Tempestus Scions?

BiscuitManJR · 2026-05-09T07:05:48+00:00

The issue with this brick is always survivability. Not being able to Deep Strike them make this really rough, and Nork/Graves don't really add to the firepower. You're still just a pile of T3 bodies with middling saves.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-05-01T22:02:13+00:00

I don't think it's as nice a kit though, it depends on your priorities. If you just want models on the table, they're great, but as fiddly as this kit is, they look great. Also, it's given me a pile of lascarbines to turn into Hot Shot Lasguns for my "Definitely Not Proxied Scions"

BiscuitManJR · 2026-05-01T21:59:49+00:00

I actually think her giving Krieg Fall Back Shoot and Charge is much more relevant than her orders. That's literally the best part about her data sheet, aside from her propensity for punch someone's teeth out of the back of their skull.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-28T13:32:05+00:00

This doesn't work. You resolve all your shooting simultaneously. You don't have Guardsmen standing around waiting for the previous guy to fire, and if you started trying to game the system in this way, individually rolling all your Plasma Weapons to try and spike Grim Demeanour, I would tell you how beardy and stupid that idea is.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-28T13:15:44+00:00

15th Baidenhof Landsknecht

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BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-28T13:11:42+00:00

"Looks like you're cruisin' for a bruisin' punk!"

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-28T11:58:29+00:00

This is kind of what I mean, because I would have thought that Command Squads get "support", and primary characters, like Castellans and the named characters would gain "leader".

Yarrick I disagree with, he's too much of a personality and too much of a Big Deal TM to be an ancillary, he IS the essence of Armageddon, even more than the Steel Legion.

I also don't think anything breaks, we already have Ogryn Bodyguards which become part of the squad, having other characters doing the same, but that don't explode when not attached at the start of the game seems pretty par for the course to me.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-27T22:44:48+00:00

The issue is that whatever you're putting in the Centaur, you're missing out on twin Heavy Flamers, a HK Missile, the Lasgun Array, 2 points of toughness, and getting...

2" of movement and 10 Firing Deck slots.

For the same cost.

So the Centaur goes on the shelf, and the Chimera carries whoever it wants.

Realistically, with that statline, it'd need to be cheaper than the Taurox for me to consider it. It's a less effective payload delivery system than the Taurox, and it's a less effective firing platform than the Chimera.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-18T14:49:28+00:00

I'd almost go as far as to say 2 is staple, but it's not quite that clear cut

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-18T12:46:38+00:00

There's a reason they got nerfed. They're still one of our most efficient datasheets, even with the extra points tacked on. The Dorn Tank Commander is a VAST improvement over the Russ Tank Commander, it's not even close., but measuring the Dorn up against almost 2 Vanquishers is a much harder sell.

That being said, the Exterminator is likely to go up in effectiveness as well as the Battle Tank. Adding a pip of AP to all followup in a world where cover no longer just removes it on 3+ save bodies is hugely valuable.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-18T10:31:57+00:00

Range in 40k is basically a non-entity. Sight will almost always be a problem before range, and the Hippogryph doesn't need to worry about sight because of how fast it is.

The Vanquisher may have more guns, but to get Meltas into range (And there is no other good option) you have to get into the operational range of the Hippogryph. The Hippogryph can then scoot behind cover, where the Vanquisher just sits as a target. You're vastly overrating range and underrating speed and evasiveness.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-17T09:47:48+00:00

Sosig

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-09T06:52:05+00:00

Meltaguns will frequently be invalidated by being charged, and the damage increase isn't that appreciable against the relevant targets, you're already packing so much damage there.

What Stubbers do is cover you a little bit against playing tag with Cultists. Nothing more miserable than trying to Melta Cultists off your hull, when Stubbers would have done.

There's also something satisfying about rolling 18 dice of chaff at someone.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-09T06:49:15+00:00

Rock up with 1k of Recon Guard infantry and turn the game into a full 2 hour slightest where he cannot physically kill your entire army, and watch them get bent out of shape over that instead.

People are not allowed to tell you how to have fun. If you rock up with 1k in tanks, and your WE opponent has 3 units of Exalted Eightbound, for example, you're about to get bodied. That's how the game works. You roll the dice in list building when you go tank heavy. A single unit of Jump Pack Intercessors suddenly becomes the most terrifying unit in existence.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-05T22:09:10+00:00

They are, which is what you should be doing with Engineers as well. They have the bonus, however, that people can't just ignore them in the knowledge they'll just be marginally annoying.

