Grey Knights

Okay so let's talk about the new Grey Knights codex... I know a lot of players don't like it but I actually have nothing bad to say and there's lots of great things in my opinion. Sure they lost some nice things (psybolt ammo for example) but they also got some much needed point reductions. I see them as working very well combined with some other Imperial forces.

I always played pure Grey Knights so the loss of the assassins and =][= is no big deal to me plus if you are using multiple sources it doesn't really matter. Multiple sources are the future of 40k so if you can accept that then I think you'll end up a lot more happy.

Here are the units that stand out to me:

— Draigo is still a beast and finally has an AP2 force weapon plus he automatically knows Gate of Infinity (GoI) from the Santic lore which is a big deal. Not everybody accepts him right now since Draigo is classified as a Lord of War so you unfortunately might have to deal with that issue for awhile... Silly.

— The Librarian at level 3 Psyker will be a typical choice. He is a lot less points now and is a great force multiplier.

— Terminators got a hefty point reduction and I think they'll become the standard troop choice. I used them when I played the old Draigowing and they were a staple unit for me. You only need one unit if you use the new detachment and the option to combat squad is appealing. Psycannons still work well for them since terminators are relentless. My advice is to take at least two daemonhammers.

— The Dreadknight got a huge point reduction - I can easily see two (max number for the detachment) to three in most armies. I'd equip mine with the teleporter, heavy psycannon (6 shots !!!) and a heavy incinerator. They will be the bane of monstrous creatures - including FMCs - and Imperial Knights.

You can build a solid force using just these units. I'd also throw in a couple of the new assassins as well - the Vindicare and Cullexus are both really good.

Draigo-Lysander Wing 2.5k

I have this fixation on terminators right now. I've been playing lots of 2500 point games lately and for the most part they have run about the same amount of time as 2000 point games back in 40k5. It's obvious that terminators are very strong now in 40k6 - you've got the 2+ armor save versus power weapons which is huge. One of the few short comings for Draigowing is the lack of stormshields and close combat weapons that bypass the 2+ armor save. On the plus side daemonhammers are free for Paladins so that takes care of one shortcoming. I include one warding stave in each unit to soak up instant death wounds in melee using Look Out Sir! (LoS!) appropriately... So a unit of five Paladins lead by a character is still highly survivable plus the daemonhammers are extremely killy, especially with the application of Hammerhsnd for S10 instadeath... Versus a Warboss mounted on a bike attached to a squad of Nob bikers I might have to actually activate the force weapons - problem solved. In terms of stormshields I have multiple psycannons which I believe overall are better than stormshields... Offensive threat versus defense wins out.

I run Draigo as one of my characters who is a level 2 psyker along with a Librarian for the other squad so my psychic defense is 4+ due to Deny the Witch for both squads of Paladins which is about as good as it gets with the exceptions of the rune staff and a Farseer with Runes. Draigo makes his squad fearless which is another boon... Suddenly Imperial Psyker Battle Squads aren't so annoying any more.

I always use the Grand Strategy to cast reroll 1s to hit and wound which is the equivalent of Preferred Enemy plus Paladins are characters so I can direct all hits on a roll of 6+.

I am using the landraider Crusader with psybolt ammo and the Stormraven as transports so it's my choice when I want to engage my Paladins and bring their full strength to bare versus opponents... This is more protection for my army. The landraider is highly survivable and only AP1 ranged weapons can one shot it during the enemy shooting phase for the most part. The Stormraven is currently one of the best fliers available and is also highly survivable plus it often can easily deliver one unit into the heart of battle. If I'm playing against an army with solid anti-flyer defense my flier's embarked squad can use the Stormraven Shadow Skies rule to drop off it's squad so I don't have to worry about them dying to a wreck or explosion... Or I can simply hold the squad in reserve and Deep Strike them onto the battlefield the old fashioned way.

So how does Lysander fit into the mix... He along with a squad of five assault terminators (all equipped with thunderhammers and stormshields) ride in a landraider (note thst the Space Marine landraider transport capacity is 12 Marines or 6 terminators) and hold down the center of table discriminately firing both twin linked lascannons then burst out at the optimal moment to lay down the smack down. This combined unit has lots of synergy with Draigowing and makes up for the lack of melee weapons that bypass the 2+ armor save and stormshields. Lysander is a beast in melee... It is most definitely what it is and hurts the enemy in a big way.

My army has a small model count, which is typically the case, and they are doing just fine. In an epic battle versus a local veteran IG player with lots high strength low AP pie plates I was able to achieve a crushing win.

2k Batrep - Draigowing vs Imperial Guard

I'm still waiting on my Tyranids to be painted and still working on my Necrons so this weekend
again I decided to break out my Grey Knights for another pickup game. I used the exact same list as last weekend:



Lord Draigo
Librarian - master crafted warding stave, 2x servo skull, Might of Titans, Sanctuary,shrouding, Warp Rift

10x Paladin: fully complex w. 4x psycannon
10x GKT w. 2x psycannon

Psyfleman
Psyfleman


Sorry I don't have an exact list for the IG army. Off the top of my head it included the following units:

Colonel Straken w. command squad - chimera
Primaris Psyker (attached to melta vets)

10x melta vets - chimera
Platoon blob w. Commissar: 3x lascannon, plasmaguns, sergeants w. power swords
3x autocannon HWS
5x guardsmen w. 3x grenade launcher (ride in Vendetta)

Vendetta

Devildog

Leman Russ Demolisher squadron (lascannons)

Leman Russ

Colossus

10x Battle Psyker Squad


Mission
The mission was Capture and Control with Dawn of War for deployment. I won the roll and opted to go second. I rolled for the Grand Strategy and made both psyflemen scoring. My opponent deployed his blob on a covered hill sitting on his objective marker. All the rest of his army would come in from reserve on the first turn. I placed my objective marker back in a corner of my deployment zone with some decent cover deploying the Librarian attached to the Paladins off beside my objective in hard cover. Both psyflemen would walk on the first turn with Lord Draigo and the GKT opting to teleport.


Pre Game Analysis
I don't have a good track record versus IG in 5th edition to be honest—luckily the mission is not Seize Ground with five objective markers. I opted for a very simple strategy—Lord Draigo and the GKT will go for my opponent's objective marker while the rest of my army will defend my objective marker. I am counting on Lord Draigo to survive one round of shooting following deep strike then converge on the blob and slowly NOM NOM NOM them to death. Draigo is a beast and can suck up some pain then dish it right back. The rest of my army has solid cover and can shred AV12. The Librarian as usual is key to securing victory and must come through in the clutch casting his psychic powers.


Turn 1 - Imperial Guard
Everything not on the table comes on with a good contingent of the army moving into position to support their blob. Vendetta comes on the far table edge safely tucked away while Straken and his posse roll on in their chimera behind the blob. PSB walks on behind the blob as well. Colossus also comes in on the far side of the table. The Demolisher squadron and Devildog come in along the opposite side of Paladins and will be out of range this turn. Chimera full of melta vets pull up behind the Devildog for some hard cover. IG doesn't spot my Paladins and that's it.

Turn 1 - Draigowing
My psyflemen walk on hiding behind cover. Paladins move up closer to blob (remaining in cover obviously), target the Devildog and whiff.


Turn 2 - Imperial Guard
Demolishers, Devildog and PSB move up in range of my Paladins and cut loose with a deadly salvo. My Librarian botches his psychic test for Shrouding and then the bombs drop. One pie plate hits while the other scatters off. I fail my first four cover saves—SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT. I then lose another Paladin to a stray lascannon and the PSB successfully cast Weaken Resolve beating the reinforced Aegis on a psyfleman. Luckily the small blast from the Devildog scatters wide. I'm thinking this game is probably already over now but decide to stick it out and see how everything plays out. Paladins fail their morale check and fall back missing the board edge by a couple inches... That would have pretty much been the end of the game otherwise.

Turn 2 - Draigowing
Lord Draigo and his GKT teleport onto the battlefield scattering 10" straight towards the blob but don't mishap. Paladins auto rally and move back up into cover with both psyflemen side by side for protection. Lord Draigo and GKT target the blob but only manage to drop six due to some fiery hot cover saves. Paladins target the Devildog and rip off its turret. Psyflemen target a chimera full of melta vets riding in a chimera parked behind the Devildog but only manage to shake it.


Turn 3 - Imperial Guard
As much of the IG army that can target Lord Draigo and his GKT take aim and lay massive waste to the Grey Knights. When all the smoke clears all that is left standing is Draigo and two terminators (made a ridiculous amount of cover saves this turn). The PSB then successfully cast Weaken Resolve targeting Lord Draigo and his remaining terminators—they fall back 6" and there's nothing close by to prevent them from auto rallying the next turn... IG should have parked the Vendetta right beside them. I was actually hoping that all the GKT would die so that Lord Draigo would revert back to being Fearless so it worked out okay this turn after all.

Turn 3 - Draigowing
Lord Draigo auto rallies and moves up in position to finally charge the blob. Paladins and one psyfleman take aim on the Devildog—destroying the last of its weapons and immobilize it. The other psyfleman manages to stun the chimera full of melta vets. Lord Draigo then assaults the blob—NOM NOM NOM... He kills four guardsmen and takes no wounds in return. Blob then pass their morale check and pile in around Draigo.


Turn 4 - Imperial Guard
Straken and his command squad pull up in their chimera beside the battle between Lord Draigo and the blob. Vendetta moves into position to fire upon one of my psyflemen. Demolishers move up to drop more pie plates of death on the Paladins and psyflemen. Vendetta explodes one of the psyflemen but the Paladins and remaining psyfleman stand tall. Lord Draigo continues to NOM NOM NOM the blob and they pass their morale check.

Turn 4 - Draigowing
This will be a critical turn as we are playing random game length. I'm holding my objective marker with the remaining psyfleman and Lord Draigo is contesting the other. I need to stop the melta vets from moving into position to contest my objective and shoot down the Vendetta since its carrying another scoring unit. Lord Draigo is doing just fine and is whittling down the blob slowly but surely.

Librarian successfully casts Warp Rift popping both the Devildog and the chimera full of melta vets. Melta vets pop out the rearside of the burning wreck and pass their leadership tests. Paladins and psyflemen both whiff on the Vendetta. Draigo continues to NOM NOM NOM the blob reducing them to just a handful of guardsmen.


Turn 5 - Imperial Guard
Straken and his command squad decide to remain inside their chimera and play it safe while the Vendetta moves flat out towards my objective but is still well outside of 3" from my objective marker. The wrecks from the Devildog and chimera is shielding the Paladins from the Demolishers and PSB. The meta vets move forward to target the psyfleman but are just outside of half range. Again my Librarian botches his psychic test while attempting to cast the Shrouding and takes a wound from Perils of the Warp... Really bad day at the office for him. Melta vets whiff on the psyflemen then Lord Draigo finishes off the last of the blob and walks onto the enemy objective marker.

Turn 5 - Grey Knights
The Librarian splits off from the Paladins to assault the melta vets. The Paladins target the Vendetta inflicting three penetrating hits but it passes all three cover saves. The psyfleman then shoots down the Vendetta and one guardsman dies in the ensuing explosion. The Librarian then botches his psychic test for Hammerhand and dies from Perils of the Warp failing his first 2++ save... Wow !!

We roll for the sixth turn and up pops a 2... I'm holding my objective counter and contesting the enemy objective marker... So I end up with a close win. Note that the melta vets were less than an inch away from contesting my objective marker. I think that if the Librarian had charged the melta vets and not broke them the pile in move would have moved them inside room to contest... Pretty crazy.


Post Game Analysis
Well it was pretty dumb to have cast Hammerhand for the Librarian even with a 2++ save... Just really wasn't necessary but still worked out for the win. I think my opponent should have been more aggressive with Straken and his Vendetta. Straken ended up not contributing to the battle and might have been able to finish off Draigo in melee. The opening four failed cover saves plus botching Shrouding with my Librarian during the second turn took me right back to the second half of my previous game versus Space Marines last weekend. Luckily fate decided to be kind a bit after the initial run of bad luck and I was able to make a game out of it sticking to the plan. IG does not really have an answer to Lord Draigo in melee and once he got stuck in combat he did what he does best for the rest of the game.

Ard Boyz semi final results

Here is my secret list (to the best of memory) I brought today:

Draigo
Librarian - Might of Titans, Quicksilver, Sanctuary, The Shrouding, Warp Time, master crafted Warding Stave, 2x servo skull

10x Paladin -
Master crafted daemonhammer & master crafted psycannon
Daemonhammer & master crafted psycannon
Master crafted daemonhammer & psycannon
Sword & master crafted psycannon
Falchions & master crafted stormbolter
Master crafted falchions & stormbolter
Falchions & stormbolter
Warding stave & stormbolter
Sword & stormbolter
Brotherhood banner & stormbolter
(psybolt ammo)

10x Grey Knight terminator -
Justicar Thawn
2x halberd & psycannon
2x daemonhammer & stormbolter
5x halberd & stormbolter
(psybolt ammo)

Dreadknight - teleporter & heavy incinerator

Psyfleman dreadnaught
Psyfleman dreadnaught

Venerable psyfleman dreadnaught


The first mission was versus a good friend from Naples playing mechanized eldar. This was a tough matchup - not much LOS blocking terrain which was pretty much the case for all three tables I played on today. My basic strategy was to sacrifice the GKT so Thawn could slog his way across the table for the bonus victory points... The Justicar ended up getting back up five to six times taking out a squad of Dire Avengers, Fire Dragons, one Farseer and finally finishing off a squad of Dark Reapers to just make into the opponent's deployment zone the last turn for the bonus 500 victory points. At one point towards the end the Justicar passed three invulnerable saves versus Mind War then took out the Dark Reapers. He got up every time every game - it was kind of crazy.

The second game was versus Blood Angels - versus another player from Naples. His army was kind of a mixed bag. The Dreadknight was the man of this match taking out around three squads of assault Marines and wrecking a razorback... He finally got hammered the last turn but held off a squad of Death Company lead by Lemartes to save my Paladins.

The final match was versus dark eldar - lots and lots of skimmers... Lots and lots of shooting across the table from both sides... My cover saves were really crazy good this game. We were playing for table quarters and my opponent had six scoring units while I only had two. I focused on killing all his scoring units. The Librarian was the man of the match - The Shrouding kept the dreadnaughts on line each turn plus he popped a couple skimmers with Warp Rift.

I'm very familiar with both Blood Angels and dark eldar so that experience I believe helped a lot as I knew exactly what I needed to do to win those two games. Blood Angels really have an uphill battle versus Grey Knights. Dark eldar have the speed and lots of S8 AP2 shooting but gosh are they fragile. ; )

I'll try to post up the batreps this week. I ended up in 4th place overall but still got an invite to the finals since the person who came in first place can't go. There were only 12 players so that helped a lot for me. I wanted to bring my Draigowing which is not optimal for these missions... I only had two scoring units each game as I always rolled a 1 or 2 for the Grand Strategy each game and decided to always outflank the Dreadknight (which worked out well and I'll go into that in more detail when I post the batreps).

Draigowing for Ard Boyz Semi Finals

I'll be bringing my Draigowing this weekend (of course). The store I'm playing at in Florida has lots and lots of players signed up so with only three rounds you can win all three games and still not make the top three. My army is not optimized to max scores for the missions so I will have to hope for a little luck. It's the army I want to play though and if nothing else it should be challenging and hopefully I will learn some more about how to optimize the army in general. The good thing for me is Draigowing scales up well at 2500 points and you can bring just about everything you want and feel you need. My favorite (only) aspect I enjoy about Ard Boyz is the opportunity to play at 2500 points. I think I'll see lots of mech lists for sure.

I'll post up my list after it's all over. I've made some fairly big changes to the list I brought to the preliminaries. The missions are kind of crazy so it should be interesting to say the least.

Draigowing Xs & Os • Proper Use of Psychic Powers during Melee

I typically run Draigo and a Librarian attached to a squad of ten Paladins (3x daemonhammer). There isn't much that can go up against them in melee but then again there are a few units that can give them a go. For instance Thunderwolf Cavlary lead by a Bear Lord (thunderhammer) and all armed with stormshields can be a problem. A good Space Wolf player will have a Rune Priest nearby to play havoc with your psychic powers. The Bear Lord has six attacks on the charge, hitting on 3+ and can insta gib your Paladins quickly if you're not careful. This is a great example how to manage your psychic powers during melee since it is a tough fight even for Paladins.

You've got up to five psychic powers you can cast during melee:

Draigo - 2x
Librarian - 2x
Paladins - 1x

Draigo and the Librarian give you two chances to cast Hammerhand which you'll need to insta gib the TWC with your daemonhammers. You still have one more opportunity to cast Hammerhand with your Paladins should the first two attempts fail. It's all about those S10 hammer attacks insta gibbing the TWC !! By the odds you should pass at least one test for Hammerhand out of three attempts and get past the Rune Staff.

Be very careful with the Librarian as you could easily use his two spells for Shrouding and Sanctuary during your opponent's turn. Shrouding is a Must Use power if you're getting hammered by shooting such as lascannons and meltaguns. Sanctuary is not one that is absolutely necessary unless you believe there is a really good chance the TWC is far enough away they'll fail their difficult terrain test and not reach assault. THunderwolves are much faster than Paladins so there is a good chance you'll have to brace for the enemy charge - as such if you receive the charge then you can't cast Might of Titans since it only works in your own assault phase. If you cast Sanctuary and the Shrouding then that's one less attempt at Hammerhand if the wolves do get the charge so be careful and think about it.

This example also shows why the Brotherhood Banner is a Must Have for your Paladins... The 1+ attack for the daemonhammers will pay off big time and each wound that gets past a stormshield save means another dead wolf. Versus TWC activating your force weapons is not as powerful as the S10 daemonhammers. You'll score more wounds with the hammers and if you decide to use the Paladins' psychic test to activate their force weapons then you can't use Hammerhand as you have to wait until there is an enemy unsaved wound. Versus Thrakka and a mob of Nobz you'll want to activate the force weapons and kill the Nobz before they can swing their power klawz.

Pro Tip
So how to deal with that Bear Lord ? Well that's why you've got Draigo. Use him to tie up the Bear Lord, score more wounds overall and break the wolves in melee... You can't sweeping advance since your unit is in terminator armor so once they have broken then shoot them up and try not to let them regroup. Often I will break Draigo off from my Paladins so he can use his Fearlessness to tarpit the Bear Lord when I see the TWC will be in a position to charge the next turn.

Draigowing Xs & Os - MC Hammer Time

I have been playing lots and lots of highly competitive playtest games versus the armies that can kick my arse. It can be painful but I learn. Here are my thoughts on how to best design a GK TDA army:

Lord Khaldor Draigo - he isn't the man - he is a monster
I have heavily experimented with the generic Grand Master since he can tote a psycannon and serve as a grenade caddy. What I have learned is I don't need grenades and one more psycannon is not gonna win a game. Draigo can absorb the pain and dish it out. Paladins as a troop choice without having to use the Grand Strategy is grand indeed. I will be sticking with Draigo from now on.

Hammer Time
I like to run a squad of ten Paladins with three daemonhammers, four psycannons and a standard bearer. The hammers will beat down anything and are game winners. They are more powerful than grenades overall.

One warding stave can soak lots and lots of wounds in close combat. Everything else is cosmetic. A couple of swords are okay.

Super Psyker
Along with Draigo the Librarian is a must have unit for the army. The best casting powers are as follows:

Might of Titans
Quicksilver
Sanctuary
Shrouding
Warp Time

I rarely ever get to use Quicksilver or Warp Time but it is only ten points for the two and they can both be game winners versus certain armies.

Servo Skulls
I also like to kit my Librarian with two servo skulls. It takes some practice to use them effectively. The combination of servo skulls with Psychic Communion is extremely powerful. If nothing else servo skulls can bait your opponent into wasting one unit's movement phase.

Reinforced Aegis
Psyflemen are great at shooting as we all know but they can also cock block Psyker Battle Squads and Lash Princes. Keep one close to your Paladins as an ultimate psychic defense.

Conclusion
That is it for now. This article is based upon playing various armies designed to beat mine.

