Grey Knight Book Review (OHEMGEE SPOILERZ!)

So after waiting patiently, I got my hands on my very own copy of the Grey Knight book, not the play test version but the real thing. Most of it didn't change since the playtest version, although there were a few nice nerfs. Since there is a lot to talk about, I will try to break this down into Force Org sections and then do a "big picture" wrap up.


HQ
Grand Master-Your standard fighter/leader available to all MEQ armies. However, the GM has a lot more flexibility than your typical Force Commander. While they're very expensive for a T4 fighter with no EW, you can load them out with very nice wargear. Psychotroke Grenades are an automatic grab and probably one of the most groan worthy inclusions in the book. These grenades basically render an enemy unit useless for one assault phase, granting you auto-hits, taking attacks from them or making the unit fight itself. They also have a power that gives -1 or +1 to Reserves and can stack, which I think is very tactical and cool. On top of all that you have the ability to give d3 units Scouts, re-roll 1's to wound, Counter-Attack or score as Troops. Sadly the score as Troops is awfully worded, I assume it just lets Elites/Fast Attack hold Objectives, not MCs or vehicles.

Brother Captain-Just a cheaper GM with less options and no force multiplication. I don't see why anyone would use a Captain, the point cost is so close it seems dumb. Most likely to be a useless unit for a competitive list.

Brotherhood Champion-This guy is interesting. Although he has next to no options, he is the Chaplain of Grey Knights, buffing his friends in CC. Besides being able to adapt to the combat situation by spamming attacks, using specialized attacks on ICs and MCs or playing survival, he can take an enemy model with him after he dies. When the model is removed, he makes one last attack. If it hits, the target dies. While I think they're looking up at Librarians and GMs for the HQ slot, Champions are great counters for Deathstars or annoying Monsters.

Librarian-These guys are an auto include. Before anything else, you really need to have a Psychic Hood if one is available and you want to compete, Psychic Powers are coming in every book now. Beyond that, the Libby has a page full of powers and he can take any/all of them for 5pts each. 5 pts! The Libby is a great force multiplier, which is important in an elite army. He can give additional Str and d6 Armor Pen, Stealth, summon units to him, make his buddies I10 and of course lay down an Init Test or die flamer template. So glad GW thinks those are good for everyone to have. :disdain:


Elites
Techmarine-Depending on the composition, Techmarines can be a bargain buy. Besides Bolstering (way more important for GKs to have cover than your typical MEQs), they have a Psychic Power that allows them to re-roll their Mr. Fixit ability. Since GKs can and will do Razorspam, not a bad use of the slot.

Purifiers-Somewhat a controversial unit and another almost auto include. Besides being nice and shooty (2 special weapons per 5) they can inflict a wound to every model in assault with them on a 4+ (rolling individually). All this for only 4 points more than a GK and cheaper weapon upgrades! Luckily at the end of the day they're just MEQs so I'm avoiding alarm for now, but 3 units with max guns and Combat Squadded is six, 5 man units with 2 Psycannons each for 780pts. Dakka dakka.

Venerable Dreadnoughts-Nothing to see here except the Reinforced Aegis rule and a better than average Riflemen build. Psybolt Ammo makes ACs S8, making Riflemen a great build for GK Dreads, especially for getting rid of that all beloved AV10-12. Reinforced Aegis grants a 12" bubble around the Dread, inflicting -4 LD to all Psykers targeting anyone inside it. Sadly they're coming in at ~200pts and are still AV12, I'm sticking with Purifiers and Paladins for my points.

Paladins-OHFUCKINGHELLTWOWOUNDTERMIES! Settle down. While Paladins can do their best Nob Biker impression via allocation, combat deadliness and even a banner, they're not for every list. With no Storm Shield or even 4++ save (against shooting) ability, Paladins require investing in a Storm Raven or hugging cover like no other. The unit is also EXTREMELY expensive, coming in hot at 55pts naked per two wound warrior. In a go go assault list, they can be made into a Deathstar but otherwise they're a points sink.

Assassins-I'll lump all of these together because two are awful. Culexus is at best a very short ranged S5 AP1 platform. Eversor is an overpriced, underpowered melee fighter running around alone. Callidus has some uses, being able to pop out of a unit (inflicting d6 S4 AP2 hits on his "former unit) but cannot assault. If she could, that would be a talented anti-Dev choice, however she still has the Neural Shredder. The Vindicare is where it's at, having discovered an unlimited supply of special bullets. Being able to strip an Invuln off a model for the rest of the game is very powerful, as is 4d6 Armor Pen. A very flexible choice that works against Mech and non-Mech.

Henchmen-This unit should be reworded as "Apes, Psykers and Veterans". The combat oriented Henchmen leave something to be desired, although spamming Death Cult Assassins could be fun. However Apes are Oblits on the cheap and buff their unit with a random result (pray for Rending or +12" range). Veterans are....Veterans, Plasma and Melta please. 8 Psykers pushes out a S10 AP1 Ordnance Template from 36". They can be bundled together......that is all. Chimeras are fully in play as well.


