Grey Knights Project Log

Battle Plan:
Build 30 PAGK
Build 10 Paladins
Build 2 GK Heroes (GM and Libby)
Paint said models
Maybe base said models.. if I don't feel like killing myself at that point

Projected timeline - 1 week assembly time, 2 weeks painting time

4-5-11
Still got those Terminators lying around.  Played some Warmachine today and I'm making a BR for them right now.

4-2-11
Cleaned up all the Terminator parts and they're ready for assembly tomorrow.  Taking it pretty slow with these guys because I want them perfect.

4-1-11
It's friday night!  I glued 7 Terminator legs to their bases and put together some torsos.  I also filed down some Halberds and got some stuff ready to go to make my standard 7x Paladin squad.

3-31-11
Not doing a damn thing tonight, I'm tired.

Sisters of Battle incoming?

BoK put out a nice little picture for their members today..

Would match up with that Dark Eldar video interview with Phil Kelly and Jes Goodwin.  I predict Phil will be writing the book and Jes will be doing the models.  This would also match up with the rumored 6th Ed. starter box containing Sisters vs. Chaos Space Marines.

Oh boy.. get excited.

Some things I don't like

I know I've been going on about all the good things about the Grey Knight codex lately and that's perfectly fine.  However, I must confess that I don't like the book as much as I want.  In this post, you'll find out why.

• The essence of what makes Grey Knights special is gone:  WS5, S6, Storm Bolters giving +1 attack, the panoply of special rules, and different degrees of psychic power displayed through the weapons they wield.  I loved the idea of Grand Masters being so psychically powerful their Nemesis Force Weapons were Force Weapons (incredibly rare back in the day).  Now, my Grey Knights feel like Grey Marines.  And no, the Force Weapons and Storm Bolters for 20 points do not do it justice.
• I don't want to be just another Marine Chapter.  Sorry Mat Ward, but I do not like the idea of being grey-colored Marines with 1000 Battle Brothers and a slightly irregular Chapter organization.
• Space Marine super heroes?  Seriously, what's with the fluff on Draigo?  Maybe Michael Bay and 5-year old kids love the whole unstoppable, utterly badass, unslayable superman, but I prefer someone a little more realistic.
• What happened to the puritan-lore that is what Grey Knights is supposed to be?  What's with this random Daemon sword in the hands of a Purifier's Champion?
• Why in the world is the entire codex filled with sorcery and psychic abilities?  Sure, Grey Knights are supposed to be psykers, but this is way overboard man.  It feels like a Thousand Sons Codex more so than what Grey Knights is supposed to be.
• Why are all three Inquisition elements in the book?  This is a Grey Knight book.  Grey Knights are the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus.  Why the hell is Herecitus and Xenos bullshit doing in my book?  Not just that, how come there's barely anything about the Inquisition in the fluff but they're represented in the rules?  This just looks like a last minute higher-up insertion.
• Can someone please tell me why the most elite of the Space Marine Chapters (and this is Ward's own words) incapable of taking Land Raiders as dedicated transports?  Why are there no Librarian Dreadnoughts when our entire Chapter is composed of Psykers?  Why is there like 30 grenade options and not things like Grimoire of True Names or Sacred Incense?  You could of easily named Rad Grenades Grimoire of True Names and Blind Grenades Sacred Incense.  And Jokero monkeys man... seriously?
• Lastly, can someone tell me what I'm going to do with my Inquisitorial Stormtroopers and Grey Knight Terminators w/ Storm Shields?  Thanks.

Sorry guys, but I'm a little old school.  Some of you newer bloods won't agree with me and that's OK.  This is just a Longbeard's grumble.

PGK List Building 101

Now that I have a good amount of games under my belt as PGK, I think I'll touch upon the foundations of what makes a good list.  This will be different from the tactica because I won't discuss the application of said unit.  Instead, I'll talk about what units I've found most useful and which ones I include first when designing an army.

What HQ should I take?

In all the games I've played so far, I'm confident in saying that the Librarian is the best choice in any army lists  For 1500/1750 or even 1850 point players, the Librarian will add more to your army than the Grand Master.  In fact, I would only take the Grand Master in 2K points.  The Librarian adds a huge spell pool to your army in addition to psychic defense.  I think the best thing about the Librarian is that the spells he offers increases provides your army with everything you can ever want.  Might of Titans makes you tear through tanks, Shrouding keeps your dudes alive and Sanctuary prevents you from being assaulted.  Another great thing about the Librarian is that he's a Lv.2 Psyker, so you can cast Hammer Hand from him and stack it with Might.  This frees up your Paladin's abilities to auto-cast/pass Instant Death from the BBanner.  Sanctuary and Shrouding is also cast on your enemies' turn and thus increases the amount of survivability your elite army deserves.  The only thing he can't do is carry Rad or Blind grenades, which is one of the things I advocate when taking the Grand Master.

I see the Librarian as a staple in PGK play for the reasons mentioned above, but the Grand Master is definitely no slouch.  He's a good fighter, superior shooter and can carry grenades that seriously changes the way your enemies interact with his unit.  The best thing about him is Grand Strategy and by taking him alone your opponent's acknowledge the fact that your units can be deadlier in combat, can outflank him or count as scoring when they otherwise couldn't.  This opens up a repertoire of options otherwise unavailable to your army.  Truly, one of the only reasons the GM is not a staple is his lack of a psychic hood.  Psychic defense is so important in the games that I play that not having it is seriously detrimental to my army.  Sometimes you just can't afford having that Paroxysm or Doom casted on your men.



What Troops should I take?

I highly recommend the generic 10x GKSS w/ MC DH on the Justicar, 2x Psycannons and Psybolt upgrade in a Rhino.  This comes out to 295 points of flexibility that can take on any and all comers.  I've been taking two of these in every list I've played so far and they're truly amazing.  They can pop tanks from their top hatch or dispatch hordes of infantry from 24" after disembarking.  The S5 Storm Bolters makes a mockery out of T3 and MEQ units suffer heavily as well.  In close combat, you almost always want the charge because 1A is not impressive at all.

Smaller squads of scoring units inside Razorbacks is also an option, but I advocate having more power-armored mans is always better.  Unless of course, you're building a min-maxed gunline.  More mans equate to more wounds, more shots and more force weapon attacks.  Smaller mans means you're relying on the Razorback to do the work and not your guys inside.  It also means you'll be wiped off the board a lot quicker if you're transport disappears, but the point cost difference is very noticeable.  Either way, I recommend the full 10-man squad of GKSS.

What Elites should I take?

This is a hard one because PGK is very points heavy.  If you want to make a Purifiers list, you're going to have to sac some Paladins.  If you want Paladins, Purifiers will be too expensive in the army you want to take, especially if you want to make them troops.  Both Purifiers and Paladins are outrageously great units in my opinion.  Both are fairly expensive, but the Purifiers probably the best thing to wear power-armor since Grey Hunters.  At 26ppm (with Halberd), they're an expensive investment but they're nothing compared to the 55+ points you're spending on a Paladin.  Keep in mind that although both are very good, they function differently in their roles and how you play them.

For this reason, I would give Paladins and Purifiers a tie.  I play with Paladins personally because I like the idea of "heroic" terminators whereas players like Kirby, swear by Purifiers.  Both are very solid investments but you have to keep an eye on your points.  Since both of these units are elite, a Grand Master can make these scoring in games of 2K or so.

What about Fast Attack?

I really dig Interceptors now that I've used them.  Ten of these guys with 2x Psycannons and Psybolts do a lot of damage when used correctly.  Not only can they relocate in a blink of an eye, but they put down just as much firepower as a full GKSS squad coming out of a Rhino.  Keep these guys behind a building or out of LoS and use their shunt to surprise rape units in the open.  Highly recommended, but their points and non-scoring nature (unless you have a GM) puts them in the same category as Paladins and Purifiers.

What about Heavy slots?

Two units come to my mind here and they're both excellent in different ways.  The first is the Rifledread w/ Psybolt Ammo and the other is 5x Purgation w/ Incinerators in a Razorback w/ Psybolts.  Both are really cheap options and both excel in their role.  The Rifledread puts out reliable S8 shots from 48" and the Purgation squad, literally, burns down anything they touch.  Aside from the Purifiers, not many things in the army can burn down entire squads of infantry in a single phase without much effort.  Want a fun flying MC that can shunt 30"?  Feel free to add the Dreadknight to your list.  Personally, I'd rather see my points go into longer range anti-tank.

What are my transport options?

In short, there are 4 main transport options for PGK players:  The Rhino, the Razorback, Storm Raven or Land Raider.  At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself what each one does for your army.  The Rhino is the cheap man's transport and perfectly capable of supporting the likes of GKSS and Purifiers.  The RB is designed for MSU GKSS players who like to shoot and people who like Purgation squads.  The Storm Raven is perfect for transporting GKSS across the field in a hurry, especially if you have a Librarian inside with Shrouding.  Last but not least, we have the Land Raider, who has been the workhorse for PGK players since we can remember.

