GK as allies: weapons, wargear

and psychic powers

With the new Codex DA the old 'No Allies' rule has gone. So why not take advantage of the new opportunities available to us? This Tactica goes some way to explaining why this mysterious secretive Chapter can work so well with our secretive mysterious Chapter.

This tactica has been recently updated to cover both the 5th Edition 40K Rulebook and Codex Space armies.

Concentrating on the unique weapons and wargear and extensive psychic powers the Daemonhunters can muster, this carries on from the previous tactica:
Grey Knights as allies: Heroes and units.

IX. Weapons and Wargear

Now that you have some units and some ideas it's worth looking at the wargear options. Some have been touched upon but others are worth a look too. A lot of the items in the Daemonhunters arsenal are specialized anti-daemon weapons that have no effect against the other foes you'll face most of the time. Don't forget, many Chaos armies do not even rely on daemons making these items still less useful. So while they might be good in a pre-arranged battle against Chaos they are not good choices for a take-all-comers list. Remember, a servant of the Emperor must be ready for all opponents, do not squander your limited resources preparing for a battle that may never come. Leave your Anointed Weapons, Daemonhammers, Agrimonies, and Sacred Hulls safe in storage unless you know you'll need them. For this reason only some of the more general items will be examined.

One oddity worth noting is that the thunder hammer is the same price as a power fist. According to the Daemonhunter FAQ it's a little bonus since the hammer is the symbol of the Ordo Malleus (literally 'The Order of the Hammer'). OK. Whatever. Just remember there is no reason to give any Grey Knight a power fist. Ever. And big giant hammers are so much cooler than oversized novelty fists.

Auspex
Whether you think this is worth the gamble or not is up to you, but, it is a tool available to GKTs and Hero's and no longer to the Dark Angels. I actually think that if you have the spare points then why not – it is after all a useful deterrent against infiltrating units – even if in reality the dice conspire against you so it hardly ever works.

Combi-weapons
No mystery here, useful on a GKGM to take advantage of his better BS, particularly combi-melta or plasma. Not a must-have as the basic storm bolter is actually good enough.

Consecrated scrolls
This let you use more than one psychic power in a turn, once per battle. Could be useful on a GK Grand Master as he could use his force weapon as well as another psychic power, but really hardly a mandatory pick.

Icon of the Just
Is a 4+ inv save taken instead of a normal save. It's useful but very expensive, and for a Hero in terminator not such a great bonus. There are better things to spend the points on.

Incinerator
A heavy flamer that ignores invulnerable saves. Excellent for GK Heroes and GKT/GK PA squads that deep strike in. Normal caveats apply to the flamer template though – as when you're in range prepare to assault or be assaulted. Nevertheless a great shock weapon to take advantage of in 5th Edition where cover saves abound.

Psycannon
The best weapon in the GK armoury by far. It works like a beefed-up S6 heavy bolter, you can move and shoot 18" with it, it ignores invulnerable saves AND you can put it on a BS5 character!!

While at 30 points it's a bit pricey you get more than enough bang for your buck – on a par with the same-cost assault cannon maybe. Psycannons are ideal taken in a deep-striking GKT units because they can take longer ranged shots if needed on arrival, or on GKPA teleport units to put out a lot of closer ranged assault-mode shots on arrival.

Psychic hood
This is where allied GK can come into their own as once again a Ld10 hood is alive and well in a DA army. Not only that but you can have more than one! A must-have option for any Brother-Captain, whether a lone IC or part of a GKT squad, optional on the GKGM as it does push his cost up, but still, recommended.

Sacred incense
Reduces the Initiative of any Chaos model wanting to assault the holder. This is the only anti-Chaos item worth taking. Unlike others it affects all Chaos models (including Marines). For 10 points, why not? Put it on a combat-oriented character and watch him cut down Chaos Marines before they get to blink.

Targeter
If you have the odd single point to spend then this is what you need. An item of wargear for a Hero or a Justicar it's useful rather then must-have, and be careful if you have Barrage weapons in your army too.

Teleport homer
Teleport Homer is always useful, and at the snip of the cost of a Ravenwing Attack Squadron. A good banker for the deep striking GK Hero or the embedded Brother-Captain in a GKT squad.

