Azrael + Sternguard Combo

[L30n1d4s]

Anyone else having success with this combo?

 

In my latest army list, I have Azrael attached to a 5 man Sternguard squad and, so far, they have been hitting above their weight for me.

 

Combined with the Grenade strat and OoM, against a Necron C'tan (with its T11 4++ 5+++ FNP and half damage rule), between shooting and charging they average 10-12 unsaved wounds:

 

-2 from Grenade

-4-5 from Sternguard/Azrael shooting

-4-5 from Sternguard/Azrael close combat 

 

That is almost enough to kill a C'tan by themselves, and easily enough to finish off almost any unit that has already been damaged a bit already.

 

For only a 6 man squad (which can hide easily), I am finding that the combination of full rerolls to hit and full rerolls to Wound (from Oath of Moment), Sustained Hits 1 (from Azrael), 18 shots with Devastating Wounds (in Rapid fire range), 6 x S6 AP-4 Dmg2 melee attacks with Devastating wounds (Azrael), and 4 x S8 AP-2 Dmg2 / 16 x S4 AP0 Dmg1 attacks (Sternguard) can do a LOT of work.

 

Add in the unit wide 4++ Invul, -1 to hit and free Cover outside of 12" (I play Vanguard Spearhead), and a once per game 4+++ FNP vs MWs (from Azrael), and so far this has been a very positive addition to my army. Currently, I am playing them primarily as an "Objective Contesting" unit that holds back (and generates extra CP from Azrael) until my opponent tries to grab Objectives in No Man's Land, then gang tackles that unit with the help of my fire base units if necessary.

 

I am playing a tournament this coming Saturday, so we will get a resl test of how good (or not) this unit is after that, I think.

 

Anyway, thought I'd share here, love to hear others' experiences, good or bad, running this combo!

 

 

Edited June 16 by L30n1d4s

[Karhedron]

19 minutes ago, L30n1d4s said:

For only a 6 man squad (which can hide easily), I am finding that the combination of full rerolls to hit and full rerolls to Wound (from Oath of Moment)

 

How are you getting full rerolls to Wound from Oath?

[HeadlessCross]

You have to really max out a squad to get the most value with Azrael's abilities, and the question then becomes, if you're a shooting unit, is it better or worse ti just go with Hellblasters?

1 minute ago, Karhedron said:

 

How are you getting full rerolls to Wound from Oath?

The Sternguard rule itself is what they're probably referring to

[Malakithe]

I wonder how this would perform in the new detachment.

[L30n1d4s]

The Advance and Shoot/Charge strat would help a lot, but the +2S Strat for shooting won't really help (this combo works mainly on Dev Wounds). Also, the -1 to wound, combined with the 4++ from Azrael, could work well to keep this little unit alive a bit longer.

[Helias_Tancred]

On 6/16/2025 at 12:08 PM, Malakithe said:

I wonder how this would perform in the new detachment.

 

With Azrael, and a power fist on the sergeant, they're decent in close combat. Enough to be a threat to a number of unit types. I actually ran Azrael with 5 in my last 1k game. They did okay. 

[Intercession13]

I actually created an account partly to chime in on this topic because I had this exact question and tested Azrael with Sternguard vs Azrael with Hellblasters. 

 

What I found was surprisingly that Sternguard outperform Hellblasters into most "tough" targets, those targets being: Ballistus Dread, Land Raider, C'tan, Norn Emissary, Deathwing Knights, and terminators. My math on this was looking at median values and assuming rapid fire range as well as OOM on each target.

 

It seems like Sternguard shine due to their mortal wound output against tough stuff, and because the bulk of their shots are damage 1 they're efficient into targets that have damage modification or 3 wounds per model.

 

Both units did about dead even into Gladiator tanks, Custodes Wardens, and Deathshroud Termies. With Hellblasters only outperforming into targets like Plague Marines, Lychguard, and Ogryn; so pretty much anything T4-T6 with 2 wounds. 

 

When I applied the +2 strength stratagem to both of them the only time it made a difference was into T9 targets like an Impulsor or Ghostkeel. So while I love my Hellblasters and think the purpose they serve with guarding Azrael is to keep people from shooting you, the Sternguard put out some crazy damage I wasn't expecting. I'm even debating running a squad of 10 with Azrael and another 5 with a Captain and the Ancient Weapons enhancement.

[L30n1d4s]

So I just did a RTT this weekend and my Azrael/Sternguard squad did very well, pretty definitely one of the all-star units every game.

 

For only a 6 man squad, they killed well above their weight, taking out an enemy Hellblaster squad, Aleya/Vigilators, a Beast of Nurgle, and helping drag down a Great Unclean One (no easy feat, since it had the 4+++ FNP enhancement). They also survived a good amount of enemy damage, between their 4++ and once per game 4+++ vs MWs, and Azrael gave me a lot of extra CP (at least, until he died).

 

Overall,  for a 215 point unit, I am quite pleased with them and will definitely be keeping them in my future competitive list!

[Helias_Tancred]

I just added 5 of the Leviathan Box sternguard to my existing 5 man squad. A little Dark Angel conversion with hooded helms, etc and I'm set for using them in a 10 man with Azrael! 

 

I like Azrael with hellblasters but I'm beginning to think they're a bit over-costed and overrated. So I'm open to more experimentation with the Sternguard. I'm also going to try running Azrael with 6 Inner Circle Companions (and maybe an apothecary too, or a lieutenant?). 

[Karhedron]

I have been crunching some numbers with Sternguard vs Hellblasters. Basically it is complicated as there are a lot of variables but here are some trends.

 

Hellblasters excel at targetting elite infantry (particularly MEQs) but can punch up into vehicles reasonably when overcharged. Sternguard have a much flatter damage profile as once the target reaches T8, all wounds are Mortal Wounds.

 

Against most big targets (T9+, 2+ save) the Sternguard will deal a flat 8 damage, all MWs. Overcharged Hellblasters will deal about 10 wounds under optimum conditions. These numbers assume the following factors:

1. Target is OOM target
2. Target is within 12"
3. Target has no invulnerable save

This means that Sternguard only really pull ahead when firing at targets with a 4++, damage reduction or an odd number of wounds. Interestingly, the C'tan shard mentioned in the OP is a perfect target.

 

If you target is >12" away or is not the current OOM target then Hellblasters are usually the better option, often significantly so. 

Edited July 1 by Karhedron