[Lord_Tyrion]

++ DAEMONHUNTERS TACTICS – FAITH AND DUTY ++

This is a tactics article I wrote for the Hammer of War Newsletter, but as the concept of the letter failed i am now posting it your your use. This is a great read for both allies and enemies of the Daemonhunters force as it defines some of the tactics both used to wield the force and its weaknesses.

NOTE: Due to its length (18144 charcters) it will be split into two posts!

1.1 - Inquisitor Lord
At 45pts, he is one of the cheapest HQ choices available for the army. He has a relatively high WS, BS, A and I. Although this and his cost (about half the cost of a Space Marine Commander) seem to suggest he will be an excellent combatant, remember he is still only T3, S3 and so is far easier to harm than a Marine. Now onto his real strength - his retinue. Not only is it compulsory to take at least 3 but they can augment the Inquisitor to levels of military prowess greater than even that of the Space Marine Commanders, and it is very fluffy! Also it is the retinue that enables a Lord to become a decent warrior - Familiars for example are a must. He also has excess to everything in the Armory, and I never take an Inquisitor Lord without the Emperor's Tarot and a Power Sword as a bare minimum. This makes him effective not only when in the fight but well before it, enabling his more heavily armored brothers to take the fight to the enemy alot sooner. Another combo this is commonly taken is a Psycannon and lots of Sages to maximize firepower. I personally don't take this combo (Not very fluffy and fairly expensive) but it could be useful to have yet another S:6 AP:4 weapon on the field when facing armies such as Daemon heavy Chaos or Warlock Heavy Eldar. He works best in a large retinue with Inquisitor only items (He is one of the only guys in the army that can take them, why not?) augmenting the rest of the army with his Special Rules and Psychic Powers. (I recommend Scourging to give him a real close range punch, however it is definately worth noting that a Psycannon is a far more reliable weapon - even for double the price.)

1.2 - Grey Knight Hero
Almost definitely the main HQ choice for the army, it is undoubtedly the most common and so it is vital how you equip him. I almost always take the Grand Master over the Brother Captain in games larger than 1000pts mainly for the Force Weapon and those vital extra Wounds - that is the Brother Captains greatest weakness. A Farseer could easily kill a Brother Captain in one Turn with Mind War; however the Grand Master can take much more punishment and dish it out twice as hard. The next advantage of the Grand Master is that he needs no new equipment to start tearing them apart - he comes armed to the teeth and with the simple addition of a Psyker power he becomes a fully tooled out Lord of Death. If you are really paranoid about keeping the heart of your army up and fighting then a great combo to use is the Icon of the Just and Bionics - although this increases his cost to an excessive 180pts it makes him one of the toughest HQ choices in the game! A word of caution however, remember that he is only one man and easily overcome by an Instant Kill weapon and though Mind War may take longer to work its magic (Assuming they pass the Aegis Rule) it will still have the Grand Master on his knees within a few of Turns. Also note that you could take a Brother Captain and two Terminators for the same cost - more numbers and more attacks. But the Grand Master would still be my choice, as not only do his stats usually exceed anything most enemies can throw at you but its also great fluff wise and looks awesome on the field!
Note: It may also be prudent to take a Psycannon on a Grand Master as opposed to his Terminator Retinue; his higher BS is worth the extra 5pts over the normal one!

1.3 - Inquisitor
(See Inquisitor Lord)
He is very similar the Inquisitor Lord, albeit much cheaper and has a slightly worse save. It may be a good idea just to take him for his access to extra Rules, Powers and Equipment and attach him to a Unit. The fact he does not have to take a Retinue makes him far more flexible, and with the right equipment he can become quite an effective character killer. Also he gives you access to lots of goodies like Assassins and Daemonhosts, all for a mere 20pts+. As with the Lord if you are looking for a Psychic Power then Scourging would be my first call, it is arguably the most offensive Power available.