40k Interview with Blackmoor • NOVA Open & Draigowing

This article is an interview with Blackmoor who played on the top table in the final eighth game at the NOVA Open this past weekend. Blackmoor was fielding a fairly unconventional list referred to as Draigowing. A large chunk of the Grey Knight army consists of Lord Khaldor Draigo. Librarian and a unit of ten Paladins. Obviously I'm a big fan of this army so I was very excited to see it do so well under the guidance of Blackmoor.

 So let's get on with the interview now !!
_________________________________

I watched the better part of both of your games on the top table during the NOVA Open on the top table broadcast by the 11th Company. You knew what you needed to do to win and beat a wide array of different armies versus some top players there in DC. Your outstanding performance did not catch me by surprise. I was pulling for you every step of the way.


1)      You have played both the 3rd edition Daemonhunters codex and now the new Grey Knights codex. What are the major differences between the two books that make the new codex more competitive?

 
Well, they added a few new units like paladins, librarians, and others, but what makes the new codex different is that they are now cheaper and better in both assault and shooting. Their psychic powers plus force weapons means that they are formidable in close combat and their psybolt ammunition has greatly improved their shooting.

 
Was anything lost in the transition you would have liked to have seen maintained in the new codex?


This is an easy one…without a doubt it is being fearless.

 
2)      How did you go about designing the army list you brought to NOVA?

 
It was through a lot of trial and error. I played my lists at a lot of major tournaments and not only did I get a lot of practice using it, but I worked on improving it.

 
Go into as much detail as you like. What are the major strengths and weaknesses of your army?

 
The strength of my army is that some army builds just can’t deal with 10 paladins. Also they are not just a one-trick pony. They are not only tough and durable, but they are great in both assault and shooting. Paladins have the ability kill everything from land raiders to hordes either close up, or at range.

          
Based on your games at NOVA how might you tweak the list?


I am going to add a couple of warding staffs. I tend to eat some force weapons, power fists/klaws and thunder hammers and when the paladins get doubled up and taken out that adds a lot of wounds to combat resolution. I also like incinerators and I would like to find a way to add some to my list.

 
3)      You travel a lot to play in big tourneys. What was your strategies and tactics you developed for the NOVA Open? Did you play test a lot for NOVA? If so how did you do you go about play testing? For example do you try to schedule games versus the top meta lists?


"Practice? You are talking about practice? I am a franchise player!"

I don’t practice. That is one of the reasons why I have sporadic showings at tournaments because that is where I try out new ideas and lists. Here is the genesis of it:

I started the ideas for my army back at the Slaughter in Space tournament in Los Angeles in June when the Grey Knight codex became available for use at tournaments. For my build I thought that I would go against the common meta of strength 8, ap3+ shooting so I tried out Draigo, a Librarian, Paladins with Land Raiders. I placed 7th but I was worried about the durability of the Land Raiders, and the fact that I can only get 5 guys in them and I decided to drop them.

 
The next tournament was Wargames Con in Austin when I tried out an all Paladin+Terminator army with Mordrak. That army had 25 models with a 2+ save and some Interceptors thrown in. I really liked the Interceptors but Mordrak did not add any synergy to the army and the Terminators were just too expensive. The first day I went 2-2 and the next day I was 3-0 and had 3 massacres to win Best General in the loser’s bracket (see what a little practice does for you).


Next outing was at the Bay Area Open in San Francisco. At Wargames Con I realized that I needed ranged anti-tank and I added 2 Psyflemen Dreads when I thought it was a 2000 point tournament. When I found out it was only a 1850 point tournament I had to drop one. But the one remaining dread worked like a charm and I was able to go 5-0-2 and take 3rd place. 

 
Next up was the Nova Open and from what I learned from my prior tournaments I took Draigo, Librarian, and the Paladins I liked from The Slaughter in Space, the Interceptors from Wargames Con and I took 3 full dreads that I liked from the Bay Area Open (and some strikes for the second troops choice and a cheap scoring unit) and I took second place at the event.

 
So you can see that not only that I had a lot of practice with the army in some of the biggest tournaments against some of the best players, but I was able to hone my armies build and my results improved with my Draigowing every time.


4)      You play a lot of different armies. What appeals to you the most about Grey Knights?  Where would you currently rank Draigowing versus other armies you play such as infantry based eldar? Seeing that you like to play exotic lists what are some advantages over the years you have discovered versus the parade of meta lists we so often see on the top tables?


I like odd ball armies. One of the biggest advantages to playing an army that your opponent has never seen before is that they have no idea what units they should be worried about, and what I will try to do, or how to go about beating it. There are so many of the common generic lists out there that everyone has had practice against them and they know what you are going try to do. Greg Sparks took his foot eldar list to the ETC a couple of weeks ago and they had never seen anything like it and he ended up with an excellent record. As far as ranking the armies it is tough. There are so many variables in tournaments like how much LOS blocking terrain there is, what format it is (win/loss, Win/Loss/Tie, Battle points, etc) that you can’t really rank them with any ease. I will say that my foot elder took a hit with the new shift in the meta game to torrent of fire armies with the addition of the new Grey Knights and Dark Eldar codexes.


5)      What armies (and why obviously) give you the toughest match ups for Draigowing? What have you done to better prepare for those particular armies?


This one is easy: Without a doubt Grey Knights are my toughest match-up. In fact, Stormravens are my biggest threats not only because of the assaults, but mind strike missiles kill my librarian, and do a number on my whole army. With psyk-out grenades whoever gets the charge wins, and my Grey Knight army is so slow that I always get charged by faster moving assault units out of a Stormravens, and get hit with I6 halberds that are force weapons I am in trouble. At the Nova Open I ended up facing 2 GK armies with 2 Storm Ravens, and one with a Storm Raven and a Land Raider. There is not much I can do except try to shoot them down before they do their damage, but they are normally starting in reserve and get to go first and use shrouding and are tough to bring down. I think each one of them dropped off their payload and was able to assault me before I can take them out. To defend against them I added my Dreadnaughts to shoot them down, and I try to bubble wrap my Paladins with Strike Squads. That is just about all I can do.

 
6)      What was your favorite game at NOVA?


Over the weekend I did have a lot of good games. Even my game against Stelek was good. I got lucky with the game ending on turn #5 and he took the loss in stride. Special shout-outs go to George (and wife) who was a new player with Tau with a great attitude, Garrett (farmpunk) from the Back40K blog, and of course game #6 against Neil from the 11th Co that everyone got to watch.


7)      What is your all time favorite army?


That is another easy one, Thousand Sons from 3rd edition. I loved that army… It was a small and durable army with 2 wounds terminators and a lot of psychic powers (see a trend here?). It was a sad day when that abomination of a chaos codex came out in 4rd edition and killed that army.

 
That's it. Thanks for your time. It's greatly appreciated. If there is anything I did not touch on you'd like to add please feel free to do so.

 
I just wanted to thank everyone that was rooting for me on the last game. I had a good run and I have no complaints. I will say that 13 games in a weekend is a lot of games!!! I was counting down the games like a prisoner counting down the days until he is released.

