I kicked around the BT list I had a little bit, and realized there was one spot I really wanted to cover: vulnerability to psychic powers. Admittedly, there are some things out there that well and truly worry a foot army in terms of psychic powers; those tend to be things like Lash of Submission and Weaken Resolve, for example. Doubtless there are others, but those come to mind as "Oh, cool, say goodbye to that squad..." which gets kind of old when you don't have THAT MANY 250pt squads running around. (Ok, I'm sure 5 terminator squads seems like a lot, but when you get down to killing stuff, it's not.)
Here's the next idea on the list originally inspired by Stelek.
HQ
Castellan [110]
-Storm Bolter
-Power Weapon
-Terminator Armor
4 Sword Brethren Command Squad [215]
-Tank Hunters
-2x Assault Cannon
Brother-Captain [113]
-Psychic Hood
-Psycannon
-Auspex
3 Grey Knight Terminators [163]
-Psycannon
Emperor's Champion [140]
-Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds
Elites
5 Sword Brethren Terminators [255]
-Tank Hunters
-2x Assault Cannon
5 Sword Brethren Terminators [255]
-Tank Hunters
-2x Assault Cannon
5 Sword Brethren Terminators [255]
-Tank Hunters
-2x Assault Cannon
Troops
5 Initiates [101]
-Lascannon
-Plasma Gun
5 Initiates [101]
-Lascannon
-Plasma Gun
5 Initiates [101]
-Lascannon
-Plasma Gun
5 Initiates [95]
-Lascannon
5 Initiates [95]
-Lascannon
Total: 1999/2000
Would that I could get a Targeter on the Brother-Captain, but I can't. The Auspex is a neat little thing for 2 points, and I had it left over. I'd initially thought about a full 5 GKT in the HQ slot, but dropping one let me pick up the second psycannon, so it didn't totally dilute the long-range firepower. The psycannons drop one shot and go to S6 for another foot of range, and while I'd like them to get more range, it's what I have for shooting options. On the other hand, the GKT are a little more durable (yay, shrouding! Lead from the rear, boys...) and bring that lovely, lovely Ld10 psychic hood. They also know what I4 actually is, other than 'when they hit you'.
That aside, 18 of the 19 spare points got sunk into plasma guns. Why? Because it's either another special weapon (I could have gone flamers, I suppose, but that doesn't mix well with lascannons unless as a point-defense thing) or another power-armored body.
Showing posts with label daemon hunters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daemon hunters. Show all posts
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Deathwing and Ally Thoughts, bit o' news
I'll wrap up my thoughts on the Deathwing's ally options, and make it the third (and probably last) article on the theme.
First, though, good news on my front: employment's finally here. On the bright side, it means I now have a two-way cash flow, and can afford new models. I mean, my opponents know that my Tau battlesuits have looked a whole lot like Eldar jetbikes, for example...
On the downside, combined with grad school this semester it means less time in the hobby, so there might be a little less blog posting. Eh, it's life. On to what you came here for, though: The Deathwing.
Allies Roundup
Now, part of the issue of taking allies is that it's points not spent on the Deathwing. This should be obvious, but it bears mentioning: the more you spend on allies, the less you're spending on Deathwing-only options.
With that in mind, the goal of allies is to bring something you can't get otherwise with Deathwing options. Here are some things you simply cannot take with just Deathwing troops, and/or even Dark Angel Space Marines.
1) 2x Melta in a troops selection, or even readily delivered
-ISTs out of either codex
-Sisters of Battle as troops
-Sister Fast Attack troopers
2) Psychic Defense (a Ld9 hood does NOT cut it, nor does Ezekial
-SoB Inquisitor
-DH Inquisitor
-Grey Knight Hero
3) Better odds at turn one
-DH Inquisitor with Tarot
4) Deep Strike Defense
-DH Inquisitor w/ Mystics
5) More Armor
-Rhinos (either side)
-Immolators (max of 2, from SoB Elite and Fast Attack selections)
-Chimeras (either, if a bit pricy)
(Note all the armor here is like yours with the smoke launchers; glance-only. Aw, Yeah)
6) Power Weapons that strike at initiative
-Grey Knight Terminators. (Mmm, S6 power weapons)
Honest Appraisal of Allies
I have to favor the Daemonhunters codex for allies. You get the same ISTs, but you get an Inquisitor with better options. (Note: I'm talking about the HQ inquisitors, not the piddly elites. However, in a pinch, you can get an elite DH inquisitor with Tarot for 35. Minimal commitment! Maybe spare him 2 points for pistol/ccw for some love...)
