Domination, Etheric Manipulation

 

Backfield Sorcerer type, reliably generating CP or shifting the Tides with the Shard bonus.

 

10-man Strike Squad - 230pts

- Justicar Hammer

- 1x Hammer, 2x Stave, 6x Halberd

- Gate of Infinity

 

Can Gate to within rapid fire range and pop Psybolt strat with Convergence Tide to provide 40 S6 AP-1 D2 shots, that is going to hurt anything! And subsequently is a big Obsec blob with a fair spread of weapons and combat potential for seizing an important objective.

 

5-man Paladin Squad - 279pts

- Paragon Hammer

- 2x Psycannon & Halberd

- 1x Stave, 1x Halberd

- Hammerhand

 

Big tough nasties, fair bit of dakka and can drop Hammerhand either on themselves or on Strike squad depending on circumstances. Will teleport in.

 

5-man Purgation Squad - 128pts

- Justicar Stave

- 4x Psycannon

- Astral Aim

 

Will sit out of LOS and use Astral Aim to wreck face, with Psychic Onslaught strat and Convergence Tide they provide 16 S9 AP-2 D2 shots at 24" (and without LOS!). Will also babysit the Librarian. 

 

 

995pts, 6CP

 

 

 

 

 

[Gnomeo]

Welcome to Titan.

 

Grey knights are amazing. However we rely on are tricks to win as a result we can be a challenging army to play.

 

So the list.

For a starting force to start a collection I think you have a good spread of models. Currently I would recommend magnetising or using blue tac or something similar for the weapons as when our codex drops there maybe some tweaking you want to do.

 

So with the actual list it is fairly solid. I think the biggest weakness atm is your psychic powers.

 

Librarian emperium domination, (I think you ment warp shaping) all good

 

Dreadknight - sanctuary not bad and I can see your reasoning however this stops you getting other dominus powers. Personally I would go lore master and give him armoured resilience and edict imperator. I can not overstate how good edict is.

 

Astral aim on purgation squad perfect.

 

So this just leaves the strike squad and paladins. So this is where you would grab gate of infinity and sanctuary. Who it is on is up to you.

 

So why do I like edict so much. Lets take your 10man strike squad and put them behind obscuring terrain. On your turn you move out from behind the terrain. In the psychic phase you cast edict and like you said 40 s6 -1 2dmg shots with psybolt ammo. Here is also a good place to use steady advance. Then you move them back behind the obscuring terrain.

 

Also on a little note hammers aren't really worth it on justicars.

[Skywrath]

Here are some avenues I'd consider. First, I'd drop the 10m strike squad, and use those points to upgrade the Librarian to Voldus or Kaldor. I personally prefer the latter over the former, but at a 1000 point game, having either wouldn't matter. Secondly, with the spare points, you could get rid of the purgation squad completely, and add a Venerable Dreadnought with a MM/CCW to go T8 model hunting. Another line of avenue, if you like the 40 or so shots, then change one of those strike squads to an interceptor squad with Vortex of doom. More MSU, and plus a chance for D6 mortal wounds. That's probably what I would suggest. Get rid of hammers on Strike Squads, even with 2W, it's not worth the 15 or so points. When you play an elite faction as GK's (as with Custodes), those 15 points really do add up pretty quickly. Your default options at the moment would probably be a stave, or a halberd. When our Codex drops (hopefully this year), you could consider swords as well, assuming they get the S5 treatment. Giving hammers to Paladins is acceptable, especially to the paragon. That being said, this list has a crippling lack of another character such as the Ancient or an Apothecary. If you do go that route, give one of them Armoured Resilience. and babysit them with the Paladin Squad. 

 

A few things as a novice GK player. Typically, 6 attacks from a Nemesis Dreadknight, that's practically overkill for anything it targets. But they are a good unit, and you can't go wrong with fielding two of them in a battlefield. Another rule of thumb I live by, is when you are designing GK lists, units will have a tendency to "compete" for psychic powers. For instance, in that list you provided, you have Paladins and a GMNDK. Both would want Sanctuary. Even with you paying 2CP each command phase to buff that GMNDK to a 3+ invuln, that's hardly an efficient option, as GK's are probably one of the most CP hungry factions in the game at the moment. Another example is Astral Aim on Purgation Squads and Paladins. Paladins can either be in deep-strike, or behind LoS blocking terrain, as some GK players favour them on the board, which would compete with your Purgation Squads.

 

In terms of powers. Sanctuary on a GMNDK for most cases is good, however in this case, you'd be best giving the Paladins Sanctuary. Assuming you are going to be spending 2CP each turn to give the GMNDK that 3+ invuln, it protects both of your threats on the field. The Librarian selection needs Warp Shaping, Etheric Manipulation is good for one reason, and that is if a Chaplain is baby-sitting some purgation squads in Obscuring terrain. Strike squad power selection - also pretty good. A bit of a note here, if you are running terminators as a troops unit, give them the Gate. They will thank you for it. I'd replace the Nemesis Lord trait with First into the Fray with the Augurium scrolls, with the caveat that you are putting your paladins in deep-strike. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Skywrath

[Skywrath]

Here's a list I chalked up for you, with the changes I recommended. 