I want to also thank Mike Brandt for being a great host and all of the staff and volunteers for putting on a top  notch tournament.

_________________________________

That's it folks! I'm sure Blackmoor will have more to say about his experience at NOVA over on his 40k blog which you can find in my blog roll. Hopefully we will see some batreps soon (hint hint !!!). A big thanks to Blackmoor for doing the interview and replying so quickly. It was a lot of fun.

:  )

Draigowing Xs & Os - Shooting 101 - Psyflemen

NOTE
As a brief note I'd first like to mention I no longer am fielding Draigo for army - I'm using a generic Grand Master in his place. The swap allows me to take grenades, not wasting the points for the overcosted Techmarine, plus I arm mine with a psycannon as well. So I'm not sure what exactly to call the army - technically it's not a true Draigowing list for the obvious reason given above.






Introduction
I'll now move on to the subject matter which will be a short tactical piece about using psyflemen. I find that most Grey Knight players who use psyflemen field two to three. Currently I'm using two in my 2k list. Psyflemen are one of the few units in the codex that appear to be undercosted in terms of what you get for their points. Long range AT was a major problem for the old codex - there weren't any really good cheap choices for the points. A few players had success using landraiders but this was an expensive approach and shoehorned the armies into a one dimensional style... Sit back and shoot the entire game. Dreadnaughts were ineffective since they were easy to pop plus they didn't benefit from The Shrouding and did not have Fortitude. With the release of the new codex it didn't take long for the 40k community to figure just how good are the new psyflemen. To me a psyfleman dreadnaught is better than a squad of Long Fangs with five missiles... On average you will get just as many hits plus the psyfleman can move and shoot which is a major advantage over Long Fangs. Take Fortitude into consideration and you've simply got a better heavy support unit. Of course I haven't really said anything so far most people don't already know but this is the introduction. ; )

Deployment
Let's first consider deployment for Pitched Battle and Dawn of War. Let's also start off by assuming the Grey Knight army has two psyflemen just to keep it simple. I had a friend recently tell me the best deployment is to put one dreadnaught in each corner of your deployment zone (DZ) - the reason being this will help to ensure more side shots on enemy transports. At first I didn't take him serious and thought maybe he was trying to trick me into deploying in that manner. If you deploy both psyflemen on the centerline of your DZ they can shoot up to 80 percent of the distance to the far corners which leaves a small pocket of 12" radius in your opponent's two table corners. A smart IG player might deploy their Manticores in their corners but other than that I don't see any major advantages for the opponent. Deploying both dreads on the centerline also means they can both benefit from your Librarian casting The Shrouding. On the other hand if you deploy them in the far corners it will be hard to support them, they can be targeted by outflanking units and their fields of fire have very little overlap - just doesn't make much sense to me just for a chance to shoot at side armor. Also note that a smart opponent can deploy and move their transports in such a manner to drastically limit shots on their side armor to the bulk of their transports and it's actually fairly easy to do. Finally versus an army such as dark eldar they can easily pop one dread then flank around to hit you on an exposed side, cutting your long range AT in half on the first turn.

Now let's consider the case of an army with three psyflemen. The addition of an extra dreadnaught opens up another dimension in terms of using deployment to your best advantage. Against IG I would most likely setup one on the centerline and one 12" away on either side. Your fields of fire now all overlap and overall cover the entire table. It might be worth investing the extra points to upgrade one or two to Venerable class since they won't all be protected by The Shrouding.

The third deployment (Spearhead) is an interesting choice as deploying in a table quarter can drastically limit your field of fire - no wonder IG players hate this one so much. The important thing to remember is your opponent is in the same boat. I would generally place my dreads (whether it's two or three) back along the diagonal line using cover when available and if appropriate. You'll quickly be able to reach midfield with the bulk of your army which is where Draigowing style armies can really shine. It is pretty simple when you think about it for just a moment. : )

Targeting
At first glance this might seem rather obvious but versus certain armies such as razorspam or IG it's not quite that simple. Razorspam is going to sit still for the most part during the beginning of the game and hope for the opportunity to alphastrike. IG on the other hand will be moving the vets forward to blast your Paladins and GKT with massed melta and plasma. What you need to keep in mind is that you should use your mix of psycannons (Paladins and GKT) with your dreadnaughts to most effectively deal with high multiple threats - that is shoot the transports with your psycannons and use the autocannons to pick off longer ranged threats such as Vendettas and Manticores. You might be best served to combine the two weapons platforms to take out a big chunk of transports the first turn in an alphastrike if the opportunity presents itself. Versus razorspam I'd probably focus on destroying the razorbacks first then deal with Predators and Vindicators.

Conclusion
I've focused this article primarily upon the best use of psyflemen giving specific examples how to deploy and target select your firing solutions. Remember as I said above sometimes it's best to combine your weight of fire using both the psycannon and autocannon to alphastrike and decimate a particular component of your opponent's army.

Draigowing Xs & Os - Unit Selection

Here is a follow up on my last article which was a simple primer and introduction for playing Draigowing. This article covers your basic choices for the army.

Introduction

Draigowing is a Grey Knight army primarily built using only Paladins, terminators, dreadnaughts and Nemesis Dreadknights. You can also use landraiders for transports|fire support. Obviously you'll be fielding Draigo since he unlocks Paladins as a troop choice. Draigowing produces very small armies in terms of model count so every point must be carefully spent in order to build a solid list. Some don't consider this type of army to be competitive but I have had lots of success so far. This article will provide some basic intel on the various units you'll find in this nifty army.

Grey Knight Terminators

At first glance this unit looks rather ho hum - it's just your standard terminators with access to psycannons instead of assault cannons... however they can take halberds and daemonhammers for free! They do count as a troop choice which is very helpful. I typically run my five man squads as follows:

Justicar – halberd

2x terminator w. halberd

terminator w. daemonhammer

terminator w. halberd & psycannon

Psybolt ammo

This unit weighs in just under 250 points. On the charge they can lay down 12 S5 force weapon attacks at I6 and 3 S10 daemonhammer attacks (assuming Hammerhsnd is successfully cast - which it will be most of the time). They can wreck many units in close combat and easily pop armor as well. Terminators armed with halberds make BA DoA cry and give wyches and genestealers a moment to pause while considering is it really worth charging them. Their shooting is just as impressive - 4 S7 rending shots plus 8 S5 shots - all the shooting has an effective range of 30" since they are relentless. To me they are one of the best choices for a troop and very reasonably costed.

Justicar Thawn

Thawn is an expensive model. Most see him as nothing more than a novelty. Thawn is a level 2 psyker with WS5 and a halberd which all combined can be very powerful indeed. Thawn can cast both Hammerhand and activate Nemesis force weapons in the same assault phase. The combination works very well versus enemy units with one or more multi wound models. If the Justicar dies he always gets back up the next turn on the roll of 4+ on 1d6... This can be a thorn in the side of many armies, especially those that are lacking in close combat prowess such IG. Alone Thawn can snipe enemy HQ by striking in close combat at I6 while casting both Hammerhand and activating his halberd.