The real big thing from the allies is the psychic defense. There are some powers that aren't that frightening, but Lash + Oblits = Dead Terminators, and since we want to make Termiantors effective...yeah. At a minimum, I would think long and hard about dropping the 167 for Hood/Tarot Lord, 3 Heavy Bolters, and 2 sages. It's cheap, and it brings an amazing amount of utility for the cost.
The second consideration would be melta troopers. 128 gets you 5 interpeid, sacrifical storm troopers with meltaguns and a kitted out Rhino. If you want to commit to more AV12, you can get Chimeras, but I would have to test and see whether I feel like more AV12 is worth the cost.
If you check out the sample lists in my other posts, you'll note they include 2 Dreads, 2 Chimeras, and 2 Predators. That way there's four AV12 units, and two AV13 units. All the AV12 can threaten you with melta, and the AV13 can threaten the lighter armor at range. My gut suggests that if the enemy could KO your meltagun transports (and it's not that hard to drop 5 guys with T3 and a 4+). I'd lean towards Rhinos for Sisters, or Chimeras for the guardsmen. The Sisters are a bit more likely to survive on their own, with decent leadership, numbers, and power armor.
At any rate, the main goal is to help your terminators get to the meaty insides, or in a pinch beat down the vehicles that survived. Plus, they'll be durable.
Much more than the basics, and you're cutting into your Troops/Terminator budget. This means unless you're going for Grey Knight Termies with the hood, or a Grand Master, you should probably skip them. Admittedly, a Grand Master with the old-school 'lose all your wounds' Force Weapon can do some serious damage to whatever you point it at, and he gets you the Ld10 hood.
Ally Recommendations
5-man IST teams with 2x melta, probably in a Chimera [155]
10-man, 2-melta Sister team; Sister Superior w/ Book of St. Lucius in a Rhino [207]
OH Lord w/ 3x HB, Chururigeon, Hood [152]
DH Lord w/ 3x HB, 2x Mystics, Tarot, Hood [167]
Totals
The basic Deathwing loadout is 630 for Belial, and two DW squads with assault cannons and chainfists. Add in 167 for a DH Inquisitor Lord, and you've got plenty of slots left, and you've spent 797. With the 300-360 on melta allies, you're moving towards an armored build that's around 1,000 points; there's plenty of room to get some backup.
I feel like, overall, it's a reasonably strong build. Is it perfect? No. You're using a marine codex that's been obsoleted by the newer one, and ultimately it's a theme build with Terminators, which has its own problems. However, I think you can get some serious mileage out of the allies. I think it's worth it, and I think I've talked myself into rolling with allies at this point.
First, though, good news on my front: employment's finally here. On the bright side, it means I now have a two-way cash flow, and can afford new models. I mean, my opponents know that my Tau battlesuits have looked a whole lot like Eldar jetbikes, for example...
On the downside, combined with grad school this semester it means less time in the hobby, so there might be a little less blog posting. Eh, it's life. On to what you came here for, though: The Deathwing.
Allies Roundup
Now, part of the issue of taking allies is that it's points not spent on the Deathwing. This should be obvious, but it bears mentioning: the more you spend on allies, the less you're spending on Deathwing-only options.
With that in mind, the goal of allies is to bring something you can't get otherwise with Deathwing options. Here are some things you simply cannot take with just Deathwing troops, and/or even Dark Angel Space Marines.
