Grey Knight heavy review Land Raiders

An Astartes chapter just isn't complete without an hulking, fully armor 14, BS 4, assault vehicle that has a ghost. The Grey Knights are no exception here and can take all three variants. They barley make any changes to them either. They all come with the same weapons, transport capabilities and many of the same upgrades. Heck they almost run the same in points cost. The Grey Knight's only pay five more points than there counter-parts. At that price these are quite a steal.

Now they also come with the Aegis, Pyschic pilot, and Fortitude, just like all the Grey Knight vehicles. This only increases the cost 5 points over standard. See, I told you it was a steal.

The only real difference is the upgrades, well some of the upgrades. The Grey Knights get the standard Land Raider upgrades, searchlight (+1), multi-melta (+10), hunter-killer missile, storm bolter (+10) and extra armor (+15). Then they can grab psybolt ammo (+5), psy flame ammo (Redeemer only +15), warp stabilization field (+5), and truesilver armor (+10).

Personally, I love the Crusader pattern. I used to have one and it was a great transport for my Terminators (way way back in 3rd when a White Dwarf article was where the Crusader's points and stats were found). The anti-personnel fire power, frag launchers and extra space was what attracted me. It would with the Grey Knights as well.

A Crusader with multi-melta and extra storm bolter would probably find a way into my arsenal. The problem I would have would be to buy psy bolt ammo or not. The amount of shots this can throw out on the move is great. All those defensive weapons firing on the move is great. Then turn those all into S5 shots. Sure you lose a fair amount of shooting on the move, but you gain so much more damage potential. I would probably fold and grab psy bolt ammo. The amount of S5 twin-linked boltgun shots could do a descent job with transport suppression (Rhinos being the gold standard here). Yes, there is also the twin-linked assault cannon that would also benefit from the psy bolt ammo as well. That might help open some transports as well. So definitely pencil me in for psy bolt ammo on my Land Raider.

There really isn't much else to say here. I mean we all know what Land Raiders are and what their deal is.

Grey Knight review, the good fast attack choice

The Storm Raven is the second of the two Grey Knight fast attack choices. It is a fast skimmer with transport capability. It is also very similar to the Blood Angels version in rules, options and cost.



What the Eldar desperately want their Falcons to be



The Storm Raven has an all around armor value of 12. It is fast and a skimmer. It can carry 12 infantry models (or six jump infantry models) and one Dreadnought. It can deep strike,  has the Power of the Machine Spirit, Ceramite Plating, the Aegis, a Psychic Pilot, is an assault vehicle and has the Shadow Skies rule. It comes armed with: BS 4, a hull mounted twin linked heavy bolter, 4 mindstrike missiles and turret mounted twin linked assault cannon.  It costs only five more points than the Blood Angles counterpart (think two centuries in points) and is probably the best fast attack option, although that isn’t saying much given that slot’s competition.

Have you seen this unit? part 14

The Man-Mountain, The Anvil of Fenris, Grimnar's Champ....Arjac Rockfist

Before he was Logan Grimnar's personal champion Arac Rockfist (or the Space Wolf Thor) was a blacksmith of the Bear Claw tribe, and was always renowned as a giant of a man who possessed incredible strength. It is said he misses his life at the furnace and hopes one day to return to his Iron Priest brethren. How did he become Grimnar’s champion? Well he was the last survivor of a Fenrisian kraken spawning.  These creatures attacked his little Iron priest refuge and he fought them off. Well he was the last one still fighting them off when Grimnar and his cronies arrived.  Grimnar was impressed by the actions of Arjac and made him his champion.

Arjac looks to be no slouch. He is an upgraded Wolf Guard and has some great rules and gear. However, he does come at a hefty cost. He is a base Wolf Guard and then another 170 points on top of that. Yeah, he is that expensive. His stats, gear and rules are what drive his cost so high.

He comes with Terminator armor, wolf tooth necklace, Foehammer and the Anvil Shield. He also has the Saga of the Bear, the rule Stubborn and is Grimnar’s Champion. His stat line is also different than his other Wolf Guard. He has WS 5, BS 5, strength 5, toughness and initiative 4, 2 wounds, 3 attacks, leadership 9 and a 2+/5++ save.  His points and gear basically make him an HQ-esqe unit in the elite slot. He is a Wolf Guard and can be attached to units as they can and will make any unit he joins damn scary.

