Hi everyone, welcome back to part 2 of the Codex: Grey Knights review. (Part 1 here)This time I'll be going through Elites, Fast Attack and Heavy Support battlefield role choices for the player before closing up the series with Dedicated Transports and Flyers alongside overall thoughts in Part 3.
Elites
Paladin Squad - The superior choice for those wanting to bring Grey Knight Terminator-types as they cost only 7 points more but have the all-important wound stat of 3 and have an additional attack. The +1 leadership helps as well though isn't that important. Useful for casting Purge Soul with your Paladin sergeant (the Paragon, who also happens to have a WS of 2+). Since all plasma weaponry deal a maximum of 2 damage when overcharged, this makes a squad of Paladins twice as survivable against plasma weapons than regular Terminators as your opponent will need to deal 2 plasma wounds (at Damage 2) to kill a single Paladin. Weapons with D3 damage also only kill a Paladin in 1 shot 33.3% of the time instead of 66.7% against regular Terminators. On off days for your opponent, they might even soak up 3 D3 damage shots per Paladin! Options wise, they are able to take 1 more heavy weapon than a Grey Knight Terminator squad but as the terminator heavy weapons feel costed more for the codex's characters, they don't offer much value for BS3+ models. Of particular note is the Paragon having a 2+WS which makes taking a Nemesis Daemon Hammer less detrimental as you still hit on a decent 3+ in close combat with him.
Apothecary - In my opinion, one of the best supporting characters for a squad of Paladins and if you have a penchant for Grey Knights characters. The Narthecium allows the Apothecary to heal D3 wounds from a Grey Knights Infantry unit that has any wounded models or revive a single model in that unit on a 4+ with 1 wound remaining. Remember that you can use the Command Re-roll stratagem to re-roll the dice roll and it counts as only using it during the movement phase. Note that the Apothecary cannot bring dual Nemesis falchions (only a single one) and is WS2+ which means he isn't too shabby with a Nemesis daemon hammer as well. Having the Narthecium, he doesn't have access to any shooting weapon (no stormbolter as well) so remember not to pay any points beyond his base cost in Matched Play.
Brotherhood Ancient & Paladin Ancient - For 12 points more, the Paladin Ancient has an improved WS and 1 more attack and access to the GK Special Weapons list. Other than that, they function the same but it's worth noting that their Sacred Banner differs from the one found in Codex: Space Marines and gives Grey Knight Infantry models within 6" of any sacred banner, a +1 attack when they fight in that phase. While a +1 attack might not have seemed that useful in the past (previous Space Marine banners gave +1 attack), it's a big deal when those weapons deal D3 damage and the +1 attack technically gives halberd/sword Strike Squad Grey Knights a 100% increase in damage output during the Fight phase. For more funk, give the Ancient the Banner of Refining Flame and pop him in a Stormraven with Castellan Crowe and a 5-man Purifier Squad, fly the SR right into the enemy lines (or right in front of a crucial target), and go to town with 3d6 mortal wounds the next turn even if the SR gets popped.
Purifier Squad - Once a mainstay of the Grey Knight army (back in 5th edition), the Purifiers have taken a bit of a hit as they now have exactly the same stat line as a regular power armoured Grey Knight (yes, they only have 1 attack now) but cost 7 points more. I suppose the cost difference is to ensure a minimum squad is 35 points more as they do D6 mortal wounds with their Smite instead of 1 damage to non-daemon targets but that range is a mere 3" compared to 12" for the Rites of Banishment Smite. While they can take double the Special Weapons than a GKSS, it's neither efficient nor what I would recommend since you can bring 4 Special Weapons with Purgation Squads who are simply cheaper overall. They also suffer from not having Teleport Strike and require the expenditure of 1 CP to deep strike with the Teleportarium stratagem. I expect their most effective usage to be in the aforementioned tactic (5 in a Stormraven with some friends) or in an up-close Asscan Razorback spam with 5-man Purifiers within to threaten the d6 mortal wound output in a turn or 2.
