So a little continuation on my last post: figuring out the HQ option for my 1ksons.
Really there are 4 main choices and some can have a little variant (like combi meltas, termie armor, etc).
Option 1: Sorcerer- Mark of Tzeentch, Warptime, Wind of Chaos, Melta Bombs- 190 pts
This is the tooled out tzeentch sorcerer. The great part about the combo is casting Warptime, getting in close, frying a bunch of enemy with WoC (with Rerolls to wound!) then charging in and wading through your enemy with the force weapon.
The downside is CC is still not your best friend because while he is tied to the 1ksons any charge will be at Init 1 thanks to S&P. So really you're still getting close and frying, and only charging if you are certain you are going to be safe and clean up the dregs.
The other downside is that a anti psy list (librarians, bugs and worst of all eldar) can quickly take your uber sorcer and make him be really ineffective. Now in a Chaos Undivided army you could maybe take this risk, but in a 1ksons army you already have a bunch of points tied up your 1W Aspring Sorcerers. How many points do you want to risk getting flushed down the drain?
So the question is do I want my 1ksons to be even more killy at short range. Well yes I do, but they are already fairly good in rapid fire range, so am I putting too much into one basket, or am I helping their CC abilities out to make it worth it?
Option 2- Ahriman- 250 pts
So for 60 points more you get named uber leader Ahriman. He has the same stats as the sorcerer, but those extra points are going to 2 key factors: 3 spells a turn and more spells.
This means you now you have a little more flexibility. If you are forced to stay at range you can use Bolt of Change (Str 8 Ap1 Assualt 1). If you have a annoying character and you just happen to be in the right place you can try to pull of and upset with Gift of Chaos to create a Spawn (which certainly is worth the points to see those faces sag). The three spells is nice because like the sorc above you can Warptime, WoC, then actually use that Force weapon all in one turn.
But damn, that is a lot of points. There are good chances he never does much more than the normal sorcerer, and he suffers some of the same problems the sorcerer has as well (especially since he is once again accompanying the 1ksons). For fluff reasons I think he'd be fun, but nearly every board I have read says save your points.
Option 3- Chaos Lord- Mark of Tzeentch, Death Screamer, Melta Bombs- 150
Now no chaos guys really like lords. They are actually really good, its just compared to the other HQ choices he isn't quite as sexy.
The positive when it comes to the 1ksons Lord is his weapon can be used to shoot 24" St4 AP3 Assault d6 shots and still be used as a Daemon Weapon in CC. So this gives the option for some ranged anti Meq fire (which goes along with the 1ksons) and some nice CC ability.
Another solid upside is here is a guy who can still be just as effective when those anti psy armies take the field. It would be nice to have one guy who is still working at 100% potential.
Plus he is relatively cheap.
Downsides are he still ends up at Init 1 on the charge when tagging along with 1ksons and he really isn't nearly as killy as the other options. Plus while Deathscreamer is nice do I really need more Anti Meq shots with 27 1ksons on the field? And I'm not sure how fluffy he is... shouldn't he be dust now anyway...?
Option 4- Daemon Prince- Wings, Mark of Tzeentch, Warptime, Wind of Chaos- 205
The dreaded Daemon Prince. He has more killing power than any other HQ, and mobility to boot. He doesn't suffer from having to tag along with the 1ksons and getting their shit S&P charge. His psy powers are great, but if he gets shut down there he is still a DP after all and can wreck havoc out there. He even has more anti tank ability when he closes in range which of course the 1ksons are missing.
So we all know DP draw a lot of attention and firepower. This is both good and bad. It is good in the sense that is lets other things that would normally take high Str shots/low AP shots in the first rounds because usually he is the biggest threat. The 3+/4++ is nice, but at T5 he can still be brought down with enough bolter shots.
Of course if lines of marines are standing out pouring bolter shot into a DP, my 1ksons will have a field day on my next turn.
He is still a lot of points. He will likely always die, my question is just how long can I keep him alive?
I guess there is another sub option as well...
Option 4.5- Daemon Prince- Wings- 130
Hmm... you never see it because you can add lash for 25 points, but that isn't very fluffy for me.
However at 130 pts you have a huge target who is still horribly threatening and will still probably take up a bunch of firepower. He's certainly not as killy but... hey if he never makes it to combat you just saved 75 points. It's something worth considering I suppose.
So those are my options. The 'core' of my army is about 1350, and I usually stick to designing around 1850. So I have 500 pts to use. I am an HQ addict, using 3 in my Templar 1850. It's hard to not see using two as most of my choices of what else I could spend points on aren't horribly appealing.
Termies- yes they are good and they can be cheap but I'm not sure I want to rely on walking or deepstriking
Dread- Fluffy yes, Anti tank yes, reliable... eh, I'm guessing no, frustrating very likely
Raptors- Well I could, they are a different cult and like the oblits they could just be tagging along but... they are expensive for what they do
Chosen, Possesed, Normal CSM, Bikes- all not so fluffy for 'pure' 1ksons
Greater Daemon- I'm not dying to lose my Aspiring Sorcerers
Lesser Daemons- Actually I'm on the fence about them. Yes there save is horrible and they will never kill much, but they are a troop and they may have tactical use
So that's where I'm at. Likely I'll just shove Ahriman and the Uber DP in there and see what they do and figure out what is missing, but there are certainly some options for my to play test as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment