Prescient Brethren "default brotherhood"?

[Skywrath]

After reflection why I was running most of my lists as 4th brotherhood, it hit me. Could prescient brethren be the default brotherhood of GK? The reason I think this is for multiple reasons:

 

1. The re-roll hits and wounds for 1 unit in either shooting or fight phase strat for 1CP. That by itself (especially if you are running a 10m terminator brick like I am), bypasses the use of a BC, freeing up 100-ish pts for other uses. Yes, you are giving up a character that you could slap a WL obsec trait (or other traits on), but realistically you only need 1 brick for this ability to shine. Of course in a typical GK list you'd be running 3-4 characters by default, giving them the ability to carry that WL trait, but point still stands.

 

2. Fatal Precognition - very very strong ability, especially if spammed in tide of escalation (yes, you can do this, I double and triple checked this). It's a tarpit ability that can be very very useful on the Deathshroud terminators. D3 mortal wounds for each instance of moving, advancing, charging, falling back on a 4+ is insanely good! Especially if you run a MW bombing librarian and an Ancient with the Banner relic for more spiciness! This in itself is an idea for an archetype of GK play - lists that are more escalation focused rather than convergence focused.

 

3. Divination - sure you have to spend a CP for the WL trait, but after playing yesterday's game, this is more than worth it - I actually don't feel CP starved compared not running it. This compounds onto point 2 where you'd be needing all the CP you can just to sustain the onslaught - making this brotherhood our MW spamming one and opening up more gameplay archetypes.

 

Keen to hear your thoughts.

 

Side-note: If the unit advances for the purposes of Fatal Precognition, does that mean the unit gets hits once or twice with that ability? As advancing is technically a "move"?

Edited September 5, 2021 by Skywrath

[casb1965]

I would say twice as it moves x" then advances d6"

[Gnomeo]

I believe once. As it says a normal move, advance ect. And in the core rules you don't move then advance. You advance or normal move

[RedemptionNL]

Yeah only once. It's not like old editions where advancing is a separate move.

[Skywrath]

So the general consensus is one, all is well, that's how we played it. What about the idea of the 4th brotherhood though?

[casb1965]

Yep, reread the rules and had totally forgotten the change to an advance being a "move+".

 

As for 4th Brotherhood the WT, strat and psychic power are nice and the WT could pay for the strat each turn.

[Trollbeard]

I like this brotherhood as well. The strat is nice for a unit of interceptors operating away from the bulk of the army as well. And it’s cheap!

 

I am playing a game tonight vs my friends DA, using a patrol of Prescient Brethren and a patrol of Preservers.

[RedemptionNL]

Strat is pretty good, WT as well. Not that impressed with the psychic power. Even if you manage to cast it without getting denied, it still does nothing half the time. On a successful cast it's 0.58 MW on average for each move the unit does, for a max of two moves. I also doubt it will really defer any opponent from moving. Considering all that and the close range, it just feels you might as well just cast smite and be done with it.

 

Overal, very decent Brotherhood. But I feel most of the brotherhoods are pretty close together.

[Skywrath]

Strat is pretty good, WT as well. Not that impressed with the psychic power. Even if you manage to cast it without getting denied, it still does nothing half the time. On a successful cast it's 0.58 MW on average for each move the unit does, for a max of two moves. I also doubt it will really defer any opponent from moving. Considering all that and the close range, it just feels you might as well just cast smite and be done with it.

 

Overal, very decent Brotherhood. But I feel most of the brotherhoods are pretty close together.

 

Huh, I wasn't expecting the average to be that low.. I was thinking about 1-2MW on average between the 4 instances, assuming the unit goes through through all four instances. In my previous game, I netted about 4MW out of the 3-4 casts. Realistically, a standard unit would only do only two actions (move and charge) so suppose it makes sense..

 

That being said though could this low average be based on the fact that those abilities are intended to be more for spamming purposes on top of other MW abilities such as smite/vortex/purifying flame?

[Archadeus]

The psychic power itself says it can't be triggered more than once per phase. Pretty sure that stops it from being stacked on a unit as well. But the strat and wlt are worth it, making for a more consistent and conservative build. I think every list should have a prescient detachment.

[Skywrath]

The psychic power itself says it can't be triggered more than once per phase. Pretty sure that stops it from being stacked on a unit as well. But the strat and wlt are worth it, making for a more consistent and conservative build. I think every list should have a prescient detachment.

 

I wrote the above with the assumption we are in the tide of escalation. 

[RedemptionNL]

Well the average is that low because on 1-3 it does 0 MW. (0+0+0+2+2+3)/6 = that 0.58. But yeah, having multiple powers is nice to keep the warp charge cost low. I certainly would never use Tide of Escalation to cast it multiple times in a turn, as then you're also losing out of the benefits of the other tides.

 

Fatal Precognition and Ghostly Bonds really needed to be just a single power with both benefits, then it would have been a different story.

[War of the Eagle]

Im usuing this brotherhood for my Crusade force. The Stratagem has been worth it alone. But the power is the utility cherry on top.

 

Cast Fatal precognition on like 3 enemy squads after droping a Psilance bombardment marker on them. For a fun crusade game it was a silly but hilarious move.

[Archadeus]

 

The psychic power itself says it can't be triggered more than once per phase. Pretty sure that stops it from being stacked on a unit as well. But the strat and wlt are worth it, making for a more consistent and conservative build. I think every list should have a prescient detachment.

 

I wrote the above with the assumption we are in the tide of escalation. 

 

 I uderstand that but i was referring to stacking the power on one unit for no reason. Anyways I like the power, it has a chance to essentially double smite the enemy ON their turn, not to mention its targetable. I think escalation is viable against a melee army and it could be devastating to certain key units. Not to mention i do like ghostly bonds for the same matchup, and its range is better.

[RedemptionNL]

 I uderstand that but i was referring to stacking the power on one unit for no reason.

The power itself says a unit can't be a target for it more than one per phase anyway.