1.4 - Daemonhosts
Unpredictable creatures at the best of times, these can be as much of a pain in the rear to you as your enemy. Also they restrict the player to no Grey Knights, and use up a valuable Elites slot. For these reasons they are commonly overlooked, but if you have the guts to take one then here are a few words of wisdom to keep them alive and (Possibly more importantly) thrashing the enemy and not you. Firstly keep them away from the rest of your forces - Terrify and Bloodboil can real spoil your day in the wrong circumstances. Use him to best advantage by keeping him on his own and roughly 24" away from your enemy at any given time. All it takes is a roll of a 5 and it instantly becomes a killing machine, Moving 12" and Assaulting 12" and getting 2-7 S:6 attacks! This works brilliantly when using a squad of 3 Daemonhosts, for less than a Land Raider Crusader you can get between 6-21 S:6 attacks at I:4, easily enough to tear apart a full squad of Space Marines. In my opinion they are not worth the loss of the Grey Knights, but having never played with them personally my knowledge is rather limited. Please contact me if you wish to enlighten me on the subject!

1.5 - Grey Knight Terminators
The lords of the Terminators, and some of the most excellent models Games Workshop has ever produced to match. They have great stats and the loss of Power Fists puts them head and shoulder above the Space Marine Terminators - they get to keep their hefty I:4 and still dish out the death to anyone that comes close. They work brilliantly as either a tough bodyguard unit or a single entity, and with a Psycannon they can be quite deadly at ranged too. Their extra cost over the normal Terminators is easily offset by their significant advantages, and they have one thing that normal Terminators can take - Holocaust. This can cause massive damage to enemies with poor toughness and can easily turn the tide of the fight if the Grey Knights are badly outnumbered. It is worth noting that they can take Thunderhammers - one or two per Unit make them into a rather effective Tank Hunting and Monstrous Creature killing force.

1.6 - Assassins
These are the elite Units of death among the Daemonhunters, each one a Hero in his or her own right. They are fast, deadly and each specializes in the craft of death. The cheapest and arguably most versatile have to be the Death Cult assassins, they are the one of the most effective HQ hunting Units in existence and their high Initiative and Power Weapons make them deadly to even Space Marine and Necron HQ Units. All of the Assassins work well against small, elite enemy units and so should avoid large enemy Units (Such as Termagaunts) at all costs as they are actually quite fragile without support. Their I:5 makes them hard hitting, but without a 3+ Sv there is only a 50/50 chance they will make the save. Always think - Could i get something more useful for my army for the same cost? In this case they answer is generally yes (A small unit of Stormtroopers is tough and can hold Objectives for the same cost or even cheaper) however they look awesome and against the right foe they can outstrip even Grey Knight Hero's in the body count.

1.7 - Grey Knights
These are the backbone of a Pure Grey Knight army, and serve as the ultimate support unit for the standard Daemonhunter force. They are killing machines in Close Combat, and T:3 opponents (Such as the Eldar) are at constant risk of being Instant Killed by their high Strength. They have excellent ranged firepower as well, and as the Codex "Their ranged and close combat abilities far outstrip those of their Brother Space Marines". To stay cost efficient I recommend Units of 8 armed with 2 Psycannons. This creates a tough firebase Unit for less than 300pts that can easily go toe to toe with some of the best enemy Units, even Close Combat specialists. Justicars are compulsory, and though some see this as a pain I see this as a blessing. He comes armed with a Power Weapon, 2 Attacks and higher Ld than the standard Grey Knight. This enables him to carve up those Power Armored units so much more easily, and his Ld can keep those Fearless Grey Knights in the fight just that little bit longer. Grey Knights are also blessed with the Shrouding and Aegis Special Rules, making them incredibly resilient to both enemy firepower and Psychic Powers, and with his high Ld combined its very tough for powers such as Mind War to take him out. Taking a Psycannon is recommended 9 times out of 10 for Grey Knights as it can be both Assault and Heavy, however an Incinerator can be useful when facing hordes of enemies or when on a tight Points budget. Also always take Grey Knights as Fast Attack once the Troops have been filled - it makes them so much more versatile and far more acceptable to give Incinerators - they will be much closer to the enemy much sooner.