Inviting a mon-keigh assassin

The model does have it - on a successful hit roll. I can provide screen grabs if that helps

Massaen wrote:

The model does have it - on a successful hit roll. I can provide screen grabs if that helps

He really doesn't.

UNIT TYPE:
Infantry (Character)
UNIT COMPOSITION:
1 Vindicare Assassin
WARGEAR:
See Warhammer 40,000: The Rules for the following wargear:
• Blind Grenades (see Defensive Grenades)
• Close combat weapon
SPECIAL RULES:
• Fearless
• Infiltrate
• Move Through Cover
• Stealth

Deadshot: All successful To Hit rolls made by a Vindicare Assassin, excluding Snap Shots, have the Precision Shots special rule.

This is going to go round in circles... So I will bow out.

How good is the callidus for DE though!

Not to keep it going but I'm pretty sure the eldar rangers provide the precedent here. When upgraded to pathfinders they gain shrouded and sharpshooter which, like deadshot, turns all of your hits into precision shots. If 6's were still needed you would be doubling their cost for nothing as a base rangers sniper can allocate wounds on a 6.

Ok, I will bite. They don't gain, precision shots special rule, but each shot is a precision shot. It's different. If the vindicare was worded this way it would be fine

Okay, I'm gonna throw another issue. I simply mathhammered the effectiveness of three bullets Vindicare Assassin has. He basically ignores armour/cover saves and thus we only need to consider invuln save.

Here's the wound inflicted by each bullet:

Hellfire : Shieldbreaker : Turbo-Penetrator
0.12 : 0.45 : 0.07-0.22 vs 2++
0.25 : 0.45 : 0.15-0.45 vs 3++
0.38 : 0.45 : 0.22-0.68 vs 4++
0.50 : 0.45 : 0.30-0.91 vs 5++
0.63 : 0.45 : 0.38-1.14 vs 6++
0.76 : 0.45 : 0.45-1.37 vs no invuln save

IMHO Shieldbreaker is always the best choice vs 2++ and 3++ while it varies in the other cases.
Any better tactics?

EDIT: The values for Turbo-Penetrator is statistically right, but may be different from the actual effect.

I don't have the wording for both in front of me so we'll just consider it food for thought.

Moving on from the Vindicare, who I think is over-rated anyway, we come to the Culexus. Standard assassin statline (ie pretty good!). Close combat attacks ignore armour, cause ID on a 6 to wound (or automatically on a Psyker). Psykers within 12" have -3LD, do not generate WC and only harness WC on a 6. Immune to psychic powers and negate all blessings and maledictions on all units within 12". Gun is S5, AP1 and fires 1 shot for every mastery level within 12" of the assassin. All attacks against the assassin are made at BS/WS 1.

I'm struggling to think of a reason why I wouldn't take one or more of these bad boys in pretty much any game.

The culexus is the one that grabbed my attention most too. I haven't had much issue with psychics yet, but this guy destroys them, and is still good vs anything else. With no psyker I can actually do some thing with those warp charges. I also think a medusae would be a good counts as for it, so I can finally use that model.

Trystis wrote:

The culexus is the one that grabbed my attention most too. I haven't had much issue with psychics yet, but this guy destroys them, and is still good vs anything else. With no psyker I can actually do some thing with those warp charges. I also think a medusae would be a good counts as for it, so I can finally use that model.

Yeah, Court of the Archon models might actually have some use now.

Medusae for Culexus
Lhamean for Calidus
Sslyth for Vindicare?
Ur-ghul for Eversor

Maybe the ssylth can be converted to hold a hex rifle, or something.

I'd probably be tempted to go with the Ilic Nightspear model for a Vindicare.

Count Adhemar wrote:

I'd probably be tempted to go with the Ilic Nightspear model for a Vindicare.

Me too. I think I might use the ssylth as an eversor. To me his model has the right feel for that role.

Might use one (or all) of these chaps as Culexus.

I forgot I cut off illics head and replaced it with a dark eldar one so I could use his head for a duke conversation. So I have a ready made vindicare sitting in my collection... Now to buy the rules lol

lelith wrote:

Thanks for the feedback, all.

Now I've read through the dataslate and decided to order some assassins: Vindicare for sure, Calidus/Culexus under consideration.

Hope to write a batrep with them soon.

Report. I've bought all of them indeed : the fine(fail?)casts except for metal Vindi bought from my friend.
May upload a batrep soon.

Interested to see your batrep with assassins onside compared to mine against them, I hope we can answer a lot of questions

Oh more thought for those who use eldar, or accept the harlequins near your kabal; the solitaire fits fairly well in the fluff to do what a cullexus does in game being soulless and all.

As for eversor I was actually thinking of modeling a multi limbed mandrake or perhaps a conversion on a termie base with multiple drakes coming out of the shadows, perfect fit for mandrakes and the eversor. Imho

Another issue. I need your opinion in applying Preferred Enemy (Psyker) and Preferred Enemy (Warlord) which some assassins can have. How can we re-roll To Hit/To Wound roll of 1 when attacking a unit including a psyker and/or warlord? (e.g., a unit consisting of dire avengers and warlock)

According to my friend, although it requires Errata, the BRB itself (see below) mentions if attacking its Preferred Enemy so we can re-roll 1 against a unit including a psyker and/or warlord. Does this look reasonable to you?

Quote :

('Preferred Enemy' in Rulebook) A unit that contains at least one model with this special rule re-rolls failed To Hit and To Wound rolls of 1 if attacking its Preferred Enemy.

No, not unless that rule is conferred to the joined unit, like Night Vision or something like that. A psyker joining a unit doesn't make that whole unit psykers, and likewise the Warlord joining it doesn't make the whole unit the warlord!

I think in your warlock/dire avenger situation it would only work in close combat, then, for attacks directed against those particular models.

I could be wrong, but I think so.

So I've painted up all my assassins, which would be used against my friends this weekend. Let's see how well they work against Astra Militarum, Dark Angels, and Grey Knights.

p.s. It feels weird to write an issue not relevant to our upcoming codex

Sky Serpent wrote:

Vindicare might be the best bet, sit him in a tower and let him pop characters and tanks all day long - don't expect him to have an impact every turn but he should add something to your force.

Why shouldn't we expect an impact every turn? He has a ballistic skill of, what, 8?
So he can reroll missing shots. Not with his normal BS, but good enough for me...

Zenotaph wrote:

Sky Serpent wrote:

Vindicare might be the best bet, sit him in a tower and let him pop characters and tanks all day long - don't expect him to have an impact every turn but he should add something to your force.

Why shouldn't we expect an impact every turn? He has a ballistic skill of, what, 8?
So he can reroll missing shots. Not with his normal BS, but good enough for me...

He still only wounds on a 4+ though so if you're shooting characters you should only expect a wound every other turn at best.

Ups, my fault. Forgot about that...

You can use Hellfire for 2+ to wound but probably only worthwhile if you've got something to shoot at without an invulnerable save and that can't Lo,S.