Porphyrion’s made their way into Adeptus Titanicus with some crazy rules for the points. GW seems to think it’s overpowered for the cost as well…
If you haven’t heard, GW has pulled the plug on the Porphyrion from one of their tournaments. It’s a bit of a sting from the consumer standpoint as GW made a new unit with insane rules for everyone to buy, and then promptly heavily caps them their own hosted tourney.
If GW sees them as too OP in a competitive setting, that would mean that an FAQ may be on the way for the Tiny Titans? Here is what we think would be a simple fix that wouldn’t cause a massive wake in the game.
The Acastus Knight Porphyrion: What Needs to be Fixed
Going into the stats a bit, for only 80 pts base (100 total) and being scale 5, this thing can pack a dirty punch. If you bring MSUs of these guys running around in-game, you basically get the firepower of a Warlord at a crazy discounted cost. Not to mention the fact that their rockets, while short-range, are arguably better with Rapid, and greater arcs than the Warlord. You’re basically ALWAYS going to order them to either spilt fire OR first fire with them as well.
Plus, these guys aren’t the tankiest model in the game, but for their points, they are the equivalent to hairy-chested bare-knuckle boxers that won’t back down from a fight.
The Strength 8 and 3″ blast of the magna lascannon will utterly annihilate Knights and lighter Titans, and can give Reavers and Warlords a metaphorical bloody nose too – especially in larger Banners within a Knight Households force, where they can use the Coordinated Strike order to increase the weapon’s Strength to a potential 12, making Devastating and Critical Hits much more likely.
As we just said, the real threat comes when players bring multiples of these guys. With Coordinated Strike Orders for a crippling bonus strength and the sheer amount of time, it can take to roll all the blast templates from the Twin Magmas your opponent may just watch you roll dice for ten minutes and then pick up a model.
What’s the Solution?
One major thing that can be done is to just take a shot away from each cannon. This will cut down on playtime and keep the damage output for the unit relevant and understandable. Because the model is armed with four barrels they are already “paired” so it’s still relevant immersion wise. Perhaps restricting the Acastus class to taking one per other XYZ banner (like Qestoris of a certain size) would also be worth looking at as well. Kinda like how the relic rule works for Forge World in 40k.
At the end of the day, the Porphyrion is sitting where the Custodes Caladius in 8th edition 40k used to before its FAQ. It’s just so good at everything people hardly have any other reason to take something else.
What kind of rules changes do you think will be coming to this unit? Will GW decide against giving them an FAQ and keeping them the way they are?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