Personally, I only see Rhinos and Razorbacks worth taking and the reason is quite simple:  We no longer need the dedicated TLLC from the LRs as our anti-tank, and the Storm Raven is just a AV12 tin-can.  The LR is no longer a big player because Psycannons are now S7 Rending and we have the cheaper and much more affordable Rifledread w/ Psybolts.  In fact, in terms of usage, I would place the SR higher than the LR because of their speed, payload and turbo-boosting cover saves w/ Shrouding.  That in itself makes them useful, but you still have to pay a hefty price for them.  Use with caution, and only with a Librarian.

So what does all this mean?

It means your unit bucket for PGK should look something like this:

• Librarian as a staple HQ
• Grand Master is great, but only if you can afford the points (recommended for larger games)
• 10-man squads of GKSS in Rhinos is great, and fulfills the 2 troop slots perfectly
• Paladins, Purifiers and Interceptors are all great units, it's all about personal preference at that time
• Rifleman Dreads w/ Psybolts are a must-have in most lists, but don't discount the 5x Purgation w/ Incinerators.
• Transport depend entirely on your army composition, but I wouldn't recommend the more expensive transport options because of their price.
• Grey Knights can do well at lower point games, but they suffer from elite army syndrome.

With that being said, here is the victorious army building formula I've been using:

1. Add Librarian.
2. Add 2x 10x GKSS squads in Rhinos w/ 2x Psycannons and Psybolts.
3. Add either Paladins, Purifiers or Interceptors as my third unit choice.
4. Add at least 2x Rifledreads w/ Psybolt Ammo locked and loaded.
5. Now add further upgrades for the units already added if you need it.
6. Then add some more to bring up your points and what your meta is.
7. If I'm playing at 1750, I add a GM to bring it up to 2K.

The end result looks something like this:

1750
10 kp

HQ:
Librarian (3x Powers, NFH, 3x Skulls) = 185

TROOP:
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295

ELITE:
6x Paladins (MC DH, 2x MC Psycannon, BBanner) = 410

HEAVY:
Dreadnought (TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (TLAC, Psybolts) = 135


2000
10 kp

HQ:
Grand Master (Blind, Rad, MC NFS, MC Psycannon) = 250
Librarian (3x Powers, MC NFH, 2x Skulls) = 185

TROOP:
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295

ELITE:
7x Paladins (Apoth, MC DH, 2x MC Psycannon, BBanner, Psybolts, 2x MC) = 570

HEAVY:
Dreadnought (TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (TLAC, Psybolts) = 135

A guide to GK unit upgrades

In this article, I will highlight the importance of certain unit upgrades for Grey Knights.  Keep in mind that I do my guides in a very cost effective manner.  If I don't think the unit upgrade isn't worth it, I won't mention it.  Please, feel free to disagree via questions or comments.

When to Master-Craft?

For 5 points, there's a lot of reasons why you should MC weapons.  You increase accuracy in your shots and you improve the lethality of your attacks in CC.  A GM or Libby with a MC weapon makes him much more dangerous in combat because you're going to be landing more Force Weapon hits.  Once Force Weapons are activated, everything in the game that lives or breathes will fear you without question.  Eternal Warrior is the only thing that can save them at that point.  My rule to Master-crafting is simple and effective:  Always MC your Psycannons if you can, always MC your Daemonhammers and always MC your HQ's weapons if you can fit the points.  Keep in mind that MC is only 5 points and most of the time you can put it on any weapon you wish.  That means when you want something to hit; when you NEED something to hit, 5 points is a very small price to pay.  All squad leaders can MC their weapons, another thing to keep in mind.

What NFW should I use?

This depends entirely on playstyle and personal preference but I'll tell you what I prefer:  Halberds on everything with 2 attacks, Swords on your vital HQs and Hammers on anything that's non-IC, can't be picked out and in a 5:1 ratio to any infantry squad.  This means no IC in your army should ever carry a Hammer.  Grand Masters are I5 so you want to take advantage of that and Librarians have the exact stats as a Paladin.  For Librarians, if you favor protection, go with a NFS to make him 4++ in CC.  Sometimes I prefer the extra early hitting power so I give the Librarian a MC Halberd.  For Grand Masters, I almost always take the NFS because it gives him a 3++ in close combat.  Nothing else in the army is capable of giving you 3++ in CC for the price and his I5 is easily capable to matching most troops and HQs in combat.  A I7 Halberd should only be considered if you want to outpace really speedy HQs.

Remember what I said about the ratio between Hammers and infantry.  It doesn't matter if you're using Terminators, Paladins or GKSS, you always want to maintain a 5:1 ratio unless you have a specific purpose.  This means if you want a close-range tank-busting team of S10 Hammers, I might take a 5:2 ratio of Hammers.  This is viable, but ONLY do this if the Hammers are free or very cheap.  You don't have Storm Shields so don't think you can weather the same kind of damage to swing less.  Grey Knight Terminators rely on killing things in combat first to minimize the number of attacks back.

So when do you use swords?  You only use swords if you want to play defensive in nature on units utilizing invulnerable saves.  This should mean all PAGK (Power-armored Grey Knights) should not use swords right?  No.  On everything but Purifiers, you keep the swords for 2 key reasons:  The Halberds are expensive and with one measly attack, you're not taking full advantage of your speedy potential.  That means swords stay on GKSS and Interceptor squads because it's cost effective.

But what about Falchions?  Speed is more important than the +1 attack.  Offense, in my opinion, is more important than taking armor saves as defense.  Killing the enemy before they have the chance to strike eliminates the possibility to rolling poorly on armor saves.  This not only eliminates the use of defensive measures entirely but it also kills the enemy.  There's nothing better than that, especially when you consider that falchions costs points to upgrade.

Lastly, we have Warding Staves.  These things should be the last thing you look at because they're very limited in use.  They're expensive, takes away a I6 Halberd, only works in CC and did I mention it's too expensive?  I don't know about you folks, but I'd rather kill whatever I touch rather than relying on a expensive, purely defensive option.  The only time these should be looked at is on Paladins, and I honestly wouldn't take 1 unless I have excessive points (and this is never).

When to buy a Psycannon?

Always.  The Psycannon is one of the best weapon upgrades to grace our codex and I embrace its use in full effect.  Not only can you use it on the move or standing still, but the S7 Rending is one of the best options to punch through enemy armor.  In fact, it's the most reliable way to break through AV14 Land Raiders since meltas are such a rarity.  If your army has the option to take 1:5 or 2:10, go for it.  Purifiers and Purgation units can utilize 4 at max squads and that's always a good anti-armor option.  As for the subject of taking an 50 point MC Psycannon on an Grand Master, I think it's worth the points if you're planning to shoot it a lot.  BS6 with a re-roll is no joke and 4 shots per turn adds a lot to the army over the course of the game.  Keep in mind that Paladins can MC the Psycannons that they can take, so make sure you always spend that little extra to make it happen.  MC Psycannons can transform that missed opportunity to a dead Land Raider.

But what about Incinerators or Psilencers?

Psilencers are absolute ass compared to the Psycannon.  Incinerators, on the other hand, are great weapons.  Even though Incinerators are amazing, they clash with Psycannons for upgrade slots and that's the only reason they're ranked behind.  I guess it completely depends on your metagame.  If your club plays with a lot of mech, Psycannons are definitely the preferred upgrade.  If your club enjoys playing with plenty of boots on the ground and horde units, load up on the Incinerators because they're the best template weapons available for their cost.

When to take Psybolt Ammunition?

You take Psybolt Ammo on big squads of infantry or on vehicles with a good amount of bolter weapons.  Keep in mind that if you upgrade your Hurricane Bolters with Psybolts, they no longer count as defensive weapons.  Razorbacks with a 5 point upgrade become little Assault Cannons.  Assault Cannons with these become the same as a Psycannon.  These are also fantastic on Rifleman Dreads because 4 BS4 S8 shots makes a huge difference when trying to punch through enemy armor.  Large squads of infantry shooting S5 Storm Bolters also do serious damage to troops left in the open.  It also gives you the opportunity to hurt AV11 Rhinos.  Frankly, the best part to S5 Storm Bolters is that you start wounding T4 66% of the time instead of 50% and T3 83% of the time instead of 66%.  That's a pretty big difference.

What kind of grenades should I take on my HQs?

My must-takes are Blind Grenades and the Rad Grenades.  They can't be blocked by any reason, isn't random and has a fixed result.  Defensive nades reduce the amount of damage your squad will take in combat and Rad nades increase your squad's combat effectiveness.  Neither of these require your IC to be in base to base with the enemy.  Against T3 opponents, you don't even need to Hammer Hand to to start instant killing models (via double S vs. T) and wounding on 2s.  When fighting MEQ (T4 3+), Rad grenades with Hammer Hand result in 2+ wounds across the board and a huge boost in combat potential.  Rad grenades are also huge against MC creatures where you'd otherwise need 5s or 6s to wound.