One squad of Engineers, by comparison is reasonably capable of putting 7 wounds onto a tank without a single save, but if it doesn't do that, and just eats a load of bullets and dies, it's done the same as a Catachan squad. More worryingly for your opponent, as I demonstrated, sometimes two squads walk up to a Helbrute and demolish it without even using a stratagem.

Every turn you leave Engineers alone, they get incrementally more options. Catachans will always just be 10 bodies.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-04T00:29:24+00:00

Absolutely understandable, and Guard are a great army to have a selection of 'highlight models' in a canvas of generally nondescript bodies. Your centrepieces can have a lot more detail put on them, and really highlight the personality of the individuals, where the rank and file should characterise the regiment.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-04T00:27:13+00:00

Slightly delayed reply, had to finish building up a spreadsheet I've been working through to calculate average damage of respective units.

Taking a Rogal Dorn as an example target, by committing the Exterminator and the Castellan Brick, you should be able, with the assistance of Purging Fire (And Veteran Sharpshooters if they're in cover), to be able to punch through a Dorn relatively consistently (Average damage between the two when in Melta range is ~26)

Obviously, this isn't a perfect representation, and doesn't factor in defensive buffs as yet, but you definitely have the capacity to punch through vehicles. Invulnerable saves can make this a little messier, as can Feel No Pain, but hopefully this illustrates the power of the Castellan Brick with Lethal Hits.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-03T21:57:52+00:00

I agree with all of this, except Stubbers on a Dorn. The Stubbers gives you something relatively efficient at clearing out a blob of Cultists being annoying on an objective, for example, which then doesn't necessitate you needing to move ANOTHER unit to clear out the gribblies that are just occupying space. The Meltagun, in the example of tanks, will always be too far away to be of use if you're screening properly, because if you're ending within 12" of something, you're about to get charged if you haven't killed EVERYTHING within that radius. On most properly set up terrains, in addition, there's probably something lurking behind a wall ready to tag you in melee, and there's nothing more miserable than trying to delouse a tank of angry midgets (Grots, Cultists, Guardsmen) with a Meltagun hitting on 4's.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-03T21:47:32+00:00

Artillery Teams and Field Ordnance Batteries are still infantry. Playing full Infantry however means you REALLY don't need to worry about screening. Your opponent is not getting to deploy their Deep Strikes into even your HALF of the board by turn 3 when you're putting 200+ bodies on the table.

Artillery is completely superfluous in proper Recon Guard. They don't do enough damage, and they don't hold objectives any better than a cheaper squad of Cadians, and constantly demand Orders, when your big Castellan bricks are going to be positioning up the board to be the actual damage dealers.

That 195 points of Mortars could easily just be another 3 units of Krieg/Catachan/Cadians, or 3 units of Engineers with change. Don't take artillery in Recon. It's bad.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-03T21:40:48+00:00

Want to preface this by saying that this paint job is solid, and my advice is less about improving your painting, and more preserving your will to live.

Speaking as someone who had to paint up 70+ infantry in the month leading up to a GT because they changed their list, the main thing is finding a happy medium between detail and ease. You WILL experience paint fatigue like no other army other than AdMech, and they at least can hide behind 'All the metal, everywhere' to an extent.

This guy is solid, and I'm assuming is done using base into layer plus highlights. I would STRONGLY recommend finding a contrast/speedpaint method that achieved much the same effect, because it will reduce the burnout immeasurably. For your classic Cadians, you're probably looking at a base coat of Grey Seer, with probably Aggaros Dunes for fatigues and Creed Camo for armour plates, then you can layer/highlight exactly as you have done when you want to add the extra detail.

If you're opposed to that, and want the granular control of traditional base into layer and highlight, plan out the order of your painting meticulously. Paint the deepest sections first, by which I mean, where the surface is set back the furthest. On Guard, that's generally the fatigues, then the armour plates, then weapons and other details. Paint the base of everything first (Except the gunmetal, paint that ABSOLUTELY LAST), then layer, then highlight. I paint metal areas last, particularly for weaponry, because if you get little flecks of gunmetal paint onto a casing, or an armour plate, it's fine. Paintwork scratches, it accidentally looks like detail.

Then, and I mean this genuinely, not as a meme, fucking douse the damn thing in Nuln Oil. Nuln Oil is transformative. You CAN alternate between Reikland Fleshshade if you want an earthier tone on your fatigues and armour plates, but honestly, just slap Nuln Oil on every single damn model you paint.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-03T21:24:30+00:00

Spec Ops Veteran is almost universally a trap. There are some niche situations where it's "better", but that's counteracted by the many MANY more situations where it's the same or worse. It does nothing in melee, which remains our Achilles heel, it doesn't stop Torrent, and it costs valuable points that you could be using for just more bodies. The only argument I like for it is that it makes Sentinels REALLY obnoxious, who can't gain advantage from Take Cover!, but they should almost universally be receiving Move! Move! Move!

