Goatboy – Bringing the Red Shirts for the Win!
Goatboy here again chatting about the Grey Knights. Almost everyone should be getting books this week so we all can marvel at the sheer amount of “grey metal” we see in the pretty pictures in the book. What I want to talk about today is your own personal helpers as “superheroes” of the universe – the Henchmen or Sidekicks as I like to call them.
So we have all heard how the henchmen that get activated by an Inquisitor are a new option in the book. I am sure that since you are reading this you know how one lets you take Henchmen as a troop choice as well. This is an interesting option as it really opens up a lot of different builds in which you can help your super heroes on the table top.
Grey Knights don’t have land speeders, attack bikes, or massive options per unit for anti-vehicle/personal/etc within their units. This is an interesting thing as all the marine options have these, and you would think with the futuristic technology the Grey Knights would have some kind of phase speeders, spike bikes, or crazy invisible butt ninjas. Instead they get Henchmen. I want to chat about some builds that might be worth while to add to your army.
The big thing I find with a lot of the henchmen builds is that a lot of people are throwing out utility and just building a small unit designed to house a tank (razorback). I don’t think this is where the henchmen’s strength lies as the army is low on targets and range so it is pretty easy to figure out what needs to die when. I know you can reserve them and hope for the best – but any army can spend a small fraction of its attention to the unit and wipe them off the table top. So I won’t be looking at the bare minimum of the Henchmen, but instead looking at stuff that creates either multi-utility or some kind of offensive option the Grey Knights need.
Henchmen # 1 – The Offensive Option
Henchmen – Warrior Acolyte X 2, Meltagun, Rogue Psyker X 7, Rhino = 138pts
So basically you can drive 6 – shoot out 2 Meltaguns if needed or throw out a pie plate that is str 10 and ap 1. This gives you a lot of offensive utility as needed and helps give the Grey Knights the AP 1 weapons they need. I like the Rhino over the Chimera as it can ignore shaken/stunned results.
Henchmen # 2 – Swiss Knife of Assault Pt 1
Henchmen – Death Cult Assassin X 5, Warrior Acolyte X 3, Meltagun X 3, Mystic, Rhino = 167pts
Here you have a good assault option that can surprise people as needed. The Meltaguns are there so you can pop a vehicle if need be and the lone Mystic is there to help teleport options as this unit is designed to drive into the enemy.
Henchmen # 3 – Brute Force Assault
Henchmen – Arco-Flagellant X 6, Razorback, Psybolt – 140pts
This is a surprise unit that is designed to jump out, and throw a crap ton of wounds on a unit. It can throw down a lot of wounds as needed, and with their FNP they can survive a bit and hopefully dish out 30 WS 5, Str 5 attacks. The Razorback is built to not be a full threat and hopefully get left alone as the other options are much scarier on the table top.
Henchmen # 4 – Security Detail
Henchmen – Crusader X 3, Rogue Psyker X 6, Rhino – 145pts
Here is where you can hide your Inquisitor. I went with the Rhino because we need the ability to ignore Shaken/Stunned so you can keep firing your mind blast. The Inquisitor sits in the back and just keeps everything Kosher as they protect the back end of your army. This unit becomes a cheap Leman Russ that hopefully can support your army.
Henchmen # 5 – Monkey Attack
Henchmen – Jokaero X 2, Warrior Acolyte X 3, Meltagun X 3, Rhino – 152pts
This is just my Monkey unit. Their design is to hopefully utilize their ability to make cool things and get a chance to shoot a lascannon from their ring fingers.
I went with Rhinos as the ability to get rid of Shaken/Stunned results really ups the usability of these units. I think that Henchmen are better when they are used as force multipliers instead of the primary force of the army. Right now I am looking at a core unit of 30 Grey Knights with the Henchmen designed as support elements.
What kind of Henchmen builds are you guys looking at? Are you finding some neat options?
