So I've been reading through the Blood Angels codex, and I've had the chance to play a few games, and one particular unit really sticks out to me. Sanguinary Priests! When I first went through the codex before release at my FLGS I was amazed by the concept of the Priests. A little like Wolf Guard in the way you get to break them down and disperse them through out your squads. They also gave me this whole Iron Snakes vibe, for anyone who has read the book. But little did I realize just how awesome they really where.
The fluff for them is really quite interesting. They are the apothecaries for the Blood Angles and all their successors. On top of their usual Apothecary-ish duties, they expected to lead their battle brethren into the red thirst to bring out their bloody thirsty and vicious nature. The way the Priest of Sanguine counter-point Chaplains really brings out the contrast of the nature of the Blood Angel Gene Seed is very cool. Both are members of a holy priesthood, both going about the same goal, both in different ways.
On the tabletop Sanguinary Priests are a must-have in my opinion. They are Independent Characters bought in one elite slot with up to three sharing the same slot. Giving any unit within six inches of them FNP and FC is nuts. Then the wargear available to them means they can be placed in nearly any squad. Terminator armour, jump packs, a bike! Anything! Think about a Terminator Assault squad, with TH/SS and Furious charge, and Feel no Pain! Lasguns, shootas, bolters? No problem.
Now there are some cons to Sanguinary Priests. A one wounds independent character is a real target. Never mind the benefits they give makes them nigh to target numero uno. All it takes is one swing with a power weapon, or one fail armour save and poof! Benefits gone. By that extension, giving a Priest a power weapon or any of the like seems like a waste of points. What's the point of spending points on a power fist if he is going to hide in the back of the squad. Now I'm not entirely convinced of this point myself, but it is something to keep in mind.
- So do tell! Have you used Sanguinary Priests? Are they worth it. Are they plagued by the one wound? Tell of your experiences!
Posts
5 comments:
Get them into CC and they die. As independent characters you HAVE to move them into base to base first, before the rest of the squad. I then pile my guys up to 6" into you. I will be putting all my power weapons right on that fella!
And great article!
Nt much of a draw back really. All the facy rules just need to get the units into that crucial first charge, than it's all gravy.
Really like the idea of the attached veteran though, kind of a nice change from squad leaders.
Well they still have sergeants, but yeah. The idea of attaching extra units really sets off some ideas in my head
The unspoken advantage of Sanguinary Priests is the bullseye factor. These guys are going to have a HUGE reputation following them. So people will go out of their way to kill them. Meaning your units that don't have a Sanguinary Priest will be all but ignored until it is too late.
Sometimes a unit is more useful when it ISN'T doing something.
Post a Comment