To me he is well worth the points and basically adds another HQ to your army. I always take him.

Here is how I run a ten man squad of GKT including Thawn:

Justicar Thawn

6x halberd & stormbolter

2x daemonhammer & stormbolter

2x psycannon & halberd

Brotherhood banner

psybolt ammo

You can break them down into combat squads using the template I provided above for my five man GKT squads.

Paladins

This unit is the heart of the army. Paladins are 2W terminators with WS5 plus they also get halberds and daemonhammers for free as well. They are your other troop choice. You can take two psycannons per five Paladins so it's possible to have four in a squad of ten... That is very powerful and can be used as one of the main strengths of the army. Each Paladin is a mini HQ in his own right. You have to know how to protect them from high strength low AP shooting such as meltaguns to keep them alive and it's easy to do. They are every bit as good as a terminator and obviously even better. You're only paying 15 more points for an extra wound and +1 WS. Paladins work best in large numbers with the full compliment of psycannons and psybolt ammo. I don't waste any points on master crafting their weapons... remember this is all about Draigowing!

The Solodin

You can take only one Paladin per squad. I find this concept to be very much meh.    : / Sure he can hold an objective since he scores but he is also a very easy kp to give up. You can't afford to fritter points on silly units such as the Solodin if you want to build a good Draigowing.

A Word on Combat Squads

I was never a big fan of using combat squads until I started to play Grey Knights then I had a sudden change of heart. If you take ten Paladins they are a perfect choice to break down into two combat squads. I like to take a full squad and split them so I have one combat squad with four psycannons - they rape armor and can decimate just about any enemy infantry as well. 16 S7 rending shots is fierce-some indeed. I like large squads of terminators and will also often break them into combat squads.

A Word on the Grand Strategy

Using combat squads and the Grand Strategy together means it's very easy to have at least four or more solid scoring units. This is also a part of the power of Draigowing. You have a small army but everything is quite potent and most of your units can score.

Psyflemen

What's to say? Everyone knows just how awesome they are. I recently had a duel with my two psyflemen versus an IG Hydra squadron - S8 versus S7 saw the dreads wrecking both Hydras with no damage in return... Somewhat impressive in my opinion.

My one piece of advice is to run one Venerable if you've got the points to spare. BS5 does make a difference over the course of a game plus forcing the opponent to reroll results on the AP table is also worth the investment... It makes them tougher to kill and your opponent has to spend more firepower to silence the threat. Like I said every point spent is important and I believe this is a good upgrade but not absolutely necessary.

Sometimes I'll take an Eversor assassin to protect my psyflemen. That way they don't have to waste anytime assaulting harassing units such as Stormtroopers or Reaver jetbikes and can keep shooting at bigger targets.

The Nemesis Dreadknight

I run one with a personal teleporter plus a heavy incinerator. He costs just less than a landraider. His best use typically is when you can outflank the metal clad behemoth. 12" range plus 12" extension of the 8" template gives him an effective range of 32" when firing his heavy incinerator. It's very easy to reach out and vaporize pesky units such as IG HWS and any dark eldar unit. He is just brutal versus IG blobs and can torch the command squad... blast the command chimera with your psyflemen then toast them when they pop out! The one down side is the NDK is a proverbial fire magnet. He won't last long versus a shooty army such as IG so he needs to get stuck in as fast as possible. Use the NDK to take out a critical enemy unit and leave them reeling.

Draigo and the Librarian

These two powerful characters form up the very heart of the army. They deserve their own separate article so I'll cover them at a later date.

Conclusion

I have covered your basic choices for the army with the exception of the landraider and its variants. The landraider is very powerful in a Draigowing army but it also cuts down on your model count. I find a couple of psyflemen as must have so you have some good long range mobile fire support. The army is best played as all infantry.

I have found that Draigowing is a lot better than currently given credit. Allan Hernandez recently came in 3rd place at a 7 round GT in San Francisco with his little Draigowing. I notice he did not receive much credit in the interwebz but it shows what the army can do in the right hands!

Draigowing Xs & Os - Free Wheeling

Here is the battle schematic I showed before with two slight modifications:

1) Wheeling
The terminator squad can wheel about to extend their firing range and launch assaults. My squad has a large number of halberds so it is almost always advantageous to charge for the +1A bonus. Any enemy units that come into the nexus have little chance of survival - think of free wheeling as a trap.

2) Redirect
Most often I like to keep Draigo and his retinue out of close combat as long as possible. By leaving a gap behind the landraider and the table edge they can safely redirect while still cut off completely from enemy LOS. This is important as you want to keep them safe from any enemy shooting that can insta gib them. If you can keep them outside of the landraider then they can lend the strength of their stormbolters which can be very helpful.

The Roman Legions used very simple tactics to crush their enemies over the course of several centuries. Draigowing is similar in that it is slow, compact and very powerful. There are not many other armies that can shift them.

Draigowing vs. Mech BA (2k points)

I was able to get in a game this past weekend versus a good buddy over in Tampa. He usually kicks my butt so I was looking forward to the game... I wanted a little vengeance! We decided to use the standard mission for BeakyCon:

1st Objective - Seize Ground (3 markers)
2nd Objective - Capture & Control
3rd Objective - Annihilation

Deployment - Dawn of War

Whoever wins the most objectives win the game, so all three are equally weighted. If there is an overall draw on the objectives then the winner is decided by pure victory points. The table was setup with City Fight terrain - lots of LOS blocking. I won the roll to place markers for Seize Ground - my two were placed towards the center of the table with one inside a ruin... My opponent placed his back in a table corner. My opponent then won the roll for deployment and opted to go second. Going second in DoW typically favors a mobile shooty army but is at a disadvantage for taking markers.

Grey Knight Army List
- HQ -
Lord Khaldor Draigo
Librarian - Might of Titans, Quicksilver, Sanctuary, Shrouding & Warp Rift

- Troops -
10x Grey Knight Terminator incl. Justicar Thawn:
8x Halberd, daemonhammer, 2x psycannon & psybolt ammo

10x Paladin:
3x pair of Falchions, 4x daemonhammer, sword, 4x psycannon & psybolt ammo

NOTE
The Paladins were split as follows into combat squads:

Squad Alpha
4x psycannon, 3x daemonhammer & sword

Squad Bravo (Draigo's bodyguard)
3x pair of falchions & daemonhammer

- Heavy Support -
Landraider Crusader:
psybolt ammo


Blood Angels
- HQ-
Librarian - Blood Lance & Shield of Sanguinius
Librarian - Blood Lance & Shield of Sanguinius

- Elites -
Honorguard:
2x meltagun & 2x flamer
Rhino - dozer blades

8x Sternguard:
7x combi-melta & heavy flamer
Rhino - dozer blades

8x Sternguard:
7x combi-melta & heavy flamer
Rhino - dozer blades

- Troops -
5x assault Marine:
flamer
Razorback - twin linked plasmagun & lascannon turret; dozer blades

5x assault Marine:
flamer
Razorback - twin linked plasmagun & lascannon turret; dozer blades

5x assault Marine:
flamer
Razorback - twin linked plasmagun & lascannon turret; dozer blades

5x assault Marine:
meltagun
Razorback - twin linked plasmagun & lascannon turret; dozer blades

- Fast Attack -
Landspeeder - heavy flamer & multi-melta
Landspeeder - heavy flamer & multi-melta

- Heavy Support -
Rifleman dreadnaught
Rifleman dreadnaught


Grand Strategy
I roll a 4 on 1d3 and granted both squads (Paladins & Grey Knight terminators) with the ability to reroll wounds on the roll of any 1s.