1) 2x Melta in a troops selection, or even readily delivered
-ISTs out of either codex
-Sisters of Battle as troops
-Sister Fast Attack troopers
2) Psychic Defense (a Ld9 hood does NOT cut it, nor does Ezekial
-SoB Inquisitor
-DH Inquisitor
-Grey Knight Hero
3) Better odds at turn one
-DH Inquisitor with Tarot
4) Deep Strike Defense
-DH Inquisitor w/ Mystics
5) More Armor
-Rhinos (either side)
-Immolators (max of 2, from SoB Elite and Fast Attack selections)
-Chimeras (either, if a bit pricy)
(Note all the armor here is like yours with the smoke launchers; glance-only. Aw, Yeah)
6) Power Weapons that strike at initiative
-Grey Knight Terminators. (Mmm, S6 power weapons)
Honest Appraisal of Allies
I have to favor the Daemonhunters codex for allies. You get the same ISTs, but you get an Inquisitor with better options. (Note: I'm talking about the HQ inquisitors, not the piddly elites. However, in a pinch, you can get an elite DH inquisitor with Tarot for 35. Minimal commitment! Maybe spare him 2 points for pistol/ccw for some love...)
The real big thing from the allies is the psychic defense. There are some powers that aren't that frightening, but Lash + Oblits = Dead Terminators, and since we want to make Termiantors effective...yeah. At a minimum, I would think long and hard about dropping the 167 for Hood/Tarot Lord, 3 Heavy Bolters, and 2 sages. It's cheap, and it brings an amazing amount of utility for the cost.
The second consideration would be melta troopers. 128 gets you 5 interpeid, sacrifical storm troopers with meltaguns and a kitted out Rhino. If you want to commit to more AV12, you can get Chimeras, but I would have to test and see whether I feel like more AV12 is worth the cost.
If you check out the sample lists in my other posts, you'll note they include 2 Dreads, 2 Chimeras, and 2 Predators. That way there's four AV12 units, and two AV13 units. All the AV12 can threaten you with melta, and the AV13 can threaten the lighter armor at range. My gut suggests that if the enemy could KO your meltagun transports (and it's not that hard to drop 5 guys with T3 and a 4+). I'd lean towards Rhinos for Sisters, or Chimeras for the guardsmen. The Sisters are a bit more likely to survive on their own, with decent leadership, numbers, and power armor.
At any rate, the main goal is to help your terminators get to the meaty insides, or in a pinch beat down the vehicles that survived. Plus, they'll be durable.
Much more than the basics, and you're cutting into your Troops/Terminator budget. This means unless you're going for Grey Knight Termies with the hood, or a Grand Master, you should probably skip them. Admittedly, a Grand Master with the old-school 'lose all your wounds' Force Weapon can do some serious damage to whatever you point it at, and he gets you the Ld10 hood.
Ally Recommendations
5-man IST teams with 2x melta, probably in a Chimera [155]
10-man, 2-melta Sister team; Sister Superior w/ Book of St. Lucius in a Rhino [207]
OH Lord w/ 3x HB, Chururigeon, Hood [152]
DH Lord w/ 3x HB, 2x Mystics, Tarot, Hood [167]
Totals
The basic Deathwing loadout is 630 for Belial, and two DW squads with assault cannons and chainfists. Add in 167 for a DH Inquisitor Lord, and you've got plenty of slots left, and you've spent 797. With the 300-360 on melta allies, you're moving towards an armored build that's around 1,000 points; there's plenty of room to get some backup.
I feel like, overall, it's a reasonably strong build. Is it perfect? No. You're using a marine codex that's been obsoleted by the newer one, and ultimately it's a theme build with Terminators, which has its own problems. However, I think you can get some serious mileage out of the allies. I think it's worth it, and I think I've talked myself into rolling with allies at this point.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Deathwing Allies: Daemonhunters
This time around, I'll focus on the Daemonhunters and what they can bring your Deathwing. I've covered the Witch Hunters ally options already. Some of these options are duplicates, and as such I'll gloss over them, especially if they weren't worth mentioning.
Ally Rules
0-1 HQ
0-1 Elites
0-2 Troops
0-1 Fast Attack
That's what you get in total, per the ally rules. We're going to focus on what the allies can bring that actually helps the Deathwing. Let's start it off with the Leaders.
HQ
Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Lord
This one's much like the Witch Hunter; the chief difference lies in options available to them. Most of the henchmen are the same, and the unit's role should be to sit back and shoot. However, there are a few notable exceptions.
