Chaos review#11..the Fiends

Well it seems the Dark Mechanicus, Warpsmiths and every other evil architect has been busy making a few new weapons instead of making the established weapons better. The two newest heavy support vehicles are a fusion of demon and machine because that is what Chaos does when they are bored. These are better than Dreadnoughts, but worse than Defilers I guess? They are also each built for a specific purpose instead of just one unit that can be customized as either/or.  They are the Forgefiend and Maulerfiend.

These two vehicles are walkers, have both WS 3, BS 3, armor of 12/12/10, strength 6, initiative 3, 2 attacks and have 3 hull points. They also have the Demon, Fleet, It Will Not Die and Demonforge rules. They also come with the Demonic Possession upgrade. As I read through the blurb for these guys, all I thought this is what the Dread....I'm sorry...Hellbrute should have been.

Demonforge- is a once per game ability. It is used at the start of the shooting or assault phase. For that phase you may re-roll all to wound rolls of 1 or armor penetration rolls. At the end of the phase roll a D6. If a 1 is rolled then the Fiend loses a Hull Point. 

Forgefiend

This is the shooting option for Fiends. It comes in at 25 points under 200. It comes armed with two Hades Autocannons (36" S8 AP4 heavy 4, pinning) for arms. It can swap these for Ectoplasma Cannons for free (24" S7 AP2 heavy 1 blast, Gets Hot!) It can also add a face Ectoplasma Cannon for +25 points.

Besides the model looking like a Zoid, Power Ranger reject or fast food kid's meal toy; this isn't a terrible unit. Especially, if you want a bunch of S8 autocannons on a walker that can control itself. The Ectoplasma might look good, but being only 24" puts this guy a little too close for comfort. Then you add in the chance to burn off your own hull points on a 4+ (when it fails that Gets Hot! roll) and it becomes pretty terrible. Although, if you are someone who fears 2+ armor then you'll spring for three of these shorter ranged plasma cannons without care.

Maulerfiend

This is the close combat variety of Fiend. This puncher comes armed with two powerfists and two magma cutters. It also comes with the Move Through Cover and Siege Crawler rules. This guy clocks in 50 points cheaper than the Forgefiend. The only upgrade they can grab are Lasher Tendrils +   points.

Magma Cutters- are special close combat weapons. If you hit with an attack, then you get another hit on the model/unit. This is resolved at S8 AP1 and with Armorbane (roll 2D6 for armor penetration rolls). If you hit with two attacks, then you get two additional Magma Cutter attacks.

Siege Crawler- allows for the mauler to move 12" in the movement phase. It also is not slowed by difficult terrain (in the move or assault phase). Finally, it gives the Mauler a +1 bonus on armor penetration rolls vs. buildings for some reason.

Lasher Tendrils- reduce the number of attacks of an enemy unit. While in close combat an enemy reduces their attacks by 1. They cannot be taken below 1 attack, so they are only useful for those multi-attack units, or denying the charge bonus.

I like the idea of the Maulerfiend, just not the application. The two base attacks are disappointing, well it gets +1 attack for two powerfists right? Still 2+1 base attacks are still meh! when you are supposed to be a big scary face puncher. An extra point in front armor would also be polite, but it would probably drive the cost of this guy up to 200 points knowing G.W. logic.

Outside of the models I don't hate these guys, but I don't love them either. The 5++ save they get from being a demon is one of those better than nothing deals. The chance to regain Hull Points with the It Will Not Die Rule is descent along with the 5++ save. Fleet really helps the Maulerfiend (along with the other movement benefits it gets); however it is a waste for the Forgefiend. Demonic Possession is pretty useless as most people will try to outright destroy these guys or just strip off Hull Points. At least, the cost of each Fiend is not terrible. You can easily field multiples if you are a fan of redundancy.

Now I do have some problems with the Fiends. Did I mention how lame the models look? Then there is the problem is that they will be S8 weapon bait, especially the Maulerfiend. Hell, the amount of S7 that people field now might even get lucky and wear these guys down. I can see needing two of them to ensure one of them survives the trip across the board, or lasts more than a couple of turns shooting. The Demonforge ability is pretty useless. If it allowed for a one time re-roll to hit, wound and armor penetration then it would be useful. Only allowing re-rolling wounds of 1 is just lame! If you don’t allow re-rolls to hit, at least make it a one turn re-roll to all failed wounds/ penetration rolls. Then people might get excited about this ability.

What is the deal with the powerfists on walkers? The Maulerfiend will be swinging in close combat at the same time as weapons that are made to hurt units like him. Then there are the monsters and Dreadnoughts that will be striking before him. This makes for a close combat unit that can have trouble even surviving to swing back in melee. Sure it can move across the board quickly to get to close combat, you just have to ensure it is only attacking units that have no way of hurting it. A big bruiser that should only be going after soft targets seems weak.

The additions of new units to a codex are always welcome. However, the Maulerfiend seems to miss the mark. At least it is cheap to get on the table. The Forgefiend can lay down a descent amount of 50/50 strength 8 firepower. I don’t dislike that, just the model. Sadly, they could have and should have just given these options to Dreadnau….I mean Hellbrutes. It really seems like the rules and options would better suit that unit.