40K: Shadowspear Daemonkin Faction Focus
Games Workshop is taking tour of the Daemonkin faction. Time to answer some of those burning questions about the force of Chaos!
The Shadowspear box is on the horizon (as well as the Warmaster) and GW is taking us through some of rules of the units in the box. Time to find out what these Daemonkin are all about!
Chaos Marines are up first. They are getting some FANTASTIC new models. Unfortunately their rules aren’t getting any major overhauls. According to GW:
Other than an incredible overhaul of the miniatures, these guys remain largely as you remember them. Chaos Space Marines are the reliable backbone of the Traitor Legions and Daemonkin alike – after all, the Daemonkin units are themselves Chaos Space Marines first and foremost, so can freely join their Detachments.
While they might be the “reliable backbone of the Traitor Legions” in the lore, Cultists have pretty much taken their role. Sorry CSM players. If you’re NOT trying to build dirt cheap troop choices and you want a solid utility unit then DO have some potential. Plus they are pretty darn cool looking. Maybe some of the other units coming might help them punch above their weight class.
Obliterators
The new Obliterator models have been hitting that Bane Juice in the Eye of Terror and are back with a whole new look. Ready to Pump-you-up and full of holes, these new brutes got some nice boosts as well.
This new bulk comes with an extra Wound and an additional point of Toughness, and they can now be deployed on their own and in pairs instead of only in threes, giving them some additional tactical flexibility. That’s not even all, as their formidable fleshmetal guns are now Assault 6, and they are now armed with a nasty melee weapon in their crushing fists.
They are still a bit random but with Assault 6, it’s kind of worth it to give them a go! On top of that, they can actually hit hard in the Fight Phase, so that’s a plus. You still don’t want to drop them in unsupported though.
Greater Possessed
These crazy looking new models fulfill an interesting combat roll. Not only are they really tough Stat-wise, they also can boost the damage of other Daemon units:
And you know who could use a boost to their strength?
Venomcrawlers
The Venomcrawler has a weird profile but what takes the cake for me is the fact that it’s weapon is based on it’s strength:
It’s base strength of 6 would get bumped up and then the Excruciator Cannon’s +2 would put you at Strength 9. It won’t solo kill a Knight or anything, but it will certainly put a damper on larger targets if you happen to run a few of these in your army. Plus the Venomcrawler does aid in the Daemonic Rituals for your Master of Possession:
Master of Possession
The Master of Possession is kind of neat. I dig the model for sure! He also makes a very unique Support Character. He can sling two Psychic Powers a turn – that’s a plus! The MoP can also disrupt enemy Psykers as well:
On top of having a typical Sorcerer’s Statline, he’s also got a 5+ invulnerable save. He’s also got access to some interesting powers, too:
Possession makes him a real threat in the combat phase and he’s got the ability to create some new units – Spawn and Greater Possessed! That could be fun. Additionally, he’s got access to Infernal Power as yet another way to boost Daemon units:
Is this enough to make the MoP the MVP? Not sure yet – it’s going to depend on the rest of his power pool and his overall points cost. I seriously doubt that the competitive crowd is going to take him in their lists for the ability to summon in units. But for the rest of us, he makes a cool Warlord option – especially with these new traits:
Warlord Traits
Devourer of Magic is a very Khornate power if you ask me. Not only can you Deny an additional power, you get a wound back each time you do! I know that Khorne doesn’t like Pskyers, but I’m sure even he would approve of this trait.
Warp Lord allows you to re-roll 1s when taking your Psychic tests! Avoid Perils all day long with this one.
That’s all from GW for now. Those new Psychic Powers and Warlord traits are just the tip of the Chaos Daemonkin Iceberg. Get ready for more from Shadowspear!