1) Emperor's Tarot. 15 points to almost always get a +1 to go first. Since there still is a roll to go first, this is a sweet piece of it.
2) The Mystic henchman. Get yourself an anti-deep-strike bubble. Bring two of these guys, and you can hand the shots off to the target most capable of KO'ing the deep striking enemy. If you're playing someone that brought Drop Pods and such, a pair of these henchmen can seriously ruin their plans.
3) The Psycannon. Ok, this is actually the least of what you get, but it means the OM lord himself can bring some shooting to the table. It's three more S6 shots, though these ignore invulnerable saves.
Past that, the main reason to bring one is for the Ld10 unlimited range psychic hood. If you're playing against Daemons, then Sanctuary is a bullshit auto-win psychic power in Capture The Flag, because you can cluster your unit and a troops choices around your objective, and go to town on his. This may get you punched in the balls, though. Past that, there's really no psychic power to hand off to the Lord.
A sample loadout, then, would be:
Lord w/ Hood, Emperor's Tarot
3x Heavy Bolter Servitors
2 Mystics
Total: 167
You get psychics, and a firebase. For another 30 points, you get another gun. You can also get multi-melt and/or a single plasma cannon, but I think it's best to keep the guys cheap, and heavy bolters get you the range you want. If you feel like it, jack the cost up by another 20 to get that plasma cannon, and really discourage deep-striking troops. Yeah, they call it 'cluster' formation only for short...
Grey Knight Hero
He comes in two flavors: 61 points for one wound, or 145 for three wounds and upgrading his weapon to a force weapon. As it stands, these guys have a storm bolter, a WS5, S6 Power weapon, and, oh, Terminator Armor. You also get the neat Grey Knight special powers that annoy daemons and make them tough to see, but you only get those on full Grey Knight units.
The Brother-Captain is 81 points for a cheap Ld10 psychic hood, and if you give him a psycannon and sit him back, he's 111 points for a hood and a 36" sniper. You can take him into melee, sure, but there's still the very real issue of rolling a '1' on your armor save, and that's sad.
If you really want the melee badass, it's 165 to get the Ld10 hood on the Grand Master. Yeah, the Grand Master is uber-hoss in melee, but he's still got the issue of 2+/5+ saves, and he's quite vulnerable to instant death. There's no real fix for that beyond giving him a retinue. With himself, the hood, and a minimal retinue? You're looking at a 300pt outlay. Granted, you have the Shrouding to take advantage of, but that's...still a lot of points in a list that's already points-intensive.
Hammerhand is about the only power I'd ever consider giving these guys, but in truth there's plenty of S8 punching against vehicles.
They can also take a Retinue of Gray Knight Terminators, but we'll discuss these guys in the elites section.
Elites
Elite Inquisitor
Remember the WH evaluation? Goes here, too. Skip it, unless you really want to get the Tarot in your army for cheap, in which case he's 35 points, and hoping no one kills him. Mm, juicy KP...
Assassins
You have the same assassin options as the WH codex. I still have the same opinion of them: not really enough oomph to justify investing in both the assassin AND the requisite Inquisitor Lord; it's just not helping your model count and that's what you really want.
Grey Knight Terminators
One brother captain and 2-9 terminators. Bro-Cap is 61 points; each terminator is 45. What do you get? WS5, I4, S6 power weapons, that's what. Oh, and more BS4 storm bolters with psycannon options, and the Shrouding. (Which, for the record, is that you must roll 3d6 * 3 to 'see' the GKT.) They also have a Psychic Hood against any target that hits them, but only them. You still have to (and really ought to) give the Bro-Cap a hood if you don't have on in the army already.
You could theoretically get two squads of these guys, but to be honest I think I'd draw the line at one. They're nasty, but the main reason you'd want to bring them is to give yourself some at-initative S6 power weapons. They're nasty, but if you really want to take a lot you ought to look into a pure Daemonhunters force.
A basic 5-man team will set you back 241. 261 if you use it for a hood. 291 if you hand 'em a couple psycannons, and 311 if you want the hood and guns.
