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:
- Add Librarian.
- Add 2x 10x GKSS squads in Rhinos w/ 2x Psycannons and Psybolts.
- Add either Paladins, Purifiers or Interceptors as my third unit choice.
- Add at least 2x Rifledreads w/ Psybolt Ammo locked and loaded.
- Now add further upgrades for the units already added if you need it.
- Then add some more to bring up your points and what your meta is.
- 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
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