Have you seen this unit? part 13

Lukas the Trickster, The Strifeson, The Laughing One is a notorious character among the ranks of the Space Wolves, a raucous and ebullient figure who defies authority just as willingly as he defies his enemies. The glories sought by other warriors of the Chapter matter not to Lukas, who cares neither for advancement , nor for the approval of his peers. Instead, his greatest desire is the freedom to work his unparalleled mischief upon whomever he fancies, preferably killing as many of the Chapter's foes as he can along the way.

So yeah, this guy is sort of Loki for the Space Wolves. He is this uber mischief maker and anti-authority guy. He is an upgrade for a unit of Bloodclaws and comes with a lot of stuff and a hefty price-tag.

Lukas has better than Bloodclaw stats; WS 5, BS 5, strength and toughness of 4, 2 wounds, 3 attacks, initiative 5 and a 3+ save. That is fairly descent right there for a unit upgrade. He has a wolf claw, wolf tooth necklace, wolf tail talisman, plasma pistol,frag/kraks, and the pelt of the doppegangrel. This is all descent gear  (always hit on 3+ in close combat, the 5+ save vs psy powers at the squad, wolf claw hit/ wound re-rolls) to have. He also has two special rules the Last Laugh and Rebellious. He will run the cost of a Bloodclaw plus 140 points. Ouch! That is a very spicy meatball.

Last Laugh- is the rule associated with Lukas' statsis bomb heart. Duke Silicus ripped out one heart and Lukas put a stasis bomb in for a replacement. When lukas is removed from play all models in bas contact with him roll a D6. If Lukas rolls equal to or higher then those models are removed from play. There are saves to stop this. This is friend and foe alike.

Rebellious- is what Lukas is and that means his squad is as well. The leadership score for Bloodclaws he is with will never go above 8. That means keep any independent characters out of that unit.

Pelt of the Doppengangrel-gives Lukas a bit of defense. It forces a re-roll of all successful rolls to hit verse Lukas. This is a bit useless as he can only be targeted if he is the last member of the squad. If he was an Independent Character this rule/ item would make a bit more sense. As it is now it is pretty useless.

Well I see two main reasons this guy rides the bench. The first is he can only be taken with Bloodclaws. If you haven't noticed, nobody takes Bloodclaws. They pale in comparison to their Grey Hunter brothers. There is his points cost. He will cost as much as a 5 man of Razor-backing Grey Hunters, and everyone knows how popular these are. Thank You internet!

His rules are not truly stellar either. His re-rolling hits is silly and his Last Laugh is clever, but not entirely useful. If he was an Independent Character his rules would make more sense, but it wouldn't get people excited about using him. The only fix I see for him is to make Bloodclaws and him more sparkly and usable, or just dump him when the next edition codex is written. 

Another Comic Con here and gone

Comic Con San Diego is done and gone.  I did watch the G4 coverage, all 5+ hours of it. It is descent coverage and it placates me. I want to go some year, but the money and mass of humanity that is there are my biggest deterrents.  Here is a short list of what I liked via their coverage.

The R2D2 X-box was geek-sheik. It makes the standard droid noises when turning on/off, loading etc. It is painted like R2 and even has C3PO themed controller.

The coverage of Space marine and the matter of its September release. I have high hopes since most 40K Relic games are very playable.

The shots of Solomon Grundy in the New Batman Arkham City game! This guy is a favorite of mine from the Challenge of the Superfriends days. I never read any comics with/about him but his cartoon appearances are just classic! Hopefully the fight with him will be as well.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillian on the interview stage with the G4 goons. It is about time they interview the cast of this show. The Dr. Who crowd is always there and they get passed over for interviews, well not this year. They got face time with the Doctor and Amy. No real show news, but it great to see them.

Nathan Fillion gets it. If his interview wasn’t proof, then watch his Who is Bill Pardy? DVD extra, it rocks!

John Barrowman interviewed and without his real accent. I guess a Scottish Captain Jack Harkness would be wrong.

The M8 rifle scale replica has been added to my nerd weapon wish list. This is Colonel Sheppard’s gun from the Mass Effect game. Now it can be yours all full sized and cool. This has made the Nerd List of Expensive Wants (we all have one of these), along with the Lancer from Gears of War and Hellboy’s Samaritan.