Red Thirst
One squad of assault Marines succumb - that's it.


Pre Game Analysis
I was feeling quite concerned about the two squads of Sternguard toting all those combi-meltas as either unit can wreck any of mine save for Draigo. My plan was as follows:

- Keep a safe distance from the Sternguard accordingly while initially focusing fire on the razorbacks and landspeeders to remove the low AP insta gib shooting (lascannons & multi-meltas)... Plus I didn't want to lose my tank early on from a strafing landspeeder.

- If any worthwhile shooting presented itself for the Sternguard rhinos that would become the first priority.

- Move the Librarian attached to the terminators towards the center of the table and engage as many enemy units as quickly as possible.

- Save Draigo (attached to the choppy Paladin combat squad) to hold objectives late in the game and clear off any enemy unit that made their way over in contesting range of my markers.


Grey Knight Deployment
Dawn of War is a great deployment for my army. As noted above I split the Paladins into combat squads with all four psycannons placed in squad Alpha - squad Bravo would act as a bodyguard for Draigo. The Librarian joined the Grey Knight terminators and I deployed them in the center of the table behind a large piece of LOS blocking terrain. I placed squad Alpha over to my left in another ruin also behind a wall. Draigo and squad Bravo would walk onto the table and jump inside the massive black tank.

Blood Angels Deployment
My opponent opted to move everything onto the table during the first turn.


1st Turn - Grey Knights
The Crusader setup along the center of my table edge partially hidden by a ruin. The Librarian and the GKT moved and ran forward taking a very aggressive position in the middle of the table with plenty of cover. I strung the Librarian back so his Shrouding psychic power aura would encompass both squad Alpha and the Crusader... I kept squad Alpha hidden behind the wall to prevent them from being targeted by any lucky potshots.

Note - Moving the GKT with the Librarian into the center of the table was pivotal and had a huge effect on the game as all enemy shooting was focused on them, taking the heat off the rest of my army through to the mid game.

1st Turn - Blood Angels
The whole army rolls on with one assault squad and a riflemen in each table corner. The landspeeders move up aggressively towards the middle of the table. The two squads of Sternguard (one Librian joined to each unit) come in hanging back behind the razorbacks along with the Honorguard. The other two assault Marine squads moved forward to attempt some shooting. My opponent didn't roll well for Night Fight spotting distances and I took no losses. I was glad to see the Sternguard were not right up in my grill as psychologically I felt like I had a bit more breathing room for my GKT and could continue playing them aggressively.

0 kp GK - 0 kp BA


2nd Turn - Grey Knights
The Crusader holds it's position pivoting a bit to fully target a landspeeder. Squad Alpha slightly moves to draw a bead on the other landspeeder. The Librarian along with the GKT move into the central ruin in position to shoot and multi charge several vehicles. Shooting sees the Crusader immobilize the fast moving landspeeder and is destroyed as a result. Squad Alpha destroys the other landspeeder. The GKT manage to wreck a razorback and due to the positioning of other vehicles the assault Marines have to dismount in such a manner that the GKT will be in range to charge them. The Librarian successfully casts Might of Titans and Thawn successfully casts Hammerhand. They multi charge the assault squad but whiff against the vehicles. The GKT then consolidate back into the ruins for a very important cover save.

2nd Turn - Blood Angels
The remainder of the Blood Angels army moves into place to focus all fire upon the GKT. One squad of Sternguard dismounts as well. Every gun is fired upon them. My Librarian successfully casts the Shrouding and after the smoke clears from all the shooting I only lose a total of five GKT including Justicar Thawn.

4 kp GK - 0 kp BA
2x landspeeder, razorback & assault squad

3rd Turn Grey Knights
First Thawn rises back up from the dead. Squad Alpha maintains their position on point holding one Seize Ground marker while the landraider backs up a bit and sidles over to my C&C marker plus one of the Seize Ground markers as well. The Librarian and remaining GKT move into position to shoot and assault the exposed Sternguard. Shooting sees squad Alpha wreck a razorback while the Crusader whiffs it shooting at another vehicle. The Librarian then successfully casts Hammerhand as does Thawn. They then charge the Sternguard with the attached Librarian. Thawn force weapons the Blood Angels Librarian and the remaining GKT finish off the Sternguard and immobilize the other Sternguard rhino in melee.

3rd Turn - Blood Angels
Again the remainder of the Blood Angels army musters all shooting on my Librarian and the surviving GKT... the GKT are wiped while the Librarian escapes with his last wound. Note that Honorguard had opted to dismount this turn so that every veteran in their squad could shoot.

Seize Ground - 2 GK & 1 BA
Capture & Control - 1 GK & 1 BA
7 kp GK - 1 kp BA
2x landspeeder, 2x razorback, assault squad, Sternguard & Librarian - GKT

Note - At this point in the midgame it was apparent that the Blood Angels could not catch up in kill points as my army only has seven total. My opponent still had a few fast transports so it wasn't over yet by any stretch of the imagination.


4th Turn - Grey Knights
Ending the mid game and moving into the end game... Thawn decides to stay put still stone cold dead laying upon the blood soaked ground. The Librarian moves into position to heavy flamer the Honorguard with Warp Rift while squad Alpha remains still to target another razorback - they are still holding one of the Seize Ground markers as well. The Crusader moves fully into the ruin holding my C&C marker plus one of the Seize Ground markers. Squad Alpha proceeds to pop another razorback while the Librarian kills two of the Honorguard with Warp Rift plus the fiery template wrecks another rhino. The Librarian then finishes the rest of the Honorguard in melee.

4th Turn - Blood Angels
The immobilized rhino ferrying the remaining squad of Sternguard repairs itself. This is bad news for me as now the remaining Sternguard can move into a position to fire their combi-meltas the next turn (plus I made the mistake of not targeting it the next turn). Shooting sees my Librarian finally go down - he was definitely my MVP this game. The Blood Angels are running low on units and will be forced to attempt some late game fast movement shenanigans in order to attempt to contest my markers.