Other grenade options are Empyrean Brain Mines and Psychostroke Grenades.  Brain Mines don't really work because you'll be killing most things you outspeed anyway.  Those you can't guarantee kills on don't really care.  Mines won't really protect you against faster HQs or CC specialists and most hidden fists won't be in base to base for it to work.  Psychotroke Grenades are great and fun and can have all kinds of funny effects on your opponent, but it's not guaranteed and it "might" increase your chances at killing stuff in CC.  For me, it's all about the guarantee and not the fear of possibility.  There's enough possibility in a game of dice to begin with, so why add another layer of random?  If you can spare the points, feel free to take Rad and Psychotroke nades for extra lols.  Just know that I'll take Rads over Psychostrokes any day of the week because rolling a 1 in a game-changing assault is asshairs.

When to take Servo-skulls?

Always.  They help with your Deep Strike placement, prevents Infiltrators from setting up and pushes Scouts back a respectable distance.  The most important reason to take Servo-skulls is DS assistance.  There's nothing that sucks more than having your expensive GKs mishap when you need them the most.  How many you take of these damn things depends entirely on how many points you have left.

When to take the Brotherhood Banner and Apothecary?

I only take the BBanner on big squads of Terminators.  If I have 7 or more, I almost always take the BBanner because the extra attack and free pass on activating Force Weapons is just divine.  The idea is that you HH with the Libby and then use the Terminator's power to auto-activate.  This way you get the +S in addition to having Instant Death wounds.  I use the same philosophy on the Apothecary and even more so when there's important ICs attached.  Some people believe the Apothecary to be too expensive on Paladin squads and I agree with them to a degree.  In squads of 5, I never take a Apothecary because I don't see them as a main fighting force.  If I have a squad of 7 and some ICs attached, I will always take the Apoth because he makes his points back in a hurry.  As long as you save 3 missed wounds on any of the models you have there, you make the Apoth's points back.  Of course you can always take another Paladin to save some points and add some more extra firepower, but there'll always be games where you'll roll poorly the first time.  I personally like having the additional failsafe.

More PGK Battle Reports!

Oh man, so many games, so little time to write.  The good thing though is that I have got a ton of good experience in so I'm ready to share my results.  In these reports, you'll see optimized and balanced army lists because that's the way to victory.  I'll keep these BRs in note form because some of the games were ridiculous.


First game was against Tyranids:

Highlights here was that the game was Capture and Control on Pitched Battle.  The army list I used was this:

2000

HQ:
Grand Master (MC Psycannon, Blind, Rad) = 245
Librarian (4x Powers, Psybolts, 3x Skulls) = 190

TROOP:
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295

ELITE:
7x Paladins (Apoth, MC DH, 2x MC Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts, 2x MC) = 570

HEAVY:
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135

• I forgot to put the skulls on the board and I rolled like ass on the scatter with my Paladins.  I mishapped and rolled a 1 on the table so my entire squad of GM, Libby and Paladins would of all died.  Good thing my opponent was a champ and reminded me of my skulls I forgot to place.  After a re-do on the scatter, my Paladins landed in front of his entire army of Termagaunts and went to town.
• The Paladins with the GM and Libby executed most of his entire army.  I must of went through a hundred gaunts (no joke); after shooting, assaulting and having him dig through Sanctuary.  When I plowed through everything and got in range of his Trevigon, Tyrannofex and Hive Tyrant, he forfeit.  His exact words were:  "I have never seen something take so much damage."  Yes, Paladins are absolute gods vs. normal attacks/shooting.
• My Rifledreads played counter-battery and they went through plenty of Hive Guard and forced others to go to ground.  HG die even through cover saves and any retaliation was stopped by Fortitude.  They just kept on shooting until Turn 5 when they were finally silenced by lucky shots from the Tyrannofex.
• Paroxysm is absolutely brutal if I can't block it with my psychic hood.  The one time it went off saw a drastic decrease in combat effectiveness and shooting from my Paladin squads.  This just shows me how important psychic defense really is.
• My GKSS held my points really well.  They shot at anything that got close and took advantage of cover to minimize damage.  For the points, I'm very satisfied that I had a unit that can put down so much fire and enjoy the safety of their Rhinos against heavier targets.

+++++++++++++++++

My second game was against Orks and it was 1500 points:

1500

HQ:
Librarian (3x Powers, 3x Skulls) = 180

TROOP:
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons) = 275
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons) = 275
10x GKT (MC DH, DH, rest Halberds, 2x Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 500

HEAVY:
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135

• I played well this game, but man.. dice were absolutely horrible.  The mission was 3 objectives and it was Pitched Battle.
• Early game blew up a Battle Wagon with the Psycannons shooting out of the Rhino and the explosions pinned his squad inside.  My DS came in on the spot with my Librarian and Terminators and they shot the Shoota squad to death almost.
• Next round, his Nob squad with Cybork Bodies, FNP and all different layouts WAAGH'd and came closer with another squad of Sluggas.  OK, no big deal.  I Sanctuary, he fails a couple here and there and assaults me through difficult + dangerous terrain.  I activate force weapons with Hammer Hand and have the Terminators swing at the Nob squad with 21 Instant Death attacks at I6 S5 and deal 1 wound.  Long story short, I lost everything but 2 Terminators even though managed to kill the Warboss before he got to swing his Klaw with my Libby.
• Next round I blow up some other vehicles and pinned another squad from the damage inflicted.  I still had a chance I thought, that was until I assaulted his Nob squad with my GKSS squad who tried to bail out the 2 Termies.  I activate force weapons, charge with 17 attacks and do no wounds.  He attacks back and kills everything I had.
• So what did I learn?  Even though I played well, I rolled like shit and my elite army suffered for it.  There's just nothing I can do with those kind of rolls.  It's cool, we'll get 'em next time.

+++++++++++++++++

Game 3 was the most hysterical:

2000

HQ:
Grand Master (MC Psycannon, Blind, Rad, 2x Skulls) = 255

TROOP:
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 295

FA:
10x Interceptors (MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 315

ELITE:
7x Paladins (Apoth, MC DH, 2x MC Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts, 2x MC) = 570

HEAVY:
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135

• Guess what his list was?  Daemons.  Guess what?  I lost.  In fact, I lost 9 kp (he tabled me) vs. 6 kp.  The mission was obviously Kill Points on Pitched Battle and I had the first turn.
• Let me tell you the reason why I lost:  He was the same Blood Angels player I played earlier in my BRs and I ran over his precious marines with my GKs.  He, in turn, decides to build a mono-Khorne Daemon army with Blessing of the Blood God all over the place.  Mat Ward, in all his genius, decides to give Grey Knights all Force Weapons.  BotBG gives all Khorne daemons a 2+ invulnerable vs. Force Weapons.  What makes it even more hysterical is that I didn't take a Libby this game because I had no idea I was going to face his list, and even if I had a Libby, I'd never give him Dark Excommunication.  I just find it really ironic that Grey Knights, in all their daemonhunting glory, is extremely handicapped vs. Khorne daemons.
• You know what, despite the obvious handicap, I played the game out and played extremely well.  I focus fired my GKSS and Interceptor squads into his Flesh Hounds and used my Rhinos to block his units and cover mine from assault.  Combined fire from multiple squads destroyed his Bloodthirster and one squad of Flesh Hounds on first turn.
• Next turn he got the charge off from a Daemon Prince of Khorne w/ Wings and he killed/tied up a GKSS for the entire game.  This went on forever because I just couldn't get past his saves.  His Flesh Hounds got into assault with my Pallies and they tied them up for a good amount as well.  Even though I killed a bunch of the hounds, those 2+ saves kept my Pallies tied in combat along with one of my Rifledreads.  I think my Pallies got tarpitted for 2 rounds, which isn't too bad, but that's still rounds they're not shooting.
• I charged one of my Rifledreads into his Bloodletter squads to tie them up since they couldn't hurt him but that didn't stop his Crushers who were slugging towards my Pallies.  To make things worse, those Crushers also had Skulltaker riding with them and that is a serious problem.
• Even though my Interceptor Squad shot one of his Princes down, the fact he had 3 with Wings overwhelmed my normal units and they couldn't do any damage to him because of the 2+ invul once he's in combat.
• The Pallies eventually broke free from the Flesh Hounds and shot/charged the squad of Blood Crushers.  Rad nades, Psyk-out nades, Hammerhand and BBanner put down 5 from assault and 2 from shooting.  This left Skulltaker alone in there to swing at my Paladins and he didn't manage to Rend/ID any to death.  One of my Pallies took a wound, he loses combat by 9 and makes all his 3+ armor saves.  Awesome.
• Next turn, I get charged by a Herald on a Chariot and another Daemon Prince; both with Blessing of the Blood God.  Though my Pallies fought bravely, Skulltaker beheaded my Grand Master, my Paladins did nothing to his units because of Blessing and they lost combat and ran off the field.
• At the end of the game, I analyzed my execution and battle plan and realized I didn't do anything wrong.  Everyone did what they're supposed to do, it's just that 2+ invuls in close combat vs. me means I kill nothing or get tarpitted.  Shooting is great, but with wings on all the Princes, a lot of field saturation (didn't help he got all his reserves in on time and without scatter), and beast-charging Flesh Hounds with Blessing means I'm in a world of shit.
• It really sucks that the Librarian and the Dreadknight are the only ones to carry Dark Excommunication and it sucks even more because I'll never take that spell.  Against anything but Daemons, it's worthless and even if you get it off, all you need to do is not be in base to base with the Librarian and it doesn't work.  Did Mat Ward forget about Blessing of the Blood God when he made all Grey Knights carry Force Weapons?  I wonder..
• Lastly, I would like to note that I'm a fan of the Interceptors.  The 30" shunt gave me the ability to reposition instantly and support my GKSS squads in the execution of his Bloodthirster and Flesh Hounds.  If they didn't have the extra fire support, I would of had a BT with Blessing amok my lines and that would of meant a lot of dead dudes.

