STERN!!!

Whenever I hear this Grey Knight's name this is where my mind goes. Thank you Heavy Metal! Some great stuff there.

"Take it easy Charlie. I've got an angle...Zone of Banishment"

However, this is the actually guy, another of the big muckity muck Grey Knight HQ choices.

Brother Captain Arvan Stern is the longest serving member of the Grey Knights, like four decades or something. He has a bit of a stalker and it has kept him from climbing the Grey Knight ladder of success.

His fate is inextricably linked with that of the Lord of Change daemon named M’Kachen, the progenitor of the Cult of the Red Talon. When the Grey Knights destroyed the cult, Stern faced and banished M’Kachen back into the warp for 101 years. When the daemon was able to return to the mortal realm he was devoted to finding Stern and devouring his soul. Well M’Kachen failed again and was banished again. He still keeps facing Stern and has been or like 400 years. It is this love hate relationship with M’Kachen that makes Stern a bit of a pariah (in whispered tones). Whenever he faces M’Kachen he wins, but loses as well. Usually he walks away and everyone else dies like a Star Trek red shirt. Just hope you don’t get called up to his squad in the 100^th year since M’Kachen’s banishment, which might not be a good year to make long term plans.

If Stern would change his address and block M’Kachen’s number, maybe he would get the hint and stay in the warp. What a creep-o stalker this M'Kachen is.

Now Stern comes with the standard Grey Knight flair, rules and gear. He does wear Terminator Armor, has an Iron Halo and is Psy Level 2. He comes with Psychic Communion as well as Hammerhand. He has typical altered HQ stats: WS 6, BS 5, strength and toughness 4, 3 wounds and attacks, initiative 5, leadership 10 and a 2+/ 4++ save. He also has the Strands of Fate and Zone of Banishment rules. He is an Independent Character (as everyone is, but Crowe).Sure he might cost a mere bicentennial worth of points,but is he worth it?

Strands of Fate- allows Stern to re-roll one hit, wound or save die per phase. AWESOME! Wait…….for each die re-rolled the opponent can do the same. This is nice risk/reward ability. If you make that re-roll, just hope it was worth it later, or that your opponent fails his.

Zone of Banishment- might just be super awesome or really stupid. In the assault phase instead of close combat, Stern can banish everything to the warp. Why? Well, probably because he just that tough or it might be that thing on his forehead. All models within D6” (not Stern) must pass a strength test. If they fail then they are removed from play, no saves allowed. Now demons must re-roll any successful strength checks. This does not count toward combat resolution. WOW! Now that is handy. Even against the usual opponents, Marines, it will work 50/50 (well if you believe stats). Still if he pulls this off verses a horde and gets in touch with them look out! Jump him out of a squad, run him up roll a D6 and banish a bunch of guys who fail their test; or try…roll 1”and send one of the four guys in front of you to the warp. Not that something like that would happen, but it might (and probably will).

I guess Stern might be the "fun" HQ choice. He isn't overly powerful, he doesn't unlock X as Y, and he has two really wacky and awesome abilities. Yup that make shim the "fun" HQ. Leave the competitive slots for Librarians and Crowe. I think he would be fun to try a few times. His re-roll can be very useful and detrimental. The Zone o' Banishment might never come into play as Stern needs some guys around him. If he is last man standing vs. a few bruisers then why not use it?

He is also a Psy Level 2. This gives him a Hammerhand in each assault phase. That is pretty awesome, especially with an initiative 5. He could do the reserve roll buffer bit, with Psychic Communion. A nice bit of help and still can Hammerhand that turn if need be. So, I see a few descent uses for Stern, but maybe they aren't practical. Maybe that is why he isn't in a lot (or any) of lists.