Astra Militarum - Unit Overview Part 2

Greetings Sergeant, this is Company Commander Lernius Eelo of the 66th Cadian Defence Regiment. Your latest correspondence has indicated a 19% decrease in casualties for your squad as your soldiers have now adapted the standard practice of two carrying a heavy weapon rather than one unfortunate man or woman. This is an acceptable but expected change, though I am displeased to hear that you are still uncertain of a Guardsman's place in the Astra Militarum. As you must have full awareness of both the handle and the head of a hammer when striking a ferocious blow, so too must you learn to grasp the many elements of our great forces in your hands simultaneously. I therefore feel it is necessary to continue this personal, unofficial training. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to respond when you are able. Remember; to seek advice is not a sin, as knowledge is power.
This is Part 2 of the Astra Militarum Unit Overview series.


Dedicated Transports

Chimera - The classic transport has increased in cost slightly, lost three fire points on the top hatch and gained two lasgun arrays on either side of the hull. No, really; that is the new Chimera in a nut-shell. It is no longer the easy three to four special weapon squad toting moving death machine of the past, but instead serves a different purpose as a more generalist vehicle. There is actually a reason to put your basic Infantry Squads in there now as opposed to just Command Squads and Veterans with the new lasgun arrays allowing six models to shoot at Ballistic Skill 3 using lasguns even if the Chimera moves 12" in the movement phase. Lasguns are terrible guns, true, but what this really means is that a unit embarked on a Chimera can shoot up to four separate targets a turn; one from the Chimera itself, one from the models shooting out of the top hatch, and two from the pair of lasgun arrays. Facing flying monstrous creature spam and want the cheapest possible way to force lots of grounding tests? Infantry Squads in Chimeras - or Veterans - are the perfect unit for you! Otherwise, Chimeras haven't really changed at all; they might be weaker (especially with the 6th Edition vehicle changes) but they are still the best transport in the codex.
Change? Weaker.
Competitive? Yes.

Taurox (New Unit) - With one less armour on the front and losing the Tank type in exchange for what is essentially a free dozer blade, the Taurox is the new Chimera competitor with those aforementioned less than favourable changes. It exchanges the multi-laser, heavy bolter, searchlight and smoke launchers for a single twin-linked autocannon and no weapon options, but it has double the fire points with two on each side of the hull (not counting the lasgun arrays on the Chimera). It has a transport capacity of ten as opposed to the Chimera's twelve, but it has three access points on both the sides and rear instead of just one at the rear like the Chimera. Considering those changes, is it worth the reduced cost over a Chimera? I tend to lean more towards "no". The Chimera is more survivable, allows eight models to fire from it as opposed to four - though six of those eight are lasguns - has more firepower with the multi laser and heavy bolter, comes with the minor but still very useful searchlight and smoke launchers, and having the Tank type does give it some situational usage for Tank Shocking. As an all-round vehicle and transport, the Chimera is safer, does more damage and comes with some important upgrades. The Taurox isn't bad by any means, but it isn't as good as the Chimera overall. I think it is worth the cost over a Rhino, but at the same time, you want an AV 11 vehicle to be as cheap as possible and this is something the Taurox doesn't succeed at.
Competitive? No.

Taurox Prime (New Unit) - Mostly identical to the regular Taurox, the Prime gains a point of Ballistic Skill and the Fast vehicle type to try and justify a significant points increase. The Prime trades a twin-linked autocannon for a Taurox Battle Cannon which, despite the name, actually isn't all that much better than a twin-linked autocannon as it instead fires a small blast using the same Strength, AP and range. The hot-shot volley gun included in the exchange is nice, but not really that strong. At its base cost, I don't think the Prime gets enough out of the price jump over a regular Taurox; the firepower isn't that much better, and the Fast type is good but not really worth all those points. The upgraded weapons aren't great either with a ten shot Strength 4 AP- gun and a two-shot missile launcher, both of which aren't cheap upgrades. The hot-shot volley gun can be exchanged for a twin-linked autocannon for free which I pretty much always recommend, but otherwise - even more so than the regular Taurox - this is a unit that is far too fragile and doesn't offer enough versus the points investment.
Competitive? No.