PGK Reflections

So I've been playing quite a few games with Grey Knights and I have some vital battlefield experience to share.  This will be a semi-battle report in addition to a full blown analysis of the units I've played with lately.

I played a game with a all termie list last night and I wasn't too happy with their performance.  Small model count and terminator armies always suffer from bad rolling.  Not saying that my rolling was terribad, but it was mediocre.  Mediocre is not allowed in army with only 27 models.  As most of you know, 40K is a wound saturation game.  You shoot something enough, force enough armor saves and no matter how amazing you are, you will die.  Terminators suffer from this problem.

Last night's game was against CSM and I was playing with 2x 10x units of Terminators and a unit of 7x Paladins.  The task force was led by a Grand Master w/ Psycannon and a Librarian with a bunch of skulls scattered around the battlefield.  At the end of the game, I drew a pretty conclusive analysis of the battle:

• Low model count and average rolls is NOT OK.  You might make 7 armor saves one round and think you're pretty badass, but when you fail 4 on each squad of Termies in 1 round of enemy shooting you'll quickly think overwise.
• Grey Knight Terminators are very badass indeed, but when you're looking at ~50ppm (due to upgrades) with 5+ invuls and nothing better, this forces one strict policy:  Be in cover or die.  A squad of enemy CSM Termies let loose with a crap-ton of Combi-Plasma and I lost 6 guys, just like that.
• Cover is needed to keep Terminators alive from shooting, but cover also drastically reduce their ability to move around the battlefield and help score.
• DS is good, but it should not be relied on.  The fact that my Paladins arrived on the bottom of Turn 5 is testament to this:  I rolled a 3 on 2nd turn, a 2 on 3rd, 1 on 4th and spewed tears on 5th.  Sure, you can argue that the GM should of been on board to call down his Paladins, but how do you determine which squad he's attached to comes down in time?  Ideally, there would of been a building located somewhere towards the middle that blocked all LoS and I could of used Psychic Communion to call down his battle-brothers.  This is good strategy, but definitely not guaranteed that the battlefield will be setup this way (and it was not).
• It's not cool when the only units you have come down in piecemeal, giving your opponent the opportunity to saturate one unit at a time.  This results in a lot of dead heroes.
• The elite of the elite suffer from all kinds of bad rolls.  It doesn't matter if you're rolling to aim, wound or assault, if you roll subpar, you will suffer greatly next round because there's just not enough targets/bodies.
• Although the game ended in a draw, I can definitely say that Terminator lists suffer at objective-based missions where you simply don't have enough bodies at the end of the game.

Even though my Terminators didn't impress me, one thing's for damn sure:

The game changed when the Paladins hit the field, again.  Saturation of damage was neutralized by having 2W with FNP and my Paladins soaked up entire turns of damage while remaining intact.  Wound allocation played a big part because I wasn't afraid to allocate stray wounds onto my GM and Libby just to reduce wounds on the squad.  When the Paladins charged units, enemy units died.  When enemy units charged them, they fell like water on rock.  My shots remained true from MC Psycannons and enemy walkers and vehicles were smashed asunder by faithful Daemonhammers.

But enough about Terminators and Paladins, let's talk about PGK in general:

Rifleman Dreads with Psybolt Ammo help fill a huge gap in the PGK army, just like your faithful TLLC/ML Dreads from 3rd.  The reason is simple:  Between the ranges of 24" and 48", you have virtually nothing that can silence enemy guns.  That means Razorbacks, Defilers, Leman Russ or any kind of long range firepower can tear through your expensive models without fear or retaliation.  DSing into the enemy line with Terminators can be viable, but bad reserve rolls and scatters can play a huge factor in how you can execute the strategy.  With that said, I highly recommend Rifleman Dreads w/ Psybolts in most GK army lists.

PAGK will continue to be the workhorse of your army.  This can be either in the form of Purifiers made troops, Interceptors made scoring or standard GKSS.  If you have a unit of 10 guys, Psybolt Ammo is preferred.  If you don't, you don't need it at all.  Purifiers can go either aggressive with Incinerators, defensive with Psycannons or cheap mid-field with just Halberds and Psybolts.  Interceptors can be good at dealing damage and putting out wounds, but their cost is still prohibitive in where they'll go in most army lists.  Last but surely not least, GKSS will be the driving force of most GK lists imo.  10 dudes with 2 Psycannons in a Rhino with Psybolts and a Justicar with a MC DH costs 295 points.  Sure, they're definitely expensive compared to most troop choices in the game, but this unit is perfectly capable of tackling anything in the game.    This includes big MCs, AV14, GEQ, MEQ and everything else.

Keep in mind one thing though, and this is something that EVERY player should keep in mind everytime you play with/against Grey Knights.  No matter what, aside from the Paladins, PAGK and GKT are just regular Marines.  GKT play exactly the same as standard Terminators (the ones w/ fists and stormbolters) and therefore, they are subject to the same weakness.  The same applies to PAGK (Purifiers, Interceptors, GKSS) because underneath all that beautifully decorated silver armor is the same Marine you've been killing for ages.

With that in mind, here are the facts:

• A balanced list will always be better than a list focused on one thing.  This can be Purifier spam lists, Draigowings, Terminator heavy lists, it doesn't matter.  You want everything in your army to stay truly effective because it broadens the strengths of your army while scattering your weaknesses.  Imagine your army as a toolbox containing rock, paper and scissors.  It will be a hell of a lot more effective than a stack of paper vs. your opponent's scissor [unit].
• Including weapons of all different calibers:  Rifleman Dreads that can shoot out from 48" and touch things with TL S8, 24" threat from Psycannon with S7 Rending, and a plentiful amount of Storm Bolters that can force wounds and chew up hordes.
• Paladins is one of those units that will demand your opponent's respect.  Terminators will to a degree, but they don't really compare to 2W FNP models that can be outfitted and equipped to your heart's desire.  The only thing keeping these guys back from running the entire game is their points.  I think I'll run a unit of 5-10 in every list I make from here on after.  I have been impressed with their performance time and time again and I think these guys will single-handily change the way the game is played vs. Grey Knights, kinda like Orks and their Nob Bikers.  Can I kill Paladins?  Yes, then you've got yourself a competitive army.  If you can't, don't even bother competing.

More to come later...

PGK Battle Reports

Updated: 12:24am PST, 3-18-11, Game 2 posted!!!

This will be a collection of battle reports of me playing games with Pure Grey Knights.  I will be trying out a lot of different lists over the next couple of weeks to get a better feel of the book.  As always, I'll be pulling PGK lists from my tactica and playtesting my theories so I can turn them into law.  Keep in mind that feedback is very important to me, as well as discussions about tactics and strategy.  In terms of questions, please refer to what game you're talking about.  An example would be:  "In game #1, you did this.." etc.


Game #1
2K Grey Knights vs. Blood Angels

My list consisted of 3x 5x Paladins w/ 2x MC Psycannons, a large squad of Paladins fully kitted with Draigo and Librarian.
His list had a Stormraven w/ Librarian, Honor Guard and Furioso, 2x Tactical squads with Plasma Cannon/Plasma Gun, 2x Devastators w/ Missiles, and 2 Assault Squads w/ Priests and Meltas.

His list is pretty balanced whereas mine is filled with 2W Terminators.

We roll for mission and deployment and we get Spearhead deployment and Annihilation.  My Grand Strategy gives me 3 Scouting Paladin squads (including Draigo's) and I advance up the field with the closest deployment.  I also win first turn and the fun begins.