Dreadnought & Venerable Dreadnought - 17 and 20 points more expensive than their Codex: Space Marine counterparts respectively for 1 wound Smite, with a similar lack of access to Autocannons now (though you can still use the Index entry versions if you have the models). One of the few sources of long ranged fire support in a pure Grey Knight force now, the extra points paid for Smite doesn't seem too efficient when they're in the back lines. Of interest however, is their access to deep strike for 1 CP with the Teleportarium stratagem. That might make an Assault Cannon & Dreadnought Combat Weapon version an interesting option as you have the choice of dropping them just over 9" from the enemy, putting their Smite and weapons (except the Heavy Flamer) in range from the get go. That is still more than 160 points for the regular version though so I'm not exactly a big fan of it....
Servitors - Wasn't even sure I was going to talk about these as they are just bad... Unit of 4 models with a Guardsman statline IF you have a Techmarine nearby. Even though their base cost is extremely low, their need to bring a servo-arm each (and only 2 can take heavy ranged weapons) inflates their overall cost and puts your minimum-cost squad above 50 points for 4 4+ save Guardsman models.
Fast Attack
Interceptor Squad - The lonely Interceptors are the only Fast Attack option in Codex: Grey Knights and your only choice should you want to bring a Grey Knight army (not faction). Exactly the same as a GKSS with a 4 point premium and ability with the same effect as deep striking a second time in the game. You do have the option of doing it again for 1 CP with the Teleportation Boost stratagem so I can see them being used as an objective grabbing unit without Objective Secured or if you somehow need an additional unit to begin on the table due to the Tactical Reserves special rule (pg 215 of the Main Rulebook). Would be tonnes more useful if their "teleport shunt" allowed them to come within 9" of an enemy model. As it stands, they fill a very niche role and would not be in consideration if you are building a list with efficiency in mind.
Heavy Support
Purgation Squad - Able to take 4 Special Weapons (the only unit capable of doing that with a minimum squad size in the codex), they can act as a second line in a teleport drop (though with a 1CP cost) forcing the opponent to shoot them or closer, possibly more dangerous, target. That said, with 6 shots and D3 damage, 4 Psilencers can threaten to do a decent amount of damage to multi-wound targets below T8 as you'll still wound T7 models on a 5+ with each of those wounds deal 1-3 damage each. The Psychic Onslaught stratagem (+1 S & AP) allows them to wound T8 targets at 5+ albeit at a painful cost of 2 CPs. While expensive, I can't deny the damage potential of 4 S6 Ap-1 Assault flamers in a transport either. As Astral Aim is now in the Sanctic Discipline, you can still reenact the 5th edition days when they shot opposing units while staying out of LOS themselves.
Nemesis Dreadknight - Slightly overshadowed by the version with a Grandmaster piloting it at a premium of 60 points, the regular Dreadknight is still a decent threat if you simply take it with a pair of Dreadfists and keep its cost low. Without being able to take advantage of the Grandmaster's 2+BS, I feel that the best option is the Heavy Incinerator but that will bring its cost above 200 points without factoring in the teleporter option. The 12" range of the Heavy Incinerator does allow that dreadknight to drop in a deal d6 auto-hits that deal 2 damage per wound though. Might be something to consider. The auto-hits also safeguard against a degrading BS as the Dreadknight takes wounds.
Land Raider variants - The general consensus for the Land Raider seems to be that all its variants currently feel over-costed with the cheapest version coming in at roughly the same points as a Stormraven with twin Lascannons, twin heavy bolters and hurricane bolters. The Land Raider might have 2 more wounds, +1 toughness and +1 save but the Stormraven has the mobility and in-built defence of Hard to Hit. Lascannons still wound both targets on a 3+ and although the LR gets to save Lascannon hits on a 5+ compared to 6+ for the SR, it's made up for by the -1 to hit penalty when targeting the SR. Having its speed drop to 5" after losing half or more of its wounds doesn't help it as a transport vehicle as well.
Thanks for reading and tune in this Friday for the review of September's White Dwarf as well as Part 3 of the GK Review this Sunday! As usual, if you like what you're reading, don't forget to subscribe via the widget below to stay in touch with all the articles and reviews from The Crossroads!