 

 

++ Patrol Detachment 0CP (Imperium - Grey Knights) [55 PL, 6CP, 997pts] ++

 

+ Configuration +

 

Battle Size [6CP]: 2. Incursion (51-100 Total PL / 501-1000 Points) 

 

Detachment Command Cost

 

+ HQ +

 

Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight [11 PL, 235pts]: 4: First to the Fray, Augurium Scrolls, Dreadfist, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword, Warlord

 

Grand Master Voldus [8 PL, 160pts]: Armoured Resilience, Empyrean Domination, Warp Shaping

 

+ Troops +

 

Strike Squad [7 PL, 100pts]: Gate of Infinity

. 4x Grey Knight (Warding Stave): 4x Nemesis Warding Stave, 4x Storm Bolter

. Grey Knight Justicar

. . Nemesis Force Halberd

 

+ Elites +

 

Paladin Squad [15 PL, 272pts]: Sanctuary

. 2x Paladin (Halberd): 2x Nemesis Force Halberd, 2x Storm Bolter

. Paladin (Psycannon): Psycannon (Terminator)

. . Nemesis Force Halberd

. Paladin (Warding Stave)

. Paragon

. . Nemesis Daemon Hammer: Nemesis Daemon Hammer

 

+ Fast Attack +

 

Interceptor Squad [7 PL, 115pts]: Vortex of Doom

. 4x Interceptor (Sword): 4x Nemesis Force Sword, 4x Storm Bolter

. Interceptor Justicar

. . Nemesis Force Halberd

 

Interceptor Squad [7 PL, 115pts]: Vortex of Doom

. 4x Interceptor (Sword): 4x Nemesis Force Sword, 4x Storm Bolter

. Interceptor Justicar

. . Nemesis Force Halberd

 

++ Total: [55 PL, 6CP, 997pts] ++

 

Created with BattleScribe

 

EDIT: replace the force swords in the interceptors with halberds/staves, they are the same points cost. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Skywrath

[Brother Kraskor]

Thank you both for your comments, and for the list Skywrath. You both recommend Voldus, I've an achilles heel for fluff and wouldn't want to run two Grand Masters, do you think it would be acceptable to model him as a Librarian with a hammer and call him a gifted Librarian but use the datasheet for Voldus on the table?

 

Also looking forward and trying to future-proof a bit. I would expect statlines to move in-line with regular Astartes, might this see a big price hike for Paladins to the point where regular Terminators (who'd then be 3W) are just more efficient? Do we need 4W terminators?

[Skywrath]

Thank you both for your comments, and for the list Skywrath. You both recommend Voldus, I've an achilles heel for fluff and wouldn't want to run two Grand Masters, do you think it would be acceptable to model him as a Librarian with a hammer and call him a gifted Librarian but use the datasheet for Voldus on the table?

 

Also looking forward and trying to future-proof a bit. I would expect statlines to move in-line with regular Astartes, might this see a big price hike for Paladins to the point where regular Terminators (who'd then be 3W) are just more efficient? Do we need 4W terminators?

 

No. Either call him a librarian with a TH or call him Voldus, you can't have both. That would be absolutely despicable if you did what your propose. 

 

There was a discussion about this in the 9th edition wishlist thread, and the general consensus is yes - terminators are expected to replace paladins as they are. None of us see paladins getting 4W, but some of us are seeing them getting the bodyguard rule and being fearless. Personally, I think 50pts for a paladin is a sign they will get 4W (could be the extra 10pts because they are psykers), but as they are, paladins should take priority over terminators (mainly because 3W vs 2W) and them benefiting from Masters of Combat strategem over terminators. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Skywrath

[Brother Kraskor]

 

Thank you both for your comments, and for the list Skywrath. You both recommend Voldus, I've an achilles heel for fluff and wouldn't want to run two Grand Masters, do you think it would be acceptable to model him as a Librarian with a hammer and call him a gifted Librarian but use the datasheet for Voldus on the table?

 

Also looking forward and trying to future-proof a bit. I would expect statlines to move in-line with regular Astartes, might this see a big price hike for Paladins to the point where regular Terminators (who'd then be 3W) are just more efficient? Do we need 4W terminators?

 

No. Either call him a librarian with a TH or call him Voldus, you can't have both. That would be absolutely despicable if you did what your propose. 

 

There was a discussion about this in the 9th edition wishlist thread, and the general consensus is yes - terminators are expected to replace paladins as they are. None of us see paladins getting 4W, but some of us are seeing them getting the bodyguard rule and being fearless. Personally, I think 50pts for a paladin is a sign they will get 4W (could be the extra 10pts because they are psykers), but as they are, paladins should take priority over terminators (mainly because 3W vs 2W) and them benefiting from Masters of Combat strategem over terminators. 

 

 

I will have to not use Voldus then!

 

And will be interesting to see about their wounds, yes I guess bodyguard might make sense and could be quite handy?