Turn 1 didn't see much action because I was getting close to him.  Since I won deployment, I chose to go in the area with the heaviest terrain/giving him the least amount of terrain.  I had like 4 bushes to cover in whereas he only had 1 big patch.  Anyways, I advance with nothing in range.

He keeps everything in the back and begins shooting at me with his stuff.  The Plasma Cannon overheats from 1 Tac squad and Shrouding w/ the 3+ cover saves 2 wounds from another.  The SR fires at Draigo's squad with a TL Lascannon and I block it with Draigo's face.

Turn 2 sees me advance more into the woods and I use 3 of my Paladin squads to reduce a Tactical squad to 4 dudes (forced a lot of saves, he didn't do so well).  His return fire puts 2 separate wounds on 2 Paladins from 1 squad and that's about it.  His scatters were laughable and I save all but one of his Krak missiles and a Paladin goes down.

Turn 3, I advance further and shoot down his SR with my Psycannons.  Combined fire from the other squad puts his Honor Guard down to 3 dudes, and his wounded Tactical squad runs off the board after another wound.  On his turn, he moves everything back as I'm getting awfully close except for the assault squads which were behind buildings, well for the most part.

Turn 4, I move up more and shoot at one of the assault squads that was peaking behind a building and forced a couple of wounds.  He saves the majority of them and he assaults me with a 8-man squad of ASM and a Priest.  I test for Sanctuary with my Librarian and he's out of range to hood it.  He test for Hammerhand and he fails to stop it.  Now I'm going first with Halberds w/ WS5 S5 and I kill 6 dudes including his Priest.  He attacks back and kills one, I swing with my Hammer, killing 2 more.  He loses by 6, runs, I can't chase so I move next to him.

We call it here.  I lose 2 Paladins from separate squads, he loses a Tactical squad, a Storm Raven, a squad that's running off the board and most likely, a lot more.

Post-game Analysis:

I think this game was in my favor because I had a favorable mission, superior deployment and took advantage of cover very well.  The map had a lot of trees in the middle and that type of firepower combined with Shrouding was too much for my opponent.  His list also didn't have any big threats to my 2W Terminators.  Against more AP1-2 weaponry and S8+ weapons, I think my list would of suffered more.  Overall, I think the list did what it's supposed to do; advance, shoot, kill things in assault.  In the future, I will probably reserve one of my Paladin squads and come in via DS or Outflank.  That would of caused my opponent to think a little more than backing up into a corner.  The one thing to note is that the list is extremely slow and Eldar armies w/ a lot of lances will have a field day with it.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Game #2

2K Grey Knights vs. Blood Angels

This is a rematch between me and my friend using a different BA list.

Hist list:

Reclusiarch TDA, 5x TH/SS in LRC, 5x ASM in LC/TLPC Razor, 2x 10x ASM w/ PF/Meltas w/ Sanguinary Priests w/ LClaw, 2x Baal Dreads, 2x 5x Devs w/ Missiles

My list:
Grand Master, Blind + Rad nades w/ Skulls, 7x Paladins, Apoth, BBanner, Psybolts, 2x MC Psycannons, 3x 10x GKSS in Rhinos w/ 2x Psycannons, 3x Rifleman Dreads w/ Psybolts

The mission we rolled was Annihilation and the deployment was Pitched Battle.  I won the roll to go first again so I deployed my stuff in some ruins.  I choose to give Scout (rolled a 3 on d3 again) to 2x of my GKSS squads and for my Paladins (they were in reserve for DS).  As for the servo-skulls, they were deployed in the middle exactly 12" from each other so I had a huge bubble of options.  Scout moves sees 2x of the GKSS squads relocate to match my opponent's deployment and his scouting Baals push up a little and pops smoke.

Turn 1 sees most of my army relocate to the right of the battlefield.  One of the GKSS squads disembarks in cover and lays down some fire on the Baal Pred.  Combined shooting from that squad and a Rifledread detonates the ammo bin instead one of the scouting Baals and it goes up in flames.  My other shots from the Psycannon and Rifledreads rips off the TLAC from his LRC.

His turn 1 sees his Baal advance and make one of my servo-skulls disappear.  He lays down some fire on my exposed GKSS squad and I take 2 of my guys off the table.  The Razor shoots at my Rifledread and fails to do anything.  The LRC moves up 12" and pops smokes and the rest of his army flies up a little closer while hugging cover from his vehicles.  His one Dev squad that had LoS shot this turn, but epically failed to do anything.

Turn 2 sees one of my Rhinos race up and I disembark some Psycannons to shoot at his LRC.  Paladins do not arrive this turn and all other GKSS stood still and took aim.  Too bad aiming didn't really help and combined shooting from the Psycannons do no damage to his Baal or LRC.  My Rifledreads on the far left try  for the Baal but it was blocked pretty nicely from the LRC so a 3+ cover was in order.  He passes his cover save but his Razorback was not as lucky.  My far right Rifle puts 2 pens into the Razor's hull and blows apart its weapons.  With 2 of my GKSS squads exposed for assault, I get a little nervous.

His turn was extremely bloody in terms of combat.  Combat was so fierce that his Devastators moved up to get a better position because LoS was killing his field of fire (more realistically, they just wanted to watch).  His LRC moves up and immobilizes my right most Rifleman while it unloads his Reclusiarch and TH/SS Termies.  One of his ASM squads jumps over a building and into assault range of my GKSS squad.  I misjudged distance a little bit and they're just within 6" of my first guy.  Gunfire opens here and there and a few Grey Knights go down.  The Reclusiarch and his squad charges my top GKSS and the other GKSS squad sees combat with his ASM squad.  I Hammerhand with both squads and brace for impact.  The top squad of GKSS (already down to 6 dudes from shooting) takes 3 more wounds from the Reclusiarch and the Justicar swings with his hammer.  It connects with 2 wounds on the Blood Angels hero and he fails one of his precious invulnerable saves.  Splat.  It goes without saying that the other GKSS were butchered to the last man by the TH/SS Termies.  Assault on the other squad sees 7 dead on my side and 3 dead on his.  I lose by 4, ATSKNF, and I lose 1 more Knight.

Turn 3 has the Paladins come down in the middle of the battlefield in cover with no scatter.  I pass my difficult terrain and unpack my last squad of GKSS from their Rhinos to open fire on the Terminators.  Combined fire from everything on the field except for 1 Rifledread puts a crap ton of saves on the 5x Termies.  They save them all.  My rightmost Rifleman opens up no the Baal Pred and turns it into a slag of molten armor.  Assault sees my last Knight fall to the ASM squad and I brace myself for the impact of next round.

His turn produced a lot of good shooting as his ASM squad, Dev squads and MM from the LRC drops 2 Rhinos and a Rifleman Dread.  Melta fire from the top ASM squad rips both arms off a Rifledread and before charging and killing it.  His TH/SS squad also charges my big unit of Paladins but they get shit on by Rad Grenades + Hammerhand and I6 Halberds.  Four die in the first second and the last one kills a Paladin before he himself gets silenced by the Grand Master.  I consolidate closer to his ASM squad that killed the Rhino so I'm in charge range next turn.

On my turn 4, I pack up my GKSS squad in my Rhino and run 12" away from his ASM squad on top.  My Paladin squad moves a inch away from his ASM squad on the bottom and lay into them with S5 Stormbolters and Psycannons.  3+ armor and FNP saves everything there before I assault in.  HH fails to cast on a 11 but I still manage to tear through everything in my way.  All the Blood Angels fall dead before the Paladins and the Priest himself fights for his life before getting slapped by a Daemonhammer.  I consolidate towards his LRC.

On his turn, he moves the LRC up and misses with his MM.  Hurricane Bolters do no damage to the Paladins and concentrated fire from the Devastators don't kill any Paladins either.  His ASM squad moves closer to my Paladins but is out of range of my assault.

Turn 5 sees me move my last squad of GKSS up and unload on a Dev squad.  Combined fire from my last Rifledread and the GKSS puts down 3 members from a Dev squad and my Paladins move against his LRC.  Psycannon fire rips the MM off the LRC and the assault with the S10 Hammer glances it with Stunned (he moved 12").

With his last try, everything in his army pours into the Paladins and one of them goes down to a Meltagun from the ASM squad.  They charge, I pop HH and between the Brotherhood Banner giving me +1 attack, Rad Grenades taking away 1 Toughness, the I6 Halberds rips through every single Battle Brother before they even get to swing.  I inflicted 11 wounds with my WS5 Paladins needing 3s and 2s.  We call the game here in my favor because he had nothing left that can touch the Paladins reliably.