Then there was Alex Sim-Wise, G4 “reporter” in various latex cosplay outfits. Yup some British, red haired busty fan service for the comic geeks out there.

There were the typical movie pitches, television panels, various comic book news (which I really used to care about) and video game stuff. All this is typical, but none of it really WOW’ed me this year. WAIT! There was also Star Wars Blu Ray super secret footage….yawn… and it was also underwhelming. I already have this on VHS (for some damn dumb reason) and DVD. Why would I buy it a third time?

There we go the short list of the Comic Con 2011, stuff that filled me with happy tickles.

Why the 9th Doctor left

I way always curious why Christopher Eccleston left Dr.Who after one season. He was mu first Doctor and I enjoyed his one season run. I was never a true fan of the show and only saw a handful of episodes growing up, usually late night weekends on PBS. So in 2005 when they relaunched Dr. Who I jumped on and have yet to jump back off. It was Christopher Eccleston's Dr. that appealed to me. He was sort of jaded and at times surly. Now he had his fun moments as well they just were a bit few and far between. This is really evident after watching the two following actors take on this guy. Eccleston gives his take on the reasons for his departure from the show and I'm glad he did. I have my answer from him, now I'll wonder if the network or previous staff will rebuttal.

In an acting master class at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Christopher Eccleston was asked why he left a such a high paid job as Doctor Who. He responded:

“I left Doctor Who because I could not get along with the senior people. I left because of politics. I did not see eye-to-eye with them. I didn’t agree with the way things were being run. I didn’t like the culture that had grown up, around the series. So I left, I felt, over a principle.

“I thought to remain, which would have made me a lot of money and given me huge visibility, the price I would have had to pay was to eat a lot of shit. I’m not being funny about that. I didn’t want to do that and it comes to the art of it, in a way. I feel that if you run your career and– we are vulnerable as actors and we are constantly humiliating ourselves auditioning. But if you allow that to go on, on a grand scale you will lose whatever it is about you and it will be present in your work.

“If you allow your desire to be successful and visible and financially secure – if you allow that to make you throw shades on your parents, on your upbringing, then you’re knackered. You’ve got to keep something back, for yourself, because it’ll be present in your work.  A purity or an idealism is essential or you’ll become– you’ve got to have standards, no matter how hard work that is. So it makes it a hard road, really.
“You know, it’s easy to find a job when you’ve got no morals, you’ve got nothing to be compromised, you can go, ‘Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t matter. That director can bully that prop man and I won’t say anything about it’. But then when that director comes to you and says ‘I think you should play it like this’ you’ve surely got to go ‘How can I respect you, when you behave like that?’

“So, that’s why I left. My face didn’t fit and I’m sure they were glad to see the back of me. The important thing is that I succeeded. It was a great part. I loved playing him. I loved connecting with that audience. Because I’ve always acted for adults and then suddenly you’re acting for children, who are far more tasteful; they will not be bullshitted. It’s either good, or it’s bad. They don’t schmooze at after-show parties, with cocktails.”

B.W reporter Martyn

Grey Knight Interceptor Squads (quickie review)

The first of the two fast attack choices for the Grey Knights, is the Interceptor Squad. These are jump packing Grey Knights. Actually they are just jump packing Strike Squads.

The Interceptor Squad has all the gear, upgrades, psy powers and abilities of the Strike Squad (Strike Squad review if curious). They have two differences: points and personal teleporters.This squad runs five guys base and costs 30 points more than their Strike Squad brethren. They can have up to ten in the squad for an extra cost of 26 points per guy.

They also all come with a personal teleporter, which gives them jump infantry status and all the universal rules associated with it. They can also use their teleporter to make ,up to, a 30" teleport shunt in any direction instead of normal movement. This can only be done once per game. It ignores intervening terrain, units and such. They can not assault after a move like this, but may still shoot or run. This could be used for sort of neat late game objective contest move. Right? Other than that I think it is a pretty lame ability.

