Tactica Daemon Hunters

Tactica Daemon Hunters: Army List
by By Alexander McLaren

Troops Choices:
Inquisition Storm Troops are your cheap and reliable human troops. They're not as funky or as freaky as the weirdoes you find in the elite section but have some very solid uses even in marine and IG armies. With BS4 and 2 special weapons they can make a reliable little firebase or harrier unit. They can ride in either cheap Rhinos or use better-armed Chimeras. Even better the sergeant can take almost any wargear item on the list (no psycannon alas). A squad in a transport with a teleport homer can call down your Grey Knight Teleport Teams or Terminators (don't forget to get out the turn before!). Plus they count as troops, which can be important for some tournaments. They have all the disadvantages of T3 4+ save troops but for 10 points you're getting a great buy. However remember that the hellgun is next to useless. A lasgun that takes away your opponent's 5+ save is not much better than your standard issue IG flashlight. And, frankly, if your battle plan relies on taking away 5+ saves then you need a new battle plan. IST squads are there to deliver the special weapons or the sergeant, the other guys are just there to keep you a minimum squad size, screen other units or to soak up wounds.

Recommendation: Personally I like the Drive By Shooters. 5 ISTs, 2 flamers or meltas in a Rhino. Simple, cheap (118 or 128 points) and does the job. Unlike Chimeras, you can shoot 2 weapons out of a Rhino hatch. Just keep driving 12" and either flame or melt your targets without ever leaving the safety of your tank. These squads will usually die sooner or later but they should do their job. In an IG army they're much better than an armored fist squad for projecting force.

A more expensive variant is a little squad I like to call Johnny Thunder. 7-10 Inquisition Storm Troopers with 2 flamers or meltas in a rhino. And a Veteran sergeant with a thunder hammer. At about 185-200 points this is a bit costlier but can be a nasty surprise to the opponent who thinks they are 'just guardsmen'. Since the thunder hammer is on a squad member rather than an independent character he cannot be targeted under the new assault rules. Your opponent has to kill the other guys before Johnny Thunder!

A simple shooting squad, 2 plasma guns and a multilaser/heavy bolter chimera is also a viable choice. Just remember the Chimera is still BS3.

Conclusion: A solid choice that adds to allied forces and could easily make up the backbone of your army.

Grey Knights are 25 point supermarines with WS5 S6 weapons, storm bolters a whole page of special rules, psycannons and incinerators. But they have no transports, lascannon, missile launchers or plasma. Their S6 attacks combined with WS5 make them reliable but not overwhelming close combat opponents. They have a 10/54 (2/3 x 5/6 x 1/3) or 18% chance of killing a marine compared to an 8% chance for a normal marine (obviously this is better against lightly armored foes). But the 10 point price hike comes with almost no increased survivability (remember my note about Hard Targets attracting disproportionate firepower).

Also remember the Justicar cannot buy weapons, only wargear (the rule saying this is cleverly placed on the wargear page rather than the Justicar listing). Ignore the part of the FAQ with the question 'Are Psycannons legal for Justicars/Grey Knight Heroes?'. The answer they give is 'Yes indeed (see the Terminology note on page 20).' But page 20 just shows that GK Heroes and Justicars are in fact GKs. Nothing there to indicate the restriction on the wargear page is invalid. So probably the FAQ is just in error, they only meant GK Heroes and not Justicars. Of course, strictly speaking, you could buy artificer armor for your Justicar and then a psycannon...

Recommendations: Without a transport or deep strike option they are not a very viable assault unit. They're good in a fight but not good enough to justify buying a Land Raider maybe you could try marching them behind cheap screeners. But with 2 psycannons and storm bolters you should keep them in back for counterassault. Remember they are only as durable as regular Marines, anything that kills normal marines (star cannon, choppas, invisible powerfists) will make a mess of them too. Keep them screened and keep them away from fights they cannot win.

Conclusion: Not really worthwhile unless you're running out of slots and really want to use them. Go with the Teleport Team instead.