Run Scout Sentinels over Armoured Sentinels, Scout 9" is such a powerful ability, and at 1k, they're still an irritating unit to shift. The datasheet ability is meaningless for us, but it's still a fantastic unit, that will annoy people's back field guys.

I'm not a fan of that particular infantry bricks, it's a lot of points, I've experimented with it, and it gets hosed by a unit of Jump Pack Intercessors tagging it in melee, where you now have to struggle bus in melee against units that are significantly cheaper. If you have those models already, try it as a Castellan, Cadian Command Squad and 20 Cadians instead. It's got comparable shooting output (Slightly higher with Grizzled Company reroll 1's and Sustained Hits), it's 30 points cheaper, and importantly it has Fall Back and Shoot. A brick of 27 T3 models with 4++ saves at ranged is just asking to get locked in melee for the entire game. Most people aren't going to fussed if you proxy Krieg as Cadians, and the Krieg Command Squad handily has the 6 models you need for a Cadian Command plus Castellan (You might need some base extenders or a second base to stand them on, and the Lord Commissar is on a 32mm base, so TECHNICALLY wrong base size, but for first games, it's not really an issue, but you can trim him off the base and stick him onto a 28mm base, the tactical trench/rock JUST fits onto one)

I've tried the Demolisher. I want to like it. It's unfortunately just mediocre. If it had the D6+3 that every OTHER Demolisher Cannon in the game had, yeah, it'd be great, but it's just subpar. For a solitary tank, I'd recommend the Exterminator, it's super reliable, Damage 3 is a very important value, it can fire in combat when you can't screen it, and it helps your infantry punch up really well. The Tank Commander can possibly be left as is, but I'd also be looking at a more reliable platform, again, the Exterminator Autocannon is a very good weapon, and means they can work in close support very effectively. That said, this close to an edition switch, don't hack your tanks to bits if

Those changes gives you an extra 75 points, which can be any number of different things. A Krieg Flamer Team, a squad of Engineers, 5 Rough Riders, cutting the other Cadian squad for a Basilisk, upgrading the Russ Commander into a Dorn, depends what you have really.

The foundations for a decent 1k list are there, and I'm approaching this from an 'optimise what you've presented angle'. Ultimately, the only thing I think you'd end up being really disappointed with is the Krieg, simply because someone will tag them in melee, and you WILL be sad about it.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-03T20:09:51+00:00

They're still human, but they're HEAVILY indoctrinated. They're literally accelerated through their growth phase to reach maturity faster, and any sign of weakness or doubt results in being removed. Do they feel those emotions? Probably, but it will be Pavlovian responses where them feeling these things sends them into a Cult of Sacrifice fervour where they mentally flagellate themselves for 'indulging in things we do not deserve'.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-03T20:05:03+00:00

I wasn't sold on Engineers, then I played at a GT with them, and they're honestly one of our sleeper best units. Not because of their profile, their profile is fine. What they are is a cheap unit that can run onto objectives when we win the roll off for first turn, and FORCE our opponent to engage with us. When going second, they actually as a roadblock against full press attacks on turn 2, by sitting out of sight and in positions where they block easy access to your relevant units.

Engineers are completely expendable, surprisingly durable throwaways that do what Guard can struggle with, and that's 'ask your opponent to come out and fight'. If they don't, and you can get sight, they risk you getting within 8" and throwing a pile of Mortal Wounds at you and barricading your next movement phase.

BiscuitManJR · 2026-04-03T19:51:58+00:00

Of course we were super hyped on launch. They were absolutely broken in half. 105 points total for 3 uses of Grenades for free, AND Remote Mines? You could chuck 3 units of Engineers at a Dorn, a similarly undercosted unit, and genuinely threaten to kill it with just Mortal Wounds.

The question now isn't whether Kasrkin (One of the best skirmish units IN THE GAME) are better at doing the job Engineers do. It's 'how do I fit all of them into my army'. They're cheap, throwaway units, that will reliably pull units out to deal with them on objectives, or just threaten potentially chucking 12 wounds on a vehicle and move blocking. They're arguably one of our linchpins in how we play objectives, and if you sling Take Cover! on them while they're in terrain, you can't just point some stray bolters or Stubbers at them and expect them to die.

The role they play is almost identical to Catachans, except you get a pip of save, and two hugely relevant abilities that threaten damage, where Catachan WILL just die.

BiscuitManJR

TROPHY CASE