40K: Top 5 Disappointing Characters
You’ve read their lore and think they sound fantastic, but their rules just don’t reflect that at all. Here’s our list of biggest disappointing characters.
Reading the lore and background of the Grimdark can be genuinely inspiring. Tales of great heroes and dastardly villains fighting on distant worlds in massive conflicts – it’s the stuff that we want to recreate on the tabletop! Unfortunately, not all characters live up to their lore. It’s the Movie Marine Syndrome, and these characters suffer from a severe case of it.
Commander Farsight
Farsight is a decidedly close-combat oriented character in an army that is built around having some scary static-gunlines. His Dawn Blade is pretty deadly as well as it allows him to attack at strength 8, AP -4 and D3 damage. Unfortunately he’s only got four attacks. Can he charge into a marine unit and probably get four kills – absolutely. But can he plow through an entire unit of Ork Boyz? Or take on a knight? Not by himself – and that’s part of the problem. This is T’au we’re talking about. Who’s making the charge into combat with him?
Imotekh The Stormlord
Here’s a great example – the Stormlord has a pretty cool background. He’s a noted strategist and leader of the Necrons. However, for a guy called the Stormlord, he’s only got one shot at doing anything cool. Lord of the Storm is his crucial ability, and it allows him to essentially call down a lightning strike and cause 2-6 mortal wounds on a target unit and has a chance to cause D3 wounds to other units within 6″ of the target on a 6+. It’s kind of like a specialty smite. Unfortunately, it’s only once per game.
Imotekh isn’t that impressive in combat or shooting either. But he is tough! And he can boost other Necron Infantry around him – so he’s got that going for him. But his paper rules just don’t match his background. He’s just not as epic as he was made out to be. Kind of like meeting a movie star and realizing they are way shorter than you thought they’d be in real life.
Commander Dante
Not only does Dante’s model leave a lot to be desired (it’s just dated is all), his rule isn’t that impressive either. He’s supposed to be one of the oldest living Space Marines from the “modern” era and yet, he’s just a Jump Pack Captain with a fancy mask, ax, and pistol. He’s supposed to be the Chapter Master of the freaking Blood Angels – and he’s only got Leadership 10 (not that Leadership matters). He does pack a punch with six strength six attacks. Plus he can re-roll hits and wounds with it in close combat. And as a Blood Angel, he’s got a good shot at getting into combat. But he routinely gets out-shined by Blood Angel Smash Captains.
I’m surprised he doesn’t add some Command Points or do something else besides “I can kill stuff pretty good” – he needs a rule that reflects his multiple lifetimes worth of combat experience. He’s Dante – not some Captain with a fancy mask, ax and pistol!
Old One Eye
Old One Eye is okay. But that’s the problem – he should be better than just “okay.” This is a carnifex that spearheaded a Tyranid Assault, swatting aside Leman Russ Battle Tanks “as if they were naught but bothersome insects.” Old One Eye is “The Alpha Carnifex” and should reflect that with his rules. Alpha Leader is nice, and so is his Immortal Battering Ram. However, those only work if he can make it combat. With a Toughness of 7 and 9 Wounds, he’s a big target that is just as easy to pick-off as any other carnifex. Sure, he’s got a Regen ability, but why doesn’t he have a way to shrug-off wounds? Why not a “Feel No Pain” ability? And if he spearheads assaults, why doesn’t he have some form of Synapse? C’mon GW – make OOE an HQ option that makes folks shudder!
Castellan Crowe
Castellan Crowe has had novels written about his exploits. I’m not going to get into all of that. But what you need to know is that he’s the warden of a cursed blade. For some reason, he’s got to wield the blade, but not use it. Something about getting corrupted by its power, blah blah blah. I get it. At the same time, why don’t you just sheath the stupid thing and use a Force Weapon like everyone else?! Look at this stat line:
Yeah – he “attacks” with the blade but it’s only strength 4 with no AP and one damage. He can re-roll his failed hits and wounds, and generate more attacks…but seriously, it’s strength 4 with no AP and they each do one damage. I know he’s pure of heart and is a paragon of close-combat…but just use a different weapon, man! You’re basically punching people to death! Can’t we get him a power knife or something with AP -1 or -2?
So who else would you add to this list? What Characters don’t match-up to their lore? Let us know your picks in the comments!