Post-game Analysis:

Up until the Paladins entered combat, everything was going pretty good for him.  I lost 2 units of GKSS to his assaults early and my vehicles were in ruins.  As soon as the Grand Master and his bodyguard intervened, everything changed.  Marines just melt to I6 Force Halberds and I soaked up an insane amount of damage from the remnants of his army.  As long as I have the Paladins left as a anchor unit, and my opponent doesn't have enough low AP S8+ weapons left, I feel very comfortable in taking the game in force.  God knows that Blood Angels are one of the best armies to take damage because of their 3+ and FNP, but that just doesn't do anything to I6 NFWs.  I almost feel that the assault nature of the army (BA) is rendered useless because of the Pally layout.  Blind Grenades takes away your extra attack on the charge, Rad Grenades makes you T3 vs. my S5, I6 Halberds means your FC means nothing and my 2W FNP Terminators will just take regular attacks like they're nothing.  The entire squad's dead before they strike, and that's before my Grand Master even gets to swing.

Pure Grey Knights Tactica

Before you read this tactica, you have to understand one key thing:

This a tactica dedicated to playing with half of the Grey Knights army book.  You will not have access to any Inquisitors, Henchmen, Assassins or crazy space monkeys.  If you want to play with those units, please close out of this tactica immediately.

If you're still here, that means you're ready to play a real man's game.  You will play an army that's so elite that no other army can match you in the battlefield when played correctly.  Whether that proves to be correct or not depends entirely on you.  You will be handicapped and you will face bad match-ups time and time again.  To emerge victorious means nothing, for tomorrow you will face another enemy.  To suffer defeat also means nothing, for tomorrow you will walk onto the battlefield and try again.  You have given your life to the Chapter and you know no fear.  Be prepared to be taught the ways of pure Grey Knights.

UPDATED: 2:46pm PST, 12-1-11

Now that we have laid the ground rules, I'll tell you a little bit of how things work here on my blog.  I am a competitive player and I do not waste my time on units that I find lackluster or ineffective on the battlefield.  If you want to be a competitive PGK player, you have to realize that not only are your options rather limited, but your list building techniques have to be even sharper than before if you want to survive.  Pure Grey Knights is not a casual exercise for the brain, it's a test of player skill and a firm understanding of the army's strengths and weaknesses.  With such a strict doctrine in mind, only the strongest unit choices that have the highest degree of tactical application will be used.  Everything else can suck shit.

As such, the following units will be talked about on this blog:

Lord Kaldor Draigo
Castellan Crowe
Grand Master
Librarian
Purifier Squad
Paladin Squad
Terminator Squad
Strike Squad
Interceptor Squad
Purgation Squad
Nemesis Dreadknight
Techmarine
All Dreadnoughts and vehicles are safe to use

This leaves us with only 13/17 pure Grey Knight choices viable for competitive play.  If you don't agree with me, too bad.  I won't tell you why I cut the Mordrak, Stern, the Brother Champion or Thawn, that's for you to figure out for yourself.  It won't take you long if you study the codex.

Now let's move onto the unit bucket:

Grand Master

You want this guy in every single list you're going to make.  His upgrade potential is amazing and the special rule he offers is fantastic.  The main reason you take the Grand Master is for Grand Strategy.  He can make units Scout, count as scoring, re-roll 1s to wound for the rest of the game, or get the Counter-Attack USR.  Since he can carry special grenades only available to a select group of HQs, his job will be to assist your units in CC with said grenades.  He is a support hero, not a fighter.  That's why you always keep him safe with his NFS for that lovely 3++ in CC.

Recommended configuration:
Grand Master (Psycannon, Blind, Rad) = 240

Feel free to add some Servo-skulls in there if the mission calls for it.  Skulls give your army flexibility and that's always important when choosing when and where to come in.  The Psycannon is there because PGK need all the anti-tank they can take, Blind Grenades gives his unit Defensive grenades and Rad Grenades nerfs a enemy unit's Toughness by 1 in assault.  This means your already godly soldiers will steamroll most things they touch in CC as long as the Grand Master is present.  Remember:  His role is support, not front line battle-beast.  With only 3 attacks and no EW, he's not very eager to get into combat.  Feel free to swap out the Psycannon for a basic Incinerator if you think you got enough AT.

Librarian

You will keep him at level 2 and you will give him powers to take instead.  Mastery Level 3 is not needed but psychic diversity is definitely a must.  As for weapon upgrades, the most cost-effective option is the default NFS.  A 4++ Invul in CC is definitely a lot more than what other Psykers have so that's always a good thing. As for psychic abilities, these are the ones I find most useful.  I will rank them in order of importance as well:

Shrouding
Summoning
Might of Titan
Sanctuary
Quicksilver
Warp Rift

The other abilities are either crap or not really meaningful in actual games.  Shrouding is at the top of the list because a 3+ cover save is godsend for an army with very few models and no Storm Shields.  Summoning gives you the ability to summon aid whenever you please and another layer of tactical displacement.  Might of Titan and Quicksilver gives you the ability to tear apart Land Raiders or outspeed anything in the game in CC.  Sanctuary provides assault defense and Warp Rift is just for lols because it's a template based weapon that's not as powerful as JotWW.

Recommended configuration:
Librarian (Shrouding, Summoning, Might and Sanctuary) = 170

The key ones to have every game is Shrouding, Summining and Might.  Quicksilver can be interchanged with Sanctuary if your army is full of Halberds (which it should be).  The Librarian is a support hero and should not be used as frontline CC character.  He is pure utility and his psychic powers should help compliment any weaknesses your army may have, including psychic defense because he's the only one with a hood.

Draigo and Crowe

These guys should only be used to unlock Paladins and Purifiers as troops.  Draigo is too expensive for competitive play, but he does have a role in all Paladin lists.  Crowe is possibly the worst SC to ever exist.  Crowe should be reserved and walked on and out of LoS every game to prevent getting him killed.  He's only there for the Purifiers.

Grey Knight Strike Squad

These guys are your standard bread and butter marines.  They form the backbone of most PGK lists and the fact that they can take Rhinos now adds to their worth.  Even though they only have 1 attack, each GKSS comes with a Force Weapon and Storm Bolter.  The ideal way to use these guys is to ship them up mid-board and bunker down to provide fire support for the rest of your army.  In terms of application, these guys are NOT your go-getters.  They are support units that count as scoring and thus they should be used exactly as that.

Recommended configuration:
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons) = 275

The Justicar can MC his Daemonhammer and you should have one for every 10 GKSS.  In terms of functionality the DH functions exactly the same reason why you would have a Fist in a Tactical squad.  It produces guaranteed wounds when you would otherwise fail and that's exactly what you need sometimes.  A good example is rolling poorly to wound on a Trygon with everything until the hammer hits.  Not only do you wound on a 2+ but one psychic test and you blow it up.  Winning.

Grey Knight Terminator Squad

Thanks to combat squads, you can either go big or small with the unit and be on your merry way.  Not only do they count as troops but their weapon layout gives them plenty of utility.  In terms of Nemesis Force Weapons, the Halberd is preferred on any unit with 2A.  Going faster than your opponent is key in reducing the number of armor saves you have to make.  The less die you roll for your armor saves, the longer your units will survive.  This is a mathematical certainty.  As for how many Daemonhammers you need, I like to do a 5:1 ratio.  This means in squads of 10 you will have 2 and in squads of 5 you only need 1.

Recommended configurations:
5x GKT (MC DH, Psycannon) = 230
10x GKT (MC DH, DH, rest Halberds, 2x Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 500

In terms of cost-effectiveness, you only take the big upgrades on squads of 10.  Brotherhood Banner is a must on a big unit of Termies because the +1 attack and auto-passing your roll for Force Weapons is just divine.  The Psybolt upgrade on a full unit of Terminators is more cost effective than spending the same amount of points to upgrade 5.  How you use the units listed above is simple:  The smaller squad is a support squad and objective holder, the bigger squad is a go-getter and should be used very aggressively.  Smaller squads have a smaller footprint of how much trouble they can cause in a game and larger squads attract a shit ton more firepower.  That's why you need the extra bodies in there to soak up all the damage.

Another option is combat squads.  The big unit of Terminators above can split off in two different roles:  5x with the 2x Psycannons can be mid-field support while the BBanner and Hammers go off aggressively.  Thanks to Grand Strategy, you can assign battlefield roles BEFORE using combat squads so you can have 2 scouting squads of Terminators from 1 big squad.

Purifier Squad

Purifiers are basically GKSS on crack.  They do everything they can do but better because they have 2A, cheaper Halberds, Cleansing Flame and cheaper everything else.  Not only that, but you can take 2 special weapons for every 5, making a full squad of them as deadly as Purgation squads.  The only thing that sucks about them is that they're Elite, which can be overcome by Grand Strategy or by taking Crowe.  In short, they have no real weakness except for the amount of points you pay for them.