Summary!
The Chimera is still the king of ground-based transports for the Astra Militarum as the new-comer Taurox and Taurox Prime are just far too fragile and pricey for what they bring to the table. While both of the new transports do have merits to their inclusion, they suffer from middling performance in all the roles they try to fulfill.




Elites

Ogryns - Mostly similar to their previous incarnation, Ogryns have confusingly remained one of the weakest units in the new codex. The only difference made to these incredibly expensive Strength and Toughness 5 models is that they have exchanged Furious Charge for Hammer of Wrath; this can be seen as trading four Strength 6 attacks on the charge for one guaranteed Strength 5 hit and four Strength 5 attacks on the charge. This is mostly a wash due to the low Weapon Skill and Initiative favouring Hammer of Wrath cancelled out by the sheer utility of multiple Strength 6 attacks. Frankly though I do favour the latter as it would at least guarantee the squad could tear apart vehicles with rear AV 11 such as certain Leman Russ variants, while it would have given them a greater chance against other high Toughness models. Such a change is mostly meaningless though as Ogryns are still short-ranged models with pitiful saves, weak damage output and abysmal Leadership despite being Stubborn. They are the Astra Militarum's Terminator equivalents that are nowhere near as useful as the latter unit which is astounding to consider given that most Terminators really aren't worth their points either!
Change? Weaker.
Competitive? No.

Bullgryns (New Unit) - As terrible as Ogryns are, their new kit-siblings in Bullgryns certainly do pull off a better effort in terms of competitive usage. For a few points more per model, you gain an arguably superior ranged weapon in the grenadier gauntlet, a stronger armour save and interesting defensive applications with their stock slabshields. When equipped with slabshields, if two or more Bullgryns are in base contact with each other then they not only improve their armour save to an impressive 3+ but also provide 4+ cover saves for obscuration rather than the usual 5+ to any friendly models behind them. If you are advancing with infantry models on foot then Bullgryns actually make for decently tough yet very expensive mobile cover. They can swap their slabshields and grenadier gauntlets out for brute shields and power mauls, giving them a permanent 5+ invulnerable save, re-rolls to wound on Hammer of Wrath rolls and a crazy four Strength 7 AP 4 attacks per model on the charge. Though horrendously costly, they do at least try and justify their cost by being far more durable against non Strength 10 shooting than Terminators, while their damage output in combat is actually rather respectable with so many Strength 7 attacks. They can smash most vehicles to bits with ease and will put a dent even in some elite melee units. Unfortunately, again, these models are just far too expensive for what they bring to the field, but thankfully they are far closer to actually justifying their cost than Ogryns. This is a unit that at least has some good potential if you can support them with the right elements and may actually prove useful in certain builds. Overall though, I think an Astra Militarum player is still better off spending that many points on artillery or more regular infantry. The lack of any kind of assault transport in the main codex also deals a massive blow to Bullgryns and other melee units for the Astra Militarum.
Competitive? No.

Ratlings - One of the more rarely seen units in Astra Militarum armies if only because of their aged metal models and sub-human stature, Ratlings are a specialist sniper squad that is accurate but incredibly fragile. Compared to the old codex, Ratlings have gained a new special rule and received no other changes; the ability to shoot and then run, giving the Astra Militarum their first "run, shoot, run" unit. As good as Ballistic Skill 4 is for snipers, I'm not really sold on the little ones; Toughness 2 is pathetic, and Stealth combined with cover won't save them from any kind of dedicated firepower. While shooting at Ratlings might seem cost inefficient for your opponent, it doesn't matter if the Ratlings themselves do very little damage. Standard sniper weapons are so luck dependent to really do damage of any significance that I am not sold on paying so many points just for a Ballistic Skill 4 unit variant. Other cheap sniper units can at least be objective camping unit providing light fire support for your advancing elements, but being in the Elites slot means Ratlings enjoy no such fortune. The ability to shoot and then run on a sniper unit is amusing to say the least given that trying to shoot, run into cover, then move out and shoot again doesn't work when you would then have to snap-fire with them. It has some cool applications but they are so limited and situational that I can only label the Shoot Sharp and Scarper special rule as thematic rather than any attempt at giving Ratlings a competitive edge. If you want a sniper unit that can capture objectives and won't die to a stiff breeze, ally in some Space Marine Scouts with Camo Cloaks instead. The buff to Sniper weapons in 6th Edition does at least stop me from saying that Ratlings are the same as before.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? No.