They get all the same upgrades at the same cost as the Strike Squad as well. This is the frist unit (not the last either) I am truly disappointed with in this codex. They are just jump infantry Strike Squads. They cut and pasted Strike Squads and then added a jump pack. I see this unit in a future Have you seen this unit? article. Seriously, why bother with Interceptor Squads? Just take Strike Squads and deep srike them if you want  your Grey Knights across the table and standing there for a turn. Yes it is riskier and more random than a teleport shunt. However, it is cheaper, they are troops, and have the same types (and same cost) of upgrades. I really wanted to like Interceptor Squads, but sadly I cannot.

Like an Alzheimer's patient I return

So I used to enjoy the Bell o' Lost Souls, that was until it kind of turned to shite. I realized their G.W. sneak info could be gleaned by just signing up for the newsletter, their writers started getting bad, their "rumors" were just retasked from forums that everyone else can go and see, they added a forum like the net needs another one of those and they stopped being the real go-to for G.W. gaming info. It was sad since it was a descent blog for so long. I decided to say, "thank you but no thank you" and walked away.

Well much like an Alzheimer's patient I stumbled upon Bell o' Lost Souls for the first time in over a year. I scrolled around and looked at some photos, read some awful rumor mongering and then hit an editorial that spun me like it always does, codex creep.

This is where whiners with old codex armies or the Chicken Little's of the 40K universe complain that the newest book is unbeatable and best codex ever. I'm here to say they are wrong, as always.

Codex creep does not exist. Codex creep i the mindset of the mob means that the newest is the best of the best. It means the newest book is the strongest and gives one the most unbeatable auto win army. Really? If that is so then the Grey Knights will beat every book released before them. It means the Dark Eldar are now the second best as they were the newest and can still beat every book released before them and so on and so on. That is just silly. With the codex creep mindset the Imperial Guard can never beat any army made after it. Eldar will only be able to trounce Necrons and Sisiters.

Deathly Hallows 2 (non-Electric Boogaloo edition)

The wait seems to have been well worth it, as second part of the Deathly Hallows did not disappoint!

After really liking the first part of this film, I wasn’t truly eager until this weekend. If it hadn’t been for my job, the clan would have been there Saturday morning for the first showing. Sadly we had to wait until Sunday afternoon. 

Was this part better than the first? Well yes it was. The first film (my take here  Deathly Hallows part 1) was dark, more mature and a great building block for the second part. Now the second part is just as gloomy (for a long bit), a bit more intense, just as if not more mature themed and not lacking in great moments. It is a 125 minute movie, but it clips along fairly well. It didn’t seem like two hours once the dust settled.

The events in Deathly Hallows 2 are so much better than part 1 and I loved part 1. In part two we have; the “trio’s” race to destroy the remaining horcurxes/ Voldemort before he can stop them, also Voldemort now has his ultimate weapon to vanquish Harry Potter, Hogworts is a school turned internment camp under Snape and something has to be done there, and then there is this little wizard battle thing that happens. Well there is a little more to it than this, but that was just a quick overview.

The Terminator army I really want?

Many moons ago I dreamed of a full 2+ save army list. It was using the Deathwing, and it was before the F.A.Q.'s that fixed some of thier problems. It was a fun dream, and it looks to be over now.
You can read it here if you like.

Deathwing army

Now we have the Grey Knights and thier ability to take Terminator troops without the use of a special HQ. Now the first thing is they will not be fearless, but that is fine. They also can't take storm sheilds and missile launchers and that is ok as well. So why do I like these better than the Deathwing?

Well there is the whole Hammerhand business and swapping halberds for free. Then there is the multi shot psycannon they can take. The option for strength 5 storm bolters is stellar.Finally the ability to run more than five guys in each squad. Fearless is fun, but I'll take more guys over that any day. That and And They Shall Know No Fear can make up for the possibility of failed leadership checks.

Well what goes in my 2+ Grey Knight army? Well first is the HQ, which will be a Grand Master. His ability to confer stuff to D3 squads is great. I look for scout moving Terminators to be the popular choice there. I'll go cheap and just give him rad grenades. Who doesn't want an opposing unit losing a point of toughness the first turn of combat? Not this guy that is who. This will put him at 190 points and I can live with that.

Terminator review
Here I cover the jist of what these guys can take and do.

Now the core and remaining force will all be Terminator squads. Well I really want a psycannon in each squad. These should deal with most armor fairly well. They are also fun vs. everything else. Also a demon hammer in each squad can't hurt so one guy will have that. Then the choice I dread to make, halberds, swords or combo of both? Well let me think of how many guys per squad I want. I'm thinking 6 Terminators for three squads. That will give me one with psycannon, one with demon hammer and then two halberds and three swords. I'll add psybolt ammo to these as well. This will cost 855 (1045 total) points so I still have room to play.


Well with the remaining points I'll throw in two more squads of 5 with psycannon, and psybolt ammo. One squad will be full of force swords and one hammer. The second squad of 5 will be one hammer and all halberds. Why? Why not? Well actually one squad for the 4++ in close combat and one squad to be full +2 initiative.  These will total 450 points. This will bring my total to 1495. That means if  iwant 1500 someone gets a mastercrafted weapon, servo skull or I'll just eat the 5 points.

HQ- Grand Master-rad grenades

Troop- 6 Terminators- psycannon, psybolt ammo, demon hammer, 3 force swords, 2 halberds

Troop- 6 Terminators- psycannon, psybolt ammo, demon hammer, 3 force swords, 2 halberds

Troop- 6 Terminators- psycannon, psybolt ammo, demon hammer, 3 force swords, 2 halberds

Troop- 5 Terminators- psycannon, psybolt ammo, demon hammer, 4 force swords

Troop- 5 Terminators- psycannon, psybolt ammo, demon hammer, 4 halberds

1495 points

Then there is the non-pysbolt ammo list. I lose the strength on the bolters, but I gain a few more guys in the squads.

HQ- Grand Master-rad grenades

Troop- 6 Terminators- psycannon, demon hammer, 3 force swords, 2 halberds

Troop- 6 Terminators- psycannon, demon hammer, 3 force swords, 2 halberds

Troop- 6 Terminators- psycannon, demon hammer, 3 force swords, 2 halberds

Troop- 6 Terminators- psycannon,demon hammer, 3 force swords, 2 halberds

Then I have enough points left for a 5 man squad and 25 points to spare. So what to buy for 25 points? Well the 5 man squad gets falchions. Yes I know these are poo-pooed by everyone. I like the  look of double sword weilding Terminators.

Troop- 5 Terminators- psycannon, 5 falchions

1495 points

I know there isn't a single Brotherhood Banner, but at the moment I want more power weapons and you lose them with a banner. So is this hyper effective? Maybe. Sure it lacks transport, but the Grand Master can help with giving at least one squad, if not three, Scout. Then you can also just deep strike it all in. It won't come in like Deathwing, but I think it brings more to the field than Deathwing (in bodies, weapons and psy power). Finally it is all Terminators and they just so much cooler en masse than regular Marines.

Invasion from Outer Space

The last few nights we have given Flying Frog's newest game, Invasion from Outer Space, a try. This is the same company that makes Last Night on Earth, which is an incredible zombie vs. humans game.

With Last Night you play as a group of humans during a zombie apocalypse. It is a real screw your neighbor type of game, but it is a riot. The creators really like the zombie genre stuff and it shows in this game.

Now Invasion from Outer Space throws an alien invasion into the midst of a archetype filled circus. Wha? Yup it is pretty much side-show vs. aliens in this game.

Now it is and isn't Last Night, but it is very similar. The main game is still there; scenarios, 4 humans, aliens, cards, board with 4 L shaped corners and some minis of the heroes/aliens. The mechanics are also very similar; the fights, the shooting, movement, drawing/ playing of cards (some of the same named cards) and the turns.

Now there are several differences as  well. The aliens have guns where zombies don't. The circus folk have an agility score where the zombie survivors have none. The aliens can also build technology to help their invasion. The circus folk also have power tokens they can spend to use their "special" abilities.

Grey Knight review Anval Thawn

After reviewing the Grey Knight Terminators, I realized I forgot one thing, their special unit upgrade, Justicar Anval Thawn.

He is the combination of Commando, Rocky and almost every other 80’s action hero. He killed a Bloodthirster, survived long odds verses Bloodletters and was the last survivor on a demon world. A survivor that fought on until reinforcements arrived. He also died on the Craftworld Malan’tai. Yup he died, only to rise again before he was interred on Titan. You see this guy cannot die. Even when struck down he resurrects minutes, hours or even days later. Why? Well nobody knows. Ohhh ….so spooky. Supposedly he has a destiny, is immortal or maybe even warp touched? He is pretty much: Rocky, John Mclane, the Highlander, John Matrix and pretty much every other 80’s action movie hero all in the body of a Grey Knight.