Recommended configurations:
10x Purifiers (Rhino, MC DH, Halberds, 4x Psycannons) = 340
10x Purifiers (Rhino, MC DH, Halberds, 4x Incinerators) = 300

The awesome thing with combat squads is that you can opt to take a Razorback and have 5 Purifiers fill the role of Purgation squads.  Not only are they cheaper but they have Cleansing Flame and 2 attacks each.  Fearless also guarantees they won't run.  The two builds above provides a support unit and vicious go-getter unit that capitalizes on Incinerators.  Personally, I prefer all the Psycannons I can afford.

Paladin Squad

Paladins are basically Terminators on crack.  2W each with 2+/5++ FNP because of the Apothecary upgrade makes them virtually unkillable by normal means.  The sad fact is that they die just like normal marines to AP1/2 weapons that double their strength value.  Plasma weaponry will take a heavy toll on them and Demolishers/Vindicators will just tear through them like butter.  For the best results, Paladins need Librarians w/ Shrouding to make them truly effective.  This gives them that beautiful 3+ cover save that they all desire and therefore it's imperative that all big guns get silenced ASAP.  Remember though, if you take Paladins, you pay for what you get.

Recommended configurations:
5x Paladins (MC DH, Halberds, 2x MC Psycannons) = 330
10x Paladins (Apoth, 2x MC DH, Halberds, 4x MC Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolt) = 780

One of the biggest strengths of Paladins is their ability to Master-Craft anything.  This gives them a lot of flexibility in terms of what weapons they choose to equip.  For me, the most important weapon to MC is the Psycannon.  S7 Rending is going to take care of business most of the time, all you need to do is hit.  Take advantage of your ability to MC weapons of great importance but keep an eye on your points.  Keep the halberd to hammer ratio 1:5 again and only add an Apothecary if you're taking a squad over 5.

Interceptor Squad

These guys are basically GKSS that count as Jump Infantry.  Even though they move 12" normally, the best thing about these guys is that they can make a once in a game 30" shunt.  This means they can suddenly appear on your enemies' flank or get shots at rear armor.  They're slightly more expensive than normal GKSS, but the utility they can offer in your list is definitely desirable.  Keep in mind that they're Jump Infantry so you can DS them directly into battle if you so desire.

Recommended configuration:
10x Interceptors (MC DH, 2x Psycannons, Psybolts) = 315

Expensive?  Sure.  Keep in mind that the GM can make these guys scoring and the 30" shunt scoring unit is incredibly scary towards the end of the game.  Just be careful when you start teleporting around that you're looking for targets of opportunity.  This means vulnerable points on vehicles, troops out of transports and squads that absolutely need to be destroyed.

Purgation Squad

Even though Purifiers can put out a ridiculous amount of firepower, Purgation squads do several things that they can't.  For one, Purifiers can Astral Aim and shoot through anything they want.  This allows you to do all kinds of drive-by shenanigans where you place your vehicle between you and your target.  Sure, they get a cover save, but the fact that you're behind your Razorback and they can't see you while you can see them is always excellent.

Recommended configurations:
5x Purgation (Razorback, 4x Incinerators) = 145
5x Purgation (Razorback, 4x Psycannons) = 225

The first thing you notice is how dirt cheap the Purgation unit with Incinerators is.  Free Incinerators gives you a squad that's capable of rolling up and destroying entire units at a time.  The price is fantastic and no heavy support choice in the book can deliver the horde killing power as a Incinerator-based Purgation Squad.  The next choice is Psycannons of course, even though they might not seem like the best choice over Purifiers, always remember that they can shoot through solid walls and from behind a Land Raider to hit their mark.

Nemesis Dreadknight

There's not much to say here.  You have a T6 dude that's teleporting around with a 2+/5++ save and has 4W.  What's even more scary is the fact that he's a MC that can tear vehicles apart left and right.  With the Grand Master giving these scout, there's nothing stopping these guys from shunting on your flanks before the game starts and going to town on turn 1.  With that said, I would keep these guys cheap.

Recommended configurations:

Nemesis Dreadknight (Personal Teleporter, Heavy Incinerator) = 235

Nemesis Dreadknight (Heavy Psycannon) = 170

The idea is to shunt towards combat ASAP and apply extreme pressure on the enemy flank.  Just like Vindicators, the more of these guys you have in your army, the more your opponents will freak out and concentrate fire on them.  For that reason alone, the NDK makes their points back in most lists.  The other reason is that they're running around punching vehicles in the face.

Dreadnoughts

Does everyone remember the TLLC/ML Dreadnought that PGK players used back in 3rd?  The reason why is because we had almost no long-range anti-tank what so ever.  You what what changed between 3rd and 5th?  Nothing.  In the current book, PGK don't have access to anything that shoots over 24" that can bust tanks reliably.  All except for one:  The Rifleman Dread w/ Psybolt Ammo.  Every other Dreadnought configuration keep one of the Nemesis Doomfists in exchange for anti-tank weaponry.  Good thing you can always equip a Assault Cannon and give it Psybolt Ammo for a pseudo-Psycannon.

Recommended configurations:
Dreadnought (2x Twin-linked Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo) = 135
Dreadnought (Assault Cannon, Psybolt Ammo) = 130

If you're going for an aggressive Dreadnought that can advance and put down a hail of fire, definitely go with the Psycannon Dreadnought. If you're looking for dedicated Anti-Tank that can hang back and shoot a bunch, the Rifleman Dread w/ Psybolt Ammo is exactly what you're looking for.

Techmarine

The saddest little addition in the world.. forever enslaved to carry combat grenades for his better brothers..

Sample Army Lists

2000
GKSS and Paladins

HQ:
Grand Master (Psycannon, Blind, Rad) = 240
Librarian (+3 powers, Skull) = 170

TROOP:
10x GKSS (Rhino, DH, 2x Psycannons) = 270
10x GKSS (Rhino, DH, 2x Psycannons) = 270
10x GKSS (Rhino, DH, 2x Psycannons) = 270

ELITE:
10x Paladins (Apoth, 2x MC DH, 4x MC Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 780

Pretty generic list featuring a big unit of Paladins.  The GM makes them scoring and the 4x MC Psycannons from that one squad can break up into a firing squad.  The lone servo-skull from the Libby marks special locations that can be contested by DS Paladins or they can deploy offensively.  The rest of the list is just bread and butter GKSS, with no points for MC Hammers sadly.  The only other logical step is dropping the Rad Grenades on the GM, but I really like its persistent effect more than the re-roll.

+++++++++++++++++++++

2000
Purifiers

HQ:
Librarian (MC NFS, +4 Powers, +3x Skull) = 185
Castellan Crowe = 150

TROOP:
10x Purifiers (Rhino, MC DH, Halberds, 4x Psycannons) = 340
10x Purifiers (Rhino, MC DH, Halberds, 4x Psycannons) = 340
10x Purifiers (Rhino, MC DH, Halberds, 4x Psycannons) = 340
10x GKT (MCDH, DH, 2x Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 500

HEAVY:
5x Purgation (Razorback, 4x Incinerators) = 145

This list features 3 full squads of Purifiers and a big squad of scoring Terminators led by a Librarian.  A very in-your-face kind of list, this list begs to be played aggressively.  Set up in mid-field and have the plentiful amount of skulls guide your Terminators down.  The Purgation squad is purely support fire for horde-style armies since the Purifiers and Terminators should handle elites pretty well.  Crowe is there just to unlock the Purifiers and everything else is pretty self-explanatory.  With 14 Psycannons in the list, you shouldn't worry about tank problems.

+++++++++++++++++++++

2000
Balanced

HQ:
Grand Master (Blind, Rad, Skull) = 210

TROOP:
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons) = 275
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons) = 275
10x GKSS (Rhino, MC DH, 2x Psycannons) = 275

ELITE:
7x Paladins (Apoth, MC DH, 2x MC Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 560

HEAVY:
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135
Dreadnought (2x TLAC, Psybolts) = 135

This is a very balanced list that doesn't have a Librarian.  The Grand Master hangs out with his squad of Paladins while the entire army waits mid-field with your heavy support in the back.  The 3x Rifleman Dreads w/ Psybolt Ammo brings a total of 12 Twin-linked S8 shots across 48" every round.  There's plenty of firepower at the long-range and mid-range range band that your opponents will want to silence your guns.  Too bad they have to dig through a wall of Storm Bolters and Force Weapons for that to happen.

+++++++++++++++++++++

1970
Terminators

HQ:
Grand Master (Psycannon, Blind, Rad) = 240
Librarian (+4 powers) = 170

TROOP:
10x GKT (MCDH, DH, 2x Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 500
10x GKT (MCDH, DH, 2x Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 500

ELITE:
7x Paladins (Apoth, MCDH, 2x MC Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 560

There is a lot of Terminators in this list.  Feel free to drop the Librarian for a full squad of Paladins, but I personally like the Libby in there to help out with psychic defense and Shrouding.  At 50ppm for each Termie and 60+ppm for each Paladin, you WANT that 3+ cover save as often as possible.