Wyrdvane Psykers - If any unit was ever going to be a Brotherhood of Psykers, it was perhaps the earliest forerunners of the universal special rule; the classic Psyker Battle Squads, now renamed to Wyrdvane Psykers. Sadly, the new codex has been anything but kind to this once fearsome unit. At their core, they are a band of human models with pitiful stats and only 5+ armour saves for defence; their sole saving grace is also their namesake. Generating a single psychic power for an entire unit regardless of their size is very disappointing given that they must randomly generate powers now, though having access to four psychic disciplines is a small bonus. Where Pink Horrors could at least boost their primary psychic power by adding more models and supporting characters to the unit, Wyrdvane Psykers are disappointingly as effective with one model as they are with ten models. There is no incentive to add extra - and costly - models to this unit, and one must wonder why you would take these over a less expensive and far more easily protected Primaris Psyker that can join units. To make matters worse, they are a mere Leadership 8 and can't benefit from an attached characters' Leadership value for psychic tests. What point is there to a psyker unit that is expensive, does barely any physical damage, has scarce defences and is even unreliable in their sole defining ability?

If such a unit wasn't a waste already, then comparing them to their previous incarnation would only close the matter entirely. They previously were Leadership 9 for psychic tests and had two native psychic powers of which they could use one per turn, and both of these were great and justified taking more models in a unit. The first provided a long ranged nuke using the large blast template and with a Strength value equal to the number of psykers in the unit, while the latter imposed a tremendous Leadership penalty on a unit based again on how many psykers formed the squad. Though they weren't a particularly great unit, a unit of ten could potentially throw out Strength 10 AP1 large blasts with a 36" range, or reduce any units' Leadership value down to 2 and essentially force them to fail Pinning or Morale tests. Conveniently, with so much artillery and firepower, the Astra Militarum can force Leadership-based checks at a rapid rate. This gave the Psyker Battle Squad a potentially game-changing role in that they could either utterly annihilate or simply disable units at will without ever needing to get close to use their powers. Now, they are subject to the will of fate, generating one randomly determined power that doesn't scale with the number of models in the unit and will likely have a short range, exposing their fragility. The only plus Wyrdvane Psykers have received in the new codex is that the removal of the Overseer and the change to how the squad deals with Perils of the Warp means they can cast psychic powers with greater safety, though the Leadership reduction means they do so with less reliability.
Change? Weaker.
Competitive? No.

Militarum Tempestus Command Squad (New Unit) - The introduction of platoons to what are still Stormtroopers at heart is a very welcome - though surprising - change for a unit that was mostly used as a suicide squad with melta weapons. Those platoon rules even include a Command Squad that pays a mere 15 points over a standard unit to gain a two-wound super-sergeant model with Leadership 9 that can issue Orders in the same fashion as a Troops choice Platoon Commander. The Command Squad can also take some additional items with the medi-pack and platoon standard at similar costs to other Command Squad variants, while the Scions in a unit can even take double the normal number of special weapons. If you want to take more than one unit of Scions, there is little reason not to include a Militarum Tempestus Command Squad unless you are really tight on points. The stat boosts to the unit leader and the addition of Orders is just far too good to pass up for only a pittance in points. From there, working out whether the unit is valuable overall depends on whether Scions are as well; thankfully, that answer is a "yes".
Competitive? Yes.

