Welcome back for another exciting Knowledge Bomb article, where I go over some rules clarifications and “gotchas” for 5th Edition.
I realize that there may only be less than a year left for this rules set, but there is still tons of time for gaming!
Not to mention there are a few big tournaments left to attend as well. So let’s get to it shall we?
I asked TPM to read over my other Knowledge bomb articles to see if they were up to snuff, and he got back to me saying they were too boring. So I asked him to write a guest post for me that wasn’t boring and this is what we got.
So here it is, a post by TPM on the always fun and quite possibly broken in casual play, Psychotroke Grenade.
Codices are not getting any easier to understand and even though the Grey Knights have been out for a while it is no exception.
These grenades are a point of serious contention to people who don’t play Grey Knights. The consensus is that these grenades create unbalanced/unfair situations on the table top.
Maybe if people know exactly how they work it will take some of the sting out of them and you can better prepare your attack on units carrying them.
Psychotroke Grenades work regardless of which side launches the assault. This means that even if the unit being assaulted has these grenades they still take effect and this unit does not need to be the assaulting unit like it would be with Psyk-Out Grenades.
After assault moves are made but before blows are struck the Grey Knight player rolls a d6 for EACH UNIT that has assaulted the Grey Knight unit with the grenades. The same is true if the Grey Knight player is the one to launch the assault.
This means that if two units are assaulting the Grey Knight unit with grenades then two rolls are made.
The order of events is important here. It is sometimes misplayed that any enemy Independent Characters involved in the assault are rolled for separately on the Grenade chart. This is not the case. The Independent Characters involved in the assault are ONLY considered as separate units when blows are struck (rolled for). At all other times they are considered as part of the same unit.
This doesn’t give much relief to people who are stressed about these Grenades but it at least may save the non Grey Knight players a couple of rolls targeted on their ICs.
It is important to note that these Grenades are neither Defensive nor Offensive. That means that any other enemy units joining the combat in successive rounds will also need to roll on the Grenade chart.
Thankfully there are a few results on the chart that will not debilitate your unit. The real kick in the pants is that a few of the rolls really take the wind out of the sails of assault units or can cause powerful Independent Characters to attack themselves or their unit.
Only three codex unit choices in the Grey Knight list can take these grenades and they are: Generic Grand Masters, Ordo Xenos Inquisitors and Tech Marines. Outside of the Grand Master these units are fairly fragile. It would be wise to make an effort to kill these grenade bearers quickly and hopefully before the assault phase.
Be sure to checkout TPM’s blog for more competitive gaming insights and random thoughts! -MBG
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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 the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of 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 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
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.
