Oh look, a Commissar on a horse ... how 'creative' ?!?Like the proverbial blog from the 'nearly-summit' of Everest, I'm inside the death zone and climbing...
Four mini's and one tank to go to complete Kochi Mechanised Army.
I've completed the last ten man cadian/catachan squad. I've finally completed my Rough Riders. I've got four servitors half painted, and a Chimera to build and paint. A few 'touch ups' on the heavy weapons teams - but that's it...
And I'm finding it a very hard last few steps to take.
MOGUL KAMIR CONVERSION COMPLETE
Commissar Mogul Kamir, at your service - CHARGE BOYS!Kamir is a bit of a wet lettuce. He's only armed with a bolt pistol and chainsword and the basic rough rider armament. He does have two wounds and he is fearless ... but all that will tend to do is ensure you're wiped out all the sooner with a 5+ saving throw. Kamir does get 4+D3 attacks on the charge - which is nice ... but is that worth 40pts on top of the 11? I doubt it.
Mogul 'COME 'ERE' Kamir. Mogul's biggest problem is that his unit (rather than getting say - furious assault) has the Rage USR. Last time I checked this isn't actually an advantage. Maybe for the 'free' death company for Blood Angels or T4 power armour clad Khronites - but on a T3 5+ big model, its instant death. This rule effectively allows the opposition to select which of their units Mogul Charges ... so Moguls a waste of time. Nice.
Furious Charge on ten riders would have been worth it... Rage and Fearless ... suicide.
Last Shot of Mogul 'Will always be played as a standard sergeant' Kamir.PRIMARIS PSYKER
Completing over 4500 pts of army in 22 months is a very peculiar sensation. Getting all the models bought, painted, created and finished has proven a challenge. Now the rough riders are done ... the Ogryns are done... so I bought myself a present!
No, not another battleset (That would have been a step too far as far as my better half goes) ... but a Primaris Psyker!
I'm quite proud of this one, amazing the time a model can take when you're down to your last few...I've been finding this fellow to be a really flexible unit. Playing in a tournament, I've taken the psyker in both the agressive and defensive list. The Primaris is a bit of a dark horse, being a very cost effective HQ choice with a lot of punch, he's proving a favourite of mine.
I had been running a genestealer Magus as a close proxy, but the continued performance of the model meant that I decided to buy him properley - and I'm glad I did.
Stats: The primaris is a fairly standard guardsman 'command' specification, although like most psykers, he sacrifices a wound. He's effectively a fixed, non special character as he comes with standard equipment:
- refractor field (a solid upgrade to all HQ choices, the refractor field was never something you'd actually put points into...),
- laspistol (for an all powerful psychic character, this is meh?),
- frag grenades (bet the Imperial contractor who makes MkIV frags is delighted with the new codex!)
- Flak Armour (he's already got a refractor field, so why not go naked?)
- Force Weapon (now we're talking)
- Psychic Powers (what else?)
GREASED LIGHTNING
First up, the Psyker has his 'Lightning Arc' Psychic power. 2D6 S6 AP5 shots at 24" is not to be laughed at. Popping a Psyker in a Chimera gives you a very nice 'uber-chug' with enough mid level shots to make a MC blink. Plus the 'unknown' factor actually benefits him as most opponents won't take the time to 'weedle' him out for what might, or might not be, a decent target. I've taken to riding the Psyker out in a Chug with a command team with greande launchers (usually infantry command for objective grabbing), pumping out an average of 14 S6 shots at 24" gives most people a shock.
LEADERSHIP AND NIGHTSHROUD One of the 'weaknesses' of the new heavy weapons teams is their low leadership. The psyker gives you an immediate boost to this leadership which is equally helpful in ensuring the heavy weapons team pass 'fire on my target' or that the ratlings do not run away. Combined with this, when in this 'buff' mode, a brief casting of nightshroud can help 'lower your heat', your opponent only has to roll a couple of high leadership tests and suddenly he's reconfigured to other 'easier' targets.
As an added bonus, the Primaris Psyker can prove an effective and cheap(ish) counter attack unit from detailing with deep strikers going after your mortars/bassies. He gets an impressive 5 attacks on the charge with WS4, S3 instantkill power weapon. Dig him into a squad of guardsmen and watch the enemy squint...
Although for me, rough riders are still the option of choice here, thanks to their S5 power weapon charge at much greater range and their ultimate disposibility.
The Primaris Psyker directs the charge!CONCLUSION
The best thing about the Primaris Psyker is its flexibility as an HQ choice. Just like the Commissar Lord, the Primaris can be used to buff a particular formation, or add a little 'oomph' to a unit. The Commissar Lord generally bring great Leadership to multiple units AND the upgrade (usually a powerfist). The Primaris Psyker gives you a cheap upgrade that can turn a medium unit into a shooting powerfest.
A true 40k pocket battleship.
What's also helpful is that this battleship can (potentially) force your opponents to play on your own terms. An opponent expecting to face a battlecannon blitzkrieg may be undone by such cheap psychic exploits. An Eldar force that has to take runes of warding, or a Space Marine chapter forced to fork out on a librarian to defend its force - can't spend it elsewhere. I just don't recommend taking this against Tyranids... shadow in the warp is nasty.
Future Options
The ending of one army is a bit of a milestone, but dones lead me down other avenues... I'm still tempted in doing a 'flaggelant' psychic choir for my guardsmen. However, maybe I'll finish the half completed Tau and Nid forces ... not long to january now!