Militarum Tempestus Scions - Ah, Stormtroopers, whatever have they done to you? Well I might not be a fan of the new name, but the rules are more of a mixed bag. The Scions have received a handy points drop in exchange for losing both their Special Operations and hot shot laspistols, with the latter meaning the basic Scion no longer has two attacks base. Their options and other stats are the same, though they now gain the benefit of Move Through Cover. The inclusion of platoon rules for Scions means you can field more of them than ever before, but ultimately I feel these are still the same suicidal melta delivery squads they used to be. The points drop does help them as an overall unit, but losing Special Operations for benefits such as re-rolling Deep Strike Scatter or gaining Scout in addition to losing an extra attack per model can't really be seen as an improvement. Generally speaking these are still the best source of close ranged melta you can get with their innate Deep Strike and low price, though their uses otherwise are more limited. Orders and psychic powers - the former of which can come from a Militarum Tempestus Command Squad - help to improve their effectiveness.
Change? Weaker.
Competitive? Yes.

Summary!
The reborn Stormtroopers are still the best pick of the Elites section alongside the new Tempestus Command Squad, while Ogryns and Wyrdvane Psykers disappointingly received either negative changes or none at all. The new Bullgryns do have potential competitively but are probably too expensive to carry the torch, and Ratlings are still rather mediocre.


Fast Attack

Scout Sentinel Squadron - When I look at Scout Sentinels, I see a missed opportunity to emulate the success of the Galactic Empires' All Terrain walkers. The Scout Sentinel has not changed in any meaningful way with the new codex, save for slightly reduced weapon upgrade costs - including a free heavy flamer exchange for the multi laser. At Ballistic Skill 3 the Scout Sentinel is anything but reliable, particularly with its heavy weapons having a low rate of fire. It is even more fragile than the Dark Eldar Venom with the same defensive stats but a lack of Jink saves, though it can (poorly) defend itself in combat at least. Move Through Cover and Scout see the light Sentinel being one of the more mobile walkers in the game, but this doesn't really gel that well with all but one of its weapons having a 36" or higher range. Outflank and Scout do suit either heavy flamers or lascannons, with the latter in particular having some mean fun against the exposed rear armour of enemy vehicles. Still, the slightly lower cost of upgrades are not the changes the Scout Sentinel needed to be a competitive choice unfortunately. When you consider how much more easily an open topped vehicle can be destroyed, especially an AV 10 one, the changes wrought by 6th Edition sound the death knell for Scout Sentinels. They may be cheap but they are simply too fragile and lacking in damage output to be ranked among the more worthwhile units in the game.
Change? Weaker.
Competitive? No.

Armoured Sentinel Squadron - A surprising change in the new Astra Militarum codex was that Scout Sentinels were left relatively untouched, but Armoured Sentinels saw a respectable drop in cost. The weapon options are all significantly cheaper and gaining front AV 12 at the expense of both Move Through Cover and Scout for a mere five point increase is a good trade for the Armoured Sentinel in any scenario. The generally long-ranged weaponry of Sentinels attests to this fact, as does their inherent fragility. In fact, aside from Servitors, Armoured Sentinels are the cheapest plasma cannon spamming unit for the Astra Militarum per point spent which isn't a bad accolade at all. The only real loss here is that Armoured Sentinels now have to pay for Extra Armour which brings them up to their old cost, but on a two hull point vehicle in a squadron it is something you would do better without anyway. As much of an improvement these are over Scout Sentinels, I still don't see a great investment of the points. Two AV 12 hull points won't last long in the current meta, and their great range is easily offset by most competitive army lists. They can barely defend themselves in combat and are still an inefficient source of damage with Ballistic Skill 3. They might not be open-topped, but these are still very fragile walkers that could be so much better. A brace or trio with plasma cannons buffed with Prescience could be effective, but at that point wouldn't a Leman Russ Executioner with the same support be a better investment? I'll let you decide....but the answer is yes.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? No.

