HQ
Grand Master 175
Coteaz 100
Elite
Paladin x5 275
Cullexus Assassin 135
Troops
Terminators x5 200
Servitors x5 w/multimelta 105, Chimera 55
Warrior Acolytes 2 meltagun, 3 plasma gun 70, Chimera 55
Warrior Acolytes 2 meltagun, 3 flamers 70, Chimera 55
Psychers x8 80, Warrior Acolyte 1 plasma gun 14, Chimera 55
Fast
Stormraven 205
Heavy
Dreadknight 130
Dreadnought x2 2 TL Autocannon w/Psybolt 270
Total: 1994
Let me start by saying I played very poorly, so I don't want to focus on the fact that I lost. Turns out, a new player that hasn't read the codex will get drummed pretty bad even if he is playing daemons. I played everything with pretty much stock Wargear since I didn't have time to read what it all did. I'll give my first impressions on a few units though.
Paladins are beasts. I know, I know, they have to be to justify the cost. Its fun having a unit that is tough and for that reason alone, they'll be a good time to play. After the game, Big D and I were discussing what he posted yesterday about combat squadding them after they have been turned into scoring units by the Grand Master. This would also work with Purifiers, which would make Purifiers ultra competitive. This will give you great flexibility on how you want to setup to approach different armies.
My unit of Terminators were on foot and got eaten alive, but I wouldn't rule them out. They will be a solid Troop choice. Having the swords give 4+ in CC is a big benefit. They really need to be in armour until they are ready for hand to hand though.
Henchmen in Chimeras. What can I say, I sucked with them. I hadn't ever played with anything like this before, so I made lots of tactical errors. These will really be the linch pin of cheap troop choices in a GK army, so I'd better get better with them. My one shining moment was flamming a bunch of fiends. I didn't like the Servitors with Coteaz that well, but I played it all wrong. That being said, I'll give these another chance. I liked the psychers pretty well, but I don't know that they'll be for every army. With an 8 Ld, they will always be suspect to disaster.
Stormraven worked pretty well for me. I had the Paladins and the Grand Master in it and that helped to get them on the move quickly. I'd like to be able to fit two of these in, but the points are just so high that I can't see it working out.
Dreadknight got eaten up by a bunch of fiends. I should have deep struck it onto an objective to try and give him something better to fight, or keep the other army off my line. I'm not sold on these though. I think they'll be quite difficult to keep alive no matter where you place them.
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| I feel the need to own some of these with autocannons coming on. |
Psyfle Dreads were the shinning star. I fielded two of these, one of which I was able to make scoring. They had good, consistent, long range fire power. I'd like to keep a Dreadknight in my list, but one more of these bad boys might be the way to go. You can also field a Venerable Dread as an Elite. That might be a way to get the best of both worlds.
All in all, I had a lot of fun playing this game. Not knowing any of the rules was a real pain, but the new army was fun. It seems like everyone is trying to figure out what to spam in this new codex, but I really think that won't be the strength of this codex. Strong variety appears to be the strength to me. You can build a quite balanced list rather easily, though it will still be an elite army. I read Jester's article yesterday and it had some good advice I'll incorporate into my list, but I'm always looking for more. What's everyone else thinking about the GK Codex and the lists that are coming out of it?