"There can be only Thawn!" yeah that is a horrbile pun right there.



Thwan comes with the regular Grey Knight rules, gear and Astartes rules. He does differ from regular Grey Knight Terminators a bit since he has a force halberd standard (not a big thing since they are free to swap), he is WS 5, has a psy mastery level 2 , is Fearless,  and has the I Shall Not Yield (or..”There can be only one!”,“Ain’t got time to bleed!”, “You’re funny Sully. That is why I’ll kill you last.”  or any other  awesome 80’s movie on-liner). He is a Justicar upgrade for the squad and comes in just 5 points shy of two Terminators.

I Shall Not Yield- is what makes this guy special.  When Thwan is removed as a casualty you place a marker with 1” of where he was. Then on the start of your next turn you roll a D6. If you hit a 4+ then Thwan returns to play within 1” of the marker (and 1” away from enemies and such). He can move  and act normally the turn he “resurrects.” Now if Thwan doesn’t return, don’t worry. You roll at the start of all your remaining turns for him, until he is back or the game ends.

Once active/ alive he forms a one man unit and can go around wreaking havoc, grabbing objectives or whatever. He doesn’t rejoin a squad and it looks like nobody can join him. He is still a troop choice so that can be fun for late game objective grabs/ contests.

It is important to note that he has a psy rating of 2. That means he can fire off Hammerhand in both assault phases, or activate his force weapon and also Hammerhand it up. However, while as the squad Justicar, it appears he can only use one power due to the Brotherhood of Psykers rule.

Now Thwan is also Fearless, this is both a simple and complex rule with him. While he is alone, after resurrection, it makes sense he would be fearless. However, while with the squad does he make them fearless? The fearless special rule is lost by Independent Characters joining a non-fearless unit. The rub is, Thwan is an upgrade and not an independent character. So.....is his squad fearless while he is with them? An upgrade does not confer or remove fearless to a unit. Does it? Yes, we all get he is fearless while alone. I'm from the camp the fearless is lost while in the squad as that would make some sense right? Then again is his squad all crazy fearless since this guy is leading them? I know there are other camps that think differently. I think is just poorly written/ proofed (like the Dreadnought close combat weapon description on a Dreadknight  doomfist issue) and it will all be made 100% clear some day....some day.

At the end of the day is Thwan a good purchase? I think no. I would rather have two more Terminators in the squad instead of Thwan and five extra points. I know he has a use as an objective holder, wound allocating silliness, 50% chance of resurrecting one man army. However, his return isn't guaranteed and he could spend the remainder of the game off the table instead of doing stuff. He can provide some silliness with his returning from the dead, and psy mastery 2; but his cost is just too high for my liking. I'll take the extra bodies in the squad over a single dude with a wonky ability.

1st Chaos army, 2nd batch of heavy support

Well you can't have a Iron Warrior-ish army without siege weapons. It just something that shouldn't be. It is just sad that the option for Basilisks was removed (as was the iron Warrior list ) from the Chaos Codex. I was looking forward to using one of those.

Here is my now old school Vindicator. It does have a combi-bolter and havock launcher. The launcher is more for looks than anything else.

I went battle damage heavy. I was hoping to make it look as if this tank is constantly in combat scenarios and doesn't get the proper down time for repairs. There are a lot of impact hits, scorch marks  and even some melty damage.

Then we have the triple lascannon Predator. I went with the demonic possession upgrade and thought it might explain the little demons on the gun barrels.
The jewelry chain on the top hatch is to show that something is restrained inside this tank. The spikes and blades on the front are there to deter would be attackers or help when running over/through foes. I moved the exhaust pipes from the front to give it a bit of a different look from the regular tanks.

It is sad that these two tanks are old kits and just look bad next to the new Rhino chassis kits. Also they have been replaced by Obilterators in my list, since they perform so much better. They were old models I had lying around (back from 3rd and early 4th) and I thought they could be re-tasked for my Chaos army. I need to go back and give them some t.l.c. before I would use them again. These were painted ages ago (by gaming standards) and could use some touches and washes to make them pop now. Maybe one day they'll grace the battlefield again. Maybe.