Troops
Grey Knights
Hey, it's more guys with Storm Bolters. To be honest, I see use for one squad of these if you want a camping unit. You take a minimal 5-man squad, hand it two psycannons, and let it camp on an objective that's ideally near the edge of the table. You play shrouding for all it's worth, and hope you don't move. Sure, you CAN fire the Psycannon from the hip, but it's cut to 18" for these blokes.
GKT Campers: 5-man team w/ 2 psycannon comes to 200 points. Yeah, that's right. Same price as your regular terminators, but in power armor. At least the enemy has to check to spot them, and if they're hugging that 36" range, well...it's a little under a 50/50 shot the enemy can spot 'em.
Inquisitorial Storm Troopers
Pretty much the same as the WH version. These are you cheap melta unit. They can get Rhinos or Chimeras, and the choice depends on the utility you want out of the transport. You want a cheap box to put them in, or one that's got a little firepower?
70 points for the minimal 5 w/ 2 meltas.
58 for a Rhino with extra armor and smoke
88 for a Chimera with multi-laser, flamer, and smoke.
Fast Attack
You have one option for fast attack: Grey Knights with a deep strike option. There's no reason to ever take this. The whole point of taking Grey Knights would be to bulk up your body count and/or score, and this option removes their ability to hold objectives.
Summary of DH Allies
There's a little less bounty to be had from making friends with the Daemonhunters. Their troops are not cheap enough to seriously bulk up your body count. You can get ISTs either place, or you could theoretically draw them from BOTH codices if you wanted to have 2-3 Deathwing squads.
A Grey Knight Terminator squad is an option, but runs the risk of stealing your thunder. On the other hand? They're a source of I4 power weapons at S6. Sometimes, you just might WANT to freakin' hit at initiative. They also let you incorporate a psychic hood into your force.
The DH Inquisitor, though, is superior to be honest. Mystics are insanely useful, and can completely change the way an opponent plays. The Emperor's Tarot is also a valuable piece of kit, letting you get the initiative on the other guy.
All in all, the DH have an edge with the Inquisitor, and the same old ISTs. However, they won't really help the body count, but they can get you the melta love you want.
Sample DH Buddy List at 1850
Let's see what the list looks like with the toys in it.
HQ
Belial [130]
Lord w/ Hood, Emperor's Tarot
3x Heavy Bolter Servitors
2 Mystics
[167]
Elite
4 Grey Knight Termies (Including Bro-Cap) 2x Psycannon [246]
Dreadnought w/ Multi-melta [125]
Dreadnought w/ Multi-melta [125]
Troops
Deathwing Squad w/ Claws, AC, CF [250]
Deathwing Squad w/ Claws, AC, CF [250]
5 IST w/ 2x Meltagun
Chimera w/ ML, HF, EA
[155]
5 IST w/ 2x Meltagun
Chimera w/ ML, HF, EA
[155]
Heavy Support
Predator w/ Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons [130]
Predator w/ Autocannon, Heavy Bolter Sponsons [95]
Total: 1828
Note you have some points to play around with; you have some ways to burn 22 spare points, like giving the OM lord a pistol, CCW, and Sanctuary while handing the Dakka-Pred a storm bolter.
Once again, the list is similar to the mix of sisters, though you're down a Terminator squad to bring in the GKT for your assault love. The list is pretty shooty and fairly mechanized; you've got a decent amount of armor on the table with two Dreads, two Preds, and two Chimera. Each terminator squad can crank out a decent number of S6 shots, and the preds can do some damage at range hunting light armor. And, of course, you have some melta love for larger vehicles.
To be honest, I again feel like the list is losing some thunder to the allies, though that's me.
I do think that you can benefit from a more minimal inclusion with just the Inquisitor Lord, or another HQ with a Psychic Hood. A unit of GKT is neat, but does cut down on your troop terminators, and the Shrouding makes the enemy a bit more likely to just shoot other things to death. Past that, the ISTs feel like the meat of the allies, as they can get you the melta love. However, taking ISTs means committing to some more mech, so you can keep all the armor alive.
Ally Rules
0-1 HQ
0-1 Elites
0-2 Troops
0-1 Fast Attack
That's what you get in total, per the ally rules. We're going to focus on what the allies can bring that actually helps the Deathwing. Let's start it off with the Leaders.