Rough Riders - As cool as the concept and models behind Rough Riders are, they still aren't as good a unit as they really should be. On the one hand, they are cavalry and hit like a tonne of bricks on the charge. On the other, they are fragile and lose their effectiveness after that first round of combat. Toughness 3, single wound models with a 5+ armour save are going to die quickly regardless of how you augment them, and the roaming nature of cavalry units means Rough Riders likely won't be in range for a lot of your support abilities. Their main selling point is that the first time they charge into combat, they get +2 to both Strength and Initiative as well as AP3;  this means each Rough Rider will dish out two Weapon Skill 3, Strength 5 and Initiative 5 attacks that ignore 3+ armour saves. That isn't too bad for the cost, but you have to remember how easily killed Rough Riders are, and that those buffs are for one round of combat only. Getting the charge with cavalry is relatively straight-forward, but making it there in the first place with their weak defensive stats is not. Their low Leadership means they are susceptible to Fear and will lose combats the moment their hunting lances are broken, and that doesn't even cover them breaking from shooting casualties. Rough Riders might be cheap, but even their one use lances aren't that great with Weapon Skill 3 and two attacks each while their survivability - or lack thereof - means they will rarely see combats. The changes to cavalry have been kind on Rough Riders, but that doesn't make up for the short-comings wrought by their codex. Gaining an extra attack per model after the charge due to being equipped with both a laspistol and close combat weapon is a minor buff but does mean they can actually do some light damage after their lances break.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? No.

Hellhound - I have always been a big fan of this unit, and the buffs it received from meta changes have been significant to say the least. The trend towards taking masses of light infantry to maximise objective capturing and the cost effectiveness of units like Fire Warriors and Dire Avengers means that a Torrent Strength 6 AP4 template is so much nastier than ever before. Where 5th Edition favoured Space Marines of all kinds, the new one sees Xenos and 4+ armoured infantry really making up the numbers; it is this change that the Hellhound is swooning for. With a slight points drop, an at times significant reduction in cost for most of its available upgrades and the aforementioned meta changes, the Hellhound is arguably in a better place than it has ever been. The points drop of the Leman Russ Eradicator and the addition of Wyverns does see them facing a lot of competition, but Hellhounds are nonetheless an effective unit for the cost. They may not be the most durable, but as Fast vehicles with a Torrent weapon they have an incredible 32" effective range with a Strength 6 AP4 template. If you don't have room for Wyverns, then Hellhounds are arguably your next best bet for infantry massacre duties.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes.

Devil Dog - The odd one out of the three Hellhound variants, the Devil Dog trades a template weapon for a small blast template. Its' gun is inaccurate, but it packs a punch with Strength 8, AP1 and the Melta special rule thrown in for good measure, giving the main weapon its namesake. The 24" range might seem small, but on a Fast vehicle chassis it has an effective 36" range which is pretty darn good considering the Hellhound variants aren't all that survivable. My issue with the Devil Dog is accuracy and the proliferation of both invulnerable and cover saves for vehicles; a blast melta weapon is devastating and on Ballistic Skill 3 will likely hit a vehicle, but it loses its lustre against other targets. That only a tiny part of the template has to touch a vehicle to hit at full strength gave the Devil Dog a massive boost in 6th Edition, but it received an unnecessary points increase to balance that out. Having to spend points on Primaris Psykers to make Devil Dogs reliable when you could just Deep Strike a squad of Stormtroopers with two meltaguns and have similar or better results. Then of course comes the big issue with the Devil Dog; when it actually does hit a vehicle, it needs to be at half range with the main weapon - so 12" - to benefit from the Melta special rule, and this is the same problem the Bane Wolf has. Hellhound variants aren't that durable and certainly don't want to get too close to enemy units despite two of them relying on short ranged weapons, and the Devil Dog lacking the precision of the Bane Wolf adds up to what is a mediocre unit. It should have had Armourbane on the main gun like the Vanquisher and then it might have had a better chance competitively. As it is, there's no reason to take a Devil Dog over a Vanquisher; the latter might be as (in)accurate and lack the small blast, but it can comfortably sit at long range and is far more durable at a mere five points more.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? No.

