[Collaboration] Codex: Grey Knights Review: HQ, Part Two

So lets get this party started!



Named Inquisitor's

Coteaz

Marcus: With Coteaz, Henchmen are now troops, and you can have as many as you want, within the FOC limits and he's only 100 points. Really, 'nuff said. That's all you need to know about this guy.

Nah, there's more

100 points is cheap for what you get. He has an average statline including a 2+ save. He's a level 2 psyker with the staples of Hammerhand and Sactuary, has weak range attacks but will do good in close combat if he lives long enough for the hammer to hit home. He also has a couple of nice abilities that let you re-roll seize the initiative dice, and shoot at anything that
deepstrikes withing 12".

If you've ever played IG and want to reuse some of those bodies for GK, or you just want to put out a lot of bodies and the chance for meltas and lascannons, Coteaz is the choice for you.

Personally, I'll be highly likely to use him, I already have a henchmen squad built. But I'll be
making my own model, I'm really not that keen on the GW offering.

Martin: Marcus is right; at 100 points, for what you get, you can't really complain. MC Daemon Hammer, and Hammerhand; a helpful boon to Henchmen. I'd pile him into a Chimera, along with a bunch of Crusaders, a few Banishers with Eviscerators, and a Death Cult Assassin. Thanks to Hammerhand, you're looking at a rather meaty - albeit fragile - hitty unit.

Inquisitor Karamazov

Marcus: The Inquisitor who brought his own easy chair. I wonder if it has a built in drinks cooler?

He's a reasonable choice, but reasonable when there are excellent choices. He'll only get used for fluffiness, or because someone already has the model. He has a good statline, and with the Rad grenades could put some heat out in close combat. The multimelta is nice to have around, and if he is parked at the back of the battle field, orbital strike will be
entertaining. Ability wise, being able to orbital strike your own troops is a little odd and unlikely to be used. The morale help could be nice though, particularly with henchmen running around.

All that said though, 200 points. As decent as he is, he's a bit overpriced.

Martin: Have you seen his high chair? He's just asking to have his head blown off by a sniper. Agree with everything above; nothing to add.

Inquisitor Valeria

Marcus: The inquisitor with all the accessories.

Best pistol in the game? On paper, perhaps, but in the reality of the game... no, not really. Sure, you may blow up a land raider, but it's a 12" range, one shot attack. Chances are you'll not get to use it, and it's her only range attack aside from a laspistol. Two extra power weapon close combat attacks for 5 total, except 2 of them may be against her. Well that's
pretty lame too. At least your opponent has to reroll saves. She has another one
shot as well in the form of a crystal maze. You may get lucky and eat something tough with it. If not that tough will be putting lots of use to her 4++ save as even a strength 6 attack will ID her.

So she is 40 points more than Coatez and brings nothing but a couple of one shot gimmicks. The most unusual thing will be if anyone ever uses her.

Martin: I'm not so quick to writer her off. The Dagger of Midnight, and the Hyperstone Maze, are both pretty neat. "Wounds test, or GTFO, [Insert Enemy Char/MC]!". The Runes of Destiny also put some pressure on said Characters and/or MCs. I'd run her with a nice, fluffy, mixed retinue; DC Assassin, Daemonhost, Crusader, Banisher with Eviscerator. Neat, mixed unit that can dish out some hurt. And there's some serious modelling and painting potential to be had.

Generic Inquisitors

All three start with the same stat line and some of the same basic options. One of the more
important options is to become a level 1 psyker. You only get one ability though, hammerhand for +1S for the unit the inquisitor is with and psychic communion for a stackable +1/-1 to your reserve rolls. 30 points and you get to pick one of those two, so not really a cheap option. The other thing all three get is up to 3 skull probes at 3 points each. Skull probes will really mess with armies who like scout and infiltrate as they block that nicely. Want those enemy scouts to stay out that nice cover? Stick a skull probe in it. Worried about those units scouting forward for some 1st turn assault? Block with a skull probe. Add to that the 1d6 deep strike scatter if you drop near one and they are really great. Take all you can, as 15 points of probes can really blunt a lot of game plans.

Ordo Malleus Inquisitors

Marcus: The second best choice in the inquisitor lineup. Amazingly cheap off the shelf and with loads of good options. You know you wanted a daemon blade as soon as you saw it back in the equipment section.

The best part of this choice is all the options. Daemon blade in one hand, hell rifle in the other, he may as well have a sign saying "I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass". Carapace armor to power armor is worth the points, and as noted, the skull probes are a must buy. The option to get terminator armor, a storm bolter and daemon hammer for 40 points is also really nice.

Not all the options are good though. Psybolts aren't worth it for a single unit, brain mines seem a bit unreliable for 10 points. The points for becoming a psyker are high too considering you only get one power out of hammerhand of psychic communion and you drop your demon hammer for a force sword if you had teminator armor. The points are worth it if you want to use a lot of reserves, or to support close combat henchmen. Too expensive otherwise.

Martin: Daemon Blade... granted, it's dripping with awesomesauce. Power Armour and Skull Probes are staples here. As stated, the Psyker Upgrade can be handy; Hammerhand is a nice boost to Henchmen geared up for assault.

Ordo Hereticus Inquisitors

Marcus: All three non-character inquisitors start with the same set up so it's the options that differentiate them. Our Hereticus inquisitor doesn't have many options and the most significant ones are anti psyker. Seeing is there really aren't many psykers out there that's not really that great. Some of the options are pretty terrible as well. 25 points so you can be BS10 against units with psykers in them? No thanks.

Still, maybe if you are playing someone else who is using the GK codex this may give you some use. Otherwise, just feel sorry for the folks who had to playtest an option nobody will ever take.

Martin: Agreed. He's just not worthwhile, compared to the others.

Ordo Xenos Inquisitors

Marcus: Things get interesting again here. For one, conversion beamers for some long range pain that the GK list generally lacks. Otherwise, we have a lot of options to make our inquisitor a real killer in close combat. Rad and Psycotroke grenade, poisoned weapons, digital weapons. This lets you run this guy one of two ways, close combat boost for the henchmen squad they'll bring, or a 70 point artillery unit with the beamer and you can make the henchmen a banana box with some Jockeys in a Chimera. Bonus points if you actually paint bananas on the side. While I prefer the Malleus option for being a bit tougher, his Xenos friend is pretty interesting too.

Martin: Indeed. Conversion Beamer... well, it's for shits and giggles, really. The Psychotroke Grenades are the highlight. Basically, you waft the enemies with this strange Joker style gas stuff, and their abilities in assault are dramatically weakened in a random way. They can start bashing each others' skulls in, all be rendered slow by disorientation, and hit at Initiative 1, or be nerfed to Leadership 2; "Run, Forest, Run!".

So basically

I think we'll see people either going purist with knights, a Librarian and Grand Master, or one of the characters. Or, we'll have Coteaz, and a Malleus or Xenos inquisitor with some knights for muscle. I'll be going for the second option as it means I already have a bunch of miniatures I can use. And I'll have to get me some monkeys sooner or later.

Marcus and Martin