HQ
Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Lord
This one's much like the Witch Hunter; the chief difference lies in options available to them. Most of the henchmen are the same, and the unit's role should be to sit back and shoot. However, there are a few notable exceptions.
1) Emperor's Tarot. 15 points to almost always get a +1 to go first. Since there still is a roll to go first, this is a sweet piece of it.
2) The Mystic henchman. Get yourself an anti-deep-strike bubble. Bring two of these guys, and you can hand the shots off to the target most capable of KO'ing the deep striking enemy. If you're playing someone that brought Drop Pods and such, a pair of these henchmen can seriously ruin their plans.
3) The Psycannon. Ok, this is actually the least of what you get, but it means the OM lord himself can bring some shooting to the table. It's three more S6 shots, though these ignore invulnerable saves.
Past that, the main reason to bring one is for the Ld10 unlimited range psychic hood. If you're playing against Daemons, then Sanctuary is a bullshit auto-win psychic power in Capture The Flag, because you can cluster your unit and a troops choices around your objective, and go to town on his. This may get you punched in the balls, though. Past that, there's really no psychic power to hand off to the Lord.
A sample loadout, then, would be:
Lord w/ Hood, Emperor's Tarot
3x Heavy Bolter Servitors
2 Mystics
Total: 167
You get psychics, and a firebase. For another 30 points, you get another gun. You can also get multi-melt and/or a single plasma cannon, but I think it's best to keep the guys cheap, and heavy bolters get you the range you want. If you feel like it, jack the cost up by another 20 to get that plasma cannon, and really discourage deep-striking troops. Yeah, they call it 'cluster' formation only for short...
Grey Knight Hero
He comes in two flavors: 61 points for one wound, or 145 for three wounds and upgrading his weapon to a force weapon. As it stands, these guys have a storm bolter, a WS5, S6 Power weapon, and, oh, Terminator Armor. You also get the neat Grey Knight special powers that annoy daemons and make them tough to see, but you only get those on full Grey Knight units.
The Brother-Captain is 81 points for a cheap Ld10 psychic hood, and if you give him a psycannon and sit him back, he's 111 points for a hood and a 36" sniper. You can take him into melee, sure, but there's still the very real issue of rolling a '1' on your armor save, and that's sad.
If you really want the melee badass, it's 165 to get the Ld10 hood on the Grand Master. Yeah, the Grand Master is uber-hoss in melee, but he's still got the issue of 2+/5+ saves, and he's quite vulnerable to instant death. There's no real fix for that beyond giving him a retinue. With himself, the hood, and a minimal retinue? You're looking at a 300pt outlay. Granted, you have the Shrouding to take advantage of, but that's...still a lot of points in a list that's already points-intensive.
Hammerhand is about the only power I'd ever consider giving these guys, but in truth there's plenty of S8 punching against vehicles.
They can also take a Retinue of Gray Knight Terminators, but we'll discuss these guys in the elites section.
Elites
Elite Inquisitor
Remember the WH evaluation? Goes here, too. Skip it, unless you really want to get the Tarot in your army for cheap, in which case he's 35 points, and hoping no one kills him. Mm, juicy KP...
Assassins
You have the same assassin options as the WH codex. I still have the same opinion of them: not really enough oomph to justify investing in both the assassin AND the requisite Inquisitor Lord; it's just not helping your model count and that's what you really want.
Grey Knight Terminators
One brother captain and 2-9 terminators. Bro-Cap is 61 points; each terminator is 45. What do you get? WS5, I4, S6 power weapons, that's what. Oh, and more BS4 storm bolters with psycannon options, and the Shrouding. (Which, for the record, is that you must roll 3d6 * 3 to 'see' the GKT.) They also have a Psychic Hood against any target that hits them, but only them. You still have to (and really ought to) give the Bro-Cap a hood if you don't have on in the army already.
You could theoretically get two squads of these guys, but to be honest I think I'd draw the line at one. They're nasty, but the main reason you'd want to bring them is to give yourself some at-initative S6 power weapons. They're nasty, but if you really want to take a lot you ought to look into a pure Daemonhunters force.