Bane Wolf - As good as the Hellhound is, its Poisoned (2+) AP3 Chem Cannon packing variant in the Bane Wolf just doesn't emulate its success despite how much nastier the main gun can be. The Bane Wolf's only direct changes came in cheaper upgrade costs, though it received what could be considered an indirect nerf with most competitive players switching to armies packing lightly armoured infantry. It has most of the same traits as a Hellhound with AV 12/12/10, three hull points and between one and two template weapons, but lacking Torrent in exchange for a stronger weapon is a trade that favours the Hellhound. The Bane Wolf has an effective 20" range as a Fast vehicle with an 8" long template, but lacking Torrent means that the placement of the template is severely restricted and will rarely get an optimal number of hits. The advantage the Hellhound has here is significant and even sees it potentially pull ahead or match up in average unsaved wounds caused against certain 3+ armoured units because it can guarantee far more hits. That the Bane Wolf played second fiddle to the Hellhound back in 5th Edition where 3+ armoured models were king is really all the indication one needs to see that these aren't the pick of the Hellhound variants. I think that many players leaving their transports behind does give the Bane Wolf a bit of a buff, but it isn't enough to justify its cost compared to a Hellhound.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? No.

Valkyrie - Woah, what a buff this iconic (and huge) flyer received with the new edition! I've covered the flyer rules extensively in the past and their effects on previously skimmer-based units such as Stormravens, so I won't repeat myself here. In any case, losing Deep Strike and Scout in exchange for the new flyer rules is a godly exchange, and the 25 point base increase is only a balancing act for how amazing the flyer rules are. Most of the weapon options are cheaper, with the almost mandatory multiple rocket pods exchange for the hellstrike missiles seeing the cost of the unit ending up at only slightly more than the same Valkyrie load out previously. Disappointingly, however, those Hellstrike Missiles are still as worthless as ever due to Ordnance - aside from maybe throwing Power of the Machine Spirit on one - and the heavy bolter sponsons are more expensive than before. For this reason I think you will see Valkyries mostly with just the multi laser and pair of multiple rocket pods to obey the four weapons at full Ballistic Skill limitation on flyers. With that equipment, the Valkyrie basically went up ever so slightly in points but became oh so much better as a true flyer. As a flyer, the Valkyrie is good at killing infantry, is very survivable and is one of the better flying transports in the game; at its low cost, there is very little to complain about.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes.

Vendetta - The good times never last, as evidenced by the Vendetta. The 6th Edition introduction of true flyers saw the Vendetta become arguably the most over-powered and under-costed unit in the game, and it is no surprise it saw a deserved and significant points increase. At just under half a century in points added to its base cost, the high durability and insane anti-vehicular firepower of a Vendetta now lines up with its price point. Having half of its previous transport capacity also allows the Valkyrie to mete out its own niche, while it leaves the Vendetta as a transport mainly for Special Weapon Squads, Command Squads and Militarum Tempestus Scions. The Vendetta is now more of a proper gunship than before which befits its background and provides it a clearly distinct role to the Valkyrie. As big as the points increase is - including the higher cost of heavy bolter sponson upgrades and the still pointless hellfury missiles - the Vendetta still compares very well to other flyers in 6th Edition. It might not be the horrendously under-priced death machine it was, but it is still the Astra Militarum's best source of anti-air and one of the stronger units in the Fast Attack section. Remembering that I judge my "Change" category on a units position at the release of either codex, and it is easy to see the Vendetta is much better than its 5th Edition incarnation.
Change? Stronger.
Competitive? Yes.

Summary!
The two flyers have received necessary point increases to balance out the insane buffs they received from true aerial vehicle rules in 6th Edition, though they are still great units. The Hellhound remains the pick of the three "fast Chimera" variants, while Rough Riders and Sentinels of both kinds are still sub-par despite some decent improvements.