NOTE: technically the Daemonhunters' teleport homer is no longer useable in the 5th Edition game because its rules reference a template as a basis for placing the incoming squad. But this template is no longer in the main Rulebook as the deep striking mechanic has completely changed.

In reality most gaming opponents are cool and allow them. Could be different in a tournament setting though.

Thunder hammer
As cheap as a powerfist so what’s not to like. Useful weapon to purchase for a Hero if needed – or else use the Hammerhand psychic power as it’s less than half the price. A note on this weapon – due to the wording of the DH Codex, when used against vehicles, the DH Thunder hammer gets the Crew Shaken bonus merely by hitting it, in Codex Space Marines the vehicle must be damaged.

Unguents of Warding
Well it's a 4+ save against any incoming psychic powers for the holder and the unit he is with. Could be very useful to counter Lash of Submission and the antics of other psychic-heavy armies. Highly recommended.

X. Psychic Powers

I like psychic powers and taking GKs as allies opens Pandora's box! But much the same can be said of Daemonhunters psychic powers as was said about their specialised wargear – they reflect their anti-daemon role and can be useful if you face off against a lot of those types of armies. Be aware too that with the recent Codex Chaos Space Marines and Codex Daemons are now Fearless so many of the powers have limited capacity or have been rendered useless!!

That said there are some useful ones out there... and with some Consecrated Scrolls you can use more than one. So I will concentrate on the more general powers for an all-comers army.

Hammerhand
Doubles strength of the user and counts as an additional close-combat weapon – better than a powerfist then. However it means you lose the benefits bestowed by any power or force weapon. Not a bad little power and actually it's cheaper than a power weapon upgrade.

Holocaust
A S5 ordnance template that you use in the close combat phase. A pretty nice equalizer when fighting hoards but a bit costly at 20 points. Keep in mind also that the ordnance blast template is a bit more than 2" across, so can easily partially hit anybody too close to the kill zone, including your own sides models. Also keep in mind that although it states you can use it in the assault phase, it doesn't require you to be in close combat to use it. Its main use is against retinues (mopping up after the main character has been killed in cc), and can be used to allow for big template attacks after you arrive via Deep Strike. It's a nice power for a Grey Knight termy squad, or lone Hero attached to a Deathwing squad.

But if you use this in conjunction with a squad beware of Perils of the Warp, if you suffer an attack from the Warp, every model in the squad will take a wound, meaning they will die on a 2+. Yes Holocaust can create plenty of destruction, balance this against the risks. With this in mind get it for the Squad's Brother-Captain, not the squad itself!!

Scourging
An 18" S5 shooting attack with D6 shots. It could be a nice substitute for a psycannon or an incinerator on an assault-oriented Inquisitor but again, a bit pricey for what it does.

Word of the Emperor
Forces your opponents to take a leadership check before assaulting your Grey Knights. Good against some armies, lousy against others, but its only 10 points. Think of it as an extra saving throw for your valuable character.

XI. Thwarting Psychic attacks

It is worth pointing out that unlike many Space Marines, the Grey Knights have a variety of levels of wargear available for use against psychic attacks. These various items all have different ways of working and protect in different ways so effects can differ significantly. There are three basic psychic protection systems that can be used by Daemonhunter allies.

Not all confer bonuses onto other units in the army, and most only work for the Grey Knights themselves.

Using the psychic hood
In all instances with GK heroes this is a LD10 device. It may only be used to counter psychic powers that require a psychic test, so it doesn't work with against most Tyranid powers nor some persistent (always on) Eldar powers. The hood can protect the whole army the holder is part of and has unlimited range.

Using Aegis armour
All Grey Knights wear this, and the squad or character may choose to use this method rather than using a psychic hood. It may only be used against psychic powers that target the wearer(s), so it will have no effect on Warptime, or other non-specifically targeted psychic powers, nor will it protect non-Aegis wearing models.

Using Unguents of Warding
This is an item of wargear available to the GKGM or GKBC that enables them and their unit a ward save against any psychic attack targeted against the holders. It can be a good belt and braces option for fending off Lash as it cn be used against any psychic power used against them – even untargeted or persistent powers.

See the next installment: Grey Knights as allies: Building into army lists.