A basic 5-man team will set you back 241. 261 if you use it for a hood. 291 if you hand 'em a couple psycannons, and 311 if you want the hood and guns.
Troops
Grey Knights
Hey, it's more guys with Storm Bolters. To be honest, I see use for one squad of these if you want a camping unit. You take a minimal 5-man squad, hand it two psycannons, and let it camp on an objective that's ideally near the edge of the table. You play shrouding for all it's worth, and hope you don't move. Sure, you CAN fire the Psycannon from the hip, but it's cut to 18" for these blokes.
GKT Campers: 5-man team w/ 2 psycannon comes to 200 points. Yeah, that's right. Same price as your regular terminators, but in power armor. At least the enemy has to check to spot them, and if they're hugging that 36" range, well...it's a little under a 50/50 shot the enemy can spot 'em.
Inquisitorial Storm Troopers
Pretty much the same as the WH version. These are you cheap melta unit. They can get Rhinos or Chimeras, and the choice depends on the utility you want out of the transport. You want a cheap box to put them in, or one that's got a little firepower?
70 points for the minimal 5 w/ 2 meltas.
58 for a Rhino with extra armor and smoke
88 for a Chimera with multi-laser, flamer, and smoke.
Fast Attack
You have one option for fast attack: Grey Knights with a deep strike option. There's no reason to ever take this. The whole point of taking Grey Knights would be to bulk up your body count and/or score, and this option removes their ability to hold objectives.
Summary of DH Allies
There's a little less bounty to be had from making friends with the Daemonhunters. Their troops are not cheap enough to seriously bulk up your body count. You can get ISTs either place, or you could theoretically draw them from BOTH codices if you wanted to have 2-3 Deathwing squads.
A Grey Knight Terminator squad is an option, but runs the risk of stealing your thunder. On the other hand? They're a source of I4 power weapons at S6. Sometimes, you just might WANT to freakin' hit at initiative. They also let you incorporate a psychic hood into your force.
The DH Inquisitor, though, is superior to be honest. Mystics are insanely useful, and can completely change the way an opponent plays. The Emperor's Tarot is also a valuable piece of kit, letting you get the initiative on the other guy.
All in all, the DH have an edge with the Inquisitor, and the same old ISTs. However, they won't really help the body count, but they can get you the melta love you want.
Sample DH Buddy List at 1850
Let's see what the list looks like with the toys in it.
HQ
Belial [130]
Lord w/ Hood, Emperor's Tarot
3x Heavy Bolter Servitors
2 Mystics
[167]
Elite
4 Grey Knight Termies (Including Bro-Cap) 2x Psycannon [246]
Dreadnought w/ Multi-melta [125]
Dreadnought w/ Multi-melta [125]
Troops
Deathwing Squad w/ Claws, AC, CF [250]
Deathwing Squad w/ Claws, AC, CF [250]
5 IST w/ 2x Meltagun
Chimera w/ ML, HF, EA
[155]
5 IST w/ 2x Meltagun
Chimera w/ ML, HF, EA
[155]
Heavy Support
Predator w/ Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons [130]
Predator w/ Autocannon, Heavy Bolter Sponsons [95]
Total: 1828
Note you have some points to play around with; you have some ways to burn 22 spare points, like giving the OM lord a pistol, CCW, and Sanctuary while handing the Dakka-Pred a storm bolter.
Once again, the list is similar to the mix of sisters, though you're down a Terminator squad to bring in the GKT for your assault love. The list is pretty shooty and fairly mechanized; you've got a decent amount of armor on the table with two Dreads, two Preds, and two Chimera. Each terminator squad can crank out a decent number of S6 shots, and the preds can do some damage at range hunting light armor. And, of course, you have some melta love for larger vehicles.
To be honest, I again feel like the list is losing some thunder to the allies, though that's me.
I do think that you can benefit from a more minimal inclusion with just the Inquisitor Lord, or another HQ with a Psychic Hood. A unit of GKT is neat, but does cut down on your troop terminators, and the Shrouding makes the enemy a bit more likely to just shoot other things to death. Past that, the ISTs feel like the meat of the allies, as they can get you the melta love. However, taking ISTs means committing to some more mech, so you can keep all the armor alive.
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