Troops
Terminators-While it's nice to have Termies as Troops, it's not nice to have 5++ save Termies period. While they upgrade to 4++ in CC, they're forced to rely on cover and Shrouding or Bolster to stay alive. You can also only have 1 Warding Stave (2++ in CC) per unit. So at the end of the day they're as good as your everyday Termies in CC but against shooting, they come up wanting. Unless the overall army is assault based, I would leave them home as a unit.

Strike Squad-One of the better Troops in the game. For 5pts more than a Marine you get a better gun, a Force Weapon, Psychic Powers, Deep Strike, Preferred Enemy Demons, -1 LD to Psykers aiming at you and tons of customization. To me this is the most eye brow raising unit in the book as they're so far and away better than other Marines. You can grab one special weapon per 5 models, any model can swap their CCW for an upgrade and for 20pts the whole unit gets S5 Storm Bolters. This means Grey Knights will be a very Troop oriented army and to me kind of ruins the supposed feel of eliteness. If built to avoid point sinks, a Grey Knight army will have 1-2 less units than another MEQ but with much more power. I'm interested to see how that plays out.

Razorbacks/Rhinos-These come in at 5 more points than everyone else's, but get a Psychic Power that lets them ignore Shaken and Stunned. This contributes to a more Troop centric army in my opinion as the onyl way to really keep a transport down is to destroy it, or do meaningful damage.


Fast Attack
Storm Raven-Nothing to see here except they can remove Shaken and Stunned. They look to have a similar role as in Blood Angels, ferrying a very elite combat unit into battle or being left at home. I am a bit curious as to why it's in a different slot for Grey Knights, most likely to sell more models since Heavy Support has new models and good choices.

Interceptor Squad-Strike Squads with Jump Packs, literally. They have no transport option so you're stuck with the Jump Packs or a Storm Raven, however they do have some fun tricks. Once per game they can move 30", but not assault after. Many have speculated if you can use the 30" move during Scouts, but it looks like that's a no. FAQ incoming.


Heavy Support
Land Raiders-Nothing to see here beyond removing Shaken/Stunned and being able to buff the Bolters or AC to one strength higher. A very solid choice for Grey Knights for fire support and keeping those MEQs alive, but not without competition.

Purgation Squad-Grey Knight Devastators, for 180pts you get 5 bodies, 4 Psycannons. Their intriguing ability is being able to shoot without LoS (as a Psychic Power). This works much the same as Hive Guard, but the target always gets a 4+ cover. On the right table this could be quite annoying to an opponent, but on the wrong table....you have a 5 man Marine unit that is asking to die. Of course, you always have the option of brining your own terrain in vehicle form.

Dreadnought-Now were talking. Because of Psybolt Ammo, Autocannons go up to S8 and a Dread can have two Twin-Linked ones. Add on the ability to remove Shaken/Stunned and a bubble of Psychic protection, the Riflemen has never been a better build. Expect to see these in force.

Nemesis Dreadknight-Insert Avatar/Matrix/Gundam joke here. In all seriousness, these are a good buy for an assault army. Having a variety of nice CCWs (re-roll to hit and wound!) and grab some powerful guns (S7 AP4 Rending pie plate!) these are a very versatile MC. For my money/points I'd take Dreadnoughts but a Dreadknight can go toe to toe with most anything and come out on top, which is useful for an that wishes you'd forget they're just MEQs.


So, big picture. Grey Knights will most likely be a shooting army in their "competitive" forms. While they can do assault very well with a lot of flexibility and hard hitting units, their shooting is just so much better. Razorspam is mean as hell for this Codex, Razorbacks pushing out S6 shots with HBs and multiple Psycannons for backup. A Techmarine combining Bolster with Shrouding from a Librarian grants a 2+ cover save, that is far from a joke. If you say "That's only one piece of terrain" go see how many 5 man squads you can fit in your average area terrain when clumping up is not an issue.

However, I think it's important to remember this is an army of glorified MEQs. They have no defense when having to make a lot of armor saves, there is no FNP, armor save re-rolls etc. Against Horde builds they die like any other MEQ and without cover they will fall in droves to low AP weapons. Their vehicles blow up as easily as anyone else's and they're as fast or slow as any MEQ force.

Their main weakness is their utter reliance on Psychic Powers. This army will be making multiple Psychic Tests a turn, sometimes on both player turns! A Hood, RoWard, etc. can bite them in the ass at the worst possible time. A Purgation squad might lose a turn of Shooting, a unit might lose Stealth, the power to get extra Armor Penetration dice could fail against a Walker. That is how Grey Knights will truly effect the game, by demanding Psychic Defense for any army that can take it.

Overall, I think GW did another solid Codex. Grey Knights will be a top Tier book but not with an iron fist. They have a lot of ways to hurt Space Wolves, IG and Blood Angels and those armies have a lot of ways to hurt Grey Knights. Sadly armies that have no Psychic Defense will, for the most part, be hurt badly by Grey Knights. More reason to hope GW keeps redoing the old books who need it the most.