Chaos review...Elite #6

What happens when you wear Terminator armor, really really love your close combat weapons and live in the Eye of Terror too long? Well you become crazy and fuse with you weapons and armor. You become the newest member of the Chaos codex, the Mutilator or close combat version of an Obliterator. I refer to them as the 5th edition Chaos spawn.

The Mutilators are basically supped-up close combat Terminators. They have basic Marine stats, but come with 2 wounds, 2 attacks and leadership 9. They are armed with mutilator weapons and have fleashmetal armor (2+ save). They also have the Demon, Bulky (take 2 spots in a transport), Deep Strike and Slow and Purposeful rules. They start as a single model for a half century + five points and can add up to two more for the same cost each. Wow an entire squad of three guys! Look out world!

Mutilator Weapons- at the start of each fight phase you choose which weapons these guys will be fighting with. If there are multiple (used loosely as 3 is hardly multiple) squad members they must all choose the same weapons. They cannot use the same weapons in consecutive fight phases, or they have to switch off each player turn while in close combat. They can choose from pairs of chainfists, power axes, power swords, lightning claws or power mauls.

They can be marked like everyone else in the codex and they are: Khorne +5, Tzeencth +8, Nurgle +6, Slaanesh +6 points per guy. They have no other options to purchase.

These are close combat Obliterators and well, they kind of suck. First, they are another non-shooting unit with a ballistic skill. WHY? Second, they can only come in a squad of up to three guys. Why? Third, they are not fearless so hopefully you never lose a combat by more than one wound. Fourth, you really have to try and get them into close combat. Are you going to teleport them into battle? Then the ,up to, three of them will get blown to bits prior to charging before/if they can even walk slow enough to get there the next turn. Well, you can always walk them across the board or buy a Landraider and throw them in there. Right?

These guys are a huge pile of disappointment. It all starts with the model, which are abysmal and flows on down to their stats and rules. Why is this there only a maximum squad size of three? At least give the option for five. I still doubt anyone will use them, but three guys? Really?

They cause fear, which is useless, but have no option to stop from being scared. I see them either never making it to close combat or being swept after a turn. Why? Well it isn’t hard to kill 3 guys in this game. Sure they have two wounds a piece, but still they can be easily neutered by shooting. Hell, even a moderate sized squad fighting them will wear them down. I won’t even mention what a dedicated close combat unit will do to these boners.

Yeah it is neat to be able to manifest different weapons to suit the combat at hand. It is possible to make AP 2 or AP 3 weapons in different melee phases, but that still doesn’t make them a good unit. It gives them options and versatility. It does not make them a good unit.

How to make these guys workable? First, is forget them and choose something else for the points. Ok, you really want to try….well you have to throw Nurgle or Tzeencth marks on them. That gives them a bit more survivability , but not really. Yes toughness 5 is better than 4 when you have two wounds and a 4++ is better than a 5++, but you are still only up to three guys. The squad size is too limiting for this unit. They will still fall to gunfire. They also cannot get to close combat quickly and even there they are mediocre at best.

Now stop for a second, and compare Mutilators to the other same cost two wound Elite Terminators in this game, Paladins. You can see how awful the Mutilators really are. They both fit into the same elite close combat fighting unit role. However, the Paladins excel at every level when compared to the Mutilator. This is apples and oranges one might say, but is it really? Why and how did these close combat Obliterators make it into this codex? Why would anyone waste the points? Also, how did the models get the green light for production? The Mutilators are an pile of fail!

Have no fear gentle reader, you are looking at a unit now that blows, but will be marginally or a ton better in the next Chaos codex. I'm calling it now.