BREAKING NEWS: Deathwatch Primaris Kill Teams Special Rules Analysis!
Primaris Kill Teams are here, with some nifty special rules to make the very best of Your Dudes!
The latest drop over at Warhammer Community shows us some of the special rules attacked to each unit type. Let's look at some neat tricks (and some minor criticisms) that you can get out of them.
There's not much more to discuss about these guys beyond what their Special Issue Ammunition gives them, which I went into detail over before.
A minor criticism though, is that it appears that you need five Intercessors to form the backbone of a Primaris Kill Team. That's fully in-line with other Kill Teams needing 5 Veterans. The difference here is that Veterans have access to a wide range of weaponry, whereas Intercessors appear to only have the bolt rifle variants. Again this is in-line with standard fluff, as Intercessors are supposed to be specialised into line-holding bolt riflemen.
Crunch-wise, it does make them a bit bloated as a unit. Special Issue Ammunition can only go so far to make the bolt rifle exciting, and a big draw to the Kill Team is being able to increase the special weapon density of your unit. With the Primaris teams, these only come from the specialist troop types (Inceptors/Hellblasters/Aggressors/Reivers). The Intercessors really only have a role as ablative wounds for these specialists... and that makes them rather bloated. 10 wounds is a lot to invest in really, to get a single plasma gun.
It's a nit-pick, and I think most won't really care about it. Those 10-wounds make for a fairly solid buffer for the special weapons wielders, and and 5 rapid fire AP-3 bolters is nothing to be sniffed at.
Dropping in neatly as a great upgrade to any unit, the Reiver extends it's Terror Troops ability to the whole unit.
Their anti-overwatch grenade is a great way to break the spirit of an enemy gunline after some heavy close range fire, and a way to ensure your power-fisted Aggressors are delivered safely into combat. Reivers are essentially the same as auto-bolter Intercessors anyway, so they're a natural way to bulk out a Kill Team.
The Primaris Deathwatch are shaping up to be a very strong shooting force, so you'll probably want to fit them with carbines rather than the extra knife. It synergieses nicely with the Aggressors special rule.
Oooooh.
Not only do they give you a power-fist delivery system, they also give you a great deal more bullets or fire on your unit. But you're not here for that really. You're here for the special rule.
Where to begin? Every Primaris unit has access to an Assault weapon of some kind, and this makes them fire without penalty. That's excellent, meaning your Kill Teams can just keep advancing without any loss of firepower! The same is somewhat true of the Heavy Weapons versions of the Primaris weapons, but I don't think special issue rounds make the Stalker or Heavy incinerator any more appealing... here's some maths I did on both the Intercessor and Hellblaster weapon options.
Speaking of Hellblasters... now they can Advance and Overcharge more safely, not getting the -1 To Hit on their auto-plasma incinerators. You will want to advance a lot too... the Aggressor only moves 5-inches compared to the rest of the Primaris' 6-inches. The whole unit will be tied to that speed, if you want to keep it in coherency.
Probably worth it for the two Assault Heavy Bolters alone! There are two more parts to the rule, which are similar to the Vanguard Veteran rule:
Allowing them to Fall Back and shoot is very strong, considering how good Deathwatch shooting is shaping up to be. What is interesting is the Inceptors essentially ignoring terrain and model for units. I can't think of any great use off the top of my head, but maybe assaulting over the top of a human shield screen to attack a character is possible? A bit niche, but useful if you remember it.
Don't forget the Inceptors have plasma weapons too, which can be a good way to add firepower and Fall Back ability to your squad.
Add plasma to make your Intercessor Tactical Squad. Cheaper version of plasma Inceptors, but you'll probably want an Inceptor anyway for the Fall Back rule.
Some really good options for making your Intercessor squads unique. Be aware though, a Primaris Kill Team of any size is going to be a monster in terms of points, starting off at a 100+ for the base unit. Tread carefully, and plan ahead about how you will assemble your teams, adapting to whatever enemy you will face.
But as a Deathwatch player, you were probably doing that anyway!
I'm a little on the fence as to whether mixing and matching unit types is actually an advantage. I want to say yes, but I have a nagging voice in my head that says they might be better off on their own. I might feel differently about it if there wasn't such a steep Intercessor tax. Reivers in particular would be better suited to coming in from Tactical Reserves to pop off a load of Vengeance rounds at a vulnerable unit, rather than running with Intercessors.
We'll see what happens with Stratagems that the Deathwatch may have, which might be specific to certain compositions of Kill Teams. What do you think? Great theme for an army, or just a gimmick? Let me know in the comments below.
Until next time
Thanks for reading.
If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please leave a comment. Sharing this with your friends, and following me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ would also be hugely appreciated.
If you have anything you want me to look at, let me know in the comments below. I'll probably be able to write an article about that topic within a day!
If you want to support me directly, use the affiliate links below. I get a small percentage of purchases you make her, and you get cheaper miniatures! If you really love what I do here, you can make a one off donation at my PayPal, or become a true hero to table top education and make a regular donation to my Patreon. Every Little helps!
The latest drop over at Warhammer Community shows us some of the special rules attacked to each unit type. Let's look at some neat tricks (and some minor criticisms) that you can get out of them.
Intercessors
There's not much more to discuss about these guys beyond what their Special Issue Ammunition gives them, which I went into detail over before.
A minor criticism though, is that it appears that you need five Intercessors to form the backbone of a Primaris Kill Team. That's fully in-line with other Kill Teams needing 5 Veterans. The difference here is that Veterans have access to a wide range of weaponry, whereas Intercessors appear to only have the bolt rifle variants. Again this is in-line with standard fluff, as Intercessors are supposed to be specialised into line-holding bolt riflemen.