Grey Knights review Terminators

The second choice for Grey Knight troops are the Terminators. Yup, a troop force organization slot just for them. Hooray! They join the other armies with Terminator troop options, Dark Angels and Grimnar Space Wolves. However, they do not require a HQ to unlock them, so that is the first of a few things that makes these the best Terminators in the game, to date.

They come with the standard Grey Knight rules, flair and tactical Dreadnought Armor. They also have the Astartes rules for Knowing No Fear and Combat squads. They have the typical Terminator stats; all 4’s, 1 wound, 2 attacks, leadership 9 and a 2+/5++ save. They also have frag/krak/ psyk-out grenades (awesome sauce here). They run in squads of 5-10 with one of them being a Justicar (no stat difference). They run the same cost as “vanilla” Terminators and Assault Terminators.

Now, like the Strike Squads they can get ranged and hand-to-hand upgrades. Now they are expensive for a troop choice and adding members and gear will get even more expensive. However, it is probably worth it to add stuff to these guys. They can grab an incinerator for 5 points, a psilencer for 15 points and a psycannon for 25 points (it should be noted that the psycannon can only be fired in heavy by Terminators…wait why would you not fire it that way with these guys?).

They can also swap their Nemesis sword for a halberd or demon hammer for free. They can also grab falchions for 5 points and one guy can get a warding staff for 25 points. Now how can anyone not like the halberd/hammer choice? Free? Really? A free halberd/hammer and two base attacks? Yes please!

Also can grab psybolt ammo for 20 points for the squad. This is always great as strength 5 storm bolters are just really fun. If you have the points grab this for the squad.

Then there is the option for one gentleman to take a Brotherhood Banner. This will give the squad a +1 attack bonus and will auto activate the force weapons in the squad. So....no need to roll to activate, so there is no way to stop it (hood, shadows, rune weapon etc). This works while the bearer of the banner is alive. It will replace a close combat weapon, so there is that to consider. This is a pretty cool upgrade since more attacks are always better. If there are points for it, then take it. Who doesn't want, basically, 3 base Terminator attacks?

I am really suprised they only have Hammerhand for a psy power. I figured they would get something unique. I guess if you want a second mind power and Terminators, you must look elsewhere. Yet, we all know Hammerhand is great, so it is fine they only have that power.

Well after all this why do I think these guys are the best Terminators in game? Simple, they have frag gernades. Where else can you get Terminators with frag gernades? Nowhere. Why is this awesome? Well all Terminators going into/out of cover go at initiative 1, except these guys. Getting their base 4 initiative (or better with halberds) is spectacular. They also come armed with a sword that confers a +1 to existing invulnerable save in close combat. I know it isn't a storm sheild, but a 4++ is so much better than a 5++. Sure this only works in close combat, but this is where these guys will be (hopefully) and it only makes them better. Once again we all know Hammerhand and it adds to the pile of stuff that makes these guys rock. Then they can throw in a Bro banner for fun and get even more killy potential. They do lack a transport option, but they can Deep Strike, ride in a Land Raider, or a Chimera (sure it is silly, but the FAQ allows Terminator armor in a Chimera).

Sure they lack a storm shield and cyclone missiles, like the other popular Marine Terminators: but the gear, abilities and upgrades they can purcahse make them the best of the class.

Summer, one month in (G.W. gaming centric)

Well here is the end of June/ beginning of July, on month of summer gone.

It looks like the skies are still pretty clear. So was this G.W. super summer of awesome flying machines a hoax? Was it the interweb confusing a rumor for fact? Was it simply put back a few months? We are still waiting. There is July, August and September left so there is plenty of summer left for shooty sci-fi plane death. I am still skeptical this thing will happen in summer 2011.

The Sisters of Battle are to get a White Dwarf codex like Blood Angels did a while back. So that means I'll wait for a downloadable copy via G.W.'s website. Hopefully the 14 Sisters players out there will be happy. I wonder if the model range is getting the Finecast treatment? Last I knew these were off store shelves and direct order/web order only. This looks to be another army band aid until a proper book can be released, much like Dark Angels and Templars. Their FAQ made a few players happy, but didn't fix the fact they both need new books. The same will go for the Sisters. White Dwarf will make them playable and maybe even competitive, but they need a proper book and plastic models to garner any real respect.