Seize Ground - 2 GK & 1 BA
Capture & Control - 1 GK & 1 BA
10 kp GK - 1 kp BA
2x landspeeder, 3x razorback, rhino, assault squad, Sternguard, Honorguard & Librarian - GKT

Turns 5 through 7 Synopsis
The game went the full distance and each of the three remaining turns passed by quickly as there wasn't much left on the table.

- Draigo first left the Crusader going solo to take out enemy units moving in to contest my objectives.

- Squad Alpha stayed put holding their Seize Ground marker and blasting away with their cannons.

- The remaining BA vehicles used their fast movement to speed their way into positions to contest my markers (as expected). 

- I made the mistake of disembarking squad Bravo - they took out one enemy vehicle then were blazed by the Sternguard - I was able to perform some funky complex wound allocations though since my opponent fortunately for me scored three wounds with the heavy flamer - one Paladin from squad Bravo managed to survive with one wound left then hid behind the Crusader the rest of the game holding one Seize Ground marker plus my C&C marker.

- Draigo nuked the Sternguard in close combat the following turn and I was able to pop the rest of my opponent's contesting vehicles.

My opponent was hoping the game would end on turn six to force a draw on objectives but I think I would have still beat him on victory points. So I ended up with the big win taking two of the objectives and drawing on C&C. To be honest i think that's about as good as my army could perform due to their low mobility. My losses were the Librarian, GKT and Thawn as the old wizened Justicar never got back up again - the lazy bastard. My opponent only had two assault squads and the two riflemen left at the end of the game.


Post Game Analysis
My original game plan was very well executed. My Librarian and GKT performed well keeping my opponent tied up through the first four turns while squad Alpha and the Crusader continued to punish the enemy with heavy shooting... 16 psycannons per turn is just brutal !!! Draigo kept the game locked up in my corner the last three turns taking down at least one vehicle plus a Librarian and the Sternguard. My one mental lapse was disembarking squad Bravo and placing them in harm's way of the Sternguard - if they had been wiped out to the man I would have lost on C&C and probably drawn on Seize Ground. Here is how I allocated the wounds against them:

7x melta wounds (M) & 3x heavy flamer wounds (F)

- Yes all seven combi-meltas hit... It was very ugly and quite painful to say the least...

Paladin #1 (pair of falchions) - M, M
Paladin #2 (pair of falchions) - M, M
Paladin #3 (pair of falchions) - M, M
Paladin #4 (daemonhammer) - M, F
Paladin #5 (sword) - F, F

Very close shave that one indeed... Heh. Note that if wasn't for the three wounds from the heavy flamer I would have probably lost the entire squad... Something to keep in mind when shooting at Paladins.   ; )

Xs & Os Draigowing Tactica - Free Wheeling

Here is the battle schematic I showed before with two slight modifications:

1) Wheeling
The terminator squad can wheel about to extend their firing range and launch assaults. My squad has a large number of halberds so it is almost always advantageous to charge for the +1A bonus. Any enemy units that come into the nexus have little chance of survival - think of free wheeling as a trap.

2) Redirect
Most often I like to keep Draigo and his retinue out of close combat as long as possible. By leaving a gap behind the landraider and the table edge they can safely redirect while still cut off completely from enemy LOS. This is important as you want to keep them safe from any enemy shooting that can insta gib them. If you can keep them outside of the landraider then they can lend the strength of their stormbolters which can be very helpful.

The Roman Legions used very simple tactics to crush their enemies over the course of several centuries. Draigowing is similar in that it is slow, compact and very powerful. There are not many other armies that can shift them.

Draigowing Design Theory - 5 Paladins vs. 10 Grey Knight Terminators

This article is intended for building a Draigowing army (all terminators) but it could certainly apply to other builds as well. I have been spending most of my time so far building my own army which has a high degree of customization so I should say up front I have very limited experience at the table - that said I have watched quite a few games and often watching other players (what to do and just as importantly what not to do - heh) is often how I learn the most in regards to how I want to play a particular army. I first saw the new Grey Knights in action in a large team game and the dramatic image of stalwart Grey Knights trodding across the battlefield, guns blazing, is primarily what drew me to the army. I have used Stormravens extensively in some of my Blood Angels armies and wanted to try something completely different for a nice change of pace.

2000 point Draigowing Grey Knight army list

Here is my list:

HQ
Lord Kaldor Draigos (275)
Librarian - Might of Titans, Sanctuary, Shrouding & Warp Rift; Warding Stave (200)

Troops
10x Paladin (psybolt ammo):
#01) daemonhammer & psycannon
#02) daemonhammer & psycannon
#03) force sword & psycannon
#04) halberd & psycannon
#05) pair of falchions
#06) pair of falchions
#07) pair of falchions
#08) warding stave
#09) warding stave
#10) halberd

10x Grey Knight Terminator (psybolt ammo)
Justicar Thawn, psycannon & halberd, psycannon & daemonhammer, daemonhammer, 5x halberd, force sword

Heavy Support
Landraider Crusader - psybolt ammo & extra armor

By taking a ten man squad of Paladins instead of two squads of five I've saved myself 20 points (psybolt ammo) and can basically take this option for free with the Grey Knight terminators. Normally I'll split the Paladins into combat squads such that they'll be mostly complex. If I want I can split them so that one squad has four psycannons! I tried to keep each Grey Knight terminator as unique as possible for wound allocation - they still have a good number of halberds for fighting units such as genestealers and wyches. I could have upgraded one Paladin to an apothecary but I feel that these points are better spent on Justicar Thawn since he has some pretty nifty rules such as always being able to return from beyond the grave (I Shall Not Yield).

Grey Knight terminator army composition

So I've had some time to contemplate my army list. I used to play Deathwing so I'm comfortable playing a terminator heavy army. Here is my abbreviated 1500 point list:

Lord Draigos
Librarian - Sanctuary, Shrouding, Might of Titan, Warp Rift, Quicksilver, warding stave

5x Paladin (completely complex) - 2x psycannon, psybolt ammo
5x Paladin (completely complex) - 2x psycannon, psybolt ammo

Landraider Crusader - extra armor, psybolt ammo




I am planning to add a full squad of 10 Grey Knight terminators with psybolt ammo and 2x psycannon - hopefully I can squeeze Justicar Thawn into the list as well to lead the GKT... it's going to be tight. Here is how Goatboy is currently running his GKT (which I plan to emulate):

GKT X 10, Thawn upgrade, Halberds X 6, Daemon Hammer X 2, Bro Banner, Psycannon X 2

You can view his complete list here which he came in 2nd place overall at The Alamo GT in San Antonio this past weekend:



I have been playing very mobile armies in 5th edition so I think this will be an interesting list to play. To me one advantage of playing Draigoswing is every unit (except of course for the HQ and heavy support) is everything is a troop choice so I can use the Grand Strategy for other things beside converting units into troop choices plus outflanking is not really needed since the terminators can deepstrike.

I'm planning to play test the 1500 point core this week so you can expect a battle report.