Crunch-wise, it does make them a bit bloated as a unit. Special Issue Ammunition can only go so far to make the bolt rifle exciting, and a big draw to the Kill Team is being able to increase the special weapon density of your unit. With the Primaris teams, these only come from the specialist troop types (Inceptors/Hellblasters/Aggressors/Reivers). The Intercessors really only have a role as ablative wounds for these specialists... and that makes them rather bloated. 10 wounds is a lot to invest in really, to get a single plasma gun.
It's a nit-pick, and I think most won't really care about it. Those 10-wounds make for a fairly solid buffer for the special weapons wielders, and and 5 rapid fire AP-3 bolters is nothing to be sniffed at.
Reivers
Dropping in neatly as a great upgrade to any unit, the Reiver extends it's Terror Troops ability to the whole unit.
Their anti-overwatch grenade is a great way to break the spirit of an enemy gunline after some heavy close range fire, and a way to ensure your power-fisted Aggressors are delivered safely into combat. Reivers are essentially the same as auto-bolter Intercessors anyway, so they're a natural way to bulk out a Kill Team.
The Primaris Deathwatch are shaping up to be a very strong shooting force, so you'll probably want to fit them with carbines rather than the extra knife. It synergieses nicely with the Aggressors special rule.
Aggressors
Oooooh.
Not only do they give you a power-fist delivery system, they also give you a great deal more bullets or fire on your unit. But you're not here for that really. You're here for the special rule.
Where to begin? Every Primaris unit has access to an Assault weapon of some kind, and this makes them fire without penalty. That's excellent, meaning your Kill Teams can just keep advancing without any loss of firepower! The same is somewhat true of the Heavy Weapons versions of the Primaris weapons, but I don't think special issue rounds make the Stalker or Heavy incinerator any more appealing... here's some maths I did on both the Intercessor and Hellblaster weapon options.
Speaking of Hellblasters... now they can Advance and Overcharge more safely, not getting the -1 To Hit on their auto-plasma incinerators. You will want to advance a lot too... the Aggressor only moves 5-inches compared to the rest of the Primaris' 6-inches. The whole unit will be tied to that speed, if you want to keep it in coherency.
Inceptors
Probably worth it for the two Assault Heavy Bolters alone! There are two more parts to the rule, which are similar to the Vanguard Veteran rule:
Allowing them to Fall Back and shoot is very strong, considering how good Deathwatch shooting is shaping up to be. What is interesting is the Inceptors essentially ignoring terrain and model for units. I can't think of any great use off the top of my head, but maybe assaulting over the top of a human shield screen to attack a character is possible? A bit niche, but useful if you remember it.
Don't forget the Inceptors have plasma weapons too, which can be a good way to add firepower and Fall Back ability to your squad.
Hellblasters
Add plasma to make your Intercessor Tactical Squad. Cheaper version of plasma Inceptors, but you'll probably want an Inceptor anyway for the Fall Back rule.
In conclusion
Some really good options for making your Intercessor squads unique. Be aware though, a Primaris Kill Team of any size is going to be a monster in terms of points, starting off at a 100+ for the base unit. Tread carefully, and plan ahead about how you will assemble your teams, adapting to whatever enemy you will face.
But as a Deathwatch player, you were probably doing that anyway!
I'm a little on the fence as to whether mixing and matching unit types is actually an advantage. I want to say yes, but I have a nagging voice in my head that says they might be better off on their own. I might feel differently about it if there wasn't such a steep Intercessor tax. Reivers in particular would be better suited to coming in from Tactical Reserves to pop off a load of Vengeance rounds at a vulnerable unit, rather than running with Intercessors.
We'll see what happens with Stratagems that the Deathwatch may have, which might be specific to certain compositions of Kill Teams. What do you think? Great theme for an army, or just a gimmick? Let me know in the comments below.
Until next time
Thanks for reading.
If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please leave a comment. Sharing this with your friends, and following me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ would also be hugely appreciated.
If you have anything you want me to look at, let me know in the comments below. I'll probably be able to write an article about that topic within a day!
If you want to support me directly, use the affiliate links below. I get a small percentage of purchases you make her, and you get cheaper miniatures! If you really love what I do here, you can make a one off donation at my PayPal, or become a true hero to table top education and make a regular donation to my Patreon. Every Little helps!
Without turn 1 deep strike, you'll need to weather the storm for possibly two rounds of shooting before being able to drop in anything. I think Primaris kill teams are exactly the type of unit that can hold their ground while blowing holes in the enemy's screen.
ReplyDeleteVery true. One of the big issues I had with Deathwatch is that they were quite expensive for what was really just a 1-wound Space Marine. Depending on how much of a price increase the Intercessors get for Special Ammunition, they would be an ideal Troop choice for a relatively fragile army.
DeleteThanks for commenting!
Rumours and data gleaned from those codex review videos seems to show it's a 1 point premium per weapon affected, so I imagine since Intercessors carry rifles AND pistols, they jump to 20 ppm. That's extremely reasonable.
DeleteBut that's just wild speculation at this point, so salt etc. etc.
That would be very nice indeed... but with Veterans starting at 19 points, it'll be a bit unlikely. Unless that means Veterans are getting a big points decrease? I really hope so. To carry the special weapons to make them different in role to Intercesors they'll need a bit of a discount.
Deletenice
ReplyDelete