Hello Ladies and Gents,
Today we will be covering the wonderful elite choice of the Imperial Guard of...
Psyker Battle Squad
As I am sure some of you are aware of by now, (or at least I hope you are) I enjoy varying up my lists on a consistent basis, not only to keep things fresh for my opponents, but for myself. This helps me as a player by better knowing how my codex acts and how my opponents might react to different styles of play and units I might field.
However, this also can lead to some units not being played to often, one of those, woefully underplayed by myself, happens to be the Psyker Battle Squad. Mainly due to my own lack of thinking about them when I am creating a list, much to my own determent!
First their equipment and upgrades. This is pretty basic, equipped with CCWs and Laspistols, no upgrades available except the ability to increase their numbers to 9 psykers and 1 overseer from 4 psykers and 1 overseer and all between and the ability to buy a chimera as a dedicated transport.
Second lets hit their special rules. First off they are Psykers (except for the Overseer), so they can cast 1 psychic power a turn. Considering they only have two different powers, this isn't such a huge deal. The second special rule is the Psychic Choir special rule which states that the entire squad is treated as a single psyker, a nice thing making it so you only have to roll psychic tests once, instead of once for every guy in the squad... however this does have a downside which is the last special rule. Ultimate Sanction states that instead of suffering Perils of the Warp, the overseer instead kills off D3 psykers... but if somehow he happens to die... they suffer Perils instead.
Now for the important stuff right? Their powers. First off is Soulstorm which is a large blast template with the strength of the number of psykers alive in the unit (yes thats right it can be Str 9) and an AP value of your roll on a D6. Oh... and just in case you really needed to... its assault... so if you wanted to shoot it at a squad 6 inches away... you can then assault them... which might seem silly... but they do have 3 attacks a piece on the charge...
Second power is the one you most likely have seen used... as we definitely have around our FLGS, is Weaken Resolve which states that the Psyker Battle Squad chooses a unit within 36 and line of sight and reduces their leadership by the amount of psykers in the unit down to a minimum of 2. Quite a nasty combination when dealing with non-fearless or non-stubborn units, causing them to run away, and if early in the game, off the board. Really nice due to the fact this is not a shooting power which means it can be cast on pretty much the entire board turn 1 if you placed your unit in a chimera and let it go. It also has been very useful in keeping units pinned down by the shots from Ratlings or Veterans with sniper rifles or a squad of mortars.
Over all the Psyker Battle Squad can be quite a nasty thing to use even its point costs are not that high! I mean 165 points is the max you can put in this unit! Besides that they add a varied, surprising aspect to your army that your opponent might not be prepared to fight against, both with the large blast template and with the ability to reduce the leadership on an opponent. So why not try them out sometime?
Until next time, burn some heretics, kill some mutants, and do it always....
FOR THE EMPEROR!
