Servants of the Imperium rejoice! Fans are starting to get their preorders and we are getting insights into the rules of two of the newest champions of humanity!
First up Belisarius Cawl, the craziest techpriest in the Imperium! (source Warhammer Adeptus Mechanicus on Facebook)
He is a 200 point HQ choice with WS 5, BS 5, S 5, T 6, W 5, I 3, A 3, LD 10, Sv 2+. So already a really solid stat line, but it gets much much better.
Wargear: Arc Scourge, Master-Crafted Power Axe, Mechadendrite Hive, Scryerskull (identify a single Mysterious Obj each turn) Refractor Feild (5++), Artificer Self Repair Mechanisims, Solar Atomiser
Special Rules: Canticles of the Archmagos, Canticles of the Omnissiah, Feel No Pain, Independent Character, Very Bulky,
Warlord Trait: Masterwork Bionics- Cawl gets to reroll his FNP checks!
All of this is confirmed as is the following: the Artificer Self Repair Mechanism lets Cawl recover d3 wounds A TURN! D3 WOUNDS! And he is already T5, 2+/5++ FNP REROLLABLE. He is a tough nut to crack! And his Solar Atomiser is a 12″, S10, AP1 Assault D3 Master-Crafted Melta weapon!
So this all means that as of now, for sure, he hits on 2+ shooting with one missed reroll, so chances are he will ALWAYS hit in shooting. He can ace a space marine bike squad or a land raider in one go easy. And in CC he is a WS5 guy with a master crafted AP2 weapons.
However, there is more rumoured coming in from our German friends! (courtesy Sean R. on Warhammer Adeptus Mechanicus, his translation transcribed below)
“He may replace any Dominus in the formations from our codex. Cawl, Grayfax and Celestine may be taken as an HQ choice in a CAD or allied detachment for ANY Imperial Faction, no matter which faction those three actually come from. So yes, we could take Celestine etc. instead of a Dominus.
Arc-Claw-Thingy (“Bogengeißel”) (Ed: ARC SCOURGE): Range:- S+1 AP4 Close Combat, Haywire, Master-crafted. Has a special rule that let’s you re-roll the result on the haywire chart.
Mechandrite Hive: Cawl does 2D6(!!) S4 Ap- attacks at Ini 10 if he is in close combat. Doesn’t grant an additional pile-in move. He also has a Dataspike, so potential 13 S4 AP- Ini 10 attacks, BEFORE he even starts to swing with his axe!
Canticles Of The Archmagos: Only work if Cawl is alive. Work just like the other Canticles (ed: based on # of units just like canticles of the Omnissiah) but also influence any Imperial vehicles that are within 12″ of Cawl, even if they don’t have the canticles special rule.
Harmony Of Metallurgy: 1-3 IWND, 4-7 IWND. Roll two times for IWND instead of one time, 8* IWND. Roll three times for IWND instead of one time (so any vehicle etc. could regain 3 wounds from this!)
Word Of Neutralisatoin: 1-3 BS+1, 4-7 BS+2, 8+ BS+3
Warhymn Of the Machine God: 1-3 6+ Invul save, 4-7 5+ Invul Save, 8+ 4+ Invul Save”
So lets break those rumours down. Not only is Cawl 2+/5++ rerollable FNP regen d3 wounds, he and his army can get IWND or a 4++ save! And an average of 8 S4 I10 attacks in CC before his normal attacks! And then instead of his axe, you can make some Haywire attacks with his Arc Scourge at S6. Combined with his Solar Atomiser, he starts to become a major threat to most LoW even. And remember, ALL OF THIS IS FOR THE BARGAIN PRICE OF 200 POINTS! He is an auto-take in War Convocations IMO (so long as the rumour holds he can be taken in that).
Now for the living Saint her self!
200 points for her AND her 2 bodyguards, the Geminae Superia. Her statline WS7, BS7, S3, T3, W5, I7, A5, LD 10, Sv 2+/4++ (from her Armour of Saint Katherine). Geminae: WS 5, BS 4, S 3, T 3, W 2, I 4, A 2, Ld 10, Sv 3+ (not bad IMO)
They all have Frag and Krak grenades and the Geminae have Power Swords and Bolt Pistols. The also all have Adamantium Will, Fearless, Hit and Run, and Saintly Blessings. Celestine have Eternal Warrior and Independent Character. They are all Jump Infantry Characters, so her bodyguards can dive on challenges for you.
So the Geminae are the ULTIMATE body guards. They have a 3+/4++ due to their Divine Guardians rule. BUT this also makes your opponent resolve ALL WOUNDS vs them before Celestine. Automatically. No need to roll for Look Out Sir. This alone makes her worth 200 points IMO. They also DO NOT prevent her from joining units as an IC and just join and leave with her. They are the infantry equivalent of a Void Shield Generator.
