I decided to come out of hiding for a little chat. Probably everyone has seen the new rules for Imperial(s), and I would like to take a moment to share my two pennies worth of deliberations on our custom warlords. This is not meant to be an exhaustive essay on all warlords, but I would encourage everyone to share their findings, so we can all make our opponents cry. I’ll be focusing on two base warlord types, the Blood Beret and ISF, who have recently been reworked (YES!).
Now, for the longest time Blood Berets have been my go-to warlord template. Good stats, good special rules, cheap, and cost effective. The best use I found for them is the Close Combat role. A free Plasma Carbine let’s them shoot when applicable while selecting a free Heavy Chain Ripper is always accompanied by the sounds of a marching band and a free Impenetrable Armour (13). All this for a mere 70 points before even considering any upgrades available for custom warlords, makes them insanely cost efficient. Simple, fun and effective.
Now, I’ll get a bit theoretical in this section, mainly because I’ve almost always fielded Beret warlords and because there is so much to say here. ISF don’t come with the fantastic base stats of the more elite Blood Berets, and their entry cost of 90 points may come across as rather steep. This cost, however, reflects their versatility and the eye watering discounts available to them. Depending on their type, warlords will get a stat boost worth 25 points GRATIS (well, 10 points + 15 special skill in the case of Ranged), before you even consider upgrading their stats. Secondly, two of my favorite specializations, which I tend to purchase for each warlord are Veteran and Heavy Armour. Veteran grants a boost of +2 CON, +2 WP and +3 LD, for a hilarious 3 points. For 35 points of upgrades, upgrades that would not normally be available to any one warlord, and certainly not in these numbers! Heavy Armour grants an Impenetrable Armour of (13), again for a measly 3 points. For the third specialization, and the one required to be taken in accordance with their warlord type is pretty much up to ones individual tastes. Typically this will be IR Goggles for Ranged and Running with the Wolves for CC. I somehow consider this mandatory specialization secondary in importance to the two I listed above, but that’s just me.
To round up the ISF, I would like to pay special attention to the Tech warlord option. At +1 CC, +1 RS and +2 Armour, they don’t exactly lend themselves to be combat monsters. However, I have noticed an interesting option available to them. Buy a Charger HMG, then select the Gyro-Stabilizers specialization, finish off with the Crackshot Special skill. Expensive, yes, I find these guys tend to cost me around 171 points once I get all the bells and whistles. BUT, and this is important, read the following:
Gyro-Stabilizers (15 points per Charger HMG): If the model with the Charger HMG makes an Aim Action, all RoF receive the aim bonus.
In effect, you’re getting a burst at +4 RS to each shot and +2 St for each of those shots. Without any warlord upgrades, that’s still 3 (4 T2B) shots at an effective RS of 17 and ST 15.
As a final note, ever feel your ranged warlord can’t kill a fly in melee? Drop 20 points on a Gallagher Claymore and laugh.
So, there you have it, my musings from the lunatic fringe. Any thoughts, suggestions or objections you would like to share?
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