+++++++++++++++++++++

2000
Draigo and Paladins

HQ:
Lord Kaldor Draigo = 275
Librarian (+3 powers, 2x Skulls) = 175

TROOP:
7x Paladins (Apoth, MC DH, 2x MC Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 560
5x Paladins (MC DH, 2x MC Psycannon) = 330
5x Paladins (MC DH, 2x MC Psycannon) = 330
5x Paladins (MC DH, 2x MC Psycannon) = 330

The same principle as above with the Librarian and Shrouding except there's a lot more Paladins.  8x MC Psycannons should keep your anti-tank problems at a minimum.  All in all, there's 50 T4 2+ wounds in there, so it's pretty much the most army list you can think of.

+++++++++++++++++++++


1835
Storm Ravens

HQ:
Grand Master (Blind, Rad, Skull) = 210
Librarian (+3 Powers, Teleport Homer) = 180

TROOP:
10x GKSS (MC DH, 2x Psycannons) = 235
10x GKT (MCDH, DH, 2x Psycannons, BBanner, Psybolts) = 500

ELITE:
10x Purifiers (MC DH, Halberds, 4x Psycannons) = 300

FAST:
Storm Raven (TLMM) = 205
Storm Raven (TLMM) = 205


GKSS and Purifiers go in the Storm Ravens and flat out towards the enemy lines.  The Librarian Shrouds the SRs and act as a beacon for the Grand Master and his retinue of Terminators.  Once they come in, the fun begins and everyone has a good time.  Well, mainly you.

I have seen it

So I was at my LFGS today and I got a good hard look at the Grey Knight codex.  I studied it, like the Art of War but in a hour's time because there was a hundred people there.  I only focused on what I deemed to be the most important and that was the actual Grey Knight units.  There was a lot of people looking at the book and I didn't care much for the Inquisitors and their items.  Overall, the book is almost exactly like the pdf, all the way down to the costs.  For more wargear info, check my previous posts.

Nemesis Force Weapons
Brotherhood of Psykers for Nemesis Force Weapon states that you take 1 psychic test for all models with a NFW. If you pass, ALL wounds caused by the unit count as Instant Death. Originally it was thought that you only get to blow up 1 guy, but now you can blow up an entire unit of Nob Bikers.

HQ Choices
The Grand Master is a solid buy because of the amount of weapon options you can give him.  If you keep the default Force Sword he gets a 3++ invul in close combat.  Since the Grand Master grants you Grand Strategy for 25 points more than a BC, you will never take the Brother-Captain.  What you will take is the Librarian because he's really good for his points.  The Brotherhood Champion is also a waste of space because he really does have 1 wound.

Special Characters
Every single one of them is trash.  Mordrak isn't a IC and his Ghost Knights have no Psycannons and cost the same as regular termies.  Crowe, aside from his ability to make Purifier troops, is utter garbage.  Seriously, the guy wants to die.  Stern is overpriced and useless and Draigo is just so damn expensive.  Then there's Thawn.. why does he even exist again?  Major disappointment here.

Strike Squads
Good buy overall.  I can definitely see 10 of these guys with 2 Psycannons and a Rhino as the staple.  Front-runners can take Incinerators, but Psycannons would be my weapon of choice.

Purifiers Squads
As predicted, these guys are the stars of the book.  Ld.9, 2 attacks each with 2pt Halberds and Cleansing Flame is just amazing.  They can also take 2 Psycannons for every 5 and you can take 10 dudes.  That means you can take a full squad of 10 with 4 Psycannons and Halberds, combat squad them so you have 1 squad of better Purgation dudes that can actually defend themselves and the other squad can go hang out in a Razorback or something.  Crowe can make these guys troops which is great.

Interceptor Squads
These are just Strike Squads w/ teletubby spikes and therefore they turn into Fast Attack.  They're good as last minute contending units that can shunt 30" once per game, so they're good as long as you have a Grand Master that can make them scoring.

Purgation Squads
Good buy as always.  Free Incinerators on 4 guys or Psycannons for 20ppm.  Equip with a Razorback and you're good to go.  I would personally always go for the aggressive Incinerator option but that's just me.  That comes out to 145 with the RB.

Paladin Squads
You pay for every cent you put these guys in.  Underneath that big bad internet hype lies a 2W Termie with a 5++ invulnerable save.  The +75 point Apothecary UPGRADE also weighs this unit down in terms of price.  Watch out for Demolishers and Vindicators..

Dreadknight
It's a good buy and effective unit.  WS5, S6, T6, I4, 4W, 3 attacks, 2+/5++ and a lot of weapon options.  The price of 130 is extremely cheap for what it does but if you want to upgrade it with the ability to teleport, be ready to pay 75 points for it.  Personally, I'm not going to be picking any of these up because I have this little thing called aesthetic preference.

Rad Grenades
-1 Toughness to anything in assault with the bearer of these grenades.  Yes, they do effect the Instant Death threshold.  Yes, this does mean that your S10 Daemonhammer auto-rapes T5 Trygons.  These little buggers change the outcome of every assault, and that's why they cost 15 points to equip on very select HQs (like Grand Masters).

Psybolt Ammo
+1S to Bolters, Heavy Bolters, Storm Bolters, Hurricane Bolters, Auto-cannons and Assault Cannons.  Use these to turn your Assault Cannons into Psycannons or your Riflemen Dreads into objects of extreme fear.

Oh, and here's some pictures of the space monkey and Crowe:

The sky is falling!

As expected, noobs from around the world are crying OP already at the new GK codex.  This happened for every single codex release that I've seen in the last 10 years.  Yes, I know, this thread comes from whineseer, but threads like this has appeared all over the net.  Guess what?  It's not going to stop.

Let me describe what's happening:  Bad players playing other bad players automatically result in a codex being overpowered.  When a veteran player analyzes a codex, several things take place inside his head that's completely alien to lesser players.  For example, I'll analyze myself; not because I think I'm the greatest player to have ever lived, but I have seen the rise and fall of army books since 3rd and have played in thousands of matches both competitively and casually.


Ignoring all the bad fluff, I looked straight at the army composition.  Does it make sense?  Can I take the choices I want in the FOC requirement?  Can I take optimized units in the FOC?  Do I have choices?  Most importantly, do I have viable choices in the codex?  If yes, I proceed.

With these viable units, how cost effective are they?  Viability is determined by effectiveness vs. cost.  Is a Grey Knight that has a typical Ld.8 (9 with Sarge), a Force Weapon, Storm Bolter and options to boot effective for 20 points?  Yes.  Now let's move on:  I examine the Terminators, the Paladins, the Dreadknight, the HQs, and everything else in the book in the same manner.  I look at weapon layout, upgrade choices, the FOC placement (troops or not), and the stats of the units to get a gauge on how good they are.

Once I get this, I theorycraft army lists in degrees of hardness.  By "hardness", I'm talking about how powerful the book can be.  I build 3 levels; WAAC, competitive and casual.  WAAC lists are the min-maxed RB spam lamer lists that I hate so much, but I only build them to see if a codex is capable of shifting the metagame and dominating everything in the game.  Competitive is a solid army built from the best choices in the book.  Then there's casual, which is a little bit of everything fun.

After that's done, I re-examine the scores of lists that I invented and pitch it against the hundreds of lists I fought against.  Can this GK list (one of my lists) beat this X army list (one of the many lists I've seen).  I think about this for quite a long time since there's a lot of matchups once you draw it all out.  I use my battle experience, my advance theorycraft and my knowledge of the game to predict the outcome.  Once I have good idea how the battle is going to go, I start playing games.

What's the difference between someone like me and X noob on the forum?  I don't jump to the last step and immediately start playing games.  I'm not going to pit a competitive or even WAAC type of list against a casual or fluffy player's regular list, win horribly and then claim the book is overpowered.  That's just ridiculous.  What I do is analyze the book, understand its mechanics and their strengths and weaknesses, then pit myself against opponents who designed their army the same way.  A competitive player with a competitively built list should not be mowing down fluffy players with fluffy lists.  Not only is it shameful, but it's an inaccurate display of the book's power.

The other difference between the veteran player and X noob is the experience.  Without countless games logged against all the different armies out there, a player is incapable of accurately theorycrafting new army books.  How does the list fair vs. Mech Guard?  How would the same list fair against an older, but terribly strong army like Castle Eldar?  Without experiencing these armies in battle, your assessment of the outcome will be poor, thus your analysis of the army's overall power will be poor.

You see the same type of shit on RTS forums in relation to game balance.  God knows I've been on many of those..

Good morning Grey Knights!

I woke up this morning and raced to my computer for one reason and one reason only:  Grey Knights are available for pre-order.  Without further mumbo-jumbo, here they are:

For more pictures and picture of sprues, the GW Advanced Order page has it up:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landingArmy.jsp?catId=cat1140001&rootCatGameStyle=