If you think that is good enough, there is also Healing Tears. This makes you, at the start of each of your turns AUTOMATICALLY set up 1 slain Geminae anywhere within 2″ of Celestine. No restrictions. This pretty much means the only way to kill her is with Stomps, D or Vortex as she will nearly always have an ablative shielding of Geminae. Then, IF by some chance (a HUGE IF) you manage to kill her, all models with the Faith special rule auto pass LD checks for the rest of the turn due to Martyrdom (if she is your warlord).
However, now when she is slain, take an LD check for her. If you fail, nothing happens, but with a pass, leave a marker. At the start of your next turn, place her within 1″ of that marker, fully restored. She can then use healing tears to ALSO bring back 1 slain Geminae. The Martyrdom bonus AND the enemy gaining Slay the Warlord ONLY take effect if she fails. This can only be used once, and if the game ends before she comes back she is slain for victory point purposes. However, this pretty much means she will end virtually every game on the table IMO. Just a super tough unit to kill.
She also allows all friendly units within 12″ to use her LD for Faith and War Hymns checks.
Now for her weapons. First off, she has an Orbital Bombardment with unlimited range, S 8, AP 3, Assault 1, Barrage Large Blast. However you never subtract her BS from this (to be fair, it is coming from orbit). BUT her Sword is where it is at. The Ardent Blade has 2 profiles, a Template and Close Combat (so it is an awesome flaming blade)
The Template is S5, AP4 Assault 1, so just a heavy flamer, but that is with her orbital bombardment already. The melee weapon is S+2 (so she is S5) AP3, Master-Crafted and Armourbane. Basically point her at MEQ squads and watch them die and fail to ultimately do anything in return. The AP3 limits her ability to truly take on Death Stars, however her durability will likely tarpit a death star, especially if she is joined to a squad like Seraphim.
Lastly, the Saintly Blessing rumour (according to Frater Domus on B&C)
“Saintly Blessings: Celestine can give a 12” radius buff to friendly non-vehicle Army of the Imperium units at the start of each of your turns. Each buff can only be used once per game, and affect units based on their Battlefield Role (independent chars get effected as long as they stay in the unit):
- HQ Units: Zealot until the start of the next turn
- Troops: FNP 6+ until the start of next turn. If models already have FNP, they get a +1 bonus to FNP instead…
- Elites: Counter-Attack and Furious Charge until start of next turn
- Fast Attack: Crusader and Fleet until start of next turn
- Heavy Support: Relentless until start of next turn
- Lord of War: It Will Not Die for the rest of the game.
In addition to all that, any army that contains Celestine (or is from a Wrathful Crusade formation or Castallens of the Imperium detachment) lets characters take items from the new Ecclesiarchy Relics list. Choices include a 35pt Eternal Warrior relic, 15pt S4 AP2 pistol that ignores invulnerable saves, a 35pt relic that gives a 4+ invuln save and stops Deep Strikes within 12″ (if they scatter within 12″, auto mishap!) and a 30pt Power Sword that on a pass Ld Test becomes S+2, AP2.”
To me, these last rules seem like a great addition to an army like Grey Knights, and at a bargain price. Plus, is she is an HQ for all armies of the Imperium, you don’t even need to worry about separate detachments.
Lastly Inquisitor Greyfax. Cheaper at 150 points. Stat line WS 4, BS 4, S 3, T 3, W 3, I 4, A 3, LD 10, Sv 3+.
She is equipped with a Master-Crafted Condemnor Boltgun and Master-Crafted Power Sword, Frag and Krak grenades, Psyk-out Grenades and a Psyocculum, So already a pretty great inclusion if you are out of detachments to include an Assassin.
Her Warlord Trait is that your opponent cannot deploy infiltrators within 24″ of her, which has the potential to be pretty powerful and when playing short table edges, pretty much keeps your opponent in their deployment zone.
As for special rules, she is an IC, has Preferred Enemy (Psykers), is a Pysker herself with a Mastery Level 2, and is Stubborn. Additionally she has indomitable will, which always counts her as a higher mastery level than her opponent for Deny the Witch tests.
Lastly she can generate 2 powers from Telepathy (so invisibility and shrouding is a possibility) and always knows “Aura of Oppression” which is WC 1 or 3. it is a malediction that targets a non-vehicle within 12″ who immediately take a pinning test. Even if passed, they cannot run, turbo-boost, perform sweeping advances or fire overwatch (so watch out Dark Angels). If you decide to go for the 3 WC, it effects ALL non-vehicles enemies within 12″, not just one.
So what do you think of this new hotness! Tell us in the comments!
If you are not one to walk the beaten tactical path, then come check out more articles like this on Sepulchre of Heroes, home of the 9th Legion. You can also find there plenty of other thoughts and discussions on the hobby and Warhammer 40k, particularly Blood Angels. We feature ample hobby content in painting and kitbashing and cover several GW specialist games such as Battlefleet Gothic and Blood Bowl.
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